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diff --git a/38757-8.txt b/38757-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..91e6330 --- /dev/null +++ b/38757-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15695 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies: Papers by +Many Writers, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies: Papers by Many Writers + +Author: Various + +Editor: Edward Pollock Anshutz + +Release Date: February 5, 2012 [EBook #38757] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NEW, OLD, FORGOTTEN REMEDIES *** + + + + +Produced by Bryan Ness, Pat McCoy and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was +produced from scanned images of public domain material +from the Google Print project.) + + + + + +TRANSCRIBER NOTES: + + Numbers preceded by an underscore _ and contained within + brackets {} indicate a subscript. + + Numbers or letters preceded by a caret ^ indicate a + superscript. Multiple numbers or letters contained within + brackets {} and preceded by a caret ^ are superscripts. + + Macrons are indicated as in this example: a[=e]rated. + + Additional transcriber notes can be found at the end of the + text. + + + + + NEW, OLD AND FORGOTTEN + REMEDIES. + + PAPERS BY MANY WRITERS. + + + COLLECTED, ARRANGED AND EDITED BY + + E. P. ANSHUTZ. + + + + + PHILADELPHIA: + + BOERICKE & TAFEL. + 1900. + + + + + COPYRIGHT + BY + + BOERICKE & TAFEL. + + 1900. + + T. B. & H. B. COCHRAN, PRINTERS, + LANCASTER, PA. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +During the many years that the compiler has had the management of the +publishing department of Messrs. Boericke & Tafel--long to look back +over, yet short to live--so many inquiries came in for "literature," or, +in the form, "where can I find something about" this, that, or the +other, remedy, that finally I became convinced that there might be a +niche in the great world's already over-crowded library for a book +containing, in part, at least, the information desired by my numerous +correspondents. This determined, and the great publishing house willing +to back the enterprise, came the task of collecting the material. The +work once begun, it was soon found that it is much easier to plan such a +volume than to carry out the plan, for it involved no inconsiderable +amount of delving in dusty piles of old journals to discover the sought +for matter, which, when brought to light, had to be scanned closely to +determine whether it was of a nature to justify this literary +resurrection. However, in the odd hours of time that could be bestowed +the work was finally completed and--the result is before you, kindly +reader. + +That this collection of papers has many gems is, I believe, not to be +questioned; that some better papers on the remedies than those herein +presented may exist is also probable; that it may contain some that are +of doubtful value is not to be denied, and even some that have no right +in such a book may have crept in. But what it is, it is; take the good +and, in the current phrase of the hour, "forget" the rest. + +The part born by the editor, beyond delving for and selecting the +remedies, will be found scattered through the book in bracketed small +type, and consists simply in announcing who the writer of the paper was +and where it may be found; no attempt has been made at editing any of +the papers, or commenting on them, beyond a little cutting out of a +little verbosity here and there, or of matter not bearing on the use of +the remedy. + +The material was drawn from journals of all "schools," wherever a paper +could be found that seemed to contain something not to be found in +medical-book literature, and to be honestly written. + +The new remedies of the laboratory have been purposely ignored because +they do not come in the scheme of this book, they having a literature of +their own that, not infrequently, may be had "free on request" to the +laboratories. Only remedies (with a few exceptions) such as nature gives +us are included in this work. + +And now the task completed naught remains but for the compiler to +subscribe himself, + + EDWARD POLLOCK ANSHUTZ. + +_1011 Arch St., Philadelphia, January 2, 1900._ + + + + +LIST OF REMEDIES. + + + Acalypha Indica, 1 + Acidum lacticum, 4 + Æthiop's antimonialis, 5 + Agave Americana, 8 + Ambrosia artemisiæfolia, 11 + Amygdalus persica, 12 + Anagalis arvensis, 15 + Arsenicum bromatum, 20 + Aspidospermine, 26 + Aurum muriaticum natronatum, 27 + Avena sativa, 36 + Aviaire, 41 + Azadirachta Indica, 38 + + Bacillinum, 41 + Bellis perennis, 60 + Berberis aquifolium, 62 + Blatta orientalis, 65 + Boletus laricis, 79 + + Calcarea renalis præparata, 81 + Ceanothus Americanus, 85 + Cephalanthus occidentalis, 86 + Cereus Bonplantii, 87 + Cheiranthus cheiri, 98 + Chionanthus Virginica, 99 + Cornus alternifolia, 104 + Cratægus oxyacantha, 108 + Cuphea viscosissima, 114 + + Echinacea angustifolia, 115 + Epigea repens, 129 + Eryngium aquaticum, 131 + Euphorbia corollata, 133 + + Fagopyrum, 133 + Fagus sylvaticus, 137 + Fraxinus excelsior, 139 + Fucus vesiculosis, 140 + + Gaultheria, 142 + + Heloderma horridus, 148 + + Jacaranda gualandai, 168 + + Lac caninum, 170 + Lapis albus, 172 + Latrodectus mactans, 174 + Lemna minor, 188 + Levico, 197 + Lathyrus sativus, 198 + Liatris spicata, 202 + Lloium temulentum, 203 + Lycopus Virginicus, 204 + + Malaria officinalis, 205 + Mullein oil, 205 + Mucuna urens, 219 + + Naphthalin, 221 + Narcissus, 223 + Negundo, 225 + + Onosmodium Virginianum, 226 + Origanum majorana, 232 + Oxytropis Lamberti, 233 + Oenanthe crocata, 242 + + Parafine, 247 + Parthenium hysterophorus, 259 + Passiflora incarnata, 267 + Penthorum sedoides, 275 + Phaseolus nana, 279 + Pothos, 285 + Primula obconica, 303 + Pyrus Americana, 305 + + Salix nigra aments, 308 + Salvia officinalis, 309 + Saururus cernuus, 310 + Scolopendra morsitans, 311 + Scutellaria laterifolia, 312 + Sisyrinchium, 313 + Skookum chuck, 316 + Solanum Carolinense, 321 + Spiritus glandium quercus, 325 + Solidago virga-aurea, 330 + Stellaria media, 337 + Stigmata maidis, 340 + Succinic acid, 341 + Symphytum officinalis, 342 + Symphoricarpus racemosus, 347 + + Tela araneæ, 349 + Thallium, 353 + Thlaspi bursa pastoris, 354 + Thyroid, 362 + Trychosanthes dioica, 364 + Tuberculinum, 41 + + Usnea barbata, 366 + + Verbena hastata, 367 + Viscum album, 368 + + Wyethia helenioides, 376 + + + + +New, Old and Forgotten Remedies. + + + + +ACALYPHA INDICA. + +NAT. ORD., Euphorbiaceæ. + +COMMON NAME, Indian Acalypha, Indian Nettle. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh plant is macerated with two parts by weight of +alcohol. + + (Dr. Tonnère, of Calcutta, India, seems to have been the + first to call attention to this plant as a remedy. In a + small work, _Additions to the Homoeopathic Materia + Medica_, collected and arranged by Henry Thomas, M. D., + and published in London in the year 1858, appears the + following credited to that physician.) + +Tincture of the _Acalypha Indica_, prepared and administered in the +sixth decimal dilution, is specific in hæmorrhage from the lungs. In +three cases in which I have employed it, the persons were affected with +phthisis. In one case there was a tuberculous affection of the upper +portion of the left lung, of some two years' standing. Hæmoptysis had +been going on for three months; the expectoration had been in the +morning pure blood; in the evening dark lumps of clotted blood, and the +fits of coughing were very violent at night. In this case all +homoeopathic remedies had been tried unsuccessfully, when I +accidentally discovered the virtues of the _Acalypha Indica_, that +remedy having been given me by a native for jaundice. I prepared the +mother tincture upon the homoeopathic principle, and took 10 drops, +which brought on a severe fit of dry cough, followed by spitting of +blood. Having noted all the symptoms experienced by myself, and finding +that they were nearly all similar to those of my patients, I gave six +drops 6th [decimal] dilution in half a tumbler of water, a spoonful to +be taken every half hour, beginning immediately (9 A.M.). At 6 P.M., the +blood stopped. I continued this for eight days, and the blood has never +reappeared (now three months since). The patient is improving, and +auscultation proves the disease has decreased, and I am in hopes to +affect a cure, yet one month since I have been giving them the medicine +they have not spit any blood, although previously one of them never +passed a day without spitting a great quantity. _Calcarea carb._ is an +antidote to the _Acalypha_. + +Another transatlantic medical friend writes:--"I hope you obtained some +of the _Acalypha Indica_ while you were here. I have found it perfectly +successful in arresting hæmoptysis in three cases of consumption in the +last stage; I could not perceive any other effect from its use, but the +cessation of the hemorrhagic sputa was, I think, a great advantage." + +Its use in my hands has been very satisfactory, but I have only tried it +in similar cases to those already cited. The first instance of my using +it--in a hopeless case of phthisis--a continued and wearisome hæmoptysis +succumbed to its exhibition, and quiet sleep succeeded its use--the +patient eventually died of pulmonary paralysis. + +In a case of passive hæmorrhage from the lungs, after _Arnica_ was used +with little benefit, _Acalypha_ benefited, and then failed; after which +the use of _Arnica_ entirely stayed the hæmorrhagic flow. (Perhaps +_Hamamelis_ would have at once cured, but it was not at hand.)[A] + + [A] Homoeopathic Review, vol. 1, p. 256. + +K., a phthisical patient, had hæmoptysis to a considerable extent; in a +short time his voice failed him; he took half-drop doses of 7th +[decimal] dilution of _Acalypha_ in water every half hour, and in a few +hours the blood spitting left him entirely. + + (In 1885 Dr. Peter Cooper, of Wilmington, Delaware, read + a paper on the drug _Acalypha Indica_ of which the + following is an abstract:) + +Professor Jones recapitulates as follows: "_Time._ Hæmorrhage occurs in +morning. _Blood._ Bright-red and not profuse in morning; dark and +clotted in afternoon. _Pulse._ Neither quickened nor hard; rather soft +and easily compressible. _Cough._ Violent and in fits at night; patient +has a played-out feeling in the morning and gains in strength as the day +advances. + +"_N. B._--Worthy of trial in all pathological hæmorrhages having notedly +a morning exacerbation." + +Such is an outline presentation of the drug given us by so eminent an +authority as Professor Jones, of the University of Michigan. It was his +"N. B.," his suggestion that _Acalypha_ was worthy of trial in all +pathological hæmorrhages from any source, providing the morning +aggravation was present, that fixed my attention upon the drug +especially. At the time I had a case of hæmorrhage per rectum that had +baffled me for several months. No remedy had aided the case in the +least, so far as I could see, unless it was Pond's Extract used locally +in the form of injection; and I finally came to the conclusion that the +relief apparently due to the _Hamamelis_ was merely a coincidence. I had +given all the hæmorrhagic remedies I knew of or could hear of. Still the +bleeding came just as often, with increasing severity. Each time the +patient was sure she would "bleed to death," and I was not positive she +would be disappointed. In fact, I was so hopeless that I used to delay +the answer to her summons as long as possible, so that the bleeding +might have time to exhaust itself. She became reduced in flesh and the +hæmorrhagic drugs became reduced in number, until like the nine little +Indians sitting on a gate the last one tumbled off and then there was +none. As soon as I read Dr. Jones' monograph on _Acalypha Indica_, I +determined to try it. She had all the symptoms--bright-red blood in the +morning; dark and clotted in the afternoon and evening; weak and languid +in the forenoon, stronger during the afternoon--except one, _i.e._, +instead of the blood coming from the lungs it came from within the +portals of the anus. I procured the 6x dil. and served it in water. It +gave speedy, almost immediate relief. Each subsequent attack came less +profuse and at longer intervals. She has not had a hæmorrhage now for +two months, while before she was having from seven to one (continuous) a +week. She is gaining in flesh, is in every way improved, and keeps +_Acalypha Indica_ constantly by her. + + +ACIDUM LACTICUM. + +COMMON NAME, Lactic acid. + +ORIGIN.--Lactic acid is obtained from sour milk, resulting from the +fermentation of the sugar of milk under the influence of casein. + +PREPARATION _for Homoeopathic Use_.--One part by weight of pure lactic +acid is dissolved in 99 parts by weight of alcohol. + + (A very complete proving of this remedy will be found in + Allen's _Encyclopædia of Pure Materia Medica_, but little + use seems to have been made of it, though the following + by Dr. Tybel-Aschersleben, _Allgemeine Hom. Zeitung_, + March 13, 1890, seems to show that it is very efficient + in certain forms of rheumatism.) + +We are by no means rich in remedies against arthritic rheumatism, and +those which we do use lack the reputation of being reliable. A new and a +valuable remedy will therefore be a welcome addition to this list. I say +reliable, inasmuch as this remedy is truly homoeopathically indicated +for, according to Foster, of Leitz, Niemeyer's Pathology, 10th edition, +2d vol., pp. 561: "_Lactic acid in large doses and used for a long time +will produce symptoms entirely analogous to arthritic rheumatism_." We +also find mention elsewhere that the use of lactic acid occasioned +rheumatic pains in the thigh. + +CLINICAL CASES. + +1. A young girl æt. 15 was afflicted with acute arthritic rheumatism, +she received _Acid Lacticum_ 2x dil., a dose every 2 or 3 hours, and was +so much improved in two weeks that the pain had subsided, and for her +remaining weakness _China off._ sufficed. + +2. A nine-year-old girl was confined to her bed for three weeks with +acute arthritic rheumatism. _Acid Lacticum 2_ speedily cured her. + +3. A miner, B., had been afflicted over six weeks with acute arthritic +rheumatism. The first dose of _Acid Lactic 2_ gave relief and a second +dose cured the man. + +4. In a case with swollen and very painful joints one dose of _Acidum +Lactic 2_ sufficed to overcome the pain and the swelling. Against the +remaining weakness _China_ proved efficacious. + +5. Arthritic rheumatism of the wrist vanished slowly after using _Acid +Lactic 2_ from two to three weeks. + +6. A patient afflicted with arthritic rheumatism for four weeks, +accompanied by copious perspiration, soon mended under the use of _Acid +Lactic 2_ and was entirely cured within two weeks. + +7. Even in a case of chronic arthritis with inflation of the Epiphyses +of Metacarpal bones and consequent partial displacement of the fingers, +_Lactic Acid 2_ produced such a decided amelioration that two months +later the report said: all pains are gone even the anchylosis has +disappeared. + + (It has also been successfully employed in cases where + the digestive powers are weak and is said to be + preferable to other acids in such cases. It has also been + successfully employed in cases of dyspepsia.) + + +ÆTHIOPS ANTIMONIALIS. + + (This remedy is prepared by triturating together equal + parts of _Æthiops mineralis_ and _Antimonium crudum_; we + may add that the first named consists of a trituration of + equal parts of _Mercurius viv._ and washed flowers of + sulphur. Therefore _Æthiops antimon._ consists of + mercury, crude antimony and sulphur. + + The following clinical cases illustrating the use of the + preparation is by Dr. H. Goullon and was published in + Vol. II of the _Zeitschrift fuer Homoeopathie_:) + +The following case was cured in a few days by _Æthiops antimonalis_ +after having been treated by a homoeopath who strictly followed +Hahnemann's rules, but failed to make an impression beyond a certain +point. + +Miss A. inherited from her father, who was reported to have suffered +from laryngitis, a distinct disposition to scrofulosis and tuberculosis. +This was proved two years ago by a bloody cough caused by lung catarrh. +After the lung was affected she suffered from profuse sweats, especially +down the back, but of special interest was the appearance of a "quince +colored" swelling of the size of a pea at the extreme corner of the left +eye with suppuration which threatened the bulbus. A skilled specialist +removed by operation this pus-hearth, which no doubt acted as a +fontanel. The immediate result was a large furuncle under the arm and +the affliction for which I was consulted. A patient presented herself to +me whose appearance was shocking. Numerous parts of her face were +literally covered with thick, elevated fissured scabs. A scrofulent +liquid was oozing out, and the worst were those parts on the side of the +lower lip, the nostrils and the root of the nose. On the whole, a +certain symmetry could be observed in the arrangements of these +frightful diseased products. + +This eruption, which according to its nature must be called +herpetic-eczematous, had existed for five months. The patient, who has +red hair, and is between 20 and 30 years old, contracted this disease at +the sight of a fainting sister. This kind of genesis is an established +fact. I remember of reading in Stark's "General Pathology" of an +instance where a mother was affected with eczema of the lips immediately +on seeing her child fall on a knife. + +Our patient, however, lost the above mentioned sweats, which proves that +the fright had a metastatic effect. I learned that at first there +appeared very small spots which developed into pustules, infecting half +of the forehead. Scratching aggravated the condition, so that some +places assumed a cup-like appearance, somewhat as favus. + +When patient came to me the face was oozing so terribly that the pillow +was thoroughly soaked in the morning, and she suffered greatly. When +asked the nature of the pains she said that they were sometimes itching, +sometimes tensive, and often indescribable, suddenly appearing and +disappearing. + +What should be done? Certainly no strictly homoeopathic indication +presented itself since one might think of _Sulphur_, another of +_Arsenicum_, _Silicea_, _Hepar sulphur_, _Causticum_, _Mezereum_, etc. +In such case I have laid down, as a rule for my guidance, never to +experiment at the cost of the patient (and my own as well as +Hahnemann's), but to employ a so-called empirical remedy. I know +_Æthiops antimonialis_ as a very effective remedy through its +recommendation (by the Berlin Society of Homoeopathic Physicians) in +ophthalmia scrofulosa of the worst kind, a fact which I proved myself to +be correct. In this case, also, we find the deepest and most stubborn +disturbance of the organic juices and a subject with every indication of +the worst form of scrofula, ending in lethal cancer--dyscrasia or +tuberculosis. + +The patient received the remedy in doses of the 1st centesimal +trituration, every evening and morning, as much as a point of a knife +blade would hold. There was no attempt at external removal of the +eruption, a method so much favored by the allopaths, and yet the simple +internal effort was magical, since after a few days the scabs were dried +up, had fallen off, and the terrible oozing as well as the pain had +ceased. The happy patient presented herself again on Friday, after +having taken the medicine for the first time on Sunday evening. Very +great changes could, indeed, be noticed which justified the hope for a +speedy and total cure. + +I again ask all my colleagues which was the principle of healing in this +case? We may soonest think of Schüssler's therapeutic maxim, the +biochemic principle. The definition that this preparation acts as a +blood purifier is not sufficient, and yet it may be accepted as the most +intelligent. + +Schoeman triturates the _Æthiops antimonalis_ with _Æthiops mercurialis_ +(or _mineralis_), which last consists of equal parts of quicksilver and +sulphur, and says of the product: "It acts analogous to _Æthiops +mercurialis_, but stronger, and is therefore preferred to it in +scrofulous eruptions of the skin, scald, milk-scab, scrofulosis +conjunctivitis, keratitis, blepharitis glandulosa, otorrhoea and +swellings of the glands. It is especially valuable for children as a +mild but nevertheless effective remedy." + + +AGAVE AMERICANA. + +NAT. ORD., Amaryllidaceæ. + +COMMON NAMES, American Aloe, Maguey, Century Plant. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh leaves are pounded to a pulp and macerated with +two parts by weight of alcohol. + + (We find the following concerning this little known + remedy in Volume I, 1851, of the _North American Journal + of Homoeopathy_.) + +1. _Agave Americana or Maguey._--[Dr. Perin, U. S. A., stationed at Fort +McIntosh, in Texas, having many cases of scurvy to treat, and finding +the usual allopathic routine ineffectual, was led to make inquiry as to +the domestic remedies in use among the natives. Among others, his +attention was called to the _Agave Americana_ or _American Aloe_, and he +reports to the Surgeon General the following cases in which it was the +drug relied on. We extract from the _N. Y. Jour. Med._:] + +Private Turby, of Company "G," 1st U. S. Infantry, was admitted into +hospital March 25th, in the following state: Countenance pale and +dejected; gums swollen and bleeding; left leg, from ankle joint to +groin, covered with dark purple blotches; leg swollen, painful, and of +stony hardness; pulse small, feeble; appetite poor; bowels constipated. + +He was placed upon lime juice, diluted and sweetened, so as to make an +agreeable drink, in as large quantities as his stomach would bear; diet +generous as could be procured, consisting of fresh meat, milk, eggs, +etc.; vegetables could not be procured. + +April 11th. His condition was but slightly improved; he was then placed +upon the expressed juice of the maguey, in doses of f. [Latin: ezh]ij. +three times daily; same diet continued. + +April 17th. Countenance no longer dejected, but bright and cheerful; +purple spots almost entirely disappeared; arose from his bed and walked +across the hospital unassisted; medicine continued. + +May 4th. So much improved so as to be able to return to his company +quarters, where he is accordingly sent; medicine continued. + +May 7th. Almost entirely well; continued medicine. + +Private Hood, "G" Company, 1st U. S. Infantry, was admitted into +hospital April 10th. His general condition did not differ much from +Private Turby's. He had been on the sick report for eight days; had been +taking citric acid drinks, but grew gradually worse up to the time of +his admission, when he was placed upon lime-juice until the 13th, at +which time no perceptible change had taken place. On that date he +commenced the use of the expressed juice of the maguey; same diet as the +case above described. + +April 21st. General state so much improved that he was sent to his +company quarters. + +May 22d. Well; returned to duty. + +Eleven cases, all milder in form than the two just related, were +continued upon the lime-juice; diet the same. On the 21st of April they +exhibited evidences of improvement, but it was nothing when compared +with the cases under the use of the maguey. + +Seven cases were under treatment during the same time, making use of +citric acid. On the 21st of April no one had improved, and three were +growing worse. + +At this time so convinced was I of the great superiority of the maguey +over either of the other remedies employed that I determined to place +all the patients upon that medicine. The result has proved exceedingly +gratifying; every case has improved rapidly from that date. The +countenance, so universally dejected and despairing in the patients +affected with scurvy, is brightened up by contentment and hope in two +days from the time of its introduction; the most marked evidences of +improvement were observable at every successive visit. From observing +the effects of the maguey in the cases which have occurred in this +command, I am compelled to place it far above that remedy which, till +now, has stood above every other--the lime-juice. + +This no doubt will appear strong language, but further experience will +verify it. + +The juice of the maguey contains a large amount of vegetable and +saccharine matter, and of itself is sufficiently nutritious to sustain a +patient for days. + +This succulent plant grows indigenous in most parts of the State, and, +if I am correctly informed, in New Mexico and California. In Mexico it +is well-known as the plant from which they manufacture their favorite +drink, the "Pulque," and grows in great abundance. As it delights in a +dry sandy soil, it can be cultivated where nothing but the cactus will +grow; for this reason, it will be found invaluable to the army at many +of the western posts, where vegetables cannot be procured. + +The manner in which it is used is as follows, viz.:--The leaves are cut +off close to the root, they are placed in hot ashes until thoroughly +cooked, when they are removed, and the juice expressed from them. The +expressed juice is then strained, and may be used thus, or may be +sweetened. It may be given in doses of f. [Latin: ezh]ij. to f. [Latin: +ezh]iij. three times daily. + +It is not disagreeable to take, and in every instance it has proved to +agree well with the stomach and bowels. + +After the leaves have been cooked, the cortical portion near the root +may be removed, and the white internal portion may be eaten; it appears +to be a wholesome and nutritious food. I have seen muleteers use it in +this way, and they seem to be very fond of it. I have been informed, +upon good authority, that several tribes of Indians in New Mexico make +use of it in the same manner. The use of the leaf in this way, I +believe, will ward off most effectually incipient scorbutus. + + (In El Siglo Medico, 1890, Dr. Fernandez Avila reports + the case of a boy, æt. 8, who had been bitten by a + supposedly mad dog on Feb. 18. The wound healed up, but + on July 7th the boy developed all the symptoms of rabies + and on the 17th was so violent that he had to be tied and + had not tasted food for seventy-two hours as all remedies + failed to produce any effect, the doctor, having read + that _Agave Americana_ was efficacious in such cases, and + having none of the tincture at hand, gave the boy a piece + of the plant itself which he greedily ate; it was given + to him as long as he would take it. On the 25th his + symptoms had all abated and he was dismissed cured.) + + +AMBROSIA ARTEMISIFOLIA. + +NAT. ORD., Compositæ. + +COMMON NAMES, Rag Weed, Hog Weed. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh leaves and flowers are pounded to a pulp and +macerated with two parts by weight of alcohol. + + (The following concerning this little used remedy was + contributed to the HOMOEOPATHIC RECORDER, 1889, by Dr. + C. F. Millspaugh, at that time the editor): + +Of late years much attention has been called to the species of the genus +Ambrosia (the Rag Weeds) as being, through the agency of their pollen, +the cause of hay fever. Many people afflicted with this troublesome +complaint lay the charge directly at its doors, while others claim that, +in all probability, it is the direct cause, as their sufferings always +commence during the anthesis of the plant. The general impression, +however, both among the laity and the medical fraternity, has been that +the effect was a purely mechanical one, the nasal mucous membranes +being directly irritated by the pollen dust in substance. If this were +true, would not every one suffer from hay fever? Impressed with the +above report, I had the pleasure of curing two attacks while writing my +work upon "American Medicinal Plants," in which the above species +figures. Since the publication of the work, all the cases I have had of +the disease (four) have yielded beautifully to the 3d centesimal potency +of the drug. + +The four cases, Mr. B----, Mrs. I----, Mr. C---- and Miss P----, +presented the following generic symptoms: Inflammation of the mucous +membranes of the nose, adventing yearly in the autumn. At first dryness, +then watery discharges, finally involving the frontal sinuses and the +conjunctival membrane. In Mr. B. and Miss P. the irritation extended to +the trachea and bronchial tubes, in Mr. B. amounting to severe asthmatic +attacks. In all cases the coryza was very severe, and in previous years +lasted, in spite of all treatment, from four to eight weeks. Mr. B. has +found relief from _Ambrosia_ [Latin: ezh], three times a day, in from +four to six days, for three successive years, with no return of the +trouble in the same year; Mrs. I. has been relieved in from two to four +days for two years; Mr. C. gets immediate relief in twenty-four hours +(three seasons); Miss P., in this her first experience with _Ambrosia_, +found entire relief from six doses. + + +AMYGDALUS PERSICA. + +NAT. ORD., Rosaceæ. Amygdaleæ. + +SYNONYM, Persica vulgaris. + +COMMON NAME, Peach. + +PREPARATION.--The tincture is made by pounding to a pulp the fresh bark +of the twigs and macerating in two parts by weight of alcohol. The +infusion is made by taking of the bark one part and of boiling Distilled +Water ten parts. Infuse in a covered vessel for one hour and strain. + + (Outside the old herbalists the virtues of the bark and + leaves of the peach tree have received little attention. + The following contributed by Dr. C. C. Edson in the + _Chicago Medical Times_, 1890, however, aroused some + attention): + +Some ten years ago I had a little patient whose principle difficulty +seemed to be an inability to retain anything whatever upon its stomach. +It would vomit up promptly everything I gave it, and I had given it +everything I had ever heard of and also had eminent council, but it was +no go; I was literally at my rope's end. At this juncture an elderly +lady neighbor, one of "the good old mothers," timidly suggested an +infusion of peach bark. Well, as it was any port in storm, I started to +find the coveted bark, which I was fortunate enough to procure after a +long tramp through the country and two feet of snow. I prepared an +infusion, gave the little patient a few swallows, and presto! the deed +was done, the child cured. * * It fills all the indications of the +leaves and many more. It fills the indications of hydrocyanic acid, +ingluvin, ipecac or any other anti-emetic. It will more frequently allay +the vomiting of pregnancy than any remedy I have ever tried. And nearly +every case of retching or vomiting (except it be reflex) will promptly +yield under its use. * * * For an adult the dose is five drops, and in +urgent cases repeat every five to ten minutes until the symptoms +subside, after which give it at intervals of one to four hours as +indicated. After ten years' use I am thoroughly convinced that any +physician once giving it a thorough trial will never again be without +it. Of course it is not a specific for all "upheavals of the inner man," +but will I think meet more indications than any other known remedy of +its class. + + (This brought out the following from Dr. Kirkpatrick in + the same journal): + +I must say that I feel a little plagued after reading what Dr. Edson +says about _Amygdalus_; he has taken the wind out of my sails, but I +must give my experience. Quite a number of years since a good friend in +the profession called on me, and asked me to visit one of his patients, +honestly stating that he thought she would die. I went a few miles in +the country to see her. She had been vomiting blood for two or three +days, and, notwithstanding she had had oxalate of cerium, bismuth, +pepsin, ingluvin and other good remedies, everything she swallowed would +come up, so that she looked more like a corpse than a living being. I +ordered them to go out and get me some of the young switches of the last +year's growth from the peach tree; I had them pound them to loosen the +bark; I then nearly filled a tumbler with this bark, then covered it +with water. I ordered her a teaspoonful to be taken after each time she +vomited, one dose being given then, and one every hour after the +vomiting stopped. The result was, she vomited no more and made a good +recovery. + +* * * In recent cases I have very rarely had to give the second +prescription to relieve morning sickness. I was visiting a doctor in +Quincy; while there he told me he was afraid he would have either to +make a lady abort or let her die, from the fact that he had failed to +stop her vomiting. I happened to have a sample of the medicine with me; +I gave it to him, he took it to the lady and in a few days he reported +her well. I may say, like Dr. Edson, it is a standard remedy with me. I +have found it very useful in hæmorrhage from the bladder. Some of my +lady patients find it very good in nervous headache. I have used the +tincture prepared from the leaves, but it is far inferior to that +prepared from the bark of the young shoots. A medical friend was going +to see a lady who had morning sickness; he told me he had thought of +advising her to use popcorn; I handed him a small bottle of my +_Amygdalus_ and told him to take a couple of ears of corn in his pocket +and try both. The next time I met him he said my medicine had done the +work. + + (Dr. Oliver S. Haines, of Philadelphia, also contributed + the following experience): + +Apropos of the remarks made by Dr. C. C. Edson upon the efficacy of +infusion of peach _bark_ in the gastric irritability of children, we +might mention the following authentic case: + +An infant, during its second summer, had been much reduced by acute +dyspeptic diarrhoea. A marked feature of this case was the persistent +vomiting of all food. The stomach would tolerate no form of baby food +with or without milk. The child's parents had consulted some eminent +physicians of our city. The child had been treated homoeopathically. +None of the remedies chosen seemed to produce the desired effect. After +a consultation it was deemed best to send the infant to the mountains. +The change aggravated its condition. While the parents hourly expected +their baby would die, it was suggested that they send for an old +practitioner living in the mountains near at hand. This man had a local +reputation as a saver of dying babies. His prescription was as follows: +Two or three fresh peach _leaves_ were to be put in a cup of boiling +water, the infant to receive a "drink" of this infusion at frequent +intervals. The effects of this remedy were as remarkable in this case as +in the case narrated by Dr. Edson. Our child soon retained food and +eventually recovered. + +It seems this ancient disciple of Esculapius had long used peach leaves +and regarded them as possessing specific virtues. + + +ANAGALIS ARVENSIS. + +NAT. ORD., Primulaceæ. + +COMMON NAMES, Scarlet Pimpernel. Poor Man's Weather-Glass. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh plant, of the scarlet-flowered variety, gathered +before the development of the flowers, is pounded to a pulp and +subjected to pressure. The expressed juice is mingled with an equal part +by weight of alcohol. + + (This paper was arranged from the provings by Dr. W. H. + A. Fitz for the Organon and Materia Medica Society of + Philadelphia, and published in the _Medical Advance_, + 1891) + +We think of this remedy for the following clinical indications: +Hypochondriasis, mania, epilepsy. Amblyopia, cataract, spots on the +cornea. Syphilis, hepatitis and indurated liver, visceral obstruction, +inflammation of rectum (horses), hemorrhoids, inflammation of kidneys, +gleet, copious urination (horses), gravel, syphilis with deranged mind, +nosebleed, pain in small of back, gonorrhoea, amenorrhoea, cancer of +mammea, sterility (cows), consumption, lumbago, itching, gout, bloody +sweat (murrain of calves), dropsy, ill-conditioned ulcers, snake bites +and hydrophobia, promotes the expulsion of splinters, inflammation of +stomach (horses). + +It is characterized by great tickling and itching. We find tickling and +pricking in the urethra, in left ear; on tip of nose; at soft palate as +from something cold; in symphysis pubis; as from a brush against +epiglottis (with hoarseness); pain in right leg and at os illium; +itching on vertex and occiput; of eyelids; in left ear; on cheek bones; +itching and tickling stitches on left corner of mouth and upper lip; in +rectum; at anus after evacuation of bowels; on left side of chest, +principally on nipple; on neck and scapula; on inside of upper arm, just +above elbow joint; on back of right hand; tetter on hands and fingers. +In fact, great itching all over the skin. + +HEADACHE just over supra-orbital ridges, with eructations and rumbling +in bowels; spasmodic lancination in temples, extending to eyes; pressive +aching in forehead and occiput from a current of air blowing on him; +intense headache and nausea, with pains throughout the body. Occiput: +dull or tearing pains and inclination to vomit; violent headache, with +hard, knotty stools; knocking pains in left side; dull pain all night. + +PAINS: Teeth pain as from cold. + +STITCHES: In scalp, over left ear and on occiput; in eyeballs; in +temples; in left corner of mouth; in right ear; in left side, region of +fourth and fifth ribs; in left tibia, when sitting, when moving leg or +foot; disturb sleep. + +NEURALGIC PAINS: In right cheek bones. + +Rheumatic, gouty pains. + +TEARING PAINS: In occiput; in right cheek bone; in upper molars; in +spermatic cords; in muscles of left leg; disturb sleep. + +DRAWING PAINS: In right testicle and cord; tensive drawing in left +shoulder to neck, returns when lifting or stretching arms; in muscles of +upper arm; especially when moving hands or arm in writing; in right +carpal and metacarpal bones (sometimes left), returning at regular +intervals; also tearing; in muscles of left leg. + +PRESSING PAINS: In forehead and occiput; with stitching in eyeballs; in +eyes; on lungs; in sacrum. + +DULL PAIN: In occiput; in hollow tooth, with trembling of heart; in +upper molars; in gums, accompanied by hard stools. + +CRAMPS: In right thenar; ceasing there as it goes to the left. + +VIOLENT PAIN: As if caused by external pressure on occiput, behind the +left ear; in sacrum when lifting, they take her breath; in muscles of +forearm, inside near elbow joint; in carpal and metacarpal bones, +extending to shoulder; in palm of right hand, extending between thumb +and forefinger, as if a pin were thrust through. + +SENSATION: In lungs as if struck by a cushion full of pins; anxiety in +chest; skin of forehead feels too tight; tension in bend of left knee, +as if swollen or sore. Cold or chilly sensation on right frontal +protuberance; in teeth, as if something cold were placed on tongue; at +soft palate, as from touch of something cold; chilly, trembling; +scratching in throat after eating; when reading aloud. + +Soreness on chest. + +Burning in urethra. + +Heat rising to head. + +Dryness in throat. + +Things seem to float to and fro; he cannot write. + +PAIN: In right ear, as if meatus auditorius were obstructed; in facial +muscles, in lungs, in the front and the back up to the scapulæ; in right +side of back, followed by violent sneezing; in upper arm, outside, near +the shoulder; pain and twitching in the left thumb; in bend of left +knee; in upper part of metatarsus of right foot; in great and little toe +of left foot in morning; in sole of left foot. + +Hence we find under-- + +LOCALITY AND DIRECTION--below upwards. + +Pains in upper limbs. + +RIGHT: Chilly sensation in frontal protuberance; pain in the eyeball; in +palm of hand; in about knee and tibia; in foot; pain and stitches in +ear; tickling pains in leg and os ilii; drawing in testes and cord; +pressure on lungs; itching on scapula; weak, lame feeling in leg. + +LEFT: Knocking inside of occiput; pain in knee and posterior muscles of +leg; in tibia; in foot; glittering before eye; stitches over ear; in +corner of mouth (and itching); tensive drawing from shoulder; drawing in +muscles of leg; itching in ear; on side of chest; tight feeling in bend +of knee. + +MOTION: In bed: trembling of heart with toothache; chilliness. + +POSITION: Sitting with legs crossed; pain in and about right knee; +stretching arm; tensive drawing from left shoulder up to neck; lifting; +tensive drawing in left shoulder; pain in sacrum. + +REST: Walking: pressure on right lung; motion: of leg or foot +< stitches in and left tibia. + +TIME: Night: dull pain in occiput; neuralgia in cheek; tickling at +palate; erections. + +Morning: burning in urethra when urinating; pain in feet. + +Towards evening: spells of chilliness. + +Evening: glittering before left eye; trembling, anxious feeling in +chest; toothache. + +AGGRAVATIONS: Pain right eyeball < from touching lids; burning in +urethra when urinating, mostly in mornings; violent pain in sacrum when +lifting a slight load; tensive drawing, ascending from left shoulder to +nape of neck; < raising and extending arm; pain in right eyeball < from +touch. + +AMELIORATIONS: Coffee relieves headache; burning in urethra before and +during erection, _ceases_ during coition. + +CAUSES: Mental work causes great prostration (_Picric acid_); when +cutting with shears, cramps in ball of thumb; pressure on right lung +after eating, or when walking; pressing in eyes after headache; +obstruction and pain in right ear after pressure in eyes. + +MENTAL STATE: Exhilarated, mind very active; everything gives pleasure. + +NOSE: Nosebleed, violent sneezing, expelling lumps of yellow phlegm; +running of water from nose; copious secretion of yellow phlegm. + +MOUTH: Viscid saliva in mouth, raised by coughing; water in mouth with +tearing pains in molars. + +ABDOMEN: Distended with wind; weak feeling in abdomen. + +STOOLS: Piles; passes offensive flatus; stools soft and pappy; watery +diarrhoea; stools hard, like stone, knotty. + +URINE: Dark, straw-colored; orifice seems agglutinated; presses to +urinate; urine escapes in divided streams. + +SKIN: Rough, dry; dry, bran-like tetter in rings; groups of small +vesicles, smarting and itching, oozing a yellowish-brown lymph, which +soon turns into a scurf, new vesicles appearing beneath. + +ULCERS and swelling on joints; promotes expulsion of splinters +(_Hepar_). + +RELATIONSHIP: Collateral relation. _Cyclamen._ Similar to _Coffee_ +(joyous, excited); _Picric acid_ (prostration after mental exertion); +_Cyclamen_ (sneezing); _Lithia carb._ (rough skin, ringworm); _Sepia_, +_Tellur._ (ringworm); _Pulsatilla_ (chilliness; catarrhs); smelling of +_Rhus_, and, an hour later, taking _Col._, relieved sacral pains. _Rhus_ +relieved swollen gums. + + +ARSENICUM BROMATUM. + +COMMON NAMES, Arsenous or Arsenious Bromide; Arsenic Tribromide. + +PREPARATION.