584 VEGETABLE DRUGS 



extract, the taste of aloes, cascara sagrada, ammonium chlo- 

 ride, turpentine, hyoscjamus and quinine sulphate. 



LiNUM. Linseed. 



Synonym. — Lini semina, B.P.; flaxseed, E.; semence de 

 lin, Fr.; leinsamen, flachssamen, G.; semen lini, P.G. 



The seed of Linum usitatissimum Linne (nat. ord. 

 Lineae). 



Habitat — Most temperate climates. 



Description. — About- 4 or 5 Mm. long, oblong-ovate, 

 flattened, obliquely pointed at one end ; brown, glossy, 

 covered with a transparent, mucilaginous epithelium, which 

 swells considerably in water; the embryo whitish or pale 

 greenish, with two large oily, planoconvex cotyledons and a 

 thin perisperm; inodorous; taste mucilaginous, oily and 

 bitter. 



Constituents. — 1, linseed oil, 30 to 35 per cent, in the 

 nucleus ; 2, gum, 15 per cent, in the epidermis ; 3, proteids, 

 25 per cent.; 4, a trace of amygdalin. 



Action and Uses. — Linseed is a food. Oil cake or linseed 

 cake from which the oil has been expressed, is exceedingly 

 rich in protein (25-30 per cent.), and is also richer in fat (10 

 per cent.) than most foods. Cottonseed meal, which contains 

 considerably more protein and fat, is more frequently em- 

 ployed in the United States. Gruel made from crushed 

 linseed meal cake, or linseed meal, is useful as a restorative 

 in all animals recovering from acute and debilitating dis- 

 eases. The cake (1 lb.), or a pint of cottonseed meal per 

 diem, is a good addition to the ordinary fodder for horses 

 suffering from malnutrition, with rough staring coats and 

 dry skin, and for those affected with " broken wind." Gruel 

 of linseed meal or cake is also serviceable for calves or 

 lambs when reared on skimmed milk or other poor food. 

 Linseed tea, made by steeping 1 part of whole linseed in 20 

 parts, by weight, of boiling water, for 1-4 hours, followed by 

 straining, is a valuable demulcent preparation in pharyngitis, 



