The eleventh order, the sarmentaceae, called from their having weak branches, in Latin sarmenta, is not strictly natural; and, in a medical view, contains plants of somewhat dissimilar powers. The sarsaparilla, the china, the rusous, the serpentaria, and other species of aristolochia, agree in being moderately warm and diaphoretic. One species of alstromaeria, the a. ligta, has been employed for similar purposes; yet many are acrid and poisonous, of which our materia medica contains only the asarum and the cocculus indicus. The asparagus and cissampelos (pareira brava) are diuretic, not without suspicions, in a more advanced state, of deleterious powers. The convallaria sigillum Solomonis, Murray has with propriety referred to his liliaceae. Its roots in Sweden arc prepared like the cassada, and eaten as bread; the roots of the calla in the north of Europe, and the arum colocasia in Egypt, are employed in the same manner.

The oleraceae contain the esculent herbs and roots; as the spinach, the beet, and similar plants. Linnaeus, however, has added, with less strictness, some other medical groups, the docks, the laurels, and the canella. The first deviation is in the hernaria, which is slightly bitter; and from hence he is led to the docks, which are in their leaves herbaceous; and to the laurels, by steps still less obvious and natural. He is, however, in this indiscriminate arrangement, which he very lamely defends, followed by Murray.

The succulent.* are a strictly natural association. The house leek is an example. About six genera of this order are occasionally used in medicine, though of weak powers. They are all succulent and cooling. Succulent plants flourish in the driest soils; and when too much watered they die, but do not produce a proper vegetable mould. The stapelia, the euphorbia, and aloes, do not belong to this order.

The gruinales are an association of congeneres, without any striking general character. In a medical view the order contains chiefly astringents, as the geranium, the quassia, and the simarouba. The ros solis and acctosella are acidulous; but it is not uncommon to find an acid evolved in the leaves of astringent plants. This is discovered in the docks, and their congeneres, the rhubarbs, and these plants are in other parts bitter. The guaiacum contains in its bark a bitter and slightly astringent principle.

The inundatae, which live in water only, are insipid, inodorous and not medicinal. The calyciflorae contain no medicinal plant; and the calycanthemae one only, now neglected, the lysimachia purpurea. It is mucilaginous and astringent, so that perhaps some other genera of this order may merit a trial.

The bicornes contain few medical plants, of no very decided character. The ledum palustre, rosmarinus sylvestris, has alone any odour. The uva ursi, and the different species of vaccinium, whose berries are chiefly employed, but whose roots are bitter and astringent, as well as the pyrola, show the general nature of the bicornes. Linnaeus is inclined to add the styrax and citrus. Murray admits the styrax, with the alkanet, the red and yellow sanders, and the tamarisk, with views not correctly medicinal, though the last is a slight astringent.

Of the hesperideae we have no explanation; but we observe the myrtus, which affords the cassia caryophil-lata and the pimenta, and the caryophyllus aromaticus. To which Murray adds the melaleuca leucandron, the source of the oleum cajeput. This order is therefore medicinally correct.

The rotaceae have no commentary in Giseke. We perceive them, however, to contain the anagallis, the nummularia, the gentian, and centaury, which are all bitter and slightly astringent. Murray adds the primula veris, the cyclamen, and the menyanthes (trifo-lium fibrinum), which are slightly bitter and somewhat fetid. These Linnaeus includes with propriety in the following order, the preciae, all of which are without stalks.

The caryothvllei occur only in the elder manuscript of Fabricius. It is of little importance, including only the pinks. The only genera used in medicine are the dianthus and saponaria, both neglected. The last derived a temporary credit from the commendations of Stahl and Boerhaave, who thought to have found a powerful aperient in a plant, which thus contained what they considered as a natural soap.

The trihilatae contain the hippocastanum and nasturtium Indicum (tropoelum majus), to which Murray has added the barberry, and the tribulus aquaticus (trapa natans). The bark of the horse chesnut is powerfully astringent, and that of the barberry is slightly so. The others have little medicinal power.

The corydales contains only the fumaria, a plant that, from a cooling bitter taste, has acquired credit in removing visceral obstructions. The fumaria bulbosa, which, in former pharmaceutical authors was styled aristolochia fabacea, is not very different. This genus connects the corydales with the rhceades.

The Putamineae afford only one medicinal plant, the caparis. The gems styled capers are known among the acetaria; but the root is bitter and acrid, though not astringent.

The 26th order, the multisiliquae, is, in every medical and botanical view, natural. It furnishes the aqui-legia, the aconites, the delphinium, including the calca-trippa and the stavisagria, the nigella, the paeony, the hellebores, the ranunculi, the anemones, the flammula jovis, the actaea, the thalictrum, and cimifuga, with some similar plants. These are all anodynes, or rather narcotics, with different mixtures of a stimulant kind.

The rhceades contain chiefly the poppy: the only other medicinal plant is the chaelidonium, which unites considerable acrimony with narcotic powers, and whose real merits seem to have been little understood.

The Luridae, called by Murray the solanaceae, contain all the narcotics, and, in a medical view, should have followed the multisiliquae. It contains all the vegetable narcotic poisons, or remedies; a class at present too extensive for enumeration, but which any reader can supply.