Colonial North America: Countway Library of Medicine

46

Materia Alimentaria

Milk

the ninth month the most proper for weaning children. Dr Haller on the contrary says long nursing makes healthy children. Louis the 14th was at the breast 20 months and was healthy and long lived. This is also confirmed by the indians of our country. Dr Cullen thought long nursing predisposed to rickets this is not the case as this disease is seldom seen among our Indian children who are nursed two and three years. Dr Cullen says children ought to use vegitable diet by the 5th month. Milk is verry nutritious hence it may be used in some cases of great Ematiation I believe it proper in diseased states of the fluids. I say this without giving my believe of the Putrifaction of the fluids. It is injurious in scrophula as this is a disease of lymphatics and is verry common among our children Indians. Milk has been recommended in Phthisic it was a favorite remedy with Dr Sydenham in this disease and since his time has been used indiscriminately in every case, this disease is often founded in Phlogistic diathesis, and the arterial system and often requires the use of bleeding and other debilitating remedies, in such cases it must appear evident

192

Materia Medica

Tonics

the bark will be usefull, by exciting a proper degree of inflamation and suppuration around the gangrenous parts, the bite of the viper causes mortification which has been cured by immersing the part in an infusion of the bark and sprinkling the part with the powder.

Scrophula. I believe with Dr Cullen that laxity and flaxcidity are not sufficient to account for this disease. A theory is advanced by Dr Beddoes who thinks it arises from a preternatural quantity of the base of vital air, but this I consider as a supposition without foundation. Dr Collins says he never saw any advantage from bark in this disease, yet Dr P_ assures us he employ’d it. I have used it in a most inveterate case and can safely ascribe the cure of my patient to the large doses which were given, but it will frequently fail from the invetoracy [inveteracy] of the disease.

Rickets. I cannot think the bark ever cured this disease, without the aid of other remidies. I am of the opinion however visionary as it may appear to you, that rickets depends on a peculiar state of the atmosphere, what this is I know not, but it has been many times epidemic. In the reign of