A G A 



A G A 



or of no rcgiilaT nijpe, niaiked with circular tiled ridges, 



lis well as with different fliadiis of colour, foft to the touch 

 like buff kuther or fine cork, frona one to live inches over, 

 or more. 'Fills fpeclcs, of which Dr. \V. enumerates two 

 varieties, feems to connedt the agarics with the noLF.Ti. 

 For a further account of tlie dixtetical and medical qualities 

 c>f agarics, and for the metiiod of cultivating and propa- 

 gating thofe which are chiefly ufed, fee Mushroom. 



Araric, in Pharmacy, a kind of fungous excrefcence, 

 growing on the trunks and large brandies of feveral trees ; 

 but, chiefly on the larch-trees and upon lome kinds of oak, 

 iviien old and decayed. Three-fourths of it confill af a 

 retinous fubllance, and the remainder is a (limy mucilaginous 

 earthy matter, fo tenacious, as fearecly, by any method, 

 to be diffolved by water. It comes forth on the tree in tlie 

 beginning of tlie Iprlng, and continues to iiiereafe till 

 autumn. The bell is ealily cut with a knife, friable be- 

 twixt the fingers, and has no hard, or gritty, or coloured 

 veins. It has no pedicle, and is internally of a fimple uni- 

 form ilruclure throughout its whole fubllance. Agaric is 

 brought from different places ; the bell comes from the Le- 

 vant ; that which comes from Savoy and Dauphiny being 

 Icfs eJlcemcd. Holland alfo fupplies fome, but that is 

 reckoned the worll ; becaufe it is grated, and whitened at 

 top with chalk. By a chemical folution it paffes almoft: 

 wholly into oil ; it yields no volatile ialt, but abounds with 

 a fort of flaky earth, and acid phlegm ; as to texture, it 

 feems much to refemble colocynth. Agaric is an ingre- 

 dient in the thenaca Andromachi , where it is admitted in 

 quality of a cordial : though its cardiac virtue is excepted 

 to as much as its purgative. Agaric was a purge in much 

 cfteem among the ancients, but has defervedly fallen into 

 difrepute of later years, as it occafions unfupportablenaufeas ; 

 and as no preparations of it appear to be equal to the more 

 common and experienced cathartics. The druggllls confider 

 only that which grows upon the laieh-ttee to be the right 

 fort. For its chemical hiftory, fee Neumann's Works, 

 p. 349. The Agaric of the oak, f;) denominated, becaufe 

 the bell is fuppofed to be produced on the oak, fometimes 

 alfo called falle or baftard Agaric, is the Boletus hm- 

 arlus of Linna:us. This fungus has been fpecifically named 

 Igniarlus, and alfo touch-wood or fpuiik, from its readily 

 catching fire, and from its being ufed in fome places as tinder. 

 For this purpofe the Germans boil it in ftrong ley, dry it, 

 and boil it again in a folution of falt-petre. It is externally of 

 an a(li-co!oar, and internally dufl^y-coloured, foft and 

 tough. In FraHConia pieces of the inner fubllance are beaten 

 fo as to refemble leather, and fewed together ior making 

 garments : this agaric has been much ufed by furgeons 

 as an external ilyptic. The mode of preparing tliis fubllance 

 is as follows : Take a piece of freih agaric, which has been 

 removed from the oak or larch-tree in autumn, and pare 

 off its exterior rind ; the coat underneath, being of a com- 

 pact texture, is then to be feparated from the porous part, 

 and well beaten with a hammer until it becomes extremely 

 pliable. The outer hard pail, and the inner loofe furfaee, 

 are of very little ufe ; but the middle portion, thus pre- 

 pared, mull be kept dry in flices of a convenient fize. A 

 fmall piece is to be laid exadtly over the bleeding artery, 

 and over that a fecond, or even a third, fomewliat larger ; 

