MEADOW-SWEET. 117 



taste, and is quickly rendered black by sulphate of iron. The 

 herbaceous part of the plant, when rubbed or chewed, manifests 

 a sub-astringent, bitterish, somewhat aromatic, and pleasant 

 taste. The recent flowers have a strong fragrant odour, 

 analogous to that of almonds, but which becomes unpleasant 

 on too near approach ; the aqueous infusion has a similar odour, 

 and a bitterish taste, and the fragrance comes over in the dis- 

 tilled water, which is a very agreeable perfume. 



An essential oil, possessed of peculiar properties, is obtained 

 from the flowers by distillation in water. Dr. Lowig has 

 made some researches on this oil, which are very interest- 

 ing in a chemical point of view. He first distils the flowers 

 in the usual manner, and then submits the product to a 

 re-distillation till about one-fifth is come over into the re- 

 ceiver. A concentrated aqueous solution of the oil is thus 

 obtained, and the oil itself, though only in very minute 

 quantities. The oil is heavier than water, is of a light 

 yellow colour, and possesses the odour of the blossoms in a 

 very eminent degree. It mixes in all proportions with alcohol 

 and aether, and is slightly soluble in water. The aqueous 

 solution first reddens litmus paper, and then deprives it of its 

 colour, except a slight greenish shade. It is inflammable, and 

 burns with a shining smoky flame, Its boiling point is + 85° 

 (Cent.), when it evaporates entirely without leaving any residue. 

 He finds it to be a hydracid with a ternary base ; the radical 

 he has named spiroil, and the essential oil hydrospiroilic acid. 

 Spiroil has the peculiarity of forming yellow compounds with 

 oxygen, and with the metals, alkalies, and earths. Dr. Lowig 

 mentions, that, in the decomposition of some of the compounds, 

 the odour of roses is very perceptible * ; thus affording an ad- 

 ditional proof, if such were needed, of the affinity of the plant 

 to the Rose tribe (Rosacece). 



Medicinal Properties and Uses. — The root of Meadow- 

 sweet has been much praised for its efficacy in various kinds 

 of fever and alvine fluxes. By Simon Pauli and others, a 

 decoction of the root in wine has been strongly recom- 



* For the interesting details relative to the analysis of the essential oil 

 we must refer to Taylor's Scientific Memoirs, Part I., August, 1836, which 

 contains a Translation of Dr. Lowig's paper, extracted from J. C. Poggen- 

 dorf's Annalen dcr Physik unci Chemie, vol. v. p. 596. Berlin. 



