  “Arcana revelata foetent.”—Boerh: “Nullum Ego cognosco remedium nisi quod Tempestivo usu fiat tale.”—Ibid.
2. A late foreign writer impressed with this sentiment has given the following flattering definition of our profession. ‘Physic is the art of amusing the patient, while Nature cures the disease.’ This is a sarcasm which can only be equalled by the churlish and ill-humoured apostrophe of our own Dr. Samuel Johnson, who, in speaking of the profession of physic, exclaims ‘It is a melancholy attendance on misery; a mean submission to peevishness; and a continual interruption of pleasure.’ 3. Observation, says professor Leslie, is the close inspection and attentive examination of those phenomena which arise in the course of Nature; Experiment, as the term implies, consists in a kind of trial, or artificial selection and combination of circumstances, for the purpose of searching after the remote results. 4. The refractive power of an inflammable body bears also a proportion to its perfection, whence it may be sometimes used as a test of its purity; thus Dr. Wollaston found that genuine Oil of Cloves had a refractive power of 1.535, while that of an inferior quality did not exceed 1.498. 5. Elizabeth Woodcock, who was buried in the snow for the space of eight days, in the neighbourhood of Cambridge, and whom I frequently visited, died in consequence of the stimulants which she could not resist, and which in her peculiar state of excitement she was unable to bear. In the first volume of the Memoirs of the Philosophical Society of Manchester, a case of a Miner is recorded, who after remaining for eight days without food, was killed by being placed in a warm bed, and fed with chicken-broth. 6. For this purpose it appears that the toad was baked alive. The following is the receipt in Colborne’s Dispensatory; ‘Bufo PrÆparatus.’ “Put the toads alive into an earthen pot, and dry them in an oven moderately heated, till they become fit to be powdered.”! 7. The application of the reeking entrails of a recently slain animal, appears to have been one of the earliest methods adopted for the relief of pain. 8. The words ‘Incantation,’ and ‘Charm,’ appear to have been derived from the ancient practice of curing diseases by Poetry and Music. (Carmen) Thus Coelius Aurelianus, decantare loca Dolentia. Democritus says that many diseases are capable of being cured by the sound of a flute, when properly played. Marianus Capellus assures us, that fevers may be cured by appropriate songs; Asclepiades actually employed the trumpet, for the relief of Sciatica, and tells us that it is to be continued until the fibres of the part begin to palpitate, when the pain will vanish. 9. similar superstition is still practised by the Indians. There is a species of green jasper found in many parts of America, particularly in New Spain, to which the Spaniards have given the name of Piedra de la Hyada, and is used for curing the Cholic by being applied to the navel. 10. Lib. viii. c. 2. 5. 11. From this Art of Solomon, exhibited through the medium of a ring, or seal, we have the eastern stories which celebrate the Seal of Solomon, and record the potency of its sway over the various orders of Demons, or of Genii, who are supposed to be the invisible tormentors or benefactors of the human race. 12. Let the tradition respecting the discovery of the virtues of the bark serve as an illustration. We are told, that an Indian being ill of a fever, quenched his thirst at a pool of water, strongly impregnated with the bark from some trees having accidentally fallen into it, and that he was in consequence cured. 13. As these persons were ambitious to pass for the descendants of Esculapius, they assumed the name of The Asclepiades. The writings of Pausanius, Philostratus, and Plutarch, abound with the artifices of those early physicians. Aristophanes describes in a truly comic manner the craft and pious avarice of these godly men, and mentions the dexterity and promptitude with which they collected, and put into their bags, the offerings on the altar. The patients, during this period, reposed on the skins of sacrificed rams, in order that they might procure celestial visions. As soon as they were believed to be asleep, a priest, clothed in the dress of Esculapius, imitating his manners, and accompanied by the daughters of the god, that is, by young actresses, thoroughly instructed in their parts, entered, and delivered a medical opinion. 14. Odyss ?. 15. Hence, the Tincture of Opium has been called Thebaic Tincture. 16. The Laurel was sacred to Apollo, with plantations of which his temples were surrounded. Lucan informs us (Pharsal. lib. v.) that the speedy death of the priestess was often occasioned by the ceremony. 17. Allusions to this plant frequently occur in the medical writings of antiquity; we are told that Galen, in the decline of life, suffered much from morbid vigilance, until he had recourse to eating a lettuce every evening, which cured him. 18. Iliad ?. 19. The Plague of London was supposed to have arisen from such a cause, as we learn from the writers of that period. I shall quote a passage from a pamphlet by W. Kemp, M. A. dedicated to Charles the Second. ‘One cause of breeding the pestilence is that corruption of the air, which is occasioned by the influence of the Stars, by the aspects, conjunctions, and oppositions of the Planets, by the eclipses of the Sun and Moon, and by the consequences of Comets.’ ‘Astra regunt homines, sed regit astra Deus.’ Hippocrates advises his son Thessalus to study numbers and geometry, (‘Epist. ad Thessalum.’) because, says he, the rising and setting of the Stars have a great effect upon Distempers. Citois, the historian of the celebrated Colic of Poitou (Colica Pictonum), which raged with such epidemic fury in that province during the Sixteenth century, drops a hint, apparently with a view to account for the origin of the disease, viz. that to the great astonishment of Astrologers, ‘a new Star had, in the same year made its appearance in the constellation of Cassiopeia’.—(Diatriba de novo et populari, apud Pictones, dolore colico bilioso.) 20. The precious stones were, at first, only used as Amulets, or external charms, but like many other articles of the Materia Medica, they passed, by a mistake in the mode of their application, from the outside to the inside of the body, and they were accordingly powdered and administered as specifics. An analogous case of the perverted administration of a popular remedy is afforded in the history of the Tench; which Sennertus describes as a remedy capable of curing the Jaundice, which he allows is effected ‘by secret attraction, and the power of Amulets.’ In the course of time, it became a reputed food in the cure of that disease, and Tench broth was prescribed upon all such occasions. 21. Mystery is the very soul of Empiricism; withdraw the veil, and the confidence of the patient instantly languishes; thus Pliny, ‘Minus credunt quÆ ad suam salutem pertinent, si intelligunt.’ 22. It was this historian who said, that Medicine was invented by Apollo, improved by Esculapius, and brought to perfection by the physician of Cos. 23. Paracelsus exclaims, ‘Stellas terrenes esse Plantas, quÆ celestes plantas, i. e. Stellas, respiciant, ita ut quÆvis planta suam habeat stellam specificam.’ The Druids of Gaul and Britain, who were both priests and physicians, gathered and cut the Missletoe with a golden knife, only when the Moon was six days old, and being afterwards consecrated by certain forms, it was considered as an antidote to poisons, and a preventive of sterility. Plinii. Lib. xvi, c. 44. The Vervain, (Verbena Officinalis,) after libations of honey, was to be gathered at the rising of the dog-star, when neither sun nor moon shone, with the left hand only; when thus prepared, it was said to vanquish fevers, and other distempers, was an antidote to the bite of serpents, and a charm to conciliate friendship. Plin. Lib. xxv. c. 9. I shall however hereafter shew that the medicinal reputation of this herb derived its origin from a source more ancient even than that of Druidism. Magnenus (Exercitat. de Tabaco,) has given us the following precept,—‘Tabacum seratur luna crescente, colligatur autem decrescente luna.’ 24. In later times these heathen symbols were dropped, and others were adopted to propitiate the favour and assistance of heaven; for this purpose the Alchemists stamped the figure of the cross upon the vessel in which they were to obtain their long sought for prize; a superstitious practice, from which the term crucible derived its origin. I am well aware that another explanation has been given, and that the word has been derived from Crucio, since in the language of the Alchemists, the crucible was the vessel in which the metals were tortured to force them to assume the form of gold. 25. Mr. Boyle was pre-eminently credulous with respect to specifics, and contributed very greatly to the encouragement and diffusion of empiricism, by publishing many prescriptions as affording infallible remedies, which were communicated to him by a variety of persons, who either from ignorance or design vouched for their efficacy. 26. The Soothsayers attributed many mystic properties to the Coral, and it was believed to be capable of giving protection against the influence of ‘Evil Eyes;’ it was even supposed that Coral would drive away Devils and Evil Spirits; hence arose the custom of wearing amulets composed of it, around the neck, and of making crowns of it. Pliny and Dioscorides are very loud in their praises of the medicinal properties of this substance, and Paracelsus says that it should be worn around the necks of infants as an admirable preservative against fits, sorcery, charms, and even against poison. It is a curious circumstance, that the same superstitious belief should exist among the Negroes of the West Indies, who affirm that the colour of Coral is always affected by the state of health of the wearer, it becoming paler in disease. In Sicily it is also commonly worn as an amulet. 27. See “Sir Kenelm Digby’s Discourse upon the Cure by Sympathy, pronounced at Montpellier, before an assembly of Nobles and learned men. Translated into English, by R. White, Gentleman, and published in 1658.” King James the First obtained from Sir Kenelm the discovery of his secret, which he pretended had been taught him by a Carmelite Friar, who had learned it in America or Persia. The Sympathetic Powder was, as we learn from cotemporary physicians, ‘calcined green vitriol.’ 28. This superstitious practice is repeatedly alluded to by the poets: thus Sir Walter Scott, in the Lay of the Last Minstrel— “But she has ta’en the broken lance, And wash’d it from the clotted gore, And salved the splinter o’er and o’er. William of Deloraine, in trance, Whene’er she turn’d it round and round, Twisted, as if she gall’d his wound, Then to her maidens she did say, That he should be whole man and sound.”—Canto iii. St. xxiii. Dryden has also introduced the same superstition in his Enchanted Island. Act. v. Scene ii.
Again, in Scene 4th, Miranda enters with Hippolito’s sword, wrapt up:—
[She unwraps the sword.]
[She wipes and anoints the sword.]
29. At the same time it must be acknowledged that many of these revolting applications have actually produced benefit by a physical operation; we need only mention the nauseous remedies recommended by many writers on Midwifery to expedite delivery, which induced the desired effect by producing nausea, or vomiting. Hartman says (Opera. Fol. p. 72) that he has often witnessed amongst the poor, that difficult labour has been accelerated by a draught of the husband’s urine! and, he adds, that horse dung infused in wine is efficacious in expelling the Placenta. Sarah Stone, a midwife who published some cases in 1737, mentions several instances of women in labour, to whom was given the juice of leeks, mixed with their husband’s urine, in order to strengthen the pains. Nauseous remedies have always enjoyed the confidence of the vulgar; this prejudice would seem to be the result of a species of false reasoning, by no means uncommon, that as every thing medicinal is nauseous, so must every thing that is nauseous be consequently medicinal. 30. Edward the Confessor was the first English king who touched for the Evil, but the foolish superstition has been wisely laid aside ever since the accession of the House of Hanover. 31. This superstitious notion is not confined to the ancients, but is even cherished at this day, in some of the more remote districts of the kingdom; and we find frequent allusions to it in the popular poetry of the seventeenth century. “Tom Pots was but a serving man, But yet he was a doctor good; He bound his ’kerchief on the wound, And with some kind words he staunch’d the blood.” Sir Walter Scott, in his “Lay of the last Minstrel”— “She drew the splinter from the wound, And with a charm she staunch’d the blood.” The reader will also find the enumeration of several charms for this purpose, in Reginald Scot’s Discoverie of Witchcraft, p. 273. We learn also from Sennertus, that the older Surgeons had recourse to prayers and magic for the extraction of foreign bodies from wounds; a very interesting summary of their superstitions, and peculiar notions concerning wounds, will be found in this author, under the head, “De Rebus alienis e vulnere eximendis.” Lib. v. Pars, iv. PracticÆ MedicinÆ. 32. The reader will find this subject treated more fully in the Introduction to our work on “Medical Jurisprudence.” 33. See a Tour through England, by Dr. Nemnich of Hamburgh. 34. Nostrum, (our own.) This word, as its original meaning implies, is very significant of this characteristic attribute of quackery. See the note under the article ‘Liquor Opii Sedativus.’ 35. Aristides was the dupe and victim of the Asclepiades for ten successive years; he was alternately purged, vomited, and blistered; made to walk bare-footed, under a burning sun in summer, and in winter he was doomed to seek for the return of health, by bathing his feeble and emaciated body in the river. All this severity, he was made to believe, was exercised towards him by the express directions of Esculapius himself, with whom he was persuaded to fancy that he conversed in his dreams, and frequently beheld in nocturnal visions. Upon one occasion, the god, fatigued with the importunities of his votary, ordered him to lose 120 lbs. of blood; the unhappy man not having so much in his body, wisely took the liberty of interpreting the oracle in his own way, and parted with no more than he could conveniently spare. 36. As we are here investigating the follies of Physic, it will not be foreign to the subject to state, that the above observation may with as much truth and force be applied to medical writings as to medical substances. Nothing is more fatal to the permanent success and character of an author, than the extravagant and unmerited encomiums of time-serving reviewers. It would be invidious to illustrate this truth by examples, or we might adduce some striking instances where the inappropriate wreath has strangled the object which it was intended to adorn. It is a matter of deep regret that the Magnates of our profession do not combine in supporting a respectable medical Review.—‘Manus Apolline dignum.’ 37. This theory is still cherished in the preservation of the formula for PilulÆ OpiatÆ, in the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia. 38. The practice of this physician does not appear to have been very successful, if we may credit Juvenal.— “Quot Themison Ægros autumno occiderit uno.” 39. See ‘An Experimental Enquiry into the effects of Tonics, and other Medicines, on the cohesion of the Animal fibre.’ By Dr. Crawford. 40. Van Swieten, in his Commentaries on the Venereal disease, has an aphorism founded on the same hypothesis, ‘Render the blood and lymph more fluid, and you will have destroyed the virus.’ Sect. 1477. In the first volume of the Transactions of the Royal College of Physicians, there is a paper to the same effect, entitled, ‘On the Operation of Mercury, in different diseases and constitutions, by Edward Barry, M.D. F.R.S.’ Read at the College, July 13, 1767. 41. Genesis ix. 23. 42. The animal nature of the colouring matter of the blood was first pointed out by Dr. Wells, but Fourcroy and Vauquelin considered it to be owing to subphosphate of iron. Mr. Brande, in 1812, demonstrated the fallacy of this opinion, and proved, by satisfactory experiments, its title to be considered as a peculiar animal principle; the subsequent experiments of M. Vauquelin have confirmed Mr. Brande’s results. 43. The Magnet, or Loadstone, in powder, entered also as an ingredient in several plaisters, to draw bullets, and heads of arrows, out of the body, as in the ‘Emplastrum Divinum Nicolai,’ the ‘Emplastrum Nigrum’ of Augsburg, the ‘Opodeldock’ and ‘Attractivum,’ of Paracelsus, with several other preparations, to be found in the Dispensatory of Wecker, and in the practice of Sennertus. 44. Pyretologia, p. 17, A. D. 1692. 45. Sturmius, in his ‘Febrifugi Peruviani VindiciÆ,’ published in 1658, observes that he saw twenty doses of the powder sold at Brussels for sixty florins, in order to be sent to Paris, and that he would willingly have been a purchaser of some doses, even at that price; but the Apothecary was unable to supply him: an anecdote not more illustrative of the reputation of the bark, than of the honesty of the vender. 46. This produced a pamphlet from Dr. Slare, entitled ‘A Vindication of Sugars against the Charge of Dr. Willis and others: dedicated to the Ladies.’ 1715. 47. This conceit did not escape the notice of the metaphysical poets of the seventeenth century; Cowley frequently availed himself of it to embellish his verse. 48. Genesis xxx. 14. 49. This mineral derives its name from the ancient belief that it was found in the nest of the eagle. It is a variety of iron ore. 50. ‘Chrysost. Magneni Exercit. de Tabaco.’ 51. For a further account of this conceit, see Crollius, in a work appended to his “Basilica Chymica,” entitled, ‘De Signaturis internis rerum, seu de vera et viva Anatomia majoris et minoris mundi.’ 52. In various black-letter works on DÆmonology we are assured that three scruples of the ashes of the witch, when she has been well and carefully burnt at a stake, is a sure Catholicon against all the evil effects of Witchcraft! The popular author of Waverley alludes to this superstition in his Abbot. 53. Massaria, a learned Professor of Pavia in the sixteenth century, absolutely declares that he would rather err with Galen than be in the right with any other physician! 54. This practice of Bishop Berkeley has been ridiculed with great point and effect, in a pamphlet entitled ‘A cure for the Epidemical Madness of drinking Tar Water,’ by Mr. Reeve; in which, addressing the Bishop, he says, “thus, in your younger days, my Lord, you made the surprising discovery of the unreality of matter, and now in your riper age, you have undertaken to prove the reality of a universal remedy; an attempt to talk men out of their reason, did of right, belong to that author who had first tried to persuade them out of their senses.” Tar water was also at one period considered to possess very considerable efficacy in Syphylis. 55. The Euphrasia Officinalis, or Eye-bright, which is indebted for its celebrity to the doctrine of Signatures, as before stated, is actually employed at this time in cases of dimness of sight. See a Paper upon the efficacy of this plant by Dr. Jackson, in the London Medical and Physical Journal, vol. 23, p. 104. 56. Its rejection was proposed by the late Dr. Heberden, and upon the College dividing on the question, there were found to be thirteen votes for retaining, and fourteen for rejecting it. 57. This preparation consists of 72 ingredients, which are arranged under 13 heads—viz. Acria, of which there are 5 species. Amara, of which there are 8. Styptica vulgo Astringentia, 5 in number. Aromatica Exotica, 14. Aromatica Indigena, 10. Aromatica ex Umbelliferis, 7. Resinosa et Balsama, 8. Grave-Olentia, 6. Virosa, seu quÆ Narcosin inducunt, under which head there is but one species, viz. Opium. Terrea Insipida et Inertia; this comprises only the Lemnian Earth. Gummosa, Amylacea, &c. 4 species. Dulcia, liquorice and honey. Vinum, Spanish. Upon no principle of combination can this heterogeneous farrago be vindicated. It has, however, enjoyed the confidence of physicians for many ages, and is therefore entitled to some notice. It was supposed to have been invented by Mithridates, the famous king of Pontus, the receipt for which was said to have been found among his papers after his defeat by Pompey, at which time it was published in Rome under the title of ‘Antidotum Mithridatum;’ but the probability is, says Dr. Heberden, that Mithridates was as much a stranger to his own antidote as several eminent physicians have since been to the medicines that are daily advertised under their names. It was asserted, that whoever took a proper quantity in the morning, was insured from poison during the whole of that day, (Galen de Antidot. Lib. 1.) and it was further stated, that Mithridates himself was so fortified against all baneful drugs, that none would produce any effect when he attempted to destroy himself. (Celsus, lib. 5. c. 23.) In the course of ages it has undergone numerous alterations. According to Celsus, who first described it, it contained only 35 simples; Andromachus, Physician to Nero, added vipers, and increased the number of ingredients to 75; and when thus reformed, he called it ?a????—but in Trajan’s time it obtained the name of Theriaca, either from the vipers in it, or from its supposed effect in curing the bites of venomous animals. Damocrates gave a receipt for it in Greek Iambics, which has been preserved by Galen. It appears then that its composition has hardly remained the same for a hundred years; it is, says Dr. Heberden, a farrago, that has no better title to the name of Mithridates than, as it so well resembles, the numerous undisciplined forces of a barbarous king, made up of a dissonant crowd collected from different countries, mighty in appearance, but in reality, an ineffective multitude, that only hinder each other. ANTIOPIAKA, by W. Heberden, M. D. 1745. 58. The consumption of Tea has greatly increased in England during the last thirty years. In 1787 the total amounted to sixteen millions of pounds, whereas in 1821, it exceeded twenty-two millions. 59. Hernandez de Toledo sent this plant into Spain and Portugal in 1559, when Jean Nicot was Ambassador at the Court of Lisbon from Francis II, and he transmitted, or carried either the seed, or the plant to Catherine de Medicis: it was then considered as one of the wonders of the new world, and was supposed to possess very extraordinary virtues; this seems to be the first authentic record of the introduction of this plant into Europe. In 1589 the Cardinal Santa Croce, returning from his nunciature in Spain and Portugal to Italy, carried thither with him Tobacco, and we may form some notion of the enthusiasm with which its introduction was hailed, from a perusal of the poetry which the subject inspired; the poets compare the exploit of the holy Cardinal with that of his progenitor who brought home the wood of the true cross. ————————————————————“Herb of immortal fame! Which hither first with Santa Croce came, When he, his time of nunciature expired, Back from the Court of Portugal retired; Even as his predecessors, great and good Brought home the cross.”—— In England, it is said that the smoking Tobacco was first introduced by Sir Walter Raleigh on his return from America. James the First wrote a philippic against it, entitled a “Counterblaste to Tobacco,” in which the royal author, with more prejudice than dignity, informs his loving subjects that ‘it is a custome loathsome to the eye, hatefull to the nose, harmefull to the braine, dangerous to the lungs; and in the blacke stinking fume thereof, neerest resembling the horrible Stigian smoake of the pit that is bottomlesse.’ In 1604 this monarch endeavoured by means of heavy imposts to abolish its use in this country, and in 1619 he commanded that no planter in Virginia should cultivate more than 100 lbs. It must be confessed that some legislative enactment was necessary at this period for restricting the custom of smoking Tobacco; for we are told in the Counterblaste, that many persons expended as much as five hundred pounds per annum in the purchase of this article, which in those days was an enormous amount. In 1624 Pope Urban the VIIIth published a decree of excommunication against all who took snuff in the church. Ten years after this, smoking was forbidden in Russia, under the pain of having the nose cut off; in 1653 the Council of the Canton of Appenzel cited smokers before them, whom they punished, and they ordered all innkeepers to inform against such as were found smoking in their houses. The police regulations of Bern made in 1661 was divided according to the Ten Commandments, in which the prohibition of smoking stands immediately beneath the command against adultery; this prohibition was renewed in 1675, and the Tribunal instituted to put it into execution—viz.; Chambre au Tabac—continued to the middle of the eighteenth century. Pope Innocent the XIIth, in 1690 excommunicated all those who were found taking snuff or tobacco in the church of St. Peter at Rome; even so late as 1719 the Senate of Strasburgh prohibited the cultivation of Tobacco from an apprehension that it would diminish the growth of corn; Amurath the IVth published an edict which made smoking Tobacco a capital offence; this was founded on an opinion that it rendered the people infertile. Those who are curious to learn more of the history of this extraordinary plant, I beg to refer to a very interesting paper by ‘Medicus,’ in the 24th volume of the ‘London Medical and Physical Journal,’ page 445. 60. What other discovery or invention ever produced such political consequences as the introduction of the Potatoe as an article of food? From its operation as the main constituent of national sustenance the population of Ireland has advanced from little more than one million to near seven millions, within the last century and a half! 61. Med. Trans. of the College of Physicians, vol. vi. p. 92. 62. That the warm and not the cold bath was esteemed by the ancient Greeks, for its invigorating properties may be inferred from a dialogue of Aristophanes, in which one of the characters says, ‘I think none of the sons of the gods ever exceeded Hercules in bodily and mental force,’—upon which the other asks ‘Where didst thou ever see a cold bath dedicated to Hercules?’ 63. The prohibition of the bath was numbered amongst the mortifications to which certain priestesses in Greece were bound by the rigid rules of their order. 64. T. Bartholini Hist. Anat. et Med. cent v. HafniÆ. Med. Transactions, vol. 3, p. 177. 65. Madame Nouffleur’s Receipt is as follows. Three drachms of the root of the Male Fern, reduced to a fine powder, and mixed with water—this constitutes one dose. Two hours after taking the powder, a bolus of Calomel, Scammony, and Gamboge, is to be administered. 66. Duke of Portland’s Powder for the Gout.—Equal quantities of the roots of Gentian, and Birthwort (Aristolochia rotunda) the tops and leaves of Germander (chamÆdrys) Ground Pine (ChamÆpitys) and lesser Centaury, (Chironea Centaurium) powdered and mixed together.—As this is a combination of bitters, it might, without doubt, be serviceable in certain cases of Gout. 67. This medicine was brought into vogue by M. Husson, a military officer in the service of France, about fifty years ago. 68. So popular was this plant that it acquired the title of ‘Anima articulorum.’ It formed the basis of the Dia Articulorum, the Pulvis Arthriticus Turneri, and the Vienna Gout Decoction. 69. Alexander’s Prescription consisted of Hermodactyllus, Ginger, Pepper, Cummin seed, Aniseed, and Scammony; which, says he, will enable those who take it to walk immediately. 70. “Magisterium Opii fit solvendo Opium in aceto, et prÆcipitando cum sale tartari.——” 71. This was the favourite remedy of Dr. Andrew Boorde, who practised physic in Hampshire, and in his work printed in the black letter in London, entitled a ‘Breviarie of Health,’ he advises for a tooth-ache depending upon worms, ‘a candell of waxe with Henbane seeds, which must be lighted so that the perfume of the candell do enter into the tooth.’ This said Dr. Andrew Boorde is too important a personage to be passed over without some farther notice in this place, being no less than the Founder of that dignified class of the medical fraternity, better known by the name of Merry Andrews. Dr. Andrew Boorde lived in the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Queen Mary, and was in the constant habit of frequenting fairs and markets, at which he harangued the populace publicly: his speeches were extremely humourous and occasioned considerable mirth; his successors in this same line naturally endeavoured to imitate his bright example, and hence this class of itinerant quacks obtained the generic appellation of Merry Andrews. Since the humiliating triumph of Quackery displayed at the Freemason’s tavern, under the presidency of the member for Coventry, and more recently at Margate, there is reason to believe that this class of itinerant mountebanks will assume a new and more dignified appellation, and that in commemoration of the services of their philosophical president, the worthy member above stated, they will in future be designated by the name of Ranting Peters. 72. I have been lately much amused with the lucubrations of a classical friend, who by way of casting ridicule upon such researches, undertakes to prove to my satisfaction that Warren’s Blacking is no other than the ?as?? e?a?a??e? “Black flowing Splendour,” described in the Hecuba of Euripides. 73. This species of delusion, from mistaking the Post hoc, for the Propter hoc, always reminds me of the story of the Florentine Quack, who gave the countryman six pills which were to enable him to discover his lost Ass,—the pills beginning to operate on his road home, obliged him to retire into a wood, where he found his ass. The clown soon spread a report of the wonderful success of the empiric, who in consequence, no doubt, reaped an ample reward from the proprietors of strayed cattle. 74. The grant of £5000 to Joanna Stephens, for her discovery of certain medicines for the cure of the Stone, is notified in the London Gazette of June, A. D. 1739. See Liquor Calcis. 75. Wesley’s Journal, vol. xxix. 290–293. 76. Soon after the invention of the art of Printing, the works of Dioscorides, Theophrastus, and Pliny, were published in various forms, and Commentators swarmed like locusts. The eagerness with which this branch of knowledge was cultivated may be conceived, when it is stated that the Commentary of Matthiolus on Dioscorides, which was first printed in 1554, passed through seventeen editions, and that 32,000 copies had been sold before the year 1561; and he tells us in this work, that he received in its execution the assistance and reward of Emperors,—Kings,—Electors of the Roman Empire,—Arch-dukes,—Cardinals,—Bishops,—Dukes, and Princes, ‘which,’ says he, ‘gives greater credit to our labours than any thing that could be said.’ In very many cases, however, says Dr. Pultney, ‘this learned Commentator mistook the road to truth, and did but perplex the science he so industriously laboured to enlighten.’ 77. Turner, the father of English Botany, was of opinion, that it was the Polygonum Bistorta; Munting, a Dutch physician, that it was the Hydrolapathum Magnum, or Rumex Aquaticus or Great Water Dock, an opinion which received the sanction of Ray. Others have supposed it to have been Polygonum Persicaria, and some have considered it as the Primula Auricula. This one example is adduced to shew the mortifying uncertainty that involves the history of ancient plants. 78. Meade thinks that the Athenian poison was a combination of active substances,—perhaps that described by Theophrastus as the invention of Thrasyas, which, it was said, would cause death without pain, and into which Cicuta and Poppy entered as ingredients. 79. .sp 1 “Verbenasque adole pingues, et Mascula Thura.”—Virg. Eclog. viii. “Ex Ara hac sume Verbenas tibi.”—Terent. Andria. “ara castis vincta Verbenis.”——Hor. Od. xi. Lib. iv. It is a curious fact that in Tuscany the word Vervena is applied to denote any kind of slips, shoots, suckers, or bundles of plants, at this very day. 80. Amlyum, the Starch of wheat, originally denoted a powder that was obtained without the application of a mill, from a, not, and ????, a mill; thus Dioscorides “????? ???asta? d?a t? ????? ???? ?atas?e?a?es?a?”—i. e. because it is prepared without a mill. 81. Gerard in his Herbal (1597) denominates it, by way of distinction, Potatoe of Virginia, and he recommends it to be eaten as a delicate dish, not as common food; indeed some time elapsed after its introduction before it became general, and it was cultivated as an article of diet in Ireland several years before it was common in England. 82. The inhalation of the fumes of Orpiment is a practice attributed to Galen; and one of the most distinguished of his disciples, Rhazes, recommends it to be inhaled by consumptive patients, in combination with stimulant and resinous substances, such as Storax, Myrrh, Galbanum, and Aristolochia root. Bennet recommends the same practice in such cases. Willis informs us that a similar custom prevailed among certain empirics of his day, and asserts that they took such pieces of carpet as were dyed with Orpiment, and having cut them into small pieces, exposed them to heat, and, by means of an inverted funnel, made the patients inhale the vapour. Sir Alexander Crichton seems disposed to believe that such applications might prove useful by changing the action of any ulcer to which they were applied. 83. Calomel.—There is some doubt respecting the original meaning of this word, it literally signifies, fair, black, ?a???, e?a?. Sir Theodore Mayerne is said to have given the name to it, in consequence of his having had a favourite black servant who prepared it; but is it not more probable, that its name was derived from the change of colour which it undergoes from black to white, during its preparation? Another explanation has been also given, viz. quÒd nigro humori sit bonum—a good (?a???) remedy for black (e?a?) bile. This Theory derives much support from the black appearance of the stools, which is usually produced by the use of Calomel, and which was erroneously attributed to the searching and efficacious nature of the purgative. The Calomel of Riverius was a compound of Hydrargyri Sub-muriat: ?j and ScammoneÆ gr. vij, and Mr. Gray thinks that the term Calomel was first applied to this remedy, as being a mixture of a white and dark coloured powder. 84. For further information upon this subject the reader may consult my work on “the Elements of Medical Chemistry.” 85. Dr. Blair thinks that the ancients were led in many instances by the comparison of habit, to ascribe similar virtues to plants; there does not however appear to be a trace of what may be called System, in the writings of Theophrastus, Dioscorides, or Pliny. CÆsalpinus was the father of botanical system, and he was probably the first who suggested the idea that the virtues of plants were discoverable by their structure and alliance to each other. In his preface to his work, “De Plantis,” he says ‘QuÆ enim generis societate junguntur, plerumque et similes possident facultates.’ This idea was pursued by Petiver, an apothecary in the city of London, a name well known in the annals of Botany; there is a paper by him on this subject, in the 21st volume of the Philosophical Transactions, entitled, “Some attempts to prove that herbs of the same make and class, for the generality, have the like Vertue, and Tendency to work the same Effects.” Dr. Murray has adopted an arrangement founded upon natural character in his celebrated work entitled, “Apparatus Medicaminum”. 86. Russell’s Nat. Hist. of Aleppo. 87. The student will find an interesting dissertation upon this subject in a late work, entitled “L’Histoire Naturelle des Medicamens.” Par J. J. Virey, 1820. 88. Lord Bacon attributes the operation of purgatives to three causes, viz. 1. to extreme bitterness, as in Aloes, 2. to loathsomeness and horrible taste, as in Agaric and black Hellebore, and 3. to a secret malignity, as in Antimony, &c. 89. This might be illustrated by the recital of numerous fallacies to which our most simple perceptions are exposed from the powers of association, but I will relate an anecdote, which to my mind elucidates the nature and extent of such fallacies more strikingly than any example which could be adduced. Shortly after Sir Humphry Davy had succeeded in decomposing the fixed alkalies, a portion of Potassium was placed in the hands of one of our most distinguished chemists, with a query as to its nature? the philosopher observing its aspect and splendour, did not hesitate in pronouncing it to be metallic, and uniting at once the idea of weight with that of metal, the evidence of his senses was even insufficient to dissever ideas so inseparably associated in his mind, and, balancing the specimen on his fingers, he exclaimed, “it is certainly metallic, and very ponderous?” Now this anecdote is not related in disparagement to the philosopher in question. Who could have been prepared to meet with a substance, so novel and anomalous as to overturn every preconceived notion?—A METAL SO LIGHT AS TO SWIM UPON WATER, AND SO INFLAMMABLE AS TO CATCH FIRE BY THE CONTACT OF ICE! 90. Virey, “Essai d’Histoire Naturelle et Physicolog: sur la perfectibilitÉ de l’homme.” 91. Second Voyage of Captain Cook, vol. 4. 92. The cause of the green colour of oysters is sometimes an operation of nature, but it is more generally produced by art, by placing them in situations where there is a green deposit from the sea, which appears to consist of the vegetating germs of marine ConfervÆ and Fuci, and which impart their colour to the oysters. For this object the Dutch formerly took oysters from beds on our coasts, and deposited them on their own. Native oysters transported into the Colchester beds soon assume a green colour. It is unnecessary to refute the popular error which attributed this change of colour to the operation of copper. 93. We must admit that some of these allegories are too obvious to be mistaken. Homer attributes the plague that prevailed in the Grecian camp to the darts of Apollo; what was meant by this, but that it arose from the action of a burning sun, upon the marshes and slimy shores of Troas? and what, again, can be more obvious than the allegory by which Echo is made the daughter of air and earth? 94. Bacon’s works, vol. 5, p. 470. 4th Edit. London, 1778. 95. Leslie’s Elements of Natural Philosophy. 96. Virg. Georg. iv. 392–402. 97. Dioscorides and Pliny describe a process, which may be considered that of distillation in its infancy; it consists in obtaining oil from pitch, by spreading over it while boiling, fleeces of wool, which receive the vapour and afterwards yield it by expression. In this country the art of distillation was unknown at the time when the Romans had possession of it. It is said to have been introduced in the early part of Henry II. 98. It was destroyed in the sixth century, by the Caliph Omar, the cotemporary and companion of Mahomet. 99. The Saracens, in their treaty with the Greek Emperors, demanded, by express articles, the works of the ancients. 100. Garcias as well as Geoffroy and Hill say that Ætius mentions camphor, but it cannot be found, as Dr. Alston has observed, in that, or in any other Greek author. There is a CamphorÆ herba in Myrepsus; but this is evidently a different thing. 101. The Records of Physic, if I am not deceived, will afford numerous instances of similar error, from mistaking figurative expressions for literal truths. A knowledge of this species of fallacy will explain the origin of several very extraordinary receipts. I shall select the following instance, by way of illustration. In many of the ancient works on Physic, we find the blood of the goat extolled for its efficacy in dissolving stones, and, from this supposed lithontriptic virtue, it forms the principal ingredient of the Powder of Nicolaus, and of the Electuary of the Queen of Colein. The expression which gave origin to this belief was evidently allegorical, signifying that the blood of the goat, by which our Saviour was typified, was capable of softening the stony hearts of his enemies, or, according to others, that by his influence, the stony rocks, and veil of the temple were shatterd. Browne’s Vulgar Errors. 102. Silver, Mercury, Copper, Iron, Tin, Lead. 103. Agricola de veteribus et novis metallis: Lib. 1. 104. 2 Kings, chap. ix. verse 30. 105. It has been already stated, that we are indebted to an Indian for the discovery of Bark, and it now appears we derived our knowledge of Mercury to the wildest of the alchemists. May it not then be said that we are indebted to a savage, and a madman, for two of our most powerful remedies? 106. Erasmus, the friend, the correspondent, and the patient of our own Linacre! Had not modern times, says Sir George Baker, furnished similar instances, it would have been a matter of astonishment to us to have heard that Erasmus should have deserted an accomplished physician whom he so greatly extols in his Epistles, in order to consult so wild and illiterate an enthusiast as Paracelsus. 107. Paracelsus maintained that the human body is composed of salt, sulphur, and mercury, and that in these “three first substances,” as he calls them, health and disease consist: that the mercury, in proportion to its volatility, produces tremors, mortifications in the ligaments, madness, phrensy, and delirium, and that fevers, phlegmons, and the jaundice, are the offspring of the sulphureous principle, while he supposed that the cholic, stone, gravel, gout, and sciatica derive their origin from salt. 108. Amongst the writers engaged in this contest, no one was more animated with party spirit than Guy Patin, who was profuse in his personalities against those who defended the use of Antimony; he drew up a long register of the unsuccessful cases in which this medicine had been employed, which he published under the title of “Antimonial Martyrology.” 109. In the year 1644 Schroeder published a Chemico-medical Pharmacopoeia, which delineates with accuracy the pharmacy of these times, and enumerates almost all the chemical medicines that were known towards the close of this period. 110. The Dispensatories of London and Edinburgh, the former by Mr. A. T. Thomson, and the latter by Dr. Duncan, are works which reflect credit on the age and country in which they were written. 111. The first Pharmacopoeia was published at Nuremburg, under the sanction of its Senate, in the year 1542; for this important act we are indebted to Valerius Cordus, a young student, who during a transient visit at that place, accidentally produced a collection of medical receipts which he had selected from the works of the most esteemed writers, and with which the physicians of Nuremburg were so highly pleased that they urged him to print it for the benefit of the apothecaries, and obtained the sanction of the Senate to the undertaking; so casual was the circumstance to which we owe the institution of Pharmacopoeias. The London College were among the last to frame a standard Code of Medicines; most cities in Europe having anticipated us in the performance of this task; our first Pharmacopoeia was not published until the reign of James the first, A. D. 1618, exactly a century after the College had received their Charter from Henry. Successive editions appeared in the following years, viz. in 1650; 1677; 1721; 1746; 1787; 1809. 112. What would be the surprise and gratification of the Pharmaceutist who lived a hundred years ago, if he could now visit Apothecaries Hall? the application of steam for the various purposes of pharmacy, and for actuating machinery, for levigation, trituration, and other mechanical purposes, is no less useful, in ensuring uniform results, than it is in abridging labour and economising time. The greatest credit is due to the gentlemen under whose guidance this national laboratory is conducted, and more especially to their worthy and public spirited Treasurer, William Simons, Esq. whose zeal and liberality suggested and promoted the fitting up of the Steam Laboratory, as well as the ingenious machine for triturating mercury with lard, or conserve. 113. Since the publication of the last edition of this work, Mr. Archdeacon Wollaston has paid the debt of nature; his name will be cherished in grateful remembrance by those who had the good fortune to have been his pupils; as one of that number I will venture to say, that there never existed a lecturer on Experimental philosophy, who was more eminently gifted with those qualifications, upon which the success of a public teacher must depend. He possessed a peculiar method of demonstration, a singular vivacity in the manner of conducting the experiments, and of keeping awake the attention of his auditors during their progress; while those details of manipulation which would have proved, in other hands, a source of tedium, he converted into subjects of the most lively interest. 114. The Chemical Laboratory at Cambridge has produced some valuable discoveries. Ex pede Herculem, let me remind the chemist of the formation of Nitrous Acid, by passing a current of ammoniacal gas through the heated Oxyd of Manganese, for which we are indebted to Dr. Milner. I mention it merely as a whimsical circumstance, that the greatest degree of cold ever produced, was effected at Oxford, and the highest temperature, lately, at Cambridge. The researches of Dr. Clark are highly interesting and important, a succinct account of which has been published in a small work, entitled, “The Gas Blowpipe, or the Art of Fusion, by burning the Gaseous constituents of Water.” 115. These views have prevailed upon the Committee of the College, and they have accordingly restored the Soap to the formula, in the present edition of the Pharmacopoeia; so that the above objection no longer exists. 116. The only chemical phenomenon which in any manner resembles this, appears to be that of the rapid acetification of milk, and other fluids, by the agency of a thunder storm. 117. This practice was introduced into France by Seguin, into Italy by Couticini, and into Germany by Bischoff. 118. A very ingenious Dissertation has been lately published by M. Virey, on the ‘Degeneration of Plants in foreign soils,’ which he says may depend upon 1, Climate and Station; 2, Nutriment; 3, Culture; 4, Factitious Mutilation; 5, Hybrid Generation. 119. Women during the period of gestation frequently experience such an increased irritability as to be affected even in England by various odours, which at other times would produce no extraordinary impression. 120. This plant was first described by Gmelin in his Flora Siberica, iv. 121. It has obtained a place in the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia. Besides the effects stated by Dr. Halliday, it is said by different authors to excite a peculiar creeping sensation in the pained part. 121. Journal Complementaire du Dict. des Sciences Medicales, tom. II. 122. Dr. Murett in his “Short view of Frauds and Abuses,” (A. D. 1669) charges the Apothecary with “falsifying Medicines;” “They shewed the Censors,” says he, “Myrtles leaves for Senna; a Binder for a Purger; Mushrooms rubbed over with chalk for Agaric; Hemlock for PÆony; Sheep’s lungs for Fox’s lungs; and the bone of an Ox’s heart, for that of a Stag’s heart.” 123. The editors of the American Medical Recorder (vol. 1, p. 471), in descanting upon the efficacy of Prussic Acid, very gravely remark, that they are acquainted with a lady, subject to hysteric affections, who always derives relief from a dose of Cherry Brandy, in which Peach kernels have been digested; the stimulus of the brandy then goes for nothing with these blockheads! Zimmerman not unaptly compares a man who is intoxicated with a favourite opinion, to a passionate lover, who sees and hears nothing but his mistress. 124. Bezoar, (from Pa-zahar, Persian, a destroyer of poison.) A morbid concretion formed in the bodies of land animals. Several of them were formerly highly celebrated for their medicinal virtues; they were considered as powerful Alexipharmics, in so much so, that other medicines, possessed of alexipharmic powers, were called Bezoardics: so efficacious were these substances formerly considered that they were bought for ten times their weight of gold. Avenzoar, an Arabian physician, who practised at Seville in Spain about the year One Thousand, first recommended it in medicine. A composition of Bezoar with absorbent powers, has been extensively used under the name of Gascoigne powder, and Gascoigne’s Ball; but the real bezoar was rarely used on this occasion; Gypsum, or pipe-clay tinged with ox-gall, proved a less expensive ingredient. 125. Oribasius, a native of Sardes, lived in the fourth century; he was the friend and favourite of the Emperor Julian, under whom he had great authority, and acquired considerable wealth. It would be well for the profession of Physic, and for the public, if crowned heads generally evinced as much discrimination in the appointment and patronage of physicians. 126. Three-fourths at least of the Quack Medicines of the present day are remedies of this description, and are compounded according to such receipts. 127. Medical Logic. Edit. 2nd, p. 92. 128. The term sympathy has often been objected to, as being too figurative; it is certainly a metaphor taken from an affection of the mind, but, as Sir Gilbert Blane very justly remarks, the import of words ought either to be assumed conventionally according to a definition, or to be adhered to in the sense affixed to it by established usage; “by animal sympathy,” says he, “is not meant the intelligible principle of Stahl’s hypothesis, but that mutual influence of distant parts, so subtle and rapid as in some instances to be compared to thought or lightning; while in other instances it is an action more tardy and habitual.” Medical Logic, Edit. 2nd, p. 123. In the present work, I wish the reader to understand the term sympathy, wherever it may occur, in conformity with the above definition. 129. Colchicum, Squill, and many other vegetable diuretics, are of this nature. 130. The Indian Fig, (Cactus Opuntia,) when eaten, renders the urine of a bloody colour. Rhubarb has likewise an effect upon the colour of this secretion. 131. This is probably the reason of many bodies producing but little effect upon the inferior animals. The vegetable eaters are certainly less affected by vegetable poisons than those animals who exclusively live upon animal substances: it is thus, that a rabbit can take a very large dose of opium without any ill effects, while half the same quantity would poison a dog. It is a curious fact, that a sound horse can take a very considerable portion of opium with impunity, but if he be weakened by previous disease, by strong purgatives, or by excessive bleeding, he is speedily destroyed by a much less dose; (See Bracy Clarke’s Reformed Pharmacopoeia for Horses.) In this latter case, does it not appear that the fatal result depends upon the fact of the digestive organs having been disabled, by debility, from effecting that decomposition by which under ordinary circumstances, the drug is disarmed of its potency? What important lights might not be obtained by the institution of a series of well devised experiments upon the comparative effects of medicinal bodies upon man and other animals? The Physiologist has thus availed himself of the resources of the comparative anatomist, and I feel persuaded, that results equally beneficial to science would follow a similar inquiry in relation to the operation of medicines. In the course of the present work, I hope to shew the truth of this position by some appropriate illustrations. 132. That the Vena Portarum constitutes one of the avenues through which certain extraneous bodies enter the circulating current, there cannot exist a doubt; but a series of well-devised experiments are greatly wanted for the elucidation of the subject. The Professors of Veterinary Medicine might on this occasion render us an important service by some comparative researches. 133. See Unguent. Hydrarg. 134. Treatise on the Materia Medica, vol. I. p. 191. 135. Medical Literature, Edit. 2. (Pharmacology,) p. 454. 136. System of Mat. Med. vol. I. p. 132. 137. A system of Materia Medica and Pharmacy, vol. 1. p. 131. 138. Narcotics, from ????? Torpedo; an animal which has the power of stupefying any thing that it touches. 139. During the severe campaigns of the late war, the Surgeons of the French army were in the practice of administering Opium and Cayenne Pepper to the soldiers who were exhausted by fatigue. 140. Treatise on Nervous Diseases, vol. 1. p. 221. 141. Bitterness in vegetables has been supposed to reside in a peculiar proximate principle, which has been accordingly named the Bitter Principle. Such an opinion, however, does not appear to rest on sufficient evidence; on the contrary, experiment has shewn that it is very generally connected with the extractive matter of the plant, as it is obtained equally by the action of water and alcohol; it is not volatile, nor are its energies impaired by decoction. 142. Thus Sir H. Davy, in comparing the composition of the soluble products afforded by different crops from the same grass, found in every trial, the largest quantity of truly nutritive matter in the crop cut when the seed was ripe and the least bitter extractive, and saline matter; while in the autumnal crops these relations were found inverted. Elem. of Agricult. Chem. 143. Molina, in his history of Chili, speaking of the Potatoe, says, “It is indeed found in all the fields of this country, but the plants that grow wild, called by the Indians Maglia, produce only very small roots of a bitter taste.” Dr. Baldwin also found the wild parent of the potatoe plant at Monte Video, and Mr. Lambert informs us that this statement has been confirmed by Captain Bowles, who has not long since returned from the South American station; he says, “it is a common weed in the gardens, bearing small tubers, but too bitter for use.” Royal Institution Journal, No. XIX. 144. Discourses on the Elements of Therapeutics and Materia Medica, by N. Chapman, M. D. Philadelphia, 1819. 145. Thus it has been found by experiments, that the Menyanthes Trifoliata, (the Water Trefoil,) which on account of its bitterness has been used as a substitute for Hops, is a cure for the rot in sheep, when given in doses of a drachm of the powdered leaves; and Dr. William Bulleyn, the cotemporary of Turner, the father of English Botany, observes in his work, entitled “The Bulwark of Defence,” that Tormentil, in pastures, prevents the rot in sheep. 146. a??a, which is compounded of a??, very, and ?d?, or ?s?, smell. 147. The origin of this term is derived from the superstitious custom of curing such complaints by incantations in verse (Carmina), or perhaps it may be understood metaphorically as expressive of the instantaneous relief which these medicines are capable of affording; operating, as it were, like a charm. 148. When tannin is present in grasses, as Sir H. Davy found in that of aftermath crops, it is voided in the excrement by animals who feed upon it, together with the bitter extractive, saline matter, and woody fibre. (Elem. of Agricult. Chem. Appendix, p. lxi.) We may therefore infer by analogy that it does not enter into the circulation. 149. Various combinations, into which different metallic salts have generally entered as ingredients, have at different periods been extolled for their efficacy as Styptics: Helvetius published an account of a preparation composed of the filings of iron and tartar, mixed to a proper consistence with French brandy, and it was long used in France, Germany, and Holland, under the name of Helvetius’s Styptic. Eaton’s Styptic. After the styptic of Helvetius had been discarded from the Continent, it was brought into this country, and for a long time continued to be employed with confidence, under the new title of Eaton’s Styptic. It is now made in several different modes, and consists chiefly of an alcoholic solution of sulphate of iron, with some unimportant additions. 150. This theory, however, did not originate with Dr. Majendie, for Chiarac, a French Physician of the 17th century, drew the same conclusion from an experimental enquiry (Histoire de l’Academie Royale des Sciences, p. 12. An. 1700.) 151. Upon the very same principle, a person may die from suffocation, in consequence of an injury in the brain; the respiratory muscles being unable to sustain the function of breathing, for want of a due supply of nervous influence. This happens in cases of Apoplexy, and in poisoning by Narcotics. Those who wish for farther information upon this subject may consult the chapter on “The Physiological Causes and Phoenomena of Sudden Death,” in my work on “Medical Jurisprudence,” Vol. 2. p. 16. 152. Hippocrat. de Dioeta. lib. iii. et alibi passim. This predilection of the ancients for Emetics is the more extraordinary, as they were acquainted with those only which were of the most violent and unmanageable description; the Veratrum or White Hellebore, was sometimes fatal. 153. Few discoveries in physiology have thrown greater light upon this important subject than that of M. Majendie, published in his Journal De Physiologie Experimentale, (1er numero—Janvier, 1821) in a paper entitled, “Memoir sur le MÉchanisme de L’Absorption.” The results contained in this essay are the more interesting to me, as they were read at the Academy of Sciences at Paris, some time after the publication of the Third Edition of my Pharmacologia, and it will be observed, in what a satisfactory manner they confirm the views which I offered at that time, respecting the influence of venesection in accelerating the absorption of Mercury. In the Fourth Edition (published in October, 1820, p. 115,) these views were farther extended, and as I could not have been influenced by the experiments of M. Majendie, which were not published until some time afterwards, it is very fair to conclude, that when two persons arrive at the same result by different trains of investigation, such a result must be correct. The conclusions established by the experimental inquiries of M. Majendie, with regard to absorption, appear to me to be so important, in reference to the object of the present work, that I shall pause, in this place, for the purpose of furnishing the reader with a short account of them. M. Majendie states, that while performing the experiment of injecting warm water into the veins of a living animal, he first conceived the idea of observing what effects would be produced upon the function of absorption by the artificial plethora, thus occasioned; having accordingly injected a quantity of water into the venous system of a middle-sized dog, he introduced a small portion of an active substance, whose effects were well known, into his side, when he was surprised to find that its usual operation was not manifested until after an interval much longer than usual; the same experiment was afterwards repeated upon another animal, and with similar results. In a third experiment, as much water (about two pounds) was injected, as the animal could sustain without destruction, in which case the poisonous substance produced no effect whatever, the powers of absorption appearing to be entirely suspended: and having waited during half an hour for the occurrence of those symptoms which, under ordinary circumstances, would have manifested themselves in two minutes, M. Majendie concluded that if vascular congestion be the cause of the suspension of absorption, the function ought to be restored by the removal of this artificial condition, an opinion which he proceeded to verify by experiment; the jugular vein of the animal, under trial, was accordingly opened, and the ingenious operator had the satisfaction to observe the effects of the poison gradually developing themselves in proportion as the blood flowed. M. Majendie next proceeded to confirm the truth of his position, by an experiment, the converse of those above related; an animal was bled, to the amount of about half a pound, and the poisonous substance applied to the pleura of the animal, as in the foregoing experiments, when it appeared that those effects which, under ordinary circumstances, were not evident until after a period of twelve minutes, manifested themselves after an interval of only thirty seconds. In order to shew that these results actually arose from vascular distention, and not from the artificial state of dilution in which the blood was placed, M. Majendie instituted the following experiment: a considerable quantity of blood was drawn from the vein of a dog, and replaced by a similar quantity of warm water, after which a measured quantity of Nux Vomica in solution was introduced into the side, when the poisonous effects were found to take place with the same rapidity as if the blood had not been mixed with water. 154. The practical application of this fact may be useful, and digestion, in certain cases, may be thus promoted by the simple expedient of changing the quality of our bread. 155. Since the publication of this opinion, in the 5th edition of the Pharmacologia, Dr. Hamilton has honoured me by a letter on the subject, but I am still bound to confess that my sentiments remain unaltered. 156. The Melampodium, or Black Hellebore, was recommended as an agent of this description in the strongest terms, by Mead; Savin (Juniperus Sabina) is another vegetable which has been generally considered as a specific Emmenagogue; with some authors, the Rubia Tinctorum, Madder; with others, the Sinapis alba have been regarded as remedies of this nature; and lately Polygala Senega has been extolled by the American practitioners; in modern times, however, few substances have been more confidently recommended as uterine stimulants than the Secale Cornutum, or Ergot, but of which I have no practical knowledge. 157. Saline bodies would appear to be the peculiar stimuli of these organs, the principal use of which is to separate such saline matter from the blood, as would otherwise accumulate in the system. That these saline diuretics actually pass off by the kidneys, may be satisfactorily shewn by an examination of the urine, in which the bodies in question may be chemically detected. Let any person swallow several doses of Nitre, taking care that the bowels are not disturbed by the medicine, and he will find by dipping some paper into his urine, and afterwards drying it, that it will deflagrate, and indicate the presence of nitre. 158. The Secondary Diuresis which sometimes takes place under such circumstances, and succeeds Catharsis, may offer an apparent exception to this law; but this must not be confounded with that which is the result of a Primary action upon the urinary organs by the absorption, and consequent contact, of a specific Stimulant. 159. Certain mineral waters, containing cathartic salts in a state of extreme dilution, if insufficient to excite the bowels, sometimes pass off by the kidneys; an effect which can always be prevented by accompanying their exhibition with some laxative. 160. See Sir Gilbert Blane’s Medical Logic, Edit. 2, page 190. 161. The cutaneous discharge is very materially modified by the state of the atmosphere, in its relations to moisture and dryness: when the air contains much moisture it is a bad conductor of the perspirable matter, which therefore, instead of being carried off in an insensible form, is condensed upon the surface; hence we appear to perspire greatly upon the slightest exercise, whereas the cuticular discharge is at such times absolutely less. We have all experienced the sensation of heat, and disposition to sweating, during the moist weather which so frequently occurs in this country in April and May, the wind being at the time stationary at south-west or south. On the contrary, during the prevalence of an east wind, the most violent exercise will scarcely prove diaphoretic, and yet the quantity of cutaneous exhalation is far greater than during that state of atmosphere when the slightest exercise deluges us with perspirable matter. 162. Lommius de Febribus. 163. De Medicina. Lib. iii. c. 7. 164. This practice is still cherished by the vulgar, especially in some of the more remote districts of the kingdom. It is with this view that the Cornish nurse continues to keep down the excess of population, by administering Gin and Treacle, in her smoky chimney corner, to children labouring under measles, in order to throw out the eruption. 165. M. Du Hamel has recorded the cases of two countrymen, considerably advanced in life, who were cured of Dropsy by remaining for some time in a baker’s oven, soon after the bread had been drawn. Varikbillan, ninth Caliph of the race of the Abassides, is said to have been cured by a nearly similar method. His physician caused him to enter a lime-kiln soon after the lime had been removed, when in the course of a few days he was totally cured of his dropsy. The ancients excited sweating in this disease, by burying the patient up to the neck in heated sand or ashes (Celsus, Lib. iii. c. 30.), and Lysons cured cases by placing his patients in rooms heated to a very high temperature. In the history of the Royal Academy of Sciences, for 1703, a case is related of a woman, who, tired out by the protracted Dropsy under which her husband laboured, charitably administered to him a very large dose of opium, with the intention of despatching him, but the medicine immediately produced such a copious sweat that it restored him to health! 166. s?a???, saliva; et a??, excito. 167. I of course except its application in the form of vapour, in which state it proves extremely active. See Hydrargyrum. 168. Medical Logic, Edit. 2. p. 75. 169. Transactions of a Society for the Improvement of Medical and Chirurgical knowledge, Vol. iii. p. 119. London, 1822. 170. Medical and Physical Journal for October, 1811. 171. De Sed. et Caus. Morb. Epist. xiv. art. 27. 172. Comment. ad Aph. 271. 173. This is one of the most ancient superstitions which have descended to us. It was customary in Greece, when any one sneezed, to exclaim ????, ‘May you live;’ or ?e? s?s??, ‘God bless you.’ Aristotle, in his problems, has attempted to account for the origin of the custom, but unsatisfactorily; Pliny, (Nat. Hist. lib. 28. c. 2) asks—“Cur Sternutantes salutentur?” 174. Eberle’s Treatise on the Materia Medica. 175. It is said that whenever Dunning, the celebrated barrister, was called upon to make the finest display of his eloquence, whether forensic or parliamentary, he constantly applied a blister to his chest, which he found to have the effect of imparting an unusual tone and vigour to his body, and elevation to his mind. 176. From Setum a Horse hair, a substance which was formerly used for the accomplishment of this object. 177. It sometimes happens that the stomach and digestive organs are so weakened by disease as to lose their control, or what Dr. Fordyce called their ‘governing power,’ in which case they would appear to be unable to prevent the matters which they contain from acting chemically upon each other, and occasioning decompositions and new combinations: in such cases substances are sometimes developed in the internal organs by the action of disease, which are capable of producing a chemical effect upon the fluids; for instance,—an acid is not unfrequently generated in the bowels of children which decomposes the bile and produces a green precipitate, and green stools are the consequence; in other cases the acid combines with the Soda of the bile, and the precipitate thus occasioned is thick, viscid, very bitter, and inflammable, and we have stools looking like pitch. In Yellow Fever, and in several other diseases, the bile which is brought up by vomiting is frequently of a vivid green colour, and some writers have attributed the phenomenon to a morbid condition, or action of the liver or gall bladder; the fact however is, that the bile itself undergoes a chemical change in the Duodenum and Stomach. That bile does undergo such a change from decomposition, is proved by a variety of facts observed to take place out of the body; it is well known, for instance, that the fÆces of infants, although yellow when voided, frequently become green after some time, and Dr. Heberden observes, in his Commentaries, that the urine of a certain jaundiced patient, which was of a deep yellow, became after a few hours green: in such cases it is probable that an acid is generated by the reaction of the elements of which the bile consists. 178. System of Materia Medica, vol. 1. p. 453. 179. The same fact has been long known by the Divers in the Indian Pearl-fisheries; see my Work on Medical Jurisprudence, Introduction, Vol. 1. p. v. 180. See a paper upon this subject by Mr. Brodie, Phil. Trans. 1811. 181. Medical Logic, Edit. 2. p. 50. 182. From a?t? against, and ????? a stone. 183. From ?????, and ???pt? to break. 184. The kidneys have a more obtuse sensibility, and not such energetic activity as other glands possess; vital action is less concerned in the secretion they carry on, and their functions more easily fall under chemical and hydraulic explanations.—(Richerand.) 185. An Inquiry into the Nature and Treatment of Gravel, Calculus, and other diseases connected with a deranged operation of the Urinary Organs; by W. Prout, M. D. F. R. S. 186. On the Chemical History and Medical Treatment of Calculous Disorders, by A. Marcet, M. D. F. R. S. 187. Journal of the Royal Institution, Vol. VI. 188. Medical Transactions of the College of Physicians, Vol. VI. 189. The ancients considered the urine as a kind of extract of animal substances, a true lixivium, by which every thing impure in the animal economy was washed away, and hence they gave it the name of Lotium. 190. Mr. Brande first stated the existence of this acid in urine; but Berzelius expressed his doubts respecting the fact. The experiments of Dr. Marcet, however, are certainty favourable to the conclusion of the former chemist, and Dr. Prout informs us that he has himself seen small calculi discharged from the bladder composed principally of the carbonate of lime. 191. The reader will find some interesting observations upon this subject in Dr. Prout’s Treatise, p. 22. 192. The name of Uric Acid was suggested by Dr. Pearson: it is, however, as Dr. Marcet very justly remarks, objectionable, on account of the close resemblance which the term bears to that of Urea, a substance totally distinct from Lithic Acid. 193. Recherches physiologiques et mÉdicales sur les causes, les symptomes, et le traitement de la gravelle, 8vo. Paris. 1818. 194.
