532 
BOTANY AS APPLIED TO VETERINARY SCIENCE. 
the Belladonna in many of its properties, and belonging to the 
natural order Solanaccac, viz., the llyoscyamus niyer {lienhane'). 
The following will be found a description of its botanical 
characters. 
ILyoscyamus niger {lienhane ),— Calyx tubular, five-cleft. 
Corolla funnel-shaped, the limb spreading obliquely, five- 
lobed, unequal. Capsule compressed, furrowed on each side, 
opening at the apex by a transverse aperture. Leaves 
sinuated, clasping the stem. Floivers sessile.”—Lindley. 
Of this indigenous plant, which has been employed in 
medicine from the earliest times, there are two varieties, viz., 
annual and biennial, the latter being said to possess the 
most active properties. It is found growing wild in many 
parts of the country, on heaps of rubbish and waste places, 
and is also largely cultivated at Mitcham in Surrey, and else¬ 
where, on account of its medicinal value. The root is long, 
compact, of a dull-white colour, somewhat resembling the 
parsnip (for which it has been mistaken). The stem is downy, 
grows from a few inches to nearly two feet in height, having 
somewhat large leaves, cut into irregular segments, of a dull- 
green colour, slightly covered with long glandular hairs, and 
emitting a peculiar fetid, narcotic odour. The flowers, which 
appear in July, are of a greenish-yellow colour, or with a 
network of purple veins, spread over the corolla. All parts 
of the plant contain a poisonous, niti-ogenized substance, 
uixmed Ilyoscyamia, which has the following characters: ‘’Its 
crystals have a silky lustre, not very soluble in water, but 
easily dissolved by alcohol and ether. It has an alkaline 
reaction, and its saline solutions are precipitated by tannic 
acid. It has an acrid, disagreeable taste, resembling that of 
tobacco. It is highly poisonous, and causes dilatation of 
the pupils.” 
As medicinal agents, the seeds and leaves are the parts of 
the plant most generally employed. The former are small, 
irregular, honeycombed on the surface, and much resemble 
the seeds of belladonna; but as sufficient quantity of them 
is with difficulty obtained, the leaves are more commonly 
used. The leaves, which should be gathered in the second 
year, and before the flower appears, as before described, are 
of a dull-green colour, covered with numerous hairs, and 
have a narcotic odour, and somewhat bitter taste. Wlien 
bruised and compressed, they yield a considerable amount of 
juice, which by evaporation forms the extract one hundred¬ 
weight of leaves yield between four and five pounds of ex¬ 
tract”). This preparation is the one mostly emplo 3 "ed by 
the veterinary surgeon, and ma}^ be given in doses to horses 
