LI LI AC E^. 477 



i 



used for iiiaiiy years at certain of the Government Medical 

 Store Depots for making the various preparations of the drut?-. 



In India the squill is always kept by native druggists in the 

 entire state, this form being preferred by the hakims to the 

 sliced and dried bulb. They follow the Greeks and Eomans in 

 their method of baking squills (cf. Bioso. loc. cit. and 8crib. 

 Larg. Comp. 76). 



Description. — Jlrginea indka is very abundant in sandy 



ground near the sea; the dirty white spike of flowers appears 

 lo]ig before the leaves. The bulb is tunioatod, consisting of 

 fleshy coats, which enclose each other completely, generally 

 about ih(^ size of a common onion ; colour white ; taste bitter 

 and acrid. 



Microscopic structure, — Each scale or modified leaf is made 

 up of polyhedral cells covered on both sides by an epidermis 

 provided with stomata ; like a leaf, it has vascular bundles. 

 Tlio cells of the parenchyma are loaded with mucilage, and 

 contain an enormous quantity of needle-shaped crystals and a 

 few large sqnare or oblong prisms. The presence of the former 

 accounts for the itching of the hands experienced by those 

 employed to slice the bulb. 



Chemical composition, — The sample dried at ] 00^ C. was examin- 

 ed by Dragcndorff's method, with the following results: 



Petroleum ether extract '036 per cent. 



Ether extract. .*... *028 „ 



Absolute alcohol extract • 152 „ 



Aqueous extract 77*30 „ 



Ash • 



5-G9 



The petroleum ether extract was a greasy white residue and 

 uon-crystallino. The ether extract contained no alkaloidal 

 principle; under the microscope a few imperfect four- side plates 

 were visible. 



The alcoholic extract from 9 grams of the anhydrous 

 squills injected into a cat's stomach caused vomiting in 20 

 JBiuutt^s. and thn T^nftsap-e of a solid stool about au hour after 



