abundance of olive oil. A diarrhoea came on, which saved the child ; it was pretty well restored in a short 
space of time, but always preserved a very great degree of leanness.” 
Treament. — Our first, object should be, to evacuate the stomach by the syringe or by emetics of sul- 
phate of zinc or of copper ; after which the bowels should be relaxed by the sulphate of magnesia dissolved 
in almond emulsion, which may be copiously partaken of to allay thirst, and sheath the mucus membrane 
of the bowels from their acrid contents. It is very evident, however, from Bulliard’s statement, that the 
principal mischief existed in the throat and tongue: and under such alarming circumstances, we should have 
applied leeches to the former, or scarified and compressed the latter. Ice might likewise be applied to the 
same parts. By adopting these active means, deglutition would most probably be restored, and time afforded 
for a judicious management of the case. 
Medical Properties and Uses. — Arum is a very powerful stimulant, and when taken internally, 
in its recent state, it warms the stomach, excites the activity of the digestive organs, promotes perspiration, 
and exerts an action on most of the secretory organs. It has, therefore, been given with success, in 
cachectic, chlorotic, and rheumatic complaints, and in various other affections of torpid and phlegmatic 
constitutions. Bergius, whose authority is not to be despised, speaks of its success in certain kinds of 
headache; and intermittents are said to have yielded to it. If the root be given in powder, great care 
should be taken that it be young, and newly dried, when it may be used in the dose of a scruple, or more, 
twice a-day ; but in rheumatism, and other disorders requiring the full effect of the medicine, the root should 
be given in a recent state ; and to cover the insupportable pungency it discovers on the tongue. Dr. Lewis 
advises us to administer it in the form of emulsion, with gum arabic and spermaceti, increasing the dose 
from ten grains to upwards of a scruple, three or four times a day. In this way it generally occasions a 
sensation of warmth about the stomach, and afterwards in the remoter parts ; promotes perspiration, and 
frequently produces plentiful sweats. The root answers well as a cataplasm for the feet, in deliriums, as 
garlic does. The London Pharmacopoeia of 1788 orders a conserve, in the proportion of half-a-pound of 
the fresh root to a pound-and-half of double-refined sugar, beat together in ‘a mortar. The dose is a 
drachm for adults, and it is a good form for the exhibition of the medicine. But the difficulty of ad- 
ministering the Arum in a uniform manner, prevents it from being often used. 
Dose. — The fresh root may be given in doses of fifteen or twenty grains three times a-day. 
“ All these plants” says Professor Burnett of the Callacem, a tribe which includes Arum, “contain an 
acrid principle, which renders many of them highly poisonous. It is, however, most powerful in its 
fresh state, and may be removed by drying or boiling. Hence the roots of the common wake-robin, 
which are grumous and full of farina, although acrid when fresh, are manufactured into a bland and very 
nutritious food, sold in this town under the name of Portland sago ; being so called from the Island of 
Portland, where the plant grows in abundance, and the manufacture is principally carried on. The roots 
of several of the Caladia are similarly used, although their sap is in general acrid, and that of Caladium 
seguinum so venomous, that, when a small piece of the plant is chewed, it paralyzes the muscles of the mouth 
and fauces, causes the tongue to swell, and deprives the sufferer of the faculty of speech; the sap of 
Caladium arborescens, although less powerful, is still so caustic, that occasionally (says Merat) the lips 
of the negroes are wetted with it, as a punishment for slight misdemeanours.” 
Of the Calla HLthiopica, a species of Arum, the author of the Flora Domestica speaks as follows : — 
The Ethiopian species of this flower, commonly called the horn-flower, is the only one deserving of a place 
in the garden. Many Arums of the botanists are very useful as medicine, food, &c. The leaves of the 
esculent Arum serve the inhabitants of the South-Sea islands for plates and dishes, and in some parts of 
Brazil, this is cnltivated for the sake of its edible roots, which are called Mangaranitos ; but they are very 
little ornamental; and the few which are handsome have so powerful and disagreeable a scent as deservedly 
to banish them from most of our gardens. 
This species, however, is exquisitely beautiful, and not only inoffensive in odour, but even agreeable. 
The leaves are large and glossy. It has a large white flower, folded with a careless elegance into the shape 
of a cup or bell, with a bright golden rod (called the spadix) in the centre. Placed by the side of the dark 
red peony, the effect is truly splendid: the contrast makes both doubly magnificent. A heathen might 
have supposed these fine flowers created on purpose to grace the bosom of the stately Juno. By the side 
of the rose, too, or the large double tulip, or some of the finer kinds of marygold, it has a noble appearance; 
and no flower is more deserving of care in the cultivation. 
The Arum macidatum, popularly called Cuckoo Pint, or Wake Robin, is the emblem of Ardour. 
