Part 196

_Obs._ Hippuric acid, when pure, forms long, slender, milk-white, square prisms; it is soluble in 400 parts of cold water; it also dissolves in hot alcohol. When strongly heated, it yields benzoic acid, benzoate of ammonia, and benzonitrile, with a coaly residue. The urine of horses or cows, left to itself for some time, or evaporated at a boiling temperature, yields not a trace of hippuric acid, but only benzoic acid. Nitric acid and hot oil of vitriol convert it into benzoic acid. Boiling hydrochloric acid converts it into benzoic acid and glycocoll. With the bases it forms salts, which are called hippurates. See BENZOIC ACID.

=HIPS.= _Syn._ HEPS; ROSA CANINA (Ph. L.). The fresh fruit of the dog rose (_Rosa canina_), or wild briar. Used to make a conserve.

=HOL'LANDS.= _Syn._ GENEVA, SCHIEDAM, HOLLANDS GIN, DUTCH G. _Prep._ 1. The materials employed in the distilleries of Schiedam, in the preparation of this excellent spirit, are 2 parts of the best unmalted rye and 1 part of malted bigg, reduced to the state of coarse meal by grinding. About a barrel (36 galls.) of water, at a temperature of from 162° to 168° Fahr., is put into the mash-tun for every 1-1/2 cwt. of meal, after which the malt is introduced and stirred, and, lastly, the rye is added. Powerful agitation is next given to the magma till it becomes quite uniform, when the mash-tun is covered over with canvas, and left in this state for two hours. Agitation is then again had recourse to, and the transparent 'spent wash' of a preceding mashing is added, followed by as much cold water as will reduce the temperature of the whole to about 85° Fahr. The gravity of the wort at this point varies from 33 to 38 lbs. A quantity of the best pressed Flanders yeast, equal to 1 lb. for every 100 galls. of the mashed materials, is next stirred in, and the whole is fermented in the mash-tun for about 3 days, or until the attenuation is from 7 to 4 lbs. (sp. gr. 1·007 to 1·004). During this time the yeast is occasionally skimmed off the fermenting wort. The wash, with the grains, is then transferred to the still, and converted into 'low wines.' To every 100 galls. of this liquor, 2 lbs. of juniper berries (3 to 5 years old), and about 1 lb. of salt, are added, and the whole is put into the low-wine still, and the fine spirit drawn off by a gentle heat, one receiver only being employed. The product per quarter varies from 18 to 21 galls. of spirit, 2 to 3 o. p.

2. (BEST HOLLANDS.) Hollands rectified to the strength of 24° Baumé (sp. gr. ·9125, or about 6 o. p.).

3. (ENGLISH-MADE.)--_a._ From juniper berries (at least a year old, and crushed in the hands), 3 lbs.; rectified spirit, 1-1/2 gall. (or proof spirit, 2-1/2 galls.); digest, with agitation, for a week, and then express the liquor; after 24 hours' repose, decant the clear portion, add it to good corn spirit, at 2 or 3% overproof, 90 or 100 galls., and mix them well together.

_b._ From juniper berries, 2-1/2 lbs.; sweet fennel seed, 5 oz.; caraway seed, 3-1/2 oz.; proof spirit, 2 galls.; corn spirit, 90 or 100 galls.

_c._ As the last, with the addition of Strasburg turpentine or Canadian balsam, 1 lb.

_d._ To either of the last two or three add a very small quantity of ground cardamoms or horse-radish. Some compounders also add 4 or 5 cloves of garlic, or about 15 gr. of assaf[oe]tida, with 1 gr. of ambergris rubbed to a powder with a little white sand or lump sugar. Good plain gin may be advantageously employed in lieu of the corn spirit ordered above, when expense is no object.

_Obs._ The last four forms, which are only given as examples, produce a very pleasant spirit, if it is kept for some time to 'mellow.' Age is one of the principal causes of the 'creaminess' of foreign gin, which usually lies in bond for some time before being consumed. The product is, however, much superior if the ingredients are rectified along with 20 galls. of water, and about 14 lbs. of salt, by a gentle heat.

It will be seen from the above that the superior flavour of Hollands spirit depends more on the peculiar mode of its manufacture than on the quantity of juniper berries employed; 2 lbs. of them, when new, being barely equivalent to 1 oz. of the essential oil; and when old, to less than 1/2 oz., a quantity wholly insufficient to flavour 100 gallons of spirit. The Dutch distillers, most noted for this liquor, add a little pure Strasburg turpentine and a handful or two of hops to the spirit, along with the juniper berries, before rectification. The former substance has a pale yellowish-brown colour, and a very fragrant and agreeable smell, and tends materially to impart that fine aroma for which the best geneva is distinguished. At Rotterdam sweet fennel seed is commonly added as a flavouring; and at Weesoppe Strasburg turpentine and fennel seeds, or the essential oil of fennel, are frequently substituted for a large portion of the juniper berries.

