Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/253

 CONIUM CONNECTICUT 249 and by the satires, epistles, and Ars Poetica of Horace in 1869, the last appearing at the time of his death. In 1872 was published his edition of the satires of Persius, with a translation and commentary. The version of the ^Eneid is in the octosyllabic measure fa- miliar to the readers of Scott and Byron, and has acquired considerable popularity. An edi- tion of Conington's " Miscellaneous Writings," edited by J. A. Symonds, with a "Memoir" by H. G. S. Smith, has been published in two volumes (London, 1872). CONIUM, a genus of umbelliferous plants, of which C. maculatum, the poisonous hemlock, is the best known species. This is an erect, branching, biennial plant, from 2 to 5 ft. high, with a tap-shaped root, smooth hollow stem, fern-like leaves, greenish white flowers, and globular crenellated fruit. The leaves when bruised emit a peculiar and disagreeable odor. It is a native of Europe, and now grows wild Conium maculatum. in the United States. It was used in medi- cine in the time of Dioscorides, and in all probability was the poison with which Socrates was put to death. Its activity depends upon a volatile alkaloid, conia, which is a poison of extreme energy. This alkaloid is contained in the leaves and seeds. The most efficient prep- arations of the drug are a fluid extract from the immature seeds and the succus. The latter is expressed from the green leaves and pre- served by the addition of alcohol. The ex- tract and tincture from the dried leaves are inert or nearly so. In medicinal doses the root is quite inert, and is not poisonous even when taken in quantities like a vegetable at an ordinary meal. The symptoms observed after a full dose (3 to 5 drachms of the Brit- ish succus for a healthy adult) are giddiness, indistinctness of vision, and a feeling of weak- ness and languor. When poisoning takes place, the weakness becomes actual paralysis, which may cause death, with or without convulsions, by involving the respiratory muscles, the intelligence and sensibility being unaffected. The symptoms resemble those produced by woorara, the South American arrow poison, and are probably due to a similar condition, a paralysis of the motor nerves, especially of their terminations, the nervous centres being unaf- fected. Conium may be used in diseases char- acterized by excessive or irregular motor ac- tivity, such as convulsions from teething, chorea, shaking paralysis, whooping cough, and general nervous irritability. It seems also in some cases to have a decided effect in re- lieving pain. It was at one time supposed to retard the progress of cancer, but more exact observation has shown this notion to be un- founded. The alkaloid, conia, is rarely used in medicine. The dose of the fluid extract is 8 or 10 drops three times a day, increased to half a teaspoonful or more, if necessary. The succus of the British Pharmacopoeia may be given in similar doses. CONNAUGHT, the westernmost of the four provinces of Ireland, comprising the counties Galway, Mayo, Eoscommon, Leitrim, and Sligo ; area, 6,614 sq. m. ; pop. in 1841, 1,418,859; in 1851, 1,012,006; in 1861,913,135; in 1871, 845,993, of whom 803,532 were Roman Catho- lics. It is extremely rugged and mountainous except in the central part, and abounds in mag- nificent scenery, but the soil is the most barren in Ireland. A great part of the land consists of bog. It is drained by the Shannon and its affluents, and by numerous rivers of less note, which mostly take their rise from lakes and flow into the ocean. The coast is broken by many bays and inlets. The population is al- most entirely of Celtic race, and the Irish lan- guage is still extensively spoken. The moral and physical condition of the people is lower than hi the other provinces ; abject poverty pre- vails, and the population is steadily decreas- ing. Galway, Sligo, and Ballina, aft seaports, are the chief towns. Connaught was divided into counties by Queen Elizabeth in 1590. CONNEAUT, a village and township on Con- neaut creek, Ashtabula co., Ohio, 2 m. from Lake Erie, and near the border of Pennsylva- nia; pop. of the township in 1870, 3,010 ; of the village, 1,1 63. It is memorable as the land- ing place of the first settlers of northern Ohio in 1796, whence it is sometimes called the Plymouth of the Western Reserve. It has a good harbor, with a lighthouse, contains a num- ber of churches, schools, &c., and is the cen- tre of an active commerce. The surrounding country is extremely productive. The Lake Shore railroad passes through the village. CONNECTICUT, one of the thirteen original states of the American Union, and the smallest of the present states in area except Rhode Isl- and and Delaware. It derives its name from its chief river, the Connecticut, meaning in the original Indian language the Long river. It is bounded N. by Massachusetts, E. by Rhode Island, S. by Long Island sound, and W. by