VKGETABLE KINGDOM. H 



are quoted from various authors. As, for instance, one says 

 that the product of the first year of the plant's life is called 

 Tse-tzu (H!) ~f ) ; that of the second year, Wu-hui (^ P^) ; the 

 third, Fu-tzfi (fJff •^); the fourth, Wu-t'ou (J^ gf) ; and the 

 fifth, T'ien-hsiung (^ ^|). A sixth form is spoken of, which 

 is called Lou-lan-tzu (|)§ ^ ■^), and is considered to be an 

 immature form of the aconite plant. But as Mu-pieh-tzu 

 (TfC ^^-p) is given as another name for it, and as this is probably 

 the fruit of the Momordica cochinchinensis^ the terminology is 

 here probably at fault. 



The P^ntsao also says that an arrow poison is prepared 

 from a plant growing in some country west of China ; the plant's 

 name being ^ j^ ;^ (Tu-pai-ts'ao). It says that this is an 

 aconite, but not the Ch'uan-wu (Jlf ,^). This probably is 

 because aconite is practically the only substance that has been 

 used as arrow poison in China. The "western country" drug 

 may as well have been Strophanthtis ^ or some allied plant of the 

 digitalis series. As the substance is not readily found in the 

 drug shops, and its exact place of origin is not known, it has 

 not yet been studied. Another very poisonous substance, called 

 % ^ (Lang-tu, "wolf's-bane") and %%l^ (Lang-tu-t'ou), 

 693, is possibly Aconituvi lycoctonum^ but more probably 

 Aconituvi ferox. The roots are large and starchy, and are often 

 much worm-eaten. It is used as a sedative and in violent 

 coughs. It is the common article for poisoning birds and 

 beasts whenever this is done. 



The Chinese do not seem to have considered any of the 

 aconites as edible, but the Pentsao speaks of one variety as non- 

 poisonous. This is ^ ,^ (Niu-pien), which may be the 

 Aconituvi septc7itrioiiale, used in Lapland as a potherb. It is 

 entirely probable that the edible varieties indigenous to India, 

 such as the Aconitiim multijidum and the Aconiturn rotundi- 

 foliinn, are also found in China. The Niu-pien (^ j^) is only 

 used as a lotion for ulcers and as an insecticide on cattle. 



All of the drugs included in this list of aconites, so far as 

 they are used by the Chinese, are only employed after they have 

 been prepared in various ways so as to diminish the poisonous 

 properties of the plants. This explains the almost uniform 

 practice ot soaking the tubers in vinegar for a longer or shorter 



