BEST  PART  OF  CONXUM  MACULATUM  FOR  MEDICINE.  461 
the  comparative  strengths  estimated  by  the  amount  of  dilution 
that  each  solution  admitted  of. 
The  30th  of  July,  1866,  a  quantity  of  leaves  was  collected  from 
a  Gonium  plant  just  fairly  in  flower.  All  withered  and  sickly 
looking  portions,  as  well  as  the  greater  part  of  the  petioles,  both 
general  and  partial,  having  been  rejected,  four  parcels  of  500 
grains  each  were  accurately  weighed  oat,  and  designated  A1,  A2, 
A3  and  A4.  Of  these,  A3  and  A4  were  each  thoroughly  bruised 
in  a  mortar  for  five  minutes,  and  then  transferred  to  a  half  .pint 
bottle,  and  1000  grains,  by  weight,  of  diluted  alcohol  added.  The 
mortar  was  well  cleansed  and  dried  between  each  operation.  Par- 
cels A1  and  A2  were  placed  to  dry,  thinly  spread  out  on  paper, 
in  a  darkened  room,  and  occasionally  turned.  The  bottles  con- 
taining A3  and  A4  were  well  stopped  with  corks,  covered  with 
thick  paper  and  placed  in  a  cellar. 
The  same  day,  the  leaves  were  collected  from  other  plants 
wholly  out  of  flower,  and  having  the  fruits  on  the  more  mature 
umbels  nearly,  if  not  quite,  full  grown.  These  leaves,  the  same 
care  being  used  to  reject  inferior  portions,  were  likewise 
weighed  into  parcels  of  500  grains  each,  and  designated  B1,  B2, 
B3  and  B4,  and  were  treated  exactly  as  the  corresponding  parcels 
designated  A. 
The  fruits  that  appeared  to  be  full  grown  were  collected  from  . 
the  same  plants  that  furnished  the  leaves  designated  B,  by  cut- 
ting off  with  scissors  the  umbellules  entire.    Four  parcels  of  500 
grains  each  were  made  of  them,  designated  C1,  C2,  C3  and  C4, 
which  were  treated  as  parcels  A  and  B  had  been. 
The  partly  grown  fruits  from  the  same  plants  furnishing  B 
and  0,  consisting  of  those  which  had  but  just  dropped  the  flower, 
and  those  that  were  about  half  grown,  situated,  as  they  were,  on 
the  same  umbellules,  were  collected,  by  cutting  off  the  umbel- 
lules entire,  and  four  parcels  of  500  grains  each  made  and  treated 
as  before.    They  were  designated  D1,  D2,  D3  and  D4. 
On  the  3d  of  August  those  parcels  that  had  been  placed  to  dry 
were  weighed,  and  on  the  23d  of  August  were  weighed  again. 
The  weights  being  essentially  the  same  in  both  instances,  it  was 
concluded  that  the  drying  process  had  reached  its  limit.  The 
several  parcels  weighed  as  follows  :  A1 113  grains,  A2 110  grains, 
s 
