86 Botanic Drugs 



quite successfully. It is also of value locally in 

 hemorrhoids. 



RED BUCKEYE, Aesculus parvia, is very poisonous, 

 similarly to Ohio buckeye, but in much greater 

 degree. In the South the seeds are used to stupefy 

 fish, as are the seeds of cocculus, or fish berries. 

 This species is not used in medicine. No definite 

 statements can be made until after this poisonous 

 glucosid has been carefully studied. 



AGAR 



A form of gelose extracted from seaweeds of sev- 

 eral species. Agar, or agar-agar, as it is commonly 

 called, is not digested, but absorbs large quantities 

 of water in the stomach and intestines, forming a 

 jelly which increases the bulk of the feces. 



Agar is employed in the treatment of constipa- 

 tion, administered in substance, eaten with a cereal 

 or baked in crackers or biscuits. It is official in the 

 U. S. P., IX, and the dose is given as 2 drachms. 



AILANTHUS 



CHINESE SUMACH, Ailanthus glandulosa. Not of- 

 ficial. Is given brief notice in Homeopathic and 

 Eclectic literature. It is an emeto-cathartic and 

 anthelmintic exceedingly disagreeable to the taste 

 and, in sufficient dosage, is depressing to the nervous 

 system. It contains a volatile oil which, when in- 

 haled, produces a peculiar nausea. In spasmodic 

 asthma, petit mat, palpitation of the heart, and other 

 spasmodic affections it relieves the symptoms in 

 2- to 10-drop doses of the fl., but is so disagreeable 

 it is not apt to become popular as a remedy. From 

 my trials of the drug, I am convinced of its activity; 



