40 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. 05. 



CariwhalscniiiiDK — The dried fruit of a small evergreen tree growing ou the 

 shores of the Red Sea. It was in high repute with the ancients as a medicine 

 and cosmetic. Cat. No. 52,564, U.S.N.M. 



Lycium. — An extract prepared from the Indian barberry. It was held in 

 great esteem by the Greeks and Romans, and vases made especially for con- 

 taining it, bearing the name " Lycion," have been found in the ruins of Grecian 

 cities. It was particularly valued as a coUyrium in the treatment of ophthal- 

 mia. Given internally for dysentery, cough, hemorrhage from the lungs ; taken 

 with milk, for cure of hydrophobia. Cat. No. 52,571, U.S.N.M. 



T ragacanth.—A. gum exuding from various species of Astragalus. The drug 

 is mentioned by Theophrastus (third century B. C. ) and by other Greek 

 physicians. "A useful ingredient of medicines for cough and roughness of 

 the throat. Dissolved in wine, and mixed with a little calcined hartshorn or 

 burnt alum, it is taken for pains of the kidneys and irritation of the bladder." 

 Dioscorides. Cat. No. 52,775, U.S.N.M. 



Hellehore. — The root of Helleborus niger. According to tradition, Melam- 

 pus ( 1400 B. C. ) , cured the daughters of Proetus, King of Argos, of hysterical 

 mania by the use of hellebore. Cooked with lentils or other broth, it was taken 

 as a purgative. Used in gout, rheumatism, and insanity. Applied in form 

 of plaster for dropsy. Scattered about houses to purify them from everything 

 injurious. When about to uproot the plant, prayers were offered to Apollo and 

 Aesculapius, and great care was taken lest an eagle should witness the opera- 

 tion, in which event the gatherer of the plant would surely die. — Dioscorides. 

 Cat. No. 141,632, U.S.N.M. 



Euphorbium. — A gum resin obtained from incisions made in the branches of 

 Euphorbia resinifera. The collection of the drug was described by Dioscor- 

 ides and Pliny and is mentioned by Galen and other early Greek writers. 

 " The aqueous infusion applied to the eye resolves cataract. Taken with an 

 aromatic drink it relieves the pain of sciatica. For snake bite, it is recom- 

 mended to incise the skin of the head, introduce a little euphorbium and sew up 

 the w^ound."— Dioscorides. Cat. No. 143,169, U.S.N.M. 



Conium. — The expressed juice of the tops of Conium maculatiim. It was 

 a common plant in Greece, and classed among the deadly poisons. Used medic- 

 inally as a constituent of coUyria to relieve pain and for plasters for wounds 

 and erysipelas. In the treatment of poisoning by conium, emetics and purga- 

 tives were used, and as an antidote " pure wine." Among the Athenians the 

 administration of this drug was the common mode of capital punishment, the 

 execution of Socrates by this method being one of the notable events of Greek 

 history. The drug was given in wine, and the victim required to walk 

 about in order to promote its circulation throughout the body. Cat. No. 143,174, 

 U.S.N.M. 



Mineral Drugs 



Ahwi.- — "Alum cleanses the eye from everything that tends to obscure the 

 vision, dissipating granulations of the lids and consuming any other ex- 

 crescences. It arrests hemorrhage, contracts lax gums, and, with vinegar or 

 honey, fixed loosened teeth. Mixed with honey it is good for ulceration of the 

 mouth; with the dregs of vinegar and an equal quantity of the ashes of galls 

 it is eflicacious in chronic and corroding ulcers. In form of ointment it re- 

 moves dandruff, and if applied with water it is a remedy for lice and nits 

 and for burns."— Dioscorides. Cat. No. 50,168, U.S.N.M. 



Rust of iron. — According to Appolodorus, Iphyclus, one of the Argonauts, was 

 cured of impotence by iron rust dissolved in wine. Iron preparations were 



