FLORA MEDICA: CONTAINING COLOURED DELINEATIONS OF THE VARIOUS MEDICINAL PLANTS ADMITTED INTO THE LONDON, EDINBURGH AND DUBLIN PHARMACOPCEIAS ; WITH THEIR NATURAL HISTORY, BOTANICAL DESCRIPTIONS, MEDICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES, ^c: Src.; TOGETHER WITH A CONCISE INTRODUCTION TO BOTANY; A COPIOUS GLOSSARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS; AND A LIST OF POISONOUS PLANTS, Sfc. 8fc. EDITED BY A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS; AND FELLOW Olf THE LINN^IAN SOCIETY; WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF SEVERAL EMINENT BOTANISTS. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. n. LONDON : CALLOW AND WILSON, PRINCES STREET, SOHO. 1830. CONTENTS. VOL II. Agrimonia Eupatoria 66 Allium Cepa 155 Porrum 155 ' Sativum 153 Aloe Socotrina 96 Vulgaris 97 Ammoniacum «....> 315 Amyris Eiemifera 247 — Gileadensis 245 Anetbum Graveolens 70 Angelica Archangelica . 7 AnthemisPyrethrum 32 Arctium Lappa 152 Aristolochia Serpentaria . . 243 Arnica Montana. 106 Aspidium Filix Mas 93 Astragalus Verus 278 Avena Sativa 306 Boletus Ignarius 273 Boswellia Serrata 196 BonplandiaTrifoliata 252 Bubon Galbanum 203 Canella Alba 91 Cardamine Pratensis 109 Cassia Fistula 206 Centaurea Benedicta 175 Cbironia Centauriuni .... 68 Cinchona 281 Cocos Butyracea 305 PAGE Copaifera Officinalis 201 Coriandrum Sativum 55 Croton Eluteria 230 CucumisColocynthis. .... 187 Cumiiium Cyminum 45 Curcuma Zedoaria 121 Dolichos Pruriens 199 Dorstenia Contrajerva 229 Dryobalanops Camphora .. 215 Eryngium Maritimum .... 158 Eugenia Caryophyllata .... 48 Euphorbia Officinarum .... 224 Ferula Assafoetida 270 Ficus Carica 170 Fucus Vesiculosus . . ..... 123 GeofFfoya Inermis 172 Glycyrrhiza Glabra 177 Haeniatoxylum Campechi- anum 139 Hordeum Distichon 308 Humulus Lupulus 80 Hyssopus Officinalis ...... 250 Juniperus Communis 193 Lycia 195 Sabina 19a CONTENTS. iv PAGE Kino 314 Krameria Triandia 184 Laurus Camphora 217 ■ Cinnamomum .... 34 Nobilis 137 ' Sassafras , 1 64 Lichen Islandicus ........ 179 • Rocella 182 Ly thrum Salicaria 292 Matonia Cardamomuni .... 1 15 Melissa Officinalis 249 Menispermum Palmatum . . 233 Menyanthes Trifoliata .... 5 Myristica Moschata ...... 74 Myroxylon Peruiferum .... 166 Myrrh 7^312 Myrtus Pimenta 130 Pastinaca Opoponax 12 Pimpinella Anisum ...... 43 Pinus Abies 26 Sylvestris 14 Larix 22 Balsamea 25 Picea 28 Piper Cubeba .-^ 311 — — Longum 163 Nigrum 160 Pistachia Lentiscus 104 . Terebinthus 102 Polygala Senega 62 Prunus Domestica 65 Pterocarpus Santalinus .... 263 Pyrus Cydonia 10 Quassia Excelsa 258 • Simaruba 255 Qu^rcus lofectoria 267 • Robur 265 Rhamnus Catharticus .... 128 Rhododendron Crysanthum 57 Rhus Toxicodendron 303 Ricinus Communis l Rosa Centifolia 38 Gallica 41 Rubia Tinctorum 146 Rumex Acetosa 112 - Aquaticus 113 Saccharum Officinarum. , . . 25»9 Sagapenum 315 Scilla Maritima 13?4 Scrophularia Nodosa .... 2774 Sium Nodiflorum 22!7 Srailax Sarsaparilla 21.1 Solidago Virgaurea 8i9 Stalagmitis Cambogioides . , 2T5 Strychnos Nux Vomica .... 29»4 Styrax Benzoin 1418 Swietenia Febrifuga ...... 8«6 Tamarindus Indica 5>2 Tanacetum Vulgare 1352 Teucrium Charaaedrys .... 2h0 Marum 20>8 Triticum Hybernum , 30J9 Veratrum Album 1411 Vitis Vinifera 2315 Ulmus Campestris 4(6 Wintera Aromatica ...... 3011 Zingiber Officinale • 589 1 RICINUS COMMUNIS. Palma Christi.* Class MONCECIA. — Order MONADELPHIA. Nat. Ord. Tricocc^, Linn. EuPHORBijE, Juss. Gen. Char. Male. Calyx 5-parted. Corolla 0. Stamens numerous. Female. Ca/yx 3-parted. Corolla 0. Styles 3, bifid. Cap We 8- eel led. Seed one. Spec. Char. Leaves peltate. Lobes lanceolate, serrated. Stem herbaceous. Stigmas three, cloven at the tip. This species of Palma Christi,t from the seeds of which the medicinal oil called castor oil is obtained, is an annual plant, grow- ing spontaneously in all the warm regions of the old and new world : hence it is found in Sicily, Greece, the East and West Indies, South America, and Africa. In the latter country it sometimes attains the height of sixteen feet, and assumes the shrubby appearance of the common elder ; from which some conception may be formed of the astonishing rapidity of its growth, when fostered by the heat of a genial climate. Clusius says he has seen it in Spain as much as fifteen or twenty feet high, with a trunk as large as a man's body ; and Ray also says that in Sicily it is as large as the elder tree, and woody, but he speaks of it as a perennial plant, which is expressly denied by Willdenow,| At Pamisus in the Morea, where it grows in great abundance, it is called Agra Staphylia, or wild vine, from the resemblance of its leaves to those of the vine.§ As a native of * Fig. a. represents the underside of a leaf shewing the insertion of the foostalk, b. A female flower, c. The seed. d. An anther. -f- The term Palma Christi has been given to this plant from a supposition that it was the plant strewed before the path of our Saviour, as mentioned in the 12th chapter of St. John, t " Planta semper annua," says this botanist, " nunquam fracticosa, vel arborea, nec in calidissimis terrac plagis lignescit. — Spec. Plant, iv. 564, $ Cell's Journey in the Morea, p. 193. VOL II. B 2 BICINUS COMMUNIS. the east, we may reasonably conclude that this plant was well known to the ancients, and accordingly we find it spoken of by Dioscorides, under the names of Kim and Kporwv, and the purgative properties of its seeds are recorded by him. Pliny, ^tius, and other ancient authors likewise make mention of it. As early as the year 1562, it was cultivated in Britain, and is now annually reared in many of the ^gardens in the neighbourhood of London, and in that of Dr. Saunders at Highbury, but with us it seldom rises above five or six feet high. According to Dr. Ainslie, this species of Ricinus is abundant throughout India. The root is biennial, long, thick, whitish, and beset with many small fibres ; the stem is round, thick, jointed, channelled, glaucous, of a purplish red colour towards the top, and rises to the height of six or eight feet ; the leaves are large, and deeply divided into seven lobes, or pointed serrated segments, of a bluish green colour ; the leaf-stalks are long, and inserted into the disc of the leaf ; the flowers are male and female on the same plant, and produced in clustered terminal spikes : the male flowers occupy the lower part of the spike, and the female the upper ; the male flowers consist of a calyx divided into five oval, pointed, purplish segments, enclosing numerous long stamina, which unite at the base ; the female flowers consist of a calyx cut into three narrow segments, of a reddish colour; the styles are three, and forked at the apex ; the capsule is a large three-celled nut, covered with tough spines, and contains three flattish oblong seeds, which are forced out on the bursting of the capsule. There are two methods by which the oil (which is more generally used for medicinal purposes than the seeds) is obtained, namely, by expression, and by coction. The oil obtained by the former process, is known in commerce by the name of " cold-drawn," and is of a paler colour, and less disagreeable to the smell and taste than that obtained by coction, which latter sooner becomes rancid. The method of obtaining the oil by coction, as practised in the West Indies, is as follows: — "The seeds being freed from the husks or pods, which are gathered upon their turning brown, and when begin- ning to burst open, are first bruised in a mortar, afterwards tied up in a hnen bag, and then thrown into a large pot with a sufficient quantity of water, (about eight gallons to one gallon of seeds) and boiled until the oil has risen to the surface, when it is carefully skim- med off", strained, and kept for use. Thus prepared, the oil is entirely free from acrimony, and will stay upon the stomach when other medicines are rejected." Mr. Long remarks that ** the oil intended for internal use is more frequently cold-drawn, or extracted RICINUS COMMUNIS. 3 from the bruised seeds by means of a hand-press ; but this oil is thought more acrimonious than what is prepared by coction."* Dr. Brown, of Jamaica, is also of thi^ opinion, preferring the oil obtained by coction to that by expression, and attributes its greater mildness to the action of the fire. This acrimony, however, appears from later experiments to be owing to the membranes which invest the kernel. In this country, the cold-drawn oil is always preferred, for the reasons we have already stated, and bears a much higher price. The oil obtained is equal to one-fourth of the weight of the seeds employed. It is often adulterated with olive oil, linseed oil, and poppy oil : the adulteration maybe detected by adding an equal quantity of alcohol, sp. gr. 820, to any given quantity of the oil ; if it be pure an uniform solution will take place, which will not be the case should it be adulterated ; a weaker spirit, with the addition of camphor, may likewise be employed as a test. Sensible Properties. Good expressed castor oil is nearly inodorous and tasteless, but even the best leaves a slight sensation of acrimony in the throat after it is swallowed ; it is thick, viscid, transparent, and colourless, or of a very pale straw colour. The oil obtained by coction is of a deeper hue ; and both kinds, when they become rancid, thicken, deepen in colour to a reddish brown, and acquire a hot, nauseous taste. It has all the chemical characters of the other expressed oils, except that it is heavier, and is very soluble in alcohol and in sulphuric ether.f Orfila classes the fruit of the Palma Christi among the acrid vegetable poisons of his Toxicology : the seeds, he says, " produce a local irritation, and act upon the nervous system after being absorbed." His experiments, however, are by no means sufficient to establish this fact, for in all of them, except one, the cesophagas of the dogs which were the subjects of the experiments was tied, and the animals died within from twenty-four to forty-eight hours after the introduction of the seeds into the stomach. In the first experiment, where a small dog was made to swallow thirty grains of these seeds, Orfila says, that " at the end of twenty minutes he Tomited without any eftbrt some white matter, stringy and Hquid, iu which the ingested fruit was observed ; at nine, he passed a stool, partly Uquid, partly solid, and experienced no further inconvenience ; in the course of the day he fed heartily." Now we would be inclined * Long's Jamaica, p. 713. f Thoiasou's Materia Medica, 4 RICINUS COMMUNIS. to attribute the fate of the animal that died, more to the tying of the cesophag'us than to the eft'ects of the substance introduced into the stoszvach ; and it is ranch to be regretted that many of the experiments of Orlii'i on vetn'table su!)sta!ues are liable to the same doubtful conclusion. Fergius relates that a robust man chewed and swal- lowed a seed of Palma Christi, which produced a stinging sensation of the fauces ; he passed the night quietly, but the next morning had copious vomitings, and during the wliole day he made alternately efforls to votnit and to go to stool, without however passing much. The fact is, that an acrid principle of a volatile nature is contained in the cotyledons of the seeds, but from which the embryon and testa are free. Medical Properties and Uses, The bark and the seeds of the Palma Christi are drastic purgatives, but these are seldom ordered ; the former has been said to act as a diuretic in the West Indies, where also the leaves are sometimes used as applications to blisters. The oil ia well known as a mild purgative. Dr. Cullen observes that th is oil, when the stomach can be reconciled to it, is one of the most agreeable purgatives we can employ, being generally moderate in its operation, seldom occasions griping, and operates sooner after its exhibition than any other purgative. Another advantage it possesses over most other purgative medicines is, that when frequently repeated, the dose may be gradually diminished ; and instances are recorded of persons, who from being of a costive habit, at first required half an ounce for a dose, but after it had been frequently repeated, two drachms were sufficient to keep the belly regular. The only inconvenience attending the use of it is, that as an oil it is nauseous to some persons, and when the dose is large it is apt to occasion sickness at the stomach, for some time after it is taken. Dr. Cullen observes, that the most effectual way to obviate this inconvenience is the addition of a little ardent spirit. An aro- matic tincture may be advantageously employed for this purpose ; we have generally found the Tinct. Sennae. Comp. have the desired effect, (two or three parts of oil to one of tincture), while it aided its operation as a purgative. From the mildness with which this oil operates, it is pecuharly fitted for cases, in which the stimulant purr gatives would prove hurtful ; as in ileus, calculous affections, piles, and and after surgical operations in which the abdominal viscera are con - cerned. In the West Indies it is found to be one of the most certain remedies in colica pictonura, in which it may be advan- tageously joined with henbane. To women who are pregnant or in child-bed, it seems to be peculiarly adapted, and also for infants of MENYANTHES TRIFOLIATA. 5 the tenderest age ; giving speedy relief in those griping pains, to which young children are so suhject. As we have been much in the habit of ordering this oil for infants, we have invariably found thai besides its purgative properties, it acts upon them as an anodyne, a fact which we believe has hitherto escaped observation. la dysen- tery, in which castor oil is particularly indicated, the stomach will seldom retain it, but it may be efficaciously exhibited in an enema, or the seeds may be carefully separated from their shells and the inner white membrane, and formed into an emulsion, which will prove an agreeable substitute for the oil. Castor oil is an useful medicine in many febrile complaints, in bilious cholic, nephritic cases and worms, especially the tape worm, and it is particularly suited to cases of costiveness and spasmodic cholic. The dose of the oil is from 3iv to ^iss, and of the seeds, from 31 to 5ij ; the oil may be taken floated on a little cinnamon or peppermint water, when it will seldom be found to disagree with the stomach, or it may be diffused in these cordial waters by means of mucilage, the yolk of an egg, or almond emulsion. Off. The Seeds, and Expressed Oil. MENYANTHES TRIFOLIATA. Common Buck-bean, Marsh Trefoil.^ Class Pentandria.— OrJer Monogynia. Nat. Ord. Precis, Linn. Lysymachi^, Juss. Gen. Char. Calyx 5-c\e{t. Coro//a funnel-shaped, 5-lobed, hairy within. Stigma cloven. Capsule I -celled. Spec. Char. Leaves ternate. This is a perennial plant, and one of the most beautiful of indi- genous growth ; it is found in watery situations in many parts of Europe, delighting in a black, boggy, or marshy soil ; and according * Fig. a. The corolla spread open to shew the anthers and pistillum. 6 MENYANTHES TRIPOLIATA. to Professor Bigelow, it is found ia similar situations in North America, with scarcely any difference of structure or appearance. It has probably derived its name of buck-bean, or more properly bog-bean, from the resemblance of its leaves to the common edible bean, though some derive it from the French ; however, this is a matter of little importance. The root of buck-bean is long, round, creeping and fibrous, with perpendicular radicles, and of a black colour; the stem, which rises erect to the height of a foot, is smooth, cylindrical, spreading, branched, and clothed with sheathing foot-stalks, each of which supports a ternate leaf, composed of three obovate, smooth, bluntly- toothed leaflets, of a beautiful bright green on its upper surface, and somewhat paler beneath; the flower-stalk rises from within the sheath of a leaf, is longer than the leaves, erect, round, and smooth, and supports a loose spike of about ten flowers, accompanied with small ovate, entire bracteas ; each flower has its proper pedicle or foot-stalk ; the calyx is divided into five obtuse segments ; the corolla is a funnel shaped petal, divided like the calyx into five deep pointed segments, which are white, tipped with rose-colour, smooth on the outside, and clothed within with dense white shaggy fibres on their upper side ; the filaments are awl-shaped, supporting erect sagittate anthers of a red colour ; germen conical ; stigma cloven, and notched, on a slender style, twice the length of the stamens ; the capsule is ovate, succulent, one-celled, separating when ripe into two valves ; seeds numerous, egg-shaped, and of a brown or yellow colour. This plant flowers in June and July. Sensible Properties. The leaves of buck-bean have a faint disagreeable smell, and every part of the plant an intensely nauseous bitter taste ; the bitter principle resides chiefly in an extractive matter which is readily given out by infusion in water ; the root is somewhat resinous, and the sprituous infusion of it is much stronger than the watery. Medical Properties and Uses. Buck-bean like most of the other vegetable bitters is a powerful tonic, and the powdered root given in doses of ten or fifteen grains, is found to strengthen the stomach and improve digestion ; in larger doses it produces vomiting, purging, and diaphoresis ; this latter quality has led to its use in rheumatism : Boerhaave says he found benefit from it in gout : he used the juice of the fresh plant mixed with whey. Dr. Cullen speaks highly of its virtues in some cutaneous diseases of the can- cerous kind ; he gave it in infusion. It has likewise been found ser- viceable in remitteat and intermittent fevers, and was formerly much I ANGELICA ARCHANGELICA, resorted to in these diseases, particularly by the German physicians ; it has also been deemed serviceable in dropsy and scurvy: the Laplanders, Linnaeus tells us, employ it as a substitute for hops. In this country buck-bean is now seldom ordered, though it may be considered fully equal in its virtues to any of the other vegetable bitters, and probably superior to many of them. The dose of the dried leaves powdered, is from 3ss to 3i, or of an infusion made with 3ss of the dried leaves and boiling water Oss, from ^i to giss may be taken three or four times a day. Dr. Thomson recommends it to be joined to some aromatic, whether given in substance or infusion; there is no officinal preparation of buck-bean. Off. The Leaves. ANGELICA ARCHANGELICA, Garden Angelica.'^ Class Pentandria.— Ort/er Digynia. Nat. Ord. Umbellate, Linn. Juss. Gen. Char. General involucre often wanting. Corollas equal. Petals bent inward. Fruit roundish, angular, solid. Styles reflected. Spec. Char. Leaves bipinnaled, with the terminal leaves 3-lobed. The name of this plant would lead us to suppose that it was originally a native of Italy, yet we are told that it is indigenous to the more northern parts of Europe.f It is occasionally found « Fig. a. represents the upper part of a leaf in outline, b, A flower magnified, shewing the five anthers, c. The germen and styles, d. A seed. + " Ubique per omnes alpes LappoAiae juxta vivolos vulgaris est." Linn. Flor, Lap. p. 67, 8 ANGELICA ARCHANGELICA. growing wild in England, particularly at Broadmoor near Birminghaai, and on the banks of the Thames near Woolwich ; but it is uncertain whether we can lay claim to it as an indigenous plant. Joann. Jacob, de Manliis, a writer of the fifteenth century, is the first author who describes it, and we suppose it is indebted to him for the heavenly name it bears. According to Gerarde it was known and cultivated in the middle of the sixteenth century. This species of Angelica must however be considered a native of the south, as well as the north of Europe ; since Spain and Bohemia are considered to produce it in the greatest perfection, and that which was brought from the former country was alone considered officinal. According to Linnaeus however it flourishes best among the mountains of the north ; he directs the roots to be dug, either early in the spring, or late in the autumn ; and it stands to reason that at these seasons it must be more impregnated with the sap and other juices of the plant. There are five species of Angelica, one of which, the Angelica Sylvestris, is indigenous. The root of Angelica is biennial, thick, fleshy, branched, and resinous : externally brown, white within ; the stem is erect, hollow, round, smooth, furrowed, of a purplish hue, rising upwards of five feet high, and sending oflf many branches which terminate in globu- lar many-rayed umbels, composed of dense, hemispherical umbellets ; the leaves are numerous, petiolated, large, pinnated; the leaflets are ovate, pointed, cleft, acutely serrated, smooth, somewhat de- current, and the terminal ones three-lobed ; the foot-stalks are membranous at their base, nerved, greatly dilated, and bellying ; the leaves and stalks are of a bright green colour ; the involucres are deciduous, linear, few in number, and sometimes altogether wanting ; the partial involucres are short, and consist of five linear, lance-shaped leaves ; the calyx is five-cleft, and very minute ; the corolla is small, of a greenish-white colour, and consists of five equal, lance-shaped petals, with the points turned inwards; the stamens are spreading, longer than the corolla, with roundish anthers ; the germen is inferior, ovate, supporting two short reflected styles, with obtuse stigmas ; the flowers are numerous, and grow in large terminal umbels ; the fruit is a kind of capsule, large, ellipti- cal, flat on one side, convex on the other» emarginate at both ends, with three acute ribs ; each capsule contains a single brown, pointed seed. Sensible Properties. Every part of the recent plant is fragrant and aromatic ; the taste sweetish at first, then aromatic, warm, and slightly bitter; the dried root is corrugated, and of a ANGELICA ARCHANGELICA. 9 greyish-brown colour externally, breaks short with a starchy fracture, and presents a firm interior, whitish, with many brown and yellowish spots ; it has the same taste and smell as the recent plant, yielding these qualities to alcohol, and in some degree to boiling water. The roots of Angelica, when wounded in the spring, yield an odorous yellow juice, which slowly dessicated, proves an elegant gum- resin, rich in the qualities of the plant. For medicinal purposes the roots should be dug up in the autumn of the first year, when they are more easily preserved than if gathered in the spring ; in the latter case they are liable to become mouldy, and to be preyed on by insects. They should be thoroughly dried, and kept in a well- aired dry place ; and Lewis recommends the dipping them in boiling spirits, or exposing them to steam after they are dried. The leaves and seeds lose their virtues by keeping. Medical Properties and Uses. The leaves and seeds when recent, and the root, both fresh and dried, are tonic and carminative, and may be considered the most elegant ai'omatic of our northern climes ; modern practice however has almost entirely rejected this plant. By the Laplanders and Icelanders, Angelica is much in request, both as an article of food and for medicinal pur- poses. The former use it for many catarrhal and pectoral affections, and an extract made from the flowers, boiled in the milk of the rein deer, is considered by them diaphoretic and tonic ; the stalks roasted are used by them as an article of food, and we are told by Sir George Mackenzie, that the Icelanders eat the stems and roots of Angelica raw with butter.* In this country the tender stems are cut in May and made into an agreeable sweetmeat. By Gerarde, Angelica is extolled as a panacea for all the ills of life. Off. The Root. * Travels in Iceland. VOL. II. 10 PYRUS CYDONIA. Common Quince Tree.* Class IcoSA^BRiA.— Order Pentagynia. Nat. Ord. Pomaceje, Linn. RosACEiE, Juss. Gen. Char. Calyx monophyllous, five-cleft, persistent. Corolla petals 5, nearly round, concave, inserted into the calyx. Filaments 20, inserted into the calyx. Germens beneath the receptacle. Pericarpium an apple, five-celled. Spec. Char. Leaves ovate, entire. Flowers solitary. The common quince tree is a native of Austria, and has been found growing wild on the shores of the Danube. Thunberg found it growing in Japan, where it is called umhats ;t but from the writings of Plinyl it appears that the Malus Cydonia, or Mv^Xsa xvlmiu. of the Greeks, was originally brought from Cydon, in Crete ; hence the name Cydonia. In its wild state the quince is much less lux- uriant than we observe it in our British gardens, where it was first cultivated in the time of Gerarde, about the year 1597. § This tree seldom rises very high, being usually very crooked and distorted : it sends off several branches, and is covered with a brown bark ; the leaves are simple, roundish or oval, entire : on the upper side of a dusky green colour, on the under whitish, and stand upon short foot-stalks ; the flowers are large, solitary, of a pale red or white colour, and placed close to the axillae of the leaves ; the calyx is composed of one leaf, and divided into five spreading,'oval, notched segments ; the corolla consists of five petals : these are large, roundish, and notched at their extremities; the filaments are about twenty, tapering, shorter than the corolla, inserted into the calyx, and furnished with simple anthers ; the germen is orhicular ; the * Fig. a. represents the flower and leaves of the natural size, h. The fruit, c. The germen and stjles. d. An anther, t Flor, Japan, p. 200. X Lib. XV. cap. II. § Hortas Cantabrigiensis. iOlUKt I Crete J .e leaves ; the caiv »; -1 val, notched are large, the tiianieiits are abou v ■ ■ the calyx, iiiar; th; 6. The frml. PYRUS CYDONIA. 11 styles are five, slender, nearly of the length of the filaments, and supplied with simple stigmata ; the fruit is of the apple kind, and divided at the centre into five membranous cells, containing the seeds, which are oblong, angular, pointed at one end, obtuse at the other ,; at one side compressed, on the other flat, and covered with a brownish pellicle ; the form of the fruit approaches to that of the apple or pear, according to the different varieties of the tree from which it is produced ; it flowers in May or June. Sensible and Medical Properties. The quince has a pleasant odour, and a very austere acid taste, partaking at the same time somewhat of the flavour of rhubarb stalk. The seeds are inodorous and nearly insipid, but when long chewed impart a sUght degree of bitterness to the taste ; when boiled they yield much mucus, which soon spoils; the mucilage is not altered by sulphate of iron. Medical Properties and Uses. The expressed juice, taken in small quantities, frequently repeated, is said to be cooling, restringent and stomachic,* and useful in nausea, vomitings, and some kind of alvine fluxes ;t in larger quantiti-es it is said to loosen the belly, but we believe it is much better known, and more fre- quently used as an ingredient in pies. The seeds readily impart their mucilaginous substance to watery liquors; an ounce will render three pints of water thick and ropy, like the white of an egg; this mucilage, however, will not supply the place of gum arable, as it soon spoils, and is precipitated by acids. It has been recommended in apthous affections, and excoriations of the mouth and fauces. Oft\ The Se^ds. Oft". Pp. Decoct. Cydoni , L. * We are told by Dr. Ainslie, that the Persians and Arabians place the juice of the fruit, when soar, amongst their stomachics, and also the apples when fried. A decoction of the seed is prescribed by the Mahometan practitioners, as a demulcent in gonorrhoea, and tenesmus. — Vide Materia Indica, vol. i. p. 332. + Lewis's Materia Medica, p. 267. 12 PASTINACA OPOPONAX, Opoponax, or Rough Parsnip* Class Pentandria.— Or<:/er Digynia. Nat, Ord. Umbellate., Linn. Umbelliferte, Juss. Gen. Char. Fruit elliptical, compressed, flat. Petals in- volute, entire. Calyx very minute. Floioers regular, uniform, fertile. Spec. Char. Leaves bipinnate. Leaflets unequal at the base. This plant is perennial, and grows wild in the south of Europe ; it is also a native of the Levant and the East Indies, from whence alone the officinal Opoponax is obtained. This speciesf of parsnip was cultivated in England in the year 1731, by Mr. P. Miller, who observes, that its " roots are large, sweet, and accounted very nourishing ;" it bears the cold of our climate very well, commonly nmtures its seed, and its juice manifests some of those qualities which are discovered in the officinal Opoponax ; but it is only in the warm regions of the East that it concretes into a gummy resinous drug; this is obtained by means of incisions made in the bottom of tlie stalk of the plant, from whence the juice gradually exudes, and by undergoing spontaneous concretion, assumes the appearance under which it is imported. Botanical Description. The root of this plant is thick, fleshy, and tapering like the garden parsnip; the stalk is strong, branched, rough towards the bottom, and rises seven or eight feet in height; the leaves are pinnated, consisting of several pairs of pinnae, which are strong, serrated, veined, and towards the base appear unformed on the upper side ; the flowers are small, of a yellowish colour, and terminate the stem and branches in flat Vmbels; the general and partial umbels are composed of many radii ; the general and partial involucre are generally both wanting, and their absence is made by Linnaeus a characteristic of the * Fig. a. A sprig of flowers, b. The upper part of a leaf in outliue. c. A flower largely Biagaified. ,t OvQTtuuti^, Dioscorldes. , from wL ilier, who ,ted very v.omnHtiily iiose qua i lie . ottom of - tiiii piuhl ihick, ihe stalk is strong, even or eight feet *" several pairs of lowards the base wers are smali, of a find branches in Hat - are composed of maay re generally both wanting, . . us a characteristic of (he I. The upper part of a leaf in onUiue. c, A Sower Ti'yl'y '^'aZ/rnv , A-'r.rc.f ^^r^eeJo/,,' , /,r u >'/■'' /d':' r/ PASTINACA OPOPONAX. 13 Pastinaca ; all the florets are fertile, and have an uniform appear- ance; the petals are five, lance-shaped, and curled inwards; the five filaments are spreading, curved, longer than the petals, and furnished with roundish anthers ; the germen is placed below the corolla, supporting two reflexed styles, which are supplied with blunt stigmata ; the fruit is elliptical, compressed, divided into two parts, containing two flat seeds, encompassed with a narrow border: it is as we have said, a native of the South of Europe, and flowers in June and July. Sensible and Chemical Properties. The gum resin as it comes to us is sometimes in round drops or tears, buf more commonly in irregular lumps, of a reddish yellow colour on the outside, with specks of white; inwardly of a paler colour, and frequently variegated with large white pieces. According to the analysis of Pelletier,* it appears to be composed of gum 33.40, resin 42., starch 4.20, extractive l.GO, essential oil 5.90, woody filire 9.80, malic acid 2.80, wax 30, caoutchouc a trace, in one hundred parts: by distillation it yields a brown oil, acetic acid, and a bituminous oil; it has a peculiar strong odour, which it commu- nicates by distillation both to alcohol and water ; its taste is nauseous^ bitter and acrid. Medical Properties and Uses. Opoponax was formerly much employed by physicians, and esteemed for its attenuating, deobstrueut, and aperient virtues ; it was also supposed to be emmenagogue, but as it was commonly prescribed in combination with other medicines, these properties are by no means ascertained, nor do its sensible qualities indicate it to be a medicine of much power. Dr. Cullen classes it with the antiseptics : it has commonly been given in hypochondriacal aff'ections, visceral obstructions, menstrual suppressions, and asthma, especially when connected with a phlegmatic habit of body. It is now but rarely used. Ofl". The Gum-Resin. * Ann. de Cbim, Ixix. p. 90. 14 PINUS SYLVESTRIS. Scotch Fir.* Class MoNCECiA. — Order Monadelphia. Nat. Old. CoNiFERiE, Linn. Juss. Gen. Char. Male. 7^/ou;er« disposed in branches. Calyx a 4-leayed periauthum, caducous. Leaflets ohlong. CorollaO. Filaments numerous, united at their base. Anthers double, nearly round. Female. Flowers disposed in a globe, on the same plant. Calyx a common cone, nearly oval, unequal. Scales bifloral, oblong, wider at the apex, obtuse, gibbous, imbricated. Corolla 0. Germen small. Style awl-shaped. Stigma simple. Spec. Char. Leaves rigid, in pairs. Young Cones stalked, recurved. Anthers with a very small crest. The Pines are rather a numerous family of trees, though we believe their number and species have not yet been fully ascertained ; they are for the most part natives of cold and lofty regions, growing upon rocky mountains, and towering above them, as if to bid defiance to the stormy elements, and to shew by their perpetual verdure, that nature can overcome both soil and cHmate. The general appearance of these trees is striking and peculiar, and must be known to most of our readers, as one or more of the species is to be found in almost every shrubbery and plantation, gladdening the eye with their verdant hue, when almost every othfer tree has yielded to the desolating hand of winter. The Pinus Sylvestris, or Scotch fir, is the only native species of this family ; it is found growing on the stony mountains of Scotland, in Sweden, and in the North of Europe generally, and constituting, with the Pinus Abies, the staple commodity of export, and chief wealth of Norway, where Fig. a. A male catkin, b, A fen^ale catkin, c. The seed with its wing. ■ found u in the Abies, , where Vr.y, us SYLVES i KliSi; it abounds. It is found to thrive best in a cold climate, and oA arid, poor, sandy or stony soil, and hence it is very generally planted in this country on ground which would otherwise be barren and unproductive ; in black, boggy or chalky ground, or near stagnant waters it does not thrive; indeed a dry soil seems essential to the growth of these trees. With respect to climate, however, it is to be observed, that the summer of these northern regions, though short, is intensely hot, from the number of hours the sun is above the horizon when it has attained a few degrees of north declination ;* and we should be inclined to think that this great heat w as favourable to, if not absolutely neco«sary for, those peculiar secretions and exudations which distinguish the genus. This tree usually grows straight, tapering; and to a great height, and is well adapted for the masts of siiips;t the branches are numerous, divaricating, and, like the stem, covered with rough bark of a reddish brown colour: the leaves, which are persistent, stand in pairs, and are united at the base with the sheath ; they are two or three inches long, convex on one side, concave on the other; very narrow, linear, striated, somewhat pointed; of a deep green glaucous colour, and surround the ends of the smaller branches ; the flowers are male and female on the same tree ; the former stand in branches without any calyx, unless the loose scales at its base be considered as such, (it is so called by Linnaeus) ; there is no corolla ; the filaments are numerous, united at the base, forming an upright pillar, and furnished with erect anthers ; the female flower consists of a calyx or common cone, which is small, composed of scales with two flowers in each ; the cones are oblong, imbricated, permanent, inflexible ; there is no corolla ; the gerraens, two of which are seated at the base of each scale, corresponding to the flowers, are very small, producing each a tapering style, terminated by a simple stigma : there is no capsule, but the scales of the cone, which before impregnation stood open, close upon the seed or nut, which is sup- plied with a membranous wing; the flowers appear in May; the year after impregnation, the young fruit becomes lateral, stalked, and of a more oval figure ; .the second year it ripens into an ovate. * At Gottenburg, in Sweden, we have seen the mercury in the thermometer, in the mouth of July, higher than ever it was kuown to rise in the East or West Indies. — Ed, f The red Norway pine, as it is called, from the Pinus Abies we imagine, is con- sidered to make the best top -masts, from its great elasticity, bending, but very rai-ely breaking ; for the same reason it is well adapted for rafters for flooring. 16 PINUS SYLVESTRIS. pointed, hard, woody cone, the dry scales of which ultimately open to allow the dispersion of the winged seeds. This tree is said to live to the age of four or five hundred years : the wood, as is well known, is used for various purposes. Every part of the Pinus Sylvestris, as well as all the other species of pine, and particularly those which we shall have occasion to notice, abounds with a resinous juice, which, in the different species, possesses the same general qualities, but presenting some varieties, according to the nature of the species, which we shall notice under the proper head. The productions of the genus Pinus have been arranged into— 1st. Those which exude spontaneously, as the Thus of the London, or the Resina Alba of the Dublin Pharraacopceia, from the Pinus Sylvestris and Pinus Abies; 2d. Those procured by wounding the tree, as turpentine from almost all the species ; 3d. Those procured by decoction and distillation, as the Spiritus Terehinthince, and Resina Flava ; and 4th. Those which are pro- cured by the action of fire, as Pix Liquida, &c. Terebinthina Vulgaris, or Common Turpentine. Genu- ine turpentine, properly speaking, is the production of the Pistacia Terebinthus of Linnaeus, a native of the eastern parts of Europe, and belonging to the class Dioecia, order Pentandria ; but the term has been generalised, and applied to that peculiar liquid resin yielded by the genus Pinus, possessing the same general properties with the true Terebinthus, though modified by the particular species of tree from which it is obtained. This has given rise to the various appel- lations of Chian turpentine, Venice turpentine, common turpentine, &c. Common turpentine is obtained from the Pinus Sylvestris in the following manner series of wounds are made through the bark, into the wood, beginning at the bottom of the tree, and gradually ascending until a stripe of the bark about nine feet long is removed, which is generally effected in about four years ; the juice which flows from these wounds during summer is collected in a small cavity formed in the earth underneath the incisions ; from this it is occa- sionally removed into proper reservoirs for purification. The same operation is repeated from time to time on diff'erent sides of the tree, allowing the former wounds to close up ; a tree worked in this way will furnish turpentine for nearly a century; trees with the thickest bark, and those which are most exposed to the sun yield the greatest quantity. As the trees exude very little juice during cold weather, the incisions are only made between the months of May and September; in winter the old incisions become covered with a PINUS SYLVESTRIS. 17 soft resinous crust, called by the French harras, when impure and mixed with dust, sand, &c.; and gallipot when collected with more care ; this is scraped otF and is used in the making of flambeaux, but the greater part of it is purified and converted into yellow resin. All these different products pf the Pinus Sylvestris are purified by liquefaction and filtration; they consist almost entirely of essential - oil and resin, dilfering only in the proportions^ the turpentine con- taining the largest proportion of oil, and the gallipot of resin ; indeed the quantity of essential oil in the latter is so small that it is never subjected to distillation ; it is purified by melting it over a gentle fire and filtrating; in this form it is often sold for Burgundy pitch, as is likewise a simple mixture of gallipot and barras made without heat ; but the mass resulting from this combination soon becomes friable, and has neither the unctuosity, viscidity, tenacity, nor smell, which distinguish the real kind. If boiling water be added to the melted gallipot after it is strained, but while yet fluid, and the two agitated together, a yellow resin is obtained, which, fi-om still containing some essential oil, is preferred to the resin prepared by a similar process from the residuum after the distillation ©f turpentine. Sensible and Chemical Properties of Common Tur- ■"PENTINE AND THE Resins. The juice of pines in general has an austere, astringent, warm and pungent taste, great viscosity, is more or less fluid according to the species, with diff'erent degrees of. transparency, and is of a whitish or yellowish colour, with a pene- trating smell. It is entirely soluble in alcohol, combines with fixed oils, and imparts its flavour to water but is not soluble in it 3 by a moderate heat it is decomposed, yielding a highly penetrating essential oil, of which we shall hereafter speak, and leaving the liquor impregnated with an acid, the succinic ; a bitter resinous substance remaining behind. Turpentine therefore consists of an essential oil, resin^ and succinic acid, and the purest turpentine is that which yields the largest quantity of the first of these substances ; turpentine is exceedingly inflammable, burning with a large white flame and much smoke. Common turpentine is more coarse and dense than the other kinds, it is about the consistence of honey, and of a light brown or dirty yellow colour, its taste is very acrid, hot and natiseous. and smell more penetrating and disagreeable than the purer turpentines; for this reason the use of it is chiefly confined to • farriers for their plasters and ointments. It is likewise extensively used for the distillation of the essential oil. According to modern chemistry the resins stand in the same relation to the volatile oil*. VOL. II. ^ 18 PJNUS SYLVESTRIS. that wax does to the fixed oils ; wax being a fixed oil, and resin a volatile oil saturated with oxygen. Although the term liquid resirt has been applied to the fluid turpentine, it is more properly to be understood to mean the hard substance ; in which sense we now speak of if, observing by the way, that all terebinthinous exudations, wl^ether fluid or solid, may be considered as resins prior to the sepa- ration of the essential oil. When volatile oils are exposed for a sufiicient time to the action of the atmosphere they absorb oxygen, acquire consistency, and are converted into resins. These resins for the most part have a sub-acid taste, resembling that of the essential oils; they are devoid of smell, are non-conductors of electricity, specific gravity varying, but all of them heavier than water, in which fluid they are insoluble under any temperature ; ihey are soluble in alcohol, and some of them in the fixed oils ; they are also for the most part soluble in the volatile oils, and in many of the acids ; the sulphuric and nitric acids convert them into a kind of tannin. According to Mr. Hatchett they are readily dissolved by alkaline leys, and the solution has the properties of soap. When exposed to a gentle heat they soften, and finally melt, and if the heat be increased they take fire, burning with a strong yellow flame, and emitting a considerable volume of smoke. When volatile oil is exposed to the air it is converted, partly into a resin, and partly into an acid which crystallizes; this acid is geuer&Uy the camphoric or the benzoic, sometimes the succinic. Medical Properties and Uses of Common Turpentine. As the medical properties of the turpentines are all nearly similar,, differing only in degree, we shall notice this part of our subject when we come to treat of the purer kinds which are administered internally. Thus. In warm seasons or climates the Pinus Sylveslris yields a resinous juice, which exudes spontaneously, and to which the name of Thus, or common frankincense, was formerly given; but as this substance is more properly the produce of the Pinus Abies, we shall treat of it under that head. Resina Flava. Yellow Resin. Baked Turpentine^ We have already said that turpentine is composed of an essential oil, a resin, and a small quantity of succinic or other acid. The residuum of the process for obtaining the essential oil gets different names, according to the manner in which it is treated : if the distillation be performed without addition, and continued until the whole of the essential oil is driven oft^ there will appear some traces of empyreuma in the residuum, which then obtains the name of rosin^ PINUS SYLVESTRIS. 