SQUILL.

653

Perlups arc the needle-like crystals obtained by Vogel by evaporating the juice of the> and which he regarded as citrate of lime.

Chemical Characteristics. —An aqueous decoction of squills isl 1 ' 1 e > an d very bitter. Sesquichloride of iron communicates an intensepurplish blue colour ( gallate of iron) to it. Gelatin has scarcely anye tn . 1 Nitrate silver forms a white precipitate ( chloride of silver)

4 u ble in ammonia, but insoluble in nitric acid. Oxalate of ammoniarulers the decoction turbid, and after some time causes a white preci-V a ^ e (oxalate of lime.) Diacetate of lead and protonitrate of mercuryonn precipitates in the decoction. Tincture of nutgalls has no effect on1 • Starch is not recognizable in it by iodine. Alkalies heighten thecolour of the decoction.

A hvsiological Effects, (a.) On vegetables. —Not ascertained.

I 6 -) On animals. —An ounce of powdered squill acts as a diuretic on0rses and other larger animals; the same effect is produced on smallerjournals by half a drachm (Moiroud, Pharm. Veter). When the dose isar Re, squill acts as a poison. It first causes local irritation; then itsac tive principle becomes absorbed, affects the nervous system, and therebyquickens the respiration, causes convulsions and death (Orfila, Toxicol.

tn -) Hillefcld {Marx, DieLehre von d. Gif ten, vol. ii. S. 26,) mentionsf rafysis produced in a rabbit by nineteen grains of powdered squill,^nnriert and Hoering (Meckel’s Archiv , 13. 4, Heft 4, S. 527) state thatluul juice, introduced into the abdominal cavity, became absorbed.l c -) On man. — In small doses it acts as a stimulant to the excretoryRans. Thus it promotes secretion from the mucous membranes (espe-laily the bronchial and gastro-intestinal) and the kidneys. Its mosta jked effect is that of a diuretic. Its expectorant effects are less obvious

and

£ u taneous exhalation.

constant. Sometimes, when it fails to act on the kidneys, it increases

k e —exnaiauon. Its influence on secreting organs is probably toe referred to the local stimulus communicated to their vessels by the! ve principle of squill in its passage out of the system, for EmmertAloering {op. cit.) have shewn that the juice is absorbed, so thatM Qfs may be regarded as an acrid even for these remote parts. Whene J )roves diuretic in dropsies, it usually promotes the absorption of thetli S i Gd — an effect which is, I think, indirect, and a consequence ofof 0 . resis. But Sundelin {Handb. d. Sp. Heilm. Bd. ii. p. 17) observestati^ U ^’ ^ promotes the secretion of urine less by its local irri-a 011 the kidneys, than by its general excitement of the absorbent

Pparatus.

tli I * dle con tinued use of squill in gradually increased doses, it disturbs^unctions of digestion and assimilation.

me dicmal doses, squill excites nausea and v omitin g. Purging,ls not unfrequently produced. When squill proves emetic orits diuretic operation is much less obvious—a circumstance| Cullen {Treat, of the Mat. Med. p. 557) refers to the squillprevented reaching the blood-vessels and kidneys. Home {Clinical^intents, p. 387, 1783, 3d cd.), however, alleges that the diuretics tonf S ar ° not to ' )e ex P e cted unless there be some operation on theaca - But the operation on the stomach may be, as Cullen sug-

of

Pro

s quill

mere test of the activity of the squills.

doses, is not confined to

in

strong

However, that the effectthe alimentary canal, is

v °d by the fact, that when the vomiting and purging were present, the