--Add one drachm each Arsenious acid, Carbonate of Potassium +and Tartar to eight ounces of Distilled Water; boil until entirely +dissolved; after cooling add sufficient water to make eight ounces. Then +add two drachms of pure Bromine. _Clemens._ + + (The following paper was translated, 1888, from the + German (_Deutsche Clinic_, March, 1859) of Dr. Th. + Clemens, by the late Dr. Samuel Lilienthal): + +Arsenious acid, Arsenic blanc, Arsenic oxide, Flowers of Arsenic (AsO_3) +is commonly used as the only preparation in which it could be +assimilated. In the Solutio Fowleri we find a combination with Kali +carbonicum e Tartaro, a combination which allows to the Arsenious acid +its full destructive power. Now comes Spiritus Angelicæ comp. and the +pure chemical preparation smells like Theriac, but it ought hardly ever +be allowed to add something to a pure chemical preparation in order to +give it taste, color, and use. This Spir. Angel. comp. is made up of +Anglica, Siordium, Juniper berries, Valerian, Camphor, and Alcohol, and +Solutio Fowleri is prepared even to this day in the same manner, and +ought therefore be expelled from every pharmacopoeia, especially as it +is sure to spoil in the pharmacies if kept too long on the shelves. +Looking, therefore, for a better preparation, I prescribe now for the +last decade: [Symbol: Rx]. Arsen. albi. depurat. pulv., Kali carb. e +Tartar. [=a][=a] [Latin: ezh]j., coque cum Aqua destill. lb 1/2 ad +perfect. solutionem, refriger., adde aqua destil. q. s. ut fiat solutio +[Latin: ezh]xii., Dein adde Brom. pur. [Latin: ezh]ii. This solution, +which during first eight days is frequently shaken, becomes colorless in +the fourth week, and is then ready for use. It must be kept in a dark, +cool place. + +I will now give my reason for choosing Bromine as a combination. The +study of mineral waters is an old pet of mine; many of them contain +Arsenic in combination with Bromine, and are all well known for their +roborating and alterating qualities. I begun, therefore, my experiments +with minute doses of _Brom. arsen._; gradually these were increased, and +I felt astonished what large doses were well borne, and how long I could +use this preparation without injurious consequences. After a few drops +of my solution I could prove Arsenic in all secretions, an experiment +easily made by Marsh's test. Experiments on animals with toxic doses of +either solution (Clemens and Fowler) showed that the same quantity +_Arsenicum brom._ is less poisonous (one has to be careful with the +selection of animals, as many of them, especially ruminants, bear very +large doses of Arsenic without injury). My preparation gives a rapid, +not destructive, but roborating action on every part of the body. + +In doses of two to four drops daily, always to be taken in a full glass +of water, it always shows its specific action as an antipsoricum. +Herpetic eruptions and syphilitic excrescences or exanthemata dry up and +heal up, while simultaneously the relaxed and thoroughly infected body +steadily increases in turgor vitals. Glandular tumors and indurations of +dyscrasic origin, where any other treatment has failed, are scattered by +the long-continued use of my preparation. I have in suitable cases given +it for years without noticing any hurtful sequelæ, and after my patients +were cured I kept them under observation for years afterwards, and know, +therefore, that nothing injurious followed. This cannot be said of the +usual arsenical preparations, and old Heim, a great admirer of Arsenic, +opposed a lengthy use of it; he rather preferred larger doses, which is +rather a dangerous procedure. Given for a long time for carcinoma, it +stops the rapid progress of this fearful disease, and though at the same +time Chloride of arsenic was used externally, a real cure remained an +impossibility. My best successes were in obstinate cases of lues +inveterata, in the first stages of tabes dorsalis (ataxie locomotrice), +in the reconvalescence from exhausting acute diseases, in gastric +suppurations, inactivity of bowels, tardy digestion, constipation. In +cases where _Chininum sulph._ failed in intermittent fevers, I prescribe +_Brom. arsen._ twice daily, four drops, each time in a full glass of +water, gradually diminishing it to one daily dose, and in four weeks +even the most obstinate cases yielded to this treatment. The patient +feels encouraged by his increasing vigor, the fever-cakes disappear, the +bowels move regularly, and appetite leaves nothing to be desired. Those +mean obstinate cases of intermittens larvata, often appearing in the +form of unbearable neuralgiæ, yield more rapidly to it than to the +Quinine. It is often quite astonishing what good results can be obtained +by the daily use of only one drop of this solution, kept up for a very +long time in dyscrasic constitutions, who spent a fortune to regain +their health and failed with every other treatment. Its full solubility +and rapid assimilation are the reason that it can be used without +injury, but it must be taken largely diluted. Let me give you a few +cases for elucidation. + +St., 46 years old, contracted syphilis several years ago and was +relieved of it by mercurial treatment and Zittman's decoction. About six +years ago he felt out of sorts, and a papular eruption appeared on +forehead, temples, and especially at the root of the nose. Though +treatment was immediately instituted, still in a few weeks the face of +the patient was covered by an ugly, foul-smelling crust. Cod-liver oil +was now taken internally, and applied externally till the scuffs fell +off and the eruption concentrated on three points. For six months that +treatment was kept up, but after being omitted for a few weeks, the +eruption spread again to its former extent. Every treatment was tried in +rotation without the least benefit. In the spring 1856 he entered my +clinic. In the centre of the forehead, at the root of the nose, on both +eyebrows, on the temples and right cheek there are moist herpetic +eruptions covered with crusts, exuding on least pressure an acrid ichor +and easily bleeding. Around these eruptions the skin is injected, +reddened, interspersed with a large network of veins. Cough and +expectoration hint to a beginning of tuberculosis, an heirloom in the +family. Little appetite, disturbed digestion, tardy defecation, and +evening fever. He is ordered Solutio arsen. brom. twice a day, four +drops in a glass of water, and already after two weeks the eruption +begins to dry up, appetite returns, and bowels are regular. A generous +diet and fresh meat several times a day are accessories to an arsenical +cure. After two months two crusts fall off and the skin under them is +soft, shining, somewhat red. About July all eruption had gone, and the +cough greatly improved. A few months ago I saw the patient again, and I +feel sure that the disease is eradicated. + +Miss W., 42 years old, passed her childhood in the West Indies, and +brought from there a peculiar skin disease. When I saw her for the first +time her features looked old for her age, skin gray and sallow, hair +gray, rough, full of dandruff, and moisture oozing from the ears and +forehead. The scalp feels hard and thickened. The cervical glands are +indurated all around the neck. On the left chest an herpetic eruption of +the size of a dollar, and on the mamma a hard tumor of the size of a +fist. For a year past this tumor began to be painful and sensitive to +pressure, and my advice was sought for relief of all her ailments, +especially as her hands were also in a fearful state, where the eruption +looked as if she had the itch. The nails were discolored, knobby, easily +bleeding and covered with a gluey eruption. She had to wear and to +change gloves every day. For nine years she never entered society, as +the exhalation from her body disgusted even herself, and was hardly +bearable, though sponging the whole body and daily renewal of linen was +strictly adhered to. In such an obstinate chronic psoric case treatment +with small doses is at first necessary, and _Arsen. brom._, two drops +twice daily, ordered, and her cold bath continued. After four weeks the +dose was doubled, and after nine weeks the first glimmer of improvement +could be seen. The tumor in the mamma was smaller and painless, and +where before it was so sensitive as to be covered with oil-silk she +could bear now the pressure of her clothing. After four months steady +continuation of four drops twice daily, she was able to go without +gloves. The scalp also was cleaner, less hard, and the ears more dry. +But with the return of spring the eruption gained new vigor. The head +and hands became covered with suppurating nodules and small exuding +herpetic spots, which became confluent and itched terribly, a most +classic picture of the herpes of the ancients. Though for years she had +been accustomed to an aggravation in the spring, she never witnessed it +in such severity. I now omitted the drug and ordered head and hands +frequently washed with cold water. After eight days the storm calmed +down, and it was remarkable to witness the steady decrease of the +induration in the cervical glands and mamma. After four weeks the old +treatment was renewed. During the summer months she took regularly her +four drops twice daily, and in the beginning of autumn the dose was +reduced to two drops, and so continued during the whole winter. The +following spring crisis was the mildest one she ever experienced. During +the summer she took her four drops, during fall and winter two drops. +The third spring aggravation came with full severity, but lasted only +three days, when desquamation followed. Another year of the same +treatment and the fourth spring eruption showed itself slightly only in +small papules behind the ears and between the fingers, and were hardly +worth noticing. She now felt a slight weakness in right arm, which from +childhood up was rather weaker than the other one. After the +disappearance of the induration in the mamma the arm seemed to regain +its former strength and the patient felt therefore rather astonished at +the reappearance of the weakness when its cause seemed removed, but it +yielded readily to a mild constant current applied a few times, and some +faradic shocks each time from the shoulder through the arm, and in +September she went to Nizza in order to use sea-bathing, with the advice +to take for a whole year one drop daily of her solution. She considered +herself now well, but still her skin was flabby, especially on the hands +where the epidermis often desquamated, and the nails remained hard, +brittle and without lustre. + +I may here remark that I found repeatedly Arsenic in the urine of such +patients. A case of obstinate intermittens larvata, characterized by +vomiting of chyme, also yielded to _Arsen. brom._ One case more must +suffice. A young man went to America but failed in his trade, and became +barkeeper on a Mississippi steamer, which place he had to give up on +account of intermittent fever. We find him then as hostler in Chicago +where he was laid up with an attack of cholera, and as he did not fully +recover his strength he returned to the old home again. When I saw him +for the first time the diagnosis seemed to be first stage of Bright's +disease. Anamnesis, ætiology, and present state, albumen in the urine, +justified the diagnosis. Patient is pale, bloated, oedema pedum, no +appetite, white tongue, thin feverish pulse, swollen spleen, watery +diarrhoea alternating with constipation. Every drug produced vomiting, +and he perfectly abhorred the old Quinine powders. I ordered four drops +_Arsen. brom._ and a full meat diet. Improvement followed with the +continuance of the treatment. After three weeks the spleen was reduced +in size, his face showed better color, hardly any oedema. To +strengthen the skin he was advised to take pineneedle baths, and after +three months' treatment he could be discharged, a well man. He was +advised to take for a few months one drop daily of his solution, and to +take often an airing in the pineries which abound around Frankfort. +Though he returned to America the latest reports from him are that he +feels again as well as ever, but he keeps his drops about him. + +_Arsen. brom._ is also a powerful remedy in diabetes mellitus and +insipidus, for I cured cases with it where the patient had already been +reduced from 138 pounds to 98, and where the urine could be condensed, +by boiling, into syrupy consistency. Mixed diet may be allowed, though I +insist upon large quantities of fresh meat during treatment with +_Bromide of arsenic_. Let the patient take three drops thrice daily in a +glass of water, and after a week the insatiable burning thirst will be +quenched, and these doses must be continued till the quantity of sugar +in the urine is reduced, when the drug might be taken twice a day and +continued for a long time. A diabetic patient needs fresh pure air if he +wishes to get well; confinement in a room or in the office prevents the +action of any treatment, for it needs ozone to reduce the sugar of the +blood into carbonic acid and water. + + +ASPIDOSPERMINE.[B] + + [B] _Aspidospermine_ or _Quebrachine_ is derived from the + Chilian "white Quebracho" (_Aspidospermia Quebracho_). At + Santigo de Chile the bark is used as a substitute for + Cinchona as a febrifuge. The alkaloid forms salts with + Citric, Hydrochloric and Sulphuric acids. + +PREPARATION.--Trituration of the alkaloid. + + (Dr. Edwin M. Hale communicated the following concerning + this alkaloid to the _Homoeopathic Recorder_ for 1889): + +_Dyspnoea._--This alkaloid is from the South American +tree--_Quebracho_. The maximum dose, according to Merck, is 1/10th +grain. I use the 1/500th trituration, which I find most efficient in +doses of 2 to 5 grains. + +CASE I.--A boy of ten. The attacks of spasmodic dyspnoea were a sequel +of hay fever. The aggravation was at night, when lying down, or sleep +was impossible. I tried _Ipecac_ and _Arsenic_, but with no effect. +_Aralia_, also. (I never had any curative or palliative effects from +_Aralia_.) + +Prescribed _Aspidospermine_, 1/500th trituration, 2 grains every two +hours, all day. The night was comfortable, could lie down and sleep. +Continued the remedy for four days, when he was so much better that the +medicine was suspended. + +CASE II.--Cardiac dyspnoea in a man of 60. Valvular disease, +hypertrophy with dilatation. Distressing difficulty of breathing from +the slightest exertion; had to sit upright day and night. Face livid +from venous stasis. _Strophanthus_ regulated and strengthened the +heart's action, but only slightly benefited the dyspnoea. Five grains +of _Aspidospermine_, 1/500th trituration, every two hours effected a +marvellous change. He could walk about the house and out to his carriage +with but little discomfort. He has now continued it three weeks. +Observes no unpleasant symptoms. Can lie on his back and right side and +is very grateful for the relief. It seems to act as well as an aid to +_Digitalis_, or _Strophanthus_, in cardiac dyspnoea. + + +AURUM MURIATICUM NATRONATUM. + +COMMON NAME.--Chloride of Gold and Sodium. + +PREPARATION.--A mixture composed of equal parts of dry chloride of Gold +and chloride of Sodium, triturated in the usual way. + + (The following is an extract from a paper by Dr. H. + Goullon in the _Allg. Hom. Zeit._, bd. 114, No. 12, on + the therapeutics of this remedy): + +Never have I observed gold so startling in its action as in the +following case: The patient is a type of the scrofulous habit; reddish +hair, pasty complexion, thick nose, coarse features. About thirty years +of age. He has had the misfortune of being infected by syphilis, and the +still greater ill-luck of being treated by mercurial inunctions and +iodine to excess. All these circumstances conjoined helped to produce a +complication of morbid conditions which would put medical art to a +severe test. Let us recall the region in which gold makes such brilliant +cures, and we find it especially suitable in an uncommon swelling of the +left testicle. In this case I do not exaggerate, when I say that the +scrotum was as large as a gourd of moderate size and the tumor was four +or five times larger in circumference than the right testicle, which was +also swollen. The entire mass simulated an oblong, heavy weight, like +those one meets with in old-fashioned clocks, and could hardly find +space in the capacious suspensory. + +The skin was also involved. On the elbow was a wide-spread herpetic +eruption; on different parts of the body were gummy indurations; the ear +discharged; in short, the many characteristic manifestations of the +syphilitic poison were to be seen throughout the cutaneous and mucous +systems. There were also ulcerous formations in the oral cavity and on +the sides of the tongue. + +After about four weeks the patient again set foot upon the floor, +saying: 'The drops have done wonders.' And indeed the influence upon the +testicles was so striking that now the right, which was formerly the +smaller, seemed the larger, without having actually at all increased in +size. Not the less remarkable had been the action of gold on the general +condition. The patient, formerly irritable and uneasy, is cheerful and +comfortable; enjoys sound sleep, whereas before he was disturbed with +morbid dreams; has lost his previous debility and disgust for +everything; and says that his digestive power is quite a different +thing. He assimilates articles of diet which he did not formerly dare to +take, unless he wished to suffer with flatulence, gastric acidity and +vomiting. Among other things punch, which he 'could not even smell,' +agrees well. + +But, evidently, the mode of administering gold in such cases is not a +matter of indifference. And although I have only recently published a +cure with high potencies (in which I subsequently corrected the mistake +of the 100th _Dec._ for the _Centes._, which was what I used of the +_Natrum muriaticum_), I cannot commit myself to high potencies in +syphilitic complications. Experience in these cases is always in favor +of substantial doses. But, as we shall soon see, these proportionally +massive and heavy doses are always quite out of the allopathic +posological range, and even on this ground one must set boundaries, and +seek for the conversion of the traditional school. By two or three +clinical experiences of this sort many a Saul would become a Paul in +spite of all former prejudices, _vis inertia_, and most tormenting +skepticism. One-half grain _Aurum muriaticum natronatum_ was dissolved +in 6 grms. Spiritus vini, but of this first 6 drops are again put into a +wineglass of water, of which the patient takes a teaspoonful thrice +daily. + + (Dr. Tritschler, of the Gynæcological Clinic of Tübingen, + furnishes the following on the use of this remedy in + diseases of women. From _Allg. Hom. Zeit._, bd. 94. Nos. + 17. 18, 19): + +Permit me now to specify some practical instances of the curative powers +of _Aurum_, and especially of _Aurum muriaticum natronatum_, in +reference to gynæcology. + +CHRONIC METRITIS. + +The first case is that of a woman with chronic metritis and prolapsus +uteri. Hydrarg. chlorat. mit. was given at first, which acted favorably +on the inflammation, but whose further use was prevented by its giving +rise to salivation. The intumescence of the uterus continued about the +same. Chloride of gold entirely reduced the chronic inflammation, and +restored the uterus to its natural position without external means. + +INDURATION OF UTERUS. + +The second case was an unmarried woman at the climacteric, the vaginal +portion of whose uterus showed an induration which disappeared during +the administration of chloride of gold. + +HYSTERICAL SPASMS. + +The third case was a woman with periodical attacks of hysterical spasms, +which involved the entire body, with unconsciousness lasting several +hours, asthma, palpitation, etc., beginning with a sense of coldness, +ascending from the abdomen, and perceptible even to the bystanders. +Sometimes the attack began with pulsation through the occiput. +Examination showed an inflamed uterus, filling not only the true pelvis, +and interfering with urination and defecation, but the enlarged uterus +perceptible through the thick abdominal walls above the pubes. At the +end of seven months, _Aur. mur. nat._ had entirely reduced the swelling. +The woman has enjoyed good health for several years, quite free from the +so-called hysteria. + +INDURATION OF CERVIX. + +It happened that a woman presented an induration of the cervix, together +with a remarkable softening in the posterior uterine wall. The result of +treatment with chloride of gold was, that in proportion to the decrease +of the induration there was an increase in the consistency of the +softened posterior wall. The woman, who had been married for three years +and childless, became pregnant for the first time and has since borne +several children. With this experience, the Gold-chloride was also given +for a softening of the atrophied cervical canal, in one case until it +was curved at right angles to the body of the uterus; also in a diffused +softening of the uterine tissues, with the result that the hitherto +sterile woman, after toning up the uterine tissue, attained the joy of +motherhood. * * * * * + +Habitual abortion and premature labor recurring at about the same month +of pregnancy generally depended upon induration in some portion of the +uterus, which, preventing its natural expansion during gestation, gives +rise to premature expulsion of the foetus. By the use of _Aur. mur. +nat._ before and during pregnancy, the absorption of this induration +will conduce to the proper termination of parturition. + +A swelling of the ovary, reaching as far as the umbilicus, I have cured +with _Aur. mur. nat._, and have improved others of considerable extent +very decidedly. Martini has cured five cases of ovarian dropsy in the +greatest possible degree with the same remedy. + +Ulcers of the os and the vaginal portion, which had resulted from +inflammation and induration, some as large as a dollar, and of a +gangrenous character, were healed by the use of gold, without any +topical applications. + +The profession considers ulceration and induration of the uterus +incurable. This dogma of theirs is based on the fact that the usual +change, the disturbance of nutrition, can neither be remedied nor +hindered in its advance. Now since ulcers are generally found only in an +advanced stage of softening and induration, it is conceivable why the +school--seeking a cure solely in the use of local means--turns away +almost entirely from the employment of internal remedies. According to +the opinions of the specialists the use of different remedies, partly +insoluble, partly soluble, pure or in combination, permanent or +transient, is indicated. Others apply ointments on sponges to the +surface of the ulcers, keeping them in contact with it by tampons. +Others again prescribe injections, and with these expect to attain the +end. Finally, glowing-hot iron, the galvano-cautery, or the knife and +scissors remove partially or entirely the vaginal portion. + +Now, if the malady continues to thrive on the wounds made by these +procedures, if old cicatrices break out again, if too a permanent cure +is out of the question, there is ground for supposing that the _product_ +of illness, the ulcer, may be cauterized, burnt and cut away, but that +the cause, the diathesis, the tendency to it, can only be removed by +internal medication. * * * * * + +CHRONIC METRITIS. + +One day an official in Dresden brought his wife to me, who was 41 years +of age. The couple, all of whose children had died soon after birth, +longed once more for children. The woman had aborted several times, and +both were intelligent enough to see that everything could not be right +with the sexual organs, and even begged for a gynæcological examination. +The result was in a few words: inflammation of both lips of the uterus, +a thickening of the cervical canal with a swelling of the posterior +uterine wall as hard as cartilage, and retroversio uteri. Menstruation +too early, dysmenorrhoea, blood dark, tarry, passing in clots. +Yellowish, fetid leucorrhoea. Stools retained, appetite changeable; +pains in the broad ligaments on both sides during rest as well as on +exertion. The so-called "facies uterina"--weeps much. Frequent +exclamations on the distastefulness of life since the death of all her +children, and on account of her present childlessness. Should I register +in my journal in the beginning of a scirrhus? I wrote simply: metritis +chronica; intumescentia labiorum orificii et colli uteri. + +Prognosis, not unfavorable as far as regards the swelling, after my +already well-tested experience with _Aur. mur. nat._ But how about the +removal of sterility acquired in her 41st year. I was more cautious +about this. The cure took six months, and was not only accompanied by +absorption of the affected parts, but the woman became pregnant in good +time and gave birth to a boy with comparative comfort. Thus would the +wishes of the worthy couple have been fulfilled, if their joy had not +been banished once more by the death of the child in four weeks from an +attack of eclampsia. + +ANTEVERSION WITH PROLAPSUS. + +I now come in conclusion to a gratifying case, which I relate partly +because we make ourselves guilty of sins of omission in certain +instances through neglect of the needful investigation. A woman in her +twentieth year, quite healthy, had been delivered with forceps for the +first time two years before, nominally on account of deficient labor +pains. There was nothing unusual about the confinement. Immediately +after the first getting up, she began to have constant pain in the right +side of the uterine region, and soon a feeling "as if something would +fall out of the parts." The family physician paid no attention to these +persistent complaints for a whole year, until finally a constantly +increasing leucorrhoea demanded an examination. He now expressed +himself as unable to make a diagnosis alone, and the lady was referred +to a celebrated gynæcologist in Leipsic. Cauterizations were now +undergone at the professor's house at short intervals, and further +treatment of a similar character was to be carried out at the patient's +own house, which was, however, discontinued when the patient was +referred to me. Examination showed: metritis following upon +sub-involution of the uterus, anteversion with prolapsus of the whole +organ. Both uterine lips were swollen, and on examination with the +speculum a greenish-yellow discharge was seen to flow from the uterus. +All local treatment was discontinued, the woman received for the first +time in April, 1876, _Aur. mur. nat._, and in June, 1876, again became +pregnant; the treatment with gold was continued until the 8th month of +pregnancy, in consequence of which the uterus was found in its normal +position on examination twelve days after her safe confinement on March +30th. The menses, which up to this time had been very painful, returned +for the first time on the 25th of April, and were quite free from +suffering. + +But now let us ask, whether we have in the salts of gold a simile for +the diseases of the female sexual organs under the comprehensive name of +chronic metritis. We find in the homoeopathic proving, inflammatory +affections of the internal organs; fainting depression and emaciation; +great anxiety, sadness, dizziness, whimsical mood, weariness of life, +morbid desires, and headache; nausea, vomiting; pressure in the gastric +region; cardialgia, contractive, drawing pains in the abdomen. +_Stitches in the left hypochondrium, pinching and burning in the right_, +the abdomen sensitive to touch, with distension; dull pains in the +abdomen; drawing and stinging in the whole abdomen; eruption of small +papules above the pubes; _decreased excretion of urine_, pressure on +urinating, burning on urinating; redness, burning, swelling and moisture +of the labia, _discharge of yellow mucus_, menstruation too soon and +lasts too long; amenorrhoea; labor-like pains, as if the menses would +appear; symptoms which certainly correspond to the whole picture of +chronic metritis and its results. + +The mode of administration which I have used for _Aur. mur. nat._ is in +trituration. Generally I have had the patient herself divide into three +parts a 10 gr. powder of the 3d trit., and take one of these dry just +one hour after each meal. But I have also used the 1st and 2d +trituration. The effect cannot be seen before four weeks, hence I seldom +make a further examination before that time. Many women notice a +remarkable increase of the appetite during the use of gold. After the +administration of the 1st trit. I have observed frequent, dark stools. +An increase in the urine with a thick, gray sediment is often seen.* * * + +UTERINE DISEASES. + +Uterine diseases, according to my experience of many years, make more +marriages unfruitful than all the other known or fancied hindrances to +child-bearing. They can exist many years even with a blooming +appearance, without apparently disturbing the general health, and on +that account are often overlooked and mistaken by physicians themselves, +who are not concerned about gynæcological examinations, or else make +only superficial investigations, not having their eyes at the ends of +their fingers. I beg, therefore, if this communication should give rise +to a more extensive use of _Aur. mur. nat._, above all things, a +thorough gynæcological examination, not leaving this to the so-called +surgeons and midwives. If women complain of gastric troubles, dizziness, +pain in the loins and back, disturbances of urination or defecation, +with a more or less pronounced hysterical appearance, and withal +purposely or unwittingly deceive themselves and the physician; if, added +to these, leucorrhoea and a sensation as if everything would drop out +of the abdominal cavity, one may say of the patient that her uterus is +diseased, and may base upon that his proposal for an examination, which +will give the correct information of the nature of the malady. As a +rule, every deep-seated, morbid alteration in the uterine tissues +entails suffering upon the nervous system, which, being in such close +relation with the uterus, not seldom apparently suffers the most. + +HYSTERIA. + +Because the uterus receives its nerves from the sympathetic system, +which governs nutrition, circulation, respiration with distribution of +animal heat, gestation, etc., these functions being out of sight, it is +difficult to get at the root of the matter as regards the uterus in a +suffering woman. Her sensations and fancies offer, according to her +education, organization, etc., a wide field in which to make her a +burden to herself and others. Her mind is generally out of order, she +knows not why. In the more advanced stages of disease, the functions of +the higher nervous system, the organs of sense, and even the mental +activities are disordered. Then appears that chameleon of diseases, +which goes by the name of _hysteria_, suitable in so far as hysteria +almost without exception takes root in the "hystera" or uterus. I shall +certainly not deny the possibility of primary or purely nervous diseases +of the uterus, hysteria sine materia; I am nevertheless convinced that +in at least nine cases out of ten, hysteria depends upon objective, +sensible, perceptible changes in the uterus. It is these whose existence +I ascertain by a thorough examination, and according to these that I +regulate my treatment; they give me in every case a more certain +starting point than a lengthy account of true and imaginary suffering. +If I find, however, no palpable abnormality in the tissue to remove, +and prescribe _Aur. mur. nat._ simply as an excellent nervine, +following Niemeyer, it occasionally does good, but generally leaves me +in the lurch. + + +AVENA SATIVA. + +NAT. ORD., Graminaceæ. + +COMMON NAME, Oats. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh green plant, gathered in August, is pounded to a +pulp and macerated with two parts by weight of alcohol. + + (Comparatively little has been written concerning this + remedy, the tincture of oats. It acquired a bad + reputation somewhere in the "eighties" by being + advertised as a proprietary remedy making wonderful + cures, but analysis showed the advertised "avena" to + contain opium. The following outline of the drug is by + Dr. E. H. Russell, in _North American Journal of + Homoeopathy_): + +_Avena sativa_ is pre-eminently an anti-neurotic, quieting the nervous +system to a remarkable degree. Its special sphere of action seems to be +upon the male sexual organs, regulating the functional irregularities of +these parts perhaps as much as any drug can. It is a most useful remedy +in all cases of nervous exhaustion, general debility, nervous +palpitation of the heart, insomnia, inability to keep the mind fixed +upon any one subject, etc., more especially when any or all of these +troubles is apparently due to nocturnal emissions, masturbation, over +sexual intercourse, and the like. For these disorders it is truly +specific. It is one of the most valuable means for overcoming the bad +effects of the morphine habit. In most cases in which the habitue has +not used more than four grains daily the opiate may be abruptly +discontinued, and even substituted, without any serious results. If a +larger quantity than this amount has been taken for some time, it is +better to gradually reduce the daily dose of morphine, in the usual +manner, simply prescribing the _Avena_ in addition. The latter should +be given in the same dose, as a rule, regardless of the amount of +morphine taken. In other words, it is not necessary to increase the +_Avena_ as the opiate is withdrawn. When the quantity of morphine has +not exceeded four grains daily it should be stopped at once, as stated +above, and _Avena_ given in its stead in fifteen-drop doses, four times +a day, in a wineglassful of hot water. By this method the disagreeable +after-effects will be much less than though the dose of morphine is +gradually reduced, and the patient will find life quite bearable, as a +rule, at the end of a week. + +_Avena sativa_ should always be given in appreciable doses of the +tincture. Fifteen drops three or four times a day, well diluted, will +usually meet the case. It may be given in doses of from five to sixty +drops in rare instances. It should, however, never be given in larger +quantities than twenty minims unless the patient is thoroughly +accustomed to the remedy, and has found the usual dose insufficient. +Otherwise there is danger of getting the physiological effect of the +drug, which is _pain at the base of the brain_. When this symptom makes +its appearance the medicine should be discontinued for a day or two, and +then given in reduced doses. There seems to be no danger whatever of +forming the habit of taking this drug, as it can be suddenly abandoned +at any time without evil consequences, even when given in large +quantities. In one case it was prescribed by the writer in sixty-drop +doses, night and morning, _for one year_, and then abruptly stopped, +nothing being substituted therefore, without bad effects. + +Whenever a quick action is desired, and in all cases where _Avena_ is +given to overcome the morphine habit, it should be prepared in hot +water. It is also a good plan to prescribe it in this fashion wherever +indigestion complicates the case. + +The writer has employed this drug in his private practice for a number +of years with the most gratifying results. He has very rarely found it +to fail when indicated, and on account of his high opinion of the +remedy he has taken great pleasure in thus bringing it prominently to +the attention of the medical profession. + + +AZADIRACHTA INDICA. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh bark is pounded to a pulp and macerated in two +parts by weight of alcohol. + + (The following synopsis of _Azadirachta Ind._, is + contributed by P. C. Majumdar, M. D., of Calcutta, + India): + +_Azadirachta Indica._ Syn.: Sanskrit, Nimba; Bengala and Hindi, Nim. +Belongs to the natural order Meliaeæ. It is a large tree. Bark is used +for making tinctures from which provings were instituted. The leaves, +bark, wood, roots and fruits, in short, every part of this tree, is +intensely bitter. According to Ayurveda (Hindu System of Medicine) the +different parts of this tree possess different medicinal properties. +Bhava Misra, Charak, Susratha and several other Sanskrit authors agree +that its bark, though very disagreeable in taste, is generally used with +success in cases of lassitude, thirst, cough, fever, loss of appetite, +helmenthiasis, boils, bilious derangements, catarrh, vomiting, cutaneous +diseases, hiccough, gonorrhoea, etc.; its leaves are used in some +forms of ophthalmic disease, helmenthiasis and disorders brought on by +deranged bile or use of poisonous things. A decoction of fresh leaves is +used as a favorite wash to cure old ulcers of long standing. It removes +within a short time the sloughs and promotes the healing. The fruit is +purgative, demulcent, and is used in some forms of cutaneous affections. +A kind of oil is produced from the seed of ripe fruits, and this oil is +said to cure lepra, eczema and some other obstinate skin diseases. + +Nim is also praised by some of the Allopathic physicians for its tonic, +antiseptic, astringent and anti-periodic properties. Its febrifuge +action is well-known in our country. Kanirages (native physicians) use +Nim as the principal substance in their febrifuge medicines. The vast +range of its action is chiefly due to azaderine, margocine and katechin, +the three active principles found in this tree. Nim was proved by me and +one of my students, U. C. Bagchi. A full report of the proving was +published in the _Indian Homoeopathic Review_, Vol. iii, No. 1. Here I +give the most reliable and peculiar symptoms obtained in its proving. + +Mind: Depressed and forgetful, mistakes in writing and spelling words, +weak and dull, full of anxiety, inactive, could not think or remember +names of persons very familiar, or what has been done in the previous +day. No desire to go out or walk out. Loss of memory. + +Head: Giddiness, as if the head were moving to and fro, especially when +rising from a sitting posture; headache, pressure in the head, by moving +it; headache, throbbing in the temporal arteries, especially of the +right side, with a little vertigo; aching, drawing and throbbing in the +whole head; headache, by wet compress, with much pain in the right +eyeball; headache, on moving; headache on the right side with much pain. +Frontal headache, especially on the right side, in the open air. +Throbbing in the vertex, by stooping; scalp is painful and sensitive to +touch, even the hair is painful. Vertigo at 10 A.M.; intense headache, +pain in the whole head; on walking pain is felt in the back part of the +head. + +Eyes: Burning in the eyes; burning of the eyes continued throughout even +the next day; burning, dull and heavy. Pain in the eye, by slightest +pressure; red, congested and burning with slight coryza; sense of +pressure in the right eye; eyes red and sunken; pressive pain in the +right eyeball. + +Ears: Buzzing in the ears; a peculiar cracking sound is heard in the ear +like tickling with a feather, which is increased on opening the mouth. + +Nose: Running of watery fluid from the nose. + +Face: Flushings of the face; flushing and heat in the face; face pale. + +Mouth: No thirst but mouth is clammy, water has relish; taste good, but +mouth is clammy and bitter. On the sides and surface of the tongue a +painful burning sensation is felt as if scalded; papillæ seem to be +enlarged and prominent. Putrid taste in the mouth. Saliva coming out +which tastes salty. Slight difficulty in deglutition, especially water +and meat. + +Throat: Bitter taste in the throat; left-sided sore throat. + +Stomach: No thirst; appetite very acute and keen; very great thirst for +large quantity of cold water; very great thirst at long interval. +Heart-burn and water-brash. Uneasy sensation in the thorax. + +Abdomen: Great uneasiness in the abdomen with flatulent rumbling in the +bowels; twisting pain in the epigastric region; no tenderness in the +abdomen; clutching pain in the umbilical region, obliging to bend +forwards, which affords some relief; abdomen a little distended, passing +of offensive flatus; painful tension in the hypochondriac region. + +Stools: Insufficient; bowels very much constipated; stools hard, small +and knotty; stools hard, but natural; stools copious, soft, semi-solid. +Diarrhoea, no satisfaction after stool. + +Genito-urinary organs: Great excitement of sexual organ (in male); +sexual desire a little diminished. Urine scanty and high-colored, and +scalding; urine white, clear and copious; urine of strong odor (once +with purple sediment). + +Respiratory organs: Very troublesome cough after bathing at 1 P.M. Sputa +white in small lumps expelled with much difficulty. Sighing, breathing +at intervals. Slight hoarseness. Cough with greyish expectoration; cough +with thick sputa; short, dry cough in the afternoon; very troublesome +cough with white sputa and tasteless. Deep breathing at long intervals; +breathing very rapid and hot. + +Chest and throat: Aching in the lower part of the right chest, below the +nipple. Stitches in the chest. Crampy pains in the lower part of chest. +Transitory stitches in the chest, especially in the right side. + +Pulse, quick and hard, feeble. + +Neck and back: Pain and debility in the nape of the neck. + +Extremities: Numbness of the limbs, as if the limbs are paralyzed. +Gnawing in the legs. Strength of the hand diminished. Burning of the +hands and soles of the feet. Numbness of the hands only, especially the +right hand. Rheumatic pains in the lower extremities. + +Sleep and dreams: Sleeplessness and tossing in bed; dreamy and +interrupted sleep at night. Dreams of quarrels and beating in the latter +part of night. + +Fever: Fever commences with very slight chill or without chill from 4:30 +P.M., and abates from 7:30 P.M.; afternoon fever. Glowing heat and +burning, especially in the face, eyes, palms of the hands and soles of +the feet, in open air. + +Copious sweat, especially on the forehead, neck and upper part of the +body; sweating commences on the forehead, gradually extending towards +the trunk; no sweat in the lower part of the body. + +Skin: Itching of various parts of the body, without the appearance of +any eruption; itching of the body. Sudamina on the back. + + +BACILLINUM, TUBERCULINUM AND AVIAIRE, THE VIRUSES OF TUBERCULOSIS. + +PREPARATION.