MENTHA PIPERITA. 
cially useful in the cholera in children. The medicine may be 
given in infusion, but the volatile oil, either alone or in some 
state of preparation, is generally and almost always preferred. 
There are several varieties, and all are herbaceous and odor- 
ous, with verticillate flowers, either axillary or spiked. Several 
of the species are officinal. 
The following are the principal preparations of this medi- 
cine, with their uses. 
Aqua Mento piperitse. ‘Take of peppermint a pound 
and a half, pour over it as much water as will prevent empy- 
reuma during the distillation. Distil a gallon. 
Peppermint water has the flavor and taste of the plant in a 
very considerable degree. It is sometimes used alone as a 
carminative and stimulant, but more generally for the purpose 
of covering the taste of other medicines. 
Seinitus Menrux pirertrz. Take of oil of peppermint, 
by weight, six scruples and a half; proof spirit four pints and 
a half ; water, sufficient to prevent empyreuma. Add the spirits 
to the oil, and pour on them as much water as will prevent 
empyreuma, then distil with a slow fire one gallon. 
Spirit of peppermint is a useful carminative in nausea and 
flatulence, and as an adjunct to purgative remedies. This 
spirit has no advantage ‘over a simple solution of the oil in 
alcohol, and may therefore with great propriety be substituted 
for it. The solution is usually kept in the shops under the 
name of essence of peppermint. 
Oveum Mentux pirerirm. Obtained by submitting the 
fresh herb to distillation with water. Its odor is strong and its 
taste very pungent, but at the same time it impresses a sensa- 
tion of coldness. The vapor of it applied to the eye causes 
a feeling of coldness. Its color is greenish-yellow, or nearly 
colorless, but it becomes white when exposed to the light, and 
reddish by age. Four pounds of the recent plant yield from 
one drachm and a half to three drachms and a half of the oil. 
The product is generally less than one per cent. In a warm, 
dry, and favorable season, the product of a given quantity of 
the fresh herb is double that which it yields in a wet and 
cold season. 
Oil of peppermint is a stimulant and carminative, and is 
used occasionally as an antispasmodic, It is a common do- 
mestic remedy in cramp of the stomach, flatulent colic, and 
‘anorexia, and as a corrigent or adjuvant of other medicines. 
‘The dose is from one to three drops, ai is most conveniently 
given rubbed up with sugar and then dissolved in water. 
_ Besides the above, there are other popular preparations of 
peppermint extensively used. Inrusum MenTH® PIPERITE, 
_ Leppermint tea; Roture Mentrux pirerrre, Peppermint 
drops; Tus Lraveve sold at the spirit-shops as mint or pep- 