195. This fact derives its pathological interest from the probability that, in certain states of disease, the Lithic acid assumes this peculiar modification, giving to the sediments of urine those beautiful hues which were formerly considered by Proust, as the effect of an acid, which he named the Rosacic; now as the Purpuric acid, or rather the Purpurate of Ammonia, says Dr. Prout, is nothing more than Lithic acid modified by the action of Nitric acid, and as I have already shewn that the Pink and Lateritious sediments occasionally contain nitric acid in some peculiar state of combination, the nature and origin of the colouring matter cease to be problematical. 196. Whence is derived the large quantity of Phosphoric acid which is daily evacuated from the system?—The researches of modern chemistry have furnished a very satisfactory solution of this problem, by demonstrating its presence in those animal and vegetable substances which are used by us as food. Mr. Barry, in prosecuting his interesting and important experiments on the preparation of Pharmaceutical Extracts in vacuo, discovered the curious fact, that Phosphoric acid is to be found in all the extracts in a soluble state; and on extending the investigation, says he, it was ascertained that this acid, besides that portion of it which exists as phosphate of lime, is contained in a vast variety of vegetables, and more especially in those which are cultivated. Medico-Chirug. Trans. Vol. 10, p. 240. 197. The urine of infants and nurses contains very little phosphate of lime and phosphoric acid; it is not until after ossification is finished, that these elements are found in abundance in the urinary fluid. That of old men, on the contrary, contains a great quantity of them; the bony system, already overcharged with phosphate of lime, refuses to admit more of it. This saline substance would ossify every part, as it does sometimes in the arteries, ligaments, cartilages, and membranes, if the urine were not to remove the greater part of this superabundant portion. In Rachitis it is by the urine that the phosphate of lime passes off, the absence of which causes the softness of bones. (Richerand). If we might be allowed to theorise, I should say, that this disease depends upon a deficient action in the powers of assimilation, in consequence of which the phosphoric acid is incapable of entering into its assigned combinations, and is therefore eliminated as excrementitious. Dr. Glisson considered the disease to depend upon some fault in the spinal marrow, whence he termed it Rachitis, from ?a??? Spina Dorsi. 198. Transactions of Stockholm. 199. Cystic Oxide, discovered by Dr. Wollaston in 1815: it does not affect vegetable colours, and has all the chemical habitudes of an oxide. 200. Dr. Marcet discovered two calculi, which were not referable to any of the known species; but they are not introduced into the following table, as they may never again occur; at all events, from their extreme rarity, they cannot be considered as objects of practical interest. To one of these he has given the name of Xanthic Oxide, because it forms a lemon coloured compound when acted upon by Nitric acid. To the other nondescript calculus he has bestowed the appellation of Fibrinous, from its resemblance to Fibrine. 201. I am by no means disposed to reject altogether, as a popular fallacy, the general opinion in favour of the anti-lithic virtues of malt liquor; the observations which have been already offered (page 79) will explain how such agents may occasionally operate in assisting digestion. In the observations made upon the Bills of Mortality in the year 1662, by an ingenious citizen, concerning the increase of some diseases, and the decrease of others, it is observed “The Stone and Strangury decreaseth, from the drinking of Ale.” 202. In consultation with Dr. Baillie, some few months before his death, he said to me “although I have never published the opinion, I am satisfied that after a patient has long laboured under diseased liver, the blood becomes surcharged with alkaline matter.” 203. See an explanation of this term in the note, at page 112. 204. It is, says Dr. Prout, a very old observation, that injuries of the back produce alkaline urine; “it also appears,” continues this author, “to hold in other animals as well as in man; thus I have frequently observed jaded and worn-out horses pass great quantities of lime in their urine; I have known the same also to take place in dogs, and particularly of the sporting kinds; and in both these instances have thought it probable, that the circumstance was connected with some strain or injury of the back produced by over-exertion, or other causes.” 205. I have in my possession a splendid specimen of this triple salt, in large and well defined crystals, covering a portion of a decayed beam; it was sent to me by my friend Mr. Marshall, from whom I learnt that it had been taken from a privy belonging to a public house in Southwark. I lent the specimen to the late Mr. Wilson, in order that he might exhibit it in his lectures before the College of Surgeons, and he has published a description of it in his work on the Urinary and Genital Organs. 206. A question has arisen respecting the comparative efficacy of the two fixed alkalies upon these occasions. See SodÆ Sub-carbonas. 207. For an account of the celebrated remedy of Mrs. Stephens, see Liquor Calcis. 208. Journal de Physiologie; Juillet, 1823. 209. For a farther account of this extraordinary law of Electro-Chemistry, the reader may consult my work on the Elements of Medical Chemistry. 210. These experiments have been repeated at the Jardin des Plantes, with similar results; it farther appears that a certain quantity of Nitrate of Potass added to the water injected into the bladder will expedite the decomposition. 211. This, it must be confessed, is singularly unfortunate, if the opinion already expressed be true (page 121) viz. that at least two-thirds of the whole number of calculi originate from this acid. 212. The word Antidote is derived from a?t?, against, and d?d??, I give; as being a medicine given against poison, either by way of cure or preservative. The word is also sometimes used in a more general sense, for any compounded medicine; thus Peter Damian speaks of a person who in his whole life never took an antidote. It is likewise used by some authors in a less proper sense, for any remedy against any disease, chiefly if it be inveterate, and arise from some ulcer or abscess; and lastly, the term has been used to signify a perpetual form of medicines, otherwise called Opiates, or more properly Confections. 213. The reader will find this subject treated more fully in the second volume of my work on Medical Jurisprudence. 214. See the history of Theriaca at page 28 note. 215. John, king of Castille, as Tissot relates, was poisoned by a pair of boots, prepared by a Turk; Henry IV, by gloves; Louis XIV fearing a project to poison Philip V, prohibited his opening letters, or putting on gloves (Tissot TraitÉ des Nerfs, T. 1. P. 11. page 13;) Plouquet has the following remark upon this subject, “Huc et ignota illa venena pertinent, quibus epistolÆ chirothecÆ, et ejusmodi infici, et vim adeo toxicam induere dicuntur, ut lectio ejusmodi epistolÆ, indutus chirothecÆ subitam mortem causentur.” (Comment. Med. super Homicid. page 184.) Pope Clement VII is said by Zacchias to have been poisoned by the fumes of a taper, (QuÆst. Med. Leg.); and a priest is reported to have offered to destroy Queen Elizabeth by poisoning her saddle. (Sir Edward Coke, in the trial of Sir John Hollis.) Bishop Burnet, in the history of his own times (vol. 2. p. 230.) says, that some believed Charles the Second to have been poisoned through the medium of snuff. 216. This conceit does not appear to have been confined to the ignorant alone, for we learn from Spratt’s History of the Royal Society, that very shortly after the institution of that learned body, a series of questions was drawn up by their direction, for the purpose of being submitted to the Chinese and Indians, which clearly shews their belief in the possibility of such an operation, viz. “Whether the Indians can so prepare that stupifying herb, Datura, that they make it lie several days, months, years, according as they will have it, in a man’s body, without doing him any hurt, and at the end kill him without missing half an hour’s time?” 217. Dr. Mead adopted this opinion, but he became so convinced of its inadequacy that, in the later editions of his work on Poisons, he withdrew the hypothesis. It is hardly necessary to observe that upon its abandonment, a host of popular antidotes at once fell into disuse; for as long as the injury was supposed to arise from mechanical irritation, oils, fats, and other similar remedies were held capable of obtunding the acrimony. So has the abandonment of other conceits and hypotheses cleared away many absurd articles from the list of Antidotes; see page 26. 218. The introduction of poisons into the body through the medium of the circulation of the blood is frequently alluded to by the physiologists of the seventeenth century. I have lately met with a curious passage in a work entitled “Popular Errours in Physick, first written in Latine by the learned physitian, James Penrose, Doctor in Physick. London, 1651.” “The venome is carried by the veines and arteries, as appeares in that all the blood of them that have been bitten by a viper doth turne into a pale greennesse. And seeing that the veines in the papps are so very slender, and doe not come unto the heart, but with a great many long windings, I affirme, and it is more probable, that if the viper be applyed to the feet, which are farthest remote from the heart, it will sooner infect the heart than if to the papps, but soonest of all if it be applied to the armes. And now the story of Cleopatra comes to my minde. Petrus Victorius blames the painters, that paint Cleopatra applying the aspe to her papps, seeing it is manifest out of Plutarch in the life of Antonius, and out of Plinie likewise, that she applyed it to her arme. Zonaras relates that there appeared no signe of death upon her, save two blew spots on her arme. CÆsar also in her statue which he carryed in triumph, applyed the aspe to her arme; for in the armes there are great veines and arteries, which doe quickly, and in a straight way convey the venome to the heart, whereas in the papps the vessels are slender. And therefore in Saint Paul the miracle was so much the greater, in that he felt no harme from the viper, which layd hold on his hand, for if it had assailed him on the breast, he had had respite enough to take some antidote.” 219. There can be no doubt but that death has been produced by the mechanical operation of various insoluble bodies; although we cannot believe the numerous tales recorded on the subject of diamond dust (supposed to constitute the basis of the celebrated “Powder of Succession”) or of powdered glass, &c. Numerous cases are recorded where life has been destroyed by the lodgement of substances in the intestines; and we have lately heard of the fatal effects produced by alvine accumulations from the habitual use of Magnesia. With respect to the danger from the ingestion of glass and enamel in powder, there still exists much difference of opinion; Caldani, Mandruzzato, and M. Le Sauvage, report experiments made upon men and animals, in which no bad consequences followed; on the other hand, Schurigius (Chylologia) and Cardanus (De Venenis) cite instances where persons have died of ulcerations of the stomach from such causes; and M. Portal, FoderÉ, (Medicine Legale) Plouquet (Comment. super Homicid.) Stoll, (Ratio Medendi, part vi. p. 60) Gmelin (Hist. General de Ven. mineral.) Frank (Man. de Toxicol.) furnish testimony in support of the opinion which assigns to such bodies a highly deleterious action. 220. This mark denotes that the substance, against which it is placed, may also act by being absorbed. 221. Signifies that the article has also a local action. 222. See “Experiments and Operations on the Different Modes in which Death is produced by certain Vegetable Poisons.” By B. C. Brodie, Esq. F. R. S. in the 181st Volume of the Philosophical Transactions for the year 1811. 223. M. ’Lallemand has published the history of a foetus, in which the brain and spinal marrow were equally deficient, notwithstanding which, it even exceeded the usual size, the heart was also perfect, and it was evident that the circulation had been properly performed. No sooner however was the monster born than it perished, because the diaphragm and other muscles of respiration were unable to perform their functions without the aid of nervous excitement; no air was therefore inhaled into the lungs, and in a few minutes the heart ceased to contract from the deficient supply of oxygenized blood. See Medical Jurisprudence, Vol. ii. “On the Physiological Causes, and Phoenomena of Sudden Death.” 224. It is a very curious fact, that the Oil of Tobacco should differ so essentially in its physiological action from the Infusion of that vegetable poison; the former we have stated, affects the brain only, the latter we now learn, when taken into the alimentary canal, suspends the action of the heart. This apparent anomaly at first led Mr. Brodie, as he has since informed me, to suspect the accuracy of his experiments: and I suggested to him, whether a probable explanation might not be derived from the late chemical researches into the composition of tobacco, which have shewn the existence of two active principles, viz. Nicotin, and an Essential Oil? Where an infusion is employed, we seem to obtain the influence of the former, and the effects are displayed upon the heart; but where the oil is applied, the Nicotin has been removed, and the brain is the organ principally affected—see Tabaci Folia. 225. Dry Vomit of Marriott. This once celebrated vomit, called Dry, from its being exhibited without drink, consisted of equal proportions of Tartarized Antimony and Sulphate of Copper. 226. Sydenham relates a case of poisoning by Corrosive Sublimate; which was successfully treated by copious draughts of water, and repeated vomiting (Opera Medica, Epist. 1, p. 200); and Orfila, in his laborious work on poisons, presents us with a mass of satisfactory evidence upon the same subject. 227. Circumstances, however, may occur, which will render it even judicious, with certain precautions, to administer a solvent, in order to remove the particles of the substance, which sometimes adhere with such obstinacy to the coats of the stomach as to defy the exertions of an emetic to detach them, especially if the poison be arsenic; but let the practitioner remember that this practice can never be allowed until all that can be ejected by vomiting or purging has been previously removed; then perhaps the ingestion of Magnesia, or an Alkaline Salt, as proposed by Mr. Marshall, might be admissible, but it should be quickly followed up by fresh emetics and purgatives. 228. London Medical Repository, August, 1817. 229. The truth of this statement has been very satisfactorily established by the experiments of Orfila (Toxicologie gÉnÉrale considerÉe sous les Rapports de la Physiologie, de la Pathologie, et de la Medicine lÉgale) as well as by several that have been performed in this country. Tortosa (Istituzioni di Med. For.) has remarked that Opium may act mortally without losing much of its weight in the stomach—I should question the truth of this assertion. 230. Vegetable acids are in Nature rarely the vehicles of poisons, the most deleterious plants being inert in those parts that are impregnated with acid; the pulp of the fruit of the Strychnus, amongst many others, offers an illustration of this fact. Virey. 231. Notwithstanding this fact, we find Venesection recommended in works on Toxicology, as a safe precaution to be used against the inflammatory action produced by arsenic. The application of a ligature above an abraded surface to which a poison has been applied, prevents its effects upon the constitution, not so much by obliterating the capacity of the vessels, as by inducing a local plethora, and so suspending the process of absorption. 232. Escharotic from ?s?a???, crustam induco, to scab over, to burn into a crust. 233. Or in a still more striking manner, by holding over the surface of the sore a piece of white paper moistened by the mixed solutions of Nitrate of Silver and Arsenious Acid, when the disengaged Ammonia will by the operation of double affinity enable the Arsenious Acid to decompose the salt of Silver, and to display the presence of the Arseniate of that metal by its characteristic yellow indication. I am not acquainted with any test for Ammonia so summary and satisfactory as this. See Arsenicum in Vol. 2 of this work. 234. There are four species of worms generated in the human intestines, viz. The TÆnia, or tape-worm—Tricocephalus, or Trichuris—Ascaris Vermicularis, or Ascarides—and Lumbricoides. 235. It is a very curious fact that vegetable bitter should be so essential to the wellbeing of the higher order of animals, as explained at page 79, and yet prove so generally destructive to insects. Flies are almost immediately destroyed by an Infusion of Quassia, and Nature has protected the ear from the invasion of insects by providing an intensely bitter secretion. 236. The reader is also referred to an account of Majendie’s experiments as related at page 86 of this volume. 237. Fish, especially those of the cetaceous tribe, constantly decompose water, and live upon its hydrogen. 238. Rumford’s Essays, Vol. 1. p. 194–202. 239. I selected it as the exclusive subject of my Lectures before the Royal College of Physicians, during the year 1820. 240. It was wisely said by Lord Bacon, “that Man should observe all the workmanship, and the particular workings of Nature, and meditate which of those may be transferred to the Arts.” Advancement of Learning, Book v. 148. For a further illustration of these views, the partiality of an author may perhaps be excused if he refer the reader to his paper “On the Recent Sandstone,” published in the first volume of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall. 241. The practitioner must receive the term similar, conventionally, as expressed at page 71. Many of those substances which we are at present bound to consider similar, will no doubt, require to be transplanted into other classes as the progress of physiological knowledge shall elucidate their modes of action. In this attempt to teach the Art of Medicinal Combination, I have endeavoured to reduce the propositions it comprehends to the greatest degree of generality of which they are, at present, susceptible. 242. Numerous isolated statements of the same tendency may be adduced, but these cannot invalidate the claim of Dr. Fordyce, as the first person who generalized the fact, and applied it with success to practice. Diemerbroeck, in his notes upon the Theriaca Andromachi, observes that the composition is a more efficacious medicine from the concurrent powers of so many ingredients, alike in virtue: and Quincy, in his Lectures on Pharmacy, which were published by Dr. Shaw in 1723, says “those fetid gums which are generally prescribed in Hysteria, as Ammoniacum, Galbanum, &c. may be conjoined with advantage, because from a concurrence of properties, they all conspire to the same end.” 243. Such was the nature of the “Mustacea” of the Romans, which were a species of cake, used at weddings, and consisted of meal, aniseed, cummin, and several other aromatics; their object was to remove or prevent the indigestion which might be occasioned by eating too copiously at the marriage entertainment. It must be acknowledged that this compound was better adapted for such a purpose than the modern Bride-cake, to which it gave origin. Cato (de R. R. c. 121) has given us a receipt for the Roman bride-cake. 244. Dr. Majendie goes so far even as to assert, that by varying the different preparations of the same Narcotic, we shall be better able to keep up its action on the animal oeconomy, without an increase of its dose. He adds, “Some English writers have denied the truth of this observation: but they have not given any reasons for their scepticism.—Why should it not be true?” 245. It would even appear probable that in some cases mercurial influence has, after its subsidence, been renewed by doses of Opium: a remarkable instance of this kind is related in Hufeland’s Journal (vol. ix.) in which an old woman is said to have fallen into a considerable salivation after every dose of Opium; she had previously applied to the physician for an extensive ulceration over her body, and had taken a considerable quantity of mercury; but the effects had subsided, until renewed by the opium. 246. It has been observed under the history of Emetics (p. 84), that in cases of profound intoxication, or in those of violent wounds and contusions of the head, vomiting will not take place, however forcibly the stomach may be goaded by an emetic, whereas if the brain be only partially influenced, as by incipient intoxication, or by a less violent blow on the head, its irritability is increased instead of being paralysed, and that vomiting under such circumstances is excited by the slightest causes; just so is it with regard to Narcotics, a powerful dose so paralyses the nervous system, that the stomach cannot be made to reject its contents, as every one must have observed in cases of narcotic poisoning, while smaller doses, like lesser injuries of the head, dispose the stomach to sickness. 247. Sir Gilbert Blane has advanced an ingenious hypothesis to explain the cause of the foetid breath of persons under the influence of mercury; which might perhaps also shew why certain remedies are rendered more efficient by combination with mercury. One of the active effects of mercury, says Sir Gilbert, is to alter the natural sensibility of the Lacteals, so that when under its influence, they absorb indiscriminately that which is excrementitious and nutritive; hence the smell of the breath, since the foetid particles are carried into the circulation, and thrown off in the halitus of the lungs, or by the salivary glands, in consequence of the mouth of the lacteals losing that selecting tact, whereby in their sound state they reject whatever is offered to them, except the chyle. Now if mercury acts as the “Soporata Offa” to the lacteals, it is evident that its combination with active matter may, on some occasions, facilitate the absorption of the latter. 248. In some cases, however, the energy of an active bitter would seem to be diminished by an alkali; and it may therefore be more prudent to administer such substances at different periods. I apprehend that the powers of Squill are thus invalidated by a fixed alkali. 249. The Arabian and Greek physicians scarcely noticed the leaves, but always employed the pods of Senna; a fact which will explain the operation of this plant, as observed by them. 250. Mac Culloch on Wine. Edit. 2. p. 42. 251. If the facts stated in this section be true, we are bound to recognise two orders of medicinal elements,—the one comprehending those that possess an inherent and independent activity,—the other, those that are in themselves inert, but which are capable of imparting impulse and increased energy to the former when combined with them. As this is a new view of the subject of vegetable combinations, no apology is necessary for the introduction of new terms for its explanation; I therefore propose to designate the former of these Substantive, and the latter, Adjective constituents. When the structure of vegetable remedies shall have been thoroughly examined upon this principle of combination, much medicinal obscurity will be removed, and probably some pharmaceutical improvements of value suggested; at all events it will teach a lesson of prudent caution to the pharmaceutic chemist; it will shew the danger of his removing this or that element from a vegetable compound, merely because he finds, upon its separation, that it is inert. I dwell the more upon this point, because I feel that there never was a period in the history of medicine, at which such a caution was more necessary; for while the poly-pharmacy of our ancestors has driven the physician of the present day into a simplicity of prescription that on many occasions abridges his powers and resources, the progress of chemical knowledge has diffused through the class of manufacturing chemists a bold spirit of adventure and empiricism,—a mischievous propensity to torture our best remedies, in order to concentrate or extract the parts which they consider to constitute their essential ingredients. A Memoir has lately been presented to the Philomatic Society of Paris, by M. Robiquet, on the subject of Aroma, which affords some important analogies in proof of the law of combination, which I am now endeavouring to elucidate. From the experiments of this laborious chemist it would appear, that odours are not as Fourcroy supposed, the effect of the simple solution of certain bodies in air, but that for their developement, some third body (coinciding in its office with my Adjective constituent) possessing in itself none of the characteristic odour, is absolutely necessary as an intermede, varying in its nature according to that of each odorous body, in the same way that the mordant requires to be varied by the dyer, according to the nature of the colouring matter which it is intended to fix on the cloth;—thus Ambergris has in itself very little odour, but the addition of Musk developes a very strong and decided one; this also happens in a less degree with Lavender, and the perfumers therefore add a small quantity of musk to the distilled water of this plant. In other cases, Ammonia lends, as it were, its volatility to bodies, the odour of which without such an auxiliary, would be scarcely sensible; this is exemplified by the practice of perfumers exposing their musk and other substances to the atmosphere of privies when they lose their power: (Paul Amman: Manduct: ad Mat: Med:) so again in order to give pungency to snuff it is made to suffer the commencement of fermentation, in which case ammonia is generated; and it is a curious fact that the odour of the best snuff may be destroyed by mixing with it a little tartaric acid, by which its ammoniacal salt is neutralized. In some instances the adjective ingredient seems to be Sulphur, as in the essential oils of some cruciform plants, and particularly in that of mustard seed, for M. Robiquet found that this oil lost its odour by being kept in contact with a metallic surface, and that an inodorous oil remained, while the metal became a sulphuret: perhaps, adds M. Robiquet, it may be sometimes necessary for the full and exquisite developement of odour in these bodies to add another vehicle, thus the addition of a little Acetic acid heightens the odour of Mustard. Iron has little, or no odour; but when volatilized with hydrogen, its odour is very powerful. The smell of copper and brass must depend upon some circumstance not well understood. 252. Astruc, and other practitioners of the same school, always premised a mercurial course with venesection: it is probable that many of the anomalies observed in the modern application of this remedy may have arisen from an inattention to the diet of those who are under mercurial influence. Mercury is in itself a most powerful stimulant, and ought therefore to be accompanied with depletion and low diet; besides which, the experiments of Majendie have shewn how greatly such a state of the system will expedite the effects of the mercurial remedy. 253. Dr. Eberle, of Philadelphia, in a work lately published, has quoted the above passage, and remarks, that he has long been acquainted with the fact which it announces; although he proposes to account for it by a different train of reasoning; he considers that Nauseants encourage mercurial ptyalism, by favouring an afflux to the salivary glands. The learned author must allow me to congratulate him upon this fortunate discovery; unless his patients be blessed with as much apathy as was ever assumed by the Gilbertine order of Benedictines, he need never in future despair of influencing them by mercury. He has only to condemn the refractory to meagre fare, and then to tantalize them, as poor Sancho was, in his government, with the sight, or rather smell, of a savoury dish, and he will without doubt secure his object,—but, to be serious, if Dr. Eberle’s views be correct, how will he explain the modus operandi of fear, as related in the text? for the tendency of fear is to diminish the salivary secretion, as will be hereafter mentioned. 254. Fear, contrary to joy, decreases, for a time, the action of the extremities of the arterial system, as is seen by the sudden paleness which succeeds, and the shrinking or contraction of the vessels of the skin. M. de Haen relates the case of a painter who suffered convulsions, which were succeeded by a return of his colic. In this case the poison which had been, for a long time, admitted into his constitution in consequence of his daily employment, was, by the passion of anger, immediately brought into action. It was formerly observed by Citois, that the inhabitants of the province of Poitou, who had suffered anxiety of mind on account of any misfortune to themselves or family, were particularly susceptible of the disease. 255. How admirably do the results of Majendie’s experiments coincide with this reasoning; see page 84; and yet Dr. Eberle, in the work quoted below, appears unwilling to admit such a theory. 256. A treatise of the Materia Medica, and Therapeutics, by J. Eberle, M.D. In two volumes. Philadelphia, 1822. 257. In the same manner is the salivary secretion immediately influenced by the operation of the mind; the sight of a delicious repast to a hungry man is not more effectual in exciting it, than is the operation of fear and anxiety in repressing and suspending it. Whence we are led to believe, that the Hindoo Ordeal by Rice may have occasionally assisted in the ends of Justice. This ordeal was conducted in the following manner. The persons suspected of any crime being assembled in a ring, a certain portion of dried rice was given to each, which they were directed to chew for some minutes, and then to turn it out of their mouths upon the leaves or bark of a tree. Those who were capable of returning it in a pulpy form were at once acquitted, while those from whose mouths it came out dry, were pronounced guilty. See Medical Jurisprudence, Introduct. Vol. 1. p. viii. 258. The capacity of our digestive organs sufficiently testifies that nature never intended them for the reception of highly concentrated food, while this idea is farther strengthened by perceiving how sparingly she produces concentrated aliment; the saccharine matter of esculent fruits is generally blended with acidulous and mucilaginous ingredients; and the oleaginous principle of seeds, kernels, and other similar substances, is combined with farinaceous matter: the capacity observable in the organs of graminivorous animals evidently shews that they were also designed for a large bulk of food, and not for provender in which the nutritive matter is concentrated; the gramineous and leguminous vegetables do not present their nutritive matter in a separate state, nor is the animal furnished with an apparatus by which he can separate the chaff and straw from the grain,—the obvious inference is, that he was intended to feed indiscriminately on both. Some years ago I constructed a Logometric scale of Equivalents, analogous in principle to that which I have now introduced under the title of the “Medicinal Dynameter,” to shew the relative nutritive strength of different vegetables, and to work problems connected with them; I soon found, however, that unless bulk was taken into calculation, it was incapable of furnishing even an approximation to truth. 259. Med. Repos. Nov. 1822. 260. A Practical Inquiry into Disordered Respiration, p. 243. 261. D. Young’s Medical Literature, Edit. 2. p. 570. 262. The vegetable kingdom presents us with many natural compounds of this kind; several of which might be pressed into the service of medicine with much advantage. With respect to the number and variety of such substances, it must be confessed that our Pharmacopoeia contains but a meagre bill of fare. 263. The same reasoning will explain why English hops, that contain more Gallic Acid and Tannin than those imported from the Continent, are found to be superior as preservatives of beer. 264. Therapeutics, vol. 2. p. 470. 265. This subject has been ably illustrated by Mr. R. Phillips, in his translation of the London Pharmacopoeia, by a series of vary striking and instructive diagrams. 266. See my work on Medical Chemistry: Sect. Precipitation. 267. An ingenious application of this law has been made for the purpose of purifying Epsom Salts. See MagnesiÆ Sulphas; and also my work on Medical Chemistry, Art: Solution. 268. Amoenitates Academ; T. 7. p. 307. 269. See also a paper in the Medical Transactions, vol. 2. entitled, “Several extraordinary instances of the cure of Dropsy, by George Baker, M. D. Read September 9, 1771.” 270. The most subtle of all poisons,—the matter of febrile contagion,—is certainly modified in activity by the degree of moisture in the atmosphere influencing its solubility; the Plague is said to be most common in Egypt after the inundation of the Nile, a period at which the atmosphere is necessarily saturated with water; according to the account of Sir Robert Wilson, the English and Turkish armies that marched to Cairo escaped contagion, while the troops that remained stationary on the moist shore of Aboukir, were very severely visited. On the other hand, the Harmattan, a wind experienced on the western coast of Africa, between the Equator and fifteen degrees North Latitude, blowing from north-east towards the Atlantic, and which, in consequence of its passage over a very extensive space of arid land, is necessarily characterized by excessive dryness, puts an end to all Epidemics, as the Small Pox; and infection at such a time does not appear to be easily communicable even by art. Philosophical Transactions, vol. 21. The difficulty of communicating infection to animals during a dry state of the air, as remarked on the Western Coasts of Africa, during the blowing of the Harmattan, agrees with some observations on Plague by the French physicians, as this complaint first made its appearance in the French army during a moist state of the air in Syria, when it lay under the walls of Jaffa in February, 1800. It is a well known fact that volatile bodies are sooner converted into a gaseous state by the presence of water in the atmosphere; this is strikingly exemplified by the greater rapidity with which Limestone is burnt and reduced to quick-lime in moist weather, and by the assistance which is rendered in a dry season, by placing a pan of water in the ash-pit; so again the perfume of flowers is most sensible when the air is humid, as during the fall of the evening dew, or in the morning when the dew evaporates, and is dissipated by the rays of the rising sun; for the same reason the stench of putrid ditches and common sewers, is conveyed to the organs of smell much more speedily in summer previous to rain, when the air is charged with moisture. 271. They are previously calcined, but not burnt to lime, to an extent only that may destroy their tenacity, and render them fit for levigation. 272. A similar custom is common to the Indians of the whole of Asia, and of America; for the practice of the South American Indians, see Humboldt’s Personal Narrative. In India, Betel, variously compounded, is employed for the purpose above stated. The mixture more commonly used in Ceylon consists of quick-lime, Arecanut, and Tobacco, wrapped in Betel leaf. On ordinary occasions it is only masticated; but to repress the painful calls of hunger, the juice is swallowed. 273. Vol. viii. p. 33. 274. Dr. MacCulloch, in illustration of this subject, states, that ink, paste, and seeds, are among the common articles which suffer from such a cause, and to which this remedy is easily applicable. With respect to articles of food, such as bread, cold meats, or dried fish, it is less easy to apply the remedy, on account of the taste; cloves, however, and other spices whose flavours are grateful, may sometimes be used for this end. It is notorious that gingerbread, and bread containing caraway seeds, are far less liable to mouldiness than plain bread. The effect of cloves in preventing the mouldiness of ink is generally known; and the same result may be obtained by oil of lavender in a very minute quantity, or by any other of the perfumed oils. Russian leather, which is perfumed with the tar of the Birch tree, is not subject to mouldiness, as must be well known to all who possess books thus bound; they even prevent it from taking place in books which are bound in calf, and near which they may happen to lie. Paste is another perishable article, and although Alum which is used by the book-binder will certainly preserve it longer than it would remain useful without it, still it is not very effectual. Rosin, sometimes used by the shoemaker, answers the purpose better, and appears to act entirely on this principle; it is however far less effectual than even oil of turpentine; Lavender, and the other strong perfumes, as Peppermint, Anise, and Bergamot, are perfectly effectual, even in a very small quantity, and paste may be thus preserved for any length of time. 275. Medical Logic, Edit. 2. p. 192, note. 276. It appears from what has been stated under Section I. B. with respect to Diuretics, that some medicines not only assist, but actually DIRECT the operation of the substances with which they may be associated, and that many remedies act in unison with those they are joined with; thus Nitre in conjunction with Squill is diuretic; in conjunction with Guaiacum, diaphoretic; for these reasons I hesitated whether I ought not to have added a fifth constituent, and restored the “Dirigens” of ancient authors; enough, however, has been said to enable the practitioner to appreciate the importance of such a law of medicinal combination. 277. Dr. Percival in his Essays, ingenuously exemplifies this error by stating a case which occurred in his own practice. “I ordered,” says he, “a combination of Camphor and Balsam of Copaiba in the form of pills, but the apothecary informed me that he was unable to form them into a mass, since they liquefied like treacle.” I may here observe that the addition of a small portion of the coagulated yolk of an egg, would have rendered the mixture practicable. 278. This would occur, if in making the PilulÆ Ferri CompositÆ, we were to substitute the Liquor PotassÆ for the SodÆ Sub-carbonas. 279. The “Pharmacopoeia Bateana” contains a Formula for a “Tinctura Antiphthisica,” which is stated to be “a truly good medicament in those consumptions which proceed from ulcers of the lungs.” The following is the Receipt—?. Sacch: Saturn: ?ij—Sal Martis ?j—Infus: Spir: Vin: ?j—Dose from twenty to forty drops. In this case an insoluble Sulphate of Lead must be formed, which will render the medicine, as far at least as its saturnine effects are concerned, completely inert! 280. This fact has been very satisfactorily proved by the failure of the practical attempts which were made by Dr. Macbride of Dublin, to improve the art of tanning leather by the use of Lime-water, instead of plain water, which he conceived would extract the virtues of Oak Bark more completely. The reader who is desirous of a more detailed account of this plan must refer to Phil. Trans. Vol. lxxiii. part 1, Art. 8. 281. We trust these observations will not create any alarm in the worthy Citizen; he may, with as much safety as pleasure, continue the laudable practice of regaling himself and friends with a cup of strong tea, in spite of the Turtle soup they may have taken, and that too without the least danger of converting their stomachs into tanneries, or their food into leather. 282. For a highly ingenious, and important extension of these views, see Aqua Marina. (Note.) 283. M. Dive, an apothecary of Mont de Marson, has lately announced that a current of carbonic acid, when passed through a solution of Tartrate of Potass, partly decomposes it; and he ascribes to the same agent the production of the Bi-tartrate in the juice of the grape during its fermentation: accordingly, by mixing neutral tartrate with fermentable materials, we shall produce Cream of Tartar in the fermented liquor. Journal de Pharm. Octob. 1821. p. 487. 284. In one remarkable case related by this Physician, the operation of the unbruised mustard-seed is stated to have been promoted by combining it with a decoction of Broom-tops. Query, Was not the adjunct in this case the only efficient part of the remedy? 285. The word “Venenum,” was employed by the ancients to signify both a poison and a medicine; in the former of these acceptations it is used by Virgil in the following passage: “Picus equum domitor, quem capta cupidine conjunx Aurea percussum virga, versumque VENENIS, Fecit avem Circe, sparsitque coloribus alas.” Æneid. Lib. vii. In the latter sense it is used by Plautus— “Quia sorbitione faciam ego te hodie mea Item, ut Medea Peliam concoxit senem, Quem medicamentis, et suis VENENIS dicitur Fecisse rursus ex sene adolescentulum Item ego te faciam.” 286. See the dissertation on the operation of Emetics, page 84. 287. Cases and Observations, illustrating the influence of the Nervous System, in regulating animal heat, by H. Earle, Esq.; published in the 7th volume of the Medico-Chirurgical Transactions. 288. By the use of this word I wish to be distinctly understood as expressing only certain effects, without any regard to the causes that may produce them. The phenomena of Accumulation may on some occasions depend upon the absolutely increased quantity of the substance in the body, as in the instance of mercurial action, while in others they may perhaps arise from the system becoming more and more sensible to its stimulus. The history of Poisons would afford some interesting illustrations of these views, and in another work (Medical Jurisprudence, Vol. 2, p. 148), I have proposed a subdivision of these bodies, under the title of “Accumulative Poisons.” 289. “Diary of an Invalid.” 290. Med. Transact. Vol. 1, p. 5. 291. See Historical Introduction. 292. The Mechanical Physicians attempted to adjust the doses of medicines according to the constitution, by a mathematical rule; thus they say, “the doses are as the squares of the Constitution.” And in the Edinburgh Medical Essays, there is actually a formal attempt to correct the errors of this rule. See “An Essay towards ascertaining the doses of vomiting and purging Medicines, by Dr. Charles Balguy, Physician at Peterborough.” Vol. 1. 