Papilionace.

DOLICHOS PRURIENS.

Class XVII.

Gen. Char.

DIADELPHIA.

COMMON COWHAGE.

Order IV. DECANDRIA.

Banner, at the base of the standard, compressing the wings underneath; oblong and two-parallel.

Spe. Char. Stem, flexuous. Racemes, axillary. Glumes, erect, pendulous, hispid, containing seeds.

THE root is perennial and fibrous; the stem is herbaceous, climbing, cylindrical, hairy, divided into many branches, which twist round the neighboring trees, and rise to a considerable height; the leaves are ternate, and stand upon long footstalks, placed alternately at the distance of about a foot from each other; each pinna, or lobe, is entire, ovate, pointed, smooth on the upper side, on the under hirsute; the lateral lobes are oblique, and somewhat larger than that in the middle, which is of a rhomboidal shape; the flowers are large, of a purplish or violet color, and are mostly ternate, placed upon short peduncles, and form pendant spikes, which arise from the axils of the leaves, and are about a foot in length; the proper footstalks are short, and furnished with small stipules; the calyx is bellshaped, gibbous at the base, lax downy, divided into two lips, of which the upper is semi-ovate; the under separates into three lanceshaped segments; the corolla is of the papilionaceous order, consisting of a vexillum, or standard, which is roundish, entire, concave, obtuse, and double the length of the calyx; there are two ala, or wings, which are oblong, obtuse, concave, and twice the length of the vexillum; a carina, or keel, which is scythe-shaped, of the length of the

Vol. iii.-63.

alæ, compressed, and at the apex furnished on each side with a short, concave spur; the filaments are ten, nine of which are united at the base, alternately longer and shorter; the former are four times the breadth of the others, and supplied with incumbent anthers, but the anthers of the latter are placed vertically; the germen is oblong, villous, and supports a slender style, about the length of the filaments, terminated by a small orbicular stigma; the fruit is an oblong pod, in the form of the letter f, four or five inches in length, covered with brown, bristly hairs, and containing four, five or six seeds, of a brownish color. The flowers appear in September and October.

The plant known by the name of Cow-itch, Couhage, and Cowhage, is referred by Bergius and Miller to the Dolichos urens of Linnæus; and this error is also to be found in Aiton's Hortus Kevensis. The pods of both Dolichos urens and Dolichos pruriens, are beset with setaceous hairs; but of the former these are shorter, and very thinly scattered over the pod, which is keel-shaped, much longer, and more than twice the breadth of that of the latter, and marked transversely with deep furrows. These circumstances show that the Doliches urens is widely different from the officinal Cowhage here figured, which is a native of both Indies, and appears to have been cultivated in England in the time of Ray, by Mr. Charles Hatton; and it is even at this time found growing in many of the gardens throughout England; but we cannot learn that it has ever been known to produce perfect flowers in our gardens, or even the greenhouses.

The sharp hairs of the pod readily penetrate the skin, and cause a very troublesome itching—a mischievous purpose, to which in this country they have been long chiefly converted. But the violent irritation which these produce upon the external skin, has not deterred practitioners from administering them internally, especially in the West Indies, where they have been generally employed for many years as a safe and efficacious anthelmintic; and, with a view to this

effect, they are now admitted into general practice, both in Europe and the United States.

Sir Hans Sloane, who has noticed the diuretic qualities of the roots and pods of this plant, observes, that an infusion of the latter "is a certain remedy for the dropsy;" but he takes no notice of the vermifuge effects of Cowhage: Brown has, however, informed us, that "in the windward islands some of the inhabitants make a sirup of the pods, which is said to be very effectual against worms." But as little attention would be paid to an observation so vague and unsatisfactory as this, we are to consider Mr. Bancroft as the first person whose writings tended to establish the anthelmintic character of Cowhage in Europe, from whence its use was introduced into this country. He tells us "the part used is the setaceous hairy substance growing on the outside of the pod, which is scraped off, and mixed with common sirup or molasses, of which a teaspoonful to a child of two or three years old, and double the quantity to an adult, is given in the morning before breakfast, and repeated the two succeeding mornings; after which a dose of rhubarb is usually subjoined. This is the empyrical practice of the planters, who usually once in three or four months exhibit the Cow-itch in this manner to their slaves in general, but especially to all their children, without distinction; and in this manner I have seen it given to hundreds, from one year old and upwards, with the most happy success. The patients, after the second dose, usually discharged an incredible number of worms, even to the amount of more than twenty at a time." He concludes by saying, "It is to be observed, that this remedy is particularly designed to expel the long round worm; whether it is equally deleterious to the ascarides, or whether it has ever been used against them, I am uncertain." Other accounts, showing the efficacy of this medicine, have since appeared in various medical publications, both in this country and Europe, all speaking highly in its favor; and more particularly a treatise professedly written on the subject, by Mr. Chamberlain, to which a number of cases are

subjoined, and to which great additions have lately been made, on various and indubitable authorities, proving the Cowhage to be not less successful here than in the warmer climates of which it is a native; and that all the different kinds of worms known to infest the primæ viæ, have been expelled by this anthelmintic.

The manner in which these hairy spiculæ act as a vermifuge, seems to be purely mechanical; for neither the tincture nor the decoction possess the least anthelmintic power.

The following experiment, made by Mr. Chamberlaine, fully illustrates this opinion: "A calabash full of very large worms of the teres kind, in full vigor, voided by a poor emaciated patient, was brought to me. Among these I sprinkled some of the setæ. For a minute or two no visible effect was produced; but in a little time they began to writhe and twist themselves in an unusual manner, and exhibited evident signs of extreme torture. I took one of the worms, and, viewing it through a magnifying glass, perceived that several of the setæ had pierced very deep, and others were sticking loosely in various parts of its body, but that none of the spiulæ which had once entered into the skin, dropped off."

Propagation and Culture. There are fifty-seven different varieties of this plant now known and described by botanists; but none of the species are worth cultivating for ornaments, except the Dolichos lignosus, Dolichos Jacqaini, and Dolichos Curtisii. A light rich soil answers for all the species, and they are easily increased, either by seed or cuttings: cuttings planted in a pot of sand, root freely; but those of the stove kind require heat. As this plant has never attracted the attention of the gardener as an ornament, neither much sought for as a medicine, consequently its culture is very limited both here and in Europe.