Colonial North America: Countway Library of Medicine

370

Materia Medica

Stimulants

histeria with rather good effects, its most active parts are the most volatile and they are therefore carried of by distillation, the plant has nevertheless been used in diet.

Lauri Camphor. This is certainly a stimulant though its stimulating effects are not so evident as the Hyosciamus and Belladonna especially when given in small doses, it is not much employ’d in this country and therefore our Physicians are not able to make up their minds with respect to its operation, camphor may be obtained from many vegitables, it may be collected from the sassafras in small quantities, from rosemary, sage, &c, it is produced from the laurus Camphori; this tree grows to such a size in the Cape of Good Hope, and Japan, that two men cannot lift it, the branches are cut into peices and the camphor is discovered in the interstices it is then scraped out with Iron Instruments, there are three kinds of camphor, the head, the belly, and the foot, the head camphor is the best kind, and received in its native state as produced from the tree, it occasions a coolness in the mouth checks nausea and has an acid taste, imparts the whole of its oil in distillation, the belly or common camphor produces nausea and has acid taste, producing camphor comes to us in a white solid mass, it is tenaceous between the teeth, and of an aromatic taste, producing cold in the mouth, it floats on the surface of water and in open