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Materia Medica.— Linum catJiarticum. part u.

stigmas. The capsule is globular, the size of a common pea,crowned with a sharp spine, formed by the junction of thespines of the valves in one point, and containing in each cellan elliptical shining seed. 1

Although this plant is extensively cultivated in Britain, yetthe greater part of the linseed used here is brought from theBaltic. The seed ripens in September; and the plant is thenpulled up as soon as the heads begin to change brown andhang downwards, otherwise the seeds are soon scattered.

Qualities. — These seeds are inodorous, and have an oily,mucilaginous, sweetish taste. They are small, flat, oval, andcovered with a smooth, shining, brown-coloured cuticle, whichabounds with a mucus, that can be extracted pure by infusionin boiling water. By expression, they yield one-sixtli of theirweight of fixed oil. The mucus of linseed is colourless, in-sipid, inodoi-ous, and resembles in its viscidity mucilage ofacacia gum; but differs from it in the following particulars:Alcohol precipitates it in white flocks, but the liquid remainsclear; superacetate of lead throws down a dense precipitate;but oxy-sulphate of iron and silicated potass produce no sen-sible effect. For the qualities of the oil, see Preparations.

Medical properties and nses. — Linseed is emollient and de-mulcent. The mucus obtained by infusion is a cheap andvery useful demulcent in catarrh, pneumonia, diarrhoea, anddysentery: visceral inflammations, calculus, gonorrhoea, ardoruriiue; and during the exhibition, of oxymuriate of mercury.When the seeds are boiled in water, the mucus is obtained inunion with a portion of the oil: forming a useful local remedywhen given in the form of enema in abrasions of the intes-tines and tenesmus, particularly in the advanced stage ofpuerperal fever, when the offending matter in the bowels sti-mulates to frequent and involuntary stools: but the portionthrown up must be small in quantity. 5 The seeds ground intopowder or meal, and simply mixed with boiling water, form anexcellent poultice; valuable on account of the facility withwhich it is made.

Officinal preparations. InJ'usum Lini, L. Oleum Lini, L. E. D.2. Linum catharticum. 3Officinal. Linum catharticum, Land. Linum catharticum ;

iierba, Dub. Purging Flax,Si/ii.. On. Purgatif (F.), Purgicr i actis ( G.) •

This is an indigenous annual plant, found on dry and hilly

1 The partitions of the cells arc singular. Ga;rtnerthus describes them : " Dis-sepimenta membranacea, conduplicata, laininis suis extrorsum partitis, ita valvu-larum marginibus inserta, lit, cum ha 1 dehiscunt, ilia? corii follis adinstar explicen-tur:" and adds, " Dissepimentorum in Radiola atque Lino tabrica, hactcnus sinepari est, et essentialem hujus generis prsebet characterem." De Fructihus, ii. 147.

- Denmans Midwifery, ii. 251. 3 hiyoit&pvoi Grjecorivm.