Schiedam Hollands is considered the best; the next quality is that of Rotterdam; after these comes that of Weesoppe.

Attempts have been made by Mr Robert Moore, and others to introduce into general consumption in this country a home-made liquor, resembling and prepared in the same manner as foreign geneva, "but the palates of our gin-drinkers were too corrupted to relish so pure a spirit."

=HOM[OE]OP'ATHY.= _Syn._ HOM[OE]OPATHIA, L. A medical hypothesis promulgated at the commencement of the present century by the late Dr Hahnemann, of Leipsic, according to which diseases may be cured by the administration of minute doses of medicines capable of producing in healthy persons affections similar to those it is intended to remove. The doctrine that "_similia similibus curantur_" had long previously been practically acted on, to a limited extent, in certain cases, in legitimate medicine (allopathy, heteropathy), although not verbally recognised as belonging to its system. The administration of infinitesimal doses is an absurdity which hom[oe]opathy, however, alone can claim. According to this method, the millionth of a grain is often an excessive dose; whilst billionths and decillionths, quantities so small as to be vastly beyond human perception, form the common doses. This reduces the whole practice of hom[oe]opathy to a system of doing nothing beyond regulating the diet and habits of the patient. "All judicious practitioners have long been agreed that there are many cases which are best treated in the manner just mentioned, and in which physic does more harm than good; in which, in short, a sensible physician endeavours to amuse the patient, whilst nature cures the disorder; so that the frequent success of hom[oe]opathic treatment may be explained, without admitting the principle upon which it is presumed to be founded." (Brande.)

=HON'EY.= _Syn._ MEL (B. P.), L. The sweet substance elaborated by the domestic bee from the juices of the nectaries of flowers, and deposited in the cells of wax forming the honeycomb.

_Var._ Pure honey consists of a syrup of uncrystallisable sugar and crystalline saccharine grains, resembling grape sugar.--'Virgin honey' is that which flows spontaneously from the comb.--'Ordinary honey,' that obtained by heat and pressure. The former is pale and fragrant; the latter darker, and possessing a less agreeable taste and smell.--'English honey' is chiefly collected from furze and broom flowers, and is more waxy than that from the South of Europe;--'Narbonne honey,' chiefly from rosemary, and other labiate flowers, very fine;--'Poisonous honey' is found near Trebizond, in Asia, its toxic effects being due to the bees having collected it from a poisonous plant, the _Azalea pontica_.

_Pur._ Honey is frequently adulterated with treacle, potato-sugar syrup, potato farina, starch, and wheat flour. The first may be detected by the colour and odour; the second in the way noticed under SUGAR; and the others by the honey not forming a nearly clear solution with cold water, and striking a blue colour with iodine. When it contains wheat flour, and is heated, it at first liquefies, but on cooling it becomes solid and tough. The absence of starchy matter or flour is easily proved by the following test:--Boiled with water for five minutes, and allowed to cool, it should not become blue with iodine water--indicating absence of flour.

_Uses, &c._ Honey is nutritive and laxative, but rather apt to gripe. It is employed in the preparation of OXYMELS and GARGLES, and also to cover the taste of nauseous medicines, which it does better than sugar. Clarified honey is alone ordered to be used in medicine.

=Honey, Clarified.= _Syn._ REFINED HONEY, STRAINED H.; MEL DEPURATUM (Ph. D.), MEL PRÆPARATUM, L. The honey is simply melted by the heat of a water bath, and strained whilst hot through flannel (Ph. D.); or--it is melted as last, and the scum removed (Ph. U. S.); or--it is melted with 1-3rd its weight of water, skimmed, strained through flannel, and evaporated until it reaches the sp. gr. 1·261. (P. Cod.) Honey is not to be employed without being desquamated. (Ph. L.)

_Obs._ Clarified honey is less agreeable than raw honey, and has lost the crystalline character of the latter; but it is less liable to ferment and gripe. The use of copper and iron vessels or implements should be avoided, as honey acquires a dark colour by contact with them. Berlin-ware, stone-ware, or well-silvered or tin copper pans, should alone be used. On the large scale, one or other of the following plans are adopted:--

1. The honey is mixed with an equal weight of water and allowed to boil up 5 or 6 times without skimming; it is then removed from the fire, and after being cooled, brought on several strong linen strainers, stretched horizontally, and covered with a layer of clean and well-washed sand, an inch in depth; the sand is rinsed with a little cold water, and the mixed liquor is finally evaporated to the thickness of syrup.

