part h. Materia Medica. — Gentiana lutea.

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Officinal. Gentian-E. radix, Land. Gentians i-uteje radix,Edin. Gentiana ; radix, Dub. Gentian root.Spi. Gentiane jaune (F.), Enzian (G.), Genziana (/.), Genciana (s.)

This species of gentian is a perennial plant, found growingon the alps of Switzerland and Austria, the Apennines, thePyrenees, and in North America. The root is thick, long,and cylindrical. The lower leaves are petiolate, large, spear-shaped, stiff, and having five large veins on the back, plaited,and of a yellowish green colour; those of the stem are con-cave, smooth, and egg-shaped, sessile, and almost embracingthe stem, which rises three or four feet in height. The flowersare in whorls at the upper joints, large, yellow, peduncled, andbeautiful: the calyx, which is a membranous deciduous spathe,bursts on the side when the flower opens: the corolla isrotated, divided into five or eight narrow spreading segments,elliptical, and speckled with many thick dots. The filamentsare shorter than the corolla, and furnished with long erectanthers: the germen is conical, crowned with two sessile re-flected stigmas ; and becomes a conical capsule, which containsnumerous small seeds.

Gentian roots are brought to this country from Germany.They are in pieces of various lengths and thickness, twisted,wrinkled on the outside, and covered with a brownish graycuticle.

Qualities. —They have no particular odour, and the tasteis intensely bitter without being nauseous. When cut trans-versely the pieces exhibit a yellow maculated heart, with thickbark verging to brown. The sensible qualities of gentian rootare extracted by ether, alcohol, and water. The two formerextract a resin and a bitter extractive matter; and the lattersome part of these and a considerable quantity of mucilage also,which occasions the infusion often to become ropy. Dilutedalcohol is its proper menstruum. In the bitter extractive thevirtues of the drug seem to reside.

Medical properties and uses. — Gentian root is tonic, sto-machic, and in large doses aperient. Its use as a stomachicbitter is of very ancient date; and it is still, perhaps, the mostgenerally employed of this class of medicines. It has beenfound beneficial in dyspepsia, gout, hysteria, and jaundice';chlorosis, dropsy, and diarrhoea; and in all cases of generaldebility in which tonics are indicated. It is sometimes joinedwith the Cinchona in intermittents ; and, according as thecircumstances of the cases for which it is prescribed direct,it may be combined with orange-peel, chalybeates, aromatics,squill, mineral acids, and neutral salts. On account of itsantiseptic effects on dead animal matter, its infusion has heea

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