COMMON MEADOW SAFFRON. 625

Bladen ( Pract. Observ. on the Colchicum autumnale , 1820). He used itan auxiliary to blood-letting for the purpose of controlling arterialc ion; and gave it in the form of pow der, in doses of six or seven grains,ree or four times daily, in combination with purgatives, in inflamma-° r y affections of the lungs and their membranes, and of the breasts andPldes. In chronic bronchitis it has also been found useful by Dr.(Treat. on Inflammation of the Mucous Membrane of the Lungs,

j f’. fevers. —The late Mr. Haden (op. cit.), and more recently Dr.o |! : 'j ln {Ed. Med. and Surg. Journ. April 1837), have spoken favourablythe use of colchicum in fever. In my opinion it is only admissible inj 0se forms of the disease requiring an active antiphlogistic treatment.

such it may be useful as an auxiliary to blood-letting and cathartics.

. In various other diseases.—For expelling tape-worm, colchicumtjts been found efficacious by Chisholm and Baumbach. In some chronicSections of the nervous system, as chorea, hypochondriasis, hysteria, &c.r - Raven (Land. Med. and Plugs. Journ. Jan. 1817) employed it with' antage. In humoral asthma, and other chronic bronchial affections, Iave found it of great service, especially when these complaints werec ooinpamed with anasarcous swellings.

Ai) ministration.— qq ie conni and seeds of meadow saffron have beenployed in substance, in a liquid form, and in the state of extract.

-j, ■ Pulvis cormi Colchici. —Dose from two to eight or nine grains.

0 Preserve it, Mr. Wigan recommends it to be kept mixed with sugar.rj,| • Purvis semikvh Coi.cuici. —Dose the same as that of the cormus.. seeds are to be preferred to the cormi, as being more uniform inproperties.

C j TiNcrriRA [,s'B.v/AT7.v] Colchici, Lond. Ed.; Tinctura scminumc ,{ llc { Dubl.—Meadow Saffron seeds bruised [ground finely in aI)n] e< \' m iH, ^d.], 3v. (Sij.Dub.); Proof Spirit, Oij. (Oj. wine measure,Macerate for fourteen days, and strain, L. “ Percolation is

" ~ l.* Dr. Williams

(I C1 more convenient and speedy than digestion,” Ed.*i . "d. Med. Rep. vol. xiv. p. 93) objected to this preparation as111 S ‘ turbid, unpalatable, and disposed to precipitation.” The same

* »pi

a re following remarks on percolation, as applied to the preparation of tinctures,1^39 tracte d from The Pharmacopoeia of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh ,C0 Py of which I received after the present sheet was in type:—for | T| niu oh superior method, however, has been lately introduced, which answers wellthi s r tlnctu res, namely, the method of displacement by percolation. According toteued roc . ess ’ the solid materials, usually in coarse or moderately fine powder, are mois-'l ll «:ritl a su ®ciency of the solvent to form a thick pulp; in twelve hours, or fre-iro,, It without any delay, the mass is put into a cylinder of glass, porcelain, or tinnedl 'cd a *' ^°6i en< l s , hut obstructed at the lower end by a piece of calico or linen,

degfg” v ove r it as a filter; and the pulp being packed by pressure, varying as toof t|j e e ’ w *th various articles, the remainder of the solvent is poured into the upper partthe fl. Render, and allowed gradually to percolate. In order to obtain the portion ofinto th ' s hept in the residuum, an additional quantity of the solvent is poured

s Pirit e . c yi'nder until the tincture which has passed through equals in amount thefor t | l ° ri Siiially prescribed ; and the spirit employed for this purpose is then recoveredr et a i n , m . os [ part by pouring over the residuum as much water as there is of spiritOietijoj | ln ll ’ ma y he easily known by an obvious calculation in each case. The

by percolation, where applicable, will be found much more convenient and