ILLUSIRATIONS OF INDIAN rOTANY. 55 



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aving much mticilar,'e and ualer and littl.; exfiacfive, -uj-ht not to be poisonous and tluMpforo 

 fit f(»r the food of man. 'I'liis we find the case in many j^porips fhongh certainly not 

 in all, (for we kno.v that the roots of some are very poisonou-,) i)ut still often T'noti::h to afford 

 much evidence in support of his doctrine, fii the juices of the herhaceous part of the plant, 

 the green portion, where pxtrjictire a])onnds and cnn be easily extracted either l>y infusion or 

 decoction in water, we find concentrated, the inrcotic and poisonous properlie>5 of the Hendork 

 fCon/um m'lodn'nnj, Cowhane f C'lcuta virosaj, the Dead tongue f ^>,anthe cromfn ) VooU 

 • Parsley ( /Eihum c;jnnnin'r,)^ &f>., while the proper sap .such a«i flons 8poiifanpnu4y from 

 wounds in the hark or olhbrwise h rf>sinous tonic and aromatic. According to this theory tine- 

 tures prepared with pure alcohol, which does not dissolve extractive, should not he narcotic and 

 p-iis Hious, where-i=i we find both Dr. Christison and .Mr. IVreira r— ommending an alcoholic 

 tincture of the bruised seed, not the leaves, of the hemlock as th.- best mode of^dminihlerinir 

 that powerful and dangerous medicine. A.s however DeCandolle's theory so generally accords 

 with experience, I should doubt whether the tincture of H^'idock S^ed is possessed of the" 

 sarn-! narcotic properties as the decoction of the leaver. Hut s'lo.jl I experiace prove that the 

 seed are narcotic and tljat this property is commanicated to the tincture, ihe-i that preparation 

 for internal use.ought at once to supersede every other forv.i of adminisfrarioii.not only asafTording 

 a preparation not liable to the rapid deterioratio i of watery preparation"?, but as h )lding out the 

 prospect of being so much more uniform in its strensrth an<l certain in its action, than tho.^e 

 deriv d from the leaves. These it is'well known are frequently inert; nay more, are liable to 

 lose fneir properties fhrou-^h unskdfu! dryin;,' and much more from ha 1 management in tiie pre- 

 paraiion of the extract. It seems scarcely necessary to dwell longer on tbe^properties of this 

 family, which can never Iip expected to become of importance in this country from the unfitness 

 of the climate for their culture, thou-rh these observations might easily be extended to any 

 length. Dr. Lin llpy. in his M .ra Midica, gives a catalogue of no fewer than !2G species 

 more or less suitable for medicinal p-irpos^^s ; an.I evpu tliaf h.-t, copious as it is, mi<rbt be great- 

 ly extended. Before however couclu liuir, I may rpm .rk, tbi' the comm<m gMr'deu'cellery wheii 

 -wild and trrowing in wet ditches and mea<lows, its u^ual station, is an a.-rid poisonous plant but 

 chancjed by culture, br^cinips a favonrite snllad. It .senms probable that many others mbrht be 

 similarly changed. The s-ed of the carrot, which is warm and carmnative, is supposed to 

 act principally on ibe urinary organs. 



Rkmarks on Genera and SphXiPS. Large and verv natural orders such as this are 

 always di lb <ult to divide and arrange in Mich a manner as to' tpnd.r them easily availabl'e in 

 practice towards of discovering the name of a specie.s, and the present is so peculiarly natural 

 that some IJotanists have even gone po far as to g ume that it may almost be looked 

 upon as oi.e vast genus and that only very artificial genera can be oblaine.l by its <;nb. 

 division. io this idea, even m tlip abstract. I confess I cannot subscribe, for I cannot but think 

 tbp association of such plants as ////'/ror.o//^ and Sa??;c<//a in the same g^nus wiih A»'refica 

 and Pa>^t,nncn would be most unnatural." Hut while I object to such sweepin ' c -mbinations as 

 these, I cannot avoid thinkiu'^, that the numlM^u' of s,rpnera estabhshpd in this^order is already 

 exces-ivp, that is. so fir a.s I can m«keo■I^ from stu-lyin^ thsir characters. In suoport of this 

 opmion the genera Pa.v^//?ari and HamcUam may I think be safely quoted, P//n/>««ti//(z and 

 Ptiichdm, It appears to me, may with equ^l safety he rpf^rred fo as anoth^T example of the same 

 kind, and doubtless many others might be fonnd This multiplication of genera can smrcelj 

 be imMer of surpri-^e in an ..rder like this, where ♦''■ general simibuitv amnnir the spe.ie- ii so 

 maiked that nothing short of the most careful smdv enables one to distinguish iheni and 

 wh^-re, in consequence, cliaracl^ns mo.st minute an 1 difficulr to make out, an;l these not always 

 constant, ai-fl aot to have higher values as-it^npd than tliey merit. To this cause I am dis- 

 po.Al »o attribute t:.c hi^di va^ne attached to the r///a-, v. iii<-h, .so far as my owu limited 

 ob-orvati< n enables me to judtje, they do r.ot merit, not ot.ly a« b^ing inconstant, but as being 

 in many instances, from their miuuleues.^ of very J;iricult application in practice and only to 

 be deitcted in perfectly ripft seed. 



