HERB BENNET.

1117

duals

expired in convulsions. The effects of medicinal doses of cherry-

^Urel water are stated to be similar to those of small doses of hvdrocy-an « acid. *

co\' Sf ' S '—'Cherry-laurel leaves are not unfrequently employed by theCo°* -° r ^ avour ing. Though the distilled water of the cherry-laurel isem ] ln °d ' n the Dublin Pharmacopoeia, yet it is scarcely ever, I believe,for P ?^’ e<1 ' n m edicine in this country. It is applicable to all the casesa w hich hydrocyanic acid has been used (see p. 246). It has been usedCo a f G d at i ve narcotic in tic-douloureux, phthisis pulmonalis , spasmodicSh, and in palpitations of the heart.

(Vx^ Lauro-Cerasi, D. Water of Cherry-Laurel. Laurel Water.at *l Leaves of the Cherry-Laurel , lbj.; Water, Oiij. Distil a pint,Sr>' • a< ^ < ^ an ounce of Compound Spirit of Lavender, instead of Rectifiedri b-—-The compound spirit of lavender is added, as a colouring ingre-to prevent the preparation being mistaken for common water,liahf ^ 5SS ' to f3 .i' Lhc strength, and, therefore, the dose, is, however,ij ® to considerable variation. Fouquier (Richard , Elem. d'Hist. Nat.47 ) Las, in some cases, given twelve ounces during the day, withouty ev ident effect.

Tribe II. — Dryadeje.

Ce urn urba'num, Linn. D.— Common Avens. Herb Bennet.

Sex. Syst. Icosandria, Polygynia.

(Radix, D).

Ist ory.-—P liny {Hist. Nat. xxvi. 21. ed. Yalp.) speaks of the rnedi-n P ro perties of Geum.

®xt ° Tany - Gen. Char. —Tube of the calyx concave; limb five-cleft,jui Cl j ria % five-bracteolate. Petals five. Stamens numerous. CarpelsWh i ’ tuiled, disposed in a head. Style, after flowering, articulate orSeed ascending.— Herbs. Leaves variously pinnatisect (D. C.)f'RAR.—Stem erect, branched, hairy. Leaves radical quinate-t 00t , at f ct > caulinar ones temate-palmatisect, with ovate broadlyori,; e L' cr enate lobes; upper ones one-lobed, ovate. Stipules somewhatSphe . r > large. Petals obovate, as long as the calyx. Carpillary headLair llca ^ Ovaries hairy, numerous. Styles smooth, with somewhat^appendices (D. C )'

gr eei . uaany brown fibres. Stem one or two feet high. Leaves grass-Hj Vein ^’ Lairy. Flowers terminal, solitary. Petals bright-yellow,jv •""Indigenous . Growing in woods, hedges, and dry shady places.mun .^ Rii>tio n.—T he root {radix carophyllata, seu gei urbani, vel sana-wfiicjj • Con sists of a rootstock of from one to three inches long, frombro w .*® ue a considerable number of cylindrical fibres. Externally it iscl° Ve /.r 1 > internally, reddish. When recent its odour is aromatic andUiatic 1J<6 ’• ^is is greatly diminished by drying. Its taste is aro-(j 0 ’stringent, and bitterish. It should be gathered in the spring,experj P0SITI °N.—The root has been the subject of repeated chemicalMed "I'Lus it was examined by Muehlenstedt (Murray, App.

MelanV Anjou {Ibid.), Bouillon-Lagrange {Ann.de Chim. liv. 287),

Mat M T \r l Al° r etti {Bull, de Pharm. ii. 358), and Trommsdorf (Pfaff,e “- vi. 255). The latter chemist found the constituents of the