390

ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MEDICA.

low grounds, and the margins of streams; sometimes in the greatest profusion.It flowers in the raonth of August, and continues in bloom until late in October.

The dried herb, composed of the leaves, stems and flowers, is brought intothe market in bundles ; this is the best form in whieh it comes. The S/iakersatLebanon, New York, are in the habit of preparing packages of the leavesand flowers by pressure, but from the moisture necessary to communicate thecompact form, the packages become mouldy in their interior. The odour ofßoneset is agreeable, and the taste is exceedingly bitter.

This drug appears to have been known to the aborigines of America; thefirstsettlers of the country are said to have derived their knowledge of it from them.Long before it attracted the attention of medical men, it was used as a febri-fuge. A number of indications can be fulfilled by this article, as it is a tonic, adiaphoretic, and emetic, aecording to the mode of administration ; as a tonic, itis employed in powder or cold efFusion, and is a mild and agreeable bitter indebility of the stomach, as in some forms of dyspepsia, or in cases of generaldebility ; as a diaphoretic, it is used in warm infusion, in small doses, as anounce or two, repeated at intervals. It is frequently given with advantage withthis indication in colds, commencing catarrhs, and rheumatism ; indeed, thesuccess attending this treatment in a rheumatism fever which prevailed severalyears ago in the New England States, which was called break-bone fever, hasgiven rise to the title of Boneset. As an emetic, the quantity used is larger, andthe infusion used should be warm; it may be employed for this purpose as aSubstitute for the infusion of chamomile.

The dose of the powder is 3j. The infusion may be made in the proportionof 3i. to Oj. of water, and a decoction may be prepared of similar proportions,but has no advantage over the infusion.—J. C]

Tribe II.— ASTEROIDEN.3. JN'ULA HELEN'IÜM, Linn. L. D.— ELECAMPANE.

Sex. Syst. Syngencsia, Polygamia superflua.

(Radix, L. D.)

(lnula, ü. S. See. List.)

Histoky.— This is the h\ivm of Hippocrates (Md. Mul. p. 572, ed. Fces.)and of Dioscorides (lib. i. cap. 27).

Botany. Gen. cuar.— Head many-flowered, heterogamous ; florets of theray females, in one row, sometimes by abortion sterile, usually ligulate, rarelysomewhat tubulär and trifid ; those of the disc hermaphrodite, tubulär, five-toothed. Involucre imbricated in several rows. Receptacle Hat or somewhatconvex, naked. Anthers with two setos at the base. Achene without a beak,tapering, or in I. Helenium, four-cornered. Pappus uniform, in one row, com-posed of capillary, roughish seta?. (De Cand.)

Sp. char.— Steril erect. Leaves dentate, velvety-tomentose beneath, acute ;the radical ones ovate, greatly attenuated into petioles ; those of the stem semi-amplcxicaul. Pedundes few, one-headed, corymbose at the apex. (De Cand.)

Root perennial, thick, branching. Stein three to five feet high. Leaves large,serrated, veiny. Jleads terminal. Flowers bright-yellow.

Hai..—Indigenous. Various parts of Europe. Flowers in July and Au-gust.

_ Dp.scuirTioN.—The dried root (radix helenii seu enulce) of the shops con-sists oflongitudinal or transverse sliecs, which are yellowish-gray, and have anaromatic or camphoraeeous smell, and a warm bitter taste. Iodine colours theroot brown. Sesquichloride of iron produces, in the infusion, a green colourItannate ofiron).

Comfosition. —The root has been analysed by John,- (Gmelin, Ilandb. d.Cheni. ü. 1288.) by Funcke, (Trommsdorff's Journal, xviii. I. p. 74,) and by