150 CELANDINE. 



green colour, and that of the root a brownish-yellow. The 

 pungency of the Celandine is not of a volatile nature, since it 

 does not rise in distillation with water, but it is almost dissipat- 

 ed by drying the plant. 



The bright colour of the juice has suggested some experi- 

 ments with it in dyeing, but no permanent colour could be ob- 

 tained. Rossig, however, a German writer, asserts that by 

 fermentation a good blue colour was procured, similar to that 

 of the I satis tinctoria or Woad. 



No animal has been known to eat this plant. 



Poisonous Properties. — The juice of this plant is an acrid 

 poison, and is capable of producing very deleterious effects, if 

 improperly used. Orfila found that, introduced into the 

 stomach of animals, it produced vomiting, loss of sight and 

 liearing, incapacity to stand, and death : the stomach was found 

 inflamed, and the lungs livid and distended with blood. When 

 applied to wounds it produced the same effects, except that 

 there was no vomiting, and the stomach was not inflamed. 



As there is no antidote to this poison, the usual evacuants 

 and antiphlogistic treatment must be resorted to, as recommend- 

 ed under Aconite * and Bryony t. 



Medical Properties and Uses. — Linnaeus, Murray, Gili- 

 bert and others, express their astonishment at the oblivion into 

 which a plant so energetic as the Celandine has fallen, while the 

 ancients knew how to appreciate its qualities. Dioscorides and 

 Galen employed it, infused in white wine, for the cure of jaun- 

 dice ; the former, with the addition of anise. Forestus J gave 

 it infused in beer, and Chomel recommends the leaves to be 

 macerated in whey, to which a little cream of tartar is added. 

 " I think it would be better to adopt the method pursued by 

 Professor Wendt : he expresses, in summer, the juice of the 

 plant, and mixes it with an equal quantity of honey. The dose, 

 which at first is two drachms, is gradually increased to half an 

 ounce, diluted with one or two spoonsful of water. In spring 

 and autumn he employs the juice of the root, and in winter he 

 administers the extract only, of which he forms Jtwo-grain pills : 

 he commences by giving two, increasing the dose as far as ten, 

 and continuing this quantity until the cure is effected. But the 

 Erlangen professor, carried away by his predilection for Celan- 



* Sec p. 3. t See p. 100. X Obs. et Curat, lib. xix. obs, 40. 