2. Dissolve the honey in water, as last, clarify with white of egg, and evaporate to a proper consistence.

3. Dissolve in water, add 1-1/2 lb. of animal charcoal to every 1/4 cwt. of honey, gently simmer for 15 minutes, add a little chalk to saturate excess of acid, if required, strain or clarify, and evaporate.

4. Honey, 1 cwt.; water, 9 galls.; fresh burnt animal charcoal, 7 lbs.; simmer for 15 minutes, add a little chalk to saturate free acid (if required), strain or clarify, and evaporate as before.

=HONEYS.= (In _pharmacy_.) _Syn._ MELITA, L. These are minor preparations, now almost superseded by 'syrups' (SYRUPI). The _mellita_ of the Ph. L., including two 'oxymels,' are only four in number.

=Honey of Bo''rax.= _Syn._ MEL BORACIS (B. P. Ph., L. E. & D.), L. _Prep._ (B. P.) Finely powdered borax, 1; clarified honey, 7; mix. Astringent, detersive, and cooling. It is employed in aphthæ of the mouth, excessive salivation, &c. A great improvement would be to dissolve 1 of borax in 1 of glycerin, and then add 6 of honey.

=Honey of Col'chicum.= _Syn._ MEL COLCHICI, L. _Prep._ (Beasley.) Dried colchicum 1 part; water (at 140°), 16 parts; infuse for 12 hours, strain, let it settle, and boil the clear liquor with white honey, 12 parts, to the consistence of a syrup. See COLCHICUM.

=Honey of Liq'uorice.= _Syn._ MEL GLYCYRRHIZATUM, L. _Prep._ (Ph. Hamb.) Honey and a strong infusion of liquorice boiled to a proper consistence. Emollient, pectoral, and laxative.

=Honey of Male Fern.= _Syn._ MEL FILICIS, L. _Prep._ (Dunglison.) Ethereal extract of male fern, 30 gr.; honey of roses, 4 dr.; mix. In tapeworm.--_Dose._ One half at bedtime, followed by the remainder in the morning.

=Honey of Mercury.= _Syn._ MEL HYDRARGYRI, L. _Prep._ (Bell.) Mercury, 1 dr.; honey, 1 oz.; triturate till the globules disappear. Allard adds of oil of cloves, 1/2 dr. Properties similar to those of mercurial pill. It is chiefly used as an application to ulcers of the throat.

=Honey of Ro''ses.= _Syn._ MEL ROSÆ (Ph. L. and E.), L. _Prep._ 1. (Ph. L.) Dried petals of the red rose (the leaves separated), 4 oz.; boiling water, 16 fl. oz.; macerate for 2 hours; lightly press them in the hand, and strain; then add 8 fl. oz. more of boiling water to the roses, macerate for a short time, and again gently express the liquor; to this add the other half; next add to the mixed liquors, honey, 5 lbs.; and evaporate in a water bath, so that, the infusion which was set aside being added, it may become of a proper consistence.

2. (Ph. E.) Dried rose petals, 4 oz.; boiling water, 2-1/2 pints; infuse for 6 hours, and gently squeeze out the liquor; after the impurities have subsided, decant the clear, add of honey, 5 lbs., and evaporate as before, to a proper consistence, removing the scum which forms. Used to make astringent gargles. It must not be boiled in a copper or iron vessel, as they will spoil the colour. The last form is that commonly adopted in trade.

=Honey of Squills.= _Syn._ MEL SCILLÆ, L. _Prep._ 1. Thick clarified honey, 3 lbs.; tincture of squills, 2 lbs.; mix.

2. (Soubeiran.) Dried squills, 1 oz.; boiling water, 3/4 pint; infuse 2 hours, strain, add of honey, 12 oz.; and evaporate to a proper consistence. Resembles OXYMEL OF SQUILLS (nearly).

=Honey of Verdigris.= EGYPTIACUM.

=Honey of Vi'olets.= _Syn._ MEL VIOLÆ; L. _Prep._ From clarified honey, 2 parts; expressed and depurated juice of violets, 1 part. Resembles syrup of violets.

=HON'EY DEW.= _Syn._ ROS MELLITUS, L. A sweetish matter ejected upon the leaves of plants by certain aphides.

=HOOP'ING COUGH.= See WHOOPING COUGH.

