STROPHE. 



STRYCHNOS NUX VOMICA. 



It u nut acted upon by acid*. Before the blow-pipe it decrepitate* 

 ami fiiMit into a white friable enamel. The powder become* plu 

 phoreaoeut on a hot iron. 



According to Klaproth it consists of 



Sulphuric acid .,...43 

 suontia 58 



100 



This substance occur* near Bristol, in Sicily, at Bex in Switzer- 

 land, Ac. 



*<il/J>ate ofStrtmlia and Hari/ta ; (Irunerik.Tliia mineral U found 

 in Hanover. It occur* massive. It* structure is radiated. Hardness 

 3-0 to 3-5. Colour white, with Bometime* a shade of blue. Translucent. 

 Lustra vitreous. Specific gravity 3-76. 



Sxl/Aatt tfStnmtia (SrOSO,) may be obtained artificially, by adding 

 sulphuric acid, or a sulphate, to any soluble salt of strontia. It is a 

 colourless, insipid, heavy powder, insoluble in water, and dissolved 

 only br strong sulphuric acid, from which it is precipitated by water. 



Xilrate of .vrmntm (SrONO,) U procured by dissolving the carbonate 

 in dilute nitric acid, or by decomposing the sulphide of strontium with 

 that acid. The solution in colourless, and by evaporation it crystal- 

 lines in octahedrons, which are soluble in five parts of water at tin", 

 and in half a part at 212. It is insoluble in alcohol, but when finely 

 powdered ami mixed with it, the alcohol burns with a beautiful red 

 flame. 



Under ]Mfiiliar circumstances a hydratcd nitrate of strontia is 

 formed, containing four equivalents of water. The form of this ia an 

 ubliijue rhombic prism. 



The salt* of strontia are occasionally used in chemical investigations, 

 and in giving a crimson flame to fire- works. 



STROPHE (irrfo^ti) is a set of verses composed according to a 

 certain system of metres. The word is derived from atfi^a, " to 

 turn," as in the lyric, especially the choral poetry of the Greeks, this 

 part of a poem was sung during the movements and dances of the 

 chorus. ' In modern times such a combination of verses, written either 

 in the same or in different metres, is commonly designated by the 

 Italian name stanza. The division of a poem into strophes was how- 

 ever applied by the ancients only to lyric poetry, and here one strophe 

 seldom exceeded the number of four verses, with the exception of the 

 dramatic and other choruses, in which a strophe sometimes contains a 

 considerable number of verses. However different the metre of the 

 several verses may be, there is always a unity of rhythm in them which 

 characterises a strophe as an artistic whole. The various kinds of 

 strophes were designated by the ancients by various names which 

 either indicated the number of verses they contained, such as disticha, 

 tristicha, tetrasticha, &c., or were derived from the name of their 

 inverftors, or from the characteristic metre in which they were com- 

 posed, such as the Alcaic, Sapphic, Choriambic strophe, &c. Again, 

 strophes in which all the verses are of the same metre are called 

 monocola ; and those consisting of verses of two, three, or four different 

 metres, are called dicola, tricola, or tetracola. The choral poems of 

 the Greeks generally consisted of three main parts, strophe, antistrophe, 

 and epode. The antistrophe always corresponds in its metre with the 

 strophe, and thus forms a second stanza, equal (a the first ; the epode 

 differs from both, and forms the concluding stanza of a chorus. 

 (O. Hermann. ' Klt-menta JJoctr. Metr.') 



STKO'l'HULUS is an eruption of pimples upon the skin, which 

 frequently occurs in infanta whose health is disordered by the irritation 

 of teething or any other cause. Dr. Willan describes the following 

 forms of the disease : 



1 . . v . of which the vulgar name is Red-gum or Red-gown. 

 The eruption in this fonn consists of vivid-red distinct papuhe, 

 scattered in varying numbers over the cheeks, the arms, the bocks of 

 the hands, or, in some cases, the whole body. After an uncer- 

 tain duration tin- papuku disappfar, the cuticle separating in scurf; 

 but very frequently the fading of one eruption is rapidly followed by 

 the apj>earauce of another, which passes through similar stages, and 



-.ly spreads further over the skin. A few of the papuhu iu each 

 eruption sometime* assume .the character of small pustules, a little 

 fluid being formed in their apices : but this commonly disappears with- 

 out bursting. The origin of the eruption may usually be traced to 

 disorder of the digestive organs, by a gentle correction of which it may 

 be cured. A sudden repulsion of it by exposure to the cold, or any 

 injudicious remedies, may bring on diarrbxca, and even severe general 

 illness. In itself it ia a disease of no importance. 



2. N. ulliiitiu differs from the preceding only in the colour of the 

 papula:, which consist of minute whitish specks, slightly elevated, and 

 usually surrounded by a pale ring of red. They appear iu the same 

 situations as those of the first variety, are referrible to a similar origin, 

 and require no other treatment. 



3. & coafrrtiu a often called the Tooth-rash, and the Rank Red-gum. 

 It occurs only during the process of teething, and consists (iu children 

 of three or four months old) of small closely-set papuUe, less vivid but 

 more permanent than those in S. intcrlindiu. Their usual seat is on 

 the cheek* and sides of the noae ; sometimes they extend to the fore- 

 head and the arms, and sometimes large papuke appear upon the loins. 

 If the eruption occur* when the infant is eight or nine months old, U 



generally assumes a severer form : one or two extensive patches appear 

 on the arms, shoulder, or neck, the papulic in each being hard, large, 

 and set *o closely, that the whole surface of the skin seem* bright red. 

