VKRATRIC ACID. 



VEEMICELLI. 



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VERATRIC ACID (C,,H 1C> 8 ). The acid with which veratrine 

 exists combined in Cevadilla. It crystallises in short prisms, which 

 are transparent and colourless, and slightly sour to the taste. It is 

 slightly soluble in cold water, but more soluble in hot, and readily 

 dissolved by alcohol, but not at all by ether. 



Neither concentrated nitric nor sulphuric acid decomposes veratric 

 acid, but a mixture of them renders it yellow. When heated to 212 1 

 the crystals lose water, and then become of a dull white colour ; at a 

 high temperature they melt into a colourless liquid, and sublime with- 

 out leaving any residue. 



'J he crystals contain one equivalent of water. Veratric acid forms 

 orystallisable salts with the alkalies, which are very soluble in water 

 and alcohol. Their solutions precipitate the salts of lead and silver, 

 and the veratrate of the latter ia white, and slightly soluble in 

 alcohol. 



VERATIUNE (C^H^.O,,), a vegetable alkali prepared from 

 Cevadilla, the seed of the Veratrum tabadilla. It was discovered by 

 Meissner in 1818, and obtained by Pelletier and Couerbe in 1819. 



Veratrine is a white or greenish-white powder, which has a silky and 

 crystalline appearance under the microscope ; it is inodorous, very 

 acrid and poisonous. It is insoluble in water and alkaline solutions; 

 very soluble in alcohol and sparingly so in ether ; the solution when 

 evaporated deposit* transparent lamina;. The solutions have the 

 alkaline property of restoring the blue colour of reddened litmus. 



The salts of veratrine are neutral, and have a slight styptic taste ; 

 the hydrochlorate crystallises in short needle-form crystals, which are 

 very soluble in water and alcohol ; the sulphate crystallises in quadri- 

 lateral prisms ; concentrated nitric acid renders veratrine first scarlet 

 and then yellow ; concentrated sulphuric acid gives it at first a yellow 

 colour, afterwards a blood-red, and eventually violet. 



VERATHUM ALBUM (White Hellebore) Medical Prapertiet of. 

 Of this, two varieties, or distinct species, are officinal : one termed Y. 

 album; the other V. album p, or Lvbeliunum. This last prefers a 

 chalky soil ; the plants occur in the meadows of the Swiss Alps, the 

 Pyrenees, the mountains of Austria, and in Siberia. The rhizouias of 

 both kinds are collected indiscriminately. This part occurs single, 

 double, or many-headed, in cylinders, or pyramidal pieces, from two to 

 four inches long, and from three-quarters to two inches thick, rniuh, 

 wrinkled, of a grayish-black colour externally, but of a yellowish-white 

 within. Some root-fibres, intermingled with slender flexible radicles, 

 adhere to it : and on the upper part are found the scales, or withered 

 remains of former leaves, which from their tunicated appearance have 

 led some writers to describe it as a bulb. This, though incorrect, is 

 useful to remember, as a good discriminative mark between it and 

 other plants confounded with it, which, being roofaand not > kizomat(t,&re 

 devoid of this character. A transverse section presents a large central 

 portion, sometimes termed the medulla; and, according to the age of 

 the specimen, one, two, or more external circlet, bounded by the dark- 

 brown epidermis The rbizoma is nearly devoid of odour, but has an 

 acrid, bitter, burning taste. It is easily powdered, but the person 

 engaged in powdering it should wear a mask, as it excites a heat and 

 eruption of the skin, and any drawn up the nostrils causes violent 

 sneezing and inflammation of the Schneiderian membrane : hence its 

 German name of nietwurzel. By time th acridity and activity are 

 diminished, to that old specimens become not only mouldy, but of 

 inferior strength, and should be rejected. 



Veratria, called also Sabadillin, is procured from the seeds of 

 Ataiji ' (Lindley, Hdimia* ogl'iiutlii, Don) and the Vera- 



Irum Subudilla, Hetz, as well as probably other seeds of Metant/tucetr. 



Veratrum tiri'/e is used in America as a substitute for V. album 

 and also for coluhicurn. White hellebore is an agent of great and 

 dangerous power. According to the experiments and inquiries of 

 Scbabel (' Dissertatio de eft". Veratri albi et Hellebori nigri." Tubingen, 

 1817), it is poisonous to all ela-ses of animals, and acts fatally, if in 

 sufficient quantity, by whatever way it is introduced into the system. 

 It appears to have a specific effect on the intestinal canal and nervous 

 system, its effects on these parts being uniform, whether applied 

 directly to them or to remote parts, provided absorption take place. 

