r; C~*7~. I- Iv - - r- -,~~l~lti I --,- k~YI jpJ~~ Lr NEW HOM(EOPATHIC PHARMACOP(EIA AND POSOLOGY; OR THE MODE OF PREPARING HOM(EOPATHIC MEDICINES, AND THE ADMINISTRATION OF DOSES. COMPILED FROM THE WORKS OF BUCHNER, GRUNER, AND JAHR. WITH ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS BY CHARLES J. HEMPEL, M.D. NEW EDITION, CAREFULLY REVISED, AND COMPRISING THE MOST RECENT ADDITIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS. LONDON: JAMES LEATH, 9, VERE STREET, OXFORD STREET, AND 5, ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD. 1850. C. AND J. ADTr.AnD, JBArrH oLOAMLV CL'SE. HOM(EOPATHIC MEDICINES AND ALL ACCESSORY PEEPARATIONS SMA BE PlOCURED AT LEATH'S HOM(EOPATHIC PHARMACY, 9, Vere Street, Oxford Street, and 5, St. Paul's Churchyard. TESTIMONIAL, extracted from the 'ELEMENTS OF THE HOMCEOPATHIC PRACTICE OF PHYSIC,' by Dr. LAURIE. "Homoeopathic Medicines, the majority of which are not susceptible of any chemical test, should be procured of persons upon whose scrupulous integrity perfect reliance can be placed, and whose preparations have been submitted to the trial of extended practice, if possible. I am in the habit of using the Medicines prepared at the Pharmacy of MR. JAMES LEATH, of 9, Vere Street, and 5, St. Paul's Churchyard; and, from having tested their efficacy in private and Dispensary practice, I can confidently recommend them to the public.-JOSEPI LAURIE, M.D." GENERAL VIEW OF SUBSTANCES TREATED OF IN THIS WORK. With indication of the attenuation of the most used of each medicine, and of the method (dry or humid) by which each one is ordinarily prepared, Note 1.-The letter a., placed at the end of the name of a medicine, indicates that it is prepared immediately with ALCOHOL; the letters tr., on the other hand, indicate that the first three attenuations of a medicine are made by TRITURATION with sugar of milk. As to those which are followed by the two signs tr. and a., they are such as may be prepared either the one way or the other, but preferably by TRITURATION. Finally, the letters aq. indicate that the first attenuation is made with PURE WATER, the second with diluted alcohol, and that it is not until the third that we make use of alcohol undiluted. Note 2.-The asterisk, *, placed before a name, indicates the medicines which, in default of being yet experimented with, do not form a part of the Materia Medica, though they are treated of in the Pharmacopoeias. The substances preceded by a small zero, 0, are those which are NOT medicines properly so called, but which we have nevertheless thought proper to treat of in this work. Note 3.-The cipher, placed at the end of the name of medicines, indicates the attenuation most generally used by Hahnemann and his disciples; those substances which have no cipher appended to them, are medicines the proper dose of which is not yet ascertained. 0 stands for tincture. *Absinthium, a. AEthusa Cynapium, a. *Aceti acidum, aq. Agaricus muscarius, a. 0, 6, 24, 30. OAcetum. Agnus castus, a. 0, 9, 18. Acidum benzoicum, aq. *Albumen, tr., fluoricum, aq. OAlcohol.,, oxalicum, aq. *Allium sativum, a. Aconitum Napellus, a. 0, 6, 18, 30. Alois gummi, tr. a. 0. Actaea spicata, a. Alumina, tr. 30. OAdeps suilla. Ambra grisea, tr. 3, 6. 0~Ather sulphuricus. *Ammoniacum gummi, tr. vi GENERAL VIEW OF Ammonium carbonicum, tr. 3, 18. *Ammonium causticum, aq. Ammonium muriaticum, tr. 12. Anacardium orientale, tr. a. 30. Angustura, tr. a. Antimonium crudum, tr. 3, 12. *Antimonium metallicum, tr. OAqua destillata. *Aquilegia vulgaris, a. *Archangelica officinalis, a..Argentum foliatum, tr. 3, 6. *Argentunm nitricum, aq. *Aristolochia Clematitis, a. *Armoracia officinalis, a. Arnica montana, a. 0, 6, 12. Arsenicum album, a. tr. 3, 18, 30. *Arsenicum citrinum, tr. *Arsenicum metallicum, tr. *Arsenicum rubrum, tr. Artemisia vulgaris, a. Arum maculatum, a. Asafoetida, a. 9. Asarum europeum, a. 12. *Asparagus officinalis, a. *Atriplex olida, a. Aurum foliatum, tr. 3, 12. *Aurum fulminans, a. Aurum muriaticum, a. *Barbus, tr. *Baryta acetica, aq. Baryta carbonica, tr. 3, 18. *Baryta caustica, a. Baryta muriatica, 0, 3, 18. Belladonna, a. 0, 12, 30. Berberis vulgaris, a. 30. Bismuthum, tr. 3, 30. *Bismuthum metallicumn, tr. *Boletus Satanas, tr. Borax veneta, tr. 3, 30. Bovista, tr. 30. *Bromium, a. Brucea anti-dysenterica, tr. a. Bryonia alba, a. 12. *Cahinca, a. Caladium seguinum, a. 30. *Calcarea acetica, aq. Calcarea carbonica, tr. 3, 30. *Calcarea caustica, aq. *Calcarea muriatica, aq. Calcarea phosphorica, tr. *Calcarea sulphurica, tr. *Calendula officinalis, a. Camphora, a. 0. *Cancer fluviatilis, a. *Cancrorum oculi, tr, Cannabis sativa, a. 0, 3, 12. Cantharis, a. 0, 3, 12. Capsicum annuum, a. 9. Carbo animalis, tr. 15. Carbo vegetabilis, tr. 3, 15. Cascarilla, tr. a. Castoreum, a. 30. Causticum, a. 30. OCera, Ceratum, Cereoli. Chamomilla vulgaris, a. 12. Chelidonium majus, a. 0. *Chenopodium glaucum, a. China, tr. a. 0, 9, 30. Cicuta virosa, a. 30. Cimex lectularius, a. Cina, a. 9. Cinnabaris, tr. 9. Cinnamomum, tr. a. Cistus canadensis, a. 15. Clematis erecta, a. 9. Coccionella septempunctat., a, 3. Cocculus, a. 12. Coffea cruda, tr. a. 9. Colchicum autumnale, a. 15. Colocynthis, a. 30. *Conche, tr. 30. Conium maculatum, a. 30. Convolvulus arvensis, a. Copaiv-e balsamum, a. 0, 3. Corallium rubrum, Ir. 3, 30. Crocus sativus, a. 6. *Crotalus horridus, tr. 30. Croton tiglium, tr. a. Cubebae, tr. a. *Cuprum aceticum, aq. OCuprum carbonicum, Itr. Cuprum metallicum, tr. 3, 30. *Cuprum sulphuricum, tr. Cyclamen europmeum, a. 3. Daphne indica, a. Diadema Aranea, tr. a. 30. Dictamnus albus, a. Digitalis purpurea, a. 0. 30. Drosera rotundifolia, a. 30. Dulcamara, a. 24. Elaterium, a. *Electricitas. Eugenia jambos, a. Eupat. perfol., a. Euphorbium officinal., tr. a. 30. Euphrasia officinalis, a. 3. Evonymus europoeus, a. 6. Ferrum, tr. 3, 12. *Ferrum aceticum, aq. Verrum chloratum s. muriat., aq. SUBSTANCES TREATED OF IN THIS WORK. i vii Ferrum. magneticum, tr. *Ferrujm. oxydat. hydratum, tr. Filix inas., a. 0, 9. *Formica rufa, a. Fragaria vesca, a. *Galvanismus. *Genista scoparia, a. *Ginseng, tr. a. Glonoine. Granatum, a. 0, 12. Graphites, tr. 3, 30. Gratiola officinalis, a. 9. Guaco, a. Guaiacum, tr. a. 3. Hmmatoxylum Campechian., a. 9. Helleborus niger, a. 0, 12. Hepar sulphur. caic., tr. 3. *Heracleum sphondylium, a. *Hydrocyani acidum, ag. Hyoscyamus niger, a, 0, 12. *Hyperjcum perforatum, a. 'Ichthyocolli. Ignatia amara, tr. a. 15. Illicium anisatum, a. Indigo, tr. 30. lodium, a. 30. Ipecacuanha, tr. a. 9. Jalappa, tr. a. *Jalappoe magisterium, tr. a. Jatropha Curcas, tr. 30. *Juglans regia, a. *Juncus pilosus, a. Kali bichromicum, tr. Kali carbonicum, tr. aq. 3, 30. *Kali causticum, a. Kali chioricum, aq. 0, 3. Kali hydriodicum, tr. 3, or aq. Kalinia latifolia, a. Kreasotum, a. 3, 30. Lachesis, tr. 30. Lactuca virosa, a. 12. Lamium album, a. 3. Laurocerasus, a. 6. Ledum palustre, a. 15. Lobelia inflata, a. Lobelia cardinalis, a. *Lolium temulentum, a. *Lupulus, a. Lycopodium, tr. 24. Magnes artificialis. *Magnesia calcinata.. Magnesia carbonica, tr. 30. Magnesia muriatica, ag. Magnesia sulphurica, tr. Mangamum carbonicum, tr. 30. *Manganum aceticum, a. *Manganum metallicum, tr. *Melo6 majalis. *Melo& proscarabmus, a. Menyanthes trifollata, a. 300. Mephitis putorius, tr. 30. Mercurialis perennis, a. Mercurius (vivus et solub.), tr. 1, 3, 30. *Mercurius acetatus, tr. Mercurius corrosivus s. sublim., aq. 3, 12. *Mercurius dulcis, tr. *Merc. prmcip. albus, tr. *Merc. pramc. ruber, tr. Mezereum, a. 0, 3, 15. Millefolium, a. 0. *Molybdwnum, tr. *Molybd~ni acidum, tr. Moschus, tr. 1, 3. Muriatis acidum, aq. 3. Natrum. carbonicum, tr. 12. *Natruum causticum, aq. Natrum. muriaticum, tr. 12. Natrum nitricum, tr. *Natrum suiphuratum, tr. Natrum. suiphuricum, tr. Niccolum carbonicum, tr. 30. Nitrum, tr. 24. Nitri acidum, aq. 3. Nitri spiritus dulcis. Nux juglans, a. Nux moschata, tr. 3, 12, 30. Nux vomica, tr. a. 15. *(Enanthe crocata, tr. a. 6. Oleander, tr. a. 6. Oleum animale, tr. 30. Oleum. jecoris morrhuae, tr. a. 'Oleum olivarum. Oniscus Asellus, tr. a. *Ononis spinosa, a. Opium, tr. a. 0, 6. *Osmjum, tr. *Ovj membrana, tr. *Padus avium, a. Paeonia officinalis, a. 3. Paris quadrifolia, a. 9. Petroleum, tr. 18, 30. Petroselinum, a. 0, 3. Phellandrium aquaticum, tr. a. 6. Phosphorus, t2-. 3, 30. Phosphori acidum, aq. 3. *Pichurim, t0. a. Pinus sylvestris, a. 18. Plathia, tr. 3, 6. *Pluinbum aceticum, t2-. GENERAL VIEW OF SUBSTANCES, ETC. Plumbum metallicum, tr. 3, 12. Podophyllum peltatum, a. Prunus spinosa, a. 3. Pulsatilla nigricans, a. 12. Ranunculus bulbosus, a. 12. Ranunculus sceleratus, a. 12. Raphanus, a. Ratanhia, tr. a. 30. Rhabarbarum, a. 9. Rhododendrum chrysanthum, a. 18. Rhus radicans, a. Rhus toxicodendron, a. 30. Rhus vernix, a. 30. *Rosmarinus officinalis, a. Ruta graveolens, a. 12. Sabadilla, a. 30. Sabina, a. 24. oSaccharum lactis. oSaccharum sacchari. Sambucus nigra, a. 3. Sanguinaria canadensis, a. 3. Sapo domesticus, a. *Sassafras, a. Sassaparilla, tr. a. 12. Secale cornutum, 0, 3. *Sedum acre, a. Selenium, tr. 30. Senega, tr. a. 9. Senna, a. 6. Sepia succus, tr. 30ý. *Serpentaria, tr. a. *Serpyllum, a. Silicea, tr. 30. Solanum mammosum, a. 15. Solanum uigrum, a. 15. Spigelia, tr. a. 0, 3, 30. Spongia tosta, a. 3. Squilla maritima, a. 18. Stannum, tr. 6. Staphysagria, a. 30. Stramonium, a. 12. Strontiana carbonica, tr. 30. *Strontiana caustica, a. Sulphur, tr. 1, 3, 30, a. 0. *Sulphur alcoholisatum, a. Sulphuris acidum, aq. 3. Symphytum, a. Tabacum, a. 6. Tanacetum vulgare, a. Taraxacum, a. 3. Tartarus emeticus, fr. 3, 12. Tartari acidum, a. Taxus baccata, a. Terebinthinve oleum, a. Teucrium mar. ver., a. 9. Thea sinensis s. casarea, a. 3. Theridion curassavicum, a. 30. Thuiija occidentalis, a. 0, 3, 12. Tongo, tr. a. Triosteum perfoliatum, a. Tussilago pet., a. *Ulmus campestris, a. Urtica urens, a. Uva ursi, a. Valeriana officinalis, a. 12. Veratrum album, a. 12. Verbascum Thapsus, a. 3. *Verbena officinalis, a. Viuca minor, a. OVinum. Viola odorata, a. 9. Viola tricolor, a. 9. Zincum metallicum, tr. 30. Zincum sulphuricum, tr. Zingiber officinalis, a. oZoo-magnetismus. PART I. PHARMACOP EIA. GENERAL RULES. ~ 1. PREFATORY REMARKS. THE adequate and perfectly reliable preparation of the remedial agents is of the utmost importance to physicians of every school; but more particularly to homeopathic physicians, on account of the minuteness of the doses with which they operate. It is, therefore, indispensable, that every one who undertakes to prepare homoeopathic medicines, should be thoroughly acquainted with the demands of the homceopathic healing art; for, without this knowledge, it is impossible that we should be able to prepare the homceopathic remedial agents in the true spirit, and in conformity with the rules of that science. After premising these remarks, which we recommend to the consideration of pharmaceutists, we will now furnish a brief description of the utensils and the operations intervening in, and required for the preparation of, homoeopathic remedial agents. The utensils used by homceopathic pharmaceutists are the same as those that are found in every well-arranged pharmacy, except that they require to be used with more care. 10 GENERAL RULES. ~ 2. HOMCEOPATHIC LABORATORIES. The room in which homoeopathic medicines are prepared, including the pounding, cutting, triturating, &c., should be dry, airy, light, and protected from the rays of the sun, as well as from smoke, dampness, dust, and all emanations that might vitiate the air of the room. ~ 3. UTENSILS. In this room all the utensils used for the preparation of homoeopathic medicines should be kept, especially the mortars, glass-vessels, corks, balances, spoons, spatulke, &c. Copper and brass vessels should be avoided; if a mortar of metal should have to be used on account of the hardness of some substances, it should be an iron one, which is to be perfectly smooth on the inner surface, and should be kept polished constantly; except such iron mortars, those which are made of white marble, and provided with hard wooden pestles, are generally sufficient: for the triturations, unglazed porcelain mortars should be used; mortars made of serpentaria are too soft. The knife which is used for cutting fresh roots and herbs should be well polished and free from rust; for rust decomposes a great many vegetable juices instantaneously. The boards and blocks upon which the plants are cut, should be cleansed immediately after being used. The vegetable juices should be expressed in vegetable bags or cloths, using a separate piece of cloth for each plant; the smell, taste, and colour of the plant adhere to the cloth, and cannot be removed by washing. A press may be used to express the juice, taking care, however, to employ a porcelain, stone, or, in the case of tinctures, tin press-plate. All phials, no matter for what use they are destined, have to be rinsed in hot and then in cold water; the water is then allowed to run down, after which the phials are dried in a hot oven. The same rule applies to the jars in which the medicines are to be preserved. All phials should be closed with corks; they are to be selected with great care: all hard, porous, and darkcoloured corks being rejected. It is not well to soak them TRITURATIONS. 11 in boiling water, since this gives them an irregular shape and a dingy colour. As soon as the corks shrink or become soft, new corks should at once be chosen. Phials containing liquids that affect the corks, should be closed with glass stoppers. We will here repeat what we have said above in speaking of iron vessels, that all the utensils used in a homoeopathic laboratory have to be kept perfectly clean. After triturating drugs for a long time, part of the triturated substance will adhere to the two sides of the mortar so firmly, that it cannot be washed off; it will, therefore, be necessary to wash the mortar with fine sand, and afterwards to dry it in a hot oven for the purpose of removing the odour which might have remained behind. After the trituration of acids, the adhering particles should first be acted upon by some suitable acid. ~ 4. MECHANICAL OPERATIONS. Having briefly spoken of the utensils, we will now describe the various mechanical operations occurring in a homoeopathic laboratory, reserving to ourselves the right of supplying omissions on more particular occasions. It is the business of the pharmaceutist to transform crude drugs into remedial agents, which shall contain the medicinal powers inherent in the original drug, in such a state of development as will secure, in the best possible manner, their ready and complete action upon the human organism. Such agents will either appear in a dry or liquid form. All substances which, in their natural condition, are insoluble, have to undergo a previous preparation, by means of which their utmost solubility in some liquid vehicle is secured. This previous preparation is Hahnemann's process of trituration. ý 5. TRITURATIONS. According to Hahnemann, the triturating process should be carried on in the manner described in the first volume of the 'Chronic Diseases.' For the convenience of the reader we will transcribe Hahnemann's remarks entire: GENERAL RULES. "All those homoeopathic drugs which constitute the pure materia medica,* are prepared in the manner pointed out below; the following antipsorics come under this remark: silicabarita carbonica, calcarea carbonica, natrum carbonicum, ammonium carbonicum, magnesia carbonica, carbo vegetabilis, carbo animalis, graphites, sulphur, antimonium crudum, antimonium, gold, platina, iron, zinc, copper, silver, tin. Lumps of these metals, not the foil, are rubbed upon a hard, fine hone under water, or sometimes under alcohol, for example, iron. Of these pulverised substances, you take one grain; mercury may be used in the liquid state; of petroleum, you take one drop instead of one grain. Pour this grain into an unglazed porcelain mortar. Then you take thirty-three grains of sugar of milk, and mix them with the drug by triturating the mass with some force for about six minutes by means of a porcelain pestle; before you triturate, stir the mass for a little while with a spatula. Having triturated the mass, you stir it again for about four minutes, scraping up that part * Vegetable substances which can only be had dry, are triturated in the same way. The millionth trituration may then be dissolved, like all the other substances, either in water or alcohol. In this state they may be preserved much better and longer than the common tinctures, which easily spoil. Of the juiceless vegetable substances, oleander, thuja, mezereum, you may take one grain and a half, the fresh leaves, bark, roots, &c., and convert them into the millionth trituration, with three times one hundred grains of sugar of milk. Of this trituration you take one grain, and carry it through the phials, obtaining in this way any degree of potency that may be desired. Shake each phial twice, first carrying the arm up, then down. The same process of trituration may be resorted to in regard to the recently obtained medicinal juices. Squeeze the juice out of the substance, triturate one drop of it with the necessary quantity of sugar of milk to obtain the millionth trituration. Of this you take one grain, dissolve it in an equal proportion of water and alcohol, and then carry a drop of this mixture through the series of the twenty-seven phials, obtaining in this way the degree of potency that is desired. By triturating the juice first, the medicinal virtues of the drug are better developed than by simply mixing the juice with the alcohol by means of two shakes. I know this from experience. - Phosphorus, which so easily oxydises in'the open air, is dynamized in the same manner, and may be dissolved in either liquid. 'There are some precautionary rules to be observed, which will be pointed out hereafter. TRITURATIONS. 13 which covers the bottom of the porcelain mortar, and also that which adheres to the pestle;* then you triturate again with great force for six minutes, without, however, adding anything new. This mass you scrape up again, for four minutes, add another thirty-three grains of sugar of milk, stir the new compound for a moment with the spatula, then triturate it for six minutes with the pestle, scrape it up for four minutes, triturate again with great force for six minutes, scrape the mass up again for four minutes, then add the last thirty-three grains of sugar of milk, and with this last added portion proceed as with the two former. This powder you enclose in a well-corked glass, and mark it with the name of the substance, and the figure 10o, to show that this is the one hundredth potency of the substance.t In order to prepare the degree loooo, you take one grain of the degree o10, and add to it thirty-three grains of sugar of milk. Stir up this mass for a moment with the spatula. * When the process of trituration is completed, mortar, pestle, and spatula are to be repeatedly immersed in boiling water, being carefully wiped and dried after every immersion. The mortar, pestle, and spatula may then be exposed to a red-hot heat. This will suffice to satisfy even the most anxious minds, that no atom of the medicinal substance has remained adhering to either mortar, pestle, or spatula. t The preparation of the one hundredth potency of phosphorus by pulverization requires some modifications. First, you take one hundred grains of sugar of milk, and, by means of fifteen drops of water, you make them into a sort of paste in the mortar. Then you cut one grain of phosphorus into twelve pieces, kneading them into a paste by means of the moistened pestle, together with the one hundred grains of sugar of milk, the portions of the mass which remain adhering to the pestle being scraped off again while the process of kneading is carried on. In this way the phosphorus molecules may be triturated during the first two periods of six minutes each, into invisible atoms, without a spark being elicited. During the third period of six minutes, the mass being sufficiently pulverized, the kneading may be re, placed by trituration. During the next eighteen minutes the process of trituration is carried on with moderate force, the mass being scraped up every six minutes; this scraping can be easily accomplished on account of the mass being but slightly adherent either to the mortar or the pestle. After the sixth trituration the powder shines but feebly in the open air, and has but little smell. It is then enclosed in well corked phials, and marked phosphorus T16. The next two degrees of potency, 10oo0 and T, are prepared in the same way as those of the other dry medicinal substances. 14 GENERAL RULES. Then triturate it for six minutes, stir it up for four minutes, triturate again for six minutes, and then stir up again for four. After this you add the second thirty-three grains of sugar of milk, proceed then as before; afterwards add the last thirty-three grains of sugar of milk, stir up and triturate again as before, and enclose the mass in a wellcorked phial marked loooo. To prepare the degree loooooo or i, you take one grain of the degree 1oooo, and go through the processes of stirring and triturating in the same way as before, employing upwards of an hour for the preparation of each different potency. For the sake of establishing a sort of uniformity in preparing homceopathic remedies, and especially the antipsorics, I never carry the process of trituration above the millionth degree. From this degree I derive the dilutions in their various degrees of potency. For the process of trituration a certain force should be employed; not too much, however, to cause the mass to adhere too tenaciously to the mortar to be scraped up in the space of four minutes. From the millionth degree of trituration the dilutions* in the various degrees may be obtained by dissolving these triturated substances in alcohol or water. Chemistry is not acquainted with the fact, that all substances, after having been triturated up to the millionth degree, can be dissolved either in alcohol or water. Sugar of milk cannot be dissolved in pure alcohol; this is the reason why the first dilution should be composed of one half water and one half alcohol. To one grain of the millionth trituration you add fifty drops of distilled water, and turn the phial several times around its axis. By this means the sugar of milk becomes dissolved. Then you add fifty drops of good alcohol,t * In the beginning of my practice I gave a small portion of a grain of the millionth trituration at a dose. But the uncertainty of this mode of exhibiting the remedy, led me to the discovery of preparing the dilutions, and to the use of the globules, any definite number of which may be moistened with the dissolved drug. Homceopathy being based upon a law of nature, it should avoid and exclude all uncertainties. t These quantities are measured by means of phials which contain exactly fifty drops. It would be too tedious to count fifty drops of water, especially when the water does not flow easily out of the phial. TRITURATIONS. 15 and shake the phial twice, first carrying the arm up and then down. Only two thirds of the phial ought to be filled with the solution.* This phial is then marked with the name of the medicine, and the number 100 I. Of this solution you take one drop, and mix it with 99 or 100 drops of pure alcohol, shaking the phial twice after it has been corked. This phial is marked 1oo00 I. Of this solution you again take one drop, mixing it with 99 or 100 drops of pure alcohol. Then shake the phial twice, and mark it 10000 I. Of this potency you again take a drop, and mix it with 99 or 100 drops of pure alcohol, shaking this third phial twice, and marking it if. In the same way you continue the preparation and marking of the higher potencies 100 II, 10000 II, III.t The intermediate phials are put in perpendicular boxes, and are kept in the dark in order not to be affected by the light of day. In practice, only the full phials are used. The shaking being accomplished by means of moderate strokes with the arm, it is expedient that the phials should be large enough to have only two thirds of their volume filled with the hundred drops. Phials that have contained one medicine ought never to be used for any other, even if they should have been previously rinsed with great care. The details of the mode of trituration proposed by Hahnemann have been somewhat modified by our pharmaceutists. Though it is acknowledged by all.that trituration is the best mode of developing the medicinal powers of the drug, and that the triturating process should * It is well to provide the phial with a mark, stating the number of shakes, and the date when the solution was prepared. t Frequent observation has convinced me, that it is better to shake the phial twice only, in order to develope the medicinal virtue of the drug, just enough to affect the disease in a proper manner. By shaking the phial ten times, as I was in the habit of doing, the proportion between the progressively developed intensity of action of the medicinal properties of the drug and the degree of the potency was destroyed in favour of the former. The object of the dynamizing process is to develope the intensity of action of the medicinal properties of the drug, at the same time as that action is reduced to a milder tone. Two shakes are sufficient to establish the true proportion between these two effects. DYNAMIZATIONS. 17 add to it nine times its weight of sugar of milk, and triturate these two substances together for three quarters of an hour in the manner described above, except that a little more sugar of milk may be added the first time than was used in making the first trituration. This second trituration is designated by the figure 2. Of this second trituration we make the third, in the same manner as before. " Before commencing the triturating process, care should be had to dry the vessels, drugs, and sugar, as perfectly as possible, and, moreover, to divide hard and tenacious substances as finely as can be. As regards the dividing of the metals, this process will be indicated more in detail in speaking of the different metals. Hones should not be used. Salts and precipitates, and the like, should first be reduced to a fine powder. The same observation applies to vegetable substances. "Two different substances should not be triturated side by side, nor should more than 500 grains be undertaken at once. The quantity prepared should not last over a year, and should, therefore, be regulated by the demand. " The triturating process may be continued as far as possible. Hahnemann closes it with the third trituration, continuing the dynamizing process in a liquid form. We know by experience, that these higher dynamizations in the liquid form are pefectly efficacious." ~ 6. DYNAMIZATIONS. It is contended by some that the original drug contains a spiritual agent which is the truly curative power of the drug, and is developed or set free by the triturating and shaking processes. Others contend that the development of the curative powers of a drug is a purely mechanical thing, and that the mechanical breaking up of the constituent particles of the drug constitutes that development. By the former, these successive developments of the original substance are called dynamizations, or potentizations; by the latter, attenuations. These different opinions lead to important practical results. Those who believe in the doctrine of dynamization, feel bound, under certain circumstances, to continue the dynamizing process up to 18 GENERAL RULES. the 30th, and even the 8000th potency, as they term it, or attenuation; whereas those who reject this doctrine seldom employ homoeopathic preparations beyond the third trituration or dilution. The homoeopathic pharmaceutist has nothing to do with these theories; his business is to furnish preparations as they are demanded by physicians, and to employ every possible care in making them. ~ 7. DILUTIONS OR LIQUID DYNAMIZATIONS.* Two thirds of a phial are filled with one part of the third trituration and nine parts of distilled water, and shaken together at an ordinary temperature until the triturated substance is completely solved by the liquid. This dilution is marked 4. It should be borne in mind, that this dilution should only be prepared for present use; the insoluble medicinal particles contained in the liquid, gradually sink to the bottom; and although the mixture can apparently be restored by renewed shaking, yet its curative qualities are probably more or less altered. The fifth dilution is prepared of the fourth, by mixing up one part of the fourth with nine parts of dilute alcohol (see Alcohol). For all successive dynamizations or dilutions, strong alcohol is used in the proportions above indicated. ~ 8. ARRANGEMENT AND NUMBERING OF THE PHIALS. Before commencing the attenuations, as many phials, containing about one or two drachms, should be prepared, as dynamizations or attenuations are required; they should be corked, and the names of the medicines and the potences marked on the corks. Labels, exhibiting these names and potences, should likewise be pasted on the phials. Afterwards, each phial should be filled with 90, or, if sufficiently large, with 180 drops of alcohol. Into the phial marked with the lowest number, 10, or, if the phial should contain 180 drops of alcohol, 20 drops of the medicine should then be dropped, and a few vigorous shakes given to the phial. * See the preceding chapter. PREPARATION OF TINCTURES. 21 describe the mode of preparing tinctures from plants, which varies according to their constituent particles and chemical composition. ~ 12. PREPARATION OF THE TINCTURES. We will arrange all the plants from which tinctures are prepared, in three classes, corresponding to the different modes adopted for the preparation of tinctures; by this means we shall, moreover, be enabled to avoid unnecessary repetitions in the second part of this work: for all we shall have to do, will be to refer to the class to which the plant we are speaking of, belongs. FIRST CLASS. To the first class belong all barks, roots, seeds, leaves, &c., which are preserved and prepared in a dry state. These substances should first be reduced to a coarse powder, after which they are mixed with alcohol in the proportion of 1 to 10, and, for a fortnight, kept in a glass-jar which is to be closed with wet bladder, being vigorously shaken once a day. To obtain a strong tincture from substances which are not very soluble in alcohol, we should first triturate them, dry, for about one hour, and then transform them into a fine paste by adding a little alcohol. This proceeding should be carried on at the usual temperature; nor should the tincture be exposed to the decomposing agency of the solar rays. After the lapse of a fortnight, the liquid should be separated from its substratum by the ordinary means, pressure, and, having allowed it to settle for 24 hours, it is filtered through white blotting-paper, and then kept for use. The strength of the alcohol used in the preparation of the tinctures must correspond to the nature of the plant. Strong alcohol of from 70 to 80 per cent. should be used for some, dilute alcohol for others. The general rules, however, laid down above, remain unaltered in every case. The degree of strength of the alcohol to be used, will be separately indicated for each plant, and, if any particular rules should have to be GENERAL RULES. observed, they will likewise be mentioned in their appropriate places. Tinctures from fresh plants are prepared differently from those of dry ones. We adopt two different modes of preparation, agreeably to the greater or lesser quantity of juice which the plants contain. SECOND CLASS. All those plants or portions of them, the juice of which can be obtained in a sufficient quantity by squeezing it out by means of a good press, constitute the second class.* This altogether mechanical pressure being insufficient to obtain all the efficacious constituents of the plant, especially the volatile and resinous parts, it is indispensable to subject the residue to the action of strong alcohol, for which purpose we take a quantity of alcohol equal in weight to that of the obtained juice, and no more, even if the residue should not even be covered by the alcohol. In the meanwhile, the vegetable juice which was obtained in the first instance is kept in a lightly-guarded glass-vessel in a cool cellar. After the lapse of from one to three days, before, however, the juice has had time to ferment or become decomposed, the residue is again subjected to pressure, and the tincture thus obtained will contain the larger portion of the extractable matter, as may be inferred from the taste, smell, and colour of the tincture, and is then mixed with the juice obtained by the first pressure. This mixture having been allowed to settle for several days, it is then filtered and kept for use. Tinctures obtained in this way are termed essences, in contradistinction to the tinctures obtained from dry plants. THIRD CLASS. Many plants, even when fresh, contain so little juice, that only a very small quantity can be obtained even by the most persevering efforts. These form the t/ird class. They are first cut in small pieces, after which we add double their * Before pressing out the juice, the plant should first be cut in small pieces, and then pounded in a stone mortar; otherwise the expression of the juice would be exceedingly imperfect. GENERAL RULES. a. As a general rule, the plants which grow wild are preferable to those that are cultivated in gardens, even if we can only obtain them dry, provided no volatile practicles get lost by the drying.* b. Regard should be had to the place where the plants grow, for the locality has considerable influence on the development of their medicinal virtues; the luxuriant, tall, and juicy appearance of a plant, is no guarantee for its possessing the highest quantity of medicinal virtue; nor should plants which prefer a dry soil and much sun be gathered from a damp and shady locality; or vice versa. c. None but sound and regularly-formed plants should be used; all distorted, half dried, decayed, or otherwise injured plants should be rejected; nor should plants be used which, through old age, have acquired a woody consistence. d. The plants should be kept clean, that is to say, free from mud, &c. They ought never to be washed, especially the roots; it is far better to beat or brush the dirt off. It is likewise important thate. The plants should not be inhabited by insects whose bodies or chrysalides might get into the essence or tincture. f. Plants should not be gathered during the early morning-dew, nor immediately after a shower; nor should they be carried about during the excessive heat of the day, or be closely packed. g. It is a matter of course, that one variety of plants should not be, confounded with another; plants gathered by paid persons, should be subjected to the most careful examination, lest heterogeneous substances should remain admixed to the plant we wish to prepare for use. Whatever drugs may hereafter be introduced into our Materia Medica, they will have to be prepared by one of the above-described modes. Let us now pass over to an examination of the vehicles by means of which the attenuations are prepared. These vehicles are: alcohol, water, * Foreign plants may be ordered as follows: They should be cut in small pieces at the place where they grow, and then be covered with an equal quantity of alcohol in weight, or with double that quantity, according as the greater or lesser quantity of the juice may require. By means of a press, a very powerful tincture may be obtained from plants thus digested. ALCOHOL. 25 sugar of milk, and, when used, they should be just as pure as the medicinal substances themselves. ~ 15. ALCOHOL. Alcohol (spiritus vini, spiritus vini alcokolisatus, spirits of wvine, alcoholised spirits of wine) is always the product of art, and is formed every time that sugar comes in contact with a fermentable matter in water, and at a suitable temperature; the alcohol is developed in the course of fermentation, which, after this phenomenon, has been termed spirituous or alcoholic. Alcohol may be obtained from a great number of vegetable substances, such as wine, beer, cider, malt, dregs of grapes, sugar-cane juice, germinating cerealia, pounded cherries, molasses, juice of carrots or beets, potatoes, honey, &c. Alcohol is always the same, no matter from what substance it is obtained, except that we have to employ means more or less complicated to obtain it pure. In every case it contains more or less water, and very often is mixed either with acetic acid, or a small proportion of prussic acid or empyreumatic oil, &c., according to the substances from which it has been extracted. Alcohol which comes from the laboratories of chemists or pharmaceutists, and is obtained from the residue of some chemical preparation, such as the resin of jalap, is the least suitable. Nor should we employ alcohol extracted from potatoes, since it contains a large quantity of empyreumatic oil, which cannot be entirely removed even by means of the chloride of lime or pulverised charcoal. Even in the alcohol prepared from rye or wheat this oil is often found; but in this case it is sufficient to mingle the spirit with a suitable quantity of pure olive oil, and to shake it from time to time for several days; in this way the empyreumatic oil combines with the olive oil, and floats on the surface of the alcohol, whence it may easily be removed. Pure and perfectly anhydrous alcohol is a colourless liquid, remarkably fluid, of a sweet and penetrating odour, a burning and pungent flavour; when rubbed between the hands, it should not lather, nor emit any foreign odour. Its specific weight is much less than that of water, in which it dissolves perfectly and in all proportions, with disen 26 GENERAL RULES. gagement of heat. When exposed to the air, it partially evaporates, and the remainder loses its power by becoming saturated with the moisture of the atmosphere, for which it has a very strong affinity. Alcohol burns with a flame which is white at the centre and blue at the edges, and leaves no residue. It dissolves a great many substances, such as phosphorus and sulphur (both in small quantities), the fixed alkalies, balsams, resins, camphor, sugar, volatile oils, extractive matter, &c. Acids are strikingly affected by alcohol; some are simply dissolved by it, others are transformed by it into ether. Perfectly pure alcohol has a specific gravity of 0791. It then does not contain a trace of water, in other words, is perfectly anhydrous, and marks by the alcoholmeter 100 degrees of force. However, alcohol of this strength is never used. There is always more or less water mixed with the alcohol of the shops, or with that which is used in medicine. According to the proportions with which water is mixed with it, we generally distinguish four kinds of alcohol, viz: 1. The alco/ol of commerce, this being the weakest quality; specific gravity 0-910 or 0'920. 2. Rectified spirits of wine, diluted alcohol, obtained by mixing equal parts of water and strong alcohol; specific gravity 0-890 to 0-900, and degree of concentration 600. 3. Best rec'fieed spirits of wine, or strong alcohol: specific gravity 0-830 to 0"840, and degree of concentration 75 to 800. 4. Absolute alcohol: specific gravity 0-810 to 0-820, and degree of concentration from 96 to 1000. ~ 16. RECTIFICATION OF SPIRITS OF WINE. Brandy, unless it should have a strength of 600, should first be raised to this degree of strength by means of a careful rectification over recently burnt and coarsely pulverised charcoal, taking care to separate the part which passes over at the end, and which contains the largest amount of brandy, from that which passed over first. This being done, seven eighths of large glass-globes are filled with it, introducing at the same time a suitable quantity, say the 16th part, of recently burnt and at the same time coarsely pulverised charcoal. In a few weeks, during which DILUTED ALCOHOL. Q.7 period the globes are to be agitated several times, the alcohol is separated from the powder by rapid filtration, and then well stirred up in a carefully closed alembic, with the 12th part of ordinary skimmed cow's-milk. The distillation can then be carried on according to the usual rules. Two conditions, however, require to be fulfilled, in order to secure the obtention of a superior product. The first is, to cause the vapours of the alcohol to pass through a layer of fresh, coarsely pulverised charcoal, which is to be arranged in the alembic above the level of the liquid, by means of the following contrivance, and which, at the same time, prevents the too rapid passage of the vapours. A perforated tin disk of the size of the inner periphery of the alembic, which is to be divided in the middle and united again by means, of hinges, is introduced into the alembic, resting upon four short supporters, which are soldered to the sides of the alembic at the required elevation. A layer of charcoal-powder, of from 1I to 2 inches in height, is spread upon this disk. The second condition is the peculiar shape of the helm, which should be rather narrow and elongated, so as to secure the repulsion of a large quantity of the ascending vapours, and the passage only of those which have the least specific gravity. A second distillation of the alcohol thus obtained will only be necessary, if, at a normal temperature, the alcoholometer should range below 70~, and the brandy which was used for the first distillation, was of an inferior quality. This point has to be decided by the taste, and still more by the smell of the alcoholic vapours rising from a warm hand. Alcohol thus obtained contains about 75 to 800 per cent., and can be used for attenuations as well as for the preparation of tinctures. We will term it strong alcohol. ~ 17. DILUTED ALCOHOL. Dilute alcohol is obtained by mixing equal parts in a volume of strong alcohol and water. This is used for the preparation of various kinds of tinctures, and the first attenuation of essences. The weaker alcohol which passes over towards the close of the distillation, should never be used in the place of dilute alcohol, as its smell and taste 08 GENERAL RULES. are never quite pure. Diluted alcohol is, in every case, to be obtained by the direct mixture of equal parts of alcohol and water. ~ 18. ABSOLUTE ALCOHOL, OR ALCOHOL FORTIUS. To obtain-the strongest kind of alcohol, which is required for the solution of volatile oils, phosphorus, sulphur, and some other substances, we resort to the following simple method of evaporation recommended by Scemmering. After having carefully cleansed the bladder, we blow it up through a glass-tube attached to it, and suspend it in the air to dry. Having dried it, we paint it over with a thin coat of fish-glue, and then dry it a second time. We then fill Iths of the bladder with alcohol of at least 70~, close the glass-tube by means of a small piece of fine wet bladder, and suspend it over a stove by means of a thread tied round the tube, at a temperature of from 107~ to 1o32. This temperature should vary as little as possible. In about 8 or 10 days, the water contained in the alcohol has so completely evaporated through the bladder, that the strength of the alcohol has risen to 95~, or even more, and may rise still more if the process of evaporation be continued. Alcohol obtained in this way looks a little turbid or coloured, or, when taken out of the bladder, has a sweetish smell, like sugar; it has therefore to be distilled over recently burnt charcoal before it is fit for use. ~ 19. WATER. Among all the vehicles used in homceopathy, there is not one that is more free from medicinal virtue, properly so called, than pure water; but, on the other hand, nothing is more rare than to find this fluid in nature in a perfectly pure condition. Under whatever form water presents itself, it is more or less charged with foreign matters, such as gas, salts, earths, &c. The purest quality of water is rain water, which, as well as distilled water, has neither odour nor taste, nor colour; besides the atmospheric air contained in this water, there is but a small portion of fixed matters; only after a storm we find, occasionally, a trace of nitric acid combined with ammonia. The water of springs and wells constantly contains many kinds of neutral salts, earths, and muriatic compounds. 30 GENERAL RULES. in vessels of porcelain or glass, taking care, in order to free the retort from all medicinal odours, to distil over a few pounds rather hot, and to throw them away as long as a little acetate of lead will render the product turbid. When the liquid in the retort is diminished two thirds, the distillation must cease. The purity of the distilled water should be tested by means of appropriate chemical reagents. It should be observed, that the fire under the apparatus has to be increased gradually, and that the neck of the retort has to be kept at a moderate temperature by means of wet cloths, so that the vapour, in passing, may not dissolve even a trace of silex or alkali from the sides of the vessel. The distilled water should be put into bottles or new jars of yellow glass, which have first to be carefully cleansed with part of the same water, and which should be kept in a cool place. ~ O0. ETHER. SulphIuric ether, or, simply, ether (etiler suil-pmricus, sp2iritus sulphiurico-ethereus) is a light, volatile, odorous, and inflammable liquid. Like the other kydratic ethers, as the phosphoric, arsenic ethers, &c., it is composed of two volumes of bicarbonated hydrogen gas, and one volume of vapour of water, or as a hydrate of bicarbonated hydrogen. Recently prepared, it is neither alkaline nor acid, an evident proof that the sulphur does not enter into its composition. It dissolves in ten times its weight of water, but with alcohol and all the essential oils it unites in all proportions. The fixed oils also, the strong acids, balsams, several kinds of resins, phosphorus, sulphur, bromine, and many hydrochloric salts, are perfectly soluble in ether. It is obtained by mixing concentrated sulphuric acid and alcohol, and distilling the mixture in a sand-bath. (See 'Mitscherlich's Chemistry,' vol. i, p. 97.) In homoeopathy, we are not acquainted with any ethereal preparation except phosphorus, which some have proposed to substitute for the alcoholic preparation of this substance. This substitution of ethereal tinctures for alcoholic tinctures, not only for phosphorus, but also for many other substances, may not be unsuitable. StJGAR OF MILK. 31 Ether, such as it is found in our shops, under the name of rectified ether, contains a little alcohol, of which it is freed by shaking it for a short time with double its volume of water, and when it is separated from the water, pour it on quick lime, with which it should be shaken at intervals for some days. In afterwards distilling this mixture, until there remains in the retort about two thirds, the third which has passed into the recipient is perfectly pure ether. Often, however, we find it adulterated with a quantity of sulphuric acid, or other acids. The adulteration with water is known by the watery fluid which remains upon exposing, at a mean temperature, a small portion of ether to evaporation. The presence of sulphuric acid betrays itself by its disagreeable odour, and that of other acids by their reddening the tincture of lacmus. Finally, to preserve ether free from all deterioration, it should be put into little bottles, the mouths of which terminate in points, so that they may be hermetically sealed by the flame of a spirit lamp. Ether which has been deteriorated by the action of the air or light is less volatile, of an acrid and burning taste, and miscible with water in all proportions. By shaking together equal portions of ether and distilled water, we obtain a milky mixture, which, if left undisturbed, will gradually separate into its component parts, ether and water. If more than one eighth part of this volume gets lost, this is a proof that it was mixed with alcohol. ~ 21. SUGAR OF MILK. Sugar of milk is the titird vehicle used in homeopathy. It is an essential constituent of milk, and is obtained by inspissating and crystallising the whey. The sugar of.milk of the shops is more or less mixed up with dust, wood, soot, &c., sometimes mouldy or yellowish, and has a musty smell and an unpleasant taste. To free the sugar of milk from all heterogeneous particles, we reduce it to a coarse powder, and dissolve it by boiling it in double its quantity of distilled water. While yet boiling hot, we filter it through white blotting paper which is spread over a new filtering-cloth, into an earthen vessel of sufficient size, and which should contain as much strong alcohol as we had used water for the solution of the sugar 32. GENERAL RULES. of milk. As soon as these two liquids come in contact with each other, the sugar of milk is precipitated in the shape of pointed crystals, which accumulate at the bottom, or adhere to the sides of the vessel. After the filtering, and before setting the vessel aside for cooling, it is advisable to stir the liquid well with a clean stick, in order to secure a more perfect intermingling of the particles. The whole process should be carried on at the lowest possible temperature which facilitates the precipitation of the sugar of milk. After the lapse of a few days, the liquid which floats over the sugar of milk is poured off* slowly, and the sugar, having been detached from the sides and bottom of the veesel, is washed once or twice with distilled water, after which it is spread in thin layers on clean paper over sieves, and carefully dried. It is then pulverised as finely as possible in an iron mortar, which, however, requires to be perfectly clean, free from odour, smooth, and polished. As a matter of course, the sieve which is used for the sugar of milk should be a very fine one, and not be used for other purposes. The sugar should be kept in a dry and airy place, in well closed glass or wooden jars. ~ 22. GLOBULES. These are made by confectioners, and are composed of sugar and starch; they can be had of various sizes, from that of a millet-seed to that of buck-shot. The whitest, driest, and hardest should be selected for medicinal use; they should all be of equal size, and not mixed with sugardust. After having moistened the globules with the medicine in some suitable phial, we turn them out on paper with raised edges, and agitate them until they cease to adhere one to the other. Should we afterwards wish to put them into the same bottle in which we had moistened them, we should take care to dry it also before making use of it. The complete desiccation of the globules, before bottling * The alcohol which is contained in this liquid, can be distilled out again, if carefully done, and is as good as befobre, though weaker, HOW THE MEDICINES ARE TO BE KEPT. 33 them, is absolutely indispensable, since, without that precaution, they fall into powder in a short time, and lose their medicinal virtue. ~ 23. HOW THE MEDICINES ARE TO BE KEPT. fliturations should be kept in glass phials with narrow orifices; they are to be closed with cork stoppers, and those which contain volatile, strong smelling substances, should, in addition, be closed with soft, dry bladder. The phials are to be provided with labels indicating the names of the remedies and the potencies, and are to be placed in alphabetical order, in drawers of sufficient depth, each compartment containing the potencies of one remedy.* Essences and tinctures are to be kept in well corked and well covered two or three ounce phials, in separate drawers. If necessary, large jars may be filled with the liquid, which should likewise be kept separately. The various preparations, triturations, as well as essences or tinctures, should be well guarded against the light of day. Bismuth, the mercurial preparations, phosphorus, hepar sulphuris, &c., require, moreover, to be kept in phials covered with black paper, or with a preparation of copal and incandescent soot. This varnish, if well dried in a hot oven, is not only very durable, but can easily be renewed t The dilutions of the respective remedies should likewise be kept separately from each other, in half ounce phials of a cylindrical shape, each phial being carefully labelled. The proper way would be to arrange drawers or boxes in compartments, assigning a compartment to each particular series of dilutions, and again subdividing the compartments by means of little pieces of pasteboard, so that each phial of the same series would likewise be separated from its neighbour. Not only should the phials be labelled, but the names of the remedies and the potencies should likewise be marked on the corks. * Triturations and dilutions should never be kept in the same drawer. t The bottom and neck of the phial should not be covered, so that one may be able to see whether the phial is clean inside. 2 ~ 34 GENERAL RULES. 24. OF THE DISPENSATION OF HOM(EOPATHIC MEDICINES. If a trituration be prescribed, we mix the desired portion with a sufficient quantity of sugar of milk, in an unglazed mortar, proceeding gradually as in making the triturations themselves. To mix a drop of medicine with sugar of milk, we use mortars that are glazed within, for this reason, that the moistened mass adheres but slightly, and the mixing is completed without much trouble. If we wish to prescribe globules, we first prepare as many little heaps of sugar of milk as we wish to prescribe powders, and then add to each heap the prescribed number of globules, after which we close the paper. Should we wish the globules to act more promptly and with more energy, we first dissolve them in a spoonful of water, and then either swallow the liquid at once, or else we dissolve the globules in a larger quantity of water, and take a tableor teaspoonful every two or three hours, as the case may be. A third mode of administration is to make tlhe patient smell the medicine. For this purpose we put a single globule, impregnated with the prescribed attenuation, in a phial, such as we make use of to preserve the saturated globules, and we insert the phial uncorked in one of the nostrils of the patient, who inspires the emanations proceeding from the globule. To increase the effects of olfaction, Hahnemann latterly preferred dissolving the globule' in equal parts of alcohol and water, in a phial capable of holding about 150 drops; having shaken the mixture some seconds, the patient smells of it. By this process the powers of the globule are more developed, and the surface which is acted upon by the medicinal emanations is much larger. In homceopathic prescriptions, we generally make use of the same abbreviations as those which are found in the Repertories. In the formulae, we usually designate the number of required globules by a cipher, placed like the numerator of a fraction above the cipher indicating the degree of attenuation. Thus, Aurum -&- means three globules of the 15th attenuation of Aurum. Others indicate the number of globules by points; above all, the Germans, HOMCEOPATHIC MEDICINES. 35 who then mark the attenuation by a Roman cipher, as for example, Aurum V * *, or, Aurum V 000, which, in each case, means Aurum, 15th, three globules. Others, especially in prescribing drops or grains, write as follows: Aurum 15th gtt ij, or, gr. ij, &c., which means Aurum 15th, two drops or two grains. To indicate the quantity of sugar of milk that is to be added to the medicine, we write, below the line mentioning the medicine, pulv., sacck., lact., q. s., if this quantity should not exceed two or three grains; otherwise, if we wish to add more, we indicate the quantity by grains, &c. The same remarks apply to the water in which we would dissolve the dose, and which we generally indicate thus: Aq. dest., unc. 4 or 6, &c. If desirable we add to the medicinal powers a few powders of sugar of milk without medicine, and indicate, on the same line which contains the name of the medicine, the numbers of the powders containing the medicine, and under this, in another line, the numbers of the powders containing the sugar of milk alone. For example: if we wish to give the patient six powders, three with, and the other three without medicine, we would write, in case the powders should have to be taken alternately: Aurum 5. Nos. 1, 3, 5. Pulv. Sacch. lact. q. s. Nos. 2, 4, 6. Or else, if the first three of these powders contain the medicine: Aurum. Nos. 1, 2, 3. Pulv. sacch. lact. q. s. Nos. 4, 5, 6. Another still more simple way consists in placing the numbers of the powders containing the sugar of milk behind those which contain the medicine, and separating them from the latter by the following sign,:, as for example: Aurum 3/15. Nos. 1, 3, 5, 2, 4, 6. or: Aurum 3,15. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 6. 36 GENERAL RULES. ~ 25. OF THE DENOMINATION OF HOM(EOPATHIC ATTENUATIONS. We have said, in former chapters, that unattenuated alcoholic preparations are termed essences or tinctures. As regards attenuations, the French simply designate them by the names of their numbers, viz.: 1st, 2d, 3d, &c., applying this denomination exclusively to preparations made in the proportion of I to 100. Of the preparations made according to the decimal scale, every other preparation only is termed 1st, 2d, 3d, &c. The fraction of the primitive drop in each attenuation can easily be ascertained, since all the denominators of these fractions increase as the powers of 100. In the first attenuation each drop contains the 100th part of the primitive drop; in the second, the 1002 or the 10,000th; in the third, the 1003 or the 1,000,000th part, &c., so that in the 30th each drop will contain the 10030 or 100,00010 part of the primitive drop. Preparations made according to the decimal scale might likewise be termed 1st, 2d, 3d, &c., in successive order, provided it is stated on the label and cork that the decimal scale has been followed; thus: 1st attenuation (dec.), 2d (dec.), &c. The Germans frequently adopt the method of designating the attenuations by the fraction which each one contains of the primitive drop; they say, for instance, milliontld, billionth, trillionth, &c., as far as decillionth, meaning by the millionth attenuation that it contains the onemillionth part of the primitive drop. But in speaking of the billionth attenuation, the Germans do not mean the same thing as we do in America; for by a billion the Germans understand a million multiplied by itself, and so by a trillion they understand a billion multiplied by itself, and so forth; hence the billionth attenuation, in our language, would contain three times three ciphers, whereas in the German it is meant to contain four times three ciphers. Every third attenuation is designated, in Germany, by a Roman cipher, each additional unit in the Roman cipher corresponding to three ordinary ciphers. HOMCEOPATHIC ATTENUATIONS.7 37 The following is a complete table of designations used in Germany, for the attenuations made in the proportion of 1 to 100. Mother tinctures. 0 First attenuation Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth, Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth,, Eleventh Twelfth 1 = 100 = hundredth. 2 = 10,000 = ten thousandths. 3 = I = millionths. 4 = 100 I = hundred millionths. 5 = 10,000 I = ten thousand millionths. 6 = II = billionths. 7 = 100 11 = hundred billionths. 8 = 10,000 II = ten thousand billionths. 9 = Il I= trillionths. 10 = 100 III = hundred trillionths. 11 = 10,000111 = Ten thousand trillionths. 12 = IV = Quatrillionths. And so on: Fifteenth Eighteenth Twenty-first Twenty-fourth Twenty-seventh Thirtieth 15 = 18 = 21 = = 24 = = 27 = = 30 = V= Quintillionths. VI = Sextillionths. VII = Septillionths. VIII Octillionths. IX = Nonillionths. X = ecillionths, PART II. POSOLOGY. PARTICULAR REMARKS ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF HOM(EOPATHIC MEDICINES. THE particular mode in which homoeopathic medicines should be administered has been the subject of a good deal of discussion; but there exists just as great a diversity of opinions on that subject now as when the discussion first commenced. It is impossible to exclusively adopt any of the views about doses for which their respective adherents are contending, without unnecessarily limiting the curative resources offered by the homoeopathic Materia Medica. Though the question of doses has been examined in several of our former publications, yet it has never been fully and philosophically discussed. It behoves, therefore, that in this pharmacopoeia the student of homoeopathy should be offered certain rules for the administration of medicines, which will guide him with tolerable safety in particular cases. We will examine these rules under the following heads: 1. ffhat potencies or attenuations should be principally used? 2. In what form should the medicines be given? 3. Magnitude of doses. 4. Repetition of doses. 5. Alternation of medicines. 6. At what time of day should the medicine be taken? 1. What potencies or attenuations should be principally used? Before entering upon the discussion of this subject, we will, for the sake of convenience, divide the whole series of HOMCEOPATHIC MEDICINES. 39 potencies now in use into four classes: lower, middle, hiyger, and ighaest potencies. The lower potencies or preparations range from the original forms of drugs (tinctures, or primitive chemical, vegetable, mineral, or metallic substances) up to the 6th attenuation; the middle potencies from the 6th to the 30th attenuation; the Jhigher potencies from the 30th to the 200th, and the highest potencies from the 200th to any attenuation above that number. All these different potencies are used by their respective adherents, and are proclaimed by them as the best and most useful, or rather, only useful preparations. The student of medicine should not allow himself to be beguiled into a passive adherence to any one of these exclusive preferences. His duty and the interests of the sick require that he should acquaint himself with all the views now existing in the homceopathic ranks, relative to the doses which should be used in particular cases; that he should subject these views to a close and impartial investigation, adopt such of them as agree with his judgment, and reduce them to practice with caution and discrimination. The student of homceopathy should scorn to swear by the words of his master. If this blind allegiance should be required of him by his master, this gentleman makes himself liable to the suspicion of charlatanism and unenlightened intolerance; and, on the other hand, the student who submits to this species of despotism, is entirely unfit to practise the sacred art of healing. The series of potencies is like the gamut in music. A skilful artist may, indeed, construct a harmony with the various vibrations of the same chord, but what a much more beautiful and perfect harmony he might construct by a proper combination of all the sounds that can be elicited from all the chords of his instrument! This is likewise true in regard to the various attenuations of a homceopathic remedial agent. Either of the four classes into which we have divided the whole series of potencies, may be sufficient, in the hands of an able practitioner, to heal the sick; but the cure will most assuredly be effected more promptly, and will be more thorough and permanent, by selecting from the whole series whatever attenuations may seem, in his independent judgment, to be suitable to the case, than 40 ADMINISTRATION OF by confining himself, from prejudice or habit, to one or two attenuations in preference to any other. This, however, is not literally true in all cases. It has been remarked by many impartial observers of the effects of the various attenuations of the same substance, that, under certain circumstances, they are all, from the lowest to the highest, appropriate and absolutely necessary in the treatment of disease. Many a patient has been sacrificed, under homoeopathic treatment, by the condemnable routine-habits and prejudices of physicians. How many patients might have been saved fiom death, if their physicians had dared to give a few drops of the tincture of Aconite, instead of contenting themselves with a globule of the 30th or 200th attenuation! Cases have come to our knowledge where the patients were left to die, not because they were not given the right remedy, but in consequence of not receiving the appropriate dose, and where, perhaps, a stronger preparation was so clearly and unequivocally indicated, that the delinquent physician would have been declared guilty of malpractice by a tribunal of enlightened and unprejudiced practitioners of his school. There are homoeopathic practitioners who would fain believe that it is immaterial what attenuation we use, provided we select the right remedy. This is a great and even dangerous mistake. We invite the student of homoeopathy to reject this doctrine, no matter from what quarter it may come. We are assured that Hahnemann, in his latter days, confined himself exclusively to the 30th or some higher potency. If this be true, it by no means follows that Hahnemann's example should be imitated. We are not informed of the success of his practice; we know, indeed, that his practice was very large, but this is no proof whatever of his treatment having been a successful one in all cases. A physician's practice is scarcely ever proportionate to the real merits of the treatment he pursues; on the contrary, it depends chiefly upon accessory causes, so much so, that many a deserving physician, distinguished by his skill and learning, is scarcely able to get along in the world; whereas an ignorant pretender, who happens to be a bold and intriguing tactician, is looked upon as the leading man of the profession. If a physician HOM(EOPATHIC MEDICINES. 41 succeed, by dint of manoeuvring, in spreading among the people the belief that he is the cleverest physician in the place, the deluded people will run to him in preference to any other, though much superior man. Of course, these remarks do not apply to Hahnemann. They are simply intended to show that a large practice is no proof of a physician's superior skill and success, and that, therefore, the large practice which Hahnemann enjoyed in Paris, cannot be adduced as an argument in favour of the exclusive preference, which Hahnemann is said to have given to the higher potencies. It does not admit of discussion, that the medicine which we prescribe must correspond to the disease. What we mean by this term " correspond" is this: that the medicine, in its action upon the healthy organism, must respond to, or be exactly similar to the pathological state; or, in other words, to the disease for which the medicine is given. The disease is, so to say, a problem of which the medicine should be the exact and perfect solution. This, however, it can only be, on condition, that it should be administered to the patient in appropriate proportions and forms. And here, we are naturally led to inquire: 2. How, or in whatform, should thie medicine be administered to the patiet? SMuch, in this respect, depends upon the patient's taste. There are those who cannot swallow a powder composed of sugar of milk without feeling sick at the stomach. In such a case, it is a matter of course that we should not insist upon the patient taking the medicine in powder-form, but that he should be allowed to take it in such a manner as would not excite any unpleasant sensations in the organism. A good deal depends upon the disease which we are called upon to treat. There are pulmonary diseases which render the use of water exceedingly unpleasant and even distressing; water, in many cases of this kind, excites a most distressing cough, and it should not only be cruel but highly injudicious if we should pertinaciously prescribe watery solutions. In such cases, powders, drops or globules should be resorted to. Other patients cannot 1 ADMINISTRATION OF swallow cold water without its producing a most unpleasant irritation of the nerves of the stomach, terminating even in vomiting, rush of blood to the head, vertigo, fainting, sweat as from anxiety, and a variety of other distressing symptoms. How unwisely we'should act, if, in such cases, we would administer our medicines in water. The intensity of the disease is another chief consideration 'by which we should be guided in selecting one mode of administration in preference to any other. It is almost universally admitted, by the physicians of our school, that in all acute diseases, the medicines act better if administered in the shape of a watery solution. If we prescribe tinctures, we dissolve from one to ten and even more drops, as the case may require, in a common tumblerful of water, first dropping the tincture into a perfectly clean and empty tumbler, and then pouring in the water, which should be fresh and as clear as possible, from a certain height, by which means the water will become sufficiently impregnated with the medicinal particles; or, if we see fit to administer globules, we dissolve 8 or 10 of them in a common tumblerful of water, first allowing them to dissolve at the bottom of the tumbler, and then turning the solution some 15 or 20 times from one tumbler into another backward and forward, taking care to always pour the water from a sufficient height. It is scarcely necessary to remark, that the tumblers should always be covered and as little exposed to heat and light as possible. We may likewise observe, that, in case more than one watery solution should be prescribed at a time, a separate spoon requires to be used for each medicine, and that the spoon should never be left in the solution, but should be placed on the saucer with which the tumbler is covered. Anything may be used for the purpose of covering the tumbler, provided it does not communicate an unpleasant, heterogeneous taste to the liquid contained in the tumbler, and provided it affords sufficient protection from dust, emanations, odours, or whatever influences might weaken or otherwise deteriorate the medicinal virtues of the solution. If we should wish to administer a trituration in water, we dissolve about one grain of the trituration in the same way as has been described for the globules. IIOM(EOPATHIC MEDICINES. 