April 22, 1871.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS 
843 
white flowers, guarded by hooked prickles, reminding 
one of Clare’s country maiden, who— 
“ Eager scrambled tlie Dog-rose to get 
And woodbine flowers at every bush she met.” 
Both Hippocrates and Pliny speak of the Kwopobov, 
or Dog-rose, so named, it is said, on account of its 
efficacy in curing the bite of a mad dog. 
The part of the plant used in medicine is the fruit, 
which lias for many years past been employed in 
making the conserve of hips, a useful ingredient in 
electuaries and tinctures, as well as an excipient in 
pill masses. 
Nat. Ord. Umbellifeile. 
This extensive group comprises a vast number of 
plants, all differing in well-marked properties. Some 
are famed for their esculent qualities, as the Carrot, 
Parsnip, and Celery. Some afford a milky juice 
hardening into a strong-smelling resin, as assafoetida, 
ammoniacum, galbanum, and opoponax. Some 
are extrely poisonous, as Hemlock. Others supply 
essential oils, well known for their carminative pro¬ 
perties, as Caraway, Anise, and Dill. These oils are 
very interesting. Many of them, although produced 
from distinct genera, have the same chemical cha¬ 
racters, and form a distinct series. The oils of Anise, 
Fennel and Dill are examples; they consist of one- 
fiftli of hydrocarbon isomeric with oil of turpentine 
(C 12 H 16 ), and four-flftlis of a solid crystallizable com¬ 
pound (C 16 H 12 0), sometimes called anise camphor. 
This it is which is so abundantly deposited when ol. 
anisi is affected by a cold atmosphere. The fruits of 
every genus are so singular and constant in tlieir 
configuration, that the name may be readily ascer¬ 
tained. The fruit is composed of two carpels ad¬ 
hering to a central stalk. Each carpel is marked by 
five ridges separated by vittie or channels. A trans¬ 
verse section placed under the microscope shows 
these vittae filled with essential oil in a very beau¬ 
tiful manner. 
Conium maculatum (Linn.). 
This plant is familiar, in name at least, to all 
classical students, as being the poison used for de¬ 
stroying Athenian criminals. It is thus supposed to 
have caused the deaths of Socrates, Pliocion and 
Theramenes. The name Conium is derived from the 
Greek Kioveiov. 
The Hemlock is found in damp places, such as the 
banks of the Avon, at Shireliampton and Hanliam, 
at Bishport, Horfield, Stapleton, Bechninster, and 
'Westbury-on-Trym. 
Conium was called by the Homans cicuta ; hence 
probably arises a very common confusion between 
the true Hemlock and the spotted Cowbane of North 
America ( Cicuta metadata). The fruit of the former 
differs in the deeply-furrowed albumen. Hemlock is 
said to be poisonous to all animals except sheep.. 
The proper time for collecting Hemlock is just 
after flowering and when the fruit is beginning to 
form; before that time the active principle is not so 
fully developed. 
Conium maculatum is known at once by the smooth 
stem and dark purple spots. All parts of the plant 
when bruised have the odour of mice, especially when 
moistened with liq. potassre. This is evidently caused 
by the evolution of ammonia, and is exactly similar 
to the odour given off when crystallized nitrate of 
ammonia is melted. 
The Conium owes its active properties to two alka¬ 
loids, conin and conliydrin. 
Conin (C S H 1S N) is a volatile liquid, with *89 sp. 
gr. showing an alkaline reaction with turmeric, and 
has a horribly repulsive smell like tobacco, but when 
diluted, like mice. Tliis smell disappears when 
united to an acid, and a neutral salt formed. It is 
prepared by distillation with lime or potassic car¬ 
bonate when ammonia, conin and conhydrin pass 
over. 
Conin is very slightly soluble in water, but when 
dissolved in four parts of alcohol is miscible in all 
proportions. Its vapour is inflammable. Conin is 
most abundant in the seeds. Six pounds of unripe 
seeds or nine pounds of ripe seeds yield one ounce of 
conin. When the leaves are dried, all the conin 
volatilizes, so that they are useless as medicine. For 
the same reason, most samples of extract, conii are 
inert. A large number taken from several shops 
would not even give any odour of conin when treated 
with liq. potassas. During the preparation of the 
extract, the evolution of ammonia may be plainly 
detected. One cwt. of the leaves yields about 4 or 5 
pounds of extract. 
The other alkaloid, conhydrin (C 3 H 17 NO), as its 
name denotes, is the hydrate of conin. During the 
preparation of the latter, conhydrin crystallizes in 
extremely thin, pearly and iridescent scales. When 
heated with three times its weight of phosphoric an¬ 
hydride, it is decomposed into conin and water. 
Nat. Ord. Caprifoliace.e. 
The Honeysuckle group is not now so much used 
as it once was by the pharmaceutist, only one being 
named in the Pharmacopoeia. 
Sambucus nigra (Linn.). 
The flowers are used in the preparation of the 
water and ointment, to both of which they give a 
pleasant perfume. The Elder is very common 
throughout the district, both the usual ovate-leaved 
and the variety with the more finely divided leaves. 
The flowers contain a volatile oil which is. very 
soluble in water. The best method of obtaining it 
is to distil the flowers with as small a quantity of 
water as possible. Then saturate with chloride of 
sodium, shake with sulphuric ether and evaporate. 
The essential oil of Elder is colourless and solidifies 
cit zero. 
The berries contain malic acid, but the bark con¬ 
tains valerianic acid. The pith is a well-known 
microscopic object, and is extremely useful foi polish¬ 
ing the glass of optical apparatus. 
Elderberry juice is used for the adulteration of 
port wine, or for making a factitious substitute. 
The presence of the juice in port wine is easily 
detected by the precipitate from cupric or plumbic 
acetate. The spectrum is also very distinct after 
the addition of alum. According to M. Faure sophis¬ 
tication by elderberry juice, in red wines may be 
detected by tannin and gelatine. 
A little gelatine is dissolved in the wine and pre¬ 
cipitated by the tannin; if the wine be genuine, all 
the colouring-matter is also thrown down, whereas 
that of the elder-juice is still kept in solution. 
