408

LIC

I

Exhibition. Either in substance or in the form of watery infusion, orin that of tincture. Dose, grs. x to 3ss. Oeficinal Preparations.Tinct. Kino. L.E.D. Elect. Catechu. E.D. Pulvis Mum. co. E.

KRAMERIjE RADIX. L.

(Krameria Triandra\Radix. J

Rhatany.

This root, although it has been for some time employed in medicine,has only lately found its way into the Materia Medica of the LondonPharmacopoeia. Us extract, which was some years ago imported intothis country, is supposed to have been employed for givm;; astringencj toPort wine. According to recent analyst* the root contains a peculiar mo-diricHiion of Tannin, with only a trace of Gallic acid ; Gum ; Fecula ;and certain sails of Lime. It may be used either in decoction, or tinc-ture, the latter of which may be made by dissolving two ounces of theroot in a pint of proof spirit. In all its forms it is eminently astringent.I have used it with much success in Leucorrhaea, and in uterine he-morrhages. The extract may be distinguished from Kino, to which itbears a great resemblance in appearance and taste, by being very fusibleby heat, whereas Kino does not possess that character.

LICHEN. L.E.D. (Lichen Islandicus.) Lichen.Iceland Liverwort. Iceland Moss.

Qualities. Odour, none ; Taste, mucilaginous and bitter. Solubili-ty. J he effect of water upon this vegetable substance is materially mo-dified by temperature ; if cold, the lichen absorbs nearly its own weightby maceration, but gives out to the menstruum little or none of its vir-tues ; if the water be warm, it soon acquires a bitter impregnation ; byebullition, a decoction is obtained, which, as it cools, gelatinizes SeeDecoct. Lichen. Chemical Composition Proust has shewn by analysisthat 100 parts of this moss contain 64 parts of a substance bearing someanalogy to vegetable gluten, 3.J of a matter, soluble in hot water, and re-sembling starch, and 3 parts of a bitter principle. Medicinal Uses.This vegetable was introduced to the notice of the profession by Linnaeus,who recommended its decoction, as having been administered with greatsuccess for coughs in Sweden. Upon its introduction into this country,its patrons bestowed so many extravagant eulo^iums upon its powers, thatthe less sanguine practitioner at once abandoned its use in disgust, and itfell into alimented disrepute. It would be idle to speak of its specific ef-fects in phthisis ; but, as a demulcent, it is certainly very,superior to themucilaginous mixtures in ordinary use, and its simple hitter principle atthe same time tends to produce a tonic effect, which is frequently desira-ble in the debilitated condition which characterizes the latter stages ofthis disease. I here are circumstances however, which may render theremoval of the bitter advantageous; in which case, maceration in suc-

no tendency to confine the bowels. In this drug, therefore," he adds, " you have anedicine which exerts its powers to restrain the discharges of the glands when theyare secreting too much, without exerting any such powers over them when they areacting naturally." Practical Treatise on the various diseases of the abdominal visce-ra, p. 112, Am. Ed. Ed.

M