43 It sometimes happens that we wish to administer the globules in a dry state. In this case we roll as many globules as we desire the patient to take upon a perfectly clean piece of white paper, or into a perfectly clean and dry silver spoon, and, by this means, transfer them to the back part of the tongue. Here they should be allowed to dissolve before being swallowed. But, as the tongue is scarcely ever perfectly clean, the best mode of proceeding, in case we should intend to administer the medicine in doses of globules, would be, to dissolve each dose of globules in a spoonful of water, or else to swallow a spoonful of water, and then to place the globules upon the tongue. If we should have to administer tinctures and water, or sugar of milk does not agree with the patient, the best mode of administration would then be to mix one or more drops of the tincture, as the case may be, with a small teaspoonful of the best powdered white loaf-sugar, and divide this into the required number, say 10 or 12, of powders, which the patient then takes dry on his tongue. Hahnemann has proposed another mode of administering the homoeopathic agent, and that is by olfaction. For this purpose we put one or two globules in a phial of some two or three inches in length and about one-third of an inch in diameter, cork it well, and, if we wish to use it, introduce the orifice of the phial, uncorked, into one of the nostrils of the patient, requesting him at the same time to inhale the emanations arising from the globules by means of several strong inspirations through the nose. This process should be repeated once, or even twice or three times a day. We do, however, not hesitate to confess that we have very little confidence in this mode. Hahnemann was induced to resort to this mode, by the supposed excessive sensitiveness of certain persons to the action of certain medicines, or rather of medicine generally. This sensitiveness, however, did not exist, and, what he supposed to be a medicinal aggravation, was one of the thousand phenomena which characterise a constitutional and therefore habitual state of nervous irritation, known under the popular designations of hysteria, hypochondria, spinal affections, or under the more dogmatic names of infarctus, abdominal congestions, spinal irritation, &c. We mean 44 ADMINISTRATION OF to show this more fully and conclusively in some future publication. There is no doubt, however, that, in some cases, olfaction may be a useful mode of administering the homceopathic medicine. But, in such a case, it is our belief that the medicine of which the patient is requested to smell, should not be exhibited in the diminutive shape of one or two globules, but in a respectable quantity, say a number of drops of the tincture, or a number of grains of the original substance. Some time ago, for instance, we were called to prescribe for a laay, who was suffering with sick headache. She had been liable to such attacks for years past, and they generally lasted from 36 to 48 hours, and were exceedingly distressing. The symptoms indicated Aconite, of which we left a quarter of an ounce to be used in the present as well as in subsequent attacks. The present attack had just been setting in, and, according to the usual experience of the patient, it ought to have lasted some 30 or 40 hours at least. Shortly after we left, her little son, who was playing by her side, broke the phial, and the mother involuntarily inhaled for a few minutes the emanations of the tincture, after which the headache disappeared quite suddenly. We have since tried this mode of olfaction in subsequent attacks, with five or ten drops of the tincture, without the least perceptible benefit. It may readily be admitted that every medicinal subject is surrounded with a distinctive sphere of emanations, but there are substances that are more particularly endowed with a power to affect the olfactory nerves, and these substances it is which, if any, we should administer by olfaction, but in sufficient quantity to preserve the original emanations. In chronic diseases, Hahnemann has proposed another mode of administration, which is as follows: We dissolve a few globules, say five or six, in ten table-spoonfuls of filtered water, and of this solution we take one tablespoonful, and mix it with a bottleful of filtered water, which should, at the same time, contain a table-spoonful of the best brandy, and a little pulverised charcoal, the brandy being intended to preserve the water from decomposition, and the charcoal to carry down whatever foul particles might have formed in the liquid. This mixture requires, of course, to be shaken once or twice a day, and HOMCEOPATHIC MEDICINES. 45 should be allowed to settle before it is used. Although the magnitude and repetition of the dose are foreign to this article, yet we will state, in this place, that a table-spoonful of such a solution should, according to Hahnemann's directions, be taken once a day, either in the morning before breakfast, or two or three hours after supper. Lastly, we will mention another mode which has been resorted to by some, in order not only to dilute the original preparation as much as possible, but at the same time to develope to a greater extent its inherent curative properties. This mode consists in dissolving a drop of the lower preparation, either tincture or trituration, in a tumblerful of water, mix it well by turning the solution a number of times from one tumbler into another, and then take a table-spoonful of this solution, and mix it with another tumblerful of water as before. Of this second solution we may again take a table-spoonful, and mix it with a third tumblerful of water, and so on, through any number of tumblers. The last solution is then administered in tablespoonful doses. In our own practice we seldom go higher than the second solution, from which we derive all the advantages we desire. We would admonish the hommeopathic student not to imitate the ridiculous practices which have crept into the homoeopathic school, such as placing a few globules of the homoeopathic medicine into the hands of the patient, in order to communicate to him the medicinal impression through the skin. If such a thing have ever been possible in a single case, which we, however, are disposed to doubt, it is most assuredly an exception among a million, and should never be mentioned as a possible thing for many. Let us now pass to the third subject of our examination: 3. Thee magnitude of doses. This has been a subject of controversy for years past, and the question is no nearer a settlement now than it was years ago. The most speculative sophisms, relative to the magnitude of doses, have been elevated to the rank of principles, and have either been consecrated by blind routine, or, without having produced the least change in the treatment of disease, have been admired by the un 46 ADMINISTRATION OF thinking and ignorant as the effusions of genius. With few exceptions, wisdom was scarcely ever consulted in these speculations about doses. And yet, the subject seems to be quite simple, and really does admit of an easy and satisfactory solution. Only be unprejudiced, and desirous of discovering the truth. At the beginning of his homoeopathic practice, Hahnemann was in the habit of using the tinctures and lower triturations. After awhile he stumbled upon the doctrine of medicinal aggravations, which he arrived at speculatively rather than by positive experience. This, at least, is quite likely, though we are unable to assert the fact upon positive testimony. He must naturally have been led to the thought, that inasmuch as he prescribed his remedy for a state, to the symptoms of which the action of the medicine upon a healthy person was exactly analogous, the first effect of the remedy must have been to aggravate more or less the symptoms of the disease. And this idea being once fixed in his mind, how could he sufficiently guard himself against the tendency to consider true as medicinal aggravation, what was in fact a new development, a different state of the disease? To meet this difficulty, to do away with these medicinal aggravations, and, at the same time, secure to the patient the whole benefit of the curative influence of the remedy,.Hahnemann hit upon his well known and previously described modg of attenuating the medicine, using alcohol for the liquid, and sugar of milk for the dry attenuations. The discovery that, by means of this process of attenuation, the curative powers of the remedial agent were rendered more active, were, so to say, spiritualised, was made at a later period. It seems unnecessary to record in this place all the pretended discoveries of the speculative thinkers of our school, respecting the size and repetition of the dose. They are, in most cases, abstractions, more or less ingenious to be sure, but nevertheless without the least practical value. We must have rules, of course, by which we might be guided in the selection of either tinctures or potencies, and it is the duty of every homoeopathic practitioner to contribute, by his own experience, to a positive and satisfactory solution of the problem of doses. We do possess even now rules which seem to be sufficient for all HOM(EOPATHIC MEDICINES. 47 practical purposes, and we shall endeavour to explain them to the student of homceopathy, reminding him at the same time of the great latitude which, in spite of all existing rules, is enjoyed by homceopathic physicians as respects the determination of the proper size of the dose in particular cases. And yet, though every practitioner is disposed to arrogate to himself the most perfect liberty of choice, the student of homoeopathy will be struck with the harsh and obstinate exclusivism with which the various opinions respecting doses oppose each other in our school. It is his business to study them all, and afterwards to determine for himself, by careful observation, what course he ought to pursue in this matter. He will find, for example, that some physicians confine themselves to the lower preparations exclusively, others use only the middle potencies; some again the higher, and others the highest potencies. Physicians who pursue this course, undoubtedly deprive themselves of a great many means of cure, or subject their patients to an unnecessarily prolonged treatment. What course, then, is the student of homceopathy to pursue in the presence of all this confusion? By what rules is he to be guided in the administration of his medicines, and more particularly in the determination of the quantity of medicine he ought to prescribe for his patient? We will tell him what course we pursue ourselves, in conjunction with all the most enlightened and best educated practitioners of our school, leaving it to him either to do likewise, or to modify this course as he may see fit. The magnitude of the dose must necessarily and does principally depend upon two points: 1. The intensity of the disease; and 2. The greater or lesser willingness on the part of the sick organism to receive the medicinal impression. Let us subject these conditions to a more particular examination. That the size of the dose ought to be proportionate to the intensity of the disease, seems to be self-evident. As a general rule, we resort to the lower preparations in the treatment of all diseases that run a rapid course, or which, unless speedily checked, would soon lead to disorganisations, or the complete destruction of tissues. This does not only mean acute diseases, properly speaking, but also 48 ADMINISTRATION OF chronic diseases of great intensity and affecting the general organism in a dangerous and disorganising manner. Starting from this position, we prefer the lower preparations: 1. For all acute fevers, with or without local inflammations; 2. For all remittent fevers with local inflammations; 3. For all intermittent fevers and all intermittent diseases of an acute character, such as fever and ague, inflammatory neuralgia, &c. 4. For all chronic diseases, with tendency to terminate in disorganisations, such as: syphilis, tuberculous and scrofulous swellings, &c. 5. For nervous diseases, which readily terminate in the destruction of parts, or in a permanent derangement of the functional power of the part affected; such as the various forms of acute nervous irritation, spinal irritation, seated or shifting congestions, spasms, convulsions, apoplexy, &c. 6. For actual disorganisations, suppurations, ulcerations, such as blenorrhoea of the lungs, uterus, vagina, phagedenic ulcers, scirrhus, enlargements of organs, &c. As a general rule, it is safe to employ the lower attenuations in the treatment of the aforesaid diseases. We say, as a general rule; for in a number of cases of these very diseases, the middle or higher attenuations may be more conducive to a speedy and permanent cure. It is utterly impossible to furnish rules that will prove safe and invariable guides to the beginning practitioner; in spite of rules, he will soon feel compelled to rely upon his own powers of observation, his own judgment, and to pursue the very opposite course of what was pointed out to him in the books. Physicians who practise in the same families from year to year, enjoy great advantages over the beginning practitioner, as respects the dose which should be prescribed under certain circumstances. They are afforded frequent opportunities of studying the constitution of their patients and the character of the diseases to which the families are most liable, and hence they are better able to judge, by the apparent phenomena of the disease, to what an extent the internal organism is affected, and how much medicine it will require to make a curative impression on 50 ADMINISTRATION OF Let us take an acute disease, pleurisy. We mean the acute form characterised by synochal fever, stitches in the side, excessive painfulness to the touch, oppression of breathing, &c. In many cases, one or two doses of the thirtieth potency of Aconite will suffice to effect a radical cure; in other cases, on the contrary, the same disease, with apparently the same symptoms, will require repeated doses of the strong tincture, provided we mean to do the patient justice, and cure him according to the principle of Celsus, " cio', 1tut etjucuendC." Or, let us take a case of inflammatory rheumatism, for which we will suppose Aconite to be the true remedy. Do we not all know that many severe cases of articular rheumatism have been perfectly. cured with the middle potencies of aconite, in an incredibly short period of time, and that other cases, on the contrary, had to be treated with massive doses of the tincture? As for ourselves, we can answer this question in the affirmative; and we do so answer it with the consciousness of having observed the different effects of our remedy in apparently the same cases with an impartial and truth-loving mind. Or, let us take another class of diseases, neuralgia. The specific remedy for the various forms of neuralgia, with scarcely an exception, is Aconite, as we shall have abundant opportunities of showing on future occasions. Now what dose shall we give the patient when he requests aid for his boring, jerking, burning, lancinating, screwing, twisting, hard-aching, tickling, or other pain? As we said above, Aconite is the specific remedy for this Protean disease, and the only question is as to the quantity which will control the adversary with the best and speediest effect. In one case, where the paroxysms had returned every evening for two months in succession, with increasing violence, and were characterised by a sensation as if the malar bone were twisted round and would be torn out with red-hot pincers, we succeeded in affording immediate, complete, and permanent relief to the patient, by means of one spoonful of a solution of six globules of the thirtieth attenuation of Aconite in a tumblerful of water. In another case, characterised by a sensation as if red-hot daggers were plunged into the deltoid muscle, we had to resort to fomentations of hot brandy and massive doses of the tincture of Aconite; HOMEOPATHIC MEDICINES. 5I1 the paroxysms had been increasing in violence for a fortnight past, and for three nights past the patient, a lady, had almost been senseless on account of the pain; she was relieved in about half an hour, and has never had an attack since; it is now two years. In this case we gave the Aconite in three-drop doses of the strong tincture every five minutes. These cases are merely mentioned as illustrations, though we might adduce a considerable number of similar cases, all of them corroborative of the fact that, if we mean to do full justice to the patient, we have to determine the dose, in every case, upon its own merits. In other cases of neuralgia the internal use of Aconite seems to be entirely inefficacious. In all such cases we resort to the external application of the remedy. We mix a few drops of the strong tincture, say from five to ten, with a spoonful of good brandy, and rub this mixture upon the affected part, every five or ten minutes, until the relief is complete. It is instantaneous in every case, though in some cases the application requires to be renewed several times before the pain is entirely subdued. We have lately treated several highly interesting cases of neuralgia by means of the external application of Aconite. For the benefit of the student, we will mention two of them. In one case the pain was seated in the left supraorbital nerve. The paroxysm set on about six o'clock in the morning, went on increasing until one or two o'clock in the afternoon, and then passed off, leaving the part excessively sore and sensitive, and the patient, a lady of about 30 years, very much distressed and debilitated. The pain, in this case, was agonising, and the patient was almost stupid while the paroxysm lasted. The strong tincture of Aconite was used in the manner above described, during the paroxysm. This paroxysm ran a much milder and shorter course, and was the last the patient had to endure. The part felt somewhat numb and sensitive for a week or two after the disappearance of the paroxysms, but these symptoms gradually disappeared. The second case presented the following group of symptoms: the patient, a lady of about 35 years, had been afflicted with neuralgia of the left side of the face for about two months past. She had scarcely been able to sleep a wink during that time. The pains were shooting, burning, throbbing, with great ADMINISTRATION OF soreness of the parts. The whole cheek was affected, and the pain extended even into the ear and down the side of the neck. We prescribed a little Aconite in water, to be taken internally. Next morning there seemed to be a little improvement, but so slight that the patient was scarcely wvilling to own it. We then applied the Aconite externally, as above, and that night the patient slept without waking until morning, when the pain had almost entirely disappeared. Next day the patient was entirely free from pain. We treat a number of cases of nervous toothache. The tooth is generally decayed, and the pain comes on in consequence of walking in the wind, standing in a draught, getting the feet wet, and similar kinds of exposure. In many of these cases, when the tooth feels sore to the touch, as if ulcerated, and the gums have a whitish look, as if an abscess would form, Mercury is the specific remedy, which we then generally administer low; but in a great many other cases, when the pain is a throbbing, hard-aching, agonizing pain, and the tooth is, generally speaking, not sensitive to the touch, except in cases of purely inflammatory toothache, accompanied with synoclha or synochus, Aconite is the specific remedy. In some of these cases the strong tincture of Aconite, if used internally, sets the patient almost crazy; in other cases, immediate relief is obtained by introducing into the hollow tooth a little cotton saturated with one or two drops of the strong tincture; other cases, again, require the middle attenuations of Aconite, or a double diluted solution of one drop of the tincture. It is impossible to do more for the student than to state facts of observation. In many sections of our country, fever with ague is a prevailing disease. We will suppose Arsenic and Cinchona to be two of the principal specifics for this disorder. We have treated cases with the thirtieth potency of Arsenic to our most perfect satisfaction; whereas, in other cases, we had to use the first trituration. So with Cinchona. We have treated the severest cases with a few globules of the thirtieth potency of Cinchona, cutting the disease short after the first paroxysm; w hereas, in other cases, we had to use the tincture of Cinchona, and, in some cases, even a few grains of Quinine. These are facts of observation HOM(EOPATHIC MEDICINES. 53 which every practitioner is at liberty to doubt, but which are satisfactorily established in our own mind. Now we would ask, if it be true that, under various circumstances, the suitable remedy has to be used in various quantities, what is to become of the poor student who has been taught to confine himself to the use of one portion of our series of attenuations? There is danger whether he confine himself to the exclusive use" of the lower or the middle and higher potencies; but, in our opinion, the danger is greater in the latter case. In this matter we can speak from experience, and we advise the beginning practitioner, if he be desirous of saving himself a great many heartburnings and bitter disappointments, to take heed of our warning voice, to cut himself loose from all authority, and to love and practice the good and the true, no matter by what side of our or any other school in medicine it may be offered. First be sure that you select the right remedy, and then learn to use it. Beginning practitioners are very apt to jump from one remedy to another, because they do not observe any immediate effects from it. This mode of practising is mere guess-work, and is necessarily the result of ignorance. If a physician be not sufficiently acquainted with the Materia Medica, he ought not to set up as a practitioner of medicine, at any rate not on his own responsibility. No physician should prescribe a remedy unless he is positively sure that it is the right one; and if he be sure of this, it is his duty to use it perseveringly, in various forms and potencies, and to continue its use until it has done all the good that can be expected from it. In a vast number of diseases, a single remedy will be found to be sufficient for a cure; indeed if the physician be sure of his remedy, and use it properly and perseveringly, he will obtain results that could not have been obtained by the usual routine practice, which sometimes requires the use of half-a-dozen remedies for the most elementary disease, and boasts of effecting a cure which was entirely owing to the unassisted efforts of nature. As regards chronic diseases, it is generally supposed that the higher attenuations are preferable to the lower. This is true in many cases, but in others it is not true. The itch has frequently been cured with the higher at 54 ADMINISTRATION OF tenuations of Sulphur, but there are likewise cases that require the use of massive doses of Sulphur, and even the application of the sulphur ointment. A chancre may have often yielded to the 30th attenuation of Mercury: but it is now an universally admitted fact, that the lower preparations of Mercury are much more reliable in the treatment of the various forms of syphilis than the higher. The lower attenuations are likewise preferable in all chronic diseases that threaten to terminate in the destruction or disorganisation of organs, extensive suppurations, ulcerations, congestions, &c. Even in purely nervous diseases, hysteria, hypochondria, mania, &j., it may sometimes be necessary to resort to the lower attenuations. It is not only proper, but useful and frequently even necessary to commence the treatment of these diseases with the middle or higher attenuations; but if the same medicine should have to be used for a long time in succession, it may become necessary to use the lower preparations, though it may sometimes be of advantage to the patient that the use of the higher preparations of the same substance should occasionally be resumed. In some cases it is useful to use the lower and higher attenuations of the same remedy in alternation. We are unable to assign any positive reasons for this mode of administration, except that we have observed beneficial effects to arise from it in many cases. In chronic eruptions, not syphilitic, the middle or higher attenuations may be resorted to first, to be afterwards followed by the lower, if necessary. In a case of phagedenic ulcers of the forehead and face, which broke out shortly after vaccination, and had probably been caused by impure matter, a complete cure was effected in three days by two globules of the 800th potency of Arsenic. The cure would probably have been effected just as well by the first trituration; but inasmuch as it is important that we should ascertain, as nearly as possible, the limit beyond which the attenuated drug would cease to act, it is perfectly proper that we should select chronic cases for such experiments, provided we can do so without injuring the patient or unnecessarily protracting the treatment. It is therefore idle to say that of such a substance we had better use the lower, and of another substance the higher attenuations. This would not even be true in HOIMEOPATHIC MEDICINES. 55 regard to substances that possess more inherent power than others: for we are very often obliged to use the lowest preparations of Arsenic or Aconite, whereas a few globules of the thirtieth potency of Chamomile will sometimes relieve the patient as by a charm. Because a remedy is naturally more poisonous than another, it does not follow that we must administer it, on that account, in smaller doses. On the contrary,. it is not unreasonable to suppose, that the more powerful the drug is in its crude state, the weaker will be, proportionally, the attenuations; and vice versa, the weaker the drug in its crude form, the more powerfull will be, proportionally, the attenuations. So that we may expect more intense effects from the higher attenuations of Lycopodium, Coffea, Chamomilla, and the like, than from the lower preparations of these substances; and, on the other hand, more intense effects from the lower preparations of Arsenic, Nux vomica, Aconite, and the like, than from the higher attenuations of these agents. Be this as it may, we are obliged to admit, that all these general rules are based upon speculation, and are very unsafe guides in practice. After all, the safest mode of practice is to treat every case independently of any other, and to prescribe such a dose of the appropriate remedy as will make a curative impression upon the disease. That there must be a proportionate amount of willingness in the patient's organism to receive this impression, admits of no doubt. We will examine this point very briefly. Persons who have never taken homoeopathic medicines are generally more easily impressed by them than others who have already been under homceopathic treatment. This is particularly true in regard to inflammatory diseases, where, after a protracted allopathic treatment, a single dose of Aconite will sometimes relieve the patient as by enchantment. This remark applies likewise to organs that are acted upon for the first time by a certain medicine, though the same medicine might have been given to the same patient for diseases affecting other organs. For instance, the patient may have taken so much Mercury, even in homoeopathic doses, for certain affections of the liver, that this organ refuses to receive any further impression from that agent; but supposing he should be attacked with sore throat, and for the first time, should 56 ADMINISTRATION OF take Mercury for this affection, provided, of course, that Mercury is the specific remedy, the action of the medicine will be speedily perceived by the diseased part. So with every other medicine. Affections of the larger nervous trunks require, as a general rule, to be treated with massive doses of the specific remedy. These trunks do not seem to be as easily impressed by medicine as other portions of the nervous system, from which we may infer, as has indeed been verified by observation, that the more central the diseased nervous mass, the more delicate should be the medicinal influence which is brought to bear upon it, of course within certain limits; and, on the other hand, the more distant the diseased nerves from the central portions of the nervous system, the more massive should be the dose. This is certainly true as a general proposition, so much so, that the more external portions of the nervous system require very often to be acted upon by means of a suitable external application of the appropriate remedial agent. This fact has been abundantly verified in neuralgia, and in a variety of cutaneous affections, such as itch, sycosis, syphilis; even the poultices which we apply to inflammatory tumours, abscesses, &c., may be regarded as fit illustrations of our general proposition. Hahnemann and his first disciples were possessed of a sacred horror against all external applications. He would only allow of the external use of Thuja in sycosis; and, in cutaneous affections generally, he advised to rub a weak dilution of the specific remedy upon those parts of the skin which were free from the eruption. But why should not remedies, if applied directly to the diseased spot, act more speedily than in this round-about way? If it be at all true that, under certain circumstances, the remedies should be applied externally, then it must be true, a fortiori, that their curative influence is perceived the more speedily and thoroughly, the more exactly they are applied to the diseased spot. The whole question, therefore, turns on this single point: Is it at all proper that remedies should be applied externally? This question might be answered by another question: Why should not remedies, under certain circumstances, act from without inwards just as well as from within outwards, or even more expeditiously HOM(EOPATHIC MEDICINES. 57 and thorohghly? The inmost vital process is undoubtedly carried on from within outwards; but the vital forces are likewise affected by external influences, either pleasantly or unpleasantly. These external influences stimulate the vital forces into action; without them life would become extinct, and why should not a medicinal substance be, in certain conditions of the organism, the most appropriate stimulus for its harmonious activity, or rather for the restoration of that harmony? The rule for the external application of remedies in larger quantities seems to be quite simple: if the external morbid phenomena should have been evolved from within, the remedy should be administered internally, though it may be perfectly proper, in some cases, to combine the external and internal use of the same medicine; and in all cases where the external phenomena are not strictly evolved from within, but where the general organism is involved sympathetically in consequence of the local disturbance, the external or local application of the remedy is not only proper, but sometimes even necessary. Physicians are sometimes called upon to relieve their patients of drug symptoms. Large doses of Mercury, for instance, may have disorganised the mucous membranes, and a group of symptoms may have developed themselves which may indicate Mercury as their specific remedy. Or we will state the case in this way: supposing Mercury is the specific remedy for the ailments to which a certain individual is constitutionally liable, and supposing this individual had been poisoned by massive doses of that drug, what dose of Mercury should be given in case the original ailments should again make their appearance, and Mercury should be indicated as before? Undoubtedly the middle or higher attenuations. We would advise the middle attenuations, for the higher attenuations of Mercury seem ineffectual. This remark does not only apply to Mercury, but to every other drug. It has even been proposed and successfully tried in some cases, to combat drug symptoms by the higher preparations of the substance which had produced the drug disease. We may here remark incidentally, that by drug symptoms we do not understand the symptoms caused by actual poisoning, but the dynamic morbid state, or even the pathological disors~ 58 ADMINISTRATION OF ganisations which may have remained in the organism after the immediately poisonous effects of the drug had been subdued; such as, a constitutional disposition to ptyalism, congestion and ulceration of the mucous membranes, &c., produced by the abuse of mercury; or a disposition to stupor, delirium, and convulsions, by Opium; or emaciation and atrophy by the abuse of Iodine; or a state of debility, general nervous derangement, a sensation of gnawing or emptiness at the pit of the stomach, or even delirium tremens, caused by the abuse of alcoholic drinks. All such dynamic diseases produced by the abuse of drugs require to be treated by small doses, or rather the middle attenuations of the very substance which caused the disease, provided always that we see at all fit to employ them as the curative agents in the case before us. After all this reasoning, if we were asked to lay down positive rules for the magnitude of doses, we would be obliged to confess to our inability to do so. However, we will help the student along to the best of our power, and therefore propose the following rules for his first guidance: 1. Use the lower preparations in all diseases which depend upon an acute irritation of the capillary nerves, such as acute fevers with or without local inflammations. Q. In all chronic diseases with tendency to disorganisations, especially in syphilis, sycosis, malignant leucorrhoea, extensive suppurations and ulcerations. 3. In all nervous diseases, with tendency to disorganisations, such as spasms, convulsions, &c. 4. In acute congestions, congestion of the brain, and the thoracic and abdominal viscera. 5. In all acute diseases which run a rapid course, and are disposed to terminate fatally, such as cholera, carditis, gastritis, apoplexy, &c. 6. In a great many cases where the same medicine has to be continued for a long time, it may be desirable to give the medicine in gradually increased doses. Use the middle and higher attenuations: 1. In all diseases which remain as sequelae to acute affections. 2. In chronic eruptions without tendency to disorganisations. HOMCEOPATHIC MEDICINES. 59 3. In purely nervous affections,such as vertigo, hysteria, hypochondria, without tendency to disorganisations. 4. In all cases where a certain medicine had been used to excess, and where the same medicine is again indicated by the symptoms. 5. In all cases of disease of the more central portions of the nervous system, such as typhus cerebralis, delirium tremens, &c. 6. In a great many cases where the diseased part is for the first time acted upon by the homoeopathic agent. These rules admit of a great many exceptions. We therefore advise the student to apply them with care and discretion, and now enter upon an examination of the fourth subject of our essay. The Repetition of the Dose. This subject is so intimately connected with the former; that a great many of the suggestions which we have offered in our examination of the magnitude of doses, likewise apply to their repetition. In the early period of homoeopathy, it was thought proper by Hahnemann and his disciples to give but one dose, and to watch its effects before administering a second dose of the same medicine. This method, however, has been abandoned by most homceopaths, and the most arbitrary diversity has been substituted in place of this uniformity. It would be impossible to watch the effects of a single dose in every case; physicians who have a large practice to attend to, could not do their patients justice if this rule were a fundamental principle in the homoeopathic treatment of disease; the practice of homoeopathy would become impossible, except upon a very limited scale. It is indeed unnecessary to apprehend all the dreadful consequences which, according to the speculative geniuses of our school, must result from an untimely repetition of the dose; if the remedy prescribed should be the truly curative agent in the case, and the first dose should produce an improvement in the state of the patient, it need not be feared that a second or third dose will destroy the good effects of the former, as has been wrongly supposed by some writers. The great point is, in the first place, to select the proper remedy, and, if it 60 ADMINISTRATION OF be administered in a proper dose, the repetition thereof can easily be regulated. A little practice will suffice to an intelligent beginner to work out for himself a certain mode of prescribing: until this point is reached, he may avail himself of the following general suggestions in reference to the repetition of doses: 1. In acute fevers, with or without local inflammations, repeat the dose every hour, or at farthest every two hours. 2. In chronic diseases with tendency to disorganisations, especially in syphilis, sycosis, and malignant leucorrhcea, repeat the dose three times a day. 3. In extensive or deep-seated suppurations and ulcerations, repeat the dose three times a day; if, however, the suppurative process should have developed itself out of a phlegmonous inflammation of the part, it may be expedient to repeat the appropriate remedy every two hours at least. 4. In acute spasms and convulsions the remedy may be repeated every ten or fifteen minutes; when the spasms recur at intervals of weeks or months, the specific remedy may be repeated every morning or evening, or even twice or three times a day. 5. In acute congestions, such as congestion of the brain, lungs, liver, or any other organ, the remedy should be repeated every hour. 6. In cholera, carditis, gastritis, apoplexy, or any other acute disease, which runs a rapid course and is disposed to terminate fatally, the medicine may be repeated every five, ten, or fifteen minutes. 7. In the sequele of acute affections, the medicine may be repeated three or four times a day. 8. In chronic eruptions, give the medicine once or twice a day. 9. In nervous affections, without tendency to disorganisations, such as vertigo, hysteria, hypochondria, local spasms, &c., give the medicine three or four times a day. 10. In acute diseases of the higher portions of the nervous system, the medicine may be repeated every halfhour, or every hour, or even two hours, according as the symptoms are more or less threatening. In simple typhus cerebralis, for instance, or in meningitis, in delirium tremens, or even in acute hydrocephalus, we would advise HOM(cEOPATHIC MEDICINES. 61 to give the medicine every two hours; though we are persuaded that an hourly repetition of the dose would not do any injury to the patient. If a decided improvement should have been obtained, the medicine may then be continued at longer intervals, until the patient is able to do without any. This is a suitable opportunity of warning the student and the beginning practitioner against an error which is but too frequently committed by the practitioners of our school. We allude, not to the too frequent repetition of the same medicine, but to the unnecessary change of medicines in treating a case. There are practitioners who use ten, fifteen different medicines in a case where an intelligent physician, one who is throughly acquainted with his Materia Medica, would effect a cure in a much easier and more expeditious way by means of one or two remedies. This kind of treatment is either the result of ignorance or of a want of faith in the efficacy of our remedies. There are diseases where it is necessary to employ different remedies, but there is scarcely a disease, even the higher forms of typhus, which cannot be effectually controlled by at most three or four remedies. In many diseases, where the books advise the use of several remedies, one single remedy is frequently sufficient to effect a cure. Thus in regard to inflammatory diseases, with or without local inflammations, we are advised to commence the treatment with Aconite, and to change this medicine for Bryonia, Belladonna, or some other remedy, as soon as the synocha is subdued, and a state of synochus has taken its place. Now this is all wrong. If a medicine have produced a decided improvement in the symptoms, that is, if the symptoms remain the same, but are less intense, or if only some of them have disappeared and others remain with the same degree of intensity, the original medicine which caused this modification of the primitive group, should be continued by all means, for this reason: that such a modification of the original disease is not an evolution of a new group of symptoms, but simply a reduction of the former symptoms to a lesser degree of intensity. Let us suppose a case of inflammatory rheumatism with a full and bounding pulse, high fever, pain in the joints and bones, swelling and inflammation of certain parts, or any of the other manifold symptoms which characterise this disease. Of Oa ADMINISTRATION OF course we would prescribe Aconite, and after using three or four doses of this medicine, we will suppose that the fever has not only abated, but has been entirely subdued, the pains in the joints and bones are less, and the inflammation is considerably reduced. This change in the symptoms does not constitute a new group requiring a different remedy; on the contrary, the same remedy is still indicated, and, if continued, will speedily remove the remaining symptoms. As a general rule, the books do not distinguish between a reduction of the original symptoms to a lesser degree of intensity, and the evolution of a new or different group of symptoms constituting a different phasis or stage of the original disease, and requiring a different treatment. In the higher forms of typhus, for instance, groups of symptoms will sometimes develop themselves, which are pathologically distinct from each other, and which therefore make it incumbent upon the practitioner to change the medicine. As there is a reduction of the original symptoms to a lesser degree of intensity, so there may be an increase of these symptoms to a higher degree of intensity. Supposing a patient had undergone allopathic treatment for phlegmonous inflammation, or for such a species of inflammation as we would prescribe Aconite for in our practice, Aconite would still be indicated as corresponding with the original disease. The increase of symptoms would not constitute a new group pathologically distinct from the original group; it would simply be the original disease elevated to a higher degree of intensity, but absolutely identical in a patholsgical point of view, and therefore requiring the same treatment that would have been instituted from the commencement. It is of the utmost importance that the student of homoeopathy should have these facts impressed upon his mind. An incredible amount of injury is inflicted upon the sick by the random sort of prescribing that a great many practitioners resort to, and which, if universally practised, would be a death-blow to our art and a disgrace to our profession. On the Alternatioa of ]JMedicines. The allopathic custom of combining several medicines in one preparation is not admitted in homoeopathic practice. HOMGEOPATHIC MEDICINES. 63 It may happen, however, that two medicines are indicated at the same time, though such a thing must necessarily be very rare. If this should be the case, the medicines are given in alternation, first one dose of one, then, at a suitable interval, a dose of the second, then again a dose of the former, and so forth, until it may be deemed desirable to institute a change of treatment. Sometimes two doses of one medicine may be given in succession, then one dose of the second medicine, then again two doses of the former, and so on, until the treatment requires to be changed. Physicians who prescribe upon proper principles, and with a full knowledge of the nature of the symptoms, will scarcely ever deem it necessary to prescribe two different remedies at the same time. The custom of alternating two different remedies has had its origin in a one-sided view of the nature of disease. If the symptoms of a disease were viewed as they ought to be, as the phenomenal manifestation of an internal state, and if their pathological connection and dependence upon each other were properly known, it would most probably never be necessary to prescribe two remedies at the same time, It is only when symptonms are viewed superficially, without reference to their internal unity, that it seems as though they were disconnected and required more than one remedy at a time, The method, adopted by many practitioners, of selecting a remedy, is, to take a record of the symptoms according to a certain plan, and to select from among the remedies which constitute our Materia Medica, one that has as nearly as possible the same symptoms, and, if one remedy do not suffice, they will select another one besides, in order to be sure tliat the symptoms of the disease are, as they term it, "covered" by the remedies. This mode of selecting a remedy refers exclusively to the subjective symptoms, the individual sensations of pain which are experienced by the patient; it does not take cognizance of the pathological state of which these subjective sensations of pain are the mere external characteristics. Let us suppose a case, for the sake of elucidating our views. We are not acquainted with any difference in the organic structure of the nerves, and yet their functions differ greatly from each other. This difference is owing to 64 ADMINISTRATION OF the difference existing between the tissues over which the nerves are distributed. If the eye were not constructed as it is, the optic nerve would not enable us to see; or if the nose were not constructed as it is, the olfactory nerve would not enable us to smell. There is no essential difference between the olfactory and the optic nerves, but there is an essential difference between the structural organisation of the nose and that of the eye. Or, let us take the pneumogastric nerve, which is both a nerve of sensation and motion. It is a nerve of sensation simply because it supplies the lining membrane of the respiratory and digestive passages, and it becomes a nerve of motion when it supplies the muscles and muscular coats of the same canals. The pneumogastric nerve supplies branches, on the one hand, to the larynx, the lungs, and the heart; and, on the other, to the pharynx, the cesophagus, the stomach, and the solar plexus. These different parts could not fulfil their organic functions without the assistance or vitality which they derive from that nerve. The branches of the nerve are essentially the same; the functional differences reside in the structural organisation of the parts over which the branches are distributed. These facts, which are well established in anatomy, lead to important practical results in the treatment of disease. Let us suppose, for example, a diseased condition of the pneumogastric nerve, an acute irritation of this nerve, or, to use the modern phrase, a case of neurosis, in wbich the various branches of the pneumo-gastric nerve are principally involved: Such a pathological state would necessarily be characterised by the most diversified symptoms, symptoms which would apparently be disconnected, and yet would constitute one identical group; for the irritation would be the same in every branch of the nerve; but the symptoms characterising the irritation would differ according as the structural organisation of the part affected would differ from that of another part. We might have dryness, soreness, and heat in the larynx, with constant tickling, disposition to cough and hawk; stricture across the chest, or oppression and soreness of the chest; aching pain or weight in the region of the heart, or palpitation of the heart; loss of appetite, and coated tongue, nausea, oppression of the stomach, sensitiveness and fulness or HOMOEOPATHIC MEDICINES. 65 bloatedness in the region and pit of the stomach, or a hard aching pain in the pit of the stomach; or sensation as of a cold stone in the pit of the stomach; soreness of the bowels, looseness or constipation; and a variety of other symptoms, which it is needless to mention. If this or a similar group of apparently disconnected symptoms should occur in practice, the first thing that a physician would have to do, would be to trace the internal pathological connection of the symptoms; in this way he would find out that they constitute an unitary group characterising a certain irritation of the various branches of the pneumo-gastric nerve, and that the remedy which is to be prescribed for this group, must be one that will affect the pneumogastric nerve in a similar manner, though this similarity does not necessarily imply an exact reproduction, in our provings upon the healthy organism, of the various symptoms constituting the natural group. Suppose now a physician were to prescribe for such a group as we have described, without considering the symptoms in their totality as phenomenal signs of an identical pathological state, which, after all, is the true and essential disease, what will be the consequence? The consequence will necessarily be, that he will endeavour to find a remedy which has the same or similar phenomenal signs in our Materia Medica; and, if one remedy be not sufficient, he will select two, and, if need be, three remedies, to " cover," as it is termed, all the symptoms. It will be perceived, that this mode of selecting a remedy leaves all the essential features of the disease out of consideration, and necessarily leads the physician to this vicious mode of alternately using several remedies at a time. We can scarcely conceive of a case where the alternate use of several remedies at a time is required by the state of the patient. We will except the case where a particular pathological state develops, or rather excites, a pre-existing constitutional irritation. In syphilis, for instance, we may require to employ, together with the specific remedy, an appropriate medicine for the constitutional derangement which the particular malady may have excited. So in measles, scarlatina, and the like. All these diseases may excite a peculiar state of nervous irritation to which the patient was constitutionally exposed, but which had 66 ADMINISTRATION OF remained subdued or latent previous to the breaking out of the particular malady. Bilious fever, measles, scarlatina, variola, and various other diseases, may be treated in such a manner that the patient, although the particular disease has disappeared, is left deaf or blind. Such sequele would be prevented if the particular disease were appropriately treated with the specific remedy, and a suitable remedy were at the same time administered to subdue the constitutional irritation which was roused by the disease, and which but too frequently leads to such disastrous consequences as the loss of a special sense, or the permanent derangement of some other organic function. Nevertheless, although this view of the case seems to be plausible enough, yet it is liable to this objection: that, if the truly specific remedy be selected for the particular disease, this specific remedy will likewise prove the best remedy for the constitutional irritation. If this irritation should manifest itself in spite of our treatment, we should consider it as a proof that the best possible or the truly specific remedy had not been selected for the particular malady. If, in prescribing Belladonna for scarlet-fever, a state of nervous irritation should develop itself, for which Belladonna was not indicated as the specific remedy, we should, as a general rule at least, doubt the specific adaptation of Belladonna to this particular case of scarlatina. And so in any other case. We admit, however, that cases of this kind may turn up where it may be desirable to resort to the simultaneous use, in alternation, of course, of two remedies, one for the particular disease, and the other for the constitutional irritation. These cases are, however, very few, and we would therefore advise the beginning practitioner not to indulge in this alternate use of two medicines without due reflection and discretion. At what time of day should the Medicines be taken? Very little remains to be said on this subject. The fact is, that scarcely anything can be said respecting it, for this reason, that it is not stated in our Materia Medica, at what hour of the day the medicines were taken, and how many hours elapsed before they developed their pathogenetic effects. It is supposed that some medicines act better if taken in the morning, others if taken in the HOMMEOPATHIC MEDICINES. 67 evening before retiring. Mercury and Nux Vomica, for instance, are supposed to act better if taken in the evening, Pulsatilla if taken in the morning. Rules like these are of very little use, were it only for this reason, that they could only be applied to half a dozen remedies, and that even these would constitute exceptions in a number of cases. In acute cases, it is a matter of course, that the medicine has to be administered on the spot, on account of the urgency of the case; and as regards chronic cases, if the medicine be otherwise indicated by the symptoms, it will prove serviceable, no matter at what hour of the day it is administered. Hahnemann never bound himself to any hour; he administered Mercury in the morning as well as in the evening, and always with success, provided the medicine was specifically indicated. In paroxysmal diseases it may perhaps be expedient to administer the medicine immediately after the paroxysm. In fever and ague, for instance, we prefer giving the medicine as soon as the sweating stage has set in. Some follow the same rule in the treatment of periodical asthma, or periodical spasms and convulsions. In periodically recurring neuralgic affections we likewise administer the medicine immediately after the paroxysm; but if the pain should be too agonising, and the intervals between the attacks very irregular, we do not hesitate to employ the proper remedy during the attack. The old school forbids the administration of medicines during the menstrual period. As regards old school medicines, this regulation is very proper, for these medicines are given in such massive doses, that they derange the whole organism, and might, on this account, violently interfere with the process of menstruation. Homceopathic medicines, on the contrary, do not interfere with any of the organic functions of the organism; these medicines are strictly curative, and their curative action is exercised in a direct manner, without the least detriment to any of the functions that do not require the interference of art. There is, therefore, no reason why homoeopathic medicines should not be administered during as well as between the catamenial periods. PART III. SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA.* ON THE PREPARATION AND MODE OF OBTAINING EACH MEDICINE IN PARTICULAR. CHAPTER I. GENERAL VIEW OF THE SUBSTANCES WHICH COMPOSE THE HOMCEOPATHIC PHARMACY. Of Homoeopathic Medicines in General. HOM(EOPATHY employs, generally, as medicines, the same simple substances as the old school, and in like manner obtains them from the three kingdoms of nature. But, as homoeopathic pharmaceutics are governed neither by chemistry nor natural history, but by pharmacodynamics (the medicinal power of drugs), and as, in accordance with the principles of this doctrine, no remedial substance can be admitted into the Materia Medica without having been previously studied in its pure effects upon the healthy organism, it is very natural that the homoeopathic pharmacopoeia should not be so rich in remedial agents, as that of the old school. Those, the effects of which upon the healthy organism are known, amount to about two hundred, and from this number at least one fifth might be deducted, if we were disposed to be very rigorous, and only to admit those of which the pathogenetic symptoms are recorded in full. Nevertheless, as it may be useful to be acquainted * The following arrangement, from' Jahr's Pharmacopoeia,' has been deemed of sufficient interest to be transcribed into this work. SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 69 with all those substances which have been examined by homceopathic physicians, we have determined to mention them all in this pharmacopoeia, and have added even those whose names only have been mentioned in the annals of our science. Hence in the following chapters there will be found the description of more than three hundred substances from the three kingdoms of nature, whilst in our Symptomen Codex, only about two hundred and sixty are mentioned; but all those which are not described in our Codex, are remedies of which the name only is known, and which cannot be prescribed without having been studied (as to the effects) on the human system in a healthy state. It is true, that if, in the pharmacopoeia, we once pass the limits pointed out by the pure Materia Medica, there is no reason why we should not go further, and take not only all the substances found in the Materia Medica of the old school, but also all those with which the inexhaustible resources of nature may furnish us. Hence we have often deplored the tendency shown by our school to register every year more than ten new remedies in its pharmaceutic code, frequently without studying either of them; and with all our pains in endeavouring to ascertain the principle on which one name was registered in preference to another, we have been able to discover nothing but mere caprice. If we cast a rapid glance over the genera and families whence the remedies of which we make use are derived, it will appear very evident that we are far from having even all the most efficacious substances, and that, if we wished to give a description of all those which deserve to be studied, it would almost be necessary to write a dictionary of Natural History. It has, therefore, appeared to be the most simple plan, to give a general view, as well of the substances whose effects have been studied, as of those which have been proposed only in the homoeopathic pharmacopoeias, in order that every one, on seeing the deficiencies shown by this view, may easily draw his own inferences as to what remains to be done. As for the description of the substances, we go no further than to give those which have been thus far mentioned in the writings of our school; in treating, in each division, those whose pathogenetic effects are not entirely unknown, and also those of which, SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. x. Class.-CHICU RACE]E: lacluca viros., Taraxacun;CORYMBIFERE: Arnica, (Arlentisia, vuig.,) (Galendula,) 6Y/tmnomilla, Gina, IJillefolium, fLanacehtvm vuig. Among the other six classes of the natural families of Jussieu., the homczeopathic pharmacopceia counts almost as many remedies as in the preceding, viz.: xi. Class. - DisPACEXE: faleriana- RUBIACEAý: (cahinca,) China, ('0//a, lIpecacuan/ta; CAPRIFOLIA: Sagnbucits. xii. Class. - ARALLE: Ginseng:- UMBELIFERXE: ilFIlnusa, (Ammoniacum gummi,) (Archangelica,) Assafi(did., Gicula, Goniumn, Leracleum, ((Enanthe crocata,) (Peir-oselinumn,) P/tellanclriztm, fVinca, msnor. xiii. Class.-RANuNCULACEyrE: Aconilumn, (Aclcea spicala.) (Aquilej a,) Ciegalis, Ilelleboruts nig., Pwon ia, PulsaWila,, Ranunculus bulb., Ranunculus seler., Slap hysagria;PAPAVERACEA,,: ('lielidoniUM, Opium, Sanguinaria canad.;J CRUC1FERAL: (Cochlearia;)-IIYPER1cA: llypericum -Perforalum~z; AURANTIA: (C'ieron,) -Rhea cesareva; CAPPARIDES: Drosera; MAGNOLIZE; (Anisum sstellalumn;) - ME NISPERMA: Cocculus p- BERBERIDES: -Berlberi-s; - CisTI: Cislus canad., Viola odorala., Viola Iricol.;-RU TAiE:(ic lamnnus,) Guailacum?, ]iuda. xiv. -Class.-SEMPERVIVAE: (Sedum acre;)-M-YRTI: JEugenia., Gr-analum;- RosACEXi: (Jiragaria vesc.,) Laurocerasus, (Prunus padus,) Prunus spinosa;-LEGUAHiNoszE: C'paivw Bal~sam., (Genista,) if-ce)naloxilumq camp)ec//, Indigo, (Ononis,) Senna, ~Thngo;-T ERE B INTH A CREi: Anacardiumn, -Brucea dy-seni., Bizus toxic., B/in vernix;-RHAMNI: Bronyinns europ. xv. Class. -EUPORBLE,: Gascarilla, ('rolon, 1iglium, Eupthorbiumi, uatrop/ta; CUCURBITA CEiEX,: Bqyonia, Co/6 -c!/pd/us;-URTMEi: ('annabis, (Cnb6eac,) (Lupulus,) (IUrtica uirens;) -A MENTACEAE: (Ulmus campestr.;)-CoNlFaRia: Sabiina, Taxus 6uccala. Threbindi/uia, fiunja. 3. Inorganic Substances and Gluemical Products. The mnineral substances and chemnical products which belong to the hoinceopathic pharmacopceia, are found, as in that of the old school, among the gion-mnetallic bodies, the acids, the alkealies, the earths8, the mietals, and the corn SPECIAL PIHARMACOPIA. 7 '73 pounds of the latter. The number of these substances acknowledged by homoeopathy, amounts in all to one hundred, sixty of which have been studied on the healthy subject, whilst the other forty are only mentioned in the pharmacopoeia. We intend to notice them, making use of the Latin'names under which these substances are known in the writings of our school, and which differ but little from those generally in use. In adopting, for the exposition of the pathogenetic symptoms in the Materia Medica, the alphabetic order of remedies, it has been found most convenient to unite as much as possible all products derived from the same base; instead, therefore, of writing, as usual, acidunm nitricumni, acidum nphosphoricum, &c., we have preferred nitri acidum, p/osphori acidant, &c., in order to place the first of these remedies near nitre, and the other near p/osp/lorus. In like manner with the names mutrias barqte, carbonas baryte, &c., in place of which we have preferred baryta nmuriatica, baryla carbonica, &c., in order to be enabled, in the alphabetical order of the Materia Medica, and the repertories, to place or arrange them near each other; and so on with all the names of this kind. The remedies which are found among the non-metallic bodies, the acids and the alkalies, are in all thirty, the pathogenetic effects of fifteen only being known, viz.: 1. NON-METALLIC bodies, studied: Carbo animalis, Carbo vegetabilis, Grapkites, lodium, Kreasotum, Hepar-sulp/uris, Petroleaum, P/hosphorus, Selenium, Sulphur; proposed for study: Alcohol sulp/unis, Bromium, Natrum sulp/uraturm, (sulphuret of soda.) 2. AcIrs, studied: lMuriatis acidum, Nitri acicldum, Piosp/ori acidum, Suilp/uri acidum, Tartari acidum; proposed for study: Aceti acidum, Hydroc/yani acidum, iIlolybhdsni acidum. 3. ETHERS, proposed for study: Nitri spiritus dulcis. 4. ALKALIES, studied: Causticumi; proposed for study: Kali causticum, Natrum cawsticum, Awmmoniuni causticum; Calcarea caustica, Baryta caustica, Strontiana caustica, (Sapo domesticus.) The eartits and the earthy and alkaline salts thus far admitted in homoeopathy, amount in all to twenty-jive, twenty-two of which have been studied on the healthy human system, viz.: 1. EARTHS, studied: Alumina, Silicea. 74 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. S. CARBONATES, studied: Ammonium carbonicum, Bacyta carbonicca, Calcarea carbonica, Kali carblonicumnz, lagnesia carbonica, Natrum carbonicum, Strontiana carbonica. 3. NITRATES, studied: Kali nitricum, JNatrum nitricum. 4. CHLORATES, studied: Kali chloricum. 5. SULPHATES, studied: lagnesia sutwplturica, Natrunm sulp/uricum; proposed for study: Calcarea su'hJurica, (9ypsum.) 6. BORATES, studied: Borax. 7. ACETATES: Bagyaa acelica, Calcarea acelica. (In general, carbonates of substances are preferred to their acetates.) 8. HYDROCILLORATES, studied: Amnnzonium muriaticum, Baryta muriatica, ilagnesia muriatica, Natrugm muriaticum; proposed for study: Calcarea mguriatica. 9. HYDRIODATES, studied: Kali Iydrioclicum. 10. PHOSPHATES, studied: Calcarea phosphorata. Among the metals and their compounds,forly-two in all are found in the homceopathic pharmacopoeia, eighteen of which have been studied as regards their pure effects, viz.: 1. PERFECT METALS, studied: Argentum, Aurum, Plalina; proposed for study: Argentum nitricumi, Aurumfulminans, Aurum muriaticum. 2. METALS Of the SECOND order, studied: ZMercurius vivus et solubilis, Mercurius corrosivus, Mlercurius suphuraltus ruber, (Cinnabaris,) Niccolum; proposed for study: Mercurius vducis, Mercurius precipitaltus ruber,l Mercurius acetatlus, Mercurius precipitatus albus, Osmium. 3. METALS Of the THIRD order, studied: Maanganum aceticum; proposed for study: Jianganum metallicum. 4. METALS of the FOURTH order, studied: Cuprum metallicum, IFerrum aceticum, Ferrum magneticum, Ferrum metallicum; proposed for study: Cuprum carbonicum, Cuprum sulypuricuzm, C0prum aceticum, Jierrum muriaticum, Terrum oxydalt. tydral. 5. METALS Of the FIFTH order, studied: Antimonium crudum, Bismnut/um gnitricum, Plumbum, Stannum, Tarltarus stibiatus, Zincum; proposed for study: Antimonium metallicum, Bismut/tum metallicum, Plumbum aceticum, Zincum sulpkuricun. 6. METALS of the SIXTH order, studied: Arsenicum; proposed for study: Arsenicum metallicum, Arsenicum citrinum, (auripigmentum,) Arsenicu m rubyrun, Mlolybdnum. SPECIAL PHARMACOPOEIA. 75 CHAPTER II. ANIMAL KINGDOM. OF THE PREPARATION OF ANIMAL SUBSTANCES. (A.) Entire Animals. 1. DIADEMA, Aranea diadema, Epeira diadema; Fr., Araignee porte-croix, Araignee diadcme, Araignee a croix papule; Ger., Kreuzspinne; Eng., Diadem spider. This spider is found all over Europe, in stables, on old walls, &c., is distinguished by its ovoid body, often as large as a small nut, and a longitudinal line on the back, composed of yellow and white points, and traversed by three other similar lines. In order to prepare this spider for homceopathic use, Dr. Gross recommends a puncture to be made in the belly of the living insect, and to collect on one hundred grains of sugar of milk the serosity that flows out, and to make the first three attenuations by trituration. According to Dr. Hering, however, the preferable way is to macerate the whole insect in alcohol, and at the end of some months prepare the alcoholic attenuation. The web, which, according to Sadillot, is composed of a substance soluble in water, of a resinous and a sweetishbitter substance, &c., is used to arrest the bleeding of small wounds, leech-bites, &c. Antidote: Mercury. 