LABIAT^^. Ill 



i> 



for sciatica ; and beaten up with oil and sprinkled upon wool, 

 it is emploj^ed for diseases of the joints and for sprains. 

 It is applied also to burns, mixed with lard. For maladies of 

 the joints of recent date, thyme is administered in drink, 

 in doses of three oboli to three cyathi of oxymel. For loss 

 of appetite it is given beaten up with salt." 



The ancients appear to have been acquainted with the anti- 

 septic properties of thyme. Virgil (Georg. IV., 241 ) speaks of 

 the fumigation of beehives with the smoke of the burning 

 plant, and the name ^y^^o^ is derived from 6v<o, to burn incense. 

 Macer Floridus {De Vir. Herb) recommends thyme as a 

 remedy for the bites of venomous animals. In the Punjab 

 the seeds of T. serpyUum are given as a vermifuge. {Steivart.) 

 The plant is an indifferent substitute for T. mlgaris, as it 

 contains hardly any thjTnol. The latter principle is, however, 

 afforded abundantly by the seeds of Carum cojitictim, a plant 

 largely cultivated in India. Thymol is a powerful antiseptic ; 

 when absorbed it paralyses the nerve centres in the cord 

 and medulla, and like carbolic acid lessens reflex action, 

 slowing the respiration, and lowering the blood-pressure 

 and temperature. In poisonous doses it causes weakness, 

 drowsiness, coma and death. It differs from carbolic acid 

 in being less volatile and less easily oxidised. Its action 

 as a disinfectant is more permanent and at the same time 

 more powerful than that of carbolic acid. It is less irritating 

 to the skin or mucous membrane, and does not act 

 caustic like carbolic acid, and is a less powerful poison to 

 mammals. Its action on the nerve-centres is a paralysing one 

 from the first, and is not preceded by excitement as in the case 



of carbolic acid. "While in the bodv it ar>r>ParR fn o*F^..+ +,•„„„_ 



as a 



metabolism 



in animals poisoned by it the liver is found 



orus 



to be elimi 



nated by the respiratory and urinary organs and 

 to cause irritation of these organs during the process of 

 excretion. In poisoning by it, the bronchial 



mucous mem 



mucous 



the lungs congested, and sometimes consolidated ; the kidnej 



