374 FLORA HISTORICA. 



under the name of Eau Medicinale, which attracted 

 great attention by its success in relieving the gout 

 and rheumatic affections of the joints, but which has 

 also frequently taken an injurious effect upon the 

 constitutions of some persons : it appears, therefore, 

 to be a medicine that should be only applied by 

 the most cautious practitioners ; for the Colchicum 

 is unquestionably a poisonous root, and its delete- 

 rious effects are to be dreaded until the precise 

 dose is more accurately ascertained than it seems 

 generally to be at this time. ]\Ir. Waller observes, 

 in his account of this plant, that one great cause of 

 this difficulty is the extreme affectation of simplicity 

 in the modern practice of pharmacy, and the dis- 

 like of practitioners for what they consider compli- 

 cated prescriptions. It is, however, a fact, that ve- 

 getable juices brought in contact with each other do 

 undergo a chemical change ; and a compound is 

 produced very different to what might be expected 

 from a mere mixture of the two. This fact has 

 been long known to the wine and cider makers, who 

 are well aware that there is a very considerable dif- 

 ference between the mixture of two different wines 

 or ciders, and that which results from the mixture of 

 two juices previous to fermentation. In the former 

 case, the mixed liquor will partake of the proper- 

 ties of each ; but in the latter a distinct vanety 

 will be formed, in which neither can be recognised. 



