112 UMBELLIFERZA 
poisoning, but without success. In the Hast it is prescribed as 
& neurotic in painful affections of the skin and subjacent 
tissues, and as an antaphrodisiac. Mir Muhammad Mumin 
has a curious preparation in the Tuhfat, which he has named 
““Umrw’s raisins, ® and which he recommends as a preservative i 
of the seminal fluid. It is made by stewing together 5 dirhams 
each of hemlock root and hyoscyamus seeds with 150 large — 
raisins and 150 miskals of water until dry ; the raisins ave then. : 
removed and preserved. The dose is from one to three daily. 
Description.—Kirdamana resembles English hemlock 
fruit, but is a little larger and of a darker grey colour; it 
appears to have been collected when mature or nearly so. Ifa 
section of the fruit.is examined under the microscope it will. 
seen that there are no vittee, and that the cells of the end 
carp contain a brown substance, which consists of coniine 
cubic cells. When crushed in a mortar with a few drops 
liquor potassce, kirdamana seeds have a mousey odour. 
a 
Chemical composition—The most important constituent | 
hemlock fruit is the volatile alkaloid coniine (C®H'"N), aco 
less, inflammable, oily fluid, specific gravity -846 at 12° ¢ 
Coniine has a strong alkaline reaction, a penetrating suffocatin 
odour, and boils when pure at 168° to 169° C.. It is soluble: 
all proportions in alcohol, ether, chloroform, benzol, benzil 
and fixed oils, is less freely soluble in carbon bisulphide, : 
requires 100 parts of cold water for solution 
it forms dense white fumes with volatile acids, 
most metallic salts, some of the precipitates, 
soluble in an excess. It neutralizes acids, 
are freely soluble in water and alcohol, are 
and occasionally uncrystallizable, and are 
platinic chloride. Its hydrochlorate and 
Like ammo’ 
it precipitate 
like silver, be 
forming salts wh 
usually deliquescent 
not precipitated bj 
hydrobromate 
