LILIACE^. 481 



whilst powdered KigcUa seeds and long popiDcr are given 

 internally with wine. According to the Nighantas, the root is 

 purgative, hot, light, and pungent ; it increases the secretion 

 of hile, and is useful in leprosy^ piles, colic, boils, and to expel 

 intestinal worms. The. starch obtained from the root by 

 washing is given internally in gonorrhoea. 



-0 



Moodeen Sheriff, who has experimented with the root, states 

 that it is not so poisonous as is generally supposed ; he has 

 taken it in small quantities, gradually increasing the dose to 15 

 grains. There were no bad effects, but on the contrary he 

 found his appetite improved and felt more active and stronger. 

 He has also used it in his practice for many years, and considers 

 it to be a tonic and stomachic in doses of from 5 to 12 grains 

 given three times a day. In the Concan it is given to cattle to 

 expel worms, and in Madras it is believed to be a specific against 

 the bites of poisonous snakes, and the stings of scorpions, and 

 is also used as an external application in parasitical skin 

 affections. Surgeon-Major Thomson states that before being 



thin 



milk 



by which process its poisonous properties are supposed to be 

 removed. He also says that the natives select those roots 

 which are dichotomous and which they suppose to be those of 

 the male plant, whilst single roots, which they suppose to be 

 those of the female plant, are rejected. {Diet Ecoii. ProcL 

 Indui, iii., p. 507.) 



ft 



Description, — Root tuberous, cylindrical or flattened, 

 often 7 to 8 inches in length, and about one inch in diameter ; 

 when fully grown it consists of two tubers which unite at a right 

 angle, one being much shorter than the other ; at the point of 

 union may be seen, on the upper surface, a circular scar marking 

 the attachment of the stem, and on the under surface imme- 

 diately beneath it another, to which a tuft of their rootlets is 

 often attached. The tubers arc covered with a brown epider- 

 mis, except at their points, which are tailoring and nearly white ,* 

 internally they are juicy, white, and farinaceous, and have a 



— (31 