19 or colophony ; this latter was originally the name of a liquid resin brought from Colophon in Greece, and is mentioned by Galen and Dioscorides ;* this substance is familiar to all our readers as fiddler's rosin. If while the mass of turpentine used in the distillation be still fluid a quantity of water be added and thoroughly blended with the resin by agitation, the under part of the cake resembles colo- phony, the action of the fire having entirely expelled the water and volatile oil and rendered it slightly empyreumatic and transjiarent, while the upper part from retaining some water is opaque and yellow, this is called yellow resin. I'lie medical properties of these two substances are essentially the same, and their composition will be readily understood from what we have already said. Medical Properties and Uses. These resins are never used internally, but from their adhesive qualities they are an indispensable ingredient in the composition of many plasters, while the resin itself, as a calefacient, aids the effects of many of them. Colophony is likewise much used in the arts, entering in the com- position of several varnishes, being dissolved in alcohol, in which it is perfectly soluble. Resina Empyreumatica Pin I vel Pix Liquida. Tar is a well known substance in commerce ; it is obtained from the Pinus Sylvestris and all the other species which yield turpentine, by the following process. A conical hole is dug in the earth, com- municating at the bottom with a reservoir; billets of the wood are then placed, so as not only to fill the cavity, but to form a conical pile over it,f which is covered with turf, to prevent the flames from breaking out, by which the tar would be consumed. The pile being kindled at the top, the admission of air is so regulated, that it burns from above downwards, with a slow and smothered combustion. The wood itself is reduced to charcoal, and the smoke and vapours formed are obliged to descend into the excavation in the ground. * It also entered into the composition of the discutieht plaster of Celsus, and is reeominended by Scribonias as a purgative. t We are informed by Theophrastus (lib. ix, cap. 3) who gives a circumstantial account of the manner practised by the Greeks for obtaining tar, (ntrra, Tlia-a-a vy^itt^ Kiwvof.) that these piles were sometimes one hundred and eighty cubits in circuiU'^ ference, and from sixty to one hundred in height. so PINUS SYLVESTRIS. where they are condensed, and pass along with the matter liqaefied into the receiver: this is the tar of commerce, the greater part of which we import from the Baltic. Sensible and Chemical Properties of Tar. Tar differs from the native resinous juice of the tree, in containing the saline and mucilaginous parts as well as the extractive and the oily, and in having acquired an empyreumatic quality from the action of fire ; it may therefore be considered a mixture of resin, eujpyreumatic oil, charcoal, and acetous acid. This acid is not only soluble in water, but also renders the empyreumatic oil mor^ soluble. Tar has a hot, pungent, disagreeable taste, and a penetrating, overpowering smell, particularly when heated ; its consistence depends a good deal upon the temperature of the weather: in an ordinary temperature it is somewhat thicker than common turpentine, but becomes much more fluid under a hot sun ; its colonr in a mass is of a dark brown, ap- proaching to black, but when spread thin upon any surface it is of a reddish brown, with something of a shining golden hue; by exposure to the air, and as it dries upon the surface, it becomes nearly black, but not permanently so, recovering its bright hue if sufficiently heated to drop off; it is adhesive and clammy to the touch, and very inflammable. Medical Properties and Uses. Tar was at one time so much in vogue, that Bishop Berkeley thought it worthy of a treatise, in which he extolled and recommended the use of tar watfr; and by many of the physicians of his time extraordinary virtues were ascribed to it. According to Dr. Cullen, it strengthens the tone of the stomach, f?xcites appetite, promotes digestion, and relieves dyspeptic symptoms. At the present day it is but little used, not perhaps from being altogether devoid of the qualities M'hich have been ascribed to it, but because there are other less nauseous reme- dies which can be resorted to. Dr. Crichton and Mr. Ward, of Maidenhead, have recommended tar vapour in phthisis pulmonalis, and asthma; and we have ourselves seen two or three instances of consumptive patients being much benefited by remaining a few hours daily in a plantation of pines while the sun was shining, and when the surrounding air must have been in some degree impregnated with the vapours of the exuding resins ; how far regular exercise, pure air, and the imagination may have tended to produce the effect we shall not pretend to decide. Tar water has also been considered as a heating diuretic and sudorific, and has been sometimes recom- mended in diseases of the urinary organs. As an external applica- tion tar has been much used in the cure of tinea capitis, and other PINUS SYLVESTRIS. 21 cutaneous diseases of man and animals, and we believe with good success.* Off. Pp. Aqua Picis Liquidae, D. Unguentum Picis Liquidae, L. D. E. Pix. Common pitch, Botr/cug of the Greeks, though not officinal, requires to be noticed here. If the boiling of tar be continued for a sufficient length of time, it is deprived of its volatile ingredients, and converted into pitch ; but the most general and economical way of obtaining it, is by boiling together the necessary proportions of tar and coarse hard resin ; by varying these proportions you may obtain the pitch in any degree of hardness and dryness you require. Pitch is much less pungent and less bitter than common tar ; it is more adhesive, but has not the same overpowering and disagreeable smell. It is sometimes used as an ingredient in plasters, and may be considered a digestive. ExTRACTUM Pint. Extract of pine, or essence of spruce is another well known produce of the Pinus Sylvestris : it is prepared by decoction from the twigs. This essence fermented with molasses and water forms the wholesome beverage known by the name of spruce beer. Besides these resinous products, necessity has discovered that the bark of this tree may be- made subservient to the nourishment of man. Linn^us informs that the Laplanders make a kind of bread from the inner bark, or alburnum : for this purpose the tallest trees are selected, and the external bark, which is dry and scaly, being carefully removed, the inner white and succulent matter is collected and dried. When required for use, it is slowly baked on the fire, by which means it is rendered hard and porous ; it is then pounded into flour, kneaded with water, and made into cakes which are baked. This bread is eaten by the Laplanders during a great part of the year. * The most general use to which tar is applied, is in the manufacture of ropes, and for other purposes connected with the equipment of shipping. PINUS LARIX. White Larch Tree* For JJlass, Order, Gen. Char. Sec. see PiNus Sylvestris. Spec. Char. Leaves tufted, deciduous. Cones ovate, ob- long; the margins of their scales reflexed, jagged. Scales of the Female catkin fiddle-shaped, prominent in the full- grown cone. The long, slender, pendent branches, and the whitish bark readily distinguish the larch from the preceding species of pine. It is a native of the higher regions of Italy, Switzerland and Germany, and has also been found in Siberia. It has been cultivated in England since the year 1629, and is now extensively planted in Scotland ; as an ornamental tree it is likewise to be found in most shrubberies throughout Europe. The larch, like most of the pine tribe, is of quick growth, and rises to the height <,f fifty or sixty feet; the branches are wide-spreading, and drooping at their extremities, being too slender to support the weight of their leaves ; the leaves are deciduous, slender, soft, of a bright green colour, and placed in tufts or bundles ; the male and female flowers are placed separately on the same branch ; the cones are small, erect, ovate, about an inch long, of a reddish brown colour when ripe, and covered with obtuse scales, from which the bracteal leaves appear. The Terebinthina Veueta (or more properly Larigna, as we are supplied with it, not from the Venetian States, but from New Eng- landf) issues spontaneously through the bark of this tree; but is more commonly obtained by wounding the bark at the distance of about two feet from the ground, and inserting into the wound a small canula, through which the turpentine flows into proper vessels placed for its reception. * Fig. b. represents the cone or strobile when ripe. a. and c. Scales of a female catkin. + It is not certain that the New England turpentine is the produce of the Pinus Larix J the genuine liquid resin of this tree is best obtained from France and Germany. '■ for cephalea and volvulus, and as an external application in phrenitis and tetanus ; it was likewise one of the reme- dies resorted to by the Egyptians, as we learn from Prosper Alpinus. In the present day turpentines are but rarely administered internally, as the essential oil is justly preferred to the crude substance. Taken internally they are active stimulants, open the bowels, and increase the secretion of urine, to which they give a violet smell ; they are very quickly taken up by the absorbents, and au external application produces the same effects on the urine as if the substance had been 24 PIMUS LARIX. taken internally ; indeed, it may be observed, that turpentine has more tendency to act on the urhiary organs than any other niedicine with which we are acquainted. In gleets and fluor albus turpentine has been much prescribed, and with good success. We are told by CuUen that a terebinthinous enema is the most certain laxative in colic ; when carried into the blood-vessels, turpentine stimulates the whole system, and hence its use in rheumatism and paralysis. The usual dose of turpentine is iVoni a scruple to half a drachm ; it is generally given in the form of a linctus, made with twice its weight of honey ; it may also be given in a liquid form, by triturating it with mucilage or yolk of egg, and then adding the necessary quantity of water; half an ounce triturated with yolk of egg, may be •given in an enema. In all cases however accompanied by inflammation, tur- pentine ought to be abstained from. Venice turpentine is very gene- rally substituted in medicine for the Chian ; the former is thought to be more powerfully diuretic and detergent ; the latter more corro- borant. Riverius considers it safer than most other irritating diuretics, and according to Cullen, its efi'ects in obstinate constipation of the - bowels, when administered in an enema, are more certain and dura- ble than those of saline purgatives. Another produce of the Pinus Larix which requires to be noticed is a glutinous sweet substance, to which the name of Manna Larigna, manna of the larch, or Brianfon manna,* has been given, and to which we have already alluded when treating of the Fraxinus Ornus. This substance exudes spontaneously from the tree, about the months of June and July, and appears in the form of small white drops upon the branches ; these branches are lopped off early in the morning, as the sun would otherwise dissipate the manna, which is afterwards collected from them at leisure ; it is locally administered as a laxative, but does not seem to possess much activity ; besides the saccharine matter it contains turpentine. The Gummi Orenburgense of the Russians, is another remarkable product of the Pinus Larix. This gum has much resemblance to gum arable, and in Russia is frequently substituted for it; it is entirely soluble in water, is very glutinous, and of a reddish cobur. It is chiefly obtained in the Ural Larch forests ; and according to Professor Pallas it exudes from the medullary part of the trees, during their combustion. It is used by the Cossacks as an article of food, and is also considered by them as an antiscorbutic. * So called from being chieflj collected the peasauta in the neighbourhood of Bi'iaD^ou. PINUS BALSAMEA. Balm of Gilead Fk*. For Class, Order, Gen. Char. &,c. see PiNUS SyLVESTRIS. Spec. Char. Leaves solitary, flat, imperfectly 2-ranked. Cones cylindrical, erect, with short-pointed scales. Crest of the Anthers pointless. This tree is a native of the colder climates of North America, particularly Canada, Nova Scotia, and New England ; like the other species of fir, it delights in high, cold, dry situations, and though it has long been cultivated in England, either the climate or soil is not congenial to it, for it does not appear to thrive, and seldom survives many years. The Pinus Balsamea is an elegant tree; it seldom exceeds the height of forty feet ; the trunk is straight, from twelve to fifteen inches in diameter, covered with a smooth whitish grey bark ; the leaves are placed in double rows, are short, hnear, but broader for their length than either the Pinus Larix or Sylvestris, and less pointed ; of a bright green colour on the upper surface, and marked with glaucous lines underneath ; the male catkins are ovate ; the crest of anthers kidney-shaped, pointless, or furnished with short spines ; the female C9,tkius are furnished with numerous ovate, notched bracteas ; the cones stand erect on the branches, and when ripe (which is in October) are of a beautiful deep glossy purple colour, and exude a great quantity of transparent resin. Canada Balsam, as it is improperly called, is the produce of this tree : as we have already said it is the purest kind of turpentine, but the term balsam is now confined to those resinous substances which contain benzoic acid. Properties and Uses. The Canadian turpentine yielded by this tree, is considered the best, and next to it the Chian ; both these species are more transparent, and have a more agreeable flavour than the other kinds. Canada turpentine is a transparent * Fig, a. represents a ripe cone. b. Scales of a female catkin, 1 its braoteolas. c, A seed- d. The anthers. VOL II. E ^ 26 PINUS ABIES. whitish liquid resin ; it has a strong pungent taste and a fragrarie odour, very much resembling the bahn of Gilead,* with which it appears to agree in many of its qualities, and for which it is often substituted by dealers. As a medicine it has not beeii much used in England ; it is the opinion however of some practitioners who have tried it, that it possesses nearly all the virtues of the Bal- samum Copaibae, and might be substituted for it ; if this be true it would be an advantageous substitution, as the latter balsam is much more expensive. PINUS ABIES. Norway Spruce Fir.'^ For Class, Order, Gen. Char. &c. see PiNUS Sylvestris. Spec, Char. Leaves solitary, quadrangular. Cones cylin- drical ; their scales rhomboid, flattened, waved and notched. This beautiful and valuable species of pine is not only one of the loftiest of the genus, but one of the loftiest of European trees; frequently attaining the height of one hundred and fifty feet, growing in a pyramidal form, its lower branches widely extending; the trunk is straight, from three to tive feet in diameter, and covered with a reddish scaly bark ; the leaves, which are thickly placed upon the branches, are slightly imbricated, about an inch long, linear, blunfish, often curved, of a dusky green colour, and shining on the upper surface ; the male catkins are ovate, purplish, and placed in the axle of the leaves ; the female catkins are mostly terminal, of a rich crimson colour; are sessile, oblong, and stand erect; the strobiles or cones are terminal, and always pendent, nearly cylin- drical, of a greenish colour before they are ripe, but changing to purple as they ripen; the scales (which are placed in spinal rows) are rigid, rhomboid, waved at the edges, and terminate in a notched point. * Genuine balm of Gilead is produced by the Amyris Gileadensis. + Fijf. a. represents Ihe anthers, b. Scale of a female catkin, c, A seed. PINUS ABIES. 27 It is a native of the mountainous regions of the north of Europe, Asia, and probably America ; in Norway it abounds, and vast quan- tities of the timber are exported to this and other more southern states, for the purposes of building and the masting of ships, for both of which it is preferred to all other of the pine tribe : good timber of this species is also grown in England and Scotland, and is found to be very strong, elastic, and durable. Thus. Resina Alba, Common frankincense, or thewhite resin of the Dublin College, is a resinous juice which exudes spontaneously in warm weather from the pores of this tree, and concretes into distinct drops or tears by exposure to the air. It is a solid brittle resin, and comes to us in tears or masses of a brownish or yellowish colour on the outside, internally whitish, or variegated with whitish specks; taste somewhat acrid and bitter, but not disagreeable ; it possesses but little smell. Medical Properties and Uses. Common frankincense seems to possess the same properties with many of the other resins, and is consequently an ingredient in some plasters, which are now however but seldom resorted to. Fix Burgundica. Burgundy pitch is ascribed by Tingry to the Pinus Picea, but it is more generally referred to the present species. It is a resinous juice, less fluid, and less transparent than the proper turpentines, and soon concretes into a close soft sub- stance by exposure to the air. Like other terebinthinous exudations, it is only to be obtained in the summer months ; for this purpose incisions are made in the bark of the tree, without wounding the wood ; the juice then exudes from between the bark and the wood, and remains attached to the wound in large tears. This substance is collected from time to time as it accumulates, and is purified by melting it in boilers with a sufficient quantity of water, and straining the fluid through cloths, subjected if necessary to the action of a press, into the casks in which it is to remain for exportation. Burgundy pitch is likewise artificially made by melting together the fluid turpentine and some of the solid resins, and bringing the compound to a proper consistence. The Burgundy pitch of com- merce is mostly brought to us from Saxony. Medical Properties and Uses. Burgundy pitch as an ex- ternal application is considered rubefacient and stimulant ; hence it is sometimes ordered where it is proper to induce local inflamma- tion. It is also officinally employed in the composition of some plasters. 28 PINUS PICEA. Silver Fir.* For Class, Order, Gen. Char. &c. See PiNus Sylvestris. Spec. Char. Leaves solitary, emarginate and pectinate. Scales very obtuse and closely pressed together. This tree seldom grows to the height of the Pinus Sylvestris, its bark is close, and that of the branches is of a silvery hue ; the leaves are solitary, short, rigid, and on the under side marked with two longitudinal whitish lines ; on the upper branches they are obtusely pointed, and grow so close as almost to cover the bark ; on the lower branches they are emarginated, and stand in a pinnated manner ; the cones are upright, large, and furnished with scales, which when young have a membranous appendage rising from the upper margin, but when fully formed the scales are very obtuse, and closely embrace each other. The silver fir is a native of Switzerland and Germany, and according to the Hortus Kewensis was first cultivated in the Clielsea Garden in 1739 ; but as thirty-six fine trees of this species are mentioned by Plot and Ray as growing near Newport in Shropshire, it must have been cultivated in the country at a much earlier period. There appears to be considerable difference of opinion respecting the particular species of turpentine yielded by this tree. Lewis and several other writers on the Materia Medica refer the common turpentine to the fin us Sylvestris, and the Terebinthina Argentora- tensis, or Strasburgh turpentine to the silver fir tree; while Murray, who follows Du Hamel and Haller, ascribes the Terebinthina Vulgaris to the tree here figured. Certain it is, that this tree pours out the turpentine so freely that it is seldom necessary to make incisions ; and it is by no means improbable that the diff'erence between what is called the common and the Strasburgh kinds may depend upon being the product obtained either by spontaneous exudation, or by Fig. a. represents the scale of a young cone. PINUS PICEA. 29 wounding the tree, and that the Pinus Picea may thus yield eitheV one or the other. At all events it is a matter of very little impor- tance, as far as medical science is concerned, to what particulai- species of pine we are indebted .for any of the turpentines. Strasburgh turpentine is purer and less nauseous than the common turpentine, and is considered more corroborant than the Venice ; in every other respect it differs but little from the Venice or Chian kinds. Essential Oil of Turpentine. We have already inci- dentally spoken of this valuable remedy, and we shall now com- municate such further particulars as have come under our own per- sonal observation, or within the scope of our reading. This essential oil is obtained by the common process of distillation : to five pounds of common turpentine four pints of water are added, and the mix- ture is distilled in a copper alembic. A rectified oil of turpentine is likewise obtained by distilling one pound of the essential oil with four pints of water ; but the oil is said not to have its specific gravity, smell, taste or medical qualities much improved by this process ; which is also both tedious and dangerous, from the very great inflammability of the vapour which is apt to escape if the lutings are not of the very best description. Chemical and Sensible Properties. Essential oil of turpentine is a transparent, limpid, volatile fluid ; it is lighter than water; has a hot pungent taste, and a penetrating smell ; it is highly inflammable, and possesses all the other properties of essential oils ; it is very ditficult of solution in alcohol, although turpentine itself is easily dissolved in it. Medical Properties and Uses. The spirit, or essential oil of turpentine has been long in use in these countries as a remedy, though it is only within the last few years that its Virtues have particularly engaged the attention of the faculty, and we by no means think that they are yet properly understood or sufliciently estimated. It is however a growing favourite, and we fexpect to find it ere long, hold a high place in the catalogue of medicines. Pitcairn, Cheyne, Home and Culien have recommended its use in chronic rheumatism, and from its action being particularly directed to the urinary organs it has long been prescribed for gleet. But we are indebted to Dr. Copland for bringing this valuable Substance into more general notice. This gentleman not only pre- scribed it for the cure of sciatica and lumbago, but also, with tlie best success, in chronic dysentery and diarrhoea, passive haemor- rhages, and hceraorrhoids ; likewise for epilepsy, tetanus, and several so PINOS PICEA. other spasmodic diseases. But it is in arresting the progress of puerperal fever that this medicin^ has proved truly valuable. We believe Dr. Brennan of Dublin was the first practitioner who employed it in this disease, and much about the same time it was resorted to by Dr. Copland, who had the superintendance of the Queen's Lying-in Hospital : the former gentleman likewise extended its use to other cases of fever, and we believe frequently with the most decided suc- cess. A case recently came under our own observation which de- serves to be recorded. A gentleman was attacked over night with all the worst symptoms of a malignant typhus fever, which was epidemic at the time ; his house-keeper procured for him half an ounce of the spirits of turpentine, which she persuaded him to take, drinking copiously of barley water after the dose ; it produced plen- tiful evacuations both by stool and urine, and before morning all the feverish symptoms had left him ; but inflammation of the bladder and urethra was the consequence of the dose he had taken, and for several days he passed bloody urine, and was considered in a very dangerous way. It appears to us that the oil of turpentine should be given either in small, or in large doses ; for the former, from 3ss to si, and for the latter, from gi to 3ii ; the medium dose is likely to be attended with the danger we have spoken of. Dr. Murray says that by giving it in large quantities it operates on the bowels as a cathartic, by which its absorption and action on the. urinary organs are obviated, and the danger of stranguary avoided ; we think there- fore that whenever recourse is had to it in cases of fever, it should be given in large doses : from one to two ounces has been the usual dose in cases of puerperal fever, and it has also been given in this quantity in cases of chronic rheumatism ; in the smaller doses it acts chiefly as a diuretic. Dr. Fenwick has recommended this pre- paration of turpentine as a powerful anthelmintic in cases of taenia ; * by giving it in large doses, and repeating it if necessary, purging is produced, and the worm is expelled lifeless : it has also been resorted to for the expulsion of other species of worms, and frequently with success. In obstinate constipation of the bowels, in apoplexy, and in acute hydrocephalus of infants, we have seen decided advantage from the use of a turpentine enema ; about half an ounce of the essential oil being added to the common cathartic enema. On the whole, as an internal remedy, we are glad to see practitioners incline to give this peculiar substance a fair trial, and we would strongly See Medico-Chirargical Transactions, toI, ii. PINUS PICEA. 31 recooiniend it to their notice in all cases of fever. Externally applied, oil of turpentine acts as a rubefacient ; applied to the skin of many animals, it produces blisters, and occasions them much pain. As a remedy for extensive burns and scalds it is now generally resorted to, having been first recommended by Dr. Kentish of Newcastle. Dr. Kentish directs the injured part to be first bathed with oil of turpen- tine, alcohol, or tincture of camphor, heated by standing in boiling water ; he then covers it with rags dipped in a liniment composed of oil of turpentine and yellow resin melted together ; these are to be renewed once a day, taking care to remove only one piece of cloth at a time, that the injured surface may be exposed to the air as little as possible ; at the second dressing the parts are directed to be washed with spirits of wine. As the inflamrbation subsides, less stimulating applications are to be used, as proof spirit, or tinc- ture of opium ; and when the secretion of pus commences, the parts are to be covered with powdered chalk, or the ceratum plumbi ace- tatis, or ceratum lapidis calaminaris. During the progress of the cure, and after the inflammatory action has subsided, aether, alcohol, and other stimulants are to be given in conjunction with opium. By this mode of treatment. Dr. Kentish has cured some very extensive burns, and we can bear full testimony to the efficacy of the practice. In slight burns the immediate application of the liniment described above will generally be found sufficient to effect a cure. Oil of torpentine is also extensively used in the arts, as in the making of varnishes, by painters in oil, &c. ANTHEMIS PYRETHRUM. Spanish Chamomile, or Pellitory of Spain.* Class Syngenesia. — Order Polygamia Superflua. Nat. Ord. COMFOSITM DlSCOtDE^, Linn. CoRYMBIFERiE, Jm**. Gen. Char. Receptacle chaffy. tSeec? Down none» or a mem- branaceous margin. Calyx hemispherical, nearly equal. Florets of the ray more than five. Spec. Char. Stems simple, 1-flowered, decumbent. Leaves bipinnated, segments linear, pointed. This species of Anthemis is a perennial plant, flowering in June and July; it is a native of the Levant, the South of Europe, Syria, Barbary, and Arabia. It was first cultivated in England about the year 1570, by Lobel,t and now adorns many of our botanic gardens ; but it docs not ripen its seeds here, unless the season proves very hot and dry .J The root is long, (from twelve to eighteen inches) tapering, exter- nally of a pale whitish brown, and sends off many small fibres j from the root rises several stems to the height of about ten or twelve inches, (each bearing one flower,) round, simple and trailing ; the leaves are doubly pinnated, the segments of which are linear, narrow, iSnd of a pale green colour ; the flowers are large, the florets of the disc yellow, those of the radius white on the upper side, and purple on the under side ; the diflferent florets resemble those of the Anthe- mis Nobilis, which has been already described. Sensible and Chemical Properties. The dried roots of Pyrethrum have little or no smell, but a very hot pungent taste when chewed, excite a glowing heat in the mouth, and a copious dis- charge of saliva. In their recent state it is said they act like the bark of Mezereon, and excite inflapimation if apphed to the skin.§ This * Fig. a. a floret of the radius, b. A floret of the disc. c. The stamens. J. The style. + Hortas Kewefisis. % Miller's Dictionary. $ Bergius. ANTflEMIS PYRETHRUM. 33 acrid quality appears to reside in a fixed oil or resin, soluble in alcohol. According to M. Gautier, the oil is deposited in vesicles in the bark, is solid, of a reddish colour, and strong odour.* The watery infusion is yellowish, red, and clear; its taste is weak, scarcely acrid. With sulphate of iron it becomes opaline, and a precipitate falls. f Both the alcoholic and ethereal tinctures are acrid, hot and pungent. The dried root breaks " with a short resinous fracture, the transverse section presenting a thick brown bark, studded with black shining points, and a pale yellow, radiated inside." Medical Properties and Uses. From the aromatic and stimulating qualities of Pyrethrum, there can be no doubt but that it might be found an efficacious remedy, and equally fitted for an internal medicine, as many others of this class now constantly pre- scribed.! Its use however has long been confined to that of a masti- catory, to stimulate the salivary glands, and excite an increased flow of saliva ; by which inflammatory affections of the neighbouring parts are often relieved, § as in tooth-ache, and rheumatic aflections of the face ; it is also recommended in lethargic complaints and paralysis of the tongue, chronic ophthalmia, head-ache, and apo- plexy. As a topical application, a decoction, prepared by boiling half an ounce of the root in one pint of water until the liquor is reduced one half, forms an useful remedy in relaxations of the uvula. We are told by Celsus, that Pyrethrum was employed as a resolvent, and that it formed one of the ingredients contained in the famous cataplasm made use of for maturing pus. || Ofi". The Root. * Vide Ann. de Chim. et Phys. vol. viii. p. 101 . 1" Gray's Elements. t By the Persians and MoguU it is considered discutlent and attenaant ; and the Vytians prescribe an infasion of it with other drugs as a cordial and stimulant, in lethargic cases, palsy, and typhus fever. — Ainslie'a Materia Indica, vol. i. p. 300, 301. § Its use in this way is mentioned by Serenns Lamonicas. " Purgatur cerebrum mansa radice pyrethri." II Vide Celsus, lib. v. cap, itvii. VOL. II. F 34 LAURUS CINNAMOMUM, The Cinnamon Tree* Class Enneandria. — Order Monogynia. Nat. Ord. Olerace^, Linn. Lauri, Juss. Gen. Char. Calyx none. Corolla calycine, six-parted. Nectary of three two-bristled glands, surrounding the , germen. Filaments interior, glanduliferous. Drupe ooe- seeded. Spec. Char. Leaves three-nerved, ovate, oblong, the nerves vanishing towards the point. Of the X,aurel tribe no less than five are found in the Materia Medica of our Colleges, and almost all of them differing materially in their medical properties. The cinnamon laurel, which we are about to notice, is a native of the Island of Ceylon, where it is found in great abundance, particularly near Columbo. It also grows plen- tifully in Malabar, Cochin China, Sumatra, and the eastern islands in the Indian Ocean. Cinnamon, K/vva/xw/xov of Dioscorides, is called by the Malays Kayu-manis, or as it is sometimes pronounced Kaina-manis ; and this Mr. Marshal supposes to have been the ori- gin of the Greek name ; which however Scagliger, and we think with more probability, derives from the Hebrew word Kinamon. Before the fifteenth century, all the cinnamon used in Europe was imported by the Arabs, and passed through the hands of the Vene- tians, who at that time engrossed all the commerce of the East : but after the discovery of the passage round the Cape of Good Hope by the Portuguese, this latter nation became the sole importers, and so continued until 1645,- when many of their Indian factories were seized by the Dutch, who now divided the trade with them. This jealous people exerted their usual vigilance to prevent the introduc- * Fig. a. the fruit. which ve been , and w ;-^urope was Uu;iut. of the Ver c«' f -^ East : i id Hope by Dutub, who ; e trjade with ttiem. Tfeis fled theii; m.u.l; >ig,4..j.itce tt» pyeve«t t- - LAURUS CINNAMOMUM. 35 tion of the cinnamon tree into the colonies of other European powers ; but their endeavours were frustrated, for long before the cession of the Island of Ceylon to the British (at the peace of Amiens), it was cultivated in the Isles of France and Bourbon, m several parts of India, Jamaica, and some other of the West India Islands. It was first cultivated in this country by Mr. Miller, in 1768 ; and a plant of it has regularly flowered and ripened its seed in the hot-house of the Bishop of Winchester at Farnham, for several years past. The soil in which it thrives best is nearly pure quartz sand ; in the cinnamon garden near Colombo, Dr. J. Davy found the soil to consist of 98.5 of silicious sand, and only 1»0 of vegetable matter in 100 parts. In its wild state the cinnamon tree grows to the height of from twenty to thirty feet, and is about three feet in circumference ; but when cultivated is not suffered to attain so large a size : it sends off numerous branches, which are covered with smooth bark, of a brownish ash colour ; the leaves are from three to five or six inches long, of an oblong form, entire, pointed at both ends, trinerved, of a bright green, and stand in opposite pairs, on short channelled foot- stalks ; the flowers (which appear in January) are produced from the younger branches, in axillary and terminal panicles ; the petals are six, oval, pointed, concave, spreading, and of a greenish white or yellow colour ; the filaments are nine, shorter than the corolla, flat tish, erect, and stand in ternaries; the three innermost are gland uliferous, having two small glands placed at the base of each ; the anthers are double, and unite over the top of the filament; the germen is oblong, supporting a simple style the length of the filaments, crowned with a depressed and triangular stigma; the fruit is a pulpy pericarpium, containing an oblong nut, Resembling a small acorn, of a deep blue colour, with a terebinthine odour, and a taste somewhat like that of the juniper berry. M. Falck, the Dutch governor of Ceylon, who was a native of the island, was the first who devoted any particular attention to its culti- vation ; his plans were followed up by our government, and consi- derable tracts of many miles are at present occupied by it, and are under the constant superintendence of the Chalias, or Mahabadda Singhalese, and an English civilian is placed at the head of the department. There are several varieties of the cinnamon tree known af Ceylon : the finest and most valued is found in the government gardens, and is from four to ten feet in height.* The trees that grow * Seba enumerates ten varieties ; but the four following only are said to be barked— }. Honey, sharp, sweet, or royal cinnamon j 2. Snake cinnamon; 3. Camphorated 86 LAURUS CINNAMOMUM. ill the valleys, in a white, sandy soil, are fit to be barked when four oi- five years old, but those in a wet soil, or in shady places, require to be seven of eight years of age ; the bark is good for nothing if the tree be more than eighteen years old. The barking commences early in May, and continues until late in October. Branches of three years old are selected and lopped off with a pruning knife or bill-hook ; the outer bark or coating is then scraped off with a knife of a pecu- liar form, concave on one side, and curved on the other: with the point of this knife the bark is ripped up longwise, and the curved side is then employed in gradually loosening it from the branch till it can be taken off entire ; in this state it appears in the form of tubes, open at one end. The bark is now tied up in bundles, and allowed to remain for twenty-four hours, by which a fermentation is produced, that facilitates the separation of any remaining cuticle, which, with the green pulpy matter under it, is carefully scraped off; the smaller pieces are then put within the larger, and by being dried in the sun they contract, until they attain the form in which they are seen in the European market.* The cinnamon thus prepared, is lodged in the government stores, where it undergoes a careful exami- nation, and is sorted according to its quahty. It is brought to Europe in bundles of about 80lbs. weight, which are packed as closely as possible in the hold of the vessel, and all the interstices filled up with black pepper, to preserve it from injury.f The quantity of cinnamon annually sold at the East India Company's sales, ave- rages 318,258lbs. at an average of six shillings per lb. ; but a good deal of an inferior quality is imported by private merchants from China and other places.J cinnamon, so called from its having the odoar of camphor, and the root yielding this substance by distillation ; and 4. Bitter astringent cinnamon, which has smaller leaves jhan the former varieties. * Native officers are appointed to superintend these operations, and who are answer- able for the quantity barked. + The bags in which it is enclosed are made of cloth of the cocoa-nut bark, t Cinnamon is cultivated at Quang-sy, in China, and of a very line quality in the central mountains of Cochin China. It has lately been found to arrive at tolerable perfectioa in sheltered situations in Lower India..— Ainslie' s Materia Indica, vol, i. p. 73. We are told by De Comyn, in his " State of the Phillippine Islands," that the cinnamon plant is found in its native state in the interior of Peru. From the above accounts, it would appear that the Laarus Cinnamomnm is not confined to Asia, but that it is also a native of the new world. LAURUS CINNAMOMUM. 37 The oil of cinnamon is prepared in the Island of Ceylon by mace- rating the bark for two days in sea water, then distilling with a slow fire, and separating the oil from the water with which it comes over. Eighty pounds of cinnamon yield about five ounces of a heavy oil, and two ounces of an oil swimming on distilled water ; on an average eleven pounds of cinnamon yield one ounce of oil.* In Ceylon the coarse unsaleable cinnamon is used for the distillation of the oil. Cinnamon oil is seldom to be met with pure, being generally adulterated with some expressed oil or alcohol. Sensible Qualities, &c. Cinnamon has a pleasant fragrant odour, and a peculiar sweet pungent taste. When good, it is somewhat pliable, thin, of a light yellowish-brown colour, and breaks ia splinters. The inferior sorts, or what are called Chinese cinnamon, are much thicker, of a darker colour, less sweet, and more hot and pungent. These qualities depend entirely upon the essential oil, which, when pure, is of a pale gold colour, heavier than water, perfectly soluble in alcohol, extremely hot and pungent,f with the taste and odour of the bark. This oil, when kept for many years, deposits a few crystals of a resinous nature. The aromatic qualities of cinnamoa are extracted by water in infusion, but more powerfully by it in distillation, and in both ways also by proof spirit. Medical Profekties ajno Usks. Cinnamon is a very use- ful and elegant aromatic and astringent. It is also cordial and tonic, and more grateful both to the palate and stomach than many other substances of this class ; hence it proves of much service in several kinds of alvine fluxes, immoderate discharges from the uterus, in languid and weakened state of the intestines, dyspepsia, and nervous debility. The essential oil is one of the most imme- diate cordials and restoratives in languor, singultus, cramp of the stomach, flatulent colic, and debility. Cinnamon is given in substance (when powdered) in doses of from ten to twenty or thirty grains ; and the oil, in doses of a drop or two, with a little sugar, mucilage, &c. ♦ Neumann obtained only two scrnples and a half of oil from one ponnd of the bark. Vide Chemistry, vol. ii. p. 188. + The pure oil is so extremely pungent, that on being applied to the skin it prodnces an eschar. VOL II. G 38 ROSA CENTIFOLIA. Off. The Bark and Essential Oil. OfF. Pp. Aq. Cinnamomi, L. E."D. Pulvis Cinnamomi, Comp. L. E. D. Spiritus Cinnamomi, L. E. D. Tinct. Cinnamomi, L. E. D. Cinnamomi Comp. L. E. ROSA CENTIFOLIA. Hundred-leaved Rose. Class IcosA^DRiA.-^Order Polygynia. Nat.Ord. Senticos^, Linn. Rosacete, Juss. Gen» Char. Petals 5. Calyx pitcher-shaped, five-cleft, fleshy, contracted at the neck. Seeds numerous, hispid, affixed to the inner side of the calyx. Spec. Char. Germs ovate. Peduncles hispid. Stem his- pid and prickly. Petioles unarmed. The native country of the rose is now unknown, although it is probable that the different species of it are indigenous to all the countries of the north of Europe, and to the northern parts of Asia and Africa. Its beauty and fragrance have long rendered it a favourite ornament of the gardens of these countries.