424  Scammony  and  its  Adulteration.  {^ud^i'mtm' 
which  seems  good  for  the  extract  might  be  thought  good  for  the  pill, 
the  confection  and  the  compound  powder.  I  will  now  refer  to  the 
opinions  expressed  years  ago,  when  the  resin  of  scammony  was  intro- 
duced by  Messrs.  McAndrew.  In  Vol.  xviii,  page  452,  1st  series 
Pharm.  Journ.  Dr.  Fred.  J.  Farre  is  stated  to  have  reported  at  the 
evening  meeting  of  the  Society,  Feb.  3d,  1859,  as  follows: — "The 
principal  cases,  therefore,  are  Nos.  1  and  3  ;  in  these  I  think  the 
resin  and  virgin  scammony  acted  about  equally  well.  In  the  first 
case  both  purged  effectually  and  quickly,  the  virgin  scammony  rather 
the  most ;  each  griped  upon  one  occasion,  and  not  upon  the  other* 
In  the  third  case  the  resin  purged  the  most,  tut  it  also  griped  the 
most.  As  far,  therefore,  as  I  can  judge  from  these  few  trials  (five 
cases),  I  am  of  opinion  that  the  medicinal  value  of  the  two  prepara- 
tions is  about  equal."  Dr.  Johnson  reported  also  well  of  the  resin. 
Upon  the  same  occasion  Dr.  A.  B.  Garrod  spoke  favorably  of  it,  as 
thus : 
"From  these  numerous  observations,  120  in  number,  together  with 
many  others  which  have  not  been  tabulated,  I  am  quite  convinced 
that  the  scammony  by  the  new  process  from  the  untapped  toot  is- 
quite  equal  as  a  remedy  to  the  very  best  virgin  scammony  met  with 
in  commerce,  and  equal,  in  fact,  to  the  resin  which  is  extracted  from 
commercial  scammony  by  means  of  ether,  and  it  possesses  this  most 
important  advantage  over  the  scammony  of  commerce,  namely,  of 
being  entirely  free  from  the  frauds  which  are  constantly  practised 
upon  it  in  the  country  where  the  plant  grows,  and  in  which  it  has 
hitherto  been  collected,  and  therefore  being  perfectly  uniform  in  its 
physical  characters,  composition  and  therapeutic  action.  There  can,, 
therefore,  be  no  objection,  but  manifest  advantage,  in  employing  it 
in  place  of  the  scammony  commonly  met  with." 
In  the  same  volume,  p.  548,  I  find  myself  writing  favorably  of  the 
new  resin,  and  after  fifteen  years  I  see  no  reason  to  alter  that  opinion. 
After  these  quotations  I  feel  that  I  may  safely  suggest  that,  in  the 
next  edition  of  the  B.  P.,  resin  of  scammony  may  be  introduced  in 
the  place  of  scammonium,  and  in  prescribing  the  mode  of  obtaining 
scammonium,  if  retained,  instead  of  saying  "  a  gum-resin  obtained 
by  incision  from  the  living  root,"  it  would  give  more  correct  informa- 
tion if  stated  by  cutting  the  living  root  through  at  the  top,  about  two 
inches  from  the  neck,  below  where  the  stalks  spring  from. 
I  come  now  to  the  consideration  of  the  employment  of  the  resin, 
