_Woolfsbane, Monkshood._
QUALITIES. _Taste_, moderately bitter, and acrid, leaving in the mouth a
painful sensation of heat and roughness, followed by numbness in the
gums and lips which continues for two or three hours. _Odour_, faint and
narcotic; their peculiar properties are considerably deteriorated by
drying. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. M. Brandes has ascertained that the
narcotic principle of this plant is a peculiar alkali, to which he has
given the name _Aconita_.[356] SOLUBILITY, water and alcohol only
imperfectly extract their virtues. MEDICINAL USES. It is narcotic, and
occasions, in over-doses, nausea, vomiting, vertigo, hyper-catharsis,
cold sweats, convulsions, and death; effects which entirely depend upon
its action on the brain. It was first administered in 1702, by Stöerk,
of Vienna, in chronic rheumatism, gout, schirrus, and paralysis; more
lately it has been employed in scrofula, cancer, and intermittents, and
it is said with much effect. On account of the variable strength of the
leaves they can hardly be given with safety and effect; the extract
(_which see_,) presents the more eligible form of exhibition. The leaves
are, however, sometimes given in the form of powder, generally combined
with some mercurial alterative, or with antimonials, camphor, and other
diaphoretics. DOSE gr. i-x. OFFICINAL PREP: _Extractum Aconiti._ L.E.
ADEPS PRÆPARATA. L. ADEPS SUI SCROFÆ, _vulgo_ Axungia Porcina. E. ADEPS
SUILLUS PRÆPARATUS. D.
_Prepared Hog’s Lard. Fat. Axunge._[357]
QUALITIES. _Consistence_, soft or nearly semifluid. _Odour and Taste_,
none; at 97° it melts. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. It consists of two distinct
bodies which appear to exist together in a state of mechanical mixture,
viz. _Stearin_, (from στεαρ tallow) which is white, brittle, and in
appearance somewhat resembling wax; and _Elain_ (from ελαὶον, oil) very
similar to vegetable oil in appearance, and is liquid at 59°. According
to the experiments of Braconnot, the proportion of _Elain_ is to that of
_Stearin_, in hog’s lard, as 62:38. SOLUBILITY. It is insoluble in water
and alcohol; with the alkalies it unites and forms soaps. INCOMPATIBLE
SUBSTANCES. _Extracts_, _Spirituous Preparations_, _Tinctures_, and
_Infusions_, are incapable of uniting perfectly with lard, without some
intermedium; the following substances on the contrary are capable of
contracting with it a most intimate union. 1. _All dry powders_, whether
of a vegetable or mineral nature. 2. _Fixed and Volatile Oils._ 3.
_Balsams._ 4. _Camphor._ 5. _Soaps._ It is principally employed in the
formation of ointments, plasters, and liniments.
ÆRUGO. L. D. (Sub-acetas Cupri _Impura._) SUB-ACETIS CUPRI. E.
_Verdigris._
QUALITIES. _Form_, a dry mass composed of minute crystals, not
deliquescent; _Colour_, bluish green. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Several
constituents enter into its composition, viz. Acetate and sub-acetate of
copper, carbonate of copper, and copper partly metallic and partly
oxidized; it contains also the stalks of grapes and other extraneous
substances. SOLUBILITY. Boiling water dissolves it in part, and produces
in it a chemical change, by transforming one portion of the
_sub_-acetate into the soluble acetate, and another into an oxyd of
copper, which is precipitated; with cold water this substance demeans
itself differently, the acetate is dissolved by it, whilst that portion
which is in the state of _sub_-salt remains suspended in the form of a
fine green powder. Vinegar converts all the _Ærugo_ into a soluble
acetate, this liquid therefore ought never to be employed for favouring
vomiting in cases where an overdose has been swallowed, for the reasons
stated in the first part of this work, p. 136. Sulphuric acid poured on
powdered _verdigris_ decomposes it with effervescence, and vapours of
acetic acid are disengaged. It appears from the experiments and
observations of Duval and Orfila, that sugar exercises a chemical action
on it, by which its solubility is diminished, and that on this account
it acts as a specific against its poisonous effects. USES. It is so
uncertain and violent in its operation that it is rarely employed,
except externally,[358] when it acts as a powerful detergent, and mild
escharotic; and in the form of ointment, is a valuable application for
many cutaneous affections, especially the aggravated kinds of Tetter.
OFFICINAL PREPARATIONS. _Ærugo Præparata_, D. _Linimentum Æruginis._ L.
D. ADULTERATIONS. There is a spurious article sold under the name of
_English Verdigris_, which consists of sulphate of copper, triturated
with acetate of lead; and to make the fraud still more complete, the
soft mass is mixed with the stalks of Raisins.