167. 293. While this sheet was passing through the press, an anecdote was related to me, which is well calculated to illustrate the mischief that may arise from abbreviated prescriptions. One of our most eminent surgeons having occasion to direct the application of a Lead Plaster (Emplast: Lythargyi. P. L. 1787), he abbreviated the term as follows—Emp. Lyth: in the haste of compounding, the h, perhaps carelessly written, was easily mistaken for t, and the chemist accordingly sent the Emplast: LyttÆ! As it was applied to the Pudenda, it is not necessary to state the distress of the patient, and the dismissal of the practitioner, which followed. 294. Camphor, unless it be presented to the stomach in a state of minute division, is liable to occasion heat and uneasiness in that organ. Fothergill’s Med. Observ. vol. i. p. 432. 295. In some cases the subject to be pulverized has been previously exposed to heat, but the doubtful influence of exalted temperature upon vegetable bodies, ought to afford us a lesson of extreme caution; the astringency of the stalks of the Artichoke is entirely destroyed by being gently heated in an oven, for after this operation they no longer strike a black colour with the salts of iron: another example is afforded us in the effects of heat upon Starch, which is thus changed into a species of gum, no longer producing a blue colour with Iodine, and which is known in commerce under the name of “British Gum.” 296. It is perhaps not generally known, that the sugared plumbs sold to children consist very frequently of Plaister of Paris; the introduction of such a substance into the intestines may often prove a source of mischief. I also understand, that it is no uncommon fraud to adulterate biscuits with the same substance. I confess I felt a great inclination to oppose the practice, lately suggested, of improving bad flour by the addition of Magnesia; I object to the introduction of any foreign and insoluble substance into our daily bread, and I am satisfied that the result of medical experience will sanction such an objection. 297. Edition 2. 1823.—I shall avail myself of the present opportunity to recommend this work to the perusal of every student who is ambitious to become acquainted with the Literature of his profession. 298. Dr. Davy informs me that the Veddahs, a savage race inhabiting the wilds of Ceylon, even in that hot climate, effectually preserve their venison in honey. 299. There is one circumstance which sometimes renders the powder of liquorice objectionable upon such occasions; it is liable to irritate the fauces and occasion coughing: for this reason I always avoid its use in cases of pulmonary irritation. 300. Some extracts become so hard, that in the state of pill they pass unchanged; this has occurred to me with the extract of logwood. Astringent vegetable matter, in combination with iron, is frequently characterised by a hardness that is not exceeded by ebony, and which is perfectly insoluble; the action of iron upon the petals of the red rose furnishes a very striking instance of this fact; if the petals be beaten in an iron mortar, for some hours, they ultimately become converted into a paste of an intensely black hue; which, when rolled into beads and dried, is susceptible of a most beautiful polish, still retaining the fragrance of the rose. I have seen a necklace of this description; indeed these beads form an article of extensive commerce with the Turks, and are imported into Europe, through Austria, under the name of Rose Beads or Rose Pearls. 301. Crell’s Annals, 1798. vol. 1. 302. A remedy may even owe its virtues to a precipitation, produced by admixture, as I have already stated. 303. See my work on Medical Chemistry, Sect. Cohesion. 304. Clyster from ????? eluo, to wash out. 305. Practical Observations on the Treatment and Cure of several Varieties of Pulmonary Consumption; and on the Effects of the Vapour of Boiling Tar in that Disease. By Sir A. Crichton, M. D. F. R. S. &c. London, 1823. 306. Pliny (Nat Hist. Lib. xxiii. cap. 6.) has the following interesting allusion to the subject of Tar fumes, “Silvas eas duntaxat quÆ picis resinÆque gratia raduntur, utilissimus esse phthisicis aut qui longa Ægritudine non recolligent vires, satis constat; et illum cÆliaËra plus ita quam navigationum Ægyptiani proficere, plus quam lactes herbedos per montium Æstiva potus.” 307. ?????, from ?e??, irrigo. 308. Illinire, to besmear. 309. ?????????. This term was formerly applied to any medicament, solid or liquid, employed to restrain defluxions; from ?????, inhibo to stop, and ???? fluxio, a running. 310. ?atap?ass? illino, to besmear. 311. See Pharmacopoeia Chirurgica. 312. Annales de Chimie, vol. xxxiii. p. 52. 313. A respectable Oilman of the name of Sterry, in the Borough, prepares a plaster of this description, which is sought after with great avidity. What a blessing it would be upon the community if every nostrum were equally innocuous! 314. Persons who are exposed to fatigue by the standing posture, such as washerwomen, &c. are particularly liable to sores of the legs, which may be prevented and cured by affording this artificial support. 315. In my Lectures I have usually employed different colours for the purpose of expressing the objects of each ingredient in a formula; in this manner very useful and instructive charts might be constructed: this hint may perhaps induce the industrious student, who is anxious to become a master in the art of prescribing, to attempt a synopsis upon this plan. 316. In these FormulÆ the Bark is decomposed, by the alkali; the combination of the Kinic acid and Cinchonia being torn asunder; but as the preparation is not filtered, the febrifuge principle is taken into the stomach in a state of activity. 317. This formula is introduced, as a combination supported by authority, although it may be questioned whether its adoption can be sanctioned upon principle. Let us decypher the intention of the different ingredients by their Key Letters. The basis is Squill, to which Digitalis is added, for the purpose we perceive of acting in unison with it, and Calomel, which succeeds it, is intended to promote and direct the diuretic Basis; two foetid gums next present themselves to our notice, and these are shewn by the bracket to exert a combined action, depending, as the Key Letter announces, upon the medicinal similarity, but acting in the general scheme of the formula, as shewn by the exterior letter, for the purpose of fulfilling a second indication, distinct and different from that which the Basis is designed to answer, i. e. to produce, not a diuretic, but an antispasmodic and stimulant effect; an important question then arises for our consideration—Is the latter part of the formula consistent with the former, or is the stimulant effect of the Gums compatible with the sedative operation of Digitalis? 318. Abies ab abeo, quod in coelum longe abeat. 319. Dr. Maton, in his appendix to Mr. Lambert’s work on the genus Pinus, observes that the Thus of the ancients, (??a???) does not appear to have been the product of any species of Pinus, although we are informed by Dioscorides (Lib. 1. c. 7.) that Pine resin was often substituted for it. He describes, moreover, a method of distinguishing between the two kinds; “Resin of the Pine,” says he, “when thrown into the fire dissipates itself in smoke, whereas Frankincense burns with a brisk flame, and with an odour that serves to detect the imposition.” “Some authors, adds Dr. Maton, have considered the genuine ??a??? (Thus) to have been obtained from the Juniperus Lycia, and to constitute the Olibanum of our shops, but I cannot find any passage in the ancient authors sufficiently precise to corroborate this conjecture.” Op: citat: 320. From a not, and ???t?? pleasure. 321. Mouldiness is a peculiar plant, propagated by seeds, infinitely small; Reaumur found the interior of an addled egg mouldy, hence the seeds must have passed through the pores of the shell! Dr. Macculloch has lately announced the curious fact, that the propagation of mouldiness may be prevented by the presence of aromatic substances. See p. 177, Note. 322. This fact has enabled the Chemist to prepare an indelible ink, not affected by acids. 323. Keyser’s Antivenereal Pills consist of this mercurial salt, triturated with Manna. 324. Vinegar quenches the thirst, and is particularly refreshing after much bodily exertion. It was this property that invigorated the soldiers of Hannibal in their progress over the Alps; it is absurd to imagine that Livy meant to assert that the rocks were dissolved by Vinegar: the expression is only metaphorical. See SodÆ Murias. 325. The varieties of vinegar known in commerce, are three, viz. Wine Vinegar, Malt Vinegar, and Sugar Vinegar; to which may now be added that from wood, and which is described under the title of Acidum Aceticum Fortius, or Acidum Aceticum, e ligno destillatum. 326. I apprehend that the superior power of animal charcoal, over that of vegetable origin, in removing colouring matter, depends upon the peculiar texture of the former. At the same time it must be acknowledged, that there are certain phenomena which would appear to indicate the existence of a chemical difference in these substances; thus if Lime water be boiled with animal charcoal, the whole of the lime will be abstracted from the water, whereas the same effect is not produced by the action of charcoal of vegetable origin. See Liquor Calcis. 327. The Sulphuric acid is added for the purpose of preserving the vinegar from decomposition. 328. This quantity includes the alkali necessary to saturate the Sulphuric acid which is allowed to be added. 145 grains of alkali is the standard fixed by act of Parliament, which will be found to coincide with the atomic weights of these bodies. 329. By real Acetic acid is meant such an acid as occurs in a dry acetate; it cannot exist uncombined with water, or a base. 330. This is a very ancient preparation, thus Ausonius, “Scillato decies si cor purgeris aceto Anticipitesque tuum Samii Lucomonis acumen.” 331. In following the directions of the College the first pint is rejected, and this, according to Mr. Phillips (Remarks on the Pharmacopoeia) contains a notable quantity of acid. Hence Distilled Vinegar can never be so strong as the Vinegar from which it is distilled. 332. Or it may be detected, in very minute quantities, by the elegant test lately employed by Dr. Marcet, and which I have frequently repeated in my Lectures with considerable satisfaction. It consists in adding a little sulphuric acid with a small quantity of muriate of soda, and then immersing a little gold leaf in the mixture, when after boiling it, if any nitric acid should have been present, the gold leaf will be dissolved. 333. It had been long known that by the destructive distillation of any kind of wood, an acid is obtained, which was formerly considered of a distinct and peculiar nature, and termed Acid Spirit of Wood, and afterwards Pyroligneous Acid. Glauber appears to have been the first chemist who was aware of its true nature, for he speaks of it as the “Vinegar of Wood.” It was however reserved for Fourcroy and Vauquelin to demonstrate its composition by experiment, and they have accordingly proved beyond doubt that it is merely the Acetic acid, contaminated with Empyreumatic oil and Bitumen. The address of modern chemists has at length enabled them to get rid of every trace of these latter ingredients, and to furnish an acid perfectly devoid of any foreign flavour. The crude pyroligneous acid, as it is first received, is rectified by a second distillation in a copper still, in the body of which about 20 gallons of viscid tarry matter are left from every 100. It has now become a transparent brown vinegar, having a considerable empyreuma; it is then redistilled and saturated with quick-lime, and the liquid acetate is evaporated to dryness and submitted to gentle torrefaction, in order to dissipate the empyreumatic matter, and lastly the calcareous salt is decomposed by sulphuric acid, when a pure, perfectly colourless, and grateful vinegar rises in distillation. 334. This instrument was invented by Messrs. Taylors for this particular purpose; the principle consists in forming a neutral salt with dry hydrate of lime and the acid to be examined, and then taking the specific gravity of the solution. Act 58. G. III. c. 65, § 8. 335. It may be necessary to state, that the Pharmaceutist should never purchase acetic acid of greater strength than that of 75° of the Acetometer, when it is intended for dilution, for although he might thus avoid the expense of carriage, the saving will be more than counterbalanced by the excessive duty levied upon acids above that standard. There is moreover a great loss in the preparation of strong acids, so that the manufacturer cannot afford to sell them at a price which is merely proportional to their strength. Acid of 75° is regularly kept by Messrs. Beaufoy for dilution, and if mixed with eleven parts of pure water is equivalent to the common distilled vinegar of the Pharmacopoeia. 336. It ought to have been 1·048 of 55° Fah: but the error lies in the scale of Taylor’s Acetometer, which appears to be incorrect at this point. 337. I believe that no manufacturer, except Messrs. Beaufoy, makes an acid stronger than this; the College sample was obtained from that house. 338. The Reviewer of Mr. Phillip’s Translation of the Pharmacopoeia, in the Royal Institution Journal for July, 1824, has fallen into an important error upon this subject, against which it may be necessary to caution the reader; he says, “the term ‘diluted acetic acid’ is properly enough applied to Distilled Vinegar, but the process of distillation might well have been rejected; for all medical purposes a dilute acid, composed of one part of the concentrated acid, contained in the Materia Medica, and four parts of water, is preferable. Of this mixture, or of distilled vinegar, the specific gravity should be 1·009, and 1000 grains should saturate 145 grains of Sub-carbonate of Soda.” The reviewer has mistaken the acid of sp. gr. 1·043 mentioned by Phillips, as the strongest he has met with, for the Pharmacopoeia acid of sp. gr. 1·046; for, should he dilute the latter with only four times its weight of water, he would produce a compound containing 5·686 per cent. of real acid, or one considerably stronger than the strongest malt vinegar, and twice the strength of distilled vinegar. The reviewer takes this occasion to indulge his favourite passion for abusing the Pharmacopoeia, and he asks with an air of sarcasm, Where was Dr. Paris during the late revision? I answer—engaged in the discharge of my duty as a humble member of the Committee, and I can assure him that nothing which he has yet urged has convinced me that I have failed in its fulfilment, or erred in its execution:—but it is now my turn to enquire, and I do so with perfect good humour, where the reviewer could have been when he composed the above passage? that he was not at home, is I think sufficiently evident from the statement which I have just offered. 339. A very useful practical application has been made of the Pyroligneous Acid, for the purpose of correcting the excessive foetor attendant upon mortification. Dr. Samuel W. Moore of this city, (to whom we are indebted for the suggestion,) has detailed the particulars of a case of extensive mortification of the cheek, resulting from the use of mercury, in which the acid was applied, and with the happiest success. In a case of cancerous breast, it was also used with the same object, and with similar effect. The mode of using it is simply to apply pieces of lint or linen wet with the acid to the part affected. See New-York Medical Repository, Vol. 22. p. 237.—Ed. 340. Aromatic Vinegar is merely an acetic solution of camphor, oil of cloves, of lavender, and of rosemary. The acetic acid used for this purpose is about 145° of the acetometer, containing 68·5 per cent. of real acid. A preparation of this kind may be extemporaneously made by putting ?j of Acetate of Potass into a phial with a few drops of some fragrant oil, and in m xx of Sulphuric Acid. Thieves Vinegar, or Marseilles Vinegar, is a pleasant solution of essential oils and camphor, in vinegar; the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia has given a formula for its preparation under the title of “Acetum Aromaticum.” The repute of this preparation as a prophylactic in contagious fevers is said to have arisen from the confession of four thieves, who, during the plague of Marseilles, plundered the dead bodies with perfect security, and, upon being arrested, stated on condition of their lives being spared, that the use of Aromatic Vinegar had preserved them from the influence of contagion. It is on this account sometimes called “Le Vinaigre des quatre voleurs.” It was however long used before the Plague of Marseilles, for it was the constant custom of Cardinal Wolsey to carry in his hand an orange, deprived of its contents, and filled with a sponge which had been soaked in vinegar impregnated with various spices, in order to preserve himself from infection, when passing through the crowds which his splendour or office attracted. The first Plague raged in 1649, whereas Wolsey died in 1531. The French Codex has a preparation of this kind, consisting of an acetic infusion of various aromatic herbs and camphor, which is termed “Acetum Aromaticum Alliatum,” seu “Antisepticum” vulgo “des Quatre Voleurs.” p. 108. The German Dispensatories abound with Medicated Vinegars, chiefly aimed against Pestilential Diseases. 341. The more familiar of these are Bitter Almonds, the Cherry Laurel (Lauro Cerasus,) the leaves of the Peach tree, the kernels of fruit, pips of apples, &c. The prussic acid would appear to be most abundant in the thin pellicle that envelopes the kernel; the fleshy parts of these fruits do not contain it, and even the berries of the Lauro Cerasus may be eaten with impunity; and yet the distilled water, and oil of this plant are the most destructive of all narcotic poisons, as was evinced by the murder of Sir Theodosius Broughton, by Laurel Water; and by the untimely fate of Dr. Price, of Guildford, in the year 1782, who professing to convert Mercury into Gold, offered to repeat his experiments before an adequate tribunal, but put a period to his existence before the appointed day, by a draught of Laurel Water. Consistent with theory, the watery extract of Laurel is harmless, a fact easily explained, since the narcotic acid is entirely volatilized before the fluid can assume the consistence of an extract. The Laurel Water as a medicinal agent appears to have been long known. LinnÆus, informs us that it was frequently used in Holland, in pulmonary consumption. (AmÆnitat. Academ. vol. iv. p. 40.) The Bark of the Prunus Padus, or Bird Cherry Tree, was ascertained to contain Prussic acid, by M. Bergemann, in 1811, and it is certainly a curious fact, as Dr. Granville has observed, that superstitious people should have selected the berries of this shrub to form necklaces, which are hung round the neck of children to prevent fits and allay cough from teething. For farther information upon this subject, the reader may consult “The Chronological recapitulation respecting the Introduction of the Prussic acid into the Practice of Physic,” in the work of Dr. Granville, above cited. 342. See Journal of Science and the Arts, No. xxv. The following table comprehends their results.
343. For a detailed account of this poison, see my work on Medical Jurisprudence, vol. ii. p. 398. 344. It seems to be a contest for a shadow. 345. We agree with our author in the general estimate which he forms of the Prussic Acid. The experience of practitioners in this country has by no means confirmed the high expectations originally entertained of this article. Ed. 346. The only mineral substances in which this acid has been found is the Fer AzurÉ of Haiiy, and a new substance which is found accompanying Welsh Culm, and of which I have given an account in the first volume of the Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, although in this latter instance it is probably a product, not an educt. 347. The following is the chemical reasoning upon which this process is founded. “The prime equivalent of prussic acid is exactly one-eighth of that of the mercurial peroxide. But as the prussiate of mercury consists of two primes of acid to one of base, or is in its dry crystalline state a By-cyanide, we have the relation of one to four in the formation of that salt, when we act on the peroxide with cold prussic acid.” Hence is derived the above simple rule of analysis. (Journal of Science and the Arts.) Upon the same principle it has been already stated, that the quantity of real acetic acid, in any given sample of distilled vinegar may be discovered by the test of carbonate of lime, see Acid. Acetic. Fort. They furnish beautiful illustrations of the practical importance of the doctrine of Definite Proportions. 348. This offers a striking example of the confusion produced by the constant changes in chemical nomenclature; in the former editions of this work, the term Hydro was prefixed to Muriatic Acid, as an epithet expressive of the presence of water, whereas the same word is now used to denote the existence of Hydrogen as one of its elements. 349. Dr. Powell directs only two parts of acid; but this is evidently too little, for it appears by Dr. Wollaston’s scale, that 3 parts of salt require 2½ of oil of vitriol for their decomposition; and in addition to this, the oxide of manganese will require a farther addition to convert it into a sulphate. 350. As Chlorine is by pressure condensable into a liquid, tubes containing a small quantity of it, and hermetically sealed, might be very usefully employed for this purpose, since by breaking off the extremity, the chlorine would instantly assume the gaseous state, and diffuse itself through the apartment. 351. There is a curious illustration of this fact in the German “Ephemerides;” the case of a person is described who had taken so much Elixir of Vitriol that his keys were rusted in his pocket, by the transudation of the acid through his skin! 352. Nitric acid may be considered as one of the most efficient agents in our possession for exciting prompt vesication. For this purpose, we believe it was first used in the epidemic Cholera of the East Indies, and the success which attended it in that fatal disorder suggested its application in a variety of other diseases. The mode of using it is to rub the surface intended to be vesicated, with the pure acid, and as soon as pain is produced, to neutralize the acid by washing the part with a solution of salt of tartar. If the object is to continue the irritation, a common blister may be laid upon the part. Ed. 353. Nitrous acid gas is a combination of nitrous gas and oxygen. 354. Elixir of Vitriol. The preparation sold under this name is the Acid: Sulph: Aromat: E. and is imperfectly Ætherial in its nature. It is a grateful medicine. A spurious article is often sold for it, which is nothing but the diluted acid, coloured by the addition of a tincture. I will take this occasion to state, that the term Elixir is of Arabian origin, viz. Elechschir, or Elikscir, i. e. an Essence, or pure mass without any dregs. 355. The Dublin college, on the authority of Willdenow, admits the A. Neomontanum, as the species of Aconite which has always been used in medicine; although the other colleges, in consequence of a botanical error of StÖerck, who introduced it into practice, direct the A. Napellus. 356. See note under the article opium. 357. Axunge, from its being used as the grease of wheels, ab Axe rotarum quÆ unguuntur. 358. Dr. Smellone’s Ointment for the Eyes. It consists of half a drachm of Verdigris finely powdered and rubbed with oil, and then mixed with an ounce of yellow Basilicon, (Ceratum ResinÆ, P. L.) 359. Alcohol is a term of Alchemical origin, and signified the pure substance of bodies, separated by sublimation from the impure particles, as Alcohol Antimonii, &c. 360. Garlic, leeks, and onions constitute a tribe of culinary vegetables that has undergone great vicissitudes in reputation: amongst the Egyptians the onion and leek were esteemed as divinities, thus Juvenal, “O sanctas gentes quibus hÆc nascuntur in hortis Numina!” while by the Greeks, garlic was detested, although their husbandmen had been from the most remote antiquity in the habit of eating it, which Æmilius Macer explains by supposing that its strong odour was useful in driving away the venomous serpents and insects by which they were infested. Horace alludes to this custom in his 3d Epode, which he composed in consequence of having been made violently sick by garlic at a supper with MacÆnas. “Cicutis Allium nocentius O dura Messorum ilia!” The most powerful antidotes to the flavour of this tribe of vegetables are the aromatic leaves and seeds of the UmbelliferÆ; thus the disagreeable odour of a person’s breath after the ingestion of an onion is best counteracted by parsley; and if leek or garlic be mixed with a combination of aromatic ingredients, its virulence will be greatly mitigated and corrected, nor does the fact seem to have escaped the observation of the husbandman in Virgil, “Allia, Serpyllumque, herbas contundit olentes.” Eclog. 2. line 11. And the fact itself offers an additional illustration of the important principle of combination, discussed at page 148. 361. Taylor’s Remedy for Deafness. Garlic infused in oil of almonds, and coloured by alkanet root. 362. Dr. Sibthorpe, in his Flora GrÆca, states that the Aloe Vulgaris is the true Aloe described by Dioscorides. 363. From the action which aloes exercises over the large intestines it has long been supposed that the continued use of it caused the production of hemorrhoids. It would seem hardly possible that an opinion, so generally received, could be without some foundation; and, no doubt, in many cases it may produce such an effect. In my own experience, however, I do not recollect to have met with it in a single instance, even where its use had been continued for several months in succession. Ed. 364. Anderson’s Pills consist of the Barbadoes Aloes with a proportion of Jalap, and Oil of Aniseed. Hooper’s Pills.—Pil. AlÖes cum Myrrha, (Pil. Rufi) Sulphate of Iron, and Canella Bark, to which is added a portion of Ivory Black. Dixon’s Antibilious Pills.—Aloes, Scammony, Rhubarb, and Tartarized Antimony. Speediman’s Pills.—Aloes, Myrrh, Rhubarb, Extract of Chamomile, and some Essential Oil of Chamomile. Dinner Pills—Lady Webster’s, or Lady Crespigny’s Pill. These popular pills are the “PilulÆ StomachicÆ,” vulgo, “PilulÆ ante cibum” of the Codex Medicamentarius Parisiensis. Editio Quinta, A.D. 1758. viz. ?. Aloes optimÆ ?vj, Mastiches, et Rosarum rubrarum aa ?ij, Syrupi de Absinthio q, s, ut fiat massa,—the mass is divided into pills of 3 grains each. The operation of this pill is to produce a copious and bulky evacuation, and in this respect experience has fully established its value. It is difficult to explain the modus operandi of the Mastiche, unless we suppose that it depends upon its dividing the particles of the Aloes, and thereby modifying its solubility. Fothergill’s Pills.—Aloes, Scammony, Colocynth, and Oxide of Antimony. Peter’s Pills.—Aloes, Jalap, Scammony, and Gamboge, equal part ?ij—Calomel ?i. Radcliffe’s Elixir—?. Aloes Socot: ?vi, Cort:—Cinnamon et Rad: Zedoar: aa ?ss—Rad: Rhei ?i.—Coccinel: ?ss—Syrup: Rhamni f?ij—Spirit: Tenuior: oj—AquÆ PurÆ f?v. Beaume de Vie, see Decoct: Aloes compositum. The Elixir of Longevity, of Dr. Jernitz of Sweden. This is an aromatic tincture, with Aloes. 365. The best mode of using alum as a styptic is that of a tepid saturated solution. In this form it proves much more efficacious in arresting hemorrhage than in the usual way of applying it. Dr. Scudamore, to whom we are indebted for this observation, has detailed some striking and interesting experiments satisfactorily proving its correctness. See “Scudamore on the Blood.” p. 157.—Ed. 366. Godfrey’s Smelling Salts. This highly pungent preparation is obtained by resubliming the common sub-carbonate of ammonia with pearlash, and a proportion of rectified spirit. The sub-carbonate of potass in this case, abstracts a fresh portion of carbonic acid from the ammoniacal salt. Its atomic composition has not yet been ascertained, but it will probably be found to consist of equal atoms of carbonic acid and ammonia, and must therefore be a true Carbonate. 367. It appears that this is not the only article that has suffered in its quality by the cheap materials which have been brought into the market from those works. I understand that the practical chemist can obtain little or no Naphtha from the Barbadoes Tar, owing to its adulteration with the residue of the gas light process. 368. Noyau.—CrÈme de Noyau. Bitter Almonds blanched 1 oz. Proof spirit half a pint, Sugar 4 oz. It is sometimes coloured with cochineal. The foreign Noyau, although differently prepared, is indebted to the same principle for its qualities. It is a liqueur of a fascinating nature, and cannot be taken to any considerable extent without danger; the late Duke Charles of Lorraine nearly lost his life from swallowing some “Eau de Noyau,” (water distilled from Peach kernels) too strongly impregnated. Journal des Debats, 22, Decembre, 1814. 369. Almond Paste. This Cosmetic for softening the skin and preventing chaps, is made as follows: Bitter almonds blanched 4 oz.; the white of an egg; rose water and rectified spirit, equal parts, as much as is sufficient. 370. For the derivation of this term, and remarks thereon, see p. 38. (Note). 371. The fecula of various grains are employed as articles of diet for the sick, e. g. Sago, prepared from the pith of the Cycas Circinalis, its granular form is imparted to it by passing it, when half dry, through a coarse sieve. Salop, from the Orchis Mascula. Tapioca from the root of the Jatropa Manhiot. By expressing the root of this plant, the juice of which is extremely acrid, and baking the cake that is left, an alimentary substance is prepared called Cassava, the peculiar merit of which, like tapioca, is to swell and soften in water, and thus to make an excellent pudding. Arrow Root is from the Maranta Arundinacea. The arrow root however, usually sold, is the fecula of potatoes; 100 lbs. of which would yield about 10 lbs. of fecula, and it is worthy of remark that for this purpose frozen potatoes answer as well as those not spoiled by the frost. Dr. Ainslie, in his Materia Medica of Hindostan, informs us that “an excellent Arrow root, if it may be so called, is now prepared in the Travancore country from the root of the Curcuma Angustifolia, no way inferior to that obtained from the Maranta Arundinacea.” 372. The method of deducing the value of seeds, from their relative weights, appears to have been one of the earliest instances of the art of taking specific gravities; thus Pliny (Nat. Hist. lib. xviii.) estimated the relative weights of several species of grain. 373. Chamomile Drops. The nostrum sold under this name is a spirit flavoured with the essential oil of Chamomile. It is very obvious that it cannot possess the bitter tonic of the flowers. 374. The Everlasting Pill of the ancients consisted of metallic Antimony, which being slightly soluble in the gastric juice was supposed to exert the property of purging as often as it was swallowed. This was economy in right earnest, for a single pill would serve a whole family during their lives, and might be transmitted as an heir-loom to their posterity. We have heard of a Lady who having swallowed one of these pills, became seriously alarmed at its not passing; upon sending however for her physician, he consoled her with the assurance that it had already passed through a hundred patients with the best effect. 375. The manner of doing it among the Turks, is described by Shaw and Russel. Chateaubriand also remarks, “The women of Athens appear to me smaller and less handsome than those of the Morea, their practice of painting the orbits of the eyes blue, and the ends of the fingers red, is disagreeable to the stranger.” Dr. Badham has also given us an interesting note upon this subject in his learned Translation of Juvenal. Sat. II. 1. 141. See also the present work, p. 49. 376. The Sulphuret of Antimony is an ingredient in Spilsbury’s Drops. See Hydrargyri Oxy-murias. Dr. Duncan also observes that it seems to constitute a quack remedy which has acquired some reputation in Ireland for the cure of cancer, where it is used as an external application to the sore. 377. This saline body was first made known by Adrian de Mynsicht in his Thesaurus Medico-chymicus, published in 1631; although it appears probable that the preparation was suggested by a treatise, entitled “Methodus in Pulverem,” published in Italy in 1620. This book, written by Dr. Cornachinus, gives an account of a method of preparing a powder which had been invented by Dudley, Earl of Warwick, and which had acquired considerable celebrity in Italy; this powder was composed of Scammony, Sulphuret of Antimony, and Tarter, triturated together. 378. There is a Tartrate of Antimony, but it can scarcely be made to crystallize; it easily assumes a gelatinous form; and it may be here observed that Antimony is one of those metals whose oxides seem to combine with difficulty, and to form compounds of little permanency with acids, unless there be present at the same time an alkali or earth; and their solutions, in most cases, yield, on dilution, a white precipitate. 379. The compound of Tartarized Antimony and Bark, is said to purge, and to constitute the “Bolus ad Quartanas” of the French physicians. 380. The Sugar is added with a view to prevent the ointment from becoming rancid. 381. Norris’s Drops. A solution of tartarized antimony in rectified spirit, and disguised by the addition of some vegetable colouring matter. I am credibly informed that the original recipe contained opium, but that which I have examined, and which was procured from a respectable agent, yielded no indications of its presence. 382. Hard water has a tendency to produce diseases in the spleen of certain animals, especially sheep: this is the case in the eastern side of the island of Minorca, as we are informed by Cleghorn. The mischievous tendency of bad water, where it cannot be corrected by some chemical process, would seem to be best counteracted by bitter vegetables. Virey supposes that this circumstance first induced the Chinese to infuse the leaves of the tea plant. 383. Alpini informs us that Elephantiasis is endemial in Egypt; Galen ascribes it to the impure waters of the Nile, and Lucretius adopted the same opinion. “Est Elephas morbus, qui propter flumina Nili Gignitur Ægypto in Medio.” 384. Dr. Percival observes that bricks harden the softest water, and give it an aluminous impregnation; the common practice of lining wells with them, is therefore very improper, unless they be covered with cement. 385. The same strumous affection occurs at Sumatra, where ice and snow are never seen; while, on the contrary, the disease is quite unknown in Chili and Thibet, although the rivers of these countries are chiefly supplied by the melting of the snow with which the mountains are covered. The trials of Captain Cook, in his voyage round the world, prove the wholesomeness of Ice water beyond a doubt; in the high southern latitudes he found a salutary supply of fresh water in the ice of the sea; “this melted ice,” says sir John Pringle, “was not only sweet but soft, and so wholesome as to shew the fallacy of human reasoning unsupported by experiments.” 386. I take this opportunity of observing that I have made analyses of several of those springs in Cornwall, which have from time immemorial enjoyed a reputation in the neighbourhood for curing diseases, amongst which were the waters of Holywell, so named from its supposed virtues, and those of Permiscen Bay, equally extolled for their medicinal qualities. But I have only been able to detect minute quantities of carbonate of lime, derived from infiltration through banks of calcareous sand. See Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, Vol. I. 387. See “Remarks on the Pump water of London,” by W. Heberden, M. D. in the 1st. vol. of the Medical Transactions; also, Acad. Royale des Scienc. 1700, Hist. pag. 58. Perrault Vitruve. L. VIII. c. 5. 388. I am informed by a respectable chemist in this town, that he sells a large quantity of alum for this very purpose, as well as to publicans for the sake of clearing their spirituous liquors; for the same end, we are told, that the wine merchants in Paris put into each cask of wine as much as a pound of alum. 389. This is particularly the case with respect to the water of the River Thames; for as it contains but a small proportion of saline matter, it is remarkably soft, although it holds suspended mud, and vegetable and animal debris, which occasion it to undergo a violent change on being kept: a large volume of carburetted and sulphuretted hydrogen gases is evolved, and it becomes black and insufferably offensive; upon racking it off however into large earthen vessels, and exposing it to the air, it gradually deposits a quantity of black slimy matter, and becomes as clear as crystal, and perfectly sweet and palatable, and is exceedingly well adapted for sea store. “The New River Water” contains a small proportion of muriate of lime, carbonate of lime, and muriate of soda; it differs also in its gaseous contents: 100 cubic inches of New River Water contain 2·25 of carbonic acid, and 1·25 of common air, whereas the water of the Thames contains rather a large quantity of common air, and a smaller proportion of carbonic acid. 390. The law which determines such combinations has been investigated with singular ingenuity and success by Dr. Murray, (Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1816). Berthollet had already established the important fact, that combinations are often determined by the force of cohesion, in such a manner, that in principles acting on each other, those on which this force operates most powerfully, in relation to the fluid which is the medium of action, are combined together; hence from a knowledge of the solubility of the compounds which substances form, we may predict what combinations will be established when they act on each other, those always combining which form the least soluble compounds. It is for the extension of these views, and for the useful application of them, that we are indebted to Dr. Murray, who justly observes that if the force of cohesion can so far modify chemical attraction, as to establish among compound salts dissolved in any medium, those combinations whence the least soluble compound are formed, we are entitled to conclude that the reverse of this force, i. e. the power of a solvent, may produce the opposite effects, or cause the very reverse of these combinations to be established, so that in a concentrated medium the least soluble will be formed, and in a dilute one, the more soluble compounds will be established. Hence follows the simple rule by which the actual state in which saline bodies exist in a solution may be determined, viz. that in any fluid containing the elements of compound salts, the binary compounds existing in it will be generally those which are most soluble in that fluid, and the reverse combinations will only be established by its concentration favouring the influence of cohesion. It appears that by simply evaporating a saline solution we may produce changes in its composition, and obtain products which never existed in its original state of dilution; thus, suppose muriate of magnesia and sulphate of soda to be dissolved in water, as is actually the case in the water of the ocean, and the solution to be concentrated by evaporation from heat; the combinations of sulphate of magnesia and muriate of soda, being on the whole less soluble in water, this circumstance of inferior solubility, or the force of cohesion thus operating, actually determines the formation of these compounds; and the production of sulphate of magnesia from the bittern is to be explained upon this principle. Since it appears therefore that the influence of solubility is most important, temperature, to whose dominion it is under all circumstances subject, must necessarily be alike powerful; let us exemplify this fact by the action of the very salts under consideration; it has been just stated that muriate of magnesia and sulphate of soda decompose each other in a concentrated solution at a high temperature, producing muriate of soda and sulphate of magnesia, but at temperatures below 32° the reverse actually takes place, muriate of soda and sulphate of magnesia reacting, and being converted into sulphate of soda and muriate of magnesia; a fact evidently owing to the relation of the solubility of these salts to temperature. Muriate of soda has its solubility scarcely altered, either by heat or cold; sulphate of soda is, in these respects, completely the reverse; hence at an elevated temperature, muriate of soda is the least, and sulphate of soda the most soluble salt, whilst at a low temperature, the reverse of this happens. All the circumstances of this investigation are most interesting; the medical practitioner will at once perceive its importance, as enabling him to appreciate the real nature of saline solutions, and even in many instances to preserve their identity. See AquÆ Minerales. 391. There is a precaution respecting the preservation of these waters for analysis with which the chemist ought to be acquainted; it will be fully explained by the relation of the following anecdote. M. Wurza, on examining some bottles of Chalybeate water, could detect no signs of iron in them, and on seeking for the cause of this circumstance, he discovered it in the astringent nature of the corks which had combined with the metallic substance, and abstracted it from the water. 392. The Mineral Springs in the United States more especially deserving of notice, are those of Saratoga and Ballston in the State of New-York, and of Schooley’s Mountain in New-Jersey. Of the two first, various analyses have been published by different chemists, but with so little uniformity of result as to leave their true chemical character still in a state of uncertainty. An account of these discrepancies may be seen in the New-England Journal of Medicine and Surgery for 1817. As the analyses of Dr. Steel appear upon the whole to be most satisfactory, we shall quote them. One gallon of the water was the quantity used in the experiments.
