AMARYLLIDACE.E. 677

Administration. —It may be given in closes of from ten to thirtyo/- lns ’ ? n ^ le form of powder or pill. It is popularly used in the form^fusion, or tea.

Croci, L. E. —Saffron , 5 X.; Boiling Water, Oj.; Sugar,]j \ U J- “ Macerate the saffron in the water for twelve hours, in a vesseli^'itly covered, then strain the liquor, and add the sugar to it,” L. ItEmployed principally for its colour.

s e , a c °l°uring and flavouring ingredient, saffron is a constituent of' era l other preparations.

The

Other Medicinal Iridaceee.

> -he Orris Root of the shops is the rhizome of Iris Jlorentina, and perhaps also of

„•«, It is imported in casks from Leghorn and Trieste . It consists, according

’ °gel (Joum. de Pharm. i. 481) of volatile oil, acrid resin, astringent extractive, gum,

and ligneous matter. Raspail (Chim. Organ.) detected in it crystals of oxa a e oj

1 . e ' Orris root is an acrid substance, and in full doses causes vomiting and purging.

f ls Principally used on account of its violet odour. Thus hair and tooth powders, per-

oils &c. are frequently scented with it. During teething, infants are some lnies

Permit*..!. ■ • J .

t'"iiahl te ^ • t<> ru ^ t ^ ie ' r fr ums with, and bite, the rhizome; but the practice is objec-of o e ’ s 'nce it is not unfrequently attended with irritation of the mouth and disorderms nn L st " nia ch and bowels. Furthermore, the danger of the rhizome getting into the(Kra a ' i ' ,ls . or trachea is not to be overlooked. One fatal case of this kind is recordedUs i Heilmittellehre, S. 541). Powdered orris root is sometimes used as an errhine.

Order 15. Amaryluda'ce.r, Lindl. —The Narcis'sus Tribe.

^fdic E °^^ le l^ ants °f this order are employed in England as articles of the Materiaa ‘ Yet many of them act powerfully 011 the system, and one of them ( Ihnimn-thus toxicarius ) is said to be used by the Hottentots to poisontheir arrow-heads. The prevailing property of the order isacridity, which is possessed principally by the bulbs, severalof which (as those of Pancratium maritimum and Heemanthuscoccineus) seem to be endowed with properties very similar tothose of squill. The leaves and flowers of Narcissus Pseudo-Narcissus are enumerated among the simples of the French Codex . In doses of 20 or 30 grains they sometimes causevomiting. They have been employed in spasmodic affections,(as hooping-cough), in diarrhoea, and in agues (Merat andDe Lens, Diet, de Mat. Med. t. iv.) Several other species ofNarcissus, as N. Tazetta and N. odorus, also possess emeticproperties (Decandolle, Essai sur les Proprietes Med.)

Narcissus Tasetta..(Opposed by Dr. Sib-•" >r pe to be the Nar-' Ss >us of the poets.