* This spe- cies of rose rises to the height of from three to six feet; the stem is beset with numerous short spines ; the leaves are pinnated, consist- ing of two or three pair of pinnae with a terminal one ; the leaflets are oval, broad, smooth, of a deep green colour on the upper sur- face, hairy on the under, serrated and closely attached (on very short petioles) to the common footstalk, which is rough, but without spines ; the flowers are large, and supported on peduncles beset * The Rosa Centifolia waa cultivated bj Gerarde in 1596. ROSA CENTIPOLIA. 39 with short bristly hairs ; the petals are numerous,* and of a beau- tiful red colour, which varies in depth from a pale to a deep blush ; the filaments are numerous, slender, short, inserted into the calyx, and furnished with triangular anthers ; the germens are numerous, supporting short, villous styles, terminated with obtuse stigmata. Botanists enumerate a number of different species of the rose, and their varieties, depending upon culture or other circumstances, are almost endless ; so much so as often to render it difficult to ascertain to what species a particular rose belongs. We have reason to think that the Rosa Damascena is often confounded with the Rosa Centifolia, and with that species which Miller calls the Provence rose, but which latter we are incUned to think is only a variety of the Damascena. Again, it does not appear to us that botanists are agreed as to which is the Rosa Damascena, or which the Centifolia, some giving the latter term to the pale, and some to the red rose. The Rosa Damascena was considered by Linnaeus as a variety only of the Rosa Centifolia ; but Wildenow and others have arranged it as a distinct species. We apply the term Rosa Centifolia to the pale poly-petalous rose. The term Centifolia has been given to this rose from the supposed number of its petals; but it is to be understood as conveying rather the idea of multitude than of that precise num- ber. Indeed we think, as a specific name, this term is misapplied, if LinuEBus be correct in making one of the generic characters of this shrub to be quinque-petalous ; in fact, the rose (this species in par- ticular) only comes under our observation in its state of luxurious efflorescence, when by a forced culture a number, or perhaps the entire, of the stamina are converted into petals. When the whole of the stamina become petals the flower ceases to produce seed, from the want of the germinating principle, as happens with other double flowers. But this luxuriance is much more frequently observed in the Provence, or cabbage rose, as it is termed from the fulness of its flowers, than in any other species or variety. The petals of all the varieties of poly-petalous roses possess a very fragrant odour, and it is presumed are indiscriminately used in the distillation of rose water ; it therefore becomes of little moment for pharmaceutical purposes, to enter minutely into the examination of the different spe- cies : we may, however, observe that the Provence rose is by far the most fragrant, and usually grows to the largest size, and there- * In the natural state, the corolla consists of five petals only. 40 ROSA CENTIFOLIA. fore seems the most proper for the production of rose-water, which is almost the only use to which they are applied. These roses pos- sess but very slight medicinal properties, and are seldom adminis- tered internally, &c. Sensible Qualities. The petals (the only part directed for medicinal use) are of a pale red colour, and of a very fragrant odour ; their taste sweetish, subacidulous, with a very slight degree of bitterness. The petals impart their odorous matter to watery liquors, both by distillation and infusion. On distilling large quantities, there separates from the watery fluid a small portion of a fragrant butyraceous oil, which liquefies by heat, and appears yellow, but concretes in the cold into a white mass. The attar or essential oil is obtained from various species of rose. We are in- formed by Dr. Ainslie, (vide Materia Indica, vol. i. p. 348), that the attar of the Levant and Tunis is prepared from the Rosa Sem- pervirens. The fragrance of the attar depends much upon the species of rose from whence it is distilled. According to Kaempher and M. Langles,* those of Shiray and Cashmire are highly odori- ferous, whilst the attar drawn from the roses of Syria and Barbary is of an inferior qUality. The odour of this oil exactly resembles that of the rose, which to most people is extremely agreeable ; hence it is much used as a perfume. f We may notice, however, that under certain circumstances, the odour has produced very untoward symp- toms, as faintings, hysterical affections, inflammation of the eyes, &c. ; and persons confined in a close room with a large quantity of roses have been in danger of immediate extinction of life. ^Orfila, in speaking of the deleterious effects of odoriferous plants, relates an instance of a celebrated painter, who could not remain in any room where there were roses, without being in a short time attacked with violent cephalagia, succeeded by fainting. Ledelius speaks of a * R^cherches sur la D6coaverte de I'Essence de Rose. t The process of makinnf essential oil, or attar of roses, as related by Colonel Poller in the Asiatic Researches, is as follows : Forty pounds of roses, with their calyxes, are put into a still with sixty ponnds of water. The mass being well mixed, a gentle fire is put under the still, and when fumes begin to rise, the cap and pipe are properly fixed and luted. When the impregnated water begins to come over, the fire is lessened by gentle degrees, and the distillation continued until thirty pounds of •water have come over. This water is to he poured upon forty pounds of fresh roses, ^d thence are to be drawn from fifteen to twenty pounds of distilled water. It is then poured into pans of earthen-ware, or of tinned metal, and left exposed to the fresh air for the night ; the ottar, or oil, will be found io the moruiag congealed, and swimming on the surface of the water. J -ess but ROSA GALLICA. 4t merchant, in whom the smell of roses occasioned an ophthalmia.* From the experiments of Drs. Priestley and Ingenliousz, these effects seem to be owing to the mephitic air (carbonic acid gas) which these and most other odoriferous flowers exhale.f Medical Properties and Uses. These roses possess but very slight medicinal properties, and are seldom administered inter- nally. A decoction of the petals is gently laxative ; as such it is prescribed in the form of syrup, and when combined with oil or manna, is found to be an useful laxative for infants. Their chief use however, is in the distillation of rose-water. Off. The Petals. Off. Pp. Aq. Rosae, L. E. D. Syrupus Rosae, L. E. ROSA GALLICA. Red Officinal Rose. For Class, Order, Nat. Ord. and Gen. Char. see Rosa Centifolia. Spec. Char. Germens ovate. Peduncles stiff, erect, and hairy. Stem prickly. This species of rose is a native of the south of Europe ; it is in general cultivation in our gardens, flowering in June and July. The stalks rise from two to three feet in height, are erect, and armed \vith a few short straight prickles ; the leaves consist of two or three pair of leaflets, with a terminal one, but the leaflets are smaller than those of the Centifolia, and but slightly tomentose on the underside ; the flowers are composed of many large widely- spreading petals, of a rich deep crimson colour, slightly fragrant, and displaying in the center numerous stamens, the filaments of * Ephem. Nat. Curios, dec. ii. an. 2, obs. xo. + See Exper. on Vegetables, by Dr. Ingenhousz, 42 ROSA GALLICA. which are thread-like, and support large yellow anthers; the germens are numerous, supporting villose styles crowned with papillary stigmas. Sensible Qualities, &c. The od our 6f this rose is consi- derably less fragrant than that of the Rosa Centifolia, but it is im- proved by drying ;* the taste is slightly bitter and somewhat austere; water at 212° extracts both its taste and odour; tlie in- fusion is of a red colour, and strikes black with sulphate of iron; and also forms a dark coloured precipitate with sulphate of zinc. Medical Properties and Uses. The petals (the only part of this rose used medicinally) are generally considered to be tonic and astringent, although by some they are said to be purga- tive.f The petals in infusion however, are chiefly used as an elegant vehicle for the exhibition of neutral salts and mineral acids ; and in this form are frequently prescribed in hasmorrhages, and many other diseases. Off. The Petals. Off. Pp. Coufectio Rosee, L. E. D. Infusum Rosae, L. E. D. Mel Rosae, L. D. Syrupus Rosae, E. ^ — — 1 * Both the colour and the astringency of the petals are best preserved hj hastj exsiccation. Ed. + Porterius relates, that he found one drachm of the powdered rose petals occa- sion three or four alvine evacuations, and this not in a few instances, but in several. Dr. Ainslie also says — "• The powder of the red rose petals, in doses of one dracbm, is purgative. — Materia Tndica, vol, i. p. 348. r ^43 PIMPINELLA ANISUM. Anise.'* Clq,ss Pentandria.. — Order Digynia. Nat. Ord. Umbellate. Linn. Juss, Gen. Char. Fruit ovate, oblong. Petals inflected. Stigma nearly globular. Spec. Char. Radical Leaves ihree-deft, laciniated. This species of Pimpinella is the Avvvi<70V of Dioscorides. It is a native of Egypt, but roucli cultivated in the south of Europe, parti- cularly in Malta and Spain. Anise was cultivated in this country about the year 1551, but although the seed will ripen here, our summers are seldom warm enough to bring it to perfection ; hence the seed is annually imported from Malta and Spain. Anise is an annual plant; the root is tapering; the stem rises about one foot in height, branched, smooth, striated, and jointed; the leaves on the lower part of the stem are of a roundish form, divided into three or five, indented or toothed, and stand upon long sheath-like footstalks, but the upper ones are divided into narrow pinnated segments; the flowers are small and white, and terminate the branches in flat umbels, without involucres ;.the corolla consists of five petals, which are ovate, and bent inwards at their extremi- ties; the filaments are white, tapering, spreading, and furnished with roundish anthers ; the germen is ovate, striated ; the styles are short, and crowned with simple stigmata; the seeds are oblong, swelling, striated, and of a greenish colour. Sensible Qualities, &c. The seeds have an aromatic smell, and a pleasant warm taste, accompanied with a considerable degree of sweetness. Infused in water, they impart a little of their odour, but scarcely any flavour: in distillation, they give out the whole of their flavour both to spirit and water. When distilled with water, they yield a volatile oil of a yellowish colour. This oil con- * Fig. «. radical leaf, b. Seeds, c. Flower, magnified. 44 PIMPINELLA ANISUM. geals, when the air is not very sensibly cold (50° Fahrenheit) into a white butyraceous concrete. Its taste is milder and less pungent than that of many other distilled vegetable oils ; but its smell, which exactly resembles the seeds, is extremely durable and diffusive. These seeds yield an oil also by expression, of a greenish colour, in taste grateful, and strongly impregnated with the flavour of the seeds. This oil consists of a bland, inodorous, fixed oil, combined with a considerable portion of the proper essential oil, on which the flavour and odour depends. Sixteen ounces of the seeds, lightly moistened by exposure to the steam of boiling water, are said to afford one ounce. Medical Properties and Uses. The seeds have been long medicinally employed as an aromatic and carminative, in pre- ference to most of the umbelliferous tribe of plants, particularly in flatulencies and tormina, to which young children are liable ; and they are usefully combined with such purgatives as are apt to produce these effects. Formerly they were esteemed useful in pulmonary complaints, and said to possess the power of promoting the secre- tion of milk. The essential oil may be taken in doses of from four, five, to twenty drops ; but in flatulencies and colics, the seeds in substance are said to be more effectual. They are given (when bruised) in doses of from twenty grains to one or two drachms. Off". The Seeds. Off. Pp. Oleum Anisi, L. E. D. Spiritus Anisi, L. CUMINUM CYMINUM. Cumin * Class Pentandria. — Order Digynia. Nat. Ord. Umbellate. Linn. Jusa. Gen. Char. Fruit ovate, striated. Partial Umbels four. Involucre 4-cleft. This plant, which is the only species of Cuminum yet disco vered, is thought to be the Ku|X/vov of Dioscorides. It is a native of Egypt and Ethiopia, but much cultivated in the islands of Sicily and Malta, from whence we are supplied with the seeds. It was cultivated in England iu 1594, but our climate is not congenial to the growth of this plant. In its native soil, it rises to the height of about nine or ten inches, " but I have never seen it grow more than four in England, where I have sometimes had the plant come so far as to flower very well, but never to produce good seeds."t The root is annual, simple, and fibrous ; the stalk is round, slender, branched, and often procumbent; (he leaves are numerous, narrow, linear, pointed, grass-like, and of a deep green ; the flowers are produced in numerous small umbels, which are usually composed of four radii, each supporting a partial umbel of the like number of flowers ; both the general and partial involucre consist of three or four subulate unequal leaflets; the corolla is composed of five petals, of a purple colour, unequal, bent inwards and notched at the apex ; the filaments support simple anthers ; the germen is ovate, large, and inferior ; the two styles are minute, and terminated by simple stigmas ; the fruit is ovate, and consists of two oblong, striated seeds, flat on the side by which they are united, and convex and striated on the other. Qualities, &c. Cumin seeds have a strong, heavy odour, and a bitterish warm taste, accompanied with a shght aromatic flavour. They give out great part of their smell by infusion in water, but * Fig. a. the seed. + Miller's Gard. Diet. VOL. II. H 46 ULMUS CAMPESTRIS. very little of their taste. In distillation with water, a considerable quantity of a yellow pungent oil rises, in the proportion of twelve ounces from twenty-five pounds of the fresh seeds. This essential oil has a strong ungrateful smell and flavour; like the seeds. Rectified spirit takes up both odour and taste; and yields, when evaporated, an extract containing the sensible qualities of the seeds. Medical Properties and Uses. Cumin seeds are said to be carminative and stomachic: and, from the large proportion of essential oil they contain, we should he led to suppose them equal, if not superior, to many of the umbelliferous tribe. But they are seldom given internally, and almost the only use to which they are applied is as an external stimulant in discussing indolent tumours. Off. The Seed. Off. Pp. Emplastrum Cumini, L. ULMUS CAMPESTRIS. Common Elm.* Ciass Pentandria. Order Digynia. Nat. Ord. ScABRiDiEj Linn. Amentace^, Juss. Gen. Char. Calyx five-cleft. Corolla none. Capsule (samara) compressed, membranaceous. Spec. Char. Leaves doubly serrated, unequal at the base. This species of elm is indigenous to Britain, flowering in March or early in April. It is very abundantly cultivated in many parts of the country, particularly Worcestershire and Essex ; it is also very common in the neighbourhood of London. There are two varieties of this tree, besides the one under consideration ; one w ith much smaller leaves, and another with smooth. These are equally common in many parts of the country. This tree rises to a very considerable height, and sends off" nume- rous strong, spreading branches ; the trunk and older branches are covered with rough, cracked, brown bark, but the bark on the young branches is smooth and tough ; the leaves are ovate, rough * Fig. a. flower, magnified, b. Pistillum. e. Sprig of blossoms. L ULMUS CAMPESTRIS. 47 on both sides, villose beneath along the nerves, doubly serrated, about three inches long and two broad, of a deep green colour, and stand alternately upon strong foot-stalks ; the flowers appear before the leaves on short spikes at the bottom of the leaf-buds ; the calyx is permanent, and divided at the border into five segments; there is no corolla ; the filaments are tapering, twice as long as the calyx, and furnished with short upright anthers, marked with four fur- rows ; the germen is round, compressed, and supports two styles terminated vvith downy stigmata ; the fruit is a capsule of an oval, oblong form, containing a roundish seed, somewhat compressed. Sensible and Chemical Properties. The inner bark (the part used medicinally) has no remarkable smell, but a some- what bitter, slimy taste. The external bark is brittle, contains but little mucilage, and is wholly destitute of both smell and taste. The decoction of the bark of the trunk is red, slimy, and grows black immediately with sulphate of iron ; that of the twigs is dark red or brown, draws into threads, and by evaporation yields a brittle, semi-transparent extract, soluble in water, but not in spirit of wine or in ether.* The brittle residue, when treated in the same manner as Klaproth treated the gum-like exudation from the Ulmus Nigra, afforded nearly the same results.! As the infusion or decoction scarcely affects the solution of isinglass, elm bark pro- bably contains but little tannin. Medical Properties and Uses. Elm bark is chiefly era- ployed in cutaneous diseases, and with various success. Several cases of lepra, ichthyosis, and other inveterate eruptions, are re- lated by Drs. Lysons,J Lettsom,§ and others, in which, seemingly, a decoction of the bark proved very efficacious ; and we are told by Dr. Plenck || that it is a specific for ichthyosis ; but Drs. Willan and Bateman think it is of little use. From our own experience, we cannot say much in its favour ; it appears in some instances to act as a diuretic, and probably may assist more active remedies in removing cutaneous eruptions. It is generally given in the form of decoction. Off-. The Bark. Off. Pp. Decoctum Ulmi, L. D. * Gniy's Elements. t Thomson's Chemistry, Fourth Ed. vol. iv. p, 695. i Vide Med. Trans, vol. ii.p. 203 § Vide 3Tedical Memoirs, p. 152. 11 Doctrina de Morb. Cutan, p. 69. 48 EUGENIA CARYOPHYLLATA. The Clove Tree."" Class IcoSANDRiA. — Order MONOGYNIA. Nat. Ord. HESPERiDiiE, Linii. Myrti, Juss. Gen. Char. Calyx 4-parted, superior, persistent. Petals four. Berry one-celled, one-seeded. Spec. Char. Leaves lanceolate, acuminate, entire. Panicles axillary and terminal. It is strange that so little should be known of the history of this elegant and powerful aromatic, as to leave it a matter of conjecture whether it was known to the ancients or not. Such however appears to be the case; it is difficult to discover it in any of the writings of the Greeks, nor does Pliny even give any distinct account of it. The name is evidently Greek, and some writers of the present day suppose it to be the K«pvd(|)uAAfi: of the Greeks, and according to others, the description of the Charumfel Bellum of Avicenna, and the Carunfel of Serapion is applicable to it.f It is indeed highly probable that this spice, as well as the nutmeg, was, known to the Arabians, who are said to have been the first to introduce the clove into Europe ; and it is scarcely possible to imagine that so valuable a tree should be indigenous to India and remain unknown to the Greeks and other nations, who, either for the purposes of war or commerce, were in constant communication with it. Indeed we should rather suppose that the clove tree was more generally to be met with formerly, than it is in the present day, and that it was not only a native of India, but of Egypt and other parts of Africa. At present, however, it is considered merely of Indian growth, or rather of the Molucca Islands in the Indian Ocean. J These islands were tirst discovered by the Portuguese, under Magellan, in 1615 ; but were not taken possession of by them for fifty years after : at * Fig. a. the fruit, neai l}' ripe. b. Longitudinal section of the fruit, c. Back aud front view of a stajHeii. d. A petal, e. The stjle. -|- Vide J. Bauhini, Hist. vol. i. p. 42G. X The clove tree was lately found by Sonnerat, in New Guinea. ' history ier of com- !. i.uiie COUiit oi • . - is of the nutmee;, digenous to lu<*ia, and reumiti ! ' the pu)|jt\. > v: , with it. Indeed ,;ei- suppose that the clov« tree was niorc geiieraUy to thau it is iu the prr ' and that it was ' Jn<\hu bs't of Egypt parts of Africa. ;cred iuereiy o( liuliau growth^ or ." . . i, . : . ! .1 the Ifldiast Ocean.j These islands ovcred by the Portuguese, onder Magellan, in 1616 ; taken possession 'v years after : at ihini, Hist. vol. i. p. 426. • lately found by Soiunerat, ii*K<-'n liUiiiea, I IP EUGENIA CARYOPHYLLATA. 49 this time the clove tree was very abundant throughout the islands, but on their conquest hy the Dutch in 1005. the commercial jealousy of this nation led them to destroy all the clove trees, except in four of them,* that they might the belter guard and protect the monopoly which they contemplated to establish in this trade. At Amboyna, which is the seat of government, and the principal place of growth for the cloves, the Dutch company allotted the inhabitants four thousand parcels of land, on each of which they were at first allowed, and about the year 1720 compelled, to plant about one hundred and twenty-five trees, amounting in all to five hundred thousand. Each of these trees produces annually, on an average, more than two pounds of cloves, so that the collective produce must weigh more than a million. Notwithstanding the precautions of the Dutch to retain an exclusive property in cloves, the tree has, at successive periods, found its way into other countries. In 1770, the French obtained some plants, which they carried to the Isle of France, and from thence, in 1774, to Cayenne. In 1789, it was also introduced into the island of Dominica, by William Urban Bu^ll, Esq.; and in 1803 into the island of Sumatra, by Mr. VVm. Roxburgh ; it is now cultivated at all these places ; we have not heard that any attempt has yet been made to introduce it into Europe. To bring the tree to the greatest perfection, a peculiar mode of cultivation seems necessary, which is practised at Amboyna by the Dutch, who keep it a profound secret. The clove tree is a handsome tall branching tree.f rising upon a stem of very hard wood, covered with a greyish smooth bark; no verdure, it is said, is ever seen beneath it ; the leaves are oblong, lanceolate, and pointed at both ends, firm, with many parallel nerves on each side of the midrib, entire, sinnated, and supported on short brown footstalks, standing in pairs : they are of rather a dull green colour, and, when bruised, their odour is highly aromatic ; the flowers terminate the branches in bunches or panicles, which generally consist of nine, fifteen, or twenty-one flowers; the calyx of the fruit is oblong, woody, and divided at the brim into four permanent, small, pointed segments ; the calyx of the flower is composed of four leaflets, which are roundish, concave, deciduous. ♦ Ambojna, Orna, Honimoa, and Noussa-Laout, t According to some writers, this tree, in favourable situations, frequently grows to the height of fiftj feet, and will bear from about nine or ten years to one hundred years of age, producing annually from ten to twenty pounds of cloves each ; all these state- ments are probably exaggerated. VOL II. T 50 EUGENIA CARYOPHYLLATA. and placed above the gerraen ; the corolla consists of four petals, roundish, notched, very small, at first white, afterwards bluish green, and finally of a red colour ; the filaments are numerous, slender, inserted into the calyx, and furnished with simple anthers ; the germen is oblong, large, terminated by the calyx of the fruit, and placed below the insertion of the corolla ; the style is tapering, and the stigma simple; the pericarpium is one-celled, urabilicated, and terminated by the indurated converging calyx ; the seed is a large oval berry; the fruit in its mature state is known by the name Anthophyllns. The clove is the flower of the tree before it is fully expanded ; for when fully blown it is nearly inodorous, and the real fruit is not aromatic. At Amboyna, the season for gathering them is from October to December and January, when the flowers begin to assume their reddish hue ; the boughs of the trees are then strongly shaken, or the cloves beaten down with long reeds, large cloths being spread to receive them ; they require to be dried quickly, but are first immersed in boiling water, then exposed to the smoke of the bamboo cane, and a heat of 120° Fahr., when they acquire a dark yellowish hue; the drying is afterwards finished in the sun, when they become perfectly brown. The fumigation and immersion are thought necessary to preserve the clove. In the West Indies, those cloves dried altogether in the sun are considered the best. The clove tree yields its first crop at I he a<^e of six years, and attains its highest state of bearing at twelve ; and it is said, that its existence is limited to twenty-four or twenty-five years. Cloves are imported into this country from the Dutch settlements ; the best in chests, and the inferior kinds in bags. Sensible Properties. Good cloves have a strong, fragrant, aromatic odour, and a hot, acrid, aromatic taste, which is very per- manent; when in perfection, they are heavy, oily, and easily broken ; they should make the fingers smart when handled, and leave an oily moisture on them when pressed. In form they resemble a small nail, scarcely exceeding half an inch in length, with a roundish, conical head, resting in a socket formed of. and terminated by, four sharp spreading p(»ints, somewhat resembling the tangs of a tooth. Their colour is a deep reddish brown, the conical part of the head being lighter and jellower; this head is very easily separated from the body of the clove. The best variety of Amboyna cloves is smaller and darker than the other varieties, very scarce, and as a mark of pre-eminence is named the royal clove ; the Dutch some- times mix among the best cloves those from which the oil has been EUGENIA CARYOPHYLLATA. 51 extracted, and the fraud is not easily discovered, as these latter regain part of their flavour by the mixture. The pungency of cloves resides in their resin, or rather in a combination of resin with essential oil, and to the latter they owe their odour, for the spirituous extract is very pungent; but if the oil and the resin contained in this extract are separated from each other by distillation, the oil will be very mild, and any pungency which it does retain proceeds from some small portion of adhering resin, while the remaining resin is quite inodorous. Water extracts their odour, but little of their pungency ; ether extracts completely their sensible qualities, and when the tincture is evaporated on water, a considerable portion of a very pungent, hot, unctuous resin, and some extractive, remain. Cloves acquire weight by imbibing water, and this they will do at some considerable distance: the Dutch, who trade in cloves, take advantage of this ; for as they sell them always by weight, when a bag of cloves is ordered, they hang it for several hours before it is sent in, over a vessel of water, at about two feet distance from the surface. No plant, or part of any plant, contains so much essential oil as cloves do ; from sixteen ounces, Neumann obtained by dis^ tillation two ounces and two drachms ; and Hoffmann obtained an ounce and a half of oil from two ounces of spice. This oil is specifically heavier than water, nearly colourless, but becoming yellow by age. It has the flavour of the cloves, but is much milder; it is frequently much adulterated, and when it has a hot, fiery taste, and a great depth of colour, it may be suspected. The Dutch oil generally exhibits these qualities, owing, it is supposed to its containing in solution some of the resin of the cloves extracted by alcohol.* The oil is brought here in bottles, but a considerable quantity is drawn in this country. Medical Properties and Uses. Cloves are accounted the hottest and most acrid of the aromatics, and by acting as a power- ful stimulant to the muscular fibres, may, in some cases of atonic gout, paralysis, &c. supersede most other stimulants of the aromatic class: they are sometimes given alone in dyspepsia, when it is attended with a very languid state of the circulation, and a sense of coldness in the stomach ; but their chief use is, as corrigents to other medicines. The oil is used as a corrigent to griping extracts, and sometimes as a local application for tooth-ache. In the * Vaaqaelin obtained an oil resembling that of cloves from the leaves of the Agatho' phjllam Rttveusara. TAMARINDUS INDICA. East Indies, and in some parts of Europe, cloves are so much admired as to be thought an indispensible ingredient in almost every dish: they are put into food, liquor, wines, and likewise enter into the composition of perfumes. The dose of powdered cloves is from five to ten grains ; and that of the oil from m. ii to m. vi. Off. Caryophylli, Cloves. Off. Pp. Infusum Caryophyllorum, L. Spiritus Lavendulae Comp. D. TAMARINDUS INDICA. The Tamarind Tree.* Class Monad ELPH I A.— Or«/er Triandria. Nat. Ord. Lomentace^, Linn. LEGUMiNosiE, Juss. Gen. and Spec. Char. Calyx four-parted. Petals three. Nectary of two short bristles under the filaments. Legume pulpy. This tree, of which there is but the one species, appears, from various writers, to be a native of both the Indies, of Egypt, Arabia, and the warmer latitudes of America ; although Sir Hans Sloane'. (no mean authority) says, it was originally unknown in the West Indies, and that it was first planted at Acapulco. According to Miller it was cultivated in Britain in 1633. There is a superstitious belief among the natives of some parts of India, that it is dan- gerous to sleep under this tree.f The tamarind tree rises to a great height, sending off numerous large branches which spread to a considerable extent, and present a very beautiful appearance ; the trunk is erect, thick, and covered with rough bark of a grey colour ; the leaves are pinnate, alternate, consisting of from fourteen to sixteen pairs of small p'mme, which Fig. a. the pistlUum. 6. The stamens, e. A seed. d. The pericarpinm, or pod. t We are told bj Dr. Ainslie, (Materia Indica) that herbs of anj kind are seldom »een growing in such situations, and nerer with luxuriance. lah three ■ia, that it; ;3 {ian ■ !>ie extent, and pi thick, and i ife piiiiiale, al' > pairs of small pinaae 6. The »ta»4ft«». c. A seed. d. The pericarpioin, or p- • ^ (Materia ' ^ of «bj kJad »r* «ld s , and nevf. TAMARINDUS INDICA. 53 are opposite, oblong, obtuse, entire, smooth, of a bright yellowish- green colour, and standing upon very short footstalks; the flowers approach to the papilionaceous kind, and are produced in lateral clusters of five or six ; the calyx consists of four deciduous leaves, which are reflexed, oblong, or rather ovate, entire, smooth, nearly equal in size, and straw coloured, or yellowish ; the petals are three, ovate, concave, acute, indented, and plaited at the edges, about the length of the calyx, and of a yellowish colour, beautifully variegated with red veins ; the peduncles ai'e about half an inch long, and each furnished with a joint as the flower turns inwards ; the filaments are most commonly three, but in some flowers we haVe found four, ia others only two; they are purple, united at the base, and furnished with incuml)ent, brownish anthers; the germen is oblong, com- pressed, incurved, standing upon a short pedicle; the style is tapering, somewhat longer than the filaments, and terminated by aa obtuse stigma ; the fruit is a pod of a roundish, compressed form, from three to five inches long, containing two, three, or four flattish, angular, shining seeds, lodged in a dark pulpy matter, and covered by several rough, longitudinal fibres ; these seeds are about the size of a kidney bean, of a reddish, brown colour, extremely hard, bitter and somewhat acrid to the taste : they will keep for any length of time without decay. According to Jacquin, the flowers appear from October to November. The pulp of the tamarind, with the seeds connected together by numerous tough strings or fibres, are brought to us freed from the outer shell, and preserved in syrup. They are prepared for exporta- tion at Jamaica, in the following manner : " The fruit or pods are gathered when fully ripe, (about June, July and August), which is known by their fragility, or easy breaking on small pressure between the finger and thumb ; the fruit taken out of the pods, and cleared from the shelly fragments, is placed in layers in a cask, and boiling syrup poured over it till the cask is filled ; the syrup pervades every part quite down to the bottom, and when cool the cask is headed for sale."* The fruit of the East India tamarind is more esteemed than that of the West India; they are easily to be distinguished by the greater length of the pods of the former, and the pulp being dryer and of a darker colour: they are said to be preserved without sugar, which we are much inclined to doubt. When tamarinds are good, they are free from any degree of mustiness ; the seeds are * Loog's Jamaica, toI. iii. p. 729. 54 TAMARINDUS INDICA. hard, flat, and clean ; the strings tough, and entire ; and a clean knife thrust into them does not receive any coating of copper: they should be preserved in jars closely covered. Sensible and Chemical Properties. Tamarinds are inodorous ; in their fresh state they are austerely acid, (producing an effect on the teeth similar to that produced by the mineral acids when not sufficiently diluted), but as we receive them they have an agreeable, acid, sweetish taste. According to Vauquelin the pulp contains, independent of the sugar with which it is mixed, super- tartrate of potass, gum, jelly, citric acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, and a feculent matter. The acid taste depends chiefly on the citric acid, the quantity being greater than that of the others: sixteen ounces of the prepared pulp, containing one ounce and a half of citric, but only two drachms of tartaric acid ; half a drachm of malic, and half an ounce of supertartrate of potash. Tournefort relates that an essential salt may be obtained from tamarinds by dissolving the pulp in water, and setting the filtered solution, with some oil upon the surface, in a cellar for several months ; that the salt is of a sourish taste, and not easily soluble in water and that a like salt is sometimes found naturally concreted on the branches of the tree. Beaum6 observes that this salt may be more expeditiously obtained by clarifying a decoction of the tamarinds with white of eggs, then filtering, and evaporating it to a proper consistence, and setting it to cool ; the salt shoots into crystals of a brown colour, and has a very acid taste, but on dissolving and crystallising them again, or barely washing them with water, they lose almost all their acidity, the acid principle of the tamarinds seeming not to be truly crystallizable. Medical Properties and Uses. This fruit, the use of which was first learned of the Arabians, contains a larger proportion of acid, with the saccharine matter, than is usually found in the fructus acido dukes:* it is therefore not only employed as a laxative, but also for abating thirst and heats in various inflammatory complaints, and for correcting putrid disorders, especially those of a bilious kind, in which the cathartic, antiseptic, and refrigerant qualities of this fruit have been found equally useful. The simple infusion of the pulp in warm water, or a whey made by boiling ^ii. * Dr. Cnlien thinks, that as the principal medicinal purpose of tamarinds depends on their acidity, which is counteracted by the admixture of sugar in preserving them, it would be of more ntiU^ if they were always imported in the pods. It is doubtful, however, whether they eo*ld be long pres«rved in this way. CORIANDRUM SATIVUM. 55 of it in two pints of milk and straining, form very grateful refrige- rant beverages in febrile diseases, and may be advantageously used.* The dose of the simple fruit required to act as a cathartic is so large (from $i. to jii.) that it is seldom given alone for this purpose, but is generally combined with manna, senna, or with some neutral salt that has not potass for its base ; these latter being decomposed by it. It forms an agreeable addition to infusion of senna, but the purgative power of the latter is weakened by it. Off. The Pulp or Preserved Fruit. Off. Pp. Infusum Sennae Comp. D. E. COHIANDRUM SATIVUM. Common Coriander. •\ Class Pentandria. — Order Digynia. Nat, Ord. UMBELLATiE. Linn. Juss, Gen. Char. Corolla radiate. Petals inflex-emariginate. Involucre universal, one-leafed ; the partial ones halved. Fruit spherical. Spec. Char. Fruit globular, obscHrely ribbed, and divisible into two hemispherical seeds. This species X of coriander is the Kop/avvov of Dioscorides ; it is a native of the south of Europe, where in some places it is said to grow in such abundance, as frequently to choke the growth of wheat and other grain. From its extensive cultivation for medicinal pur- poses, it has become naturalized to this country, and is now found * Thomson's Mat. Med. + Fig. a. represents a flower magnified, b. The pistillam and calyx. i The genus Coriandram comprises but few species, two only being known and cnlti- vated in our botanic gardens ; viz. the one under consideration, and the Testiculatum, a native of the south of Europe. — Ed. 56 CORIANDRUM SATIVUM. *vild in some parts of Essex, frequently growing in corn fields, the sides of roads, and about dunghills. The root is annual ; the stalk rises about two feet in height, erect, round, smooth, and branched, of a glaucous tinge ; the leaves are compound: the lower ones pinnated, with gashed, wedge-shaped, somewhat roundish leaflets, the upper are divided into narrow linear-pointed segments the umbels and um- bellules are both many-rayed, but the latter composed of more radii than the former, and each furnished with an involucrutn of three narrow leaves, situated on one side, but the general involucrum is often wanting, or formed of a single linear leaf; the flowers are white, or of a reddish colour, composed of five uneqiinl oblong pe- tals, which are bent inwards ; the five lilaments are slender, and furnished with roundish yellow anthers ; the germeu is globular, and placed below the insertion of the corolla ; the two styles are bent in opposite directions, and terminated by simple stigmata ; the fruit is globular, and divisible into two hemispherical concave seeds.* Sensible Qualities. Every part of the plant when fresh has a very offensive odour, greatly resembling the Pentatoma Viridis of Linnaeus, a species of Ciraex or bug ; hence probably the origin of the word Coriandrum, from Kopig, a bug.f The seeds when dried have a grateful aromatic smell, a moderately warm, and slightly pungent taste ; these qualities depend upon an essential oil, that can be obtained separate by the distillation of the seeds with water. The seeds give out their active principles completely to alcohol, but only partially to water. Medical Properties and Uses. The seeds, like most of the umbelliferous plants, are stomachic and carminative : hence they are sometimes used in flatulencies and weakness of the stomach ; but they are principally used to disguise the odour and unpleasant taste of senna and other cathartics, and to correct their griping quality. It is asserted by Dioscorides that the seeds, when taken in any con- siderable quantity, produce deleterious efl^ects ; but we are told by Dr. Withering that he has known six drachms taken at once without any remarkable effect. The dose of the bruised seeds is from one scruple to a drachm. Off. The Seed. * This form of the frnit distingnisbes the genas Coriandrum from ail the othei* Umbellatae.— ' t Alston's Lect. on the Mat. Med. vol. i. p. 349. 6'^ ut the climni >t giau- ■S/?z^e terminal. F/oif?er* beardless. The Genus Polygala comprises a very numerous tribe of plants, natives of every quarter of the globe. M. de Candolle enumerates above one hundred and sixty species, of which about thirty have been introduced into our botanic gardens. Of this numerous family of plants, one species only is indigenous to Britain, the Polygala Vulgaris, which is common in many parts of England, growing in pastures, and upon dry heaths.f The rattle-snake milk- wort is a native of Virginia, and other parts of North America, flowering in June and August; it was first introduced into our gardens about the year 1759, by Mr. P. Miller. The root is perennial, woody, branched, contorted, about the thickness of a finger, and covered with a grey or ash-coloured bark ; it sends up several stems, which are of a dark reddish colour, and rise nearly a foot in height, erect, round, smooth and slender ; the leaves are oblong, or lance-shaped, acutely pointed, of a pale green, and stand alternately sessile, or upon very short footstalks; the flowers are in terminal spikes, of the papilionaceous kind ; the calyx is persistent, and divided into three narrow segments ; the corolla is composed of two exterior petals or wings, which are flat, and of an oval shape, a short tubular standard undivided at the mouth, and a flattened keel, distended towards the end, from whence proceeds a ♦ Fig. a. part of the root. b. c. d. e. and /. The petals, g. The capsule, h. A seed. i. The three smaller leaves of the calyx. t We are told by Mr. P.Miller there are three varieties of this species, one with blue, another with purple, and a third with white blossoms. flat, arnt <»f an POLYGALA SENEGA. 63 pencil-shaped appendage ; the eight filaments are united at the base into two portions, and attached to the corolla ; the anthers are tubu- lar, and open at their summit ; the germen is oblong, and supports a simple erect style, crowned with a cloven stigma ; the capsule is obcordate, or inversely heart-shaped, and contains two small oblongs blackish seeds. This species of Polygala was introduced to the attention of the medical profession, about ninety years ago, by Dr. John Tennant, whose intercourse with the American Indians, led him to discover that they possessed a specific against the poison of the rattle-snake, which, in consequence of a suitable reward, was revealed to him, and found to be the root of this plant. Sensible and Chemical Properties. Rattle-snake root has little or no odour; when chewed, its taste is somewhat bitter, warm and pungent, and excites a peculiar tingling sensation in the fauces, which lasts for some considerable time ; these qualities reside in the bark, the central woody part being almost inert : both water and alcohol extract its active principles, (which appear to re- side in a resinous substance), but the latter most completely. The watery infusion is pale yellow, with a weak smell, but a strong taste of the root; sulphate of iron produces no change in the infusion. The active matter taken up by alcohol is precipitated from the tincture by the addition of water ; the ethereal tincture, on evapora- tion, leaves a similar substance. A peculiar vegetable principle has been discovered by Gehleu, in the roots of Senega, to which he gave the name of Senegin : this is obtained by treating the alcoholic ex- tract by ether and water, the former abstracting a certain portion of resin, and the latter some mucilaginous and saccharine matter. M. Peschier has also analysed the roots of Senega, and from six ounces separated one hundred grains of a peculiar alkaline principle, which he has named Polygalina ; this is united to a new acid, which he has denominated Polygaline : this salt he supposes to contain the active principle of the roots.