Chemical examination of the Hop. 311 
cheap transportation, that there would be little inducement 
for using any other article in its stead. 
6. The lupulin is exceedingly bitter but not unpleasant, 
whereas the nauseous extractive matter of the leaves, which 
by boiling, is imparted to the beer, is unpleasant to the taste, 
and, when highly concentrated is frequently ungrateful to 
the stomach. It is believed that few persons ever relished 
the peculiar bitter of the strong beer, until, by drinking it 
habitually their taste becomes vitiated as is the case in the 
use of opium and tobacco. Soon after hops were intro- 
duced into use in brewing in England, the citizens of Lon- 
don petitioned parliament to forbid their use in the king- 
dom, as they were a nuisance, “‘ and spoiled the taste of 
their drink.” ‘The leaves then are not only useless, but- 
prejudicial to the flavour of beer. 
On the virtues of this substance as a medicine, I shall at 
present be very brief, as it will probably be made a subject 
for future consideration. It has already been observed that 
the hop has long been regarded as a medicine of some 
value. In France it has been used as a tonic and preserib- 
ed in dyspepsia and scrofula. In this country it has been 
most valued for its narcotic powers, and used in cases when 
opium was inadmissible. ‘The most common preparation is 
a saturated tincture of the leaves. ‘To this there are two 
important objections. 1. To give enough of the tincture 
of the leaves to induce sleep, the quantity of alcohol is ne- 
cessarily so great as sometimes to do injury to the patient. 
2. When given in large doses, it frequently produces nau- 
sea and sometimes vomiting. The first of these objections 
requires no proof, the second is confirmed by my own ob- 
servation and by the experiments of Dr. Bryorley in his in- 
augural dissertation onthe hop. ‘This last effect is proba- 
bly owing to the extractive matter in the leaves, for I have 
never seen it produced by the lupulin. I have prescribed 
the powder in substance, the infusion, decoction, alcoholic 
tincture and the extract. As its aromatic and bitter proper- 
ties are imparted to water, the infusion is an eligible prepa- 
ration as a tonic and stomachic ; but if given with a desire 
to produce sleep, the tincture is the best preparation. As 
it has been demonstrated, both by positive and negative tes- 
timony that the narcotic principle exists in the resin only, 
the tincture should always be made with alcoho! and not 
