226 ENGLISH BOTANY. 
Vienna. MDioscorides describes it accurately, but only as a poison, In large doses 
it is an irritant poison; but carefully administered, it is a useful remedy in many 
diseases, and is retained in the “British Pharmacopoeia.” The seeds and bulb 
are the officinal parts, and are both indebted for their action to a peculiar alka- 
loid known to chemists as colchicin. Dr. Taylor records several instances of fatal 
poisoning by Colchicum, both by swallowing the seeds and by taking an overdose 
of the tincture by mistake. Dr. Christison considers Colchicum to be a powerful 
sedative of the circulation, and to this action, he says, ‘‘ may probably be ascribed its 
well-known power of subduing the paroxysm of gout, and checking the progress of 
subacute or gouty rheumatism.” It is to this power of arresting gout, established 
by the late Sir Everard Home, that Colchicum owes its extensive introduction into 
practice ; but its effect on the system is such that many physicians object to its constant 
use. It increases the action of the kidneys, and acts as an aperient, relieving the 
excitement of the nervous system. The celebrated eau médicinale, which acquired 
great fame during the last century as a remedy for gout, owed its properties chiefly 
to this plant. The roots for medical use should be collected about Midsummer, after 
the leaves have withered, as they then possess more of their active qualities than at 
any other time. Large quantities are sent tothe London herb shops from Gloucester- 
shire and Oxfordshire, where its large purple blossoms may be seen covering the 
fields in the autumn months, like the crocus, but without the protection of leaves, 
which wither soon after the spring. The seeds should be gathered in May as soon 
as they are ripe. Dr. Lindley relates the case of a woman who was poisoned by the 
sprouts of Colchicum, which had been thrown away in Covent Garden Market, and 
which she mistook for onions. As the plant is as injurious to most animals as to 
man, it should be destroyed in fields, for cattle will sometimes crop the leaves in the 
spring. 
EXCLUDED SPECIES. 
SCILLA BIFOLIA. Lin. 
Engl. Bot. ed. i. No. 24. 
Said to have been sent to Mr. Sims of Norwich from the west of 
England. Smith says there is a specimen in Buddle’s Herbarium; 
but the only recent instance of its occurrence in Britain was the find- 
ing of a few plants of it at Teignmouth, Devon, by Mrs. Gulson, 
who forwarded fresh specimens to Mr. G. Worthington Smith. At 
my request, Mr. Smith was good enough to apply to the lady for 
further information, and her reply was that she “found only a few 
specimens which she brought into her garden, and that the plant was 
not now to be found in the neighbourhood.” 
ALLIUM CARINATUM. Linn. 
The Rev. M. J. Berkeley lately announced that this plant had 
occurred near Newark, and he was kind enough to send me a 
