Colonial North America: Countway Library of Medicine

8

Introduction

Experience

two or three exceptions, they all yield to the Volatile Alkali; they are called antiscorbutics their properties are nearly allied. The mush mellon and the Colocynth are of the same family but how different are their properties. The darnel one of the family is an active plant, Convulsions and the most distressing symptoms follow its use, Linneus and Schow once founded their arrangement on what is called the Sexual System and Murray on his order naturallis; these are always liable to many exceptions, it is true many families of plants agree in their properties the genus Physalis is poisonous, the Lusides is called a natural family the muller, solinum, Potatoe and belong to this Cynoglossum or hounds-tongue has been mistaken and used for Digitalis. The 28th Order may be adduced as a specimen of its correctness it contains the Genus Prunus, and Amygdalis, but this will not hold good. Thus Digitalis and Comphry, are nearly allied, the former is an active, the latter nearly an inert vegitable.

Experience. The last but most important mode of acertaing the virtues of vegitables proves to us the errors