=HOPS.= _Syn._ LUPULUS (B. P.), L. "The catkins of the female plant of the _Humulus lupulus_" or common hop. (B. P.) "The dried strobiles." (Ph. D.) The hops of commerce are the strobiles or catkins (LUPULI STROBILI, L. AMENTA) of the hop plant. The yellow powder or small lupulinic grains or glands (LUPULIN), which are attached to the strobiles, are the portion on which their characteristic qualities chiefly depend.

The hop is tonic, stomachic, and moderately narcotic. It is used in diseases of local debility with morbid vigilance and other nervous derangement, producing sleep where opiates are objectionable. Hops may be used topically as a fomentation or a poultice, as a resolvent or discutient in painful swellings and tumours. The golden dust attached to the scale of the hop is sometimes administered in doses of from 5 to 10 grains. Very freshly dried hops, made into a pillow, procure sleep.

In the choice of hops, care should be taken to select those that have large cones or strobiles, that are the most powerfully odorous and most free from leaves, stems, scaly fragments, and sticks, and which, when rubbed between the hands, impart, in the greatest degree, a yellowish tint and glutinous feeling to the skin. The tightness with which they are packed should also be noticed; as, without being very firmly pressed together, and quite solid they soon spoil by keeping. The finest flavoured hops are the 'GOLDINGS,' grown chiefly in middle and east Kent; the 'WHITEBINES' of Farnham and Canterbury; and the WORCESTER HOPS, grown on the red soils of the vale of the Severn. These are principally employed for the finer class of ales. Mid Kent and Sussex hops are also used for ale, but have an inferior colour and flavour. The best hops are packed in sacks of fine canvas, termed 'pockets,' weighing from 1-1/4 cwt. to 1-3/4 cwt. each; and the inferior qualities in coarse 'bags,' of about double the size. The former are mostly purchased by the ale brewers, and the latter by the porter brewers. When hops are older than of last season's growth they are termed 'yearlings,'--when of the second season's growth, 'old,'--and when three years, or older, 'old olds.' See BREWING, EXTRACT, HUMULIN, LUPULIN, TINCTURE, &c.

=HOOSE.= Young cattle, especially calves, as well as sheep and lambs, are frequently liable to attacks of a species of bronchitis, caused by the presence in the bronchial tubes of minute worms. They are mostly so attacked in autumn.

_Treatment._ For a calf of six months old give half an ounce of oil of turpentine in two ounces of linseed oil, to be repeated once or twice after an interval of two days. Half this dose may be given to sheep. The mixture should be administered by the mouth, and _not_ by the nostrils, as usually recommended. Calves should additionally be comfortably housed at night, and be fed with a little oil cake and other good food.

=HORE'HOUND.= _Syn._ WHITE HOREHOUND; MARRUBIUM VULGARE (Linn.), L. This herb has long been a popular remedy in chronic pulmonary complaints, especially catarrh, and in uterine and liver affections. Horehound tea (THEA MARUBII, INFUSUM MARUBII) is prepared by infusing 1 oz. of the herb in boiling water, 1 pint, for an hour;--syrup of horehound (SYRUPUS MARUBII), by thickening the infusion of tea with sugar;--candied horehound (MARUBIUM CONDITUM), by mixing 1 pint of horehound juice with 8 or 10 lbs. of white sugar, boiling the mixture to a candy height, and pouring it, whilst warm, into moulds, or small paper cases, well dusted with finely powdered lump-sugar; or by pouring it out on a dusted slab, and cutting it into squares. See CANDYING.

=HORN.= For the purposes of the turner and comb-maker, horns of the goat and sheep are preferred on account of their superior whiteness and transparency. For medical purposes, those of the stag (HARTSHORN) are ordered to be employed.

Horn is dyed with the same dyes, and in a similar manner to bones and ivory.

Horn is softened, bent, and moulded, by means of heat and pressure. For these purposes boiling water and a screw press are commonly employed.

Horn is reduced to plates or sheets by sawing it, and then exposing it to powerful pressure between hot iron plates; the pith having been previously removed, and its texture softened by soaking for some days in water, and subsequent boiling in that liquid.

Surfaces and edges may be united or cemented together by softening the horn by the heat of boiling water, placing the parts in contact under strong pressure, and exposing the whole thus arranged to the heat of boiling water.

Horn is stained or party-coloured to imitate tortoise-shell, by a solution of terchloride of gold, for the red portion; nitrate of silver, for the dark brown and black; and nitrate of mercury (hot), or a paste made of red lead, and potash or quicklime, for the brown. When the last is used the horn must be heated and exposed to its action for some hours.

