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tittle esteem with many ; considered, how- 
ever, as an early and elegant flower, of ex- 
ceeding hardiness and easy culture, it merits 
a place in every garden, especially the double. 
2. The bicolor, or two-coloured incom- 
parable narcissus; the varieties are, common 
single-flowered, semi-double-flowered, t with 
the interior petals some white, and some yel- 
low, with sulphur-coloured flowers. 
3. The poeticus, poetic daffodil, or com- 
mon white narcissus, is well known. Of this 
there are varieties with purple-cupped flow- 
ers, yellow-cupped flowers, double-flowered ; 
all of them with entire white petals. It is 
the antient celebrated narcissus of the Greek 
and Roman poets, which they so greatly 
extol for its extreme beauty and fragrance. 
4. The bulbocodium. From the large 
spreading nectarium of this species, which 
is three or four times longer than the 
petals, narrow at bottom, and widening 
gradually to the brim, so as to resemble the 
shape of some old-fashioned hoop petticoats, 
it obtained the name hoop-petticoat narcissus. 
5. The serotinus, or late-flowering small 
autumnal narcissus. 
6. The tazetta, or multiflorous daffodil, 
commonly called polyanthus narcissus. The 
varieties of this are very numerous, consist- 
ing of about eight or nine principal sorts ; 
■each of which has many intermediate varie- 
ties, amounting in the whole to greatly above 
a hundred in the Dutch florists’ catalogues, 
each variety distinguished by a name accord- 
ing to the fancy of the first raiser of it. They 
are all very pretty flowers, and make a 
charming appearance in the flower-borders, 
&c. ; they are also finely adapted for blow- 
ing in glasses of water, or in pots, to orna- 
ment rooms in winter. 
7. The jonquila, or jonquil, sometimes 
called rush-leaved daffodil. 1 he varieties 
are, jonquil minor with single flowers; jon- 
quil major with single flowers, starry-flower- 
ed, yellow and white flowered, white-flower- 
ed, semi-double-flowered, double-flowered, 
■and large double inodorous jonquil ; all of 
them multiflorous, the single in particular ; 
but sometimes the doubles produce only two 
or three flowers from a spatha, and the sin- 
gles commonly six or eight. All the sorts 
have so fine a shape, so soft a colour, and so 
sweet a scent, that they are among the most 
agreeable spring-flowers. 
8. The calathinus, or multiflorous yellow 
narcissus. 
9. The odorus, odoriferous, or sweet-scent- 
ed starry-yellow narcissus. 
10. The triandrus, or triandrous rush- 
leaved white narcissus. 
11. The trilobus, or trilobate yellow nar- 
cissus. 
12. The minor, or yellow winter daffo- 
dil. 
NARCOTICS, in medicine, soporiferous 
medicines, which excite a stupefaction. See 
the next article. 
NARCOTIC Principle. It has been 
long known, that the milky juices which 
txude from certain plants, as the poppy, 
lettuce, &c. and the infusions of others, as of 
the leaves of the digitalis purpurea, have the 
prop rty of exciting sleep, or, if taken in 
doses large enough, of inducing a state resem- 
bling apoplexy, and terminating in death. 
Ho\f far these plants ow T e these properties to 
certain c'ommon principles which they pos- 
sess, is not known, though it is exceedingly 
probable that they do. But as a peculiar 
substance has been detected in opium, the 
most noted of the narcotic preparations, 
which possesses narcotic properties in per- 
fection, we are warranted, till further experi- 
ments elucidate the subject, to consider it as 
the narcotic principle, or at least as one spe- 
cies of the substances belonging to this genus. 
Opium is obtained from the papaver album, 
or white poppy, a plant which is cultivated 
in great abundance in India and the Fast. 
The poppies are planted in a fertile soil, and 
well watered. After the flowering is over, and 
the seed-capsules have attained nearly their 
full size, a longitudinal incision is made in 
them about sun-set for three or four evenings 
in succession. From these incisions there 
flows a milky juice, which soon concretes, 
and is scraped off the plant and wrought into 
cakes. In this state it is brought to Europe. 
Opium thus prepared is a tough brown 
substance, has a peculiar smell, and a nau- 
seous bitter acrid taste. It becomes softer 
when held in the warm hand, and burns very 
readilv and strongly. It is a very compound 
substance, containing sulphat of lime, sulphat 
of potass, an oil, a resinous body, an extrac- 
tive matter, gluten, mucilage, &c. besides 
the peculiar narcotic principle to which pro- 
bably it owes its virtues as a narcotic. 
When water is digested upon opium, a 
considerable portion of it is dissolved, the 
water taking up several of its constituents. 