* Medical Properties and Uses. This is a stimulating su- dorific ; in small doses it is expectorant and diuretic ; in larger doses emetic and cathartic. Soon after the introduction of this medicine as a specific for the bite of the rattle snake, it excited the attention of physicians as a remedial agent in the cure of many disorders. Dr. * It is probable the Senegin of Gehlen is identical with the Polygaline of M. Peschier. — Ed. 64 POLYGALA SENEGA. Tennant, observing that pleuritic symptoms are generally produced by the action of this poison, inferred that the rattle-snake root might also be an useful remedy in pneumonia, and some diseases related to it; he accordingly tried it, and, from the experience of himself and others, found it a useful medicine in those disorders ; but on account of its stimulant properties it should not be employed till after the resolution of the inflammation by depletion and evacuations. It proves roost serviceable in the advanced stages of those disorders, (when further depletion is forbid from the debility of the patient,) by promoting expectoration and relieving the tightness of the chest. It has also been prescribed with much success in dropsies and rheumatism. Dr. Cullen says, " We have had some instances of its being useful, especially where it operated by producing sweat,"* We are told by Dr. Bree, that he found the decoction of Senega emi- nently useful in asthma, when administered to old people ; but in the paroxysms of young persons he found it too irritating. In America it has been much used, and with seeming success, in croup. In this disorder it is usually given in decoction, in divided doses repeated at intervals, until it operates either as an emetic or cathartic ; it is also used as a stimulant gargle in the same disease. Dr. Brandreth of Liverpool has also prescribed the extract of Senega in combination with carbonate of ammonia, with some success, in cases of lethargy. It may be given either in powder or decoction ; the former in doses of from ten grains to one drachm, the latter in doses of from one to two or three ounces three or four times a day. It is often prescribed in combination with opium, camphor, or aromatics, which check the nauseating effects it frequently produces. Off. The Root. Off. Pp. Decoctum Senegae, L. * Mat. Med. vol. ii. p. 288. POLYGALA SKNECA, •bserving^ that nletnilic symptoi oa of ili inferred that ? it: i< oikm, found it a uselti proTes most (wheu fursher • l>roniottng ex? It has also U rheumatism. with carbon a ? i woor three es. TH^. The Root- Off. Pp. Decoctum ; Mat. Med. voLii, p. 288, PRUNUS DOMESTIGA. Commofi Plumb T'ree.* Class IcosANDRiA — Order Monogynia. Nat. Ord. Pomaces, Linn. RosACEiE, Juss. Gen. Char. Calyx five-parted, inferior. Petals, five. Nut of the drupe with prominent sutures. Spec. Char. Peduncles nearly solitary. Leaves ovate, pointed, convolute. Branches awnless. This tree is supposed to be a native of Asia, but has been so long naturalized to Britain that it is now ranked among our indigenous plants. It is found growing wild in hedge-rows and coppices in many parts of the country, flowering in April and May. We are told by Pliny that this tree was brought from Syria into Greece, and from thence into Italy. By Dioscorides this tree was called Ko%%0|xv]A£«, and the fruit Koxxv/^viAa, but it is uncertain from what particular variety of prune our naturalized species originally sprung.f Du Hamelj describes forty-eight varieties of this species of Prunus, and Mayer § a still greater number. The Syrian plumbs were much esteemed by the ancients, particularly a variety that grew in the neighbourhood of Damascus, and hence a variety of the fruit is still known by the name of Pruna Damascena. This species of Prunus rises to the height of fifteen or twenty feet, with spreading branches ; the trunk and branches are covered with smooth bark, of a dark brown colour ; the leaves are ovate, pointed, slightly serrated, veined, smooth, of a pale bright green on the upper surface, pubescent on the under side, stand upon short footstalks, which have two glands near the base of the leaf, and when young convoluted; the flowers surround the branches on short solitary peduncles; the calyx is divided into five narrow concave segments; * Fig. a. the fruit, b. The stone or nut. c. The kernel, t Bauhin refers it to the Prona cerea minor pracocia. $ Arbes Fruit, torn, ii. page 65 sq. § Pomona Francon. torn. j. page 110. VOL II. QQ AGRIMONIA EUPATORIA. the corolla consists of five obovate white petals; the filaments are more than twenty, tapering, inserted into* the calyx, and furnished with yellow anthers; the germen is round, and supports a simple style, crowned with a globular stigma ; the fruit is a superior oval drupe, consisting of a sweet fleshy pulp, covered with a purple coloured pellicle, and including in the centre an almond-shaped nut or stone. Sensible Qualities, &c.— Plumbs or prunes, when perfectly ripe, have a pleasant sweetish subacid taste, but are nearly inodorous. They are composed, chiefly of mucus combined with saccharine matter, and a large proportion of malic acid. Prunes lose much of their acidity by drying, and from this circumstance the dried fruit is considered more wholesome than the recent. Medical Properties and Uses. Prunes considered medi- cinally are emollient, cooling and laxative; and form a pleasant addition to purgative decoctions and electuaries. They are found to be peculiarly useful in costive habits, and may be taken ad libitum, either in their dry state, as they are met with in the shops, or boiled down to a soft pulp, in which state tjiey form an useful laxative for young children. The recent fruit when perfectly ripe, and taken in a moderate quantity, proves a pleasant and wholesome food ; but in an immature state, or when taken too freely, is very liable to pro- duce diarrhoea, colic, &c. Off. The dried Fruit. AGRIMONIA EUPATORIA. Common Agrimony * Class DODECANDRIA.— OrfZer DiGYNIA. Nat, Ord. Senticosje, Linn. Rosacea, Juss. Gen. Char. Calyx five-toothed, guarded by another. Petals five. Seed two, in the bottom of the calyx. * Fig. a. the caljx. 6, The styles and stigmata. «. The capsule, d. Seeds. ■■ — — 6. t!»^ AGRIMONIA EUPATORIA. €17 Spec. Char. Leaves interruptedly pinnated, with an odd one. PinncB sessile, the terminal one petiolate. Frmt hispid. This species* of Agrimony, the EvTurcopia of Dioscorides, is an indigenous perennial plant, common about the borders of fields and hedges in most parts of this country ; it is also found not only in many parts of Europe, but also in Asia and America. Agrimony flowers in June and July, and when gathered for medicinal use should be cut in full flower. The root is scaly, and of a reddish brown colour ; the stalk is erect, round or somewhat angular, hairy, of a reddish hue, and rises from one to three feet in height; the leaves are alternate, inter- ruptedly pinnated, composed of from three to five or six pair of pinnse, and a terminal one ; the leaflets are opposite, sessile, ovate, deeply serrated, rough; the small intermediate ones are entire or trifid ; the stipulae are two, opposite, serrated and spreading ; the flowers are in long terminal spikes, supported on short peduncles, with trifid bracteas ; the calyx is permanent, and divided into five ovate pointed segments, and surrounded with rigid hairs ; the involu- crum is composed of two indented leaves, situated at the base of the germ ; the corolla consists of five petals, ovate, spreading, of a golden yellow colour, and inserted into a glandular substance at the base of the germ ; the filaments are from five to twelve, supporting two-lobed anthers ; the germen is inferior ; the styles crowned with blunt stigmas ; the capsule is formed of the calyx, and contains two roundish, smooth seeds, one of which is often abortive. Sensible Qualities, &c. Both the leaves and flowers of agrimony, when recent, have an agreeable aromatic odour, the latter somewhat more powerful than the former ; the smell, which depends upon a volatile oil, is entirely dissipated by exsiccation. The leaves have a slightly bitter and subastringent taste ; they readily give out their virtues both to water and spirit. In distillation with water, a small quantity of oil is obtained, of a golden yellow colour, which smells agreeably and strongly of the herb. The watery infusion reddens the infusion of turnsol. Potass and its carbonates * The genus Agrimonia comprises but few species, six onlj being known (juUivated in our gardens. — Ed. 68 CHIRONEA CENTAURIUM. throw down a white precipitate, and with sulphate of iron it turns black. Medical Properties and Uses. This plant has been prin- cipally regarded in the character of a mild tonic and deobstruent, and was formerly held in considerable esteem as a medicine of much efficacy in hepatic and other visceral obstructions. It has been given with advantage in lax and weak state of the solids; and we are told that in many cutaneous disorders it manifests considerable efficacy ;* but like many of our indigenous plants it is now very seldom prescribed. Agrimony is usually exhibited in the state of powder, in doses of from one scruple to a drachm three or four times a day ; but as the essential oil is entirely dissipated by drying, much of the virtues of the plant is thereby lost, hence probably the cause of its disuse ; we should therefore prefer the watery infusion. Off. The Herb. CHIRONEA CENTAURIUM. Common Centaury.-\ Class Pentandria. — Order Monogynia. Nat. Ord. RosACEiE, Linn. Gentian^e, Juss. Gen. Char. Corolla wheel-shaped. Pistil declined. • Sta- mens seated on the tube of the corolla. Anthers spiral at the end. Pericarp two-celled. Spec. Char. iS^a/^generally simple, smooth, angular. Leaves oblong, pointed, upright, three-ribbed. This species of Chironea is an annual plant indigenous to Britain, and is found growing in dry gravelly situations, on heaths, and by the sides of hedges ; " it is sometimes found in woods, in which situa- * Becker Diss, de EupatoFlsi Gitccorum sue Agiimonia fliibus Erf, 1783. + Fig. a. the calyx, b, Thv pistllluin. t. and d. Two views of a stamen. as io Brit!) CHIRONEA CENTAURIUM. 69 tions it usually acquires a greater height ;"* it is frequently met with in the neighbourhood of London, about Charlton and Combe Wood, flowering in July and August. The root is woody, fibrous and of a yellowish colour ; the stalk rises erect to about a foot in height, smooth, angular, generally simple, but sometimes with a few branches; the flowers are terminal, and produced in a corymbus or bunch ; the calyx a perianthum of one leaf, permanent, about half the length of the tube of the corolla, five-cleft, with the segments subulate and erect ; the corolla is of a pink colour, monopetalous, funnel-shaped, the tube cylindrical, striated and extremely thin, the limb is divided into five elliptical equal segments, spreading and slightly concave ; the filaments are thread-shaped, somewhat bent down, and furnished with oblong, twisted anthers, of a yellow colour ; the germen is oblong, fiUing the tube of the corolla ; the style is about half the length of the germen, sometimes bifid ; stigma clubbed, composed of two lips and villous ; capsule oblong, pointed, shining, covered by the tube of the corolla, divisible into two parts, with a cavity in each, containing numerous small, roundish, yellow seeds. We learn from Pliny ,t that centaury has its name KevT«vp/ov from Chiron the Centaur ; it was classed by Linn^us with the gentians, but more modern botanists have removed it to the genus Chironea, to which it appears more properly to belong, its botanical character exactly corresponding with the latter tribe of plants. Sensible Qualities, &c. This plant is almost inodorous, but has an extremely bitter and disagreeable taste, whence the ancients denominated it/eZ terrcB, or gall of the earth. The active parts of this plant are dissolved readily both by water and rectified spirit ; water takes up along with the bitter a large quantity of an insipid mucilaginous substance ; rectified spirit dissolves little more than the pure bitter part, which appears to be resin. Hence, on inspissating the two solutions to the same consistence, the watery extract proves much less bitter than the spirituous, and its quantity above four times greater. Medical Properties and Uses. Centaury is justly esteemed an eflScacious bitter ; it is tonic, stomachic and antiseptic,! and in * Curtis, Flora Londinensis. + riiii. lib. XXV. c. G, p. Co5. X Vide Pringlc, Diseases of the Armj, App. p. 60, 70 ANETHUM GRAVEOLENS. addition to these qualities often proves mildly cathartic ; * this plant was much used in febrile disorders previous to the knowledge of Peruvian bark, which now supersedes it too generally : for many cases of fever are found to be aggravated by the Cinchona, yet readily yield to simple bitters, of which, the centaury is equal, if not superior, to most, and will be found to supply the place of more expensive exotics. In dyspeptic complaints, and weaknesses of the stomach and digestive organs it is an useful remedy. It has also been given with the same success in chlorosis, gout,t worms, scurvy, &c. It is given in powder in doses of from thirty to sixty grains, and in infusion (made by macerating two ounces of the dried tops in one pint of boiling water) in doses of one or two ounces three or four times a day. Off. The flowering Tops. — ♦ ANETHUM GRAVEOLENS. Common Dill.'^ Class Pentandria. — Order Digynia. Nat. Ord. Umbellate, Linn. Juss. Gen. Char. Fruit nearly ovate, compressed, striated. Petals involuted, entire. Spec. Char. Fruit compressed. This plant is a native of Spain and Portugal, flowering in June and July ; it is common in the corn fields of those countries. It is said to have been first cultivated in Britain by Gerarde, in 1597. We * When given in considerable doses. Ed. t Centaury formed one of the ingredients in the celebrated Portland powders. Ei, X Fig. a. the corolla magnified, h. The germen and styles, c. The corolla of the fennel. 1597. We sigrcaiciita in the celebrated Porfland po«?ders. Eti, h. The gemen and stales, c. The corolla of th'.- ANETHUM GRAVEOLENS. 71 are told by Miller,* that this plant is propagated by sowing the seeds in autumn soon after they are ripe, for if they are kept out of the ground till spring they frequently miscarry ; or if any of the plants do come up they often decay before they have perfected their seeds. They love a light soil, and will not bear to be transplanted, but must be sown where they are to remain ; for if the plants be removed they will not produce good seeds; therefore, the best way is, when the plants are come up to hoe them out as practised for onions, carrots, &c. leaving the plants eight or ten inches asunder every way. The root is long, tapering, of a whitish colour, striking deep into the ground, and sending off many strong fibres: from the root proceed several stems, which are erect, smooth, striated, jointed, branched, and rise to the height of about two feet ; the leaves are alternate, and placed at the joints of the stalks, standing upon sheathy footstalks : they are doubly pinnated, with the pinnae linear and pointed, smooth and glaucous ; the flowers are produced in terminal umbels, which are large, flat, and composed of several radii ; it has neither general nor partial involucrum ; the corolla con- sists of five yellow, ovate, obtuse, concave petals, with the apex inflected ; the filaments are longer than the corolla, and furnished with roundish anthers ; the germen is inferior and covered by the neetarium ; the styles are very short, terminated by obtuse stigmata ; the seeds are two, ovate, flat and striated. Sensible Qualities, &c. Dill seeds have a moderately warm pungent taste, and an aromatic and somewhat fragrant smell : these qualities depend on an essential oil which they contain ; four pounds yield about two ounces of oil, having the taste and odour of the seeds in a concentrated degree. Water extracts very Uttle of their virtues, either by infusion or digestion for many hours; alcohol extracts both flavour and odour. Medical Properties and Uses. From the time of Dios- corides the whole plant has been much used as a carminative and stomachic medicine, and greatly esteemed in flatulent colics, dys- pepsia, and complaints arising from laxity of the stomach, &c. ; and we are told by Murray,! that they promote the secretion of milk. In the present day they are chiefly used (in the form of the distilled water, prepared from them) in flatulent colic and hiccough of infants. * Card. Diet. t App. Med. Tol. i. p. 289. 72 ANETHUM F(ENICULUM. in quantity proportioned to the age of the patient. The dose of the powdered seeds, when given to adults, is from twenty grains to one drachm. Off. The Seed. Off. Pp. Aqua Anethi, L. ANETHUM FCENICULUM. Common Fennel.^ For Class, Order, and Gen. Char. see preceding Article. Spec. Char. Fruit ovate. This species of Anethura is a biennial plant, a native of the South of Europe, but has been long naturalized to Britain, growing wild on dry chalky soils. It is also much cultivated for medicinal and culinary purposes, flowering in July and August. The root is white, fibrous and tapering, three or four stems often rise from the same root, and are from three to four feet in height, branched, round, striated, jointed, leafy, and of a glaucous tinge; the leaves are tripinnate, composed of long, smooth, depending, linear leaflets of a deep green colour, and stand alternately at the joints of the stems; the flowers are produced in terminal umbels; there are no involucra ; the corolla consists of five ovate, emarginated petals of a yellow colour, and their points turned inwards ; the filaments are spreading, shorter than the petals, and bear double anthers; the germen resembles that of dill ; the seeds are two, ovate, very little _ This plant being so well known, we lliought it would be quite- snperHuoas to ligaro It, more especially as it bears so near a resemblance to the Anetbum Graveolens ; on the plate of which we have figured (see Fig. c.) the corolla of the fennel, to shew the difference of the two species. ANETHUM FCENICULUM. 78 compressed, three-ribbed, and encircled with a membranous margin. There are two or three varieties of this plant. The officinal Foeniculi Semina of the London, Edinburgh and Dublin Colleges, are the produce of the variety indigenous to the South of Europe, and are imported from Italy, The roots are the produce of our wild and cultivated species, and are taken up in spring for use. Sensible Qualities, &c. The roots have little or no odour, and a slight aromatic and sweetish taste. The seeds are fragrant and have a warm sweet taste; these qualities depend upon the essential oil they contain, which on distillation with water, separates and swims upon the surface. Both the flavour and odour of the seeds are imparted to alcohol. Boiling water extracts these qualities very imperfectly. The watery infusion is somewhat aromatic and not altered by sulphate of iron. The distilled water is aromatic and milky. Seventy-five pounds of seed yield about thirty ounces of colourless oil, with the smell and taste of the seed ; it congeals and becomes like butter at 20« Fahr.* These seeds contain, likewise, a considerable quantity of a gross, insipid, inodorous, fixed oil. Medical Properties and Uses. Fennel was esteemed by Greek physicians as a medicine possessing considerable powers, particularly for promoting the secretion of milk,t and also as a resolvent, diuretic, stomachic, and carminative. Boerhaave supposed the root to possess aperient qualities. In modern practice the plant is altogether nearly disregarded. The seeds (the officinal part of the plant) are carminative and stomachic, but certainly less so than either the dill, carraway, or aniseed ; hence the preference is given to them, and fennel is seldom prescribed but in the form of the distilled water of the London Pharmacopoeia, which forms a pleasant vehicle for rhubarb, manna, &c. when given to infants. The seeds may be given (when bruised) in doses of from half a drachm to a drachm. Off. The Seed. Off. Pp. Aqua Foeniculi, L. D. Oleum Foeniculi, D. * Gray's Elemeuts. t Hippoc. De Morb, Mul, lib. i, sect. 5, p. 608, Foes. Dioscorid. M. M. lib. iii. o. 81, p. 205, Sarac. VOL. II. M 74 MYRISTICA MOSCHATA. The Nutmeg Tree* Class DiCECiA. — Order Monadelphia. "NaL Ord. Lauri, Juss. Gen. Char. Male. Calyx bell-sbaped, trifid. Corolla none. Filaments united into a colamnar tube. Anthers six or ten cohering. Female. Calyx bell-shaped, trifid, deciduous. Corolla none. Style none. Stigma two. Seed solitary, inclosed in a coriaceous arillus (mace). Spec. Char. Leaves elliptic, oblong, pointed. Perianth of one leaf, coriaceous. This tree is a native of the Molucca Islands. It was unknown to Linnseus,t and was first described by Thunberg. Wildenow in describing this tree says, " habitat in Moluccis ;" but we are told by AlibertJ that it is also a native of America. Its cultivation is chiefly confined to Banda, which includes six small islands, Pulo- Aya, Goenenga, Apia, Lenteira, Polerona, and Rosfengenia. It is also cultivated in Sumatra, where a great quantity is reared, suffi- cient we are told to supply the whole of Europe with nutmegs and mace. This tree rises to the height of about thirty feet, and in appear- ance resembles a pear-tree, producing many erect, spreading branches, which, as well as the trunk, are covered with a smooth, ash-coloured bark, abounding in a reddish, glutinous juice, which * Fig. a. section of the ripe fruit, b. The raace from which the nut has been removed, c. The seed or natmeg. d. Vertical section of the nut. e. Two views of the embryo magnified. /. A female flower cut open to shew the pistiHum. g. A male flower cut open, shewing the anthers, h. A magnified anther. + It is probable our knowledge of the nutmeg tree was derived from the Arabians, but that the Mi/go^aXavoc of Galen, or the Kaj/otaxov of Theophrastus, should be, as sup- posed by many, the tree we are about to describe, is very doubtful. t Nouveaux^^emens de Therapeutic, vol. ii. p. 219. MYRISTICA MOSCHATA. 75 exudes when the bark is wounded ; the leaves have an aromatic «raell, are elliptical, pointed, undulated, entire, from tfiree to five inches long, of a bright green colour on the upper surface, greyish underneath, and stand on short petioles placed alternately on the branches ; the flowers are inodorous, and are present at the same time with the fruit. The male and female flowers are on the same or separate trees ; the calyx is thick and fleshy, and divided into three spreading, pointed segments ; there are no corollas ; the filaments in the male flowers are united into a cylindrical column, inserted into the receptacle ; the anthers are linear, two-celled, and surrounding the upper half of the filaments. The female flowers in appearance resemble the male ; the germen is superior or ovate ; style short, terminated by two stigmas ; the fruit is an elliptico-spheriodal one- celled berry, nearly the size of a peach, smooth, fleshy, and marked with a shallow longitudinal groove on one side : the fleshy substance of the fruit abounds with an astringent juice, and finally dries up into a coriaceous crust, when it opens on one side and presents the nutmeg in its shell, surrounded with its arillus, which is the ofiicinal mace ; the arillus is fleshy, coriaceous, of a golden yellow or scarlet colour when recent, changing to a reddish brown as it becomes dry ; the kernel, i. e. the nutmeg, is of a roundish or ovate form, marked on the outside with many vermicular furrows, within of a fleshy, albuminous substance, variegated with reddish brown veins, abound- ing with oil ; near the base is a cavity, in which is situated the embryo. There are several species of this tree, and we are told by Dr. Ainslie,* that an inferior and long-shaped kind of a nutmeg is common in the Island of Borneo ; and there is a wild sort {Cat Judical) frequently to be met with in some of the woods of Southern India, especially in Canara, which Dr. Buchanan thinks might be greatly improved by cultivation. The true nutmeg tree now grows to a tolerable size in certain sheltered situations in the Tiunivelly district, especially Courtalum, and bears pretty good fruit. From Mr. Moon's Cata- logue of Ceylon plants, we learn that several species of Myristica grow in that island, of which the true nutmeg is one, and known by the Singhalese name of Sadikka. Mr. Crawford, in his History of the Indian Archipelago, informs us that there are no less than eight cultivated varieties of the tree in the Indian Islands ; and according * MateriK Iiidica. 76 MYRISTICA MOSCHATA. to De Corayn (see his State of the Philippine Islands, p. 26) two sorts grow in that island, one shaped like a pigeon's egg, the other perfectly sj)herical. The nutmeg tree produces fruit at the age of seven -years ; at fifteen it is in the greatest state of productiveness; and, in the Molucca Islands, it continues to bear till it has attained the age of seventy or eighty years, yielding three crops annually : the first in April, the second in August, and the third (which is considered the best) in December. The fruit requires nine months to ripen, so that the flowers and fruit are seen on the tree in various stages of matu- rity at the same time. " The Dutch having possession of the spice islands in 1619, encou- raged, to the utmost of their power, the cultivation of the nutmeg in a few of them ; and were anxious, for the sake of the monopoly, to have them there so exclusively, that they either destroyed them themselves in the remainder of the islands, or kept the princes in their pay for the purpose of doing so. In fact, they pursued the same line of policy with the nutmeg, as has already been described with regard to the clove, under that article. They have more than once suffered dearly for their insatiable avarice, for the dreadful hurricanes and earthquakes, which spared other islands, nearly annihilated the nutmegs of Banda in 1778 ; so that the Dutch were only able to have a few supplies for several years afterwards. While the Dutch remained undisputed possessors of the spice islands, the quantity of nutmegs and mace exported from their nutmeg-grounds, circumscribed as they were, was truly enormous. Stavorinus, in his valuable Voyage to the East Indies, gives an excellent account of the commercial history of this spice. A quantity estimated at no less than 250,000 pounds annually, used to be vended in Europe, and nearly half that amount in the East Indies. Of mace the average has been 90,000 pounds sold in Europe, and 10,000 pounds in the East Indies. When the spice islands were taken by the British, in 1796, the importation of the East India Company into England alone, in the two years fol- lowing the capture, were, of nutmegs 129,732 pounds, and of mace 286,000 pounds. When the crops of spice have been superabundant, and the price likely, in consequence, to be reduced, the same con- tracted spirit has actuated the Dutch to destroy immense quantities of the fruit, rather than suffer the markets to be lowered. A Hol- lander, who had returned from the spice islands, informed Sir William Temple, that at one time^, he saw three piles of nutmegs burnt, each of which was more than a church of ordinary dimensions MYRISTICA MOSCHATA. 77 could hold." In 1760, M. Beaumar^ witnessed at Amsterdam, near the Admiralty, the destruction by fire of a mass of spice, which was valued at one million livres, and an equal quantity was condemned to be burnt the day following ; and Mr. Wilcocks, the translator of Stavorinus's Travels, relates, that he himself beheld such a con- flagration of cloves, nutmegs, and cinnamon, upon the little Island of Newland, near Middleburgh, in Zealand, as perfumed the air with their aromatic scent for many miles round. "M. Poivre had the honour of introducing this valuable plant into the Isles of France and Bourbon, in 1772, together with the clove ; thence by the liberal policy of the French, it was sent to Guiana, and to the West India Islands. " In 1796, the British took possession of the Molucca Islands, and two years afterwards planted the nutmeg at Bencoolen, in Sumatra, where it is grown in the greatest luxuriance ; so that in five years, the two had . arrived from ten to fourteen feet in height, and in October and November, 1802, two hundred and forty-seven trees, out of about six hundred, blossomed : about half of these were male, and the rest female. A second importation was made to that island, by the assistance of the Bengal government ; and the son of Dr. Roxburgh arrived there with twenty-two thousand nutmeg plants from Amboyna, which, in a few years, yielded 200,000 pounds weight of nutmegs, and 50,000 pounds of mace. '* In the Moluccas, the Dutch appear to have been totally ignorant of the dioecious nature of the trees, and of the cause of sterility in so many of them. Where the trees are very abundant this is a mat- ter of comparatively trifling importance, but in colonies where but few plants have been introduced, it is not only of essential conse- quence that the female flowers should be fertilized by the male, but that the male plants should be employed in the most economical manner. This has been achieved by M. Joseph Hubert, in the Isle of France, in the most successful manner. Ascertaining that one male plant is sufficient for a hundred females, he resolved upon grafting the seed- ling stock of all his plantations in that proportion, in the second year of their growth : by this means there are no superfluous trees, and they come into bearing the sooner. According to the old method, the trees did not bear flowers till the seventh or eighth year, and it was not till that period that the useless trees could be removed. " In our West India colonies the nutmeg was introduced about thirty years ago ; and first, to the island of St. Vincent from Cay- enne, though not without great difficulty, on account of the extreme 78 MYRISTICA MOSCHATA. jealousy of the inhabitants of that colony, the two countries being then at war with each other. The three trees which were originally imported have borne fruit for many years, and have attained the height of twenty feet, with a trunk eight or nine feet in diameter. It does not, however, appear that the culture of the nutmeg suc- ceeds so well in the West as in the East Indies. Mr. Lockhart, who has the charge of the plants introduced into the Island of Trinidad, by his Excellency Sir Ralph Woodford, observes in a letter to me, that the plants flourish best in the rainy season ; even when mode- rate showers fall requiring constantly artificial watering, although a soil saturated with moisture is injurious. *' In the Moluccas, the gathering of the fruit takes place at three periods of the year : in July and August, when the nutmegs are most abundant, but the mace is thinner than in the smaller fruits, which are gathered during November, the second time of collecting ; the third, however, takes place in the month of March, or the be- ginning of April, when the nuts, as well as the mace, are in the greatest perfection, their number being then not so great, and the season being dry. The outer pulpy coat is removed, and afterwards the mace with a knife. The nuts are placed over a slow fire, when the shell becomes very brittle, and the seeds or nutmegs drop out; these are then soaked in sea water and impregnated with lime, a process which answers the double purpose of securing the seeds from the attack of insects and of destroying their vegetating pro- perty ; and it also prevents the volatilization of the aroma. The mace is simply dried in the sun, and then sprinkled with salt water, after which it is fit for exportation." * We are told by J. Lumsdaine, Esq.f that at Bencoolen they are simply rubbed over with dry lime ; after which they are cleaned and packed up in casks and chests, smoked, and covered within with a coating of lime and water. Qualities and Chemical PROPERTiES.—Nutmegs have a pleasant fragrant smell and a warm aromatic taste ; when chewed they are friable and almost dissolve in the mouth. They are easily cut with a knife, but not very pulverulent, owing to the large propor- tion of fixed oil they contain, which is the active matter of the nut- * Curtis's Botan. Mag. N. S. vol. i. t See his report on the Cultivation of Spices at Bencoolen, &c. Edin. Phil. Journ. vol. vii, p, 127. MYRISTICA MOSCHATA. 79 meg. The watery infusion is limpid, yellowish, having drops of oil swimming on the surface. On expression, nutmegs yield nearly six ounces in the pound, of a butter-like oil,* of a yellowish colour when recent, but changing to a mottled white, and becoming hard by age. This oil is fat, easily melted, and on bringing a candle near it the melted oil takes fire, burning with a vivid, broken flame, with scarcely any smoke or soot. Nutmeg yields also on distillation with water about part of their weight of an essential oil, limpid, transparent, lighter than water, and of a pale straw colour, possess- ing the odour and flavour of the nutmeg in a concentrated degree. Rectified spirit extracts the whole virtues of nutmegs by infusion, but carries over very little of it in distillation. The component parts of nutmeg, according to the analysis of Neumann, are starch, gum, wax, volatile oil, and fixed fat oil ; the last appears to be a vegeta- ble cerate, or a triple compound, consisting of wax, volatile oil, and fixed oil. The genuine oil of nutmegs, or, as it is commonly called, oil of mace, is frequently adulterated, and a spurious sort is sold in the shops, which contains very little, if any, of the genuine oil, but is chiefly composed of fatty substances, combined with a little of the essential oil to give it a flavour. Mace in its taste and odour resembles that of nutmeg, but is somewhat more pungent and bitter, of a reddish brown or golden yellow colour, tough, laciniated, flexible, thin, and unctuous to the feel ; alcohol and ether extract its active principles. Medical Properties and Uses. Both nutmegs and mace are cordial, stimulant, carminative and gently astringent ; these pro- pei'ties depend entirely upon the essential oil they contain. They are sometimes ordered in diarrhoea, flatulent colic, languors, and to check nausea and vomiting ; but they are chiefly employed as an adjunct to other medicines to cover their disagreeable taste, and obviate the griping eflfects of drastic purgatives. Nutmeg when taken in large quantities produces drowsiness, stupor, and insensi- bility,! followed by delirium ; similar symptoms are said to follow an over dose of mace : hence in some particular habits, and in those predisposed to apoplexy, nutmeg and mace should be cautiously prescribed. Both the expressed and volatile oils are sometimes * This oil is erroneously called oil of mace. — Ed. t Collen's Mat. Med. toI. ii. 204. Bontius also speaks of their nareotic effects,, which in India have been frequently felt. 80 HUMULUS LUPULUS. employed as external stimulants ; the former is seldom prescribed for any other purpose. A drop or two of the latter put into the hollow of a carious tooth often relieves the pain of tooth ache. Mace and nutmeg are given in doses of from five to twenty grains; \that of the volatile oil is from two to six or eight drops. Oir. Nutmeg ; Mace ; Oil of Nutmeg, Essen^ tial and Expressed ; Oil of Mace. Off. Pp. Spiritus Myristicse, L. E. D. ^ HUMULUS LUPULUS. The Hop* Class DiCEClA. Order Pentandria. Nat. Order, Scabrid^, Linn. URTiciE, Juss. Gen. Char. Male. Calyx five-leaved. Corolla none. Female. Calyx one-leafed, obliquely spread- ing, entire. Corolla none. Styles two. Seed one, within a leafy calyx. Spec. Char. 0. The Hop is an indigenous perennial rooted plant, with an annual stem flowering in June and July, and ripening its seeds in September. The male plant is very common in many parts of England, and found growing on banks and the sides of hedges. The female plant is very abundantly cultivated in Kent, Essex, Suflx>lk and Surry, • Fig. 1. represents the female plant. 2. The male plant, a. A male flower magnified, b. and c. Two riews of a magnified anther, b. The front, shewing the pores of the top. c. The back view. d. A single scale of the catkin, e. The pis till am. /. A seed. lie fonu' HUMUL^US LUPULUS. 81 There is but one species of the hop, but the cultivators of the female plant reikon three different varieties, viz. the long and square garlick, the long white, and the oval hop, all of which are indifferently cultivated.* The cultivation of this plant was introduced into England from Flanders about three hundred years ago ; and the strobiles were first used as an ingredient for preserving malt liquor, in the latter part of the reign of Henry VIII. The root sends up many long, flexible, angular, rough, striated stems, which often rise to the height of twenty feet, and support themselves by twining round upright bodies ; the leaves are oppo- site in pairs, petiolate, cordate, serrated, entire, or lobed, of a dark green on the upper surface : both the leaves and petioles are rough, with minute prickles ; at the base of each footstalk are two cordate, entire, reflected, smooth stipules ; the male and female flowers are qn distinct plants, axillary or terminal, and furnished with bracteas. The female plants are in solitary, ovate, pendulous cones or strobiles, composed of membranous scales of a pale yellowish-green colour, tubular at the base, and two-flowered, containing the germen, sup- porting two styles, crowned with awl-shaped downy stigmas; the ger- men becomes a llattish round seed of a brownish colour, surrounded with a sharp riui, and compressed at the tip. The male flowers are in drooping panicles of a pale yellowish colour ; the calyx consists of five serrated leaflets ; there is no corolla ; the filaments are five, short, and support oblong anthers, opening at the apex by two pores. The strobiles or cones of the female plants are ripe the latter end of August or beginning of September, at which, season the plants are cut about three feet from the ground, the poles on which they have twined pulled up, and the strobiles carefully picked off one by one. The most convenient mode of picking them is into a large square frame of wood, called a bin, with a cloth hanging on tenter hooks within it, to receive the hops as they are picked. The hops should be picked very clean, J. e. free from leaves and stalks. If the weather be hot, there should no more poles be drawn than can be picked in an hour, when the hops should be immediately carried to the kiln to dry. Great care and nicety is requisite in regulating the proper heat of the kiln, which must not be too fierce at first; and in order to prevent them from drying too fast, some kilns have » Miller. VOL. n. N 82 ilUMULUS LtTULUS. two floors, on the upper of which the greener hop§ are laid, and gradually dried before being brought to support the heat of the lower floor. When the strobiles are sufliciently dried, which may be known by their becoming crisp, they are removerl from the kiln, and laid in heaps in the store-houses, where they are suff^ered to remain for several weeks, to acquire toughness and tenacity before they are bagged. Hops when well dried and packed will keep good and retain their active properties tor several years. Sensible and Chemical Propertfes, :M|i!>ale. Imdiott, voi. u p. 125 , SWIEtENIA FEBRIFUGA. 87 mouth of the nectary; the germen is conical, bearing a thick tapering style, crowned with a large targeted stigma, which shuts up the mouth of the nectary ; the capsule is large, ovate, and five- valved, with the valves gaping from the top ; the seeds are many in each cell, obliquely wedge-shaped, imbricated, and have a large, oblong, membranous wing.