SCHOOLEY’S MOUNTAIN. According to the analysis of Dr. M‘Nevin, these waters consist of
The diseases in which the Ballston and Saratoga waters have been recommended are dyspepsia, hypochondriasis, hysteria, dropsy, paralysis, chronic gout, rheumatism, chlorosis, suppression of the menses, and diseases of the bladder and kidneys. The waters of Schooley’s Mountain, besides their general utility in diseases of the digestive organs, have proved eminently successful in calculous affections. Ed. 393. New-York Med. and Phys. Journal, No. 21. p. 73. 394. For the same purpose the French employ a pomatum prepared with the oxide of bismuth, and it is said to answer the intention. 395. Permanent Ink for Marking Linen. This preparation is a solution of nitrate of silver, thickened with sap green, or cochineal. The preparing liquid, or Pounce liquid, as it is technically called, with which the linen to be marked is previously wetted, is a solution of soda, boiled with gum, or some animal mucilage. It is a curious circumstance, that if potass be used for this purpose, the marking ink will run. 396. Nitrate of Silver is commonly called an Escharotic. This, however, gives no just idea of the properties of this valuable article, or of the uses to which it may be applied. As a local application in cases of external inflammation, punctured wounds, and ulcers, I have found it a remedy of surpassing utility. It is to Mr. Higginbottom that we are indebted for the full developement of this subject.—See “An Essay on the use of Nitrate of Silver, in the cure of Inflammation, Wounds, and Ulcers.” Ed. 397. Horse-radish; horse-mint; bull-rush; &c. These epithets are Grecisms; ?pp?? and ???, i. e. horse and bull, when prefixed to any word, signified no more than great; thus the great Dock, Hippo-lapathum, and the horse of Alexander from the size of his head was named Bucephalus. 398. An infusion of horse-radish is a very ancient remedy in disorders of the stomach. In Paulus Ægineta we shall find a letter written by Carytius Antigonus, in which it is highly recommended for such a purpose. 399. The chemist may satisfy himself of this fact by heating some arsenious acid on a piece of platinum foil, and alternately raising and depressing it into the blue flame of the spirit, when corresponding changes in odour will take place. 400. It will probably afford a satisfactory explanation of the circumstance mentioned by Dr. Percival, that the workmen who solder silver filligree with an arsenical alloy, are never affected by the fumes. Dr. Percival does not appear to have been in the least aware of the probable reason of this fact; he says, “This solder is melted by the flame of a lamp directed by a blow-pipe; the greatest part of the arsenic is evaporated by the blast and flame, and some part also of the rest of the solder, and yet the men appear to enjoy as good health, and to live as long as other artists! Amongst other examples of the truth of this observation, I lately saw in the manufactory at the Soho at Birmingham, a man of more than fifty years of age, who had soldered silver filligree for thirty-five years, and had regularly, during that period, passed from eight to ten hours daily in his occupation, and yet he was fat, strong, active, cheerful, and of a complexion by no means sickly; neither he nor his brother artists use any means to counteract the effect of their trade.” Dr. Rotheram, in a letter to Dr. Percival, comments upon this fact, and says, “how far the fluxes used in soldering the filligree may fix the parts of the arsenic, or from what cause these workmen might escape, I dare not say, but I should notwithstanding strongly suspect the fumes of this very volatile and caustic mineral to be very prejudicial.”—I have shewn above that arsenious acid is readily decomposed when heated in contact with an oxidable metal, and I apprehend that this fact will explain the reason why the fumes of the alloy in question are disarmed of their virulence. 401. In my work on Medical Jurisprudence, (Vol. ii. p. 216) the reader will find a very full account of the symptoms produced by this poison. 402. Plunkett’s Ointment, consists of arsenious acid, sulphur, and the powdered flowers of the Ranunculus Flammula, and Cotula Foetida, levigated and made into a paste with the white of an egg, and applied, on a piece of pig’s bladder, to the surface of the cancer. Pate Arsenicale. This favourite remedy of the French surgeons consists of 70 parts of cinnabar, 22 of sanguis draconis, and 8 of arsenious acid, made into paste with saliva, at the time of applying it. This combination, observes a periodical writer, is similar, with the exception of the ashes of the soles of old shoes, to that recommended by Father Cosmo under the name of “Pulvis Anti-carcinomatosa.” Davidson’s Remedy for Cancer, arsenious acid, and powdered hemlock. 403. In the Journal de Medicine, the following case of a woman is related who was killed by her husband having insinuated powdered arsenic into the vagina, at the moment of enjoying the conjugal rites. “A woman at Leneux, department de l’Ourthe, aged 40, having died after a short illness, attended with considerable tumefaction of the genital parts, uterine hemorrhage, vomiting, and purging, the body was inspected by order of the mayor, when the surgeons reported that they found the vulva in a state of gangrene, the abdomen much distended with air, and the intestines inflamed and gangrenous. The culprit was arrested, convicted, and executed.” In the Acts of the Society of Medicine of Copenhagen, a similar crime is recorded, committed also by a peasant; in this latter case, although some small pieces of arsenic were found within the vagina, yet, some doubting the possibility of this species of poisoning, the magistrates consulted the College of Medicine of Copenhagen, who decided the question in the affirmative, by instituting a series of experiments upon horses. Singleton’s Eye Salve, or Golden Ointment. Under this name is sold a preparation which consists of sulphuret of arsenic (orpiment) with lard, or spermaceti ointment. The Unguentum Hydrargyri Nitrico Oxydi of the London College is also sold under the same title. Delcroix’s Poudre Subtil, “for removing superfluous hair in less than ten minutes.”! This fashionable depilatory appears upon examination to consist of Quick-lime and Sulphuret of Arsenic, with some vegetable powder. It is, however, so unequally mixed, that in submitting it to analysis, no two portions afforded the same results. It can scarcely be necessary to state, that such a composition is incapable of fulfilling the intention for which it is so confidently vended. In Paris, arsenic forms the basis of several blistering cerates. Such applications cannot be safe. 404. This substance may be considered as consisting of charcoal, in a state of extremely minute division, and the sub-carbonate of potass. It is prepared by deflagrating, in a crucible, two parts of Super-tartrate of Potass with one part of Nitrate of Potass. 405. In order to close the end of the tube, where a blow-pipe is not to be procured, the end is to be placed in a common fire, until it is completely softened, and a pair of small tongs being at the same time made red hot, the tube is to be withdrawn from the fire, and then heated and pinched by the tongs, and at the same time bent up at an acute angle, so as to be brought parallel to the body of the tube. The tube is then to be heated a second time, and being again firmly pinched by the hot tongs, the end will be found to be completely impervious. Where a glass is not at hand Mr. R. Phillips says a common draught phial may be made to answer the purpose, especially a ten drachm phial, for it is long in proportion to its diameter. In using it, however, care must be taken that the suspected powder and black flux do not reach the bottom, for, on account of its thickness, it will readily break on the application of heat. The phial must therefore be heated laterally by means of a spirit lamp. 406. Dr. Bostock has informed us that the best proportions for this coating are one part of common pipe clay, to three parts of fine sand; which are to be well kneaded together, and reduced to such a state of tenacity that the lute will readily adhere to the tube, and its different parts unite, without forming a visible seam, (Edinb. Med. & Surg. Journ. April, 1809.) 407. Should the operator be unable to procure a spirit lamp, a very convenient substitute may be provided in the following manner. Let a piece of tin plate, about an inch long, be coiled up into a cylinder of about ?ths of an inch in diameter, and, if the edges be well hammered, it is not necessary to use solder. Perforate a cork, previously fitted to a phial, and put a cotton wick through the short tin tube, and the tube through the cork. The lamp is now complete, and will afford a strong flame, taking care of course not to prevent the rise of the spirit by fitting the cork too closely. 408. In the celebrated case of Kesler, who was tried in the state of New-York some few years ago, for having poisoned his wife with arsenic, this very question was agitated, and gave rise to much learned controversy. The physicians originally called to examine the body of the deceased, found, on dissection, the stomach and intestines highly inflamed, and on the inner surface of the stomach, particles of a vitreous appearance. These particles were subjected to various chemical tests, all of which very strikingly concurred in confirming the suspicion that they were arsenic. Upon this, in connexion with the other testimony adduced in the case, the prisoner was found guilty and condemned to death. The minutes of the trial were transmitted by the presiding judge (Yates) to Governor Clinton, who submitted the professional part of them to Dr. M‘Nevin of New-York, for his opinion in relation to it. Thus called upon, Dr. M. seems to have considered that his only duty was to find fault. Objections were accordingly raised against every test hitherto employed by the best chemists for the detection of arsenic. They were all pronounced to be uncertain, and “the only thing to be relied on,” according to him, was “the exhibition of the metal itself in its metallic lustre and state.” In consequence of this difference of opinion, the execution of Kesler was suspended by the Governor, and the whole case referred by him to the Legislature. That distinguished body appointed a committee to investigate the business, and the result was that the original verdict of the jury was confirmed by the Legislature, and the criminal was executed. It must furnish a source of the purest gratification to the medical witnesses concerned in this case, to find their opinions so unequivocally and so justly confirmed by an authority so high as Dr. Paris. For a detailed account of this trial we refer to Beck’s Medical Jurisprudence, vol. 2, p. 239.—Ed. 409. If any trifling opacity occur in a simple solution of arsenic, when assayed by the nitrate of silver, it may be considered as the effects of some casual impurities; this is further demonstrated by bringing over the surface of the arsenical liquid, a piece of blotting paper, or a stopper, moistened with a solution of ammonia, when there will instantly form a copious yellow precipitate of arsenite of silver. If this experiment be performed on a surface of glass, laid over white paper, the result is very striking and beautiful. 410. Annals of Philosophy, vol. x, p. 60. 411. London Medical and Physical Journal, January, 1818. 412. In Wine and Porter, the solvent is probably Tartaric acid, for the Arsenite of Silver is soluble in this as well as in the acetic and nitric acids. In Tea the solvent would appear to be Tannin. The Arsenite of Silver is likewise dissolved by the Tartaric acid, and also, but not so readily, by the Citric and Acetic acids. 413. This opinion has lately received ample confirmation from the experiments of Dr. Christison, (Edinb. Med. and Surg. Journal, July, 1824) who has shewn that the process of Orfila is objectionable on the three following grounds, viz. 1st. The colour is very seldom so entirely destroyed but that the precipitates produced by some of the tests still deviate to a certain degree from their characteristic tints; and although the colour of the fluid be even destroyed entirely, it often re-appears in the precipitates. 2d. Although the Chlorine destroys the colour, it does not also take from the fluid its solvent action on the arsenical precipitates. 3d. In fluids decolorized by Chlorine, and containing no Arsenic, some of the tests produce precipitates, not only precisely the same with those which they cause in the decolorized solutions of Arsenic, but likewise very similar in appearance to those caused in a pure aqueous solution of Arsenic. 414. The experiments by which I ascertained this fact were made soon after the publication of Mr. Phillips’s paper, and long before I saw Dr. Christison’s communication in the Edinburgh Journal. I merely mention this circumstance to add greater weight to the experimental evidence, for when different persons arrive at the same conclusion without any communication with each other, the strongest possible testimony is afforded. I may also add that my suspicions were raised to the probability of the fact by a knowledge of the action of charcoal upon lime water. In a philosophical point of view the fact is one of great interest; it seems to connect the phenomena of mechanical and chemical attraction. We have evidently a body removed from the state of solution by mechanical means. 415. The following is the formula for its preparation. Dissolve ten grains of lunar caustic in ten times its weight of distilled water, to this add, guttatim, liquid ammonia, until a precipitate is formed: continue cautiously to add the ammonia, repeatedly agitating the mixture until the precipitate is nearly redissolved. The object of allowing a small portion to remain undissolved is to guard against an excess of ammonia. Wherever the test is used, the liquid to which it is added ought to be quite cold. 416. This is very important, for an excess of ammonia redissolves the yellow precipitate, and therefore defeats the object of the test. The fixed alkalies, in excess, have not such a property. 417. The great impression made upon the public mind in Cornwall, by the above trial, produced a disposition to regard the cause of every sudden death with more than usual jealousy. See a Report of this trial in the Appendix of our work on Medical Jurisprudence. 418. In consequence of a report having arisen that a young woman had died after an illness of forty-eight hours, and been hastily buried at Madron, the magistrates of that district issued their warrant for the disinterment of the body, and requested my attendance at the examination. It appeared upon dissection that the immediate cause of death had been inflammation of the intestines; the stomach was found to contain a considerable portion of liquid, which was carefully collected and examined; no solid matter could be discovered in it. It appeared to consist principally of the remains of a quantity of penny-royal tea, which had been the last thing administered to the deceased. This was divided into several portions, and placed in separate wine glasses, and submitted, in the presence of the sheriff and other gentlemen, to a series of experiments, amongst which the following may be particularized, as bearing upon the question at issue. 1st. A few drops of a solution of sub-carbonate of potass were added to the liquid, in one of the glasses, when its colour, which was before of a light hazel, was instantly deepened into a reddish yellow; the sulphate of copper was then applied, when a precipitate fell down, which every one present immediately pronounced to be of a vivid green hue, but in pouring off the supernatant liquid, and transferring the precipitate upon white paper, it assumed a blue colour, without the least tinge of green; the explanation of the phenomenon, and the fallacy to which it gave rise, was obvious: the yellow colour, imparted to the liquid by the alkali, was the effect of that body upon vegetable extract, and will generally take place on adding it to the infusions of vegetable substances. 2nd. To another portion of the liquid, the ammoniaco-nitrate of silver was added; a slight turbidness arose, but no yellow precipitate occurred. 3rd. After adding a fixed alkali, the surface of the liquid was touched with a stick of lunar caustic, but no yellow precipitate was produced. 4th. The liquid was next assayed in a watch-glass, for a phosphate of soda, by endeavouring to form a triple salt with magnesia and ammonia, as suggested by Dr. Wollaston; the result proved that phosphate of soda was not present. It is unnecessary to pursue the relation of the experiments; I conceive that sufficient evidence has been adduced to establish the truth of the explanation. I have frequently repeated the first experiment, substituting for the gastric infusion, a decoction of onions, and with similar results. 419. This explanation applies equally to the objection lately advanced by Dr. Porter, of the University of South Carolina, who in observing on the tests for arsenic, remarks, that an appearance similar to Scheele’s Green, is produced by the carbonate of potass when added to a solution of copper containing coffee, but without arsenic, more striking than if a weak solution of arsenic be used. Silliman’s Journal, iii. 365. 420. Annals of Philosophy, New Series, No. III. for March, 1821. 421. The habitudes of arsenious acid with the nitrates were first observed by Kunkel; nitrous vapour is disengaged, part of the oxygen being absorbed by the arsenious acid, by which an arsenite of potass is formed. 422. Dr. Bostock confesses that where less than three-fourths of a grain were used, he could not say that the metallic crust was clearly perceptible; and Dr. Black considered that one grain was the smallest quantity which could be distinctly recognised by such a process. Dr. Jaeger (Dissertatio Inauguralis, Stuttgard, 1808) also observes, that he has been enabled to recognise the tenth of a grain of arsenious acid, although mixed with sugar, by its odour, when thrown upon burning coals! I must be allowed to question this fact; Dr. Jaeger, no doubt, believed that he recognised the alliaceous odour, but it must have been the effect of imagination. Dr. Bostock observes that, if Arsenic be mixed with either an animal or vegetable substance, the smoke and smell arising from those bodies, when heated, will altogether prevent our recognising its odour. He found that when a quantity of Arsenic was mixed with an equal weight of flour, and placed upon iron at a low red heat, so as not to cause the flour to inflame, the suffocating smoke that arose from the latter could be alone perceived; nor was it possible to discover that any thing had been mixed with it (Edinb. Med. Journal.) This objection of Dr. Bostock is true in fact, although it admits of a different explanation, for at a low temperature the Arsenious acid would be volatilized without decomposition; in which case no alliaceous odour can be developed. Dr. Traill has lately asserted (Annals of Philosophy, Feb. 1824) that he has recognised the alliaceous odour during the volatilization of 1/78th of a grain of the metal. I do not question the truth of this assertion, but there must have been an address in the manipulation which we cannot expect to find in ordinary experimenters. 423. Assafoetida was used by the ancients as a condiment, under the name of s??f???, Laserpitium, (Pliny); and according to Kempfer, the Persians use it for the same purpose. The Arabian writers on the materia medica class this article among their Mobehyat (Aphrodisiaca). The term Assafoetida is derived from the monks of the Salernian school; some of the writers of the middle ages call it Opium Cyrenaicum, i. e. the Juice from Cyrene. 424. Tolu Lozenges. Sugar 8 oz. Cream of Tartar 1 oz. Starch 2 drachms. Tinct. ToluiferÆ Balsami E. one fluid-drachm, mucilage of Gum Tragacanth q. s. 425. Belladonna, so called from the juice of its berries being used as a cosmetic by the Italian women, to make their faces pale. 426. The root of this plant seems to partake of the same qualities as the leaves, but is perhaps less virulent: “Or have we eaten of the insane root, That takes the reason prisoner.” Macbeth. The Belladonna is supposed by Sauvage to be the plant that produced such extraordinary effects upon the Roman Soldiers during their retreat, under the command of Anthony, from the Parthians, when they are said to have “suffered great distress for want of provisions, and were urged to eat unknown plants; among others they met with a herb that was mortal: he that had eaten of it lost his memory and his senses, and employed himself wholly in turning about all the stones he could find, and after vomiting up bile, fell down dead.” (Plutarch’s Life of Anthony.) The Scotch historian Buchannan relates, “that the Scots mixed a quantity of the juice of the Belladonna (Solanum Somniferum) with the bread and drink which by their truce they were to supply the Danes with, which so intoxicated them that the Scots killed the greater part of Sweno’s army.” 427. Fumigating Pastilles. Benzoin generally constitutes the chief ingredient in these compositions, to which may be added any variety of odoriferous substances; the following formula may be offered as a specimen: ?. Benzoin ?j, CascarillÆ ?ss, Myrrh ?j, Olei nuc. moschat. ol. Caryophyll. aa gr. x. potassÆ nitratis ?ss, carb. ligni ?vj. mucilag. gum. Trag. q. s. 428. Virgin’s Milk. A spirituous solution of Benzoin mixed with about twenty parts of rose water, forms a cosmetic long known by this name. Under the same title also a very different preparation is sold, vid. Liquor Plumbi sub-acetatis. Friar’s Balsam, Wade’s Drops, Jesuit’s Drops.—These preparations are nothing more than the Tinctura Benzoini composita. Pectoral Balsam of Honey.—Is merely the tincture of Benzoin, or that of Tolu. Essence of Coltsfoot.—This preparation consists of equal parts of the Balsam of Tolu, and the Compound Tincture of Benzoin, to which is added double the quantity of rectified Spirit of Wine; and this forsooth is a Pectoral for Coughs! If a patient with a pulmonary affection should recover during the use of such a remedy, I should certainly designate it as a lucky Escape, rather than as a skilful Cure. 429. The Pearl Powder of Perfumers is obtained from the nitric solution of Bismuth, by adding a proportion of muriatic acid, and then precipitating by a small quantity of water. In this way it is obtained in the form of minute scales of a pearly lustre. 430. The gas which arises from the combustion of mineral coal will produce the same effect. It is related of a lady of fashion, who had incautiously seated herself too near the fire, at a quadrille party, that her countenance changed on a sudden from a delicate white to a dark tawney, as though by magic. The surprise and confusion of the whole party had such an effect upon the disfigured fair one, that she was actually dying from apprehension, when the physician dispelled their fears by informing his patient that nothing more was necessary than for her to abstain from the use of mineral cosmetics, and to trust in future to those charms which Nature had bestowed upon her. 431. L. F. Jacobi de Bismutho. Erford, 1697. 432. Journal de Medicine, 1786, T. 68. p. 49. 433. Vol. iv. p. 156. 434. In this country Bismuth has enjoyed for some years a reputation exceedingly high. Dr. Samuel W. Moore, of New-York, was the first to call the attention of the American medical public to it, in a valuable dissertation which was published in the year 1810. In this Essay are recorded a number of cases illustrative of the salutary effects of this medicine in spasmodic pain and other troublesome affections of the stomach. In addition to its use in gastric disorders, Dr. Carmichael, of Virginia, has administered it with success in the treatment of Intermittents. Ed. 435. Very lately our attention has been particularly called to this plant by Dr. E. G. Ludlow of New-York, who speaks of it in terms of high commendation. He says “the diseases in which I have used it are exclusively those of the Chylopoietic viscera, as dyspepsia, diarrhoea and cholera. For the removal of pain and flatulence in the bowels, which may be enumerated among the most frequent and distressing symptoms of the first stage of indigestion, Calamus is superior to any other carminative; by virtue of its aroma it creates a strong sensation of warmth in the stomach, increasing its action without sensibly augmenting the force of the circulation, while its powerful bitter principle gives permanent tone to the relaxed state of the fibres.” New-York Med. & Phys. Journal, No. 11. p. 321. The Tincture is the preferable form of administering the Calamus. The dose is from ?ss to ?j. Ed. 436. The Specific of Herrenschwand, which formerly excited so much interest in Germany, consisted of 10 grains of Camboge with 20 of Sub-carbonate of Potass; although it is said, that on its being analyzed by order of Elizabeth of Russia, there were also found in it both Mercury and Arsenic. Camboge is also the basis of the Specific of Clossius. Golden Spirit of Scurvy Grass. This is merely a solution of Camboge in the Spir: ArmoraciÆ comp: 437. Although the Camphor of commerce is generally furnished by the Laurus Camphora, yet it is abundantly yielded by many other plants. It is said that what is imported from Sumatra is the product of the Dryobobans Camphora. It is also contained in the roots of the Cinnamon, Cassia, and Sassafras laurels, and in those of Galangale, Zedoary, and Ginger; in Cardamom seeds and Long Pepper. The essential oils of Lavender, Sage, Thyme, Peppermint, Rosemary, and those of many other labiate plants yield camphor by distillation. Camphor may be also artificially formed by driving a stream of muriatic gas through oil of turpentine; this factitious product, however, is to be distinguished from native camphor in not being soluble in weak nitric acid, and also in not being precipitated by water from its solution in strong nitric acid. 438. The collection of the Materia Medica at the College of Physicians contains a beautiful specimen of native Camphor in the wood: having selected from it as perfect a crystal as I could find, I requested my friend and publisher Mr. W. Phillips, well known for his researches in crystallography, to undertake its examination; and he observes that “The crystal of native Camphor (in the wood) appears as a flat octohedron; but the primary form is a right rhombic prism of 51° 36' and 128° 24'. by measurement with the reflective goniometer on cleavage planes: the octohedral appearance arises from the deep replacement of four of the solid angles of the prism, by as many planes.” 439. An Odontalgic Remedy in great repute consists of a solution of camphor in oil of turpentine; a fluid-ounce of which will dissolve two drachms. 440. Although the London College, for reasons sufficiently weighty, were induced on a former occasion to transfer the Blistering fly from the genus Cantharis to that of Lytta, the Committee for revising the late Pharmacopoeia determined, on the authority of Latreille, to restore it to its former genus. The work of Latreille, “Genera Crustaceorum et Insectorum” holds the highest rank in Entomology of any hitherto published. 441. Cantharidin may be obtained by the following process: Boil the cantharides in water until all the soluble parts are extracted; filter the decoction, and evaporate to the consistence of an extract. Digest this extract in concentrated alcohol, then pour off the alcohol and evaporate it; if sulphuric acid be then added to this extract, it will take up the Cantharidin, which may be obtained in a tolerably pure state by evaporation. The crystalline plates may be afterwards freed from the adhering colouring matter by alcohol. 442. Annales de ChÉmie, tom. lxxvi. 443. It forms the basis of the once celebrated diuretic of Tulpius, called Lithonthrypticum Tulpii, from its supposed efficacy in stone. The other ingredients were Cardamoms, made into a Tincture with Rectified Spirit, and Spirit of Nitric Æther. 444. He was cited before the censors of the College of Physicians in 1693, and committed to Newgate by a warrant from the President; but he was acquitted upon the plea that—bad practice must be accompanied with a bad intention to render it criminal. He published his vindication in a small tract, entitled “De tuto Cantharidum usu interno.” The issue, says Dr. Quincey (Pharm: p. 152) ruined the unhappy Doctor, but taught his prosecutors the safety and value of his practice. The following was his formula. Of egg-shells calcined ?ss; Camphor ?j; Spanish flies ?ss; and Venice turpentine q, s, to make nine pills; three of which were to be swallowed every three hours. 445. Not less than sixteen species of the genus Cantharis have already been discovered in this country, by the industry of our Entomologists; most, if not all, of which possess vesicating powers. Of these the most common is the Lytta vittata, or potatoe fly. The medicinal virtues of this insect were first discovered in 1797, and found to be fully equal to those of the Spanish fly. Dr. Barton says “from frequent employment of the two articles, I cannot hesitate to prefer the American to the foreign fly. Long keeping, provided it be carefully kept, does not materially impair the blistering property of the Lytta vittata. At the end of three or four years after being collected, I have found it equal in power to the shop Cantharides.” By the late Dr. Dana, Prof. of Chemistry in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New-York, the Lytta vittata was made the subject of analysis, and found to contain Cantharidin. Ed. 446. Journal de Physique, p. 173, 1820. 447. Rymer’s Cardiac Tincture. In the earlier editions of this work an erroneous account of this medicine has been given, in consequence of a spurious specimen having been examined: the following analysis is now confidently presented to the profession. It is an infusion of Capsicum, Camphor, Cardamom seeds, Rhubarb, Aloes, and Castor in Proof Spirit, with a very small quantity of Sulphuric acid. 448. Lardner’s Prepared Charcoal consists of cretaceous powder, or chalk finely powdered, rendered grey by the addition of charcoal, or Ivory black. 449. Concentrated Solution of Charcoal. A preparation is sold under this absurd name for cleaning the teeth, and is nothing more than a tincture of Catechu. The name was probably suggested by the experiments of Mr. Hatchett, who succeeded in producing artificial tannin by the action of Nitric acid upon Charcoal. 450. In cases of obstinate constipation of the bowels, charcoal is one of the most efficient remedies in the whole Materia Medica. Many cases have yielded to it which had resisted every other cathartic medicine previously used. Dr. Daniell, of Savannah, to whom we are indebted for an interesting paper on this subject, states as the result of his experience, “that the most speedy, as well as the most certain relief, is to be obtained from the free use of Charcoal. If it does not wholly relieve, it always very much mitigates the pain in six or eight hours from the period of its first administration; and within my observation,” he adds, “the patient has always been entirely composed before the operation of the medicine upon the bowels.” “In relation to the dose of this medicine,” he states that “the rule which I have pursued is to give it as freely and as frequently as the stomach will allow. The quantity required is considerable. It has a happy influence in lulling the irritability of the stomach, when nothing else which I have used, would control the nausea and vomiting of the patient; thus fulfilling the double intention of first alleviating a very distressing symptom, and then removing the disease itself. I usually give from one to three table-spoonsful of Charcoal every half hour or hour: whenever the stomach becomes overcharged with the medicine, the excess is thrown off, and the stomach is again quiet. I give it in lime water, milk, or water alone—the vehicle having appeared to me unimportant.” Philadel. Journal of Med. and Phys. Science, Vol. 5. p. 120. Ed. 451. See an account of Charcoal, as a test for Arsenic, and remarks thereon, p. 308. 452. Dr. Maton in a learned critical and botanical note to a paper on the Cardamom, by Mr. White, Surgeon of Bombay, (Trans: Lin: Soc: v. x, 229,) called the genus, of which it consists, Elettaria, a nomenclature which was accordingly adopted by the College in their late Pharmacopoeia; but, says Sir James Smith, as this name is of a barbarous origin, (viz. from Elettaria, the Malabar name of the plant.) we should greatly prefer that of Matonia; a suggestion which has been since adopted by Mr. Roscoe of Liverpool, in his description of the Scitamineoe. The College has therefore the gratifying task of erasing the term Elettaria from their Materia Medica, and of substituting for it a name no less known than respected by the Medical profession. 453. Essence of Coffee. The Cassia pulp is said to form the basis of this article. 454. The ancients erroneously considered them as the testicles of the beaver, and Æsop relates that the animal bit them off, when pursued by the huntsman, whence some have derived its name, a castrando; the true origin however of the word is from ?ast??, i.e. animal ventriculosum, from his swaggy and prominent belly. 455. Bateman’s Pectoral Drops consist principally of the Tincture of Castor, with portions of camphor and opium, flavoured by anise seeds, and coloured by cochineal. 456. It was formerly supposed to be a mineral production: and hence the term Terra Japonica. Hagedorn and Boulduc were among the first who opposed this error, and who established the fact of its vegetable origin (Mem. de l’Acad. des Sciences de Paris, A. 1709. p. 228.) 457. So called from Chiron the Centaur, who is said to have employed it to cure himself of a wound accidentally received by letting one of the arrows of Hercules fall upon his foot. 458. Kirkland’s Neutral Cerate. Is formed by melting together ? viij of Lead Plaster with f?iv of olive oil, into which are to be stirred ?iv of prepared chalk; when the mixture is sufficiently cooled f?iv of acetic acid, and ?iij of pulverized Acetate of lead are to be added, and the whole is to be stirred until nearly cold. Marshall’s Cerate. ?. Palm. Oil ?v. Calomel ?i, Acetate of Lead ?ss, Nitrate of Mercury ?ij. Cold Cream (Ceratum Galeni.) Ol: Amygdal: ?j, CerÆ alb: ?iv; melt, pour into a warm mortar, and add, gradually, Aq: Ros; oj. It should be very light and white. Gray’s Supplement. 459. There are no less than twenty-five distinct species of Cinchona, independent of any additions which we may owe to the zeal of Humboldt and Bonpland; and Mr. A. T. Thomson, in his London Dispensatory, states that in a large collection of dried specimens, of the genus Cinchona, in his possession, collected in 1805, both near Loxa and Santa FÉ, he finds many species which are not mentioned in the works of any Spanish botanist. 460. See London Medical and Physical Journal. Vol. v. p. 33. 461. Essential Salt of Bark. It is highly necessary that the public should know that the preparation sold under this empirical title, has no relation whatever to the late discoveries of Pelletier. It is merely an extract prepared by macerating the bruised substance of bark in cold water, and submitting the infusion to a very slow evaporation. 462. The designation of Cinchonin, consistent with the principles of chemical nomenclature, must now have a termination in a, and the name Cinchonia appears preferable to that of Cinchonina. 463. The following is the process by which Cinchonia may be prepared. Take a pound of Pale Bark, bruised small, and boil it for an hour in three pints of a very dilute solution of pure Potass. After the liquid has cooled, it must be strained through a fine cloth with pressure, and the residuum be repeatedly washed and pressed. The cinchona, thus washed, is to be slightly heated in a sufficient quantity of water, adding muriatic acid gradually until litmus paper is slightly reddened. When the liquid is raised nearly to the boiling point, it is to be strained, and the cinchona again pressed. To the strained liquor, while hot, add an ounce of sulphate of magnesia, and after this add a solution of potass, till it ceases to occasion any precipitate. When the liquor is cold, collect the precipitate on a filtre, wash and dry it, and dissolve it in hot alcohol. On evaporation of the spirit, the cinchona will crystallize. 464. Thus, as we have stated, 100 parts of Cinchonia unite with 13·021 of Sulphuric acid, while the same weight of Quina requires for saturation not more than 10·91 of the same acid. 465. Sulphate of Quina. As this preparation is considered the most active form of the salifiable principle of bark, I have subjoined the most approved formula for its preparation. Boil for half an hour two pounds of the appropriate bark in powder, in sixteen pints of distilled water, acidulated with two fluid-ounces of sulphuric acid; strain the decoction through a linen cloth, and submit the residue to a second ebullition in a similar quantity of acidulated water; mix the decoctions, and add by small portions at a time, powdered lime, constantly stirring it to facilitate its action on the acid decoction. (Half a pound is near the quantity requisite.) When the decoction has become slightly alkaline it assumes a dark brown colour, and deposits a reddish brown flocculent precipitate, which is to be separated by passing it through a linen cloth. The precipitate, is to be washed with a little cold distilled water and dried. When dry it is to be digested in rectified spirit, with a moderate heat for some hours; the liquid is then to be decanted, and fresh portions of spirit added till it no longer acquires a bitter taste. Unite the spirituous tinctures, and distil in a water-bath till three fourths of the spirit employed has distilled over. After this operation there remains in the vessel a brown viscid substance covered by a bitter, very alkaline and milky fluid. The two products are to be separated and treated as follows. To the alkaline liquid add a sufficient quantity of sulphuric acid to saturate it; reduce it by evaporation to half the quantity; add a small portion of charcoal, and after some minutes ebullition, filter it whilst hot, and crystals of Sulphate of Quina will form. The brown mass is to be boiled in a small quantity of water, slightly acidulated with sulphuric acid, which will convert a large portion of it into Sulphate of Quina. The crystals are to be dried by bibulous paper. Two pounds of bark will, it is said, yield 5 to 6 drachms of the sulphate; of which eight grains are considered equivalent to an ounce of bark. It has been prepared in this country by several manufacturing chemists, especially by Mr. Pope of Oxford Street, whose zeal and industry in Pharmaceutic experiments entitle him to great commendation. The superior price of the bark, however, from the duty in this country, as well as that of alcohol, must prevent us from entering into competition with the French in its manufacture, and it has accordingly been found more oeconomical to import, than to prepare it. 466. Journal de Physiologie. No. 1, p. 90. 467. Upon this point however a difference of opinion has existed; M. Halle entertained considerable fears on the subject, which were supported by M. M. Larrey, Emery, Duponchel, and others, who communicated to the SociÉtÉ MÉdicale d’Emulation, facts which excited their apprehensions. The question, however, has been set at rest both in this country and on the Continent. They are perfectly harmless. 468. Cinchonia has been detected in other vegetables besides the Bark, as in the root of Cusparia, and in the berries of Capsicum, while in the bark of Cascarilla, a substance bearing a much nearer relation in medicinal effect to the Bark, its presence has not yet been discovered. It is said that experiments have been lately made by M. M. Robiquet and Petroz on the Bark of the Carapa, which has been successfully used in several parts of America in the cure of agues, and that they have found in that bark a salifiable basis analogous to Quina. 469. In Brande’s Journal for January 1830, it is announced that Serturner has discovered other vegeto-alkalies in the Bark, besides the Cinchonia and Quinia.—One in particular he has ascertained, which he calls Chinioidia, existing in combination with a resinous sub-acid substance. This exists in the red and yellow bark with the Cinchonia and Quinia. It has more alkaline power and capacity of saturation, as well as greater medical power than any other vegeto-alkali in the Cinchona, but it resembles them in its insolubility in water, its colour and taste. According to Serturner, the febrifuge power of the Chinioidia is as superior to that of the Cinchonia and Quinia as these are to the Bark.—In his hands it succeeded in many cases where the Sulphate of Quinia had failed. Ed. 470. It was under this form that the celebrated empiric Talbor used to administer it in the paroxysms of Intermittents, and so successful was his practice, that Louis XIV. was induced to purchase at a large price the secret of his specific; and Charles the Second very unjustly protected him against the power of the College, and appointed him one of his physicians. 