Uses—Ergot is principally used on account of its specific action on the uterus in parturition.
Other Varieties of Ergot—Ergot of Wheat (Triticum vulgare), which is in shorter and thicker ergots than that of rye, is picked out by hand in some parts of Italy and France, from grain intended to be used for the manufacture of vermicelli and other pastes; and such ergot is sold to druggists. Carbonneaux Le Perdriel[2768] has endeavoured to show that it is less prone to become deteriorated by age than that of rye, and that it never produces the deleterious effects sometimes occasioned by the latter.
The same writer asserts that Ergot of Oat is sometimes collected and sold either per se, or mixed with that of rye. It differs from the latter in the ergots being considerably more slender.
Ergot of the North African grass Arundo Ampelodesmos Cirillo, known as Diss, has been collected for use, and according to Lallemant[2769] is twice as active as that of rye. It is from 1 to 3 inches long by only about ⅒ of an inch broad, generally arched, or in the large ergots twisted spirally. We find it to share the structural character of the ergot of rye; it is in all probability the same formation, yet remarkably modified.
ALGÆ (FLORIDEÆ).
CHONDRUS CRISPUS.
Fucus Hibernicus; Carrageen,[2770] Irish Moss; F. Mousse d’Irlande, Mousse perlée; G. Knorpeltang, Irländisches Moos, Perlmoos.
Botanical Origin—Chondrus crispus Lyngbye (Fucus crispus L.), a sea weed of the class Florideæ, abundant on rocky sea-shores of Europe from the North Cape to Gibraltar; not frequent however in the Baltic, and altogether wanting in the Mediterranean, but largely met with on the eastern coasts of North America.
History—Chondrus crispus was figured in 1699 by Morison,[2771] yet only Todhunter at Dublin introduced it to the notice of the medical profession in England in 1831, and shortly afterwards it attracted some attention in Germany. It was never admitted to the London or British pharmacopœia, and is but little esteemed in medicine.
Description—The entire plant is collected: in the fresh state it is soft and cartilaginous, varying in colour from yellowish-green to livid purple or purplish-brown, but becoming, after washing and exposure to the sun, white or yellowish, and when dry, shrunken, horny and translucent.