* The genuine name, Swietenia, was given to this tree by Jacquin, in honour of that celebrated physician. Baron Van Swieten, founder of the botanic garden at Vienna. Another species of this genus, the (Swietenia Mahagoui) common mahogany, a native of the West Indies, was cultivated in England in 1739 by M. P. Miller, who considered it a species of cedrus. Sensible Qualities, &c. The external appearance of this bark is rough, of a greyish colour ; internally it is of a light red ; its texture is compact, but brittle ; it is nearly inodorous, and has a very bitter austere, but not nauseous taste. Water extracts its virtues, both by infusion and decoction : it also gives out its virtues to proof spirit. The wood of this tree (when treated in the same manner as the Acacia Catechu) yields an extract very similar to kino.f Medical Properties and Uses. The bark of the Swietenia possesses very considerable astringent and tonic powers; and we have the testimony of Lind, Wright, and many other respectable authorities, that the bark has been found to answer the general purposes of that of the cinchona. In India it has long been used for the cure of intermittents, with considerable advantage; but in Europe it has been very little employed. This particular species of Swietenia (febrifuge) was first described by Dr. Roxburgh, botanist to the East India Company, who recommends the bark to be collected where the sap begins to ascend freely ; he is also of opinidn that the small sized branches yield the bark best suited for medical purposes. We are told by Mr. Breton,! that in a number of cases of confirmed remittent bilious fevers, (commonly called jungle fever) he put this bark to the fairest possible test ; and as success was uniformly the result of repeated trials, he thinks himself warranted in concluding it to be an efficient substitute for the Peruvian bark. * Our drawing was taken from both a dried specimen, and an original drawing of PiOxburgh's, in the Herbarium and Librarj of the Medico- Botunical Societj of London. i Medico Chirurg. Trans, vol. xi. p. 32S. X Vide Medico Chirurg. Trans. vo\. xi. 88 SWIETENIA FEBRIFUGA, He also says, ** In common intermittent fevers, I have employed this bark very extensively, and with invariable success. I have also put this drug to the test of trial in three cases of gangrene and mortifi- cation, and in a case of suppurated liver ; but as it was accompanied with auxiliaries, I cannot speak so positively of its actual efficacy in these instances. The uniform result, however, of so many experi- ments, satisfied my own mind, that the Swietenia Febrifuga answers every purpose of Peruvian bark, in allaying irritability, and restoring strength. I trust I shall not be accused of being visionary or enthusiastic, when I avow my own conviction, after having long employed this bark in every case where cinchona is indicated, t|iat it forms a completely efficient substitute for the American drug, and that time alone is required to extend that general conviction of its efficacy, which every succeeding experiment will assuredly tend to impress." Dr. Ainslie says,* " Given to the extent of four or five drachms in the twenty-four hours, I have found it to be a useful medicine, but beyond that quantity, it, in every instance in which I tried it, appeared to me to derange the nervous system, occasioning vertigo, and subsequent stupor." Swietenia bark may be given in substance from one to five or six drachms in twenty-four hours. It may also be given in the form of infusion or tincture. We are told by Dr. Ainslie that the tincture is, perhaps, the most valuable of all its preparations, where the bark is good, as a stomachic. Oflf. The Bark. • Mat. Ind. Tol.i p. 124. T 89 SOLIDAGO VIRGAUREA. Common Golden Rod* Class Syngenesia. — Ort/er Pol yg A mi a Superflua. Nat. Ord. Composite DiscoiDEaa, Lin7i. Corymbifere, Jms*. Gen. Char. Receptacle naked. Pappus simple. Corollets of the ray about fiv«. Calyx scales imbricate, closed. Spec. IChar, Stem slightly zig-zag, angular. Clusters pa- nicled, crouded, erect. Upper Leaves lanceolate, narrow at both ends ; lower elliptico-lanceolate, hairy, partially serrated. This species of Soliclago is an indigenous perennial plant, found in woods, copses, and upon heathy ground, where it is frequently met with among furze. Some botanists consider the Solidago Virgaurea as the only native species; but we are told by Miller, that " three t sorts grow naturally in England, yet have not been well distinguished by any bot9.nic writer; for in all the books which treat of the English plants, tliey are put down as one sort, to which they have applied a title of Caspar Bauhin, viz. Virga Aurea Latifolia Serrata, which is a different plant from either of our English sorts; but the tliird sort here mentioned, (Angustifolia) I believe to be what Caspar Bauhin has titled Virga Aurea Angustifolia Minus Serrata." Mr. Lindley, in the tenth edition of the Hortus Cantabrigiensis, enumerates two indigenous species, viz. tlie Solidago Virgaurea and Solidago Carabrica. These, if distinct species, bear a close resem- blance to each other, and are subject to many varieties. Few species of this genus were known to Linnaeus.I Subsequent botanists have added greatly to the number : Sir J. E. Smith enumerates fifty-one, the greater number of which are natives of North An) erica. ♦ Fig. o. the lower part of the stem and root. 6. A floret of the radius, c. A floret of the disc. d. The caljx. e. The receptacle. /. A magnified scale of the calyx. ■f So'idago RatifoJia; Solidago Vulgari.s ; Solidago AngttSlifoHa. t Foarteeo species only, ?ide Systema Vegetab. ed. 14. VOL. II. O 90 SOLIDAGO VIRGAUREA. The root of this plant consists of long, simple fibres > the stem varies in height from one to three feet, somewhat curved at the lower part, then rising erect, slightly zigzag, angular, striated, solid, and somewhat downy ; the radical leaves are obovate, serrated, on winged petioles, deep green on the upper surface, pale beneath, and clothed with rigid down; the stem leaves are smaller, narrower, more entire, and are placed alternate ; the flowers are yellow, in terminal and axillary erect clusters, forming a close panicle, with lanceolate, downy bracteas ; the calyx is formed of membranous scales, with a downy border ; the florets of the radius are from five to ten, three-toothed, spreading ; those of the disc are numerous, tubular, and cut into five equal segments at the apex; the filaments are capillary, and the anthers united into a cylindrical tube ; the seeds are ovate, pubescent, and the pappus rough. Sensible Qualities, &c. The recent plant has a slightly aromatic odour; when bruised the smell is somewhat more powerful ; the taste is somewhat aromatic and astringent; boiling water extracts the active matter of the herb ; the watery infusion strikes black with sulphate of iron, and changes to green the colour of syrup of violets. Medical Properties and Uses. Golden rod was formerly held in great repute as a lithontriptie, and in diseases of the urinary bladder. From its astringent quality, it may be of some use in a debihtated state of the viscera. It has been employed with consi- derable advantage in diarrhoea ; but like many of our indigenous plants, it is now totally disregarded.* The dose of the powdered herb may be from ten to sixty grains, in any proper vehicle, three times a day. Off". The Flowers and Leaves. * We are told by Gerarde, that be has known the dry herb fetch 2s. 6d. an ounce, so great was the estimation in which it was held previous to its discovery io the neigh- boarhood of London. - - 111:1 t we ■ Mr Ar... Wi. a 'J' by was u and m ^ clu. the CANELLA ALBA. Laurel-leaved Canella.* 91 Class DoDECANDRiA. — Order Monogynia. ZVaf. Ord. OLKRACEiE, Linn. Meliace^, Juss. Gen. Char. C«Z//x three-lobed. Petals ^\e. Filaments none. Anthers twenty-one, adhering to a pitcher-shaped nectary. Berry three-celled. Seeds two to four. There is but one known species. The Canella Alba is a native of the new World, and is very common in Jamaica and other West India Islands ; according to Clusius, it was first introduced into Britain about the year 1600, and we are informed by Mr. Aiton.t that in 1739 it was cultivated by Mr. Miller in Chelsea Gardens. For some time, however, and even until lately, it was very generally confounded with the Wintera Aromatica, a native of South America, discovered by Captain Winter, from whom it took its name, in 1579, when that Commander accompanied Sir Francis Drake in his voyage to the South Pacific Ocean. John Bauhin was the first who confounded the names of these trees,! by calling the bark of the Wintera, Canella Alba, and this error was adopted by Linnaeus himself,§ who gave to it the name of Laurus Winterana; but on discovering that it belonged to a distinct genus, he still, in a manner, continued his original error, by calling it simply Winterania, as a generic name ; and by this it was universally known, till Professor Murray corrected the error, and made a distinct genus of Canella. It must however be observed, that although these two trees do not strictly agree in their botanical characters, there is a very strong resemblance between them ; while the sensible and medical properties of their respective barks are nearly the same ; and indeed, the bark of the Canella Alba is very * Fig. a. the calyx and pistillum magnified, b. The anthers. c. The d. Transverse section of the frait. e. A seed of the natural size, ■f- Hort. Kew. vol. ii. p. 125. t Hist. vol. i. p. 460. § Sp. Plant, ed. i. p. 3T1. 92 CANELLA ALBA. generally substituted in the shops for the true Cortex Winteranus, which is but rarely met with ; this however is worthy of notice, that one, the Canella Alba, is a native of the Tropics, while the other has been found only in the Antariic regions. The stem of this tree rises very straight and npriiilit, varying in height, according to the situation in which it, grows, from ten to fifty feet, and sending out from its top only a number of erect branches; the stem of the tree is covered with a whitish bark, from whence the name, and by which it is easily distinguished in the woods from the surrounding trees; the leaves are oblong, obtuse, entire, of a dark shining green colour, thick like those of the laurel, which they somewhat resemble, and stand alternate upon short footstalks ; the flowers, which seldom open, are of a violet colour, small, and grow in clusters at the tops of the branches upon divided footstalks ; the calyx is mouophyllus, and divided into three lobes, nearly to its base, these lobes are roundish, smooth, concave, incumbent, mem- branous, of a green colour^ and persisteiit; the corolla is composed of five petals, of a violet colour, much longer than the calyx, sessile, oblong, concave, erect, and two of them somewhat narrower than the other three ; the nectary, which is as long as the petals, is pitcher- shaped, and supports tiie anthers, there being no tilaments; the anthers are twenty-one in number, and are fixed longitudinally to the nectary, they are linear, parallel, distinct, and single valved ; the germeu is ovate, superior, and supporls a cylindrical style fur- nished witii two rough obtuse convex stigmata ; the fniit is an oblong berry, containing from two to four kidney-shaped seeds of unequal size, these berries are at first green, then blue, and at last, become of a glossy black colour, and have a faint aromatic taste and smell. Sensible Properties. The entire tree is so very aromatic, that when in blossom it perfumes the whole neighbourhood ; the flowers dried and softened again in warm water, have a fragrant odour, approaching to that of musk. The leaves have a strong smell of laurel, and no doubt contain prussic acid. The officinal Canella Alba is the bark of the branches, freed from the epidermis, and dried in the shade ; it comes to Europe in long quills, about three quarters of an inch in diameter, somewhat thicker than cinna- mon, and both externally and iniernaily of a whitish colour, inchning to yellow or brown. Its taste is warm, pungent, aromatic, and somewhat hitter. Its smell is agreeable, and somewhat resembles that of cloves. Its virtues are best extracted by proof spirit; in distillatioji with water, it yields an active volatile oil, of a dark yellowish colour, thick tenacious consistence, and of an agreeable Dra.,. f ells us, u , together v 6(pgrots. Gen. Cha ; marginal. Sfecw Cha^v * Linn. Tn.*. t Fig. a. i e pellicle ASPIDIUM FELIX MAS. 93 smell, approaching to that of cinnamon ; the remaining decoction inspissated, leaves an extract of great bitterness, which seems to be composed of a resinous aiul gummy matter, imperfecily mixed. The watery infusion is not altered by infusion of galls, neither does sul- phate of zinc, or iron, tartarized antimony, nor muriate of mercury, produce any change ; but acetate of lead and nitrate of silver, render it milky, and throw down precipitates. Medical Properties. We have already said, that the medical properties of this bark and that of the Winterana were nearly the same, and hence the Canella Alba now supersedes the old bark of Winter in the London and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias. It has been supposed to possess considerable medicinal power as an anti-scor- butic, and the sailors employed in the expedition under Sir Francis Drake found it useful in this complaint. It is now considered merely as an aromatic, and as such is used as a corrigent to other medicines. Its virtues reside in its essential oil. This bark, Swartz tells us, was formerly a common ingredient in the food of the Caribs, together with Capsicum, and it is still used as such by the negroes.* Off. The Bark. Off. Pp. Pulvis Aloes, cum Canella, D. ♦ ASPIDIUM FELIX MAS, Male Fern.-\ Class Cry PTOGAM I A. — Orc?^r FiLiCES. Nat. Ord. FiLiCES, Linn. Gen. Char. Fructification in roundish points, scattered, not marginal. Involucre umbilicated, open almost on every side. Spec. Char. Frond nearly bipinnate. Pinna obtuse, notched. Stipe chaffy . * Linn. Tras. 1. c. + Fig. a. the parts of fructification, the petlicle being removed, h. The same, with the pellicle partially removed, c. External view of the pellicle, d. Internal view of the sa me. ASPIDIUM FILIX MAS. This species of Fern is the OviKvTTsph of Dioscorides ; it is a native of Britain, and is found in great abundance about the borders of woods, rivulets, and in stony rocky places, flowering in June and July.* This species of fern (with others of the same family) was ranked by Linnaeus under the genus Polypodium, or Polypody tribe of plants; but modern botanists have separated the shitld-fern from the Polypody, and formed a distinct genus of the shield-fern under the generic title Aspidium.f The root is perennial, large, long, firm, and covered with thick brown imbricated scales, and furnished with numerous long fibres; the general leaves are pinnate, large, from one to four feet in length, lance-shaped, broader in the middle and gradually decreasing to each extremity, terminating above in an acute point ; the pailial or second leaves are from fifteen to twenty pair, remote on the lower part, gra- dually approaching nearer as they advance upwards, and runuing together at the top ; the pinnae are from seven to fifteen pair, which are largest at the bottom, and gradually decrease towards the top, where they unite in a point, they are of an oval form, and some- what crenate at the upper extremity; the seed vessels are placed in two rows on the back of the pinnae or lobes, in number from three! to six, and covered with a pellicle ; they are at first white, and after- wards change to a black or ash colour ; when the seeds are ripe, the pellicle bursts, and after the discharge of the seeds, the vessels be- come brown and appear as if covered with dust.J Sensible Properties. The root of fern when chewed, is somewhat sweet and mucilaginous, followed by a slight bitter astrin- gent taste. It has scarcely any smell ; when dried and powdered it is of a reddish brown colour. The root has been lately analysed by M. Mirca, who found it to contain gelatine, which was soluble both in water and alcohol ; tannin, starch, uncrystallizable sugar, subcarbonate, sulphate and hydrochlorate of potass, carbonate and phosphate of lime, oxide of iron, silex and alumine.§ * Of the Genus Aspidium twenty-eiglit species are known, of which, fifteen are indigenous to Britain, the others natives of the East and West Indies, North America and Madeira. — Ed. •f- By mistake the generic name Polypodium was pat on onr drawing, and the error discovered too late to rectify. — Ed. X A diagonal incision of the lower or black part of the stalk of this Fern, presents the appearance of the spread eagle of heraldry. § Ann. de Ghim. xxvi. 219. ASPIDIUM FILIX MAS. 95 Medical Properties and Uses. The root of fern has been long celebrated for its vermifuge properties. Dioscorides, ' Galen and Pliny appear to have been well acquainted with it ;* by later writers, as Hoffmann and others, it was much recommended, but had fallen into disuse till revived by Madame Noufer, a surgeon's widow in Switzerland, who acquired great celebrity for the cure of tape worm, by a secret remedy. This remedy was thought of so much importance by the principal physicians in Paris, that the secret was purchased by the French king, and published by his order. The following, we are told, is the method of cure which was adopted by Madame Noufer and her followers : the patient is prepared by the exhibition of a glyster, and a supper of panada, with butter and salt; the following morning, he is directed to take from two to three drachms of the root of the male fern in powder, this is washed down with a draught of water, and two hours after, a strong cathartic, composed of calomel and scammony (proportioned to the strength of the patient) i^ to be given; if this dose do not operate after a. proper time, a dose of purgative salts is to be taken ; and if the worm be not expelled in a few hours, the process is to be repeated at proper intervals. It has been thought, that the success of this mode of treatment is to be attributed more to the agency of the cathartics than the fern ; however, from experiments made on the continent, it appears, that in several instances the worm has been expelled after repeated doses of the root, without the assistance of any cathartic. In this country, we believe the male fern root has not been pre- scribed with much success ; but we think is worthy of further trials. The solid part of the root only should be powdered, and given in doses regulated by the constitution and age of the patient. Off. The Root. * Vide Pliny, lib. xxviii. cap. 9. Galen de Simp. Med. lib. viii. Dioscorides M. M. lib. ir, cap. 186. 96 ALOE SOCOTRINA. Socotrme, or Spiked Aloe.* Glass Hexandria, — Order Monogynia. Nat. Ord. Coronaria;, Linn. Asphodeli, Juss. Gen. Char. Corolla erect, mouth spreading, bottom necta- riferous. Filaments inserted into the receptacle. Spec. Char. Spikes horizontal. Flowers belled. Stem-leaves flat, stem-clasping, toothed. The Aloe is a perennial plant, a native of Africa, flowering most part of the year. Various species of the Aloe were introduced into this country more tliyn two hundred years ago; in the present day, upwards of ninety species are cultivated in our botanic gardens,! where they form one of our ornamental green-house plants. Most of the Aloe tribe are natives of the Cape of Good Hope, and a tract of mountains aboul fifty miles distant from the town is wholly covered with these plants. Various species of the Aloe have been long since introduced into the West Indies; particularly the Islands Jamaica and Barbadoes, where they are now become naturalized. The Aloe Socotrina has a strong fibrous root ; the tlower stems rise to the height of three or four feet, are smooth, erect, of a glaucous green colour ; the leaves, which are numerous, proceed from the upper part of the root, they are fleshy, succulent, narrow, taper- ing, smooth, of a glaucous colour, and beset on the edges with teeth ; the flowers are produced in terminal spikes, and are of a reddish orange colour ; there is no calyx ; the corolla is monope- taious, tubular, nectariferous, and divided into six narrow segments, which separate at the mouth ; the six filaments are tapering, yel- lowish, inserted into the receptacle, and support oblong anthers of an orange colour; the germen is oblong, style slender, the length of the filaments, and crowned with an obtuse stigma ; the capsule is oblong, three-celled, and three-valved, and contains many angular seeds. * Fig. d. represents the upper portion of a leaf, e. Back and front view of an antlier. /. Tlie ptstillum. t Hort. Cantab. 10th ed. 97 ALOE VULGARIS. Yellow-flowered Aloe.* For Class, Order, Nat. Ord. and Gen. Char. See Aloe Socotrina. Spec. Char. Leaves sword-shaped, toothed, upright. Stem branched. Flowers yellow, in a dense panicle. The stem is thick, short, branched, and shrubby, and like the leaves abounds in a clammy juice; the leaves are sessile, rising nearly erect, from three to four inches broad at their base, and a foot long ; lanceolate, acute, smooth, succulent, concave above, and of a sea-green colour ; the flower stem rises about three feet in height, round, erect, smooth, of a purplish colour, branched at top, and terminated by a loose spike of yellow fliowers ; the flowers are nu- merous, and stand upon short smooth peduncles, each flower is accompanied by a single bractea of a triangular form, membra- naceous, and of a brownish colour ; the corolla is monopetalous, ob- long, cylindrical, and deeply divided into five segments : the outer segments are larger than the inner, ovate, and spreading at the border ; the filaments are thread-shaped, the length of the corolla, inserted into the receptacle, and crowned with oblong incumbent anthers j the germen is oblong, ovate, angular ; style nearly the length of the filaments ; stigma simple. This species of Aloe, (Vulgaris) is the one described by Sloane in his History of Jamaica, as producing the Barbadoes or Hepatic Aloes of commerce ; it is a native of the Levant and Barbary, but cultivated in the West India Islands. It was found by Dr. Sibthorpe, growing spontaneously in the island of Cyprus. Sir. E. Smith has satisfac- torily ascertained it to be the true AKqv] of the ancient Greeks. The inspissated juice known in commerce under the name of Aloes, is the produce of various species of the Aloe plant. In the * Fig. a. represents the leaves and part of the root. b. The pistillam. VOL. II. P 98 ALOE VULGARIS. shops six kinds of Aloes are met with, viz. Socotrine, Barbadoes or Hepatic, Caballine, commonly called Horse Aloes, Red Aloes, Mo- cha Aloes, and Indian or Mozambique Aloes : these three last are little known but to the dealers in this drug. It is more than probable that the difference in these several kinds of Aloes, is owing more to the mode of preparing the juice, than to the species of Aloe from which it is produced. The following account of the culture of the Aloe at Barbadoes, and the method of preparing the extract, we have transcribed from a paper on the subject, communicated by Mr. MilHngton to the Medical Journal, vol. viii. — The lands in the vicinity of the sea, that is, from two or three miles, which are rather subject to drought than otherwise, and are so stony and shallow, as not to admit of planting sugar canes, are generally found to answer best for the Aloe plant. The stones, at least the largest, are first picked up, the land is then ploughed lightly, and carefully cleared of noxious weeds, lined at one foot distance from row to row, and the young plants set like cabbages, at about five or six inches from each other. This regular mode of lining and setting the plants, is practised by the most exact planters, in order to facilitate the weeding of them by the hand, very frequently ; for if they are not kept perfectly clean and free from weeds, the produce will be but very small. They will bear being planted in any season of the year, even in the driest, as they will live on the surface of the earth for many weeks without a drop of rain. The most general time, however, of planting them, is from April to June. In the March following, the labourers carry a parcel of tubs and jars into the field, and each takes a slip or breadth of it, and begins by laying hold of a bunch of the blades, as much as he can conveniently grasp with one hand, while with the other, he cuts it just above the surface of the earth, as quickly as possible, that the juice may not be wasted, and then places the blades in the tub, bunch by bunch. When the first tub is thus packed quite full, a second is begun, each labourer having two; by the time the second is full, all the juice is generally drained out of the blades in the first tub. The blades are then lightly taken out, and thrown over the land for manure, and the juice is poured out into ajar. The tub is then filled with blades, and so alternately, till the labourer has produced his jar full, or about four gallons and a half, which is often done in six or seven hours, and he has then the remainder of the day to himself; it being his employer's interest to get each day's operation as quickly done as possible. ALOE VULGARIS. 9D " I should observe, that although aloes are often cut in nine, ten, or twelve months after being planted, they are not in perfection till the second or third year; and that they will be productive for ten or twelve years, or even longer, if good dung, or manure of any kind, is strewed over the field once in three or four years. " The Aloe juice will keep for several weeks without injury. It is therefore not boiled till a sufficient quantity is procured, to make it an object for the boihng house. "In the large way, thtee boilers, either of iron or of copper, are placed to one fire, though some have but two, and the small planters only one. The boilers are filled with the juice, and as it ripens, or becomes inspissated, by a constant but regular fire, it is ladled for- ward from boiler to boiler, and fresh juice is added to that farthest from the fire, till the juice in that nearest the fire, (by much the smallest of the three, and commonly called by the name of tateh, as in the manufactory of sugar) becomes of a proper consistence to be skipped or ladled out into gourds or other small vessels used for its final reception. The proper time to ladle it out, is when it is arrived at what is termed a resin height, or when it cuts freely, or drops in thin flakes, from time to time, into the tatch for that purpose. A little lime water is used by some Aloe boilers during the process, when the ebullition is too great. " As to the sun-dried aloes, which are more approved of for medi- cal purposes, very little is made in Barbadoes. The process is very simple. The raw juice is either put into bladders left quite open at the top, and suspended in the sun, or in broad shallow trays of wood, pewter, or tin, exposed also to the sun, every dry day, until all the fluid parts are exhaled, and a perfect resin formed, which is then packed up for use or exportation." Aloe Socotrin a, or true Socotrine Aloes,* so named from being formerly brought from the island of Socotra, or Zocotra, at the mouth of the Red Sea, near the straits of Babelmandel, comes wrapped in skins. This sort of aloes, is also imported from the Cape and Bombay, and we are told by Mr. Barrow, that the quan- * This sort of aloes is chieflj- the product of the Aloe Spicata, the species of aloe most abundant at the Cape ; but the various sorts of aloes are not the product of one species only, but of the several species and varieties that are produced in countries in which the aloes are prepared, although one may prevail. — Ed. 100 ALOE VULGARIS. tity of Cape Aloes sent to London, from 1799 to 1802, inclusive, was 341,927 lbs.* Qualities, &c. The best Socotrine Aloes is hard and friable in the winter, but somewhat pliable in the summer, and softens between the fingers ; the lumps are of a yellowish red colour, with a cast of purple ; surface very glossy, as if varnished, and semi-transparent ; when reduced to powder, of a bright golden yellow : it has a pecu- liar aromatic odour, and a strong bitter taste. The Cape Aloes re- sembles the above, excepting in its odour, which is more powerful, and more disagreeable, and the inside of the lumps is apt to continue soft and pliable ; it is imported in casks and chests. The Bombay Aloes is rather duller and browner, but in other respects, differs very little from the true Socotrine. Aloes are prepared at the Island of Zocotra, by cutting the leaves off close to the stem,f then cutting them into pieces and expressing the juice, which is allowed to remain at rest for forty-eight hours, during which time the feculent matter is deposited ; after which the supernatant liquor is poured off into flat dishes, and evaporated in the sun to a proper consistence. Qualities, &c. of Barbadoes or Hepatic Aloes. The odour of the Barbadoes Aloes is stronger and less pleasant than that of the Socotrine, the taste is intensely bitter and nauseous, with little or nothing of the aromatic flavour of the latter. This sort of aloes is of two kinds ; that brought from the East Indies, is of a light brown or reddish yellow colour, and breaks with a clean frac- ture, and possesses nearly the same medicinal properties as the true Socotrine. J That brought from Barbadoes, is not so clear and bright as the foregoing ; its texture is also more compact, it is less brittle, but drier. The best aloes that comes from Barbadoes is in large gourd shells, the inferior sorts are imported in casks. Caballine Aloes is a very inferior sort, and may be readily dis- tinguished from both the foregoing by its strong rank smell ; it is * Vide Travels in Africa. f The juice expressed from the thick leaves acquires a purple colour in the air, and furnishes a permanent dye.* In Barbary, a cloth of a very beautiful texture, (resembling silk) is manufactured from the ligneous part of the leaves and stalk. In Cochin China, a wholesome and edible fecuia is also prepared from them. —Ed. t The East India or Bombay Aloes is very generally sold in the shops for the geHuiue Socotrine aloes. — Ed. * Ann. d« Chimie, vol. xxv. ALOE VULGARIS. 101 sometimes met with so pure and bright, as scarcely to be distin- guishable by the eye, from the Socotrine, but its ofFensive smell readily betrays it. It is probable that it is prepared from the dregs and residuum of the preceding sorts. Mocha Aloes. This sort resembles the Socotrine or Cape Aloes in appearance, but is said to be more purgative. It is probably the same as the Cape, but has derived its name from Mocha, the place from whence it is exported. Indian and Mozambique Aloes are inferior sorts of the Hepatic or Bombay Aloes. Chemical Properties, &c. of Aloes. "According to Neu- mann's analysis, 100 parts of aloes contain about 7.8. soluble in water only, or analogous to gura, 94. soluble in alcohol only, or resinous matter, and 895 soluble both in alcohol and in water, or extractive." Different proportions have been got by other chemists from different varieties of aloes, and Braconnot has described the extractive as a peculiar principle, under the title of aloesin. The Socotrine Aloes when distilled with water, yields a volatile oil ; it is nearly or totally soluble in boiling water, but as it cools, a peculiar bitter matter of a resinous nature is deposited ; on continuing the boiling, the extractive matter taken up is rendered insoluble. Hepatic Aloes does not yield any volatile oil by distillation, nor is it totally soluble in alcohol. The extractive obtained separately from any kind is less nauseous than the crude aloes, but differs in this respect, according to the sort of aloe from which it is prepared. Medical Properties and Uses. Although the various kinds of aloes differ considerably in their sensible quaUties, yet they agree pretty uniformly in their medical effects. They are warm, stimu- lating cathartics, exerting their action chiefly on the colon and rectum. In small doses repeated, aloes warm the habit, quicken the circulation, and promote the uterine and hsemorrhoidal fluxes. From the stimulant property of aloes, they are found very useful cathartics in most cases where the intestines are in a sluggish and torpid state, particularly in habitual costiveness, to persons of a hypochondriacal temperament, and those who lead a sedentary life ; in jaundice, chlorosis, scrophula, &c. the good effects of aloes are pretty certain. Aloes have also been found to be an excellent remedy for the expul- sion of ascarides ; for this purpose it is given internally, and applied externally to the abdomen in the form of plaister. Aloes are con- tra-indicated in all fluxes, phthisis, irritable and plethoric constitu- tions, and to persons afflicted with piles. The purgative effects of aloes have been supposed by some to reside entirely in its resin, but PISTACHIA TEREBINTHUS. from experience the pure resin has been found to have little or no cathartic quality, and the extractive part, when separated from the former, generally acts more powerfully than the crude aloes. Soco- trine Aloes acts with more violence than the Hepatic, and this is supposed to arise from the former containing more extractive than the latter, hence the Socotrine Aloes is most proper when a stimu- lant is required. The various kinds of aloes may be given in doses of from five to twenty grains, either alone or in combination with bitters or aromatics. It is said that larger doses do not act , more effectually. Aloes are said to form one of the chief and most active ingredients in many patent medicines.* Off. Extract of Aloes Off. Pp. Extractum Aloes, D. ' Pilulae Aloeticze, E. D. Aloes comp. L. • et Assafoetidae, E. c. Myrrh, L. E. D, Pulvis Aloes comp. L. Tinctura Aloes, L. E. D. ' • comp. E. D. iEtherea, E. Vinum Aloes, L. E. D. Aloes also form an ingredient in some other compound medicines of the Pharmacopoeias. PISTACHIA TEREBINTHUS. Chian, or Cyprus Turpentine Tree.'\ Class Di(EGik.— Order Pentandria. Nat. Order. Amentace^, Linn. TEREBiNTACEiE, Juss. * A catalogue of these, with their combinations, will be found in Gray's Supplement to the Pharmacopoeias. t Fig. a. a female flower, magnified, b. A male flower.—Our drawing represents the female plant. PISTACHIA TEREBINTHUS. 103 Gen. Char. Male. Calyx five-cleft. Corolla none. Female. Calyx three-cleff. Corolla none. Styles three. Drupe one-seeded. Spec. Char. Leaves composed of from two to four pair of leaflets with an odd one. Leaflets ovate, lanceolate. This species of Pistachia* is a native of Barbary and the south of Europe ; it is cultivated in the Islands of Chios and Cyprus, from whence the turpentine imported into this country is chiefly collected. This tree was first cultivated in this country about the year 1730,t aud we are told that when planted against a wall it bears our winters very well, flowering in June and July. This tree rises to the height of from twenty to thirty feet, sending off many long spreading branches, covered with a smooth bark ; the leaves are pinnate, composed of three or four pair of ovate, lance-shaped, veined, entire, opposite leaflets, with an odd one at the end ; the flowers are male and female on different trees : the males are in amentums ; the calyx is divided into five small ovate segments ; the filaments, which are four or five in number, are very short, and support large, erect, quadrangular, brown coloured anthers. The female flowers are placed in a common peduncle in alternate order ; the calyx is divided into three small segments ; the germen is ovate, supporting two or three styles, crowned with reflected, clubbed stigmas ; the fruit is of ^ reddish colour, subovate, smooth, and gib- bous on one side towards the top. We are told by Tournefort,^ that the Cyprus or Chian turpentine (which this tree furnishes,) is procured by wounding the bark of the trunk in many places, leaving a space of about three inches between each wound ; from these the turpentine issues, and flows upon stones, which are placed at the bottom of the tree to receive it, and upon which it is allowed to remala during the night to condense ; in the morning, before sun-rise, it is scraped oflF. In order to free it from all extraneous admixture, it is again liquefied by the sun's heat, and passed through a strainer. These trees yield but a very small * riffMvios, Dioscoridis. t Alton's Hort. Kew. t Voyage du Levant, lom. i. p. 145. 104 PISTACHIA LENTISCUS. quantity of the juice, on which account it fetches a very high price. We are told that very large trees yield less than one pound of turpen- tine. In the eastern parts of the island of Cyprus the trees are said to afford somewhat more, though still so little as to render it very costly, hence it is often adulterated with common turpentine. Qualities, &c. The genuine Chian turpentine is generally about the consistence of new honey, transparent, clear, tenacious, of a pale yellow colour, and a fragrant smell ; its taste is moderately warm, but free from acrimony and bitterness. Medical Properties and Uses. These resemble the other turpentines, which have been fully considered under the article Pinus, to which we refer our readers. —See pp. 23—29. ^ PISTACHIA LENTISCUS. Mastic Tree* For Class, Order, and Gen. Char. See Pistachia Terebinthus. Spec. Char. Leaves abruptly pinnate. Leaflets ovate, lanceolate. Petioles winged. The Pistachia LENTiscusf is a native of the south of Europe and the Levant; it appears to have been cultivated in Britain so early as 1664,1 but it is of slow vegetation, and in this country seldom arrives to that degree of perfection to give us a competent idea of the plant in its native soil. The stem of this tree seldom exceeds ten or twelve inches in diameter, and rises to the height of about twelve feet, and towards the top sends oflf numerous branches; both stem and brandies are covered with a smooth bark of a brown colour; the leaves are * Fig. a. a female flower, magnified, b. Female flowers, natural size.— Our drawing represents a male plant. The male flowers resemble those of the Pistachia Terebinthus. t Ex^vo^Tt Dioscoridis. t Hort. Kew. PISTACHIA LENTISCUS. 105 abruptly pinnate, consisting of several pairs of narrow, ovate, oppo- site leaflets, closely attached to the common footstalk, which has a narrow foliaceous expansion or wing on each side, running from one pair of leaflets to the other; the flowprs are male and female on distinct trees, and resemble those of the Pistachia Terebinthus ; the fruit is a drupe, containing an ovate smooth nut, of a brownish colour when ripe. The flowers appear in May, and the fruit ripens in August. The ofhcinal mastic is chiefly obtained from the island of Chios, by making transverse incisions in the bark of the trunk and branches of the trees, from whence the mastic slowly exudes, and is suffered to run down to the ground, which is properly prepared to receive it, by being made perfectly smooth and hard. After sufficient time is allowed for its concretion, it is collected for use.* The time chosen for making these incisions is from July to August, when the weather is hot and dry ; on the following day the mastic begins to flow, and is collected every three or four days till the middle of October or November, when the mastic ceases to exude. The best mastic comes to us in the form of small, transparent, brittle grains, packed in- chests; it is said that above 1500 cwt. is annually exported from Chios. We are told that a soft mastic, having all the qualities of true mastic, (except in its consistence, which resembles that of tur- pentine,) is obtained by engrafting the lentisck on the Chian turpen- tine tree.f Sensible and Chemical Properties. It has a light agree- able smell, more especially when rubbed or heated. Its taste is warm and bitter ; on being chewed it at first crumbles, but soon after sticks together, and becomes soft and white like wax. It totally dissolves in ether, and partially so in alcohol, in both which menstrua it discovers a greater degree of warmth and bitterness, and a stronger odour than that of the resin in substance.J Alcohol dissolves about four parts out of five, the residue which remains undissolved has, when moist, the charaCteF of caoutchouc, but becomes brittle when dried.§ This substance resembles pure resins, in being semi-trans- parent, brittle, fusible, insoluble in water, and soluble in ether, but « Tournefort's Voyage du Levant, torn. i. p. 44. f "Vide Translation of 01ivier':i Travels, vol, ii. p.t)0. i Lewis's Mat. Med. § Tbomson's Chemisiry, 4th edit. vol. v. p. 93. VOL. II. Q 106 ARNICA MONTANA. differs from them in being insoluble in alcohol. Boiled in water, it impregnates the liquor with its smell, but gives out little or nothing of its substance ; distilled with water, it yields a small proportion of a limpid essential oil, of a fragrant smell and a moderately pun- gent taste. Medical Properties and Uses. Mastic is regarded as a mild corroborant, astringent, and diuretic, and is said to possess (but in a milder degree,) the virtues of the turpentines ; hence it has been recommended in those diseases in which turpentine proves useful ; formerly it was much celebrated as a medicine in ulcerations of the uterus and lungs, in debility of the stomach, and in fluor a,lbus.* Chewing this drug has likewise been said to have been of use in pain of the teeth and gums. " It is employed to fill the cavities of carious teeth, for which purpose it is well adapted, from its property of softening in the mouth, and imparting little taste. "f It is a common practice with the Armenian women to chew this resin, not only to render their breath more agreeable, but to strengthen the gums and whiten the teeth : they also mix it with their fragrant waters, and burn it with their ordoriferous substances in the way of fumigation. ' Off. Mastic. ARNICA MONTANA. Mountain Arnica.\ Class Syngenesia.— Or Fahr. forming a very beautiful violet-coloured vapour. This vapour, when enclosed in a receiver, re-condenses into crystalline scales. Iodine is soluble in ether, and in spirit of wine ; water only- dissolves about YoVo*^h weight. Iodine is obtained, according to Dr. Ure, by the following formula : *' Take eight fluid ounces of the brown liquid which drains from the salt, which the soap-makers make use of who employ kelp, boil up, and evaporate to dryness ; heat it to 230" Fahr. and add one fluid ounce of sulphuric acid, diluted with its own bulk of water; when the mixture cools, separate the crystals of the salts, which will form in it, by filtration through a woollen cloth, and add to the fluid poured into a matrass, 830 grains of black oxide of manganese in powder. A glass globe is then to be inverted over the mouth of the matrass, and the heat of a charcoal chauffer being applied, iodine will sublime in great abundance. It must be washed * Iodine has been obtained from many species of marine plants, via. Fucus Digitatns Fucu ScriaUis, Fucus Vesiculosus, Fucns Nodosus, Fucus Saccharinus, &c. Ulv; Pavonia, Umbilicalis, Linza, &c. t These waters are obtained bjr burning the different fuoi which grow on the sea- chores, ILxiviating the ashes, and concentrating the liquor. 126 FUCUS VESICULOSUS. out of the globe with alcohol, then drained and dried on plates of glass, and purified by a second sublimation from dry quicklime." Iodine has the property of forming acids with hydrogen, oxygen and chlorine. Iodine has great affinity for hydrogen, and takes it from a great number of bodies, and forms with this gas the hydriodic acid, which is composed exclusively of iodine and hydrogen. This acid is in the form of a colourless gas, which has a strong taste and a penetrating odour, it reddens the tincture of turnsol, and extin- guishes burning bodies; it is rapidly absorbed by water.* Starch is the most delicate test to detect the presence of iodine, any solution containing iodine in an uncombined state becomes a fine blue colour on the addition of a small quantity of starch. Sensible Effects of Iodine on Man. This substance appears to act as a general stimulus, increasing tlie action of the arterial system ; when continued for an undue length of time it pro- duces general emaciation, and wasting of the testes and mammje ; in larger doses, it produces nausea and vomiting, and subsequent in- flammation of the stomach. We are told by Dr. Gairdner, that when this substance is exhibited injudiciously, it produces a great and peculiar depression of the spirits, attended with tremor and anxiety. Dr. G. also found the emaciation and cholera attending the exhibition of iodine, extend to very untoward resnlts.f Medical Properties and Uses of Iodine. This sub- stance was first introduced into medical practice by M. Coindet, a physician of Geneva, who employed it for the cure of goitre, with great success ; subsequently many physicians both in France and Switzerland, and likewise in this country, have used it with undi- minished reputation. From the success attending its exhibition fof the cure of goitre, its effects have been tried in the cure of many other glandular diseases ; and if confidence is to be placed in men whose names are an ornament to the profession, J we have no reason to doubt but Iodine will prove one of the most valuable articles of the Materia Medica. The diseases in which Iodine has been chiefly exhibited, are scrophula, white swellings, cancer, suppressed cata- menia, and incipient pulmonary aifections,§ proceeding from a * For a full and particular account of the combination of iodine with the acids and alkalies, we refer our readers to the translation of Magendie's Formulary , by R. Dunglison. t Essay on the Effects of Iodine, &e, by W. Gairdner, t Dr. Gairdner, De Carro, Wagner, Ilanuemann, Daron, Roots, M. Maogndie, Hufeland, &cc. &ic. § Case recorded by the late Mr. Haden. PUCUS VESICULOSUS. 127 scrofulous taint ; paralysis, leucorrhoea, syphilitic enlargements, &c. Mr. Rickwood relates four cases of bronchocele, which were relieved or cured by this medicine, and considers it to be an excellent tonic in other diseases ;* and Mr. Callaway, surgeon, of the Borough, has employed Iodine (we believe the tincture) in several cases of scro- phulous enlargements of the glands, both of the surface and of the mesentery, with decided good effects. Iodine has been exhibited both internally and applied externally ; for the former purpose, the tincture of Iodine, or a solution of hy- driodate of potass in distilled water, has been generally preferred. The following formulae are given by Magendie : — Tincture of Iodine. Take of Alcohol at 35°, 1 once, (7 dr. 62| gr. troy) lofJine 48 grains, (gr. 39. 