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 WORSAAE 731 cies being now united under the variable A. maritima, or sea artemisia. It grows in sandy wastes near the coast from England around the Mediterranean, covers wide tracts in the region of the Caspian, and extends to Siberia. The drug is chiefly collected on the Kirghiz steppes in northern Turkistan, and mostly finds its way into commerce through the fairs at Nizh- ni Novgorod. Though called a seed, the drug consists of the small unopened flower heads of the plant, which, though minute, have the structure common to the composite family, and consist of three to live florets, closely sur- rounded by an involucre of several scales ; the heads are oblong, a tenth of an inch long, and require about 90 to weigh a grain ; when rubbed they have a camphorous odor, and their taste is bitter and aromatic. The chem- ical composition of this wormseed is quite complex ; besides 1 per cent, of a peculiar es- sential oil, its most important constituent is santonine, of which it yields 1 to 2 per cent., and upon which its anthelmintic properties depend. Santonine crystallizes in colorless rectangular crystals, which when exposed to daylight split up into irregular fragments ; it is sparingly soluble in water, but dissolves in three or four parts of chloroform, is inodor- ous, and has a bitter taste. The drug, in doses of 10 to 60 grs., is an active vermifuge, but santonine in doses of 3 to 6 grs. is preferred. In large doses it produces a singular effect upon the vision, objects appearing to those un- der its influence as if viewed through yellow glass ; and if the dose is very large, they ap- pear as if seen through a red medium. WORMWOOD (probably so called from its use as an anthelmintic), a plant of the composite Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium). family, Artemisia absinthium, a native of Eu- rope and somewhat naturalized in this country. It is a perennial with numerous erect stems 2 to 4 ft. high, and rather woody at base, all parts hoary with a close, almost silky down ; the leaves, nearly orbicular in thir general out- line, are much cut into linear lobes; the nu- merous hemispherical heads are in panicles and nodding, and are larger than in most other species ; the scales of the involucre to the heads with dry margins; the florets all fertile, the marginal ones pistillate only. All parts of the plant are intensely bitter, with a strong odor due to a greenish volatile oil, which is sepa- rated by distillation and kept in the shops as oil of wormwood. It has long been in use as a powerful aromatic tonic, and is sometimes given to destroy worms ; infused in spirits, it is a popular form of bitters. The Germane use it in the place of hops, to prepare Wer- muth beer, and the French to make a liqueur called alsinthe. (See ABSINTH.) The ashes of the plant contain a large amount of potash in the form of carbonate, and while chemistry was but little known it was supposed to pos- sess particular virtues; even at the present time a granular carbonate of potash is fre- quently called the salts of wormwood. WORNU9I, Ralph Kieholson, an English author, born at Thornton, North Durham, Dec. 29, 1812. He was educated at University college, London, studied painting and the fine arts, and practised portrait painting for some years in London. In 1846 he was appointed to pre- pare the official catalogue of the national gal- lery, in 1848 lecturer on ornamental art in the government schools of design, in 1852 libra- rian and keeper of casts, and in 1855 keeper and secretary of the national gallery. He has published " The Epochs of Painting Character- ized: a Sketch of the History of Painting" (2 vols., London, 1846) ; "Analysis of Ornament " (1856) ; " The Epochs of Painting : a Biograph- ical and Critical Essay" (1864); and "The Life and Works of Hans Holbein " (1866). He edited a " Biographical Catalogue of the Prin- cipal Italian Painters " and " Lectures by Royal Academicians," and wrote the life of Turner for the " Turner Gallery." WORONZOFF. See VOBONTZOFF. WORSAAE, Jens Jacob Asmussen, a Danish ar- chffiologist, born at Veile, Jutland, March 14, 1821. He was connected with the museum of northern antiquities from 1838 to 1843, and afterward made archaeological explorations in foreign countries. In 1847 he was appointed inspector of national antiquities, and in II director. From 1854 to 1865 he was also pro- fessor of Danish archreology in the university of Copenhagen. His works include Danmark a Oldtid (Copenhagen, 1843; English transla- tion by Thoms, "The Primeval Antiquities of Denmark," London, 1849) ; Minder om de Danske og Nordmandene i England, Motlaiu og Irland (1852; English translation, "Ac- count of the Danes in England, Ireland and Scotland "1852); and Den Danste Erolnng af England og Normandiet (1863). Several of his works have been translated into G man and French.