2. CANCER ASTACUS, Astacus fluriatilis; river-crab. The common crab is a decapodous crustacea which inhabits, in Europe, the borders of streams, small rivers, and even of lakes and ponds, where it keeps in holes and under stones. Its body is oblong, generally cylindrical; the tail broad and long, covered with transverse scales, and furnished with swimming scales on the sides and at the extremity, turning in under themselves. The fore-part of the body terminates in a short point jutting out between the eyes. 76 SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. It has ten claws: the two fore-claws terminating in strong and dentated pinchers. Any member of its body, when destroyed or mutilated, is easily regenerated. The crabs change their calcareous coat every year, and at that time are found in their stomachs two hard, calcareous bodies, called crab's eyes, which are intended to furnish the proper material towards the reproduction of the new coat. The female carries under her reverted tail, first her eggs, then her young, until they attain a certain size. River crabs are the best. According to Caspari's directions, we mash them alive, in a stone mortar, to a fine paste, pour on it double its volume of alcohol, express the juice, and preserve it for use. (Arch. I. 2, p. 14.) Antidote: Aran. diadem., in one case. 3. CANTHARIS, Cantharis vesicatoria, i7felo vesicalorius, Lytta vesicatoria; Fr., Cantharide, Cantharide des boutiques; Ger., Kantharide, SpJanisc/te Fliege; Eng., Cantharides, Spanish Fly. This fly, of the middle and south of Europe, appears in the months of May and June, especially on the white poplar, privet, ash, elder, and lilac, &c. It is a coleopterous insect, about half an inch long, of a golden-yellow green; head inclined, almost cordiform; antennae filiform, of twelve joints, black; antennulae equally filiform, the posterior swollen at the extremity; eyes large, of a deep brown; mouth with an upper lip and two bifid jaws; body elongated, almost round and cylindrical; two wings; elytrae soft, demicylindrical, marked with longitudinal streaks; head and feet full of whitish hairs; the odour is sweetish, nauseous; taste very acrid, almost caustic; the larvae of these insects have a yellowish white body, formed of three rings, six short feet, rounded head, two short filiform antennae, two jaws and four feelers. They live in the ground, feed on roots, there undergo their metamorphoses, and do not come out till they are perfect insects. The best preparation for homoeopathic purposes, consists in crushing the largefemale flies, and making the first three attenuations by trituration: the mother tincture may be prepared by means of 20 parts of alcohol, in which we may digest, SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 77 for eight days, the powder of cantharides. Before powdering these insects, we must assure ourselves that they are neither worm-eaten nor pulverulent, but fresh, very dry, whole, and smooth; the small ones are not nearly so good as the larger. Antidote: Camphor. Coffee aggravates the symptoms. 4. COCCIONELLA SEU COCCINELLA SEPTEMPUNCTATA, Ckrysomela septempuncata, L.; Fr., Coccinelle, Bete a dieu; Bete du bon dieu; Ger., Sonnenkafer, J-ohanimskafer, Frauenkafer, Himmelskuh, Sommerkalbckten; Eng., Lady-bird, Lady-cow. This hemispherical scarabaeus lives in the hedges, on wheat, in the meadows, and on umbelliferous plants. It is a small coleopterous insect, of the size of a pea, black body, elytrae red, and marked with seven black points. When touched, it draws in its feet, looks like dead, and exudes in the tarsal joints a viscid, fetid, black juice. During life, this insect contains an acrid, volatile substance, of the odour of opium, which is lost when dried, so that it is important to crush them while still living, after which we pour on the crushed mass 20 parts of alcohol, and decant the liquid at the end of eight days. 5. FORMICARUM SPIRITUS. Formica rufa; Fr., Fourmi, Fourmi rouge; Ger., Ameise, rothe or JFaldameise; Eng., ant, red ant. The ants are hymenopterous insects, of the family of heterogenes. Their characters are: a flattened, rustcoloured chest, black head, a big, oval abdomen, attached to the corslet by a pedicle, which bears a small scale, or vertical knot; antenna filiform and broken; antennula of unequal size; mandibles strong; tongue truncated, concave, short. There are male, female, and neuter ants. The two former, when fully developed, have four long, white, transparent wings; they leave the hills, fly in the air, and there couple; the males die shortly after the females return to the hills. Only few of them are admitted, which lay eggs, and are taken care of by the neuters, as among the bees. The females and neuters have, at the extremity of their abdomen, two glands, by means of which they secrete a peculiar liquor which is acid, and 78 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. which, on a fine delicate skin, creates itching and eruptions. For homoeopathic purposes we gather the ants by placing a stick covered with honey near the hill, or else by burying a bottle with a narrow neck and honey at the bottom (inside) in the hill as far as the neck; when this bottle is filled with ants, we take it out, pour the ants into a new bottle, cover them with three times their volume of alcohol, and decant the liquid at the end of six or eight days. The spirit of ants, formicarum spiritus, is acrid and pungent, and has an acid, smarting taste. (Hyg. v, 449.) 5. MELOE MAJALIS ET PROSCARABJEUS; Fr., Ver de maiet proscarabde; Ger., Rother und sc/hwarzblauer Maiwurm; Eng., Oil-beetle.* These two insects belong to the genus Meloie. The latter is without wings, an inch or an inch and a half long, and about as big as a finger. It is soft, with the head bent downwards, as that of the cantharis, antenna moniliform, of twelve joints, corslet almost rounded, and flexible, punctuated elytree which cover scarcely one half of the oval abdomen. The colour of the head, feet, and abdomen, verges on the reddish. The fore-feet have five, the hind-feet four joints. The meloe majalis is the smaller of the two; its body is coppery-red, or bronze-black; the elytrae are black green, and the back is furnished with red incisions. The two kinds have a disagreeable odour, and emit, when seized, an acrid, yellowish humour, staining the fingers, and smelling something like the violet, of a sweetish taste at first, then acrid and caustic, and causing an itching and eruptions (blisters) on the skin. These insects are found all over Europe in the spring, on the grass, low plants, on dry meadows and sunny hills. They have to be gathered with great care, so that the juice which they emit should not get lost, and they should at once be placed in the vessel in which they are to be kept. We prepare them in the same way as crabs. (Hyg. iv, 346.) * They must not be confounded with the common may-beetle (scarabseus melolantha). SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 79 7. ONISCUS ASELLUS; Millepeda; Fr., Cloporte ordinaire, millepied; Ger., Kellerassel, Kellerwurm, Tausendbein; Eng., Common wood-louse. This little animal is from three to six lines long; it has fourteen feet, four antennae, of which two are short, and almost entirely concealed; the others cetaceous, bent, having five or six joints; its body is oval, covered with many crustaceous pieces, transverse, sub-imbricated, and provided at the extremity with two short and very simple appendages. The colour is gray, more or less deep, verging on the blue or brown, with yellowish streaks or spots. The Oniscus is found in cellars, under stones, in humid places, and seems to shun the light; when touched, it rolls up in a heap; the taste is sweetish, nauseous; the odour disagreeable, ammoniacal. The first three attenuations are prepared by trituration; the tincture by 20 parts of alcohol (Arch. iv, 1, and xvii, 2).* 8. THERIDION CURASSAVICUM; Fr., Araignee noire du Curagoa; Ger., Feuerspimncken; Eng., Black spider of Curagoa. This little black spider, which is known by its terrible poison, is often found at Curagoa, where the negroes call it aranja; its body is of the size of a cherry-stone, with a black chest; the feet are likewise black and covered with short and stiff hairs; it is distinguished by three points of a lively, orange-red, placed at the back part of the body, and the largest of which, above the anus, is of the size of a pin's head. The youngest are of a beautiful velvet-black, marked with several white lines, composed of drop-like points from before backwards; their feet are transparent, brownish, as is the case with most young spiders. The females are marked with similar stripes, but larger and disposed in cross-form, of a yellow colour; the middle stripe terminates in the spot above the anus. On their bellies they all have a square, yellow spot, which is notched * The oniscus asellus should not be confounded with the oniscus armadillo, L., which has several feet and no bifid tail. 80 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. on the edges, and occupies nearly the whole extent of the belly. We put the whole spider in alcohol, macerating it for weeks and even months, and then decant the clear liquor, which is the mother-tincture. (Arch. xiv, 1.) (B.) Animal Substances. 1. ALBUM OVr, white of egg. The white of egg is of a gelatinous appearance, and contains nitrogen. It is a white, semitransparent, viscous fluid, enclosing the yolk, and surrounded and traversed by a thin, fibrous membrane, and furnished with numerous vessels; it is inodorous, insipid, miscible with water, coagulable by heat, alcohol, ether, strong acids, and tannin. According to Bostock, 100 parts of the white of eggs contain 80 parts of water, 4-5 non-coagulable matter, 15*5 albumen, and some slight traces of soda, sulphur, sulphate and muriate of soda, phosphate of lime, and benzoic acid. Put into alcohol, it loses almost all its water, and coagulates, the alcohol at the same time dissolving its mucus and soda. For homoeopathic purposes, we use the fresh white of eggs, and make the first three attenuations by trituration. Q. MEMBRANA OVi, membrane of the egg. The white pellicle (chorion), which is situated between the shell and the white, is dried and then triturated. Bute macerated it in alcohol, together with the shell. It is used for excoriations, wounds, and superficial ulcers; the surface which is turned towards the white is applied to the wound, after which it is gently and evenly pressed to the wound by means of a soft and fine cloth; as soon as it is dry, it adheres without a bandage. (Arch. xvi, 3, and IIygea.) 3. AMBRA GRISEA SEU AMBROSIACA, Amblra vera seu maritima; Fr., Ambre gris; Ger., Grauer ambra; Eng., Ambergris. This substance, which Cartheussen and Neumann looked upon as bitumen, and Bergmann as a gum-resin, was a SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. S1 long time considered by others as a sort of camphor, a submarine fungus, an altered mixture of wax and honey, an excremental product of the crocodile or of certain birds, &c. At present, almost all the learned agree that it is the product of the intestines of certain whales, and consider it a biliary concretion. This product is gathered floating on the waves or cast on the coasts of India, Africa, and even of France. The most esteemed is that from the coasts of Sumatra and Madagascar. Ambergris, such as it comes to us, is usually in balls more or less large, opaque, rough to the touch, formed of concentric layers, friable, lighter than water, spongy, of a grayishbrown without, traversed within by black or yellowish-red veins, and full of whitish specks, that give out a strong odour; often it comes in shapeless masses, very large, in which are found the jaw-bones of the sepia otop. and of the sepia moscata L., and which are frequently covered with a black crust of a bituminous odour; the taste of it is flat; when rubbed or heated, it emits a strong agreeable odour, like that of benzoin; it is highly electric; its consistence is that of wax; it softens under the fingers, is fusible and almost completely volatilein the fire; when approached by a candle, it promptly inflames, and burns with a vivid light. The more the alcohol is diluted, the less amber enters in solution; ether dissolves it completely, and if this solution be treated with alcohol, a white precipitate takes place, resembling wax, which is ambrine. The clearness of this product often causes it to be adulterated, either with meal or with the excrements of certain birds, or else it is artificially manufactured with benzoin, storax, and laudanum; but in all these cases there is not the same fusibility and volatility as when pure. Those who would make new experiments on the pathogenesis of this substance, may prepare it in solution in ether; but such as wish to base their practice on the experiments of Hahnemann, must in every case make the first three attenuations by trituration, the fourth by equal parts of alcohol and water, and the rest with alcohol. Antidotes: Camph., Nux vom.; less frequently Puls. SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 4. AXUNGIA PORCI; Adeps suilla; Fr., Graisse, graisse de pore, axonge ou sain-doux; Ger., Felt, Sckweinefett; Eng., Hog's lard, axonge. We transcribe:this article from Jahr's Pharmacopoeia:The use which homoeopathy makes of the soft fat of animals is very restricted. The majority of homoeopaths never make the least use of it in any case, and those who do use it use pig's fat (axzngiaporci, acleps s)illa), united with wax, to preserve denuded surfaces from the contact of the air, or else alone, putting it on their hands in cases of delivery of women. Even for these purposes, others prefer olive oil. HIowever that may be, fat should always be preferred to almond oil, or goose grease, which some physicians are in the habit of employing; above all, it should be fresh and good. In all animal fats, but especially in that of the pig, there is developed, when spoiled, a strong poison, which frequently produces by absorption the most lamentable effects. Good axonge, purified and suitably prepared, should be white, solid, clotted, very fusible, and of a feeble but peculiar odour, and of a sweetish, agreeable, fatty taste, neither bitter nor acrid, nor empyreumatic. We obtain this fat from the pig (sus scrofa, L.), which contains it in large quantities about the kidneys, epiploon, &c.; when taken from these parts, it must be freed from the blood, fibres, &c., which it contains, by fusion and filtration. In 100 parts of pure fat, there are 6~ parts of olaine and 38 stearine, proportions, however, which are susceptible of variations. Finally, pork fat, like most other fat, is soluble in ether, but very little in alcohol, and not at all in water; it divides or extinguishes mercury, and dissolves sulphur as well as phosphorus. When strongly heated, in contact with air, it decomposes, emits a white and pungent smoke, takes on a colour more or less deep, and inflames. Submitted to distillation, it gives a little water, carbonic acid gas, acetic and sebacic acid, much carburetted hydrogen gas, a great quantity of fat matter, becoming more soft and fluid, and at last, a very little spongy charcoal, easily incinerated. In treating it with an alkali or a metallic oxide, we obtain, besides the sebacic acid which distillation produces, yet two others, one of which is margaric acid, the other oleic SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 83 acid, and both of which are equally found in all kinds of fat. Finally, the qualities which pork fat has yet in common with the other kinds of fat, are such that hydrogen, boron, nitrogen, charcoal, exercise no action upon it; exposed to the air, it becomes rancid, by absorbing oxygen, and at times by developing sebacic acid. 5. CASTOREUM; Fr., Castoreum; Ger., Bibergeil; Eng., Castor. The castor (castor fiber) lives in the north of Asia and America, as well as in several countries of Europe, such as Poland, Russia, &c. It is very rare at present in Germany and France. The castor is the secreted product of the preputial glands of the animal, placed longitudinally under the skin of the abdomen, of both male and female, between the root of the tail and the posterior parts of the thighs, behind the pelvis. It is a soft substance, of syrupy consistence, of a dirty yellow, having a strong odour, and an acrid biting taste; it easily mingles with the saliva and adheres to the teeth. In its natural state, the castor is constantly found traversed by membranous partitions; in the dry state, it is brown and easily friable; the pouches which contain it are two, one above the other; the uppermost is the smallest; they are united by a common excretory duct, and both adhere to the kind of pouch in which they are placed, and which is common to the genital parts and the anus of the animal. It is these two pouches still united by their excretory duct, that we find in commerce under the name of castor, though, rigorously speaking, this name is only due to the resinous substance which they contain. We distinguish in commerce two kinds: 1st. Siberian castor, the most used of all. 2d. English or Canadian castor, less esteemed; Siberian castor, generally dried in the smoke, after putting it in pigs' bladders, comes to us in little bags, heavy, round below, pointed at the top, almost conical, gibbous, of a deep brown, surrounded on the outside with akind of membranous envelope, traversed within by more dense membranes, between the layers of which the castor, properly so called, is found; the odour of this kind is strong enough, slightly bitter, biting, aromatic. The English or Canadian castor comes to 84 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. us in small pyriform or elliptical bags, membranous and very black; it is drier, stiffer, more friable, and of a clearer colour than the Siberian; its odour and taste are less striking and less disagreeable, sometimes even with the odour of ammoniac; castor is one of those substances which the industry of these days adulterates most frequently; we often find it to contain sand, lead, or other metallic matters, so as to augment the weight; in other cases we have galbanum, gum ammoniac, and even wax. In England, it is even manufactured altogether, when it consists frequently of a mixture of dried blood, gum, and honey, put into the gall-bladders of the sheep or calf,but is always of a finer appearance than the true castor. These adulterations and imitations are easily detected, inasmuch as this kind of castor is of more feeble odour, without partitions in the interior, of a resinous hue, strong, and entirely soluble in alcohol. The good and true castor should be dry, of a very perceptible odour, and enclosed in bags which have never been opened. Heat, humidity, and the air easily alter this substance, so that we must preserve it with care. For homoeopathic use, we prepare the castor, by mingling one part of this substance with ten of alcohol, and digesting it eight days, taking care to shake it occasionally. At the end of this time, we decant the clear liquid and preserve it under the name of mother tincture of castor. Antidotes: Camphor and Opium. 6. CERA; Fr., Cire; Ger., WFachs: Eng., Wax.-CERATTUM; Fr., Cerat; Ger., WJac8ssalbe; Eng., Cerate. -CEREOLI; Fr., Bougies; Ger., Kerzchen; Eng., Bougies.-CHARTA CERATA; Fr., Papier cire; Ger., Wachispapier; Eng., Wax-paper. Wax is used in homoeopathy, to seal hermetically, bottles which contain very volatile substances, as also to prepare an ointment, to make bougies, and a kind of wax-paper to envelope bottles when sent to a distance. It holds a middle rank between vegetable and animal products. We obtain it by separating the honey from it by expression, after which we melt it in hot water, to purify it still more; it is then called crude wax; it is yellow, and of an aromatic honey-smell and taste, ductile, variable in quality; in com SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 85 merce, it is sometimes adulterated with lard, the fecula of / potatoes, or artificially coloured; in the first case, it is greasy to the touch; and in the second, there is a residue when dissolved in spirits of turpentine; honey gives it its yellow colour; its natural colour is yellow, and when white, it is purified by the prolonged action of water, air, and light; and when run into moulds, we find it in commerce under the name of white wax, or wax in cakes (cera alba seu in tabulis). In this state wax is an insipid substance, of a pleasant odour, but weak, dry, friable, insoluble in water, soluble, when cold, in the fixed oils, and, when hot, in the essential oils, as also, but in small proportions, in alcohol and ether; its gravity is 0-960, to 0-966, fusible at a heat of I 800 to 2000 (600 to 800 R.), inflammable and volatilisable. Like all the fat substances, it is formed of two different principles, cerine and myricine, and contains a little free margaric acid. With the fixed oils it forms cerates; potash and soda convert it into soap. Submitted to distillation, it gives out water, acetic acid, a large amount of odorous oil, and a concrete oil, to which we give the name of butter of wax, and which, when rectified, furnishes what was formerly called oil of wax. Wax, or at any rate a similar substance, is found in the vegetable kingdom, exuding from various trees in different parts of the world; it is also to be seen, in a pulverised state, on fruit, as raisins, prunes, oranges, &c., as also on the bark of the root of ipecacuanha; on the leaves of trees, forming a sort of varnish; in lac; in the green fecula of many plants, especially in that of the cabbage. In homceopathy, we use the wax of bees, well cleaned and blanched, and purified. We first make an ointment with it, to dress ulcers and even denuded surfaces. For this purpose, we dissolve the wax in hot water, then mix it with equal parts of olive oil, allowing it to cool; we preserve it under the name of pure cerate (ceratum Galeni); that found in the shops is always scented with rose-water, and should never be used by the homoeopathic physician; that having opium or sugar of lead, &c., in it, should also be discarded. As to bougies (cereoli), homoeopathy cannot set them aside altogether, though it never need make so free a use of them as those who know no method of treating strictures of the urethra except cauterization. We prepare them by rolling linen cloth impregnated with wax into small cylindrical 86 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. forms; but it is more advantageous to make them out of catgut. For this purpose we take a cord and stretch it between two pieces of wood, and rub it with pumice-stone, in order to cleanse it of all the small filaments which adhere to it. We then warm, over a spirit-lamp, a mixture of 6 parts of yellow wax and 1 part of olive-oil, of which we pour a part on a piece of cloth, with which we rub the cord gently, taking care to rub it sufficiently to prevent the wax from getting cold and the cloth from becoming stiff; by this means we obtain bougies sufficiently large and even. Finally, to procure cerateld paper (charla cerata), which serves to envelope the medicines sent to a distance, we prepare it by pouring the wax on a piece of paper, placed on a warm stone, and by spreading it in a uniform manner by means of a dry sponge. 7. CYPRINUS BARBUS; Fr., Barbeau; Ger., Barbe; Eng., Barbel. This fish lives in the clear running waters of Asia and the south of Europe, and is frequently caught in those of France. It is distinguished by the four feelers on the upper jaw, to which it owes its name. The body is commonly covered with a viscous mucus; its flesh is white, tender, and tastes the more agreeably the older the fish is, but is of difficult digestion to weak stomachs. The eggs are considered poisonous, and contain an acrid and bitter substance. For homceopathic purposes we take two grains of the fresh eggs of a large adult barbel, from which we prepare the first three attenuations by trituration. 8. ICHTHYOCOLLA, colla piscium; Fr., Ichthyocolle, colle de poisson; Ger., Hausenlase; Eng., Ichthyocolla, fish-glue. Fish-glue is originally prepared from the swimming bladder of fish of the genus accipenser, the huso, sturgeon, also of the silurts glanis. The former are found in the European seas, the Volga, Nile, &c. We obtain it either by boiling the bladder, and then allowing it to cool down to thin membranes, or by taking out the internal shining membrane, rolling it up, and drying it. It comes to us in SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 87 tablets, or else in cylinders of the thickness of the finger, white or whitish-yellow, more or less transparent, dry, coriaceous, inodorous, and of a slimy, insipid taste. The best kind comes from Moscow; it is whitish, translucid like dry horn, perfectly inodorous, and consists of thin membranes. That of Hungary comes in masses of double the size of that of Moscow; it is yellow and not at all transparent. Another kind, which has a brownish colour, is obtained by boiling the bones, fins, intestines, &c., of other large sea- and sweet-water fish. Water dissolves the glue, forming a solid, tenacious, transparent jelly, which is insoluble in anhydrous alcohol. It is used to give lustre to silk, to clarify wine, make the English court-plaster, &c. 9. LACHESIS, Trigonocephjalus lac/Lesis; Fr., Trigonocephale losanges, (venin dentaire du trigonocephale a losanges;) Ger., Lachesis Sc/llangengift; Eng., Poison of the Lance-headed viper. Snake poison is procured from the poison-bags which are found in the upper jaw of these reptiles. In the Homoeopathic Archives, published by Dr. Stapf, and also in the Bibliotheque de Genive, we find Dr. Hering's account of the means which he employed to obtain from a living trigonocephalus a drop of its poison. This consisted in pressing with the finger the poison-bag, and collecting a drop of the poison from the extremity of the tooth on the sugar of milk, and preparing the first three attenuations by trituration. The lachesis or trigonocephalus inhabits the hot countries of South America; it attains a length of upwards of 7 feet, and its poison-fangs are nearly one inch in length; the skin is of a reddish-brown, marked along the back with large rhomboidal spots of a blackishbrown, each of which encloses two spots of the colour of the body. The poison resembles saliva, only it is less viscous, but limpid, inodorous, and without any marked taste, the colour being somewhat greenish; at the extremity of the fang, it easily forms into drops, and falls without threading; but on the tongue it produces a slight astringent sensation; exposed to the air it soon concretes into a dry yellow mass, which, for a long time, preserves 88 SPECIAL PHARMACOPOEIA. its poisonous qualities. The poison of all these serpents has this peculiarity, that it may be swallowed without inconvenience, whilst, introduced into a wound, or injected in a vein, it produces the most dreadful accidents, and generally death. Antidotes: Ac. phosph., Bell., Mere., Nux vom. 10. MoscHUS, Mlioschus moschiferus; Fr., Musc; Ger., Mosc/tus, Bisam: Eng., Musk. This substance comes from a mammiferous ruminating animal of the deer kind, which inhabits the high mountains of the East, Siberia, China, Thibet, &c. The part which contains the musk, consists of a hairy bag, from two to three inches long, placed under the belly of the old male, near the sexual parts, behind the navel; this membranous bag, thin and dry, contains a fat and black humour, of a slightly bitterish taste, of a peculiar, strong, penetrating odour, and which is the true musk; these bags of musk come to us in leaden boxes, or in cases of wood, lined with lead. We distinguish two kinds in commerce: 1st. Tonquin or Eastern musk (the Thibet musk of the Germans), coming from the kingdom of Tonquin or Thibet. This is the best, and comes to us in bags of the size of a pigeon's egg, more or less rounded, covered with reddish, bristleshaped hairs, moderately filled, and containing from 200 to 300 grains of musk; it looks like coagulated blood, and consists of small lumps of a deep brown, soft and unctuous to the touch, slightly moist, and often mingled with hairs and traversed by membranous shreds, which shine like mother-of-pearl. 2d. The second sort is the Siberian or Kabardin musk, coming from Siberia; it is in elongated bags, pointed at one end, sometimes worm-eaten, covered with a thick skin, long hairs, whitish, silvery, traversed by membranes, and of a weak odour, very disagreeable, somewhat like the sweat of the horse. Musk is frequently found adulterated with sand, lead, iron, and other heavy substances; some bags are opened and other matters introduced, and even altogether filled with artificial musk; this may be discovered by the section of the bags and their closure by stitching; they also present places deprived of hair. The true and veritable musk, when rubbed on paper . SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 89 with water, should not present to the touch sandy points, and should have a colour of a yellowish tinge. Musk out of the bag is almost always adulterated, and is not proper for medicinal use. For homoeopathic purpose, we take the Tonquin musk, of which we make the first three attenuations by trituration. Should we wish the tincture of this substance, we digest it with 20 parts of dilute alcohol. Antidote: Camphor. 11. OLEUM JECORIS ASELLI SEU MORRHU&E; Fr., Huile de morrue; Ger., Leberthran, Stockcfisct-Leberthran; Eng., Cod-liver oil. Cod-liver oil is a greasy, liquid substance, which is obtained from the liver of several kinds of cod-fish, morrhua, callarias, molva, &c., chiefly on the coasts of France, England, and Norway, by exposing the liver to the heat of the sun, or by putrefaction. Hence there are two kinds of this oil; that which is obtained by exposure to the sun, is thick, of a fine golden-yellow, of a sweet odour, sweet, oily taste, and a specific gravity of 0*921. This.kind comes from Norway, and is called the white oil. The second sort, which is called the brown oil, and is obtained by putrefaction and by boiling the liver, is more turbid, of a deep brown colour, disagreeable, nauseous odour, and of an acrid, slightly bitter taste. It dissolves in ether and absolute alcohol; it imparts to distilled water, if shaken with it, a straw colour; exposed to the air, it becomes dry. For homoeopathic purposes, we use the white oil, which, according to modern investigations, contains bromine and iodine. The first three attenuations are made by trituration. 12. SACCHARUM LACTIS, sugar of milk, (see Part I.) 13. SEPIE succus, sepia officinalis; Fr., Seiche ordinaire, encre de seiche; Ger., Tintefiskh Sepiensaft; Eng., inky juice of the cuttle-fish. This is an excretory liquor, contained in a bag in the abdomen of the Sepia octopoda, and is known under the name of cuttle-fish ink, or drawing sepia. It is blackishbrown, and is used by these animals to darken the water 90 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. when they wish to catch their prey or escape from their pursuers. The sepia is a cephalopodous mollusc, without an external shell, from one to two feet long, soft, gelatinous, of a brown colour, verging on the red, and spotted black; its body is rounded, elliptical, and enclosed in a sac, furnished with a fleshy fin on both sides, along its whole length. The head is separated from the body by a neck, is salient and round, and provided with salient eyes of a lively red. The mouth is surrounded by ten arms, which are pedunculated, very large, and furnished with suckers. The ink-bag is found separate from the liver, and deeper in the abdominal cavity; its external duct ends in a kind of funnel, and opens near that part of the neck where the anus of the animal is situated. In the back is found an oval-oblong, moveable bone, somewhat convex, cretaceous, and spongy This fish lays a multitude of eggs of the size of peas, which adhere to stems like the grains of grapes, and are called sea-grapes (uvae marinae). It comes to us from the Mediterranean, enclosed in its bag, in which it has been dried. An artificial sepia is sold for drawing, which contains gum and other substances, and should not be used in homoeopathy. We make the the first three attenuations by trituration. Antidotes: Acon., Antim., Tart. emet., Spir. nitr. dulc., vegetable acids. 14 MEPHITIS PUTORIUS, Viverra putorius; Fr., Putois mofette, Putois ou mofette d'Amerique, Conepate; Ger., Nordamerikaanisches Stinkthieer; Eng., Skunk, Polecat. The polecat is a quadruped of the family of martins, inhabiting the United States; it is of the size of a martin, with round head; snout elongated, three-rowed moustaches on the upper jaw, a dry nose, and the neck a little marked. Its coat is black, but it has a white streak along the back from the back to the tail, and two others on each side parallel to the first; the posterior part of its body is larger than that of the martin; its tail is as if cropped, and furnished with long hairs, and nearly all white; the under part of the body is whitish; the forepart of the feet elon SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 91 gated and fortified with five strong nails; near to the anus, there is, as in all the genus viverra, a pouch where follicular glands deposit an unctuous matter of such an infectious and insupportable odour, that, at the approach of the animal, at the moment when he squirts his liquor, the respiration is stifled, and asphyxia seems near at hand. This liquor is nearly puriform, of a deep yellow colour, and of an alliaceous smell. We make the first three attenuations by trituration. 15. OLEUM ANIMALE dETHEREUM, OLEUM DIPPELII, OLEUM ANIMALE DIPPELII, Oleum pyro-animale depuratum, Oleum cornu rectificatum, Oleum cornu cervi rectificatum; Fr., Huile animale etheree, huile de Dippel; Ger.,./therisc/Les T/ierol, T/ierol--tiher, Hirsc/korngeist; Eng., /Ethereal animal oil, or Dippel's animal oil. We obtain this oil by distilling dry stag's horn, bone, ivory, or any other animal matter, even hair, silk, wool, &c. The fetid oil thus obtained is again submitted to repeated and slow distillations, at a temperature of about 600. For every new distillation a fresh vessel is used, and four times its volume of water first added to the oil. The distillation is repeated until we obtain a perfectly colourless oil. In this state it is a limpid fluid, of a specific gravity of 0-75; inflammable, of a disagreeable penetrating odour, and a taste which is at first acrid, then bitter and cooling. It is very volatile, and usually white; but when exposed to the light it becomes yellow, then brownish, at last of a blackish-brown, and at the same time thicker; it can be mixed with alcohol and ether in every proportion; with water in a small quantity. To test the purity of the oil, we let a drop fall on white paper, and then expose it to the air; if the oil is pure, not a spot remains. To test the presence of any vegetable essential oil, as turpentine, &c., we mix it with double its volume of alcohol, shaking the mixture well, and then filter it through blotting-paper moistened with alcohol; the animal oil remains behind, whilst the alcohol passes through, carrying with it the vegetable oil. To preserve the oil from the influence of the air and light, which changes its colour and consistence, SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 93 The powder should be kept in well-corked glasses. We prepare the triturations from the recently burnt coal. Antidote: Camphor. (C.) Animal Concretions and Zoopi2ytes. 1. CONCHIE; Teste ostree. The common oyster is a shell which is bivalve and almost round. One of the valves is flattened, and with an even border; the other is marked with prominences like the tiles on a roof. Oysters exist on the sandy or rocky beach of seas, forming beds, or attached to rocks, roots, &c., or perfectly free. The shells are composed of a calcareous substance. According to Roger, 100 parts of oyster-shell contain 95*18 of carbonate of lime, 1-88 of phosphate of lime, 0"40 of silex, and 0"45 of animal matter. When calcined, they are changed almost entirely into carbonate of lime or quicklime, according to the degree of heat which was employed. In homoeopathy we do not use the whole shell, but only the white part enclosed between the lamellae. We term this substance, when prepared, Calcarea carbonica. (See this substance.) 2. LAPIDES, seu OCULI CANCRORUM; Fr., Yeux d'ecrevisse; Ger., Krebsaugen; Eng., Crab's-eyes. These are natural calcareous concretions, which are at first of a milky consistence, and afterwards become indurated. They are found in the stomach of this animal at the time when it changes its coat. They are circular bodies, convex on one side, flat on the other, concave towards the centre, smooth, hard, rose-coloured, or white, formed by layers, inodorous, and of an earthy taste. According to Dulk, 100 parts contain 63-16 parts of carbonate of lime, 17-30 phosphate of lime, 11-43 animal matter soluble in water, with some traces of sodium and chlorate of sodium; 4*33 of animal matter insoluble in water; 1I33 of phosphate of magnesia; 1'41 of soda. We obtain them from Astrachan, Moldavia, Poland, where the crabs are pounded and allowed to decay, and the flesh is 94 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. afterwards washed off with water. Artificial crab's-eyes are composed of chalk, glue, ichthyocolla, and are not formed by layers; dissolved in nitric acid, they leave no membranous gelatinous residue; they adhere firmly to the tongue, and, placed in hot water, they fall to powder. In homoeopathy, the natural crab's-eyes are prepared by trituration. 3. CORALLIUM RUBRUM, SiS8 20obilis; Fr., Corail rouge; Ger., Rotlie Koralle; Eng., Red coral. Red coral (Corallia rubra) is the calcareous covering of certain polypi which inhabit the Mediterranean, especially on the coast of Africa, and in the Greek Archipelago, where they stick fast, by a broad disk-shaped foot, to the submarine rocks. By their form and structure, corals resemble a bush deprived of its leaves, or else they form, by the agglomeration of a great many individuals, a kind of rock of great extent. The trunk is rounded, or a little compressed, of the thickness of about an inch at its base, furnished irregularly with lateral branches, each one of which terminates in a rounded knot; this knot is the true living part of the polypus; it is covered by a soft and marrowy pellicle, and serves as the habitation of a great number of worms, which all belong to the order of zoophytes, and which are united by a substance common to them all. In taking off this pellicle which covers the knot, we find the stony, cellular axis, consisting of concentric layers, deposited one after the other by these animals. The coral is torn off the rocks by fishermen and divers, and caught by means of nets and instruments arranged for that purpose. For homceopathic use, we take the small pieces, which are striated without, branchy, and often covered with a white calcareous substance. The first three attenuations are made by trituratrion. 4. SPONGIA MARINA TOSTA; Fr., Eponge maritime torrifiee; Ger., Gebranter Meerschwamm; Eng., Burnt sponge. This is looked upon by many naturalists as the skeleton of a polymorphus polypus, whilst others regard it as an SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 95 entirely vegetable substance inhabited by certain polypi. The sponge is an informal mass, tenacious, rough, elastic, porous, sometimes branchy, covered with a gelatinous mucus, and composed of thin fibres which anastomose with each other; it is generally brownish or yellowish, rounded, flat below, convex above; it is frequently found in the Mediterranean and Red Sea, attached to rocks. In homoeopathy, we use the ordinary sponge, of common size, as it is sold by druggists, free from all stony concretions. To prepare it, we cut it in pieces, put it into a roaster, and turn this over burning charcoal, until the pieces become brown, and can be pulverised without much trouble. This pulverised sponge is of a black-brown colour, empyreumatic odour, a disagreeable salt taste. It easily attracts the humidity of the air, and, when boiled in water, furnishes a yellow decoction, emitting a scarcely perceptible smell of sulphuretted hydrogen. We prepare the tincture according to the rule laid down for Class r. It ought to have a strong taste and smell of Iodine. Antidote: Camphor. CHAPTER III. VEGETABLE KINGDOM, AND THE MEDICINES WHICH WE DERIVE FROM IT. Vegetable medicines are either whole plants or parts, or products of plants, and may be classified as follows, according as we employ either the whole, or part of the plant. 1. Entire plants. 2. Leaves, blossoms, stems. 3. Barks and wood. 4. Roots. 5. Fruits and seeds. 6. Resins and balsams. 7. Fungi (herpes, moss). 96 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 8. Vegetable products obtained: a. By chemical processes. b. By fermentation. c. By combustion. 1. Entire Plants. 1. ALLIUM SATIVUM; Fr., Ail; Ger., Knoblautch; Eng., Garlic.--iliacee. Garlic is originally from the Levant and middle of Europe, but is cultivated almost everywhere in kitchengardens; it grows also spontaneously. The root is round, of a pungent, insupportable, and diffusible odour; it consists of many oblong, pointed bulbs, set one in another, and covered by three envelopes. The stem is from two to three feet high, round, furnished with leaves to the middle. The leaves are disposed in two rows, linear, furrowed, pointed, oblong, of a blue-green, and glabrous. We gather the whole plant in May and June, and after having stripped the single parts of their skins, we prepare, according to Class II, an essence of a yellow colour. 2. AQUILEGIA VULGARIS; Fr., Ancolie vulgaire; Ger., Ackelei; Eng., Colombine.-Ranuncilacce. This plant grows in almost every country of Europe, in woods, woody low grounds, forests, and on the sides of mountains. The perennial root is branchy, of a deep brown without, white within; the stem is from one to three feet high, thin, branchy, somewhat downy, reddish; the leaves are biternate, of a blue-green beneath, of a deeper colour above, incised, indented. The folicles are petiolate, round, rhomboidal, or ovoid; the flowers at the edges of the stem and branches are pendant, blue, or brown, rarely rosy, disposed in corymbs, provided with reflected cornets. The seeds are oval oblong, small, of a shining-black, tasting first sweetish, then bitter. We gather the entire plant at the period of blossoming. Antidotes: Camph., Ignat. SPECIAL PIHAHMACCOP(EIA. 97 3. ARNICA MONTANA; Fr., Arnique des montagnes; Ger., Bergwoo/lverleik; Eng., Mountain arnica, Leopard's bane. - Corymefer~e. This plant inhabits the high mountains of middle Europe, and airy mountain-pasturages. The arnica which grows on a mossy soil, is not proper for homceopathic use. The root is of the size of a goose-quill, almost vertical, as if bit off, of a coffee-brown externally, and a dingy white internally, provided with fine fibres which start from the sides of the root, and possess a pungent taste like that of alum. The stem is from one foot to one foot and a half high, erect, rounded, shaggy, downy, simple or branchy; the branches are opposite, shaggy, downy; the leaves sessile, with even margins, shaggy, oval, the upper surface being of a dark and the lower of a pale green; those which are near the root, are disposed in circles, four by four. The flowers are large, radiated, of a beautiful yellow. The flowers are often soiled by the eggs of the musca Arnicm, of which they have to be cleaned before using them. We gather the plant when in flower, from May till July, and use the root, which is the most important part, the leaves near the root, and the flowers. From two parts of the root, one part of the leaves, and one part flowers, we prepare a tincture of a saturated brownish-yellow colour, according to Class iii. Antidotes: Camph., Ipec. Wine aggravates the symptoms. The Arnica-plaster is prepared in the following manner: One ounce of the best ichthyocolla is soaked in water, cut in fine pieces, and dissolved by boiling it with a sufficient quantity of water. After being reduced by evaporation to four ounces, it is then mixed with a warm infusion of the root of Arnica, and spread on a yard of silk of full width until one fourth of the whole mass remains; to this we add one ounce of the tincture of Arnica, and spread the whole of it on the silk. The plaster made of fleshcoloured silk has a darker colour than the simple adhesive plaster, and, when moistened, smells very strongly of Arnica. 98 SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 4. ARTEMISIA VULGARIS; Fr., Armoise commune; Ger., Gemeiner Beifuss; Eng., Mugwort.-Corymbiferae. This plant is found all over Europe, where it grows along the highways, barren places, among rubbish, in fields and their borders, along ditches, &c. It is a perennial plant, of an agreeable odour, and an aromatic, bitter taste. The root is cylindrical, crooked, divided at the upper part in several long branches, and at the lower furnished with a number of long fibres, and a little rugged along its whole length. It is said to attain all its power in the month of November. The stem is erect, glabrous, branchy, indented, rough, from 4 to 6 feet high; the leaves are large, winged, pinnatifid, white and downy beneath; the flowers are numerous, small, in corymbs, of a rusty-yellow, calix imbricated, a little hairy. It should not be confounded with the Artem. camp2estris, L. The root should be dug up in November, in dry weather. We do not wash it, but beat the dust off, dry and pulverise it. A tincture of a yellow-brown colour and little taste is prepared from it, according to Class i. 5. ARTEMISIA ABSINTHIUM; Fr., Absinthe; Ger., Wermuth, bitterer Beifuss; Eng., Wormwood.-Corymbiferce. This plant, originally from Greece, grows at present all over Europe, in dry, sunny, stony places. The root is oblique and hairy; the stem erect, quadrangular, striated, somewhat downy, branchy, from 2 to 4 feet high, with numerous leaves, of a greenish ash-gray colour on the upper, and a silver-gray colour on the lower surface; the flowers are tubular. The whole plant has, in the fresh state, a strong aromatic, pungent, disagreeable odour, and a very bitter taste. We gather the entire plant when in flower (July or August), and prepare it according to Class i. 6.. ASARUM EUROPIUM; Fr., Asaret, cabaret d'Europe, oreille d'homme; Ger., Hlaselwurz; Eng., Asarabacca.Aristoloc/ice. This plant grows in the whole of Northern Europe, in SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 99 shady woods, and among under-wood. The root is rampant, filamentous, brown, of a strong aromatic smell resembling that of Valerian, and a nauseous acrid, somewhat bitter taste; the stems are short, shaggy, somewhat inclined, and terminate in two leaves which are attached to pedicles of from 3 to 4 inches long, kidney-shaped, with even margins, of a shining dark-green on the upper, and a grayish-green on the lower side, sometimes slightly covered by hairs, and traversed by veins disposed in the form of a net; the flower springs up from the point of a partition of the leaves; it has a short pedicle, is shaggy on the outer side, green-red, and of a dark purple-red within. The root should be dug up in March and April during the period of flowering; it has an unpleasant smell, resembling that of pepper and valerian, and we prepare from it a darkbrown tincture of strong odour and an acrid taste, according to Class III. Antidotes: Camphor and the vegetable acids. 7. ATRIPLEX OLIDA CJienoPiocium oliduim seu vulvaria; Fr., Arroche f6tide, anserine (patte d'oie) fetide, vulvaire; Ger., Stinkender Gainsefuss; Eng., Stinking goosefoot.Atriplices. This plant, which is different from the atriplex sativa, grows in the south of Europe, in uncultivated spots, at the foot of walls, &c. The root is annual; the stem recumbent, branchy; leaves pediculate, rhomboidal, entire, of a gray-green, the lower side covered with a powder resembling meal; flowers glomerated, panicled: seeds lentil-shaped, of a shining black. The entire plant emits an offensive smell, resembling that of putrid herring-brine, and has a repulsive, salt taste. The plant is gathered in the flowering season, and used entire for the mother-tincture. Antidote: Camphor. 8. ATROPA BELLADONNA; Fr., Belladonne, morelle furieuse; Ger., Wolf's-Kirche Tollkraut; Eng., Deadly nightshade.-Solanee. This perennial plant grows almost all over Europe, in 100 SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. forest, cleared woods, hilly regions, on the borders of forests. The root is cylindrical, of a middling thickness, slightly ligneous, bent like a knee, rounded, brownish-yellow on the outside, whitish within, succulent, of a stupefying smell, and a nauseous, sweetish taste; it transforms the natural saliva into froth. The stem is erect, round, from 3 to 5 feet high, of a reddish-brown, striated, branching off into three parts; the leaves, which are attached by short foot-stalks to the stem, are in pairs of unequal size, longer at the root and shorter higher up, oval, pointed at both extremities, entire, pretty smooth, of a dusky green colour on their upper surface, and paler beneath. The flowers, which are supported upon solitary pedicles and rise from the axils of the leaves, are about an inch long, of a dingy green-yellow, with brownish veins, violet at the forepart; the fruit is a roundish berry, with a longitudinal furrow on each side, at first green, afterwards red, ultimately of a deep-purple colour, bearing considerable resemblance to the black cherry, except that it has a nauseous, slightly sweetish taste; it contains numerous seeds in two distinct cells, and has a sweetish, violet-coloured juice. Before the period of flowering, in the months of June or July, we gather the leaves, especially those near the root and the lower pediculated leaves, from which we prepare, according to Class II, an essence of a saturated yellow-brown colour, narcotic smell, and a nauseating taste. Antidotes: Op., Hyos., Puls., Vinum, Hep. sulph., Camphor.-To counteract the berries, strong coffee should be used. 9. CALENDULA OFFICINALIS; Fr., Souci, souci des jardins, soleil; Ger., Ringelbluine, gemeine Ringelblme; Eng., Common Marigold.-Radiate. This annual plant, originally from the south of Europe, is now cultivated in all our gardens. The root is of a paleyellow, cylindrical, hairy; the stem erect, angular, hairy, branchy, from 6 to 12 inches high; leaves inversely oval, or lanceolate, spatula-shaped, entire or slightly sinuous, alternate, sessile, somewhat fleshy and downy; flowers SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 101 large, orange-coloured, broad, solitary, terminal, of a disagreeable, slightly aromatic odour, and a sourish, slimy, bitter taste. In sultry weather, sparks similar to electric sparks have been seen issuing from these flowers; the seeds are curved, muricated, the inner seeds subulate, the outer boat-shaped, with a furrow on the back. We gather the plant when in flower, towards the end of July, and prepare an essence from the flowers, buds and young leaves, according to Class II. 10. CHAMOMILLA, 1fatricaria cham0omilla, C/Lamomilla vulgaris; Fr., Chamomille commune; Ger., Feldkamomille; Eng., Common chamomile.--Corymbiferce. This annual plant grows in uncultivated fields, or among wheat and corn, especially in sandy regions, all over Europe. From the fibrous root shoot up several stems, erect, striated, ramose, naked, from one to two feet long; the leaves are sparse, the lower double, the upper single, pinnated and dark-green; the flowers are numerous, white, with yellow disk, and in corymbs; calyx hemispherical, imbricated, scariose; the receptacle naked and conical; the stems are swollen at the top, the covering scales tiled, blunt, green, skinny at the margin, whitish or brownish. The common chamomile is frequently confounded with the Roman chamomile, from which it is distinguished by its perennial stalk, its chaffy receptacle, its hollow pedicles, the green scales of the calyx, and by its rays being mostly turned in. From the flowering plant we prepare, according to Class III, a greenish-brown tincture, possessing in a high degree the taste and smell of the plant. Antidotes: Acon., Camph., Cocc., Coff., Ign., Nux v., Puls. 11. CHENOPODIUM GLAUCUM; Fr., Anserine glauque, patte d'oie verdatre; Ger., Graue fIelde, graugriner Gansefuss; Eng., Oak-leaved goose-foot.-Atriplices. This plant grows most frequently in villages, outskirts of towns, on farms, about dunghills, and in places where their drainage accumulates. It has a branchy stem, of about a 102 SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. foot high, generally recumbent, and often marked with streaks of a beautiful red or whitish green; the leaves are oblong, obtuse, with a few indentations, gray or blueishgreen on the upper, and whitish on the lower surface. The glomerated flowers are enclosed in branchy spikes, and shoot up from the axillae of the leaves and the extremity of the stem. The plant flowers from July till the autumn; we prepare from it a tincture, according to Class III. 12. DROSERA ROTUNDIFOLIA, Rorella; Fr., Drosire a feuilles rondes, rosee du soreil; Ger., Sonnenthau; Eng., Sundew.-Capparidece. This plant grows on turfy ground, thickly covered with short moss, in the north of Europe, Bavaria, in northern Asia and America. The perennial root is thin, of a deep brown; stem erect, thin, glabrous, rough, from 2 to 8 inches\high, and, previous to flowering, rolled upon itself at the summit. The leaves have long pedicles, are circular or transversely oval, disposed in a circle, somewhat juicy and breaking easily, of a pale-green on the lower surface, and on the upper surface covered with many red hairs which are provided, at their extremities, with purplered follicles, which, when exposed to the sun, exude a clear, slimy juice. The flowers, alternate, on short peduncles, white, open during dry, in fine weather for a moment about noon. From the whole plant, including the flowers, we prepare in July and August, a tincture, according to Class II, of a saturated, yellow-red-brown colour, without much taste, and without any smell. It should be carefully guarded from the light of the sun. Antidote: Camphor. 13. EUPHRASIA OFFICINALIS; Fr., Euphraise officinelle; Ger., Augentrost; Eng., Eye-bright.-Pediculareat. This annual little plant grows in the meadows, on the borders of forests, all over Europe. We have many varieties of it. The principal or the best-known variety is found on humid meadows, and is the variety used in homoeopathy. The root is very small, hairy; the stem rounded, SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 103 downy, from 5 to 12 inches high, ramose at the base, and sometimes simple; leaves alternate, sessile, oval, obtuse, glabrous, thick, sharp-toothed; flowers axillary, in a terminal spike; calyx cylindrical, four-leaved; corolla white, labiated, lobed; capsule double, oval, oblong; anthers twohorned, spinous at the base, on one of the lobes. We gather the entire plant (excepting the root) when in flower, in July and August, principally from meagre, sunny places, and prepare a tincture from it, according to Class iii, of a dark-yellow brown colour, and weak herby smell. Antidotes: Camphor and Bell. 14. POLYPODIUM FILIX MAS.; Aspidiumfilix mas.; Fr., Fougere male; Ger., dninllictes Farrenkraut; Eng., Male fern.-Filices. This beautiful fern grows all over Europe, in Asia and America, in shady woods, hedges, by old walls. It has a perennial, horizontal root, a foot long and from two to three inches thick, from which numerous annual fronds or leaves arise, forming tufts from one foot to four feet in height. These rudimentary leaves are of a greenish-black externally, Ind covered with rust-coloured scales, pulpy internally, of a greenish-\hite, with a bitterish, acrid taste, and a nauseous, mouldy or mossy odour; between them the thin filaments of the root grow out from above downwards; the frond is oval, lanceolate, acute, pinnate, and of a bright-green colour; the leaves are deeply divided into lobes of an oval shape, crenate at the edges, and gradually diminish from the base of the pinna to the apex; the fructification is in small dots, 8 by 8, or 10 by 10, on the back of each lobe, in two rows, of a beautiful brown colour at the period of maturity. The plant is easily confounded with the arthyrium filix fcemina, which in some countries grows still more frequently than the male fern, but whose root is ascending and shorter than that of the male fern; it also turns black when dried, whereas the root of the male fern becomes brown. We gather the plant in the summer-months. That which grows on stony declivities, towards the north, is considered the most efficacious. Of the recently dug root we take the inner marrow, and we likewise take the young 104 SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. est rudimentary leaves which are neither withered nor gangrened, of a bright-green colour, a strong, sweetishoffensive smell and similar taste, which afterwards becomes bitterish-acerb and slightly astringent. Both are stripped of their brown epidermis, after which we prepare, according to Class ii, with alcohol fortius, an essence of a darkbrown colour. 15. FRAGARIA VESCA: Fr., Fraisier vulgaire; Ger., Gemeine Jcldbeere; Eng., Wood-strawberry.-Rosaces. This perennial plant grows in woods, meadows, fields, and hills, over the whole of Europe and a great portion of America. The root is brown, horizontal, with long, creeping sprouts that take root again; stem erect, round, hairy, of the length of a finger and more; leaves ternate, plicated, petiolated, downy on the upper surface and hairy on the lower; flowers white, inodorous; berry oval, red, of a delicious odour and exquisite taste. We prepare the tincture from the plant when in flower, according to Class iII. 16. GRATIOLA OFFICINALIS; Fr., Gratiole des boutiques; Ger., Gnadenkraut, wilderAurin; Eng., Hedge hyssop.Scrofularice. This annual plant inhabits the wet meadows, borders of ponds and ditches, the beds of rivers, and the borders of lakes, all over the south and temperate part of Europe. The root is rampant, horizontal, white, hairy; stem erect, quadrangular, a foot high, articular; leaves opposite, sessile, lanceolate, saw-like, glabrous, of a bright-green, the lower leaves being marked with five, the upper with three nerves; flowers axillary, solitary, pediculated, of a reddish-white; the plant has scarcely any odour, but a repugnant, bitter, acrid taste. The seeds are numerous, small, oblong. We gather the plant in May, previous to its flowering, and prepare from it an essence according to Class ii, of a saturated green-brown colour and a very bitter taste. SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 105 17. HYPERICUM PERFORATUM, Fitga daemontumz, ker a St. Johannis, kerba solis; Fr., Millepertuis, chasse diable, herbe St. Jean; Ger., Jo/hanniskraut, Hexenkraut, Hartlien, Konradskraut.-Hypericince. This is a common plant, in fields, along hedges, roads, &c. Stem two-edged, erect, from one to two feet high; leaves sessile, oval, lanceolate, marked with lines, and a great many transparent points which look like perforations; the edges of the leaves are rolled back; flowers in panicles, with short pedicles, star-shaped, yellow, with black dots at the edges, calyx five-lobed, with five long, straight petals; stamina numerous, united in three fasces: the fruit forms four capsules, with three valves, brown-red, shining like resin. We gather the plant in August, soon after it has done flowering, and prepare from it* a tincture according to Class iii, of a dark purple-red colour, and a slightly balsamic odour. 18. LACTUCA VIROSA, Herba lactuce fetidte, seu Iniybi angusti; Fr., Laitue vireuse; Ger., Giftlattict; Eng., Strong-scented lettuce.- Cticoracec. This perennial plant inhabits the south of Europe, and grows on hills, ramparts, waste places, heaps of rubbish, along hedges and walls, and is also cultivated in gardens. Its stem is from three to four feet high, erect, rounded, of a gray-green, at first filled with marrow, afterwards tubular, prickly near the base, above smooth, and divided into branches, marked here and there with blood-red spots, and containing a white milk. The leaves are horizontal, sessile, clasping half of the stem, with fine or very sharp indentations, prickly at the lower part of the mid-rib; the upper leaves are sagittal, lanceolate, undivided, the lower large, oblong, not indented, but the margins somewhat broken; the flowers are small, of a pale-yellow colour, disposed in panicles, at the extremity of the branches and stems. The fruit is black. The plant has a very offensive * According to Gruner, the tincture should be prepared from the seed capsules. 106 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. and pungent smell and a bitter taste, and contains in all its parts a white, milky juice, smarting on the tongue, and with a bitter taste. We gather the plant when flowering, in July or August, and with the exception of the older, woody portions of the shaft, we prepare from it, according to Class ii, an essence of a yellow-brownish colour.* Antidotes: Vegetable acids, and coffee. 19. LOLIUM TEMULENTUM; Fr., Ivraie des bles; Ger., T1umellolch, Toll/corn, Taumelkorn; Engl., Bearded darnel, - Gramminee. The darnel grows among wheat, chiefly among oats and barley, in rainy seasons. The annual root is thready, without leaves, the stem is erect, strong, stiff, glabrous; leaves linear, broad, with sharp edges; spike long, manyflowered; the leaflets alternate, close over each other, imparting to the upper portion of the stem an appearance as if twisted to and fro; the calyx of the uppermost leaflet has two valves, the corol-valves are twice as small as the calyx, the outer valve is provided with a long, straight, stiff beard. The seeds are poisonous, and have a stupefying odour and acrid taste. We gather the plant in August, when the seeds are ripe, and prepare from it, according to Class III, a tincture without odour, of a greenish-brown-yellow colour. 20. ONOXIS SPINOSA; Fr., Bugrane, arrete-bceuf; Ger., Dornige HIauechel; Eng., Common rest-harrow.Leguminosce. This perennial vegetable is found all over Europe, where it grows in uncultivated fields, dry pasturagesalong roads, hedges, &c. The root is as thick as the finger, branchy, dipping into the ground two feet and upwards, of a reddish-brown externally, and whitish internally, of a sweetish-slimy and somewhat acrid-bitter taste; stem recumbent below, erect * Lactucarium is the white, rather thick milky juice, which is obtained by incising the plant, and dries when exposed to the air, forming scales or lumps of a yellow-brownish colour. SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 107 above, round, ligneous, branchy, spiny; leaves petiolate, sparse, ovoid, serrated, hairy on both sides, the lower alternate, the upper single; flowers solitary, axillary, with short pedicles, of a pale purpurine colour or with rosy veins. We gather the plant before flowering, and, according to Class iii, prepare a tincture from it of a red-brown colour.* 21. PARIS QUADRIFOLIA; Fr., Parisette a quatre feuilles, raisin de renard, etrange-loup; Ger., Vierblitterrige Einbeere; Eng., True-love.-Asparagi. " This plant grows all over Europe, in wet woods, thickets, in plains as well as on mountains. The root is perennial, vertical,rampant, rounded, jointed, fleshy, whitish. Stem erect, single, round, unifloral, afoot high, herbaceous; leaves at the top of the stem, with short pedicles, broad-elliptical or oval, pointed, entire, glabrous, disposed as a cross, shining beneath, veined, with sharp edges and three or four nerves; calyx four-leaved, of a greenish-yellow; pedicle from one to two inches long, and furrowed; flower of a yellowish-green; berry darkblue, shining, slightly quadrangular. The fresh leaves and berries have a disagreeable and narcotic odour; the root has a pungent odour and a nguseous taste. We gather the plant when in flower, from April till June, and, according to Class II, prepare from it an essence of a brown-yellow colour, and a bitterish taste. Antidotes: Coffee and Camphor.,2. PETROSELINUM SATIVUM; Fr., Persil; Ger., Petersilie; Eng., Parsley-root.- UIbellferce. Parsley grows wild in the Levant, Greece, Sardinia, Sicily, and is cultivated in all our gardens. The biennial root is spindle-shaped, whitish, fleshy, from which shoot up stems of from two to four feet high, glabrous, striated, with long and thin branches; the leaves at the root are compound, pinnated internaries, with * According to Graner, the tincture is to be prepared from the root alone. 108 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. smooth and three-lobed leaflets, notched at the margin; in the cauline leaves the segments of the leaflets are linear and entire; the flowers are small, pale-yellow, and disposed in terminal compound umbels, with a general involucre of one or two leaves and partial ones composed of six or eight leaflets; flower of a greenish-yellow; seeds small, ovate, flat on one side, convex on the other, of a blueishgreen colour, marked with five longitudinal ridges; they have a strong, aromatic odour and taste. We gather the plant in August, when the seeds are ripe, and prepare, according to Class I, a tincture of a pale green colour.* 23. PULSATILLA NIGRICANS seu PRATENSIS, Anemone pratensis; Fr., Pulsatilla noiratre, anemone des pres, coque lourde; Ger., Wliesen Pulsatille, Kiicrenschelle; Eng., Pulsatilla, meadow-anemone, wind-flower.-Ranunculacee. This perennial plant grows in sandy pasture-grounds, on hills and sunny declivities, in Germany, France, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, and Turkey. Root ligneous, deep, spindle-shaped, thick; stem simple, erect, rounded, from three to five inches high; the leaves, which are but imperfectly developed before the period of flowering, are radical, petiolate, bipinnatifid; at the top of the shaft is the bell-shaped, black-violet-brown flower, with the follicles bent at the point; the flower hangs slightly over during the flowering period. The involucre of the flower is composed of three leaflets with a number of linear lancet-shaped indentations which first are close under the flower, but afterwards a little removed from it in consequence of the pedicle growing longer; the whole plant is covered with many white, soft, silky hairs, and has a woolly, soft appearance. It is inodorous, but when squeezed, gives out a pungent vapour which frequently draws tears from the eyes. It should not be confounded with the common pulsatilla, anemone pulsatilla. This plant grows on dry and sterile land, and flowers in the * According to Gruner, the tincture is to be prepared from the seeds alone. 110 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. and mix the tinctures thus obtained, which will produce a tincture of a deep-brown colour.* Antidotes: Camph., Bryo., Puls., Rhus t. 25. RANUNCULUS SCELERATUS, Herba sardoa; Fr., Renoncule scelerate, herbe sardonique, grenouillette d'eau; Ger., Gift-Hahnenfuss, JFasser-2ppich; Eng., Marsh crowfoot, celery-leaved butter-cup.-Ranunculacece. This plant grows in ditches, on the banks of rivers, wet meadows, marshy, swampy grounds, &c., in all Europe, Siberia, Egypt, Canada. Root composed of many whitish, pretty long fibres; stem erect, of the thickness of a finger below, viscous, hollow, branchy, panicled, multifloral, glabrous, shining, green, from one foot to one foot and a half high; leaves glabrous, succulent, the radical leaves on long pedicles, reniform, tri-lobed, irregularly notched or trifid; lower pediculated leaves ternate; upper leaves smaller and shorter, composed of three linear entire leaflets; the pedicles of the flowers downy, channelled; calyx reflexed, flowers small, of a pale lemon-yellow; fruits numerous, small, oval, or berry-shaped. Blossoms from June to September. We prepare a tincture according to Class II,t of a bright, brown-yellow colour and smarting taste. Antidotes: Pulsatilla; perhaps also Wine and Coffee. 26. SEDUM ACRE; Fr., Sedon acre, poivre de muraille, vermiculaire brIlante, petite joubarbe; Ger., Sc/iwarzer Maue2rpfeffer; Eng., Biting stone-crop, small houseleek. -Sempervivce. This small plant grows throughout France and Germany, on old walls, dry hills, rocks, in ditches, &c. Root weak, hairy, perennial; stems erect, thready, without leaves, supporting erect, flowering and flowerless pedicles, leaves short, oval, thick, and fleshy, and, at their broad basis, shaped like the pointed half of an egg, * According to Gruner, the root alone is used. t According to Gruner, the root is not used in the preparation of the tincture. 