471. Mr. Thompson has suggested the probability of this circumstance having arisen from the admixture of a species of bark, lately introduced into Europe from Martinique, resembling the Cinchona Floribunda, and which, by an analysis of M. Cadet, was found to contain iron. (London Disp. Edit. 3. p. 247.) 472. This plant is found in abundance in Piedmont, principally in the marshes, where of course it is most needed. Nature is very kind in this respect, for the particular situation which engenders endemic diseases, is generally congenial to the growth of the plants that operate as antidotes to them. 473. Dr. Davy, in a letter to me upon this subject, says, “there are two kinds of oil of cinnamon procured in Ceylon, one of greater, the other of less specific gravity than water. In distillation they come over together. On what the difference depends I do not know, nor am I aware that the subject has yet been investigated.” 474. From experiments made with Veratria, it appears that its effects on the human system are analogous to those of the Colchicum itself. In chronic rheumatism comparative trials to a great extent were instituted by Dr. Bardsley, and with very similar results. The Veratria was generally administered in doses of from 1/4 gr. to ½ gr. three times a day. Ed. 475. With this opinion Mr. A. T. Thomson coincides, for in the 3d edition of his Dispensatory, he says, “the thick old bulb begins to decay after the flower is perfectly expanded, and the new bulbs, of which there are always two formed on each old bulb, are perfected in the following June; from which time until the middle of August, they may be taken up for medicinal use.” 476. Eau Medicinale De Husson. After various attempts to discover the active ingredient of this Parisian remedy, it is at length determined to be the colchicum autumnale which several ancient authors, under the name of hermodactyllus, have recommended in the cure of gout, as stated in the historical preface to this work. The following is the receipt for preparing this medicine. Take two ounces of the root of colchicum, cut it into slices, macerate it in four fluid-ounces of Spanish white wine, and filter. See Veratri Radix (note). Dr. Wilson’s Tincture for the Gout. This is merely an infusion of colchicum, as Dr. Williams of Ipswich has satisfactorily shewn. Since the discovery of colchicum being the active ingredient of the Eau medicinale, numerous empirical remedies have started up, containing the principles of the plant in different forms. The expressed juice of the colchicum is used in Alsace to destroy vermin in the hair: it is very acrid, and excoriates the parts to which it is applied. 477. Dr. Davy, however, informs me that he is acquainted with a fatal instance from an excessive dose of these seeds, viz. ?j, taken by a medical man for gout. On dissection, most of the viscera, more especially the brain and intestines, exhibited great sanguineous turgescence, and appearances of inflammation. 478. This preparation, or the Seeds, may be procured for trial, from the house of Savory, Moore, and Davidson, of New Bond Street. 479. Ward was originally a footman, and, during his attendance upon his master on the Continent, obtained from the Monks those receipts which afterwards became his nostrums. It may be observed that this Confection appears to be well adapted for the cure of that species of Piles which probably attended the sedentary and luxurious habits of the monks. 480. Dr. Chapman recommends the liberal use of the Copaiva in the very commencement of Gonorrhoea, disregarding ardor ruinÆ, chordee, and every other symptom of inflammation that may be present. Than this, we do not know a medical precept more erroneous in theory, or more mischievous in practice. We are convinced that a great majority of gleets may be traced to the premature use of balsam Copaiva, and other stimulating articles in the inflammatory stage of the disease.—Ed. 481. Cubeba—Indis Cubab; AvicennÆ KebÂba. It makes short the penultima, because Actuarius and other modern Greeks call it ???pepe?, ??pepe?, and ??ea. 482. See “Practical Observations on the use of Cubebs, in the cure of Gonorrhoea,” by H. Jeffreys, Esq. 483. It is very questionable whether Cubebs is entitled to any other preference over the copaiva, than that it is not so liable to derange the digestive organs. As a specific for gonorrhoea it has received praise altogether too unqualified. The most convenient form in which it can be given is that of Tincture. Ed. 484. Cuminum makes long the penultima, thus— “Rugosum Piper et pallentis grana Cumini:” Pers: Sat: v. This line of the satirist also records an opinion which is worthy notice, that Cumin will make those who drink it, or wash themselves with it, or as some say, who smoke it, of a pale visage. This belief is mentioned by Dioscorides; and Pliny informs us that the disciples of Porcius Latro, a famous master of the art of speaking, were reported to have used Cumin, in order to imitate that paleness which their master had contracted by his studies; thus too Horace, ——Proh si “Pallerem casu, biberent exsangue Cuminum.” Epist. 19. Lib. 1, lin: 18. 485. It may be here observed that Copper, in its metallic form, exerts no action on the system. A most striking instance of this fact occurred during my hospital practice, in the case of a young woman who swallowed six copper penny-pieces with a view of destroying herself; she was attended by Dr. Maton and myself in the Westminster Hospital for two years, for a disease which we considered visceral, but which was evidently the effect of mechanical obstruction, occasioned by the coin. After a lapse of five years she voided them, and then confessed the cause of her protracted disease, during the whole course of which no symptom arose which could in any way be attributed to the poisonous influence of copper. Dr. Baillie, in his morbid anatomy, relates a case, in which five halfpence had been lodged in a pouch in the stomach, for a considerable time, without occasioning any irritation; and Theodore Gardelle, after his conviction for the murder of Mrs. King, in Leicester Square, swallowed a number of halfpence, for the purpose of destroying himself, but without producing any ill effects. Mr. A. T. Thomson relates also two cases of halfpence being swallowed by children, in one of which the copper coin remained six months in the intestines, and in the other two months. The filings of copper were formerly a favorite remedy in rheumatism, a drachm of which has been taken with impunity for a dose. It appears therefore that metallic copper does not undergo any change in the digestive organs by which it is converted into a poison, notwithstanding the presence of substances, which, out of the body, would at once render it destructive, as we have too many cases to shew, from the careless use of copper utensils in cookery. It is, however, a very important fact, that copper cannot be dissolved while tin is co-existent in the mixture, hence the great use of tinning copper utensils; and farther, it is asserted that untinned coppers are less liable to be injurious when pewter spoons are used for stirring, than when silver ones are employed for that purpose; the explanation of this fact is to be sought for in the well-known principle of Electro-Chemistry, and which has lately been applied with so much ingenuity by the illustrious President of the Royal Society, for the protection of copper on the bottom of ships, by the juxta-position of small discs of Tin or Iron. 486. For a further explanation of this curious fact the student may consult my work on Medical Chemistry. 487. Bates’s Aqua Camphorata.—Sulphate of copper is the base of this preparation, which was strongly recommended by Mr. Ware. The following was his recipe: ?. Cupri Sulph. Boli Gallic, a. a. gr. xv. CamphorÆ gr. iv. solve. in aq. fervent. f?iv, dilueque cum aquÆ frigidÆ oiv ut fiat Collyrium. 488. It is said to have been introduced into this country from Ceylon. See the observations made upon the subject of the narcotics used by the Indians, page 9. 489. The seeds undoubtedly contain, in an eminent degree, all the properties of the plant. It was in the seeds that Brandes first discovered the Daturia. 490. The oriental beverage, Sherbet, from the Arabic word Sherb, to drink, so celebrated in eastern song, is a decoction of barley-meal and sugar, perfumed with roses, orange flower, violet, or citron. 491. Lisbon Diet Drink. Decoctum Lusitanicum.—?. Sarsap: concis: Rad: ChinÆ, aa ?j—Nucum Jugland: Cortice Siccatarum, No. xx. Antimonii Sulphureti ? ij. Lapidis Pumicis pulverisat;—AquÆ distillat: lib: x.—The powdered antimony and pumice stone are to be tied in separate pieces of rag, and boiled along with the other ingredients. The use of the pumice stone is merely mechanical, to divide the antimony. 492. It is said that M. Royer has lately succeeded in obtaining from Digitalis its active basis; to which he has given the name of Digitalin. It was procured by digesting the plant in Æther, and treating the solution with hydrated oxide of lead. It appears as a brown pasty substance, capable of slowly restoring the blue colour of reddened litmus paper; very bitter, and deliquescent. It was difficult to obtain it crystallized, but a drop of its solution in alcohol, evaporated on glass, over a lamp, when examined by the microscope, exhibited abundance of minute crystals. (Bib. Univ. xxvi. 102.) Farther experiments, however, are required to establish the truth of this statement. 493. See London Medical Repository, Vol. xii. No. 67. 494. A person of the name of Sterry, in the Borough, prepares a plaster of this description, which is sought after with great avidity. What a blessing it would be upon the community, if every nostrum were equally innocuous! 495. Pharmacopoeia Chirurgica, p. 89. 496. Diachylon, a d?a et ????? succus, i. e. a Plaster prepared from expressed juices. It has been asserted that all the pharmaceutical names beginning with Dia, are of Arabian origin, this however is not the fact; we frequently meet with the expression in Galen, ? d?a d??t???? ? d?a d???? ???st???????? ? d?, &c. &c. 497. At Apothecaries’ Hall, this plaster, as well as others, is made in a steam apparatus which is so well regulated, that a uniform temperature of 210° Fah. is insured during the whole process. 498. Baynton’s Adhesive Plaster. (Strapping.) Differs only from this preparation in containing less resin, six drachms only being added to one pound of the litharge plaster. This excellent plaster is sold ready spread on calico. Court Plaster. Sticking Plaster. Black Silk is strained and brushed over ten or twelve times, with the following preparation. Dissolve ?ss of Benzoin in f?vi of rectified spirit: in a separate vessel, dissolve ?j of Isinglass in oss of water; strain each solution, mix them, and let the mixture rest, so that the grosser parts may subside; when the clear liquor is cold, it will form a jelly, which must be warmed before it is applied to the silk. When the Plaster is quite dry, in order to prevent its cracking, it is finished off with a solution of Terebinth: Chia, ?iv, in Tinct: Benzoes f?vj. Corn Plaster. The green coloured plaster sold under this title is usually composed of 3 parts of wax, 4 of Burgundy pitch, and 2 of common turpentine; to which is added one part of verdegris. 499. Mystery is rarely practised but as the cloak of imposture; it is therefore unnecessary to add, that Mr. Barry made no difficulty in stating the following to be the formula by which it was prepared. A tincture of Bark, made with rectified spirit, was distilled until the whole of the spirit was driven off, the remaining solution was then left to cool, after which the resin that floated on the surface was removed, and the residuum inspissated at a low temperature. 500. Barclay’s Antibilious Pills. Take of the Extract of Colocynth ?ij, Resin of Jalap (extract Jalap) ?j, Almond Soap ?jss, Guaiacum ?iij, Tartarized Antimony, grs. viij, essential oils of Juniper, Carraway, and Rosemary, of each gtt. iv, of syrup of Buckthorn, as much as will be sufficient to form a mass, which is to be divided into sixty-four pills. 501. Refined Liquorice. This article, which is sold in the form of cylinders, is made by gently evaporating a solution of the pure extract of liquorice with half its weight of gum arabic, rolling the mass, and cutting it into lengths, and then polishing, by rolling them together in a box: many impurities however are fraudulently introduced into this article, such even as glue, &c. 502. The juices of the Iris root, and Bryony root, and those of many other plants, allow their medicinal elements to separate and subside in a similar manner, leaving the supernatant liquid perfectly inert; if we must have a generic name to express such a substance, it should be termed a feculence, rather than a fecula. 503. “Observations on the nature and preparation of the Elaterium,” read at the Medical Society of London, April 24, 1819, and which were published in the Medical Repository, vol. xii, No. 67. 504. When it has a dark green colour, approaching to black, is compact, and very heavy, and breaks with a shining resinous fracture, we may reject it as an inferior article. Since the publication of my experiments upon the ordinary Elaterium of Commerce, I have been favoured by Mr. Barry with the results of his trials upon the Elaterium made by W. Allen &. Co. according to the improved process of Dr. Clutterbuck; of the first sample, he found that out of ten grains, 5·5 were soluble in spirit of the specific gravity ·809, of the second 6·2, and of the third 6·4; of that prepared by the same process at Apothecaries’ Hall, 6 grs. were soluble. The residue, insoluble in the spirit, was administered to a patient, and ascertained to be perfectly inert. This report confirms beyond a doubt the great superiority of the Elaterium when prepared, without pressure, according to the suggestion of Dr. Clutterbuck. 505. “I have the Cos Lettuce planted about eight inches asunder in rows, between which there is sufficient space to enable persons to pass up and down without injuring the plants. I commence my operations just before the plant is about to flower, by cutting off an inch of the stem; the milky juice immediately exudes, and is collected on pieces of Wove Cotton, about half a yard square. As soon as this becomes charged, it is thrown from time to time into a vessel containing a small quantity of water, which when sufficiently impregnated is evaporated at the common temperature of the atmosphere, by exposure in a number of shallow dishes. The Lactucarium, in a few hours, is found adhering to the vessels in the form of an Extract, but differing from every other in all its sensible properties: this method enables me to collect Lactucarium with great facility and dispatch, but it is still attended with considerable expense, as the proportion of milky product is necessarily very small, and the price of the medicine consequently high, and therefore not within the reach of general practice. This consideration led me to make farther experiments, for the purpose of ascertaining whether an Extract might not be obtained from the plant possessing all the properties of Lactucarium, when administered in large doses, and which could be introduced at a comparatively trifling cost. In prosecuting this enquiry, I found that the plants contain most of the milky juice when they have flowered and the leaves are beginning to assume a yellow hue, and I observed that when cut down, the milky juice assumes for the most part a concrete form, having subsided in the bark of the stalk and in the old leaves, a circumstance which accounts for the extreme bitterness of these parts. I was naturally led from these circumstances to choose the above period for my operations, and to select those parts only of the plant for my extract, rejecting the substance of the stalk, and the young sprouts. My method of procuring the extract is as follows. I first macerate the parts in water, for twenty-four hours, and then boil them for two, after which I allow the clear decoction to drain through a sieve, without using any pressure; this is then evaporated, as far as it can be done with safety, and the process is finished in shallow dishes, in the manner above described, for obtaining Lactucarium. This extract, which I have called “Extractum LactucÆ Concentratum,” is of course less powerful than Lactucarium, but it possesses all the properties in larger doses, and it has been found equally useful in a number and variety of cases, and is not more than a sixth part of the price.” Mr. Probart has retired from trade, but I have just learnt that the same article is now prepared, by a similar process, by Mr. Selway, Chemist, of New Cavendish Street, and the specimens which I have received authorise me to recommend it for trial. A concentrated tincture is also prepared. The “Succus Spissatus LactucÆ sativÆ,” of the shops, must of necessity be almost inert, since it is commonly prepared at that period when the plant contains none, or very little of the milky juice; and even if the Lettuce be employed at a more mature season, it must still fail to afford an extract of any strength, as it is merely the expressed juice, and that too of the whole plant indiscriminately, and will be found to contain a very minute proportion of Lactucarium, the great bulk being nothing more than inspissated green juice. 506. Doctor Eights of Albany has related two cases of Neuralgia, in which the use of the Carbonate of Iron was attended with complete success. See New-York Medical and Physical Journal, Vol. I. p. 323. Ed. 507. This fact furnishes the Pharmaceutic Chemist with an easy and effectual mode of cleansing the green crystals from the yellow peroxide which forms upon their surface, viz. by washing them in spirit. 508. By a parity of reasoning, Mr. Carmichael is led to prefer the phosphate of iron to any other preparation of that metal, in cancer, because he thinks iron, combined with an animal acid, enters the system in greater quantity, and unites more intimately with the juices. Aromatic Lozenges of Steel. These consist of sulphate of iron with a small proportion of the tincture of Cantharides. 509. Forge Water. This popular remedy as a lotion for AphthÆ and other similar diseases, I am well satisfied possesses considerable efficacy. It may, perhaps, be necessary to state that Forge-water is that in which the Blacksmith has plunged his hot iron, for the purpose of refrigeration. It is to be taken early in the morning, when, all the mechanical impurities having had time to subside, it is beautifully limpid. Upon examining some of this water I found it to contain sulphate of iron. The sulphuric acid was probably derived from the sulphur of the coals. 510. Besides the preparations of Iron mentioned by our author, there is another which has recently been introduced into practice, by Dr. Zollickhoffer of Maryland, and this is the Prussiate of Iron, or Prussian Blue. Like the other forms of iron it acts as a powerful tonic, and as a remedy in intermitting and remitting fevers, Dr. Z. conceives it to possess many advantages over Cinchona. These he states to be the following: “1. It is void of taste, and may therefore be much more readily exhibited than the Cinchona Officinalis, which to some is extremely unpleasant. 2. It may be given in every stage of the disease, while the administration of bark is confined to the apyrexiÆ. 4. The dose is much smaller, being from four to six grains twice or thrice in twenty-four hours; or at morning, noon and night; while bark, to be effectual, must be given in much larger doses. 4. It never disagrees with the stomach, or creates nausea, even in the most irritable state of this viscus; while bark is not unfrequently rejected. 5. In its effects as a remedy calculated to prevent the recurrence of future paroxysms, it is more certain, prompt, and effectual, than the justly celebrated Cort. Peruvian. 6 and lastly, A patient treated with this article will recover from the influence of intermitting and remitting fevers, in the generality of cases, in much less time than is usual in those cases in which bark is employed.” In using the Prussiate of Iron, Dr. Zollickhoffer directs that care should be taken to select that which is of a very dark blue colour, approaching to a black, having a shining coppery fracture, and adhering firmly to the tongue. Ed. 511. Mathieu’s Vermifuge. This consisted of two distinct Electuaries, the one for killing, the other for expelling the Tapeworm. The former of these was composed of an ounce of Tin Filings, six drachms of the Fern root, half an ounce of Semina Santonici, a drachm of the resinous extract of Jalap, and of Sulphate of Potass, and a sufficient quantity of Honey to make an Electuary, of which a tea-spoonful was taken every three hours for two days; after which the latter electuary was given in the same dose, and consisted of two scruples of powdered Jalap, and Sulphate of Potass, one scruple of Scammony, and ten grains of Gamboge, made into an Electuary with Honey. The inventor of this receipt received the title of Counsellor of the Court, as well as a large pension for life, from the King of Prussia, for making it public! 512. Seguin first proved that gallic acid, and tannin or the astringent principle, are different substances; it is to the former that the property of giving a black colour to the solutions of iron is owing. Mr. Hatchett has shewn that tan or tannin may be artificially produced by the action of nitric acid upon various vegetable substances. 513. By Dr. Bardsley the same quantity was taken and with similar results. In many cases of Dyspepsia, attended with an irritability of stomach that does not admit of the employment of bulky medicines, gentiania may be used with much advantage. The preferable form is that of pill, given in doses of one grain to be repeated two or three times a day. Unlike the plant from which it is obtained, Gentiania has no tendency to keep the bowels open. Ed. 514. It takes its name from Gentius, king of Illyria, its discoverer, who was vanquished by Anicius the Roman PrÆtor, A. U. 585. i. e. A.C. 167, so that it is neither to be found in Hippocrates nor Theophrastus. 515. Brodum’s Nervous Cordial consists of the tinctures of Gentian, Calumba, Cardamom and Bark, with the Compound Spirit of Lavender, and Wine of Iron. Stroughton’s Elixir. Is a tincture of Gentian, with the addition of Serpentaria, Orange Peel, Cardamoms, and some other aromatics. 516. Pectoral Balsam of Liquorice. The proprietor of this nostrum gravely affirms that f?iss contains the virtues of a whole pound of Liquorice root; but upon investigation it will be found to consist principally of Paregoric Elixir, very strongly impregnated with the Oil of Aniseed. 517. The Chelsea Pensioner. An empirical remedy for the rheumatism is well known under this name; it is said to be the prescription of a Chelsea Pensioner, by which Lord Amherst was cured; the following is its composition—Gum Guaiac ?j—Powdered Rhubarb ?ij—Cream of Tartar ?j—Flowers of Sulphur ?j.—One Nutmeg finely powdered; made into an Electuary with one pound of Clarified Honey. Two large spoonsful to be taken night and morning. Walker & Wessel’s Jesuit Drops. This is nothing more than the Elixir Antivenereum of Quincey, consisting of Guaiacum, Balsam of Copaiba, and Oil of Sassafras, made into a Tincture by Spirit. Hatfield’s Tincture. Guaiac and Soap, equal parts, ?ij—Rectified Spirit oiss. Hill’s Essence or Bardana. Guaiac ?j—Spirit f?iij. 518. Matthew’s Pills,—Starkey’s Pills. Of the Roots of Black Hellebore, Liquorice, and Turmeric, equal parts, purified Opium, Castille Soap, and Syrup of Saffron, the same quantity, made into pills with Oil of Turpentine. Bacher’s Tonic Pills. These are composed of equal parts of the Extract of Hellebore, and Myrrh ?j, with ?iij of powdered Carduus Benedictus: which are made into a mass, and divided into pills, each weighing one grain; from two to six of which may be given three times every day, according to the effects they produce. 519. Whence the decoctions of this substance have been termed Ptisans, from pt?ss? decortico, to peel. 520. A Compound, consisting of Extract of Quassia and Liquorice, is used by fraudulent brewers to economise both malt and hops, and is technically called “Multum.” An Extract of Cocculus Indicus is sold under the name of “Black Extract,” for imparting an intoxicating quality to the Beer. 521. ?d?a?????? of the Greeks, from its fluidity and colour. Quicksilver. Quick in the old Saxon tongue signifies living, an epithet derived from its mobility. Mercury. Mythologists inform us that he was the winged messenger of the Gods, and the Patron of Thieves,—What name therefore could be more appropriate for the metal in question than that of this Deity? for it is not only distinguished from all other metals by its mobility, but its universal agency has rendered it the resource of those worst of Thieves—Quacks and Nostrummongers. 522. There is indeed another purpose to which pure quicksilver has been applied that deserves notice. Its administration has been proposed in cases where silver coin has been swallowed, with a view of forming with it an amalgam that would speedily pass through the alimentary canal. 523. FoderÉ (Med. Leg. T. iii. p. 455) states that he has seen water, in which mercury has been boiled, become purgative and vermifuge; and yet the metal, in such cases, has not lost any of its weight. 524. If the quantity of Lime water be small, the precipitate will assume a red colour, and will be found to be a Submuriate of the peroxide. 525. As this salt has been supposed to arrest the progress of syphilis more rapidly, and at the same time, to excite the salivary glands less than any other preparation of mercury, it generally forms the basis of those dangerous nostrums, which are advertised for the cure of Syphilis without Mercury. The contrivers hope also to elude detection by the density and colour of the preparation. Gowland’s Lotion, Is a solution of sublimate in an emulsion formed of bitter almonds, in the proportion of about gr. jss to f?j. A solution of this mercurial salt in Spirit of Rosemary, is also sold as an empirical cosmetic. Norton’s Drops. A disguised solution of corrosive sublimate. Ward’s White Drops. This once esteemed Anti-Scorbutic was prepared by dissolving mercury in nitric acid, and adding a solution of carbonate of ammonia; or frequently it consisted of a solution of sublimate with carbonate of ammonia. Spilsbury’s Antiscorbutic Drops. Of Corrosive Sublimate ?ij, Prepared Sulphuret of Antimony ?j, Gentian root and Orange peel, equal parts ?ij, Shavings of Red Saunders, ?j, made with a pint of proof spirit into a tincture, which is to be digested and strained. “The Antivenereal Drops,” so famous at Amsterdam, were analysed by Scheele, who found they were composed of muriate of iron, with a small proportion of corrosive sublimate. Marsden’s Antiscorbutic Drops. A solution of sublimate in an infusion of Gentian. Green’s Drops. The basis of these also is sublimate. Solomon’s Anti-Impetigines. A solution of sublimate. Rob Anti-Syphilitique, par M. Laffecteur, Medicin Chemiste. This popular nostrum of the French contains as a principal ingredient, corrosive sublimate. A strong decoction of Arundo Phragmitis (the bull rush) is made, with the addition of sarsaparilla and aniseeds towards the end, which is evaporated, and made into a rob, or syrup, to which the sublimate is added. Sirop de Cuisiniere. This consists of decoctions of sarsaparilla, burrage flowers, white roses, senna, and aniseed, to which sublimate is added, and the whole is then made into a syrup with sugar and honey. Terre Feuilletee Mercurielle of Pressavin. This is Tartarized Mercury, for it is made by boiling the oxyd of mercury (obtained by precipitating it from a nitric solution, by potass) with cream of tartar. Velno’s Vegetable Syrup. There has been a great obscurity with respect to the genuine composition of this nostrum; it has generally been supposed to consist of sublimate rubbed up with honey and mucilage. I have lately received from my friend Mr. Brodie a formula, by which a medicine perfectly analogous in its sensible characters, and medicinal properties, to the Syrup in question, may be prepared; and I am assured that, wherever it has been tried, its effects are in every respect similar to those produced by the original nostrum. Take of Burdock root (young and fresh) sliced, ?ij; Dandelion root ?i; Spear Mint (fresh) ?j; Senna Leaves, Coriander Seeds (bruised), Liquorice Root (fresh) of each ?iss; Water oiss: boil gently until reduced to oj; then strain, and, when cold, add ? of lump sugar, and boil it to the consistence of a syrup, and add a small proportion of the solution of Oxy-muriate of Mercury. Swediaur says that volatile alkali enters into this nostrum as an ingredient; this alkali was proposed by Dr. Peyrile, as a substitute for mercury, and it constitutes the active ingredient of the following composition, which was proposed by Mr. Besnard, Physician to the King of Bavaria. Tinctura Antisyphillitica. Sub-carb. potass, ?j. dissolved in Aq. Cinnam, oj. Opii puri, ?ij. dissolved in Spir. cinnamom. f?iv. mix these separate solutions, and put them on a water-bath for three weeks, taking care to shake the vessel frequently; to this add Gum arabic ?ij, Carb. AmmoniÆ ?j, dissolve in Aq. Cinnamomi; mix, filter, and keep for use. Dose, twenty-four drops three times a day, in a glass of the cold decoction of Marsh Mallow root. The external use of these drops is also advised for local syphilitic complaints! 526. By this simple and beautiful test, the late Mr. Archdeacon Wollaston identified the presence of Sublimate in the yeast dumplings by which Michael Whiting was poisoned at Ely; a case which I have recorded in my work on Medical Jurisprudence, Vol. II. p. 265. 527. Ann. de Chimie et Phys. iv. 334. 528. For a more elaborate account of the various tests of Corrosive Sublimate, see Beck’s Medical Jurisprudence, Vol. 2, p. 267.—Ed. 529. For the origin of the term Calomel, see note, page 40. 530. Mr. William Phillips has favoured me with a model of this crystal cut in wood; it is a rectangular prism whose solid angles are deeply replaced by planes. 531. Many of the nostrums advertised for the cure of worms, contain Calomel as the principal ingredient, combined with scammony, jalap, gamboge, or some other purgative; they are uncertain and dangerous medicines; the method of exhibiting them in the form of lozenges (worm cakes,) is also attended with inconvenience, for the sugar and the gum generating an acid, by being kept in damp places, may considerably increase the acrimony of the mercury; besides which, the calomel is frequently diffused very unequally through the mass, one lozenge may therefore contain a poisonous dose, whilst others may scarcely possess any active matter. Ching’s Worm Lozenges. These consist of yellow and brown lozenges, the former are directed to be taken in the evening, the latter the succeeding morning. The Yellow Lozenges. Take of Saffron ?ss, of water oj, boil, and strain; add of White Panacea of Mercury (Calomel washed in spirit of wine) ?j, white sugar, 28?, mucilage of Tragacanth as much as may be sufficient to make a mass, which roll out of an exact thickness, so that each lozenge may contain one grain of Panacea. The Brown Lozenges. Panacea ? vij, resin of jalap, ?iijss, white sugar ?ix, mucilage of tragacanth q. s. each lozenge should contain gr. ½ of panacea. Story’s Worm Cakes. Calomel and jalap made into cakes and coloured with cinnabar. 532. For the origin of this term see page 39. 533. Chamberlain’s Restorative Pills. “The most certain cure for the Scrofula, or King’s Evil, Fistula, Scurvy, and all Impurities of the Blood.” My attention has been particularly directed to these pills, in consequence of having lately seen, during the course of my professional duty, several highly respectable persons, who had been induced to make trial of their efficacy. Their inventor, if I am rightly informed, resides at Ipswich, where, for the benefit of suffering humanity, he prepares these wonderful pills, and, with the alacrity of his patron deity, Mercury, transmits them to every corner of the United Kingdom. It appears from the printed directions which accompany the “Restorative Pills,” that their use must be continued for a very long period; but upon this occasion we must allow the Doctor to speak for himself. “It may be necessary to observe, that in some cases of Scrofula, especially when the seat of the disease is in the feet, ancles, or hands, it may take a long time to effect a cure, even two years, and it may be twelve or sixteen months, with seeming little or no improvement, yet the cure is certain by perseverance.” What—two years! and to be taken during a period of sixteen months without any sensible benefit! Is it possible that persons can be found with sufficient credulity and resolution to submit to so preposterous a proposal? we have no doubt that Mr. Chamberlain can produce as great a portion of cures after such an ordeal, as was adduced in former times, in proof of the efficacy of the Royal Touch, and for the same obvious reason. (See page 16.) Upon examining these said pills, I find them to consist of Cinnabar, Sulphur, Sulphate of Lime, and a little vegetable matter, perhaps gum. Each pill weighs a fraction less than three grains; upon dividing one with a penknife, and examining the cut surface through a lens, it exhibited the appearance of scoriÆ of a brick red colour, having small yellowish masses imbedded in its substance. When exposed on a piece of platinum foil to the action of the blow-pipe, it yielded vapours of a strong sulphureous smell, and left a residuum of a pearly white matter, which consisted almost entirely of Sulphate of Lime. Upon submitting a portion of the pill, in a glass tube, to the heat of a spirit lamp, two distinct sublimates were produced, the first consisting of Sulphur, the second of Cinnabar; and a small carbonaceous deposit remained. The Pill was then assayed, via humida; distilled water dissolved the Sulphate of lime, which was identified by appropriate tests, and left sulphur and cinnabar on the filtre. By the above experiments I feel warranted in considering the composition of this pill as fully ascertained. Boerhaave’s Red Pill. The basis of this nostrum is Cinnabar. 534. The anatomist employs it for giving colour to his injections; for this purpose it is very essential that it should be quite free from red lead, or his preparations will in a short time lose their splendour, and ultimately become black. This has unfortunately happened with some preparations which Dr. Baillie presented to the College of Physicians. Mr. Accum, in his work entitled “Death in the Pot,” states a case of poisoning from cheese which had been coloured with adulterated Vermillion. I am ready to admit, however, that the source of this information is of very doubtful authority; never did a work appear which so little merited the attention it received; even the title, which seemed to have some claim to originality, was borrowed from a work by Mouchart, called “Mors in Olla.” 535. Anodyne Necklaces. The roots of Hyoscyamus are commonly strung in the form of beads, and sold under this name, to tie round the necks of children, to facilitate the growth of their teeth, and allay the irritation of teething. The application of medicated necklaces is a very ancient superstition. See page 13. Such remedies were sometimes called Periapts, pe??apt??. 536. In many cases it is essential that the water should be at the boiling point, a few degrees even less than this will often prove a source of failure; this is well exemplified by the familiar fact of the weakness of our Tea, when made by water that does not quite boil. The Monks of St. Bernard, in the Alps, complain that they cannot make good Bouillie; the case is simply this, that from the altitude of their monastery, the water boils before it can arrive at a sufficiently high temperature. Whence we may deduce this important inference, that the solvent powers of water are affected by a very slight range of temperature. See a fuller account of this subject in my work on “Medical Chemistry.” 537. Where the vegetable matter contains much starch, if the water be of a temperature higher than 165°, instead of dissolving, it will coagulate the starch, and produce a very untractable mass. This fact is well known to Brewers, who are extremely cautious in avoiding a too high temperature. 538. Madden’s Vegetable Essence. Is little else than the Infusum RosÆ comp: with an increased proportion of Acid. 539. This fact has been lately confirmed by M. F. Cartier, who found 4 gr. of oxide of iron in 1000 gr. of red roses. 540. A valuable paper upon this subject is to be found in the first volume of “The Reports of the Philomatic Society of Paris:” by Bouillon La Grange. It has been lately supposed, but without much probability, that the griping property of Senna depends upon its admixture with some foreign leaf. 541. Selway’s Prepared Essence of Senna. This is a concentrated infusion of Senna, in combination with an alkali. 542. The plant yielding the Ipecacuanha of the shops, is more probably a species of Viola than that of Callicocca. According to LinnÆus, it is not unfrequently obtained from the Psycotria Emetica. The word Ipecacuanha signifies any emetic substance. 543. A formula for its preparation is introduced into the new Codex of Paris, being the one used by M. Pelletier; it is as follows. Let ?i of the powder of Ipecacuan be macerated in ?ij of Æther with a gentle heat for some hours, in a distilling apparatus; let the portion which remains be triturated and boiled with ?iv of alcohol; it having been previously macerated in it; filter and let the remainder be treated with fresh portions of alcohol, as long as any thing is taken up from the root; mix these alcoholic solutions and evaporate to dryness; let this alcoholic extract be macerated in cold distilled water, in order that every thing soluble in that menstruum may be dissolved; filter, and evaporate to dryness; this extract is Emetine. In this state however it contains a small quantity of gallic acid, but which is too inconsiderable to affect its medicinal qualities. 544. We agree with the author in his estimate of the value of Emetine. As a general remedy, it possesses no advantage over the Ipecacuanha itself, and will probably never supersede it. Cases may occur, however, in which its use will be desirable, and it may then be given in the following doses. As an Emetic, from four to five grains dissolved in a couple of ounces of some aromatic water; as a Diaphoretic, about half a grain repeated every four hours; and as an Expectorant, one-fifth or one-fourth of a grain repeated every two or three hours. These doses apply only to the impure or coloured Emetine, the form in which it is commonly found. Ed. 545. Ipecacuanha Lozenges. Each Lozenge contains half a grain of Ipecacuanha. 546. Sapo Jalapinus. It is prepared by taking equal parts of Castille Soap and of resinous extract of Jalap, and digesting them in a sufficient quantity of alcohol, with moderate heat, and evaporating to the consistence of a conserve. 547. The plant which yields Kino is at length satisfactorily proved to be the Pterocarpus Erinacea; the London College have accordingly made the alteration which I anticipated in the former edition of this work. 548. Dr. Pemberton makes the interesting statement in relation to the operation of Kino upon the system, that unless Diarrhoea be actually present, “it appears to have no tendency to confine the bowels. In this drug, therefore,” he adds, “you have a medicine which exerts its powers to restrain the discharges of the glands when they are secreting too much, without exerting any such powers over them when they are acting naturally.” Practical Treatise on the various diseases of the abdominal viscera, p. 112, Am. Ed. Ed. 549. It was known to be a remedy for this disorder at least two hundred years ago; for, in a work entitled, “The Surgeon’s Mate, or Military and Domestic Medicine,” by John Woodall, master in Surgery, London, 1636, the author concludes his eulogium of lemon juice, by saying, “I dare not write how good a sauce it is at meat, lest the chief in the ship should waste it in the great cabin to save vinegar.” 550. Essential Salt of Lemons. See PotassÆ Super-tartras. 551. Ward’s Essence for the Head-ache.—Nothing more than Liniment. Camph. Comp. 552. Steer’s Opodeldoc.—Castille Soap ?j, Rectified Spirit, f?viij, Camphor ?iiiss, Oil of Rosemary f?ss, Oil of Origanum f?j. Solution of Ammonia f?vj. Bates’s Anodyne Balsam.—It consists of one part of Tincture of Opium, and two of Opodeldoc, i. e. Liniment. Sapon. comp. Freeman’s Bathing Spirits.—Liniment. Saponis comp. coloured with Daffy’s Elixir. Jackson’s Bathing Spirits differs from the former in the addition of some essential oils. Lynch’s Embrocation.—Olive oil impregnated with Bergamot and some other essences, and coloured with Alkanet root. 553. Since the last edition of this work, Mr. Dalton has discovered the very curious fact, that lime is more soluble in cold than in hot water, and has given a table of quantities from which he concludes that the quantity held in solution by water at 32° Fah: is nearly double that retained by water at 212°. Mr. Phillips has lately taken up the subject, and confirmed the statement of Mr. Dalton.
