558 
VARIETIES. 
direct  experiments  of  its  medicinal  administration.  The  fallacy 
and  uselessness  of  such  deductions  is  sufficiently  apparent ;  upon 
generalizations  so  vague,  we  might  have  discarded  numerous  of 
our  best  remedies  as  deleterious,  innocuous,  or  useless. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that,  after  some  sixteen  years'  experience,  I 
have  found  the  tincture  of  asparagus  a  useful  adjunct  to  our 
diuretic  remedies.  I  many  cases,  I  have  found  it  possessing 
direct  diuretic  properties  when  taken  alone  in  water  ;  but,  in  still 
more  instances,  I  have  found  it  most  useful  in  promoting  the 
the  diuretic  properties  of  other  drugs,  as  I  conceive,  by  directing 
them  at  once  to  the  kidneys.  I  have  repeatedly  in  my  own 
practice,  as  also  in  consultation,  simply  added  from  half  a  drachm 
to  two  drachms  of  tincture  of  asparagus  to  each  dose  of  an  un- 
successful diuretic,  and  found  that  copious  diuresis  was  the 
result. 
Mr.  Baly  informs  me  that  the  exact  loss  by  weight  in  drying 
the  plant  is  eleven  parts  out  of  twelve ;  in  other  words,  that 
twelve  parts  by  weight  of  the  fresh  shoots  are  only  equal  to  one 
part  dried.  I  have  not  tried  the  infusion  of  the  dry  shoots,  but 
should  think  them  worthy  of  trial. 
The  tincture  of  asparagus  presents  the  advantage  of  being 
capable  of  combination,  so  far  as  I  know  by  experience,  with 
every  diuretic  substance  in.  use,  be  it  from  the  animal,  the  vege- 
table, or  the  mineral  kingdom. — Assoc.  Med.  Journ.,  May  11, 
1855. 
ilctrictus, 
On  Perfumer]/.    By  Septimus  Piesse, 
(Continued  from  page  471.) 
Perfumed  Soap. 
The  word  soap,  or  sope,  from  the  Greek  sapo,  first  occurs  in  the  books  of 
Pliny  and  Galen,  and  is,  according  to  Dr.  Gregory,  derived  from  the  German 
word  sepe.  Pliny  informs  us  that  soap  was  first  discovered  by  the  Gauls, 
that  it  was  composed  of  tallow  and  ashes,  and  that  the  German  soap  was 
reckoned  the  best.  According  to  Sismondi,  the  French  historian;  a  soap- 
maker  was  included  in  the  retinue  of  Charlemagne, 
