102 A COMPENDIUM OF 
tensely acrid taste. When inhaled it causes pro- 
longed sneezing. Veratrum Viride contains, 
according to Pelletier, gwm, resin, starch and 
the active principle Veratria. Mr. Simonis said 
to have found a second alkaloid, which he named 
Jervia (from .the Spanish, meaning poison), 
which is insoluble in ether and water. The al- 
kaloids are now variously termed Veratria, Ver- 
tdine Veratrine, Jervine and pseudo Jervine and 
Rubyervine. Veratrum Viride is an errhine, 
emetic and cathartic, with a decided tendency 
to reduce the heart’s impulse. It is no longer 
given in bulk, but is administered in form of the 
fluid extract (or as Norwood’s tincture), the dose 
being 1 to 3 drops (15-30 centigrams). It 
should never be administered except under the 
immediate supervision of the physician, and then 
every caution is necessary. Nausea is the sig- 
nal for the suspension of the remedy. The Ve- 
ratrum of the stores is a mixture of the alka- 
loids prepared from the Cevadilla, the Asagraea 
officinals and commonly known as Veratria, 
from which the officinal preparations are made 
—Oleatum Veratrine and the Unguentrum 
Veratine. 
Iris Versicolor, Blue Flag, Flag Lily and 
Flower de Luce.—Natural order Iridaceze, The 
blue flag is a beautiful perennial bog plant, hav- 
ing a stout angular stem and sword-shaped 
leaves § of an inch (18 centimeters) wide; flow- 
ers from two to four on each plant, funnel-form, 
large, showy and blue in color and variegated 
with yellow and purple veins. The stamens 
three in number, with one pistil (Triandria and 
Monogynia). The plant attains a height of 2 to 