Mr. Phillips attempts to account for this apparent anomaly “from the effect which heat sometimes produces of increasing instead of diminishing the attraction of cohesion. In the present case, he continues, the affinities which are brought into play are, the attractions of aggregation of the particles of the lime upon each other, the attraction of the lime to form a hydrate with a small portion of the water, and the mutual affinity existing between that hydrate and the water of solution.” And at the high temperature he thinks that the former affinities may be so heightened as to overpower the latter. 554. Upon this fact Dr. Alton founded his ingenious process for preserving water from putrefaction; in the first place he impregnated the water with lime, which from its antiseptic property answered the purpose of keeping it most completely, and then, in order to get rid of the lime, he merely added the carbonate of magnesia, which by transferring its carbonic acid, rendered the lime insoluble, and consequently the water tasteless and fit for economical purposes. Mr. Henry, however, proposed the introduction of a current of carbonic acid into the cask, and this expedient has been found equally effective, and far more economical. 555. Mrs. Stephen’s Remedy for the Stone consisted of lime, which was produced by calcining the shells of eggs and snails, and made into pills with Soap. A decoction was also administered, consisting of Chamomile, Fennel, Parsley and Burdock, together with a portion of Alicant Soap. This is a very rational practice, and is very much what the practitioners of the present day depend upon: the observations of Mrs. Stephens respecting their administration, are equally judicious. “If,” says she, “these medicines produce pain, it will be necessary to give an opiate with them, and it must be at all times a principal care to prevent a looseness, for if this should happen it would carry off the medicines; under such circumstances the quantity of the Decoction, since it is laxative, must be diminished, and other suitable means must be taken by the advice of a Physician.” The credit of introducing alkaline medicines for the cure of calculous disorders, does not however rest with Mrs. Stephens. It has been before stated in this work, that Basil Valentine employed a fixed alkaline salt in such cases; and I may here add, that Sennertus, in his Praxis Medica, mentions a lithonthryptic that was in great esteem and general use in his time, which consisted of one ounce of Salt of Tartar dissolved in a pint of parsley water, and afterwards tinged yellow with orange peel. 556. Virgin’s Milk. A preparation is sold under this name, which is a Sulphate of Lead, and is prepared as follows. To a saturated solution of Alum, add of Goulard’s extract one third part. Shake them together;—see Benzoinum for a very different cosmetic bearing the same name. 557. Hankay’s Lotion, or Preventive Wash. This famous nostrum for the prevention of venereal infection, was nothing more than a solution of caustic potass. 558. Dr. Chittick’s Remedy for the Stone. This celebrated nostrum consisted of a fixed alkali in veal broth; the broth was usually made by his patients, and sent to him fresh every day, in order to be medicated. A. D. 1766. 559. Magnesia was originally a general term, expressive of any substance which had the power of attracting some principle from the air, from Magnes, the Loadstone. The peculiar body which we now denominate Magnesia, was first sold as a panacea, by a canon at Rome, in the beginning of the seventeenth century, under the title of Magnesia alba, or Count Palma’s Powder. 560. Dalby’s Carminative. This consists of carbonate of magnesia ?ij, oils of Peppermint, ??j, of Nutmeg, ??ij, of Aniseed ??iij, of the tinctures of Castor ??xxx, of Assafoetida ??xv, Tincture of Opium, ??v, Spirit of Pennyroyal ??xv, of the Compound Tincture of Cardamoms ??xxx, Peppermint water f?ij. There are cheaper compositions sold under the same name. In examining the pretensions of this combination, it must be allowed that it is constructed upon philosophical principles; this however is no reason why the physician should recommend it; the mischievous tendency of a quack medicine does not depend upon its composition, but upon its application; we ought to remember, says an eminent physician, that in recommending this nostrum we foster the dangerous prejudices of mothers and nurses, who are unable to ascertain the circumstances under which it should be given, or even the proper doses; if its composition is judicious, why do not physicians order the same in a regular prescription, rather than in a form in which the most valuable remedy will be abused? 561. “Manna, vox chaldaica est, admirantis interjectio, deducta ab Hebraico Manhu, sive quid est hoc?” Chrystom. Magneni Exercitat. de Manno. 562. Honey Water.—The article usually sold under this name is a mixture of Essences coloured with Saffron; some add a small quantity of Honey, the effect of which is to communicate a clamminess which retains the scent longer. 563. Essence of Peppermint.—A spirituous solution of the Essential Oil, coloured green by Spinach leaves. 564. If the Gum arabic be adulterated with that of the Cherry-tree, the solution will be ropy, in consequence of the presence of Cerasin. See Mucilago TragacanthÆ. (Note.) 565. The mucilage is at the same time converted by this salt into a beautiful peach blossom colour. 566. This variety of gum, which is characterised by its gelatinizing, but not dissolving, in water, occurs in several vegetable substances; and as it predominates in the Cherry-tree, Dr. John has distinguished it by the name of Cerasin; but as Tragacanth consists almost entirely of this substance, the term Tragacanthin would have been much more appropriate. Although Cerasin will not dissolve in pure water, it undergoes solution in that menstruum, at the temperature of ebullition, provided a portion of a mineral acid be added. 567. Sir Hans Sloane published a Paper in the Philosophical Transactions, No. 249, Vol. xxi. p. 44, entitled “An account of the Nux Pepita, or St. Ignatius’s Bean (Ignatia Amara, Lin.) A Simple in common use in the Philippine Islands, as a Tonic medicine.” 568. That the active principle of the Nux Vomica expends its virulence upon the spinal marrow has been already noticed. Page 133. 569. M. Henry has given us the most simple formula for the preparation of this substance. It consists in boiling Nux Vomica in water, and evaporating the decoction until it acquires the consistence of Syrup; lime is then added, which unites with the acid, and liberates the Strychnia; which may then be separated by means of alcohol, from which it may be obtained by crystallization. 570. Ann: de Chimie et de Phys. x. 153. 571. M. Majendie has killed a dog with one eighth of a grain, and the editor of the Edinburgh Med: & Surg: journ: has seen one die in two minutes after the injection of one sixth of a grain into the cavity of the pleura. The celebrated Java poison owes its activity to Strychnia. 572. Strychnia was obtained from the beans of St. Ignatius by the following process: a portion of the beans being grated was heated in a close vessel, under pressure, with sulphuric Æther, by which an oily matter was dissolved; the residuum then yielded by the action of alcohol, a yellowish brown, very bitter substance, which being boiled in pure magnesia and filtered, the colouring matter was washed out, and the Strychnia and magnesia, in a state of mixture, remained on the filtre. The Strychnia was then separated by alcohol, and thus obtained in a state of great purity. 573. See note under the article Opium. 574. With regard to the use of Strychnia in paralysis, experiments sufficiently numerous have now been made to enable us to judge of its true value and efficacy. Like all other remedies it is by no means infallible. In some cases it does no good, while in others it causes effects which no other remedy is capable of producing. Every thing depends upon the nature of the case. Whenever paralysis is the result of some organic derangement of the brain, such as tumors pressing upon the substance of that organ, diseased alterations in its structure, or extravasations of fluid which cannot be absorbed, then this remedy will be of no avail. On the other hand, where the paralysis depends upon simple diminished nervous excitement, it may and has been completely cured by the use of this article. In paraplegia it has generally been found more successful than in hemiplegia. The first effects of the remedy in all cases are convulsive twitchings of the paralyzed parts, and no benefit is derived from its use until this effect is produced and continued for some time. If plethora should be present, this is to be corrected by venesection, purgatives, and other appropriate treatment. It is a great advantage attending the use of this powerful agent that it does not at all impair the tone of the stomach; on the contrary, it has a tendency to increase the appetite and promote digestion. In having recourse to the Strychnia, the best way is to commence with small doses, increasing them gradually according to the effect produced—one-eighth of a grain twice a day is sufficient to begin with. This may be cautiously increased to 1/6, 1/4, or even ½ a grain twice a day. Should any unpleasant symptoms occur, of course its use should be discontinued; and when the symptoms subside, it may again be resumed. By observing these general precautions there is no danger in using this otherwise potent agent. The best form of giving it is in that of pill, made up with conserve of roses. From experiments made with Brucia, it is found to exert an influence analogous to that of the Strychnia, only less energetic—one-fourth of a grain of the latter equals in effect about six grains of the former. It occasions violent tetanic attacks, and acts upon the nerves without affecting the brain or the intellectual functions. From the inferior energy of the Brucia, it may be used in cases where the Strychnia would not be proper. The dose to begin with is gr. j. twice a day, increased to three or four times a day. Unless it does some good in five or six weeks its use should be discontinued.—Ed. 575. Huiles Antiques. The basis of the best of these oils, is the oil of Ben, from the nuts of the Guilangia Moringa, or oil of hazel, which is a very good substitute, since it is inodorous, colourless, and may be kept for a considerable period without becoming rancid: it is therefore well adapted to receive and retain the odour of those vegetables that yield but a small proportion of essential oil. 576. Oil of Bricks. So called because this empyreumatic oil was sometimes obtained by steeping hot brick in oil, and submitting it to distillation. 577. Roche’s Embrocation for the Hooping Cough. Olive oil mixed with about half its quantity of the oils of cloves and amber. Struve’s Lotion for the Hooping Cough. This once famous nostrum consisted of ?j of Tartarized Antimony, dissolved in f?ij of water, to which was added f?j of Tincture of Cantharides. 578. The editors have also unaccountably retained the Oleum de Lumbricis! 579. If the plates of the press be heated, the fixed oil from the bitter almond will be odorous. 580. Essence or Bitter Almonds. The preparation sold under this name, for the purposes of perfumery, &c. consists of one part of this essential oil, and seven parts of Rectified spirit. 581. For such reasons there are but few wholesale houses who profess to distil it. I have, however, through the civility and attention of Mr. Johnson, chemist in Oxford-street, who frequently conducts the process on a large scale, had several opportunities of witnessing the interesting phenomena to which it gives rise. So powerful is the odour developed upon these occasions that it fills the premises with an almost insupportable atmosphere, occasioning head-ache, sickness and cough; so that we may safely observe, that, whatever miracles the prussic acid may perform, when applied to the coats of the stomach, its application in the form of vapour to the lungs proves highly irritating to those organs. The concentrated vapour of this essential oil is almost instantly destructive to animal life. I have seen flies drop lifeless to the floor as they have passed over the still; thus, as it were, realizing in miniature the fabled powers of Avernus. “Quam super haud ullÆ poterant impune volantes Tendere iter pennis: talis sese halitus atris Faucibus effundens supera ad convexa ferebat.” Æn. VI. v. 239. 582. Some authors have considered the olibanum as the ??a??? quasia Oleum Libani, (Thus) of the ancients, but Dr. Maton has observed that he cannot find any passage in the ancient authors sufficiently precise to corroborate this conjecture. See Abietis Resina. 583. The Greeks and Romans attached a very different meaning to the terms Opium and Meconium. The former signified the pure juice (?p?? succus) that flowed from the scarified poppies; the latter, the juice obtained by bruising and pressing the poppy heads. 584. Annales de Chimie, vol. 45. Derosne first obtained a crystalline substance from Opium in the year 1803, which dissolved in acids; but he did not determine its nature or properties. 585. In 1804 Seguin (Ann. de Chim. vol. 92) discovered another crystalline body in opium, and although he described most of its properties he never hinted at its alkaline nature. 586. Sertuerner at Eimbeck, in Hanover, had at the same time as Derosne and Seguin, obtained these crystalline bodies, (Ann. de Chim. et de Phy. T. v.) but it was not until the year 1817, that he first unequivocally proclaimed the existence of a vegetable alkali, and assigned to it the narcotic powers which distinguish the operation of opium; to this body he gave the name of Morphia, and it appears to be the same as the essential salt noticed by Seguin. The salt of Derosne, now more usually denominated Narcotine, is quite a different principle, although it was constantly mistaken for one of the salts of Morphia, till M. Robiquet (Ann. de Chim. & de Phy. T. v.) pointed out its distinctive properties. It is an azotized substance, crystallizing in beautiful pearly prisms or tables; soluble in fixed oil, and still more so in Æther and the acids; insoluble in water, and little soluble in alcohol; destitute of action on the vegetable colours, and incapable of neutralizing acids. There still exists, however, very considerable confusion with respect to this salt, and farther experiments are required to ascertain its chemical nature, as well as its physiological action. 587. The discovery of an alkaline body in opium induced the French and German chemists to examine the composition of other active vegetables, with a view to detect the existence of an analogous principle; and their labours have been rewarded with unexampled success. They have accordingly obtained Strychnia from the nut of the Strychnos nux vomica;—Brucia from the bark of the Brucea Anti-dysenterica (False Angustura Bark) Veratria from the Veratrum album, V. Sabadilla and Colchicum Autumnale;—Cinchonia from the bark of the Cinchona Oblongifolia (Red Bark);—Quina (or Kina) from that of the Cinchona Cordifolia (Yellow Bark);—Emeta from the Callicocca Ipecacuanha;—Delphia, from the Delphinium Staphisagria;—Picrotoxa from the Menispermum Cocculus;—Solana from the Solanum Nigrum, and S. Dulcamara; Gentia, from Gentiana lutea;—Atropia from the Atropa Belladonna;—Hyoscyama, from Hyoscyamus Niger. Besides which, Capsicum, Piper nigrum, and Senna, have been said to yield analogous principles of a salifiable character. With respect to most of these alkaline bodies farther experiments are required to establish our confidence; it is more than probable that several of them will turn out to be disguised modifications of each other; it has already been questioned whether Quina and Cinchonia be not varieties of one alkali; indeed it is possible that all these bodies may have the same alkaline base, and that they differ from each other in consequence of their combination with other principles, derived from the vegetable in question, and impressing upon the salt its characteristic virtues; and this idea receives material support from the fact, that they are neutralized by a very small proportion of acid. (See a paper on this subject in the 70th number of the Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journ.) They have all many properties in common, such as a degree of bitterness varying in intensity in different species; they are inodorous; are not altered by air or light, but are decomposed by a moderate heat; most of them enter into fusion, but at different temperatures, some for instance at below 212° Fahr. others not until they are about to be decomposed; Hyoscyama will even resist a low red heat. They are very sparingly soluble in water, but they are in general rendered more so by the presence of resinous matter. They are nearly all highly soluble in alcohol. Æther readily dissolves Delphia, Veratria, Emeta, Quina, and Gentia; but Morphia, Cinchonia, and Picrotoxa, are very sparingly soluble: and Strychnia and Brucia are nearly insoluble in it; they combine with the acids; and, in general, form neutral salts; but it appears that Veratria and Emeta always unite with an excess of acid. All the combinations with the mineral acids, excepting the salts of Picrotoxa, are exceedingly soluble in water; and, with the exception of Nitrate of Cinchonia, and all the salts of Veratria, they are crystallizable. The acetates too, with a few exceptions, are also soluble, and they are disposed to form super-salts. All the oxalates, except that of Picratoxa, which is the most soluble of its salts, and all tartrates, are rather insoluble, and have likewise a tendency to unite with an excess of acid. The action of concentrated nitric acid on these alkaline bodies is very peculiar, converting the greater number of them into artificial tannin; but it appears to peroxidate Morphia, Strychnia, and Brucia, rendering them less powerful as salifiable bases, and diminishing or destroying their action on the animal body. See Edinburgh Med. & Surg. Journ. supra citat. By analysis, with the deutoxide of copper, these alkalies yield carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; but no azote, unless they have been obtained by precipitation with ammonia, as in the process of Sertuerner. It would appear that these bodies exist in their native plants, in combination with peculiar acids; some of them are found in the state of Malates. With respect to their physiological action it may be stated, that they would appear to concentrate in themselves the characteristic properties of the vegetables to which they belong, and yet, although their effects are much greater than those of the undecomposed vegetables, the same quantity of alkali is not so powerful in its pure form, as in its natural state of combination. Thus one grain of morphia produces no more effect than two grains of Turkey opium, which do not contain more than a sixteenth part of the alkali. To explain this loss of efficacy which usually attends our attempts at concentration, the reader is referred to the observations which have been already offered upon this subject in the first part of this work, page 153. 588. The manufacture, however, of Indian Opium has been of late years greatly improved by Dr. Fleming, under whose superintendance that important department was placed by the Marquis Wellesley. 589. Forty thousand pounds weight of Opium are annually imported into the Port of London. 590. It has been stated in the Historical Introduction to this work, (page 8) that the nepenthe, which Helen mixed with wine, and gave to the guests of Menelaus, was probably opium; such was the opinion of Sprengel, expressed in his History of Botany. Other authors have entertained a different belief. Delile, in his “Flora Egyptiaca,” considers it to have been a preparation of hyoscyamus albus. Dr. Christen, in his late elaborate Dissertation on Opium, agrees with Forbes, who states, in his Oriental Memoirs, that in Hindostan Bendsch, i. e. nepenthe is prepared from the cannabis sativa of LinnÆus. Linder informs us that bangue is prepared from the dried leaves of the wild cannabis, the smoke of which is said to be more narcotic than even that of opium. There seems, however, to be good reason for supposing that Indian bangue is a compound of several ingredients. Ray says that he learned from Sir Hans Sloane, that the principal ingredient was not hemp, but a plant somewhat like it. 591. The operation of Opium is not unfrequently attended with an itching, or sense of pricking of the skin, which is sometimes terminated by a species of miliary eruption. 592. Opium is the Quack’s sheet anchor. The various nostrums advertised as “Cough Drops, for the cure of colds, asthmas, catarrhs, &c.” are preparations of Opium very similar to paregoric elixir. Pectoral Balsam of Liquorice, and Essence of Coltsfoot, are combinations of this kind. Grindle’s Cough Drops, are a preparation of the same description, only made with Rectified, instead of Proof Spirit, and consequently more highly charged with stimulant materials. “The mischief,” says Dr. Fothergill, “that has proceeded from the healing anodynes of quacks can be scarcely imagined; for in coughs, arising from suppressed perspiration or an inflammatory diathesis, Opiates generally do harm.” Squire’s Elixir. Opium, camphor, serpentaria, sub-carbonate of potass, anise and fennel seeds, made into a tincture, and coloured with cochineal. Ford’s Balsam of Horehound. This nostrum may very properly be classed under the present head. It consists of an aqueous infusion of horehound and liquorice root, with double the proportion of proof spirit or brandy; to which is then added, opium, camphor, benzoin, squills, oil of aniseed, and honey. 593. Liquor Morphii Citratis. ?.Opii Crudi Optimi ?iv; Acidi Citrici (Cryst:) ?ij; semel in mortario lapideo contunde, dein aquÆ distillatÆ bullientis oj affunde; et intime misceantur; macera per horas viginti quatuor; per chartam bibulosam cola. 594. The Black Drop, or The Lancaster, or Quaker’s Black Drop. This preparation, which has been long known and esteemed, as being more powerful in its operation and less distressing in its effects than any tincture of opium, has until lately been involved in much obscurity; the papers however of the late Edward Walton, of Sunderland, one of the near relations of the original proprietor, having fallen into the hands of Dr. Armstrong, that gentleman has obliged the profession by publishing the manner in which it is prepared, and is as follows:—“Take half a pound of opium sliced; three pints of good verjuice (juice of the wild crab,) and one and a half ounce of nutmegs, and half an ounce of saffron. Boil them to a proper thickness, then add a quarter of a pound of sugar, and two spoonsful of yeast. Set the whole in a warm place near the fire, for six or eight weeks, then place it in the open air until it becomes a syrup; lastly, decant, filter, and bottle it up, adding a little sugar to each bottle.” One drop of this preparation is considered equal to about three of the Tincture of Opium. P. L. It would appear that an Acetate of Morphia is formed, which is more active, and less distressing in its effects, than any other narcotic combination. The French Codex contains directions for preparing a compound very similar to the Black Drop; viz. Vinum Opiatum Fermentatione Paratum, or GuttÆ seu Laudanum Abbatis Rousseau. Take of white honey twelve ounces; warm water, three pounds; dissolve the honey in the water, pour it into a matrass, and set it aside in a warm place: as soon as fermentation has commenced, add four ounces of good opium, having previously dissolved, or rather diffused it in twelve ounces of water; allow them to ferment together for a month, then evaporate until ten ounces only remain, filter, and add four ounces and a half of alcohol. Liquor Opii Sedativus. Under this name, Mr. Battley, a manufacturing druggist, of Fore-street, London, has offered for sale a narcotic preparation, which it is generally supposed owes its efficacy to the acetate of morphia; on being kept, however, I found that it underwent some important change, during which so much air was disengaged as to blow out the cork from the bottle with violence. This is an objection to its admission into practice, unless we can ensure recently prepared portions as often as they may be required. In publishing the above statement, I have unfortunately been the cause of much unnecessary Ink-shed. A letter, by Mr. Battley, has been industriously circulated through the different ranks of the profession, purporting to be an apology for his preparation, but after a careful perusal of it, instead of being able to discover any argument in its favour, we receive a full acknowledgment of the validity of the objection above stated. “I explained to Dr. Paris, that the liability of the solution to undergo change, WAS A DEFECT in the preparation, but that the addition of a little spirit would prevent decomposition,” and yet in the next sentence he tells us that in those cases in which it is most beneficial, “the addition of spirit would be highly improper.” See Medical Repository, vol. xiii, p. 273. But the circumstance which has excited the greatest indignation in the mind of Mr. Battley, is my having applied the term NOSTRUM to his preparation. Every medicine that is prepared by a secret process, and sold for the private advantage of an individual, is properly designated a NOSTRUM. And I am at a loss to discover any feature in the present case that can entitle it to be considered as an exception to this general rule; but perhaps Mr. Battley is inclined to be hypercritical, and as the preparation is not indebted to him, but to Wedelius or Le Mort, for its origin, is prepared to exclaim with the Roman Poet: “QuÆ non fecimus ipsi vix ea NOSTRA VOCO.” Mr. Battley also complains bitterly of my having inserted his preparation under so odious a motto as “Arcana Revelata fÆtent,” for my own part I cannot conceive any thing more appropriate to the case, viz. Arcana, these secret preparations, revelata, exposed to the air, fÆtent, grow foetid. But, notwithstanding the objections which I have thus felt it my duty to offer, I am disposed to speak favourably of its mild and uniform effects, and in justice to Mr. Battley, I will further state the same opinion has been formed by a great number of respectable practitioners. The late Mr. Haden, who during his protracted illness took a large quantity of this preparation, states, in his Translation of the Formulary of Dr. Majendie, that it is devoid of exciting, and almost of constipating, properties. He made a very good substitute, “by macerating the dregs, remaining after making tincture of opium, in a solution of Tartaric acid.” The preparation formed a tolerably deep tincture, and 40 drops acted, he thought, in all respects, like 20 of the liquor opii sedativus. It neither stimulated, nor produced costiveness. 595. Godbold’s Vegetable Balsam. In the specification of the Patent for this nostrum forty-two different vegetables are directed to be distilled “for the purpose of extracting their essences, which are to be preserved separately and apart from each other, in syrups, and are to be mixed with the following gums and drugs, viz. Gum Dragon, Gum Guaiacum, Gum Arabic, and Gum Canada, these being dissolved in double distilled vinegar, with a quantity of Storax dissolved in Spirits of Wine and Oil of Cinnamon. It is to be bottled off, and kept three years before it is fit to be administered for the Cure of Consumption, or any Asthmatic Complaint.” It is hardly necessary to observe, that no such directions ever are, or indeed ever could be followed; in short the “Balsam” is little else than simple oxymel. It is, however, not a little curious that amongst the forty-two plants enumerated, there should be several that would on distillation yield Prussic acid, such as the Bays. We wonder that this accidental circumstance has not been noticed, and turned to account, by some of those worthy disciples of Esculapius who live by the credulity of mankind, and, as Falstaff expresses it, “Turn diseases to a commodity.” 596. “It is in this manner, I apprehend, that stimulating syrups will frequently remove hoarseness.” 597. Although it has been long known that the seeds of the poppy, and the oil obtained from them by expression, do not possess any of the narcotic properties of the plant, and that they were even baked into cakes and used as an article of food by the ancients, yet has there been in later times very considerable contention respecting the propriety and safety of using such oil. The cultivation of the Poppy for the sake of the oil of its seeds, as an article of food, has been long carried on in France, Brabant, and Germany; and more recently in Holland. At about the beginning of the 17th century, the opposition to this use of the Poppy manifested itself in France, and became so violent, that the Lieutenant General of the Police of Paris ordered the medical faculty of that city to make the strictest examination concerning this point, and they accordingly reported that, as there is nothing narcotic or prejudicial to health in the oil, the use of it might be permitted. But this decision was unsatisfactory; and popular clamour determined the Court to pass a decree in 1718, prohibiting the sale of Poppy Oil, whether mixed or unmixed! The sale of the article, however, notwithstanding this most singular decree, was clandestinely encouraged, and it gradually increased until the year 1735, when the Court issued a severe decree, enjoining the superintendent to mix a certain quantity of the extract of Turpentine, with every cask containing 1100 lbs. of this oil, of which no less than 2000 casks were consumed in Paris alone. But the secret demand for it increased until 1773, when a Society of Agriculture undertook to examine the question, and the result of their labours had the effect of reversing the prohibition, and of convincing the multitude that their fears were entirely unfounded, and that there was really no narcotic power, nor any secret mischief in the article. 598. As these pills are liable to become hard and insoluble by being kept, it is better to keep the ingredients in powder, and to form them extemporaneously with a little syrup. 599. The Pix Arida of the late Pharmacopoeia. 600. Tar water was also at one period celebrated as an antisiphylitic remedy. M. Acharius, in his work “On the Use and advantages of Tar Water in Venereal Complaints,” enumerates the cases of a number of patients cured by this remedy alone in the Hospital of Stockholm, without any Mercury. 601. Dr. Mudge in the year 1782 had recommended the fumigation of balsams, in a pamphlet on the subject of his Inhaler; little or no notice however was taken of this recommendation, a circumstance which cannot excite our surprise when we consider the extravagant terms in which the pretensions of the remedy were supported. “I believe,” says he, “that much of the benefit which consumptive persons experience from sea voyages, is derived from the tar vapour constantly present on board a ship!” A Radical and Expeditious Cure for a recent Catarrhous Cough. By J. Mudge, Plymouth, 1783. 602. Litharge. The word is derived from ?????, Lapis, a stone, and ???????, Argentum, Silver; from the fact of the lead being thrown off in this state during its application for the refinement of Silver. 603. That the oak cask imparts astringent matter to the contained spirit, is shewn by the facts enumerated under the history of Brandy, see Spiritus Tenuior. 604. Sir George Baker considered the dry-belly-ache, which is common to drinkers of new Rum, in the West Indies, entirely referable to its contamination with Lead. 605. See next Note. 606. I uniformly adopt this plan; the acetic acid is the best guard that can be selected to protect the salt from decomposition; even the Tartrate of Lead, which is so insoluble in water, forms with vinegar a soluble triple salt. 607. Royal Preventive.—This pretended prophylactic against venereal virus is a solution of Acetate of Lead. 608. Peroxide of Potassium is produced by heating the metal in a considerable excess of oxygen. It is an orange-coloured body, which, upon being put into water effervesces, and gives off oxygen, and is thus reduced to the state of protoxide. 609. Potass forms the basis of many of those preparations, sold as Depilatories; in some instances combined with Lime. Colley’s Depilatory appears to consist of Quick-lime, and a portion of Sulphuret of Potass. 610. Sal Prunelle. Nitre, when coloured purple like a plum, has been long esteemed in Germany as a powerful medicine, under this name. M. Chevreul supposes the urinous taste attributed to fixed alkaline bases not to belong to these substances, but to the ammonia, which is set at liberty by their action on the ammoniacal salts contained in the saliva; the proofs of which, he says, may be derived from the facts that the sensation disappears upon pressing the nostrils; and that the same odour is perceived when we smell to a mixture of recent saliva and fixed alkali, made in a small glass or porcelain capsule. (See my work on Medical Chemistry, § 8.) 611. See my “Elements of Medical Chemistry,” p. 157. 612. Ibid. p. 605. 613. I may take this opportunity to state that Sulphuretted Hydrogen, in a state of simple solution, or in combination with other bodies, possesses considerable powers as a remedy in many cutaneous disorders of a chronic character. The “Gas-Water,” or that which remains after the gas, used for illumination, has passed through the purifier, and which consists of Hydro-Sulphuret and Hydro-bi-Sulphuret of Lime, has been used with great success in such cases. 614. It may be termed a Boro-tartrate. 615. Essential Salt of Lemons. The preparation sold under this name, for the purpose of removing iron moulds from linen, consists of cream of tartar, and super-oxalate of potass, or salt of sorrel, in equal proportions. 616. See page 183. 617. His specification, lodged in Chancery, is as follows. “Take Antimony, calcine it with a continued protracted heat, in a flat unglazed vessel, adding to it from time to time, a sufficient quantity of any animal oil and salt, dephlegmated; then boil it in melted nitre for a considerable time, and separate the powder from the nitre by dissolving it in water.” James’s Analeptic Pills. These consist of James’s powder, gum ammoniacum, and the pill of aloes with myrrh, (Pil. Rufi) equal parts, with a sufficient quantity of the tincture of castor to make a mass. 618. In consequence of the antimonial powder having proved inert in the hands of Dr. Elliotson, although exhibited to the amount of a hundred grains for a dose, Mr. Phillips was induced to examine more particularly into the nature of the oxide which enters into its composition. “After the well established fact,” says he, “that peroxide of antimony is nearly or totally inert, it appears to me, that if proof could be obtained, that the oxide of antimony is in this state, the deficiency of power in the Pulvis Antimonialis would be accounted for.” He then proceeds to detail his experiments, from which he deduces the composition of this preparation to be as follows:
