22 
AN ESSAY ON LACTUCARIUM. 
ART. V.— AN ESSAY ON LACTUCARIUM. 
By Emile Mouciion. 
Since we have been indebted to 3VI. Aubergier for the 
cultivation of the lettuce, for the purpose of extracting the 
lactucarium, on a sufficiently large scale to satisfy the wants 
of the moment, the medical use of this valuable agent surely 
ought to become general in France. 
The thridace (expressed juice of the lettuce) of our phar- 
macopolists, which we must, nevertheless, be cautious not 
to consider entirely without virtue, when it has been pre- 
pared by a skilful hand, will, for the future, be destined to 
play a very secondary part, but without being completely 
neglected, if the honorable pharmacopolist of Clermont, 
Ferrand, who has made so many and such noble efforts to 
attain his end, should find sufficient imitators, to meet the 
constantly increasing consumption of lactucarium. The 
success of our brother laborer has been so great, also, that 
we may be well permitted to hope so good an example will 
not be lost upon us, however great may be the obstacles to 
be surmounted to realize similar results. 
In his last work on lactucarium, M. Aubergier, enters 
into very interesting details, which induce us to believe that 
this direct product may be utilized under the form of a 
syrup, in preference to every other mode of employing it. 
The author considering also that alcohol at 21° must be the 
fittest menstruum to dissolve the active principle, proposes 
to add to simple syrup, the alcoholic extract of lactucarium. 
A proposition of this nature deserves consideration when 
it comesfromso skilful and estimable a fellow-laborer, as M. 
Aubergier. In the meantime, as it bears upon an impor- 
tant subject, it appears to me to be proper enough to ex- 
amine how far he is right, whatever confidence observa- 
tions based on his experience may inspire. On this account 
