Colonial North America: Countway Library of Medicine

14

Introduction

Arangements

dilating the pupil, on the pulse and it is diuretic, sudorific and syalogogue. I do not however deny there are many medicines which operate more particularly on one part of the body than another. Thus mercury both when used internally and externally seem almost uniformly to affect the salivary glands, but is certainly a universal stimulant. There is some power in elective attraction which determines their operation more to one part than another, the animal body is a unit composed of many links, no medicine can affect one link without affecting the whole chain. Dr Lewis's arangements was alphabetical, the following is Dr Darwins 1st Neutrentia, 2d Incitantia, 3d Cocernentia, 4th Invertentia, 5th Sorbentia, 6th Revertentia, 7th Torpentia. To this arangement I have several objections, his Riverentia is certainly hypothetical. In some respects the system of Dr Cullen is a good one, I shall sometimes follow and sometimes dissent from him. Materia Medica may be divided into Materia Alimentaria and Materia Medica properly so called. I shall adopt this division and proceed to speak of the first it may be divided into such as offer much and such as offer little nourishment

34

Materia Alimentaria

Calcareous Earths

confined the child to an animal diet but found the least quantity to increase the discharge. Gum Arabic was given the child seemed to fatten on that diet, in this case the Gum was evidently nutritious. Calcareous Earths. This may I think be ranked amongst the nutrentia phosphate of lime exists in many parts of the body, as in the bones &c, and many fish are found with shels in their stomach. Vegitables contain almost universally calcareous earths, it is even found in their acids. The utility of lime in agriculture is generally acknowledged, lime may also independent of its nutritious qualities act clinically in dissolving dead matter. Dr Darwin observes if oak bark be covered with lime in a few months it is reduced to a fine black mould which would otherwise require several years to produce this effect. Lime is further serviceable to plants by attracting the moisture of the atmosphere, it is certainly nutritious to some animals and to most vegitables, and from analogy we infer it is to man no mean nutriment, but in proof of this we have more than base analogy. Barron Hombolt informs us, Calcareous earth is eat by the people of South America as