56 THE NEW ZEALAND FAMILY HERB DOCTOR. 
divided into two, and bearing at the junction a solitary flower, 
which is white and hanging to the side. The flowers appear 
at the end of May and the beginning of June in America, but 
December and February here. We mention this as we 
hope it will yet be cultivated in the colonies. In passing 
through Kansas on our way to San Francisco we saw it 
growing in abundance along the line; digging some of the 
roots we kept them carefully in their native earth till we 
transplanted them in Dunedin, where they grew well, but in 
removing them to another garden they were lost. The root is 
the medicinal part and has quite a number of properties: 
purgative, antibilious, anthelmintic, hydragogue, antidyspeptie. 
It is now the substitute for the chief drug of the old school, 
(mercury), having all its supposed virtues and none of its 
evils, It is a sure and active purge, and is used in constipation, 
biliousness, indigestion, chronic liver complaints, venereal 
diseases, dropsy, &c. The dose of the powdered root is from 
10 to 80 grains ; but it is not so much used in the crude form 
as in the active principle or resin, known as podophyllin, a 
yellow powder prepared by precipitating the soluble matter of 
the decoction and drying it. ‘The dose of this is from one half 
to two grains carefully taken, as large doses are dangerous, 
causing severe purging and vomiting. Mixing it with cayenne 
pepper, in the proportion of one part to two of the cayenne 
keeps it from griping, and increases its virtue in indigestion. 
It enters into several compounds. As it is an important 
medicine we will represent it in our illustrations. 
BLACKROOT (Lepranpria Vrrcrnica.) 
(Also Culver’s Root, Indian Physic, &c.) 
It might be called the sister of the former, as it has similar 
properties, but much milder. It is an herbacous perennial 
with a simple erect stem, terminating in a long spike of white: 
flowers ; the leaves are in clusters of from four to seven, are 
lance-shaped and finely toothed at the edge; it flowers in 
July and August. The root contains the properties. As it is 
only imported in the roots it may be useful to give a 
