On O P I U M. 



393 



Dr. Charles Alston, in the 5th vol. oftheEdiu- 

 burgh Medical EfHiys and Obfervatlons, p. 105. in his dif- 

 fertation on opium after mentioning feveral articles with 

 which it is reported to be adulterated, adds, " I know not 

 the ^Ai/^f/ww of the ancients, nor did I ever fee any opium 

 that I had reafon to fufpedt as adulterated xYiihgum ovfuef ; 

 hut (he zvild lettuce, that is, \.h.c laciucafylvcjlris^ odore vi~ 

 rofo, C. B. Pin. 123. dihownd^ more than any poppy \ know, 

 with a milk of the fame tafte and fmell ; perhaps therefore 

 this, if it can be more eafily colle<9;ed, may ftill in fome 

 places be mixed with opium, and the medicine be nothing 

 the worfe for it, the milk of even the common lettuce being 

 anodyne and fomniferous, as well as that of the poppies." 



See alfo his 57th. ledure in the 2d vol. of his JVlateria 

 Medica, p. 153. et feq. 



Hill in his ^;/V//Z) ZTt'/T^rt/, p. 436, under the head of 

 lactuca^ has the following: " Divifion I. i. Great wild 

 lettuce. La£luca Jylve/lris major opii odore i''' 



" The root is long, thick and whitifli ; and when cut, 

 it yields abundantly a yellow juice, of a very unpleafant 

 fmell, refembling that of opium ; and of a bitter, naufeous 

 tafte." " C. Bauhine calls it, laHucafylveJlris odore virofo. 

 Others, laElucaJylveJlris major odore opUT 



" This is one of thofe Englifli plants which deferves to 

 be more known in medicine. It has been called poifonous, 

 and men have from that been frighted from its ufe ; but it is 

 a very gentle and '^faje opiate. The heft way of giving it 

 is in afyrup made from a decodlion of the frelh leaves and 

 flalk. This way it greatly exceeds the common diacodium, 

 and may be given to tender conftitutions with more fafety. 

 This I write from experience." 



Dale has defcribed the lettuce alfo in his Pharmacologia, 



p. 80. In this the different chara£leriftic names of various 



authors are brought together. J. Buuhine calls it " laHuca 



Jylvejlris lato folio, fucco virofo.^'' I. B. ii. 1002. Dios- 



3 F CORIDES 



