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Substances of a fragrant smell,^[146] which produce upon the organs of taste a peculiar sensation of warmth and pungency, and occasion, when swallowed, a corresponding impulse upon the stomach, which is rapidly communicated to the remote parts of the body.

The vegetable bodies which constitute the class of aromatic stimulants are very intimately related with that of tonics; indeed in the most efficient vegetables of the latter kind, the two qualities are generally blended, and the transition from these to the more pure bitters and aromatics is so imperceptible, that it is extremely difficult to arrange them in different classes; Dr. Murray has accordingly in his classification not attempted to separate substances which are so intimately connected. Aromatic Stimulants, however, in a practical point of view, must be distinguished from tonics, as the former are valuable for the rapidity, the latter, for the permanency of their effects. Their characteristic properties appear to depend chiefly, if not entirely, on an essential oil which, when extracted from the vegetable, exhibits all its aromatic power in a very concentrated form.