36 troy) This tincture should not be prepared long before it is wanted for use, as it soon deposits crystals of Iodine, and consequently loses its powers ; the dose to adults is ten drops, two or three times a day, gradually increased to twenty or more. Solution of Hydriodate of Potass. Take of Hydriodate of Potass, 36 gr. Distilled Water 1 once. Mix. This solution has been given in doses of ten drops, gradually increased to twenty. Ointment of Hydriodate of Potass. Take of Hydriodate of Potass, 29| gr. Hog's Lard i| once. Mix. This ointment has been used with decided advantage in the way of friction, in treating bronchocele or enlarged scrofulous glands; the complete resolution of which has followed the steady applica- tion of this remedy. This ointment has been generally made use of in the quantity of from one to two drachms, gently rubbed over the surface of the tumour night and morning: it has also been used in conjunction with the internal exhibition of Iodine. We must observe with regard to the above preparations, that the precise doses must be regulated according to circumstances, which the intelligent prac- titioner will be at no loss to discriminate. * Vide London Medioal and Phj'sical Journal, Angost 1823. 128 RHAMNUS CATHARTICUS. Purging Buckthorn.* Class Pentandria. —Or(7er Monogynia. Nat. Ord. DuMOS^, Linn. Rhamni, Juss. Gen. Char. Calyx tubular. Corolla none. Scales de- fending the stamens, inserted into the calyx. Spec. Char, Leaves ovate, serrated. Thorns terminal. F/ower* four-cleft, dioecious. Berra/ four-seeded. This species of buckthornt is a native of Britain, commonly found growing in woods and hedges near brooks, flowering from May to June, and ripening its fruit the latter end of September and October. This shrub rises to the height of seven or eight feet ; the stem is strong, woody, and much branched ; the branches terminate in sharp strong spines ; the leaves in facicles, are ovate, pointed, nerved, finely serrated, and stand upon short petioles ; the younger ones downy ; the flowers arise from the same buds as the leaves, are placed in clusters, and sustained on peduncles ; there is no corolla ; the calyx is of a greenish yellow colour, four-cleft, and pointed ; the stamens (in the male flowers) are short ; the filaments arise from the base of a small convex scale, and support round anthers. The female flowers consist of a calyx, similar to the male, and enclose the germen, which is round, supporting a slender style, and four-cleft stigma ; the fruit is a round black berry, about the size of a pea * Fig. a. represents a female flower, magnified, b. A male flower, c. A section of a berry, shewing the seeds, d. A male flower, magnified, and spread open to shew the stamens. t Twentj-one species of this genus are known andcaltivated in our botanic gardens, of which the Rhamnus Catharticus, and Rhamnus Frangula, or berry bearing alder, are the only native species ; the inner barit of the latter is both emetic and cathartic, but is seldom used medicinally ; formerly it was an oflicinal medicine in some of the foreign pharmacopoeias. The berries of the Rhamnus Infeotoria. (a native of the south of Europe) are much used for dying yellow, and are imported into this country under the name of French berries, — Ed. RHAMNUS CATHARTICUS. 129 when ripe, containing four seeds, which are smooth, elliptical, flat on one side, and convex on the other. This species of buckthorn has derived its specific name from its cathartic quality, the fruit in doses of about twenty of the berries proves briskly purgative ; the inner bark is also a strong cathartic, and excites vomiting. It is said that the flesh of those birds which feed upon these berries is purgative.* Sensible and Chemical Properties. The odour of these berries is faint, and somewhat unpleasant ; and the taste bitter, nauseous and acrid ; they are very succulent, and the juice (before they are quite ripe) of a deep green, gradually becoming purple as they become thoroughly ripe. The watery infusion is purplish, with the smell and taste of the fruit ; sulphuric acid changes its colour to red ; nitric acid to a very deep red ; alum water to violet ; liquor potass to iron grey ; and sulphate of iron to black. The expressed juice is called by the French, Verd de Vessie, or sap green, which is prepared by adding a little lime water or alum, and gum arable, during the evaporation. Medical Properties and Uses. Buckthorn berries have been long received into the Materia Medica of the British colleges, but is seldom used in practice although it is in common use as a domestic medicine ; and given in the form of the Syrupus Rhamni of the Loudon and Edinburgh colleges, is a popular cathartic for children, especially among the poorer classes. Its disuse with the profession probably arises from its purgative effects, being generally accompanied with considerable thirst, dryness of the mouth and throat, and not unfrequently with severe griping. The berries in substance, and the expressed juice, were formerly much used as a hydragogue ;t the former in doses of twenty of the recent, or double that number of the dried, generally proves powerfully cathartic ; the expressed juice in doses of one fluid ounce produces similar effects. Off. The Berries. Off. Pp. Syrupus Rhamni, L. E. * Homberg, Mem. de I'Aoad. dis. Sc. de Paris, 1712, p. 9. t Boerhaaye, De virib. Med. p. 308. VOL. II. T 130 MYRTUS PIMENTA. Pimento, Jamaica Pepper, or All-spice * Class IcoSANDRiA. — Order Monogynia. Nat. Ord. Hesperide^, Linn. Myrti, Juss. Gen. Char. Ca/ya; five- cleft, superior. Petals five. Berry two or three-celled, many seeded. Spec. Char. Leaves oblong, lanceolate. Flowers mostly terminating the branches in trichotomous panicles. This species of Myrtus is a native of South America, and the West India Islands, flowering in July. It is much cultivated in Jamaica, from whence the berries are chiefly imported into this country. f The Pimento tree was first introduced and cultivated in Britain by Mr. P. Miller, about the year 1789. In this country it is a stove plant, but requires a strong heat to produce its flowers in much perfection ; neither does it rise to the height nor size that it does in its native soil. This tree often exceeds thirty feet in height, and two in circumference, much branched towards the top, and thickly beset with leaves ; the stem and branches are covered with a greyish smooth bark ; the leaves vary in form and in size, being more or less pointed, and from three to four inches long, petioled, veined, pointed, elliptical, of a deep shining green colour, and are produced singly, or two or three together ; the flowers are produced in numerous trichotomous panicles, which usually terminate the branches; the calyx is persistent, and divided into four roundish segments; the corolla is composed of four ovate petals, placed opposite each other ; they are small, reflexed, of a white colour, somewhat inclining to green ; the filaments are numerous, spreading, longer than the petals, and support roundish anthers, of a pale yellow colour ; the style is simple, erect, crowned with an obtuse stigma ; the germen becomes a round, succulent, shining berry, (crowned with the persistent calyx) of a dark purple or black colour * Fig. a, the ripe frait. t Hence probably the name Jamaica pepper. MYRTUS PIMENTA. 131 when ripe, and contains two kidney-shaped flattish seeds. Every part of this tree is extremely fragrant, and in the months of June, July, and August, when it is in full flower, it perfumes the atmos- phere with its aromatic odour.* The berries of Pimento or all-spicef are gathered for use when arrived at their full growth, but before they are perfectly ripe. When picked from the branches they are exposed to the sun for several days, till they are sufficiently dried ; this operation requires to be conducted with much care, observing that on the first and second day's exposure to the sun they must be turned frequently, and always carefully preserved from rain and the evening dews. After this process is completed, which generally takes from ten to twelve days, and is known by the colour and rattling of the seeds in the berries, they are packed in bags or hogsheads for sale. Sensible and Chemical Properti es. Pimento berries have an agreeable aromatic odour, resembling a combination of cloves, cinnamon, nutmegs, &c.; the taste is warm and pungent, which is said to reside chiefly in the cortical part of the berry. The watery infusion is of a reddish colour, and turns black instantly by the addition of sulphate of iron, and a precipitate is slowly thrown down. Super-acetate of lead causes a dirty green, nitrate of silver a deep reddish brown, and nitrate of quicksilver a yellowish brown precipi- tate ; the sulphuric and muriatic acids give rose-coloured precipitates ; the nitric acid gives no precipitate, but turns the infusion yellow. The distilled water is extremely fragrant, hot, and spicy. On distillation with water, the berries yield a very fragrant essential oil, so ponde- rous as to sink in water, with a strong smell and flavour of the spice. To rectified spirits it imparts both its odour and taste ; in distillation with alcohol it imparts but little of these properties, its active principles remaining concentrated in the inspissated extract. The ethereal tincture evaporated on water leaves a greenish yellow oil, a pungent nauseous resin, and some extractive. These berries alst> contain a portion of tannin and gallic acid. Medical Propertiks and Uses. Pimento has been long in use as a condiment for dietetic purposes, and much employed as a * We are told bj Long in his History of Jamaica, that the leaves and bark are full of aromatic particles, so that the planters are extremely cautious of fire in all pimento walks, where, if it should once catch, it runs with great fury. t This latter name appears to have been given to this fruit from the supposed resem- blance its taste has to many different spices mixed together. 132 TANACETUM VULGARE. succedaneuni for the more expensive aromatics. As a remedial agent it is not much used alone, but it forms an agreeable adjunct to many bitter and less grateful medicines. As an agreeable aromatic it is an useful substitute for the more costly spices, in all diseases requiring the aid of gently stimulating and cordial medicines. Off. The Berries Off. Pp. Aqua Pimenta, L. E. D. Oleum Pimentae, L. E. D. Spiritus Pimentae, L. E. D. ^ TANACETUM VULGARE. Common Tansy * Class Syngenesia. — Order Polygamia Superflua. Nat. Ord. Compositje Discoide^, Linn. Corymbiferje, Juss. Gen. Char. Receptacle naked. Calyx imbricate, hemi- spherical. Florets of the ray, three-cleft, obsolete. Spec. Char. Leaves doubly pinnatified, deeply serrated, naked. This species of tansy is the ApTf/xo/« Af MToCpuAAof of Diosco- rides, it is an indigenous perennial plant, flowering in July and Au- gust, usually found growing on the borders of corn fields, roa'ds and rivers. It is cultivated for medicinal and culinary purposes. The root is long, creeping, and fibrous ; the stem rises to the height of two or three feet, erect, smooth, solid, striated, branched towards the top, and leafy, the upper part of a redish colour ; the leaves are doubly pinnated, lesser pinnze serrated, and of a dark green ; the flowers are of a deep yellow, and terminate the stem and branches in a dense corymb; the calyx consists of numerous small imbricated squamee, forming a perianthum of an hemispherical shape; the * Fig. a. a floret of the disc. b. A floret of the radius, c. The caljx. d. The receptacle. , TA.NACETUM VULGARE. 133 Horets are of two kinds, those of the radius are few, sometimes altogether wanting, and female ; those of the disc numerous, hermaphrodite, tubular, and five-cleft. The female florets are also tubular at the base, and divided at the brim into three-pointed segments or teeth ; the filaments are five, very short, slender, and furnished with anthers which unite and form a cylinder; the germens in both florets are obovate, small, and support a thread -shaped style crowned with a reflexed bifid stigma ; the seeds, which are enclosed in the calyx, are naked, oblong, angular, and crowned with a narrow, marginate, membranous pappus ; the receptacle is convex and naked. " There are three varieties of this species of tansy, one with a curled leaf, which is called double tansy by gardeners ; another with ▼ariegated leaves ; and a third with leaves which have little scent ; but as these accidentally hare been produced from the seeds of the common tansy, they are not considered as distinct species."* Sensible Qualities, &c. The leaves and flowers have a strong, but not a disagreeable odour, and a bitter, somewhat aro- matic taste ; the flowers are more powerful but less unpleasant than the leaves, they give out these qualities both to water and spirit, most perfectly to the latter ; the tincture made from the leaves is of a fine green ; from the flowers, of a bright pale yellow. By distillation with water an essential oil of a greenish yellow colour, and smelling strongly of the herb, is obtained ; the remaining decoction inspissated, afibrds a strong bitter sub-saline extract. Medical Properties AND Uses. Tansy is stomachic, tonic, and anthelmintic; it has also been considered emmenagogue.f Hofl^mann speaks highly of its efiicacy as a vermifuge, particularly for expelling the lumbricus teres, or round worm, for which purpose the seeds have been substituted for those of the Santonicum, and with equally good eflfect. We are told by Dr. Clarke, (vide Essays Physical and Literary, vol. iii. p. 438) that it has been found to be of great service in various cases of gout. Dr. Cullen however does not speak so highly of it, and later experience does not confirm the encomiums formerly bestowed upon it in this disorder. It has also been recommended in hysteria, particularly when arising from obstructed menstruation, and for this latter disorder it continues a popular * Vide Miller's Card. Diet. + Bergius Mat. Med. p. 664. VOL, II. U 134 SCILLA MARITIMA. medicine with the uninformed ; as a warm bitter it is probably equal in medicinal powers to many other herbs possessing similar qualities. The leaves and flowers are commonly taken in the form of infusion and drank as tea ; the leaves when powdered may be taken in doses of one drachm or more two or three times a day. Off. The Leaves. ». SCILLA MARITIMA. Officinal Squill.^ Class Hexandria. — Order Monogynia. Nat. Old. CoRONARi^, Linn. Asphodeli, Juss. Gen. Char. Corolla six-petalled, spreading-, deciduous. Filaments thread-like. Spec. Char. Flower naked. Bracteas refracted. This species of squill f is a perennial bulbous-rooted plant, a native of Spain, Sicily, the North of Africa, and the Levant, growing wild on the sandy shores near the coast: hence its specific name. The Scilla Maritima was introduced into England early in the seventeenth century, and was cultivated in the botanic garden at Oxford in the year 1648. This plant appears to have been well known and esteemed for its medical properties in the early ages of Greece. Its introduction into medical practice is referred to Pytha- goras or Empedocles.J It is noticed by Dioscorides, Hippocrates, Galen, Aetius, Celsus, Pliny, and the Arabian physicians. The squill flowers in April and May ; the root is perennial, large, pear-shaped, bulbous, composed of many thick, fleshy scales, and * Fig. a. the spike of flowers, b. The root. c. The top part of the leaf. •f" 7.KiKKn Dioscoridis. % Vide Haller, Bib. Bot. p 12. SGILLA MARITIMA. 135 fflmislied with numerous fibres, which issue from the base ; exler ■ nally the bulb is coated with scales of a reddish hue ; internally it abounds with a tenacious juice ; the stem rises to the height of two or three feet, round, smooth, and succulent ; the leaves are radical, large, sword-shaped, pointed, smooth, and of a fine deep green ; the flowers are produced in a long close spike, and stand on pur- plish peduncles ; the bracteas are linear, twisted, and deciduous; there is no calyx ; the corolla is composed of six ovate petals, of a whitish or pale flesh colour, with a reddish line in the middle ; the six filaments are tapering, shorter than the corolla; the anthers are oblong, and placed transversely on the top of the filaments ; the germen is roundish ; the style about the length of the filaments, crowned with a simple stigma; the germen becomes an oblong, smooth capsule, marked with three furrows, and divided into three cells, each cell contains many roundish seeds. Sensible and Chemical Properties. The root of the squill, when recent, abounds with a viscid juice, which possesses an extremely acrid and bitter taste, and when much handled will inflame the skin ; its smell is subtle and penetrating, like that of horse- radish ; the expressed juice slightly reddens litmus paper. The dried roots or scales (the form in which it is commonly met with in the shops) are semi-pellucid, smooth, and brittle, and when chewed manifest an extremely bitter taste, wiihout much acrimony. The constituents of squill are, an acrid principle, bitter extractive, mucilage, albumen and starch. Water, alcohol, proof spirit, and also vinegar, extract the active properties both of the recent and dried root. None of the active properties of squill rise in distil- lation with any of the above menstrua. Alkalies abate both the bitter and acrid qualities of squill; vegetable acids, on the contrary, render them more pungent. The acrid principle of squill is nearly lost if much dried by a degree of heat above 212°, or if long kept in the form of powder, and thus it becomes almost inert. Nitrate of mercury and superacetate of lead separate from the expressed juice white curdy precipitates ; Gelatin throws down a copious preci- pitate; lime-water and the alkaline carbonates produce the same efi^ect ; sulphate of iron throws down a green precipitate ; infusion of galls forms in it pale brownish flakes ; ether digested on dried squill acquires a pale green hue, and when evaporated on the surface of water, a thin pellicle of very bitter, resinous matter is deposited, while the water acquires an intensely bitter taste, and yields copious precipitates, with solutions of acetate of lead and nitrate of silver. The following are the constituents of squill, according to the 136 SCILLA MARITIMA. analysis of Vogel : tannin 24, woody fibre 30, saccharine matter 6, bitter principle or scillitina 34,* gum 6, in 100 parts dried squill. Medical Properties and Uses. Orfila classes squill among the acrid poisons; to many animals it manifests a poisonous quality, and in large doses produces death. f The recent root is so acrid, that if much handled it excoriates the skin. The general effects of squill in large doses are, vomiting, hypercatharsis, stranguary, bloody urine, convulsions, inflammation, and erosion of the stomach and bowels, gangrene and death. In small doses squill operates as an useful expectorant and diuretic ; it is also sometimes given as a general stimulant in typhus and other disorders. As an expectorant it is one of the most valuable drugs in the Materia Medica, and it proves particularly useful where the primee vIjb are loaded with mucous matter, and the lungs are oppressed with viscid phlegm. In dropsy it proves an excellent diuretic, either alone or in combination with calomel, in which case it is usually given in the form of pill or powder, as it is then less liable to excite nausea. Squill is also an useful medicine in many pulmonic affections when accompanied by active inflam- mation, ulcer, or spasms. The usual dose of squill in powder is from one to two or three grains three or four times a day. The officinal preparations are given in various doses according to the effects we wish to produce ; most of the liquid compositions in doses of from half a drachm to two or three drachms ; of the spirituous tincture from ten to twenty drops. Off. The Root. Off. Pp. Acetum Scill«, L. E. D. Oxymel Scillae, L. D. Pilulae Scillae comp. L. E. D. Syrupus Scillae Maritimie, E. Tincturae ScilliE, L. D. * Scillitina is white, transparent, breaks with a resinous fracture, and is pulveru- lent, but it attracts moisture rapidly from the atmosphere until it becomes fluid ; its taste is intensely bitter, with some degree of sweetness, and it is very soluble both in water and alcohol. t Orfila's Toxicology, vol. ii. p. 73, 74. 137 LAURUS NOBILIS. Common Sweet - Bay Class Enneandria. — Order MoNOGYNlA. Nat. Ord. Olerace^, Linn. Lauri, Juss. Gen. Char. Calyx none. Corolla calyx-like, four or six- parted. Nectary composed of three two-bristled glands, surrounding the germen. Filaments iutenor, gland uliferous. Drupe one-seeded. Spec. Char. Leaves lanceolate, veined. Flowers dioecious, four- cleft. This species of Laurus is a handsome evergreen ; a native of the south of Europe, flowering in April and May. In Italy and Greece, its native soil, it rises to the height of twenty or thirty feet, forming a handsome tree ; but in this country it scarcely reaches half the height, and can only be ranked as a shrub. It was first cultivated in England by Turner,f in the year 1562, and is now to be met with in many of our gardens and shrubberies. The stem is much branched, and covered with a smooth bark, of an olive colour ; the leaves are lanceolate, smooth, veined, entire, often waved at the margin, of a shining green, and stand erect upon the branches, on short, channelled footstalks ; the flowers are male and female, upon different plants, and appear in clusters, three or four together ; there is no calyx ; the corolla is of a yellowish white colour, divided into four ovate leaves, which stand erect ; the stamens vary in number from seven to thirteen, the innermost of which are gland uliferous ; the style in the female flowers is very short ; the germen is superior, and becomes an ovate berry ; the seed of which is dark green, changing to deep purple or black as it ripens. * Fig. rt. represents a male flower, largely magnified. 6, The fruit, c. The seed, t Tarn. Herb, part ii. fol. 52. X38 LAURUS NOBILIS. This beautiful species of Laurus* was a distinguished favourite ■with the ancients, not only as a medicine supposed to possess great efficacy, but was likewise worn by them as a triumphal crown ; hence probably its specific name Nobilis ; it was also considered aa emblem of peace, and called Laurus Pacifera. Sensible Qualities, &c. Both the leaves and berries have a fragrant odour, and an aromatic and somewhat astringent taste; the watery infusion is of a red colour, changing to a purplish hue by the addition of sulphate of iron ; both the berries ^and leaves yield, by distillation with water, a portion of a very fragrant essential oil, of a greenish jellow colour, with the odour and taste of the berries; the former yield considerably more than the latter, and also yield by expression a quantity of insipid fixed oil. The distilled water from the leaves is impregnated with a small portion of prussic acid ; upon this component probably the active property of the plant depends. Medical Properties and Uses. By former writers f this plant was held in great estimation as a carminative, stomachic, and sedative ; hence the leaves and berries were much used in hysteria, obstructed menstruation,| flatulent colic, &c.; but their internal use is now almost laid aside, although, from their containing prussic acid, we should suppose them possessed of considerable powers as a remedial agent. We are told by Dr. A. T. Thomson, that " having found great advantage from the use of prussic acid, largely diluted, as a local application in impetigo," he lately employed infusion of bay berries with nearly the same beneficial results* The leaves have long formed one of the ingredients (and probably the most active) in the decoction pro fomento of the London Phar- macopoeia. The fragrance and agreeable aromatic flavour of the leaves have long recommended them for culinary purposes. The leaves were formerly given in the form of infusion, and the essential oil in doses of from one to five drops, on sugar, dissolved in spirit of wine, or mixed with mucilage: the expressed oil is also used as an external application to tumours, sprains, &c. Off". The Leaves and Berries, and the Fixed Oil of the Berries. * Aavith short prickly points. This species of Rubia is the EpevGoJavov of Dioscorides. It is a perennial plant, a native of the South of Europe, the Levant, and Africa, flowering in June. It was first cultivated in this coun- try by Gerarde, since which period its cultivation has become an object of national importance, from the immense consumption of the roots as a dye-stuff, by the calico printers and dyers. The root of this plant is long, round, jointed, composed of suc- culent fibres, from which proceed numerous small thready side roots, which extend a considerable distance under the ground, and throw up many shoots, from which the plant may be propagated ; the stems are procumbent, quadrangular, jointed, four or five feet in t Fig. a. the flower magnified, b. The calyx, c. The pistillum. d. The anther. «. The- fruit. RUBIA TINCTORUSf. 147 length, and covered with short hooked points, by which they adhere to the neighbouring plants for support, and subdivide into numerous branches, proceeding from the articulations ; the leaves are placed in whorls, from four to six together, elliptical, pointed, rough, ciliated, and arise from the joints of the stems and branches ; the flowers are small and terminal ; the calyx is divided into four teeth ; the corolla is of a straw or yellow colour, campanulate, and cut at the brim into four ovate segments ; the four filaments are short, and support simple erect anthers ; the germen is inferior, double, sup- porting a slender style, dividing at the top into two globular stigmata ; the germen becomes two round black berries, each con- taining an ovate seed. Many attempts have been made to raise this plant in Britain, and considerable encouragement has been held out to the culti- vators ;* but the low price and excellent quality of the Dutch madder.t is a bar to its successful cultivation in this country, although the roots grown here have been found equal, if not better, than any of foreign growth. The roots of madder are usually dug up for use, the third or fourth summer of its growth ; it is then gradually dried in a stove of a peculiar construction, to remove the cuticle, which is done by thrashing; after which it is more perfectly dried in a kiln, pounded and packed in barrels for sale. Previous to packing the powder is sorted, usually into three different qualities, which fetches a price according to its quality. J Sensible and Chemical Properties, &c. The roots of madder have a bitter and somewhat austere taste ; the odour is not strong, but rather unpleasant ; the infusion made with boiling water is of a deep reddish brown ; to cold water, alcohol, and the essen- tial oils, the roots impart a bright red colour. Both the taste and odour of madder is imparted to the watery and alcoholic infusions. The colouring matter of madder is precipitated of a brownish red, by a solution of alum ; of a deep lake or blood red colour, by lime water and the alkaline carbonates ; and brown, by acetate of lead.§ * Vide Trans, of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. + The chief part of the madder used by the dyers in Britain is grown by the Dutch ; the best comes from Zealand, and it is said our merchants pay £200,000. annually for this drug. X Those who are particularly interested in the growth of madder, we refer to Miller's Gard. Diet., where a full account is given of the cultivation, and subsequent management of this plant. § Annales de Chimie, torn. i Uses. Benzoin was formerly regarded as an expectorant, and as such was esteemed as a medi- cine of much efficacy in asthma and other pulmonary affections. It is, however, almost discarded by modern practitioners, but we are told that the Hindoo physicians, and particularly the Tamool prac- titioners, prescribe it internally in doses of from four to fifteen grains, in consumption and asthma j and that the less valuable sort is burnt by the Malays and Arabs to perfume their temples and houses. f The following formula for preparing fumigating pastilles we presume jnay not be uninteresting to our readers: Take of gum benjamin, one drachm j cascarilla bark, half a drachm, (powdered) ; gum myrrh, in powder, twenty grains ; oil of nutmeg and oil of cloves, of each, ten drops; nitrate of potash, half a drachm; powdered charcoal, six drachms ; mucilage of gum tragacanth, as much as may be required to cause the mass to adhere ; when it may be divided into pieces of a convenient size for burning. Benzoin is chiefly used in this country for preparing the acid or flowers of benjamin. It also forms one of the ingredients in the following patent or quack medicines, viz. Pectoral Balsam of Honey ; Jesuits' Drops, or Friars' Balsam ; Essence of Coltsfoot ; Virgin's Milk, and Riga Balsam. Ofl^ The Balsam, or Gum Resin. Ofl". Pp. Acidum Benzoinum, L. E. D. Tinctura Benzoini Composita, L. E. D. * Benzoic acid has been found in urine, particularly when there is a deficiency ^ phosphoric acid in it. According to Vauquelin and Fourcroy it always exists in tl: urine of graminiverous animals : this, however, has been denied by M. Giese. When does exist in the animal kingdom it is usually in coiabination with lime or potash. + Aiuslie's Mat. Med. voUi. p. 34. Vf^«eiS' 1^ ARCTIUM LAPPA. Bu7^dock* Class Sysge^ ESI A. — Order Polygamta iEQUALis. Nat. Ord. Composite Capitatje, Linn. ClNAROCEPHAL^, Juss. Gen. Char. Receptacle chaWy. Calyx globular; the scales at the apex with inverted hooks. Seed-down bristly, chaffy. Spec. Char. Leaves cordate, unarmed, petioled. This species of burdock is a biennial plant, flowering in July and August ; it is indigenous to Britain, and is common on waste grounds and on road sides in most parts of the country. The root is long, spindle-shaped, simple, externally of a dark brown colour, internally white ; the stalk is erect, succulent, grooved^ villous, of a purplish colour, branched, and rises to the height of three or four feet; the leaves are alternate, cordate, undulated, veiny, of a dark green colour above and whitish underneath, and supported on long, grooved foot-stalks r the lower leaves are very large, often exceeding twelve or eighteen inches in length ; the flowers are in terminal panicles ; the calyx is common to all the florets, glo- bular, composed of imbricated scales with hooked extremities, by which they adhere to clothesf and the fur of animals ; the corolla is compound, of a purple colour ;J the florets are all fertile, tubular, and divided at the limb into five pointed segments ; the stamens are five, white, and filiform ; the anthers are of a blue colour, and are united into a tube which projects beyond the corolla ; the germen IS somewhat triangular, supporting a slender style, longer than the stamens, and crowned with a bifid stigma ; the receptacle is punc- tured ; the seeds are oblong, quadrangular, of a brown colour, and covered with a prickly down. * Fig. a. the stjie and stigma, b. A floret magnified, c. A scale of the eahx. d. The anthers. t From this circnmstance the specific name Lappa is supposed to be derived. Lappa dici potest vel am ru \ct;im prehendere vel XawTuv lambere Rail Hist. p. 332. X There is a variety with white flowers, bat which 19 hj do means common.— ARCTIUM LAPPA Burdock. Ord, CoMPosiTiE Capitat : Ct N AROOEPF A LiE, Ju$S, Receptack ''^f.hfr <:::!obnIar , iQg iii July and - e very Jiie flowers glo~ lis are id are ^ermen an the punc- ; , and flowr thr€<=' ALLIUM SATIVUMi Sensible Properties, &c. The roots (the officinal part of the plant,) have no smell, but a sweetish and somewhat astringent taste, accompanied with a slight degree of bitterness. The seed$ are aromatic, slightly bitter, and subacid. Medical Properties and Uses. The medicinal virtues of burdock are not very powerful, but the roots and seeds are both said to be diuretic and sudorific, and have been successfully em-i ployed in many chronic diseases,* viz. rheumatism, lues venerea, gout, scurvy, phthisis, nephritic complaints, &c. We are told by the late Dr. Woodville, that he " never had an opportunity of ob-* serving the effects of this root, except as a diuretic, and in this wajt we have known it succeed in two dropsical cases, where other power- ful medicines had been ineffectually used ; and as it neither excite^ nausea nor increases irritation, it may occasionally deserve a triaj where more active remedies are improper." In calculus and nephritic disorders the seeds have been given with considerable success, in the form of emulsion, in doses of one drachm. The root, however, is generally preferred to the seeds, and is used in the form of decoction^ prepared by boiling two ounces of the recent root in three pints of water to one quart, which quantity should be taken in divided doses in twenty-four or forty-eight hours. — — ALLIUM SATIVUM. Cultivated Gar lie. ■\ Class Hexandria. — Order Monogynia. Nat. Ord. Spathace^, Linn. Asphodeli, Juss, Gen. Char. Corolla six-parted, spreading. Spathe many flowered. Umbel heaped together. Capsule superior. Spec. Char. Stem Leaves flat. Bulbs compound. Stamens three-cleft. * Vide Riverius, Obs. 41. t Fig. a, the germen. b. The anther, c. The flower. 154 ALLIUM SATIVUM. This species of Allium is a hardy perennial, bulbiferou8, plant, a native of Sicily and the south of France, flowering in July. It has been long cultivated in most parts of Europe, for culinary and medicinal purposes. * The following species of garlic are also frequently cultivated in our gardens, and often preferred for culinary uses to the common garlic, viz : Allium Ascalonicum, Ascalonian garlic or shallot ; Allium Fistulosum, Cihol or Welsh onion ; Allium Scheenoprasnm, Give or Chive garlic ; Allium Scorodoprasum, Rocambole garlic ; f this last species greatly resembles the Allium Sativum, particularly in its manner of flowering, and the propensity it shews in forming bulbs instead of flowers. It is the llKopo^ov of the Greek writers ; the generic name Allium is supposed to have originated from the Greek ctvea^at, to leap forth, from the rapidity of its growth. The root of the Allium Sativum is composed of several bulbs, (enveloped in a common membranous covering) from the base of which proceed many long white fibres ; the stem rises about two feet in height, and is terminated by a mixed cluster of flowers and young bulbs inclosed in a spathe ; the leaves proceed chiefly from the young bulbs at the root, and are numerous, those on the stem are few ; in form they are linear, flat, pointed, long and grass-like ; the flowers are small, consisting of six oblong white petals ; there is no calyx ; the filaments are tapering, alternately three-cleft, shorter than the corolla, and furnished with oblong erect anthers; the germen is superior, short, angular, bearing a simple style, terminated by an acute pointed stigma ; the germen becomes a short, broad, angular, three-celled, three-valved capsule, containing several roundish seeds. Garlic is dug up for use in the autumn, when the leaves begin to wither, the bulbs are ,then cleaned and dried in the sun, tied in bunches, and preserved in a dry place. * First cultivated in Britain about the year 1548. ■f* Mil d'Espagne of the French. ALLItTM PORRUM. The Leek. For Class, Order, Nat. Ord. and Gen. Chak. See Allium Sativum. Spec. Char. Stem smooth. Umbel globose. Leaves flat. Stamens three-cleft. Bulb coated. The leek* is a biennial plant, a native of Switzerland, flowering^ in May and June. It has been long cultivated in this country for culinary use, for which purpose it is better known than as a medi- cine of much efficacy. The bulbs consist of concentric circles, externally of a white colour, from the bottom of which spring fibrous roots ; the stem is. a naked scape, rising to the height of two or three feet, leafy at the lower part ; the leaves are broad, linear, flat and pointed ; the flowers are produced in large spherical umbels on purplish peduncles ; the corolla is of a purplish colour, bell-shaped, and composed of six rough -keeled petals ; the stamens are somewhat longer than the petals, alternately trifid; the germen is superior, supporting a simple style terminated with an acute stigma. For Class, Order, Nat. Ord. and Gen. Char. See Allium Sativum. Spec. Char. Scape naked, tubular, swelling. Leaves cylindrical, smooth. Umbel subglobose. Petals nearly equal. * Ufartv, Dioscoridis. ALLIUM CEPA. Common Onion, 156 ALLIUM CEPA. This species of Allium is the Kpofj^vov of Dioscorides, its specific appellation is derived frOm caput, a head, oa account of the form of its bulb ; the native country of this plant is not known, nor the precise period of its introduction into Europe, over most parts of which it has been long cultivated as an article of food. The botanical character of this plant is so well known as scarcely to require description. The bulb is globose, simple, formed of con- centric scales, with fibrous roots issuing from the base ; the stem is a naked swelling scape, rising to the height of two or three feet ; the leaves are fistular, spreading, pointed and shfeathing at the base.; the flowers are produced in a close head or capital, inclosed in a deciduous spathe ; it blossoms in June and July. Several varieties of the onion are cultivated in our gardens, but as they are never used medicinally we judge it quite unnecessary to enumerate them. • Sensible and Chemical Properties, &c. of Garlic, &c. Every part of this plant has an offensive and pungent odour, this odour is so powerfully diffusive and penetrating, that it impregnates the whole system on the root being taken into the stomach, ahd even when applied to the soles of the feet its odour may be perceived in the breath, perspiration and urine. To the taste the roots are pungent and acrimonious. These latter properties chiefly depend upon an essential oil, which may be obtained by distillation with water ; this oil is of a thick ropy consistence, of a yellowish colour, heavier than water, and possessing the active properties of the garlic in a concentrated degree ; when applied to the skin it produces great irritation and subsequently blisters ; it strikes a black colour when triturated with oxide of iron. The acrid principle may also be obtained by expression ; the expressed juice is of a thick consistence and slightly reddens the infusion of turnsol and other vegetable blues. Alcohol, water, and acetic acid also extract the acrid principle of garhc ; with the former menstrua a reddish yellow tincture is obtained, which leaves, when evaporated, a brown acrid extract, that imbibes moisture from the air. By simple coction with water, garlic is rendered mild and inert. On drying it loses nearly two thirds of its weight, without suffering any considerable loss of its taste or smell. The sensible and chemical properties of the common onion, as well as the leek, resembles those of the garlic, but in a less powerful degree ; their active qualities like the garlic depending upon an essential oil, a small quantity of which may be obtained by distillation. The distilled oil from the onion is combined with ALLIUM CEPA'. sulphur which occasions the disagreeable odour of the oniofl when putrifying. According to Vauquelin, the recent juice contains sugar, mucus, phosphoric acid, phosphate of lirae, and citrate of iime. The odour and taste both of the leek and onion are dissipated by much boiling, and they become bland and insipid. Medical Properties and Uses of Garlic. The medicinal uses of garlic are various ; it has been long considered to possess expectorant, diuretic, stimulant, diaphoretic and anthelmintic pro- perties, and its utility in various diseases is attested by ancient and modern writers of unquestionable authorities. It has been much esteemed as an efficacious remedy in chronic catarrh, pituitous asthma, and in inveterate coughs, in which complaint Celsus employed it mixed with honey. Its diuretic effects in dropsy are very considerable, and also its lithontriptic power in removing «rinary calculi, when persevered in for some length of time, it acts powerfully by diaphoresis, if the body be kept warm during its use. It has been successfully given in intermittents,* and in fevers of the typhoid type. Garlic has been long a popular remedy for expelling worms, and instances are recorded by Rosenstein,t Taube, Hoffmann, and others, of its destroying and expelling tenia. Exter- nally it is applied in the form of poultice, to promote suppuration in indolent tumours. Bruised, it is often applied to the soles of the feet, to promote revulsion in the coma of typhus and in confluent small-pox, A clove of garlic, or a few drops of the expressed juice introduced into the external ear not only relieves pain in the part, but it is also said to be an efficacious remedy in atonic deafness. In retention of urine produced by a want of action in the bladder, a poultice of garlic applied to the pubis, has had the effect of stimulating the bladder to discharge its contents ; an enepia formed of the expressed juice, diluted, has been injected into the rectum to destroy ascarides. Garlic when taken in considerable doses, or used too freely as a condiment, is capable of producing inflammation of the abdominal viscera, and of exciting discharges of blood from the haemorrhoidal vessels ; it is also apt to occasion head -ache, drowsiness, flatulence, and great thirst in some constitutions. * Vide Celsus, lib. c. p. 142. Bergius Mat. Med. p. 255. t 'Rosenstein xecommends tbe garlic to be boiled in milk, jVint of which is to be taken night and morning. TOL. ir. 7 158 ERYNGIUM MARITIMUM. Garlic may be taken in substance, from one to five or six cloves for a dose, or in powder, in doses of from ten to thirty grains ; the expressed juice may be taken to the quantity of one drachm, mixed with syrup, milk, or any other proper liquid. Off. Pp. Syrupus Allii, D. Medical Properties and Uses of the Leek and Onion. The properties of the leek and onion so nearly resemble those of the garlic that it would be a repetition to particularize either their properties or the diseases in which they have proved efficacious. Suffice it to say, that they may be used with advantage in most cases in which garlic would prove efficacious, but as their sensible qualities are less powerful than garlic, so their efficacy as medicines is proportionally weaker. Neither the onion nor the Jeek is often prescribed in present practice ; as articles of food they are much used, and when taken in moderation prove wholesome and nutritious, but when eaten to excess they are apt, like garlic, to excite thirst, head-ache, and flatulence. ERYNGIUM MARITIMUM. Sea Eri/ngo, or Holly * Class Pentandria. — Order Digynia. Nat. Ord. Umbellatje. Gen. Char. Flowers capitate. Receptacle paleaceous. Spec. Char. Radical Leaves obovate or reniform, plaited, spinous. Head peduncled. The ERYNGiUMf Maritimum is a perennial plant, indigenous on the sea shores of Britain, flowering in July and August ; the speci- men from which our drawing was taken, grew on the sandy shore * Fig. a. a stamen, magnified, b. A petal, c. A single floret, a little magnified. d, A palesB, magnified, e. The pistillam. /. The calyx. f Eryngo is generally supposed to be the tifvyyuv of Diosoorides^ liB. iii. c. 24. nial plantj iadigenous oil tiloweriug in Juh and August; the speci- - '■'■• ' V^ grew CM ^ • " sbore ■jisUlInm. /. Tbe caly ic. Aij supposed io be ti^e nfvyywv of £>io80orides, HB. iii. c.S4. ERYNGIUM MARITIMUM. 