ACONITUM, aconite, wolf's-bane, or monk's-hood, in botany,'a genus of plants of the TrigYnia order and Poly-andria class, and pertaining to the natural order of, Multisiliqux. In the last edition of Linnieus, by Gmelin, this genus compre hends fourteen species; most of the spe ciei of aconite ha= been deemed poison ous. The ancients were so surprised at their pernicious effects, that they were afraid to touch the plants ; and hence Sprung many superstitious precautions about the manner of gathering them. Theophrastiis relates that there was a mode of preparing the aconite in his days, so that it should only destroy at the end: of One or two years; But some hive questioned whether the aconite of Theo phrastus, Dioscoridcs, Pliny, and other ancientwriters, be the same with ours, or should be referred to the genus of Ranun culus. his confidently affirmed that the huntsmen on the Alps, who hunt the wolves and other wild animals, dip their arrows into the juice of these plants, which renders the wounds occasioned by them mortal. A decoction ofthe roots has been used to kill bugs ; and the powder, dis guised in bread, or some other palatable vehicle, has been employed to destroy rats and mice. The A. napellus, or common monk's-hood, has been long known as one of the most virulent of all vegetable poi sons. faiinnmus says that it is fatal to swine and goats, but does no injury to horses, who eat it dry. He also informs us, from the Stockholm Acts, that an ig norant surgeon died in consequence of taking the fresh leaves, which he pre scribed to a patient. The effluvia of the herb in full flower have produced swoon ing fits, and a temporary loss of sight. The leilives and shoots of-this plant, used as salad, instead of celery, have proved fatal in several instances. But the most powerful part of the plant is the root. Matthiolus relates, that it was given by way of experiment to four condemned cri minals,two at Rome, in 1524, and two at Prague, in 1561, two of whom soon died, and the other two, with great difficulty, were recove red. The juice applied to the
wound of a finger, not only produced pain in the arm and hand, but cardiahgia, anxi ety, sense of suffocation, syncope, Re. and the wounded part s'phacelated before it came to suppuration. Dodonxus says that five persons at Antwerp died in con sequence of eating it by mistake. The effects of this plant are, convulsions, gid diness, insanity, violent evacuations, both upwards and downwards, faintings, cold sweat, and even death itself: Neverthe less it has been used for medical purpo ses. The Indians are said to use aconite, corrected in cow's urine, with good suc cess against fevers. There is one species of it which has been deemed an antidote to those that are poisonous, called antho ra, and those that are poisonous are called thorn. The taste ofthe root of the species denominated anthem is sweet, with a mix ture of bitterness and acrimony, and the smell is pleasant. It purges violently when fresh, but loses its qualities when dried. This is poisonous as well as -the others, though in a slighter degree, and is disused in the present practice. The first person who ventured to introduce the cdmmon monk's-hood into medicine was Dr. Stoerck. Stoerck recommends two grains of the extract to be, rubbed into a powder, with two drams of sugar, and to begin with ten grains of this powder two or three times a-day. The extract isoften given from one grain to ten for a dose ; and some have considerably increased the quantity. Instead of the extract, a tinc ture has been made of the dried leaves, macerated in six times their weight of spirits of wine, and forty drops given for a dose.