112 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. Root ligneous, branchy; stems some erect, others creeping, downy, thin, ligneous, quadrangular; leaves oblong-oval, glabrous or hairy, on short pedicles, blunt or rounded, dark-green on the upper surface, paler and spotted on the lower, veined; flowers blue-red or reddishblue, in capitate verticils at the end of the stems. From the flowering plant we prepare a tincture according to Class ii. 29. VERBENA OFFICINALIS; Fr., Verveine commune; Ger., Eisenkraut; Eng., Common vervain.-Verbenacece. This plant grows in Germany and the south of Europe, in sandy places, along roads, hedges, on heaps of rubbish. Root deep, fusiform, hairy, ligneous; stem erect, quadrangular, furrowed, from one to two feet high, with decussated branches, leaves opposite, not pediculated, rugose, scabrous, pinnafid, incised, and notched. Flowers alternate, sessile, of a reddish-white, with short pedicles, forming long spikes, paniculate at the end of the pedicles and stems; calyx five-lobed, hairy; the small lilac-coloured flowers have a contracted throat, inclosing the stamina. The whole plant is inodorous, and has a slightly astringent taste. 30. VINCA MINOR; Fr., Pervenche, petite pervenche; Ger., Wintergrian, kleines Sinngriin; Eng., Lesser periwinkle.-Apocynece. This small creeping plant grows in all Europe, in dry and shady forests, and among underwood, on the ground, and among stones, and is also cultivated in gardens.-Apocynece. Root rampant, with long hairs below; stem recumbent, round, thin, from six to twelve inches high, the flowerbearing branches erect; leaves opposite, elliptical, lanceolate, pediculated, entire, shining, coriaceous, ever-green, flowers solitary, axillary, blue, on long pedicles, infundibuliform. We gather the herb while flowering, and, according to Class ii, prepare from it a brown-green essence. SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 113 31. VIOLA ODORATA; Fr.,Violette de Mars; Ger., TWeilchen, Alirzweilckeen; Eng., Sweet violet.-- iolaceee. This is a native of Europe, growing in woods, hedges, gardens, vineyards, and in shady places. Root ramose, fibrous, creeping, the runners of the root being furnished with fibrous roots; leaflets on long pedicles, roundish, heart-shaped, obtuse, notched, glabrous or downy, flower-stems unifloral, axillary, filiform, erect, glabrous; flowers purplish-blue, less frequently of a rosecolour, irregularly entire or glabrous. We gather the entire plant in March and April, while flowering, and prepare from it, according to Class II, an essence of a dark-brown colour, and a slight taste corresponding with the scent, distinctly resembling that of Ipecacuanha. Antidote: Camphor. 302. VIOLA TRICOLOR, Jacea; Fr., Pensie; Ger., Freisamweilchen, Stiefmitterchen; Eng., Heart's-ease.- Violaces. This annual plant grows all over Europe, and also on the Alps, in fields, pasture-grounds, along the borders of forests and meadows, and in gardens, modified by cuiltivation. Root hairy, branchy; stem triangular or quadrangular, recumbent, glabrous, with branches erect; leaves having the odour of peach kernels when rubbed, alternate, pediculated, more or less downy, the lower ones oval oblong, the upper ones lanceolate; all the leaves are notched, serrated; flower-stems axillary. We gather the kinds that bear yellow and blue flowers, in the months of May and June, and prepare from the entire plant a tincture according to Class III. Antidote: Camphor. e. Leaves, Flowers, Stems. The leaves and herbs should be gathered in dry weather, previous to flowering, after they have attained their full growth; except those plants which flower before the leaves make their appearance. The gathering should neither take place early in the morning when the dew is still on the ground, nor too late in the day, especially in hot 114 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. summer days, when the sun has dried up the juice. The leaves should be separated from their, stems, and all the wilted or yellow leaves thrown aside; hard and ligneous stems should likewise be thrown away. It may happen, however, especially with Alpine plants, that we do not succeed in finding any without blossoms; in such a case we gather the leaves (and, if necessary, the roots likewise) of those only that are in flower, omitting all those which, from some cause or other, have not yet begun to blossom. The flowers, for the most part, contain a greater or lesser amount of volatile oils, colouring matter, and tannin; they should be gathered in dry weather, not too long after the flowers have expanded, and after the dew had been dried by the rays of the sun. They must be prepared immediately after being gathered. The stems are cut off after the leaves are grown, or, which is still better, at the commencement of the autumn, when they contain the largest amount of juice. a. Leaves and stems of European plants. 1. ACONITUM NAPELLUS; Fr., Aconit napel; Ger., Eisenh~ilein, MonchsCkacppe, Sturmhut, Wolfswurz; Eng., Large Blue Wolf's bane, Monkshood, Aconite.-Ranunculacece. This plant grows all over Europe, and is even cultivated in gardens. For homoeopathic purposes we use that which grows on the summit of the Alps, in Switzerland, Styria, on the mountains of Bohemia and Silesia, at a greater elevation above the sea than Veratrum. The stem of this plant is cylindrical, rounded, erect, from two to three feet high; leaves petiolated, divided into five or six lobes, palmated; the lobes are wedge-shaped, pinnatifid, alternate, dark-green on the upper, and light-green on the lower surface, shining on both sides. Flowers deep violet, seldom pale-blue, or whitish, panicled at the end of the stem; calyx null; two nectaries pedicelled and revolute, short, thick; seeds acute, triangular, rugose on the back. The former method was to gather the wild plant in June and July, when in flower, except the root, and prepare an essence from it according to Class ii, of a dark brown SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 115 yellow colour, a strongly narcotic smell, and a nauseous and slightly bitter taste.* The root has since been found far more efficacious. 2..ETHUSA CYNAPIUM; Fr., Cigue des jardins, petite cigu6; Ger., Gartenschierling; Eng., Garden-hemlock.Umbellifercr. This annual plant is found in most European countries, along hedges, on fields, heaps of rubbish, and in gardens among parsley, &c. This plant may be confounded with the chervil, parsley, and poisonous hemlock. What distinguishes the aethusa and chervil is this, that the leaves of the chervil exhale an agreeable odour when rubbed, whilst those of the gardenhemlock develope a sickening smell; the seeds of the hemlock are globular and striated, those of the chervil elongated; in the mthusa the involuccre exists on one side only, whereas in the chervil it is complete; the parsley is a biennial plant, or even perennial, the oethusa annual; lastly, the leaves of parsley are large and cuneiform, the hemlock leaves are cut off. From the cicuta virosa it is distinguished by this, that the cicuta virosa is spotted, whereas the ethusa is striated. We gather the plant when in flower, from June till August, and prepare from it, according to Class ii, an essence of a light brown-yellow colour and a pretty strong taste and smell. 3. ARISTOLOCHIA CLEMATITIS; Fr., Aristoloche vulgaire; Ger., Gemeiner Osterluzei; Eng., Common Birthwort.Aristolochiacece. This perennial plant is found in Germany, France, and Tartary, along hedges, roads, in vineyards, uncultivated fields, &c. Root rampant, round, jointed, contorted, of a yellowishbrown; stem generally single, erect, slightly contorted, furrowed, pithy within, the lower portion furnished with * This is according to Buchner and Gruner; but it is now well known that the best part of the plant is the root, from which we prepare the most powerful tincture. SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 117 of the branches, forming spikes, furnished with a number of leaves. Both the male and female flowers emit a strong, balsamic-narcotic odour, especially in damp evenings. In May and June, during the period of flowering, we gather the flowering tops and upper leaflets, especially of the female plants, and prepare from them a tincture, according to Class III, of a dark green-brown colour and of the odour of the flowers. Antidote: Camphor. 6. CLEMATIS ERECTA, Flamvula Jovis; Fr., Clematite droite; Ger., Brenn TFaldrebe; Eng., Upright virgin's bower.-Ranunculacece. From the bushy root shoot up annually erect, naked stems, branchy above, from four to seven feet high, of a green and sometimes reddish colour; leaves opposite, pinnated; leaflets oval, lanceolated; flowers white, panicled, at the end of the branches. From the flowering plant we prepare, according to Class III, an essence of a dark blue-green colour and acrid taste. 7. CONIUM MACULATUM; Fr., Grande cigue: Ger., Gefleccker Scierling; Eng., Hemlock.- Umbellifera. This plant grows in gardens, along roads, hedges, and on fields; it is fond of good, cultivated soil. The biennial root is cylindrical, white, spindle-shaped; stem herbaceous, branching, from three to six feet high, round, hollow, smooth, shining, slightly striated and marked with brownish-purple spots; the lower leaves are tripinnate, more than a foot in length, shining, and attached to the joints of the stem by sheathing petioles; the -upper are smaller, bipinnate, and inserted at the divisions of the branches; both have channelled footstalks and incised leaflets, of a deep-green on their upper surface, and of a paler green on their lower; the flowers are very small, white, and disposed in compound, terminal umbels; the fruit is roundish, ovate, striated, tuberculous, and disposed in two plano-convex, easily separable seeds, which 118 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. have on their outer surface five crenated ribs; being rubbed between the fingers, the plant emits a fetid, musky, disagreeable odour: this odour is sufficient to distinguish it from parsley, the odour of which is aromatic; parsley has no spotted stems, nor hollow petioles, nor are the leaves of such a sombre hue; the leaves of parsley are oval, trifid, incised and indented, those of the hemlock oval-oblong or lanceolate, deep pinnatifid, the lobes incised or serrated. We gather the plant when it begins to flower, except the flower, and prepare from it, according to Class II, an essence of alight brown-green colour, and of an exceedingly offensive, narcotic smell. Antidotes: Coffea, Spir. nit. dulc. 8. DIGITALIS PURPUREA; Fr., Digitale pourpree; Ger., Rother Fingerlut, Ialdglocke; Eng., Purple foxglove.-Scro2pularice. This beautiful plant grows on basalt and porphyry declivities, on fields, in the valleys of Southern Europe, on the mountains of the Rhenish Palatinate, &c., and is frequently cultivated in gardens. The biennial or perennial fibrous root sends forth large tufted leaves, and a single, erect, downy, leafy stem, from two to five feet high, terminating in an elegant spike of purple flowers; the lower leaves are ovate, pointed, about eight inches long and three inches wide, standing upon short, winged foot-stalks; the upper are alternate, sparse, lanceolate; both the upper and lower leaves are obtusely serrated at their edges, and have wrinkled, velvety surfaces, the upper of which is of a fine deep-green colour, the lower paler and more downy; the flowers are numerous and attached to the upper part of the stem by short pedicles, generally in such a manner as to hang down upon one side; at the base of each pedicle is a floral leaf, which is sessile, ovate, and pointed; the calyx is divided into five segments, the uppermost of which is narrower than the others; the corolla is monopetalous, bell-formed, swelling on the lower sides, irregularly divided at the margin into short obtuse lobes, and in shape and size bearing some resemblance to the end of the finger of a glove; the mouth SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 119 of the corolla is guarded by long, soft hairs; its general colour is bright purple, but sometimes the flowers are whitish; the internal surface is sprinkled with black spots upon a white ground; the filaments are white, curved, and surmounted by large, yellow anthers; the style, which is simple, supports a bifid stigma; the seeds are very small, numerous, of a dark colour, and enclosed in a pyramidal, two-celled capsule. We gather the leaves of the wild flowering plant, on dry days, and, according to Class ii, prepare from them an essence of a dark brown-green colour, and an offensive, slightly narcotic odour. Antidotes: Opium, Nux vom., vegetable acids. 9. HERACLEUM SPHONDYLIUM, Branca ursina; Fr., Berce, fausse branc-ursine, branc-ursine d'Allemagne; Ger., Heilkraut,.falsche Barenklazu; Eng., Common cowparsnip.- Umnbelljferce. This plant is found all over Europe, in meadows, and on the borders of woods. The root is thick, fusiform, branchy, yellowish without, whitish within; stem from three to six feet high, erect, furrowed, covered with stiff hairs, fistulous, branchy at the top; leaves pinnate and full of asperities; leaflets divided. When young, this plant contains a juice which is sweetish to the taste; when older, the juice becomes acrid, of a bitter taste, and biting; when applied to the skin, the juice causes it to swell, and produces even inflammation and ulcerations. From the flowering plant we prepare, according to Class I1, an essence of a light brownish-yellow colour and a nauseous bitter taste and smell.* Antidotes: Camphor, vegetable acids. 10. HYOSCYAMUS NIGER; Fr., Jusquiame; Ger., Bilsenkraut; Eng., Henbane.-Solanece. This plant grows in Germany, in a great part of France, North America, and Asia, and is chiefly found in gravelly * According to Gruner, the essence should be prepared from the root alone. 120 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. places, waste lands, the vicinity of dwellings, along highways, &c. It is a biennial plant, with a long, tapering, whitish, fleshy, somewhat branching root, bearing considerable resemblance to that of parsley, with which it is sometimes confounded; the stem is erect, round, branching, from one to three feet in height, and thickly furnished with leaves; these are large, oblong, ovate, deeply sinuated, with pointed segments, undulated, soft to the touch, amplexicaule at their base; the upper leaves are generally entire; both the stem and leaves are hairy, viscid, and of a sea-green colour; the flowers form long, one-sided, leafy spikes, at the end of the branches, hanging downwards; they are composed of a calyx, with five pointed divisions, a funnelshaped corolla, with five unequal, obtuse segments at the border, five stamina inserted into the tube of the corolla, and a pistil with a blunt, round stigma; they are of a dark-yellow colour, beautifully variegated with purple veins; the fruit is a globular, two-celled capsule, covered with a lid, invested with the persistent calyx, and containing numerous, small, irregular, brown or ash-coloured seeds, which are discharged by the horizontal separation of the lid; the whole plant has a rank, offensive smell. At the period of flowering, we gather the leaves and flowering stems of the plant, and, after removing the ligneous stems, prepare from it, according to Class 11, an essence of a brown-green colour, possessing in a high degree the odour of the plant. Antidotes: Camph., Stram., Bell. 11. LEDUM PALUSTRE; Fr., Ledon des marais, romarin sauvage; Ger., Sumpfporst, wilder Rosmarin; Eng., Wild rosemary, marsh-tea.-Rosacee. This plant grows in moist, swampy, muddy places in the North of Europe, Silesia, Bohemia, &c., also in France, Asia, and America; it is likewise cultivated in gardens. The bush is an evergreen, from two to three feet high, with three or several clustering, rounded branches, covered with a rust-coloured fur; the bark of the stem is ashcoloured; leaves with short pedicles, lance-shaped, rolled back on the edges, hard, glabrous above, green and shining; of a red rust-colour beneath, and downy. In the fresh SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 121 state the leaves have a strong, resinous, stupefying odour, and a bitter, astringent, nauseous taste; flowers white, sometimes rosy, in spikes or terminal corymbs. We gather the leaves and flowers during the period of flowering, and prepare from them, according to Class iii, a tincture of a dark-brown colour, strong odour, and terebinthine taste. Antidote: Camphor. 12. MENYANTHES TRIFOLIATA, Trifoliun? fibrinum; Fr,, Menyanthes, trefle d'eau; Ger., Bitterklee, Fieberklee; Eng., Buckbean, marsh-trefoil.-Lysimachice. This plant is a native of Europe and North America, and grows on the borders of, and in flowing water, in ditches, wet meadows, swamps, &c. Root perennial, long, thick, jointed, filamentous, brown without, and spongy within; stem round, rooting, creeping first, then erect, a foot long; leaves on long pedicles at the end of the stem, ternate, furnished at their base with sheathing stipules; the leaflets are obovate, entire, or obtusely denticulate, smooth, beautifully green on their upper surface, and paler beneath; the scape or flower-stalk is erect, smooth, round, longer than the leaves, and terminated by a conical raceme of whitish, somewhat rose-coloured flowers; calyx fiveparted, corolla funnel-shaped, with a short tube, and a five-cleft, revolute border, covered on the upper side with numerous, long, fleshy fibres; anthers red and sagittate; germ ovate, supporting a slender style, which is longer than the stamina, and terminates in a bifid stigma; the fruit is an ovate, two-valved, one-celled capsule, containing numerous seeds. We gather the herb in autumn, dry it quickly, and prepare from it, according to Class I, a tincture of a dark green-brown colour and very bitter taste. The medicinal virtues of the dried plant are superior to those of the fresh. Antidote: Camphor. 13. ACHILLEA MILLEFOLIUM; Fr., Millefeuille, herbe au charpentier; Ger., Sclafgarbe; Eng., Milfoil, yarrow.- Corymbiferce. This plant is found all over Europe, in Western Asia 6 122 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. and North America, and grows on meadows, on the borders of fields and roads, in pastures, &c. Its perennial root is oblique, rampant, hairy; stems numerous, simple, erect, rounded, furrowed, tubulous, downy, from one to two feet high; leaves, downy, radical, pinnatifid, so finely and numerously divided that they are hidden one by the other. The herb of this plant has a balsamic odour, and a bitter, acrid, burning taste; the flowers are small and in corymbs. During summer we gather the plant when it begins to flower, and the stem is not yet hard, preferring a sunny, rocky, or meagre location; we prepare, according to Class II, an essence of a yellow-brown colour, and bitter taste. 14. NERIUM OLEANDER; Fr., Laurier rose; Ger., Lo'beerrose; Eng., Oleander, rosebay.-Apocynece. The oleander grows on the borders of rivers and lakes, in southern Europe, Greece, Asia Minor, the East Indies, and Africa, as well as on the rocks of Corsica, and is cultivated in our gardens; roots ligneous, branchy; stems branchy, dull, nine to ten feet high, and several inches thick; leaves with short petioles, coriaceous, linear-lanceolated, evergreen, having nerves below; flowers disposed in bouquets, numerous, opening in succession, rosy, or white. All the parts of the plant have an acrid and bitter taste. We gather the leaves of the flowering plant, and prepare for them, according to Class III, a tincture of a dark brown-green colour. Antidote: Camphor. 15. LAUROCERASUS, Prnus8 laurocera8zs; Fr., Laurier cerise; Ger., KirscMlorbeer; Eng., Cherry laurel.-- Rosaece. This bush grows in Persia, on the Caucasus, in Asia Minor, and in all the Levant; in England by cultivation; in France, on the lower Rhine and Maine; it can be cultivated in the open ground, and in France it is nearly naturalised. It is an evergreen tree, rising from four to twenty feet in height,with long spreading branches, which, as well as the SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 123 trunk,'are covered with a smooth, blackish bark; the leaves, which stand alternately on short, strong footstalks, are ovaloblong, from five to seven inches in length, acute,finely serrated, firm, coriaceous, smooth, beautifully green and shining, with oblique nerves and yellowish glands at the base; the flowers are small, white, strongly odorous, and disposed in simple axillary racemes; the fruit consists of oval droops, very similar to small black cherries, both in their shape and internal structure. The fresh leaves have an aromatic odour and taste, very like the bitter almond; they contain hydrocyanic acid. We gather the leaves during the summer months, and prepare from them, according to Class IrI, a tincture of a saturated black-green colour, and the odour and taste of the bitter almond. Antidotes: Coff., Camph., Ipec. 16. PADUS AVIUM, Pru't padzls; Fr., Prunier, cerisier en grappe; Ger., A/lkirsche, Elsenbeere; Eng., Birdcherry.-Rosacee. This plant is a native of the North of Europe and Asia, where it grows in moist woods, on the borders of forests, in valleys, &c. It is from eight to thirty feet high; leaves oval, elliptic, serrated, somewhat wrinkled, nerved; flowers white, odorous, lateral, in long hanging bunches; berries globular, black, of the size of a little pea, and of a disagreeable odour. We gather the bark of the younger branches before the bush begins to flower; it has a stupefying odour, resembling that of bed-bugs and laurocerasus. We prepare from it, according to Class III, a tincture of a dark-brown colour and the above-described taste and smell. 17. ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS; Fr., Romarin officinal; Ger., Geneiner Rosmarin; Eng., Rosemary.-Labiacee. Rosemary is an evergreen shrub, three or four feet high, with an erect stem, with many long, slender ash-coloured branches; leaves numerous, sessile, opposite, more than an inch long, one sixth of an inch broad, linear, entire, obtuse at the summit, turned backwards at the edges, firm, smooth and green on the upper surface, whitish and 124 SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. somewhat downy beneath; the flowers are pale blue or white, large, in opposite groups at the axils of the leaves, towards the ends of the branches; seeds four, oblong, naked; the plant grows spontaneously along the Mediterranean, and is cultivated in all our gardens. From the leaves, according to Class ii, we prepare a tincture of a yellow-green colour and a balsamic acrid-bitter taste. 18. RHUS TOXICODENDRON,SUmaC veuenata, L.; Fr., Arbre a poison, Sumac veneneux; Ger., Giftsumack; Eng., Poison oak.-Terebinthinacec. This shrub grows in fields, woods, and along fences, all over North America, and has been introduced into Europe; it is one to three feet high, with leaflets angularly indented; and pubescent beneath; root reddish, branchy; stems erect, bark striated, of a gray-brown, and full of numerous papille of a deep brown; leaves pinnated, long petioles, of a yellowish-green, veined; follicles almost three inches long, oval, incised, shining, and of a deep colour above, pale-green and pubescent benealtt; flowers small, of a yellowish-green, in axillary spikes; fruit monosperm, oval, of a whitish-gray, marked with five furrows; the whole plant contains a yellowish-brown, milky juice, which blackens on exposure, and which has a penetrating, nauseous odour; at certain times of the year there forms around the plant an atmosphere, which, according to some authors, extends to the distance of twenty feet, and which is poisonous during all the time the sun is not shining on the tree; the effects produced are erysipelatous inflammations and pustulous eruptions; affections which also arise when we rub the leaves or touch the branches recently cut or broken; we must, therefore, handle this plant with the greatest caution when in the fresh state. Many authors agree in saying that the R]?us radicans has absolutely the same properties as the RLus toxicodendron; but as this assertion, true as to the general facts, is not sufficiently proved as to the details which homoeopathy requires, we must be careful not to mistake the two plants; the RIus radicans is distinguished from R~us tox., by its leaves being almost entire and glabrous, whilst those of the last are SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 1l5 incis'ed and pubescent beneath, and by its stems being recumbent and creeping, whereas those of the Rkuis tox. are erect. We gather the leaves after sunset, on damp, sultry days, selecting shady localities, in May and June, before the period of flowering, and prepare from them, according to Class III, a tincture of a dark yellow-brown colour. Antidotes: Bry., Coff., Camph., and Sulph. 19. RHUS VERNIX; Fr., Sumac vernicifere; Ger., FirnissSumach; Eng., Swamp-sumach.-Tere5bintiinaces. This tree is originally from Japan and North America. It is a beautiful shrub or small tree, from ten to fifteen, or even thirty feet high; the bark of the trunk is of a dark gray, the branches are of a lighter colour; the extreme twigs and petioles are of a beautiful red; leaves pinnate, with four or five pairs of opposite leaflets, and an odd terminal one; these are oblong or oval, entire or slightly sinuated, acuminate, smooth, and, except the one at the end, nearly sessile; the flowers are dioecious, small, greenish, and arranged in loose axillary panicles; berries small, roundish, and of a greenish-white. When cut, there exudes a resinous juice which blackens in the air, and of which the people of China and Japan make a varnish. According to some authors, the atmosphere of this tree is even more poisonous than that of the Riuis tox. We gather and prepare the plant as the previous one. 20. RUTA GRAVEOLENS: Fr., Rue fetide, rue des jardins: Ger., Stinkende?aute; Eng., Rue.-Rutace. This is a perennial plant, from two to three feet high; root ligneous, branchy, vertical; stems numerous, herbaceous, erect, round, branching; leaves doubly pinnate, glaucous, with obovate, sessile, obscurely crenate, somewhat thick and fleshy leaflets; flowers yellow, and disposed in a terminal branched corymb upon subdividing pedicles; calyx persistent, with 4 or 5 acute segments; the corolla consists of 4 or 5 concave petals, somewhat sinuate at the margin; stamina usually 10, sometimes only 8. The odour of the plant is very strong and disagreeable; it has a bitter, nauseous, hot and acrid taste. 126 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. We gather the leaves together with the buds while these are yet closed, and prepare from them, according to Class II, an essence of a dark-brown colour, and a smell and taste like that of the plant. Antidote: Camphor. 21. SABINA, Junimperus Sabina; Fr., Sabine; Ger., Sadebaum: Eng., Savin.-Coniferae. This shrub grows on the dry mountains of middle Europe, in Provence, Spain, Italy, the ancient country of the Sabines, Greece, Russia, North America; it is also cultivated in gardens; it is an evergreen, rising from three or four to fifteen feet high, with numerous erect, pliant branches, very much subdivided; the bark of the young branches is of a light green, that of the trunk rough, and of a reddish-brown; the leaves, which completely invest the younger branches, are numerous, small, erect, firm, smooth, pointed, of a dark-green colour, glandular in the middle, opposite, and imbricated in four rows; the flowers are male and female on different trees; the fruit is a blackish-purple berry, of an ovoid shape, marked with tubercles, the remains of the calyx and petals, and containing three seeds. We distinguish two varieties of this plant, the male and female savin. That called male is the one which bears fruit, and which should be called female; it is smaller than the other; its leaves resemble those of the cypress, being less scattered than those of the female savin. The Juniperus virginiana, or common red cedar, is sometimes substituted in the shops for the savin, to which it bears a very close resemblance; the two species, however, differ in their taste and smell; in the J. virginiana, moreover, the leaves are sometimes ternate. The tops and leaves of the savin have a strong, disagreeably balsamic odour, and a bitter, acrid taste. In the month of April we gather the tops of the younger branches, and prepare from them, according to Class III, a tincture of a saturated dark green-brown colour, and the odour and smell like that of the plant. Antidote: Camphor. SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 127 22. SOLANUM DULCAMARA; Fr., Douce-amere, morelle grimpante; Ger., Bittersiisser Nac/lsc/iaten; Eng., Bittersweet, woody night-shade.-Solanece. This perennial plant grows over almost all Europe, in moist places, in ditches, on the borders of rivers, along hedges, &c.; it is a climbing shrub, with a slender, roundish, branching, woody stem, which rises to six or eight feet in height; the leaves are alternate, petiolate, ovate, pointed, veined, soft, smooth, and of a dull green colour; the flowers are disposed in elegant clusters, somewhat analogous to cymes and standing opposite to the leaves; calyx very small, purplish, and divided into five blunt persisting segments; corolla wheel-shaped, with pointed reflected segments, which are of a violet-blue colour, with a darker purple vein running longitudinally through their centre, and two shining, greenish spots at the base of each: filaments very short, and support large, erect, lemon-yellow anthers, which cohere in the form of a cone around the style; the berries are of an oval shape and a bright scarlet colour, and continue to hang in beautiful bunches after the leaves have fallen; the odour of the leaves and stems is somewhat nauseous, and narcotic; their taste is first sweet, then bitter. In April or October we gather the green stems covered with a gray epidermis, pliant, not ligneous, and prepare from them, according to Class III, a tincture of a dark brownish-green colour and bitter-sweet taste. 23. SOLANUM NIGRUM; Fr., Morelle noire; Ger., Scwoarzer Nacklsckalten; Eng., Black or garden-nightshade.-Solanee. This annual plant grows all over Europe, in cultivated grounds, on the edges of ditches, at the base of walls, &c. Root thready, branchy, ligneous; stem herbaceous, erect, angular, from one to two feet high; leaves alternate, petiolate, oval, toothed; flowers in bunches, pedunculated, lateral, white; berries spherical, black; all parts of the plant, especially the berries, are considered poisonous; all the parts of this vegetable have, in a fresh state, an insipid 128 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. taste, and a narcotic, nauseous odour, which becomes musky when dried. We gather the ripe berries, not the roots, of the flowering plant (in the latter part of summer this plant has buds, flowers, ripe and unripe berries at the same time), and prepare from them, according to Class ii, a tincture of a darkbrown colour and a narcotic odour and taste. Antidote: Secale corn.? 24. STAPHYSAGRIA, Del hinium Staphysagria; Fr., Staphysaigre, herbe aux pous; Ger., Stephanskirner, Ldusekcraut; Eng., Stavesacre.-Ranunculacece. This plant grows in the south of France, Italy, Greece, and in the whole of Southern Europe; it is one or two feet high, with a simple, erect, downy stem, and with palmate five or seven lobed leaves, supported on hairy footstalks; the flowers are blueish, or purple, in terminal racemes, with pedicles that are twice as long as the flower, and bracteoles inserted at the base of a pedicle: the nectary is four-leaved and shorter than the petals, which are five in number, the uppermost projected backwards, so as to form a spur, which encloses two spurs of the upper leaflets of the nectary; the seeds are contained in straight, oblong capsules; the root is cylindrical, perennial, somewhat branchy and hairy below; seeds large, irregularly triangular, wrinkled, externally brown, internally whitish and oily, bitter, acrid, burning, full of little holes, of a blackish-gray; when mashed, it develops a disagreeable odour; taste bitter and very acrid. Before preparing the tincture from the pulverised seed, it is expedient to fiee it from its fatty oil by frequently pressing it between blotting paper. The black seeds should not be used, but only the grayish or heavy brown ones. The tincture is of a pale straw-yellow, to be prepared according to Class i. Antidote: Camphor. 25. STRAMONIUM,.Datura stramonium; Fr., Stramoine, pomme epineuse; Ger., Stechapfel; Eng., Thorn-apple. -Solanece. The thorn-apple is an annual plant of rank and vigorous SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. growth, usually about three feet high, but in a rich soil six feet or more; the root is spindle-shaped, almost vertical, ligneous, fibrous, whitish; the stem is erect, round, smooth, somewhat shining, simple below, dichotomous above, with numerous spreading branches; the leaves, which stand on short round footstalks in the forks of the stem, are five or six inches long, of an ovate, triangular form, irregularly sinuated and toothed at the edges, unequal at the base, of a dark-green colour on the upper surface, and pale beneath; the flowers are large, axillary, solitary, and pedicled, having a tubular, pentagular, five-toothed calyx, and a funnel-shaped corolla with a long tube, and a waved, plaited border, terminating in five acuminate teeth; the upper portion of the calyx falls with the deciduous parts of the flower, leaving its base, which becomes reflexed, and remains attached to the fruit, which is a large, fleshy, roundish, ovate, four-valved, four-celled capsule, thickly covered with sharp spines, and containing numerous seeds, attached to a longitudinal receptacle in the centre of each cell; it opens at the summit. It is doubtful to what country this plant originally belonged; many European botanists refer it to North America, while the Americans, in return, trace it to the old Continent. Nuttall traces it to South America or Asia. In the United States it is found everywhere, on dung-heaps, roadsides, and commons, &c. We prepare the tincture, according to Class i, from the seeds; it has a yellow-brownish colour, characterised by a beautiful green reflection; the absence of this reflection, or the deposition of a brown resinous layer on the sides of the vessel, would indicate that the tincture is old, and has lost a good deal of its medicinal virtues. Antidotes: Nux vom., Tab., Succus citr., Berb. B6. TABACUM, Nicotiana tabacum; Fr.,Tabac; Ger., Tabak; Eng., Tobacco.-Solanee. This plant, which is originally from South America, is at present cultivated in most parts of Asia and Europe, as well as in the colonies, in Africa, &c. It is an annual plant, with a large, fibrous root, and an erect, round, hairy, viscid stem, which branches near the top, and rises from three to six feet in height; the leaves are numerous, 6~ SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 131 has'a disagreeable, camphorous odour; its taste is bitter and aromatic. From the flowers we prepare, according to Class Ii, a tincture of a greenish-yellow colour, and strong taste and odour. 28. TAXUS BACCATA; Fr., If; Ger., Eibenbaum; Eng., Yew.- Conifere. This tree grows on the mountains of Tyrol, in mountainous and shady forests, in Scotland, Sweden, Prussia, on the Caucasus, and in Siberia. It is also much cultivated for ornamental purposes in England. It often attains an age of several hundred years; its bark is thin, of a deep-brown; the wood is of a brown-red, small-grained, more or less veined, very hard, and almost incorruptible; leaves linear, plane, of a blackish-green, perennial; flowers with short pedicles, axillary; fruit berriform, of a lively red; perforated at the top, enclosing a kind of nut which contains a whitish, fleshy, and oily kernel that can be eaten. In March or April we gather the youngest twigs, and prepare from them, according to Class iII, a tincture of a dark-brown colour and bitter taste. 29. THUJA OCCIDENTALIS, Arbor vitce; Fr., Thuja du Canada; Ger., Lebensbaium; Eng., Tree of Life. This evergreen tree, which is originally from Canada, is much more cultivated in Germany than in France. It is also much cultivated in England, It is a branchy tree from its root, sometimes rising some thirty feet in height; the branches are flat, compressed, and standing out on all sides; leaves short, evergreen, overlapping like tiles, with obtuse scales, disposed in four ranks; cones terminal, almost smooth, of a brown-yellow; seeds flattened. It is distinguished from the thuja of China, inasmuch as, rubbed between the fingers, the leaves of this last develop no aromatic resinous odour, which the thuja of Canada does; moreover, the branches of the thuja of China are ascendant and straight, and not standing out on all sides as those of the other; its strobiles are rough, and the scales of its leaves are pointed. In May, at the period of flowering, we select the SPECIAL P ARMACOP(rEA. youngest branches, with their blossoms, of a brownishyellow colour, a balsamic odour, and shining like resin; and, after separating from them the woody ribs by peeling them off, we prepare, according to Class iii, a tincture of a dark blackish-green colour, and a very strong, not offensive, balsamic odour. Antidotes: Camphor and Nitric acid. 30 UVA URSI, Ar'utus uva ursi, Arctosta.pylos officnalis; Fr., Raisin d'ours, Arbousier, Boussirole; Ger., Barentrau6e; Eng., Bearberry.-Ericinece. This is a low, evergreen shrub, with trailing stems, the young branches of which rise obliquely upwards for a few inches; the leaves are scattered upon short petioles, obovate, acute at the base, entire, with a rounded margin, thick, coriaceous, smooth, shining, and of a deep green colour on their upper surface, paler, and covered with a network of veins beneath; the flowers, which stand on short reflexed peduncles, are collected in small clusters at the ends of the branches; the calyx is small, five-parted, of a reddish colour, and persistent; the corolla is ovate or urceolate, reddish-white, or white with a red lip, transparent at the base, contracted at the mouth, and divided at the margin into five short reflexed segments; stamina ten, with short filaments and bifid anthers; germ round, with a style longer than the stamina, and a simple stigma; the fruit is a small, round, depressed, smooth, glossy, red berry, containing an insipid mealy pulp and five cohering seeds. This shrub inhabits the northern latitudes of Europe, Asia, and America; it prefers a barren soil, gravelly hills, and elevated sandy plains; the leaves are inodorous when fresh, but when dry and powdered acquire an odour not unlike that of hay; their taste is bitterish, strongly astringent, and ultimately sweetish. The leaves should be gathered in autumn; they contain a good deal of tannin, by which property they can be distinguished from other leaves. The tincture is prepared according to Class II. 31. VERBASCUM THAPSUs; Fr., Bouillon blanc, molline, bonhomme; Ger., Konigskerze; Eng., Mullein.-Solanece. This plant grows in northern America, and in northern SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 133 and middle Europe, along road-sides, in waste fields, &c. It is biennial, with an erect, round, hairy stem, which rises from three to six feet high, and is irregularly beset with large, sessile, oblong or oval, somewhat pointed leaves, indented at the margin, woolly on both sides, and decurrent at the base; the flowers are yellow, and disposed in a long, close, cylindrical, terminal spike. We gather the blossoms and leaves of the plant, and prepare from them, according to Class III, a tincture of a dark yellow-brown colour, and a slightly herbaceous odour, which is entirely deprived of the pleasant smell of the dried flowers. Antidote: Camphor. b. Leaves of Exotic (non-European) plants. 1. CALADIUM SEGUINUM, Arum seguinum; Fr. Pediveau veneneux; Ger., Giftiger Aron; Eng., Poisonous pediveau, dumb cane caladium.-Aroidece. This plant grows in the neighbourhood of Paramaribo; it is very poisonous. It forms a bush with a round stem, naked, from five to six feet high, green, milky; leaves ovoid, smooth, pointed, amplexicaule. The juice of this plant leaves an indelible stain on linen, and is so caustic that, if put upon the tongue or in the mouth, it produces swelling, inflammation, and loss of speech. We prepare an essence from the leaves, according to Class ii. Antidotes; Caps., Ign., Mere., Zing. 2. RHODODENDRON CHRYSANTHUM, Andromeda Gmelini; Fr., Rosage fleurs jaunes, rose de Siberie, rose de neige de Siberie; Ger., Siberische Sc&neerose; Eng., Yellow-flowered rhododendron.-Rosacece. This plant grows on the high mountains of Siberia, Kamtschatka, &c.; it is a beautiful, evergreen shrub, about a foot high, with spreading branches, and oblong, obtuse, thick leaves, narrowed towards their footstalks, reflexed at the margin, much veined, rugged, and deepgreen upon their upper surface, ferruginous or glaucous SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 135 possible, not old, or having turned yellow by dampness, and should not be mingled with thick pedicles. From the pure leaves we prepare, according to Class i, a tincture of a very dark brown-green colour. Antidotes; Chamom., Alois. 4. SPIGELIA ANTHELMINTICA; Fr., Spigelie anthelmintique, Brinvilliers, Poudre aux vers; Ger., Wurnmtreibende Spigelia; Eng., Pink-root.-Gentiauece. This annual plant grows in South America, Brazil, the Guaianas, the Antilles, &c. Root hairy, blackish on the outside, white within; stem herbaceous, rounded, upright, fistulous,from afoot to afoot and ahalf high; leaves terminal, to the number of four, disposed in form of a cross, oval or lanceolate, entire, glabrous; flowers simple, forming a thin and elongated spike, white; seeds small, black. When fresh, this plant has a poisonous, fetid odour, which, in a close room, may even cause narcotism; the taste is nauseous and remains a long time on the tongue. It is on account of its deleterious qualities that, in French, this plant is called Brinvilliers, the name of the Marchioness de Brinvilliers, well known for her numerous acts of poisoning. We prepare from it, according to Class i, a tincture of a pale-green colour. Antidotes: Camphor. 5. TEUCRIUM MARUM VERUM, HERBA SYRIACI Seu CORTUSX, seu MARI SYRIACI, SUMMITATES ilfarel'i; Fr., Germandree maritime, herbe aux chats; Ger., Katzenkraut; Eng., Cat-thyme.-Labiacece. This shrub grows in the Levant, and on the Mediterranean, chiefly in Spain, in France, and also in Germany. It is cultivated in England. It is also cultivated in gardens; stem straight, ligneous, branching, glabrous below, downy above; leaves opposite, petiolated, ovalobtuse, of a clear green; flowers, rosy, at the end of the branches, in the axillee of the leaves. The whole plant has an aromatic camphorous odour, which is peculiarly agreeable to cats; taste bitter, acrid, and hot. From the fresh, or the well-preserved dry plant, without 136 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA, the root, we prepare, according to Class IIi, a tincture of a green colour and a considerably strong odour and taste. Antidotes: Camph., Opium. 6. THEA SINENSIS, T/ea vir'idis ccsarea; Fr., Th6 de Chine, The vert imperial; Ger., C/inesischer Thee, gruner oder Kaiserthee; Eng., Imperial green tea.Aurantia. This tree, which, in the natural state, attains a height of nearly thirty feet, grows in China, Japan, and, in general, all over the eastern portion of Asia; leaves perennial, coriaceous, thick, glabrous, shining, alternated, oval-oblong, pointed, two inches long, one inch broad, serrated, short petioles; flowers white, large, short pedicles, axillary, calyx in five divisions; corolla formed by three to nine petals; capsules globular, with three cells, each containing one or two seeds, round, bitter, oily, of the size of a little nut. For domestic use, the black teas are the best; but for medical use we prefer the green. The green as well as the black teas are of different kinds; that which we use in homoeopathy under the name of thea cesarea is not the veritable imperial tea, but the green tea known under the name of gunpowder tea; the true imperial is never seen in Europe, though all the merchants pretend to sell it; it is reserved for the emperor exclusively, or for the grandees of the celestial empire. According to Class I, we prepare a tincture of a dark green-brown colour. Antidote: China, Ferr., Thuj. c. Blossoms. 1. LAMIUM ALBUM; Fr., Ortie blanche; Ger., TWeissbienensaug, weisse Taube-nessel; Eng., Dead nettle.Laabiacece. This plant grows in France and Germany; along hedges, highways, ditches, &c., and flowers during almost the whole summer. Root cylindrical, ramose, hairy; stem straight, quadrangular, downy, simple; leaves petiolated, cordiform, sharp, serrated, veined below; flowers white, axillary, sessile; vertical spikes of from ten to twenty flowers. 138 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. deep gold-yellow colour, and possessing in a high degree the odour and taste of saffron. Antidotes: Aconite, Opium. 3. PRUNUS SPINOSA; Fr., Prunier, epine noire; Ger., Sc&lehdorn, Schwarzdorn; Eng., Wild plum-tree, sloetree, black-thorn.-Rosaceca. This tree grows in England, Germany, and France, and in fact very generally in Europe, along hedges and borders of forests; it is from three to nine feet high; bark of a blackish-gray; pedicles unifloral, solitary, ternate; flowers white, opening before the leaves; leaves oval-lanceolate, serrated, downy below; fruit small, round, of a blackish-red, hoary at its maturity, of an acrid, harsh, astringent taste. In dry weather we gather the flowers when entirely open, and prepare from them, according to Class inI, a tincture of a dark-yellow colour, and possessing the odour and taste of the flower. 3. Barks and Woods. The barks (cortices) contain resin, gum, ethereal oil, and other substances, which sometimes exude after wounding the surface of the bark. The barks of resinous trees are gathered before or during the development of the leaves and blossoms; those of non-resinous plants are gathered late in the autumn; the trunks should be from two to four years old. Spoiled parts of the bark should be thrown away, and the good parts cleansed of the adhering moss, or any other heterogeneous things. The woods (ligna) require to be gathered early in the spring, before the sap begins to rise; the trees or bushes should be neither too young nor too old. Of the resinous woods we select the heaviest pieces, throwing away splinters, and all the decayed parts. a. Barks of European plants. 1. DAPHNE MEZEREUM; Fr., Bois de gentil, laureole femelle, Garou, Mezereon; Ger., Seidelbast, Kellerhals; Eng., Mezereon.- 7i ymele(a. This is a very hardy shrub, from three to four feet high, SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 139 with a branching stem, and a smooth, dark-gray bark, easily separable from the wood. The leaves spring from the ends of the branches, are deciduous, sessile, obovatelanceolate, entire, smooth, of a pale green, somewhat glaucous beneath, and about two inches long; the flowers appear before the leaves, early in spring, and sometimes bloom even amidst the snow; the flowers are of a pale rosecolour, highly fragrant, and disposed in clusters of two or three flowers each, forming together a kind of spike expansive and fleshy at the upper part of the stem and branches; at the base of each cluster are deciduous floral leaves; the fruit is oval, shining, fleshy, of a bright-red colour, and contains a single, round seed; another variety produces white flowers and yellow fruit. The daphne mezereum can easily be distinguished from the daphne gnidium, the flowers of which appear before the leaves: they are disposed in bunches, and not naked on the wood, like those of mezereum; the leaves are linear-lanceolate, and the berries are much smaller than those of the mezereum. We gather the bark early in the spring, before the bush begins to blossom, cut it, while fresh, in as fine pieces as possible, and prepare from it, according to Class iii, a tincture of a yellow-brownish colour and a burning taste. Antidotes: Camphor, Mercury. 2. PRUNUS PADUS (see -Leaves, &c.). S. SAMBUCUS NIGRA; Fr., Sureau ordinaire; Ger., Hollunder; Eng., Common European elder.-Capr'olia. This tree is found in the hedges of England, France, and of a great part of Europe, near villages, &c., and rises to a height of from eighteen to twenty feet; the stem is very branchy towards the top, has a rough, whitish bark, apd is filled with a rather whitish pith, which is light and spongy; leaves opposite, pinnate; follicles oval, pointed, dentated in two thirds of their upper extremity; flowers disposed in cymes; calyx five-celled; corolla wheel-shaped, with five obtuse and concave lobes; fruit in profuse level clusters, berry-shaped, black; the pulp is of a purplish colour. In homceopathy we employ the second (interior) 140 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. bark of the young branches, which is without smell, and has at first a sweetish, then a slightly bitter, acrid, nauseous taste; from this bark we prepare, according to Class iii, a tincture of a brown-green colour, and a strong, offensive smell and taste. This tincture should always be designated as tinct. corticis Samb., whereas the tincture which we simply designate as tinct. Sambuci, is prepared from the blossoms and the two adjoining leaves. Antidotes: Arsen., Camph. 4. ULMUS CAMPESTRIS; Fr., Orme des champs, ormeau; Ger., Gemeine Ulme Ruster; Eng., Common elm-tree. -Amintacemp. This tall tree is found in England, France, and Germany, and in the greater part of Europe, in forests, villages, towns, along roads, in parks, before mansions, &c.; leaves oval, thick, rough, unequal at their base, serrated; flowers lateral, almost sessile, glomerated, appearing before the leaves in spring; fruit thin, membranous. The tincture is prepared according to Class IIi. b. Barks and Woods of Exotic (non-European) Plants. 1. ANGUSTURA, Angustura cortex; Fr., Angusture vraie, Ecorce de Bonplandia trifoliata; Ger., Angustura-Rinde; Eng., Angustura bark.-- utacece. The true Angustura is the bark of a tree of equatorial America, called by Wildenow, Bonplandia trifoliata, and belonging to the genus Galipea. The bark which is sent to us has, generally, a yellowish-gray colour, like that of the yellow cinchona. We prefer, for homoeopathic use, pieces of from two to six inches long, and an eighth of an inch thick, slightly rolled, and smooth within, dotted without with little white points on a coloured base, and covered with a whitish envelope, spongy, and easily detached. These pieces should show a shining texture when broken, be porous, of the colour of cinnamon, of a disagreeable aromatic odour, of an aromatic, bitter, penetrating taste. Reduced to powder, the angustura ought to have a colour like that of rhubarb. The false angustura, on the other hand, is always in large, hard, heavy bits, of a dull, white fracture, SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 141 covered outwardly with a powder of the colour of rust or gold, without aromatic odour, and not susceptible of producing an alcoholic tincture which becomes turbid on the addition of water, which always takes place in that of the true angustura. We prepare, according to Class I, a tincture of a saturated yellow-brown colour, and a slightly aromatic bitter taste. Antidote: Coffea. 2. BRUCEA ANTI-DYSENTERICA; Fr., Brucee; Ger., Braune Brucea; Eng., Antidysenterip brucea.-Terebinthacece. This bush grows in Abyssinia; leaves pinnated, unpaired, composed of six opposite and serrated follicles, dioecious; calyx in four leaflets; four petals. The bark of this bush resembles that of Angustura, but may be distinguished by the following characteristic differences: 1. The bark of brucea comes in larger pieces, which have on their upper surface spots of a reddish-brown, or else of grayishwhite. 2. It is exceedingly bitter, without aroma. This bark is not resinous. According to Class I, we prepare from it a yellow tincture possessing the taste of the bark. Antidote: Coff. 3. CORTEX CHINAE, Cinchona officinalis; Fr., China; Ger., Chinarinde; Eng., Peruvian bark.-Bubiacee. The tree whence this bark is obtained, grows in the district of Loxa, in Peru; and that from which we obtain the royal quinine, on the high mountains of South America. There are a great many kinds of quinine, all different in their effects, according as they have been selected from the branches or the trunk of such or such a kind of Cinchona tree, as well as according to the age of the tree. The best kinds are the royal yellow, from the cinchona angustifolia of Ruiz, or from the lancifolia of Mutis, and the Cinchona loxa or Peruvian bark, from the cinchona condaminea of Humboldt. The former comes to us in rolled or flat pieces, some of which are covered with the epidermis, others entirely or partially deprived of their epidermis; these pieces differ in size and thickness, SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. from 1 to 1" in diameter, to from 1 to 5" in breadth, and from 1 to 1"/ in thickness, the difference depending upon the age of the branches and trunks from which the pieces were gathered. The royal yellow is generally of a reddishyellow within, fibrous fracture, studded with shining points, and covered with foliated lichens: the loxa comes to us in finer and thinner pieces, more rolled, of a brownish-gray, mingled with white spots without, of a reddish-brown within, brown and smooth fracture, of a musty odour, bitter taste, styptic, and almost balsamic. We procure it enclosed in skins. The good cinchona barks should be of a medium thickness, very dry, of a peculiar odour, perfectly bitter, as free as possible from lichens, of a brownish-red or blackish without, cinnamon-colour or red-yellow within; the fracture of these barks should- neither be fibrous nor pulverulent, but smooth and somewhat shining. We prepare, according to Class i, a tincture of a saturated red-brown colour, and a strong, not disagreeably bitter taste. Antidotes: Ferr., Ipec., Arn., Bell., Verat. 4. LAURUS CINNAMOMUM; Fr., Cinnamome, laurier cannelier, cannelle; Ger., Zimmet Lorbeer; Eng., Cinnamon.-laurinee. The true cinnamon is the bark of the laurel cinnamon, a tree which grows in the isle of Ceylon, East Indies, as well as in the islands of Sumatra and Java, and on the coast of Malabar. It attains a height of from twenty to thirty feet; its roots are covered with a bark which has the smell of camphor; its wood is hard, and the inner part without odour; leaves three nerved, oval-oblong, nerves disappearing towards the summit; the flowers are small, whitish, disposed in panicles, of an exquisite odour, which is perceived at some distance; berries oval, of a blueishbrown, spotted with white. When the sap is abundant, the bark of this tree is easily peeled off; the exterior bark is rejected, which is thick, gray, rough, the second only is preserved, which is thin; it is cut in pieces and exposed to the sun; it rolls upon itself of the size of a finger, and its colour becomes of a rusty yellow. The good cinnamon ought to be of an extremely agree SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 143 able odour, penetrating, soothing, and of a sweetish taste, slightly heating, with an after taste somewhat pungent, and a little styptic. Should it have a strong taste, acrid, slightly bitter, and resembling the clove-berry, it is a sign that it is of an inferior quality, or even another kind of bark. We prepare the tincture according to Class I. 5. CASCARILLA, Orolon eleutleria; Fr., Cascarille; Ger. Cascarilla-Rinde; Eng., Cascarilla.-Euphorbiacece. The bark used in homceopathy under the name of Cascarilla, is not, as has been thought, the bark of croton cascarilla, but that of croton eleulkeria:-a bush from five to six feet in height, and which grows in Peru, Paraguay, the Antilles, and, above all, in the Isle of Eleutheria, so that it was formerly called Eleutherian; the stem is branched, and covered with a brown bark, of which the external coat is rough and whitish; the leaves are long, very narrow, somewhat pointed, entire, of a bright-green colour on the upper surface, downy, and of a silvery whiteness on the lower; they are placed alternately on short foot-stalks; the flowers are small, greenish, and disposed in long, terminal spikes; the bark comes to us in pieces, from two to four inches long, rolled on itself, solid, friable, moderately thick, whitish-gray, streaked, and covered with a kind of lichen without, of a brownish-gray, and smooth within; fracture red, ligneous, dull, a little aromatic, of a bitter taste, piercing and hot; thrown on coals, this bark burns quickly, emitting a musky odour. The best kind is that whose fracture exhibits resinous, shining particles. We prepare, according to Class i, a tincture of a yellow colour and pretty strong taste and odour. 6. CISTUS CANADENSIS; Fr., Ciste heliantheme; Ger., Sonnenrisc/en; Eng., Canadian rock-rose.-Cistinece. This plant grows in the north of the American continent; it is a bush with stipules, semiligneous, recumbent; leaves lanceolate-oblong, slightly hairy, white beneath; calyx very downy, flowers yellow, at the end of the branches, on three to six thin, hairy pedicles; calices 144 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. five-lobed, revolute, hairy; petals five in number, large, of a beautiful gold-yellow. 7. HEMATOXILON CAMPECHIANUM; Fr., Bois de Campiche; Ger., Camniesc/tenkolz; Eng., Campeachy-logwood. -Leguminose. The wood of this tree is much used for black, violet, and gray dyes; it is chiefly found in Mexico and on the West India islands, and attains a height of fifty feet. The trunk of the tree is crooked, covered with a dark, rough bark; the branches are also crooked, with numerous smaller ramifications which are furnished with sharp spines; the sapwood is yellowish, but the interior layers are of a deep-red colour; the leaves are alternate, pinnate, composed of three or four pairs of sessile, nearly obcordate, obliquely nerved leaflets; flowers in axillary spikes or racemes, near the ends of the branches; calyx brownish-purple; petals of a lemon-yellow colour. It comes to us in large sticks, heavy, compact, blackish-brown externally, having an odour like that of the violet, and a sweetish-astringent and afterwards bitterish taste. We prepare, according to Class I, a tincture of a yellowbrown colour and the above-mentioned taste. 8. SASSAFRAS, Lazru8 8sasscfra8; Fr., Sassafras, Lauriersassafras; Ger., Sassafras-Baurn; Eng., Sassafras.Laurinea. This tree grows in America, thirty to fifty feet high, and a trunk about one foot in diameter; the bark of the trunk is rough, deeply furrowed, and grayish; that of the extreme branches and twigs smooth, and beautifully green; leaves alternate, petiolate, downy when young,variable in form and size; some are oval, entire, others lobed, generally threelobed; the flowers frequently dioecious, small, of a pale yellowish-green colour disposed in racemes, springing from the branches below the leaves, with linear bractes at their base; corolla divided into six oblong segments; the male flowers have nine stamina; the hermaphrodite, on a different plant, has only six, with a simple style; fruit an oval pendant, of the size of a pea; deep-blue when ripe, on a red SPECIAL PHARMACOP(OEIA. 145 pedicle, enlarged at the extremity, like a cup, for its reception. Treated with nitric acid, the wood of sassafras turns red, which may distinguish it from its adulterations; the infusion and decoction are equally red. For homceopathic purposes, we take a piece of the wood, with all its bark, reduce it to a fine powder, and prepare a tincture according to Class i. 4. Roots. The roots of annual plants should be gathered in the autumn, for they soon die after the seeds are ripe; those of biennial plants should be gathered in the spring, before the stems have grown up; the roots of perennial plants should be gathered in the second or third year, in the spring or autumn, before the roots become ligneous. The roots of trees and bushes are dug up in the spring, while the bark. can yet be peeled off. No roots should ever be dug up in the summer, except those of annual plants. Exotic roots should not be mouldy, moist, ligneous, or worm-eaten. a. Roots of European Plants. 1. ACTMEA SPICATA, CLrystoj0~oplana; Fr., Christophoriane, Herbe St. Christophe; Ger., Chrislopjts-Krazt; Eng., Herb Christopher, baneberry.-Ranunculacece. This plant grows in thickets and mountain-woods, and is found all over Europe. Its perennial root is black outside, yellow within, spongy, of a disagreeable odour, and nauseous taste; stem herbaceous, from two to three inches in height; leaves pediculated, brilliant; flowers in long terminal spikes; berries black, soft, and ovoid. 2. ARCHANGELICA, Archangelica officinalis, Angelica Archangelica, L.; Fr., Angelique; Angelique archangelique; Ger., Engelwurz; Eng., Garden angelica.- Umbellifere. This plant inhabits the north of Europe and Asia, as well as the mountains of France and middle Germany. 146 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. In the low countries of the north of Germany it is found near the rivers; root biennial, large, cylindrical, wrinkled, hairy, and branchy, of a brown-gray or reddish without, white within, of a strong aromatic odour, agreeable enough, and of a taste at first sweetish and biting, and then bitter; stem herbaceous, rounded, striated, fistulous, branchy, from four to six inches high; leaves alternate, amplexicaule, bipinnate, with lobed follicles, serrated flowers terminal, in umbels, yellow, greenish, nearly ephemeral. We use the root of the wild plant, not that of the gardens. 3. ARMORACIA, Armoracia rusticana, Cocilearia armoracia; Fr., Rainfort, rainfort officinal, grand rainfort, cranson, cran de Bretagne; Ger., Mfeerrettig, Gemeiner JMeerrettig, Kren; Eng., Horse-radish.-Cruciferce. This herbaceous plant grows in wet places, on the sides of ditches and rivers, and above all in the West of France, as well as Germany, &c. Root cylindrical, thick as the arm, long, branchy, vertical; yellowish without, whitish within, of an acrid and biting taste; stem upright, branchy on the top, one to three inches high, angular, striated, glabrous, as well as the whole plant; radical leaves, petiolate, large, upright, green, oval-oblong, scolloped; those of the stem small, almost sessile, pinnatifid, lanceolate, linear; flowers small, white, in long terminal bunches; the calyx has four ovate, deciduous leaves, and the corolla an equal number of obovate petals, twice as long as the calyx, and inserted by narrow claws; the pod is small, elliptical, crowned with the persistent stigma, and divided into two cells, each with four or six seeds. We prepare a tincture, according to Class i. 4. ARUM MACULATUM; Fr., Aron tachete, Gouet, Pied de veau; Ger., Gefleckder Aron, Aronswurzel; Eng., Wake robin, Cuckoo pint. --Aroidece. This plant is found all over Europe, in the umbrageous forests and thick and shady woods. The root is tuberous, fleshy, of a brownish-yellow on the outside, and white and feculent within; the leaves are large, radical, hastate, SPECIAL PHARMACOPOEIA. 147 sagittate; lobes deflexed; spadix club-shaped, obtuse, shorter than the spathe; the shaft rising up from the root to a cubit in height, cylindrical, channelled, carrying on its summit a single spathe. The berries are of the colour of cochineal, and contain 1, 3, and 5 seeds. In the fresh state, this plant has an acrid, biting taste, like that of pepper, and is full of a milky, acrid, and caustic juice. We prepare a tincture, according to Class III. 5. BERBERIS VULGARIS; Fr., Epine vinette; Ger. Sauerdorn; Eng., Barberry.-Berberides. This bush grows all over Europe as well as in some parts of Asia and North America. It is a plant with alternate leaves. The calyx is parted beneath by a spine; the flowers come out in bunches from the middle of this six-leaved calyx; six petals; two glands at their base; style null; two-seeded berry. The root of this plant is branchy, with fibrous bark, of a strong peculiar odour, of a very bitter taste. We use in homoeopathy the small branches of the roots, or better still, the bark of the branches of the root of moderate size, because the large roots are too fibrous. We prepare the tincture according to Class i. 6. BRYONIA ALBA; Fr., Bryone blanche; Ger., Gichtriibe weisse, Zaunrilbe; Eng., White bryony, wild hops.Cucurbitacere. It is not the bryonia dioica but the bryonia alba, of which Hahnemann made use in his experiments; and though in Belgium and in certain parts of Germany the bryonia dioica is more abundant than the bryonia alba, it is not so in France, nor in all Germany, where the bryonia alba may be found about the hedges, if not in abundance, at any rate as abundantly as the bryonia dioica. The perenial root of this plant is as large as the arm, or at times even as the thigh; it is fleshy, succulent, branchy, of a yellowish-white, circularly wrinkled without, acrid, bitter, disagreeable to the taste, and of a nauseating odour, which, however, disappears by desiccation. Its climbing stalk rises sometimes to the height of many feet; it is glabrous, creeping, channelled, and armed 148 SPECIAL PHARMACOPEITA. with spiral tendrils; its leaves are alternate, angular, hispid, tuberculous on both sides, rough to the touch, palmated, five-lobed, the middle of which is trifid, elongated; flowers axillary, monoecius, in bunches, the male being supported on very long pedicles, the female larger than the male; calyx five-toothed, sharp; corolla five divisions; stamina five, of which four are united two and two by the filaments and the anthers, the fifth free; berries round, black (those of dioica red), polyspermous. We prepare the alcoholic tincture according to Class rII; if prepared according to Class ni, it deposits a copious sediment, even after repeated filtrations. Antidotes: Camph., Coff., Rhus. t. 7. CHELIDONUM MAJUS; Fr., Grande chelidoine; Ger., Sc/allkcraut, Skwalbenwurz; Eng., Celandine.-Papaveracece. This perennial plant grows all over Germany, as well as in France, in waste places, old walls, hedges, borders of highways, near habitations, &c.; the root is fusiform, of the thickness of a finger, of a reddish-brown without, yellowish within, containing, as well as all parts of the plant, an acrid yellow juice; stem ramose, hairy, one to two feet high; leaves thin, winged, pinnatifid, blueishgreen beneath, clear green above; flowers yellow, axillary, or terminal; pedicles in umbels; umbel simple, of four or five rays; calyx caduceous and two-leaved; corolla of four petals; petals ligulate, threads united with the anthers, imitating petals; silique polyspermous, unilocular, linear, thin. We prepare the tincture according to Class ii. 8. CICUTA VIROSA; Fr., Cicutaire ve6nneuse, Cigui~ d'eau; Ger., Fasser-Sckierling; Eng., Water-hemlock, cowbane.- Umbell /erce. This perennial plant inhabits the borders of ditches and rivulets, swamps, meadows, ponds, lakes, &c., all over Germany, and the north and west of France; the root is thick, white, fleshy, elongated, transparent, full of hairs, and hollow; it contains in its bark a yellow juice; its SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA 149 odour is strong and disagreeable, its taste acrid and caustic; stem straight, from one to two feet high, ramose, fistulous, glabrous, striated; leaves compound, two or three times winged, with lanceolate, incised leaflets, like the teeth of a saw; umbels loose, naked; involucelles three or five rayed; flowers white, uniform; fruit ovoid, furrowed with ten small entire sides. We prepare an essence according to Class ii. 9. COLCHICUM AUTUMNALE; Fr., Colchique, tue chien, Veillotte, safran des pres, safran batard; Ger., Herbstzeitlose; Eng., meadow-saffron.