G4 NAT. ORDER. LILIACEiE. 



pear from the great care he took of the seedling plants, preserving 

 them through the winter in his bed chamber. Accordingr to Mr. 

 Aiton, this species was introduced to the Royal Garden of Eng- 

 land by Messrs. Kennedy and Lee, as long ago as the year 1753. 



This being a mountainous plant, it is found to be much more 

 hardy than the Ligtu, and is generally treated as a green-house 

 plant ; it is found, however, to flower and i-ipen its seeds better 

 under the glass of a hot-bed frame, where air is freely admitted. 

 It flowers from June till October, and though a perennial, is gen- 

 erally raised from seeds, yet may sometimes be inci-eased by part- 

 ing its roots, which somewhat resemble those of the Asjiaragus. 

 The seeds should be sown in spring, in a pot of light earth, on a 

 gentle hot-bed orf rich soil. 



Medical Properties and Uses. The root of this plant, which is 

 inodorous, and of a weak, sweetish taste, was formerly used in the 

 southern part of France, as a diuretic, aperient, and purifier of 

 the blood ; and it is stated to be still employed, not only there but 

 in many parts of England. It is most generally given in the form 

 of a decoction, made in the proportion of one or two ounces of 

 the dried root to a quart of water. From exj^eriments of more 

 modern practitioners, it appears that this medicine operates pow- 

 erfully on the kidneys, and in almost all cases where it has been_ 

 administered, to increase the quantity of urine, which in some in- 

 stances was quintupled. The most convenient forms for exhibition 

 are those of sirup and extract, prepared from the roots. The 

 former may be given in the dose of one or two fluid ounces, the 

 latter, of half a drachm or a drachm. The best method of pre- 

 paring the sirup is by adding a sufficient quantity of sugar to the 

 expressed juice of the roots, previously deprived of its albumen 

 by exposure to heat and by filtration. The extract is made by 

 evaporating the same juice to the consistence of a pibular mass. 

 This medicine has also been highly recommended as a remedy for 

 diseased heart. 