--Triturate in the usual way. + + (The literature on these several preparations is so + extensive that we must confine ourselves to the paper + read by Dr. Francois Cartier, Physician to the Hospital + St. Jacques, Paris, at the International Homoeopathic + Congress, 1896, it covering the ground more completely + than any other. For fuller information on _Bacillinum_ + the reader is referred to Dr. J. Compton Burnett's book, + the _New Cure for Consumption_.) + +I must disclaim any intention of traversing afresh the pathogenesy of +_Tuberculin_, or of instituting an examination into the various +treatises put forth on the subject of the virus of tuberculosis by the +allopathic as well as by the homoeopathic school. + +The materia medica of _Tuberculin_ takes its rise in the complex result +of the use of Koch's lymph, in experiments upon animals, and in certain +symptoms observed by those who have experimented upon themselves with +different products of tuberculous nature. I shall therefore indicate the +published sources, and I specially desire to place before the +Homoeopathic Congress of London the tuberculous virus under certain +aspects which are perhaps new; and if my conclusions seem somewhat +paradoxical I am content to accept, with a good grace, the criticisms of +my colleagues. + +Fourteen years anterior to the researches of Koch, Hering, Swan and +Biegler availed themselves, as a homoeopathic remedy, of the +maceration of tuberculous lungs, and of the sputa of tuberculous +subjects. + +Dr. J. Compton Burnett in his book, "A Cure for Consumption," several +years before Koch's experiments, noticed symptoms resulting from taking +the preparation which he calls _Bacillinum_. + +Drs. de Keghel[C] and J. H. Clarke[D] instituted an inquiry into the +symptoms produced by the employment of Koch's lymph in the case of +tuberculous and non-tuberculous patients. + + [C] _L' Union Homéopathique_, vol. v, No. 3. + + [D] _Homoeopathic World_, vol. xxvi, No. 304. + +Dr. Mersch[E] published a pathogenesy, based to a large extent upon that +of Dr. de Keghel; it is an excellent work. + + [E] "On Tuberculin," an extract from the _Journal Belge d' + homéopathie_, 1895. + +Dr. d'Abzen,[F] of Lisbon, sent to the Tuberculosis Congress of 1895, at +Coimbra, a study of the works of Koch and Pasteur, and an enumeration of +the treatises published by homoeopathists. + + [F] _Pathogenese, sua importancia._ + +We must notice also an English translation of Dr. Mersch's pathogenesy, +by Dr. Arnulphy, of Chicago, in which special attention is paid to the +symptoms observed in healthy and non-tuberculous persons, with some +original remarks about _Tuberculin_. It is published in the _Clinique_ +for this year (February, 1896). + +Nor must we overlook a series of writers who have published isolated +observations of the cases of persons cured with _Tuberculin_. Such are +Drs. Lambreghts, Joussett, Zoppritz, Horace Holmes, Richardson, Young, +Clarke, Pinart, Youman, U. H. Merson, Snow, Lamb, Clarke, Ebersole, W. +James, Kunkel, A. Zoppritz, Steinhauf, Van den Berghe, &c. + +Finally, for my own part, in my articles in _L'Art Médical_, published +three years ago, and in the _Hahnemannian Monthly_ (July, 1894), I have +insisted on homoeopathic action of the viruses of tuberculosis. + +In certain of the pathogenesies of _Tuberculin_ we find thrown pell-mell +together symptoms appertaining to Koch's lymph, as well as others which +belong to the product baptized by several names, such as _Bacillinum_ +and _Tuberculin_, in the recommendation of which Hering and Swan, and +Dr. J. Compton Burnett, in England, have made themselves conspicuous. + +_Bacillinum_--since it must be distinguished from Koch's +_Tuberculin_--is a maceration of a typical tuberculous lung.[G] Koch's +lymph is an extract in glycerine of dead tuberculous bacilli. The former +is compound natural infection; the latter is a product of laboratory +experiment. In the one, various bacteriological species are associated +which give, clinically, an appearance of cachexia and of hectic fever; +from the other we may sometimes observe vascular, cardiac, renal changes +having no connection with the clinical "syndrome" of pulmonary +tuberculosis. To place these products together in the same pathogenesy +gives an absolutely wrong sense, and the fact that both contain Koch's +bacillus gives no excuse for confounding them. In my opinion there are, +from a homoeopathic point of view, distinct differences between +_Bacillinum_ and the Koch's lymph. + + [G] Dr. J. Compton Burnett, in his book, "New Cure for + Consumption," p. 129, makes this remark: "The best way to get + some really good _Bacillinum_ is to take a portion of the + lung of an individual who has died of genuine bacillary + tuberculosis pulmonum, choosing a good-sized portion from the + parietes of the cavity and its circumjacent tissue, as herein + will be found everything pertaining to the tuberculous + process--bacilla, _débris_, ptomaines and tubercles in all + its stages (such was practically the origin of the matrix of + my _Bacillinum_) and preparing by trituration in spirit. In + this way nothing is lost." + +Experimentally Koch's bacillus, like many other microbes, does not +reproduce a clinical symptom-group; and we homoeopaths must have an +assemblage of clearly-defined symptoms before prescribing a poison on +homoeopathic principles. Such is unfortunately the case with many +other microbes in pure culture. The experimental diphtheria does not +resemble clinical diphtheria. The pneumococcus, pathogenetic of +pneumonia, is met with in many other diseases, such as pleurisy, +salpingitis, meningitis, etc. Koch's bacillus, too, sometimes remarkably +mild in its effects, and seeming to meet with no reaction in the system, +evolves aside as in the verrucous tuberculosis; while at other times +nothing is able to arrest the action of this terrible microbe, and the +world still waits in vain for the man who shall find the means of +combatting it. The toxins of tuberculosis are far from reproducing +clinical tuberculosis; yet even here we find a curious aspect sometimes +assumed by certain poisons drawn from the pure cultivation of microbes. +We cannot produce with _Tuberculin_ symptoms analogous to those of real +tuberculosis--as it is possible, for instance, to produce tetanus with +the toxine alone, _Tetanin_. + +As a general rule, in the case of a healthy man, Koch's lymph would not +develop any reaction, its effects manifesting themselves in a febrile +congestion, which betrays the presence of tubercles. In our pathogeneses +(those of Mersch-Arnulphy), we note the following symptoms--"catarrhal +pneumonia with soft hepatisation, and tendency to abscess formation; at +post-mortems it is not a gelatinous or fibrinous exudation which oozes +out from the alveoli, but an opaque and watery fluid; 'never,' so says +Virchow, 'is there found the characteristic lesion of croupous +pneumonia.'" A pneumonia from which issues an aqueous and opaque +liquid! I confess I do not understand it. + +Experimentally this same lymph of Koch gives symptoms of inflammation of +the arteries which are not found in clinical tuberculosis. + +Animals inoculated with progressive doses of _Avian tuberculin_, or with +serum of tuberculous animals, undergo wasting and loss of appetite, and +other general symptoms. They may die of cachexia, or may develop an +isolated abscess; but they do not present characteristic symptoms as +they would under the action of _Cantharis_, of _Phosphorus_, or of +_Lead_. + +Finally, inoculation with dead bacilli may produce real tuberculosis. + +In the pathogenesy put forth by homoeopathists, pulmonary symptoms do +not occupy a prominent place. Dr. Burnett, who has experimented on +himself with _Bacillinum_, notes at the end of his symptoms, after the +headache, a slight and almost insignificant cough. + +In explaining the clinical forms of infectious complaints, we are +frequently forced to admit the increasingly preponderant part played by +association of microbes--as it is the frequent case in diphtheria--and +especially the modifications which depend directly on the disposition of +the organ attacked, and not upon the action of the microbe itself. + +An examination of the above considerations leads me to the following +conclusions: + +1. That the importance of the materia medica of the tubercular virtues +ought not to be exaggerated. There are few characteristic symptoms to +take off; it is more wise to guide oneself in the homoeopathic +application of the therapeutics by the clinical symptoms of the +evolution of the various tuberculosis, rather than by the intoxication +produced by their active products, the _Tuberculins_. + +2. Koch's lymph, _Bacillinum_ and _Avian tuberculin_ must be studied +separately, clinically as well as experimentally. _Bacillinum_ presents +symptoms very different from those of _Avian tuberculin_, and +especially from those of Koch's lymph; and I intend to divide my remarks +into three parts, corresponding to these three substances, which have +actually become homoeopathic remedies. + + * * * * * + +At the time of the introduction of the ever-memorable Koch's lymph, +there were included under the head of poisonings by this drug vascular +lesions, as I have mentioned above, acute arteritis, arterio-sclerosis, +changes in the vessels of the heart and the kidneys, and acute +nephritis. Apropos of acute nephritis, the supposition was that the +kidney became congested because of the presence in that part of certain +tubercular islets, and that the kidney responded, like the tuberculous +lung, under the influence of the _Tuberculin_, by acute congestion. + +However this might be, these vascular lesions drew attention to the +homoeopathicity of Koch's lymph in nephritis. Dr. Jousset has +experimented in it with encouraging results, using homoeopathic +dilutions, in Bright's disease; and at the meeting of the Société +Homoeopathique Francaise on April 18, 1895, Drs. Tessier, Silva and +Jousset, father and son, mentioned the diminution of albumen in cases of +chronic and incurable nephritis, and the appearance of that substance in +acute cases. + +Dr. Arnulphy, in a series of articles in the Chicago _Clinique_, which I +have read attentively, speaks favorably of Koch's lymph in +homoeopathic dilutions in cases of tuberculosis. Personally I have not +used it, and I am loth to pass judgment on observations recorded in +every good faith. I would merely remark to my honorable colleague that +Koch's lymph was used in our school in all the homoeopathic dilutions +possible at the moment of its far-resounding discovery--a fact which he +should know as well as myself. To mention only one instance--Drs. Simon, +V. L. Simon Boyer and Chancerel used the drug at the Hahnemann Hospital +in Paris at the time of the arrival in France of the first consignment +of lymph from Germany; and I am nearly certain that there is not at this +time a single country where homoeopathists have not used this remedy +in all the infinitesimal dilutions. Homoeopaths and allopaths have +actually taken pretty much the same side as regards the primitive +formula put forward by Koch (I am not now speaking of trials of new +tuberculins); and Dr. Arnulphy would be fortunate enough were he able to +revive its credit after its several years' oblivion as a cure of +tuberculosis. + +Clinically this lymph of Koch has led to wonderful cures in lobular +pneumonia, for it produces pneumonia, broncho pneumonia, and congestion +of the lungs in the tuberculous patient. Its homoeopathic action would +thus appear more trustworthy than its isopathic, and Dr. Arnulphy makes +this remark: "I make bold to state that no single remedy in our materia +medica, not excepting _Ipecac_, _Iodine_, _Tartar emetic_, and even +_Phosphorus_, approaches the singular efficacy of _Tuberculin_ in +well-authenticated cases of that affection (broncho pneumonia, be it) in +the child, the adult, or the aged. Its rapidity of action in some cases +is little short of wonderful, and all who have used it in this line are +unanimous in their unbounded praise of its working." + +The four cases quoted by Dr. Mersch (_Journal Belge d' Homéopathie_, +November, 1894, January and May, 1895) are very instructive: + +The first is that of a member of the Dutch Parliament who had contracted +a pneumonia which reached a chronic stage. While undergoing a relapse +his expectoration assumed a rusty-red color, which color disappeared +completely in three days on treatment with _Tuberculin_ 30th. + +The second case is that of a person who was seized, after an attack of +measles, with broncho-pneumonia. On the fifth day Dr. Mersch prescribed +_Tuberculin_ 6th. In a day or two the condition of the chest was +completely altered. + +In the third case an old lady was likewise attacked with +broncho-pneumonia, together with digestive troubles, and was for a long +time in a serious state. After the lapse of a single night, which was a +rather distressing one, under the action of the remedy the amelioration +was great, and it was with difficulty that Dr. Mersch found a touch of +bronchitis in the very place where the day before he had heard nothing +but the tubular _souffle_. The prescription ran: _Tuberculin_ 6th, eight +packets of ten globules each, one to be taken every two hours. + +Finally, in a fourth case, the patient was a lady of vigorous physique, +and twenty-five years of age, who had capillary bronchitis, combined +with the symptoms of angina pectoris. Dr. Mersch had once more had an +opportunity of viewing with astonishment the rapidity with which the +therapeutic action of _Tuberculin_ may be manifested in such cases. + + * * * * * + +_Bacillinum_ deserves study from two points of view, isopathically in +the treatment of tuberculosis, homoeopathically in the treatment of +affections of the respiratory organs without tuberculosis. To fully +understand its action it is necessary to know with exactness its +composition. Dr. J. Compton Burnett has christened it _Bacillinum_, +because he recognized in its lower dilutions the presence of Koch's +bacilli. As a matter of fact, _Bacillinum_ contains in its elements +everything that a cavity of a tuberculous lung is capable of containing; +that is to say, many other things besides Koch's bacillus. The bacillus +of Koch is feebly pyogenetic, and the purulent contents of the cavities +include pyogenetic staphylococci and streptococci, to say nothing of the +organic products which play a large part in the production of the hectic +fever of tuberculosis. It is a combination of toxins, then, which +constitutes _Bacillinum_, and especially of toxins of a purulent nature. +I lay stress upon this last fact, as it goes to sustain the opinion that +I hold on the action of _Bacillinum_. + +The infinitesimal dose of Homoeopathy is in no way inimical to the +entrance of all the elements constituting a substance into its materia +medica. The salts of potassium owe their effect to their base as well +as to their acid; _Graphites_ is analogous to _Carbo_ and _Ferrum_, +because it contains both carbon and iron; _Hepar sulphuris calcareum_ +acts by reason of its sulphur as well as of its lime. _Bacillinum_, +then, combines in its action all its constituent products, owing its +efficacy to its suppurative microbes as well as its inclusion of Koch's +bacillus. + +This method of viewing the matter, which is peculiar to myself, permits +me to include in one and the same category the action of _Bacillinum_ in +consumption and its action in non-tuberculous bronchitis. + +I have studied conscientiously the action of _Bacillinum_ in +tuberculosis, and I must confess that I am looking out still for an +authentic case of cure by this remedy. Nevertheless, in the midst of the +paucity of drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis, I am happy to state +that _Bacillinum_ has produced in my hands considerable amelioration of +the symptoms of this disease. Perhaps in certain cases it produces what +Bernheim would call "la treve tuberculeuse." But sooner or later the +drug, after ameliorating the symptoms, loses its effect, and the disease +again gets the upper hand. I wish I could be as optimistic as Dr. J. +Compton Burnett in his interesting book, "A New Cure for Consumption;" +but that is impossible. + +In looking over my observations I find that the symptom which has always +undergone the greatest mitigation has been the _expectoration_. When +_Bacillinum_ acts on tuberculosis the sputum is less abundant, less +purulent, less green, and more a[=e]rated. It is this which has always +struck me most in the action of _Bacillinum_. It is rarely that a +patient satisfied with the remedy fails to remark, "I expectorate less." +In cases of dry cough at the beginning of tuberculosis I have noticed +that the drug evidently arrests the tubercular process. + +I would most severely criticise, as well for myself as for others, cases +of so-called "cure of tuberculosis." There certainly are persons in whom +the disease does not develop. These may have been accidentally +infected, and their phagocytes may have struggled against their microbe +foe. But in the case of an individual in whom the tubercle finds a +suitable field for development, it is the merest chance that he entirely +recovers without ulterior relapse; mostly it is a seeming cure, caused +by a time of pause in the microbian pullulation. + +Last year I had under my care, at the Hospital St. Jacques, a truly +extraordinary case. It has been followed out by Dr. Jousset, by Dr. +Cesar, head of the hospital laboratory, and by the house-physicians. It +was that of a woman who entered the hospital suffering from influenza, +and who, a few days after a slight amelioration of her symptoms, was +attacked with a pulmonary congestion, clearly localized in the top of +the left lung, and accompanied by all the clinical symptoms of +tuberculosis--râles and moist crepitation, dulness, exaggeration of the +thoracic vibration, nummular expectoration, fever, perspiration, +spitting of blood--everything was there. Examination of the sputa showed +distinctly the presence of Koch's bacilli. Everyone at the hospital +diagnosed tuberculosis, myself the first. I gave her _Avian tuberculin_ +and in three weeks all the symptoms had disappeared. That woman left the +hospital completely cured, and _a year afterwards_ her health was still +perfect. In my opinion this patient never had consumption; she was +attacked with pseudo-phymic bronchitis, a complication which is very +often found with influenza, and which may very easily be mistaken for +tuberculosis; and in spite of the presence in the sputa of Koch's +bacillus I would not register it as a case of tuberculosis, because, in +contradistinction to that single case, I could mention twenty cases of +tuberculosis whose symptoms neither _Avian tuberculin_ nor any other +such drug has cured. + +There is absolutely no connection between the clinical evolution of real +tuberculosis and observations based on the autopsies of old persons +whose lungs contain cavities, but whose death was not due to +tuberculosis. To admit, with Professor Brouardel, that three-fourths of +those who have died a violent death are possessed of tuberculous +lesions, whose existence was not suspected while the subject was living, +would be running absolutely counter to clinical experience. The time is +probably at hand when the different kinds of tuberculosis will be +distinguished and separated, as we distinguish and separate the varieties +of serious pleurisy and purulent pleurisy, of broncho-pneumonia arising +from the presence of pneumococci, of streptococci, or of staphylococci. +Malassez has already described cases of pseudo-tuberculosis, or +zoogleic-tuberculosis, whose existence has only been acknowledged of +late years. Courmont has discovered a pseudo-bacillosis of a bovine +origin. We have a pseudo-bacillosis of a strepto bacillar origin, not to +mention the "professional" tuberculoses, such as that to which persons +are exposed who have to breathe the fumes of charcoal. + +To return to _Bacillinum_, I consider this remedy as a powerful +moderator of the muco-purulent secretion of consumption. While +diminishing the secretion it modifies the auscultation; there is less +thick sputum, the cavities are drier, the peri-tuberculosis congestion +less intense. The clinical symptoms follow those of the auscultation; as +the patient expectorates less he is less feeble, coughs less, gains +strength, and regains his spirits; but the tubercle remains untouched. +The peri-tuberculous congestion only is diminished, as one may observe +with the naked eye when Koch's lymph is employed in the amelioration of +lupus. The peri-tuberculous inflammation disappears; the skin seems +healthy, but the yellow tubercle remains as it was, and the patient is +still uncured. Such are the limits I assign to _Bacillinum_ in its +action on consumption. + +Far more potent is the part played by _Bacillinum_ in non-tuberculous +pulmonary affections, for the simple reason that the struggle is with a +less redoubtable opponent. Ebersole, Young, Zoppritz, Burnett, James, +Holmes, Jousset, Steinhauf have published cases of the cure of acute +bronchitis, influenza diarrhoea, syphilitic eruptions, cystitis, +ringworm of the scalp, nephritis, idiocy, retarded dentition, cretinism, +gout, rheumatism, etc., with _Tuberculin_ or _Bacillinum_. + +If we wish to prescribe _Bacillinum_ successfully in non-tuberculous +affections, we must observe, on auscultation, symptoms analogous to +those which are perceptible in tuberculosis. The peculiar +characteristics which indicate _Bacillinum_ for non-tuberculous maladies +of the respiratory organs are, in my opinion, the two following: The +first is _oppression_; the second, _muco purulent_ expectoration. These +two phenomena show themselves always in the last stage of tuberculosis; +that is to say, together with the products contained in the preparation +of _Bacillinum_. _Dyspnoea resulting from bronchial and pulmonary +obstruction caused by a super-abundant secretion from the mucous +membrane is marvellously relieved by Bacillinum._ I put forward this +fact, not on the evidence of a single isolated observation, but on that +of several cases conscientiously studied. Such expectoration leads to +the auscultation of sub-crepitant râles, sounding liquid and gurgling, +having some analogy to the moist sounds of tuberculosis. + +This power of _Bacillinum_ to relieve oppression in pulmonary catarrh is +in no way surprising from the point of view of the law of similars; for +in the acute and infectious stage of tuberculosis the dyspnoea is a +characteristic symptom, and is far more distressing than the cough. I +have read with pleasure in the work of Dr. Mersch, of Brussels, on +_Tuberculin_, of a fact which corroborates my statement as to the +influence of _Bacillinum_ over catarrhal dyspnoea. After the sixth +dose the patient, who was suffering from bronchial asthma, was seized +with violent intercostal pains, with augmented cough; but the oppression +entirely disappeared after the first day, and did not return even three +months after the treatment had ceased. + +In _L' Art Médical_ of January, 1894, and in the _Hahnemannian Monthly_ +of July, 1894, I published the case of an old man of eighty years of +age, suffering from broncho-pneumonia, who, in the last stage of +asphyxia, had been saved by _Bacillinum_. Two years ago I was called +upon to treat another octogenarian who, as the result of a cold, +developed an obstruction in the bronchial tubes, and at the basis of the +lungs. He passed sleepless nights in a sitting posture, striving to draw +deep inspirations. _Phosphorus_, _Arsenic_, and _Stibium_ produced no +relief. I gave him _Bacillinum_ 30th, and he slept the whole night +through. Doses of this remedy, administered _at longish intervals_, +always produced a remarkable amelioration. Last year I was called to the +house of an upholsterer. He preferred not going to bed at all to passing +the night in bed without closing his eyes. He had humid asthma with +incessant cough, which ended by causing him to eject thick yellow and +puriform mucus. For eight days he took _Arsenic_ and _Blatta_, and for a +whole week he passed the nights without sleeping. From the day he took +_Bacillinum_ he was able to sleep. I saw him again this year in good +health. Once or twice he was attacked with the same bronchorrhea, and +had my prescription made up at the chemists, with the same success. This +year, too, I have given _Bacillinum_ to several patients at the Hôpital +St. Jacques for the same symptoms, and it has never yet failed me. + +When I am called upon to treat a patient suffering from an obstruction +of the bronchial tubes occasioned by mucus, which is frequently thick +and opaque and puriform--an obstruction extending to the delicate +bronchial ramification, and causing oppression more frequently than +cough, I turn my thoughts at once to _Bacillinum_. _Bacillinum_ is a +drug for old people, or, at any rate, for those whose lungs are old; for +those chronically catarrhal, or whose pulmonary circulation is enfeebled +without regard to the age of the subject; for those who have dyspnoea, +and who cough with difficulty from inaction of the respiratory ducts; +for the humid asthmatic, the bronchorrheal, who feel suffocated at +night; and, finally, for those who, after taking cold, are straightway +attacked with pulmonary congestion. Here, I believe, is the exact +sphere of action of _Bacillinum_ as a homoeopathic remedy. + +_Bacillinum_ has been stigmatized as an unstable product. I consider +this reproach ill-founded. _Bacillinum_ is no more unstable than +_Psorinum_, which is an approved remedy in Homoeopathy. Typical +tuberculous lungs contain practically almost invariable elements. Do not +the microbes produced by cultivation and the animal extracts show any +variation in quality, and do they not change in the long run? + +Like most homoeopathists who have made use of _Bacillinum_, I think it +is best given in the high dilutions and at long intervals. Dr. J. +Compton Burnett and Van der Berghe recommended the higher potencies--the +1000th, 100,000, etc., whereas I content myself with the 30th, which +satisfies every requirement. As regards the intervals which must elapse +between the doses, certain writers recommend from one to two weeks. In +acute cases I generally give six globules of _Bacillinum_ 30th every two +or three days; and in chronic cases of tuberculosis, etc., one dose +about twice a week. + +We are no longer permitted to include in the same description the +tuberculosis of birds and that of mammals. Although the two bacilli, as +far as form and color are concerned, are absolutely identical, the +evolution of the two forms of tuberculosis presents characteristics so +different that we are forced to study them separately. At this day the +debate is a question of words, and experts discuss whether there are two +distinct genera or merely two different species. + +It is this characteristic of non-transmissibility from mammals to birds, +and _vice versa_, which forms the chief difference between the two kinds +of tuberculosis. Strauss failed in his endeavor to inoculate a fowl with +tuberculosis by injecting fifty kilogrammes of tuberculous human sputa, +whereas the fowl, absolutely impervious to human tuberculosis, became +infected when treated with a very slight quantity of the avian +tuberculosis. The guinea-pig, so sensitive to the human microbe, +presented encysted abscesses when treated with the virus of birds; it +dies of cachexia, but never, as far as the naked eye can discern, of +generalized tuberculosis. Rabbits are more sensitive to the avian +infection. Dogs are absolutely refractory. The monkey, so delicate in +our climate, and which almost invariably perishes from tuberculosis, is +uninjured by inoculation from avian virus. The parrot is a remarkable +exception to the general rule; it is the only bird which resists avian +tuberculosis, while, on the other hand, it is sensitive to that of man. +Such facts as these irrefutably differentiate the two kinds of +tuberculosis. + + + [H] _Tuberculosis of Birds._ _Tuberculosis of Mammals._ + + Aspect of Extreme softness on Human tuberculous + cultures. glycerine jelly or growths are adherent, + on serum. hard and difficult to + break up even with a + strong platinum wire on + glycerine jelly as well + as on serum. + + Medium of Transferred from a Cultivation more difficult. + cultures. solid to a liquid + medium the bacillus + grows rapidly, + having the appearance + of rounded + grains. + + Temperature. Develops at a Ceases to develop at + temperature of 45° C. temperatures under 41° C. + + Odor. Somewhat sour. More subtle and fresh odor. + + Duration. Takes longer to develop, Is with difficulty generated + and may remain again at the end of six + for a year or months. At the end of + thereabouts. eight or ten months loses + its vegetable character. + + Seat of the In animals usually In the lung, generally in + tubercles. on the liver, the men, and in certain animals; + spleen, the intestines, in the spleen, the + and the peritoneum. liver, and the glands in + rabbits and guinea-pigs. + + Transmissibility. + Only from one bird Mammals are unaffected by + to another, except the tuberculosis of birds, + in the case of the and _vice versa_. + parrot. + + [H] I have tabulated shortly their various characteristics. + +Ever since this variety of tuberculosis has been distinguished, +attempts have been made to inoculate or cure human tuberculosis with +that of birds. In our school the thing has been attempted at the Hôpital +St. Jacques, where _Aviaire_ has been administered in homoeopathic +dilutions, in potions or through punctures in cases of consumption. As a +matter of fact, neither allopaths nor homoeopaths have succeeded in +obtaining a formula which will cure consumption with the virus of birds. +Amelioration has been noted as with other remedies, but never a series +of authenticated cures. Nevertheless, in every country experiments are +continually being made; we must hope that they will end in a more +decisive success than is at present the case. + +Hoping to profit by the homoeopathicity of an active virus, I was, I +think, one of the first who employed _Aviaire_ in non-tuberculous +respiratory affections on the lines of _Bacillinum_, and I am bound to +say that up to the present my faith in the law of similars has not been +shaken by my experiments. + +In _L'Art Médical_ (August, 1895) I published a number of cases in which +I successfully treated localized bronchitis, generally the result of +influenza, and reproducing the symptoms of tuberculosis, with _Aviaire_. +The most characteristic of all these observations is that of which I +have spoken above. The patient was restored to health as if by magic +with _Aviaire_ within three weeks. Dr. P. Jousset, anticipating my +observations, thus expressed himself in the number of _L'Art Médical_ +preceding the one which contained my remarks: "A young woman entered the +Hôpital St. Jacques at the end of January, 1895, with feverish +influenzal bronchitis. At first the patient was treated with small doses +of _Sulphate of Quinine_, and a little later she took _Ipecac_ and +_Bryonia_ alternately. The fever disappeared and the general condition +improved considerably, and the sub-crepitant râles became confined to +the top of the left lung. The patient continued to expectorate thick +nummular and puriform sputa, as in the influenza. After some days the +disease resumed its sway, the bodily forces diminished, the emaciation +made great progress, and local and general signs indicated rapid +consumption. Bacteriological analysis led to the detection of numerous +Koch's bacilli. I gave over the case at this time, and some weeks +afterwards I learnt with surprise that the patient was well and growing +fat, and that the inoculation of the sputa had produced no effects. The +cure has been maintained for three months, and the young woman has +resumed her employment." I had prescribed _Aviaire_ 100th, five drops a +day, during the whole period of the disease, unaccompanied by any other +remedy. + +As I have said before, more than a year afterwards the young woman +continued in good health. + +Following this case, Dr. Jousset quoted two analogous instances in his +practice, both of influential bronchitis, in which the sputa contained, +for a certain period, Koch's bacillus. One was cured with _Aviaire_ 6th +and strong doses of _Sulphate of Quinine_, and the other with _Aviaire_ +6th and twenty drops of _Tincture of Drosera_, a day. + +"What conclusions must I draw from these facts?" says Dr. Jousset. "That +the avian tuberculosis cured the consumption? I have failed too often in +the treatment of ordinary consumption with this remedy to admit that." +That is my opinion also. + +Koch's bacillus has been found in the nasal secretions of healthy +hospital nurses, and of students of medicine, as noted by Strauss. Would +it not be possible to come across it accidentally in certain kinds of +expectoration, just as the pneumococcus is found in saliva? + +In one of the numbers of _La Médecine Moderne_ of last year there +appeared a short article on the "Influenzas known as pseudo-phymic." The +writer remarked on the strong analogy which certain complications of +pulmonary influenza presented to acute tuberculosis. He observed, among +other forms: 1st, the influenzal bronchitis which affected one of the +summits of the lung, the most difficult form to diagnose from +tuberculosis; 2d, the broncho-pneumonic form; 3d, the pleuro-pneumonic +form, bearing a close resemblance to tuberculous pleurisy. I might +remark that this last form is still little known and ill-defined. The +influenza microbe always imitates to a remarkable degree the microbe of +tuberculosis in certain instances; and if we wish to effect a cure on +the laws laid down by Hahnemann in certain forms of influenzal +bronchitis, we must frequently seek for the simillimum in the virus of +tuberculosis. + +I have mentioned oppression as one of the characteristics of +_Bacillinum_. Now influenzal bronchitis is markedly accompanied by an +incessant cough and by grave general symptoms. There is more frequently +acute than passive, obstructive and dyspnoeic congestion. I am +inclined to prefer _Aviaire_ to _Bacillinum_ in such cases, and I should +like to briefly touch upon certain cases in my practice. + +I have under my care a little girl of twelve years of age who has for +two years developed an influenza which rapidly leads to pulmonary +symptoms, always distinctly localized in the top of the left lung. The +mother is tuberculous, and the child, who was born with forceps, has her +left chest less developed than her right. The congestion which +accompanies the influenza is sudden and severe; within twenty-four hours +the lung is invaded, and fine râles are soon heard. Twice running, at +intervals of a year, _Aviaire_ 100th has stifled the symptoms in a few +days. I have seen an analogous case, only with congestion of the base of +the lung. + +In my clinical report of the Hôpital St. Jacques (in August, 1895) I +note ten cases of acute influenzal bronchitis with incessant cough, +fever, and expectoration, rapidly cured with _Aviaire_. This year I have +prescribed it with the same success as at the Hôpital St. Jacques in +cases of influenzal bronchitis, with active congestion. I will mention +two cases of the pulmonary complications of measles which were rapidly +dissipated by this remedy; but I must also mention a third case of +measles in which _Aviaire_ failed and _Bryonia_ proved successful. The +child had an acute rubeolic laryngitis, and few pulmonary symptoms. +_Bryonia_ was in this case more decidedly indicated than _Aviaire_. + +The dilution of _Aviaire_ which I have always used is the 100th. I give +usually five drops a day. + +It seems that _Aviaire_ does not act in diminishing the cough like an +anodyne or a narcotic, but braces up the whole organism. The relief of +debility and the return of appetite are the phenomena which I have +observed in conjunction with the diminution of the cough. + +I have given _Aviaire_ 100th for weeks, and even for a month, regularly +every day, without having observed excitement or aggravation. It would +thus appear to be a remedy of long-lasting action, capable in certain +cases of modifying the organism, and of bracing a constitution which has +become enfeebled from the effects of influenza or of suspicious +bronchitis. + +In contrast with _Bacillinum_ I have noted, in my observations on +_Aviaire_, considerable cough and little dyspnoea--an acute +inflammatory, extremely irritating cough, such as one meets with in +acute diseases or sub-acute affections in young people; a cough which +fatigues, and which leads to enfeeblement and loss of appetite--in a +word, a suspicious cough. To conclude my remarks, the utility of +_Aviaire_ in _suspicious bronchitis_--an expression on which I again lay +stress--I will recall certain indubitable examples of the cure (at the +Hôpital St. Jacques) of bronchitis or of pulmonary congestion at the top +of one of the lungs, or of bronchitis on one side only, or of congestion +predominating on one side. These localizations on one side are +sufficiently grave symptoms to warrant apprehension of the hatching of +tuberculosis. + +If I were myself attacked, as the result of influenza or measles, or of +some weakening malady, with an incessant tickling and stubborn cough, +with certain closely localized pulmonary symptoms; if I lost my strength +and appetite; if, in a word, I were attacked by bronchitis whose upshot +was highly doubtful, and which caused apprehension of tuberculosis, I +should not hesitate a single moment, with the examples which I have had +before me, to try _Aviaire_ 100th upon myself. + +Such is the conclusion of my clinical observations made at Hôpital St. +Jacques in August, 1895. + +What I said last year I can only repeat with renewed confidence in this; +and I hope that the years which follow will not cause me to alter my +opinion. + + +BELLIS PERENNIS. + +NAT. ORD., Compositæ. + +COMMON NAMES, English Daisy. Garden Daisy. Hens and Chickens. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh plant, in flower, is pounded to a pulp and +submitted to pressure. The expressed juice is then mixed with an equal +part by weight of alcohol. + + (The following is from Thomas' _Additions to the + Homoeopathic Materia Medica_, 1858. To it we may add + Dr. J. C. Burnett's statement that _Bellis_ is a remedy + for all ills that may be traced to a sudden wetting when + overheated.) + +_Bellis perennis_ or daisy, formerly called _consolida_, on account of +its vulnerary properties; the roots and leaves were used in wound +drinks, and were considered efficacious in removing extravasated blood +from bruises, etc. It is said to be refused by cattle on account of its +peculiar taste. Lightfoot, in his _Flora Scotica_, says: "In a scarcity +of garden-stuff, they (daisies) have, in some countries, been +substituted as pot herbs." My first trial with this plant as a curative +agent was in the autumn of 1856. While on a visit in the neighborhood of +Bangor, a countryman, understanding that I was a "doctor," wished me to +prescribe for his foot, which he had sprained very badly. Not having +either _Arnica_ or _Rhus_ with me, I determined to try the effects of +the daisy; so directed him to procure a handful of the leaves and +flowers of the plant, chop them up small, boil them for a quarter of an +hour in half a pint of water, and apply them in linen as a poultice +round the ankle at night. The application was not made until the next +morning, but in half an hour's time the ankle admitted of very fair +motion. A piece of calico wetted and wrung out of the daisy water was +then wrapped round the ankle, and the man put his shoe on and limped +about all day, walking not less than five miles. He repeated the +poultice at night, and found his ankle so much restored in the morning +that he was able to walk four miles to his work without experiencing any +difficulty. The success, in this instance, so far exceeded the previous +use of _Arnica_ and _Rhus_, especially in the time gained, that I had a +tincture from the whole plant made for such uses, and have used it in +sprained ankle from a fall--the ankle was well the second day. A sprain +of the wrist, which had been a week ailing, yielded to the daisy in +three days. I have also successfully used it in several severe whitlows; +in every case the pure tincture was used externally. The only provings I +have made with this remedy have been with the pure tincture in ten or +twenty drop doses at a time. After taking the medicine for fourteen days +without any symptoms, I suspended the use of it--in two weeks after +leaving it off, for the first time in my life I had a large boil on the +back of my neck (right side), commencing with a dull aching pain; some +difficulty and a bruised pain in keeping the head erect; slight nausea, +want of appetite, and a little giddiness in the head at times. Pain in +middle finger of the left hand, as of a gathering, for a short time +only; and at the same time pain in inner side of left forearm, as of a +boil developing; two nights before similar pains in corresponding parts +of the right arm--query, are these effects of _Bellis_ (this was written +December 11, 1856). The boil on the neck came December 7, 1856; began as +a slight pimple with burning pain in the skin, increasing until in six +days' time it was very large, of a dark fiery purple color, and very +sore burning and aching pain in it, accompanied with headache, extending +from occiput to sinciput, of a cold aching character; brain as though +contracted in frontal region, dizziness, etc. (as before stated). I now +set to work to cure myself, which by use of hot fomentations and lint +dipped in [Greek: theta] tincture of _Belladonna_ externally, taking at +the same time 3d dil. _Belladonna_ internally, was soon accomplished. +Three days after this was cured, another made its appearance, which +speedily succumbed to the same remedies. As I had never previously had a +boil, and had not made any change in my diet, I suspected _Bellis_ +tincture to be the cause of the trouble. On the 12th of January, 1857, +feeling my left foot somewhat strained after running, I applied _Bellis_ +[Greek: theta] to the strain, which for several days aggravated the +feeling; and in five hours after the application I had another small +boil (three weeks after disappearance of the last), which yielded to +same treatment as the others, by January 19, 1857. On March 7, 1857, I +chewed some daisy flowers. On the 11th, a small boil appeared at the +angle of the inferior maxilla, right side; _Belladonna_ [Greek: theta], +externally, cured it. The last trial I made with the third centesimal +dilution of _Bellis_, taking three drops on Tuesday, 2d March, 1858, on +the following Friday a small pimple appeared a little behind the angle +of _left_ inferior maxilla; it increased very much in size and pain by +Saturday, when I treated it with _Belladonna_ [Greek: theta] externally, +to which it soon yielded. As at no other time in my life have I suffered +from boils, I am inclined to think these are due to the use of the +daisy. + + +BERBERIS AQUIFOLIUM. + +NAT. ORD., Berberidaceæ + +COMMON NAMES, Oregon grape. Mountain grape. