BOTANIC MATERIA MEDICA. Itt 
as long as the flower. The rhizome, asit occurs 
in commerce, is about z inches (50 millimeters) 
long, somewhat bent and thin, having many 
short remnants of stems on the lower side, 4 
inches (10 centimeters) long. Externally, pink- 
root is of a yellow-purple color; internally, of a 
dull white with many woody rays, exhibiting 
under a glass of fair magnitude a small pith. 
It has little or no odor, but a sweet and aro- 
matic taste. Spigelia contains tannin, wax, 
resin and a volatile oil, and Spigelin, a volatile 
alkaloid. Its principal use is for worms, and it 
is highly valued as an anthelmintic by some 
physicians, It has been given in form of pow- 
der, infusion, syrup, extract, and in combination 
with senna. The infusion is made by adding 14 
Troy ounce to a pint of boiling water, the dose 
of which is a tablespoonful, frequently repeated. 
The dose of the fluid extract is from %4 to1 fl 
drachm, (2.0 to 4.0 grams), repeated at long 
intervals and followed by calomel, or some brisk 
cathartic medicine. The fluid extract of Spige- 
lia is the only officinal preparation. Spigelia 
obtains its name from the botanist of that name, 
who wrote upon the subject in the seventeenth 
century. : 
Triticum Repens, Couch-grass, Quitch-grass, 
Dog-grass.—Natural order Gramiaceee. The ge- 
nus Triticum is divided into two groups, one 
annual, of which wheat is an example, and the 
other perennial, composed of the officinal spe- 
cies. Couch-grass is perennial, found growing 
in all parts of the northern hemisphere, and ap- 
pears to be a perfect pest in many cultivated 
grounds. The clum arises 3 feet (1 meter) or 