which exist together in a simple state of mixture. Until the subject be elucidated by farther experiments, it will be difficult for the chemist to persuade the physician, that he can never have derived any benefit from the exhibition of Antimonial Powder, although I am by no means inclined to concede to it that extraordinary degree of virtue, which many practitioners are so eager to maintain. 619. This plant is esteemed by the American Indians as a universal remedy, and is always carried about with them. The members of the profession have doubtless heard of an irregular practitioner, who has persuaded a certain number of persons in this metropolis, that he possesses remedies, obtained from the American Indians, by which he is enabled to cure Scrofula in its worst forms; it is to this Empiric that I alluded in the note at page 33; and it may be worthy of notice that the plant upon which he relies for success, is the Pyrola Umbellata. 620. Philosophical Transactions, 1799. 621. Warner’s Cordial. Rhubarb bruised ?j; SennÆ ?ss; Saffron ?j; Powdered Liquorice ?iv; Raisins pounded ?j; Brandy oiij; digest for a week and strain. Moseley’s Pills. The stomachic Pills which are sold under this name, consist merely of Rhubarb and Ginger. 622. Dr. Rehman asserts that it is the root of the same species as that which produces the Turkey variety, but that it is prepared with less care. 623. The seeds of this plant, from which the oil is expressed, are variegated with black and white streaks, resembling in shape as well as colour, the insect Ricinis or Tick, whence the name. These seeds, from the acrid juice in their skins, are very drastic and emetic; they were however used by Hippocrates. Mathiolus attempted to correct their emetic quality by torrefaction, but without success. Gulielmus Piso proposed a tincture of them, but the preparation is not only uncertain, but unsafe in its operation. See Tiglii Semina. 624. For the derivation of the name Castor oil, see p. 39. 625. The sugar cane is called in Arabic Lukseb. The produce of it, Assakur, hence Sugar. Some authors have attempted to derive the word from Succus a juice; this is obviously an error. 626. For this purpose it may be added to certain ointments to prevent their becoming rancid. For the reasons, however, above stated, it must not be boiled with the ingredients, but added after they are cold. 627. In those districts where Soap is generally made from wood ashes, or from Russian or American potass, unless Salt were added in large quantities, it would not have any consistence. As Kelp and common Barilla contain a sufficient quantity of it, no further addition is required. 628. Transparent Soap is made by carefully evaporating the alcoholic solution. The solution itself is sold under the name of Shaving Liquid, or “Essence Royale pour faire la Barbe.” 629. When a solution of soap and sub-acetate of lead are added together, the potass of the former combines with the acetic acid of the latter, and the fat and oxyd of lead are disengaged; the one rising to the surface, while the other is precipitated; and yet notwithstanding this complete decomposition, some surgeons are in the habit of using an application which consists of a drachm of the Liquor Plumbi Sub-Acetatis, and two ounces of the Linimentum Saponis! We cannot have any hesitation in deciding upon the inefficacy of such a mixture. 630. Godfrey’s Cordial. The following receipt for this nostrum was obtained from a wholesale druggist, who makes and sells many hundred dozen bottles in the course of a year. There are however several other formulÆ for its preparation, but they are not essentially different. Infuse ?ix of Sassafras, and of the seeds of Carraway, Coriander, and Anise, of each ?j, in six pints of water, simmer the mixture until it is reduced to four pints; then add ?vj of Treacle, and boil the whole for a few minutes; when it is cold, add f?iij of the tincture of Opium. The extensive and indiscriminate use of this nostrum in the nursery, is a subject of national opprobrium, and is so considered by foreign writers. See FodÉrÉ, Medicine Legale, vol. iv. p. 22. 631. M. Virey says, “On observe que des acides chÂtrent, pour ainsi parler, tout l’energie de la ScammonÉe.” 632. Count Warwick’s Powder. The purgative long known and esteemed under this name, consisted of Scammony, Oxide of Antimony, and Cream of Tartar. It is much extolled by Baglivi, and by Van-Swieten, as an efficacious purgative in intermittent fevers. 633. The English physicians do not do justice to this valuable article. In this country it enjoys a high and deserved reputation. As a remedy in Croup it has long been esteemed as one of our most efficient resources, and more recently it has been very warmly recommended as a powerful emmenagogue. In Croup, it should not be given until after the use of venesection and other evacuants. It may then be administered in the form of decoction, prepared from half an ounce of the bruised root boiled in eight ounces of water down to four. Of this a tea spoonful is to be taken every hour or half hour as circumstances may require. When used as an emmenagogue, the decoction is to be prepared by simmering in a close vessel ?j of the bruised root in a pint of boiling water, until it is reduced about one third—of this four ounces are to be taken daily, and to be increased as far as the stomach will bear, at the menstrual period. Ed. 634. It enters into the composition of Stoughton’s Elixir, for which see GentianÆ Radix. 635. It is for this reason that the cake left after expression is so much more pungent than the seeds, for the fixed oil can be easily separated by pressure. 636. Whitehead’s Essence of Mustard.—This consists of oil of turpentine, camphor, and a portion of spirit of rosemary; to which is added a small quantity of flour of mustard. Whitehead’s Essence of Mustard Pills.—Balsam of Tolu, with resin! Ready Made Mustard.—This is made up with currant wine, and sugar; formerly Must, or grape juice, was employed for this purpose, whence the name Mustard. 637. This term is also applied to the Sub-carbonate of Ammonia. The objection to its use depends upon the solecism which it involves; the division of an atom, which, according to chemical principles, is indivisible; but this objection may be answered by stating, that the term is one merely of convenience, and serves to express the proportions of the acid and its base. The chemical difficulty is at once solved by multiplying each by two, which will make the proportions as 3 to 2. instead of 1½ to 1. 638. Sodaic Powders.—Contained in two distinct papers, one of which is blue, the other white; that in the former consists of ?ss of the carbonate of soda, that in the latter of grs. xxv of tartaric acid. These powders require half a pint of water. It is very evident that a solution of these powders is by no means similar to “Soda Water,” which it is intended to emulate; for in this latter preparation, the soda is in combination only with carbonic acid; whereas the solution of the “Sodaic Powders” is that of a neutral salt, with a portion of fixed air diffused through it. Patent Seidlitz Powders.—These consist of two different powders; the one, contained in a white paper, consists of ?ij of Tartarized Soda, and ?ij of Carbonate of Soda; that in the blue paper, of grs. xxxv of tartaric acid. The contents of the white paper are to be dissolved in half a pint of spring water, to which those of the blue paper are to be added; the draught is to be taken in a state of effervescence. The acid being in excess renders it more grateful, and no less efficacious as a purgative. This preparation cannot be said to bear any other resemblance to the mineral water of Seidlitz, than in being purgative. The water of this spring, which was discovered by Hoffman about a century ago, contains Sulphate of Magnesia as its active ingredient, together with Muriate of Magnesia, and Sulphate, and Carbonate of Lime. In the Codex Medicamentarius of Paris there are two formulÆ for the preparation of a water which may resemble that of Seidlitz, the one differing from the other merely in the proportion of its Sulphate of Magnesia. 639. Our English Salt is generally thus contaminated; for which reason it is unfit for the curing of several kinds of fish; this will not appear strange, says Mr. Parkes, when it is considered that merely its own weight of water is all that is necessary for the complete solution of muriate of magnesia; a circumstance which renders it impossible to preserve such salt for any length of time in a dry state. This muriate however might be separated from common salt, on a large scale, for one shilling per cwt. By exposing the salt to a gentle heat in reverberatory furnaces, the muriatic acid of the magnesian muriate will fly off, and the magnesia (on a subsequent solution of the salt) will be precipitated. It is well known that muriate of magnesia begins to part with its acid at a temperature a little higher than that of boiling water. 640. The annual quantity of salt raised from the Salt Mines and Springs in Europe, is estimated at from 25 to 30 millions of cwt. 641. The respect paid to Salt amongst Eastern nations is very remarkable, and may be traced to the highest antiquity. Homer gives to it the epithet of ?e???, Il. ix. p. 214. 642. In addition to the numerous instances cited by these authors, I may here introduce one which has been just communicated to me by my friend Mr. John Taylor, the agent of the London Company for working the Real del Monte Silver Mines in Mexico. He states that the ore, which consists of the Sulphuret of Silver, is, together with Mercury, amassed in heaps with iron pyrites and common salt; and that such is the greediness of the Mules employed in the works for the Salt, that they are constantly licking the materials; the consequence is that a portion of the Silver Amalgam is introduced into their stomachs; the animals, however, suffer no inconvenience; but, after death, on opening their stomachs, it is not unusual to find considerable masses of Silver, the mercury having escaped, or been dissolved by the gastric juice. 643. The celebrated Indian Tonic for Dyspepsia and Gout, called Bit laban, is prepared by fusing together muriate of soda and some other ingredients. See Dr. Fleming’s Catalogue of Indian Medicinal plants and drugs, p. 54, 55. 644. I have myself witnessed the bad effects of a diet of unsalted fish; and in my examination before a Committee of the House of Commons in 1818, appointed “for the purpose of inquiring into the laws respecting the Salt Duties,” I stated the great injury which the poorer classes in many districts sustained in their health, from an inability to procure this essential article. Lord Somerville (in his address to the Board of Agriculture) gave an interesting account of the effects of a punishment which formerly existed in Holland. “The ancient laws of the country ordained men to be kept on bread alone, UNMIXED WITH SALT, as the SEVEREST punishment that could be inflicted upon them in their moist climate; the effect was horrible: these wretched criminals are said to have been DEVOURED BY WORMS, engendered in their own stomachs.” Salt was an object of taxation at a very early period in this country; Ancus Martius, 640 years before our era ‘Salinarum Vectigal instituit.’ This tribute was continued on the Britons when our Isle was possessed by the Romans, who worked the Droitwich Mines, and who made salt part of their soldiers Salarium, or salary. Hence the custom at the Eton Montem of asking for salt. The great advantages which must ultimately accrue to this nation in its fisheries, agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, from a late remission of the odious and impolitic tax upon salt, are incalculable. The government of France appears to have been as impolitic with regard to this tax as the English. Buonaparte abolished the collection of turnpike dues; and imposed a tax on salt, payable at the Salt-pans, in its stead. It is not perhaps generally known, that by the aid of this tax he was enabled to complete the grand entrance into Italy, over the Simplon; so that it may be fairly observed, that if Hannibal was enabled to cross the Alps by the aid of Vinegar—Buonaparte, by the assistance of Salt, succeeded in constructing a public road over the same mountains. 645. Cheltenham Salts.—A factitious compound has been long vended, as a popular purgative, under this name; it is formed by triturating together the following salts. Sulphate of Soda, grs. 120. Sulphate of Magnesia, grs. 66. Muriate of Soda, 10. Sulphate of Iron, gr. ½. As a purgative it is very efficacious, and superior probably to that which is actually obtained by the evaporation of the Cheltenham water itself; for notwithstanding the high pretensions with which this latter salt has been publicly announced, it will be found to be little else than common Glauber’s Salt. This fact has been confirmed by the experiments of Mr. Richard Phillips, (Annals of Philosophy, No. lxi,) who observes, that the “real Cheltenham Salts contain no chalybeate property, but are merely sulphate of soda, mixed with a minute quantity of soda, and a very small portion of common salt.” It could not be imagined that the salt should contain oxide of iron even in a state of mixture, much less in combination, for carbonate of iron is readily decomposed by ebullition, and the oxide of iron is precipitated before the salt can be crystallized. A preparation, under the name of Thomson’s Cheltenham Salts, is accordingly manufactured in London, by evaporating a solution consisting of sulphate of soda and sub-carbonate of soda. “Efflorescence of real Cheltenham Salts.” The preceding salt deprived of its water of crystallization. “Efflorescence of real Magnesian Cheltenham Salts,” made from the Waters of the Chalybeate Magnesian Spa. This is asserted to be a sub-sulphate from nature, which combines both a pure and a sub-sulphated magnesia in its composition; “but,” says Mr. Phillips, “neither nature nor art has ever produced such a combination; in truth, it consists of Epsom Salt, with small portions of magnesia, and muriate of magnesia or muriate of soda.” Murio-sulphate of Magnesia and Iron. The preparation thus named by Mr. Thomson, was found by Mr. Phillips to consist of Epsom Salt, deprived of part of its water of crystallization, and discoloured by a little rust of iron, and containing a small portion of muriate of magnesia. Thus it appears, that not one of these preparations is similar to the water which is drank at the Spa; in order to remedy this difficulty, Mr. Thomson prepared the “Original Combined Cheltenham Salts,” by evaporating the waters to dryness: but a very small share of chemical penetration is required to satisfy us that no process of this description can remedy the defect described, for as Mr. Phillips has observed, the chalybeate properties of the water must be essentially altered by such an operation. 646. Hungary Water. Aqua ReginÆ HungariÆ. This article, when genuine, is a pure spirit distilled from the Rosemary, and is strongly scented with the rich perfume of that aromatic plant. 647. I apprehend that the peculiar flavour of Cogniac depends upon the presence of an Æthereal spirit, formed by the action of Tartaric or perhaps Acetic acid upon Alcohol; it is on this account that Nitric Æther, when added to Malt spirits, gives them the flavour of French Brandy. The same flavour is also successfully obtained by distilling British spirits over wine lees, or by distilling a spirit obtained from Raisin Wine, which has become acescent. In new brandy there also appears to be an uncombined acid, giving to it a peculiar taste and quality, which are lost by age. This explains the reason why the addition of five or six drops of “liquor ammoniÆ,” to each bottle of new brandy, will impart to it the qualities of that of the oldest date. 648. Taylor’s Red Bottle, commonly called the Whitworth Doctor. British Brandy coloured with Cochineal, and flavoured with oil of Origanum. 649. Mr. Parkes, in his Chemical Essays, has the following remark: “an ingenious friend assures me that if new rum be exposed for a night to a severe frost, and then removed to a heated room, and thus alternately treated for a week or two, it will in that short time have acquired a flavour equal to fine old spirits.” The mischievous effects of new rum, as drank in the West Indies, would seem to depend upon the presence of Lead; see Plumbi Acetas. 650. Mock Arrack. The author of ‘Apicius Redivivus,’ directs, for the purpose of making a mock Arrack, that two scruples of Benzoic acid be added to every quart of Rum. By a receipt of this kind the celebrated Punch of Vauxhall is prepared. 651. The famous Helvetian Styptic, described in page 83, depended wholly on this accidental contamination for its colour, and it was no small mortification to our chemists, when this nostrum was first introduced amongst us, that they could not prepare it with our own spirits, but were obliged to be at the expense of true French Brandy. Our own Spirits, although equally coloured, would never produce a violet tincture; at length, however, the mystery was discovered, and the gall nut imparted to the tincture that characteristic colour which was so long considered essential to its efficacy; but the discovery threw discredit upon the nostrum, and it fell into disuse. 652. If any additional argument were necessary, we might repeat, that Arsenic in its metallic state is not poisonous. As it is almost impossible to reduce metallic arsenic to a state of powder, without its becoming oxidized, M. Renault had recourse to its alloys for deciding the question; and he found that Mispickel (an alloy of iron and arsenic,) when given to the extent of two drachms, had no apparent effect; this result agrees with the conclusion of Bayen in his work on Tin, and proves that the arsenic which may be contained in that metal cannot produce any medicinal effect, as it exists in its metallic state. Recherches Chimiques sur l’Etain, par Bayen et Charlard, 1781. 653. Guy’s Powder or Ethiopia. This once celebrated remedy consisted of pure rasped Tin, Mercury, and Sublimed Sulphur, triturated together. Blaine’s Powder for the Distemper in Dogs. The basis of this nostrum is the Aurum Musivum, or Sulphuret of Tin, and which has been said to be more efficacious in cases of TÆnia than the simple metal. Mathieu’s Vermifuge was indebted to Tin for its efficacy, see Filicis Radix. 654. Sulphur Lozenges. Sublimed Sulphur one part, sugar eight parts, Tragacanth mucilage q. s. used in Asthma, and in HÆmorrhoids. 655. Sugar, perfectly free from the extractive matter with which it exists in combination in nature, and which constitutes that compound to which the name of Sweet Principle has been given, will not, however diluted, undergo any kind of fermentation; for it is the presence of this peculiar extractive matter, the natural leaven of fruits, that enables it to undergo that process; since, however, all clayed sugars, or modifications of sugar which are short of perfect purity, still contain a small proportion of this extractive, they are capable of fermenting, when sufficiently dilute; Dr. Maccullough, in his essay on the art of making wine, observes, that by the addition of a very small quantity of the Sulphite of Potass, the fermentation of syrups and preserves may be effectually prevented; he states also, that the same object may generally be attained by the use of Oxy-muriate of Potass, a salt absolutely tasteless, and easily procured. 656. The Damask Rose, Rosa Centifolia, of which this Syrup is composed, was imported into this country by Linacre, on his return from Italy. 657. Major Cochrane’s Cough Medicine. White poppy heads without seeds, are made into a decoction, which is strained, and boiled again with vinegar and brown sugar, until it assumes the consistence of syrup, which is then acidified by elixir of vitriol. 658. It would appear that there are two principles of activity in Tobacco, an essential oil, and nicotin, either of which are, individually, capable of producing death, but by a very different physiological action, the former by its effects on the brain, the latter by its influence on the heart! See page 132. 659. It seems very probable that the “juice of cursed hebenon,” by which, according to Shakespeare, the king of Denmark was poisoned, was no other than the essential oil of Tobacco:— ——“Sleeping within mine orchard, My custom always of the afternoon, Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole, With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial, And in the porches of mine ears, did pour The leperous distilment.” In the first place, the learned commentator Dr. Grey, observes that the word here used (hebenon), was more probably designated by a metathesis, either of the poet or transcriber, for henebon, i. e. henbane. Now it appears from Gerarde, that “tabaco” was commonly called henbane of Peru, (hyoscyamus Peruvianus,) and when we consider how high the public prejudice ran against this herb in the reign of James, it seems very likely that Shakespeare should have selected it, as an agent of extraordinary malignity. No preparation of the hyoscyamus, with which we are acquainted, would produce death by application to the ear, whereas the essential oil of Tobacco would, without doubt, occasion a fatal issue. The term distilment has also called forth a remark from Steevens, which is calculated to support this conjecture; surely, says he, this expression signifies, that the preparation was the result of a distillation. 660. See “An Essay on the means of lessening Pain, and facilitating certain Cases of difficult parturition, by W. P. Dewes, M.D. 1806. also Med. Journ. vol. xviii.” 661. Cephalic Snuff. The basis of this errhine is powdered Asarum, diluted with some vegetable powder. 662. Tamarind, from Timmer a Date, and Hend India, Timmerhend, i. e. Date of India. 663. Various substances have been proposed at different times as substitutes for Coffee. In the “Fourth Century of Observations” in the “Miscellanea Curiosa,” we find a critical dissertation on the (Cahve) Coffee of the Arabians; and on European Coffee, or such as may be prepared from grain or pulse. Dillenius gives the result of his own preparations made with Pease, Beans, and Kidney Beans, but says that that made from Rye comes the nearest to true Coffee, and was with difficulty distinguished from it. This fact is curious, in as much as a spurious Coffee has been lately vended, which is nothing more than roasted Rye. The article is well known by the name of “Hunt’s Œconomical Breakfast Powder.” 664. See “Some account of the Medicinal and other Uses of various Substances prepared from Trees of the genus Pinus, by W. G. Maton, M.D. &c. being a Supplement to Mr. Lambert’s splendid work on that genus.” 665. The ?e?????? of Theophrastus (lib. 3. c. 3.) and Dioscorides; (lib. 1, c. 76) from which the word Terebinthus seems to have been derived. 666. The term Balsam is very improperly applied to this substance, since it contains no Benzoic Acid. 667. The product of the Amyris Gileadensis, and probably the Balsamum Judaicum, Syriacum e Mecca, Opobalsamum, &c. of the older writers. 668. A fluid extract, prepared by decoction from the twigs of this species of Fir, is the well known Essence of Spruce, which, when fermented with melasses, forms the popular beverage, called “Spruce Beer,” (Cerevisia Pini Laricis.) True Riga Balsam, Beaume de Carpathes, from the shoots of the Pinas Cembra, previously bruised, and macerated for a month in water. This same fir also affords BrianÇon Turpentine. Hungarian Balsam.—A spontaneous exudation from the P. Pumilio, or Mugho Pine. 669. Lib. 16, c. 10. 670. Prax. Med. Lib. 14. c. 1. 671. Starkey’s Soap. This compound is effected by a long and tedious trituration of alkali and oil of turpentine. 672. This case was occasioned by a violent whirling of the body in a frolic! the circumstances attending it are so interesting, that I shall take an opportunity of submitting the details to the profession. See Dr. Yeat’s work on Hydrocephalus. 673. See “A Memoir on the employment of Terebinthinous Remedies in Disease, by James Copland, M.D.” in the Medical and Physical Journal for 1821, p. 185. 674. Kaauw de Persp. N. 430. 675. The Guestonian Embrocation for Rheumatism. ?. Ol. Terebinth: f?iss—Ol: Oliv: f?iss—Acid: Sulph. dilut: f?iij. 676. Scouring Drops. The peculiar odour which distinguishes oil of turpentine, may be destroyed by the addition of a few drops of some fragrant volatile oil, as that of lemons: a combination of this kind is commonly sold under the name of Scouring Drops, for the purpose of removing paint, oil, or grease from cloth. 677. Dutch, or Haerlem Drops. The basis of this nostrum consists of the residue of this redistillation, which is a thick, red, resinous matter, to which the name of Balsam of Turpentine has been given; a preparation, however, is frequently vended as “Dutch Drops,” which is a mixture of oil of turpentine, tincture of guaiacum, spirit of nitric ether, with small portions of the oils of amber and cloves. Serapion, the younger, one of the earlier Arabian writers on the Materia Medica, describes them as bearing some analogy to “Pine nuts.” 678. The reader will find an account of the Botanical Literature of this plant, by J. Frost, Director of the Medico-Botanical Society, in the 17th volume of the Medical Repository, p. 461. 679. Rumphius, (Herb: Amboinense) in speaking of the Grana Molucca, observes that women who are desirous of getting rid of their husbands, give them four grains at one dose. 680. See Ainslie’s Materia Medica of Hindostan. 681. I state this fact on the authority of a communication made by order of the Court of Directors of the East India Company, to the College of Physicians, enclosing the extract of a letter from Mr. Conwell. 682. Journal of Science and Arts. No. xxvi. 683. I understand that to the Veterinary Surgeon this oil has proved an article of great utility, as it uniformly purges the horse, and may be employed, for that purpose, in those cases in which Aloes would be inadmissible. 684. In making such a tincture we should employ a fluid-drachm of Rectified Spirit, to two drops of the oil. They should be digested for some time and then filtered. With all the care that can be used, a certain portion of the spirit will be evaporated, and half a fluid-drachm of the tincture may be thus considered as nearly equivalent to a drop and a half of the oil. 685. The object of this preliminary step is to saturate the alcohol with a fixed oil, that it may not dissolve any portion of that in the Tiglium, and thus confuse the results. The quantity of fixed oil which alcohol is capable of dissolving is extremely small, and will not in the least degree injure the alcoholic solution for subsequent medicinal use. 686. The change of colour which Guaiacum undergoes by admixture with other bodies, not only affords a test by which we may appreciate its purity, but at the same time it becomes a reagent by which we may assay the virtues of other vegetable substances. According to the experiments of M. Taddey and Rudolphi, it appears that Guaiacum in powder, is an excellent test for vegetable gluten, forming with it a fine blue colour, whence it affords the means of determining the quality of wheat flour. From the experiments of M. Planche, it moreover appears that there is a series of vegetable roots which, when fresh, are capable of producing a blue colour, if introduced into an alcoholic solution of Guaiacum: so that we may hereafter be furnished with a chemical test that will at once appreciate their freshness, which is undoubtedly one of the greatest desiderata of pharmaceutical science. A communication has appeared from Mr. A. T. Thomson, in which he proposes Guaiacum as a test for the freshness of Colchicum. I have, however, never been able to succeed with it, to my satisfaction. 687. Hudson’s Preservative for the Teeth and Gums. Equal parts of Tincture of Myrrh, Tincture of Bark, and Cinnamon water, to which are added Arquebusade and Gum Arabic. Greenough’s Tincture for the Teeth. The following receipt is given on the authority of Mr. Gray. Of Bitter Almonds, 2 oz. Brazil Wood and Cassia Buds, equal parts, half an ounce; root of the Florentine Iris, 2 dr.: of Cochineal, Salt of Sorrel, and Alum, equal parts, one drachm; Rectified Spirit, 2 pints; Spirit of Horse Radish, half an ounce. Ruspini’s Tincture for the Teeth. This consists of the root of the Florentine Iris, eight ounces; Cloves, one ounce; Rectified Spirit, two pints; Ambergris, one scruple. 688. From pa??????? lenio, to assuage pain. 689. Matthew’s Injection. This once celebrated remedy for Fistula in Ano, was nothing more than a diluted Tincture of Cantharides. 690. Solomon’s Balm of Gilead. An aromatic tincture, of which Cardamoms form a leading ingredient, made with brandy. Some practitioners have asserted that Cantharides enter its composition. 691. Daffy’s Elixir. This is the Tinctura SennÆ Composita, with the substitution of treacle for sugar candy, and the addition of aniseeds and elecampane root. Different kinds of this nostrum are sold under the names of Dicky’s Daffy, and Swinton’s Daffy; but they differ merely in some subordinate minutiÆ, or unimportant additions. 692. The following remarks, with which I have lately been favoured by Dr. Davy, appear interesting. “In the few cases which I have tried this remedy for the retention of urine, I have seen no good effects produced, until it excited nausea. For this purpose I have found it advantageous to give it in a little tepid water: upon chemical examination I could not discover that it ever passed off by the urine; the fÆces, however, are uniformly coloured black by it, whence I conclude it must be evacuated through the bowels. In order to prevent its tendency to constipate the bowels, I have found it necessary to give some aperient, as castor oil, speedily after its exhibition.” May not this latter circumstance explain the reason of his not having detected it in the urine? (See p. 95.) 693. De La Motte’s Golden Drops. An Æthereal solution of Iron. 694. It has, for this reason, been substituted for oak bark in the tanning of leather. 695. British Herb Tobacco. The basis of which is Coltsfoot; this appears to have had a very ancient origin, for the same plant was smoaked through a reed in the days of Dioscorides, for the purpose of promoting expectoration, and was called by him ?????, from ??, tussis, whence Tussilago. Essence of Coltsfoot. For an account of this nostrum, see page 314. 696. In the first edition of this work, I stated the probability of the Veratrum being the active ingredient of the Eau Medicinale, and, upon the authority of Mr. James Moore, I inserted a formula for its preparation; subsequent enquiry, however, has shewn the fallacy of this opinion; but the fact of the medicinal efficacy of the Veratrum, when combined with opium, in the cure of gout, remains incontrovertible. One of the two Sweating Powders of Ward was a combination of the Veratrum and Opium, it is certainly a very singular coincidence, that recent experiments should have shewn that the active principle of colchicum is identical with that which gives efficacy to the hellebore, viz. Gallate of Veratria. The fact itself offers a striking instance of medical experience having anticipated the discoveries of chemistry, while it affords a powerful case in support of the arguments which I have urged in the first part of this work, p. 55. 697. Edinburgh Ointment. The principal ingredients of which are the White Hellebore and Muriate of Ammonia. 698. For an account of which the reader is referred to a most ingenious and interesting Essay by Dr. Macculloch, entitled “Remarks on the Art of making Wine, with suggestions for the application of its principles to the improvement of Domestic Wines.” 699. This may also explain why bitters, under certain circumstances, have been found to counteract the effects of wine, as in the instance of the “Poculum Absinthiatum,” of which the ancients entertained so high an opinion. See page 68. 700. .sp 1 “Resinata bibis vina, Falerna fugis.—Martial.” Pliny (lib: 14. c. 14.) mentions a Wine under the name of Myrrhina, which was so called on account of its being impregnated with Myrrh. This custom explains the origin and meaning of the Thyrsus of Bacchus, which appears to have been a spear entwined with leaves or a fillet, and surmounted with a Fir cone; thus, 701. See Dioscorides, lib. 5, c. 35, 36, 37, 38, 39. 702. An interesting and highly embellished work upon the subject of Wines, has lately been published by Dr. Henderson. 703. .sp 1 “O Nata mecum consule Manlio.”—Od: xxi. Lib: 3. The Odes of Horace abound with manifestations of the same taste, thus, “I pete—— Et Cadum Marsi memorem duelli.”—Od: xiv. Lib: 3. Here Horace sends his Slave for a cask of the wine on which the Marian war was recorded, and which must therefore have been sixty-eight years old. In ode xxviii. book 3, we find him calling for “Bibuli Consulis amphoram.” Now as the poet was born in the Consulate of Manlius, as above stated, which happened A. U. C. 688, and Bibulus was Consul in 694, the wine must have been hoarded from the time Horace was six years of age. Wine however might, according to the opinion of our Poet, be too old; he terms wine of this description “Languidiora Vina,” and Plautus compares old wine which has lost its relish and strength, to a man who has lost his teeth by age, “Vinum vetustate edentulum.” Nestor’s wine was eleven years old. Od. ?. 390. The Romans had their wine cellars at the top of their houses; thus Horace, “descende Corvino jubente.” The object of such an arrangement was that the wine might ripen sooner by the smoke, for their fires were made in the middle of their rooms, with an opening above to let out the smoke, which is described as rolling to the top of the house, in the Eleventh Ode of the Fourth Book. “Rotantes vertice fumum.” 704. From the noxious effects which some persons experience from potations of Champagne, it has been conjectured that this wine must possess some narcotic principle like that which exists in many species of Fungi. This, however, is extremely improbable. 705. ????? signifies dry. This is a curious coincidence. 706. The Sack of Shakespeare was probably Sherry; a conjecture which receives additional strength from the following passage. Falstaff.—“You rogue, here’s lime in this Sack too: There is nothing but roguery to be found in villainous man: yet a coward is worse than a cup of sack with lime in it; a villainous coward.” Huldrick Van Speagle, in his “Famous Historie of most Drinks”, says “Sack is no hippocrite, for any man who knows what an Anagram is will confesse that it is contained within the litteral letters and limmits of its own name, which is to say. Cask, i. e. Sack.” See Taylor’s Translation of the “Work of the painful and industrious Huldricke Van Speagle, a grammatical Brewer of Lubeck. A.D. 1637.” 707. Expose equal parts of sulphur and powdered oyster shells to a white heat for fifteen minutes, and when cold, add an equal quantity of cream of tartar; these are to be put into a strong bottle with common water to boil for an hour; and the solution is afterwards to be decanted into ounce phials, adding 20 drops of muriatic acid to each. This liquor will precipitate the least quantity of lead from wines in a very sensible black precipitate. As iron might be accidentally contained in the wine, the muriatic acid is added to prevent its precipitation. 708. Lead will not only correct the acidity of wines, but remove the rancidity of oils: a property which is well known to Painters, and which affords an expedient for making an inferior oil pass for a good one. 709. The quantity of rectified spirit and water ordered will be found on admixture to produce a spirit nearly of the above strength. 710. Ward’s Red Drop. A strong vinous solution of Tartarized Antimony. 711. Ford’s Laudanum. This is similar to the Vinum Opii of the present Pharmacopoeia. 712. Laudanum. Paracelsus first bestowed the term Laudanum upon a preparation of Opium, a Laudata ejus efficacia, Laudatum medicamentum. 713. According to the experiments of M. Vogel, Annales de Chimie, (t. lxiv. p. 220) this ointment is nothing more than metallic mercury mixed with grease, the division of which has been carried to such an extent as to impart a blackish colour to the mixture. 714. It is to be hoped that a quantity of the ointment will be prepared according to these views, and be submitted to a more extended series of experiments. The oxide may be procured by decomposing Calomel by a solution of pure potass, or by pouring a solution of the nitrate of mercury into a caustic alkaline solution; this oxide should be at first triturated with a little lard, in the cold, to make the penetration complete, taking care that the lard be quite free from common salt, or else Calomel will be the ultimate result: the mixture is then to be submitted to the action of heat, and it is very important to attend to the necessary temperature, for at 212° the oxide and lard will not unite, at 600° the oxide will be decomposed and the mercury volatilized, at 500° and 400° the oxide is partially decomposed, some red oxide being formed and mercury reduced; the proper temperature is between 300° and 320°, at which it should be maintained for an hour, and the ointment should be stirred until cold. 715. Four ounces, troy, of mercurial ointment, prepared six months before, were kept at 212°, when it separated into two distinct strata, viz. the upper one which was light grey, and extremely active as a medicine, and the under one, which upon being triturated with magnesia, yielded a large proportion of metallic mercury, and which was not found to possess any activity. 716. Whenever it is our object to direct the mercurial impression to any particular organ, we should if possible rouse its excitability by some specific stimulus. An exception, however, to this doctrine would seem to offer itself in the fact, that children at the period of dentition are not readily salivated; a priori, we should have certainly supposed that a predisposition to a flux of saliva would have produced a contrary effect. As it is, we can only conclude that those organs are not disposed to take on any action that may be incompatible with, or adverse to, that of dentition. 717. The Unguentum Werholfii, so long celebrated on the Continent, was a combination of this kind. 718. Basilicon, i. e. the Royal Ointment. Bailey’s Itch Ointment. This is a very complicated combination; containing Nitre, Alum, Sulphate of Zinc, and Cinnabar, made into an ointment with Olive oil and Lard, and perfumed with the essential oils of Anise Seeds, Origanum, and Lavender; and coloured with Alkanet root. The Indians use an ointment in inveterate itch, which is said to prove very successful, and consists of finely powdered Cocculus Indicus mixed with a little warm Castor oil. 719. I have been lately informed by a practical chemist, that he has occasionally found his hydrogen, when produced by zinc and dilute acid, to contain a portion of Arsenuretted hydrogen; a fact which confirms the assertion of Roloff. 720. The various quack remedies advertised for the cure of the hooping cough are either Opiates, or medicines composed of sulphate of zinc. The nostrum, sold under the name of Anti-pertussis, contains this metallic salt as its principal ingredient. 721. Oxley’s Concentrated Essence of Jamaica Ginger.—A mere solution of Ginger in Rectified spirit. Ginger Beer Powders.—White sugar, ?j ?ij, ginger grs. v. sub-carbonate of soda grs. xxvj, in blue paper. Tartaric acid grs. xxx, in each white paper. These proportions are directed for half a pint of water. Ginger Beer.—The following is the receipt by which this popular beverage is prepared. Take of lump sugar half a pound; of cream of tartar half an ounce; Bruised Ginger an ounce; boiling water one gallon. Ferment for twenty-four hours with yeast. Preserved Ginger.—That from India is almost transparent, while that manufactured in Europe is always opaque and fibrous. TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
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