270

Materia Medica.

paet II.

reside chiefly in the cortical part of the dried berry. Water,alcohol, and ether extract its virtues. The watery infusion isof a brown colour, and reddens litmus infusion. With solutionof sulphate of iron it immediately strikes a deep black colour,and slowly lets fall a precipitate. Nitrate of mercury pre-cipitates it of a yellowish brown; superacetate of lead of adirty green; and nitrate of silver of a deep reddish brown co-lour. It is also precipitated by infusion of yellow cinchonabark. The sulphuric and muriatic acids redden it, and throwdown pale rose-coloured precipitates. The nitric acid formsno precipitate, but gives it a yellow hue. The alcoholic tinc-ture is rendered milky, and slowly precipitated by water: theethereal, when evaporated on water, deposits drops of a greenishyellow volatile oil, a pellicle of a pungent nauseous tasted resin,and some extractive. Hence pimenta appears to contain avolatile oil, resin, extractive, tannin and gallic acid.

Medical properties and uses. — Pimenta is stimulant and to-nic. It is useful as an adjunct to bitters in dyspepsia attendedwith much flatulence, and in arthritic and hysterical affections.The watery infusion of it sweetened with sugar, and with theaddition of a little milk, is very readily taken by children ; andis an excellent cordial in malignant measles, scarlatina, con-fluent small-pox, and the other exanthemata, when the feverassumes the typhoid type. But the principal use of pimenta inmedicine is to cover the disagreeable taste of other remedies,or to give them warmth. The dose of the berries is from gr. v.to 3ij in powder, or swallowed in their entire state.

Officinal preparations. Aqua Pimenta. L.E. D. Oleum Pimento.L. E. D.

NICOTIANA. Spec. Plant. Willd. i. 1014.CI. 5. Ord. 1. Pentandria Monogynia. Nat. Ord. Luricte Linn.

Solaneae Juss.G. 379. Corolla funnel-shaped with the border plaited. Stamens

inclined. Capsules two-valved, two-celled.Sp. 1. N. Tabacum.' Tobacco. Med. Bot. 2ded. 208. *.77.Officinal. Tabaci folia. Lond. Nicotians Tabaci folia. Edin.

NiconANiE folia. Dub. Tobacco leaves.

Syn. Tabac (F.) Taback (G.) Tabacco (/.) Tobaco (S.) Bujijirbhang {Arab.) Tam-bacu (H.) Tamracuta ' K San.)

Tobacco is an annual plant, a native of America, and par-

1 This plant was fivbt discovered by the Spaniards in Yucatan in 1520, and wasthere called petun or peium. It was afterwards transported to the West Indies andNorth America; and brought to Europe by Hernandez de Toledo, who came fromFlorida to Portugal in the beginning of the 16th century. The seeds were sent fromPortugal to Catherine de Medicis by Jean Nicot, an agent of Francis II., after whomit received its generic name Nicotiana: the specific appellation being taken either fromtabac, the name of an instrument used by the natives of America in the preparation ofthe herb ; or Tabaco, the name of a Mexican province.