DAPHNE TRIBE OP PLANTS. 257 
produced, the heat in the oesophagus and stomach began to 
subside. 
I could not obtain any blistering effect from the resin ex- 
tracted by alcohol, and I imagine that moisture is necessary, 
in order to produce an irritating effect. I made several ex- 
periments to ascertain the difference in effect between Daphne 
Mezereum and Daphne Laureola. When recently dried, 
they both possess a peculiar odor, which is stronger in the 
latter than in the former; but the Mezereon has decidedly 
the advantage, both in the degree and duration of the irrita- 
tion produced on the mucous linings of the throat. The 
inner bark (of the Daphne Laureola in particular) is very 
tough, being broken with difficulty by manual force. 
The bark of the root is the most efficacious part of this 
class of plants; next in order the bark of the stems, the 
leaves, the woody parts of the stems and roots, and, lastly, the 
flowers. 
' 3i lb. of wood, 
13| lb. of fresh Mezereon root J 3i lb. of bark, dry, 
produced in drying - - J equivalent to 8| lb. of fresh 
bark. 
3 lb. of stems of Mezereon produced lib. of dried bark. 
7 lb. of Daphne Laureola root yielded 4 lb. 5 oz. of fresh 
bark, or 1 lb. li oz. of dry bark. 
II lb. of the stems yielded lg lb. fresh bark, which, when 
dried, weighed f lb.* 
The pungent odor given off, by boiling Mezereon root in 
water over a lamp, is so powerful, that after holding my head 
over it for a short time, great irritation was produced, and it 
was difficult to carry on respiration. I observed the same 
effects from boiling the Daphne Laureola, but in a less power- 
ful degree. 
The active principle of the Mezereon being volatile in 
aqueous vapor, it is likely that maceration with heat, in close 
vessels, would be a more efficacious mode of preparing it than 
by decoction. 
* The bark of this plant is, in Germany, collected in the spring. 
