Colonial North America: Countway Library of Medicine

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

568

Materia Medica

Diuretics

a day, I meen if it be good and genuine. If after the exhibition of grs 2 [2 grains] in Substance or gtt 40 [40 drops] in Tincture no good is derived we may be sure the medicine is not good, and another parcel should be try’d. We are sometimes called to patients who have taken an overdose of Digitalis, and is consequently affected with vomiting. Dr Beddoes in such cases gave large doses of opium, but I am accustomed to apply strong synapisms to the wrists and ancles with great advantage. Digitalis has been found usefull by Dr Withering in Nephritic Calculosa. But in genuine Nephritis I have not done much good with it.

Dissuria. Or Suppression of Urine. It is verry usefull, it was verry serviceable in the case of a black man who came under my care, and a Gentleman to whoom I mentioned this case took the Digitalis in pills, in thirty hours the disease was cured. I once gave 90 gtt. [drops] of the Tincture in 5 doses between 9 & 10 Oclock to a gentleman of this City who was afflicted with suppression of urine, and the medicine had the effect of driving off the paroxysm.* [footnote back 1 page]

Nicotiana. This and the Digitalis as I have already obseved are nearly ally’d by Botanical Affinity, being both arangable under the same class, although it is more than 2 Centuries since the introduction of Tobacco into Europe, it is about 30 years since it was