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh root and stem is pounded to a pulp and macerated +in two parts by weight of alcohol. + + (This unintentional proving was published in August, + 1896, under the signature J. d. W. C. The paper referred + to by J. d. W. C. was a clipping from the _Eclectic + Medical Journal_.) + +In the _Homoeopathic Recorder_ for March, 1896, p. 133, there appears +an interesting article on the virtues of the plant named above--it +starts out with: "From the fact that it will make a 'new' man of an old +one in a short time it is an excellent remedy." + +As I am now over sixty years old, it seemed high time to cast about for +something possessing the virtue specified, viz., making "a 'new' man out +of an old one"--and to my knowledge, as I have never had five days' +illness confining me to bed, or even to my room, during the said sixty +years, I considered myself an easy subject for the contemplated +rejuvenation; besides all this, I am what some would call a +homoeopathic "crank;" and believed, and yet believe, if there be +anything that can effect such a transformation it is to be found only +within the lines of Homoeopathy, I immediately ordered quantum suf. of +the article in question from the celebrated firm of Boericke & Tafel, +and started out on the trip to the "Fountain of Youth" in full +confidence that _something_ would come of it. + +The first day I took two doses mother tincture 10-15 drops each; no +special effect noticed--no youthfulness either! Second day, ditto; third +day, one dose in morning; after bank hours went to friend's sanctum and +engaged in a game of chess, and while so engaged felt a growing sense of +nausea and thick-headedness--so much so, that I was obliged to excuse +myself and hurry to my own quarters. _Berberis_, however, did not once +occur to me--I had scarce reached my room when the sense of nausea +(seven minutes' lively walk, since it became really oppressive) had +_full sway_, and having eaten nothing whatever since the previous +evening (as I do not eat unless I am hungry) the straining was rather +severe, but exactly similar to some previous attacks of +"biliousness"--in feeling, and color and taste of discharges--and still +_Berberis_ did not occur to me; as soon as the strain was over I was +seized with a remarkable and peculiar headache; a thing of which I have +no recollection whatever to have previously experienced in any +shape--the sensation was that of a strong, well-defined, compressive +band of iron (or some unyielding substance), about two inches wide, +passing _entirely round the head, just above the ears_--it kept on +growing tighter and tighter; I jumped from the reclined position on a +couch, wet a folded towel in cold water, and passed it round my head so +as to cover the "band;" but it gave little relief; about 10 o'clock I +began to think over what I might have eaten to disagree with me so, and +at last _Berberis_ came plump into sight; I at once prepared a cup of +strong, strong coffee (Hahnemann's antidote, and for which I had to send +to a neighbor), believing it would antidote the _Berberis_ (or rather +hoping it might), and about 12 o'clock there was a slight diminution of +pressure; then more coffee, black and strong, two or three mouthfuls, +and again laid down; by morning the serious phase of the headache had +disappeared, but I was exceedingly tremulous in nerves and unsteady in +gait up to noon, when I ventured on some oatmeal and syrup--habitually, +I do not eat meat, or drink tea or coffee, nor spirituous liquors, nor +use tobacco, and have not for over thirty years. + +Finally, I "made a good recovery," and now whenever I have a sensation +of biliousness I touch my tongue to my finger after touching the cork of +the mother tincture bottle of _Berberis aqui._; with laid finger--and +have no trouble compared to what I have usually had--I believe I may +say, I am subject to bilousness by heredity, but it has removed much +thereof, and this remedy, I think, is good enough for the remainder. + + +BLATTA ORIENTALIS. + +SYNONYM, Indian cockroach. + +CLASS, Insecta. + +ORDER, Orthoptera. + +COMMON NAME (Indian), Talápoka. + +PREPARATION.--Triturate in the usual way. + + (These two papers are by Dr. D. N. Ray, of Calcutta, + India, and were originally published in the + _Homoeopathic Recorder_ in the years 1890 and 1891. A + number of papers from American physicians could be added + confirming what Dr. Ray says of the drug.) + +The _Blatta orientalis_ is a common insect in India, where it is found +abundantly in the dwelling houses. It has rather a flat body, from an +inch to a couple of inches in length; deep brown color. It can fly a +short distance. The wings reach beyond the body and cover it completely; +the feet have several segments and are provided with prickles. + +Preparation.--The live animal is crushed and triturated as under class +IX of American Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia, a tincture can be +prepared as under class IV of the same Pharmacopoeia. + +This new unknown remedy has a curious anecdote connected with it. I call +it new because it has not been mentioned in any of our medical works, +although the use of _Blatta Americana_ (American cockroach) as a remedy +for dropsy has been mentioned in journals. The Indian cockroach is used +not in cases of dropsy but in cases of _Asthma_, a most obstinate +disease to deal with. In asthma it acts almost specifically. Before I +further proceed to give an account of this new, invaluable drug I shall +narrate here a short story how it came into use. + +Some years ago an elderly gentleman had long been suffering from asthma; +for over twenty years. He took all measures and tried different methods +of both recognized and unrecognized medical treatments, but +unfortunately all proved in vain. At last he gave up all treatment and +was getting fits daily. He was brought to such a deplorable condition +that he was left to suffer. He was in the habit of taking tea. One +afternoon as usual he drank his cup of tea--afterwards he noticed that +his oppression in the chest was much less and that he was feeling +unusually better, so much so that he felt himself a different being. +This led him and his friends to inquire into the cause of it. He +immediately inferred that the relief was due to the drinking of the +_tea_, although he habitually drank the same tea but never before had +experienced any such changes. So this change he attributed to something +in the tea. The servant who prepared the tea was sent for and +questioned. His reply was that he made the tea as usual and there was +nothing new in it. The residue of the teacup was carefully examined, +nothing was found there, but on examining the tea-pot a dead cockroach +was discovered. So it was concluded that this _infusion_ of cockroach +did the gentleman a world of good. The very day he drank that _cup of +tea_ he had hardly any fit of asthma at night, and in a few days he got +entirely well to his and his friends' surprise. + +The accounts of his Providential recovery were communicated to some of +his friends--one of them, not a medical man, but quite an enterprising +gentleman, took this into his head and resolved to try whether cockroach +does any good to other asthmatic patients. For this purpose he got a lot +of cockroaches, put them alive into a quantity of boiling water and +mixed it after filtering the water when cool with almost the same +quantity of the rectified spirit of wine, so that it might last for some +time without getting soured. This new mixture (or tincture) he began to +try in each and every case of asthma that he came across. The dose was a +drop each time, 3 or 4 doses daily, and more frequently during the fits +of asthma. Within a short time he made some such wonderful cures that +people began to flock from different parts of the country to his door. +Soon the number of attendants was so great that he had to manufacture +the medicine by pounds and all this medicine he distributed to patients +without any charge. He has records of some of the cases. + +Some two years ago a patient of mine asked me whether we make any use of +_Talápoka_ (cockroach) in our Pharmacopoeia. My reply was that we use +many loathsome insects as our remedial agents. I told him also that +_Blatta Americana_ (American cockroach), I had heard, had been used in +cases of dropsy, but I had no practical experience with it. He then said +the Indian cockroach is used in cases of asthma and he knew several +cases had been cured with it. This struck me and I determined to try +this in cases of asthma whenever next opportunity occurred. For this +purpose I got a lot of live cockroaches, killed them and pounded to a +fine pulp and triturated according to class IX of American +Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia, that is, two parts by weight of the +substance and nine parts by weight of sugar of milk, giving 1x +trituration. Thus I prepare up to 3x trituration and I also make an +alcoholic solution--a few live cockroaches were crushed and five parts +by weight of alcohol poured over them--it was allowed to remain eight +days in a dark, cool place, being shaken twice daily. After the +expiration of that period the alcoholic solution was poured off, +strained and filtered, when it was ready for use. + +I began to try both the preparations--drop doses of the tincture and +grain doses of 1x, 2x and sometimes 3x, 3 or 4 times daily when there +was no fit and almost every fifteen minutes or half hourly during the +severity of a fit. Both preparations began to answer well and I was +getting daily more and more encouraged about the efficacy of this new +drug. I had the opportunity of trying quite a number of cases of asthma +within this short time, the reports of which I wish to publish in the +future, but for the present I am glad to say in many cases it acted +almost specifically, that is, the whole trouble cleared away within a +fortnight or so without recurrence. In some cases the severity of the +paroxysm was lessened and the recurrence of the fits took place at a +longer interval; in others again only temporary benefit was observed. +This failure to benefit all cases alike I attribute to many +circumstances. Some people did not, rather could not, take the medicine +regularly according to my directions owing to their untoward +circumstances; some persons were suffering from other complications +along with asthma; some again got temporary relief and in the meantime +discontinued the medicine and came back again when there was a +recurrence of the fits, that is, they did not continue the drug for +sufficient length of time. Some cases again, not having derived +immediate benefit, got impatient and discontinued the medicine without +proper trial. + +Besides all these, I think individual idiosyncrasy has a great deal to +do. The season of the year has some influence. It is usually observed in +this country that those who are subject to periodical attacks of +asthmatic fits are more prone to an attack either during the full or the +new moon, or at both the times. I believe if it is properly watched this +fact will be evident all over the world. Same is true of some other +diseases, as chronic cough, chronic fevers, rheumatism, either acute or +chronic, gout, elephantiasis, other glandular enlargements, etc., get +aggravated or are prone to aggravation during such changes of the moon. +Then some people get more severe and frequent fits during the winter +than the summer and the others more during the summer than the winter. +Let me here tell you that the Indian summer is very different from +either the English or the American. Some part of the Indian summer +season is quite rainy and the atmosphere is saturated with moisture and +other irritating ingredients, consequently a class of asthmatic people +suffer more during this season. I noticed to this class of cases _Blatta +orientalis_ will prove most efficacious. I have used it in bronchial and +nervous asthma with better success than the stomachæ. + +SECOND PAPER. + +I have of late tried _Blatta orientalis_ indiscriminately in almost all +cases of asthma that have come under my treatment, and I am glad to say +I have received good results in most cases, as the reports of some of +the clinical cases will show. I have not come to any definite use of +this drug yet, but I shall only mention a few facts that I have observed +during its use. It acts better in low potency and repeated doses during +an attack of asthma; when the spasm subsides, the terminal asthmatic +cough with wheezing and slight dyspnoea, etc., is better relieved with +higher potencies; the low potency, if continued after the spasmodic +period is over, will make the cough more troublesome and harassing to +the patient and the expectoration tenacious, thick and very difficult to +raise, but this will not be the case if the potency is changed. I had +this difficulty in a few cases when I was less acquainted with the +action of the drug, but now I manage my cases better. In four patients +who continued the drug for some time in the low potency, during the +paroxysm and after it was over, the cough became dry and hacking with +little or no expectoration, the streaks of blood appeared in the sputa, +which the patients had never observed in the course of their long +illness. This appearance of blood in their sputa was the cause of a +great anxiety to them and made them hurry over to my office. On inquiry +I learned from two of them--one a lady and the other a young man--that +while taking this remedy they felt a sensation all over the body, for +four or five days previous to the appearance of the blood, as if heat +were radiating from the ears, eyes, nose, top of the head, palms of the +hands and soles of the feet. They attributed this sensation of heat all +over the body and the appearance of the blood in the expectoration to +the drug. I directed them to stop the medicine at once; this they did, +and with the discontinuance of it the blood disappeared from the sputa +as well as the sensation of heat, but to me it was an open question +whether this appearance of blood in the expectoration was due to +overdrugging, although I must say that the presence of the streaks of +blood in the sputa of asthmatic patients is not an uncommon phenomenon. +I resolved to give the same potency to the same patients after the +lapse of some days. I did so, and to my surprise the blood-streaked +sputa again appeared after they had taken the remedy ix, one grain four +times daily. From this the patients understood it was the same medicine +that had been given to them on the last occasion and begged me not to +give it again, as the appearance of blood in the sputum frightened them, +in spite of all my assurance. No more strong doses of the drug were +given to them and they did not notice any more blood in the sputum. I +have heard other patients complain of this peculiar sensation of heat +whenever strong doses were given to them for some time. It acts better +on stout and corpulent than on thin and emaciated persons. The asthmatic +patients subject to repeated attacks of malaria derive less permanent +benefit from the use of the drug. So, it seems to me, that in hæmic +asthma, which is due to the abnormal condition of the blood, it is +efficacious. I have also used this drug in troublesome cough with +dyspnoea of phthisical patients with good result. + +CLINICAL CASES. + +CASE I. Baln R. M., aged fifty-five, thin, emaciated and irritable +temperament, has been suffering from hereditary asthma for the last +twenty-five years. For the last six or seven years he suffered from +asthmatic fits almost nightly and a troublesome cough with a good deal +of frothy expectoration. He said he had not known what sleep was for the +last six or seven years, in fact, he could not lie down in bed, as that +would immediately bring on a violent fit of coughing which would not +cease until he sat up, so the recumbent posture for him was almost +impracticable, and he used to sit up during the night and doze on a pile +of pillows. He passed his days comparatively better, but the approach of +the night was a horror to him, his struggle, commencing at 9 or 10 P.M., +would last till the morning. He was the father of many children and was +well taken care of, but his suffering was so great that he had no +ambition to live any longer. He tried almost all systems of medicine +without much good. For the last ten years he took opium, which afforded +him slight relief at the beginning, using as high as forty-eight grains +of opium in twenty-four hours. Owing to the constant sitting posture he +became stooped, and the back of his neck stiff and painful. In April, +1889, he was suddenly taken ill with fever. The fever became protracted. +After an illness of over a month his condition became so bad that all +hope of his recovery was given up. During this illness he was treated by +an old school physician of some repute, but his condition daily grew +worse, the asthmatic attacks became very violent and almost incessant, +and the difficulty of breathing very great. He became so feeble that he +had not strength enough to enable him to bring up the expectoration; his +chest was full of it; fever was less; there was general anasarca. He was +sitting with head bent forward, almost touching the bed, as that was the +only position possible to him day and night. He had become almost +speechless, when I was sent for, at about 3 P.M. on the 23d of May, +1889. When I was entering the patient's room a medical man came out and +hinted that there was no use of my going in as the patient was just +expiring. I found the patient breathing hard; unconscious; jaws were +locked and saliva dribbling from the corners of his mouth; body cold; +cold, clammy perspiration on forehead; eyes partially opened; in fact, +to all appearance, he looked as if he were dead, except for the +respiratory movements. I felt his pulse and found it was not so bad as +the patient was looking. I examined the back of his chest, as that was +the only portion easily accessible, and noticed that the bronchial +spasms were going on with loud mucous râle. From the character of his +pulse I thought that the present state of the patient was _probably_ due +to the continued violent struggle and not deep coma, and that he had +become so exhausted that he was motionless, speechless and completely +unconscious. His bed was surrounded by many friends and relations, who +had come to bid him a last farewell; and it was with surprise that they +all looked at me when I proposed to administer medicine to a patient +whose death was expected every minute and for whose cremation +preparations were being made. + +I got a big phial full of water and put in it _Blatta orientalis_ 1x +trit. a few grains and tried two or three times to give him a spoonful +of it, but in vain; the jaws were locked and I could not make him +swallow any of that medicine; then I put some powder dry in the hollow +of his lips and asked the attendants to try to give him the medicine I +left in the bottle. I was asked whether there was any hope of his +recovery, of course my answer was "_no_," and I also said he could only +live a few hours. I left the patient's house with the idea of not +visiting it again, but at 9 P.M. a messenger came with the report that +the patient was slightly better, he could swallow medicine and two doses +of it had been given. I was asked to see the patient again. I could +hardly believe what he said, however, I went to see the patient again. I +noticed there was a slight change for the better, the pulse was steady, +the jaws were unlocked, there was mobility of the limbs, he could +swallow liquid with ease and was expectorating freely, the breathing +though still difficult was slightly improved. There was the winking of +the eyelids. On the whole he was looking less lifeless, but still I +entertained no hope of his recovery. I left instructions to repeat the +same medicine once or twice during the night, if required, at the same +time to give milk repeatedly, one or two spoonfuls at a time, and to +inform me next morning if he had survived the night. Next morning I +really grew anxious to know what had become of my patient who had shown +symptoms slightly better with this new remedy. A messenger came with the +report that the patient passed a good night. I was requested to see him +again. When I arrived at his place at 8 A.M. I was surprised to see him +so much better, he had not only regained his consciousness, but was +sitting quietly in his bed, could speak slowly, the difficulty of +breathing was completely gone, but the cough occasionally troubled him +and a good deal of expectoration of frothy white or sometimes of big +yellowish lumps of mucus came up. He was given three doses of the same +medicine 2x trit. during the day. He passed a fair day, but at night his +difficulty of breathing again appeared in somewhat milder form. He had +to take two doses of the medicine. Thus the medicine was continued for a +week and his trouble daily became less and less until after the +expiration of a week he was able to sleep at night for the first time in +the last six or seven years. I treated him over a month, and his health +improved so rapidly that he not only got rid of the asthmatic trouble, +but was soon able to go out and even attend his business. The stooped +condition of his neck with slight pain and slight chronic bronchitis did +not leave him altogether. Besides _Blatta orientalis_, I also prescribed +for him _Arsenicum alb. 6_ and _12_, _Naja tri. 6_, _Ipecac 3_, and +_Antim. tart. 3_, as they were indicated. He continued well for over a +year, but in August, 1890, he had slight reappearance of the asthmatic +trouble. He again took _Blatta orientalis_ and got well. + +CASE II. Mrs. Nundy, a thin lady, aged twenty-three, mother of three +children, came from a village for the treatment of asthma, from which +she had been suffering for the last eight years. For the first two or +three years she used to get two or three attacks in the year, but +gradually they were repeated more frequently, though the character of +the attack remained the same throughout. It would last two days and two +nights, whether any medicine was given to her or not. Nothing would +alleviate her suffering during an attack--too much interference would +increase her sufferings and prolong the duration of the attack, so, +practically speaking, almost nothing was given to her during an attack. +The great oppression of breathing, restlessness, profuse perspiration, +inability to move or lie down and loud wheezing would be the most +prominent symptoms in each attack. These would remain almost with equal +violence for nearly forty hours, when the spasms would cease with slight +cough and expectoration, and she would be perfectly at ease as ever, +and there would be no trace of disease left, except slight wheezing +sound on auscultation. But latterly these attacks were very frequent, +almost every week or ten days. In August, 1890, she was brought here for +treatment. It is worth while to mention that she took both allopathic +and native drugs during the interval of attacks to prevent their +recurrence, but without any effect. I saw her first on the morning of +the 5th of August, during an attack. I prescribed _Blatta Orientalis_ IX +trit., one grain every two hours. It was to their surprise that this +attack subsided unlike all others by the evening; that is, it +disappeared within twenty hours. This encouraged the lady and her +husband so much that she wanted to have regular course of treatment +under me. I put her under tincture of _Blatta Orientalis_ IX, one drop +per dose, twice daily. She continued this medicine till the time of the +next attack was over; that is, for ten days. After the expiration of +this period she began to complain of a sensation of heat all over her +body, so I changed it to 3x, one drop morning and evening. She kept +well, and after a month she went home thinking she got well. A month +after her going home she had an attack of asthma at night and took +_Blatta Orientalis_ IX as before, and by the next morning she was well. +This was in October, and after two months of the last attack. She had +another attack in winter and none since. + +CASE III. A young man, aged thirty-four, had been suffering from asthma +for some years. He was invariably worse during the rains and the winter, +and a chronic bronchitis was almost a constant accompaniment. He tried +allopathic and lots of patent drugs, with only temporary amelioration of +the trouble. At last, in November, 1888, he came to my office. On +examination of his chest I found there was a chronic bronchitis. He said +that slight difficulty of breathing with hacking cough used to trouble +him every night, besides a cold would be followed by a severe attack of +asthma, so its periodicity of recurrence was irregular. I treated him +with _Ipecac_, _Arsenicum alb._, etc. The first-named medicine did him +the most good, but he never got entirely well. So in July, 1889, I put +him under tincture _Blatta orientalis_ 3X, drop doses, three or four +times daily. Under its use he began to improve steadily, and had only +two or three attacks of asthmatic fits since he used this drug, which +were promptly relieved by the same drug in 1x potency. _Euphrasia off._ +was prescribed for his cold whenever he had it. He is free from all +trouble for the last year and a half. His general condition is so much +changed that there is no apprehension of the recurrence of his former +illness. + +CASE IV. Baln Bose, an old, corpulent gentleman, aged sixty-two, has +been suffering from asthmatic attacks for some years. He never took any +allopathic medicine, but had always been under treatment of native +kabiraj (medical men), under whose treatment he was sometimes better and +worse at others. Latterly he became very bad and passed several +sleepless nights. He used to pass his days comparatively better, and it +was at night and in the morning he used to be worse. On the 24th of +July, 1890, at 9 A.M. I saw him first--there was a slight touch of +asthma even then. I made him try to lie down in bed; this he could not +do, owing to the coughing fit it excited while in that posture. On +examination the chest revealed chronic bronchial catarrh, and there was +also a harassing cough, with very little expectoration after repeated +exertion. I prescribed _Blatta orientalis_ IX trit., one grain every two +hours. He passed the night without an attack, and the next morning when +I saw him he complained that only the cough was troublesome last night +and no fit of asthma. The cough was somewhat troublesome even when I saw +him in the morning. I gave him tincture _Blatta ori._ 3x, one drop dose +every two hours. He passed the day and night well. He continued the +treatment for a fortnight and then went home, where he has been keeping +good health, with the exception of an occasional bronchial catarrh. + +CASE V. A shoemaker, aged forty-two, robust constitution, has been +suffering with asthma for three or four years. He came to my office on +the 6th of November, 1890. He had been getting asthmatic fits almost +every night since October last. During the day troublesome cough, with +slight expectoration and hurried breathing made him unable to attend his +business. Tincture _Blatta orientalis_ IX, one drop doses, six times +daily, was given. The very first day he perceived the good effect of the +medicine and continued the same for a month, when he got well and +discontinued the medicine. He has been keeping well ever since. + +CASE VI. Mr. G., aged forty, healthy constitution, had an asthmatic fit +on the 4th of August, 1890, preceded by a violent attack of cold, from +which he frequently used to suffer. He had this severe cold in the +morning, and in the afternoon he began to experience a great difficulty +of breathing and slight oppression and lightness of the chest--this, by +9 P.M., developed into a regular fit of asthma. I was sent for. On my +arrival, at 10 P.M., I found he was sitting before a pile of pillows +with elbows supported on them, and struggling for breath. There was also +a great tightness in the chest, occasional cough, and inability to +speak. I at once put him under _Blatta orientalis_ IX trit., one grain +every fifteen minutes, and less frequently afterwards if he felt better. +On my visit next morning I found him much better, but he said his +trouble at night continued, more or less, till 2 A.M., after which he +got some rest. Now, there was a troublesome cough, slight oppression of +the chest and great apprehension of a second attack in the night. The +same medicine, 3x trit., was given to him during the day, and a few +powders of 1x were left with him in case he was to get an attack at +night. There was a slight aggravation of those symptoms at night, and he +had occasion to take only two powders of 1x. The next morning he was +every way better, except the cough, for which four powders of 3x were +given daily. In four or five days he got entirely well and had no +relapse. + +CASE VII. Mrs. D., aged twenty, a healthy, stout lady, mother of one +child, had been always enjoying good health, was suddenly attacked with +a violent fit of asthma on the 8th of August, 1890. This was the first +occasion she had a fit of asthma, the result of a severe cold. At about +2 A.M. she was suddenly seized with difficulty of breathing and a great +oppression in the chest. She could not lie down any longer in bed and +had to sit up, being supported on a pile of pillows. In the morning at 8 +A.M. I saw her first. I noticed she was in great agony and almost +speechless. On examination I could not detect much loud wheezing--the +characteristic of an asthmatic attack--though the rapid movements of the +walls of the chest were even quite visible to the bystanders. The +patient was feeling almost choked up, and could not express what was +going on. She only pointed out a point, a little over the pit of the +stomach most painful. There was no cough--perspiration was pouring over +her body. I could not at once make out whether it was a case of pure +asthma, especially as she never had it before. However, I made up my +mind to give her _Blatta orientalis_ IX trit., a grain dose every +fifteen minutes, and watch the effect myself. Three doses of it were +given without much change for the better. I left a few more doses to be +repeated half hourly and promised to see her again within a couple of +hours. On my return I found her in a much better condition, and she had +taken only one of those powders I had left, and they were not repeated, +as she felt better. Now I thought it must have been an attack of asthma, +and I continued the medicine unhesitatingly. There was no aggravation at +night, but on the next morning she was better, and the usual asthmatic +cough began with slight expectoration. There was pain in the chest and +head with each coughing fit. _Blatta orientalis_ 3x trit., four to six +doses, was continued for a few days, when she got well. Again in +November she had a slight tendency to an asthmatic fit, took two or +three doses of the same medicine and got well. Since then she had not +been troubled again. + +CASE VIII. A gentleman, the keeper of a common shop, aged forty-four, +belonging to a village, had been suffering from asthma for the last +eight years and had always been under treatment of native kabiraj +(medical men). In June, he came to the city, and I was called to see him +on the 14th of June, to treat him for his asthma. The day previous he +had an attack, for which he took no medicine. Each of his attacks +usually lasted four or five days. I gave him _Blatta orientalis_ IX +trit., one grain every two hours, and left him six such powders to be +taken during the day. He took them and felt better the next day. He +stayed here two or three days more, and when well he wanted to proceed +home, which was some couple of hundred miles. He took with him two +two-drachm phials of _Blatta orientalis_, one of IX and the other of 3x +trit. He continued the 3x, one grain doses, two or three times daily, +for a month, and discontinued afterward. He had no more asthmatic fits. +In January last, 1891, I had a letter from him, thanking me for his +recovery and asking for some of the same medicine for a friend of his, +who had been suffering from asthma. The friend of his who used the same +drug, _Blatta orientalis_, was equally benefited. + +CASE IX. Mrs. Dalta, a thin lady, aged thirty-eight, mother of several +children, had been exposed to cold, which brought on an attack of +bronchitis with fever. This, in the course of a fortnight, developed +into a regular fit of asthma. She was all this time treated by an +old-school physician, but when the husband of the lady saw that she was +daily getting worse, and a new disease crept in, he made up his mind to +change the treatment. I was called to see her in the morning of the 8th +of June, 1890. She became very much emaciated, could not take any food, +had fever with acute bronchitis, hurried respiration, difficulty of +breathing; this she was complaining of bitterly, owing to which she +could not lie down in bed, but had to sit up day and night. There was a +prolonged fit of spasmodic cough at short intervals, with slight +expectoration, but these coughing fits would make her almost breathless. +This was the first time I prescribed _Blatta orientalis_ IX in a case +of asthma with fever and acute bronchitis. It answered my purpose well. +She had only ten powders during the day and passed a comparatively +better night. Next morning when I saw her she was better, except the +coughing fits, which were continuing as before. The same medicine was +repeated. On the 10th of June she had no asthmatic trouble at night, but +there was not much improvement in her cough--_Anti. tart._ and _Bryonia_ +were needed to complete the cure. + + +BOLETUS LARICIS. + +NAT. ORD., Fungi. + +COMMON NAMES, Larch Agaric, Larch Boletus, Purging Agaric, White Agaric. + +PREPARATION.--The dried fungus is macerated in five parts by weight of +alcohol. + + (Here are two typical cases out of thirteen by Dr. W. H. + Burt, which we find in the _North American Journal of + Homoeopathy_, 1866, quoted from the _Medical Investigator_ + from a volume not attainable.) + +CASE 1. Intermittent fever: Type Quotidiana Duplex. In a large lymphatic +woman; weight about 180 lbs.; aged thirty-nine. November 4th. For the +last five weeks has had the ague. At first it was a simple quotidian. +Took Quinine, which broke it for four days, when it returned; took +Quinine in massive doses, which checked it for one week. It returned two +weeks since, in the form of a double quotidian. The chill comes on every +day at 10 A.M. and 5 P.M. + +The chill lasts from one to two hours each time; hands and feet get icy +cold, chills run up and down the spine, with severe pains in the head, +back and limbs; followed by high fever for three hours, and then profuse +sweat. Tongue furred whitish-yellow, with large fissures in the tongue; +flat, bitter taste; has had no appetite for five weeks; craves cold +water all the time; bowels rather costive; has nausea during every +chill, but no vomiting; very weak, can only sit up about one hour in the +morning; great depression of spirits, cries during the whole +examination; face very much jaundiced. Treatment: _Ars. 2_, every two +hours, for three days. It produced constant nausea and lessened the +chills, but aggravated the fever. I then determined to try the _Boletus_ +1st, two grs. every two hours. Took two doses when the chills came on, +she then ceased to take the medicine until 5 P.M. Took three doses, and +then fell asleep. 8th. Says she is feeling a little better, continued +treatment; 10 A.M., commenced to have a severe diarrhoea, an effect of +the medicine; discontinued the powders until 5 P.M. The fever did not +come on until 3 P.M.; had no chill; fever lasted three hours; perspired +profusely all night; slept well for the first time in a number of weeks. +9th. Feeling much better. Fever came on at 4 P.M., had no chill; fever +lasted four hours; nausea all the evening; sweat all night. 10th. +Feeling quite well. Had no more fever, but had night sweats for a week +after. Convalescence was very slow; notwithstanding she had no more +fever it was three weeks before she felt perfectly well. + +This case demonstrates the fact to us that the _Boletus_ is superior to +our _greatest remedial_ agents in the case of intermittents. I believe +if I had not been acquainted with the therapeutic properties of the +_Boletus_ I would have been compelled to treat this lady every few weeks +for two or three months with our usual remedies. + +CASE 2. Intermittent fever: Type quotidian. November 1st, Mrs. B., aged +fifty-six. Temperament, nervous. Three weeks since had an abscess in +left ear, which made her quite sick for a week. Since then has had a +fever every afternoon and night; feels chilly whenever she moves; +walking produces nausea; does not perspire any; tongue coated white; +loss of appetite; bowels loose; very restless at night, cannot sleep +any; getting very weak, keeps her bed most of the time. Gave _Boletus +laricis_. Had the fever but one day after. + + +CALCAREA RENALIS PRÆPARATA. + +PREPARATION.