556  Aeomtum  Napellus  and  other  Species.  {^^'^'^oy'^'-mT'^' 
agentSj  its  internal  use  is  not  quite  so  general  in  this  country  as  its 
properties  might  lead  us  to  expect.  Perhaps  this  is  owing  to  variation 
in  strength  of  the  official  preparations,  and  to  the  known  danger  of 
using  too  large  a  dose.  How  far  this  variability  is  due  to  a  non-recog- 
nition in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  Avell-known  facts  may  be  Oj)en  to  ques- 
tion, but  it  appears  certain  that  the  requirements  of  that  book  might 
be  complied  with,  and  yet  that  preparations  very  variable  in  strength 
might  be  the  result.  That  such  is  the  case  is  proved  by  the  statements 
made  by  Mr.  Cleaver  concerning  extract  of  aconite,  and  by  the  recent 
■experiments  made  with  the  al]s:a]oid,  which  have  shown  that  one  com- 
mercial sample  may  be  seventy  times  stronger  than  another. 
The  Pharmacopoeia  describes  aconite  root  thus  : 
The  dried  root  of  Aconitum  Napellus,  L.  The  root  may  be 
^'  imported  from  Germany,  or  cultivated  in  Britain,  and  collected  in 
the  winter  or  early  spring,  before  the  leaves  have  appeared." 
In  the  first  place  the  figure  of  the  root  referred  to  is  totally  inade- 
quate to  distingaish  the  root  of  A.  Napellus  from  that  of  other  less 
poisonous  species,  the  variation  in  form  being  very  great,  according  to 
the  age  and  position  of  the  root.  In  the  second  place  the  root  imported 
from  Germany  is  collected  by  peasants  who,  as  a  rule,  are  not  possessed 
of  botanical  knowledge,  and  is  sold  without  any  guarantee  that  it  is  col- 
lected in  winter  or  early  spring ;  indeed  it  is  difficult  to  understand 
how  the  root  of  A.  Napellus  could  be  found  before  or  distinguished 
after  the  leaves  have  appeared.  Thirdly,  the  root  is  not  cultivated  as 
a  crop  in  this  country,  because  it  could  not  compete  in  price  with  the 
German  drug. 
Under  these  circumstances  it  is  easy  to  understand  why  the  alkaloid 
of  commerce  varies  in  strength  and  why  the  preparations  are  also  lia- 
ble to  a  similar  fault  It  is  also  obvious  that  even  the  most  careful 
chemical  investigations  of  the  commercial  root  must  be  founded  on  an 
unreliable  basis,  and  that  the  results  obtained  by  chemical  analysis 
must,  in  consequence,  be  to  a  certain  extent  devoid  of  scientific  value. 
It  becomes  extremely  important,  therefore,  that  so  ])owerful  an  agent 
should  receive  at  the  hand  of  the  pharmacist  far  more  attention  than 
has  hitherto  been  accorded  to  it,  and  that  every  means  should  be  used 
to  provide  the  medical  profession  with  j^reparations  of  aconite  as  nearly 
as  possible  of  uniform  strength  and  perfectly  reliable.  This  is  the 
more  desirable  since  aconite  is  now  being  used  in  the  treatment  of 
the  lungs,  in  puerperal  and  other  fevers,  and  in  acute  cases  in  which 
