328

PiEONIA.—PEONV.

0XYGEN1UM.—OXYGEN

Aer purus seu dephlogisîicatus seu vitalis.(Ferr. ; Hank. ; Brugnatelli ; Nie-mann ; Swediaur ; Van Mons)

R. Black Oxide of Manganese,

any quantity-Bring it gradually to a red heat in anearthen retort communicating with a pneu-mato-chemical apparatus. Having let thefirst portions of the disengaged gas escape,receive the remainder in glass bottles ; corkthe bottles under water, cover the mouthswith wax, and preserve them in a coolplace. (Fkrr. ; Hann. ; Swediaur ; Nie-mann ; Van Mons)

R. Peroxide of Manganese, three parts.Concentrated Sulphuric Acid, two parts.Mix without heat in a glass mortar, cal-cine the mixture to redness, collect the gaswhich is disengaged, and preserve it afterhaving shaken it with lime water. (VanMons)

R. Nitrate of Potass, in powder,

any quantity.

Heat it in a matrass till the bottom red-dens, and receive the disengaged gas, lettingthe first portions pass off. (Brugnatelli)

Van Mons says that nitre mixed withsea salt, yields its oxygen more readily thanwhen it is alone.

R. Peroxide of Manganese, one part.

Chlorate of Potass, two parts.

Triturate together, apply the heat of aspirit-lamp, and collect the gas which isliberated. (Van Mons)

oxygenated water.Aqua oxygenata. (Brugnatelli)R. Water, any quantity.

Saturate it perfectly with oxygen gas, bythe aid of a proper machine.

It is slightly stimulant, and has been re-commended in defective appetite,' amenor-rhoea, asthenic dropsies, spasms of the sto-mach, and hysteria. — Dose, one or twobottles in the space of twenty-four hours.

In general the proportion of oxygen con-

tained in the water thus prepared is as onevolume to two volumes of the latter.

Thus prepared the oxygenated water differsvery much from that which Thenard ob-tained by a process as long as it was difficultand minute, and to which he gives the nameof Deutoxide of Hydrogen. This, when itis in as concentrated a state as possihle,yields four hundred and seventy-five timesits volume of gas, under the pressure of0,76, and at the temperature of fourteendegrees. It is rather surprising that no onehas thought of applying it to practice eitherinternally or externally, varying its degreeof concentration by the addition of a greateror less quantity of water. It is also sur-prising that our experimenters should haveneglected this, which would have affordedthem so fine an opportunity for feeding thepublic curiosity for several months with therecital of their daring trials. It would bewell to remember the important observa-tion made by Thenard, that the animalorgans and tissues effect the decompositionof the oxygenated water in the same manneras tlit- greater part of the metals and metallicoxides do, in not yielding any part of theirprinciples, absorbing not the smallest quan-tity of oxvgen, and consequently not under-going the least apparent alteration, unlessthe peroxide be highly concentrated. Canit be the same with regard to the livingtissues ? The fact would deserve to be ex-amined were it only to ascertain whetherThenard is right or wrong in supposingthat, the animal tissues having, like platina,gold, and silver, the property of disengagingoxygen from oxygenated water, may bereferred to a similar action; for if it is so, itis then not unreasonable to think that thesecretions are also effected by a similar ac-tion : and consequently it may be conceivedhow an organ, without absorbing any thing,without ceding any thing, may constantlyact upon a fluid and transform it into newproducts. These reasonable deductionsfrom a positive fact are worthy of an atten-tive examination, as they are of a kind tocompletely overturn all our present theoriesin physiology and therapeutics.

PEONÍA OFFICINALIS, Linn.— PEONY.

Synonimes : — Pivoine, Fr. ; Pseonie,Pfingstrose, Gichtrose, Germ. ; Peonía,Span, ; Piwoniec, Pol.

Amst. ; Ant.; Bruns.; Hisp. ; Gall.;Ferr.; Genev.; Hann. ; Pol. ;Borus.;Ross. ; Sax. ; Herkip. ; Wirtem. ;