846

ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MEDICA.

Spirit of Cinnamon, fsj. [f^ij. E. jss. D.]; Boiling [distilled, L-] ^ a ^Oj. [fSxviij. E. Oss.'D.] Macerate the foxglove leaves in the waterfour hours, in a vessel lightly covered, and strain [through l 111 ® 1 'calico, E.] ; then add the spirit of cinnamon). I believe this, '' ^properly made, to be the most effectual of the preparations of foxg 10The dose of it is from fjss. to fjj. repeated every six hours. I ®known it given to the extent of fSij.

2. Tinctvra Digitalis, L. E. D.—(Foxglove leaves [rejecting 1

larger ones, D.] dried [in moderately fine powder, E .; coarsely l 1 "dered, D.), jiv. [jij. D.]; Proof Spirit, Oij. [Oj. wine measure, D-] 1 ‘ t

cerate for fourteen days [seven, D.], and strain. “ This tincture is ^prepared by the process of percolation, as directed for the TinctureCapsicum. If forty fluidounces of spirit be passed through, the derm-is 944 [0’944], and the solid contents of a fluidounce amount to tweifour grains. It may also be made by digestion,” E.) The usual <

of this preparation, for an adult, is from r^x. cautiously increased to nt % ’repeated every six hours. I usually begin with njxx. The largest (

I have employed is fsj-; but, as I have already stated, it has been g 1 '^to the extent of one ounce! The colour of this preparation is so® e "affected by exposure to strong solar light. , •

3. Extractum Digitalis, L. E. — (Fresh Foxglove leaves,Bruise them, sprinkled with a little water, in a stone mortar; then p re ^out the juice, and evaporate it, unstrained, to a proper consistence)

—“ This extract is best prepared from the fresh leaves of digital 1 ®’any of the processes indicated for extract of Conium,” E.) Recently in ^duced into the pharmacopoeias of London and Edinburgh . Its P re l ) j a , 1 ttion requires very great care and attention, or the virtues of the P 1 ^may be destroyed during the process. Dose, gr. j. cautiously increase •

4. Piluljb Digitalis et Scillm, E .— (Digitalis; Squill, of ea ^3 j.; Aromatic Electuary, 3ij. Beat them into a proper mass with cserve of red roses ; and divide the mass into twenty pills). A valn adiuretic compound. Used in dropsies. Dose, one or two pills. . g

Antidotes— In a case of poisoning by foxglove, or its preparat 1expel the poison from the stomach by the stomach-pump or by erne ^if vomiting should not have already commenced; assist the voind 1 ^’when it is established, by the use of diluents; and counteract thepressing influence of the poison on the circulation by the use of ‘ unBl ° ar dand brandy; and keep the patient in a recumbent posture, to g 11 ^against syncope. I am unacquainted with any chemical antidotefoxglove : perhaps infusion of nutgalls or green tea might prove sen 1able, especially if the active principle of this plant be an alkali.

Verbas'cum Thap'sus, Linn. D .—Great Mul'lein or High Taper-

Sex, Syst, Pentandria, Monogynia.

(Folia, D .)

History.— This plant is, according to Sprengel {Hist. Rei Herb, vd-p. 161), the <p\6fioe $y\cia of Dioscorides (lib. iv. cap. 104). i

Botany. Gen. Char. — Calyx campanulate, five-partite, nearly eq' ia 'Corolla with a very short tube; the limb flat, expanded, somewhat rota Vfive-partite; the lobes rounded, nearly equal, or the lower ones eq liaJ "