Butter. See Adeps. Arum. It is derived from the Arabic term jaron. a dart, which it exactly represents. Called also arum maculatum, aron, jarus,isaros, pes vituli, barba aronis, serpentaria min. dracontia minor, alimum. Lords and ladies, cuckoo pint, wake robin. Arum maculutum Lin. Sp. Pi. 1370. Nat. order piperita.

The root is irregularly round, tuberous, about an inch thick, sending oft' many long simple fibres; and in the medicinal part of this plant it is brown on the outside, and white within. It is acrid and pungent to the taste; the sensation continuing for some hours, but it may soon be relieved with a little milk. The firm, hard roots should be chosen. They lose their acrimony by drying, and by heat they become a bland farinaceous aliment; but a syrup, made with them would probably keep as well as the syrup made of garlic. They afford nothing by distillation nor infusion: yet if buried in fresh sand, and kept just moist only, their virtue is preserved unimpaired. Bergius considers this root as stimulant, aperient, and diuretic; and indeed the more ancient writers speak highly of it, both as an internal and external remedy. Bergius considers it as useful in a pituitous colluvies, loss of appetite, sympathetic headach, humoral asthma, and intermittent fever. Arum is certainly a very powerful and permanent stimulus; and by promoting the secretions may be advantageously employed in cachectic, chloro-tic, paralytic, and rheumatic affections, and in various other complaints of phlegmatic and torpid constitutions; but more especially in a weakened relaxed state of the stomach. That it contributes to dissolve the viscid mucus, we have no reason to think, though, as an active stimulant, it may prevent its accumulation. Its greatest utility seems to be in palsies, in chronic rheumatisms, and in atonic gout, where a permanent stimulus is wanted. In such cases, it has proved a remedy of particular value. The conserve of arum, however, with three parts of sugar to one of the root, is too much inviscated. We have found equal parts sufficient to cover the acrimony; and sometimes one almond rubbed down with each five grains has been sufficient. The dose is from ten grains to a scruple. Arum moschatum. See Piper.

Arum polyphyllum, dracunculus. See Dracon-tilm.