KRGOT OF It YK 
665 
fore the nutritive qualities are allowed to remain latent. Heat 
and moisture, he declares, are necessary to bring forth fully the 
qualities of the fecula of oats, and this can be procured most 
effectually by subjecting it to the heat of an oven, after having- 
been moistened and well mixed up. Cakes of this kind have 
been long used in Holland with profit ; and M. Longchamp ex- 
presses his surprise that potato-flour has not been more commonly 
and openly mixed with bread, bakers, he says, being in the habit 
of using it. But this is not the only advantage to be gained by 
this proposition. A hectare of oats (2£ acres) is worth about 
92 fr., whilst one of potatoes produces 240 fr. M. Longchamp 
thinks that, if one-third of the land at present under cultivation 
for oats were planted with potatoes, five times a greater quantity 
of cattle could be bred in France. By this means butchers’ 
meat would become cheaper, and be within the reach of the gene- 
rality of the inhabitants of the kingdom. 
Eruot of Rye. 
This is one of the most active substances used in the obstetri- 
cal art, and has been the object of recent researches on the part 
of M. Bonjean, of Chambiry. He has determined by numerous 
experiments, 1st, that the ergot gathered on the first day of its 
formation has not the poisonous properties which it has when 
taken on the sixth day; 2d, that a heat of 212 Far., produces 
the same effect as gathering it too early; and, 3d, that fermenta- 
tion deprives it of its properties. These circumstances serve to 
explain the want of success which sometimes attends its adminis- 
tration. 
M. Bonjean has discovered in it two active principles : — 
1st, The oil of ergot, of a uniform consistence — a yellow colour, 
an acrid flavour, and possessing poisonous properties in a high 
degree. 
2d, The aqueous extract is obtained by treating it with water, 
either deprived of its oil or not, of a brown colour, a thick con- 
sistence, and a musty smell. 
It is soluble in water, and can be formed into mixtures, syrups, 
pills, & c. It possesses decided anti-hemorrhagic properties. It 
exerts a specific influence on the uterus, occasioning a contraction 
of that organ. 
Pharmaceutical Journal , Jan . 1842, p. 334. 
4 v 
VOL. XV. 