159 between Romney and Dungeness, where this plant grows in great abundance and very luxuriantly. The root is long and creeping ; the stem rises to the height of from one to two feet, erect, branching, round, obscurely furrowed and leafy ; the lower leaves are reniforra, lobed, plaited, and stand upon footstalks ; the leaves on the stem are sessile ; the whole are smooth, rigid, toothed with sharp spines, of a pale glaucous colour, with the spines and nerves white; the flowers are produced in terminal, conical heads, and supplied with paleae, which separate the florets, they are bicuspid, spinous, and somewhat longer than the florets; the involucre is composed of many spreading acute pointed leaves ; the calyx is divided at the brim into five segments, which are spinous and stand erect; the corolla consists of five oblong blue petals with inflected points ; the filaments are longer than the corolla, and furnished with oblong anthers ; the styles are filiform and support simple stigmas ; the germen is inferior, hairy, and becomes two oblong connected seeds. Sensible Qualities, &c. The root of eryngo has no peculiar odour, to the taste it manifests a pleasant sweetness, and on being chewed for some time imparts a slight aromatic pungency ; these qualities are extracted by water. Medical Properties and Uses. The remedial virtues of Eryngo are not very powerful, it is supposed to be diuretic, aperient, and antiscorbutic. By Boerhaave it was esteemed one of the prin- cipal aperient roots ; it has also been recommended in visceral obstructions and gonorrhoea, but it has now fallen into disuse. The roots are frequently candied, and form a pleasant sweetmeat: we are told that the young flowering shoots have the flavour of asparagus when boiled,* and may be eaten as a pot-herb ad libitum. Off. The Root. * LiDD. Flor. Saec. MO PIPER NIGRUM. Black Pepper.* Class DiANDRiA. — Order Trigynia. Nat. Ord. Piperit^j, Linn. Urtic^, Juss. (jEN. Char. Calyx none. Corolla none. JSerry one-seeded. Spec. Char. Leave* ovate, seven-nerved, smooth. Petioles simple. This species of pepper t is a native of the East Indies, growing spontHneously in many parts of that vast territory ; but as an article of commerce it is extensively cultivated in the islands of Java and Sumatra, from whence the whole of Europe is supplied. At Sumatra, the ground chosen for a pepper garden is marked Out into regular squares of six feet, the distance at which the chinkareenS, or props, are placed, which are cuttings of the Morinda Citrifolia, or of an Erythrina. Two pepper vines I are usually planted to each chinkareen, round which the vines twist for support. The plants are three years old before they begin to bear, by which time they arrive to the height of eight or twelve feet, and continue to bear for eight years. The plants yield two crops yearly, the first in Decem- ber, the second in July.§ The fruit, which is produced in long spikes, is four or five months in coming to maturity ; the berries are at first green, turning to a bright red as they become ripe, and soon fall otF, if not gathered. As the whole cluster does not ripen at the same time, part of the business of the grower is to pluck the bunches as soon as any of the berries ripen, and spread them upon mats to dry, when they become black, and more or less shrivelled, according * Fig. «. the corolla spread open. b. A section of a ripe berry, c. The germen. + PE7r£(>(, Dioscoridis. + The vines are propogated by cuttings or suckers. I One thousand plants yield from 500 to 1000 lbs. of pepper. 'iijue itrt hem } berries are upe, and soon not ripen at the to pluok the bunches ■. (j.-:.!. a.a?i -j j-^dd thera upon mats to and. R!!)r5> or !es? shrivelled,. accrrJing r,pi>j;:i^ i. : ijttiiis^s or sar.ki?rs. plants jieW from 500 Jo 1000 Ihs. of p»pp«r. PIPER NIGRUM. 161 to their degree of maturity ; they are then trodden to separate tbe frwit from the stalk* The root of this plant is perennial ; the stems are climbing, slen- der, round, smooth, jointed, swelling towards each joint, bii'anched, and from eight to twelve feet iu length ; the leaves are ovate, entire, smooth, seven-nerved, of a dark green colour, and stand at the joints of the branches upon sheathing petioles ; the flowers are dioecious, and produced in terminal spikes ; there is no regular calyx nor corolla ; the filaments are two, sometimes wanting, small, flat, awl-shaped ; the two anthers are roundish, and placed opposite^ at the base of the germen which is ovate, and support three rough stigmata ; the fruit is a globular berry, containing one round seed. Sensible and Chemical Properties. Black pepper is hot and pungent to the taste, and its smell slightly aromatic. The prin- ciple On which its pungency depends is soluble both in alcohol and vrater. The watery infusion is brown, and reddens vegetable blues. The decoction forms a precipitate with infusion of galls, which is redissolved if the fluid be heated to 120*. By distilling the alcoholic infusion, a portion of green volatile oil is obtained, having the whole flavour and pungency of the pepper. Ether digested upon powdered pepper takes up three parts in ten : this ethereal tincture, when eva- porated upon water, leaves an intensely pungent, oily resin, of a yellowish colour, with the odour of the pepper, and some insipid extractive matter. M. Pelletier has ascertained that the fatty oil obtained by dis- tilling the alcoholic tincture of pepper, when washed in warm water, and redissolved in hot alcohol, deposits, after a few days, small cry- stals, which when purified, are insipid to the taste, and have the peculiar property of imparting a blood red colour to strong sulphuric acid. This substance M. Pelletier has named Piperincf to this. * White pepper is the ripe and perfect berries stripped of their outer coat, by steep- ing in a preparation composed of lime water and oil, called Chinara j in about fourteen days the outer coverings burst, and are easily separated, after which the pepper is dried by exposure to the sun. Pepper which has fallen to the ground, from becoming over ripe before it is gathered, loses its outer coat: this is sold as an inferior kind of white pepper. t Pure Piperin may be obtained, according to Dr. Meli, (Ann. Univ. di Med. torn, xxvii.) by digesting one pound of black pepper, powdered, in one pint and a half of al- cohol at 36<», in a gentle heat. Then raise it to ebullition, after which leave it to cool, tb^fi pour off the fluid, and repeat the operation with a fresh quantity of alcohol ; mix the tinctures, and add one ounce and a half of hydrochloric acid, and one pint of dis- 16^ PIPER NIGRUM. pepper chiefly owes it pungency. M. Pelletier also found the follow- ing components in pepper : malic and tartaric acids, starch, lignin, earthy and alkaline salts, a coloured gummy matter, extractive, and a volatile balsamic oil. The ground pepper of the shops is generally adulterated with tlie powdered husk of the white mustard seed, which is sold by the mus- tard manufacturer for this purpose under the name of P.D. pepper dust. Medical Properties and Uses. Black pepper is aromatic, stimulant, and carminative. It has been successfully employed as a stimulant in paralytic affections and retrocedent gout, and has proved serviceable in some cases of vertigo, and in arthritic disorders. It is also foundi;o check nausea, vomiting, and hiccough, and when taken in large doses, has been found to stop the paroxysm of inter- mittents.* It is said to be injurious in inflammatory habits, and to those subject to piles ; it nevertheless forms the principal ingredient in a celebrated patent medicine (Ward's Paste) for the cure of piles, and which has without doubt proved eflicacious in some instances. As a local application it is usefully employed in the form of infusion, as a gargle in relaxation of the uvula. Pepper is in general use as a condiment, and when taken in moderate quantity promotes digestion. Black pepper may be taken in doses of from ten to twenty grains. Oflf. The Berry. Ofl^. Pp. Emplastrum Meloes Vesicat. Corap. E. Unguentum Piperis Nigri, D. tilled water, a fatty precipitate falls down, which shoald be separated by filtration. The crystals which form on the sides of the vessels and the filter are pure Piperin, * Dr. Meli has successfully employed Piperin in intermittent and other fevers, and it is said to be equally eSicacious as the preparations of Qnina. 163 . , nd pavtr- >ar, Java, Bengal, and also stems do not rise to any shrubby, innch branched. re commonly cordate, (but ■ • r-i ;> atire, nerved, smooth. ..tely on the stems upon mail, are produced in ier- ine parts of inilorescence, he Piper Nigrum already 1 one-seeded pulpy berries. necomiog red when ripe. >f this species of pepper \inslie is called in 1 nu)i>t pungent in its imr ;r<;en, and dried by the heai u or dark grey colour. the spik t ^ualiy about one inch and a ht<* ' S- A-ong pepper as impor ;te is intensely hot and According to - e, starch, a coloured ratty matter, in whicli the fiuw- substances, and a 163 PIPER LONGUM. Long Pepper. For Class, Order, Nat. Ord. and Gen. Char. see Piper Nigrum. Spec. Char. Leaves cordate, petioled, sessile. This species of Piper is a native of the East Indies, and parti- cularly abandant in the countries of Malabar, Java, Bengal, and also of Nepaul.* The root is perennial ; the stems do not rise to any considerable height, they are scandent, shrubby, much branched, round, smooth, and slender ; the leaves are commonly cordate, (but vary much in size and often in form) pointed, entire, nerved, smooth, of a deep green colour, and are placed alternately on the stems upon footstalks ; the flowers, which are very small, are produced in ter- minal spikes which are nearly cylindrical, the parts of inflorescence, though less distinct, resemble those of the Piper Nigrum already described ; the fruit consists of very small one-seeded pulpy berries, which are green in their immature state, becoming red when ripe. In lower India there is a large variety of this species of pepper sometimes met with, which we are told by Dr. Ainslie is called in Tamool Ana Tipilie, or elephant pepper. The fruit of long pepper is said to be most pungent in its immature state, it is therefore gathered while green, and dried by the heat of the sun, when it changes to a blackish or dark grey colour, the spikes are gathered entire, and are usually about one inch and a half long. Sensible and Chemical Properties, &c. Long pepper as imported, is of a dark greyish colour, its taste is intensely hot and pungent, but its odour weak and slightly aromatic. According to recent analysis the component parts are extractive, starch, a coloured gummy matter, Piperin, (a concrete fatty matter, in which the pungency of the pepper resides) some saline substances, and a * Kirkpatrick's Aocoant of llJepaul, p. 205. i64 LAURUS SASSAFRAS. large proportion of bassorine. The ethereal tincture, when evapo- rated on water, affords a resin less pungent than that of black pepper, but more permanent, in other respects the constituents of long pepper are similar to those of the black. The medicinal virtues of long pepper correspond with those of white pepper, hence it may be used under the same circumstance, and in similar doses. We are told that the Vytians on the coast of Coromandel prescribe it in the form of infusion, mix^d with a little honey, in catarrhal affections, to relieve the chest when loaded with phlegm ; that the root is a favorite medicine of the Hindoos,* that it possesses the virtues of the berry but in a weaker degree, and is prescribed by them in cases of palsy, tetanus, and apoplexy. Long pepper forms one of the ingredients in the compound tincture of cinnamon of the London and Dublin Pharmacopoeias. Off. The Fruit. ^ LAURUS SASSAFRAS. Sassafras Laurel.-\ Class Enneandria. —Order Monogynia. Nat. Ord. Olerace^, Linn. Lauri, Jms. Gen. Char. Calyx none. Corolla calycine, six-parted. Nectary of three two-bristled glands, surrounding the ger- men. Interior Filaments glanduliferous. Drupe one- seeded. Spec. Char. Leaves ovate, entire, two or three-lobed. This species of laurel is a native of North America, and is found in every latitude from New England to Florida, it was first cultivated in Britain about the year 1633, and is now to be met * Ainslie's Mat. Ind. vol. i. p. 309, 310. + Fig. a. a flower, magnified. 6. The fruit. 164 XAURUS SASSAFRAS. large proportioo of bassorl ^al tincture, wher rated on water, affords a ros;; ; : ^ iju^cii), than that of black pcj : >, but more perniarjent, in ©^:r respeefs rht^ com&omrts cf : ; pepper are similar to those of the h\ > The medicinal virtues of long ptp^is coirtaih /ia n^us v io-.:; >h white pepper, hence it may be used under the same circuraslaace, and io similar doses. We are told that the Vytians on the coast of Coromandei prescribe it in the forna of ififusioa, i]tix«d with a little honey, in catarrhal affeetiens, to relieve the chest when loaded with phlegm ; that tlie root is a favorite medicine of i' that it possesses the virtues of the berry but in a we. . .. and is prescribed by them in cases of palsy, tetanus, and apoplvxv. Long pepper forms oue of the ingredients in the compound of cinnamon of the London mid Dti' '■ . v < » ra^ Off. The Frr; — — LAURUS SASSAFRAS. • Sassafras Laut^l.-\ Clc^S ENNEAND.BIA,-— Orr^ - Moy : Nat, 'Ord. OiM'KMT&m, .i. Gen, Char. Calyx noue. Corolla caly^iiue, six-parted. Nectary of three two-brigtled giauds, surrauading the g«r- men. T'-'-r'nr n?. ,. ;.-. .;,,5-.f;r-.-, Drupe one- see df ^>iMuG. Char. JCeaws ovate, entire, two or three-kybe4^ This species of laurel h f North America, md is found in every latitude ff . Florida, it was first cultivated in Britain about Uit yeiu hy^o, and is now to be met ;jj,iia<; i Ai.a. iou. roi. ». p. '^i'.i, aiO. t Fig, a, a flower, magniSed, 6, The frnit. LAURtrS SASSAFRAS. 165 ■with in many of our botanical gardens, flowering in May and June ; but in this country it never rises to the height we are told it is some- times met with in its native soil, where it is said to grow to the height of twenty or thirty feet, and to measure twelve or fifteen inches in diameter. The bark of the trunk and older branches is rough, cracked, and of a grey or ash colour: that of the young shoots is smooth, and of a brown green ; the leaves vary much both in size and form, some being ovate, pointed and entire, and others divided into two or three lobes ; they arise alternately on the branches, are of a pale green colour, and stand upon footstalks, downy when young, but smoother as they attain age ; the flowers are produced in pendant panicles or spikes from the extremities of the shoots of the preceding years ; the corolla is divided into six narrow convex petals of a yellowish colour, and accompanied by linear pointed bracteas, which are placed at the base of the pedicles ; there is no calyx ; the filaments are short, bearing heart-shaped anthers ; the germen is roundish ; style simple ; the fruit is an ovate drupe, of a deep] blue colour when ripe. It is said the sassafras tree was first discovered by the Spaniards, in the year 1538, and the wood was first imported into Spain about the year 1560, where it acquired great reputation for curing various diseases, and it is said to have fetched so much as fifty livres per pound. It is imported into this country in long straight billets, covered with ?ts rough fungous bark. Sensible and Chemical Qualities, &c. Sassafras wood is light, spongy, and of a yellowish colour ; it has a peculiar fragrant smell, and a sweetish, aromatic, mucilaginous taste. These qualities reside in a volatile essential oil, which is obtained by distillation with water. The virtues of sassafras are extracted totally by spirit, but imperfectly by water. Rectified spirit extracts the whole taste and odour of sassafras, but elevates nothing in evaporation ; hence the spirituous extract proves the most efficacious preparation. The volatile oil smells powerfully of the wood,'' is of a yellowish colour, and so ponderous as to sink in water. The bark and young twigs abound with mucilage: a small quantity of the pith infused in a glass of water, is said to give it a ropy consistence like the white of * In some constitations the fragrance of sassafras is said to produce head-ache, and other unpleasant symptoms.— JEd. VOL. II. ^ ^ 166 MYROXYLON PERUIFERUM. an egg ; the mucilage is neither precipitated, coagulated, nor rendered turbid by the addition of alcohol. Medical Properties and Uses. Sassafras soon after its first introduction into Europe, was held in great estimation, and acquired much reputation for curing many diseases; it was supposed to pos- sess sudorific, diuretic, and corroborant powers ; and to be pecu- liarly efficacious in venereal and scorbutic diseases. Whatever might have been the effects produced by this remedy a century ago, itithe present day no reliance is placed upon it as a remedial agent for the cure of inveterate diseases ; as a gentle stimulant and sudorific, it may be usefully combined with more powerful medicines of the same class. It is seldom used in modern practice but in combination with sarsaparilla, as in the compound decoction of the latter ; the essen- tial oil is antispasmodic, stimulant and sudorific, and may be given in doses of from two to five drops, in some suitable vehicle. Ofl'. The Wood and the Essential Oil, L. E. D. MYROXYLON PERUIFERUM. Sweet-smelling Balsam Tree.^' Class Decandri A. — Ort/er Monogynia. Nat. Old. LoMENTACEiE, Linn. Leguminos^, Juss. Gen. Char. 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. Spec. Char. Leaflets pointed, emarginate. The Peruvian Balsam Tree is a native of the warmer regions of South America; growing on the mountains of Panataimas, in the forests of Muna, Paxaten, Cuchero, and Puzuzu, and in many * Fig. a. the pericarpium. 6. A stamen, maguified. c. The germen and caljx. MYROXYLON PERUIFERliAf an egg ; the macilage is neither precipitated, coagulated, nor : • turbid by the addilion of alcohoi. Medical Properties and Uses. Sassafras 9f>oa nftp? Uiction into Europe, was held iti great es; . reputation for curing many diseases; it v . - ess sudorific, diuretic, aod corroborant powers ; wirly efficacious iu venereal and scorbutic diseases, iave been the effects produced by this remedy a c. a ;>re8ent day no reliance is placed upon it as a remedial s ; as a gentle stimulant and s>i. vith more powerful niediiiiio- used in modern practice but in com sttrnapiuv. ; of the ia tier; list tial oil is ; sorific, and naay L. in doses of from two to live drops, iu some suitable vehicle. The Wood and t; d Oil, i, Sivcet-smtii:::- j..,. 7'.* Ciass DHCANDmA. — Order MoNOOYNIA. Nil. Ord. LOMENTA€E-aE, /Jn. SllNOS-M,Jim Gen. Char. C^^ n\^;oiAhed. r the upper one ; ners. fhrmen i ire corolla. Legume with one seed only, at the p ^ LeafieU pointed, emarginai ThePekuv jfthewB "f Soutli America ; giovvijtg on ihe . of PanaJainuis, •i.e forests of Mu-«.: b ■,-,.,> ■he' pericarpimn.. h. A 9Xnu-"0 mii!;m(>: :-:.;_,-ocu i.i .■iti i jui I'j -.i:,. j.-.;.- .a ovate, pointed, «f:jdiilated nerved, pinnae, whTcb 3r<» o*" r; p?!'^ ^rre^^n < nloiir, rJoJ . nd upon short pedua; ■ Uour, are produce-' ^ , ,,:;' ...;>^ ;v.:ae-> .is. -.^ upon loug pedunci' alyx consists of fire oblong, blur? creviuiated leaves, or a pale greenish colour; the corolla is coi ; )i five unequal, undulated, arui spreading petals; th; re ten J of these the three undernaoiit are loug ajBd incurved; aining seven ejtfajbit only the large anth^-rs, three of which r.r o.-:n v M-r -vf;v-^p , . <;^, of a bird ; the tula is scppost-d lo be the Eiarxatnbej' of Sarapinn, anarticularly Port, Madeira, and Claret. The general effects of wine are, to stimulate the stomach, exhilarate the spirits J warm the habit, quicken the circulation, and in large quan- tities to prove intoxicating, and powerfully sedative; it may likewise be considered cordial, antiseptic, and antispasmodic. These are the general properties of wine, when good, of a proper age, and taken in moderate quantity ; but when new it is flatulent, debiUtating, and purgative, and intoxicates much sooner. In all diseases accom- panied with much debility, as typhus fever, or those of a putrid tendency, in cases of extensive ulceration, or gangrene, putrid sore throat, small pox, when attended with great debility, and symptoms of putrescency, wine must be considered a principal agent, either by itself, or in conjunction with cinchona bark and opium. In some 242 VITIS VINIPERA. convulsive affections, as symptomatic tetanus, chorea, and deliriany, which is the consequence of nervous debility, much benefit has been derived from the use of wine.* During convalescence from severe diseases, particularly fevers, which have much debilitated the system, wine is the most efficacious, and the quickest remedy for the restora- tion of health and vigour. The quantity of wine to be given, and the proper time to exhibit it, must of course depend on the nature of the disease, and the state of the patient. In febrile habits. Port, Burgundy, and the stronger white wines should be avoided ; but in diseases of debility, and where a tonic is indicated, these wines will prove highly beneficial. It is to be observed, that wine acts less powerfully on the system in a state of oisease than during health. In convalescence from fever, and other acute diseases, we have generally found Claret the best and safest wine to give the patient : Hock and Moselle are also recommended under such cir- cumstances ; they should be taken on an empty stomach. As an article of diet, the moderate use of good wine is strongly recommended, while it is deemed equally pernicious when taken to excess ; but it is extremely difficult to draw the line of demarcation in such cases, for much must depend on the constitution, and much on the habits of the individual: a ijuantity of wine which would be sufficient to intoxicate and seriously injure one man, may produce no effect upon another; and again, some persons are more easily effected by the white wines, and some by red. It has been generally said, that the late Mr. Pitt was in the habit of preparing himself for any arduous or brilliant display in the House of Commons, by drink- ing two or three bottles of Claret; and we are told of " a man who had not retired sober to bed for twenty years, and yet lived to upwards of eighty years of age." f More wine, and of a stronger kind, may be drank with impunity in a cold than in a hot climate: in the latter Port wine should be abstained from. In the East and West Indies, Madeira is considered the safest wine, the very thin and weak wines being more disposed to become acid in the stomach, and to produce diarrhoea. Super-tartrate of potass, and carbonate of potass, or salt of * Dr. Currie mentions a case of symptomatjc tetanus, where the patient took fire bottles of Madeira wine dailj for some time, without producing the least symptom of inebriety, or morbidly exciting the pulse ; but with the utmost advantage in allaying irritation. + Thomson's Mat. Med. ARISTOLOCHIA SERPENTARIA. 243 tartar, are likewise officinal articles produced from the grape. The first of these salts is gradually deposited on the sides of the casks in which the wine is made, and from which it is scraped off. When taken from the cask, it is found mixed with an earthy, oily, and colouring matter ; that obtained from red wine is of a deep brown colour, and commonly called red ; when it is of a paler colour, it is called white tartar. It is purified by dissolving it in boiHng water, and filtrating the boiling solution. This solution on cooling deposits irregular crystals, containing the colouring matter, which is separated by boiHng the mass with white clay : thus purified it is called cream of tartar, and proves in some cases an useful laxative and diuretic. If this be exposed to a red heat, its acid flies off, and what remains is the vegetable alkali, or salt of tartar. This salt is frequently -employed in medicine, in conjunction with other articles, particularly in making saline neutral draughts and mixtures; it is also used by itself, in doses of from gr. iii to 3ss, and in this way very frequently operates as a powerful diuretic. It should be given in a liquid form, and well diluted. ARISTOLOCHIA SERPENTARIA. Virginia Snake-root, Birth-wort * Class Gynandria. — Order Hexandria. Nat. Ord. Sarmentacete, Linn. Aristolochije, Juss. 'Gen. Char. — Calyx none. Corolla of one petal, strap-shaped, ventricose at the base. Capsule six-celled, inferior, contain- ing many seeds. Stem twining, frutescent. Spec. Char. Leaves heart-shaped, oblong. Stems winding, columnar. Flowers solitary. * Fig. a represents a flower cut open. 244 ARISTOLOCHIA SERPENTARIA. This species of Aristolochia * is a native of Norlh America, from Pennsylvania to Florida, flowering in May and June, and ripening its seeds in September. It was first cultivated in this country about the year 1770. In Johnson's edition of Gerarde's Herbal, we are told that it was brought from Virginia, and was cultivated in the garden of Mr. J.Tradescant, of South Lambeth, in 1632, but there is some doubt if it was the species that affords the officinal root. The root of the Serpentaria is perennial, and consists of a number of small fibres, proceeding from a common trunk ; externally of a yellowish colour, (which changes to brown on drying) internally whitish; from the root rises several slender, round, crooked, jointed stems, which rise about eight or ten inches in height ; the leaves are heart-shaped, entire, pointed, veined, and stand upon strong foot- stalks, to which they are attached by three prominent ribs; the flowers are monopetalous, solitary, of a purplish colour, and placed upon long sheathed peduncles, which arise from the articulations of the stem ; there is no calyx ; the corolla is tubular, irregular, and at the base distended into a globular form, at the middle contracted and twisted, at the extremity spreading, and of a triangular form ; the anthers are sessile, attached to the under side of the stigma, which is roundish, divided into six parts, and supported on a very short style ; the germen is oblong, angular, hairy, and inferior ; the capsule is hexagonal, six- celled, containing several small fiat seeds. The roots of the Serpentaria are imported into this country in their dry state, in bales, containing from two to five cwt. each. We are told that the roots of the Collinsonia Praecox, and various species of Aristolochia, are frequently mixed in the packages with the genuine snake roots. Sensible AND Chemical Properties, &c. Snake root has an aromatic odour, somewhat like that of Valerian, but more agree- able ; its taste is warm, bitter, and pungent. It gives out its active matter both to water and alcohol, and tinges the former of a deep yellow brown, the latter of an orange colour ; the watery infusion is not altered by any of the mineral acids ; sulphate of iron, or zinc, nitrate of silver, tartarized antimony, oxymuriate of mercury, or the alkalies, nor is it precipitated by tannin or gelatine. Superacetate of lead' throws down a flocculent precipitate, which is not soluble in acetic acid, shewing the presence of mucus. By distillation with water * Twenty species of this genus are cultivated in our botanic gardens.— ^forl. Cant» of the tim AMYRIS GILEADENSIS. 245 a very small portion of a pale coloured essential oil is obtained, having the odour of the root, but with very little of its pungency, which remains in the inspissated extract. The alcoholic extract is more pungent than the watery, hence the active properties of snake root appear to reside. in a bitter resin and essential oil. Medical Properties and Uses, Serpentaria root is a stimulating diaphoretic, and is supposed to possess considerable tonic and antiseptic virtues ; formerly it was recommended as a medicine of extraordinary power, in counteracting the poisonous effects of the bites of serpents, but in modern practice it is chiefly- employed as a sudorific, and to support the powers of the system ia typhoid and putrid fevers. It has also been found to increase the power of cinchona in removing intermittents ; but in fever, in which an inflammatory diathesis is present, this root is apt to prove too stimulating ; and in most cases it is proper to exhibit an aperient previous to its exhibition. Snake root may be taken in substance, in doses of from ten to thirty grains once in four or six hours ; or in the form of the watery infusion, made by macerating half an ounce of the bruised root in six ounces of boiling water for two hours ; of the strained liquor, one or two ounces may be taken four or six times in the twenty-four hours. Off. The Root. Off. Pp. Tinctura Serpentaria, L. E. D, AMYRIS GILEADENSIS. Balsam of Gilead Amyris* Class OcTA^DRi A. — Order MoNOGYNiA. Nat. Ord. Terebintaceje, Juss. Gen. Char. Cct/ya-- four-toothed. Pe^a/« four, oblong-. Stig- ma four- corned. Berri/ drupaceous. Spec. Char. Leaves ternate, entire. Peduncles one-flowered, lateral. * Figi a, represents the fruit. VOL. II. 2 M 246 AMYRIS GILEADENSIS. This species of Amyris is the B££Ao-a/xov 5ev5pov of Theophratus and Dioscorides. It is a native of Abyssinia, and we are informed by Mr. Bruce,* that it grows anion-j; the myrrh trees behmd Azab, all along the coast to the Straits of Rabelmandel ; f and that it was early transplanted into the south of Arabia, and from thence into Judea seventeen hundred years before the birth of Christ. Accord- ing to Josephus, the Queen of Sheba presented this tree among other presents to King Soiomuu-. Although the ancients lield the balsani obtained from this tree in great esteem, it does not appear that even the Arabian physicians were well acquainted with the tree from which it was procured, and supposed it be the produce of Judea only ; imd as it was from Gilead in Judea that the merchants brought this balsam to Egypt, it obtained the name of lialsamum Judaicum, or Balm of Gilead. This tree rises to about fourteen feet in height; its branches are numerous, crooked, and spreading; the wood is soft, whitish, light, and covered with a smooth ash-coloured bark; the leaves are thinly scattered, and commonly consist of one or two pair of opposite pinnee with an odd one ; the pinnae are inversely ovate, entire, and of a bright green colour; the flowers are scattered upon the young branches, and are of a white colour; the calyx is permanent, and divided at the brim into four small pointed teeth; the petals are four, oblong, concave, and spreading ; the filaments are eight, tapering, erect, and terminated by oblong anthers; the germen is ovate, superior, and supports a thick style, the length of the lilameuts, and terminated by a quadrangular stigma; the fruit is of the drupaceous kind, roundish, and opens by four valves, containing a smooth nut. The balsam obtained from this tree passed by diiferent appella- tions, according to its 255 QUASSIA SIMARUBA. Simaruha Quassia, Mountain or Bitter Damson.''^ Class DECANDRiA.f— Or 281 CINCHONA. Cinchona^ commonly called Peruvian Bark. Class Pentan DRI A.— Orrfer MONOGYNIA. Nat. Ord. Contorts, Linn. Rubiace^, Juss. Gen. Char. Coro/fci monopetalous, funnel-shaped. Capsule inferior, two-celled. Seeds numerous, oblong, compressed, winged. We believe the fact to be now pretty well established, that there are many species of this tree, which yield a bark, partaking more or less of the properties that distinguish the Peruvian bark of com- merce ;* although the distinct characters of these species is still a desideratum in our botanical works. The entire genus is indigenous to the new world, growing for the most part among mountainous regions, difficult of access, and in other respects affording but little encouragement or convenience to the scientific traveller. To this cause we may ascribe our want of better information, respecting one of the most valuable remedies which the vegetable world has yet offered to mankind ; recent events, added to the valuable labours of pharmaceutical chemistry, and the present enterprise and improvement in that science, will, it is hoped, soon bring us better acquainted with the botanical characters of those species of the Cinchona, to which medicine is so much indebted.! The Edinburgh College formerly enumerated three varieties of the Peruvian bark, viz. the common or pale bark, the yellow, and the • Ruiz and Pavon have described fifteen species, nalires of Peru and Chili ; and seven have been found by Mutis, in the neighbourhood of Santa Fe. f We understand that two enterprising chemists have lately gone from London to South America, for the purpose of preparing, on the spot, the sulphate of quinine for the European Market. As a matter of profitable speculation, there can be little doubt of the success of these gentlemen, while we trust science will be equally benefited by their labours and observation. VOL. II. 2 R 282 CINCHONA. red; but it has been long since ascertained by the Spanish botanists, that these barks not only belong to distinct species, but that, pro- bably, each of them is taken indiscriminately from several different species. The first of these is now generally referred to the Cinchona Lancifolia of Mutis ; the second to the Cinchona Cordifolia of Mutis, under which he includes the Cinchona Purpurea, and Micrantha, of the Flora Peruviana, and the Ciuchona Ovata of Ruiz ; and the third to the Oblongifolia of Mutis; the Maguifolia of Ruiz and Pavon. These species will be found figured in the annexed plates, while we shall treat the subject under the general head of Cinchona ; and when noticing the recent discoveries of the French chemists, MM. Pelletier and Caventou, we shall have occasion to consider the relative virtues of the different species. Cinchona Lancifolia.* — This species of Cinchona grows to a great height and bulk, being often found thicker than a man's body ; particularly before the great demand for this medicine led to the destruction of so many full grown trees, by stripping them of their bark, after which, it is said, they always die.f It sends off nume- rous large branches, which, as well as the trunk, are covered with a rough brown bark; the leaves are somewhat between an ovate and an elliptical form : the smaller ones being more of the latter, and the larger ones of the former figure; they are entire, nerved, smooth on the upper surface, downy beneath, and stand in pairs upon footstalks; the flowers are produced in panicles, and stand upon slender footstalks; the calyx is small, bell-shaped, and cut into five small segments at the margin; the corolla is funnel- shaped, and consists of a long cylindrical tube, divided at the limb into five ovate, or oblong, spreading segments, which are red on their upper surface, woolly on the under, and fringed at the edges ; the filaments are bristly, and stand in the centre of the tube ; the anthers are oblong, and twisted in a spiral manner ; the germen is ovate, style filiform, somewhat longer than the stamina, and fur- nished with a round stigma ; the capsule is divided into two cells by a parallel partition; the seeds are small and numerous. Cinchona Cordifolia. — This tree is a native of Peru, where it grows in great abundance, on a long chain of mountains that extend * The bark of this species was formerly described under the vague name of Ciuchona Oflicinalis. t Condamine however asserts that tlie joung trees do not die by losing their bark, but send out fresh shoots from the base — he is good authority. V- very CINCHONA. 283 to the north and south of Loxa. The soil in which it thrives best, is generally a red clayey or rocky ground, and particularly on the banks of small rivers descending from the mountains,* flowering from May to September. The stem is of no great thickness, erect, round, and covered with a smooth bark, externally of a brown grey colour ; the younger branches are quadrangular, smooth, leafy, and tomentose ; the leaves are opposite, spreading, oblong-ovate,t about nine inches long, entire, shining on the upper surface, pubes- cent underneath, and stand upon purplish petioles, flat on one side, and roundish on the other ; the flowei-s appear in terminal leafy panicles, supported upon long tetragonous peduncles; the calyx is of a dull purple colour, downy, and five-toothed; the corolla is internally tomentose, white above, and purplish below ; the seg- ments spreading, with reflected tips ; the filaments are short, and support linear, bifid anthers; the germen is tomentose; the capsule narrow, oblong, about an inch and a half in length, of a reddish brown colour, and crowned with the calyx.J Cinchona Obion gifolia. — This tree rises to a considerable height ; the stem is single, round, and erect, with a smooth, brownish or ash coloured bark; the older branches are smooth, round, and of a rusty colour: the younger are obtusely four-cornered, leafy, and of a red- dish colour ; the leaves, when full grown, are from one to two feet long, of an oblong-oval shape, and stand opposite, supported upon semi-round petioles of a purple colour; the stipules are supra- axillary, interfoliaceous, opposite, contiguous, united at the base, and of an obovate figure ; the flowers are produced in large, erect, compound, terminal panicles, and are placed upon long, brachiated, many-flowered peduncles; the calyx is small, five-toothed, and of a purple colour; the corolla is white, and odorous; the filaments are very short, inserted into the tube of the corolla ; anthers oblong, bifid at the base, and situated below the middle of the tube of the corolla ; the capsules are large, oblong, obscurely striated, some- what curved, and crowned by the calyx.§ This tree is found on the Andes, growing in the woods on the banks of the mountain streams, and abundantly so at Chinchao, Riobamba, and Cuchero, flowering in June and July. || * Phil. Trans, vol. xl. p. 83. + The leaves of species varies verj' much in form. X Fig. a. the caljx and pistillam. b. The corolla spread open. c. The style. d. A stamen. § Flora Peruv. ii. 53, 196. II Fig. ft. the style, b. The corolla cut open. c. A stamen, rf. The calyx. 284 CINCHONA. The only proper season for cutting the bark is from September to November : this being the only period of intermission fron» rain in these mountainous districts; and it seems essential, not only that the bark should be cut during a dry season, but that it should afterwards be carefully preserved from wet.* The opera- tion of barking is performed by the Indians, for whom tempo- rary huts are built in the neighbourhood of the trees, and also a large one, into which the bark is immediately removed, to guard against wet; from this place it is sent as speedily as possible to the nearest plantation in the low country, where it is dried in the open air. Two Indians are allotted to one tree, who are provided each with a large knife, and a bag that will contain about 50 lbs. of the green bark ; they commence their operations on the lower part of the tree, and continue them upwards, ascending by means of a temporary ladder, which they construct on the spot, one Indian remaining below to gather what the other cuts. Sensible and Chemical Properties of Bark. There are several varieties of the common or pale found in commerce, of these the most remarkable are, the quilled bark, which comes from Loxa, and the flat bark from Guanaco. The former consists of thin, singly or doubly roiled pieces, four or five inches long, and scarcely a line in thickness; externally rough, of a greyish brown colour, and gene- rally covered with a kind of lichen ; externally of a cinnamon colour. The best sort breaks close and smooth, and proves friable between the teeth; the inferior kinds appear, when broken, of a woody texture, and in chewing separates into fibres. It has a slight, somewhat musty smell, but not altogether disagreeable ; its taste is very bitter, astringent, very durable in the mouth, accompanied with some degree of aromatic warmth, and very ungrateful to the palate. The bark which comes from Guanaco, consists of much thicker, coarser, and flatter pieces; externally of a dark brown co- lour, approaching to black, but internally of the same colour with the Loxa bark, which it likewise resembles in all its other sensible' qualities. * Mr, Arnot, who has described the process of collecting the bark, sajs, " As much care as possible must be taken that the bark is not cat wet ; should it so happen, it is to be carried directly down to the 1o\y country to dry, for otherwise it loses its colour, tiirns black, and rots ; and if it be any time in the hut without being spread, it runs the same risk; so that while the Indians are cutting, the mules, if the weather permits, ought to be carrying it down to the place appointed for drying it, which is done by spreading it in Ihc open air, and frequently turning it." CINCHONA. 285 ' The Red Peruvian bark comes to us generally in much larger, thicker, and flatter pieces than either of the former; it is sometimes found also in the form of quills. It is heavy, lirra, sound, and dry ; friable between the teeth, does not separate into fibres, but breaks short, close, and smooth. It has three layers, the outer of which is thin, rugged, of a reddish brown colour, and, like the Loxa bark, frequently covered with moss or lichen ; the middle layer is thicker, more compact, darker coloured, very resinous, brittle, and is the first to yield to the pestle ; the inner layer is more woody, fibrous, and of a brighter red ; when powdered, its colour resembles that of the Armenian bole. The yellow Peruvian bark has only been introduced into European practice since 1790, when it was sent from Santa Fe by Mutis. It consists of pieces about six inches in length, thicker, and less rolled up than the red or pale bark ; its inner surface is of a deeper red ; the epidermis, which is as thick as the bark itself, is sometimes wanting.* It is lighter, and more friable than the pale bark ; its fracture is fibrous, and when reduced to powder it is of a paler colour. Its taste is much more bitter, astringent, and stronger, but its smell weaker. Its decoction when hot is redder, but when cold paler ; and its solu- tion strikes a deeper colour with the sulphate of iron. According to the opinion formerly entertained, it contained more of the active constituents, than either the pale or the red bark ; was a more powerful medicine, and indeed, according to Mutis, was the only one which was directly febrifuge. The fallacy of these opinions are now evident. Peruvian bark yields its virtues to both cold and boiling water; but the decoction is thicker, gives out its taste more readily, and forms an ink with a chalybeate, more suddenly than the fresh cold infusion ; f the latter however contains as much extractive matter, but more in a state of solution, and its colour, on standing with the chalybeate, becomes darker, while that of the decoction becomes fainter : after some time, the addition of a chalybeate renders them green, when they are found to be in a state of fermentation. J Mild * The epidermis, when present, should always be removed before powdering. + We have always considered the cold infusion one of the most elegant preparations of bark, particularly as a tonic, and for a weak stomach. The recent chemical prepa- rations of this medicine will however shortly set aside all the extemporaneous prepara- tions which have hitherto been in use. J Dr. Duncan says, that " in all cases where an excess of the chalybeate is used, a green colour is produced." These effects were ascribed to the presence of tannin, but Dr. Maton found that Cinchona contained very little tannin. 