Colonial North America: Countway Library of Medicine

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Materia Medica

Tonics

or great wakefulness, to induce sleep, the tonic power of the porter depends on the hop. It is peculiarly adapted to the low state of Typhus fever. I believe porter imparts more real and durable strength than wine in smaller quantities. I believe it amongst the most proper remidies in chlorosis. I have used a tincture prepared as follows

Hops Ʒ iij [3 drams] Alkohol ℥ viij [8 ounces]

Dose gtt 60 [60 drops] which is equal to 20 gtt [20 drops] of Laud. Liq., this tincture is particularly good for such patients as are affected with giddiness, stupor, head ache &c from taking Laudanum.

Faba St.Ignatii. Or Saint Ignatius Bean, this is a tree producing a gourd like fruit, the seed is an intense bitter, with a narcotic quality, this union of narcotic is very frequent. It has never been used in America that I know of except by Dr Duffield, Ʒfs [½ dram] given to a dog produced a flow of saliva, and convulsions and death in less than half an hour. It should be used with great caution. In the Madrid Pharmicopia it is recommended in intermittant fevers. Dr Lind grs ij [2 grains] in ℥ ij [2 ounces] of water and says it cured two quartans, but failed in twice that number. Valuntine cured a case of epilepsy by the use of a few grains of it.

Nux Vomica. Bergius thought this a species of faba,

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Materia Medica

Tonics

but it is not. It is the produce of a tree in the East Indies, where it is used as a specific for the bite of a snake. The seed of the plant is the nux vomica of the shops, it is of an Orange colour and intensely bitter and disagreeable to the taste. It contains a gum and a resin. It is fatal to dogs Conrad Gisnac gave a dog ℈fs [½ scruple] he fell a sleep and died convulsed in a few hours, but it was not a true sleep accompanied with stupor and insensibility. It has been used in intermittant fevers in doses of grs v [5 grains], it is internally and externally as an anthelmintic, the spiritous tincture has been found usefull in Lumbrica cotton dipped in it and appli'd to the umbilicus has expelled them.

Fumaria Officinalis. Fumitory is not a native of this country, but will grow in our gardens, it is a bitter without odour, the inspissated Juice when efforesced leaves a substance which diflagrates like nitre on the coals. Hoffman esteemed it the sweetener of the blood, by this he ment a purifier, he held the humeral Pathology, we may observe that some of those medicines called sweeteners are verry active. Dr Hutchinson says he cured a case of leprae, accompanied with glandular swellings by the use of this medicine. Stanbury found it usefull in herpes,