MEDICINES,] 



THE HOESE, AND 



[medicines. 



pro-chloride of mercury. The muriate of am- 

 monia appears to be added for the purpose of 

 dissolving any corrosive sublimate which may 

 be formed with the calomel. 



Medicinal Uses. — Anthelmiatic, or vermi- 

 fuge and alterative ; for these it is given, in 

 doses of from one to two drachms, in the form 

 of a ball, at night, and a dose of aloes in the 

 morning. It is used in cases of surfeit, worms, 

 or mange ; also, sometimes, for chronic cough, 

 farcy, and jaundice. Taken alone, it is only 

 slightly purgative on the horse, and is given 

 in doses of from a scruple to a drachm. In 

 Girresting the violence of epidemic catarrh, 

 calomel has recently gained a high reputation. 



Kino — Xi?io. 



An extract, prepared from a non- descriptive 

 African tree. 



Medicinal Uses. — Astringent, given in doses 

 of from two to four drachms, generally in com- 

 bination with chalk. 



Lime. 



Lime is one of those earthy substances 

 which exist in every part of the known world, 

 and is found purest in limestone, marble, and 

 chalk. None of these substances are lime, but 

 are capable of becoming so by being burnt in a 

 white heat.' — It may be also obtained perfectly 

 pure by burning calcareous spars, and also by 

 burning some pure white marbles. It may be 

 procured also in a state of purity by dissolving 

 oyster-shells in muriatic acid. It has been 

 ascertained by Sir H. Davy to consist of oxy- 

 gen and a metallic basis, which he denominates 

 calcium. 



LiNi Semina — Linseed. 



The seed of the common flax, a well-known 

 annual plant, which flowers in July ; the seed 

 ripens in September. 



Medici^ial Uses. — Demulcent, given in any 

 quantity. Two ounces of the seed, boiled in two 

 pints of water for a short time, will form an 

 excellent jelly-like-fluid, for the administration 

 of any of the sulpliates. In cases of sore throat 

 or catarrh, aff"ection3 of the bowels or the 

 urinary organs, an infusion of it is frequently 

 given instead of water. Tliin gruel, however, 

 is to be preferred. As a poultice the meal 

 answers almost for every purpose. 

 356 



Mteehje — Myrrh. 



Myrrh is a gum resin brought from the Le- 

 vant and East Indies, and used in medicine. It 

 is hard, dry, glossy, of a reddish-brown colour, 

 with an admixture of yellow; transparent or 

 opaque ; of a peculiarly strong smell, and a 

 bitter, somewhat biting taste. "With water it 

 forms a yellow opaque solution, and by distilla- 

 tion yields an essential oil. It is imported 

 into this country in chests. 



Medicinal Uses. — Stimulant, applied exter- 

 nally, in the form of tincture. United to the 

 tincture of aloes it may be applied to wounds 

 as a stimulative and digestive agent. In- 

 wardly, however, it is of little use, although, 

 when combined with opium, it is sometimes 

 administered in cases of chronic cough. 



NicoTiANA — Tobacco. 



Of this narcotic there are several kinds. 

 English tobacco seldom grows to more than 

 three feet in height, having smooth alternate 

 leaves upon short foot-stalks ; flowers in small 

 loose bunches on the top of the stalks, of a yellow 

 colour, appearing in July ; which are succeeded 

 by roundish capsules, ripening in the autumn. 

 Sir Walter Ealeigh, on his return from Ame- 

 rica, is said to have first introduced the smoking 

 of tobacco into England. In a house in which 

 he lived, at Islington, his arms are said still 

 to be seen, with a tobacco plant on the top of 

 the shield. It is remarkable that tobacco has 

 prevailed over the original name, petiim, in all 

 the European languages, with very little vari- 

 ation, and even in Tartary and Japan. To- 

 bacco is derived from the island of Tobago. 

 Petum is the Brazilian name. 



Medicinal Uses. — Limited ; but, in the hands 

 of a good practitioner, may be rendered service- 

 able in extreme cases of costiveness, or in dan- 

 gerous colic. Let it never be used internally 

 for the promotion of a fine coat, or as an exter- 

 nal application for mange. 



Oleum OLiviE — Olive Oil. 



The olive tree is a native of the South of 

 Europe, cultivated in great abundance in 

 France and Spain. It seldom becomes large; 

 but two or three stems frequently rise from the 

 same root, from twenty to thirty feet in height, 

 putting forth branches almost their whole 