-Juncece. This perennial plant grows in many districts of Germany, France, and the south of Europe, in meadows, where it flowers in autumn, and announces the beginning of winter. The root forms a bulb of the size of a pigeon's egg; it is furnished with fibrous radicles at its base, round on one side and flat on the other; naturally it is covered with dark coats, of which the external one is brown, the inner shining and of a clear colour; in the fresh state it contains a milky juice of an acrid taste, bitter, and of a disagreeable odour; the flower rises, in autumn immediately from a lateral bulb which the bulb of the preceding year has produced, and which has grown during the winter and spring; the flowers are rosy-coloured, with long tubes, disappearing in a few days, and are followed by leaves only in the following spring; the leaves are large, flat, erect, spear-shaped, about five inches long, and one inch broad at the base, and come off with the capsules, which are triangular, sessile, three-pointed; the seeds are round, ovoid, wrinkled, of a deep brown. We prepare a tincture, according to Class ii; some prefer the offsets of the root. Antidotes; Nux v., Puls., Bell., Camph. 10. CYCLAMEN EUROPEUM; Fr., Cyclame, pain de pourceau; Ger.,,rdscheibe, Schweinsbrod; Eng., Sowbread.Lysimachice. This plant grows in shady places and hilly regions, at the foot of the Alps, in the middle of Europe, in I152 SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. runners; stems gramineous, erect, simple, thick, and smooth; leaves radical, lanceolate, sharp, furnished at their edges with long, soft, scattered hairs; flowers in corymbs. We gather the root of the flowering plant in March or May, and prepare from it, according to Class in, a tincture of a light yellow-brown colour. The juncus effusus is abundantly found on moist marshy meadows, on the borders of ponds and ditches. Root rampant, branchy, furnished on one side with a number of long fibres, dipping into the ground; it resembles grass, the blades being from one to two inches high, has the colour of grass, is very smooth, round, stiff, marrowy within, and terminates at the base with yellow or reddishbrown sheaths or scales; panicle composed of numerous flowers, pediculated, turned to one side. ThejunIcus glomeratus is distinguished from the former by its finely streaked blades and shorter pedicles. Tincture prepared as directed under the last head. 15. P&EONIA OFFICINALIS; Fr., Pivoine officinale; Ger., Gicitrose; Eng., Pceony.-Ranunculacece. This perennial plant grows in the forests of Switzerland, Carinthia, Silesia, and is likewise cultivated in gardens. Root oblong, rounded, thick, and provided with brown tubercles disposed like strings of pearls, of an offensive, stupefying smell. Leaves alternate, petiolated, cut short, with oval leaflets, lobed, the lower leaves biternate, the upper ones simply ternate; flowers large, of a fine purple colour. We gather the root in spring, immediately after the leaves begin to bud, and prepare from it, according to Class ii, an essence of a beautiful red colour. 16. RAPHAN US, radix rap iani nigri s. horltensis; Fr. Rainfort; Ger., Sommer- or Winterrettig; Eng., Radish. QCucifere. The large, rounded, turnip-shaped root, which sometimes weighs several pounds, has a black or black-gray SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 153 epidermis, a white, compact, very juicy pulp, and a remarkably acrid taste and smell. Hollow or dry roots should not be used; roots of a moderate size are preferable. We dig up the root in May or June, and prepare from it, according to Class ii, an essence of a pale-yellow colour and acrid odour. (Compare the article ARMORACIA.) 17. VALERIANA OFFICINALIS, Valeriana minor; Fr., Valeriane officinale, valeriane sauvage, petite valeriane; Ger., Baldrian- Wfurzel; Eng., Valerian.-Dipsacece. This perennial plant grows almost everywhere, in marshy low grounds as well as on dry hills, the latter being preferable. The perennial root of this plant has a cylindrical white stalk, whence shoot off fibrous, scaly branches, of a white colour within, and brown without. Stem from two to six feet high, obtusely quadrangular below, furrowed above, fistulous, simple, erect, hairy; leaves opposite, pinnatifid; follicles lanceolate, serrated; flowers reddish (rose-colour), or whitish; terminal or axillary, in panicles composed of infundibuliform little flowers; calyx dentated; corolla of five irregular divisions. If carefully dried, the root has an aromatic, camphorous odour, and a bitter, aromatic taste. The colour of the fresh stalk is of a light-brown or reddish-gray; when dry, the colour is darker, even to a blackish-brown, lighter under the epidermis. The root from the Alpine regions is the best; we prepare from it, according to Class i, a tincture of a reddishbrown colour and strong taste and smell, using diluted alcohol for that purpose. Antidotes: Camph., Coff., Bell., and Merc. 18. VERATRUM ALBUM, Helleborus albus; Fr., Varaire, veratre blanc, Hellebore blanc; Ger., Weisse Niesswurz; Eng., White Hellebore.- Colckiacee. The white hellebore grows in pasture-lands of the high mountains of France, Bavaria, Tyrol, Styria, Silesia, Austria, Hungary, &c. SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 155 2. CONVOLVULUS JALAPA, S. Ipomfla jalapa, Ipomfea macrorriiza; Fr., Jalape; Ger., Triciter-iFinde; Eng., Jalap.--Convolvulaces. This creeper grows in the environs of Mexico, Vera Cruz, in Florida, and Carolina. The root either comes whole or divided longitudinally into two parts, or in transverse circular slices; the entire tubers are irregularly-roundish, or ovate and pointed or pear-shaped, usually much smaller than the first, and marked with circular and vertical incisions, made to facilitate their drying; in this state the root is preferred, as it is less apt to be defective, and is more easily distinguished from the adulterations than when sliced; the tuber is heavy, compact, hard, brittle, with a shining, undulated fracture, exhibiting numerous resinous points, distinctly visible with the microscope; it is externally brown and wrinkled, internally of a grayish colour, diversified by concentric darker circles, in which the matter is denser and harder than in the intervening spaces; the odour of the root, when cut or broken, is heavy, sweetish, and rather nauseous; the taste is sweetish, somewhat acrid and disagreeable; it yields its active properties partly to water, partly to alcohol, and completely to diluted alcohol. For homoeopathic purposes we must not use the light pieces, of a clear brown outside, whitish or pale-gray within, nor those which are not shiny, nor those which are striated, spongy, worm eaten, nor too friable. We prepare a tincture, according to Class i, from the heaviest and most resinous pieces, which have to be dried with care, and then finely pulverised. It has a brownish, straw-yellow colour. 3. GINSENG, Panax quinqtefolium; Fr., Ginseng, Panax a cinq feuilles; Ger., Ginseng, finfblitterige Kraftwurzel; Eng., Ginseng.-Araliacece. This plant is a native of America, China, Tartary, &c., where it is a panacea for all ills. Root fleshy, somewhat spindle-shaped, from one to three inches long, about as thick as the little finger, terminated by several slender fibres; when dried, it is yellowish-white and wrinlded externally; within is a hard, central portion, surrounded 156 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. by a soft whitish bark; a feeble odour and sweet taste, slightly aromatic, resembling liquorice-root; stem smooth, round, one foot high, divided at the summit into three leaf-stalks, each of which supports a compound leaf, consisting of five, or more rarely of three or seven petioled, oblong, obovate, acuminate, serrate leaflets; the flowers are polygamous, small, greenish, and arranged in a simple umbel, supported by a pedicle; calyx five-toothed; corolla five-petaled; fruit, kidney-shaped scarlet berries, crowned with the styles and calyx, and containing two or three seeds. Besides the kind we have just described, and which should alone be used in homoeopathy, there are many others, which are sold for the true ginseng, and which it will be necessary to distinguish. According to Gruner, the Chinese root is not sent to Europe, and the symptoms of ginseng must therefore have been obtained from the Sium sisorum Willd., which comes to us mixed with the Senega. We prepare a tincture according to Class i. 4. IPECACUANHA, Cep6lalis8 ipecacuan7 a; Fr., Ipecacuanha; Ger., Brecnowurzel; Eng., Ipecacuanha.-Rubiacece. We distinguish in commerce three sorts of ipecacuanha, namely: 1st. Ipecac., black or striated, obtained from the pisychotria emetica. 2d. Ipecac., white or undulating, obtained from the Richardsonia scabra of Brazil, and from the viola ipecac., L. 3d. Ipecac., gray, coming from the cep2haelis ipecac. It is this last that we employ in homoeopathy; it comes from Brazil also, where the plant which furnishes this root grows in shady places of the provinces of Pernambuco and of Bahia, at Mariana, as well as in the Antilles; it is a small shrubby plant, with a root from four to six inches long, about as thick as a goose-quill, marked with annular rugae, simple or somewhat branched, descending obliquely into the ground, and here and there sending forth slender fibrils; the stem is two or three feet long; but being partly under ground, and often procumbent at the base, usually rises less than a foot in height; it is slender, in the lower portion leafless, smooth, brown, or ash-coloured and knotted, with radicles frequently proceeding from the knots; near the summit pubescent, green, SPECIAL PHARMACOPNEIA. 157 and furnished with leaves seldom exceeding six in number; these are opposite, petiolate, oblong, obovate, acute, entire, from three to four inches long, from one to two broad, darkish-green, and somewhat rough on their upper surface, pale, downy, and veined on the lower; at the base of each pair of leaves are deciduous stipules, amplexicaule, membranous at their base, and separated above into numerous bristle-like divisions; the flowers are very small, white, and collected to the number of eight, twelve, or more, each accompanied with a green bracte, into a semi-globular head, supported upon a round, solitary, axillary footstalk, and embraced by a monophyllous involucre deeply divided into four, sometimes five or six obovate pointed segments; the fruit is an ovate, obtuse berry, which is at first purple, but becomes almost black when ripe, and contains two small, plano-convex seeds; the interior of the root is resinous, white, and traversed by a white line; the whole root has a feeble but disagreeable odour, and a mucilaginous, slightly bitter, and nauseous taste. The root of the Ricihardsonia scabra (white ipecac.) is longer, softer, and more flexible; the epidermis of it is of a clearer gray; the rings less near, and deeper; the fracture less resinous; the taste not at all bitter. For homoeopathic use we employ, as above said, the ceplakilis ipecac., or gray ipecac. The whitish or yellowish roots which are found mixed with this sort, should be rejected, as well as those which are spongy, and also such as have no rings. We prepare a tincture from it, according to Class I, of a light-brown colour. 5. CENANTHE CROCATA; Fr., CEnanthe safran6; Ger., Safran-Dolde; Eng., Hemlock water dropwort.- Umbelliferce. This plant is natural to France and Spain, where it grows in marshes, watery meadows, and along rivulets. Stem erect, from eighteen to thirty feet high, cylindrical, fistulous, containing a yellow juice; leaves twice or thrice pinnated, large, of a deep green, with follicles oval-cuniform; umbels of rather long rays, from twelve to thirty in number; flowers white; seeds oval, oblong, terminated by persistent SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 159 grows on the sides of the Andes, in Peru and Quito, principally in Huamaco. The root is composed of a branchy stalk of different size, from four to eight lines long, and a few inches thick, from the sides and the lower parts of which shoot up round branches and numerous fibres of from one to five eighths of an inch in thickness; they are contorted, and are sometimes bent in the shape of a knee. It is ligneous, of a dark blue-red, and cracked externally, and of a reddish-yellow internally, with a dark-red bark; the branches of the root have an earthy odour, and a harsh, astringent, slightly bitter taste, tingeing the saliva dark-red. We select the middle branches which are still completely covered by the substance of the bark, and prepare from them, according to Class I, a tincture of a saturated brownred colour and an astringent taste. 8. RHEUM, PR/abarbaruim; Fr., Rhubarbe; Ger., Rhabarber; Eng., Rhubarb.-Polygonece. This root is a native of middle and northern Asia, and is also cultivated in Europe. The best kind of rhubarb is obtained from two varieties growing on the mountains of China and on the Himalaya mountains, the Rheum palmatunm, with palmated leaves and a large spike of white flowers, and the Rheum Emodi or australe Don., likewise with large, round, downy leaves, and spikes of red flowers. Inferior kinds are obtained from the Rheum Rhaponticum, compactum, undulatum, L., growing in Russian Tartary. This kind is, however, considered by some superior to the former. The root is short, annular, light, spongy, of a saffi-on colour, with rose-coloured spots, a peculiar aromatic, nauseous smell, and a bitter, astringent, somewhat disagreeable taste; to the saliva it imparts a saffron colour, without becoming viscid or glutinous. The Russian root comes to us in flat, or in roundish, cylindrical, angular pieces, with wide foramina; these pieces are of different sizes and moderate weight. The yellow pulverulent covering arises from the pieces being rubbed against each other during the transport; on removing it, a brownish-yellow surface, traversed by white, 160 SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. netlike veins, is exhibited; on cutting the root, it exhibits a bright-brownish colour, with white and red spots, crystalline and resinous, shining; when chewed it makes a noise like sand, imparts a strong yellow tinge to the saliva, and has a disagreeably harsh, rough, bitter taste. We select the heaviest pieces of a homogeneous colour, and prepare from them, according to Class I, with diluted alcohol, a tincture of a saturated dark-yellow colour, and the well-known rhubarb taste. 9. SASSAPARILLA, radex Sassaparillce s., Sars8parillce s., Salsaparillce s., Sarsce; Fr., Salsapareille; Ger., Sassaparilla; Eng., Sarsaparilla.-Asparagi. The best pharmaceutists consider the subsequently named varieties as the best. Smilacin, the efficient agent of Sarsaparilla, is principally found in these varieties, namely, in their ligneous portion and the epidermis. 1. Sarsaparilla from Honduras. 2. Sarsaparilla from Vera Cruz or Caraccas. 3. Sarsaparilla from Lisbon, Brazil, or Peru. The roots should be mealy internally, of a yellowishwhite, not friable nor worm-eaten, but compact, and easily split longitudinally. The root is inodorous, and has only an earthy smell when tied up in bundles; it has a slimy, somewhat bitterish, scraping taste. Roots with a toothick, partially-detached bark, prominently marked with wrinkles, and of a light, yellowish leather-coloured epidermis, should be rejected. We prepare, according to Class I, a tincture of a paleyellow colour, but without either taste or smell. Antidote: Camphor. Vinegar seems to increase the symptoms. 10. SCILLA MARITIMA, Radices Scillx s., Squillee rubrce s., Pahcratii veri s., Ornitogali, Cepa marina; Fr., Scille maritime; Ger., Meerzwiebel; Eng., Squills, sea-onion. -Asphodeli, liliacee. The true squilla maritima grows near the sandy beach of the Mediterranean; it is a perennial plant, of which we use only the bulbs, covered with red membranes. We ob SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 161 tain them either fresh or dry; generally, however, in the latter form. The whole bulb weighs several pounds, is covered externally with membranous, red-brown, transparent scales, beneath which we find the thick, fleshy, succulent scales, which are at first of a pale violet, and afterwards, towards the middle, of a white colour. From the rather broad base come off, in a circle, numerous thick, round, long fibres, and at the opposite point we observe the green germ. The dried bulbs come to us in whole scales, or split once and singly detached, still more frequently in narrow segments of several inches in length, half an inch in breadth, and a few lines in thickness. They are yellowish-white, generally pliable and tenacious, horny, and imbibe humidity from the air very readily. They are inodorous, and have an offensive, nauseous, bitter taste. Since these bulbs do not contain any volatile substance, and the fresh bulbs are apt to deteriorate much more readily than the dried ones, it is advisable to use the latter in preference to the former. We select bulbs of a very white colour and fleshy consistence, (not the brown or even halfroasted bulbs, nor the thin, coloured, membranous, inefficient scales,) cut them in small pieces, and then prepare them with diluted alcohol, according to Class i. The tincture thus obtained is of a pale straw colour, lighter than a tincture from the fresh bulb, but equally efficacious. Antidote: Camphor. 11. SENEGA, Poligala Senega; Fr., Poligale de Virginie, sen6ga: Ger., Senega- Wurzel; Eng., Rattlesnake-root, M ilk-wort. -Pedicularecp. This plant is a native of North America, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Canada. Its perennial root is of the size of a goose-quill or thicker, generally less; branchy, contorted, interlaced, from I to J of an inch long, with a knotty head of half a line in thickness, from which the branches shoot up. Externally it is of a gray brownish-yellowish colour, longitudinally rugose, frequently rugged, rough; when cut it shines like resin, is of a yellowish-white internally, fragile, ligneous, of an offensive rancid smell, and an 16o2 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. extremely nauseous taste, exciting the saliva, and leaving a scraping sensation in the throat; the pulverized root causes sneezing. We prepare, according to Class I, a tincture of a paleyellow colour. Antidotes: Arn., Bry., Bell., Camph. 12. ARISTOLOCHIA SERPENTARIA; Fr., Serpentaire de Virginie, aristoloche serpentaire; Ger., Viyriniscke Sclangenwurzel, Virginzische Osterluzei; Eng., Virginia snake-root.-Aristoloicdie. This plant is found on the mountains and in the shady woods of Virginia, Carolina, and South America. The root is composed of a short, thin, cylindrical, contorted stalk, furnished with thin, pliable, frequently closelyinterlaced fibres, of from one to four lines long, of a dark gray-brown colour, and lighter internally. It has a strong smell, similar to that of Camphor or Valerian; taste aromatic, pungent-bitterish. The tincture should be prepared according to Class i; it has a pale yellow-brown colour and strong smell. 13. ZINGIBER OFFICINALE, AmmomLum Zingiber; Fr., Gingembre; Ger., Ingwer; Eng., Ginger.- Canne. This plant is a native of the East Indies, and is moreover cultivated in the West Indies and in tropical America. Root rampant, consisting of a thick stalk which is divided like a hand, into flat, rugged, fleshy tubers of from one to three inches long and almost an inch in thickness, of a dirty-yellow colour, and an aromatic smell and a hot pungent and acrid taste. The tubers are furnished with single fibres. From the root arise herbaceous, glabrous stems with narrow, acuminated, glabrous leaves; flower-shaft short, oval, obtuse; flowers yellowish-white. In commerce there are two kinds of zingiber, one white, the other black, a difference which arises simply from the more or less accurate method of drying the root. In homoeopathy we use the roots that come by the way of Malabar and Bengal, light-coloured, SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 163 compact, heavy, of a strong smell and burning taste. Roots of an entirely white colour should not be used, as this whiteness is probably the result of bleaching. We prepare, according to Class i, a tincture of a yellow colour and a strong smell and taste. 2. Fruits and Seeds. Fruit (fructus) and berries (baccae) are not, generally speaking, gathered until they are ripe; some are gathered unripe because they then contain the largest amount of medicinal power. The fruits which we obtain fresh, should be carefully cleansed of all unripe, decayed or worm-eaten pieces, after which they are prepared according to one of the three Classes mentioned above. The seeds have to be gathered when completely ripe, but before they fall off. Some of the seeds are used with, others without their capsules. Oily seeds easily become rancid. a. Seeds of European Plants. 1. EVONYMUS EUROPiEUS; Fr., Fusain, bonnet de pretre; Ger., Spindelbaum, Pfaffenitc/sen; Eng., Spindletree.Riamnacece. This bush grows all over Europe, in hedges and woods, and sometimes rises to the size of a tree. Leaves lanceolate, indented, small, of a pale green, with four petals, supported on dichotomous stems, in panicles. The fleshy capsule, which is generally four-celled, and of a rose-colour when ripe, contains four roundish seeds of a saffron-colour, disagreeable smell and bitter taste. From the ripe seeds and their capsules (in October) we prepare, according to Class III, a tincture of a saffron colour and no taste. 2. HUMULUS LUPULUS; Fr., Houblon: Ger., Hopfen; Eng., Hops.-Urticece. This well-known plant grows in hedges, where it forms aperennial root, sending up numerous annual, angular 164 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. rough, flexible, parasitic stems, which twine around neighbouring objects in a spiral direction, from left to right, and climb to a great height; leaves opposite, standing upon long footstalks; smaller sometimes cordate, larger eight or five lobes; all are serrate, of a deep green colour on the upper surface, and, together with the petioles, extremely rough, with minute prickles; at the base of the footstalks are two or four smooth, ovate, reflexed stipules; flowers numerous, axillary, and furnished with bractes; male flowers yellowishwhite, arranged in panicles; the females, which grow on a separate plant, are pale green, and disposed in solitary, pedicled aments, composed of membranous scales, ovate, acute, and tubular at the base; each scale bears a roundish, compressed germ, and two styles, with long, filiform stigmas; the aments are converted into ovate, membranous cones or strobiles, the scales of which contain each, at their base, two small seeds, surrounded by a yellow, granular, resinous powder. For homoeopathic purposes we use the female flower-buds of the plant, gathered at the beginning of September, and prepare from them, according to Class i i1, a tincture of a dark brown-red colour, and an aromatic bitter taste. 3. PHELIANDRIUM AQUATICUM; Fr.. Phellandre aquatique, Cigiie aquatique, Fenouil d'eau; Ger., JJasserfenchel; Eng., Water fennel.- Umnbelliferce. This biennial plant grows in almost all the swamps and aquatic spots of Europe; root horizontal, crooked, oblique, resembling a turnip; stem from two to six feet high, fistulous, striated, thick, light, branchy, glabrous; leaves tripinnate, petiolated, glabrous, compound, with short pedicles and equal rays; involucre null or of one follicle; involucelle of six or eight follicles; flowers white, with five cordiform petals; fruit ovoid, oblong, slightly compressed, flattened on one side and convex on the other, glabrous, resembling the seeds of anise, striated or furrowed, and turned over by the teeth of the calyx. When at maturity, these grains are larger, of a stronger odour, and greenishyellow; the odour is pungent, disagreeable, and acrid; the taste aromatic and nauseous. We must not confound these seeds with those of the Sium laltfolium, the grains of which SPECIAL PI-ARMACOPCEIA. 165 are smaller, more striated, of a deeper colour, crooked, of an odour and taste altogether different. We prepare, according to Class i, a tincture of a light brown colour, and the taste and odour of the seeds. 4. SECALE CORNUTUM, Clavus secalinum; Fr., Ergot; Ger., Mutterkorn, BocksLorn; Eng., Ergot of rye, spurred rye. This morbid alteration of the seed-bud of rye (and several other cerealia) has been attributed to various causes. According to Decandolle, who calls it Sclerolicum clavum, this alteration is caused by a fungus, which prevents the development of the grain from the commencement, and grows up in its stead. This opinion is supported by the circumstances attending the appearance and growth of the morbid grain; it occurs principally in fertile years, when hot weather frequently alternates with warm rain. It is seated between the awns as a cylindrical, somewhat curved, angular body, longitudinally rugose, and frequently resembling the fenugreek, from half an inch to an inch long, of a deep brown-violet without, and a yellow-white, and sometimes a violet-white within, viscid, having an offensive, rancid smell, like a fungus, and a flat, sweetish taste. From the fresh grains, which should be gathered before the corn is ripe, we prepare, according to Class iii, a tincture of a dark hyacinth-red colour. Triturations are inadmissible, for it is a well-known fact, that triturated secale will soon spoil, and the sooner, the fresher it was prepared. Antidotes Camphor, and Solan. nigr. 5. AGNUS CASTUS, Vitex agnus castus; Fr., Gatilier commun; Ger.,Keusc-k-Lamm; Eng., Chaste tree.- Verbenacee. This plant derives its name of agnus castus (chaste lamb), from the circumstance of the Greek ladies covering their beds with the leaves of it, during the absence of their husbands, to prevent any impure ideas. It is a bush which, on account of its beautiful leaves, is cultivated in our gardens, but which grows naturally along the basin of SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 167 above, containing each one seed, shining, oval and flattened. This fruit has an aromatic odour, intense and agreeable, and an acrid, bitter, hot and piercing taste. We prepare, according to Class I, a tincture of a light straw-yellow colour. 3. CAPSICUM ANNUUM; Fr., Piment, Poivre long ou poivre de Cayenne; Ger., Spanischer Pfeffer; Eng., Cayenne pepper.-Solanee. This annual plant is originally from the East Indies, but it is also found in South America, in the West Indies, in the isles of the Pacific Ocean, in the interior of Africa, &c. It may be raised anywhere abundantly: the stem is thick, roundish, smooth, and branching, rises to two or three feet in height, and supports ovate, pointed, smooth, entire leaves, which are placed without regular order on long foot-stalks; the flowers are solitary, white, and stand on long pedicles at the axils of the leaves; the calyx is persistent, tubular, and five-cleft; the corolla monopetalous and wheel-shaped, with the limb divided into five spreading, pointed, and plaited segments; the filaments short, tapering, and furnished with oblong anthers; the germen ovate, supporting a slender style, which is longer than the filaments, and terminates in a blue stigma; the fruit is a pendulous, pod-like berry, light, smooth, and shining, of a bright scarlet, orange, or sometimes yellow colour, with two or three cells, containing a dry, loose pulp, and numerous flat, kidney-shaped, whitish-yellow seeds. For homoeopathic use, we take the capsules of the native, not cultivated plant, cut them with scissors in narrow stripes, and prepare, according to Class I, a red tincture, without smell and of a burning taste. Antidotes: Camph., China. 4. CINA, Artemisia contra, Semen contra; Fr., Armoise d'Alep (non de Judee); Ger., Zittwersamen, Wurmsamnen; Eng., Worm-seed.--Corym6ferce. The opinion which attributes the seed known under the name of semen contra to the worm-seed of Judea, is all but generally adopted. We distinguish in commerce two 168 SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. kinds: the semen contra of Aleppo, or of the Levant, and the semen contra of Jlldea and Barbary. According to the botanist, Nees van Esembeck, the first of these kinds comes from the arltemisia contra, whilst the other, the semen contra of the Indies, comes from the artemisia conglomerata, that is to say, the wormwood of Judea. According to Kunze, it is the artemisia santonica palmjata and odoratissima which furnish this seed; whilst, according to Sanders, it comes from a kind of chenopodium. The best kind is that which comes from Aleppo or the Levant; it is greener than the other; all the parts are glabrous, its flowers rather large, its odour more free, more aromatic; it is less mixed with foreign matters, dust, small sticks, &c.; its fragments not broken. We prepare, according to Class i, a tincture of a dark yellow-green colour, and a peculiar, unpleasantly aromatic smell and bitterish taste. 5. CoccuLus, lfenispermzum cocculus; Fr., Coque de Levant; Ger., Kockels8kbrner, Kockelsamen; Eng., Cocculus indicus.--1enisperimee. The plant From which we gather these fruits, is a kind of bush which grows in the East Indies, in Egypt, on the coast of Malabar, and in the isles of Ceylon, Java, and Celebes, on rocks and stones, and on the shores of the sea; its fruits come to us in a dry state; they are inodorous, spherical, reniform, or a black or brown-gray, of the size of a small pea, wrinkled, resembling laurel berries. They are surrounded with two barks, of which the first is hard, ligneous, dull; and the second, white and still harder, enclosing a white almond which has an acrid, caustic, and bitter taste, whilst the barks are almost insipid. For homceopathic uses we powder the almond with the barks, and prepare, according to Class I, a tincture of a brownish straw-yellow colour, which, at a temperature below the freezing point, deposits margaric acid on the sides of the vessel, in the shape of wart-shaped little lumps. By filtering the liquid in the cold, we free it from the acid without injury to the preparation. Antidotes: Camph., and Nuxvom. SPECIAL PHARMACOP EIA. 169 6 COFFEA ARABICA, Cofea cruda; Fr., Caf6 moka, Cafe cru; Ger., Roker Kajffee; Engl., Mocha coffee.-Rubiaece<. The tree which bears this well known fruit, is originally from Arabia Felix and Ethiopia, where it attains a height of twenty or thirty feet, but it is now cultivated in equatorial America and in many European countries with perfect success. The fruit of this tree is a berry, which, green at first, becomes afterwards red, and at last almost black; in each berry are found two hard grains, enveloped with a kind of paper-like membrane, and forming each one a demi-ovoid; these grains are the well-known seeds known under the name of crude coffee. We particularly distinguish four kinds: Ist. Mocha coffee, so called from the.town of Mocha, in Arabia. This is the best quality, and is distinguished by its small grains, very fragrant, yellow, rounded, coming from monospermous fruit. 2d. Bourbon coffee, in grains more elongated, but generally also rounded, having, however, less odour than those of Mocha. 3d. Java coffee, which has a rusty-yellow colour. 4th. Martinique coffee, the least estimated. Having been well dried at a moderate temperature, we powder it finely, and prepare from it, according to Class i, a tincture of a yellow-brown colour, using diluted alcohol. Antidotes: Acon., Cham., Ign., Nux vom., Puls. 7. COLOCYNTHIS, CucumZCis colocynthis; Fr., Coloquinte; Ger., Koloquinte; Eng., Bitter cucumber, Colocynth.Cucurbitacece. The colocynth is a species of cucumber originally from Japan, which now grows at the Cape of Good Hope, in Arabia, Syria, the isles of the Archipelago and southern Spain. The fusiform root of this plant gives birth to stems which trail upon the ground, or rise upon neighbouring bodies, to which they attach themselves by their numerous tendrils; leaves of a triangular shape, manycleft, variously sinuated, obtuse, hairy, of a fine green colour on the upper surface, rough and pale on the lower, and standing alternately upon long petioles; flowers solitary and yellow, appearing singly at the axils of the 8 170 SPECIAL PHARMACOPOEIA. leaves; fruit a globular berry, of the size of a small orange, yellow and smooth when ripe, containing, within a hard coriaceous rind, a white, spongy, medullary matter, enclosing numerous ovate, compressed, flat, white seeds; the pulp of this fruit is cellular, spongy, light, white, almost inodorous, but of an excessive bitterness. We receive this fruit, deprived of its rind, from Aleppo.and Alexandria; the white, dry and light fruit is the best; often also we meet with, under the name of colocynth, the fruit of another cucurbitaceous plant of the size of a small apple, but these fruits are rounder and lighter than the true cucumbers; their outer rind adheres strongly to the dried pulp, and is very fragile; the taste of this pulp is also very bitter, but the bitterness is much less intense than that of the colocynth. To prepare this last for homoeopathic purposes, we powder the marrow of the fruit without the seeds, and prepare from it, according to Class i, a tincture of a dark straw-yellow colour, and a very bitter taste. Antidoes: Camph., Caust., Cham., Coff., Staph. 8. CROTON TILLII seu TIGLII, Semen Catafpulice minoris, nuces catlarticce americanea; Ger., Purgir-Korner, GranatillKorner; Eng., Croton-oil.-Eup/iorbiace'. The seeds which are sent us from India, are oval-oblong, obtuse at both ends, from Iths to half an inch long, and from - to 5-ths of an inch thick, terminating in a somewhat projecting suture; beneath the thin, brownishyellow, somewhat dark-spotted, brittle shell, we find a yellowish-white, inodorous kernel, which has at first a mild-oily taste that shortly after becomes burning-acrid, and causing a violent scraping in the throat. We prepare, according to Class I, a tincture of a brownyellowish colour and burning taste. If we wish to obtain the fat oil instead of the tincture, we have to dissolve it in ten times its amount of alcohol fortius. The trituration soon becomes rancid. 9. CUBEBJE, Bace8 seu semen Cu6bebarum,i piper caudalum; Fr., CubBbes; Ger., Kubeben, Stiel-, Sc/twanz-, or KubebenPfeffer; Eng., Cubebs.-Urticec. Cubebs are the unripe berries of a bush that is a native SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 171 of the East Indies. They are globular and provided with pedicles. They are of the size of ordinary peas, covered with a black-brown shell that encloses a kernel of a homogeneous colour; the shell has a pleasant, aromatic smell, but little taste; the kernel has a bitterish, acrid taste, like pepper. The pedicle cannot be broken off without injuring the shell. We prepare, according to Class I, a tincture of a lightbrown colour, possessing the taste and smell of the berries. The heavier and smoother the berries the better they are. 10. DIPTERIX ODORATA WILLD., FablcE de Tonco seu lTngo seu de Tonca seu Tunca; Ger., Tonko- or Tonga-Bo/ne; Eng., Tongo-bean.-Legumiosce. Of the two varieties which are offered by druggists, we prefer those from Holland. They are oblong, straight, or sometimes somewhat curved, from -th to --ths of an inch long, and from I to half an inch thick, flat, shining like grease, brownish-black, containing beneath the thin shell a light brown, mealy, two-lobed kernel, between which we sometimes discover, in older beans, the substance called Cumarin or Tonko-Camphor, resembling the crystals of benzoic acid. The smell of these beans is similar to that of the flowers of clover; the taste is aromatic, acridbitterish. We prepare, according to Class i, a tincture of a strawyellow colour. Antidote Acetum. 11. EUGENIA JAMBOS s. jambosa; Fr., Eugenie jame rose, Jame-rosade; Ger., Jamnbusen-M1,yrlte; Eng., Malabar Plum-tree, or Rose-apple.-Myrtaces. This beautiful tree is a native of the Indies and the warm countries of America; it is never without flowers or fruit, and attains a height of from twenty to forty feet; the bark of the trunk is of a reddish-brown, that of the branches cracked but smooth; leaves alternate, entire, lancinated, veined, and full of points, in length - of an inch to an inch, of a deep green above, of a pale green below; pedicles terminal, ramose, multifloral; flowers large, of a dull yellow; 1702 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. fruit almost spherical, of the size of a medium pear, of a fine pale pink-yellow, approaching to the rose; seeds monospermous, with four angles, and enveloped in a thin pellicle; the fruit is eaten, but the seeds, and above all the envelope, are considered poisonous; the root of this tree is, it is said, one of the most violent poisons. According to Dr. Hering, the tincture should be prepared from the fresh seeds. 12. JATROPHA CURCAS; Fr., Medicinier, gros pignon de Jude, figue infernale; Ger., Schvzarze Brechuuss, grosse Purgirnuss, Illenfeige; Eng., Purging Nuts, Barbadoes Nuts, Infernal Fig.-Euphorbiacece. We obtain the seeds of this plant from Cuba, the Antilles, and South America; they are black-brown, dotted with light brown stripes and points, from - of an inch to 11 inch long, and from A- to - an inch in breadth, and almost of the same thickness; the shell encloses a whitish, almond-like kernel, at first of a mild, and afterwards an acrid, very harsh scraping taste. The tincture is prepared according to Class i. Antidotes: Croton tig, and Camphor. 13. IGNATIA AMARA, StrycffJel Ignatii; Fr., Feve de St. Ignace; Ger., Bittere Fiebernuss; Eng., St. Ignatius's Bean.-Apocynece. This species of stryc/nos forms a sort of vine, the leaves of which are ovoid and shining; it grows from the Philippine Isles as far as Cochin China; the fruit is of the size of a melon, and contains twenty to twenty-four seeds. The seeds (St. Ignatius's beans) are of the size of a large almond, and a little more than an inch long, irregular, angular, hard and stone-like, glabrous, inodorous, and semi-transparent; on the outside they are of a blackishgray or clear-brown, striated, downy; inside they are of a brown yellow, and somewhat shining; they have a somewhat disagreeable, musky odour, and an excessively bitter taste; the best are the largest, heaviest, and those which have not been opened. In commerce, this fruit is actually extremely rare, and the majority of druggists sell impu SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 173 dently the grains of nux vomica for those of the bean of St. Ignatius. Those of the nux vomica are of a greenishgray, very flat, having the form of a coat-button, whilst those of the St. Ignatius's bean are of a blackish- or brownish-gray, of the form of an almond, and angular. We pare the bean in very thin, pliable stripes, then dry them at a moderate temperature (over warm water not exposed to the steam, for instance), reduce them to a fine powder in a mortar, and prepare a tincture of a pale strawyellow colour, and bitter taste. Antidotes: Arn.,Camph., Cocc., Coff., Nux vom.. 14. LYCOPODIUM CLAVATUM, Lycopodium pollen; Fr., Lycopode, Pied de loup; Ger., Biirlapp-Samen, SSreupulver, SHexenmehl; Eng., Club-moss, WolPs-claw.-Lycopodinez. The plant which furnishes the powder known under the name of lycopodium, or vegetable sulphur, is a species of moss which grows in Europe, above all in Finland and Russia, in stony and hilly places, covered with wood; we gather the powder from the spike of the plant by roasting and beating it towards the end of summer; the stem of this plant is creeping, filiform, ramose, from three to four feet long; the recumbent branches are sterile, the upright ones fertile; leaves rounded within, lance-shaped, entire, or toothed, nerveless, ending in a white point, filiform; spikes straight, cylindrical, two to three inches long, formed of scales arranged like tiles; capsules reniform, yellow, axillary, unilocular, with two valves, containing seeds which form the lycopodium of commerce. It is a powder extremely fine, of a pale yellow, unctuous to the touch, inodorous, insipid, adhering to the finger, immiscible in water,-on which it floats,-inflammable and very light; it is often adulterated with the pollen of the pine, sawdust, fecula, powdered chalk and lime, or other powders coloured yellow by gamboge. In this last case, the fraud may be detected by the red tint which a solution of potash gives to the lycopodium; and as to those with other powders, we recognise them, inasmuch as when put on water these powders become impregnated with it, and sink, whilst the lycopodium floats; the powder of chalk, and that of lime, sink at once, and betray themselves still more evidently 174 SPECIAL PHARIMACOPEIA. by the effervescence which they produce with acids; the adulterations with the pollen of the pine, or that of the fir, are discovered by the resinous odour which these sub stances exhale when rubbed between the hands; the presence of fecula may be detected by iodine. We make the first three attenuations by trituration. Antidotes: Camph., Puls. 15. Nux MOSCHATA, Myristica mo8scata; Fr., Noix Muscade, Muscadier; Ger., Muskat-Nuss; Eng., Nutmeg.Laurinece (Myristicee). The nutmeg tree grows in the isles of Banda, Amboyna, the Moluccas, &c., and is cultivated in many tropical climates; it bears much resemblance to the pear tree; it rises to the height of twenty or thirty feet; the bark is of a deep graygreen, glabrous; branches strong, hanging; leaves attenuate, oblong, lanceolate, entire, aromatic; fruit hanging, of the size of a hen's egg, coming to maturity nine months after the flowering; this fruit is of a blackish-brown, and composed of three parts by order of superposition, namely: 1st, the pulp, exterior coat, of a rosy-white, thready; 2d, the arillas, or mace, second coat, consisting of a sort of reticulated cupole, viscous, thin, of an aromatic odour, and an acrid, balsamic taste; 3d, the nut which is formed of two parts, the sh/ell, and the kernel. The shell is smooth, grayish, hard, firm, furrowed; the kernel or nutmeg, properly so called, is ovoid, flattened at the two ends, of the size of a pigeon's egg, veined and marbled, of a woody consistence, and oleaginous. The fruit is gathered three times a year; the gathering of March is the best; that of July is the most abundant, and that of November the least abundant and least advantageous of all. For homoeopathic use we choose the small nuts, obtuse on both sides, which are fresh, heavy, and exude a yellowish, fragrant oil when pricked; they must not be worm-eaten, and not break to pieces when cut, We prepare a yellow tincture according to Class i. Antidotes: Camphor, caraway, SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 175 16. Nux VOMICA, Strychnos nux vomica; Fr., Noix vomique; Ger., Brechnuss, Krelinaugen-Schwindelbaum; Eng., Vomit-nut.-Apocinece. The nux grows in the East Indies, in the island of Ceylon, on the coasts of Coromandel, Malabar, &c. The tree is of a moderate size, with numerous strong branches, covered with a smooth, dark, gray bark; the young branches are long, flexuous, very smooth, dark green, and furnished with oval, roundish, entire, smooth and shining leaves, having three or four ribs, and placed opposite to each other on short footstalks; the flowers are small, white, funnel-shaped, and disposed in terminal corymbs; the fruit is a round berry, as large as an orange, covered with a smooth, yellow, or orange-coloured, hard, fragile rind, and containing numerous seeds imbedded in a juicy pulp; the seeds are flat, circular, about two thirds of an inch in diameter, and from - to J an inch in thickness, generally somewhat curved, with a depression on one side, and a corresponding prominence on the other; they are thickly covered with fine, silky, shining, ash-coloured, or yellowishgray hairs, attached to a thin, fragile coating, which closely invests the interior nucleus or kernel; this is very hard, horny, usually whitish, and semi-transparent, sometimes dark coloured and opaque, and of very difficult pulverization; the nut is destitute of odour, but has an acrid, very bitter taste, which is much stronger in the kernel than in the investing membrane. We first scrape or pare the nut in thin slices, dry them at a moderate temperature, after which they are easily reduced to a fine powder, from which we prepare a tincture according to Class i, of a straw-yellow colour and bitter taste. Antidotes: Camph., Coff., Cocc., Acon., Cham., Ign., Puls., Vinum. 17. OLEUM OLIVARUM; Fr., Huile d'olive; Ger., Baumnl; Eng., Olive-oil. This oil is used in homoeopathy as an antidote in some cases of poisoning, and also for the preparation of a cerate. We obtain it by expression from the fruit of the olive-tree 176 SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. (Olea Europea, L.), formerly classed with the family Jasmineae, Juss., and Decandria monogynia, L., originally from Africa, but at present growing spontaneously in France, Spain, Italy, &c. It is an evergreen; leaves opposite, very rarely alternate, green above, shining and silvery beneath, bitter, aromatic, and somewhat tartish to the taste; it grows slowly, lives for ages, and sometimes attains a size of six feet in diameter; its wood is very heavy, hard, granulated, veined, yellowish; its bark is grayish, split, wrinkled, inodorous and bitter; the little white flowers are axillary, in bunches; its fruit, the olive, is oval oblong, of a deep green, or blackish, and contains, in a tartish flesh, a very hard seed; it is from this fruit that we extract the olive-oil; the best is obtained from fruit scarcely ripe; there is then but little bitterness, but when too ripe this bitterness becomes developed. Olive oil is of a whitish or straw-yellow colour, or greenish according to the degree of maturity of the fruit from which it has been extracted; the good quality is whitish, unctuous, but little soluble in alcohol, very soluble in ether, of a feeble odour, of a sweetish and agreeable taste, concreting at a temperature of from 50 to 55 degrees (8~ to 10~ Reaumur), inflammable with a clear flame. In commerce it is often adulterated with the oil of poppy, linseed, rapeseed, &c.; a fraud which may be detected by its greater weight, and by its less easy concretion in the cold, or because when shaken in a bottle half full, it then becomes frothy or filled with b ubbles. Exposed to the air it easily becomes rancid; but properly secured it may be kept pure for years. Compare CERA. 8. PICHURIM, Iaurus picJuirim; Fr., Laurier Pichurim, Noix de Para; Ger., Pichurim-Bohne; Eng., Pichurim bean laurel.-Laurinece. This vegetable grows in South America. In commerce we find two kinds. 1st. The larger kind (fabae pichurim majores). ed. The smaller (faba pichurim minores). The first are the best; these are composed of two lobes, of a very marked aromatic odour, convex on one side, flat on the other, oblong-oval, one to two inches long, by of an inch to 11 inch broad, obtuse at both ends, of an acrid and slightly peppery taste; the concave side of the bean is SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 177 a little cracked, of a blackish-brown; the other side is smooth, of a clearer colour, marked by a longitudinal furrow; the inside is reddish-yellow, full of darker points. We prepare, according to Class i, a tincture of a light brownish-yellow colour. 19. SABADILLA, Semen saabadille s. sabatiglice s. cebadillc, hordeum causticum; Fr. Sevadille; Ger., Sabatill-Krner, Liuse-Samen, Laus-Korner; Eng. Indian Caustic Barley. - Veratrece (Colc2iacece). The bulb is furnished with numerous fibres, and is surrounded with brown, membranous scales; from the bulb shoot up glabrous, linear, acuminate, entire leaves, of four inches long and - of an inch broad, carinated on their posterior surface, and somewhat furrowed. Stem herbaceous, simple, glabrous, almost leafless. The flowers form a simple cluster, or with a few branches only, at the end of the stem; the larger portion of the flowers are male flowers, and fall off, after which the pediculated flowers turn to one side. Capsules oblong, three-crested, threehorned, three-celled, each cell containing two seeds, elongated, black, a little wrinkled, pointed at the ends, flat on one side and convex at the other, somewhat curved, 4 to g of an inch long, whitish within, hard, inodorous, and of an exceedingly acrid, burning, and durable taste; the taste of the capsules is very bitter. For homoeopathic use, we take the seeds with/ their capsules, and prepare, according to Class I, an inodorous tincture of a brown-yellow colour. Antidotes: Camphor, Puls. SO. SOLANUM MAMMOSUM; Ger., Zitzenformiger or Zitzen Nackdsckatten.-Solanece. This bush is a native of Virginia, Carolina, Barbadoes, the West Indies, and Antilles, and grows in hedges, and on cultivated places. Stem herbaceous, furnished with prickles and long hairs, erect, branchy, from three to four feet high; leaves large, generally more broad than long, cordiform, irregularlyangular, lobed, shaggy on both sides, with yellow nerves on the lower surface, the mid-rib furnished with darkyellow prickles; flowers scattered, panicled, of a pale-gray; berries macuniform, yellow. SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 179 inspissated in the open air; or they are obtained from various parts of the plant by boiling the latter with water. The resins and gum-resins of whose action on the human organism we are more particularly acquainted, are the following: 1. ALOi~S, Gummi s. succus aloe, aloes succotrina s. soccotrina s. lucida; Fr., Aloes; Ger., Aloe; Eng., Aloes. -Liliaceae. This is the dried juice of the plant, of a bright-shining, yellow-greenish-black appearance, and of a red-brown if seen towards the light in thin pieces, of a brittle fracture like that of a shell, feeble myrtle-like odour, and an excessively bitter, lasting taste. We prepare a tincture, according to Class I, with strong alcohol, of a dark red-brown colour, and possessing in a high degree the colour and taste of the aloes. 2. AMMONIACUM, Gummi ammoniacum; Fr., Gomme ammoniaque; Ger., Ammoniak, Armenisc/es Gummi; Eng., Gum ammoniac.- Umbelliferce. Gum ammoniac is a green, resinous substance, which flows from an umbelliferous tree, a native of Africa, and of some parts of the East Indies. According to the account of Fontanier, it flows in grains more or less large; it is collected about June, and sent to us. In commerce we distinguish two kinds: 1. Gum ammoniac pure, or amygdaloid, which is in small, round, agglomerated grains, of a dull reddish-yellow, shining and greasy in its fracture, not transparent, whitish within, of strong odour, acrid, bitter and disagreeable taste, partly soluble in water, with which it forms a milky mixture, half soluble in alcohol. 2. Gum ammoniac impure, in lumis, in masses more or less large, of a dirty-yellow colour, mingled with the refuse of seeds, earths, sand, &c.; of a feeble, balsamic odour; of a bitter, resinous, and acrid taste, softening between the fingers, puffing-up on coals, when it crepitates, blackens, and emits an alliaceous smell. It dissolves in ether, and only in small quantity in vinegar and alcohol. The first three attenuations are made by trituration, or we prepare a tincture with strong alcohol. 180 SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 3. GUMMI GUTTI seu gamnlie s. garmbogie, gutta ganiba s. gambogia; Ger., Gummigutt, Gummigutti, Gutti; Eng., Gamboge.- Gutiferce. This drug comes to us in dense masses, either cylindrical; from 1 to 3 inches in diameter, and 12 inches in length, or in irregular lumps of several pounds in weight, of a dirty green-yellow surface, and bearing impressions of leaves. The shell-like fracture is of a shining brown-yellow, the drug leaves a light-yellow trace on paper, and, if applied with water, the line is of a shining gold-yellow. Little taste at first, afterwards harsh, acrid and scraping; no smell. The tincture is prepared according to Class I; it is of a gold-yellow colour. 4. ASSAF(ETIDA, Eerla assafoetida; Fr., Gomme resine de ferule; Ger., Stink-Asand Teufelsdrenck; Eng., Assafoetida.- Umbelliferce. The substance which we use under this name is the gum-resin of theferula assafetida, a perennial plant which is found in Persia, Media, Lybia, Syria, and even in India. To obtain the gum, which the ancients already knew under the name of succus cyrenaicus, we cut the root of the plant, and let the juice run out, which at first is white, but which becomes yellow on exposure, and concretes into a substance composed of rusty-coloured, irregular pieces, more or less large, mixed with pieces of a white colour, of a very strong and very fetid alliaceous odour, and acrid taste. In commerce we distinguish three kinds of assafoetida,viz.: 1st. Assafcetida in grains (assafoetida in granis), which is in small pieces of a yellowish- or brownish-red, a little unctuous to the touch, and of a shining colour on fracture. 2d. Assafoetida in tears (assafoetida ainygdaloides), the most abundant sort, and consisting of grains agglomerated, or in a brownish mass mixed with white morsels, like to broken almonds. 3d. Rock assafoetida (assafectida petraa), consisting of pieces of a yellowish-white with little white shiny points. For homceopathic use, we prefer the first of these three kinds, the assafoetida in grains, whence we prepare a tincture according to Class I, of a saturated brown-red colour. Antidotes: Camphor, China, Caust., Puls. SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 181 5. EUPHORBIUM OFFICINALE; Fr., Euphorbe officinale; Ger., Wolfsmilch, Ezupkorbien-IHarz; Eng., Euphorbium spurge. -E-uphorbiaces. This gum-resin is extracted from several kinds of euphorbia growing in the warm regions of Africa, chiefly at the Cape, along Mount Atlas, &c. In the fresh state it is a milky juice which flows out in abundance on incision; it comes to us in irregular pieces or in rounded tears, about the size of a pea or larger, often forked and perforated with one or two small conical holes, produced by the prickles of the plant, around which the juice has concreted, and which sometimes remain in the holes: the masses are occasionally large and mixed with impurities, the surface is dull and smooth, bearing some resemblance to that of tragacanth; consistence somewhat friable, light yellowish red; odour scarcely perceptible; taste at first slight, but afterwards excessively acrid and burning; colour of the powder yellowish; triturated with water, it renders it milky and is partially dissolved; alcohol dissolves a large portion, forming a yellow tincture, which becomes milky on the addition of water. We must be careful in making the powder, as it is very acrid; we should place a band over the eyes and nose, &c. It burns with a bright white flame, emitting an agreeable odour. According to Class i, we prepare a tincture of a brownish-yellow colour and a burning taste. Antidotes: Camph., lemon-juice. 6. GUAIACUM OFFICINALE; Fr., Gaiac, Gayac; Ger., Guajak-Harz; Eng., Guaiacum, gum resin.-Rutacee. The plant from which we receive the gum resin, known under the name of gum guaiacum, is a large and beautiful tree which grows in South America and in the West Indies, especially at St. Domingo, Jamaica, Brazil, &c. The wood and bark of this tree are found in commerce in large-pieces, irregular, hard, but brittle; the bark is compact, gray outside, spotted, resinous, and apparently greasy; the wood is of a sweetish-bitter, acrid, burning taste, and generally inodorous, but when burnt, gives out an aromatic smoke; the inner part of this wood is of a deep-green colour, and 182 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. contains much resin; the outer part is more yellow, lighter, and less resinous. It is from this wood that we obtain by decoction the resin of guaiac, but we also obtain it in a direct way, in the country itself, where it oozes from the tree, either naturally or in consequence of incisions made in it; it comes to us in masses, hard, large, irregular, semi-transparent, of a deep brown or green outside, of a blueish-green, and full of white and brown spots inside, with a waving and shining fracture, and of a specific gravity of 1-205 to 1-228. It is without odour, but of a slightly bitter taste, which pricks the tongue a little; it is very friable, and affords a powder of a grayish-white, which, on exposure to the air, soon becomes green. It is soluble in alcohol, and but slightly in water. It is at times adulterated with the resin of the pine tree, but on throwing a little of this resin on the fire, the smell of turpentine will soon discover this mixture. Often, also, it is mixed with colophony, which is revealed by caustic potash, wherewith, whilst the resin of guaiac is pure, a clear solution is obtained, whereas, when there is any colophony present, a troubled solution is engendered. We prepare a tincture of a dark-brown colour, according to Class i. 7. JALAPIE MAGISTERIUM; Fr., Resine de Jalap, Magistere de jalap; Ger., falappen/iarz; Eng., Resin of Jalap.-Convolvulacece. SJalap root (see description under Roots) contains in its substance the tenth part of its weight of resin, which may be extracted by alcohol, in digesting the root in this liquid, mingling afterwards the tincture with water, and submitting the whole to distillation. The resin of jalap is of a dull and yellow-green colour without, fracture of a brown-yellow, shining but little, opaque, friable, of an acrid, bitter taste. When warmed or rubbed, it exhales the odour of the root; in alcohol it dissolves easily; this resin is frequently adulterated with charcoal or powdered jalap, with the resin of the pine, of guaicum, of white agaricus, &c.; the adulteration with these resins is easily detected, inasmuch as oil of turpentine dissolves them, whilst it leaves the.resin of jalap undissolved.. SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 183 8. OPIUM, Papaver somniferum; Fr., Opium, Pavot somnifc're; Ger., Opium, Molnsaft; Eng., Opium, White poppy.-Papaveracece. The white poppy is an annual plant, with a round, smooth, erect, glaucous, often branching stem, rising two or three feet in height, and sometimes attaining five or even six feet in favorable situations; the leaves are large, variously lobed and toothed, and alternately disposed upon the stem, which they closely embrace; flowers terminal, very large, and of a white or silver-gray colour, with a tinge of violet at the base; calyx smooth, two-leaved, which fall when the petals expand; these are usually four in number; the germen, which is smooth and globular, supports a radiated stigma, and is surrounded by numerous short and slender filaments, with erect, oblong, compressed anthers; the capsule is smooth and glaucous, of a rounded shape, from two to four inches in diameter, somewhat flattened at top and bottom, and crowned with the persistent stigma, the diverging segments of which are arranged in a circle upon the summit; it contains numerous minute white seeds, which, when perfectly ripe, escape through small openings beneath the stigma; all parts of the poppy are said to contain a white, opaque, narcotic juice; it most abounds in the capsule, and there the virtues of the plant most reside. Opium is the dried juice of these capsules, and comes to us in brown cakes of a greasy, shining appearance and bitter taste, acrid and narcotic, and of a strong odour, which becomes weaker when older. We find in commerce five kinds: 1st. Red opium, from Constantinople; it is in flat cakes, weighing from half a pound to two pounds and a half, reddish without and within, of a rank odour, but not so strong as the black opium. 2d. Black opium, from Smyrna. 3d. Brown opium, from Egypt. 4th. Indian opium, a variety of the black. 5th. Opium in tears, from Persia. 6th. Yelloo opium, from Greece. The strongest of these is the black, from Smyrna, and this is the kind we use in homoeopathic preparations; it comes to us in large round cakes, of a black colour, of a strong, rank odour, enveloped in leaves of the poppy, and sprinkled with the seeds of the Rumex patientia; in the finer parcels the colour internally is of a light brown; SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 185 than before. It has to be guarded from the light in small phials, otherwise it soon becomes again resinous, coloured, and acquires an offensive smell. It is prepared in the same way as the oleum animale. Both the oleum animale and the oleum terebinthinae being exceedingly volatile, it is self-evident that they cannot be triturated without losing their virtue.* 7. Fungi. The fungi are principally gathered in the latter part of the summer; they have to be carefully cleaned of worms, and of all other injurious or heterogeneous substances. Fungi generally contain a crystalline fat, a semi-fluid oil of a buttery consistence, vegetable albumen, a saccharine matter, two kinds of nitrogeneous matter, one of which is soluble in water and in alcohol, the other in water only, salts of potash and ammoniac, various kinds of acid, such as, fungic acid, boletic acid, phosphoric acid, acetic acid, the pulpy structure of the fungus, and water. 1. AGARICUS MUSCARIUS; Ger., Fliegensc/hwanmn; FliegenPilz; Fr. Clkampignon rouge, Orange fausse; Eng., Bug agaric.-Fungi. This fungus grows from August to October, in Europe, Asia. and America, and is found in pine and birch forests. Upon first coming out of the ground, it is oval and enclosed in a soft, fleshy envelope; the young stem is short and thick, bulbous at the base, generally hollow when old, from four to six inches long, the part above the middle being provided with a white, membranous ring; the cap is * The following method has been proposed to purify turpentine. Mix eight parts of turpentine with one part of alcohol 0.80, shake them well together, and let the mixture stand quietly; in a few minutes the oil sinks to the bottom of the vessel, and the alcohol, which contains the resinous portion of the oil in solution, can be poured off. This washing should be repeated three or four times, after which, according to Nimmo, the oil is quite pure, and, according to Vanquelin, contains about one fifth of alcohol, which is attracted by water, without the mixture becoming milky on being shaken. This seems to be a very good method of obtaining a small quantity of pure turpentine. ~ 'i."'" ":'i 186 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. at first eminently vaulted spherical, afterwards it becomes flatter, is of a scarlet-red, or even bright red-orange, furnished with yellowish-white scales which are sometimes wanting, with a white border, or a border with brownyellow stripes; pulp yellowish, or white, or reddish, the lamellae radiate from the middle to the margin; it has an offensive smell and a burning-acrid taste. For medicinal purposes, we select the younger fungi, the stems of which are not hollow, cleanse them of the adhering earth by scraping it off, remove the epidermis from the stem and cap, and reduce the whole to a paste, from which we prepare, according to Class ii, an essence of a reddishyellowish colour, and possessing the taste and colour of the fungus. Antidotes: Camphor, Coffee, Wine, and Puls. 2. BOLETUS SATANAS; Ger., Satans' Pilz; Eng., Satan's fungus.-Fungi. It is found in forests, in summer and autumn. Cap thick, dense, of a pale yellow; orifice of the little tubes dark-red; stem big, dark-red, the upper portion furnished with bars. According to Phoebus, it is a variety of the boletus luridus Sckd/P. 3. LYCOPERDON BOVISTA; bovista officinalis; Ger., Bovist, Kugelschwamm, Staubschwamm, Wolfsrauch, Bubon. fist; Eng., Lycoperdon, buckfist, puff ball.-Fungi. This fungus is found almost throughout the whole of Europe, especially at the commencement of autumn, on pasture grounds and dry meadows. It is almost globular, gradually terminating at the base in a big, folded stem. It is from - of an inch to an inch in diameter; when young it is white, afterwards dirty-yellow, and finally changes to a dark-brown colour. The inside is at first white and succulent, afterwards greenish and poppy, lastly, brown and dry as dust. It has an offensive smell, and an insipid, mouldy taste. We gather the fungus when perfectly ripe, and prepare from it, according to Class i, a tincture of a brown colour and very little taste. Triturations can only be made from the mouldy dust; the envelope cannot be pulverized. Antidote: Camphor. SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 187 8. Vegetable Products. Obtained, a. By chemical operations. b. By fermentation. c. By combustion. 1. SACCHARUM OFFICINARUM; Fr., Sucre; Ger., Zucker; Eng., Sugar.- Graminece. The sugar-cane grows in the tropical regions of either hemisphere, especially in the East and West Indies, and on several of the South-sea islands. The juice of the ripe stems having been pressed out, it is mixed up with a little lime for the purpose of removing the vegetable glue, after which it is boiled and allowed to cool, when the sugar crystallizes, and is known under the name of cassonade. This first sugar is refined where it is produced, but more frequently in Europe; the clarified juice is inspissated, and loaf-sugar made out of it. It has a very sweet taste, and can be dissolved in water, and also in alcohol, in indefinite proportions. 2. ACETUM; Fr., Vinaigre; Ger., Essig; Eng., Vinegar. Vinegar is obtained by exposing wine or some other alcoholic fluid to the access of air, and the influence of warmth; the fluid gradually becomes turbid and warmer than the surrounding atmosphere. Finally the liquid becomes clear again, and has a sour smell and taste. When distilled it gives off acetic acid diluted with water. The principal constituent of vinegar is acetic acid, which is derived from the alcohol contained in the wine. In medicine we use the following kinds of vinegar: -a. Common Vinegar, obtained by the sour fermentation of various fluids and substances, such as wine, beer, fruit, and beets. Wine-vinegar is the best kind of vinegar. Vinegar can be mixed with water and alcohol in every proportion. b. Distilled Vinegar, obtained by distilling wine-vinegar SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 189 employed for large burns by dipping clean linen rags into the spirit, and keeping them constantly moist when applied. The application is not practicable when half the body is burnt, and deep wounds have been caused by the burn; nor can it be applied to burns in the neighbourhood of the eye and of other delicate organs. It is of very little or no use after cold water has been applied. Linen rags moistened with spirits of wine, are an excellent application to bedsores; or the spirits may be used as a wash. 6. LAURUS CAMPHORA L., gummi campriorwe, camphora. c/inensis seu japonica, caphlura; Fr., Camphore; Ger., Kampher, Kanmpqor, Kamfer, Kapher; Eng., Camphor.Laurinee. This tree is a native of China, Japan, and Cochinchina; the Chinese call it Tehange. It is an evergreen, the bark of the trunk uneven, gray-brown. From this tree we obtain the Chinese or Japanese camphor. There is another much rarer and finer sort obtained in the islands of Sumatra or Borneo, from the Nyobalanus canqmpora Caleb. The branches of this tree crack spontaneously, and an oil flows from these cracks, which, when exposed to the air, acquires the consistence of camphor. This kind of camphor is said to be clear as glass, somewhat less unctuous to the touch than the other kind, less volatile, and of a stronger smell. Camphor comes to us in discs of from one to two pounds in weight; they are globular below, and generally perforated in the middle, of a shining, crystalline appearance. It has a peculiar, exceedingly penetrating smell, and a somewhat acrid, warming, aromatic-balsamic, afterwards cooling and bitterish taste; when chewed, it feels to the teeth like wax; it is unctuous to the touch, white, friable, tenacious, of granulary fracture, crystallizing in white, transparent octaedra, or hexaedra; by the addition of a few drops of alcohol, ether or oil, it may be reduced to a fine powder, and possesses a specific weight of 0.996; it becomes volatile if exposed to the open air, is easily inflammable, and burns with a profusely smoking flame, without leaving a carbonaceous residue; it is easily soluble in ether, alcohol, fat, and ethereal oils, not so soluble in vinegar, and least in water. 