 and kftly a coinprefs, to retain the whole in its place. Its 

 application to tliis purpofe was derived from the French, 

 and it was fucceifivcly recommended, firll by Broffard in 

 1 750, afterwards by Morand, Bouquot, Fagct, Roehard, 

 and De Mey, who employed it not only to rellrain the 

 bleeding of wounds, but to prevent ha? mon-hages after am- 

 putations, which it is reported to have done as effetlually as 

 tJie iigature. Several Englifli furgeoas have alio publillicd 



cafes in which the agar! • was fviccefsfully tifcd, as Sh^irpi 

 Warner, Gooch and others. Some have remarked that, 

 where it fceined to fucceed, the fubjeCls were brought fo 

 low before the operation, that little danger was to be ap- 

 prehended from the haemorrhage, thougli no other applica- 

 tion had been made than that of dry lint and flour. Neale's 

 Obf. on the' ufe of agaric, &c. It has now loll its reputa- 

 tion both in France and England ; nor docs it appear, from 

 its fenlible qualities, to be poffeffed of any truly Ilyptic 

 power, at leall to any conliderable degree. This finr^ud 

 probably aC\s no otherwife than as a pliable foft fubllance, 

 adhering to the orifices of the veffels, till they have con- 

 tracted fpontaneoully. Some other fungi have been cm- 

 ployed with the fame intention ; fuch as the lycopcrdon, or 

 dully mulhroom, and the fungus vinofus, found on the 

 calks and walls of wine-vaults. I^ewis's Mat. Med. Wood- 

 ville Med. Bot. vol. iv. p. 160. Since it poffeffes no 

 efficacy without a firm comprefs, we believe the Ligature 

 will be generally preferred, as more fecure, and lefs trouble- 

 fome to the patient. See Hemorrhage. 

 Agaric, Female. See Boletus. 



Agaric Mineral, Bergw'ikh, Bergmr/j/ Gevm. Creta 

 far'.iiacea. — This mineral fubllance is always found in a 

 loofe or femi-indurated flate in the fiffures of rocks or 

 at the bottom of lakes ; it almoil floats on water, is en- 

 tirely foluble in nitric acid with effei-vcfcence, and pro- 

 bably confiils wholly of carbonat of hme : it is not ap- 

 plied to any particular ufe. There are two varieties of tlife 

 fpecies, of which the following are the elientiid charaifters. 

 Var. I. Bergmileh of Werner. 



Dully — colour whitifli red or yellow ; veiT friable; of a dry 

 feel, does not adhere to the tongue, and gives no glofs tu 

 the Ikin when rubbed on it. 



Var. II. Colour white, compofed of fcaly particles, veiy 

 friable ; of a greafy feel, and communicates a glofs to the 

 ll<in ; falls to pieces in water, and adheres to the tongue. 

 Mr. Kirwan (Elcm. Miner, vol. 1. p. 76) mentions a third 

 variety, of a filvery wiiite colour, refembling mica in its 

 ftrutlure, of a foft feel and fomewhat uniiluous like talc, 

 ahnoll entirely foluble in nitrous acid ; and the fuhition lias 

 all the properties of a folution of calcareous earth. This 

 fubftance was formerly ufed internally againll Ircmorrhages, 

 llrangury, gravel, and efpecially in ^yfenteries ; and ex- 

 ternally to dry and heal old ulcers, ilop defluxions of the 

 eyes, S:c. See Silvery Chalk. 



AGARICITES, in Natural Hijlory, a fpecies of Ma- 

 drepora, llemlefs, and furrowed, with carinated furrows and 

 concatenated liars. It is found in the fea, between the 

 iflands of America. 



AGARICUM, a fpecies of Aleyonium, with a filifornj 

 ftem, and a kidney-fliaped cafe. This is the kiduey-lhaped 

 purple .y.a-PEN of Ellis, found in the fea that walhes the 

 coall of South Carolina. Its body is about an inch long, 

 and half an inch aerofs the nan-oweft part, with a fmall 

 roundilh tail, an inch in length, proceeding from t!»c mid- 

 dle of the body, full of rings from one end to the other, 

 like an earth-worm, with a fmall groove running along the 

 middle of the upper and under part, from one end to ths 

 other. The upper part of the body is convex, and near a 

 quarter of an inch thick ; the whole furfaee is covered with 

 minute yellow ilany openir.gs, through which are protruded 

 little fuckers, like polypes, each furniflied with fix tentacles 

 or filaments, wiiieh feem to be tlie proper mouths of th« 

 animal. The under part of the body is flat, and the furfaee 

 is full of the ramifications of flefliy fibres, which, proceed- 

 ing from the infertion of the tail, ai their common centre, 

 branch out fo as to communicate with the Harry openings on 

 the cjitsuios edge and upper furfaee of .the animal, .'v.-a 

 3 C z ^iate 



