^ju?y,r,i87h9arn''}  Lactucarium  from  Lactuca  Canadensis. 
343 
Analysis  of  "  Boneset"  Eupatorium  Perfoliatum. 
Water,  .  .  .  9*17  per  cent. 
Ash,  ....  7-51 
Albuminoids,       ....  13*30 
Resins  and  chlorophyll,  .  .  15*15 
Indifferent  crystalline  substance,        .  .  2*87 
Tannic  acid,  ...  5*04 
Bitter  extractive,  .  .  .  18*84. 
Gum  and  coloring  matter,         .  .  7-23 
Starch  isomers,  ....  12*47 
Cellulose,    .              .              .              .  9-32 
Humus  substances,  .  .  .  traces 
Volatile  oil,  .  .  .  traces 
100-90  per  cent. 
LACTUCARIUM  FROM  LACTUCA  CANADENSIS. 
By  Hiland  Flowers,  Ph.G. 
[Abstract  from  an  Inaugural  Essay.) 
The  milk-juice,  which  exudes  almost  at  the  commencement  of  the 
plant's  career,  is  perfectly  inert,  though  a  large  quantity  is  produced. 
As  collected  up  to  July  20th,  the  exudation  has  a  strong  narcotic  odor, 
while  the  palate  perceives  no  bitterness,  but  simply  a  flat  sweetish  taste. 
Up  to  this  time  the  plant  has  borne  its  reproductive  organs,  but 
failed  in  giving  the  requisite  bitterness.  A  change,  however,  occurred 
about  the  25th  of  July,  when  we  find  that  the  laticiferous  vessels  are 
yielding  a  large  supply  of  juice  with  a  slightly  bitter  taste  and  a  stronger 
and  more  lasting  odor.  As  the  season  advances,  both  the  bitter  prin- 
ciple and  the  narcotic  odor  increase. 
The  milk-juice  collected  during  the  latter  part  of  the  season  dried 
in  irregular  masses,  crumbling  into  minute  fragments  when  rubbed 
between  the  fingers,  and  was  of  a  blackish-brown  color,  a  strong  odor 
and  very  bitter  taste.  If  kept  in  a  closely-corked  bottle  it  remains 
soft  and  is  capable  of  being  moulded  into  cakes.  The  odor  is  slightly 
stronger  in  the  fresh  state,  and  the  color  of  a  grayish-brown. 
Aubergier,  in  1843,  experimented  upon  this  plant,  while  investi- 
gating the  subject  to  ascertain  from  which  lactucarium  might  be  most 
advantageously  obtained  ;  he  stated  that  the  milk-juice  of  Lactuca  canaden- 