190 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. We prepare a solution with strong alcohol in the proportion of one to ten, which is to be regarded as the first attenuation. It ought to be quite colourless and of a strong smell and taste. Antidotes: Opium, Spir. nitr. dulc. 7. CARBO VEGETABILIS; Fr., Charbon vegetal; Ger., Holz-kohle, Pflanzen -kohle, vegetabiliscke Kohle; Eng., Vegetable charcoal. We select the firmest pieces of beech* or birch-charcoal, of middle weight, and divested of their bark, clearly showing the texture of the wood, and allowing us to infer, from a certain bright lustre, that the carbonizing process was perfect. These pieces, after being divided into lumps of the size of a fist, are again made red-hot (in a wood fire), and then speedily extinguished in an earthen vessel provided with a well-fitting cover; having been allowed to cool, and the ashes which may have formed having been blown off, the pieces are pulverized very finely, and the powder is kept in closed vessels in a dry place. The powder of vegetable charcoal is blacker than that of animal charcoal, and, in the light of the sun, has a sparkling appearance, even when ever so fine. It is without smell or taste. It is prepared like animal charcoal, (which see, under the head of 'C Animal substances.") Antidotes: Camph., Coff., Ars. CHAPTER IV. MINERAL KINGDOM. Formerly mineral substances were divided into earths, salts, metals, and combustible minerals. According to the new division, we have metallic and non-metallic minerals (metals, metalloids, and metallic or non-metallic bodies). The minerals which we employ in homoeopathy, are generally subjected to chemical manipulations, in order to obtain them pure, and free from all heterogeneous substances. We will first treat of a-metallic or non-metallic bodies; then of the acids, alkalies, earths, and salts; and lastly, of the * The hard knotty beach, peculiar to the Alps and to mountainous districts, generally in a temperate climate, supplies the best charcoal. SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 191 metals and their compounds. To the first and the last in this list belong all those chemically simple substances which we have as yet been unable to reduce to simpler forms, either by physical or chemical means, and which by their union, if effected in the requisite proportions, reproduce the substances of which they are the constituent elements. Metallic and Combustible Substances. 1. BROMIUM; Fr., Bromine; Ger., Brom; Eng., Bromine. We take sea-water, or the mother-brine of salt-springs, (or waters issuing from salt beds,) reducing its bulk to one-third, and, by means of evaporation and crystallization, we free it from the salt and the free muriatic acid contained in it. As long as a precipitate forms, we add sulphuric acid, in order to free the solution from lime, With from six to nine pounds (of the original quantity) we mix, in a retort with a short neck and a carefully-fitting glass-helm, one ounce of finely powdered manganese, and two ounces of sulphuric acid, which should be diluted with two ounces of water; we boil this mixture, after all the interstices have been previously stopped in the most careful manner. To the beak of the helm we attach a glass-tube which is to be directed into a tubulated receiver, where it should rest on red-hot chloride of calcium. As soon as brown vapours cease to develope themselves, the work is done, and is to be discontinued at once. With a suitable receiver, such as a tubulated retort, the rectification of bromine can be accomplished directly, as soon as the receiver is separated from the alembic, and the tubulus is well closed. The rectification of bromine requires to be conducted with great care. We have to guard against the noxious vapours of bromine, the distillation has to be conducted slowly and at a moderate temperature, and the receiver should be kept as cool as possible. The best plan is to conduct the whole operation in the open air, and with the mouth bandaged. Bromine is a liquid of a dark brown-red colour; in thick layers it is not transparent; in thin layers it is transparent, of a beautiful fiery red; it has a suffocating odour, re SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. sembling that of chlorine, and irritating the eyes a good deal. It has to be kept in phials with glass-stoppers, in a coolplace. We prepare the attenuations with strong alcohol. 2. GRAPHITES, PLUMBAGO, per-carburel of iron: Fr., Graphite, plombagine, per -carburet de fer; Ger., Grap/it, Reissblei; Eng., Graphite, plumbago, blacklead, carburet of iron. Pure graphite is a mineral carbon containing ten parts of carbon to one of iron. It is occasionally found in mines; those of England and Passau are regarded as the best. A species of artificial graphite is formed in high furnaces, during the smelting of iron. It is a gray, blackish, shining substance, unctuous to the touch, insipid, inodorous, and used for pencils, called lead-pencils. To prepare graphite for medical use, it must be boiled for an hour in a sufficient quantity of rain-water, after which the fluid is to be decanted, and the graphite to be digested in a solution of equal parts of sulphuric and hydrochloric acids, diluted with twice their volume of water. After repeatedly stirring the mixture for twentyfour hours, decant the fluid, wash the residue with rainwater, and dry it. Graphite thus prepared, should be prepared still further as follows: Take small portions of the graphite, and mix them with coarsely powdered sugar of milk and a sufficient quantity of water to reduce the whole to a thickish paste by rubbing down the mixture without cessation in a mortar of some size. This rubbing is to be continued until the water has evaporated and the mass begins to form little lumps. Boiling-hot water is then poured over the whole, in order to dissolve the sugar of milk and to separate the coarser from the finer particles of graphite. This graphite is washed repeatedly, dried, and employed for the triturations. The first three attenuations are then prepared by trituration. Antidotes: Ars., Nux v., Vinum. 3. IODIUM, lodina; Fr., lode; Ger., lo'd, lode, lodin; Eng., Iodine. This combustible, simple, non-metallic body derives its SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 193 name from the beautiful violet colour of its vapour. This substance is found in a variety of marine plants, in most of the sponges, molluscs, polypi, &c. Iodine appears in the form of thin, scaly laminae, of a black-gray, with a metallic lustre, but very little tenacity. Its blueish colour is somewhat like that of sublimated arsenic orplumbago, and its odour approaches thatof chlorine. It has an acrid, harsh, astringent, pungent taste, which continues on the tongue for a long while. Iodine is perfectly soluble in ten times its weight of strong alcohol. This first solution has a dark red-brown, scarcely transparent colour, and leaves a brown-yellow stain on the skin. Triturations are unavailable, and even the above solution has to be prepared fresh for use, and should be kept in phials with glass stoppers. The iodine of commerce is generally damp, and adulterated with other substances, such as graphite, sulphuret of antimony, &c. To purify it, we add an equal quantity of iron-filings, and sublimate it over a spirit-lamp. Antidotes: China, Coffee, Camphor. 4. KREASOTUM; Fr,, Creasote; Ger., Kreasot; Eng., Kreasote. This substance is found in different kinds of tar, in the smoke of wood, in empyreumatic acetic acid, &c. Dr. Reichtenback, of Blansko, has obtained it from vinegar of wood; but the proportion of kreasote furnished by this liquid is but inconsiderable. The body which furnishes it most abundantly is the tar of the beech tree. For this purpose this tar is distilled, the oil obtained is rectified; at first it produces eupion, (and afterwards a kind of kreasote,) which falls to the bottom when dropped into water. By changing the receiver, these last two fluids are easily separated, the last of them, the kreasote, being retained; the acetic acid, which renders it impure, is removed by means of carbonate of potash, after which the acetate of potash is separated by water; the kreasote, which floats in masses on the water, is collected and dissolved in the lixivium of potash, which at the same time separates a portion of eupion. This last substance being separated, the lixivium is saturated with sulphuric acid, in order to 9 194 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. isolate the kreasote. The kreasote obtained is to be dissolved afresh in the lixivium of potash, and the process is to be repeated until the kreasote no longer contains any trace of eupion. Pure and perfectly anhydrous kreasote is a colourless, transparent fluid, slightly oleaginous, and strongly reflecting the light; a little greasy to the touch, of a penetrating smell, an acrid, caustic taste, with a sweetish after-taste, not showing either acid or alkaline properties, evaporating easily, and perfectly soluble in alcohol and ether. Cozzi prepares it in the following manner: Tar is heated in a retort with a helm, and the product of the distillation is received in a cylinder which is half filled with water. At the bottom of the fluid which passes over, we find impure kreasote. This product is saturated with sulphuric acid diluted with half its quantity of water. The kreasote now rises to the surface in the shape of an oleaginous, black substance, and is passed by the application of heat through a boiling mixture of acid and water, after which it is exposed to the air for three days. The liquid which has become darker, is now distilled again from a retort heated by a spirit-lamp, and the product which passes over, is subjected a few times to the same treatment, until the kreasote appears quite pure. Antidote: Mercurius? 5. PETROLEUM, Oleum petrer, Na2pAtha montana; Fr.,,Huile de petrole; Ger., Beirgl, Steinbl; Eng., Petroleum, Barbadoes tar. This substance, which exudes from the earth through the fissures of rocks, and which is found floating on the water, most frequently occurs in Asia, particularly in Persia, and.in Europe, principally in Italy, as also in the South of France, in Switzerland, in some districts of Great Britain, Bavaria, Hungary, &c. There are four sorts, viz.: 1st. Black petroleum (Oleum petrca nigrum), a substance of a dark brown colour, thick, viscous, insupportably fetid,'and liable to concrete in the air. 2d. Red petroleum (Ol.petr. rubrum), of a yellowish-red, more fluid than the preceding, of an empyreumatic smell, and subject to thicken in the air. 3d. White petroleum (01. petr. album.), of yellow-wine or SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 195 honey colour, leaving a residue, and giving out a bituminous smell when burned. 4th. Mountain naphtha (Naphthta montana), the finest kind, perfectly limpid, colourless, very fluid, volatile, very inflammable, and of an aromatic smell. In homoeopathy we use the third kind, the wkitepetroleum. It should be very fluid and of a very clear yellow, which shows that it is not adulterated with the fixed vegetable oils. But, for greater certainty, it may be tested by mixing it with sulphuric acid; this acid does not act on it, but converts the fixed oils which may be mixed with it, into a kind of sulphuret. Another test, still more simple, consists in letting fall a few drops of it on very white paper; if the petroleum is pure, these drops evaporate in a free and warm atmosphere without leaving the slightest trace of grease. To ascertain that it is not adulterated with oil of turpentine or any other vegetable essential oil, mix it with an equal quantity of spirits of wine; shake the mixture, then by filtering through filtering-paper, which has previously been moistened with spirits of wine, the pure petroleum is obtained, which remains on the paper, whilst the spirits of wine, combined with the other oil, pass through the filter. For some time past there has been found in commerce a clear yellow essential oil, which is derived from pit coal, and which, when used to adulterate petroleum, is not detected by those marks which show the presence of oil of turpentine. This oil does not, like oil of turpentine, redden test-paper, nor does it inflame when mixed with a compound of sulphuric and fuming nitric acid; but what serves to detect its presence is, that it has a peculiar, empyreumatic, penetrating, and very disagreeable smell, which repeated rectifications with water even will not suffice to destroy. We prepare petroleum for medicinal purposes by solution in strong alcohol. Antidotes: Cannabis, and Nux vom. 6. Pnospionus; Fr., Phosphore; Ger., Phosphor; Eng., Phosphorus. This substance, well known by its property of retaining the rays of light, never occurs simple or uncompounded 196 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. but exists in the blood, flesh, brain, teeth, &c., and in many species of grain, in combination with oxygen: in the mineral kingdom it is found as phosphate of lime in the mountains of Estremadura, &c. In a state of perfect purity, it is transparent, colourless, or of a yellowish white, solid, ductile, crystallizable, inflammable, insoluble in water, but slightly so in ether and alcohol. To purify phosphorus, so as to render it suitable for homoeopathic use, it is sufficient to remelt it frequently under water, or to press it, under hot water, through closely woven cloth, or to distil it in a glass retort, the beak of which is plunged into a receiver full of water. If the phosphorus is of a red colour, it will be sufficient to put it into water to which nitric acid has been added so as to constitute a mild solution, and to heat the water until it boils. The adulteration of phosphorus by sulphur is detected by its greater hardness and deep colour. As for the attenuations of this substance, there are three modes of making them, viz.: 1. By trituration with sugar of milk (Hahnemann's method). 2. By solution in sulphuric ether, for the first attenuation. 3. By saturation of alcohol alone. To make the first attenuation of phosphorus by means of ether, take 100 drops of well rectified sulphuric ether, and introduce into it one grain of phosphorus in small pieces. This should be done in a cool place, and in a well-stopped bottle. The solution being effected, after shaking the bottle, take two drops, which are to be mixed with 100 drops of alcohol, to constitute the second attenuation. The others are all made with alcohol, in the usual manner. But, as it has not been proved that sulphuric ether does not affect the virtues of the medicine with which it is mixed, the preparation with pure.alcohol should be preferred. Dr. Stapf used the following method: Mix, in a bottle, five grains of purified phosphorus, with 500 drops of anhydrous alcohol; place the bottle, slightly corked, in a vessel filled with hot water, to melt the contents. That being done, cork the bottle tightly, shake until the solution is entirely cold, when the phosphorus will be found divided into a large number of small globules. Close the bottle hermetically, tie a prepared bladder over the cork, place it in a cool and dark place, and shake it as often as possible. At the end of some weeks, or still better, of some months, the alcohol will be found completely saturated with phosphorus. This preparation should be kept in a SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 197 dark phial (i. e. a phial enveloped in foil). The solution thus produced is colourless, developes vapours of phosphorus, when rubbed on the hand, and, if shaken with water, becomes milky. It must not redden the tincture of lacmus. Antidotes: Camph., Coff., Nux vom., Vinum. PHOSPHORI ACIDUM,-acidum phosphoricum; Fr., Acide phosphorique; Ger., Phosphor-saTure; Eng., Phosphoric acid. Phosphoric acid is found in the three kingdoms of nature, most frequently in the animal kingdom, and almost always combined with bases. The best modes of obtaining phosphoric acid are: 1st, from bones; 2d, by treating phosphorus with nitric acid..1st. Place in a porcelain vessel one pound of calcined and wellpowdered bones, pour on them a pound of concentrated sulphuric acid, let the whole stand for 24 hours, stirring it frequently with a glass spatula; then add two pounds of concentrated alcohol, mix all together, and put the compound into a cloth bag, which submit to the action of a press. The fluid being thus expressed, let it stand for two days to clarify. Then decant the clear portion, inspissate it over the fire in a porcelain vessel, and fuse it by raising it to a red heat. The product is the phosphoric acid desired; it should be perfectly transparent, and clear as crystal. Take it while still hot, break it in pieces, and place it in a well-stopped bottle, to prevent the contact of the air from causing it to deliquesce. The first attenuation is made with distilled water, the second with a mixture of equal parts of alcohol and water, and only with the third we begin to use common alcohol. 2d. Introduce a portion of phosphorus into a retort, cover it with 13 parts of nitric acid of the strength of 1-20; place the whole in an iron cup, with sand, and apply the gentle flame of a spirit-lamp. First, colourless vapours will rise, smelling of phosphoretted hydrogen; then come the red fumes of nitrous acid. After the nitric acid has ceased to act, and the phosphorus is all dissolved, the liquid is to be allowed to evaporate in a porcelain cup. When about 8 parts of the liquid are still left, the cup suddenly fills with red vapours, which continue as long as phosphorous acid and nitric acid are left behind. When the red vapours cease to form, we add another quantity of nitric acid, and continue adding small portions of nitric acid until the red vapours cease to appear, and the whole of the phosphorus is oxydized. To complete the removal of every trace of acid, we require to heat the phosphoric acid as long as there is the least smell of nitric acid, or as long as we discover a trace of it, by dipping into the preparation a little glass stick moistened with caustic ammonia. If stronger nitric acid should be employed for the oxydation of phosphorus than the one above mentioned, the phosphorus has to be added gradually, in small pieces, lest it should inflame. Phosphoric acid prepared from the phosphorus of the shops, generally contains arsenious acid, from which it is freed by the following process: Add a little water, and pass a current of 198 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. sulphuretted hydrogen through it. The arsenious acid will now make its appearance, in the shape of sulphuret of arsenic. The liquid is now allowed to stand for several days in a lightly-covered, capacious glass, at a moderate temperature, which, after this period, is raised to 160 degrees (500 of Reaumur), by which means the sulphuret of arsenic is completely separated from the liquid, and every trace of sulphuretted hydrogen likewise removed.* The liquid is now filtered a last time, and allowed to evaporate over a moderate fire, down to the specific gravity of 1-15. This liquid will be found to contain one fifth of dry, nitreous acid. It is to be kept in phials with glass-stoppers. Attenuations as above. Antidotes: Camph., Coff., Sulph., Rhus t. 7. SELENIUM; Fr., Selenium; Ger., Selen; Eng., Selenium. This very remarkable substance, discovered by Berzelius in 1817, is rarely found, and always combined with other metallic snbstances, such as lead, copper, cobalt, bismuth, mercury, silver, &c. It is thus found in Norway, Sweden, Transylvania, and some parts of the Hartz. It has also been found in the magnesia of commerce. This metal is solid at the ordinary temperature, of a deep-lead-gray, of a blood-red brilliancy at the edges, brittle, very fusible, votatile, acidifiable, and of a specific gravity of 4"31. When finely pulverised, it forms a scarlet-red powder, and has neither taste nor smell. For homceopathic use, take metallic selenium, which is easily reduced to powder by simple trituration. The first three attenuations are made by trituration. Antidotes: Ign., Puls.; Wine and China aggravate the symptoms. 8. SULPHUR; Fr., Soufre; Ger., Sc wefel; Eng., Sulphur, Brimstone. Sulphur is found in nature in considerable abundance, either native, as in the vicinity of many volcanoes, or combined with various metals, composing the sulphurets called * If the third attenuation, which is to be prepared with strong alcohol, should become turbid, this would arise from the presence of a small portion of siliceous acid; in this case, before we continue the attenuating process, the third attenuation has to be allowed to stand until the acid has sunk to the bottom; the clear liquid requires to be filtered again, before we can use it for the remaining attenuations., SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 199 pyrites; 'with hydrogen in sulphurous waters, or with oxygen as sulphurous or sulphuric acids, and with these acids forming sulphates. Lastly, it is found in many organic substances, such as the flowers of the elder, the linden, in carmine, mustard, anise, in leguminous plants, white of egg, and hair. On a large scale, sulphur is procured from pyrites by simple distillation, or from native sulphur; obtained in either way, it is in two distinct forms, viz.: 1st, cylinders or rolls, the shades of which vary, according to their purity; 2d, in fine powder, known as flowers of sulphur or sublimated sulphur. This last, which alone is used in homceopathy, is obtained by mixing equal parts of roll sulphur and white sand; this compound is introduced into a glass retort, and distilled in a sand-bath. The flowers of sulphur thus prepared contain generally a little sulphuric acid, which is removed by frequent washings in pure water, and drying on blotting-paper; after which they are known in commerce under the name of* washed flowers of sulphur. For homoeopathic purposes, however, these washed flowers of sulphur are not sufficiently pure, on which account, before using them, they should he washed afresh with alcohol to free them completely from the least trace of sulphuric acid which might adhere to them. Flowers of sulphur frequently, also, contain arsenic, which is distinguished by their orange-yellow colour, as well as by their aliaceous odour when thrown on burning coals. Occasionally, selenium may be present in sulphur, in which case the latter will be of a dirty yellow. When pure, sulphur is of a canary-yellow, insoluble in water, but soluble in 200 times its weight of alcohol. In its natural state, it occurs generally crystallized, or in shapeless masses with a shining fracture, and so brittle as to break in the hand. When strongly heated it is volatilized, and inflames on the contact of air. To prepare the attenuations, take wasked flowers of sulphur, which wash afresh in alcohol; then if you wish to obtain triturated sulphur (sulphur trituratum), make the first three attenuations by trituration:-this is by far the most serviceable preparation. The tincture of sulphur (tinctura sulphuris or spiritus vinum sulphuratum) is obtained by mixing together in a small bottle 100 drops of the best alcohol with five grains of flowers of sulphur washed, (and purified by a fresh washing in alcohol); 200 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. this bottle after being corked is slightly shaken; then, at the end of twenty-four hours, the clear liquid is decanted therefrom into another bottle, and kept under the name of Tincture of Sui]~pur. One drop of this preparation mixed with ten drops of alcohol, will form the second attenuation, and so on with the rest. SULPHURIS ACIDUM, Acidum sulphuricum seu sulphuris, acidum vitrioli; Fr., Acide sulphurique, Acide vitriolique; Ger., Schwefel-saihre Vitriol; Eng., sulphuric acid, vitriolic acid, oil of vitriol. This acid is found in nature, sometimes in a free state, but usually combined with water. It has, however, been also found in the form of small acidular crystals, in many grottos of volcanic mountains; it constitutes an important ingredient, together with muriatic acid, in the so-called sour-springs in North America. But it is principally as combined with bases that this acid abounds in nature. When entirely anhydrous, it is in white, opaque crystals, like amianthus, volatile at the ordinary temperature, susceptible of uniting with the hydrogen of the atmosphere, and of forming vapours with it. In commerce there are two kinds of this acid, viz.: 1. The sulphuric acid ofNordhausen, or of Saxony, a brownish liquid, fuming, and almost completely anhydrous. 2. English sulphuric acid, which is obtained by the combustion of sulphur in vast leaden chambers. This last is not fuming: it is less concentrated than that of Nordhausen. For homceopathic purposes, we use the first of these, the sulphuric acid of Nordhausen, known under the name of fuming sulphuric or vitriolic acid; but before using it, it is indispensable to subject it to a fresh distillation. For this purpose, introduce it into a glass retort heated in a sand-bath; the first product which passes into the receiver, is perfectly anhydrous sulphuric acid, and as soon as this has passed over in the form of white vapours, the ebullition of the acid ceases. Then the receiver must be changed, and the real distillation carried on by carefully increasing the heat of the fire: it is to be continued until only the tenth part of the entire quantity of acid used remains in the retort. The product of this distillation is pure, concentrated, sulphuric acid, which combines with water under whatever form it may be presented to it. The first attenuation is made with distilled water; the second with diluted or aqueous alcohol; and it is only with the third that we can begin to use strong alcohol. Pure sulphuric acid is perfectly colourless and inodorous, and of the specific gravity of 1"840. The dangerous ebullition of the acid is prevented by introducing a platina-wire, of a spiral shape, into the retort; the operation is much facilitated by constantly adding a fresh supply of red-hot coal, and arranging it round the sides of the retort, rather than placing it underneath. The neck of the retort should be situated as low as possible. Antidotes: Nux vom., Puls. SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 201 SULPHUR ALCOHOLISATUM, Alcohol sulphuris Lampadii, Carboretum sulphuris, Sulphur carb.; Fr., Soufre alcoholise, Alcohol de soufre, Soufre carbone; Ger., Schwefel-Alcohol; Eng., Carburet of sulphur. We obtain this compound of carbon and sulphur by the distillation of sulphuret of iron with carbon, or by passing the vapour of sulphur through a porcelain tube filled with burning coals. Carburet of sulphur is a colourless, transparent fluid, of an acrid taste, and a fetid and penetrating smell; it is very volatile, insoluble in water, but very soluble in alcohol. The attenuations should be made with alcohol. HEPAR SULPHURIS CALCAREUM; Calcarea sulphurata, Sulphuretum calcis; Fr., Foie de soufre calcaire, Sulfuret de chaux; Ger., Kalkartige Schwefelleber, Kalk-schwefelleber; Eng., Sulphuret of lime. This substance is a combination of sulphur with calcium, known since the close of the last century, and produced in 1768 by Canton. It may be economically obtained by decomposing, at a high temperature, sulphate of lime by treating it with carbon. For homoeopathic purposes, it is procured by direct combination of oyster-shells with sulphur. For this purpose, a mixture of equal parts of the calcareous substance situated between the lamine of the oyster-shells, finely pulverised, and well washed, and purified flowers of sulphur, are kept at a white heat for ten minutes, after which they are preserved in a well-stopped bottle. Sulphuret of lime is a yellow or reddish mass, porous, friable, and very slightly soluble in water, with which it gives a hydro-sulphuret. The first three attenuations are made by trituration. It should be kept in phials covered with black paper or foil. Antidotes: Vegetable acids, Bell., Puls. NATRUM SULPHURATUM Seu SULPHURICUM, Sulphuretum sodae, Sodce sulphas, Sal mirabile Glauberi; Fr., Soude sulfuree, Sulfate de soude, Sel de Glauber; Ger., Schwefelsaures-Natrum, Glaubersalz; Eng., Sulphuret of soda. To prepare this sulphuret, take equal parts of sulphur and subcarbonate of soda, fuse them together at a gentle heat in a covered crucible, until the mass no longer effervesces, after which pulverise the mass while still hot, and put it into well-stopped bottles. The first three attenuations should be made by trituration. ACIDS. All acids (organic as well as inorganic, perfect as well as imperfect, solid, fluid, and aeriform) are, generally speaking, compound bodies, which, with a base, form a salt; the property of forming salts, when combined with a 9~ SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. base, is common to all acids; but not all acids taste sour, nor do all acids discolour vegetable juices. Acids are either organic or inorganic. Organic acids contain both oxygen and hydrogen, except oxalic acid, which does not contain hydrogen; inorganic acids contain either oxygen or hydrogen. Acids have a strong affinity for water, alkalies, alkaline earths, and metallic oxides; acids which contain little or no water are called concentrated, and, when they do contain water, diluted acids. The water of diluted acids should not be confounded with the water with which every acid can be diluted ad libitum, and which can be removed again by the application of heat. Acids, generally, have a sourish taste, are almost all of them soluble in water, and redden the tincture of lacmus, except siliceous acid. Acids should be kept in glass phials provided with ground glass-stoppers. Miineral Acids. 1. ACIDUM MOLYBDJENI. (See MOLYBDENUM.) 2. MURIATIS ACIDUM, Acidtum muriaticum seu Iydroc/loricum; Fr., Acide muriatique ou hydrochlorique; Ger., Koc/-salz-saure; Eng., Muriatic acid. This acid is rarely found in a free state in nature; it occurs, combined with water, in the neighbourhood of volcanoes, and combined with sodium in the three kingdoms of nature (generally). To obtain it artificially, distil together, in a retort sufficiently large, six pounds of common salt, and eight pounds of concentrated sulphuric acid, with four pounds of water, causing the gas to pass into a receiver containing four pounds of distilled water, in order to condense it. If the product of this distillation is of a yellow colour, or contains sulphuric acid, precipitate it by treating with chloride of barium, and distil it afresh, or rectify it by re-distilling it with half a pound of common salt; the coloured portion which first passes into the receiver is to be rejected; that which comes over afterwards is pure hydrochloric acid, which is to be kept in bottles with ground glass-stoppers. The hydrochloric acid of commerce is never pure; it contains, nearly always, sulphuric acid, chloride of iron, sulphurous acid, and even arsenic; when pure, and in a fluid SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. state, this acid is colourless, limpid, and of a pungent smell, and very acrid taste; it does not freeze, nor diffuse fumes like concentrated acid. Placed in contact with organic substances, it destroys them, and, combined with alcohol, it forms a kind of ether, so that the first three attenuations cannot be made wzith either sugar of milk or alcohol. The first, therefore, is made with distilled water; the second, with a mixture of equal parts of alcohol and water (aqueous or diluted alcohol); and we begin to use common alcohol only with the third. 3. ACIDUM NITRICUM. (See NITRUM.) 4. SPIRITUS NITRI DULCIS. (See NITRUM.) 5.' ACIDUM PHOSPHORICUM. (See PHOSPHORUS.) 6. AcIDUM SULPHURICUM. (See SULPHUR.) Vegetable and Animal Acids.* 1. ACIDUM TARTARICUM. (See TARTARUS EMETICUS.) 2. ACETUM ACIDUM, Aceti acidum, Acidumn aceticum; Fr., Acide acetique; Ger., Essig-saure; Eng., Acetic acid. This acid has been found only in the animal or vegetable kingdoms, where it occurs in great abundance, either in a free state, as in the gums, &c., or as a salt combined with lime, potash, alum, or magnesia. It is obtained by distilling in a sand-bath to dryness, sixty-four ounces of crystallized acetate of lead, with eighteen ounces of sulphuric acid diluted with six ounces of water, and rectifying the product with two ounces of manganese, in case such product should be rendered impure by sulphuric acid (or with one ounce of acetate of potash, if it should contain lead). Acetic acid is liquid, colourless, of a lively and penetrating, but agreeable smell; of a hot and pungent taste, volatile, inflammable, and strongly attractive of water, on which account it must be kept in bottles hermetically closed. It unites with water in all proportions, * We have classed these under one head, in this edition, because the majority of those mentioned are not distinctly classified, and further, because they fall more properly under the denomination of vegetable than of animal products. 204 SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. and dissolves in alcohol, with which it forms an ether. The attenuations, therefore, must be made like those of sulphuric, nitric, and muriatic acids:-i. e. the first with distilled water, the second with diluted aqueous alcohol of equal proportions, and the third only with strong alcohol. It dissolves Scamphor and ethereal oils, resins, gum-resins, and balsams. 1. HYDROCYANI ACIDUM; Acidum hydrocyanicuim; Fr., Acide prussique; Ger., Blau-saure; Eng., lydrocyanic acid, Prussic acid. This acid has only been found in the animal or vegetable kingdoms. It occurs ready-formed in many plants, such as the lauro-cerasus, the peach tree, the apricot tree, the wild plum tree, &c. For homoeopathic use, the acid prepared according to Schrader's method has been generally adopted. According to this author, prussic acid is obtained by introducing one ounce of prussiate of potash, well pulverised, into a glass retort, the extremity of the neck of which is placed in a receiver containing one ounce of alcohol of 26~, and cooled with ice. That being done, pour on the salt a mixture of two ounces of phosphoric acid of a specific gravity of 1P13, and three ounces of spirits of wine of 26~, and heat the retort as long as anything passes over into the receiver. When the product is cold, mix it well with so much spirits of wine of 260 as that the whole shall make six ounces, and keep it in small bottles hermetically closed. Concentrated prussic acid is an inodorous, slightly acid, and very volatile fluid. Exposed to the air, it evaporates, and absorbs so much caloric that the remainder congeals. It is of a lively and suffocating smell, which, when the acid is considerably diluted, resembles that of bitter almonds or lauro-cerasus. The taste is first cooling, then acrid, and finally burning. The attenuations of this acid must be made with strong alcohol, and kept in bottles hermetically closed; they have to be frequently renewed, as this acid is very liable to be decomposed. Antidote: Liquor ammonii caustici. 2. ACIDUM FORMICARUM. (See FORMICARUM SPIRITUS.) SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 205 Alkalies. Alkalies are compound bodies, consisting of oxygen and a metallic base, and have a great affinity for acids, combined with which they lose their alkaline properties, and form powerful basic salts. They are never found pure in nature, but always combined with acids; if freed from these acids by chemical means, they become caustic, or pure alkalies. They are easily soluble in water, possess a peculiar, burning-acrid taste, and a lixivial odour. The earths and metals which are dissolved in acids, are, with few exceptions, precipitated again by alkalies, unless the precipitated substance is dissolved a second time by the neutral salt, or by the excess of alkali. With sulphur they form sulphurets. The metallic bases of alkalies have a metallic lustre, are white as silver, turn speedily blueish in the open air, are soft as wax, and lighter than water; in the open air and in water they become oxydised instantaneously. 1. KALI CAUSTICUM, Potassa caustica; Fr., Potasse caustique, potasse; Ger., Gemzwiic/as-Laugensalz, kaustisches Kali; Eng., Potash, caustic potash. Potash derives its name from the fact that it constitutes a part of all vegetable substances except those which grow near the sea-shore, in a soil impregnated with the muriate and carbonate of soda. It is likewise found in a number of mineral substances, in the nitrate of potash, siliceate of potash, and even in animal bodies. Potash is obtained by the incineration of plants in the open air, lixiviating the product, and evaporating the lye to dryness. The potash of commerce is never pure, but contains, besides several accidental impurities, various salts, especially the sulphate and muriate of potash. Caustic potash, which we use for various preparations, is colourless or yellowish, of a peculiar smell, and a burning, corrosive taste. The mass which is obtained by evaporation, is white, brittle, exceedingly caustic, deliquesces in the open air, is soluble in alcohol, and, when dissolved, attacks glass unless much diluted. Caustic potash may be prepared in the following manner: In a silver or well-polished iron kettle dissolve three parts of the carbonate of potash with twelve times their volume of water; add gradually two parts of caustic lime (quick SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. lime),and boil the mixture until lime-waterceases to be made turbid thereby, when a little of the boiling mixture is passed into it through a filter. The whole is then filtered through a bag of bleached linen, the residue in the kettle is washed with hot water and filtered, the mixed liquids are poured back into the kettle (which must previously be cleansed), and the quantity is reduced by boiling until it is equal to three times the volume of the carbonate of potash originally employed. Then pour the liquid into another vessel, close this well, allow the liquid to settle, and finally pour it back into the kettle; boil it again over a brisk fire until the mass becomes inspissated, and, on cooling, assumes a consistent form. This mass is then carefully melted in a silver crucible, in order to remove every trace of the water of crystallization, after which it is to be poured upon a well-polished metallic sheet, and, while warm, put up in warmed phials. Anthrakokali is a solution of anthracite in caustic potash. Dissolve one part of carbonate of potash in ten or twelve parts of boiling water; to the boiling solution add as much hydrated lime as is required to separate the carbonic acid from the potash; as soon as this is accomplished, the liquid ceases to be agitated by an acid, nor is it made turbid by limewater. Filter the liquid as quickly as possible, and evaporate it over a fire until it ceases to foam, when it flows like oil, with a smooth surface. Mix seven ounces of the caustic potash thus prepared with five ounces of finely powdered anthracite, remove the vessel from the fire, and grind the mixture with a warmed pestle until a homogeneous black powder is obtained. Dispose this powder in warmed glass-phials, guard it well against the access of air, and keep it in a dry place. The lithlanthrakokali su7lkurlatum is obtained in a similar way, after first adding to the quantity of anthracite to be prepared, one-tenth part of pure sulphur, and mixing the two to a fine powder by trituration. Anthrakokali is a black, delicate, colouring powder of a somewhat alkaline, acrid taste, causes a burning sensation on the tongue, has no taste, or else a taste like soot, imbibes humidity from the atmospheric air, does not deliquesce, loses the imbibed humidity in dry air, together with SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 207 the alkaline taste; after imbibing humidity, the particles adhere to each other. From five to ten grains of the preparation readily dissolve in an ounce of distilled water, the solution having a blackish-brown colour which.must remain even after the solution had been standing a good while and the tasteless powder had settled, so that only thin layers of the liquid are transparent. By these qualities we test the excellence of the preparation. We prepare triturations, which, however, should always be made in dry air and in a warmed mortar, and should be kept in well-closed phials. Q. SAPO DOMESTICUS seu SEBACEUS; Fr., Savon; Ger., Seife; Eng., Soap. This is a combination of fat with potash and soda, which is soluble in water, and foams. For medicinal purposes we use the Castile-soap. It is externally applied to burns in the form of a plaster, by first dissolving it in alcohol and then spreading it on linen; and it is also administered internally, in strong watery solution, in cases of poisoning by arsenic, lead, corrosive acids, corrosive vegetable substances, alum, &c.; it is injurious in cases of poisoning with alkaline substances. Proportions of the solution: to one part of Castile soap add four times its bulk of hot water, and mix carefully till the solution is perfect, then administer by teacupfuls. 3. NATRUM CAUSTICUM, Soda caustica Fr., Soude caustique; Ger., Kaustiscles Natrum oder Salz; Eng., Caustic soda. Natrum is found in large quantities in the mineral kingdom, either free or combined with other substances; it has also been termed mineral alkali. It is found in the free state in the natrum-lakes of Egypt, and in many lakes of Hungary; it is likewise found in warmer climates, in the state of efflorescence, on the surface of dried-up marshes; all we have to do is to collect this soda, wash it, and free it from all earthy particles. It is also found combined with muriatic acid in various kinds of salt, sea-salt, rock salt, &c., and with sulphuric acid in the sulphate of soda. We likewise obtain it from the ashes of several marine plants. (Varec, Kelp.) Natrum is found in large quantities in the o208 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. animal kingdom. After the lye is cleared by filtration, the soda is deposited in the shape of crystals. Caustic natrum may be prepared as follows: Dissolve one part of crystallized carbonate of soda in eight parts of water, boil this solution with one-fourth of pulverised caustic lime (quick-lime), and then proceed as in the case of caustic potash. Caustic soda is soluble in water, and also in alcohol. 4. AMMONIUM CAUSTICUM; Fr., Ammoniaque liquide; Ger., Faasseriges Ammonium; Eng., Water of ammonia, Solution of Ammonia. Ammonia, known under the name of volatile alkali, is found in the three kingdoms of nature, although not always formed; but it is formed whenever, during the putrefaction and fermentation of animal and vegetable matter, nascent hydrogen and nitrogen are in contact and exposed to the air. This alkali also occurs, but combined with sulphuric or hydrochloric acid, in certain lakes and many volcanic products, as likewise in the vegetable kingdom, in the flowers and fruits of numerous plants, particularly the tetradynamice. It is a colourless, transparent fluid (or gas), of an acrid and caustic taste. It is very soluble in water, which combines with it in all proportions, and which, when it has absorbed the third of its weight of it, that is to say, when completely saturated with this fluid, takes the name of Water of Ammonia. This fluid has all the physical properties of gaseous ammonia, except the form. For homoeopathic purposes, concentrated water of ammonia, that is, the completely saturated preparation, is used, the attenuations of which are made with alcohol. Liquid ammonia may be prepared as follows: To a portion of caustic lime (quick-lime) add one third its weight of pure water, reducing it to a very fine powder, which is to be separated from the remaining stones by means of a fine sieve. Add to this powder, in an iron or earthen retort, as much of pulverised sal ammoniac as is equal in quantity to the quick-lime first taken, and mix both powders as perfectly as possible by gradually adding a sufficient quantity of water to form the whole mass into moist balls. Into the mouth of the retort we introduce, through a perforated cork, a bent glass-tube, which requires to be secured to the retort 210 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. where: (see " Calcarea, Car6onica," &c.) Pure calcarea is not used in medicine. Besides the compound of calcarea with acids, we use the following preparations: CAUSTICUM, Tincdura acris sine Kali; Fr., Causticum; Ger., Aetzstoff, Aetzstoff-Tinctur; Eng., Caustic. Take about two pounds of lime recently burnt, and after having steeped it for a minute in distilled water, place it in a dry bowl, where, after the development of much heat and vapour, it soon falls into powder. Two ounces of this powder, mixed in a porcelain mortar, with an equal quantity of bi-sulphate of potash, previously fused at a high heat, form, with two ounces of boiling water, a thick mass, which is to be placed in the alembic. It is then distilled until entirely desiccated. The product of the distillation, weighing about an ounce and a half, which has the transparency of water, contains the causticum in a state of concentration. Its taste is extremely astringent, and produces a sensation of burning in the throat. This liquid congeals, like water, at a very low temperature; it much accelerates the putrefaction of animal substances plunged in it. Hydrochlorate of baryta does not detect in it the presence of sulphuric acid, nor does the oxalate of ammonia that of any trace of lime. Ten drops of this fluid mixed with ninety drops of spirits of wine, give the first attenuation; the subsequent attenuations are made like those of all tinctures. Formerly, Hahnemann prepared the TINCTURA ACRIS SINE KALI in the following manner: Take the acrid lincture of antimony (the strongest is bloodred,) saturate it with concentrated nitric acid until it begins to redden litmus paper; or, having taken the strong tincture of antimony, recently prepared, pour into it, drop by drop, sulphuric acid, (containing 100 drops of water to 150 of acid,) until it begins to act on the blue test paper; the slight excess of acid is destroyed by means of a little quick-lime. Another preparation, analogous to this, but a little less powerful, is obtained by treating caustic potash SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. with alcohol, which, in like manner, is freed from potash by sulphuric acid. There is still another which is prepared with slaked lime, on which the very strongest alcohol is poured, and which is afterwards neutralized by sulphuric acid. Although less coloured, and not so powerful as the second, it produces, nevertheless, the same medicinal effects when given in stronger doses. Another analogous preparation is the SPIRITUS CALCAREjE CAUSTICE. An ounce of quick-lime is introduced in a previously warmed glass-vessel, and five ounces of water poured over it. The vessel is well corked and left to cool, after which the lime will be found transformed into a fine powder, to which five ounces of pure alcohol are added. After several days, during which the mixture is frequently shaken, the liquid is poured into small phials and well guarded against the access of air. (Koci, on INFLUENZA.) e. BARYTA. This earth is principally found in sulphate of barytes which contains, moreover, a small portion of strontian; it is likewise found, although much less frequently, in combination with silica, in staurolite. Baryta is most easily obtained by dissolving the muriate of barytes in distilled water, and precipitating the solution with carbonate of potash, afterwards washing and drying the precipitate. In this way, we obtain the carbonate of baryta, which we then mix with from six to ten parts of vegetable charcoal, forming the whole into a ball by means of gum, and placing it in a crucible,in which it is surrounded with pulverized coal; we next cover it with a smaller crucible, and then expose it to the heat produced by the action of a pair of good bellows in a furnace. The earth which is thus obtained, is of a grayish-white colour, easily friable, anhydrous, of a caustic taste, effervesces with acids, developes heat by the addition of water, and is soluble in this liquid in considerable quantity. Boiling water dissolves a still larger quantity of baryta; on cooling, it is precipitated from this solution in the shape of feathery or hexaedral prismatic crystals. 212 SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. Caustic baryta is obtained by the following process: Mix in a crucible 4a parts of pulverized sulphate of barytes, and one part of lampblack, and expose the mass to the heat of a furnace until it has a grayish-white appearance. Then let it cool, place it in an iron pan, pour upon it eight times its weight of water, boil the whole with copperfilings, until sulphuretted hydrogen ceases to be developed when acetic acid is poured upon a drop of the boiling mass. Filter the liquid while yet boiling hot, into a warmed bottle, which is to be well closed and put aside. The residue on the filter is principally a demi-sulphuret of copper. From the filtered alkaline liquid, caustic baryta is precipitated during the process of cooling in the shape of prismatic crystals; the water of crystallization is removed by heat. The crystals are placed upon a filter, and dried. The liquid passing through the filter is water of barytes, which still contains - part of crystallized caustic baryta. S. STRONTIAN. This earth derives its name from Strontian, in England, where it was first discovered in combination with carbonic acid, in the shape of a fossil (strontianite). Strontian occurs very rarely in nature, and has the same relation to baryta as soda to potash. It is obtained pure and caustic in the same manner as baryta; it is lighter than this earth, has a less astringent, caustic taste, but a stronger taste than calcarea. Boiling water dissolves half of its weight, &c. Earths proper. The earths proper consist of metalloids and oxygen. They do not become caustic by burning, are insoluble in water, and not fusible per se; they are friable, without taste or odour. They are found very frequently in nature. 1. MAGNESIA CALCINATA seu PURA; Fr., Magnesie calcinee; Ger., Gebrannte Magnesia; Eng., Calcined Magnesia. Pure magnesia is not found in nature, but it occurs, combined with carbonic acid, in magnesite; with siliceous SPECTAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 213 acid, in meerschaum, serpentine, &c.; with nitric acid in bittern, or the mother-water of salt-works, &c. It is also a component part of many animal and vegetable matters. Calcined magnesia is obtained by calcinizing sub-carbonate of magnesia, until it no longer effervesces with weak hydrochloric acid. It is a substance more or less caustic, according to its degree of calcinization, slightly alakine, white, pulverulent, almost insipid, and insoluble in water. Exposed to the air, it is easily transformed into subcarbonate, on which account, the bottles in which it is kept should have ground-glass stoppers. The magnesia of commerce is sometimes adulterated with quick-lime, or with carbonate of lime; in the first of these cases, it becomes heated by the contact of air, and colours corrosive sublimate yellow when triturated with it; if, on the contrary, it contains sub-carbonate of lime, it effervesces with acids. 2. ALUMINA, Aluminium oxydatum, Aluminii oydumnz, Terra aluminosa, Argillapura; Fr., Alumine, argille; Ger., hionerde, Alaun-erde; Eng., Alumine. After silex, alumine is one of the most widely disseminated substances in nature, and is found almost pure in the sapphire, in corundum, and in adamantine spar. Combined with acids, such as the phosphoric, the sulphuric, &c., it forms wavellite and aluminate, but in general it is found combined with other earths, or metallic oxides, in clays, schists, &c. It is extracted from alum, which is a supersulphate of alumine and potash or ammonia, by pouring an excess of ammonia into a slightly concentrated solution of this salt; the precipitate which is formed, being carefully washed and dried, is pure alumine. It is a white powder, very fine, soft to the touch, tasteless, infusible, it adheres to the tongue, forms a paste with water without dissolving in it, and, in general, absorbs water with avidity. According to Hartlaub and Trinks, alumina is best prepared as follows: dissolve common alum in boiling water; crystallize it several times in succession, in order to free it from the oxide of iron. If perfectly freed from the iron, it forms a clear solution with caustic potash, without any residue; whereas, if some more iron be present, it will deposit yellow flocks. This purified alum is dissolved in 214 SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. boiling water, and the solution is mixed with a solution of carbonate of potash as long as a precipitate continues to form, after which carbonate of potash is added in excess, with which the solution is slightly saturated. The precipitate is then separated from the solution by means of blotting-paper, washed several times in succession, and dissolved in pure nitric acid. If the solution should not be quite clear, it is filtered, and the alumina is precipitated by means of the carbonate of ammonium. In order to free this precipitated alumina from all saline particles, it should be repeatedly washed with distilled water, slightly pressed between several sheets of blotting-paper, and dried in the air. From this powder we prepare the first three attenuations by trituration. 3. SILICEA PURA, Terra silicea; Fr., Silice; Ger., Kieselerde; Eng., Silex. This earth is found in nature in considerable masses, either pure, as in rock-crystal, or combined with various oxides; quartz, the sandstones, the pyrites, and in a great measure the agates, the opals, &c., consist nearly altogether of it. To obtain this earth pure, take half an ounce of rock-crystal, which reduce into fragments by frequently heating it red hot (in a wood fire), and instantly plunging it into cold water; or if rock-crystal cannot be procured, take the same quantity of white and pure sand, which must be washed in distilled vinegar; in either case mix the material with two ounces of effloresced sub-carbonate of soda, and melt the whole in an iron crucible until all effervescence ceases and it becomes clear; after which, pour it on a flat piece of marble. The result will be a crystalline glass, which, after cooling, is to be put in avessel,.withfour times its weight of distilled water, then covered with paper. The solution will soon take place, and the siliceous earth will fall to the bottom of the vessel, whilst the supernatant fluid will contain nothing but pure soda. To cause a more rapid precipitation of the silex, which is in a state of such minute division, a little alcohol may be added to the water. The precipitate being entirely formed, it is to be collected on filtering paper, and pressed between many sheets of it, after which it is to be exposed to the air in a warm place. The silex ' SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 215 thus obtained is a fine, white powder, harsh to the touch, gritting between the teeth, and without taste or smell. The first three attenuations are made by trituration. Antidotes: Camph., Hepar. s. Vegetable Basic Salts (alkaloids). There is a class of bodies in the vegetable kingdom which possess the properties of basic salts, and are sometimes termed "vegetable alkalies." Mforphia (morphine) was discovered by Sertiirner in 1816; Pelletier and Caventon discovered similar substances in the varieties of Strychnos, in the Veratrum album, and the Peruvian Bark. They are generally found in plants, in the form of salts, in combination with vegetable acids, sometimes with an acid which is peculiar to the plant, and are most easily obtained from a watery infusion of the plant, saturated with a free acid; the liquid having been reduced by evaporation, the alkaloids can be precipitated with potash or by boiling the liquid with the hydrate of some earth, especially manganese. Most alkaloids are very little soluble in water; vegetable colouring matters precipitated together with the alkaloids, are removed partly by means of a weak solution of potash, partly by means of cold or tepid alcohol, &c.* 1. MORPHIUM PURUM. Cut one ounce of the best Opium into small pieces, boil it with six or eight times its weight of distilled water, and repeat this two or three times. The extracts which are obtained in this way, are put together and reduced by evaporation, until their specific gravity is 1-020 or 1*030, after which they are mixed with a solution of one drachm of the bicarbonate of potash in half an ounce of water; the liquid is filtered after the lapse of twenty-four hours, then heated until it boils, and set aside for fortyeight hours. The morphium which is found deposited after this period is dissolved in eight times its weight of distilled water, to which a few drops of diluted sulphuric acid have been added; with this solution we mix one ounce * Compare Berzelius vi. 916 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. of strong alcohol, digest it with a little animal charcoal, filter the liquid, and saturate the filtered liquid with caustic ammonia until the alkaline reaction has distinctly set in. In a few days, the crystals of morphium will make their appearance; they may be collected on a filter, and washed with distilled water. In case the morphium should not be quite white, we dissolve it again in water and alcohol, digest it with animal charcoal, and repeat the filtering and crystallizing processes as described above. The solution of morphium which is to be purified by means of animal charcoal, should be very much acidulated, since animal charcoal partly absorbs acids. The morphium which is thus obtained is quite free from narcotine, which is always present if a solution ofmorphium in muriatic acid becomes turbid by the addition of carbonate of potash. The crystals of morphium form white, shining, transparent, rectangular, truncated columns, air-proof, inodorous, and of bitter taste. We prepare the first three attenuations by trituration. MORPHIUM ACETICUM; Acetas mokphii seu morphicus; Acetate of morphium. We obtain the substance by dissolving the pure morphium in concentrated vinegar until the solution is perfectly saturated, after which we reduce the solution by evaporation at a slightly raised temperature, previously adding a slight excess of acid. The crystals form clusters of delicate, prismatic needles, of a yellowish-white colour and the odour of vinegar. In a similar manner we obtain other salts of morphium by means of other pure acids. We prepare the first three attenuations by trituration. The alkaloids obtained from the Peruvian bark are distinguished by their intense cinchona-taste, and the crystals of these alkaloids shine like mother-of-pearl. Many are soluble in water, and some of them in alcohol and ether. Those which are thus soluble are precipitated by oxalic, vinous, and gallic acid, and by their salts. SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 217 2. CHININUM SULPHURICUM, Sultphas quinicus; Sulphate of quinine. It is prepared upon a large scale:-(a.) As basic quinine, which, after perfect evaporation, crystallizes in the shape of narrow, elongated, somewhat pliable needles, shining like mother-of-pearl, or in the shape of scales. It is scarcely soluble in cold water, but readily so in boiling water; it is likewise *easily soluble in alcohol, but not easily in ether. When heated, it melts soon, and looks like molten wax; when heated very much, it assumes a beautiful red appearance, and finally burns without leaving a residue. It easily crumbles in a warm and dry place. (b.) As neutral quinine, the crystals of which are colourless, transparent, rectangular, quadrilateral prisms; it reddens lacmus-paper, but does not taste sour. It dissolves in eleven parts of water of 620 of heat (12~ R.); it readily dissolves in alcohol, but very little in anhydrous alcohol. It crumbles by exposure to the air, and by so doing loses, according to Baip, 24-66 p. c. water. The sulphate of quinine of the shops is frequently adulterated with the sugar of manna, gypsum, magnesia, alumina, boracic acid, sulphate of ammonium, sugar, sugar of milk, starch-fecula, gum, stearine, sulphate of cinchonine, and salicine. According to DThfos, the purity of the sulphate of quinine is established by the following facts: it burns without a residue when heated in a platina spoon over a spirit lamp; a solution of quinine in concentrated sulphuric acid is perfectly colourless; and if we pour liquid caustic potash upon it, not the least odour of ammoniacum is perceived. (Salicine turns red by pouring concentrated sulphuric acid upon it, whereas quinine forms a perfectly colourless solution with that acid.--Hom. Zeitg. xiii, 363.-Journalfiur Arzneimittel, No. ii.) CINCHONINUM SULPHURICUM. This substance is obtained while making the quinine; its crystals are the first to be deposited from the extracts of the different kinds of Peruvian bark (the brown rather than the yellow varieties), both of which contain at the same time the cinchonine and the quinine, while the quinine remains in the mother-lye. 10 - - Ir Lel rscslC1ue is cOIICLCLU 111i a iiiLCr, uieu, liu di CAnULIrCL iv formed, in a few hours, with four times its quantity o anhydrous alcohol, during which period it has to be shakei several times. This operation is repeated after pouring off the first portion of alcohol. The undissolved residu( is collected in a filter, dried and repeatedly boiled wit] water until the decoction, after cooling, ceases to b coloured brownish-red by the addition of a few drops o the most concentrated nitric acid, which change of colou indicates the presence of brucine. The undissolved re maining strychnine is again dissolved in diluted alcohol filtered, and crystallized by slow evaporation. The crys tals are small, white, quadrilateral columns, terminating i obtuse points. STRYCHNINUM NITRICUM; the Nitrate of Strychnine. We dissolve the crystals of pure strychnine in ver: much diluted nitric acid, filter the solution, and evaporat it at a very slightly increased temperature. The crystal are in clusters, white, pliable, shining like silk. They ar soluble in water and diluted alcohol. STRYCHNINUM SULPHURICUM. This is prepared in the same manner as the previou salt, with pure, diluted sulphuric acid, and has the sam external properties. We prepare triturations from all these different varietie of strychnine. Salts. By salt we generally understand a compound of som base (metallic oxide, alkali, earth), with an acid. Ther are two kinds of salts, amjhpid-salts and haloid-salts; th former -are either oxygen- or sulphur-salts; the oxygen salts being the more numerous, and consisting of an oxyger acid and a base. We distinguish them into neutral, aci( and basic salts. A salt is neutral which does not manifes in its action on vegetable colours, acid or alkaline prc 220 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIAr perties, and consists, generally, of one equivalent of acid united with one equivalent of base, this last containing one equivalent of oxygen. In the acid salts, the acid prevails over the base; basic salts are those in which there is present more than one equivalent of base for each equivalent of acid. Haloid salts consist of a simple body of the chlorine family, united with a metal, as chloride of sodium, iodide or ioduret of potassium, &c. The sulphur-salts are analogous to the oxygen-salts, except that the sulphur takes the place of the oxygen. D)ouble salts are formed by the union of two simple salts. The true neutral salts have, for bases, either sub-oxides or protoxides. The quantity of acid with which metallic oxides are disposed to unite in their most neutral salts, is subject to a remarkable proportion, being one equivalent for each atom of oxygen which the base contains. Salts in which this law is observed to hold, are generally described as neutral, even though their action on vegetable colours may indicate a preponderance of acid. Salts which form in the water, unite chemically with a certain quantity of water (water of crystallization), upon which their colour and form depend; some salts lose this water by exposure to a dry air, and crumble. Salts are either soluble in water, and then form crystals of a peculiar salt taste, or else they are insoluble, not crystallizable in powder, and tasteless. a. Oxygen-salts. CARBONATES. These salts are decomposed more readily than any others; their common properties are the following: they are decomposed by most acids with effervescence, giving out carbonic acid gas; when exposed to a red heat they lose their carbonic acid (except the carbonates of potash); the carbonates of potash likewise lose their carbonic acid, when heated in tubes, and the vapours of water acting upon them. If mixed with pulverised coal and made redhot, they give out a large quantity of carbonic oxide gas. SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. i. AMMONIUM CARBONICUM, Carbonas (sub) ammonii; Sal volatile anglicanum; Fr., Ammoniaque carbonate, Souscarbonate d'ammoniaque, Alcali volatil concret, Sel volatil d'Angleterre; Ger., Fliuc/tiges Laugesalz; Eng., Carbonate of ammonia, (sal volatile). Formerly this salt was procured from animal substances submitted to the action of fire; but when obtained in this manner, it is rendered impure by an oily matter which discolours it, and furnishes but very variable preparations, charged with the animal oil of Dippel, and sometimes even with hydrocyanic acid, which necessarily modify its properties. This salt is obtained purely by the distillation of a mixture of muriate of ammonia, of sub-carbonate of lime, of potash, or of soda. For this purpose, triturate together half an ounce of sal-ammoniac, and the same quantity of crystallized carbonate of soda; introduce this mixture into a phial not closely corked, and which is placed in a sandbath up to the level of the mixture. The action of the fire having sublimated the carbonate of ammonia into the upper part of the phial, it is to be broken, in order to remove the salt. This salt is white, of a fibrous appearance, of the same smell and taste as liquid ammonia, very soluble in cold water, partially decomposed by hot water, very volatile, even at the ordinary temperature; it is decomposed by the alkalies, and effervesces with acids. It should be carefully guarded against light and moisture; we prepare from it a watery solution, in the proportion of one to ten, from which first dilution the alcoholic attenuations are prepared as usual. Antidotes: Camph., Calc., sulph. 2. BARYTA CARBONICA, Carbonas (sub) baryte; Fr., Baryte carbonatee, sous-carbonate de baryte; Ger., Baryt, Sckwererde; Eng., Carbonate of barytes. Carbonate of barytes is but rarely found native; thus far it has only been discovered in England, in Siberia, and in Styria, where it occurs massive, and differs visibly from heavy spar (sulphate of barytes), in dissolving completely in nitric acid. SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. For homoeopathic use, it is prepared in the following manner: Crystallized chloride of barium, well pulverised, is to be boiled for two minutes with six parts of alcohol, in order to free it from the chloride of strontium which might be mixed with it; the powder is then to be dissolved in six parts of boiling distilled water, and precipitated by carbonate of ammonia; the precipitate is to be repeatedly washed with distilled water, and then dried. We prepare the first three attenuations by trituration. This salt is a delicate, white powder, without smell or taste, soluble in muriatic, nitric, and acetic acids, with which it effervesces. Antidote: Camphor. 