=Horn Silver.= (Ag. Cl.) A native chloride of silver, which occurs either crystallized in cubes, or as a compact semi-transparent mass.

=HORS-D'[OE]UVRES.= [Fr.] _Syn._ ASSIETTES, Fr. Small _entrées_, as '_aiguillettes_,' '_ragouts_,' plates of sardines, anchovies, or other relishes, served at dinner between the leading dishes. '_Assiettes volantes_' (flying plates) are dishes handed round to the guests, but not placed on the table.

=HORSE.= _Syn._ EQUUS, L. This most useful quadruped belongs to the family _Equidæ_, distinguished by a single digit and hoof on each foot. The horse can scarcely be said to exist at the present day in its natural wild state, as the so-called 'wild-horses' of America and Asia are but the progeny of horses which have escaped from the haunts of civilisation. Of all animals the horse is most useful to man. Independently of its value as a beast of burden and draught, its skin, its hide, intestines, and bones, furnish us with leather, the thongs of whips, gut, grease, bone-black, manure, &c. The excrement, fat, and hoof were included in the Materia Medica of the Ph. L. 1618. The flesh is eaten in some countries, and was formerly esteemed to possess many virtues.

Injuries of a serious character, and even death, are often occasioned by horses running away, or becoming unmanageable. Various methods have been proposed to prevent accidents of this kind, and to place the animal entirely under the power of its rider or driver. In Russia, around the horse's neck, near the neck strap, is placed a cord with a running knot. To this slip-noose is attached a pair of reins, which always lie thrown over the dashboards, ready to be seized at once. When the horse starts, and becomes unruly, the gentleman takes up this cord, and tightens the horse's throat, so that he cannot take breath. The most furious horse stops instantly, and will not fall or kick. See BEDDING, BRAN MASH, BROKEN KNEES, BROKEN WIND, CLIPPING, CANKER, CATARRH, CHOKING, CHOREA, CHOLIC, CONSTIPATION, CORNS, CRIB-BITING, CURB.

=HORSE BALLS.= See VETERINARY MEDICINE.

=HORSES, Condition Powder for.= The principal ingredients were: Fenugreek, liquorice root, resin, brimstone, common salt, nitrate of potash, and a green powder, probably senna. It contained traces of calcium and magnesium carbonates; alumina, silica, and iron.

=HORSE POW'ER.= This term was first employed by James Watt to express a power capable of raising 33,000 lbs. one foot high per minute. The effective pressure on the surface of the piston was estimated at 7 lbs. to the square inch, and hence the area of the piston, in square inches, multiplied by 7, gave the gross effective moving pressure, and the space passed over by this piston in a minute gave the distance through which the pressure was exerted, or the weight was raised. From these data the horse power was easily calculated. In process of time improvements in the formation of boilers and steam engines increased the effective pressure on the piston, and, consequently, the power of the engine. In modern engines the actual power is commonly from 2 to 4 times greater than the nominal power, which is, however, still retained as the unit of power in commercial calculations.

=HORSERAD'ISH.= _Syn._ ARMORACIA RADIX. (B. P.). "The fresh root of _Cochlearia Armoracia_" (B. P.). Horseradish is pungent, acrid, stimulant, and rubefacient. It is also regarded as diaphoretic, diuretic, and antiscorbutic. It forms a useful masticatory in hoarseness, sore throat, and toothache. As a condiment, it provokes the appetite and assists digestion. Reduced to shreds (scraped horseradish), it forms a common and excellent accompaniment to roast beef. The root of aconite or wolfsbane, which somewhat resembles it in appearance, has occasionally been mistaken for it, with fatal results; the two are, however, readily distinguished from each other, as the taste of horseradish is warm and pungent, approaching that of mustard, whilst aconite is bitter, and its odour is earthy and disagreeable, and after a few minutes' contact with the lips, tongue, and fauces, produces a sensation of numbness, and tingling. See ACONITUM NAPELLUS; under which article will be found engravings of the two roots. The root may be kept fresh for some time if buried in sand in a cool place. Horseradish powder is prepared from the roots gathered in November or December, and dried by a gentle heat or exposure to a current of dry air. It is used as a condiment.

=HOR'TICULTURE.= _Syn._ GARDENING. The art of cultivating gardens. According to Loudon, horticulture differs from agriculture, chiefly in the comparatively limited space over which it extends, and in being conducted by manual labour; whilst the latter is performed jointly by human and animal labour, in fields, or on an extensive tract of land called a farm.

=HOR'TUS-SICCUS.= See HERBARIUM.