 These usually continue for a fortnight, spreading slowly from one part 

 to another, and then fade, leaving the part, after the exfoliation of the 

 cuticle, rough and discoloured for a week or two longer. A similar, 

 but more obstinate and painful form of eruption, sometimes appears 

 on the lower extremities and the lower part of the trunk. It is never 

 advisable however to adopt any active treatment for the remedy of 

 this variety of the dine* so. It commonly continues during the whole of 

 the early period of dentition ; but it affords in some measure a safe- 

 guard against more serious disorder*, and disappears soon after 1 1. 

 teeth have cut through the gums. 



4. & mlaticu* is characterised by small circular clusters of from six 

 to twelve bright-red papulic, which break out successively in many 

 different parts of the body, remaining in each for about four days, and 

 then becoming brown and disappearing with scurf. The complaint 

 generally lasts three or four weeks, and passes in successive eruptions 

 over a considerable pail of the body. It is attended by slight 

 and general disturbance of the system, and is most common in children 

 of from three to six months old. 



6. S. Candida* ia distinguished by the papula) being larger than in 

 any other variety. Their surfaces are smooth and shining, and, tin-a- 

 bases not being inflamed, they seem paler than the adjoining r-kin : 

 they usually last for about a week, and disappear in the same manner 

 as those in the preceding forms. All eruption of this kind in mo-t 

 common in children a year old, who have shortly before its appearance 

 Buffered from some acute disease. It requires no active treat 

 like all the other varieties of the disorder, it ceases with the irii; 

 from which it has its origin. 



STRUMA. [SCKOFULA.J 



STRYCHNIC ACID. [Nnx VOMICA, ALKALOIDS OF.] 



STRYCHNINE. [Ncx VOHICA, ALKALOIDS OF.] 



STRYCHNOS NUX-VO'MICA, M, ,/,,/ f,-,,,,, rtit* of. The genus 

 Strychnos, consisting of about twelve species, is remarkable fi.i 

 taming among these some which possess only mild or beneficent pro- 

 perties, while others are endowed with more potent and destructive 

 powers than almost any other members of the vegetable kingdom. 

 This extraordinary difference IB presumed to be owing to certain .- 

 containing only an extractive, which is tonic and febrifuge, while others 

 contain one, two, or three alkaloids, which are extremely poisonous. 

 This is true as far aa the S. Jt'iuc-rumico, S. lyutitia. X (UMrJH*, ""' 

 S. Tieul are concerned, all of which contain either !<tr//<-/tnia or llruria, 

 and some both of these alkaloids ; .S. Xum-li Ji/natii contains an alkaloid 

 called Igasurine [Nux- VOMICA, ALKALOIDS OF]; but it doe- not 

 apply to the & tojeifcra (Schomburgk), in which no alkaloid ha 

 detected. It must be admitted, however, that the S, tuxifera, though 

 equally fatal with the others,' produces death in a different way. Those 

 possessed of an alkaloid destroy life by exciting tetanic spasms, while 

 the in in i-ali, or worary, or urari (prepared from the 8. tuj-iftni), pro- 

 duces diametrically opposite effects, as the muscles of voluntary motion 

 are paralysed by it. The only species strictly officinal is the nux- 

 vomica, poison-nut, or ratsbane, of which the seeds are employed, and 

 to this our attention will be at present confined. 



Strychnia Xn.r-i-niuii'n is a native of Coromandel, Malabar, Ceylon, 

 and other parts of India, growing in sandy places, and attaining the 

 size of a tree, but short, crooked, and sometimes twelve feet in cm -um- 

 ference, flowering in the rainy season. The fruit is about the size of a 

 St. Michael's orange, with a bitter astringent pulp, and containing from 

 three to five seeds. The pulp may be eaten, but the seeds are poison- 

 ous and officinal ; each seed is flattish or very slightly concave on the 

 side of the umbilicus, convex on the other, thickened at the margin, 

 Imitate, about three lines in thickness, and clothed with dense gia\ i.-li, 

 silky, or velvety hairs, which towards the umbilicus are arranged in 

 concentric circles. The testa or coat is thin, the nucleus white or 

 grayi.-li, hard, horny, or cartilaginous, bipartite or divided by a cavity 

 in the centre ; the embryo is near the margin of the becd, and its 

 position is often indicated by a prominent point. 



Owing to the hard cartilaginous nature of the seeds, thcv are 

 extremely difficult to reduce to powder or to slice. Diilinnt expe- 

 dients are adopted to accomplish this. The entire seed is devoid of 

 odour, but the powder has a peculiar one, somewhat resembling 

 liquorice; the taste U nauseously bitter. Xu-r-rtiiitica should never 

 be purchased in the state of powder, as it is frequently adult 

 with common salt or even emery-powder. 



An oil is expressed from the in-sh M ,,l.s, which is used for burning. 



A'u-ofomica seems to exert a deleterious influence alike over vege- 

 tables and animals ; there is, however, a> difference of susceptibility to- 

 ils action iu different classes of animals, since a much larger quantity 

 U necessary to destroy herbivorous than carnivorous animals. 



The degree of effect varies with the quantity employed, but it seems 

 to be the same in kind, being confined to the gangliouic system of 

 nerves and the spinal cord, extending as high up as the .-. 

 Monyata, and, according to Flourens, influencing even the ni-i/Jil/nm, 

 but certainly not directly affecting the ft riln-iun. Hence iu fatal cases 

 the intellect is not disturbed till the extinction of life. The decapita- 

 tion of animals does not hinder the characteristic action of M.<--. - /.../, 

 while, on the other hand, the removal of the spinal-marrow com- 



