dose is too frequently repeated. It does not ordinarily cause gastro-intestinal derangement, and small doses are stomachic.

USES.

To fulfil the same indications as digitalis; on the heart it acts more promptly, though probably less permanently than the latter. The advantages of strophanthus over digitalis are as follows: (1) Greater rapidity of action; (2) less marked vasoconstrictor effects; (3) greater diuretic power; (4) no disturbance of digestion from properly made preparations; (5) absence of so-called cumulation; (6) greater value in children; (7) greater safety in the aged.

APOCYNUM.

APOCYNUM. Synonym.-Canadian Hemp. The dried rhizome of Apocynum cannabinum Linné (Fam. Apocynacea). Habitat.-United States, on the border of thickets and in grassy places.

CHARACTERS. Of varying length, 3 to 8 mm. thick, cylindrical or with a few angles produced by drying, lightly wrinkled longitudinally, and usually more or less fissured transversely; orange-brown, becoming gray-brown on keeping; brittle; fracture sharply transverse, exhibiting a thin brown layer of cork, the remainder of the bark nearly as thick as the radius of the wood, white or sometimes pinkish, starchy, containing lacticiferous ducts; the wood yellowish, having several rings, finely radiate and very coarsely porous; almost inodorous, the taste starchy, afterwards becoming bitter and somewhat acrid.

COMPOSITION.-The chief constituents are-(1) Apocynein, a glucoside, soluble in water, acting like digitalin. (2) Apocynin, an amorphous, resinous glucoside.

Dose, 1 gm.; 15 gr.

Preparation.

Fluidextractum Apocyni.-Fluidextract of Apocynum. By maceration and percolation with Glycerin, Alcohol and Water, and evaporation.

Dose, 1 c.c.; 15 m.

Unofficial Preparation.

Infusum Apocyni.-Infusion of Apocynum (5 per cent.).

Dose, 30 to €0 c.c.; 1 to 2 fl. oz.

ACTION.

It is an efficient diuretic and has, in addition, an action resembling that of strophanthus; in large doses it is a hydragogue cathartic.

bark of Aspidosperma Quebracho-blanco Schlechtendal (Fam. Apocynacea). Habitat.-Argentine Republic.

CHARACTERS.-In nearly flat pieces, about 1 to 3 cm. thick; the outer surface yellowish-gray or brownish, deeply fissured; inner surface yellowish-brown or reddish-brown, distinctly striate; fracture displaying two sharply defined strata, of about equal thickness, and both marked with numerous whitish dots and striæ arranged in tangential lines; the fracture of the outer, lightercolored layer rather coarsely granular, and that of the darker colored, inner layer short-splintery; inodorous; taste very bitter and slightly aromatic.

COMPOSITION.—(1) Aspidospermine, CHAN2O2 (see below). (2) Quebrachamine. (3) Aspidospermatine. (4) Aspidosamine, C,H,N,O,. (5) Hydroquebrachine, C.H,N,O,, all being Alkaloids. (6) Quebrachit, a peculiar sugar. (7) Tannic acid. Dose, 5 to 30 gr.; .30 to 2.00 gm.

Extractum Aspidospermatis Fluidum (U. S. P., 1890).— Fluidextract of Aspidosperma. By maceration with Glycerin and Alcohol, and percolation with Glycerin, Alcohol and Water, and evaporation.

Dose, .30 to 2.00 c.c.; 5 to 30 m.

Aspidospermina.-Aspidospermine. A colorless, bitter powder; soluble in about 6000 parts of water at 15° C. (59° F.), 106 parts of Ether, and 48 parts of absolute Alcohol; readily soluble in fats and fixed oils. The Aspidospermine of commerce is a more or less impure mixture of all the alkaloids of the bark, and hence probably represents its activity.

Dose, .015 to .03 gm.; 1/4 to 1/2 gr.

ACTION.

In animals large doses cause motor paralysis, with dyspnoea and finally death from asphyxia. The breathing early becomes slower but deeper, and it is believed that the relief which the drug affords in dyspnoea is due to its increasing the power of the blood to take up oxygen.

USES.

Emphysema; chronic bronchit's; chronic pneumonia; uræmic

asthma.

Unofficial Preparation.

