246 A COMPENDIUM OF 
white poppy has a capsule depressed and flat. 
The poppy capsule contains alkaloids in various 
proportions from a mere trace to as much as 2 
per cent, consisting of morphine narcotine, nar- 
ceine, codeine, meconic, tartaric and citric acids. 
Poppy capsules or heads are anodyne, narcotic 
and sedative in their medical effects and are 
given in form of syrup and decoction; they are 
externally used as a cataplasm. Dose of the 
syrup 1 to 2 fluid drachms; of the decoctions 
from ¥% to 1 fluid ounce. Homer mentions the 
poppy in his works, and Hippocrates speaks of 
black and white poppies in his writings. For 
further accounts see Dispensatory. 
Petroselinum, Parsley, Petroselinum Sativum. 
—Natural order Umbelliferee Orthosperme. 
This little plant is a native of southern Europe 
and cultivated in all the civilized countries of the 
world. Under the head of roots the parsley was 
minutely described, therefore it is only neces- 
sary to describe the fruit, which is the part of 
the plant under consideration. The fruit 
(Fructus Petroselinii) is about 2 millimeters or 
yz of an inch in length, ovate in form and 
laterally compressed; color a mixture of brown 
and green, and divided like the rest of the family 
or order in two mericarps, which when dry split 
open; numerous oil tubes and 2 seeds; odor 
agreeably aromatic; taste sharp and aromatic 
and of its own kind. The constituents of the 
parsley fruit, according to a recent analysis, are 
res, mucilage, aptin, fixed and volatile orls, 
also an oily substance which is at first color- 
less, but becomes, on exposure, tinged yellow, 
and is termed Apiol, having the pungent and 
