DRAGON ROOT. 57 
senting a lighted paper to the mouth of this phi- 
al, it exploded with a very distinct report. An- 
other portion of the gas was agitated with lime 
water, which it rendered turbid. This circum- 
stance was probably owing to the mixture of car- 
bonic acid disengaged from the plant, or from the 
water by boiling. 
From the above experiments, which cireum- 
stances did not permit me to pursue, it appears 
that the acrimony of the Arum resides in a prin- 
ciple having no affinity for water, alcohol, or oil, 
being highly volatile, and, in a state of gas, in- 
flammable. The products of its combustion, as 
well as its other affinities, remain to be investi- 
gated.* 
The acrimony of the Arum when fresh is too 
powerful to render its internal exhibition safe, 
The roots, when dried whole, retain a small por- 
tion of their pungency, and in this state they have 
been given by some practitioners in the country 
for flatulence, cramp in the stomach, Se. also for 
*The acrimony of the Ranunculi, which appreaches that of the 
Arum, is lost by drying, yet is soluble in water, and passes over with 
it in distillation. That of Polygonum hydropiper disappears in de- 
coction and distillation, The same takes place with several other 
acrid plants which I have examined, Some i inquiries into the acrid 
principle of vegetables I am in hopes to render more mature at a fu- 
ture period, 
8 