OUABAINUM.

Ouabain.-C30H10O12: 569.62. A glucoside isolated from the root of a tree, said to be the Acocanthera Ouabaio (Fam. Apocynacea). This glucoside is also obtained from the seeds of Strophanthus glabrus. Habitat.-Africa.

CHARACTERS.-A white crystalline powder slightly bitter. Solubility. Soluble in hot, but with difficulty in cold water; insoluble in Chloroform and Ether.

Dose, .00013 gm.; gr.

ACTION.

It paralyzes cardiac muscle by direct action, and when given hypodermatically is an emetic; locally it is anæsthetic.

USES.

Whooping-cough; as a local anesthetic. As it is a very poisonous drug, it should be employed with great caution.

Unofficial Preparations.

ASCLEPIAS (U. S. P., 1890).

Asclepias. Synonym.-Pleurisy root. The root of Asclepias tuberosa Linné (Fam. Asclepiadaceæ). Habitat.-United States, near the Atlantic Coast.

CHARACTERS.-Root large and fusiform, dried in longitudinal or transverse sections, from 12 to 15 cm. long, and about 2 cm. or more in thickness; the head knotty, and slightly but distinctly annulate, the remainder longitudinally wrinkled, externally orange-brown, internally whitish; tough and having an uneven fracture; bark thin and in two distinct layers, the inner one whitish; wood yellowish, with large, white, medullary rays. It is inodorous, and has a bitterish, somewhat acrid taste.

CONSTITUENTS.—(1) A crystalline Glucoside, soluble in Alcohol, Ether, and somewhat in water. (2) Asclepion, a bitter crystalline principle. (3) Two Resins.

Dose, 2 to 8 gm.; 14 to 2 dr.

Extractum Asclepiadis Fluidum (U. S. P., 1890).-Fluidextract of Asclepias. By maceration and percolation with Diluted Alcohol, and evaporation.

Dose, 2 to 8 c.c.; 1/2 to 2 fl. dr.

ACTION.

Carminative; diaphoretic; expectorant.

USES.

Pleurisy; various pectoral affections.

Unofficial Preparations.

HEMIDESMUS.

Hemidesmus (B. P.).—The dried root of Hemidesmus Indicus (Fam. Asclepiadacea). Synonym.-Indian Sarsaparilla. Habitat.-India.

CHARACTERS.-Cylindrical, twisted, longitudinally furrowed; 15 cm. long; their yellowish-brown corky layer easily separable from the rest of the bark, which is annularly cracked. Odor fragrant, taste sweetish, slightly acid. Resembling Hemidesmus. -Sarsaparilla, Ipecacuanha, and Senega, but they have no cracks.

COMPOSITION.-The chief constituents are (1) Coumarin. (2) Hemidesmine. (3) Tannic Acid.

Syrupus Hemidesmi (B. P.).-Syrup of Hemidesmus. Hemidesmus, 4; Sugar, 28; Boiling Water, 16.

Dose, 2 to 4 c.c.; 1⁄2 to 1 fl. dr.

ACTION.

It has been described as diaphoretic, diuretic and alterative; but it does not appear to have any distinct physiological action.

USES.

It has been employed for the same purposes as sarsaparilla, and in India is given in renal troubles. The syrup is a pleasant vehicle.

JALAP. The dried tuberous root of Exogonium Purga (Wenderoth) Bentham (Fam. Convolvulacea), yielding, when assayed, not less than 8 per cent. of total resin, but not more than 1.5 per cent. of resin soluble in Ether. Habitat.-Eastern Mexico.

CHARACTERS.-Napiform, pyriform or oblong, 3 to 8 cm. long and 1 to 5 cm. in diameter, the large roots often incised, more or less wrinkled, dark brown, with lighter-colored spots, and short, transverse ridges; hard, compact; internally dark brown, with numerous concentric circles composed of small resin cells; fracture resinous, lustrous, not fibrous; odor slight, but peculiar, smoky and sweetish; taste sweetish and acrid. COMPOSITION.-The chief constituents are: (1) The official resin (see below), 7 to 22 per cent. mostly Jalapurgin, C2H100O32 (2) A soft resin.

Dose, 1 gm.; 15 gr.