3. CALCAREA CARBONICA, Carbonas (sub) calcis; Fr., Craie blanche, Chaux carbonatee, Sous-carbonate de chaux; Ger., Kalcerde, Kohlensaure-Kalcerde; Eng., Carbonate of lime, chalk. The sub-carbonate of lime is met with in great abundance in nature; more or less pure, it constitutes the marbles, chalk, a species of alabaster, lime-stone, various stalactites, &c. It is found dissolved in small quantities, in many gaseous mineral waters, in well waters, &c.; it forms in part, the basis of the skeletons of animals, of coral, of the nacra of pearl, of egg-shells, of the shells of Mollusca, of various concretions, &c., in which it often occurs associated with phosphate of magnesia and animal matter. For homoeopathic use, we take the sub-carbonate of lime derived from the animal kingdom, and particularly that furnished by the s/ell of the oyster. For this purpose we bruise a somewhat thick and well-cleaned oyster-shell, and take ten grains of the snow-white calcareous substance which is found between the two surfaces; this is to be triturated with 100 grains of sugar of milk, after which two successive triturations (i. e., three altogether) are to be made before dissolving them and making the remaining attenuations with alcohol. The carbonate of lime thus obtained, is not, in fact, rigorously pure; but as a medicine, it is to be preferred to all other preparations, inasmuch as this is the one that has been experimented on under the name of sub-carbonate of lime. SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 223 G-irner recommends the following mode of obtaining pure carbonate of lime: Boil oyster-shells in water for half an hour, then brush every single shell in order to remove all the impurities which might still adhere to it, and spread them in a furnace with a good draught of air, upon red-hot coal, layer by layer, placing between each two layers of the shells a layer of dead coal; then make the whole pile red-hot by means of the bellows, and maintain this heat until a piece of shell, when taken out, looks perfectly white and can be reduced to a fine powder without trouble. The whole is now removed with great caution, so that the shells are not mixed up with coal or ashes; they are placed in a flat cup, and exposed to the open air until the lime has absorbed a sufficient quantity of carbonic acid, which will take more or less time according to the quantity to be prepared. If, by pouring a little diluted acid upon pulverised lime, we are satisfied that all the quick-lime is removed, the whole mass is placed in a mortar, reduced to a fine powder, and sifted through a piece of fine linen, in order to separate all the coarser particles. We thus obtain a dazzling-white, exceedingly porous, inodorous powder, which requires to be prepared with great care. 4. CALCAREA CAUSTICA seu PURA; Calx; Calcium ox.ydatum, Oxydum calcicum; Fr., Chaux caustique ou vive; Ger., Gebrannter Kalk; Eng., Quick-lime, Pure lime. Oyster-shells are treated in the same way as described in the previous article, except that the red heat is kept up more vigorously, and long enough to expel every trace of carbonic acid, in order to test which, we have to try a piece of shell from every layer. After which they are immediately triturated in a mortar, sifted through linen, and kept for use in hermetically closed bottles.* For medicinal use we prepare, according to Class i, a tincture with diluted alcohol. This tincture (spiritus calcarece causticce) is to be carefully guarded against the access of air, and prepared fresh as soon as we discover the least trace of carbonic acid in it. The common mode of preparing it, is as follows: Intro* The slightest access of atmospheric air is destructive of its properties, as will be readily understood by comparing the process for preparing the carbonate (above). SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA 225 purified cream of tartar; detonate the mixture in a well polished, heated iron crucible, lixiviate the black mass thus obtained with distilled water, filter the liquid, and evaporate it in a porcelain cup, until a dry powder remains. Expose this powder to the open air, in order that it should deliquesce, and all the lime which might have got into the preparation through the cream of tartar should be removed. After the lapse of a few weeks, we add water to separate this carbonate of lime, filter the liquid, dry it again, and keep it in well-closed bottles. It is a perfectly white powder, and easily and completely soluble in a little water. We prepare the first two attenuations with distilled water, and the third with diluted alcohol. Antidotes: Camph., Coff., Spir. nitr. dulc. 6. MAGNESIA CARBONICA, Carbonas (sub) magnesica; Fr., Magnesie carbonatee, Carbonate (sous) de magnesie; Ger., Bittersalzerde, Talkerde, Kohilensaure-Talkerde; Eng., Carbonate of magnesia. This salt frequently occurs native, but more usually in the form of a white, earthy mass, than crystallized. It is prepared artificially by decomposing the sulphate of magnesia, dissolved in water by means of a solution of sub-carbonate of potash, and collecting and washing the precipitate. The greater the purity of the sulphate of magnesia and of the carbonate of potash, the weaker the dilutions; the more care taken in the washings, and the more rapid the drying, the lighter, whiter, and more valuable in commerce is the magnesia obtained. The best is that which comes from England. This salt, usually in large cubic masses, of a dead white, is soft to the touch, insipid and inodorous, adheres strongly to the tongue, effervesces with acids; fire decomposes it, pure water does not dissolve it, but in carbonated water it dissolves almost entirely. It is often adulterated with carbonate of lime, which is detected by the insoluble residuum left on dissolving it in weak sulphuric acid. To prepare the magnesia used in homoeopathy, take ten parts of' the whitest and lightest, which triturate with ninety parts of sugar of milk; the first three attenuations are thus prepared. Antidotes: Calc., Natr. mur. 10 ~ SPECIAL PHARIMACOPOEIA. 7. NATRUM CARBONICUM, Carbonas (sub) socle; Fr., Soude carbonatee, Sous-carbonate de soude; Ger., Mineralischies Laugensalz; Eng., Carbonate of soda. This salt is found native; it abounds in Egypt, in a valley called that of the Natron Lakes, and is crystallized in these lakes by natural evaporation; it is also the basis of the waters of Vichy and other thermal waters, and is found in the plants growing on the maritime coasts of France. It is prepared oni a large scale in Egypt, Spain, and France, by the incineration of the plants which grow on the seashore; these ashes are sold under the name of artificial soda; they are of a blackish colour, and contain all those impurities found in ordinary ashes, such as various sulphates, muriate of soda, carbon, and silex. The Spanish, or Alicant barilla, is considered the best; the most impure is the Kelp; it contains iodide of soda. There is another kind which comes from Hungary, and is purer than any other; it is found in that country at the bottom of lakes which have been dried up by the heat of the sun (or by other physical causes). It is also prepared by heating sulphate of soda, charcoal, and lime, to a red heat, and lixiviating the product. For homoeopathic use, we take rough carbonate of soda, which is purified by submitting it to a fresh crystallization. For this purpose, this salt is first washed, dissolved by heat, and the solution suffered to cool, taking care to stir it from time to time with a spatula, to prevent the formation of regular crystals. The crystallized salt is then placed in a funnel, the end of which is closed with a little cotton, and when the adherent moisture has run off, it is to be wet from time to time with a fresh quantity of distilled water, observing that the last has drained off before more is added. When the water which drains off is no longer clouded by the addition of nitrate of silver, after having been saturated with nitric acid, it will be unnecessary to continue the washing, as the salt remaining in the funnel will be pure sub-carbonate of soda. This salt, when pure, has a cooling, slightly alkaline taste; on exposure to the air, it effloresces; it is insoluble in alcohol, but dissolves in twice its weight of cold water. The first three attenua SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. '27 tions are made by trituration, or we may prepare an aqueous solution in the proportion of 1 to 10.* Antidote: Camphor. 8. STRONTIANA CARBONICA, Carbonas Strontiance; Fr., Strontiane carbonatee, Carbonate de Strontiane; Ger., Strontian-Erde, Ko/lensaurer Strontian; Eng., Carbonate of Strontian. This salt is found in nature in a fossil state, and known under the name of Strontianite, but it is extremely rare. To procure it suitable for homoeopathic use, take sulphate of strontian, known by the name of poudre des Celestins, boil it in water for an hour, with three times its weight of carbonate of potash, or soda, filter it rapidly; wash the residuum, dissolve it in nitric acid, crystallize it carefully, and lastly, precipitate the salt by means of sub-carbonate of soda. It may also be obtained, by heating sulphate of strontian to redness, in a crucible, with one sixth of its weight of charcoal powder; this will produce sulphuret of strontian (foie de strontiane), which dissolve in boiling water, and afterwards precipitate the salt by means of sub-carbonate of potash, or the sulphur may be precipitated by means of nitric acid, and the solution of nitrate of strontian thus obtained, be decomposed. Finally, we may attain the desired result by preparing hydrochlorate of strontian as we prepare hydrochlorate of baryta (which see), and by afterwards decomposing the salt produced by means of sub-carbonate of soda. The first of these three methods is that commonly adopted. The first three attenuations are prepared by trituratioin. Antidole: Camphor. NITRATES. We assign this place to the nitrates, in consequence of the plan we have adopted to arrange the salts agreeably, to their greater or lesser liability to decomposition. The nitrates are, all of them, easily soluble in water; by burning them alone, without the admixture of any other substance, they first give out oxygen, then nitrogen; if spread on redhot coal, they detonate. This detonation takes place with * In this case, alcohol should not be used until the third attenuation has been attained with distilled water. 230 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. portions; it becomes acid in the air, and evaporates at a low temperature, without leaving any residuum. That of commerce is frequently rendered impure by the presence of hydrochloric or nitric acid; in this case, by dissolving it in water, and adding some drops of a solution of silver, a precipitate will be obtained. Spirit of Nitrous Ether is used as the antidote of many medicines. It is also very effective, administered either by olfaction, or by deglutition, as an antidote against many alkaline and animal poisons. 10a. NATRUM NITRICUM, Nilras sodce; Fr., Soude nitrat6e, Nitrate de soude; Ger., Salpetersaures Natrunm; Eng., Nitrate of'soda. This salt, known under the name of cubic or rkomnboid itrle, is found native in India and in Peru, in the desert of Atacama, where it forms a mine of forty leagues in extent, and whence it is even introduced into France. In this state, nevertheless, it is not entirely pure; it contains, on the contrary, sulphate of soda, hydrochlorate of soda, and some traces of calcareous salt. It may be prepared artificially, by dissolving sub-carbonate of soda in three times its weight of hot water, and adding to the solution, while still hot, nitric acid, until there is no longer any effervescence, and it does not redden litmus paper. The fluid obtained is then filtered, in order to clarify it, exposed to a moderate heat, and evaporated to the consistence of a syrup, or until it begins to crystallize; after which it is allowed to settle, and is kept cold for two or three days. At the end of that time, the fluid is decanted, the crystals are dried on blotting-paper, and kept in a bottle hermetically closed. The crystals of this salt are usually cubic or rhomboid; the slower the evaporation the more beautiful the crystals; they dissolve readily in three times their weight of cold, in hot water equal to the quantity of the salt in weight, and even in alcohol, but in minute quantities. This salt has a cooling and bitter taste; exposed to the air, it attracts moisture without, however, deliquescing. The first three attenuations are prepared by trituration, or we prepare a watery solution in the proportion of one part to ten. In neither case should alcohol be used until after the third attenuation. CHLORATES. The general properties of the chlorates are as follows: they have a cooling salt taste like the nitrates, from which SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 23 waters, or in the form of crystals, on the Alps, in Switzerland, at Montmartre, &c. It is prepared artificially by the evaporation and distillation of the mother-waters (bittern), or by various other processes, all of which furnish preparations, more or less impure. The greatest part of the sulphate of magnesia of commerce comes from England, under the name of Epsom Salts; the mineral waters of Seidlitz, of Seidschiitz, and of Egra, furnish also a large quantity; but the purest is that which is extracted from the earths and stones of the mountain of La Garde, near Genoa; nevertheless, even this last is far from being entirely pure. In general, none of the sulphate of magnesia of commerce is pure, and never can be used in homoeopathy without being purified by repeated distillations and crystallizations. In order to separate it from the alkaline or earthy salts with which it be may be combined, dissolve it in an equal volume of boiling water, filter the solution while hot, and set it aside to crystallize. If it contains metallic salts, it is purified by heating it to a red heat, or by boiling its aqueous solution with sub-carbonate of magnesia, after which it is to be filtered while still boiling, and set aside to crystallize. If magnesite (a mineral formed by the sub-carbonate of magnesia) can be pr6cured, it would be better to prepare this salt ourselves. For this purpose, diluted sulphuric acid, with two or three parts of its volume of water, add pulverised magnesite as long as there is an excess of acid; in this manner is obtained a mass of crystals, which must be exposed for some time to the influence of the air, to separate the oxide of iron usually found in magnesite. The crystals are then dissolved in water, filtered, and suffered to crystallize afresh. Sulphate of Magnesia crystallizes from a warm, saturated solution in the shape of smooth, large crystals with six sides, whereas the crystals of the shops are elongated and pointed (formed by stirring the lye while the crystals are forming) it has a bitter, cooling salt taste, is easily soluble in water, not in alcohol; and, by exposure to the air, it slowly crumbles, forming a white powder. The magnesia of commerce generally contains the muriate of magnesia, in which case it attracts humidity from the air; sometimes it is mixed with metallic salts. We SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 235 15d. CALCAREA SULPHURICA, Sulpas calcis; Fr., Chaux sulphatee, sulphate de chaux; Ger., Schwefelsaurer Kalk; Eng., Sulphate of lime. This salt is found in nature crystallized, and forms, under the names of Plaster of Paris, Gypsum, &c., entire mountains. It is obtained as an accessory product in extracting phosphoric acid from calcined bones, as well as in preparing tartaric acid When to a solution of lime in sulphuric, hydrochloric, or nitric acid, the sulphate of an alkaline substance is added, the sulphate soon precipitates, and the less this solution contains of water, the more rapid will be the precipitation, and the more pulverulent the product obtained. The sulphate of lime dissolves in 500 times its weight of water; it is entirely insoluble in alcohol. The first three attenuations must be made by trituration. BORATES. With most earths and metallic oxides, the borates, if fused, form glass of various clearness and colour, tinge a flame green, and, if dissolved in water and treated with sulphuric acid, they precipitate the boracic acid in the shape of crystals which shine like mother-of-pearl. I6e. BORAx VENETA, Boras, Szab-boras Sodce, Natrumboraticum; Fr., Borax, sous-borate de soude, soude boratee; Ger., Borax, Boraxsaures Natrum; Eng., Borax, borate of soda. Crude Borax is known under the name of Tincal, and comes from Asia, either crystallized or in irregular masses, which are usually coated with a greasy or soapy substance. Three kinds of borax are known in commerce, that of India, that of Bengal, and the Chinese. Borax is purified by melting it by means of fire, dissolving it in water, and crystallizing it; this was formerly done at Venice; hence its name, Borax Veneta. Borax is a neutral salt, composed of boracic acid and soda; the soda predominates, and is not completely saturated with the acid. When purified, this salt is in white SPECIAL PHARMACOPOEIA. hexaedral or octaedral prisms, slightly efflorescent, its surface becoming covered with a powdery substance like flour; it dissolves in twelve times its weight of cold and in twice its weight of hot water, but is insoluble in alcohol. The first three attenuations are effected by trituration. Antidotes: Mere., Camph., Coff. ACETATES. Acetates are known by pouring upon them, either when dry, or in a highly concentrated solution, a little sulphuric acid, after which the peculiar odour of acetic acid is at once perceived; we know them likewise by the scarcely soluble crystalline precipitates which are formed by acting upon the acetates with a few drops of the nitrate of silver, or of some mercurial oxide. If the solution be warm, the precipitate is not formed till the solution cools down. When heated the acetates give off combustible gases and an empyreumatic oil, and the pure bases remain behind in combination with coal. 17f. BARYTA ACETICA, Acetas ba.ryta; Fr., Baryte acetatee, Acetate de baryte; Ger., Essigsaurer Baq:t; Eng., Acetate of barytes. This preparation is now little used in homoeopathy, the carbonate of barytes being preferred; the latter has the same medicinal properties, besides which it has this advantage, that it may be treated by trituration, and thus furnish preparations less subject to alteration. Dissolve carbonate of baryta in acetic acid, chemically pure, and evaporate the fluid to the point of crystallization. Ten grains of the crystallized salt are dissolved in ninety drops of distilled water, which gives the first attenuation; the second is made with water and alcohol in equal proportions, the rest with common spirits of wine. Another way to prepare the attenuations is as follows: Prepare, according to the decimal scale, a solution of the acetate of barytes, in one part of strong alcohol and three parts of pure water, which solution we will term " liquor barytae aceticae." From this solution we prepare the second attenuation with diluted, and all succeeding attenuations with strong alcohol. SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 237 18. CALCAREA ACETICA, Acetas calcis; Fr., Chaux acetatee, Acetate de chaux; Ger., Essigsaurer Kalk; Eng., Acetate of lime. This preparation is now little used; all homoeopaths prefer the carbonate of lime, which possesses the same properties, and has moreover the advantage of being more suitable for trituration, and thus of furnishing more unalterable preparations. The following is the mode of making this preparation: Boil oyster shells for an hour in water, then, after having bruised them with a wooden mallet, select the portions hereinbefore described (see Calc. c.), and dissolve them in distilled vinegar; by degrees bring the solution to the boiling point, in a porcelain vessel, and leave it in that state till saturated. That being done, filter the liquid, and let it evaporate to one-fifth, also in a porcelain vessel. This fluid is of a deep yellow colour, and in time lets fall a brownish mucilaginous substance, the precipitation of which renders it clear. Mixed with alcohol in equal parts, this solution will not become mouldy. The attenuations are all made with alcohol. Antidote: Camphor. b. Haloid Salts. MURIATES. The muriates which have an alkali or earth for base, are soluble in water and in alcohol, and remain unchanged by combustion. Some obtain an excess of base by combustion, and magnesia and the earths proper lose the greater part of their acid. Rubbed together with manganese, they give out chlorine if a little concentrated sulphuric acid is poured upon the mixture. Anhydrous acids are incapable of removing the muriatic acid from the muriates. 1. AMMONIUM MURIATICUM, 3liurias seu hydrochloras ammonii, Sal ammoniacum; Fr., Ammoniaque muriate, Muriate ou hydrochlorate d'ammoniaque, Sel ammoniaque; Ger., Salmiak, Salzsaures Ammonium; Eng., Muriate of ammonia, Hydrochlorate of ammonia, Sal ammoniac. This salt is found in considerable quantities in the neighbourhood of volcanoes, in coal mines, in lakes, mineral SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 239 Instead of the triturations we may prepare a watery solution in the proportion of one to ten, from which we afterwards prepare the alcoholic attenuations; (the first in equal parts of alcohol, and water afterwards in pure alcohol.) Antidotes; Camph., Coff., Spir. nitr. dulc. 2. BARYTA MURIATICA, Terra ponderosa salita, Barytes mzriaticus, Barium oxydatum muriaticum, Baryta hydrochlorica, Hydroc/loras baryticus, Cliloretum barii cum aqua; Fr., Baryte muriatee, Hydrochlorate de baryte, Muriate de baryte; Ger., Salzsaurer Baryt, Salzsaure Schiwererde; Eng., Muriate of barytes, Hydrochlorate of barytes. Prepare a mixture of four parts and a half of finely pulverised sulphate of barytes, one part of lamp-black, and three parts of liquefied chloride of calcium; heat this mixture in a Hessian crucible, keeping it over the fire as long as the little flames of carbonic oxide gas rise from the thick-flowing mass, after which the mass is taken out by means of an iron spoon, and left to cool; pulverise it after cooling, add distilled water, then filter and evaporate. Crystals will form which require to be dissolved repeatedly in order to become perfectly pure; they are colourless, transparent, quadrilateral tables of a tolerable specific gravity, air-proof, and of a bitterish-acrid taste. We prepare the attenuations in the same way as has been described for baryta acetica. 3. CALCAREA MURIATICA, Jllurias seu liydrc7looras calcis; Fr., Chaux muriat6e, Muriate ou hydrochlorate de chaux; Ger., Salzsaurer Kalk; Eng., Chloride of calcium, Muriate of lime. This salt is found in sea-water, in the bittern or motherwater of saltworks, and is obtained as an accessory product during the preparation of spirit of ammonia, of sub-carbonate of ammonia, &c. It is procured pure by saturating sub-carbonate of lime (prepared oyster-shells) with sulphuric acid. This salt, crystallized, contains 49-13 of water, rapidly attracts moisture from the atmosphere, and readily deliquesces. It is very soluble in water and in alcohol, and all the attenuations should be prepared with the latter. SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA, 241 For homoeopathic use, we take the crystals with pyramidal hollows in the sides of the cubes. The first three attenuations are made by trituration. Antidotes: Camph., Nitri spir. dulc. IODATES. A solution of hydriodic acid or of a metal produces, with nitrate of silver, a curdy pale-yellow precipitate; iodine imparts a blue colour to starch. They are disposed to become basic, and, as bases, are frequently soluble in water. When rubbed together with manganese and moistened with sulphuric acid, they give out, when warmed, vapours of iodine, whereas the vapours of bromine are of a hyacinth-red colour. 1. IODIUM, lodinum, Fr., lode; Ger., lod, lode, Iodine; Eng., Iodine. The simplest way to obtain this substance is as follows: Dissolve iodine in caustic potash until the solution is perfectly neutralised, which is known by the solution assuming a light brown-red appearance if an excess of iodine should be added. The mixture is evaporated to dryness in a polished, iron crucible, heated until it deliquesces, kept in that condition for some time, but moderately, and then poured off. After cooling, the mass is distilled in double its quantity of distilled water, the solution is filtered and evaporated. The crystals which now form are colourless, transparent cubes, of an acrid-saltish taste, becoming somewhat moist when exposed to the air, and soluble in less than their own quantity of water. The watery solution is preferable to the triturations. 2. KALI HYDRIODICUM, Hlydriodas potasse; Fr., Potasse hydriodique, Hydriodate de potasse; Ger., Hydriodsaures Kali; Eng., Hydriodate of Potash. To obtain this preparation, place in contact with each other one part of pure iodine, with four parts of water, and one-half part of iron-filings. There is a slight disengagement of heat, and the liquid becomes deep-brown. Heat this last gently until it becomes clear like water. Then filter and boil it, adding pure carbonate of potash until all the iron is separated. If too much carbonate of potash 11 242 SPECIAL PIHARMACOPCEIA. has been added, it must be neutralised by a small quantity of pure hydrocyanic acid. The fluid then consists of hydriodate ofpotash; it is to be filtered and carefully evaporated until crystals are obtained, which are laid aside and dried. When dry, this is no longer hydriodate, but iodide of potasi; nevertheless, even in its dry state, this substance is known by physicians under the name of hydriodate of potash. It is formed of white cubic crystals, of an acrid and pungent taste, like salt, slightly deliquescent, and entirely soluble in water and alcohol. The iodide of potash of commerce is occasionally adulterated with chloride of potassium, which is detected by the red colour obtained on dissolving one part 'of this iodide in 12,000 parts of water, to which is added a little solution of platina. We use in homceopathy not the liquid hydriodate of potash, but the substance in the state of crystals, that is to say, the iodide, ten parts of which are to be treated with ninety parts of sugar of milk. The first three attenuations are made by trituration. BROMATES. KALI HYDROBROMICUM; Kali seu Kalium bromatum seu hydro-bromatum, Bromatum kalii seu kalicum; Eng., Hydrobromate of Potash. It is prepared from pure bromine in the same way as the hydriodate of potash is from iodine. Its crystals are white, transparent cubes, or quadrilateral tables shining like mother-of-pearl; they are air-proof, easily soluble in water, of a pungent-saltish, and at the same time cooling taste. The preparation of attenuations is conducted as with the lodates. OF THE METALS AND THEIR COMBINATIONS. Metals are elementary bodies possessed of a peculiar lustre, which is increased by polishing them, or by friction; they are opaque, heavy, dense, flexible, ductile, fusible, and the principal conductors of caloric and electricity; at the ordinary temperature they are solid, (except quicksilver,) crystallized, or at least capable of crystallization. Most metals are without odour or taste, and all SPECIAL PHARMACO PEIA. 243 of them are insoluble in water, alcohol, or ether. In nature we find them either pure, that is, without combination with some heterogeneous substance, or combined with other metals, or combined with sulphur alone, or with sulphur and with other metals, or in the f6rm of oxides or salts. They combine with oxygen in various proportions, in which case they lose their specific gravity, their hardness, ductility, and lustre, and assume an earthy appearance; they likewise combine with sulphur and chlorine. Metals which are easily oxydised, are called ignoble metals; those which resist the action of oxygen, noble metals. Metals have a great affinity for acids, by which they are dissolved and changed to some kind of coloured liquid; to do this, however, the metals have first to be oxydised. By evaporation and crystallization we obtain, from these solutions, the metallic salts, which are generally coloured and heavy, and, if soluble, possess a styptic taste, by which property they are distinguished from other salts. Metals combine1, with oxygen, i2, with metalloids, 3, with each other; 4, they do not combine with oxides unless they themselves have first been oxydised. 1. Noble metals, Which are not easily oxydized, either at a low or high temperature, and the oxides of which are reducible per se. 1. PLATINA; Fr., Platine; Ger., Platina; Eng., Platina. This metal, of a silver-white, has as yet only been found in America, Spain, Russia, and the auriferous sands of the Rhine; it usually occurs in the form of small grains, commonly alloyed with other metals, from which it is very difficult to separate it. When pure, this metal is of a rather deeper colour than silver, very ductile, nearly infusible, heavier and more unalterable than any other metal; it is not oxydised in water, nor at any temperature. To prepare it for homceopathic use, take twenty grains 2442 SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. of chemically pure platina, which dissolve in aqua regia, with heat; dilute the solution in a suitable quantity of water, into this plunge a rod of well polished steel, around which the platina will be seen precipitating and forming a crystalline crust. The metal obtained in this way is a spongy mass, iron-gray, without lustre, soft, porous, and of little density. It should be frequently washed in distilled water, and well dried. According to Rau, pure platina in powder may also be obtained by boiling the chloride with alcohol; the metal is precipitated by this process, and if carefully washed in distilled water, it forms a preparation entirely suitable. One grain of the powder obtained by either of these two processes, is triturated, with sugar of milk, in the usual proportions, to make the attenuations, if pure platina in leaves sufficiently thin, like those of gold or silver, cannot be procured. The first three attenuations are made by trituration. Antidote: Puls. la. PLATINA MURIATICA, C/lor'0s platinicus; Eng., Muriate of Platina, Chloride of Platina. Dissolve platina-wire in aqua regia, evaporate it to dryness at a moderate temperature, but so as to prevent decomposition; by this means a dark brown-red salt is obtained, which is to be dissolved in nine times its quantity of diluted alcohol, and kept for use as Platina muriatica 1, from which we prepare the alcoholic attenuations. We keep it in phials with ground glass stoppers. 2. AURUM FOLIATUM, Aurum purum; Fr., Or en feuilles, Or pur; Ger., Gold, Blattgold; Eng., Gold-leaf, Pure Gold. This perfect metal is most generally found native, sometimes alloyed with other metals, such as silver, iron, lead, sulphur, &c.; it abounds most in South America, Mexico, Peru, Siberia, and Hungary; much of it is found in the form of dust in the sand of rivers, from which it is separated by washing. Gold coin is never free from alloy; in order to procure it entirely pure, a piece of gold, first reduced into thin leaves, is to be dissolved in aqua regia; i SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 245 this solution is to be evaporated to complete dryness, the dry residuum is to be again dissolved in distilled water, to which a solution of sulphate of iron is to be added, until no further action takes place. In this manner a deep-red precipitate, almost black, is obtained, which, after having been washed in weak muriatic acid and distilled water, gives, when melted, pure gold. Pure gold is very brilliant, of an orange-yellow colour when in mass, and of an emerald-green when in a state of fusion, or when reduced to very thin leaves, and held up against the light; it is inodorous, insipid, difficult of fusion, crystallizable, soft, very tenacious, malleable in the highest degree, and of a specific gravity of 19-257. Water, air, and fire, do not alter it, even when in leaves; but a strong electric discharge transforms it into a purple powder, without, perhaps, changing its chemical properties. If perfectly pure gold can be obtained in leaves, it is in the most convenient form to make the three usual triturations; the other attenuations are made by means of alcohol. Antidotes: Assafoet., Merc., Vinum, Smelling of Camphor. 2a. AURUM MURIATICUM, Jur'lias seu Deuto-chloretum auri; Fr., Or muriate, Muriate or Deuto-chlorure d'or; Ger., Salzsaures Gold; Eng., Muriate or Deuto-chloride of Gold. This salt is in small quadrangular prisms, or truncated octaedrons, of a beautiful yellow, becoming green when dried in vacuo, fusible at a moderate heat, very deliquescent, inodorous, but slightly bitter, styptic, and leaving a metallic after-taste. It is obtained by dissolving one part of pure metallic gold in a mixture composed of one part of nitric, and two parts of hydrochloric acid, evaporating the solution to dryness at a moderate heat, and dissolving the product afresh in hydrochloric acid. It is soluble in alcohol and in ether. The concentrated solution is saffronyellow, inclining to red. The great deliquescence of this salt renders its preservation very difficult, and on this account, the old school, in its preparations, directed it to be mixed with common salt, by evaporation, which would not answer for homoeopathic preparations. Trituration SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 247 with sixty parts of water, a white precipitate will be thrown down, which is sulphate of lead. We first make three triturations with sugar of milk; the rest of the attenuations are made with alcohol. Antidote: Mere. 3a. ARGENTUM NITRICUM, Nitras argenti; Fr., Argent nitrate, Nitrate d'argent; Ger., Salpetersaures Silber; Eng., Nitrate of Silver. The salt which we indicate by this name, is not thefused nitrate of silver, called also lapis infernalis, or lunar caustic, but the crystallized nitrate of silver. To obtain this salt, take the purest silver, dissolve it at a moderate heat in twice its weight of pure nitric acid, which gives a perfectly colourless solution if pure silver is used; whereas, if it contain copper, the solution will have a greenish-blue colour. This solution is then evaporated and set to crystallize. When pure, this salt is in colourless, transparent, thin plates, varying in form, of a caustic, styptic and metallic taste; it does not attract humidity from the atmosphere, but is partially decomposed by the light. It dissolves in an equal weight of cold water, and in twice its weight of boiling alcohol, which nevertheless abandons it, so that it retains but a very small portion of it when cold. Notwithstanding this, it would perhaps be better to make the first solution in boiling alcohol, than to prepare it by triturations with sugar of milk; the solution thus made, would retain sufficient portions to constitute the first attenuation, from which the others might be made with cold alcohol, in the usual manner. According to Griiner, the first solution should be made in water, in the proportion of five parts to ninety-five. Lapis infernalis is obtained by melting the crystals of the nitrate of silver, which thus lose their water of crystallization. It is in rods of a light-gray colour, dissolves completely in twice its weight of water, forming a limpid, colourless solution. Good lapis infernalis is of a white or white-gray colour, a moderately firm cohesion, and exhibits in the recent fracture a perfectly crystalline, radiating starry texture. Antidote: Salt. 248 SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. la. f'ansition-metals, Distinguished from the former by the fact that they become oxydised at a high temperature, though slowly and almost imperceptibly. 1. NICOLUM CARBONICUM; Fr., Nikel carbonate; Ger., KoAlensaures Nickel; Eng., Carbonate of Nickel. Nickel in a metallic state and entirely pure, is white, with a shade of gray; it acts by attraction on the magnetic needle, and may acquire poles; exposed to heat with contact of air, it is converted into a pure green oxide. The substance from which it is usually obtained, is Cupfernickel, in which it is found combined with arsenic and iron. It occurs in nature under many forms, and in various combinations. In the mines, in different parts of Germany, of France (at Ste. Marie aux Mines, and at Allemont), and of England, arsenical nickel usually occurs, which is found coated with oxide of nickel. It frequently accompanies arsenical cobalt. The nickel of commerce is in porous masses, of a dark gray, which are obtained by first preparing, in the liquid way, oxide of nickel, which is afterwards reduced by means of a small quantity of pulverized charcoal. To obtain this metal, as used in homoeopathy, dissolve it in diluted nitric acid, and evaporate the solution to dryness, repeating this process three or four times. Dissolve the product of the last evaporation in liquid caustic ammonia, which must be entirely free from carbonic acid; this may be ascertained by trying whether or not it produces a precipitate by treatment with hydrochlorate of lime. The solution is then evaporated to dryness, after which the dry mass is mixed with two or three times its weight of black flux (a mixture of two parts of tartar, and one part of nitre decomposed in a red-hot crucible), placed in a crucible, and kept in a hot fire for half or three quarters of an hour. From the product thus obtained, the attenuations are made, the first three of which are prepared by trituration. S50 SPECIAL PI-ARMACOPCEIA. bismuth, and deposits in their place its mercury, which unites with the other. The purest mercury may be obtained by the distillation of artificial cinnabar with iron filings; sulphuret of iron is formed, and the mercury passes over into the receiver, which should be filled with water. This mercury is then collected on a piece of leather, and, by means of a.press, is freed from all humidity. In a state of perfect purity, mercury is of a very brilliant tin-white, without any iridescent pellicle, fluid at the ordinary temperature, and evaporates easily in the air. Placed in a spoon, and heated over the fire, it should not decrepitate, nor leave any residuum on being evaporated; the water in which it is triturated or shaken should remain clear; vinegar, after having been in contact with it, should not acquire a sweetish taste, &c. The first three attenuations are made by trituration. Antidotes: Hepar sulph., Camph., Op., Chin., Elect., Assafoet., Aur., Rhus tox. 3a. MERCURIUS SOLUBILIS HAHNEMANNI GRISEUS, Hydrargyrum oxycdulatumz nigrum; Fr., Mercure soluble de Hahnemann; Ger., Haknemann's azifloslic/es Quecksilber; Eng., Black Oxide of Mercury. This mercurial preparation is neither an oxide nor a protoxide of mercury, but an ammoniaco-mercurial subprolo nitrate, which, as it does not keep well, and is very liable to pass to the maximum of oxidation, should be prepared in a very small quantity at a time. Hahnemann himself had long since abandoned this preparation, preferring to it, in all cases, that of metallic mercury, which we have mentioned above. Nevertheless, as there are many homoeopathic physicians who imagine that metallic mercury is not so efficacious as the uncertain preparation, black oxide of mercury, we will point out the method recommended by Hahnemann to obtain it. Having purified the mercury, as described above, it is dissolved, cold, in common nitric acid, which requires many days; the salt which results is dried on blottingpaper, and triturated in a glass mortar for half an hour, adding one quarter of its weight of the best alcohol. The alcohol which has thus been cofiverted into ether is thrown aside, and the trituration of the mercurial deposit is conti SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 251 nued with fresh alcohol for half an hour each time, until this fluid has no longer the smell of ether. That being done, the alcohol is decanted, and the salt dried on blottingpaper, which is renewed from time to time. Afterwards it is triturated for a quarter of an hour in a glass mortar, with twice its weight of distilled water; the clear fluid is decanted, the salt is again washed by a second trituration with a fresh quantity of water; the clear fluid is united to the preceding, and thus we have the aqueous solution of all that the saline mass contained of mercurial nitrate really saturated. The residuum is composed of other mercurial salts, of chloride and sulphate. Finally, this aqueous solution precipitates, by treatment with caustic ammonia, the so-called black oxide of mercury, (blackish-gray oxidule of mercury,) the first three attenuations of which are made by trituration. Gruner prepares this substance as follows: Treat three parts of pure mercury with four parts of pure concentrated nitric acid of a specific gravity of 1-28, (which should be first diluted with six parts of water,) exposing the mixture to a gradually increased heat, until two parts of the mercury are dissolved (which can be ascertained by pouring off the liquid, and weighing the undissolved mercury); the hot solution is diluted with twelve parts of distilled water, and, while warm, is filtered into a vessel containing four times the quantity of cold distilled water; the two liquids are carefully mixed, after which a mixture of one part and a half of caustic ammonia of 0-95 (specific gravity) to eight parts of distilled water is to be added by pouring the mixture into the vessel in a thin, uninterrupted stream, during which time the mercurial solution should be stirred all the time, in order to effect the mixing up of the two liquids so much more completely. Allow the black precipitate to settle, pour off the supernatant liquid as speedily as possible, mix the precipitate with distilled water, filter and wash it. Then drain it between several layers of blotting-paper, and press it between them by means of heavy stones, after which the powder is to be exposed in the open air, guarding it, however, against the light, and completely excluding all artificial warmth. By this method we obtain a velvet-black, SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. f55 sixteen parts of water, and acting upon it with a solution of nine parts of water and one part of common salt as long as a. precipitate continues to form; this should be at once and perfectly washed with pure cold water, and dried at a moderate temperature. Two parts of the dissolved mercury require about one part of common salt to be precipitated. The calomel, as well as the triturations,deri ved from it should be guarded from the light. Sc. MERCURIUS CORROSIVUS, Mercurius sublimatus, Deutochloretum iydrargyri, Hydrargyrum corrosivum; Fr., Sublime corrosif, Deuto-chlorure de mercure; Ger., Aetzsublimat, Quecksilber-chlorid; Eng., Corrosive sublimate, Corrosive chloride of Mercury. The most simple mode of obtaining this salt consists in distilling together to dryness, in a glass retort, three parts of pure metallic mercury, and five parts of concentrated sulphuric acid; the saline mass which results, is triturated with equal parts of common salt, the whole being afterwards sublimated in a sand-bath. This salt may also be obtained by a very simple method, in the liquid way, by dissolving red precipitate in hydrochloric acid, and evaporating the solution either to dryness, or for crystallization. Corrosive sublimate is prepared in the latter way in laboratories; those of Holland furnish it in boxes of the sizeof sublimating vessels; that of England is in masses of the form of loaves weighing from twelve to sixteen pounds each. When obtained by the liquid method, this salt appears in elongated prismatic acicular crystals, of a beautiful white, and of great purity; obtained by the dry method, it is in loaf-like masses, of a dead-white in the centre, transparent at the circumference, convex, and polished on the upper side, bristling with crystals on the lower, of a disagreeable metallic taste, dissolving in sixteen parts of cold, and in three parts of boiling water, in two parts and a half of cold, and in one and a half of boiling alcohol, or in three parts of ether. Many organic substances, such as oil, fat, sugar, concentrated alcohol, starch, &c., transform it into chloride of mercury, when placed in contact with it; on this account it appears to be improper to treat this salt by trituration with sugar 254 SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. of milk; the first attenuation, on the contrary, is made with water, the second with aqueous alcohol (in equal proportions), and it is only with the third that we begin to use common alcohol. According to Gruner, we may dissolve it in distilled water in the proportion of one to nineteen, designating this preparation as the first; the next preparation should be made with diluted alcohol in the proportion of two to eight (numbering this preparation 2), and all subsequent attenuations should be prepared with strong alcohol. If the corrosive sublimate should contain calomel, this remains behind in the solution, and, by the addition of lime-water, assumes a black colour. 3d. MERCURIUS PRAECIPITATUS RUBER, Hyidrargyrur oxydatumn r'ubrum; Fr., Precipite rouge, Oxyde rouge de mercure; Ger., Rother Precipitat; Eng., Red Oxide of Mercury, Red Precipitate. Dissolve two parts of mercury in three parts of nitric acid, at first exposing the mixture to a gentle heat, which is to be gradually increased; evaporate the solution to dryness, triturate the residuum with pure mercury till the globules disappear, moistening the powder from time to time with pure water; dry the mass, heat it to redness in an open vessel, until no more red vapours form; after which, reduce the residuum, when cold, to powder by trituration. Red precipitate thus obtained forms a fine powder of a beautiful clear red; it is inodorous, but has a disagreeable, acrid, and styptic taste. The action of light renders it darker, and decomposes it; it is scarcely soluble in water and alcohol. The first three attenuations must be made by trituration. Gruner prepares it as follows: The red oxide of the shops, the purity of which should first be tested by the complete volatilization of the mercury in a hot iron spoon, is, in a glass or porcelain mortar, reduced to impalpable powder, by adding an adequate quantity of water. After this, a quantity of distilled water is added, and the whole is, boiled for a time in a suitable vessel, stirring the SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 255 solution all the while. After the solution has stood a little, the water is poured off, and the orange-coloured powder is repeatedly washed until the water which is used for that purpose, ceases to re-act acid. We then collect it in a filter, dry it in the dark, and keep it in vessels in which it, as well as the triturations, should be carefully guarded from the light. 3e. MERCURIUS ACETATUS, Acetas mnercurii, Hydrargyrumi acetatum; Fr., Mercure acetati, Acetate de mercure; Ger., Essigsaures Quecksilber; Eng., Acetate of Mercury. Acetic acid does not act strongly on metallic mercury, but it readily combines with the oxides of that substance. Acetate of mercury is obtained by the solution of deutoxide of mercury in acetic acid, or by the solution of a mixture of acetate of potash with nitrate of mercury. For this purpose, introduce into a glass retort deutoxide of mercury, or sub-carbonate of mercury; pour upon it eight parts of distilled water, place the mixture in a sand-bath, and when it commences boiling, add acetic acid until the mercurial oxide is dissolved. That being effected, filter the fluid as quickly as possible, set it aside, and let it crystallize. This salt, when pure, forms white crystals, greasy to the touch, lamellar, and brilliant; it is fixed, becomes black by the combined action of light and humidity, is difficult of solution in water, and completely insoluble in alcohol. The first three attenuations should be made by trituration. But, in general, metallic mercury is preferred, and the acetate of mercury is not more used than the other acetates. 3f. MERCURIUS PRJECIPITATUS ALBUS, Hydrargyrumn ammoniaco-muriaticum; Fr., Precipite blanc (des anciens), Oxy-chlorure ammoniacale de mercure; Ger., Weisser Precipitat; Eng., Ammoniated mercury, White Precipitate. Dissolve together in one pound of hot distilled water, one ounce of corrosive sublimate, and the same quantity of purified sal ammoniac; when the solution has been cooled and filtered, add an aqueous solution of subcarbonate of soda, SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 257 3h. MERCURIUS BINIODATUS, yldrargyri biniodidum; Eng., Iodide, Biniodide, Dentiodide, or Periodide of Mercury. This mercurial compound is obtained by precipitating eight parts of the chloride of mercury with ten parts of the iodide of potash. Each of these two solutions should be considerably diluted, and an excess of the iodide of potash should be avoided, because, otherwise, part of the precipitate would be dissolved again by the iodide. The fiery scarlet-red precipitate is to be carefully washed, and dried at a moderate temperature; it is insoluble in water, readily fusible, volatile, soluble in alcohol. We prepare the first three attenuations by trituration. 3i. MERCURIUS NITROSUS, Nitras hydrargyrosus; Eng., Nitrate of Mercury. To twenty parts of pure mercury add, in a very flat porcelain cup, a mixture of nine parts of concentrated nitric acid of a specific gravity of 12, and twenty-seven parts of distilled water; cover it lightly, and let it stand in a dark and cool place until the white, octaedral crystals of the desired salt cease. From time to time they are taken off the mercury upon whose surface they are floating, after which we wash them speedily with a little alcohol, and then dry them between layers of blotting-paper; this done, they are kept in a well-corked glass-bottle. They are airproof, and completely soluble in slightly acidulated water. The best way to administer it, is in the form of an aqueous solution, which is to be prepared, in the usual proportions with water that had been slightly acidulated with a few drops of nitric acid. The solution should be kept in phials enveloped with foil or paper. 2. Ignoble metals which are easily oxydised in the open air at any temperature, and cannot be restored without intermediate agents. (A.) METALS WHICH, BY OXYDIZATION, ARE NOT CHANGED TO ACIDS: (aa) Metals which are only fusible by being constantly kept at a white heat. 258 SPECIAL PHARMACOPOEIA. 1. MANGANUM METALLICUM, M,anganesium; Fr., Manganese; Ger., Mangan, Braunstein-Ifetall; Eng., Manganese, Metallic manganese. This metal is found in nature in the state of oxide, or combined with sulphur, as a colouring matter in many fossils, or a component part of mineral waters. The pure metal is of a silver-gray, without taste or smell; having a slight metallic lustre, the fracture granular, easily filed and reduced to powder. The first three attenuations of this metal reduced to powder should be prepared by trituration. la. MANGANUM ACETICUM, Acetas mangani; Fr., Manganese acetatee, Acetate de manganese; Ger., Essigsaurer Braunstein; Eng., Acetate of Manganese. When this preparation was still used in homoeopathy, it was obtained by boiling the carbonate of manganese with distilled vinegar until the acid was completely saturated, and evaporating the solution to a syrupy consistence. The attenuations were all made with alcohol. The following is a more particular description of the process: Dissolve, at a warm temperature, recently made carbonate of manganese in concentrated vinegar, until the solution is completely saturated; the solution is then filtered, and the crystals are slowly formed by evaporation. They are colourless rhomboidal prisms, at most of a shining pale-red, air-proof, and readily soluble in water. We prepare a watery solution in the proportion of one to ten. Antidotes: Coff., Ipec. Ib. MANGANUM CABONICUM, Maanganesium, Carbonas (sub) mangani; Fr., Manganese carbonatee, Sous-carbonate de manganese; Ger., Braunstein; Eng., Carbonate of manganese. Hahnemann mentions the acetate of manganese, as above, but homoeopathic physicians generally prefer the carbonate, the effects of which are the same as those of the acetate, but which possesses the advantage over the latter, that it can be treated by trituration, and thus furnishes preparations less susceptible of alteration. SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 259 To obtain the carbonate, triturate well together equal parts in weight of black oxide of manganese and of crystallized sulphate of iron, to which add a little syrup of sugar in order to make the whole into a paste, of which form balls of the size of a hen's egg; these must be heated among coals of a clear fire, and kept for some minutes at a white heat. The solution of this mass in distilled or rain-water, contains sulphate of manganese, while the residuum consists of oxide of manganese in excess, mixed with oxide of iron. Introduce into the fluid carbonate of soda, which throws down a white powder; this is to be repeatedly washed and then dried. This powder is carbonate of manganese; whence the first thfree attenuations are to be made by trituration. These various operations should be carried on as rapidly as possible, nor should the phials be any larger than the quantity of the fluids which are to be mixed, requires, on account of the great affinity of manganum for oxygen, which renders it necessary that the action of the air should be excluded as much as possible. The powder should first be drained between several layers of blottingpaper, and the drying should be completed in a warm mortar. (bb) Metals wotick are readily fusible at a w7tite heat: 1. FERRUM, Ferrum metallicum; Fr., Fer, Fer metallique; Ger., Eisen, metallisches Eisen; Eng., Iron, Metallic Iron. This metal is found in the three kingdoms of nature, but it rarely occurs native, and, perhaps only in aerolites, in a mountain in Missouri, in another in the department of Isere, in France, in the mines of Saxony, in Brazil, in Senegal, and in the island of Bourbon. Metallic iron is solid at the ordinary temperature, of considerable hardness, large-granular, somewhat lamellated, acquiring a sensible odour by friction, of a blueish-gray, very difficult of fusion, the most tenacious of metals, very ductile, but more susceptible of being drawn into wire than of being rolled. The iron of commerce is occasionally mixed with cast iron, which is discovered by the black spots which 260 SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. are formed by treating it with hydrochloric acid, or with sulphuric acid diluted with three times its volume of water. Iron, also, frequently contains copper, which is detected by treating it with sulphuric acid and caustic ammonia. For this purpose, dissolve iron in diluted sulphuric acid, as mentioned above; add caustic ammonia in excess, and filter the solution until it appears perfectly limpid, and does not alter by exposure to the air. If it exhibits a strongly blueish tint, and if, when mixed with pure sulphuric acid, it gives a precipitate of copper upon immersing in it a piece of polished iron, we are certain of what it contains. But if, on the contrary, after evaporating the ammoniacal solution to about -1, no trace of a precipitate can be discovered by the same process, the iron may be considered as perfectly free from copper. To prepare iron for homoeopathic use, it is pulverised by means of a good file, which gives iron-filings, a powder which every homoeopathic physician should prepare for himself, since the iron-filings of commerce are seldom free from other metals. The first three attenuations of this powder are made by trituration. Before triturating the iron, both mortar and pestle, and even the sugar of milk, should be slightly warmed, in order to remove all dampness. The work should be continued without any interruption whatsoever, for this reason, that the oxygen of the air is constantly busy in oxydizing the iron. Antidotes: Chin., Hep., Ipec., Puls., Veratr., Arsen. la. FERRUM CHLORATUM seu MURIATICUM, Muriaas seu hydrochlorasferri; Fr., Muriate ou hydrochlorate de fer; Ger., Salzsaures Eisen; Eng., Muriate or Hydrochlorate of Iron. This salt is obtained by the combination of pure ironfilings with hydrochloric acid; the solution is filtered and evaporated to crystallization. The salt thus obtained is of a beautiful greenish-blue, less green than the sulphate of iron, of a positive, styptic taste, and easily soluble in water and alcohol. SPECIAL PHARMACOP(E1A. 961 The first three attenuations are made by trituration. (See, however, the note infra.) To prepare this substance, Gruner uses the hydrated oxide of iron, the preparation of which will be found mentioned under the head of "Ferrum aceticum;" this hydrate is dissolved in pure muriatic acid, the liquid is filtered, and a tincture formed in the same manner as is indicated for Ferrumi aceticum. It has a saturated, dark yellow-brown colour, and should be well guarded from the light. According to Gruner, the triturations are inadmissible.* It should be administered in the same manner as is mentioned for the acetate of iron. 1b. FERRUM ACETICUM, Acetasferri; Fr., Fer acetate, Acetate de fer; Ger., Essigsaures Bisen; Eng., Acetate of Iron. We may say of this as of all the acetates, that it is now little in use. When this preparation was in use, it was obtained by heating iron-wire to a white heat, quenching it in acetic acid, evaporating the solution, and drying the residuum. The attenuations, as far as the third, were made by trituration with sugar of milk; but many homoeopaths now prefer metallic iron. Those, however, who wish to use the acetate of iron, may prepare it in the following manner: Dissolve one part of the sulphate of iron in eight times its quantity of distilled water, heat the mixture until it boils, and keep adding small quantities of concentrated nitric acid as long as effervescence takes place. Let the liquid cool, and then add liquid caustic ammonia, wash the precipitate carefully, and collect it on a filter. Of this fresh hydrated oxide of iron introduce little by little into concentrated vinegar, as much as will dissolve at a moderate temperature This solution of the acetate of iron should always be reduced to the specific gravity of 1"05, and we should prepare of it either:a. The tincture, by mixing one part of the solution with one part and a half of strong alcohol; or, b. We should dry it by means of steam-heat, and keep the powder in well-corked phials for trituration * It is not improbable that the continued exposure to the action of the atmosphere, necessarily attendant upon the process of trituration, would tend to deteriorate this preparation. SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 263 2. CUPRUM, Ciprum metallicum; Fr., Cuivre, Cuivre metallique; Ger., Kupfer, MJetallisches Kupfer; Eng., Copper, Metallic Copper. Copper is found in nature in great abundance; sometimes native in different forms, sometimes as an oxide combined with other substances. We have native-pyritous, pyritous-hepatic, gray copper, sulphuret, red oxydule, arseniferous oxydule, muriate, blue carbonate, green carbonate, arseniate, &c. It is found native chiefly in North America, and in Siberia. There are also copper mines in Sweden, Norway, Silesia, Bavaria, France, England, Hungary, &c. It is said also to be found in many plants, such as Dulcam., and in the ashes of Quinquino, of Cofea, &c. It is said to be found in the greatest purity in the island of Cyprus, whence its name of icvrpov, copper. Metallic copper is commonly obtained from its sulphuret by successive roastings and the use of charcoal; the product is known in commerce by the name of rosettes. Pure copper is in a solid metal, of an orange-red, very brilliant, harder than gold and silver, more sonorous than all other metals, the most ductile of all, after platina and silver, very malleable, acquiring a very peculiar and disagreeable smell by being rubbed. The best is that which comes from Japan, in the shape of small ingots. To render copper available for homoeopathic use, we take one of these ingots, and melt six parts with two of solid nitre, a process by which the metals which might be combined with the copper remain in the scoriae (dross); we dissolve the copper thus obtained in an acid, and then plunge an iron or zinc rod into the solution; the copper will soon adhere to the rod in the form of a powder. Another method of obtaining pure copper in powder, conSsists in dissolving three parts of perfectly pure sulphate of copper in eight parts of boiling water, to which eight parts of honey are added, stirring the whole together, and causing it to boil for half an hour; it is then to be removed from the fire, and a large quantity of cold water added to it, the fluid is to be decanted, the copper reduced to powder is to be placed on a filter, washed, and dried by exposure to a moderate heat. Of the powder obtained by one or other of these methods, take one grain, and triturate 264 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. it with ninety-nine grains of sugar of milk; the process which consists in grinding copper under water, on a grindstone, in order to obtain the powder, is less likely to give pure preparations. The first three attenuations are made by trituration. Gruner remarks, that the little rods of zinc which are used for the precipitation of the copper, can easily be prepared by casting pure zinc in a mould such as is used for the preparation of lapis infernalis. While the decomposition of the zinc is going on, the solution requires to be stirred all the time, by means of a wooden or porcelain spatula, in order to cause the black-brown pellicles or scales of copper to fall to the bottom of the vessel; by this means we obtain nothing but fine scales of copper, whereas, without this precaution, the copper would be deposited in thick laminae which it would be difficult to triturate. After the precipitate has been carefully washed with distilled water, it should then be well shaken in a well-closed bottle, with a proportionate quantity of recently prepared sulphurous acid, for about five or ten minutes; this will impart to the precipitate the true red-brown copper colour. The sulphurous acid has to be removed by repeated and careful washing, and after the precipitate had been collected on a filter, drained, and pressed between layers of blotting-paper, it should be finally dried by rubbing it in a well-warmed porcelain mortar. Antidotes: Cocc., Nux v., Ipec., Hep. s., Bell., China, Merc. ea. CUPRUM CARBONICUM, Carbonas (sub) cupri; Fr., Cuivre carbonate, Sous-carbonate de cuivre; Ger., Kohlensaures Kupfer; Eng., Carbonate of Copper. This salt exists in nature in the form of blue carbonate, malachite, and anhydrous carbonate. It is obtained artificially by precipitating a solution of copper diluted with water, by sub-carbonate of potash, and washing the precipitate with cold water. This salt is of a magnificent blue, frequently crystallized, but often, also, in earthy masses of a sky-blue, easily pulverised. The first three attenuations should be made by trituration. SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 265 2b. CUPRUM SULPHURICUM, Sulphas cuyri, Fitiolum cupri seu cceruleum; Fr., Cuivre sulphate, Sulphate de cuivre, Vitriol bleu on de cuivre; Ger., Schwefelsaures Kupfer, Kupfer -vitriol; Eng., Sulphate of Copper, Blue Vitriol. This salt is found in nature, in the galleries of copper mines, or in solution in the waters flowing from mines containing it, whence it is extracted by evaporation. To procure it suitable for medical purposes, heat copper with concentrated sulphuric acid, dissolve the product in water, and let it crystallize. This salt is in large crystals of a beautiful blue colour, of a metallic smell, disagreeable, and styptic. When heated, it loses its water of crystallization, and becomes a white powder, which is anhydrous sulphate of copper. The blue vitriol of commerce is almost always rendered impure by iron or zinc, on which account the homoeopathic physician should prepare it himself. The sulphate of copper of the shops generally contains zinc and iron. It is freed from these substances by dissolving the sulphate in five times its quantity of water, and inserting into the solution, for several weeks, a strip of polished copper, the iron gradually falls down as a yellow oxide, the solution is filtered, and the filtered liquid allowed to crystallize. Only the first crystals which form should be used, since the sulphate of zinc which remained behind in the solution, would likewise crystallize, if we' were to wait too long. The crystals of the sulphate of copper must be carefully guarded from the access of air. The first t.ree attenuations should be made by trituration. 2c. CUPRUM ACETICUM,* Acetas cupri, A4rugo, Tiridecris; Fr., Cuivre acetate, Acetate de cuivre, Verdet, Vert-degris; Ger., Essigsaures Kupfer Griiuspan; Eng., Acetate of copper, Verdigris. To obtain acetate of copper, dissolve verdigris in pure acetic acid until the solution is completely saturated, then evaporate the acid slowly, and dry the crystals on blottingpaper. * The German and American homeopathists have recently discarded the acetates generally, and the acetate of copper in particular; but, as respects the latter, the result of English practice is clearly in its favour. Chemically speaking it is preferable. 12 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 267 free tin from the arsenic it may contain, tin in leaves reduced to fine powder is to be deflagrated with nitre, the product is to be washed and heated to redness on burning coals. Metallic tin thus purified is placed, in order to pulverise it in a hot mortar, and triturated with very dry and fine common salt; it is then dissolved in distilled water, which leaves the tin in powder as a residuum. This powder is used to make the attenuations, if pure tin in thin leaves cannot be procured. The first tCIree attenuations are made by trituration. An excellent quality of stannum comes from the mines of Saxony and England. In order to test its purity, we melt it at as low a temperature as possible, and then pour it upon a stone-tablet or into some other suitable mould. If perfectly pure, it will exhibit an entirely smooth and shining surface, without showing the least symptoms of crystallization. To prepare stannum for medicinal purposes, we first melt it, and pour it into some deep vessel with pure water; we thus obtain thin follicles which can easily be dissolved. We weigh a certain quantity of these folioles, and, in some suitable vessel, pour concentrated, pure muriatic acid on them, and dissolve them by applying moderate heat. We may employ for this purpose a polished copper vessel, provided we take care that a little tin should remain undissolved. By continuing to add muriatic acid, we gradually effect the complete solution of the metal. Filter the solution, and then add 100 times as much water as we had originally dissolved of the metal. By introducing sticks of zinc, we effect the galvanic reduction of the metal, observing all the rules which the reader will find stated under the head of PLUMBUM. Antidote: Puls. t. PLUMBUM METALLICUM; Fr., Plomb metallique; Ger., Metallisc/ler Blei; Eng., Metallic Lead. Lead rarely occurs native, but it is frequently found as a salt, particularly as a sulphuret, known under the name of galena, as a chloride, as a seleniuret, or as a carbonate. It is very common in France, England, Savoy, Spain, and 268 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. many other countries. It is obtained by smelting galena with iron, but the lead of commerce is usually mixed with copper and iron. To procure pure lead, dissolve the lead of commerce in nitric acid, dilute the solution properly with water, and plunge into it a rod of zinc, around which the lead soon begins to precipitate and crystallize in the form of a tree. Perfectly pure lead may also be obtained by heating nitrate of lead to a red heat, in a clay crucible, until every trace of nitric acid disappears; after which the oxide is reduced by means of charcoal; or, by heating acetate of lead in a glass retort, and shaking it until all the lead is precipitated. Pure lead is a blueish-gray metal of little tenacity, soft, easily colouring paper, sufficiently ductile, but not suitable for making wire. It has a specific smell when rubbed, and a slight metallic taste. To make the attenuations, take the powder produced by the first-mentioned process; the first three attenuations are made by trituration. To obtain pure lead in form of a powder, the galvanic process of reduction by means of rods of zinc is the most convenient. We dissolve a certain quantity of the crystals of the acetate of lead in 100 times their weight of distilled water, and lay a few polished rods of zinc (as described in the article on CUPRUM) into from four to six ounces of this solution, in a porcelain cup. The decomposition takes place immediately, and continues as long as the reduction of the acetate of lead is not completed. If this process of reduction is to succeed entirely, the following rules should be observed: 1. The leaden crystals which cluster around the rods of zinc should be frequently detached, in order to prevent the formation of thick laminme which it would be difficult to pulverise. 2. The liquid which now contains acetate of zinc, should be poured off as soon as the reduction ceases, and a fresh solution of the acetate of lead should be added. 3. As soon as the operation is concluded, the precipitate, which is a dark-gray, loose, porous mass, though still cohering in lumps, should be washed with hot, distilled water, avoiding every mechanical pressure, lest the soft mass should be pressed into firm balls. 