 The action is that of a narcotico-acrid poison ; but its narcotic effect is 

 less, while its acrimony is greater, than that of black hellebore. It is 

 doubtful whether the plant now spoken of is the white htllebure of the 

 ancients. In doses short of any dangerous or violent effect, white 

 hellebore exercises a peculiar action on the secreting organs, the stomach 

 and intestines, and the nervous system. Almost all mucous surfaces, 

 and the glands connected with them, as well as the kidneys, are 

 exeited to increased secretion. But when the quantity is more con- 

 siderable, heat of the mouth, tongue, and throat, with sp;ismodic 

 constriction of the pharynx, thirst, pains in the stomach and intestines, 

 alternate heats and chills of the whole body, perspirations, anxiety, 

 pain of the head, giddiness, depression of spirits, gloomy expression, 

 and even spasms of the countenance, are experienced : if vomiting 

 fortunately occur early, these symptoms are alleviated. Schabel says 

 t.i.it no substance so certainly acts as an emetic ; but while tartar 

 emetic or ipecacuanah, or sulphate of zinc, can be had, it ought never to 

 . be employed. If the substance be introduced into the rectum, the 

 symptoms are the some, except that the heat of the mouth and pain of 

 the stomach are less. In decidedly poisonous doses its action is that 

 of a violent narcotico-acrid, causing severe vomiting and purging, often 



bloody stools, tenesmus, burning feeling from the month to the rectum, 

 constriction amounting to a sense of strangulation in the throat, with 

 small pulse, faintings, cold sweats, gidiliness, blindness, dilated pupils, 

 loss of voice, convulsions, and insensibility, generally terminating iu 

 death. The tincture and the alcoholic extract act more powerfully 

 than the watery infusion or extract. A cutaneous eruption sometimes 

 follows the use of white hellebore. Where death does not ensue, 

 palpitation with intermitting pulse, along with d\ speptic and nervous 

 symptoms, remain for some time. The application of white hellebore 

 to wounds or any broken surface, either to destroy vermin or to cure 

 the itch, may produce the above effects; and this result occurs whether 

 it is used in powder, as a wash, or ointment. The popular use of 

 these is therefore to be discouraged. White hellebore is occasionally 

 mistaken for Galanga root, and the seeds for those of cumin : inten- 

 tional poisoning with it is rare ; but from the use of it among soliliers, 

 who have recourse to it from its property of producing palpitation of 

 the heart, and thus simulating disease of that organ, in hopes of 

 obtaining their discharge, violent and indeed fatal effects ensue. It is 

 the active ingredient iu some quack medicines for gout or rheumatism, 

 often producing dangerous consequences. It is also the efficient MMt 

 in many insect-destroying powders. An efficient antidote is scarcely to 

 be found. Samuel Hahuemann, overrating the antagonising power of 

 coffee, recommends that article ; but at best it can only combat the 

 narcotic symptoms, which are not the most formidable. Astringent 

 drinks have also been proposed, but they are not to be relied on. 

 Acid drinks seem more serviceable : hence tamarinds, or cream of 

 tartar may be given, followed by demulcent or oily fluids. Vomiting 

 should be encouraged. 



The medicinal employment of white hellebore is not very great in 

 the present day ; but when administered with due caution it is of 

 great service in gouty and dyspeptic disorders, where there is torpor of 

 the liver, sluggish bowels, and defective secretion from the kidneys. 

 From its influence on these organs it often proves useful iu chronic 

 cutaneous diseases, in which the digestion is always impaired. It is 

 likewise used as a sternutatory, largely diluted with some starchy 

 powder. Externally, veratria is employed to relieve nervous pains ; 

 but its use requires the greatest caution. 

 VERB. [LANorJAOE.] 



VKRDEKEH. [FOREST LAWS ; WOODS AND FoitESTS.] 

 VEHDIC ACID, an acid discovered by Runge, and so named from 

 its property of becoming green by exposure to the air. It is obtained 

 from several of the i'mbd[ifer<t, Plantay! nere , &c . but chiefly from the 

 root of the Scaliiuta eacciea. When combined with excess of base, it 

 becomes preen iu the air, owing to the absorption of oxygen ; Berze- 

 litis, therefore, proposes to call the colourless the verdant, and the 

 coloured the verdtv acid. The former is obtained by digesting the 

 dried and powdered root of the scabiosa in alcohol, from which on the 

 addition of ether white flakes are thrown down ; to these, dissolved 

 in water, acetate of lead is added, and the precipitate thrown 

 down is decomposed by hydrosulphuric acid. By evaporating the 

 filtered liquor the acid is obtained in the state of a brittle yellow mass, 

 which reddens litmus and does not alter in the air. When it is 

 saturated with an alkali, ammonia for example, and exposed to the air, 

 it absorbs oxygen and becomes gradually green. The acids then pre- 

 cipitate it in the form of a reddish-brown powder, which is verdic 

 acid : this redissolves and becomes green with the alkalies. The earthy 

 or metallic verilitei are yellow, while the verdata of the same bases 

 are green. Runge states that he found by analysis that verdic 

 acid contains one equivalent of oxygen more than the verdous 

 acid. 



VERDICT. [JURY.] 



VERDIGRIS. [ACETATE; Diacetate of Cupper.] 

 VERDITER. [COPPER ; Acetate of Copper.] 

 VEHDOUS ACID. [VERDIC ACID.] 



VEHMlCEFjLI. a dried paste, manufactured chiefly in Italy in the 

 form of smooth round strings. The name has been given to it on 

 account of its worm-like appearance, vermicelli in Italian signifying 

 little worms. Muc aroni, which the Italians spell macc/tei-oui or 

 muccherone (a word of doubtful etymology), is manufactured of the 

 same kind of paste as vermicelli, and in a similar manner ; but it is 

 rather larger in diameter, and is hollow like the tube of a tobacco-pipe. 

 Ped'lmi is a kind still smaller than vermicelli. 



The paste is made of wheat stripped of the husk, and ground roughly 

 Into a sort of grit. The kind of wheat preferred by the Italians is a 

 small hard-grained species which they now cultivate on purpose, but 

 which they formerly imported from the coasts of the Black Sea yauo 

 di Mar Nero. The ground wheat is mixed with clear soft water, and 

 made into a paste by kneading it on a large block with a wooden lever 

 ten or twelve feet, long. The short end of the lever is made sufficiently 

 heavy to lift the long end, on which one or two men or buys get 

 astride, and alternately sitting down and springing up, work the paste 

 for a long time. The toughness and elasticity of the paste result 

 from this long and powerful process of kneading. The paite is next 

 forced by strong pressure through round holes in the bottom of a 

 cylinder ; but, to form maccaroni, a wire extends from a bridge in the 

 upper part of the cylinder t irough the centre of each of the largest 

 holes, and th paste, beiug forced through each hole aruun 1 tha wire, 

 is consequently hollow. The strings, several feet in length, whether 



