Colonial North America: Countway Library of Medicine

440

Materia Medica

Sialagogues

that effect in three hours, the preparations of mercury that are formed by trituration are milder than those made by combining it with acids, one of the most powerfull preparations of our metal is the blue pills, this is mercury divided by long trituration with Gum Arabic, the gall of the ox is an excellent substitute to divide mercury, the blue pills is an excellent preparation, it often succeeds when the other substances fail, and does not so easily pass of by stool as the other preparations, but it is supposed not to be so well adapted to the case of Old venerial sores as the saline preparations. I believe this to be the case and therefore we must not trust to the pills alone in such cases, in recent cases however it is an excellent remidy, the apothecaries do not triturate the mercury sufficiently.

Unjentum Mercuriatum. Is made by mixing hogs lard with mercury and a small portion of suit [suet], of this there are two kinds, first when one part only of the mercury is added to the unctious matter in the same proportion Secondly when two, three, or four parts of mercury are added to the same one proportion, this of course is of a weaker kind. In some cases mercurial ointment may be mixed with a little turpentine, but it sometimes induces disagreeable symptoms, the ointment made of hogs lard and mercury only in the winter will be sufficient.