--There are two kinds of renal calculi, the phosphatic and +the uric, which should be triturated as separate preparations. + + (The _Homoeopathric Examiner_, 1846, contained the + following paper, by Dr. Bredenoll. We may add that the + remedy is reported to be peculiarly beneficial in Rigg's + disease of the teeth.) + +My professional engagements do not permit me to spend much time in +writing; the following case, however, I deem worthy of note. + +Born of healthy parents, I remained quite healthy until my twenty-third +year. I had no trouble in getting over the diseases to which children +are generally liable. Some of them, scarlet fever and measles, attacked +me when I was already engaged in my professional career. I am now +fifty-seven years old. + +In the year 1808, while vaccinating children, I caught the itch from one +of them. Although I washed myself with soap water immediately, yet a +pustule made its appearance in about eight days, between the little +finger and ring finger of the left hand; afterwards a few more came on +at the same place and some others between the ring and middle finger. I +hastened to repel this eruption as fast as possible, which I +unfortunately succeeded in doing within the period of eight days. + +This suppression of the eruption was followed by a host of diseases: +Liability to catching cold; frequent catarrh; rheumatic complaints; +toothache; attacks of hemicrania, with vomiting; continual heartburn; +hæmorrhoidal complaints, at times tumors, at times fluent; excessive +emaciation; afterwards a pustulous eruption over the whole body; painful +swelling of the joints, arthritic nodosities in different places; a +copper-colored eruption in the face, especially on and about the nose, +which made me look like a confirmed drunkard, etc., etc. + +These affections tormented me more or less, until in the year 1833 I +visited Hahnemann at Coethen, for the purpose of studying homoeopathia +with him. Hahnemann treated me for three weeks, and I continued the +treatment at my native place. My health improved steadily, and at the +end of a year I considered myself cured. This lasted until October, +1836, when I was attacked with violent colic in one night. The pain was +felt in the region of the left kidney, lancinating, pinching, sore; +retching ensued, resulting in vomiting of mucus, and lastly bile. I took +a few pellets of _Nux v._ x; after this the pain disappeared gradually, +and the vomiting ceased. Next day I was well again. Two days afterwards +I discovered gravel in the urine, and my sufferings had vanished. + +One year elapsed in this way; however, I occasionally experienced an +uncomfortable sensation in the region of the left kidney, especially +when riding on horseback, driving in a carriage, or walking fast; I took +at times _Lycopod._, at times _Nux v._, in proportion as one or the +other of these two remedies appeared indicated. + +In November, 1837, I was suddenly attacked with vomiting, accompanied +with violent lancinating, sore or pinching pains in the region of the +left kidney. The horrible anguish and pain which I experienced extorted +from me involuntary screams; I was writhing like a worm in the dust. A +calculus had descended into the ureter and had become incarcerated in +it. Repeated doses of _Nux_ relieved the incarceration, and I distinctly +felt that the calculus was descending towards the bladder. After +twenty-four hours of horrible suffering the vomiting ceased, the pain +became duller and was felt in the region where the ureter dips into and +becomes interwoven with the tissue of the bladder: it continued for +three days and then disappeared all of a sudden (the stone had not got +into the bladder). Thirty-six hours afterwards the calculus entered the +bulb of the urethra. I felt a frequent desire to urinate; the urine was +turbid and bloody, until at last a calculus of four grains made its +appearance in the urine. After this I frequently passed gravel and +calculi, at times with slight, at times violent pains, sometimes +accompanied with vomiting; I kept the larger calculi, with a view of +using them hereafter as a curative agent. + +Professor Nasse, of Bonn, where my son studied medicine at the time, has +analyzed the calculi, and has found them to be urate of lime. He advised +me to take _Merc. dulcis_ and the _Sulphate of Soda_ for some time; it +is scarcely necessary for me to say that I did not follow his advice. + +On the fifteenth of February, 1839, I felt the precursory symptoms of a +new attack, which really did break out in all its fury on the 16th, and +continued on the 17th and 18th. I now caused 5 grains of my calculi to +be triturated in my presence with 95 grains of sugar of milk, according +to the fashion of Hahnemann, and took 1/2 grain in the evening of the +17th, another 1/2 grain in the morning of the 18th. On this day I passed +very turbid urine with a considerable quantity of gravel; however, in +the region where the ureter dips into the bladder, I experienced an +uncomfortable sensation, but was well otherwise. On the 19th I was +obliged to visit a patient at the distance of two miles; on my journey I +felt that the calculus was descending into the bladder; the urine which +I emitted shortly afterwards was very turbid and bloody. That same +evening, after returning home, I felt the stone in the bulb of the +urethra, and on the morning of the 20th it came off during stool, but +unfortunately got lost among the excrement. To judge from my feeling it +must have been larger than any of the preceding calculi, and also +rougher, for its passage through the urethra was very painful and +followed by an oozing out of blood. + +The uncomfortable feeling in the region of the left kidney never +disappeared completely; it became especially painful when pressing upon +that place, when riding on horseback or in a carriage, when taking +exercise or turning the body. It seems to me that the whole pelvis of +the kidneys must have been full of gravel and calculi. I now took 1/2 +grain at intervals of eight days; the result was that I passed gravel +and small calculi at every micturition. On the 30th of November my +condition got worse, and I continued to take 1/2 grain of _Calc. ren. +præp._, at longer or shorter intervals, until October 18th, 1840. After +this period I ceased to pass any gravel, and I felt entirely well. On +the 3d of February I passed some more gravel. Another dose of 1/2 grain +of _Lapis renalis_; another dose on June 3d. On June 17th precursors of +another attack; on the 18th vomiting accompanied by all the frightful +circumstances which I have detailed above; the vomiting of mucus, bile, +ingesta, continued at short intervals until the 26th; my tongue was +coated with yellow mucus, and my appetite had completely disappeared. +_Bryon., Nux v._ and _Pulsat._ relieved the gastric symptom; on the +26th, in the afternoon, I passed a calculus of the size of a pea. I now +resume the use of _Calc. ren. præp._ in 1/2 grain doses, at irregular +intervals. On the 23d of October I passed a calculus of the size of a +pea, without vomiting; there were no other precursory symptoms except +the uncomfortable feeling in the region of the kidney a few days +previous. I have felt well ever since and free from all complaint, +although I continue the occasional use of 1/2 a grain of _Calc. ren. +præp._, lest I should have a relapse. + +Every time I took a dose of _Calc. ren. pr._ I found that the so-called +tartar on the teeth became detached a few days afterwards. A short while +ago a nodosity, hard as a stone, which had appeared on the extensor +tendon of the right middle finger, about nine months ago, and which +threatened to increase more and more, disappeared. I consider the tartar +on the teeth, calculi renales and arthritic nodosities very similar +morbid products. + +In conclusion I beg leave to offer the following remarks: + +1. Hahnemann's theory of psora is no chimera, as many theoreticians +would have us believe. I was perfectly healthy previous to my being +infected with itch. What a host of sufferings have I been obliged to +endure after the suppression of the itch! + +2. Isopathy deserves especial notice. + +It is true, the most suitable homoeopathic remedies afforded me +relief; the incarceration of calculi in the ureter especially was +relieved by _Nux_; but they were unable to put a stop to the formation +of calculi; this result was only attained by the preparation of _Calc. +ren._ + + +CEANOTHUS AMERICANUS. + +NAT. ORD., Rhamnaceæ. + +COMMON NAMES, New Jersey Tea. Red Root. Wild Snowball. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh leaves are pounded to a pulp and macerated in +two parts by weight of alcohol. + + (The following by Dr. Majumdar in _Indian Homoepathic + Review_, 1897, illustrates the chief use of this "organ + remedy.") + +Recently I had a wonderful case of supposed heart disease cured by +_Ceanothus_. I am indebted to my friend, Dr. Burnett, for the suggestion +of using _Ceanothus_. + +A thin and haggard looking young man presented himself to my office on +the 26th of July, 1896. He told me he had some disease of the heart and +had been under the treatment of several eminent allopathic physicians of +this city; some declared it to be a case of hypertrophy of the heart and +some of valvular disease. + +Without asking him further, I examined his heart thoroughly, but with no +particular results. The rhythm and sounds were all normal only there was +a degree of weakness in these sounds. Dulness on percussion was not +extended beyond its usual limit. So I could not make out any heart +disease in this man. + +On further inquiry, I learned that the man remained in a most malarious +place for five years, during which he had been suffering off and on +from intermittent fever. I percussed the abdomen and found an enormously +enlarged and indurated spleen, reaching beyond the navel and pushing up +the thoracic viscera. + +The patient complained of palpitation of heart, dyspnoea, especially +on ascending steps and walking fast. I thought from these symptoms his +former medical advisers concluded heart disease. In my mind they seemed +to be resulted from enlarged spleen. + +On that very day I gave him six powders of _Ceonothus Amer._ 3x, one +dose morning and evening. I asked him to see me when his medicine +finished. He did not make his appearance, however, on the appointed day. +I thought the result of my prescription was not promising. After a week +he came and reported unusually good results. + +His dyspnoea was gone, palpitation troubled him now and then, but much +less than before. He wanted me to give him the same powders. I gave him +_Sac. lac._, six doses, in the usual way. + +Reported further improvement; the same powders of _Sac. lac._ twice. To +my astonishment I found the spleen much reduced in size and softened +than before; I knew nothing about this patient for some time. Only +recently I saw him, a perfect picture of sound health. He informed me +that the same powders were sufficient to set him right. He gained +health; no sign of enlarged spleen left. + + +CEPHALANTHUS OCCIDENTALIS. + +NAT. ORD., Rubiaceæ. + +COMMON NAMES, Button Bush, Crane Willow. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh bark of branches and roots is pounded to a pulp +and macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. + + (The item given below was contributed to the _American + Observer_, 1875, by Dr. E. D. Wright.) + +Proving--one-half ounce in a day. + +First day--raw, sore throat; nervous, excited; felt light and easy, +happy; bowels constipated. + +Second day--the same dose. Hard dreams about fighting, quarreling; +restless and tossing over; joints of the fingers lame; griping pains in +the lungs(?); in body and limbs, especially in the joints; toothache; +bowels loose, stool offensive; almost affected by the piles. + +CURES.--Intermittent fever, quotidian and tertian fever; sore throat, +quinsy--had very good effect. + +Rheumatic fevers, with soreness of the flesh. + +A teamster fell in the river. Cold, and inflammatory fever was cured +quickly. + + +CEREUS BONPLANDII. + +NAT. ORD., Cactacæ. + +COMMON NAME, A variety of the night blooming cereus group. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh green stems are pounded to a pulp and macerated +in two parts by weight of alcohol. + + (This paper, which we take from the _Homoeopathic + Physician_, 1892, was prepared by Dr. J. H. Flitch, of + New Scotland, N. Y., the original prover. The proving is + also found in the _Encyclopædia_, Allen's.) + +_Mind and Disposition._--An agreeable and tranquil state and frame of +mind and body (first day, evening). + +Mind perfectly composed. + +Feel better when engaged at something or occupied. + +Desire to be at useful work, desire to be busy (second day). + +Desire to be employed. + +Praying or disposition to be at prayer. + +Ill at ease. + +Rest (third day). + +Doesn't know what to do with one's self. + +Feels a strong desire to give away something very necessary for him to +keep or have. + +Feeling irritable (on rising). + +Cannot keep himself employed at anything. + +Very much disturbed in mind. + +Passes the time in useless occupation (fourth day). + +Very irritable; acts impulsively. + +Spends the whole forenoon uselessly. + +Difficulty in becoming devotional (at church). + +Finds it easy to become devotional. + +Feels well late in the evening (seventh day). + +Thinks he is under a powerful influence. + +_Sensorium._--Vertigo followed by nausea. + +Swimming of the head (sixth day). + +_Head._--Decidedly painful drawing sensation in the occiput, soon +subsiding (first day). + +Painful stunning feeling in the right frontal bone. + +Pressive pain from without inward in the occiput high up on walking. + +Slight painful pressure in the right occiput from behind forward (second +day). + +Disagreeable feeling in occiput, running down over the neck, followed by +a slight qualmishness. + +Slight heavy feeling in the top of the forehead. + +Headache occipital, continued for a quarter of an hour. + +Sensation, as if something hard like a board were bound against the back +of the head, felt more especially on left side. + +Head feels drawn to the left backward. + +Pain in occiput running through lobes of the cerebrum. + +Pain running from left ear through the head to right ear and right +parietal bone. + +Pain commencing in the medulla oblongata and running upward and +expanding to the surface of the brain, worse on stooping or bending +forward. + +Pain along right external angular process of frontal bone. + +Pain through or across the brain from left to right. + +Feeling as of being pressed at left occiput and immediately thereafter +a counter pain in left frontal bone, the latter continuing a minute or +two. + +Pain from left occiput verging around left parietal bone. + +Pain through occiput. + +Pain in right forehead (third day). + +Pain in anterior portion of brain and extending in a backward direction. + +Tenderness at the point of exit of the left supra-orbital nerve. + +Pain in occiput (high up). + +Occipital pain (fifth day). + +Bad feeling, head (third day). + +_Eyes._--Pain over right eye, passing down over globe (first day). + +Nauseated feeling commencing in throat, passing to stomach simultaneous +with a congested feeling in both eyes. + +Pain in orbits, running from before backward. + +Pain in left eyelids when stooping low (second day). + +On closing the eyes perception of a cluster of round-shaped, +symmetrical, orange-colored spots. + +Swimming eyes. + +Capillary congestion of the conjunctiva. + +Severe photophobia, producing a sticking pain through eyes. + +Sore feeling through eyes as if exposed to strong sunlight. + +Pain through globe of right eye. + +Pain in the globe of left eye. + +_Nose._--Greenish (pale) mucus discharged from nostril. + +Accumulation of mucus in nose as in nasal catarrh. + +Stinging in nose, more especially right side. + +Stinging in right nostril. + +Sneezing. + +Hardened mucus in left nostril. + +_Face._--Pain along right malar bone running to temple. + +Looks haggard. + +Yellowish face or countenance. + +_Mouth, etc._--Saliva in mouth when swallowed of no unpleasant taste +(first day). + +Feeling of coldness in the mouth (second day). + +Feeling as of having eaten something tasting alkaline. + +Water in the mouth. + +Metallic taste in the mouth. + +Watery saliva in the mouth (not disagreeable). + +Slight metallic taste, feels as if having eaten something of a metallic +taste. + +Taste of green vegetables. + +Watery taste. + +Sensation as of a thread of mucus on the tongue. + +Insipid, watery taste (third day). + +Fetid breath (noticed by myself) (fourth day). + +Fetid breath (noticed by others) (fifth day). + +Tongue looks frothy (sixth day). + +Tongue of a purplish red hue. + +Tongue feels rough. + +_Throat._--Mucus adherent to the hard palate easily removed (first day). + +Mucus in pharynx easily detached (second day). + +Mucus in larynx easily detached. + +Scraping of mucus, which seems to adhere to left side of pharynx. + +Persistent accumulation of mucus in the pharynx, continually and +recurring in considerable quantities and of a pale-green color. + +Mucus easily expectorated or cleared from the throat. + +Clearing of the hard palate of mucus. + +_Stomach, Appetite, etc._--Dry eructations (second day). + +Thirstlessness. + +Appetite diminished; ate very light breakfast (third day). + +Relish of sweet things. + +_Abdomen, Stool, etc._--Slight rumbling in bowels, left side (first +day). + +Nearly or quite inefficient effort to evacuate bowels. + +Fetid flatus passed from bowels. + +Slight pain in epigastrium, coming and going at intervals of a few +minutes. + +Slightly painful sensation in epigastrium (second day). + +Passed stool not easy, not sufficient at 6 A.M. (third day). + +Natural stool at 6 A.M. (sixth day). + +_Urine and Urinary Organs._--Inclination to pass urine (first day). + +Urine of a slightly brownish tinge (second day). + +Urine smells strongly after a few minutes. + +Yellowish urine. + +Urine less than half usual quantity. + +Urine normal. + +Urine clear, small in quantity. + +Urination frequent (at 4 P.M.) (second day). + +Amelioration after urination. + +Passed a small quantity saturated yellowish urine. + +_Sexual._--Slight increase of sexual desire. + +Anæsthesia and dwindling of the sexual organs. + +_Kidneys._--Slight pain of a sticking character in right kidney (second +day). + +Pain in left kidney, long continued, as from the presence of a renal +calculus. + +Pain in left abdomen sharp and cutting, as from a calculus impacted in +the ureter. + +Slight pain in right kidney repeated after an interval (third day). + +Sticking pain in right ureter. + +More severe sticking pain in right kidney. + +Soreness on external pressure over right kidney. + +Pain on stooping, bending over in right kidney. + +Pain in left kidney (fifth day). + +_Chest, Heart, etc._--Deep inspiration as if tired, although +experiencing no fatigue whatever (second day). + +Feels as if pained or oppressed at chest. + +Slightly painful sensation at left chest, region of the heart. + +Deep inspiration. + +At intervals deep inspiration, as if the chest were laboring under an +oppression hardly definable. + +Slight feeling of oppression, or a weakness in the chest with the deep +inspiration. + +Tendency to expand the chest automatically and rhythmically, recurring +very frequently. + +The chest expands itself to its utmost capacity, seemingly, and in an +instant collapses, the same process to be repeated. + +Respiration measured, no interval between inspiration and expiration. + +Sensation of uneasiness extending to lumbar region on deep inspiration +(described above). + +Slight pricking sensation of pain in the heart. + +Sighing respiration (very frequent) (fourth day). + +Tenderness of the anterior lower left intercostal muscles below the +heart (third day). + +Pain in chest and through heart, with pain running toward spleen, the +latter momentarily, the former (heart pain) continuing. + +Pain in left great pectoral muscle, worse toward the tendon. + +Sighing respiration, noticed many times (fifth day). + +Coughing on throwing off outer garments. + +Somewhat persistent pains in the cartilages of the left lower ribs. + +Long, deep, uneasy respiration, felt more acutely (sixth day). + +The chest acts automatically, not according to will or whim. + +Chest feels empty. + +Pain at heart. + +Pulse dicrotic, and several intermissions noticed within a minute (after +rising 6 A.M.). + +Deep inspiration and expiration, chest is emptied quickly. + +Sensation as of a great stone laid upon the heart. + +Sensation (soon after) as if the thoracic wall anterior to heart were +broken out or torn away. + +Pulse sharp. + +Desire to remove clothing from chest. + +Pain in chest and both arms. + +_Neck, Back, etc._--Painful sensation in the sides of the neck, left, at +mastoid or below it, continuing longer than on right side. + +Pain in left neck behind mastoid process, running backward and upward. + +Pain through right shoulder blade (scapula). + +Dorsal vertebræ feel painful (third day). + +Tenderness along spines of cervical and upper dorsal vertebræ (fourth +day). + +Pain in muscles of thorax midway between scapula and sacrum (sixth day). + +Pain on pressure of muscle of left side of the neck. + +Back lame on stooping. + +Pain in right scapula. + +Pain in neck. + +Pain in left side above and along clavicle. + +Fatigue in lumbar region on riding. + +_Upper extremities._--Tired feeling in both arms (second day). + +Drawing pain in index finger of both hands. + +Pain in both upper arms. + +Pain running across inner side of left arm, felt longest at bend of the +elbow. + +Pain in left shoulder like that produced by carrying a heavy load. + +Pain running along the back down to the arms. + +Dull pain in left elbow and forearm. + +Pain with numbness in left forearm, ulnar side (third day). + +Pain along inner side of right upper arm. + +Pain with numbness of right arm while writing. + +Pain in metacarpal bone of right thumb. + +Pain (very noticeable) in metacarpal phalangeal joint of right hand. + +Lameness in right forearm above wrist. + +Drawing from end of right thumb upward, pain quite constant. + +Considerable soreness on contact of anterior muscles of right arm. + +Pain on ulnar side of left carpo-metacarpal joint (fourth day). + +Pain in external border of left elbow joint. + +Pain at and back of left shoulder joint. + +Lameness of left little finger. + +Pain over ulna posteriorly. + +Pain above wrist. + +Tenderness of the flexor muscles of both upper arms. + +Pain in right ring finger at 3 P.M. and repeated (fifth day). + +Pain at junction of second and third phalanx (last joint) of left index +finger. + +Pain in dorsum of right hand. + +Pain in left forearm. + +Pain in both arms and chest. + +Pain in third phalanx of left index finger. + +Pain in right little finger running through bone. + +Pain in right ring finger. + +Pain in right wrist. + +Pain in first and second metacarpal bones (sixth day) of right hand. + +Pain in the dorsum of left hand. + +Pain in left little finger. + +Pain on back of left wrist, running to forearm. + +Pain in the anterior muscles of upper arm. + +_Lower Extremities._--Pain in right knee (second day). + +Pain through right hip (fifth day). + +Pain in right great trochanter. + +Pain on the inner side of left knee (repeated). + +Pain on left knee, inner and lower border. + +Pain in both knees. + +Pain in both knees on rising. + +Pain in hamstring tendons of left thigh. + +Pain in right hip (sixth day). + +Pain in head of the right thigh bone. + +Pain in right patella, very sore, difficult to touch without very +considerable pain. + +Pain above right external malleolus. + +Pressing or pressive feeling, beginning at the sacrum and running down +through both thighs down to feet. + +Pain in different joints of the lower extremities. + +_Skin._--Itching of the nose (second day). + +Itching on various parts of the body (general itching) (third day). + +Itching pustule of face near ala of nose. + +Itching of the right popliteal space, with roughness of the skin (fifth +day). + +Profuse shedding of the hair on combing the head. + +Itching with roughness of the skin of a spot a few inches square above +the left knee. + +Itching of a spot a few inches below left scapula, with a condition of +the skin like eczema periodically. + +_Sleep._ Not sleeping late at night. + +Not sleeping at 11 P.M., mind disturbed (fourth day). + +Dreamed of dogs (fifth day). + +Dream of a fracas which caused great excitement in the dreamer. + +Drowsiness at 11 P.M. (sixth day). + +Drowsiness (third day). + +Slept pretty well (fifth day). + +Awakes at 5 A.M. (sixth day). + +Awakes at 9 A.M. (seventh day, Sunday). + +Recurrence of old dreams of years ago. + +Yawning (second day). + +_Generalities._--Feeling miserably on retiring. + +Throws himself on bed without undressing. + +Great yawning fit (third day). + +Feels not pleasant. + +Feels half sick. + +Very dull in the morning, all morning. + +Feels very badly, has an ill-defined bad feeling in the evening and at +night. + +Easily chilled in a room; better on disrobing for bed. + +Alternations of symptoms of mind and bodily pains. When pains of the +body are noticed, symptoms affecting the mind are suspended. The mind +loses its characteristics, is clear, and one feels better. + +REMARKS.--In looking over the above proving we find a number of +illustrations of the alternate action of the drug. But perhaps what +strikes the reader most forcibly is the way the symptoms follow Reuter's +series. The most prominent symptoms early developed, catarrhal and +gastric, have come and gone within three or four days, while those +affecting the chest, heart, sensorium, eyes, brain, and nerves are more +slowly developed, and are the ones that persist. Another thing to be +noticed is the long duration of its action. The high-water mark in +regard to its action was not reached (I mean its action on the nervous +system) until nearly ten days after discontinuing to take it. It is an +_antipsoric_ of remarkable power. Some skin symptoms developed by it +persisted off and on for years, two or three of which I will mention. +"Itching of the right popliteal space," this after continuing for eight +or nine years disappeared. I think some _Sepia_ [Greek: Ip] I took had +something to do with its disappearance. Another: "Itching with roughness +of the skin, like eczema, above the left knee anteriorly." This still +persists. I still have "Itching, with an eruption resembling at times +herpes zoster below the left scapula." This is still present, although +annoying. I have done nothing to cause its disappearance. + +In regard to _verifications_ I could report a goodly number. One of the +first I ever had was a case of eczema of both hands, extending as far as +the elbows. Cured in six weeks. The provings point in the direction of +kidney troubles, and I have seen it speedily cause the disappearance of +deposits in the urine that were giving much inconvenience. In a case of +dropsy of cardiac and renal origin (albuminuria) in which there was +great oedema, cured in two or three weeks. Sleeplessness, peculiar in +its nature, corresponding to the proving, is relieved by it. Intercostal +neuralgia, especially on left side. Anterior crural neuralgia, an +aggravated case, promptly relieved. I need not say that the symptoms +strongly point to rheumatism. I could say much on that part of the +subject, and there is the sphere in which it has seemed to have been +useful by the professional friend to whom I have furnished the medicine +for trial. In a monograph by Dr. R. E. Kunge, of New York, and the +writer, I ventured the prediction that _Cereus bonplandii_ would prove +of value in the treatment of insanity. I send you the report of two +cases. I have one other still under treatment. A patient for fourteen +years in the Middletown Insane Hospital, improving, called to see Ida +Reamer, a young woman of eighteen, living in New Scotland, on what is +called the Heldeberg Mountain or hill, on the evening of April 19th, +1884. For some time previously she had been living with a relative in +Albany, attending school and assisting in household labor. Had studied +hard and probably overtaxed her strength. Her friends noticing that she +was not her former self, and that though usually amiable and cheerful, +she had become gloomy and taciturn, brought her home. Rest did her no +good, and I was called after she had been home for some time. On my +visit I noticed she would not answer questions; was wandering aimlessly +about the house; could not sit still, if seated, more than a few +minutes. During my visit I think she changed her position a dozen or +fifteen times. She would go to the water pail and get a drink, then in a +minute or two would get up and go to the door. After standing a minute +or two she would come in and sit down, only to rise up and repeat her +restless wanderings. I could elicit nothing from the mother of anything +wrong in regard to the menstrual function. Prescribed _Cereus +bonplandii_, fourth decimal. Did not call again, but was informed by her +friend that she soon regained her health. Was requested to call again to +see Ida R. on November 29th of the same year. This time there was +considerable mental disturbance; she had attended some entertainment +which she had considered of a questionable nature, and had been worrying +over it. Although living out at service, it did not appear that she had +overworked. I found her sitting still; she would sit for hours. If any +one disturbed her, she would curse, swear, throw boots and shoes or +anything that came in her way, resisted attempts made by her friends to +remove her to her home. Prescribed _Cer. bon._ 4. Saw her December 3d, +7th, 10th, at the end of which time she was entirely free from any +mental manifestations, and although under observation has never +experienced a return of them to the present date. + +In the summer of 1879 was consulted in the case of Mrs. D. V., afflicted +with melancholia for a year or two. The disease had appeared just +subsequent to her confinement with her last child. Prescribed wholesome +advice in regard to mode of life, etc., and very little medicine. In a +few months she was apparently as well as ever. June 5th, 1884, was +called to see Mrs. D. V. She had quite recently given birth to a child +and was developing delusions, most of which were those of a spiritual +nature. She thought she had committed the unpardonable sin, or that she +had offended some of her friends, and was constantly worrying. Appetite +very poor. Prescribed _Cer. bon._ 4, gave her nourishing diet with +Maltine and Pepsin to aid digestion. On July 11th she was about the +house attending to her household duties. + + +CHEIRANTHUS CHEIRI. + +NAT. ORD., Cruciferæ. + +COMMON NAME, Wall flower. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh plant is pounded to a pulp and macerated in two +parts by weight of alcohol. + + (Dr. Robert T. Cooper, of London, contributed the + following to the _Hahnemannian Monthly_, 1897): + +A tincture is used made from a single dark-flowered plant. No proving of +this remedy has come under my notice, yet I consider the following case +worth reporting: T. T., age twenty, a clerk; admission date, 30th April, +1892; never heard well on the left side, but particularly deaf the last +month, and deafness increases; watch, hearing contact only. History of +much earache in childhood; left ear discharges, but the discharge does +not run out. Wisdom teeth; left upper and right, lower and upper, +breaking through. Gave _Cheiranthus cheiri_. + +28th May, hears very much better; left, 3-1/2 inches. No medicine. + +11th June, continues improving gradually; left, 15 inches. + +25th June, continues to hear voices very fairly on the left side, but no +improvement since last time; left, 15 inches. Gave _Cheiranthus cheiri_. + +25th July, restoration of improving condition; left, 20 inches. No +medicine. + + +CHIONANTHUS VIRGINICA. + +NAT. ORD., Oleaceæ. + +COMMON NAME, Fringe Tree. Snow-flower. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh bark is pounded to a pulp and macerated in two +parts by weight of alcohol. + + (The following is the only proving, we believe, ever made + of this drug; it was the thesis of Dr. John W. Lawshé, + Atlanta, Ga., on his graduation, and was published in + _North American Journal of Homoeopathy_, May, 1883). + +This being the first and only proving of this drug, Prof. Lilienthal +requested a copy of it for publication, which I cheerfully agreed to +give him. + +Monday, July 10, 1882, 9:30 A.M., I took one drop of the tincture, +after having taken the 12x and 6x potencies, one day each, without any +effect. I continued taking the tincture each hour during the day, +increasing each dose one drop till five were reached, then increased +each dose five drops till twenty-five were reached, but without any +effect whatever. + +Tuesday, July 11th, I began with thirty drops at 9 o'clock A.M., and +increased the dose five drops each hour till I reached one drachm, and +took three doses of one drachm each. I retired at 10 o'clock feeling +perfectly well. + +I awoke at 4:10 A.M., Wednesday, July 12th, with a severe +headache--chiefly in the forehead and just over the eyes--especially the +left eye. Eyeballs exceedingly painful, feel sore and bruised. + +Cutting twisting pains all through my abdomen. + +I turned over and lay with my face downward, which seemed to relieve the +abdominal pains some, and after awhile I went to sleep. I awoke again at +8:20 feeling very sick and badly all over. Head feels very sore all over +and through it; heavy dull feeling in forehead and a drawing or pressing +at the root of my nose. I felt so weak I had to sit down awhile before I +could finish dressing; _never_ before felt so sick at my stomach. Bitter +eructations, great nausea and retching, with a desire for stool. + +I finished dressing and looked at my tongue, which was heavily coated +and of a dirty, greenish yellow color. I started down stairs and had a +violent attack of nausea and a great deal of retching before I could +vomit. It seemed as though there were a "_double suction_" in my +abdomen, one trying to force something up and the other sucking it back, +till finally, by quite an effort, I vomited a teacup full, or more, of +_very dark green_ bile, rather ropy, _I think_, and exceedingly bitter. +The bile came up with a single gush and I was through. Immediately a +cold perspiration broke out and stood in beads on my forehead, and I +felt very weak. Desire for stool gone after vomiting. + +I have a sore, weak, bruised feeling all over the small of my back; +feels very weak when standing or moving about; better sitting or lying +down. + +No appetite for breakfast, but my stomach felt so weak and empty that I +drank a cup of coffee and ate half a biscuit, which relieved to some +extent. + +9 A.M., am so nervous I cannot keep still and can hardly write down my +symptoms. + +9:30 o'clock, my back in lumbar and sacral region is so sore and weak I +could hardly walk from the car to the office, every step seemed to jar +my whole body and made my headache worse. + +10 o'clock, have been quiet for half an hour and feel some better; have +a pressing or squeezing sensation in the bridge of my nose; sore +constricted feeling in the temples, with throbbing temporal arteries. + +10:30 o'clock, just came from stool; the first passed was watery, but +the last was more solid in appearance; stool terribly offensive, like +_carrion_. Heavy, all-gone sort of feeling low down in hypogastrium; +color of stool was dark brown with pieces of undigested food in it. + +11:30, just got home and feel very bad and weak. My head and back ache +considerably, and I feel "played out" generally. + +12 o'clock, forehead and cheeks _very_ hot and dry, radial pulse 114, +chilly sensation darting through body from front to back, causing a sort +of shivering or involuntary jerking, forehead feels like a hot coal of +fire to my hand; headache in forehead and over eyes relieved by pressing +with my hand, but I cannot bear it long for my head seems to get hotter +from it; am exceedingly nervous, cannot lie still, involuntary jerkings +in different parts of the body. Roof of mouth and tongue feel very dry, +although there seems to be the usual amount of saliva present. No thirst +at all. + +I went to sleep about 12:20 P.M., and was awakened at 2 o'clock for +dinner. Couldn't eat anything; I tried but it nauseated me; could only +drink a cup of coffee; headache worse after waking; pulse 88; head not +quite so hot, body feels chilly, and I had a shawl thrown over me; went +to sleep again about 3:30. + +I was told that at 4:15 my face and head were covered with a profuse +perspiration, and my carotid arteries pulsated very hard and rapidly; I +got up at 5 o'clock and bathed my face in cold water and felt somewhat +better, though my head and back still ache considerably and feel quite +sore; eyeballs feel bruised. + +6:30. Weak, empty feeling about stomach, which was relieved for awhile +by eating some crackers and drinking a cup of coffee. Pulse still 88. + +At 8:15 had an action from my bowels; during stool griping and cutting +pains in abdomen, about and below umbilicus; stool thin, watery, +blackish-brown color and very offensive. I retired at 9:30 and had to +have an extra covering thrown upon me, I was so chilly, while my +room-mate lay without any covering at all. My head feels sore and +bruised all over, and the small of my back is exceedingly weak and +feels, when I touch it with my hand, as though the skin were all off. + +Thursday, July 13th. I was very nervous and restless last night after +going to bed; didn't go to sleep till after 12 o'clock, and woke up +several times before daylight with pains in my head, abdomen and back. +Got up at 8 o'clock. My head feels sore and bruised; the bruised feeling +seems to go into my brain now; every time I move, cough or laugh it +seems as if my head would split open and fly in every direction; my +_back_ is not so painful this morning; I couldn't eat much breakfast; +stool this morning was quite copious, watery, _dark_ brown and not so +offensive as yesterday. + +9:30. Headache better; several times this morning I have had attacks of +cutting or griping pains in my intestines, in and about the umbilical +region; my tongue is very heavily coated in the centre with a thick +yellowish fur; the tip is slightly red, and on each side of the tip +there are several little places that look as though blood was about to +ooze forth from them; my tongue feels drawn and shriveled up the centre. + +4:30. The only symptom at 11 o'clock was a dull, sore, aching feeling in +the umbilical and iliac regions, occasionally changing for just a minute +or so to a severe griping, which was relieved some by emission of +flatus. My face has a yellowish appearance; from the outer to the inner +canthus there is a reddish-yellow streak, about one-quarter of an inch +wide, in the whites of both eyes; the blood vessels of the sclerotic +coat are very much enlarged and distinctly visible. + +Friday, July 14th. I suffered considerably after 5 o'clock yesterday +afternoon and last night with pains in my abdomen, and they are more +severe this morning than yesterday; it feels just like a string tied in +a "slip knot" around my intestines in the umbilical region, and every +once in awhile it was _suddenly_ drawn tight for a minute or so, and +then _gradually_ loosened; stool this morning was very thin, watery and +rather flaky; the flaky portion was dark yellow, the fluid portion +_dark_ green, with a _light_ green foam or froth on top, streaked with a +white, mucus-looking substance; flatus and fæces passed together; some +pain in my bowels during stool, and a hot, scalded sensation in anus, +which lasted fifteen or twenty minutes after stool; during stool a cold +perspiration broke out on my forehead and back of my hands; took quite a +while to pass stool, and then only a small quantity passed; eyeballs +feel bruised and the whites have a yellowish cast all over, though the +"bands" are still very distinct; my skin is quite yellow to-day and I +feel very much fatigued generally. + +Saturday, July 15th. Stool about natural this morning; some feeling in +my abdomen, though not so severe; no new symptoms. + +Sunday, July 16th. The only thing unusual which I noticed to-day was the +passage of considerable offensive flatus; a greater quantity after +retiring than during the day. + +I noticed no more symptoms after Sunday night. + + (The following is from a letter of Dr. E. M. Hale): + +Some time ago I received a letter from Dr. F. S. Smith, of Lock Haven, +Pa., in which, referring to _Chionanthus_, he says: + +"For the first time to-day I read your article on _Chionanthus_ in the +last edition of your Materia Medica of 'New Remedies.' I have been using +this drug for over two years, as a specific for so-called sick headache. +It has done wonders for me in that disease. I had been a victim from +early childhood, and have suffered terribly. I have not had an attack +for two years. If I am threatened, a few drops, timely taken, dissipates +it at once. + +"Dr. B., a dentist, aged 35, dark complexion, a victim to sick headache, +had an attack on an average once in three weeks. Since taking +_Chionanthus_, has not had more than two or three attacks in over two +years, and then owing to a neglect to take the medicine. I have failed +in but one case, and that was a menstrual sick headache. + +"I prescribe it as follows: In cases of habitual sick headache, 5 gtts. +of the 2x dil. three times a day for a week, then twice a day for a +week, then once a day for a week, after which the patient only takes it +when symptoms of the attack show themselves. I regard it almost a +specific." + + (_Chionanthus_ is also, by some physicians, regarded as a + specific in jaundice, either acute or chronic, and the + proving seems to justify the belief.) + + +CORNUS ALTERNIFOLIA. + +NAT. ORD., Cornaceæ. + +COMMON NAME, Alternate-leaved Cornel or Dogwood. Swamp-walnut. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh bark and young twigs are pounded to a pulp and +macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. + + (The following proving of this remedy was made under the + supervision of Dr. F. H. Lutze, Brooklyn. The _Cornus + alternifolia_, or "swamp walnut," has a reputation among + the people in certain localities as being a "sure" remedy + for "salt rheum.") + +FIRST PROVING BY R. E. ALBERTSON. + +Commence at bedtime Tuesday, May 12, 1896. + +Wednesday, May 13, 1896.--Awoke this morning after a very refreshing +night's sleep, feeling as well as usual; and did not notice anything out +of the ordinary during the entire day. Had stool, but somewhat scanty. +Appetite fair. + +Thursday, May 14, 1896.--Did not rest very well during night. Had dream +I was spending summer in country. Did not get into anything like a sound +sleep until near morning; and then was very reluctant about getting up; +would have preferred to have had a couple hours more of such sleep. I +have noticed nothing in the course of the day worthy of mention +excepting a pain across the small of the back, which lasted only a short +time and then disappeared. Stool to-day little better than yesterday. + +Friday, May 15, 1896.--Another restless night; would get into a light +sleep off and on until near morning. Dreamed again; this time of an +exciting fire drill. Up to to-day had been taking _Cornus alternifolia_ +thrice daily; 3 drops 30th, commencing with this morning every three +hours. Stool to-day at first hard and difficult, then loose. Nothing +further noticed to-day. + +Saturday, May 16, 1896.--Passed a very restless and sleepless night; +guess I was awake at the striking of every hour. Tongue has been coated +a yellowish white for a couple of days. Stool to-day, but scanty. Feel +as well as usual, but don't seem to have the ambition to do anything for +any length of time. + +Sunday, May 17, 1896.--Experienced another very restless and sleepless +night. Felt an aching in left shoulder and dull pain across forehead, +more particularly on right side. Stool to-day and appetite fair. + +Monday, May 18, 1896.--While I passed another restless night, it was not +as bad as nights previous. Seem to hear every little noise and sound. +When once awake, mind becomes active and then it is difficult to get +into a sleep again. Have dreamed something mostly every night; some of +which I do not remember. + +Tuesday, May 19, 1896.--Rested somewhat better last night; though was +awake off and on. Last dose taken at bedtime. + +Wednesday, May 20, 1896.--Experienced another restless night; was awake +most of the night until about 3 A.M., when I dropped off into a sleep. + +Friday, May 22, 1896.--Noticed a little sore inside of mouth (left +side), which by Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday had become very +annoying. When eating anything that came in contact with it, or even +when moving the mouth in a certain direction would cause a sticking, +pricking pain. I also want to mention a few eruptions, small pustules on +face and neck, which appeared during this proving. + +SECOND PROVING OF "CORNUS ALTERNIFOLIA." + +BY F. H. LUTZE, M. D. + +February 1, 1896.