When this solution is evaporated to the con- 
sistence of a syrup, a gritty precipitate begins 
to appear, which is considerably increased 
bv diluting the liquid with water. It consists 
chiefly of three ingredients; namely, resin, 
oxygenized attractive, and the peculiar nar- 
cotic principle which is crystallized. "When 
alcohol is digested on this precipitate, the 
resin and narcotic substances are taken up, 
while the oxygenised extractive remains 
behind. The narcotic principle falls down 
in crystals as the solution cools, still however 
coloured with resin. But it may be obtained 
tolerably pure by repeated solutions and 
crystallizations. 
Water is incapable of dissolving the whole 
of opium. What remains behind still contains 
a considerable portion of narcotic principle. 
When alcohol is digested on this residuum, 
it acquires a deep red colour ; and deposits, 
on cooling, crystals of narcotic principle, co- 
loured by resin, which may be purifled by 
repeated crystallizations. The narcotic 
principle obtained by either of these methods 
possesses the following properties : 
Its colour is white. It crystallizes in rec- 
tangular prisms with rhomboidal bases. It 
has neither taste nor smell. 
It is insoluble in cold water, soluble in 
about 400 parts of boiling water, but precipi- 
tates again as the solution cools. The so- 
lution in boiling water does not affect vege- 
table blues. 
It is soluble in 24 parts of boiling alcohol 
and 100 parts of cold alcohol. When water 
is mixed with the solution, the narcotic prin- 
ciple precipitates in the state of a white pow- 
der. 
Hot ether dissolves it, but lets it fall on 
cooling. 
When heated in a spoon it melts like wax. 
When distilled it froths, and emits white va- 
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pours, which condense into a yellow oil. 
Some water and carbonat of ammonia pass 
into the receiver ; and at last carbonic acid 
gas, ammonia, and carbureted hydrogen gas, 
are disengaged. There remains a bulky 
coal, which viclds traces of potass. The oil 
obtained by this process is viscid, and has a 
peculiar aromatic smell and an acrid taste. 
It is very soluble in all acids. Alkalies' 
throw it down from these solutions in the 
state of a white powder. 
Alkalies render it rather more soluble in 
water. When they are saturated with acids, 
the narcotic principle falls down in the state 
of a white powder, which is redissolved by 
adding an excess of acid. 
Volatile oils, while hot, dissolve it ; but, 
on cooling, they let it fall in an oleaginous 
state at first, but it gradually crystallizes. 
When treated with nitric acid, it becomes 
red and dissolves; much oxalic acid is form- 
ed, and a bitter substance remains behind. 
When potass is added to the aqueous so- 
lution of opium, the narcotic principle is 
thrown down ; but it retains a portion of the 
potass. 
Its solubility in water and alcohol, when 
immediately extracted from opium, seems 
to be owing to the presence of resin and ex- 
tractive matter, both of which render it so- 
luble. 
It possesses the properties of opium in per- 
fection. Derosne tried it upon several dogs, 
and found it more powerful than opium. Its 
bad effects were counteracted by causing the 
animals to swallow vinegar. This substance 
is known to be of equal service in counter- 
acting the effects of opium. Derosne sup- 
poses that the efficacy of vinegar may be ow- 
ing to the readiness with which it dissolves 
the narcotic principle. 
Many other substances beside opium pos- 
sess narcotic virtues ; but hitherto they have 
not been examined by chemists with much 
attention. The most remarkable are the 
following: 
1 . The lactuca virosa, and the sativa or 
garden-lettuce, and indeed all the lactucas^ 
yield a milky juice, which, when inspissated, 
has very much the appearance of opium, and 
possesses the same properties. Indeed, Dr, 
Coxe of Philadelphia affirms, that as good 
opium may be obtained from the garden-let- 
tuce as from the poppy. The milky juice is 
obtained by incisions at the time when the 
lettuce is running to seed. The resemblance 
between the inspissated juice of the lactuca 
virosa and opium is striking. 
2. The leaves of the atropa belladonna, 
or deadly nightshade, and indeed the whole 
plant, are remarkably narcotic; and when 
taken in too great doses produce blindness,, 
convulsipns, coma, and death. 
3. The leaves of the digitalis purpurea, 
or fox-glove, are still more powerful if pos- 
sible. They lower the pulse in a remarkable 
degree, and, like several other very poisonouf 
narcotics, promote the discharge of urine. 
4. Hyoscyamus, niger or henbane. 
5. Comum maeulatum, or hemlock. 
6. Datura stramonium. 
7. Ledum palustre. 
To these may perhaps be added the pritmg 
laurocerasus, ana the leaves of nicotiana ta- 
bacum or tobacco. The list, indeed, might, 
be easily increased; almost all the plants 
belonging to the natural order of lurid* po®- 
