394 



On opium. 



CORIDES has faid, according to Dcile^ that it mitigates 

 pain. 



Dale has alfo made a fecond fpecies or variety of the Iac~ 

 tuca fylvejiris, under the diftinguifliing mark of, " L.fylv. 

 cqjiajpinofa^ ox jagged leav d ziilJ lettuce.''^ I Ihall here quote 

 his own words. 



" Laduca fylveftris fativ^e fimilis eft (ut fcribit Diofcor- 

 ides) fed longior cauhs, et foHa gracioUora, etafperiora; 

 maro guftu eft. Quse de viribus ladtucae fylveftris veteres 

 prodiderunt, quod fcilicet femen ejus non minus quam fa- 

 tivae Hbidinum imaginationes in fomno amoUtur, et vene- 

 rem arcet ; cui huic plantse conveniant, dubitat D. Rains. 

 Narcoticam eam effe et foporiferam, adeoque (ut rede ob- 

 fervat) •viribus papavcrijimilem^ ut Diofcoridcs et Plinius tra- 

 dunt, opii vehemens ctvirofus odor abunde comnncit^'' et feq. 



Thefe quotations will fuffice to prove, that however ana- 

 lagous their authors might fufpecl the offtcmal opium and 

 the juice of the lettuce to be ; they had not put it to the 

 teft of experiment. I now proceed to ftate thofe which I 

 have made. 



LETTUCE OPIUM. 



ExPERIMEN-T I , 



July ift. 1797. 

 To one ounce of rain water, I add- 

 «d 5 grs. of the opium ct the lettuce in 

 the vial maiked, A. 



COMMON OPIUM. 



Experiment 2. 



The fame day I added a fimilar 

 quantity of rain water to 5 grs. oftlie? 

 »/i/a;n of the poppy, in the vial mark- 

 ed, B. 



I frequently agitated both vials, and on the 21ft of the 

 month, I found by filtration, only one grain and a half, 

 left on the filtre of the vial A. whilft 2 grains were left on 

 that of B. 



This difference of half a grain I at firft afcribcd to the 

 common opium being much more dry than that of the let- 

 tuce which was freftily made ; and hence, in an equal 

 weight not containing fo great a proportion of fixed matter:^ 