--Took 5 drops of [Greek: theta] three times daily. + +February 6, 1896.--Took 5 drops of [Greek: theta] every two hours. On +second day had two loose evacuations in quick succession in the +afternoon. + +February 9, 1896.--A cold feeling in chest as if it were filled with +cold air or ice; this continued for two days and was very disagreeable, +but seemed to have no influence on action of heart or respiration. + +A second proving, commenced on April 1st, reproduced the same symptoms +in same manner. Have made no proving of 30th yet. + +THIRD PROVING OF "CORNUS ALTERNIFOLIA" 30TH DILUTION. + +Commenced at bedtime Sunday, June 7, 1896. + +Monday, June 8, 1896.--Awoke after being awake the greater part of the +night feeling as usual. Felt dull pain in right side region of liver +about 11 A.M. + +Tuesday, June 9, 1896.--Slept very little; tossed and turned mostly all +night; could not get into any comfortable position. Tongue this morning +coated a yellowish white. No stool to-day and appetite fair. + +Wednesday, June 10, 1896.--While I rested somewhat better than nights +previous, yet was awake considerable part of the night. Had two dreams; +one of dead rats mashed to a pulp; the other of coition, causing an +emission. When I awoke this morning, felt a raw feeling in throat, which +continued throughout the day; though not quite as bad as when I arose. +Sneezed some, too, to-day; head partially stopped up toward night. About +an hour or two after dinner, which I ate with a relish, a sick sensation +came over me, a dull heavy feeling in forehead accompanied with a +nauseous and dizzy feeling; could hardly pull one foot after the other +on my way home from work; but after being a little while in the open air +and walking, feeling subsided some, and when I reached home felt much +better; and after supper had entirely left me; though when I retired +that night I felt as though I had been doing a very hard day's work and +was glad when my body touched the bed. Stool very scanty to-day; appears +difficult to do anything; seems to be quite some gas. + +Thursday, June 11, 1896.--Awoke very tired; sleep disturbed +considerably; could not rest in any position. Raw feeling in throat +still this morning, with a frequent desire to clear; a feeling as though +something lodged there and should come out. Stool to-day, but scant. A +dull ache in region of heart felt in afternoon. Feel tired and drowsy. +All ambition seems to have left me. Appetite very good to-day. + +Friday, June 12, 1896.--Feel very well this morning and slept fairly +well during the night, though was awake a few times. To-day marks the +first appearance of eruptions; one on the right wrist, the other on +right side of chin; small pustules; in one case blind, all others +forming pus. + +Saturday, June 13, 1896.--Experienced another restless night. Another +pustule has appeared on chin and also ringworm on forehead (right side); +feel very well to-day. + +Sunday, June 14, 1896.--Slept fairly well during night. Experienced +nothing particular excepting toward night an awful uneasy feeling came +over me; a feeling that something terrible was going to happen. + +Monday, June 16, 1896.--Awoke very tired this morning; have a cough, +with a feeling as though something heavy was lying upon my chest and +throat. + +Wednesday, June 17, 1896.--Slept pretty well during night; feel very +languid and tired; a feeling as though my legs were unable to bear me +up. + +Sunday, June 28, 1896.--Toward evening felt very tired and drowsy with +heavy sensation in head; about 9:30 lay down upon the lounge and dropped +off into a doze; awoke a half hour afterwards with a feeling as though I +wanted to vomit, and chills, which continued for an hour when I vomited, +which seemed to relieve me some, after which fever took the place of the +chill which abated some toward morning. + +Monday, June 29, 1896.--Managed to get to my business, but was unable to +do anything all day on account of the weak feeling and a violent +pressing headache in forehead, which continued all day; worse on motion +and on stooping felt as though everything would come out. About 5 P.M. +diarrhoea set in which continued all night, every half hour to an +hour, the same the day following and continued right up to Sunday night, +July 5th. Lost in that time six pounds. + + +CRATÆGUS OXYACANTHA. + +NAT. ORD., Pomaceæ. + +COMMON NAME, White or May Thorn. English Hawthorn. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh berries are pounded to a pulp and macerated in +two times their weight of alcohol. + + (The _The New York Medical Journal_, October 10, 1896, + published a communication from Dr. M. C. Jennings, under + the heading "Cratægus Oxyacantha in the treatment of + Heart Disease," of which the following is the substance): + +Dr. Green, of Ennis, Ireland, for many years had a reputation for the +cure of heart disease that caused patients to flock to him from all +parts of the United Kingdom. He cured the most of them and amassed +considerable wealth by means of his secret, for, contrary to the code, +he, though a physician in good standing, refused to reveal the remedy to +his professional brethren. After his death, about two years ago, his +daughter, a Mrs. Graham, revealed the name of the remedy her father had +used so successfully. It is _Cratægus oxyacantha_. So much for the +history of the remedy. Dr. Jennings procured for himself some of the +remedy, and his experience with it explains Dr. Green's national +reputation. He writes: + +"Case I was that of a Mr. B., aged seventy-three years. I found him +gasping for breath when I entered the room, with a pulse-rate of 158 and +very feeble; great oedema of lower limbs and abdomen. A more desperate +case could hardly be found. I gave him fifteen drops of _Cratægus_ in +half a wineglass of water. In fifteen minutes the pulse beat was 126 and +stronger, and breathing was not so labored. In twenty-five minutes pulse +beat 110 and the force was still increasing, breathing much easier. He +now got ten drops in same quantity of water, and in one hour from the +time I entered the house he was, for the first time in ten days, able to +lie horizontally on the bed. I made an examination of the heart and +found mitral regurgitation from valvular deficiency, with great +enlargement. For the oedema I prescribed _Hydrargyrum cum creta_, +_Squill_ and _Digitalis_. He received ten drops four times a day of the +_Cratægus_ and was permitted to use some light beer, to which he had +become accustomed at meal time. He made a rapid and apparently full +recovery until, in three months, he felt as well as any man of his age +in Chicago. He occasionally, particularly in the change of weather, +takes some of the _Cratægus_ which, he says, quickly stops shortness of +breath or pain in the heart. His father and a brother died of heart +disease." + +Another case was that of a young woman, who, when Dr. Jennings appeared +in response to the summons, was said to be dead. "I went in and found +that she was not quite dead, though apparently so. I put five or six +drops of _Nitrite of amyl_ to her nose, and alternately pressing and +relaxing the chest, so as to imitate natural breathing, I soon had her +able to open her eyes and speak. I gave her hypodermically ten drops, +and in less than half an hour she was able to talk and describe her +feelings. An examination revealed a painfully anæmic condition of the +patient, but without any discoverable lesions of the heart, except +functional." Under _Cratægus_ she made a good recovery. "Her heart +trouble, though very dangerous, was only functional, and resulted from +want of proper assimilation of the food, due chiefly to the dyspeptic +state and dysentery." + +Another case was that of a woman who "was suffering from compensatory +enlargement of the heart from mitral insufficiency," was taken with +dyspnoea when Dr. Jennings was called and was nearly dead. Under +_Cratægus_ and some other indicated remedies she made an excellent +recovery. "In a letter from her, three months afterward, she said she +was feeling well, but that she would not feel fully secure without some +of the _Cratægus_." + +"The forty other cases ran courses somewhat similar to the three +cited--all having been apparently cured. Yet I am not satisfied beyond a +doubt, that any of those patients were completely cured except those +whose trouble of the heart were functional, like the second case cited. +And it is possible and even probable that in weather of a heavy +atmosphere or when it is surcharged with electricity, or if the patient +be subjected to great excitement or sudden or violent commotion or +exercise he may suffer again therewith. That the medicine has a +remarkable influence on the diseased heart must, I think, be admitted. +From experiments on dogs and cats made by myself, it appears to +influence the vagi and cardio inhibitory centres, and diminishes the +pulse rate, increases the intraventricular pressure, and thus filling +the heart with blood causes retardation of the beat and an equilibrium +between the general blood pressure and force of the beat. Cardiac +impulse, after a few days' use of the _Cratægus_, is greatly +strengthened and yields that low, soft tone so characteristic of the +first sound, as shown by the cardiograph. The entire central nervous +system seems to be influenced favorably by its use; the appetite +increases and assimilation and nutrition improve, showing an influence +over the sympathetic and the solar plexus. Also a sense of quietude and +well-being rests on the patient, and he who before its use was cross, +melancholic and irritable, after a few days of its use shows marked +signs of improvement in his mental state. I doubt if it is indicated in +fatty enlargement. The dose which I have found to be the most available +is from ten to fifteen drops after meals or food. If taken before food +it may, in very susceptible patients, cause nausea. I find also that +after its use for a month it may be well to discontinue for a week or +two, when it should be renewed for another month or so. Usually three +months seem to be the proper time for actual treatment, and after that +only at such times as a warning pain of the heart or dyspnoea may +point out. + + (The _Kansas City Medical Journal_, 1898, contained a + paper on the remedy, by Dr. Joseph Clements, from which + the following pertinent extracts are taken): + +"About twelve years ago I was suddenly seized with terrible pain in the +left breast; it extended over the entire region of the heart and down +the brachial plexus of the left arm as far as the wrist. I pressed my +hands over my heart and seemed unable to move. My lips blenched, my eyes +rolled in a paroxysm of agony; the most fearful sense of impending +calamity oppressed me and I seemed to expect death, or something worse, +to fall upon and overwhelm me. The attack lasted a short time and then +began to subside, and soon I was myself again, but feeling weak and +excited. I consulted no one; took no medicine. I did not know what to +make of it, but gradually it faded from my mind and I thought no more of +it until two years afterwards, when I had another attack, and again +nearly a year later. Each of these was very severe, like the first, and +lasted about as long and left me in about the same condition. I remember +no other seizure of importance until about three years ago, and again a +year later. These were not so terrible in the suffering involved, but +the fear, the apprehension, the awful sense of coming calamity, I think, +grew upon me. From this time on, two years ago, the attacks came +frequently, the time varying from two or three months to two or three +weeks between. + +"I took some nitro-glycerine tablets and some pills of _Cactus Mexicana_, +but with no benefit that I could perceive. This brings me down to about +fifteen months ago. I was feeling very badly, having had several attacks +within a few weeks. My pulse was at times very rapid and weak, and +irregular and intermittent. + + (About this time he got hold of _Cratægus_ with the + following result): + +"After getting my supply I began with six drops, increasing to ten before +meals and at bedtime. The results were marvellous. In twenty-four hours +my pulse showed marked improvement; in two or three weeks it became +regular and smooth and forceful. Palpitation and dyspnoea soon +entirely left me; I began to walk up and down hills without difficulty, +and a more general and buoyant sense of security and well-being has come +to stay. During the three months that I was taking the medicine, which I +did with a week's intermission several times, I had several slight +attacks, one rather hard seizure, but was relieved at once on taking ten +drops of the medicine. + + (He adds that hypodermic of _Morphia_ does not give + relief from these heart pains as quickly and as surely as + does fifteen drops of _Cratægus_. He also says, "of + course I consider it the most useful discovery of the + Nineteenth century." He also names a number of "the most + reputable and careful men in the profession," who are + having good results with this remedy.) + + (Dr. T. C. Duncan contributes the following illustrative + cases): + +"Mrs. A., a printer, came to me complaining of some pain in the side as +if it would take her life. She did not have it all the time, only at +times, usually the last of the week, when tired. I prescribed _Bryonia_, +then _Belladonna_, without prompt relief. One Saturday she came with a +severe attack, locating the pain with her right hand above and to the +left of the stomach. The pulse was strong and forcible. On careful +examination I found the heart beat below the normal, indicating +hypertrophy. I examined the spine, and to the left of the vertebra about +two inches I found a very tender spot (spinal hyperæmia). She told me +that when a girl she had several attacks, and that her own family +physician (Dr. Patchen) gave her a remedy that relieved her at once. She +had tried several physicians, among them an allopath, who gave +hypodermic injections of morphia, without relief. Hot applications +sometimes relieved. + +"I now recognized that I had a case of angina pectoris, and that her +early attacks were due, I thought, to carrying her heavy brother. Now +the attacks come when she becomes tired holding her composing stick; at +the same time she became very much flurried, so much so that she had to +stop work because she was so confused. + +"I now gave her a prescription for _Cactus_, but told her I would like to +try first a new remedy, giving her _Cratægus_, saturating some disks +with the tincture (B. & T.). I directed her to take two disks every hour +until relieved, and then less often. If not relieved to take the +_Cactus_. + +"She returned in a week reporting that she was relieved after the first +dose of _Cratægus_. More, that hurried, flurried feeling had not +troubled her this week. Her face has a parchment skin, and the +expression of anxiety so significant of heart disease was certainly +relieved. I have not seen her since. + +"In my proving of this drug it produced a flurried feeling due, I +thought, to the rapid action of the stimulated heart. One prover, a +nervous lady medical student, gives to-day in her report "a feeling of +quiet and calmness, mentally." This is a secondary effect, for it was +preceded by "an unusual rush of blood to the head with a _confused_ +feeling." + +"One swallow does not make a summer," neither does one case establish a +remedy; but I think that as _Cactus_ has a clearly defined therapeutic +range, so it seems that _Cratægus_ may prove a valuable addition to our +meagre array of heart remedies. + + +CUPHEA VISCOSISSIMA. + +NAT. ORD., Lythraceæ. + +COMMON NAMES, Clammy cuphea. Tar-weed. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh plant is pounded to a pulp and macerated in two +parts by weight of alcohol. + + (In 1888 Dr. A. A. Roth contributed the following + concerning _Cuphea vis._ to the _Homoeopathic + Recorder_): + +Two years ago, whilst battling manfully for the life of a child ill to +death from cholera infantum, I was persuaded by a lady friend to use red +pennyroyal tea, and to my delight I had the pleasure of seeing a +marvellous change in less than twenty-four hours. The vomiting ceased +promptly and the bowels gradually became normal. Impressed by this fact, +and also the fact that it was used very extensively in home treatment by +country people, I procured the fresh plant, and prepared a tincture as +directed in the _American Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia_ under article +"Hedeoma." This made a beautiful dark-green tincture, having an aromatic +odor and slightly astringent taste. Of this I gave from five to ten +drops, according to age, every hour until relieved, and then as often as +needed, and found it act promptly and effectively. Feeling loath to add +another remedy to our already over-burdened Materia Medica, I deferred +any mention of the fact; but now after a fair trial for two seasons I +feel justified in believing that the _Cuphea viscosissima_ will prove a +treasure in the treatment of cholera infantum. Out of a large number of +cases treated I had but three square failures, and they were +complicated with marasmus to an alarming extent before I began the +_Cuphea_; one died and two finally recovered. _Cuphea_ does not act with +equal promptness in all forms of cholera infantum. Two classes of cases +stand out prominently; and first, those arising from acidity of milk or +food; vomiting of undigested food or curdled milk, with frequent green, +watery, acid stools, varying in number from five to thirty per day; +child fretful and feverish; can retain nothing on the stomach; food +seems to pass right through the child. I have frequently had the mother +say after twenty-four hours' use of _Cuphea_: "Doctor, the baby is all +right," and a very pleasant greeting it is, as we all know. A second +class is composed of cases in which the stools are decidedly dysenteric, +small, frequent, bloody, with tenesmus and great pain; high fever, +restlessness and sleeplessness. In these two classes _Cuphea_ acts +promptly and generally permanently. It contains a large percentage of +tannic acid, and seems to possess decidedly tonic properties, as +children rally rapidly under its use. It utterly failed me in ordinary +forms of diarrhoea, especially in diarrhoeas from colds, etc.; but +in the classes mentioned I have frequently had it produce obstinate +constipation after several days' use. + + +ECHINACEA ANGUSTIFOLIA. + +NAT. ORD., Compositæ. + +COMMON NAME, Pale Purple Cone-flower. + +PREPARATION.--The whole plant including the root is pounded to a pulp +and macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. + + (This rather famous drug first came to notice as "Meyers' + Blood Purifier;" the proprietor did not know the name of + the drug used and sent a whole plant to Professors King + and Lloyd, of Cincinnati, who identified it as _Echinacea + angustifolia_, commonly known as "cone flower," "black + Sampson," "nigger head," etc. If we may believe all that + has been printed about it the remedy is a veritable + cure-all. The following, however, is a safe guide; it is + taken from the paper by Dr. J. Willis Candee in + Transactions, 1898, of the Homoeopathic Medical Society + of the State of New York, and credited by Dr. Candee to + Dr. J. C. Fahnstock): + +He (Dr. Fahnstock) refers to the clinical application of _Echinacea_, +from personal experience, substantially as follows: Cases of shifting +pains in rheumatism, for which _Puls._ had been unsuccessfully +prescribed, rapidly disappeared under _Echin._ Several cases of acne +resembling that caused by _Bromide of Potassium_, cured. "A great +remedy." When boils progress to the stage where they appear about to +"point" then stop and do not suppurate, _Echinacea_ is the remedy. "In +carbuncles with similar symptoms, a bluish-red color and intense pain, +it will in a few hours make your patient grateful to you." It is of +great value in very fetid ozæna. Beneficial in some cases of +leucorrhoea with discharge bright yellow, as from a suppurating +surface. Very serviceable in gangrene, where it may be classed with +_Rhus_ and _Arsenicum_, perhaps ranking between them. Has attributed to +it unusually good results in a case of tuberculous disease of hip and in +an old, well-dosed case of destructive syphilis of throat. "In +suppurative processes _Echin._ is to be thought of." + +In typhoid fever, diphtheria and appendicitis he has failed to +substantiate the claims of other admirers of this remedy. + +These clinical hints have been given place as naturally following report +of the proving and also because of their coming from a closely observant +homoeopathist. It is unnecessary at this time to review in detail the +alleged field of usefulness of _Echinacea_. All are familiar with the +published testimonials and indications, some of which would lead one to +think that little else is to be desired with which to combat +degenerative processes in mankind. + +On the other hand are those, who, having tried the drug without +satisfactory results, are willing to cast it aside as worthless. To such +it may be well to make these suggestions: 1, to ascertain whether they +have used a reliable preparation, and 2, to refrain from hasty judgment +until guides for prescribing, more accurate than perchance the label on +a bottle, shall have been found and consulted. + +My own limited experience would throw no particular light on the +subject. It has, however, served to impress me with confidence in the +remedy and its future. The gist of trustworthy clinical findings may be +stated in two words, antiseptic and alterative. + + (From an article by Dr. H. W. Feller, in the _Eclectic + Medical Journal_, we quote the following generalities + concerning this remedy): + +If any single statement were to be made concerning the virtues of +_Echinacea_ it would read something like this: "A corrector of the +deprivation of the body fluids;" and even this does not sufficiently +cover the ground. Its extraordinary powers--combining essentially that +formerly included under the terms antiseptic, antifermentative, and +antizymotic--are well shown in its power over changes produced in the +fluids of the body, whether from internal causes or from external +introductions. The changes may be manifested in a disturbed balance of +the fluids resulting in such tissue alterations as are exhibited in +boils, carbuncles, abscesses, or cellular glandular inflammations. They +may be from the introduction of serpent or insect venom, or they may be +due to such fearful poisons as give rise to malignant diphtheria, +cerebro-spinal meningitis, or puerperal and other forms of septicæmia. +Such changes, whether they be septic or of devitalized morbid +accumulations, or alterations in the fluids themselves, appear to have +met their Richmond in _Echinacea_. "Bad blood" so called, asthenia and +adynamia, and particularly a tendency to malignancy in acute and +sub-acute disorders, seem to be special indicators for the use of +_Echinacea_. + + (The _North American Journal of Homoeopathy_, December, + 1896, contains a paper on the drug by Dr. Charles F. + Otis, from which we quote the following): + +I doubt if there are many physicians here assembled, who are general +practitioners, who have not, at some period of their professional lives, +come in contact with one or both of these diseases either in an epidemic +form or isolated cases, and in instances, have met more than their +match; have seen their patients with tongue so swollen that it protruded +from the mouth; with membrane gradually extending from the throat into +the posterior nares, possibly protruding from the nostrils, with the +awful odor so characteristic; with a respiratory sound that told you too +plainly that membrane was extending into the air passages and that the +misery of your patient would soon cease, not because of your ability to +afford relief, but because death would close the scene. + +I need not complete the picture by mentioning the enormously high +temperature, the thread-like pulse, the cessation of the action of the +kidneys, the awful agonizing expression of the face, and, perhaps, in +your efforts, intubation had been practiced without good results. It is +in just this class of cases that _Echinacea_ is king. So reliable has +been its action in my hands that I am inclined to give a favorable +prognosis, and if I am so fortunate as to be called early the +application of the drug in question does not permit of the symptoms just +enumerated. The whole case will usually be changed to one of a mild form +followed by a quick recovery. + + (This from a paper by Dr. W. H. Ramey in _Medical + Gleaner_): + +It is a specific, I think, for the condition of the system which sets up +the boil habit. I never have found a case so bad, and I've had some very +severe ones, that an ounce and a half of _Echinacea_, taken in ten-drop +doses four times a day, would not cure. Try it in your cases of +stomatitis with depraved conditions of the system, both internally and +locally. It has done me valuable service in cases of old ulcers and +unhealthy sores, both as local and internal treatment. Then in your +typhoid cases, with the characteristic indication, it is simply a +wonderful remedy. I have seen it step in and restore normal conditions +when it seemed impossible for remedies to act quick enough to prevent a +fatal termination. + + (Dr. S. J. Hogan in _Chicago Medical Times_): + +One other thing I would like to tell about it: I had a case I was +treating. Among other things, the patient had on the scalp and at the +margin of the hair on the back of the head a number of wen-like tumors; +since taking _Echinacea_ they have been entirely absorbed. + + (Dr. Joseph Adolphus in _Medical Gleaner_): + +I have seen its very beneficial action in two epidemics of smallpox. The +remedy did certainly modify the severity of the disease, restrain +suppuration, check the severity of the symptoms, and promote +convalescence. I knew of several very desperate cases, which I think +would have terminated fatally but for the timely use of _Echinacea_. I +frequently saw cases of severe confluent type, wherein the symptoms were +of a very serious kind, high fever, delirium; some with coma, abominably +offensive odor of body and breath, urine nearly suppressed, eruption +confluent, exceedingly abundant pus, steadily improve under _Echinacea_ +tea taken internally and used locally over the entire body. One of the +very striking effects of the _Echinacea_ was to abate the dreadfully +offensive odor of the body and breath and modify the acute severity of +the eruption. + + (The following proving of _Echinacea_, conducted by Dr. + J. C. Fahnestock, of Piqua, Ohio, was read before the + American Institute of Homoeopathy, at Atlantic City, + 1899): + +It becomes my pleasant duty to place before the American Institute of +Homoeopathy a collection of provings of _Echinacea angustifolia_. + +Four species of this genus are recognized. Two of them, _E. Dicksoni_ +and _E. dubia_, are native in Mexico. + +There are two native in this country, _E. purpurea_, _Moench_. Leaves +rough, often serrate; the lowest ovate, five nerved, veiny, long +petioled; the other ovate-lanceolate; involucre imbricated in three to +five rows; stem smooth, or in one form rough, bristly, as well as the +leaves. Prairies and banks, from western Pennsylvania and Virginia to +Iowa, and southward; occasionally advancing eastward. July--Rays +fifteen to twenty, dull purple (rarely whitish), one to two feet long or +more. Root thick, black, very pungent to the taste, used in popular +medicine under the name of Black Sampson. Very variable, and probably +connects with _E. angustifolia_, described as follows: Leaves, as well +as the slender, simple stem, bristly, hairy, lanceolate and linear +lanceolate, attenuate at base, three nerved, entire; involucre less +imbricated and heads often smaller; rays twelve to fifteen inches, (2) +long, rose color or red. Plains from Illinois and Wisconsin +southward--June to August. This is a brief description of the botany of +the plant under consideration. + +Your chairman, T. L. Hazard, in his usual characteristic manner, went +vigorously to work and secured all the provers possible. I was also +fortunate enough to secure a number of provers, besides proving and +reproving it myself. The results of all these provings were handed over +to me to present to you in such form as seemed best. + +I must tarry just long enough to preface this collection and tell you +that explicit printed directions were sent to all the superintendents of +these provings. This being of too great length, I will give you the most +important points in these directions, viz.: Let each prover be furnished +with a small blank book, in which shall be written date, name, sex, +residence, height, weight, temperament, color of eyes, color of hair, +complexion; describe former ailments and present physical condition. In +concluding give pulse in different positions, respiration, temperature, +function of digestion, analysis of excretions, especially the urine; +analysis of the blood, family history, habits, idiosyncrasy, etc. + +The different colleges and universities were called upon to assist on +these provings. The following institutions responded to the call: +Cleveland, St. Louis, Minneapolis, the Chicago, Iowa City, and Ann +Arbor. None of the eastern institutions responded; don't know whether +dead or just hibernating. + +I wish to publicly express my thanks to all who have taken part in +these provings. I think it but just to state that the University of +Michigan furnished the best provings. Thanks also are extended to +Boericke & Tafel for remedy furnished in the [Greek: theta], 3x, 30x, +which were also used in the provings. One lady, who commenced the +proving and had begun to develop valuable provings, contracted a severe +cold and stopped, for which I am very sorry. All the rest of the provers +were males; medical students or physicians. Only a very few symptoms +were produced by the use of the 30x attenuation, a greater number of +provers not recording any at all. + +The symptoms here compiled were produced by the 3x attenuation and the +tincture, using from one drop to thirty drops at a dose. In proving and +then compiling the symptoms produced by this drug, I am fully aware of +the many difficulties to be met on every side. + +The one great trouble that I find is that those who are unaccustomed to +proving do not observe what really is going on while attempting to make +a proving, and are not capable of expressing the conditions so produced. +I find that there are few who can take drugs and accurately define their +effects. In selecting and discriminating the effects of drugs there must +exist a mental superiority, and no man had this genius so highly +developed as Hahnemann. + +After making three different provings upon myself, I have undertaken to +select those symptoms which to the best of my ability were found in all +of these different provings. + +I have taken special care not to omit any symptoms, even though it may +have been noticed by but one prover; but in the majority of cases you +will notice the symptoms occurred two or more times in different +individuals, thus confirming the genuineness of the symptoms. + +Not giving you the day-book records of these provers, a few remarks, +showing its general action, may not be out of place. As stated before, +only two recorded symptoms after the use of the 30x attenuation. + +After taking the tincture, there is soon produced a biting, tingling +sensation of the tongue, lips and fauces, not very much unlike the +sensation produced by _Aconite_. In these provers there soon followed a +sense of fear, with pain about the heart, and accelerated pulse. In a +short time there was noticed a dull pain in both temples, a pressing +pain; then shooting pains, which followed the fifth pair of nerves. + +The next symptom produced was an accumulation of sticky mucus in mouth +and fauces. Then a general languor and weakness followed, always worse +in the afternoon. All the limbs felt weak and indisposed to make any +motion, and this was accompanied by sharp, shooting, shifting pains. In +quite a number of cases the appetite was not affected. + +Those using sufficient quantity of the tincture had loss of appetite, +with belching of tasteless gas, weakness in the stomach, pain in the +right hypochondriac region, accompanied with gas in the bowels; griping +pains followed by passing offensive flatus, or a loose, yellowish stool, +which always produced great exhaustion. After using the drug several +days the face becomes pale, the pulse very much lessened in frequency, +and a general exhaustion follows like after a severe and long spell of +sickness. + +The tongue will then indicate slow digestion, accompanied with belching +of tasteless gas. In most of the provers, however, there was a passing +of very offensive gas and offensive stools. + +You will observe that the remedy exerts quite an effect on the kidneys +and bladder, but I am very sorry to say that the urinary analysis made +did not show anything but the variations generally observed in ordinary +health. + +I must say that the provers did not go into the details as much as was +desirable. Likewise, I may say the same of the blood tests made, but +what was given is very valuable. + +I could give you an expression of its special action, but will merely +give you the symptoms collected and then you can make your own +deductions. + + +ECHINACEA ANGUSTIFOLIA. + +A collection of symptoms from twenty-five different provers, +anatomically arranged: + +MIND. + + 3 Dullness in head, with cross, irritable feeling. + 2 So nervous could not study. + 3 Confused feeling of the brain. + 2 Felt depressed and much out of sorts. + 3 Felt a mental depression in afternoons. + 1 Senses seem to be numbed. + 5 Drowsy, could not read, drowsiness. + 2 Vertigo when changing position of head. + 3 Drowsy condition with yawning. + 2 Becomes angry when corrected, does not wish to be contradicted. + +SENSORIUM. + + 5 General depression, with weakness. + 8 General dullness and drowsiness. + 4 General dullness, unable to apply the mind. + 5 Does not wish to think or study. + 3 Restless, wakes often in the night. + 2 Dull headache, felt as if brain was too large, with every + beat of heart. + 5 Sleep full of dreams. + +INNER HEAD. + + 5 Dull pain in brain, full feeling. + 5 Dull frontal headache, especially over left eye, which + was relieved in open air. + 2 Severe headache in vertex, better by rest in bed. + 5 Dull headache above eyes. + 4 Dull throbbing headache, worse through temples. + 3 Head feels too large. + 1 Dull headache, worse in evening. + 2 Dull headache, worse in right temple, with sharp pain. + 3 Dull pain in occiput. + 3 Dull headache, with dizziness. + +OUTER HEAD. + + 3 Constant dull pressing pain in both temples. + 2 Shooting pains through temples. + 2 Dull occipital headache. + 3 Constant dull pain in temples, better at rest and pressure. + 2 Head feels as big as a windmill, with mental depression. + +EYES. + + 2 Eyes ache when reading. + 1 Tires me dreadfully to hold a book and read. + 1 Eyes pain on looking at an object and will fill with tears, + closing them relieves. + 1 Sleepy sensation in eyes, but cannot sleep. + 1 Pains back of right eye. + 1 Sense of heat in eyes when closing them. + 2 Dull pain in both eyes. + 1 Lachrymation from cold air. + 2 Sharp pains in eyes and temples. + +EAR. + + 2 Shooting pain in right ear. + +NOSE. + + 2 Stuffiness of nostrils, with mucus in nares and pharynx. + 4 Full feeling in nose as if it would close up. + 2 Full feeling of nose, obliged to blow nose, but does not + relieve. + 2 Nostrils sore. + 2 Mucus discharge from right nostril. + 2 Rawness of right nostril, sensitive to cold, which cause a + flow of mucus. + 1 Bleeding from right nostril. + 1 Right nostril sore, when picking causes hæmorrhage. + 1 Headache over eyes, with sneezing. + +FACE. + + 2 Paleness of face when head aches. + 1 Fine eruptions on forehead and cheeks. + 2 Vomiting with pale face. + +TEETH. + + 2 Darting pains in the teeth, worse on right side. + 3 Neuralgic pains in superior and inferior maxilla. + 2 Dull aching of the teeth. + +TONGUE. + + 2 White coating of tongue in the mornings, with white + frothy mucus in mouth. + 2 Slight burning of tongue. + 2 Whitish coat of tongue, with red edges. + +MOUTH. + + 2 Accumulation of sticky, white mucus. + 3 Eructation of tasteless gas. + 2 Burning of the tongue, with increased saliva. + 1 Dry sensation in back part of mouth. + 2 Burning peppery taste when taking remedy. + 3 Bad taste in the mouth in the morning. + 3 A metallic taste. + 3 Belching of gas which tastes of the food eaten. + 2 Dryness of the mouth. + 3 Sour eructation. + 1 Sour eructation, which caused burning of throat. + +THROAT. + + 3 Accumulation of mucus in throat. + 1 Mucus in throat, with raw sensation. + 1 After vomiting of sour mucus, throat burns. + 2 Soreness of throat, worse on left side. + +DESIRE. + + 5 Loss of appetite. + 2 Desire for cold water. + +EATING. + + 3 Nausea, could not eat. + 5 Loss of appetite. + +NAUSEA AND VOMITING. + + 2 Nausea before going to bed, which was always better + lying down. + 2 After eating stomach and abdomen fill with gas. + 3 After eating belching, which tastes of food eaten. + 2 Nausea, with eructation of gas. + +STOMACH. + + 1 Stomach distended with gas, not relieved by belching. + 4 Belching of tasteless gas. + 2 Sense of something large and hard in stomach. + 2 Belching of gas and at same time passing flatus. + 3 Sour stomach, "heart burn," with belching of gas. + 1 Relaxed feeling of the stomach. + 1 Pain in stomach, going down through bowels, followed + by diarrhoea. + 3 Dull pain in stomach. + +HYPOCHONDRIA. + + 5 Pain in right hypochondria. + +ABDOMEN. + + 5 Full feeling in abdomen, with borborygmus. + 2 Pain about umbilicus, relieved by bending double. + 2 Pain in abdomen, sharp cutting, coming and going suddenly. + 1 Pain in left illiac fossa. + +URINE. + + 6 Desire for frequent urination. + 4 Urine increased. + 1 Involuntary urination "in spite of myself." + 2 Sense of heat while passing urine. + 3 Urine pale and copious. + 1 Urine scanty and dark in color. + 2 Pain and burning on urination. + +MALE SEX ORGAN. + + 1 Soreness in perineum. + 2 Testicles drawn up and sore. + 1 Pain in meatus while urinating. + 2 Pain across perineum. + 2 Perineum seems stretched. + 1 Pain in right spermatic cord. + +FEMALE SEX ORGAN. + + 1 Mucus from vagina in evening. + 1 Pain in right illiac region, which seems deep, lasting but a short + time. + +LARYNX. + + 2 Irritation of larynx. + 1 Voice husky. + +COUGH. + + 2 Constant clearing of mucus from throat. + 2 Mucus comes in throat while in bed, must cough to clear throat. + +LUNGS. + + 2 Full feeling in upper part of lungs. + 2 Pain in region of diaphragm. + 1 Pain in right lung. + +HEART AND PULSE. + + 2 Slight pain over heart. + 1 Rapid beating of heart. + 4 Heart's action increased. + 2 Heart's action decreased. + 2 Anxiety about the heart. + +CHEST. + + 2 Pain in pectoral muscles. + 1 Sore feeling in the chest. + 1 Feels like lump in chest. + 2 Feeling of a lump under sternum. + +NECK AND BACK. + + 3 Pain in small of back over kidneys. + 6 Dull pain in small of back. + 3 Pain in back of neck. + 4 Pain in lumbar region, worse from stooping. + +UPPER LIMBS. + + 3 Pain in right thumb. + 2 Sharp pain in left elbow. + 2 Pain in right shoulder, going down to fingers. + 2 Sharp pain in left arm, going down to fingers, with loss of muscular + power. + 2 Cold hands. + 4 Pain in wrists and fingers. + 2 Pain in left shoulder, better by rest and warmth. + +LOWER LIMBS. + + 2 Cold feet. + 2 Pain back of left knee. + 2 Sharp shooting pain in legs. + 1 Extremities cold. + 3 Left hip and knee pains. + 2 Pain in right thigh. + 2 Pain in right leg. + +LIMBS IN GENERAL. + + 7 General weakness of limbs. + 1 Pain between shoulders, which extend to axilla and down the arms. + +POSITION. + + Pains and sickness of stomach better by lying down. + +NERVES. + + 7 Exhausted, tired feeling. + 5 Muscular weakness. + 2 Felt as if I had been sick for a long time. + 6 General aching all over, with exhaustion. + +SLEEP. + + 2 General languor, sleepy. + 3 Sleep disturbed, wakes often. + 5 Sleep full of dreams. + 1 Dreams about exciting things all night. + 2 Dreams of dead relations. + +TIME. + + Worse after eating. + Worse in evenings. + Worse after physical or mental labor. + Better at rest. + +CHILLS. + + 1 Chills up the back. + 1 Cold flashes all over the back. + 2 General chilliness with nausea. + +SKIN. + + 3 Intense itching and burning of skin on neck. + 1 Little papules on skin, with redness, feeling like nettles; + this occurred on the fifth day of the proving. + 1 Skin dry. + 2 Small red pimples on neck and face. + +BLOOD. + + 2 After proving found a diminution of red corpuscles. + + +EPIGEA REPENS. + +NAT. ORD., Ericaceæ. + +COMMON NAMES, Trailing Arbutus. Ground Laurel. Gravel Root. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh leaves are pounded to a pulp and macerated in +two parts by weight of alcohol. + + (In the subjoined paper by Dr. E. M. Hale, _North + American Journal of Homoeopathy_, 1869, the old + doctrine of signatures seems to crop out again.) + +The _Gravel Root_ has long had some reputation in urinary difficulties, +and even in calculous affections. The common appellation of "Gravel +root" shows that the popular belief points in the direction of its use. + +I have never tested its virtues but in one instance, and its effects +seemed to be so decided and curative that I deem the case worthy of +publication. + +A young man, aged twenty-three, applied for treatment of a long array of +symptoms, some of which seemed to indicate _enlargement of the +prostate_, and others a _vesical catarrh_. + +The _quantity_ of urine was nearly normal. + +The _quality_ was decidedly abnormal. It contained a large amount of +mucus, the phosphates, some blood, and a little pus. It was dark red, +colored blue litmus paper red (showing its acid condition). + +The pain was similar to a vesical tenesmus, a pain in the region of the +neck of the bladder and prostate gland. Pressure in the perineum was +painful. + +He had been under the most atrocious allopathic treatment; had been +drugged with copaiva, spts. nitric.