4. As soon as the water which is used for washing, flows off quite clear, the precipitate should be collected in a filter, SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 269 the liquid should be removed by gently pressing the pre cipitate between the fingers, after which the metal is to be taken out of the filter, and pressed with the hand between several layers of blotting-paper until the metal ceases to adhere to the paper; finally, we gently rub the metal in a warmed porcelain mortar, in order to effect its perfect desiccation. Antidotes: Alumin., Bell., Electr., Hyosc., Op., Plat., Stram. 2a. PLU MBUM ACETICUM, Acetas plumbi, Sacckarum saturni; Fr., Plomb acetate, Acetate de plomb, Sucre de saturne; Ger., Essigsaures Blei, Blei-Zucker; Eng., Acetate of Lead, Sugar of Lead. To obtain this preparation, to which indeed metallic lead is sometimes preferred, take Englis acetate of lead, dissolve it in hot distilled water, set it in a warm place that it may crystallize, then evaporate the remaining fluid to one half its quantity, and let it crystallize afresh. The crystals have a sourish-sweet smell, a styptic taste, they effloresce slightly in the air, and carbonic acid decomposes them. In the dry state, acetate of lead should possess the qualities mentioned, it should be perfectly white, and soluble in one part and a half of water and in alcohol. If mixed with nitrate of lead, it is less soluble, not so white, and detonates when placed on burning coals. It is frequently adulterated with acetate of lime. When not well kept, it is yellowish and less soluble. The first three attenuations should be made by trituration. 2b. PLUMBUM CARBONICUM, 3lagisterium plumbi, Cerussa, Carbonas plumbicus; Eng., Carbonate of Lead. We obtain this substance by the decomposition of a diluted solution of the pure acetate of lead with the carbonate of soda. The loose, dazzling-white precipitate is carefully washed, collected in a filter, and dried at a moderate temperature. It is a heavy, though loose, very delicate and white powder, of which we prepare the first three attenuations by trituration. SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. 273 native or as an oxide, or combined with sulphur; it is found ip Bohemia, Saxony, France (in Normandy), &c. It is obtained in large quantities from its ores, by means of heat; but the metal thus procured usually contains arsenic, iron, &c. To separate it from these, dissolve it in nitric acid, and precipitate it by means of water. Then dry the precipitate, add black flux, and reduce it in a crucible at a low heat. The metal is found at the bottom of the crucible, and may easily be freed from the saline mass which covers it. It is a yellowish-white lamellar, brittle metal, but little affected in the air, very fusible, burning with a blueish flame, and easily pulverised. The first three attenuations are to be prepared by trituration. 4a. BISMUTHIUM, BismutJum nitricum precipitatuim, Bismutli magislerium; Fr., Bismuth, Magistere de bismuth, Sousnitrate de bismuth, Blanc de fard, Blanc d'Espagne; Ger., Wismutlh, WismutJl-oxid, Saltpetersaures Wismuth; Eng., Subnitrate of Bismuth, White Oxide of Bismuth, Magistery of Bismuth, Pearl White. To obtain this salt, dissolve metallic bismuth in a sufficient quantity of nitric acid, pour the solution, drop by drop, into from fifty to one hundred times its volume of pure water, taking care to stir it well, and at the end of two hours decant the liquid carefully; add to this last a quantity of water equal to the preceding, but containing some drops of sub-carbonate of potash, and stir it up well with. the salt. That which finally subsides is, after some hours, separated from the supernatant fluid, and thoroughly dried on blotting-paper. The small quantity of sub-carbonate of potash added to the solution the second time, is intended to free it from any portions of arsenic or antimony which it might contain, and which, unless separated by the potash, would remain combined with the precipitate. Pure sub-nitrate of bismuth is in the form of powder, of a brilliant white, composed of small nacreous particles, considerably heavy, inodorous, and almost insipid, dissolving in water with great difficulty. The first three attenuations are made by trituration. 12 ~ 274 SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. Griiner prepares this substance in the following manner: Into four parts of concentrated nitric acid, which is to be slightly warmed in a capacious glass flask, introduce, little by little, in small quantities, one part of coarsely pulverised metallic bismuth, stopping as soon as a gray precipitate falls down, or as soon as the decomposition of the nitric acid ceases. Decant the liquid, evaporate it in a porcelain cup to one third of its volume, and set it aside to crystallize. Wash these crystals of the nitrate of bismuth with a little concentrated muriatic acid, then triturate them with four times their quantity of hot, distilled water, and then pour the mass, stirring it all the time, into a large glass vessel containing twenty times the quantity of the salt. The precipitate is repeatedly washed with pure distilled water until this flows off tasteless. It should then be collected on a filter, drained, and pressed between layers of blotting-paper, and put up, as well as the triturations, in darkened phials. 5. ZINCUM METALLICUM; Fr., Zinc; Ger., Zink; Eng., Zinc. This metal occurs abundantly in nature, but always in combination either with sulphur, as in blende or pseudogalena, with oxygen as in tutty, or with oxygen and silex as in calamine, &c. It is obtained in large quantities from calamine, as in France, or from blende, as in England. It is a metal of a blueish-white, very brilliant, of a lamellar fracture, tenacious, difficult to file, but very ductile, brittle, and pulverisable at a temperature of 5450 (2050 R.), and fusible at 932~, (360~R.) When rubbed between the fingers, it communicates to them a peculiar smell and taste; if exposed to the air, it is oxidised and coated with a thin grayish pellicle. Amongst the natural varieties, the following two kinds of this metal are met with in commerce, viz., 1, that from the East Indies, or China; and, 2, that from Goslar. These two kinds always contain more or less lead, and frequently in addition, tin, iron, or cadmium. To detect these adulterations, dissolve one part of zinc in four parts of pure nitric acid; if the solution is clear, there is no tin, for its presence would be shown by a white precipitate; on neutralising the solution by means of sub SPECIAL PHARMACOPCE1A. 275 carbonate of soda, there will be a precipitate of oxide of iron, if it contains iron; or, on adding hydrocyanite of iron; the iron in the solution will give a white precipitate. Finally, if lead be present, the sulphate of potash added to the solution will cause it to deposit a white precipitate. To prepare this metal for horpmeopathic use, rub under water a piece of pure metallic zinc on a fine hone, dry the gray powder thus obtained, and make the first three attenuations by trituration. Grilner proposes the following mode of obtaining pure zinc.: Melt a piece of the zinc of commerce with the addition of sulphur, stirring the liquid mass with a wooden spatula as long as scoriae (dross) form on the surface. If the sulphur should burn away on the surface without forming scoriae, the mass is allowed to cool, and the scoriae are removed from the pure metal. Melt this pure metal a second time, and pour the liquid into a heated, polished, iron mortar, after which it can be pulverised; the coarser pieces are separated, and the same proceeding is instituted until a sufficient portion of the powder of zinc is obtained. The powder is then sifted through linen, and used for the trituration, in which form the first three attenuations must be prepared. Antidotes: Camph., Ign., Hep. s. 5a. ZINCUM OXYDATUM; $Lana piilosopiica, Lana fixata, Nihil album (Arcanum Ludemanni), Flores zinci, Calx zinci, Zincum album, ponmpjolyx of the ancients; Eng., Oxide of Zinc; Flowers of Zinc, Philosophical Wool. The best mode of preparing this oxide is as follows: Prepare a solution of the best metallic zinc in diluted sulphuric acid, until completely neutralised. Decant the clear liquid off the undissolved residuum into a wide, open vessel, and introduce into it, for some weeks, strips of rolled zinc, by which means the heterogeneous metals, which are mixed up with the solution, are precipitated. Filter the solution after the lapse of this period, and let a current of suphuretted hydrogen pass through it; if a precipitate should fall down, we filter again, and add a decoction of gall-apple, in order to separate the iron con SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 277 (B.) METALS WHICH, BY OXIDATION, FORM ACIDS. 1. ARSENICUM ALBUM, Acidum arseniosum; Fr., Arsenic, Oxide blanc d'arsenic, Acide arsenieux; Ger., Arsenik, Arsenige Saure; Eng., Arsenious Acid, White Arsenic. This substance is used in homoeopathy under the name of arsenic, is arsenious acid. It is found in nature, but that of commerce, improperly called arsenic, is furnished by the ores of arsenical cobalt, from which it is extracted by sublimation. It is found in compact masses, heavy, white, or yellowish, usually opaque at the surface, transparent and vitreous internally; exposed to the atmosphere, this opacity increases, and the arsenic at the same time becomes lighter and more soluble; its taste is sweetish, very slight, almost insipid. It is seldom adulterated; still it has been found mixed with chalk. In order to prepare it for homoeopathic use, we introduce, agreeably to the old formula of Hahnemann, one grain into a somewhat long phial with a narrow neck, with one drachm of distilled water; this phial is to be exposed to the flame of a spirit lamp, until the arsenic is dissolved, taking care to add water, as it evaporates. An equal quantity of alcohol is then to be added, that is to say, one drachm, and the whole to be well mixed; that being done, one drop of the preparation is to be added to 100 drops of a mixture of equal parts of water and alcohol (of 800 to 900); of this fluid, drop ten drops into a bottle containing ninety drops of alcohol; this bottle, containing the second attenuation, is labelled No. 2; all the succeeding attenuations are made in the usual manner. Of late, Hahnemann had substituted for this process that which is used for all minerals, and agreeably to which it is sufficient to triturate ten grains of white arsenic with ninety grains of sugar of milk, making thus th1ree triturations in succession, and the remaining attenuations by means of alcohol. Dr. Knorre suggests the following method of pulverising arsenic: Triturate one grain of arsenic in a mortar, adding a teaspoonful of the strongest alcohol; this proceeding can be accomplished in a few minutes; then mix with this arsenic the fourth part of the sugar of milk which is to be used, pulverizing it previously very finely; triturate the SPECIAL PHARMACOPOEIA. 281 culation, promotes the secretions, &c., provided the patient is not too weak; warm and hot baths are, generally speaking, weakening. Cold water is, as a general rule, preferable to warm, provided it is properly used; if water is to do much good, it should be used all over, externally and internally. Water can be used as an emetic. Drink first cold, then tepid water, after which the vomiting will take place without difficulty. Water is the best emetic. 1. It is mild, and does not irritate the digestive apparatus. 2. It is cooling, and diminishes the heat which generally prevails in the digestive organs when deranged. 3. It is dissolving;* it dissolves the mucus and other substances in the stomach. 4. It is heavy; the dissolved substances float on the water, and can easily be carried off when the stomach contracts. 5. It can be used in large quantities, for it facilitates the vomiting when the stomach is not empty. MINERAL WATERS. Mineral waters are either cold, tepid, or hot; in the latter case they are termed thermce (aqure thermales). A chemical analysis of these mineral waters is not sufficient to acquaint us with their medicinal properties. These have to be discovered by experimentation upon the living organism. The moment a mineral water is decomposed by chemical action, its essential properties are destroyed, and it ceases to be what nature made it. Mineral waters, provided their action on the living organism is known, are unquestionably the property of homoeopathy. Although composed of a variety of elements, yet they constitute an essential, living unit, the elements of which constantly obey the same law of combination, and, in their combined form, constantly affect the organism in the same unchangeable manner. All compound bodies, to which the foregoing remarks apply, may be used as remedial agents by homoeopathic physicians, provided they are possessed of integral medicinal powers. * In this way it serves to dilute mischievous substances or fluids which may have been introduced into the stomach. SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 983 simple copper-plate with a hook and hole, to which the other wire is attached.* Galvanism is administered in two principal modes. 1. A continuous galvanic current, which takes place when the pile remains in connection; and2. The interrupted action of the pile, or shock, which takes place when the contact of the affected parts with the pile is momentarily interrupted and again restored. We distinguish the following different kinds of galvanic action. a. The galvanic bath: either a part affected is put in a vessel with salt-water, into which one of the poles is introduced, the other pole being applied to a part affected not in the liquid; or, both arms or feet are put in two different vessels with salt-water, and a pole is introduced into each. b. The firm armatures or casings, consisting of metallic plates or rods of different sizes, corresponding exactly to the shape of the affected part; they are fastened by means of bandages, and are provided with small hooks to fasten the poles to. For affections of the eyes we use concave plates; for affections of the ears we employ rods ending in a little ball. c. Thle metallic brusk8 the galvanism is communicated to the affected part by means of a plate provided with points. d. Thee moist sponge: it is fastened to the point of a metallic conductor, and the galvanic current is received through it. Magnetism. MAGNES ARTIFICIALIS, MagnetisNmus mineralis; Fr., Aimant artificiel, Magnetisme mineral; Ger., Kiinstlicker Magnet, Mineralischer MJfagnetismus: Eng., Artificial Magnet, Mineral Magnetism. Mineral magnetism comprises the mass of phenomena which are produced by the magnetic condition,either natural or artificial, of certain metals. We call magnetic condition the * The battery is likewise constructed in the form of a water-tight trough, or case, divided into connected and continuous chambers, to the number of the plates used; and the latter are then dropped in edgeways and connected, when the trough is filled up with the diluted acid, &c. 284 SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. faculty which these metals acquire, naturally or artificially, to attract iron, steel, nickel, and cobalt, and we give the name of natural magnet especially to mineral iron, which is in this condition. What is understood by artiJicial magnet, is any piece of metal which acquires the faculty of attracting iron, and has its poles directed towards those of the earth. All bodies, without distinction of the property which they possessof conducting electricity and heat, are capable of propagating afar the magnetic polarization; but iron enjoys this peculiarity in a higher degree than any other. Any piece of iron may be rendered as magnetic as a natural magnet, and it is of this metal, or rather of steel, that we generally make use to fabricate artificial magnets. The best steel for this purpose is the English: next, the German. To make these magnets, friction is employed, which consists in rubbing with a sufficiently large magnet, a piece of steel, placed in the direction of the axis of the earth, until it has acquired magnetic properties. But if we have not a magnet wherewith to render the steel magnetic, we can still bestow that property upon it, by fixing transversely bars ofsteel bent suitably to form horseshoe magnets, around the electrical conductors which serve for lightning rods on large edifices. The form given to large artificial magnets, which are used to prepare other magnets, is usually that of a horseshoe, and, often, many magnets are united so as to form only one. In every magnet, the magnetic virtue shows itself in preference at the two extremities, called the magnetic poles. When we suspend a magnetic bar of steel by a thread, we find that one of those poles turns towards the North, and the other towards the South, wherefore they are distinguished into North and South poles. In approaching two magnets, one to the other, we find the poles of the same name repulse each other, whilst those of different names attract each other; and so it is, that when we magnetise a bar of steel by friction, the end that has been rubbed with the North pole will represent the South pole (in the fresh magnet) and vice versa. When the magnet remains a long time inactive, it easily loses its power; hence there is generally given to it a casing (armature), which consists of a bar of iron, attached to its two poles, and by which is suspended a weight proportional to the strength of the magnet, thus obliging it constantly to exert its whole at SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEI-A.. a8Q5 tractive property. To prepare small artificial magnets, such as are used in homceopathy, we take a small rod of English steel, about eight inches long, one and a half or two inches broad, and from three eighths to three quarters of an inch in thickness; this rod should be tempered, until it becomes elastic and not frangible like glass. In order afterwards to communicate, the most promptly and as easily as possible, to this rod, the greatest magnetic force which it is susceptible of acquiring, we must take especial care not to snatch violently away the pole of the magnet with which we have just rubbed it, because, by such a procedure, we should take away each time a great part of the force which the rod has received. Hence it is proper to cause the magnet to slip gently on a very thin plate of iron, when it has arrived at the end of thS rod, so that its passage from the steel to the plate may be easy and almost imperceptible. But it is still necessary that the plate which covers the two ends of the rod, remain attached to it, in order constantly to keep up the magnetic current between the two poles. We must then take a small band of tin plate, of the same length as the steel rod which we wish to magnetise, and so much longer as almost to cover the ends of the rod when turned up; we place the steel rod on the plate, and raise the two ends of it, in the form of a hook, above the two extremities of the rod, so that they all but cover it; each of these ends being thus turned up and marked, the one with the letter N (north), the other with the letter S (south), we place the plate of iron horizontally, the extremity N turned towards the north, until the magnetic property of the rod is obtained. As to the rod of steel, we mark it exactly in its middle with chalk or ink; each of these halves is then marked in two places, the first mark being placed at two thirds of each half, in counting from the middle towards the extremity, and the second at two thirds, in counting from the first towards the extremity, as represented in the following woodcut. Nc b a b c S The rod thus divided and placed in the plate, as just described, we communicate to it the magnetic virtues by means of an artificial horseshoe magnet, strong enough 286 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. to support a weight of ten or twelve pounds. To effect this, we place the south pole perpendicularly on the middle of the rod, at the point a, and we slide it over all the north half to the extremity N, whence we bring it back, in describing a considerable arch in the air, to the point 6 on the same side; there we once more place it perpendicularly, and slide it, as in the first manceuvre, to the extremity N; we bring it back, in a similar manner, by describing an arch in the air to the point c, on the same side, whence we slide it, for the last time, to the extremity N. When that is accomplished, we take the steel rod out of its plate, which rests immovably in the same place, and mark the extremity of the half which we have just rendered magnetic by means of the soulk pole of the magnet, with the letter N it has become the nodrt pole of the new magnet. Returning the rod into its plate, so that its extremity N is under the crotchet S, and its other extremity, which has not yet been magnetised, is under the crotchet N of the plate. The magnetization of this extremity is then made equally in the northern direction of the heavens; only this time it is with the no'rt pole of the magnet that we operate, by placing it successively, and always vertically, on the points a, 6, c, gliding it each time, beyond the crotchet N, and bringing it back each time, by describing an arch in the air; in this way we produce the sodult pole, which we mark S. By this process, indicated by IIa/nejnann,, the rod has acquired as much power as can be communicated to it by six passes. To preserve this power, we surround it with strong thread spirally twisted about it, or else we put two magnetic rods of the same form, into a case, placing them in such a manner that they mutually touch by their opposite poles, and so encased that they cannot move. For a dose, it is sufficient that the patieilt should touch the suitable pole with the end of the finger, for one or two minutes, according to circumstances, and for that it is not at all necessary to take the magnet out of its case. ZOOMAGNETISMUS, JifalgnetiSmus1 anmizalis, leesRmerismus; Fr., Zoomagnetisme, magnetisme animal, Mesmerisme; Ger., Thierischer.Jlagnpetismus MIlesmerismus; Eng., Animal Magnetism, Mesmerism. Animal magnetism is the aggregate of phenomena pro SPECIAL PHARMACOPCEIA. 287 duced'by the influence of an invisible action of one individual on another, and which consists in placing the nervous system in a condition which, in itself, is not morbid, but, on the contrary, exalts the vital forces, and can thus contribute to the cure of disease. The action of this agent has as yet been principally observed on the human subject, although it is proved that the inferior animals also, and even vegetable productions, experience its effects. The zoo-magnetic influence of one individual over another is known under the name of magnetic manipulation, because it is generally performed by the imposition of hands, or by easy and slow passes, made with the hands, from the head to the body and extremities in the course of the nerves..Mesmer was the first modern man of science who called attention to this agent, which seems to have been known tothe ancients; itwas lost, however, and revived about thirty years ago, and has since been cultivated at times with much zeal; but so long as superstition was mingled with it, and charlatans took it up, it was abandoned once more, the good with the bad. We generally begin the magnetic manipulations by putting ourselves in communication with the patient, either by the contact of hands, or by the imposition of the hands on the vertex, or simply by inspection, or else by slow passes, directed from the vertex to the knees of the patient, in such a way that the palm of the hand is directed towards the patient, in the descending pass; and the back of the hand in the ascending movement which succeeds; and to accomplish this last movement, the operator should remove his hands to a distance from the patient whom he is magnetising. The manipulations may afterwards undergo many modifications, according whether we make the passes with the thumb only, or with the fingers closed or separated, &c. The intention to do his patient good should predominate in the mind of the operator, who should himself enjoy the best possible health, so that, he may not communicate his own sufferings, instead of appeasing those of the patient. The hands of the operator should have the natural heat of the body: cold hands act but little, or even not at all. As to the manipulation itself, it should take place in a retired place, calm, tranquil, and not exposed to the noise of every comer. The operator should, moreover, be en 288 SPECIAL PHARMACOP(EIA. dowed with a vital force superior to that of the patient; for otherwise, instead of imparting it to him, he will subtract it; hence the reason why young persons are more appropriate than the aged; and debilitated persons should never undertake to magnetise any one. As to sex, a woman can as well magnetise a man as a man can a woman, provided she has a stronger vital force than the man. The time most favorable is the morning or after mid-day; the most unfavorable is the evening; because at that part of the day patients are generally more excited and more irritable than at any other time. The imposition of hands and ventilation are the weakest degrees in which mesmerism can be applied; after these comes the application of flannel magnetised, which the patient puts onthe pit of the stomach, if to combat wakefulness, or on the suffering part, if to calm pain, &c. Water can also be magnetised, and then drunk by the patient; and it can even be sent to a distance, provided it be well secured in a bottle, and wrapped in magnetised cotton. All these, however, can only be accomplished by perfectly healthy physicians; for, otherwise, as above related, we should run the risk of increasing instead of appeasing the pains and ailments of the patient. Animal magnetism, applied in moderation, is made use of in homoeopathy, but is never employed to put patients in a state called solmambulism, nor for rendering them clairvoyant, so as to indicate themselves the medicines that should be given to them. Those are expedients which are but rarely admissible; and if, here and there, homoeopaths have used animal magnetism in the sense just mentioned, they have done so upon particular grounds. * The chief advantage which hommopathy counsels us to draw from the therapeutic agent which constitutes magnetism, is the faculty which it possesses, when wisely and suitably administered, of strengthening the vital forces, or else of calming the patient, appeasing the over-excitement of the nervous system, and often thus of arresting the most severe pains. (See lHaJnemann's 'Organon,' on this article.) * Some homceopathic writers have been very severe against such a course, but, to a certain extent, ungenerously and unreasonably so; for there are cases on record in which clairvoyance has done great service. APPENDIX.* GLONOINE. THE first notice of a substance, afterwards called Glonoine, was given by Sobrero, of Paris, in the ' Comptes Rendus,' February, 1847. Dr. C. Hering had a small quantity of it prepared by a Philadelphia chemist, in December, 1847. In 1848, Dr. A. Zumbrock, of Philadelphia, discovered, after many experiments, a better and easier mode of preparing it than that given by Sobrero; viz., Mix two volumes of sulphuric acid of a specific gravity of 1-83, and one volume of nitric acid of a specific gravity of 1'43, in a large vessel; put this vessel into a freezing mixture; after it has become perfectly cold, pour into it two volumes of Glycerine,t little by little, constantly stirring it, and avoiding carefully all elevation of temperature. Pour the whitish, honey-like mixture into a large quantity of cold water, when the new substance, being heavier than water, will subside to the bottom. Wash it well with water, so that no trace of acid remains; put it into a wide glass tube, the bottom of which has been drawn out to a point with a small opening; let it stand, the closed small opening downwards, until it has become perfectly clear, some water and a white substance swimming on the top of it; * A great portion of the matter contained in this Appendix is attributable to the American Institute of Homoeopathy, to which, however, some important details have been added. t Glycerine, or Scheele's Sweet, is disengaged when oils and fats are acted upon by a solution of caustic alkali or oxide of lead, the latter uniting with the fatty acid, forming soap when alkali has been taken, and lead-plaster when oxide of lead. Glycerine from the manufacture of lead-plaster, is now sold by the druggists; it contains, however, a large quantity of lead, which is to be precipitated by means of sulphuretted hydrogen, and it is then evaporated to the consistence of syrup 229( APPENDIX. ACIDUM FLUORICUIM; Ger., Fluss-spath-Saure; Eng., Fluoric Acid.-PlIthlore. This acid is prepared by acting on the mineral called fluor spar, carefully separated from siliceous earth, and reduced to fine powder, with twice its weight of concentrated sulphuric acid. (Amer. Inst. of Hlomoop.) The first three attenuations are prepared by trituration. ACIDUM OXALICUM; Ger., Kleesaure; Eng., Oxalic acid. The excess of acid in the binoxalate of potash, is neutralized by the carbonate of potash, and the neutral oxalate is decomposed by means of the acetate of lead. In consequence of a double decomposition, a precipitate of an oxalate of lead is obtained. This is to be well washed and dried, and decomposed by means of one-third of its weight of strong sulphuric acid, previously diluted with ten times its weight of water. An insoluble sulphate of lead is formed, and the oxalic acid being liberated, may be made to crystallize by evaporation. The mother waters, by fresh evaporation, furnish fresh portions of crystal, until quite exhausted. By this process, a very pure acid may be obtained. Its purity may readily be tested by dissolving it in a sufficient quantity of water, cautiously adding carbonate of lime until effervescence ceases, filtering, drying the precipitated oxalate of lime, and observing, that, for every 100 grains of oxalic acid, if pure, there should be a product of about 205 grains of the oxalate. As, however, in operating upon a small quantity, a slight difference of weight, which might be produced by the presence of tartrate of lime, along with the oxalate, in the precipitate, might not be observed, the purity of the acid may be still more satisfactorily ascertained by digesting the supposed oxalate of lime in a solution of tartaric acid, and drying it again. Should any tartrate have been present, it will have been taken up by the acid solution, which will be indicated by the loss of weight in the precipitate. We can prepare either a saturated watery solution from which the first attenuation can be deduced by means of diluted alcohol (in equal proportions), or we may proceed by triturations up to the /tird. APPENDIX. 293 ELATERIUM, Momordica elaterium; Fr., Concombre sauvage; Ger., Eselsgurken; Eng., Wild or squirting Cucumber.-Cucurbitaces. The Elaterium of the shops is sometimes found to be very inferior, if not entirely inert. The active principle of the momordica elaterium resides more particularly in the juice, which is lodged in the centre of the fruit (around the seeds), and which spontaneously subsides from it. We should, therefore, prepare an alcoholic tincture from the fres- fruit on tle point of ripening. APIS MELLIFICA; Fr., Abeille; Ger., Biene;" Eng., Honey-bee. The honey-bee is too well known to require particular description, but it is essential for homoeopathic purposes to distinguish between the female or working bee--wIich alone should be used- and the drone or male bee. The female is smiller, more slender, of a lighter colour, and armed with a sting, whereas the drone is larger altogether, thicker, and has no sting; it is also known by its peculiar humming or droning. It should also be noticed, that inasmuch as small quantities are sufficient for our purpose, in order to avoid taking the drones, and to secure bees only which are unloaded, we may draw them three or four at a time from the hive, by tapping gently on the top of it. The guard bees will then appear, and may be secured with a proper net one by one, or several at a time. This operation may be performed in this country from the beginning of June until August. The face and the bare parts should be well protected, and all the apertures of the clothes bound closely tow the body, as, for instance, the wrist-bands. Having secured a sufficient number of bees, we should proceed to put them all into a bottle, little more than large enough to contain them, which we then seal hermetically. In from twenty-four to forty-eight hours they will be dead. Another method is to place them into some vessel under the exhausted receiver of an air-pump. When we are assured that they are dead, we may proceed to dry them at a moderate temperature, and imme APPENDIX. 095 GACO; Ger., Guaco-Pflanze, giftwidrige Mekanie; - Compositve. This plant was recommended for Asiatic cholera. Stems long, rounded, contorted, furrowed, of a greenish-gray, scintillating-shining wood, of the thickness of about - of an inch. Leaves sparse, petioled, oval, slightly indented, hairy on the under side; flowers in panicles, on the sides of the younger branches. We prepare a tincture from the upper and feebler portions of the stems, from the leaves and flowers. KALMIA LATIFOLIA; Eng., Mountain-laurel, Ivy-bush.Rhiododendra. An evergreen shrub, from three to twelve feet high, which grows on shaded rocky hills. Leaves petioled, inserted on the sides and extremities of the branches, scattered, in threes; oval, acute, entire, coriaceous, smooth on both sides, the under side being the palest; corymbs terminal, viscid, and pubescent, simple or compound, with opposite branches, and made up of slender peduncles, supported at the base by ovate, acuminate bractes. Flowers rose-red, sometimes white. It flowers in the latter end of May. We prepare a tincture from the leaves. LOBELIA INFLATA; Ger., Azufgeblasene Lobelie; Eng., Indian Tobacco, Emetic Herb. The lobelia inflata is a biennial inelegant plant, about one foot, and from that to two feet high. The root is fibrous, yellowish-white, of an acrid taste, resembling that of tobacco. Stem upright, always solitary, angular, leafy, very pubescent, sometimes hirsute, and very much branched about mid-way. Branches axillary, shorter than the stem, which rises from six to ten inches above the top of the highest branches. The leaves are irregularly scattered and alternate, sometimes crowded, oval, generally sessile, with the margins unequally indented with tooth-like serratures. The flowers are numerous, situated on terminal leafy racemes, and supported on short axillary peduncles. The corolla is monopetalous and labiate; the lower lip three-, and the upper two-toothed, of a pale blue colour externally, and delicate violet within. The calyx-leaves e96 APPENDIX. are awl-shaped, and of the length of the corolla. Seeds numerous, very small, and contained in egg-shaped, inflated capsules, which have given rise to the specific appellation of the plant. Samuel Thoms)on, who considered himself the discoverer of the medical properties of the Lobelia inflata, appears to have watched its growth with an almost paternal affection, and therefore the following extract from his account of the emetic herb, as he terms it, will not be without interest.* " The emetic herb may be found in the first stages of its growth at all times through the summer, from the bigness of a six cent piece to that of a dollar, and larger, lying flat on the ground, in a round form, like a rose pressed flat, in order to bear the weight of snow which lays on it during the winter, and is subject to be winterkilled, like wheat. In the spring, it looks yellow and pale, like other things suffering from the wet and cold; but when the returning sun spreads forth its enlivening rays upon it, it lifts up its leaves, and shoots forth a stalk to the height of from twelve to fifteen inches, with a number of branches, carrying up its leaves with its growth. In July, it puts forth small, pale-blue blossoms, which are followed by small pods, about the size of a white bean, containing numerous very small seeds. This pod is an exact resemblance of the human stomach, having an inlet and an outlet higher than the middle; from the inlet it receives nourishment, and by the outlet discharges the seeds. It comes to maturity about the 1st of September, when the leaves and pods turn a little yellow; this is the best time to gather it. It is what is called by the botanists, a biennial plant, or only of two years' existence. "This plant is common in all parts of this country. Wherever the land is fertile enough to yield support for its inhabitants, it is to be found. It is confined to no soil which is fit for cultivation, fiom the highest mountains to the lowest valleys. In hot and wet seasons, it is most plenty on dry and warm lands; in hot and dry seasons, on clayey and heavy land. When the season is cold, either wet or dry, it rarely makes its appearance; and if * New Guide to Health, or Botanic Physician, p. 43. 298 APPENDIX. cessively annual attachments of the stem, is added to the length of the root every year. The root of the Podophyllum peltatum, according to the chemical analysis made by Dr. Staples, contains resin, gum, or mucilage, soluble in cold water, amadin, colouring matter, extractive matter, ligneous fibre, and a minute quantity of an insipid substance soluble in sulphuric ether, from which it crystallizes in minute acicular crystals. The leaves and root are the parts used in medicine. The leaves emit a strong, narcotic odour, and have a nauseous taste. The root has a fresh nauseous smell and somewhat bitter taste. In popular report, the leaves are' said to be poisonous, the root medicinal, and the fruit edible. The fruit is aperient. This plant is emphatically a native, as it is indigenous to North America only, and is found growing luxuriously throughout the boundaries of the United States. It chiefly inhabits rich, loamy woodlands, but is frequently found growing in the meadows, near small streams, and other low grounds. We prepare a tincture from the root and leaves. SANGUINARIA CANADENSIS; Eng., Blood-root.Papaveracece. A spring plant, abundant in all hilly countries, from Canada to Florida, wherever there is a rich soil and shade in summer, but avoiding the sea-coast and the high mountainous regions. It blooms as early as April, and the elegance of its leaves and flowers and its graceful growth are so remarkable, peculiar and indescribably beautiful, that no delineation of it has yet appeared sufficiently graceful to those who know it. In appearance somewhat similar to the Hepatica, its leaves are delicate, and of a gray-green, like those of the Celandine, its flowers white and deciduous like those of the poppy, all scarcely higher than a hand. The root is perennial, of the length and thickness of a finger, knotty, fleshy, and praemorse. The root, stem and leaves contain a yellowish-red juice, just as the Chelidonium a pure yellow, and the Papaver a white. The leaves continue their growth after the time of flowering, and when the seeds ripen, have a more common appearance, nearly resembling the Asarum. This is con APPENDIX. ~99 sidered the best time to dig the root, which is the only part employed; the leaves, and especially the seeds, being considered poisonous. TRIOSTEUM PERFOLIATUM; Ger., Breitblltteriger.Dreistein; Eng., Horse-Gentian, Fever-root, Wild Ipecac., &c.-Caprifoliacee. Leaves large oval, acuminate, abruptly narrowed at the base, connate, sub-pubescent beneath, the two uppermost pairs are small and convoluted till after the inflorescence is past, when they become developed to the full size, and assume a brownish-purple colour. Flowers axillary, sessile and united in triplets, three, six, or nine around the stem; blooms in the latter end of May. Corolla reddishpurple above, striated below, and pubescent. The berries are ovate, commonly six in a cluster, sometimes purple, but generally of an orange colour; they have three divisions, each containing one hard seed, and ripen in September. The plant inhabits rich hilly woodlands, and the edge of cultivated grounds, and grows from two to four feet high, several stalks arising from the same root. The stems are about three eighths of an inch in diameter, simple, erect, cylindrical, pubescent, and of a green colour. The root is perennial, contorted, tuberculated, or gibbous, of a brownish colour, giving off horizontal branches from eighteen inches to two feet in length, about the size of a finger in diameter, yellowish externally, and whitish internally. From pharmaceutical experiments, it has been observed that when the plant is treated with water, it yields a larger quantity of active extract than when treated with alcohol, and that the alcoholic extract is perfectly soluble in water. The leaves yield the largest quantity of soluble matter, but that obtained from the root possesses the greatest activity. Both the leaves and the root of the triosteum are quite bitter to the taste. The root is also nauseous to the taste, and has an odour somewhat resembling ipecacuanha. URTICA URENS; Ger., Brenn-nessel; Eng., Common Nettle. - Uricece. Leaves small, oval, indented, five-nerved on the under 300 APPENDIX. side, of a light-green colour. These characteristics distinguish it from the Urtica adioica (large nettle). It flowers from July to October. We gather the ripe seeds, free them, after drying, from their green envelopes, and prepare from the small, smooth grains, of a pale yellowishgray colour, a tincture of a pale yellow-green colour, according to Class i. ATHAMANTA PETROSELINUM; Ger., Berg-Petersilie; Eng., Mountain Parsley. Root perennial, almost simple, yellowish-gray, furnished with a cluster of brown fibres. Stem erect, with fine furrows, glabrous, not very branchy, from one to two feet high. Radical leaves petioled, large, tripinnate; leaflets oval, deeply indented, glabrous; the teeth terminate in white points. Corymbs terminal. Involucrum consists of a number of lanceolate, revolute leaflets. Petals white. The ripe seed is almost round, flat, with a broad border of a pale yellow. The root smells like carrot; it has an aromatic bitter taste. From the plant in the autumn, when the seeds are ripe, we prepare a tincture as usual. HEPAR SULPHURIS CALCAREUM.-(Page 201.) Gruner prepares this substance in the following manner: Mix carefully equal parts of pure caustic alkali and pure sulphur, press them down as tightly as possible in an earthen crucible, and, to prevent impurities from getting into the mass, cover it with a layer of moist pulverised chalk of one inch or half an inch in thickness, pressing it down with the finger; after covering the crucible, expose it to a fire which is to be slight at first, but which is to be increased suddenly as soon as the crucible begins to glow; keep it for half an hour in this red heat. Then take it out of the fire, let it cool slowly, remove the cover of chalk with great care, take out the contents, which will be found to possess a strong odour of sulphuretted hydrogen gas, reduce them to a homogeneous powder by trituration, and put up this powder with all possible speed in phials, which are to be well corked and guarded from the light. Of this powder we prepare the triturations. APPENDIX. 301 DAPHNE INDICA, Dapine odora; Fr., Laurdole de Chine; Ger., Indisch8er Seidelbast; Eng., Sweet-scented Spurge Laurel.-nTymeletr. This plant is a native of China, with oblong-oval, glabrous, alternate leaves; flowers, white, odorous, almost sessile, forming a beautiful, well filled, glomerated bouquet at the end of each branch. We prepare a tincture according to Class I, unless we can procure an essence from the fresh plant. GENISTA SCOPARIA; Fr., Gen&t a balai; Ger., Geniste, Ginster, Pfriemenkraut; Eng., Common Broom.-Legu/iIZ0o86. A This shrub frequents the woods and sandy lands of England, France, and Germany; stem branchy, angular; leaves ternate and solitary; flowers bell-shaped. We use the tender branches, from which we express the juice. JUGLANS REGIA; Fr., Noyer commun or royal, Noix commune; Ger., Nu2ssbaum, welsc/se jNuss; Eng., English walnut.-Terebinthinacecs. We separate the shell from the nut, before it is ripe, cut it in pieces, and prepare from it an essence according to Class Ii. PINUs SYLVESTRIS; Fr., Pin sauvage; Ger., Gemeine Kiefer; Eng., Wild Pine.--Coniferev. This tree is common in the forests of Europe; it is distinguished by its pyramidal form and its coniform flowers. From the young shoots or buds which we gather in spring, we prepare an essence according to Class ii. SYMPHYTUM OFFICINALE; Eng., Comfrey.-Boracinece. This perennial plant is found all over Europe, in damp ditches, on meadows, along ponds, rivulets, &c. Root large, cylindrical, branchy, from one to two inches long, several inches thick, fleshy, covered with a black or darkbrown epidermis, white internally, easily broken, inodorous, of slimy consistence. Stem three inches high, branchy, angular, hairy; radical leaves elongated, lanceolate, entire; the leaves of the stem sessile, decurrent. Fowers purplered or white, canuliform, in corymbs, at the end of the stems. We gather the root in autumn, and prepare from INDEX OF THE LATIN AND ENGLISH NAMES OF THE DIFFERENT SUBSTANCES TREATED OF IN THIS WORK. NoTE.-In this Index, the words printed in italics are the Latin names which are generally in use. Absinthium, Artemisia absinthium, Wormwood Acetas baryta, v. Baryta acetica. calcis, v. Calcarea acetica cupri, v. Cuprum aceticum. ferri, v. Ferrum aceticum mangani, v. Manganum aceticum. mercurii, v. Mercurius acetatus plumbi, v. Plumbum aceticum Aceti acidum, Acidum aceticum, Acetic acid Acetum, acidum acetosum, Vinegar Achillaea millefolium, v. Millefolium Acidum aceticum, v. Aceti acidum. acetosum, v. Acetum. arseniosum, v. Arsenicumn albu.n benzoicuin...... fluoricum....... formicarum, v. Formica. hydrochloricum, v. Muriatis acidum hydrocyanicum, v. Hydrocyani acidumr molybdicum, v. Molybdeeni acidum nitricum, v. Nitri acidum oxalicum...... phosphoricum, v. Phosphori acidum. sulphuricum, v. Sulphuris acidum, tartaricum, v. Tartari acidum. Aconitum napellus, Aconite. Actea spicata, Herb Christopher Adeps suilla, Axungia porci, Hog's lard JErugo, v. Cuprum aceticum. Ether nitricus, v. Nitri spiritus dulcis Ether sulphuricws, Ether....... ifthusa cynapium, Garden hemlock PAGE 98.236 237 265 261.258 255.269 203 187 121.203 187.277 291.292 77, 204.202 204 202, 279 203, 229.292 S197. 200 203, 272 S.114... 145 82 S... 265 203, 229 30..115 LATIN AND ENGLISH NAMES. 305 PAGE Asparagus officinalis, Asparagus......116 Aspidium filix mas., v. Filix mas......... 103 Astacus fluviatilis, v. Cancer fluviatilis..... 75' Athamanta petroselinum, v. Petroselirnum..... 107 Atriplex olida, Chenopodium olidum, Stinking goose-foot. 99 Atropa belladonna, v. Belladonna............. ib. Aurumfoliatum s. purum, Gold-leaf....... 244 fulminans, Fulminating gold....... 246 muriaticum, Muriate of gold....... 245 Auri pigmentum, Orpiment, v. Arsenicum citrinum.a278 Axungia porci, Axonge, v. Adeps suilla....... 82 Balsamum copaivae, v. Copaive balsamum.....184 Barbus, Cyprinus barhus, Barbel........ 86 Baryosma tongo, v. Tongo...... 171 Baryta...............211 acetica, Acetate of Baryta........ 236 carbonica, Carbonate of barytes....... 221 caustica, Caustic baryta...... 211, 212 muriatica, Hydrochlorate of barytes.......239 Belladonna, Atropa belladonna, Deadly nightshade.99 Berberis vulgaris, Barberry......... 147 Bismuthum, Bismuthi magisterium, Magistery of bismuth 273 metallicum, Metallic bismuth..... 272 nitricum prcecipitatum.. 273 Boletus satanas, Lurid boletus..... 186 Bonplandia trifoliata, v. Angustura...... 140 Borax veneta, Sub-boras natri, Borax...... 235 Bovista, Lycoperdon bovista, Puff-ball...... 186 Branca ursina, v. Heracleum sphondylium........ 119 Bromium, Bromine............ 191 Brucea anti-dysenterica, Anti-dysenteric brucea..... 141 Bryonia alba, White bryony........ 147 Calhinca s. Cainca, Cahinca cainana, Cahinca root 154 Caladium seguinum, Arum seguinum, poisonous pediveau 133 Calcarea........209 Calcarea acetica, Acetate of lime. a.......... 237 carbonica, Carbonate of lime.... 222 caustica, s. pura, Quicklime......223 muriatica, Muriate of lime..... 239 phosphorica, Phosphate of lime. 232 sulphurica, Sulphate of lime...... 235 Calcarea sulphurata, v. Hepar sulphuris....... 201 Calcium oxydatum, v. Calcarea caustiea...... 223 Calx v. ibid............ ib. Calendula oficinalis, Common marygold.....100 Calomelas, Calomel, v. Mercurius dulcis...... 252 Camphora, Laurus camphora, Camphor....189 Cancerjfluviatilis s. Astacus, River-crab....... 75 Cancrorum oculi, Lapides cancrorum, Crab's-eyes 93 Cannabis sativa, H-emp..........116 Cantharis, Meloi6 vesicatorius, Cantharides....... 76 306 INDEX OF THE PAGE Capsicttm annuum, Cayenne pepper..............167 Garbo animnalis, Animal charcoal................92 vegetabilis, Vegetable charcoal................90 Carbonas ammonize, v. Ainmonium carboniaurn..........221 barytee, v. Baryla carbonica..............221 calcis, v. Calcarea carbonica..............222 cupri, v. Cuprurn carbonicumn..............264 ferri, v. Ferrum oxydatum hydratum..........262 magnesize, v. M11agnesia carbonica............225 mangani, v. Manganum carbonic-urn...........258 niccoli, v. Niccolum carbonicurn............248 plumbi, v. Plumnburn carbonicumn...........269 potassae, v. Kali carbonic-urn.............224 sodae, v. Natrurn carbonicumn.............226 strontianae, v. Strontiana car-bonica...........227 Carbonium. suiphuratum, v. Sulphur alcoholisaturn 201 Carburetum. ferni, v. Gr-aphites................192 suiphuris, v. Sulphutr alcoholisatum..........201 Cascarilla, Croton eleutberia, Cascarilla.............143 Cassia senna, v. Senna...................134 Castoreurn, Castor.....................83 Caustic-io, Tinctura acris sine kali, Caustic............210 Cephadlis ipecacuanha, v. Ipecacuanha.............156 C'era, Ceratumn, Wax, Cerate..................84 Cereoli, Bougies, v. Cera...................84 Cerussa, v. Plumnburn carbonicurn...............269 6'hamornilla vulgaris, Matricaria chamomilla, Common chamomile 101 Charta cerata, v. vera, Wax-paper...............84 C'helidoniurn 2najus, Celandine................148 Ghenopodiurn glancurn, v. Oak-leaved goose-foot..........101 Chenopodium olidum, v. 4tr~il oia.............99 C'hina, Cinchona officinalis, Peruvian bark............141 Chininum. phosphatum....................218 suiphuricum...................217 Chiococca racemosa, v. Cahinca................154 Chioras potassT, Chlorate of potash, v. Kali chioricurn 231 Chioretum (deuto-) auri, v. Aurum mnuriaticum.............245 mercurli, v. M1ercurius corrosivus 253 (proto-) mercurii, v. Mer-curins dulcis..........252 Chrysomela septempunctata, v. Coccionella............77 Christophoriana, v. dcetea sp~icata...............145 ('icuta virosa, Water Hemlock.................148 Cimex lectularius.....................302 ('ma, Semen contra, Worm-seed................167 Cincliona officinalis, v. China.................141 Cinchoninum. suiphuricum..................217 c'mnnabaris, Cinnabar....................256 c'innarnornunz, Cinnamon................ 142 Gistus canadensis, Canadian rock-rose..............143 Clernatis e-crd, Virgin's bower................117 Goccionella s. Coccinella, Lady-bird...............77 Cocculus, Menispermnm. cocculus, Cocculus indians 168 Cochlearia armoracia, v. Armo?-acias..............146 Coffea ci-uda s. arabica, Mocha coffee.....169 LATIN AND ENGLISH NAMES. Colchicum autumnale, Meadow-saffron Colla piscium, v. Ichthyocolla.. Colocynthis, Cucumis colocynthis, Colocynth Conchet, Testm ostreae, Oyster-shell Conium maculatum, Hemlock Convolvulus jalapa, Jalap, v. Jalapa Copaive balsamum, Balsam of copaiba Corallium rubrum, Red coral. Cortex angusturte, v. Angustura. peruviana s. Chine, Quinquina, v. China Cotyledon purpurea....... Coumarouma odorata, v. Tongo. Crocus sativus, Saffron. Crotalus horridus, v. Lachesis. Croton eleutheria, v. Cascarilla. Crbton tiglii, seu tillii, Croton-tree Cubebe, Piper caudatum, Cubebs Cucumis colocyntlhis, v. Colocynthis Cuprum aceticum, Acetate of copper Cuprum arseniosum. Cuprum carbonicum, Carbonate of copper metallicum, Metallic copper sulphuricum, Sulphate of copper Cyclamen europaeum, Sow-bread Cyprinus barbus, Barbel, v. Barbus. Daphne indica, Sweet-scented spurge-laurel Daphne mezereum, v. Mezereum. Datura stramonium, v. Stramonium... Delphinium staphysagria, v. Staphysagria Deuto-chloretum auri, v. Aurum muriaticum. mercurii, v. Mercurius corrosivus Diadema, Aranea diadema, Diadem spider Dietamnus albus, Bastard dittany... Digitalis purpurea, Purple fox-glove. Dipterix odorata, v. Tongo...... Drosera rotundifolia, Sundew. Dulcamara, Solanum dulcamara, Bitter-sweet Elaterium.... Electricitas, Electricity Eleuteria, Croton eleuteria, v. Cascarilla Epeira diadema, v. Diadema...... Eugenia jambos, Malabar plum-tree. Eupatorium perfoliatum. EBphorbium oficinarum, offcinale, Euphorbium spurge Euphrasia officinalis, Eye-bright.. Evonymus europceus, Spindle-tree............................... 307 PAGE 149 86 169 93. 117 155 184 94 140 141 294 171 137 87 143 170 ib. 169 265 266 264 S. 263 265 149 86 301 138 128.. 178 245 S. 253 75 150 S118 171 102 127 293 282 143 75 171 294 181 S. 102 163 259 261 260 S 262 ib............... Ferrumn, Ferrum metallicum, Metallic iron aceticum, Acetate of iron... chloratum, s. muriaticum, Hydrochlorate of iron magneticum, Magnetic oxide of iron... oxydatum hydratun, Protoxide of iron.. 308 INDEX OF THE Ferrum hydratum oxydatum, v. Ferrumn oxydatum. muriaticum, v. Ferrum chloratum oxydulatum magneticum, v. Ferrum magneticum Ferula asa-fcetida, v. Asa-fcetida. Filix.mas, Polypodium s. aspidium fil. m., Male fern Flammula jovis, v. Clematis erecta. Flores zinci......... Formica rufa, Formicarum spiritus, Ant, Red-ant 0 Pragaria vesca, Wood-strawberry....... Puga dremonum, v. Hypericum perforatum.. PAGE 262 260 262 Galvanismus, Galvanism... Genista scoparia, Common broom Gentiana lutea..... Ginseng, Panax quinquefolium, Ginseng Glonoine... Granatum, Punica granatum, Pomegranate Graphites, Graphite........ Gratiola officinalis, H-edge-hyssop Guaco Guaiacum offidnale, Guaiacum Gummi ammoniacum, v. Ammoniacum Gummi gutti... a. ~. ~........... Hacnatoxilon campechianum, Campeachy logwood Helleborus albus, v. Veratrum album. Helleborus niger, Black hellebore Hepar sulphuris calcareum, Sulphuret of lime. Heracleum sphondylium, Cow-parsnip Herba Sancti Joannis, v. Hypericumperforatum sardoa, v. Ranunculus sceleratus Humulus lupulus, v. Lupulus.. Hydrargyri biniodidum Hydrargyrum acetatum, v. Mercurius acetatus ammoniato-muriaticum, v. lMercuriusprecipit. albus. muriaticum corrosivum, v. Mercurius corrosivus muriaticum mite, v. Mercurius dulcis.. oxydatum rubrum, v. Mercuriusprecipit. ruber oxydulatum nigrum, v. Mercurius solubilis vivum, v. Mercurius vivus.. Hydras oxydi ferri, v. Ferrum oxydatum hydratum Hydriodas potassze, v. Kali hydriodicum Hydrochloras ammonie, v. Ammonium muriaticum barytoe, v. Baryta muriatica.... calcis, v. Calcarea muriatica ferri, v. Ferrum chloratum.... magnesite, v. Magnesia muriatica. sode, v. Natrum muriaticum. Hydrocyani acidum, Hydrocyanic acid...... Hyosyamus niger, Henbane. Hypericum perforatum, St. John's wort Ichthyocolla, Colla piscium, Isinglass Ignafia amara, Strychnos Ignatia, Bean of St. Ignatius 180 103 117 275 77 104 105 282 301 150 155 291 158 192 104 295 181 179 180 144 153 151 201 119 105 110 163 257 255 ib. 253 252 254 250 249 262 241 237 239 ib. 260 240 ib. 204 119 105 86 172 310 INDEX OF TIHE PAGE Magisterium Bismuthi, v. Bismutlhumn...... 273 Jalape, v. Jalape magisterium...... 182 Plumbi, v. Plumbumn carbonicum...... 269 Magnes, Lapis magneticus, v. Ferrum magneticum.. 262 Magnes arlificialis, Artificial magnet.... 283 M.agnesia calcinata s. pura, Calcined magnesia...... 212 carbonica, Carbonate of magnesia..... 220 muriatica, Muriate of magnesia...... 240 sulphurica, Sulphate of magnesia..... 232 Magnetismus animalis, v. Zoo-magnetismus..... 286 mineralis, v. Mfagnes artfcialis..... 283 Manganum aceticum, Acetate of manganese.. 258 carbonicum, Carbonate of manganese ib. metallicum, Metallic manganese...... ib. Marcasita, Bismuth, v. Bismuthura metallicum..... 272 Marum verum, v. Teucriem marum verum...... 135 Matricaria chamomilla, v. Chamomilla...... 101 Meloi majalis, Oil-beetle......... 78 proscarabcees, v. MJeloe majalis.... ib. Melo6 vesicatorius, cantharides v. Canthiaris...... 76 Membrana ovi, v. Ovi membrana....... 80 Menispermum cocculus, v. Cocculus..... 168 Aenyaonthes trifoliata, Buck-bean..... 121 Maephitis putorius, Skunk........ 90 Aercurialis pereenis...... 297 Mercurius acetatus, Acetate of Mercury..... 255 ueraurius binodatus, or iodatus..... 257 corrosivus, corrosive sublimate..... 253 dulcis, Calomel...... 252 nitrosus......... 257 precipitatus albus, White precipitate.... 255 pricetilatus ruber, Red precipitate..... 254 solubilis, Hahkemanni, Black oxide of mercury.. 250 vivus, Mercury, quicksilver....... 249 Mercurius sublimatus, v. Merc-urius corrosivus....... 252 sulphuratus ruber, v. Cinnabaris... 256 Mesmerismus, mesmerism, v. Zoo-magnetismus.. 286 Mezereaum, Daphne mezereum, Mezereon...... 138 Millefolium, Achillaea millefolium, Milfoil..... 121 Millepeda, v. Oniscus asellus...... 79 Molybdeauem, Molybdenum.. 279 Molybdeni acidum, Acidum molybdicum, Molybdic acid 202, 279 Momordica elaterium.....rn.... 293 Morphium aceticum. 216 Morphium purum. 215 Moschus, Musk........ 88 Murias ammoniae, v. Amnzmonium muriaticum..... 237 auri, v. A-um nmeriaticum........m. 245 barytc, v. Baryta muriatica....... 239 calcis, v. Calcarea muriatica....... ib. ferri, v. Ferrum chloratums....... 260 magnesiae, v. Magnesia muriatica....... 240 mercurii, v. Afercurius dulcis. 252 potassae, v. Kali ciloricumn....... 231 LATIN AND ENGLISH NAMES. Murias soda, v. Natrum muriaticum. Muriatis acidum, Acidum muriaticum, Muriatic acid Murides s. murina, Bromine, v. Bromium... Myristica moschata, v. Nux moschata.. 311 PAGE. 240.. 202. 191.. 174 Naptha montana, v. Petroleum..... nitri, v. Nitri spiritus dulcis... vitrioli, v. AEther sulphuricus Natrum carbonicum, Carbonate of soda causticum, Caustic soda... muriaticum, Muriate of soda... nitricum, Nitrate of soda. sulphuratum, Sulphuret of soda sulphuricum, Sulphate of soda... Natrum boracicum, v. Borax. Nerium Oleander, v. Oleander...... Niccolum carbonicum, Carbonate of nickel Nicotiana tabacum, v. Tabacum. Nitras argenti, v. Argentum nitricum bismuthi, Nitrate of Bismuth, v. Bismuthum hydrargyrosus..... potassa, Nitrate of potash, v. Nitrum.. sode, v. Natrum nitricum. Nitrum, Kali nitricum, Nitre, Nitrate of potash Nitri acidum, Acidum nitricum, Nitric acid spiritus dulcis, Sweet spirit of nitre Nux juglans regia........ Nux moschata, Nutmeg. vomica, Nux vomica Oculi cancrorum, v. Cancrorum oculi (Enanthe crocata, Hemlock water dropwort Oleander, Nerium oleander, Oleander Oleum animale Dippelii, Dippel's animal oil jecoris mori-huce s. aselli, Cod-liver oil olivarum, Olive oil. Oleum cornu cervi, v. Oleum animale. petrm, v. Petroleum..... Oliva, Olive, v. Oleum olivarum. Oniscus asellus, Common wood-louse Ononis spinosa, Common rest-harrow Opium, opium Osmium, Osmium.. Ovi membrana, Egg-membrane. Ovi album, v. Albumen.. ". " 203, ~ ~ ~ ~. "20,.. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 203,~. 203,... 203,.. 2...... ~. ~........ ~ ~......................... ~.... 194 229 301 226 207 240 230 201 234 235 122 248 129 247 273 257 228 230 228 229 229 301 174 175 93 157 122 91 89 175 91 194 175 79 106 183 249 80 ib. 123 152 155 183 107 192 194 Padus avium, Prunus padus, Bird-cherry Peonia officinalis, Peony... Panax quinquefolium, v. Ginseng Papaver somniferum, v. Opium.. Paris quadrifolia, True-love Percarburetum ferri, v. Graphites Petroldum, Petroleum....... ~ ~........................ 31QelDEl)F TH w U-j ell) I Pet ) l tom sat Cu, arley-ro m ot - 107~ ) NkoL -.U omLoC D - ok ný c 9Nc = o -N k l0 0t Phe 4an r-4um4raquaticumr-4 r-4Watelr-hemlock.......................16--l r4 r4 CDrqc)FýrPopasd acsv acae hspoia.............. Phophru, hophrus.......................19 Phtoacadeanra........................0 Pho~pori cidu, Acium posphrlcum Phophorcqai 9 Picuri, Pchrimbea lure......................17 Pinus sylvstris, Wid pn................ 0 Pipe cuebav. ubeb............................17 PlatnaPlaina...............................24 Platna urimic...............................24 Plubaov.Grahies.........................19 Plumum cetcum Actateof ead....................26 Plmbm(aroncm.........................b Plm mmtalcuMeali0 ea......Q.................2674 Poopylu plttue3......................9 rubrv.Mecuiu pceiptaweruer25 Prsaa~uv el~mjli tP o rd 0.............7 Prt 0hoeu mruiv ecuriusdulcie................25 PAZr(5J:usl IpnoanWlqpu-te...................3 scelerat1, Chery=leave;buttercupsr11 Rahau..............................5 RaaniapeuiaaRhtayrot...................5 RhuRuab.Ribrau....................ib4. 1, i C Rhododendron chrysant hum,.Yelow-flowered)rhododendronw13 Rhusradia4s..................S!...............12 venxs.vnta wmpsmch....................12 Rubius rseicaisReagarz,.Arenicm.rlru 27 Ruta ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ t grvoln. otnss-ue.................2 Sabdila, erarumsabdila, CeODila...............7 Sain, unpeu sbiaSai4....................2 Saeaumlcis Sgarof ilk..................8 officinarum........1..................8 Sacaumstriv lu~maeticm...............26 INDEX OF ENGLISH NAMES. NOTE.-By means of this Index, those who do not recollect the Latin name of any substance will be enabled to refer first to this, whence they may consult the foregoing Index. Absinth, Artemisia absinthium. Acetate of baryta, Baryta acetica. lime, Calcarea acetica. copper, Cuprum aceticum. iron, Ferrum aceticum. mercury, Mercurius aceticus. lead, Plumbum aceticum. Acid, acetic, Aceti acidum. acetous, Acetosum. arsenious, V. Arsenicum album. formic, V. Formica. hydrochloric, V. Muriatis acidum. hydrocyanic, Hydrocyani acidum. molybdic, Molybdoani. nitric, Nitri. phosphoric, Phosphori. prussic, V. Hydrocyani. sulphuric, Sulphuris. tartaric, Tartari. vitriolic, V. Sulphuris. Aconite, Aconitum. Agaric, bug, Agaricus. Albumen, Albumen. Alcohol, Alcohol. Almonds, oil of, Oleum Amygdalarum. Aloes, Aloii. Alumine, Alumina. Ambergris, Ambra grisea. Ammonia, Ammonium. Ammonia, carbonate of, V. Ammonium carbonicum. Ammoniac, gum, Ammoniacum gummi. Angelica, garden, Archangelica. Angustura, Angustura. Anis seed, star, Anisum stellatum. Ant, red, Formica rufa. Antimony, Antimonium. Aqua fortis, v. Nitri acidum. Arnica, mountain, Arnica. Arsenic, Arsenicum. Asarabacca, Asarum. Asparagus, Asparagus. Assaftetida, Asafoetida. Axonge, Adeps suilla. Balsam of Copaiba, Copaivae balsamum Barbel, Barbus. Barberry, Berberis. Bark, Peruvian, China. Barley, Hordeum. Barytes, Baryta. Bear-berry, uva ursi. Benzoic acid, Acidum benzoicum. Bichloride of mercury, Mercurius corrosivus. Bichromate of potash, Kali bichromicum. Bind-weed, Convolvulus arventis. Biniodide of mercury, Mercurius iodatus. Bird-cherry, Padus avium. Birthwort, common, Aristolochia. Bismuth, Bismuthum. Biting stone-crop, Sedum acre. Bitter-sweet, Dulcamara. Black-lead, Graphites. Blood-root, Sanguinaria canadensis. Boletus, lurid, Boletus satanas. Boneset, eupatorium perfoliatum. Borax, Borax. Bougies, V. Cera. INDEX OF ENGLISH NAMES. 317 B ick-bean, Menyanthes. Broom, common, Genista scoparia. Bromine, Bromium. Brucea, Brucea antidysenterica. Bryony, Bryonia. Bug agaric, Agaricus muscarius. Cacao, Cacao. Cahinca, Cahinca. Calomel, Mercurius dulcis. Camphor, Camphora. Canadian rock-rose, Cistus canadensis. Cantharides, Cantharides. Carbon, Carbo. 'Carbonate of ammonia, Ammonium carbonicum. barytes, Baryta carbonica. lead, Plumbum carbonicum. lime, Calcarea carbonica. copper, Cuprum carbonicum. iron, Ferrum carbonicum. magnesia, Magnesia carbonica. manganese, Manganum carbonicum. nickel, Niccolum carbonicum. potash, Kali carbonicum. soda, Natrum carbonicum. strontian, Strontiana carbonica. Carburet, per, of iron, Graphites. Carburet of sulphur, Sulphur alcoholisatum. Cascarilla, Cascarilla. Castor, Castoreum. Cat-thyme, Teucrium. Caustic, Causticum. Celandine, Chelidonium. Curate, v. Cera. Cevadilla, Sabadilla. Chamomile, Chamomilla. Charcoal, Carbo. Chaste-tree, Agnus castus. Cherry, common-winter, Chrysalis alkekengi. laurel, Laurocerasus. Chesnut, Castanea. Chlorate of potash, Kali chloricum. Chloride of gold, Aurum muriaticum. Chloride bi, of mercury, Mercurius corrosivus. proto, of mercury, Mercurius dulcis. Chocolate, v. Cacao. Cinnabar, Cinnabaris. Cinnamon, Cinnamomum. Club-moss, Lycopodium. Cocculus, Cocculus. Cock-chafer, Melolontha. Cod-liver oil, Oleum jec. morrhum. Coffee, raw, Coffea cruda. Colocynth, Colocynthis. Colt's foot, v. tussilago petasites. Columbine, Aquilegia vulgaris. Comfrey, v. Symphytum. Copaiba, balsam, Copaive balsamum. Copper, Cuprum. Coral, red, Corallium rubrum. Corrosive sublimate, Mercurius corrosivus. Cotyledon, Cotyledon. Cow-parsnip, Heracleum sphondylium. Crab, river, Cancer fluviatilis. Crab's eyes, Cancrorum oculi. Croton oil, Croton. Crowfoot, v. Ranunculus acris. Cubebs, Cubebm. Cuttle-fish, Sepia. Dandelion, Taraxacum. Darnel, bearded, Lolium teinulentum. Deadly-nightshade, Belladonna. Dittany, Dictamnus. Egg-membrane, Membrana ovi. Elder, Sambucus. Electricity, Electricitas. Elm-tree, common, Ulmus campestris. Ergot of rye, Secale cornutum. Ether, nitric, Nitri spiritus. sulphuric, iEther. Euphorbium spurge, Euphorbium. Eye-bright, Euphrasia. Fluoric acid, Acidum fluoricum. Fox-glove, Digitalis. Galvanism, Galvanismus. Gamboge, v. Gummi gutti. Garlic, Allium. Ginger, Zingiber. Ginseng, Ginseng. INDEX OF ENGLISH NAMES. 319 Nutmeg, Nux moschata. Nux vomica, Nux vomica. Oil of almonds, Oleum amygdalarum. animal, Oleum animale. cod-liver, Oleum jec. morrhuee. Oil, olive, Oleum olivarum. of turpentine, Terebinthina. beetle, Meloi proscarabmas s. majalis, Oak-leaved goose-foot, Chenopodium glaucum. Oleander, Oleander. Olives, oil of, Oleum olivarum. Opium, Opium. Orpiment, Auri pigmentum. Osmium, Osmium. Oxalic acid, Acidum oxalicum. Oxide, white, of arsenic, Arsenicum album. magnetic, of iron, Ferrum magneticum. hydrated, of iron, Ferrum oxydatum. black, of mercury, Mercurius solubilis. of zinc, zincum oxydatum. Oyster-shells, Conche. Paper, waxed, v. Cera. Parsley, Petroselinum. Pediveau, poisonous, Caladium. Peony, Ppeonia. Pepper, Cayenne, Capsicum annuum. Percarburet of iron, Graphites. Periwinkle, lesser, Vinca minor. Petroleum, Petroleum. Phosphate of lime, Calcarea phosphorica. Phosphorus, Phosphorus. Pichurim (bean laurel), Pichurim. Pine, wild, Pinus silvestris. Pink-root, Spigelia. Platina, Platina. Plumbago, Graphites. Plum-tree, wild, Prunus spinosa. Poison-oak, Rhus toxicodendron. Poke, phytolacca decandra. Polecat, Mephitis putorius. Pomegranate, Granatum. Poppy, Papaver. Potash, Kali. Precipitate, white, Mercurius precipitatus albus. Precipitate, red, Mercurius preecipitatus ruber. Protochloride of Mercury, Mercurius dulcis. Prussic acid, v. Acidum hydrocyanicum. Puff-ball, Bovista. Pulsatilla, Pulsatilla. Purging-nuts, Jatropha. Quicksilver, Mercurius. Radish, horse, Armoracia. Realgar, Arsenicum rubrum. Red precipitate, Mercurius, praecipitatus ruber. Resin of Guaiacum, Guaiacum. Resin of Jalap, Jalapw magisterium. Rest-harrow, common, Ononis spinosa. Rhatany-root, Ratanhia. Rhododendron, yellow flowered, Rhododendron. Rhubarb, Rhabarbarum. Rosemary, Rosmarinus. wild, Ledum palustre. Rue, Ruta. Rust of iron, Ferrum oxydat6m. Saffron, Crocus sativus. meadow, Colchicum. Saltpetre, Nitrum. Savin, Sabina. Sal ammoniac, Ammonium muriatiCUm. Salt, common, Natrum's muriaticum. Epsom, Magnesia sulphurica. Salt, glauber, Natrum sulphuricum. Salt of tartar, Kali carbonicum. Sarsaparilla, Sassaparilla. Sassafras, Sassafras. Scarlet lobelia, Lobelia cardinalis. Selenium, Selenium. Senna, Senna. Sepia, Sepia. Silex, Silicea. Silver, Argentum. Skunk, Mephitis putorius. Snake-root, Virginia, Serpentaria virginiana. Soap, Sapo domesticus. Soda, Natrum. Sow-bread, Cyclamen Europmum. Spider, diadem, Aranea diadema. -black, Theridion. James Leath, St. Paul's Churchyard. 325 Laurie's Homoeopathic Domestic Medicine. Freed of all technicalities, and especially adapted to the use of Clergymen and Private Families. 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