484. Cŭminum makes long the penultima, thus—

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,

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 the same reason, M. Proust has shewn that the tinning of kitchen utensils, which consists of equal parts of tin and lead, cannot be dangerous from the presence of the latter metal, since it is sufficient that the lead should be combined with tin, in order to prevent it from being dissolved in any vegetable acid. M. Guersent therefore is wrong when, speaking of the tinning of copper vessels, he says, “it is a light veil, which conceals the danger, instead of being a true preservative, and that it only inspires a security often fatal.” Some recent experiments however, of Dr. Bostock, have shewn that, in consequence of the volatility of acetic acid, copper is not protected by the juxta-position of discs of tin; since the acid under such circumstances ceases to form a part of the galvanic circle. The poisonous effects of the salts of Copper have been strikingly illustrated during the prosecution of Sir H. Davy’s experiments above alluded to, for it is found that when the copper sheathing of ships is not protected by the contact of another metal, they are uniformly free from marine animals, but that where the solution of the copper is prevented by galvanic action, the bottoms soon become covered with every species of sea insect.

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, āā ʒj—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. Pharmacopœia Chirurgica, p. 89.

496. Diachylon, a δὶα et χυλος 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, η δὶα δικτάμνου ὴ δια δυοἷν ἁριστολοχιοὶν ἠ δι, &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 ʒij, Resin of Jalap (extract Jalap) ʒj, Almond Soap ʒjss, Guaiacum ʒiij, 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.

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.

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 ʒj—Powdered Rhubarb ʒij—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, ʒij—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 ʒiij 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 πτὶσσω 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. Ὑδραργυρος 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 ʒj, Gentian root and Orange peel, equal parts ʒij, Shavings of Red Saunders, ʒj, 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 ʒiss; 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, περιαπτον.

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.