-dulc., turpentine, tincture muriate +of iron, and other diuretics in enormous doses. + +I commenced the treatment with _Sulphur_ 30th, three doses a day for a +week. + +By this time he had eliminated the drug-poisons from his system, and the +real symptoms of the malady began to appear uncomplicated. The blood and +pus disappeared from the urine, there was less mucus, and the urine was +of a lighter color. + +A red, sandy sediment, however, remained. This sediment was not "gritty" +under the finger, at least no such sensation was perceptible. + +Second prescription: _Lycopodium_ 30th and 6th, the former in the +morning, the latter in evening, for a week. No improvement except a +slight diminution of the sediment. + +No medicine was given for four days, at which time there appeared +dysuria, pain in the region of the prostate, mucous sediment, and +itching at the orifice of the urethra. + +While undecided as to the next prescription, I happened to take up a +vial of tincture _Epigea repens_, which I had prepared from the fresh +plant, while on a visit to Mackinaw six months before. Knowing the high +estimate placed on this plant, by the people, in the treatment of gravel +I resolved to test its virtues. Ten drops of the mother tincture were +prescribed, to be taken every four hours. + +Two days afterwards my patient brought me several small brownish +particles, having the appearance of fine sand. When crushed and pressed +between the fingers they had a decidedly gritty feel. Under the +microscope they had the appearance of rough coarse sand. The discharge +of calculi kept up for nearly a week, under the use of the _Epigea_, and +then ceased, and with it all the symptoms of irritation of the bladder. + +It is just possible that the discharge of gravel may have been a +coincidence. It is equally possible that the _Lycopodium_ acted +curatively; but I am inclined to believe their disintegration and +expulsion was caused or aided by the use of the last medicine. + +Further observations are needed to place the curative powers of this +plant on a certain basis. + + +ERYNGIUM AQUATICUM. + +NAT. ORD., Umbeliferæ. + +COMMON NAMES, Button Snakeroot. Water Eryngo. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh root is pounded to a pulp and macerated in two +parts by weight of alcohol. + + (Although a well-known remedy, the following concerning + its early history may not be out of place here. It is + from Thomas' _Additions_.) + +"For spermatorrhoea properly so called, or emission of semen without +erections, there is no remedy which has yet received the sanction of +experience."--_Repertory._ + +"We have one, however, to propose for trial--it is the _Eryngium +aquaticum_, which has two remarkable cures, reported by Dr. Parks +(Pharmacentist, Cin.), to recommend it. + +"CASE I.--A married man injured his testicles by jumping upon a horse; +this was followed by a discharge of what was considered semen for +fifteen years, during which time he was treated allopathically and +homoeopathically. Dr. Parks exhibited a number of the usual remedies +without permanent benefit. He then gave a half-grain dose, three times a +day, of the third decimal trituration of the '_Eryngium aquaticum_.' In +five days the emissions were entirely suppressed, and have not returned +to this time (over two years ago). The emissions were without erections +day or night, and followed by great lassitude. + +"CASE II.--A married man, not conscious of having sustained any injury, +was troubled for eight or ten years with emissions at night--with +erections. The semen also passed by day with the urine. The loss of +semen was followed by great lassitude and depression, continuing from +twelve to forty-eight hours. There was also partial impotence. Had been +treated allopathically. Dr. Parks gave him Phos. acid for two weeks, +without material benefit. He then exhibited the _Eryngium aquaticum_, as +above, with the like excellent and prompt result."[I] + + [I] Drs. Hill and Hunt, Homoeopathic Surgery. + +I used this remedy with a patient who was quite broken down from +spermatorrhoea; the emissions left him, but he suffered from vertigo +and dim-sightedness whenever he took a dose of the medicine. He is now +well through the use of other medicines. Our English _Eryngo_--the _E. +maritimum_, is noted as an aphrodisiac, and is very similar in +appearance to the _Eryngium aquaticum_. + + +EUPHORBIA COROLLATA. + +NAT. ORD., Euphorbiaceæ. + +COMMON NAMES, Milk Weed. Wild Ipecac. Blooming or Flowering Spurge. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh root is pounded to a pulp and macerated in two +parts by weight of alcohol. + + (In _North American Journal of Homoeopathy_, Dr. E. M. + Hale has, among other things, the following to say of + this drug): + +Its action on the system is intense and peculiar. It is called by the +country people by the expressive name of _Go-quick_, referring to its +quick and prompt action. I am indebted to Dr. A. R. Brown, of +Litchfield, Mich., for many interesting facts relating to its action. It +is considered, by those who use it, as the most powerful "revulsive +agent" in their Materia Medica, in all cases of local congestion, +especially of the lungs and head; also in inflammation of the pleura, +lungs, and liver, and is used as a substitute for bleeding and Calomel. +Its admirers allege that it will certainly _arrest_ the progress of the +above affections in a few hours, and break up all simple fevers. This is +of course erroneous, but it reminds one of the Helleborine of the +ancients, so graphically described by Hahnemann. In fact no drug with +which I am acquainted so much resembles the _Veratrum album_. + + +FAGOPYRUM. + +NAT. ORD., Polygonaceæ. + +COMMON NAME, Buckwheat. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh mature plant is pounded to a pulp and macerated +in two parts by weight of alcohol. + + (The following paper was published in the Transactions of + the Homoeopathic Society of Maine in 1895. It is by Dr. + D. C. Perkins, of Rockland, Me.) + +There is, perhaps, no well proven remedy in the Materia Medica, of equal +value to that of which I present a brief study, that has been so wholly +overlooked by the homoeopathic profession. There certainly is none +which possesses a more marked individuality, and which more fully fills +a place by itself. It is safe to say that not one in ten of those who +practice the healing art has ever used it or is familiar with its +pathogenesis. Having not unfrequently cured cases with it, which had +refused to yield to other remedies apparently well indicated, I have +come to regard it as among the important drugs in our super-abundant +Materia Medica. Its effects upon mental conditions are marked by +depression of spirits, irritability, inability to study, or to remember +what has been read, bringing to our minds _Aconite_, _Bryonia_, +_Chamomilla_, _Coffea_, _Colocynth_, _Ignatia_, _Lachesis_, _Mercury_, +_Nux vomica_, _Staphisagria_, _Stramonium_, and _Veratrum_. Its effects +upon the head are deep-seated and persistent. There is vertigo, +confusion, severe pain in many parts of head, with upward pressure +described as of a bursting character. The pain may be in forehead, back +of eyes, through temporal region on either side, but always of a +pressive or bursting nature. For congestive headaches it is as valuable +as _Belladonna_, _Glonoine_, _Nux vomica_, or _Sepia_. + +In and about the eyes there is itching, smarting, swelling, heat and +soreness; the itching being especially marked and usually regarded as +characteristic. The last named symptom is no less prominent in +affections of the ears, as has often been shown in the efficacy of +buckwheat flour in frost-bites, or erysipelas of those useful organs, +from time immemorial. Here the similarity to _Agaricus_ will readily be +recognized. The nose does not escape. It is swollen, red, inflamed and +sore. There is at first fluent coryza with sneezing, followed by +fulness, dryness and the formation of crusts. Nor is the burning absent +which has been elsewhere noted. There is much soreness and somewhat +persistent pain from even gentle pressure. + +The face is pale or unevenly flushed, with dark semi-circles below the +eyes. Later, the face becomes swollen, hot and dry, as though severely +sunburnt, and the lips are cracked and sore. The mouth feels dry and +hot, and yet saliva is not wanting. There is soreness and swelling of +roof of mouth, and the tongue is red and fissured along its edges. The +bad taste in the morning reminds us of _Pulsatilla_. + +In the throat, there is soreness with pain just back of the isthmus of +the fauces, a feeling of excoriation and soreness extending deep down in +the pharynx. The uvula is elongated, the tonsils are swollen and red, +there is a sensation of rawness in the throat strikingly reminding us of +_Phytolacca_. Externally, there is scarlet redness of the neck below the +mastoid process, throbbing of the carotids, the neck feels tired, the +head heavy and the parotid glands are swollen and painful. It is +unnecessary to name the remedy having similar symptoms. + +While the symptoms produced on the digestive tract are not characterized +by that intensity noted elsewhere, they are still valuable. There is +persistent morning nausea which should lead us to study this remedy in +the vomiting of pregnancy. Contrary to _Lycopodium_ and _Nux moschata_ +the appetite is improved by eating. The empty or "all-gone" feeling at +the stomach is like that of _Sepia_. + +In the abdomen there is fulness and pain but no rumbling. Discharges of +flatus are frequent and annoying. The region of the liver is painful, +tender and there is aggravation from pressure, compelling the patient to +lie on the left side. The stools are pappy, or watery, profuse, +offensive and followed by tenesmus. + +On the male genital organs there is profuse perspiration of an offensive +odor. The urine is scalding, and pain extends from testicles to abdomen. +In females the drug acts with force upon the right ovary, producing pain +of a bruised or burning character, noted particularly when walking. +There is pruritus with slight yellow leucorrhoea, the discharge being +more noticed when at rest than when exercising. So far as known this +latter symptom does not occur under the action of any other remedy. + +In the chest we find a heavy, pulsating pain extending to all its parts. +This is persistent, and is worse from a deep inspiration. Around the +heart there are dull pains with oppression and occasional sharp pains +passing through the heart. Pressure with the hand increases the +oppression. The pulse is increased but is extremely variable. There is +reason to believe that _Cactus grandiflora_, or _Spigelia_ are often +given in affections of the heart, where _Fagopyrum_, if given, would +accomplish better results. + +On the muscular system the action of the remedy stands out in bold +relief. There is stiffness and soreness of all the muscles of the neck, +with pain, and a feeling as if the neck would hardly support the head. +Pains extend from occiput to back of neck and are relieved by bending +the head backward. There are dull pains in small of back, with stitching +pains in the region of the kidneys. Pains with occasional sharp stitches +extend from the arms to muscles of both sides of chest. Rheumatic pains +in the shoulders of a dull aching character. Stinging and burning pains +extend the whole length of fingers, aggravated by motion. Streaking +pains pass through arms and legs with sharp pains extending to feet. +Pains extend from hips to small of back, and these also frequently run +down to the feet. In the knees there is dull pain and weakness, while +deep in the limbs there is burning and stinging. There is numbness in +the limbs, with dragging in the joints, especially right knee, hip and +elbow. Stooping to write causes constant severe pain through chest and +in region of liver. This group of symptoms gives _Fagopyrum_ a striking +individuality and establishes it in an uncontested position among the +long list of remedies prescribed for rheumatic complaints. + +Scarcely less important are the symptoms of the skin. There is intense +itching of the arms and legs, becoming worse toward evening. Blotches +like flea-bites appear in many localities, sometimes all over the body, +are sore to the touch and are multiplied by scratching. These eruptions +are persistent and the itching is intense. Blind boils may be developed +and attain a large size. The itching of the face is especially marked +about the roots of the whiskers. Itching of the hands which is "deep in" +is persistent and annoying, this condition being supposed to be the +result of irritation of the coats of the arteries. + +The sleepiness is unlike that of _Belladonna_, _Nux vomica_, _Sepia_ or +_Sulphur_, occurring early in the evening and characterized by +stretching and yawning. It is not profound, and when the mind is +diverted the patient gets wide awake, but soon relapses unless +conversation is continued. In bed, sleep is disturbed by troublesome +dreams and frequent waking. Aggravations occur after retiring, ascending +stairs, from deep inspiration, walking in bright sunlight, lying on +right side, riding in cars, and when stooping or writing. Ameliorations +occur after taking coffee, from cold applications, from motion in cold +air, and from sitting still in warm room. + + +FAGUS SYLVATICUS. + +NAT. ORD., Cupuliferæ. + +COMMON NAME, European Beech. + +PREPARATION.--The Beech Nuts are pounded to a pulp and macerated in five +parts by weight of alcohol. + + (In volume XIII of the _American Observer_, Dr. E. W. + Berridge, contributes the following concerning the action + of _Fagus sylvaticus_ or Beech nuts): + + +BEECH NUTS. (From _Medical Museum_--_London, 1781_--_vol. ii., pp. 97, +294._) From a dissertation on hydrophobia, by Christian Frederick +Seleg, M. D., of Enbenstoff, in Saxony, printed in Eslong, in 1762. + +A boy aged 13 had eaten four days ago a large quantity of beech nuts. I +found him in great pain, languid, and terrified with apprehensions of +present death. Pulse very unequal, sometimes extremely quick, sometimes +languid and intermittent; skin burning violently; mouth flowing with +froth and saliva, intolerable thirst, entreating for drink, but as soon +as any liquid was brought he seemed to shudder with equal horror, as if +he had been eating unripe grapes. Soon after eating the nuts he had been +seized with torpor, gloominess and dread of liquids. He had not been +bitten by any rabid animal. + +Next (5th) day, early in the morning, he was the same, but seemed to +talk more in his wildness and perturbation of mind, and his mouth flowed +with foam more abundantly; the urine he had voided by night was red and +firey, depositing a copious turbid white sediment, resembling an +emulsion of beech nuts, subsiding as deep as the breadth of the finger +at the bottom of the vessel. A few hours before he died he vomited a +porraceous bile, after which he died quietly. + +The author in the _original_ work gives a number of fatal cases of +_spontaneous_ hydrophobia. This work should be examined. + +John Bauhin (_Hist. Plants_, vol. i, pp. 2, 121) says that the nuts will +disorder the head like darnel; hogs grow stupid and drowsy by feeding on +them. + +Ray (_Hist. of Plants_, tom. ii, p. 1382) and Mangetus (_Biblioth. +Pharm._, vol. i, p. 910) says the same. + + +FRAXINUS EXCELSIOR. + +NAT. ORD., Oleaceæ. + +COMMON NAME, European Ash. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh leaves are pounded to a pulp and macerated with +two parts by weight of alcohol. + + (In the _Union Médicale_, November, 1852, two French + physicians detailed several cases of gout and rheumatism + treated with _Fraxinus excelsior_, or ash leaves, one of + Rademacher's favorite remedies. Of the two physicians, + one of them, Dr. Peyraud, was himself relieved of the + gout by this treatment.) + +Ash-leaves were highly recommended by Rademacher, and have been quite +extensively used in Germany on his suggestion. In the _Union Médicale_ +for Nov. 27, 1852, two French physicians, Drs. Pouget and Peyraud, +detailed several cases of gout and rheumatism cured by an infusion of +ash-leaves in boiling water. Dr. Peyraud himself was one of those +relieved. + +"In 1842, Dr. Peyraud had his first attack of gout, which was severe, +and lasted for twenty-five days. During the three following years the +attacks increased in frequency and severity. Having derived little +benefit from the remedial means which he had resorted to, he listened to +the suggestion of one of his patients, an inhabitant of the department +of Dordogne, in France, who advised him to try an infusion of +ash-leaves, informing him, at the same time, that his forefathers had +been cured by this prescription, and that many of the country people got +rid of 'their pains' by employing it. Dr. Peyraud took the infusion of +ash-leaves and from 1845 to 1849 had no fit of gout. He then had an +attack, which yielded in five days to the infusion of ash-leaves, used +under the observation of Dr. Pouget. These circumstances recalled to the +recollection of Dr. Pouget a fact which he might otherwise never again +have considered. It was this: that when he was a physician at Soréze, in +1824, the peasants of that place had spoken to him of the great power +which an infusion of ash-leaves had in driving away pains. He afterwards +discovered that it had been used forty years ago as a gout-specific by +the peasants of Auvergne. + +"A commercial traveller, who had been gouty for twenty years, and had +saturated himself with the syrup of Boubée and other vaunted specifics, +consulted Dr. Pouget. At this time he was an almost constant prisoner in +his room with successive attacks. After eleven days' use of the +infusion, he was able to walk two kilomètres (one and a quarter English +miles); in fifteen days he resumed his journeys, and was able to travel +without suffering, by diligence, from Bordeaux to Quimper. + +"Several other cases are detailed, some of them acute, and others +chronic. Articular rheumatism, in numerous instances, was also benefited +by the infusion of ash-leaves." + + +FUCUS VESICULOSIS. + +NAT. ORD., Algæ. + +COMMON NAMES, Sea-wrack. Bladder-wrack. Sea-kelp. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh alga gathered in May or June are pounded to a +pulp and macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. + + (The following letter, by Dr. J. Herbert Knapp to the + _Homoeopathic Recorder_, was published in 1896): + +After treating many cases of exophthalmic goitre, I have come to the +conclusion that I have found a specific for that disease in _Fucus +vesiculosis_ (sea-wrack). I might record one case. Mrs. Mary B., æt. 24 +years, German, came into my clinic at the Brooklyn E. D. Homoeopathic +Dispensary to be treated for swelling of the neck of several years' +duration. I gave her the tincture of _Fucus ves._, thirty drops three +times a day. The treatment began December 1, 1895, and patient was +discharged cured, on October 2, 1896. Would be pleased to hear from any +others who have had any experience with _Fucus vesiculosis_. + + (The foregoing brought out this by Dr. R. N. Foster, of + Chicago): + +It gives me great pleasure to be able to say a word confirmatory of the +remarks made in your December issue by J. Herbert Knapp, M. D., +respecting the above named drug. + +Twenty years ago, while turning over the pages of that very useful book, +"The American Eclectic Dispensatory," by John King, M. D., I chanced to +notice the following sentences: "_Fucus vesiculosis_, sea-wrack, or +bladder-wrack,... has a peculiar odor, and a nauseous saline taste.... +The charcoal of this plant has long had the reputation of a deobstruent, +and been given in goitre and scrofulous swelling." + +So far as I now remember, this is the only hint I ever received which +led me to try the drug in goitre. At the same time, I do not feel sure +of this. Perhaps I had met in some medical journal a statement +respecting the relation of this drug to goitre, which fact led me to +look it up in the "Eclectic Dispensatory." But if so, I cannot recall +the authority. At all events, I was led to try the remedy in a +pronounced case of goitre, with such good results that I have never +since given any other remedy for that disease, either in the +exophthalmic or in the uncomplicated form. And what is more, I have +never known it to fail to cure when the patient was under thirty years +of age. After that time of life, or about that period, it seems to be no +longer efficacious. + +I have now used it on more than twenty-four cases, with the same +unvarying result, and never with any other result--that is, no +unpleasant consequences have ever accompanied or followed its use. + +I published this fact in the _Medical Investigator_ after I had used it +in a few cases, and again announced it in the Chicago Homoeopathic +Medical Society still later; and again have frequently repeated it with +growing confidence and of greater numbers of cases in medical societies, +in colleges, and in private conversation with physicians. + +And yet the fact is so utterly unknown that your journal publishes Dr. +Knapp's inquiry respecting it, which shows how easily a good thing may +be forgotten, and how readily a genuine specific may be superseded by a +host of abortive procedures right under the eyes of the profession. It +is most probable that more real good things have been forgotten or cast +aside in medicine than it now, or at any one time, possesses. + +Respecting this _Fucus vesiculosis_ and its use in goitre, I would like +to add a few words. The drug is of variable quality. If one specimen +fails to give satisfaction it ought to be discarded and another tried. +The pharmacist must be importuned to make special efforts to give us an +article that is not inert, but contains all the activity that belongs to +the drug. + +Time is required for effecting a cure. This varies according to the age +and size of the goitre. Three months may suffice for a small goitre of +one year's growth. Six months may be required for one twice as large and +of longer standing. A year and a half is the longest period during which +I have had to continue the medicine. But during all that time the goitre +was manifestly diminishing. + +The dose is a teaspoonful of the tincture twice or three times daily, in +a well-developed case. Half a teaspoonful twice a day will answer in +recent cases. + +Smaller doses seem not to produce any effect. + +The medicine is very unpleasant to the taste, but causes no disturbance +after it has been taken. It ought to be taken, each dose in about two +ounces of water, and preferably between meals. + + +GAULTHERIA. + +NAT. ORD., Ericaceæ. + +COMMON NAME, Wintergreen. + +PREPARATION.--The distilled oil from the leaves of Gaultheria procumbens +is used and dispensed in one or two drop tablets. + + (These two papers were contributed to the _Homoeopathic + Recorder_, 1894, by Dr. Benj. F. Lang, York, Nebraska, on + the action of _Gaultheria_.) + +My attention was first called to its use about ten years ago in southern +Ohio, where I received most pleasing results in the treatment of +inflammatory rheumatism. Afterwards to a somewhat more disagreeable +class of complaints in form of neuralgia. While I am not a champion of +any specific, I want to say that this drug has given me the quickest and +most satisfactory results of any remedy in the Materia Medica. If there +is anything that a man wants relief from quick and "now," it is from +these excruciating pains. Often was I called to treat some obstinate +cases of ciliary neuralgia, or facial, or in fact nearly every form of +neuralgia, and found my skill taxed to its utmost to bring out the balm. +Did I find it in the homoeopathic indicated remedy? I trust so, but +not in any Materia Medica. I don't say but what I got some results from +them, but I found it in this a "helper;" it came to my relief +immediately and to the great comfort of the patient. In severest cases +of neuralgias of the head and face it would do its work quick and well. +Equally well has it served me in very severe cases of neuralgia of +stomach and bowels, while for the past few years it has done faithful +work in ovarian and uterine neuralgias following or preceding difficult +menstruation. I have many a dear friend to-day whose relief from +suffering was found in this remedy. + +I am satisfied that it should be given a prominent place in our Materia +Medica. Lest this article should become tedious, I will cite a few +cases. + +Mr. A., travelling man from Chicago, a few years ago called on me for +temporary relief of a severe case of ciliary neuralgia; said he had +suffered for many years with it, every spring especially, and that he +had consulted great numbers of physicians of Chicago, Milwaukee and +Cincinnati, and, as he said, "had taken bushels of drugs, both old and +new school," with only temporary relief. So he expected nothing more, as +he was told he must wear it out. I told him I thought I could give him +relief. I furnished him one-half ounce of _Gaultheria_, with directions +to take; did not see him again for two years, when he came into my +office one day and greeted me by saying I was the only man that could +ever give him any permanent relief from his sufferings; that he never +had any return after first day taking medicine, and unlike most patrons +wanted to make me a present of a $5 (five dollar bill), which of course +no doctor refuses. I cite this first, as it was of long standing and had +tested the ability of a number of prominent men. + +Miss B., dressmaker, came to me suffering terribly with facial neuralgia +and greeted me similar to No. 1; that she expected nothing but temporary +relief, as she had been afflicted for a long time. Gave her two (2) +drachms of oil W.; told her to take one dose immediately and another in +two hours if the pain did not quiet down. She was careful to ask if it +was an opiate, as she objected to that. I assured her it was not; saw +her next day, said that pain disappeared and had not returned. I was +acquainted with the lady for three and one-half years, and she only had +one return of the disease, which the same remedy relieved immediately. +Many cases more could I cite in which it never has failed me. + +Mrs. G., No. 3. I was called to relieve a severe case of neuralgia of +stomach and bowels this last summer, who had been under the care of two +of my worthy competitors. They had exhausted their pill case, and for +about three weeks the poor woman had suffered everything but death +itself. After diagnosing the case I put her on this remedy, and in two +hours she was relieved and after two days was able to be about, and was +cured shortly by no other remedy than it. I want to say you will find a +true friend in this remedy in all forms of neuralgia, and only give a +few suggestions now; but if it should be necessary could give scores to +prove its value. + +I mentioned in the beginning that it had been of great value in +inflammatory rheumatism. So it has, and will give later many cases of +immediate and permanent relief if it would be of any value to the +profession. A word as to the best way of giving the drug. I have found +that the dose should never be less than five drops, and if pain is +severe fifteen drops repeated in half hour; afterward two hours apart. +For adult it may be necessary to give twenty drops at first. It always +should be dropped on sugar and taken. + +One suggestion: I would like to have it put in a tablet of about two to +five drops pure oil, as I think it could be taken more satisfactorily. +While the crude oil is very pleasant to take at first, yet, on account +of its strong odor, will nauseate after awhile if not removed from room. +I am confident that if you make this into a tablet and place it among +your remedies you would have a weapon that you could place into the +hands of doctors of untold value in these troubles. + + (The latter part of the foregoing communication was + addressed to Messrs. Boericke & Tafel, homoeopathic + pharmacists. This was followed by a second communication + reading as follows): + +Since the few lines written for the last issue of _Recorder_ on +_Gaultheria_ in treatment of neuralgia, I have been asked to write my +experience with it in inflammatory rheumatism. + +It has never failed me in this terrible disease to give relief. My +experience with it dates back to the fall of 1884, in Ross county, Ohio, +where I was called to treat a very stubborn case, then under the +treatment of one of my old school friends. The patient, a lady about +fifty years old, had suffered with two previous attacks, lasting about +three months each time. At the time I was called to treat her she had +been confined to bed about four weeks. She was suffering intensely, the +joints of upper and lower limbs being swollen and extremely tender; in +fact, so sensitive that one could scarcely walk about the bed without +causing great suffering; temperature, 103; pulse weak and intermittent. +At my first visit, 2:30 P.M., I ordered all of the joints to be wrapped +with cotton, to exclude all air. I then gave her _Bry._ On my return, +next day, I did not find much improvement, excepting the nausea, which +was due to heroic drugging she had been subjected to. Continued _Bry._ +The next day the appetite some better, but joints still very tender; +temperature and pulse about the same; some difficulty in respiration. I +then resolved to try _Gaultheria_. I left one drachm vial of the remedy +and ordered the same to be divided into two equal doses, one-half at one +o'clock P.M., the balance at five o'clock P.M. + +At about 7:30 of the same evening a messenger came into town in great +haste, saying my patient was failing very fast, and requested me to come +out as soon as possible. On my arrival at the home I found the patient +sitting by the fire. The husband informed me that he thought she was +losing her mind. I asked her why she was out of bed; she said she saw no +reason for staying in bed after a patient was well, and further said +that about one hour after taking the first dose she began to move +easily, and after taking second dose all of the soreness and swelling +left the joints. She also said she was all right; that we need not feel +alarmed about her. I made only one visit after; continued the same +remedy; there were no relapses. + +No. 2. A prominent woman in Nebraska had been under treatment for ten +days with free old-line medication, Dover's powders and _Morphia_ as +palliatives. Husband consulted me to know whether anything could be +given to relieve her suffering. I called and found her with temperature +102, pulse 105, left (hand) fingers and elbow joints swollen, very +sensitive to touch or movement. I at once assured her that I thought she +would get relief without any more _Morphia_. Gave her one-half drachm +_Gaultheria_ and requested her to take twenty drops in two hours if pain +and soreness was not relieved. This was about 4 P.M. I met her husband +next morning on street on my way to visit her again and he said "that he +hardly thought it necessary, as his wife was relieved in about one hour +after taking first dose and felt no pain after second, and that she was +up dressing her hair when he left home." She had a slight return on +account of overwork, but remedy always gave relief and made firm patrons +of one of our best families for me. I always advise patients to wrap +the joints with cotton to exclude air and advise them to keep quiet. + +No. 3. Young man, twenty-eight; had two attacks before, one lasting +three months, the second ten weeks. This was the worst case that I have +ever treated. As the heart was very weak, pulse intermittent, I put him +on the remedy, _Gaultheria_, with almost immediate relief, but second +day there was relapse, which again responded immediately to treatment by +same remedy; with this, or in connection with this remedy, I used some +_Bry._ 3 and _Rhus tox._ 3. I dismissed him in ten days, more than +pleased, as we were always able to control the pain immediately without +any other remedy than _Gaultheria_. + +I cite these cases among the many that I have had, and have never failed +to get good results in any; will say that I give any other remedy after +soreness and swelling are removed that may be indicated, always taking +the necessary precaution to exclude all air from parts affected and to +keep them warm. About three hours apart is as often as I give remedy, +and always careful to give it on sugar and remove it from room, with +_spoon used_. + +No. 4. Since my article on neuralgia I had a quite severe case of +sciatica that had taxed the skill of one of my worthy competitors for +nearly two months without any good results; he was about to go to Hot +Springs for some relief. Meeting me on the street, wanted to know if I +thought any of my "little pills or drops would give any relief." I +assured him that I was quite positive that I could. He could hardly move +about, and suffered very much if he did; he came and got a prescription +and found relief to his great astonishment almost immediately; has had +it refilled twice and has worked every day; he takes the remedy morning +and night; there is no pain or soreness, nor has there been any after +first day, only if he sneezes or gets the leg cramped there seems to be +slight contraction of nerve, but the remedy has done most satisfactory +work in this case and gained a valuable family. + +I hope these few cases may be of some benefit to the readers of the +_Recorder_: 1. Be careful to observe the rule that if remedy should +nauseate cease giving for twelve or twenty-four hours. 2. Always give on +sugar or in tablets. 3. Remove it immediately from room after +administering. 4. Cover joints to exclude air and keep them warm. 5. +Give any other indicated remedy. + + +HELODERMA HORRIDUS. + +PREPARATION.--The virus, obtained by irritating the animal and allowing +it to bite on glass, is triturated in the usual way. + + (Dr. T. L. Bradford furnishes us with the following + classification of this reptile): + +The heloderma is classed as follows: Order: Saurii. Lacertilia. Lizards. +Sub order: 5. Fissilinguia. Family: Lacratidæ. Heloderma horridum of +Mexico; the crust lizard; the Mexican Caltetopen. Called heloderma from +its skin being studded with nail or tubercle-like heads. The Gila +monster is a native of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. It is smaller than +the Mexican variety, and is called, by Cope, Heloderma Suspectum. It is +the only lizard whose character is not above reproach, hence the name. +Zoology says: An esquamate-tongued lizard with clavicles not dilated +proximally, a postorbital arch, no postfront-osquamosal arch, the pre +and post frontals in contact, separating the frontal from the orbit, and +furrowed teeth receiving the different ducts of highly developed +salivary glands. + + (There has been considerable difference of opinion as to + whether the Heloderma is poisonous or not; but the + following abstract from a paper on the subject read + before the College of Physicians, Philadelphia, 1883, by + S. Wier Mitchell, together with the provings made later, + ought to very effectually settle all dispute on this + point; the conclusions are the result of experiments on + animals): + +The poison of heloderma causes no local injury. It arrests the heart in +diastole, the organ afterwards contracts slowly--possibly in rapid rigor +mortis. + +The cardiac muscle loses its irritability to stimuli at the time it +ceases to beat. The other muscles and nerves respond to irritants. + +The spinal cord has its power annihilated abruptly, and refuses to +respond to the most powerful electrical currents. + +This virulent heart poison contrasts strongly with serpent venom, since +they give rise to local hæmorrhages, causing death chiefly through +failure of respiration and not by the heart unless given in overwhelming +doses. They lower muscle and nerve reactions, especially those of the +respiratory apparatus, but do not cause extreme and abrupt loss of +spinal power. They also produce secondary pathological appearances +absent in heloderma poisoning. + +The briefest examination of the lizard's anatomy makes it clear why it +has been with reason suspected to be poisonous, and why it poisons with +so much difficulty. Unless the teeth are entire, the poison abundant, +and the teeth buried in the bitten flesh so as to force it down into +contact with the ducts where they open at the crown of the teeth, it is +hard to see how even a drop of poison could be forced into the wounds. +Yet it is certain that small animals may die from the bite, and this may +be due to the extraordinary activity of the poison, and to the lizard's +habit of holding tenaciously to what it bites, so as to allow time for a +certain amount of absorption. + + (The provings and the clinical cases that follow were + from the virus of the Gila monster obtained by Dr. + Charles D. Belden, of Phoenix, Arizona, in 1890, who + suggested it as a possible remedy for paralysis agitans + and locomotor ataxia. He obtained the virus from a + captive monster by irritating it and then letting it + strike, or bite, a piece of heavy glass; by this means he + obtained a few drops of a pasty yellowish fluid. In his + letters Dr. Belden quotes Sir John Lubbock as follows): + +This animal does not bite frequently, but when it does it is understood +that the result is a benumbing paralysis like to paralysis agitans or +to locomotor attaxia. There is no tetanic phase, being, as I apprehend, +a condition almost reverse in objective symptoms to hydrocyanic acid or +strychnia. + + (Dr. Belden also writes): + +It seems to me that it (the poison) differs in so many points from all +present known venoms that it is worth our having. In the first place it +is alkaline, and all other poisons of reptiles are acid. Second, its +effect is not always sudden but is lasting--causing sickness for months +and death even after a year. Again, although it does not produce +paralysis it is not the tonic spasm, but rather the slow creeping death +from extremities. It does not seem to excite but to depress. + + (A supply of this poison was sent to Dr. Robert Boocock + at his request for proving, and he made three different + trials of it, the results of which were published in the + _Homoeopathic Recorder_ for March and April, 1893; but + as Dr. James E. Lilienthal has arranged the matter in + schema form we will here only give fragmentary quotations + from Dr. Boocock's papers, which are quite long, covering + nearly thirty pages. The following is from Dr. Boocock's + paper): + +I am in my sixtieth year, sanguine, bilious temperament, fair complexion +and weigh 160 pounds; height, 5 feet 6 inches. My normal pulse rate is +72, full, round and regular. I am in very good health. I do not drink +alcoholic beverages of any kind, neither do I smoke nor drink strong +coffee, or tea, or cocoa. My usual and favorite beverage is hot water +with a little milk and sugar in it. If much sugar or salt is used my +stomach gets very sour, and water-brash is the result. I therefore use +very little of either, though I am very fond of sweetmeats. + +When I received the first bottle of _Heloderma horridus_, I took a one +drachm vial and filled it with the 6x trit., and dissolved it in four +ounces of diluted alcohol, of which I took a few drops, dried my fingers +on my tongue, and a severe feeling of internal coldness, so intense as +to cause me to fear being frozen to death, ensued. I had some twitches +about my heart, as if the blood was hard to get in or out. I was +somewhat alarmed, but as I had no trembling I sat over the register and +tried to get warm. The day was a very cold one, but my office was +comfortably warm, and I had no consciousness of having taken cold. + +I was not surprised at feeling this so soon after taking the few drops, +for I know that I am very sensitive to any medicine and have a bad habit +of tasting medicine, but never without being conscious of its effects, +sometimes very unpleasantly so. + +Now, to-day is warm and damp, thunderstorm this morning, although it is +December 9th. The storm lasted three or more hours; lightning very +vivid. I had already taken one drop of the 30th, with a very severe +nervous headache, but I forgot that when I took the medicine. I have +medicated 2 oz. No. 35 globules with 30th dilution, and having taken six +globules as a dose before they were dry. + +A feeling of heat in head and face, some headache over the right +eyebrow. Cold feeling in my legs; after two hours a numb feeling around +and down my left thigh; feeling very drowsy, so took a short nap in my +chair. Was awakened suddenly with a jerking in my head. Central part of +frontal bone so queer as to awaken me. + +When my office bell rang it threw me into a startled and trembling +condition, something new to me. At 5:30 took four globules more. + +8 P.M. The pressure at my heart and in my head and scalp is very great. +A feeling of great heat and some pressure. Not so much burning in my +face, but a feeling on my left cheek as if being pricked with points of +ice. A very severe and tired feeling, with coldness of legs and feet. A +slight dryness of my lips, with a tingling feeling and great dryness in +my throat. Gurgling in the region of the spleen. + +9:30 P.M. The pressure and heat on the top of my head appears like an +inflammation of the meninges. It does not affect my mind; that remains +clear, and I can think and read as well and as long as ever. No more +medicine. * * * + +December 29, 1892. No medicine. Some trembling, but not so great or so +extensive; it does not now extend along the whole limb. Parts of right +arm and left thigh hemiplegial; no acute feeling. But some muscles will +twitch and tremble for a few seconds. Just enough to arrest my attention +and amuse me, and feel like saying, "Hello, _Heloderma hor_! have you +not done with me yet?" For it is a great surprise to me how these +feelings will come on and creep over me. And I am inclined to ask +myself, can it be that all these strange and to me new feelings can be +the effects following the taking of these few doses? And yet, if it were +necessary, I could swear they were. I have my fears if I will ever be +free from these nervous trembling spells, and the feeling in my head and +heart. + + (The foregoing gives the gist of the first trials. The + third and last now follows. It was made with repeated + doses of the 30th potency.) + +12 meridian. Sensation as if a cold, freezing wind were blowing upon me +from the bend of my knees. Head feeling as if the scalp were being drawn +tight over my skull, and my facial muscles were being drawn very tight +over the bones. A giddiness and a cold pressure from within the skull. A +cold, running chill from superior maxillary down to the chin. Trembling +of limbs. Coldness extending from the knee into the calf of the leg. +Pain and pressure within the skull from crown to occiput, and from back +forward over the left eye. A very drowsy feeling. I could sleep if I +gave way to the feeling. * * * * + +January 4, 1893, 7:45 A.M. Took another dose of six globules. Pulse, 72. +Temperature, 97 3·5. A flush of heat in my face. A feeling as if I were +walking on sponge or as if my feet were swollen. Dull headache. The +arctic cold feeling is more in my right arm, elbow joint, and right +thigh and left foot. A great trembling of my arm. It is hard work to +steady my hand, which holds my book, enough to continue reading or +writing. + +The feeling of swelling in my feet of walking on sponges sensation +continues; a springiness, with a sense of looseness in stepping out, +which requires some caution, as if I were not sure of my steps. The +trembling of my hands is on the increase; feeling of soreness in my +heart, more under left nipple; pain in my back, lumbar region. Some +little scalding of urine; flow not so free and full, intermitting +slightly, as if I had some calculus in the bladder which interfered with +continuous flow. Stool more free and full. + +Earwax, which had been very dry, now flows from both ears, but is more +free on the left side. Left nostril sore; ulcerated. Throat sore and +tender to outside touch. * * * + +9 P.M. Very weak feeling, with pain in my heart; same place, under left +nipple. Head aches and arctic rays in various parts of my body. * * * + +January 5, 12 noon. Took twelve more globules. Numb feeling in my head. +A feeling as if I would fall on my right side. A good drive this morning +in the snowstorm; and felt a desire to bear to the right side and could +not walk straight because of this, and had repeatedly to stop or step to +the left to get a straight course on the causeway. A good deal of the +same feeling, but very weak and sleepy; was compelled to lie down, but +did not sleep, although feeling very drowsy; laid very quiet, as if I +was in a stupor; the old feeling in various parts of my body, only more +acute; a feeling in various parts as if a needle were being thrust into +my flesh. + +4:45 P.M. Took thirteen globules. A very stiff neck the most prominent +feeling. All the previously recorded feelings, only more intensely. I +have a painful boring feeling in the middle third of left thigh. * * * + +8:30. Flushed, hot feeling in my head and face, but no increase in +color; but then I have just come out of the storm. + +9:30. Took twelve globules more and retired to rest; very tired; slept +very profoundly until 1 A.M., then could not sleep. My back, in the +lumbar muscles, ached so and my left leg that I could not sleep for +hours, and my brain felt as if scalded; an intense burning feeling in +the meninges, for this did not affect my power to think. This hot +feeling commenced and spread down my back. An intense pain over left +eyebrow, through my left eye to base of brain and down my back. The pain +in the back of my head caused me to bore my head deep into my pillow, +and reminded me of cases I have seen of cerebro-spinal meningitis. An +intense weakness, as if I had no power to move, and no wish to do so, +and yet I was afraid I could not attend to my business. Yet, strange to +say, I was not alarmed, but passively indifferent. I could not open my +eyes without great effort; it was hard work to keep them open and the +easiest thing for them to close, as if there were a great weight upon +them, keeping them down. I begged to be allowed to remain in bed until +some one wanted me professionally, and yet I could not thus give way to +my feelings, and so got up. + +7 A.M. Feeling very weak and giddy. Staggering about my bedroom trying +to dress. It was all that I could do to lift a hod of coal to the stove. +The pains in my head and lumbar muscles, back of my head near atlas and +middle third of left thigh and right elbow are the most noticeable from +the great pains; and arctic coldness in my feet and hands and arms; have +had a transient feeling of pain in the little finger and little toe of +right side. Very feverish or parched in the night, and my breathing was +hard and sounded as if I was drawing my breath through iron pipes. I +feel that I must not take any more medicine at present. When I remember +what a long time I was in getting to the end of the previous proving, I +feel that I dare not go any further. + +The dose I have been taking, a No. 35 globule, is as large as ten such +as is ordinarily used for the 30th or for high dilutions, so that I have +taken as good as sixty high dilution globules as a dose, and lately as +high as one hundred and twenty-four and sometimes oftener daily. + +I was surprised at these hot flushes and burnings in my head and along +my spine. And these strongly reminded me of some feeling a proving of +_Gelsemium_ caused, only that has sweat, whilst this has no moisture, +everything being dried up. Saliva, tears, nostrils, and earwax; the +great weakness and pain in the body reminds me of cerebro-spinal +meningitis. + +My pulse rate is 68. 