286 CINCHONA. or caustic alkalies, or lime, precipitate the ej^tractive matter ; when the caustic alkali is used, the precipitate may be re-dissolved hj an addition of the alkali.* From the experiments of Dr. Irving, pub- lished in 1783, the comparative power of different menstrua upon Peruvian bark, is in the following order, viz. dulcified spirit of vitriol, caustic ley, French brandy, Rhenish wine, soft water, vinegar and water, dulcified spirij; of nitre, mild volatile alkali, rectified spirit of wine, mild vegetable alkali, and lime water. Vauquelin ascertained that there were three, if not four, classes of Cinchona bark, differ- ing essentially in chemical constitution : the first class precipitate astringents, but not gelatine ; the second precipitate gelatine, but not astringents ; the third precipitate both astringents and gelatine ; and lastly, some barks which precipitate neither gelatine nor astringents, but these he did not consider as properly belonging to the genus Cinchona. Each of the three first classes was thought capable of curing intermittents. But the more recent discoveries of the French chemists, MM. Pelletier and Caventou, supersede all the previous researches, so far as medicine is concerned, into the nature of the Cinchonas. It had long been a desideratum among pharmaceutical chemists, to discover in the barks the particular substance to which the febrifuge property might be ascribed ; and in pursuit of this object, MM. Laubert of Paris, Strenss of Moscow, and Gomez of Lisbon, published, about the same time, the result of their observa- tions ; unfortunately however they did not agree in their conclusions. The French chemists were more successful ; they obtained a sub- stance, which they recognised as that to which M. Gomez had given the name of Cinchonine, and they further discovered that it was alkaline. The Cinchonine was obtained, by operating on the Cinchona Condaminea, or grey bark of the French botanists ; the Cinchona Cordijolia, (the Oliicinalis of our colleges, the yellow bark of the French,) was next subjected to analysis, and from this was obtained an alkali, in many points resembling the Cinchonine^ but still differing in many important ones, sufficiently to prevent their being confounded ; this new alkali they called Quinine. The examination of the red bark (Cinchona Oblongifolia) followed, and " it was an interesting question," says M. Magendie, " to determine whether this species, considered by many medical men as eminently febrifuge, contained * Lime water and the alkalies, as precipitating the extracted matter, appear asi im- proper menstrua for the oxhibition of bark. CINCHONA. 287 ;lnchonine, quinine, or a third variety of alkali. The result was, hat they obtained, not only a treble quantity of cinchonine, in all espects like that obtained from the grey bark, but also nearly twice IS much quinine as the same quantity of yellow bark had yielded. From ulterior experiments, made on large masses, it appears that quinine and cinchonine exist in all three species of bark, but the cinchonine is in greater quantity than the quinine in the grey bark, whilst in the yellow bark, the quinine greatly predominates.* j The mode of obtaining the cinchonine and quinine, is thus given by Magendie : — " Boil the bark in alcohol until it loses all its bitter- ness, evaporate the decoction to dryness in a water bath, dissolve the extract thus obtained in boiling water, strongly acidulated with hydrochloric acid,t add an excess of calcined magnesia, which, after boiling a few minutes, fixes the red colouring matter, and leaves the liquid clear: when cold, filtrate, and wash the magnesian precipitate with cold water, dry it on a stove, separate all the bitterness by repeated digestions in boiling alcohol, mix the alcoholic liquors, and the cinchonine wWl crystallize as the fluid cools.j" The cinchonine and quinine may be obtained by one operation, as follows: having obtained the sulphate of quinine by the above process, (operating on the Cinchona Cordifolia) decompose the mother waters, and the washings of that operation, which hold in solution the sulphate of [cinchonine, by magnesia or lime ; dissolve the quinine and cincho- nine contained in these liquors, by digesting the magnesian precipitate, when washed and well dried, in boiling alcohol ; if the spirit be suf- ficiently charged, the cinchonine which predominates will crystallize ; if it do not, further concentration is necessary. The cinchonine thus obtained, must undergo a re-crystallization to purify it ; this is done by dissolving it in a sufficient quantity of boiling alcohol. The follow- ing process of M. Henry, Jun. for obtaining the sulphate of quinine, is much more cheap and expeditious. He digests the bark repeatedly in hot water acidulated by sulphuric acid, blanches the liquors by means of hot lime, and washes the precipitate to separate the excess of lime ; this precipitate he repeatedly digests, when well drained, in alcohol at 36** (837) ; he then obtains, by distillation, a brown vis- , * Magendie, Formalaire. + Muriatic acid of former chemists. J M. Magendie here speaks of the grey barJc, Cinchona Condaminea, for if the Cin- chona Cordifolia be sobjeoted to the same process, quinine is obtained, or rather the sulphate of qainine. 288- CINCHONA. cid matter, which becomes brittle when cold, and is very bitter; this matter he digests in hot water, acidulated by sulphuric acid, and the liquor, when cold, gives pure sulphate of quinine, in the form of perfect white crystals. These crystals are soluble in boiling water, especially if it is weakly acidulated; they are but little soluble in cold water, without the addition of an acid. Chemical Properties of Cinchonine and Quinine. Cinchoniue is white, translucent, crystallizable in needles, and solu- ble only in seven hundred parts of cold water. If dissolved in alco- hol, or an acid, its taste is powerfully bitter, and resembles that of the grey bark. It is dissolved in very small quantities by the fixed or volatile oils, and sulphuric ether. With acids, it forms salts which are more or less soluble. According to the analysis of M. Brande, cinchonine consists of about — Carbon 80.20 Nitrogen 12.85 Hydrogen 6.85 99.90 . Quinine is white and incrystallizable ; it is as little soluble in water as cinchonine, much more bitter to the taste, as are also most <)f its salts, which are distinguished by a pearly appearance. It is very soluble in ether, while cinchonine is very little so: this differ- ence serves as well to distinguish their bases, as also to separate them when united. Quinine likewise dilFers from cinchonine in con- taining oxygen, and that in nearly as large a proportion as hydrogen. According to M. Brande, its ultimate components are nearly as follows : — Carbon 73.80 Nitrogen 13. Hydrogen., 7.65 Oxygen 6.66 100. Medical Properties of Peruvian Bark. There is no satisfactory account at what time, or by what means, the efficacy of Peruvian bark, as a medicine, was first discovered ; and it is even a disputed point, whether or not it was known to the native Americans CINCHONA. 28a before the Spanish invasion of their territories. The fables that have been related on this subject, are not worth recording at the present day, as it is certain that this medicine was very little known until about 1638, when the lady of the Spanish viceroy of Peru, the Coun- tess del Cinchon, was cured of intermittent fever by the use of it.* On her recovery, she distributed a large quantity of the bark to the Jesuits, by whom it was first introduced into Europe, and in whose hands it acquired considerable reputation. Louis XIV., when Dauphin, is said to have been one of the first in Europe who expe- rienced its efficacy. Notwithstanding this, the use of it was repro- bated by many eminent physicians, on its first introduction into Europe: and at different periods long after it was considered a dangerous remedy. But the use of a remedy is one thing, and the abuse of it is another : and we have no doubt that the disrepute into which bark fell, was the consequence of its being improperly admi- nistered by unskilful practitioners, who are too frequently infatuated with newly-discovered nostrums. That there are many cases, and many stages of fever, in which the administration of bark would be extremely hurtful, is quite certain; but, at the present day, to insist upon its virtues as a medicine, would be truly a work of super- erogation, and it will only be necessary to state, generally, those cases in which bark has been, and still continues to be exhibited. It was first introduced into Europe for the cure of intermittent fevers, but considerable diff"erences of opinion have prevailed with regard to the best mode of exhibition : some practitioners giving it just before the fit, others immediately after it, and some during the tit; some again have given repeated doses between the fits, and this appears from experience to be the most proper, if not the only proper time for its exhibition, and is, we believe, the present practice of the most eminent of the profession. Dr. Cullen says, " I am satisfied that giving a large dose of the bark immediately before the time of accession is the most proper practice." However, to enter more particularly upon this part of the subject, would be invading the province of the medical writer, and we must therefore dismiss it. Cinchona has also been used by some practitioners in continued fevers, and Dr. Woodville, after remarking that it may be employed with equal success in remittent and intermittent fevers, says, " In conti- * Hence the name Cinchona ; it has also been called Jesuits' bark, and Cardinal de Lugo's powder, this prelate having bought a large quantity of it for the use of th« reli- gious poor in Rome. VOL. II. 2 S 290 CINCHONA. nued fevers, or typhus of the nervous or putrid kind, the bark is very generally used, as well suited to counteract the debility or putres- cency which marks the progress of the disorder." There is however, he adds, " one state not unfrequently present in these epidemic fevers, in which the bark is found to be hurtful ; i. e. symptoms of conjestion, or topical inflammation of the head, manifested by head- ache, redness of the eyes, and phrenitic delirium." From our own experience, we would say that bark should never be resorted to in any case of fever, until the primie vire had been well cleared, and the stomach in a proper state to receive it ; neither should it be given when the head is engaged, or during the dry hot state of the skin, accompanied, as it usually is, with a hard pulse. Dr. Haygarth, and some practitioners of his day, recommended the use of bark in acute rheumatism ; we however agree with Dr. Ciillen, who savs, " As I consider this disease as essentially consisting in a phlogistic diathesis, I hold the bark to be absolutely improper, and have found it manifestly hurtful, especially in its beginning, and in its truly inflammatory state." In confluent small pox, we have given the decoction of bark, conjoined with a few drops of nitrous or sul- phuric acid, with the greatest success after the inflammatory symp- toms had subsided ; not, as some former writers have said, to promote a languid eruption, and suppuration of the pustules, but to prevent putrescence and gangrene. In gangrenous sore throat, the decoction of bark, with sulphuric acid, is most advantageously used as a gar- gle; and indeed in every species of gangrene, its use, both internally and externally seems to be indicated. In diff^erent forms of the vene- real disease, bark has been recommended by Mr. Pearson of the Lock Hospital, to reduce incipient bubo, to heal ulcers of the tonsils, and to cure gangrenous ulcers arising from the venereal. In pas- sive haemorrhagies, and other increased discharges, it has been much used, as well as for obviating the disposition to nervous and convul- sive diseases;* and joined with sulphuric acid, it has been resorted to in cases of phthisis, scrofula, ill conditioned ulcers, rickets, and scurvy. In contagious dysentery, after due evacuation, it has been used, taken internally, and by injection, with and without opium. In dropsy arising from debility, it is often alternated or conjoinied with diuretics, and frequently prevents a fresh accumulation of water: we have generally found however the different preparations of iron more eff'ectual for this purpose. * Its success, we think, here depends upon its action as a tonic. CINCHONA. 291 There are various modes of exhibiting bark, dependiug on the state of the stomach, the nature of the disease, the constitution of the patient, or perhaps the fancy of the physician. In powder, it is given mixed, either with' wine, with pure water, or with some of the aro- matic waters; and simply bruised, it is used in decoctions, liot and cold infusion, and tincture ; lastly, an extract is prepared by decoc- tion, and kept in two states; the one hard and pulverizable, the other soft, and of a proper consistence to make into pills. As bark is sometimes found to excite purging or nausea, it is frequently joined with an opiate, or with carbonic acid. As tliere is every reason to think, that the newly discovered preparations of this medicine will very soon supersede the use of the bark in substance, we do not deem it necessary to enter further into its mode of exhibition, but shall proceed to notice the medical properties of these substances. M. Magendie says, " A sufficient number of cases induce me to be- lieve that these two alkalies (cinchonine and quinine) possess the medical properties of the cinchonas, and may be substituted for them on all occasions." In the twelfth volume of the Medico- Chirurgical Transactions, Dr. EUiotson has sufficiently established the febrifuge efficacy of both simple quinine, and of the sulphate, which is further confirmed by Dr. Dickson of Clifton, in the Edin- burgh Medical and Surgical Journal for October 1823. But indeed it is needless now to insist upon the value of these preparations, since in the ague counties in England their use is become general, and seldom fail to effect a cure. M. Magendie says, the sulphates are the preparations most commonly employed, and he recommends from one to eight grains to be given in the twenty-four hours.* " Some physicians," he adds, " have thought it necessary to carry the dose much higher, but in general the success has not answered their expectations, and several patients have experienced somewhat severe accidents, such as great agitation, with strong cerebral excite- ment." Cinchonine is thought to possess the febrifuge properties in a less degree than quinine ; the sulphate of the latter is the prepara- tion now generally employed in England, and the following seems to be the best mode of exhibiting it : dissolve the sulphate in a little lemon juice, and then add a sufficient quantity of pure water, or of cinnamon or peppermint water, to make a draught ; in this way two grains may be given for a dose, and repeated three or four times in * According to Dr. Paris, eight grains of the sulpbate of quiuine is equal to 51. of bark. 292 LYTHRUM SALICARiA. the twenty-four hours. The French apothecaries have a number of formularies for the exhibition of the cinchonine and quinine, such as tinctures, syrups, vinous infusions, &c.; for these we must refer the reader to Magendie's Formulaire. It is to be regretted that the pre- sent very high price of these valuable medicines, almost excludes the poor from the advantages of them. Externally, Peruvian bark is used in substance, as an application to ill-conditioned carious or gangrenous ulcers; in the form of clyster, it may be given in substance, decoction, or extract ; the decoction is hkewise an excellent astringent gargle or wash ; and the powder is used as a tooth powder, for spongy and bleeding gums. OIF. The Bark of the Tree. OIF. Pp, Decoctum Cinchonae, L. E. D. Extractum Cinchonae, L. E. Cinchonae Resinosum, L. D. Infusum Cinchonae, L. E. D. Tinctura Cinchona?, L. E. D. Cinchonae Composita, L. E. D. LYTHRUM SALICARIA. Loose-strift, or Purple Willow Herb* Class DoDECANDRiA. — Order Monogynia. Nat. Ord. Calycanthemje, Linn. Salicari^e, Juss. Gen. Char. Calyx twelve-toothed, inferior. Petals six, in- serted into the calyx. Capsule two-celled, with many seeds. Spec. Char. Leaves opposite, lanceolate, heart-shaped at the base. Flowers in whorled leafy spikes. Stamens twelve. This species of Lythrum is an indigenous perennial plant, flower- ing from July to September. It is found wild on the banks of rivers and ponds, and other moist situations, in almost every country of * Fig. ti. the capsule spread open. c. Seeds, d. The corolla spread open. «. The ealjx. LYTHRUM SALICARIA. 293 Europe. It is a handsome plant, rising to the height of three or four feet; the root is woody, branched, spreading, and furnished with many fibres; the stem is erect, leafy, quadrangular, but often hexagonous towards the lower part, of a reddish colour, smooth or downy ; the leaves vary in length, are opposite, sessile, lanceolate, entire, cordate at the base, smooth on the upper surface, and some- what pubescent beneath ; the flowers arise from the axillae of the leaves, and terminate the stem in a spike of whorls ; the calyx is inferior, cylindrical, striated, downy, and divided at the margin into twelve segments; of which six are long, awl-shaped and erect; the others smaller, ovate, concave, and bent inwards. The petals are six, elliptic-oblong, undulated, and of a reddish purple colour ; the twelve filaments are thread-shaped, alternately shorter and in- flected, and bear roundish anthers; the germen is ovate-oblong, supporting a simple style, crowned with a capitate stigma; the cap- sule is small, elliptical, two-celled, inclosed in the tube of the calyx, and contains several small seeds. Qualities, &c; Loose-strife has little or no odour ; its taste is herbaceous and sub-astringent. Its active properties are extracted both by aqueous and spirituous liquors : the watery decoction is mucilaginous, and strikes a black colour with the sulphate of iron, hence its components appear to be chiefly extractive, combined with a small portion of tannin. Medical Properties and Uses. Loose-strife is astringent and tonic; it has been chiefly celebrated as a remedy in diarrhoea, for which disorder it has been long a favorite and popular medicine in Ireland. De Hean, Stork, and other continental physicians, have also prescribed it with much success in laxity of the intestines, &c.; in dysentery it has likewise been useful, but in most cases it is proper to give some aperient previous to its exhibition. It is usually given in decoction, one ounce of the dried herb to one pint of water, of which two or three ounces may be taken twice a day: the powder may be given in doses of one drachm, or more, night and morning. Off. The Herb. STRYCHNOS NUX VOM[CA. Vomic or Poison Nut.* Class Pentandi A.— Or Disp. Uth ed. f Vide Rooke's Arrian, toI. ii. pp. 115, 180. t Annates de Chimie, Ixviii. S2. VOL. II. J x. 314 KINO. powder, or made up in pills, in doses of ten to sixty grains ; or dis- solved in water, or in the form of the diluted tincture. Off. The Gum Resin. Off. Pp. Tinctura Myrrhae, L. E. D. It also forms one of the ingredients in several of the compound medicines of the Pharmacopoeias. KINO. In commerce there appears to be several varieties of this drug. The London college considers the best sort of Kino as the product of an African plant, a species of Pterocarpus (Erinacea), a native of Sene- gal. The Edinbvirjrh college, however, has inserted Kino as the inspissated juice of the Eucalypfns Resinlfera brown gum-iroA of Botany Bay; and the Dublin college (on the authority of Dr. Rox- burgh) have named the Butea Frondosa as the tree which yields the officinal Kino. Besides these, it appears there are several other plants which produce this substance.* Hence it appears, that the product of several different trees have, at various periods, been im- ported into this country under the specific name of Kino ; and that the chemical properties of these various kinds vary considerably, f Medical Properties AND Uses. Kino is a powerful as- tringent ; hence it is sometimes employed in obstinate chronic diarrhoeas and dysenteries, and also in uterine and intestinal hemoi-- rhages, fluor albus, and leucorrhaea, and other diseases arising from laxity of the solids. Externally it is applied as a styptic to check hemorrhages from wounds or ulcers, and to diminish the sanious discharge from ill-conditioned ulcers. It may be given in sub»tance, in doses of from ten to thirty grains ; or in the form of tincture, or the watery infusion : of the former, one drachm may be taken several times a day, and from one to two ounces of the latter. Off, Kino. Off. Pp. Tinctura Kino, L. E. D. * Vide Edin. DIsp. IKh ed. p. 379. Thomson's Lend. Disp. 4th ed. p. 507. •f' Want of room will not allow us to enter into the chemical properties of Kino ; we must, therefore, refer our readers to the London Dispensatory, by A. T. Thom/spn, •where this subject is treated at length. 315 SAGAPENUM. This gum resin is a concrete juice, and imported into this coun- try from Alexandria, Smyrna, and Aleppo. The plant which fur- nishes this substance has neter been correctly ascertained. Willde- now supposes it to be the product of the Ferula Persica: the identical plant which Dr. Hope describes as furnishing the gum assafoetida. Dioscorides mentions this substance as the juice of a Ferula growing in Media ; hence there is reason to suppose that Willdenow's supposition will, on further botanical researches, prove well founded. Sensible Qualities, &c. Sagapenum is met with either in agglutinated large masses, or in distinct tears, outwardly of a brownish yellow colour, internally paler, somewhat uauslucent, and bicaliiiig witii a. horny fracture ; gf'o"" soft on being handled, and sticks to the fingers ; melts at a low heat, and burns with a white flame and crackling noise ; its taste is hot, somewhat bitter, and nauseous ; its smell is disagreeable and alliaceous. It is soluble in proof spirit, and partially so in alcohol, and water. By distilla- tion with water, it yields a small portion of volatile oil. Its consti- tuents, according to Pelletier, are 31.94 gum, 64.26 resin, 0.40 acidulous malate of lime, 11.80 volatile oil, and 0.60 Qf a peculiar matter. Medical Properties and Uses. The virtues of Sagapenum are somewhat similar to those of galbanum and assafoetida, (but in an inferior degree) and may be employed in the same diseases; we therefore refer our readers to those articles. ' "■■ AMMONIACUM. Ammoniac, a gum resin. The plant which furnishes this substance, has never been described by any person who has seen it growing in its native soil, with the ex- ception of Mr. Jackson, whose authority cannot be wholly depended upon. On the authority of Willdenow, the London and Edinburgh 316 AMMOiMACUM. colleges refer the production of this gum to the Heracleum Gummt- ferum of that learned botanist;* but as the plant which Willdenow describes was raised by him from a seed found in the Ammoniacum of the shops, there is considerable doubt if it be really the plant which produces the gum ammoniacum; more especially as Willde- now could not obtain any of the gum resin from it. Mr. Jackson, in his account of Morocco, gives the following account of the pro- duction of this gum : " Ammoniacum, called Ftshook in Arabic, is produced from a plant similar to the European fennel, but much larger. In most of the plains of the interior, and particularly about El-araiche, and M'Sharrah Rumellah, it grows ten feet high. The gum ammoniac is procured by incisions in the branches, which when pricked, emit a lacteous glutinous juice, which being hardened by the heat of the sun, falls to the ground, and mixes with the red earth below ; hence the reason that gum ammoniac of Barbary does not suit the London market. It might however, with a little trouble, be procured perfectly pure. It is remarkable that neither bird nor beast is seen where this plant growo, ihf vulture only excepted. It is however attacked by a beetle, which perforates the plant with its horn, and the juice runs out at the wound." The Ammoniacum usually met with in the London markets, is brought from the East Indies, and comes packed in chests or cases. Sensible and Chemical Properties, &c. Ammoniacum has a nauseous, sweetish taste, followed by a bitter one, with a smell somewhat like that of galbanum. It softens by heat, but is not fusible ; when thrown upon live coals, it burns away in a flame ; it is partly soluble in water, forming with it a milky liquor, and also in vinegar: upon standing, the resinous part precipitates> It is soluble * The Heracleum Gummiferum belongs to the Class Pentandria, Ordtr Dyginia, Jiat. Ord. UmbellaTjE. Gen. Char. Fruit elliptical, emarginate, compressed, •triated, margined. Coro//a inflex, emarginate. Jnvo/xcre cadacous. This plant rises three feet in height: the branches are opposite and divaricated ; radical leaves a span long, cordate, three-lobed, toothed, pubescent on the under surface, petioled ; stem leaves opposite, somewhat cordate, three or four inches long, toothed, and stand upon sheathing petioles ; the flowers are produced in large, many-rajed umbels ; the marginal flowers are hermaphrodite, the central hermaphrodite without the germen ; the margin of the calyx is obsolete ; the corolla of the marginal flowers is pentapetalons and un- equal ; the corolla of the central is pentapetalous and equal ; the filaments support roundish anthers ; the gtrmen in the marginal flower is inferior, oblong ; styles two, inserted into a glandular body ; the stigmas capitate. — Spc^. Plant. WjUc). i. 1431.. AMMONIACUM, in alcohol, forming a transparent liquor, which on the addition of water becomes milkyT Alcohol distilled from it, arose unchanged, but water acquires a sweetish taste, and the smell of the ammoniac* According to Braconnot, it is composed of 70.0 parts of resin, 18.4 gum, 4.4 glutinous matter, and 6.0 'water, in 100 parts, 1.2 parts being lost in the process.* Medical Properties and Uses. Ammoniacum is stimulant, and somewhat deobstruent, expectorant, and antispasmodic ; in large doses it is purgative, excites perspiration, and increases the flow of urine; hence it is prescribed with advantage in a variety of diseases, viz. to promote expectoration in some pulmonary complaints, in dropsy to promote the flow of urine, as a deobstruent in visceral obstruction, hysteria, and chlorosis, and in obstinate colic, proceed- ing from viscid matter lodged in the intestines, ammoniacum has produced good effects, after aperients and carminatives have failed. As a topical remedy, it is applied in the form of plalstcr as a dis- cutient to scirrhous tumours, white swellings, &c. Ammoniacum may be taken in doses of from ten to thirty grains, either in sub- stance or in solution. It is often given in combination with squills, ipecacuanha, antimony, myrrh, iron, or bitterf, according to the eff'ects we wish to promote. Off". The Gum Resin. Off^. Pp. Emplastrum Ammoniaci, L. — Ammoniaci cum Hydrargyro, L. Mistura Ammoniaci, L. D. i* Aunties de Chimi IxTiii, GO* 318 LIST OF POISONOUS PLANTS. Those marked * are natives of Britain, and those f are in the work. f Aconitum Napellus Monk's-hood, *Actea Spicata Bane-berries. *^thusa Cynapium Fool's-parsley, *Anemone Pulsatilla Pasque-flower. *Anagallis Avensis Pimpernal, Angustura Pseudo-ferruginea Ferruginous Angustura. •j-*Arum Wake-robin. *Aristolochia Clematitis. Birth-wort. f*Atropa Belladonna i^cdUiy 1\ IgUl-bUdUc. ♦Bryonia Dioica Bryony. f Cephaelis Ipecacuanna Ipecacuan. *Chelidonium Majus Celandine. *Cicuta Virosa Water Hemlock. * Clematis Vitalba Virgin's Bower. •j-*Colchicum Autumnale i.rXcaUUW (adlilUli. f Convolvulus iSeammonia Scammony. ■j-*Conium Maculatum f Croton Tiglium Purging Croton. f Cucumis Colocynthit Bitter Apple. f*Daphne Mezereum Mezereon. * Laureola Spurge Laurel, f*Datura Stramonium Thorn Apple. f Delphinium Staphisagria Stavesacre. f*Digitalis Purpurea Fox-glove. f Euphorbia Officinarum Euphorbium. Ervum Eervilia Lentil. Fritillaria Imperialis Crown Imperial. jf Gratiola Officinalis Hedge Hyssop. •j-*Helleborus Fcetidus Bear's-foot. f Niger Black Hellebore, * Hydrocotile Vulgaris Marsh Penny-wort, •j-*Hyoscyamus Niger Henbane. Jatropha Cur cat Indian Nut. POISONOUS PLANTS. 1 Juniperus Sahina Savine. ■}-*Lactuca Virosa Strong-scented Lettuce. •j- Laurus Camphora Camphor Tree. Cerasus Common Laurel. Lobelia Syphilitica Cardinal Flower. *Lolium Temulentum Darnel. Menispermum Cocculus Cocculus Indicus. ■{• Momordica Elaterium Wild Cucumber, •Narcissus Pseudo-Narcissus Daffodil. f Nicotiana Tabacum Tobacco. •CEnanthe Crocata Hemlock Drop-wort. i*Papaver Somniferum White Poppy. * Paris Quadrifolia Herb Paris. *Pedicularis Paliiatris Louse-wort. ♦Ranunculus Acris Butter-cup. Sceleratus Water Crow-foot. * Flammula Lesser Spear-wort. i Rhododendron Crysunthemuni Yellow Rhododendron. ■{••Rhus Toxicodendron Poison Oak. f Ricinus Communis Palma Christi. f Ruta Graveolens Rue. *Sedum Acre Wall Pepper. Secale Cornutum Spurred Rye, *Sempervivum Tectorum House-leek. •j- Scilla Maritima Squill. f *Solanum Dulcamara Woody Night-shade. jf Stalagraitis Cambogioides Gamboge. 1 Strychnos Nux F'omica Crow Fig. f Veratrum Album White Hellebore. •Voila Tricola Heart's-ease. POISONOUS MUSHROOMS. Agaricus Muscariu* Fly Agaric. Piperatu* Pepper Agaric. Necator Deadly Agaric. Bulbosa Bulbous Agaric. Chantarellus Champignon. 0^0 LIST OF INDIGENOUS PLANTS NOT FIGURED IN THE WORK. V'Unvaliaria Polygonatum Solomon's-seal Astringent, J\Iajalis Jjily 01 the Valley Aperient. JVUSCUS Jlculeatus Butcher 's-broom Aperient. Tfiiiius Comtnuni* Black Bryony Diuretic, iNJ II r*^i cell o Pocticus N^arcissxis Pseudo-JVuTcissus Jjatiocin Emetic. Ins Pseud- JlcoTus Yellow Water Iris Cathartic. Arrow-head. Acrid. Sutotnus U mbclloitus Aperient. Hydrocli3.ris Frog-bit Astringent. Alniis Glutiflosd Common Alder Betula Alba Common Birch Aperient. Fagus Sylvatica Common Beech Lithontriptic. Urtica Pilulifera Roman Nettle Diuretic, Astringent Dioica Great Nettle Diuretic. Urens Little Nettle Diuretic, Astringent Mercurialis Annua Annual Mercury Cathartic, Emetic. Euphorbia Lathyris Caper Spurge Cathartic, Emetic. Peplis Purple Sea Spurge Cathartic, Acrid, Charaeias Red Shrubby Spurge. Cathartic. Buxus Sempervirens Box-tree Sudorific. Aristolochia Clematitis Common Birth-wort Emmenagogue. Hippophae Rhamnoides Sallow Thorn Aperient. Polygonum Aviculare Knot-grass Astringent. Convolvulus Black Bindweed Nutritive. Atriplex Angustifolia Narrow-leaved Orache Emetic. Chenopodium Bonus Henricus English Mercury Aperient. Salsosa Kali Prickly Salt-wort Deobstruent. Anagallis Arvensis Scarlet Pimpernal Acrid. Primula Vulgaris Cowslip Anodyne. INDIGENOUS PLANTS NOT FIGURED IN THE WORK. 021 Mentha Odorata Bergamot Mint Stomachic. Arvensis Corn Mint Diuretic. Melittis Melissophyllu m Bastard Balm Diuretic. Lamium Mhum Dead Nettle Diaphoretic. Thymus Jlcinos Basil Thyme Astringent. J^epeta Lesser Calamint Cephalic. Calamintha Calamint Cephalic. Ajuga Reptans Common Bugle Tonic. Antirrhinum Majus Toad Flax Diuretic. Veronica Arvensis Wall Speedwell Diaphoretic, Pedicularis Palustris Louse-wort Acrid. Verbascum Thapsiis Great Mullein Anodyne. Blattaria Moth Mullein Anodyne. JVigrum Black Mullein Astringent. Lithospermuni Officinale Gromwell Diuretic. Convolvulus Sepium Great Bindweed Cathartic. Arvensis Small Bindweed Cathartic. Polemonium Ccerulemn Jacoh's-ladder Astringent. Cynoglossuni Officinale Hound's-tongue Astringent. Gentiana Pneiimonanthe Marsh Gentian Bitter. Nuphar Pumila Dwarf Water Lily Antiscorbutic. Vinca Major Greater Periwinkle Astringent. . Ligustrum V ulgare Privet Astringent. Fraxinus Excelsior Common Ash Febrifuge. Vaccinium Myrtillus Whortle-berry Antiscorbutic. Bryonia Dioica Red-berried Bryony Cathartic. Cichorium Intybus Wild Succory Aperient. Carlina Vulgaris Common Carline Thistle Diuretic. Senecio V ulgaris Groundsel Aperient. Achillea Millefolium Yarrow, or Milfoil Astringent. Galium Jlparine Goose-grass Vulnary. Hedera Helix Ivy Aperient. Apium Graveolens Parsley, or Wild Celery Diuretic. Choerophyllum Sylvestre Wild Cicely or Chervil Diuretic. Sativum Garden Cicely Diuretic. Eryngium Campestre Field Eringo Aperient. Sedum Acre Wall Pepper Emetic. Epilobium Angustifolium Rose-bay Willow-herb Intoxicating. Alchemilla Alpina Alpine Lady's Mantle Astringent. Potentilla Reptans Creeping Potentilla Febrifuge. Spiraea Filipendula Common Drop-wort Astringent. Prunus Spinosa Sloe Febrifuge. Ulex Europceus 'Furze Diuretic. VOL II. 2 Y 322 INDIGENOUS PLANTS NOT FIGURED IN THE WORK. Astragalus Glycyphyllos Sweet Milk-vetch Demulcent. Trifolium Pratense Common Melilot Laxative. Euonymus Eiiropceus Common Spindle Tree Emetic. Ilex JEquifolium Common Holly Cathartic. Fumaria Officinalis Common Fumitory Aperient. Sisymbrium Officinale Hedge Mustard Pectoral. Nasturtium Officinale Water Cress Antiscorbutic. Lepidium Latifolium Pep per- wort Sialogogue. Impatiens Noli-me-tangere Touch-me-not Diuretic. Viola Tricolor Heart's-ease Emetic. Geranium Pratense Meadow Crane's-biU Astringent. Cistus Helianthemum Dwarf Cistus Astringent. Soponaria Officinalis Common Soap-wort Aperient. Malva Moschata Musk Mallow Emollient. Clematis Fitalba Common Traveller's-joy Bark Caustic. Thalictrum Majus Greater Meadow Rue Stomachic. Anemone Pulsatilla Pasque-flower Acrid. Pseonia Officinalis Piony Emmenagogue. Adonis Autumnalis Pheasant's-eye Astringent. Aquilegia Vulgaris Common Columbine Diuretic, TABULAR INDEX. 323 t-H pq 1 xn ^ c si s fee "o a ■ > ^ .2i o 12 (U ^ s- V O o _. ^ s B «5 .Si U ^ aj 4^ -w «4_ S o s a .s J5 ^- = .2: 5 a Q § o "Si S be «> CO J3 '.a » • .S cj fen o « " o bo 3 09.= 01 01 I, 1- O .2 .ti 4) .ti M V3 cd 0/ d S 5 c >- .2 g .S .Ji '3 .y be OS .S = J2 ,2 ^ SP M I, OJ W ■i- o - S-5 --1 B i «s u a cij « s s « gi t. «ti ^2 t- V. o o a s = fc* o cd P i (d ._, c be >> n bo ■50. 5P ^.1 .2 «i .2 -^5 cd -2 O o O o 1) .2 Ol o I S 2 'S. " S O (1) S (« bo -5 2 s F-<00«0>«QOeoCOO(N«OCO I (S « (N « (M (M -§1 « I - i e u ^ « ti s ■^5 ~ S 5 "2 -S s o> s£ ^ 1^ ^ ^ 5*5 32i TABULAR INDKX. a a ^ t: ^ «! ^ ^ c " .Si c d £ -5 5 05 .H "-I'- ll !3 O o E £ o G, «- £3 CU tfl O .-5 »1 ctf stok a g jassise iphorbia a '0 eS )lanese ;guminos 0) > "oj CO 0 H ^< a (LCD ^ « to g S S g -c CO Pi4 ^ t. S So. CQ 5S OS •C.2 ynand ctandr 00 OH .2 Q< I- 4J O 0} o to 05 OJ so OS C »c J> (M iM — CO ^ — . f5 S ° 5 Sis Si is a - eg 5 g 3 . > IS )-3 33 CU O O! C C3 S b< &< I. .j!^ 0) ^ -f^ '2 -S .S i? a S •^5 a "2 o s o a - ■ S 2 1 § ^ ^ ^ o £ 2 3 3 si c S 2 o o = cj g - S "la ?3 c . o tr' "13 I. eS 5 ^ c s- .7- IS 02 X •< Q E-i■ OD Eh aj !« oj •C J3 -C SI. aj o. c 5 ^ ti tiD . cj to O 020 • CCiS03U JOD o .5 S .2 O El, " .2 s r o oj o " 3 S £,1: o i5 5 .t; £ " 5 o — S o o 3 3 O Ph 3 . — CO " 8 ~ *i -O »^ ►^^•^ ^ b sad f> 05 o» — --^ -< (N '-Hi-i(M(NO}(N'M(NOJ(N(M(?l Q Cfi O &< N pq O O S ca 5d Sis .2 S, ca ta ca ■si !3 o -B C gai02oa2Ofcoo ogo i-j ca G _2 Eft 5: "£':i,Ocab — S 5 ca e S 15 s o>o<; s C 1= c ^ o o S Si sa, is s 2 a Ct, -t, «, s S S 326 TABULAR INDEX. ■5 a o O S J J "S -c £ ^ ed cB = " " « 2 a D tS HO S3 ca .5 c a m to OS (U Q<.S li il CS J; !S 3; to. 3 «s S 5^ S? o o aj !- o « oO O D — 1 So* .2 -2 « § o i g. s L si. fan ca.2 "3 P .2 § "O QQQH (M «5 O OS O 00 (N O «0 00 W O O -H -H (M « (N (S be = c .2 cc Ph .2 cs .2 00 —I I i> 0> 90 , I i-^ 00 ^ (M -H — < (N C« W ^5 3 s S - V 'S e} a a > ^ PL, CCO ■a P*> u >» c c s=c-a bo ed cs O « O tn »3 C C C O 'a-O O O — IB TO O U = 0. = S PCS S ft.SO td «l ^ •a >» >« 2 ^ cd 13 cd 5.2 .2 -2 S 8 04 OJ b. (N M ■•ii CO 04 s a 2 2 i i a. 2 es d « = 3 * cd 3 § a a « § cd g 4> ^ 9 g. s b< i « U> ^ n4 At .2 Pi tn cq O w O cc »-j P3 "< eu II S3 a s Is 53 e ft, ® ? « 0,0,0,0,0, 328 TABULAR INDEX. 9} ai . > >■ ••3 = = c - 2i S S E.£-5 S . t. t. ^ ® bo ^ <, o S . " c ^ S -2 i2 <2 "S to tn mm S a .si a c i: t- E S 2 ,H = o 5 W3 — c3 ;3 > a, o » o s o 1^ Ph P4 Oh 8 B a .2 J3 •So I cc OS O a o o u 0) Piperi .-^ a ^ '3 Q 5-1 Ameni Sentic Vertic iVlUlUS Olerac Trico( Bicorr 01era( s £ » ^ 02 cfi •2 -u be c S, 5 £ QOSCU Ct3 be a P-> ea o >> be n C hfi "S o o 'c 2 be -= o .2.2 s) c^l 2 Q Q .1^ 0) .2 't- 'C 'C -a 'O c c c c: c: v a; v CuEhOi 01 (U HCU tJis0CCOOCD. >0 'O o o (N (N (N (M •lOA Si t be a /2 n 0) aj o = a S ts M .S u S3 bo O) ^ .2 oj o) a tu ■(-> 05 Q h J iJ O 33 S S o B © s •« -s ■« s as a? ft? a; IS! c a TABULAR INDEX. 329 boo . — S tJ.fi"' .a r, tS~ « c - ~ y -i: *td s ?• >^ "3 = '-5 o'-S o ,^ ^ s 3; i s = a t- - S. n - c;-- " i; ^ .i; X Ha c o c3 *ij (s •- - 2 « g SB ,^ c-~ a t dJ B oJ C •- B C ^ ^ " O •t = € ^: S i •- Q „0 S g a S IS- ill " B "B S S Z. zi c ij c z wJ o !/: i;! t> -i 8! a s ^ 5 a • o 2 bt a 2 £ " C c 5 o S S: £ -o s bo 0^ O ^ 0) .~ O cc c '2 bo c g j», to " P bo 5 bC o c3 C .2 8 ■ -J rt J; 2 p -r; c tn be bri"= fct S r- TO o r cB o c .bp S S O f< !^ .2 •r -o c M -5 ^ = -rt .2 ^ = 2 o 5 .2 g.2.§ g c "2 be * OB IS C3 cs ■J^ .2 "p "S a 5 = P bo bo cs .5 ■- .5 .2 -2 ~ " 'f^ ^ "5 '5 S S'^-SbrS ^ 13 • 00 O O! ■ (M (M M Q C M —I 'O 50 >-< CO — ~ -* w o 0} (M '-I (M M ^ ^ ,^ cs •£ .2 13 = 1*^ ^ E tg o « o! 2P i: 5 K5 5 E OS .£ e ,2 O O K < l> 3 § §•1 «3 J» ic so CC C>5 VOL. ir. <3 e - ^ s 2 a. S o ~ S .g 5 S .2 i § 2 Sag .2 -in T .5 'd^ .-5 jr; .-^ =' 330 ENGLISH INDEX. Vol. Pag-e. Agaric of the Oak . 2 273 Agrimony, common . . 2 66 Alkanet ... . . 1 220 Almond-tree .... 1 j Aloe, spiked .... 2 96 yello\v flowered . 2 97 Allspice 2 130 Ammoniac 2 315 Angelica, garden ... 2 7 Anise 2 43 Arbutus, red-berried trailing 1 115 Arnica, mountain ... 2 106 Arum, common ... 1 218 Asarabacca i 45 Assafcetida 2 270 Astralagus, true ... 2 278 Arens, common ... 1 193 Balm of Gilead Fir . . 2 25 Balm, common .... 2 249 Balsam of Gilead Amyris 2 245 Balsam, sweet-smelling . 2 166 Bark, Angustura ... 2 252 Simaruba ... 2 255 ■ Peruvian .... 2 281 Barley, common ... 2 308 Bear's-foot 1 55 Benjamin-tree : . . . 2 148 Benzoin Storax ... 2 148 Bindweed, Syrian ... 1 157 ■ — Mexican . . 1 202 Birth-wort 2 243 Bistort, greater . . • ] 75 Bitter-sweet j g Bladder-wrack .... 2 123 Bonplandia, three-leaved 2 252 Broom, common ... 1 I47 Brook-lime, broad-leaved 1 213 Bubon, lovage-leaved . , 2 203 Buckbean, common .2 5 Buckthorn, purging . . 2 128 Vol. Ptgt. Burdock ^ Cabbage-tree . . . 2 172 Cajeput-tree, lesser . . I 214 Camphor-tree .... 2 215 — ■ laurel .... 2 217 Canella, laurel-leaved . . 2 91 Capsicum, annual ... 1 91 Cardamom-tree .... 2 115 Carolina pink .... 1 51 Carraway, common . . 1 191 Carrot, wild 1 1Q4 Cascarilla 2 230 Cassia, purging ... 2 206 Cassia, Egyptian ... 1 128 Catechu 1 181 ^^^'dar 2 195 Centaury, common ... 2 68 Chamomile 1 73 Chamomile, Spanish . . 2 32 Chesnut, common horse . 1 113 Cinchona 2 281 Cinnamon-tree .... 2 34 Clove-tree 2 48 Clove pink i 155 Colt's-foot 1 112 Contrajerva 2 229 Copaiva-tree 2 201 Coriander, common . . 2 55 Cowhage 2 199 Croton, purging ... 1 30 Croton, Elutheria ... 2 230 Cubebs 2 311 Cuckow-pint ..... 1 218 Cuckow-flower .... 2 109 Cucumber, bitter ... 2 187 Cucumber, wild ... ] 27 Cumin 2 45 Damson, bitter .... 2 255 Dandelion, common . . 1 59 KNCLISH Vol. Page. Deadly Nightshade . . 1 132 Dill, common ... 2 70 Dolphin flower .... 1 86 Dyer's Burgloss , . . 1 220 Elder, common or black . I 117 Elecampane . . . . . 1 106 Elemi-tree 2 247 Elm, common .... 2 46 Eryngo, sea 2 158 Euphorbium, officinal . 2 224 Fennel, common ... 2 72 Fern, male ..... 2 93 Fig-tree, common ... 2 170 Figwort, knobby-rooted . 2 274 Fir, Scotch 2 14 BalmofGilead . . 2 25 Norway Spruce , . 2 26 Silver 2 28 Flag, sweet I 58 Flax, purging 1 109 Flax, common . . « . 1 41 Florentine Iris . , . 1 161 Flowering Ash .... ] 205 Fox -glove 1 33 (jamboge-tree .... 2 275 Garlic, cultivated ... 2 153 Gentian - , [ 222 Germander, Marum . . 2 208 Wall . . . 2 210 (iinger, narrow-leaved . 2 59 Golden Rod, common 2 89 Guaiacum 1 139 Gum- Arabic 1 176 Gum-resin 2 315 Hellebore, black ... 1 62 — white ... 2 141 • foetid ... 1 65 Hemlock, common . . 1 143 Henbane, black .... 1 22 Herb Bennet .... 1 193 Holly, sea 2 158 INDEX. 331 Vol. Page. Horehound, common . 1 1 10/ Horse Radish . . . . J Hop 2 80 Hyssop, common . . . 2 250 Hyssop, hedge .... 1 174 Ipecacuan 1 lis 1 202 Juniper, common .. . . 2 193 Juniper, Lycian . . . 2 195 2 Krameria, Peruvian . . 2 184 Larch-tree, white ... 2 22 Larkspur, palmated 1 86 Lavender . 1 94 2 155 Lemon-tree 1 187 Lettuce, stronff-scented . 1 37 Lichen, Dyer's . . . . 2 182 Liquorice, common 2 177 Liverwort, Iceland . . . 9 l/» Logwood-tree . . , . 2 Loose-strife- 9 9Q9 Madder, Dyer's . 2 146 Mackaw-tree 2 305 Mallow, common 1 15 Mallow, Marsh . . . . 1 26 Manna 1 205 Marjoram, common I 172 ■ sweet .... 1 173 Mastic-tree .... 2 104 Menispermum, palmated 2 233 Mezereon, Spurge Olive . 1 13 Monk's-hood . . . . 1 18 Mulberry-tree, common . 1 225 Mustard, white . . . . 1 6 Myrrh . . . . , . 2 312 Nutmeg-tree . . 2 /I Nux Vomica, or Poison Nut 2 294 Oak, common .... 2 265 — — Oriental gall . . 2 267 — — poison . . . . 2 303 332 ISNGLlSiH INDEX. Oat, common Olibamim, gum . Olive-tree . . . Onion .... Opoponax . . Orange-tree, Sevill Orchall . . . Palma Christ! Parsnip, rough . Parsnip, water . Penny Royal Pepper, black long . ■ Jamaica Peppermint . . Plum-tree, common Pomegranate-tree Poppy, red . . %vhite . Quassia-tree . . Quince-tree, common Ratany-root . . . Rattle-snake Milk-wort Rhododendron, yellow flowered . . . Rhubarb, palmated Rosemary, officinal Rose, dog . . . ■' ■' ' Christmas — - corn . . . — ■ — hundred-leaved red officinal . Rue Saffron, meadow - crocus . Sage, garden . . Sagapenum . . Sanders-tree, red Sarsaparilla . . Sassafras, laurel Savine, common Scammony Vol Page. 2 306 2 196 1 67 2 155 9 1 o 1 1 oo 2 1 2 12 2 227 1 166 2 160 2 163 2 130 1 164 2 65 1 101 1 12 1 77 2 258 2 10 2 184 2 62 2 57 1 119 1 56 I 17 1 62 I 12 Q QC OO n £. A 1 41 1 1 QQ sy 1 47 1 70 1 110 2 315 2 263 2 211 2 164 2 190 1 157 Scurvy-grass, common Senna Septfoil .... Simaruba Quassia . Snake-root, Virginia Snake-weed . . . Socotrine Sorrel, common wood ■ common . Southernwood, Tartarian — common Spearmint Spurge . . Squill, officinal Storax-tree . Stavesacre Sugar Cane, common Sumach .... Sweet-bay, common Swietenia, febrifuge Tamarind-tree . Tansy, common Thistle, blessed . Thorn Apple Tobacco . . Tormentil, common , Trefoil, marsh . . . Turpentine-tree, Chian Valerian, great wild Vine Violet, sweet . . Water-dock . . . Wheat, winter . . Whortleberry . , Willow, crack . . Willow-herb, purple Winter's Bark-tree Wolfsbane . . Wormwood, common ■ sea Zcdoary 2 121 Vol. Page, 1 226