8:15. Temperature, 97 only. + +1 P.M. What fearful aching in my body! Arctic feeling throughout my +body, except my head and face, and oh! so tired. A feeling as if it were +almost impossible to keep my eyes open. While out on my professional +rounds a feeling came over me as if it would be far easier to lie down +in the snowy streets than to keep trying to get along. The trembling is +very persistent. + +9 P.M. Oh! this bad feeling in my head, the aching, aching in my bones, +in every part of my body, head to feet; no part entirely free from pain, +my body so cold; a feeling as if I had holes in my garments, and cold, +frosty winds were blowing through and freezing my flesh; cold penis and +testicles, no feeling but coldness. A slight gluey discharge; a fluent +discharge from nose, with great sneezing. * * * + +January 9th, 8 A.M. Pulse rate 68; is not so full or jerky, but it is +some. Temperature under the tip of the tongue, 96; deeper in, 97. This +morning awoke at 3 A.M. and got up to urinate, but I could not stand +without I had hold of something. Oh, such a weak, giddy feeling! I never +fainted but once, from loss of blood, and these sensations are similar. +Plenty of strength to hold me up, but unable to balance myself, and when +I put forth an effort I staggered about like a man trying to walk with +paralysis or locomotor ataxy. This idea was the most prominent in my +mind, but I have a patient recovering from paralysis who has to swing +his body as he walks, to get his feet forward, and is very weak and +shaky about his knees, and these sensations very strongly reminded me of +his efforts. His weakness is in his knees, but mine was from the base of +my skull--cerebrum--where the pains have been so persistent near the +atlas extending downward. When I arose, at 7 A.M., it was very hard work +for me to balance myself enough to complete dressing myself, and very +hard work to carry my head. If I bent forward, then it required great +effort to keep from falling on my face or backward. This lack of +balancing power was accompanied by a sensation of nausea, as if I were +going to vomit. I persisted in my efforts to work, in hopes of shaking +off these very alarming sensations, and by effort got through my morning +work. Whilst shaving a severe jerk of my right arm caused me to gash my +face; very strange, but I ought not to have tried to do this. I have now +some numbness in my right hand and arm, and a good deal of trembling. +Arctic feeling in my feet and in various parts of my body. This feeling +of want of balancing power does not entirely leave me; a full, pressing +feeling in all parts of my head. And when I walk I notice I lift my feet +higher than usual, or than is necessary, and I put my heel down hard, as +if I was not sure of holding on to the ground. I notice some twitching, +as if my feet would spring up, making me walk as if I had the cock's +gait, as it is described. * * * + +7 A.M., January 10, 1893. Thank God I began this day with more comfort +and more control of myself; my limbs are easier to manage; a little +giddiness and staggering, and stiff, bruised sensation in my back and +lower limbs. My cervical vertebra is less sore and have little pain; and +altogether feel very much better. My pulse rate is 80 this A.M.; full +and round; no jerks perceptible. Temperature 98 under the tongue, by the +root. Mercury very slow in rising; had to keep the thermometer in a long +time. I have a flushed, hot feeling in my face and head; no trembling, +less staggering, and can manage my limbs fairly well. I feel as I dared +not trifle with myself any further, for I am very weak. A very little +exertion would make me feel very ill. I am feeling like a man who had +just come from under a deadly risk; am very weak and prostrated, with +every nerve on the jump. Oh, so very weak! A sinking feeling. A parched +thirstiness in my throat and mouth. My tongue is clean; bowels regular; +a good deal of flatus, very fetid; pale yellow, greenish urine +(specific gravity 1008), smelling very fetid; same smell as the flatus; +more like the smell of rotting sweet fruit or vegetables. * * * + +January 14, 1893. Could not get out of bed at my usual time; very severe +pain in head and back of neck, going down my back and right leg; +twitches, with cold, stinging, ice-needle pricks. My right hand is +feeling as if it were frozen. Pulse rate 64; full, round, but appears to +have a pendulum motion or twitch. Temperature 96 3-5. Mind clear, but +very weak in my body, and I can not get warm over a hot register or with +hot fluids. This constant arctic cold is very hard to bear and makes me +this morning feel as if I had a cake of ice on my back. My hands are +blue with cold and my feet feel like lumps of ice. Headache and +giddiness; could not keep from trembling while some patients were in my +consulting room, and had a good deal of difficulty in steadying and +controlling my voice; when excited could not get hold of the right words +I wanted and dropped some when speaking, from a want of flexibility or a +catch in my tongue. Pains in various parts of my body; the same +locations and character. Quite a rush of business to-day and very +ill-fitted to attend to it. My hands and feet blue and aching with cold, +even while I was sitting over a hot register that scorched my boot +leather, yet no feeling of warmth in hands or feet. A good deal of +throbbing and aching in the upper part of my kidneys, the right one the +sorest. Sharp pains in my bowels, near the cæcum; some trembling (when +asleep it awoke me) in my right arm and left leg, with a sharp pain near +the ankle joint. * * * + +January 20. Awoke this morning in a shivering fit. Trembling, giddiness +and headache, but not very severe. Cold arctic feeling. Pulse 68. +Temperature 97 1-5. My feet, 8 A.M., cold. Severe pain in left testicle, +extending through to the back to anus. Bleed very much from old piles. +An aching at end of penis, and no sexual desire. A feeling as if the +testicles were swollen and painful, as in orchitis; this is only a +transient pain, and comes and goes at infrequent periods, or remittent +in their character. I notice my urine is taking on the greenish-yellow +again, and my right arm is chilly from the arctic rays. My feet are +cold, and the coldness creeps up higher in my legs. A great deal of +arctic feeling in and around my heart. My breath is cold. Headache, but +mind clear. Cold chills run over me in various parts of my body. My +hands tremble very much at times, so that I can not write. Pain in +testicles and coldness, as if they were frozen. Pass a large quantity of +urine. * * + +January 21. 8 A.M. Did not get up before, owing to the pressure in my +skull, as if it were too full; dropsy or some swelling of my brain; +giddiness, and a numbness down my left leg, and a jerking upward in both +of them. Some trembling and coldness around my heart, and in my lungs +and down my arms. My feet were very hot in the night until 5 A.M., when +they became cold, numb and jerky, upwards. My pulse rate is very slow +this morning, only 56 beats. Temperature is slowly forced up to 98. I +have a sensation as if my left cheek were swollen, but it is not so. +Trembling very much in my hands. + +2:30 P.M. Have not been warm yet to-day; very intense arctic sensation +in my body and heart and lungs. Slight cough. Numbness in my right arm. +Much trembling, and a sensation of inward trembling in all parts of my +body. Generative organs frozen cold, and this coldness extends up my +back. My feet so cold that I have burned my boots, and yet cannot get +them warm. Coldness extends up to my knees. Stiffness and pain in left +thigh. Cold arctic band round my head, with fulness in skull. Pulse 60. +Temperature 97 4-5. Good appetite. Mentally clear, although very weak; +very tired and discouraged that these feelings last so long. They seem +to be all beginning over again; worse now than they were a week ago. I +feel more like giving up and going to bed sick, but I cannot afford to +do so, so I brace up and resist this temptation to try and find an +antidote for these recurring series of feelings. * * * + +January 23. Slept well until 5 A.M.; then awoke with pains in head and +burning in my feet, with some trembling and stiff feeling in my lungs +and heart, as if they were tied or unable to move. As I lay awake I +could hear my heart pounding away, but, oh! so slow. Felt very weak and +wanted to stay in bed, but after some hard thinking I got up. 7 A.M. +Very weak; staggered about while dressing. Pains in the base of the +brain. Pulse 64 and irregular in its beats, some of them failing +altogether to declare themselves only by their absence to respond. +Temperature, after being held under my tongue ten minutes, 97 2-5. Very +cold in my back and over my shoulders; hands and feet are blue with +cold. Itching all over my body, and as if I was bitten with fleas or +bugs were crawling over me. Skin of my hands very rough and cracks are +in them. My ears have a feeling as if wax were running out of them.* * * + + +January 26, 10 P.M. It has required a mighty effort to keep up this day. +My pulse 56, slow and irregular; temperature 98. Headache, yet mind +clear; backache. Weakness in all my body; my limbs so weak in walking +that it was difficult to keep going, and felt as if I could lay down or +drop down anywhere. What heart failure symptoms are I do not know, but +fear I came very near it and yet I have resisted this feeling, and kept +awake and about. Have felt very ill all the day, and am so now on +retiring, 11 P.M. * * * + +January 29. 9 A.M. Just after breakfast, pulse 68, temperature 99; slept +very heavy, but dreamed of treating many cases of black diphtheria. +Awoke, slept, dreamed the same dream again, and again the same dream, +three separate times. How very singular! During these provings, I have +done this three separate times. Three dreams in one night--the same +dream, the same disease, the same families in my dream. This singularity +caused me to lay awake wondering what this can mean. I have not any +patients suffering from this disease, and I do not know of any in the +town, and nothing that I know of to bring this disease to my mind. Awoke +feeling very stiff and sore. * * * + +January 30. Head pains again, the same old character. Sensation of +swelling in my face and pain in nerves of teeth, molars. Hot feeling. +Pulse, 68. Temperature, 99. Very weak, but my mind clear. Much trembling +and the oppression round my heart and chest producing a suffocating +feeling that makes me afraid, and I must now seek some means to arrest +this difficulty and give me some relief. I know it looks cowardly to +give up, but my family compels me to do something to enable me to keep +about. I cannot do any more; this heart oppression makes me think of +heart failure. Pulse, 56, and temperature 96. Very weak. I hope it will +wear away and this trembling improve. They have been caused by this +drug, one of the most powerful. I gave up and went to bed very ill. I +had to keep it from my family, but I was afraid my heart would stop +beating and had a very restless night. I took acetic acid, as vinegar I +had in some pickles I thought changed or relieved the first class or +effort of provings and caused me to stop and begin again. I think it did +help me. Next day very prostrated but did not take any note of my pulse +or temperature, because I had began to try to find an antidote, and this +vinegar and lemon juice has relieved many of them. I fear sometimes that +the trembling in my hands may never fully leave me now. + +February 12, 1893. Copying my notes has brought so vividly to my memory +that I can almost feel the old arctic rays through my body, and the +giddiness and staggering gait of the _Heloderma hor._ days. I hope that +you may have many others more courageous than I have been, whose +provings will compare or improve upon this poor effort of mine. + +CLINICAL. + +The case of paralysis that I spoke of, whose staggering gait was called +to my mind by my feelings, is now taking _Heloderma_. + +In the following case, Mrs. Ford, eighty-one years of age, has been my +patient several times during the last four years. She suffered from +erysipelas and dropsy in the legs. In September I was again called in +for the same old trouble; the usual remedies were effectual. In October +she caught cold, and had also a bad fall; her symptoms were those of +pneumonia, fever, delirium and cough, pain in chest and hard work to +breathe, blueness of lips, tongue and cheeks, cold extremities and was +very low in appetite, and appeared to be sinking. Pulse, fifty; +temperature, ninety, and to all human appearance was rapidly dying; all +said so, and I fully believed so, but left _Heloderma horridus_, one +powder in water, and ordered her tongue to be moistened with a feather +dipped in this every half hour. I did not call the next day until +evening. I was waiting to be notified of her death, but no such notice +coming called to see, and, to my surprise, found everything changed. I +then gave _Helo. hor._ 200, every four hours, with placebos. All the bad +symptoms gradually disappeared, breathing became natural, heart gained +strength, pulse increased to seventy, temperature to ninety-eight and +appetite became better, asking frequently for food. This continued so +long as she was taking this medicine. She was so well that I ceased to +attend, she having no aches or pains, was eating and sleeping well, +bowels moved regularly and night watching was given up. All who saw the +recovery were pleasingly surprised, and so was I, and have frequently +asked myself could anything else have done this. _Lachesis_ has changed +a slate colored tongue, and has aroused those who appeared to be dying +for a short time, but to extend the life of one as good as dead for +thirty days is a triumph for the _Helo. hor._ + + (To the foregoing we may add that some have thought that + the proving was too sensational, but other evidence that + has not appeared in print leads to the conclusion that it + is essentially true, and that the proving was made by one + peculiarly susceptible to the remedy. We know of one + gentleman who laughed at it and in bravado took a number + of doses during an afternoon. He felt no immediate + effects, but during the night awoke with some very + peculiar feelings that he could attribute to nothing but + the _Heloderma_, and they were of such a character that + he refused to take any more. It would be well to use the + remedy with caution until the practitioner has gauged its + powers.) + + (Dr. Charles E. Johnson wrote as follows to Dr. Boocock + concerning the remedy): + +"I have had under treatment a case that has been pronounced incurable by +many physicians. She has had most of the symptoms developed in your +proving, that awful coldness being most pronounced. She has had two +doses of the 200th. I learn through a neighbor that she is delighted +with the result of the last medicine. The coldness has nearly +disappeared, leaving a comfortable glow upon the body. She tells her +neighbors this without having been informed by me what results I +expected from the medicine." + + (Dr. Erastus E. Case contributed the following detailed + clinical case to the _Medical Advance_, July, 1897): + +An auburn haired woman, 55 years of age, had numbness in the feet two +years ago. It has gradually extended upward until it now includes the +lower part of the abdomen. + +Tingling, creeping sensation on the legs as if from insects. + +Worse when lying in bed at night. + +Worse from exposure to cold air. + +Worse from touch; she cannot endure to place her bare feet together. + +Legs insensible to an electric battery. + +Legs wasting away, skin very dry and inelastic. + +Ankles turn easily when trying to walk. + +Numbness of the arms from the hands to the elbows. + +Forgetfulness. + +Melancholy with weeping. + +Worse in stormy weather. + +Worse when thinking of her ailments, cheered by company. + +Pain in the forehead in the morning, aggravated by turning the eyes. + +Tongue dry and cracked in the morning. + +Swallowing difficult. + +Empty eructations, especially before breakfast. + +Empty, gone sensation in the stomach. + +Dislikes sweet things and worse from taking them. + +Sensation of constriction about the whole abdomen. + +Constipation from torpor of the rectum. + +Hemorrhoids and itching of the anus. + +Burning in the urethra during and after micturition. + +Burning and dryness of the vagina. + +Palpitation and dyspnoea from slight exertion. + +Drawing sensation in all the extremities. + +Yellow skin. + +April 11, 1895. _Heloderma horridus_ four powders, one every four hours. + +April 23, 1895. Decidedly more cheerful and memory is better. + +Bowels more active. + +Legs more reliable, with the numbness and tingling. + +No medicine. + +April 26, 1895. Alarmed because the palms and soles are swollen and +itching. + +No medicine. + +May 22, 1895. She gained rapidly in both flesh and strength, until a +week ago. + +_Heloderma horridus_ one powder. + +Soon after this an itching eruption came all over her, which subsided +without any further medication. She was restored to a fair degree of +health so that she has taken care of her house and family up to the +present time. + + (The following arrangement of Dr. Boocock's proving was + made by Dr. Lilienthal): + +_Mind._--No inclination for exertion in any way. + +Difficulty in remembering the spelling of simple words. + +Depressed, feels blue. + +_Head._--Sensation of heat in head; heat on vertex. + +Headache over right eyebrow. + +Pressure in head and scalp; pressure in skull as if too full. + +Soreness and stiffness in occiput, extending down neck; sore spot in +various parts of head. + +Intense pain over left eyebrow, through eye to base of brain and down +back. + +Aching at base of brain. + +Sharp, digging pains. + +Benumbed feeling all over head. + +Burning feeling in brain. + +Throbbing on top of head; head sore and bruised. + +Sensation of band around head. + +Cold band around head. + +Sensation as if scalp was drawn tight over skull. + +Bores head in pillow. + +Vertigo and weakness when moving quickly. + +Dizziness, with inclination to fall backward. + +_Eyes._--Itching of eyelids, lachrymation. + +Weight of eyelids, difficult to keep them open. + +_Ears._--Pressure behind left ear; pressure in ear from within outward. + +Copious flow of wax. + +Ears dry and scurfy. + +_Nose._--Left nostril sore; ulcerated. + +Dry, itching scurfs in nostrils. + +Severe attack of sneezing. Fluent discharge. + +_Face._--Sensation of heat. Flushes of heat. + +Cold, crawling feeling from temple down right cheek. + +Sensation as if pricked with points of ice. + +Sensation as if facial muscles were drawn tight over bones. + +Stiffness of jaw. + +_Mouth._--Dryness of lips. + +Soreness. + +Very thirsty. + +Tongue tender and dry. + +_Throat._--Dryness; parched sensation. + +Tingling. + +Soreness, tenderness to touch. + +Stinging, sore feeling in right tonsil. + +_Stomach._--Acid burning in stomach. + +_Hypochondria._--Gurgling in region of spleen. + +_Abdomen._--Sharp shooting pain in bowels, more on left side. + +Pain across pubic bones, extending down into left testicle. + +Stitching pains in bowels. + +Throbbing in bowels. + +Rumbling in bowels. + +_Stool._--Loose, copious stool, lumpy, preceded by stitches in abdomen. + +Stool loose, mushy with considerable flatus. + +Stool soft, dark, difficult to expel. + +Hæmorrhoids swollen, itch and bleed. + +_Urinary Organs._--Bladder irritable, frequent urging to pass urine. + +Tenderness in urethra, with sensation of discharge. + +Urine not as free as usual, muddy. + +Intermittent flow. + +Urine, specific gravity, 1010; greenish-yellow, fetid (decaying fruit). + +_Sexual Organs._--Erections. + +Cold penis and testicle, with gluey discharge. + +Pain and enlargement of left testicle. + +_Female._-- + +_Respiratory Organs._--Slight, hacking cough, with pain in left scapulæ. + +Fulness in chest, requiring an effort to inflate the lungs. + +Oppressed for breath from least exertion. + +_Chest._--Sharp stitch through right nipple to inside of right arm. + +Cold feeling in right lung. + +_Heart._--Pressure at heart. + +Tingling around heart. + +Trembling and coldness around heart. + +Oppression around heart. + +Sticking pains, shooting from left to right. + +Stitches in heart. + +Soreness in heart, more under left nipple. + +Pulse, 56-72; full and jerky. + +_Back._--Stiff neck; aching in bones of neck. + +Painfulness of upper neck. + +Coldness across scapulæ. + +Chill in back from base of brain downwards. + +Pain in back; pain in lumbar muscles awakening him. + +Aching in right kidney; stitch pain in right kidney. + +_Upper Extremities._--Numbness of right arm and hand with trembling. + +Tingling in arms and hands. + +Tingling in palm of left hand and along fingers. + +Drawing in left hand, followed by tingling and prickling. + +Pains in hands, if holding anything for some time. + +Trembling of hands. + +Hands blue, cracked and rough. + +_Lower Extremities._--Numb feeling around and down left thigh. + +Pain in left thigh and calf as if bruised. + +Numb feeling down right leg. + +Coldness extending from knee to calf. + +Coldness of legs and feet. + +Boring sharp pain on tibia of right leg. + +Sensation of tight hand around left ankle. + +Trembling of limbs. Jerking of limbs. + +Tingling and burning of feet as if recovering from being frozen. + +Burning in feet, preventing sleep, had to put them out of bed. + +Sensation as if walking on sponge and as if swollen. + +Staggering gait. + +Tendency to turn to right when walking. + +When walking lift feet higher than usual and put down heel hard. + +_Skin._--Itching of skin as from insects. + +_Sleep._--Drowsiness, but inability to sleep. + +Restless sleep; awakens at 3 A.M. + +Awakened from sleep by jerking in head; trembling of limbs; pain in +lumbar muscles. + +_Fever._--Internal coldness. + +Severe chill ran down back. + +Cold rings around body. + +Cold waves ascend from feet, or downward from base of brain. + +_Nerves._--Startled easily. Trembling. + +Tired feeling; very weak and nervous. + +Intense aching in bones and all parts of body. + +Trembling of left side; hands shaky. + +Trembling can be controlled by effort of will. + +_Generalities._--Stretching relieves pains in muscles and limbs. + +Stitch pains going from left to right. + +Weak, giddy, making it difficult to stand. + +Unable to balance myself. + +Movement does not increase the pain. + +Throbbing all over body. + +Bone pains. + + +JACARANDA GUALANDAI. + +NAT. ORD., Bignoniaceæ. + +COMMON NAME, Carroba. + +PREPARATION.--The dried leaves are crushed and macerated in five parts +by weight of alcohol. + + (Of this South American remedy the _Dispensatory_ says it + is used in Brazil and other South American countries for + syphilis; sometimes under the name _Carroba_. Its value + was also asserted in _British Medical Journal_, 1885. The + following letter from Dr. J. F. Convers, of Bogota, to + Messrs. Boericke & Tafel, throws some further light on + its use; the letter is dated November 24, 1888): + +_Dear Gentlemen_: Please to accept the leaves of a tree of the +Bignoniacea family, called _Jacaranda gualandai_, that I send you with +this, because it is very much used by our natives to cure illness of a +syphilitic character. I have used the mother tincture (5 drops _pro +dosi_), and the 3d dilution of it, in the treatment of blennorrhagia and +chancroids with the greatest success. In my experience I have found that +this medicine is a complementary and antidote to _Merc. v._ + +Mr. José M. Reyes, who proved the [Greek: theta] and the 2x dilution +during more than one month three times a day, found the following +results: + +HEAD.--Vertigo on rising after stooping, with momentary loss of sight, +and sensation of heaviness in the forehead. Weakness of memory and +inability to study. + +EYES.--_Pains and inflammation of the eyes, with redness more marked in +the left eye. Sensation of sand in both eyes._ Ophthalmia, which begins +in the left eye, with lachrymation and night agglutination of the +eyelids. Weakness of sight. Syphilitic-like ophthalmia. + +STOOL.--Diarrhoea with dark mulberry-colored stools without pain or +tenesmus, but with mucus. + +URINARY AND SEXUAL ORGANS.--Increased secretion of the urine. Pain in +the penis. _Blennorrhagia_ with a discharge which stains the linen a +dirty yellow color. _Chancroids._ + +THROAT.--Pain and burning of the larynx, when laughing or reading aloud, +and small vesicles in the pharynx. + +BACK.--Weakness of the lumbar region. + +These are not doubtful symptoms. + +N. B.--This remedy acts on the head at first, afterwards on the +intestines, and on the eyes last. + +Please try it, and make it known to our colleagues. Should it prove to +be there as good as here, I assure you it will be a valued remedy. + + (Dr. J. S. Whittinghill contributed the following, + _Eclectic Medical Journal_, concerning _Jacaranda_): + +Let me give the results of my experience with _Jacaranda_. I believe it +to be a true specific for certain kinds of rheumatism. Its first trial +was given a patient suffering as follows: She had had rheumatism for +about ten years--never became serious. Sometimes she was nearly relieved +from it; again lost much rest and sleep from it. Her wrist would become +painful and very weak from ordinary labor. She always suffered very much +in the morning upon any motion, and complained of being stiff. Had to +have assistance in dressing. Upon sudden motion, sensation in the +muscles as of tearing and being bruised--even painful upon pressure. + +I gave her different remedies as they seemed to be indicated, with no +results towards removing the trouble. I thought there could be nothing +lost by trying _Jacaranda_. It met with decided success. She was +entirely relieved of muscular pains in a few days. Had the recurrence of +some symptoms in about six weeks after; tried _Jacaranda_ again with the +same decided success. Some eight weeks have elapsed since, with no +recurrence of muscular pains. I have tried it on three other patients +with the same peculiar morning stiffness and soreness of muscles. All +were relieved in a few days. They have no more muscular trouble. So I +put morning soreness and stiffness of muscles as the guide in +prescribing _Jacaranda_. + + +LAC CANINUM. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh milk from a bitch is triturated in the usual +way. + + (The late Dr. Sam. Swan had a proving of this remedy, dog + milk, in the Materia Medica he attempted to publish, but + of which only one volume appeared. The work is now very + rare. The following clinical cases were contributed by + Dr. Philip Rice to the _Medical Century_, Vol. IX, No. + 24): + +_Lac caninum_ is a remedy of undoubted value, though not very thoroughly +understood and consequently not very extensively used in this dread +disease. And since a proving has never been made, and since we have to +depend entirely upon clinical reports I feel it my duty to report a few +cases in which a clear demonstration of the value of this remedy was +made. + +CASE I.--Bruce McG., æt. 15, dark hair, gray eyes, spare habit, rigid +fibre, nervous, quick, active, called at my office in the evening +complaining of sore throat, worse on right side, and on swallowing. +Headache dull and heavy, slight fever. Inspection revealed tonsils and +fauces congested and angry looking. On right tonsil a patch of membrane +the size of a split pea was seen. + +_Lycopodium_ 30x was given. The next morning the entire trouble seemed +to have gone to the left side; with it had come, also, stiff neck and +tongue; profuse flow of saliva; temperature 101 F. Membrane somewhat +larger. _Mercurius ruber_ 30x was given. In the evening the trouble was +worse again on right side, the membrane now entirely covering both +tonsils, temperature 102 F. Limbs ached, back ached, and patient was +restless. Remembering the symptom, "membrane alternates between right +and left sides," and this having been so characteristic, I gave _Lac +caninum_ in the 30th potency. Improvement began immediately and at the +end of the third day the membrane was entirely gone and case discharged +as far as medicine was concerned. + +CASE II.--Louisa McG., æt. 13, in temperament exactly like her brother, +the preceding case. Was irritable and listless for two days, but owing +to the fact that the fair began in a few days, to which she was +determined to go, she did not complain. The third day, however, her +mother noticed that she was truly sick and, there being a number of +cases of diphtheria in town, looked into her throat. She found both +tonsils covered with a membrane. I was called and as no other symptoms +could be elicited I gave _Sulphur_ 30x and told them I would call again +in the evening, which I did and found symptoms rapidly developing. +Aching in all the limbs; headache; pain in the throat on swallowing; +worse on the right side; neck and tongue stiff; membrane just the same. +Temperature 101.5; same remedy continued. + +Next morning the membrane was the same, pain now in left side, throat +internally and externally oedematous, fauces and uvula glossy or +varnished in appearance. Temperature 102, urine scanty, no thirst. +_Apis_ 30x was now given. In the evening pain back in right side again. +Temperature 102.5. Membrane spreading; stiffness of neck and tongue more +marked and saliva profuse. Not having seen the case till the membrane +had quite generally formed, but the patient being in temperament like +her brother and the pain shifting from side to side, as in his case, I +decided to give her _Lac caninum_. Improvement began immediately and at +the end of four days the membrane was entirely gone. + +CASE III.--The servant girl in the family where cases one and two had +been, Anna B., æt. 17. In temperament the very opposite to the other +cases, being fat, fair and flabby. Complained of pain in right side of +throat on swallowing, neck stiff, tonsil slightly congested. Felt as if +she had a bad cold. Advised her to come to the office and get some +medicine. She had, however, some "dope" on hand and said she guessed +she would take that first. Next evening I was called and found her with +throat much worse. Membrane covering left tonsil entirely, also a narrow +strip of membrane on posterior wall of pharynx, pain in left tonsil on +swallowing, neck and tongue stiff, saliva quite profuse. Temperature +only slightly above normal. _Lac caninum_ 30x was given. Patient never +went to bed and at the end of the second day no trace of membrane could +be seen. + +Now, the symptoms common to all three cases and the only ones +characteristic in each case were, first, both pain and membrane shifting +from side to side; second, stiffness of neck and tongue; third, profuse +saliva; fourth, aching in limbs marked; fifth, entire absence of +prostration; sixth, character of pain was "as if throat was burned raw." +Now, the question will arise in the bacteria man's mind, was this real +diphtheria; were the German's bacteria present? I will answer candidly, +I don't know; I never looked for them. + + +LAPIS ALBUS. + +SYNONYM. Silico-Fluoride of Calcium. + +PREPARATION.--The residue obtained by evaporation, from the waters of +the mineral springs of Gastein, Germany, is triturated in the usual way. + + (It was Von Grauvogl who first called attention to this + drug, the product of certain mineral springs in Germany, + that have reputation for curing ulcers, cancers, tumors, + etc. In the Transactions of the American Institute of + Homoeopathy, 1896, will be found the following by Dr. + W. A. Dewey): + +My experience with this remedy, and I have been somewhat interested in +it, dates from about 1876. At that time a member of my own family had an +enlargement of one of the cervical glands. It was nearly as large as a +hen's egg, and had a soft, doughy feel. Under _Lapis albus_ 6, +prescribed, I believe, by Dr. G. E. E. Sparhawk, now of Burlington, +Vt., the swelling speedily and completely disappeared. A peculiar and +unusual symptom noticed by this patient while taking the medicine was a +marked increase in the appetite; it became ravenous. + +Since that time I have used the remedy in many cases of scrofulous +enlargement of the cervical glands, and find that it is almost specific +where the glands have a certain amount of elasticity and pliability +about them, rather than a stony hardness, such as might call for +_Calcarea fluorica_, _Cistus_ or _Carbo animalis_. + +One case in particular which I recall was a young lady, about twenty +years of age, a natural blonde, skin fair, bluish white, showing +prominent veins, who had a glandular enlargement in the right +supra-clavicular region, nearly the size of a goose egg, and one +somewhat smaller a little farther back in the interval between the +sterno-cleido mastoid and trapezius muscles. These had a certain amount +of hardness, but they were movable. Others of the cervical chain were +also enlarged, the right side being the only one affected. As the young +lady was engaged to be married, these unsightly lumps were very +distressing. _Lapis albus_ 6, a powder four times a day, in a week +caused a marked diminution of the size of the glands, and in three weeks +they were not noticeable, and eventually entirely disappeared. This +patient also had a ravenous appetite while taking the remedy, an unusual +thing for her. Her anæmic color and complexion were also greatly +improved. + +The most remarkable effect of the use of the remedy I have had was in +the case of goitre in a lady of about thirty-five, blonde, who had for +over a year noticed a gradual increase in the size of the thyroid gland, +until it was as large as a good-sized fist, when she came to me. Both +halves of the gland seemed to be equally involved. It did not appear to +be of the encapsulated variety. This patient had received previous +homoeopathic treatment, having had _Spongia_, _Iodine_, _Thuja_, as +well as some other remedies. _Lapis albus_ 6 was prescribed, a dose +every three hours. The swelling began to disappear at once, and +continued to diminish in size until it completely disappeared, and at +the present time over five years have passed with no return of the +trouble. + + +LATRODECTUS MACTANS. + +PREPARATION.--The spiders are triturated in the usual way. + + (The following paper by Dr. Samuel A. Jones appeared in + the _Homoeopathic Recorder_, July, 1889, under the + title, "Latrodectus Mactans: a Suggested Remedy in Angina + Pectoris"): + + "The great result of the grim doctor's labor, so far as + known to the public, was a certain preparation or extract + of cobwebs, which, out of a great abundance of material, + he was able to produce in any desirable quantity, and by + the administration of which he professed to cure diseases + of the inflammatory class, and to work very wonderful + effects upon the human system."--_Dr. Grimshawe's + Secret._ + +I do not know that the doctor who is the direct occasion of this paper +was _grim_, nor do I imagine he ever dreamed of such an application of +his paper as I purpose to make. I never met him; though he wore the gray +and I the blue during a struggle wherein fate might easily have thrown +us together. It was not until the autumn of '76 that I became aware of +his existence, and then by a contribution of his to a medical +magazine--the special copy of which was found amongst the multifarious +waifs of a bookstall. I could not "decline the article," although I was +then entering upon a field of labor that would leave little time for +such quiet research as the old doctor's paper so powerfully suggested, +so I bought the odd number, and fourteen years later I am making such +use of it as my sense of its significance enforces. + +It is due Mr. A. J. Tafel to state that but for his most efficient +services this paper of mine would never have been written. To his +endeavors, stretching through some years, I owe the identification of +the remedy, without which I should not have put pen to paper; and having +secured this, from unimpeachable authority, too, he never rested from +his labors until he had put in my possession dilutions of the poison +itself. If, then, this _magis venenum_ shall prove itself _magis +remedium_, most assuredly the _pars magna_ of its introduction is his. + +From the days of Dioscorides and Pliny to the present a venomous quality +has been ascribed to "the fluid emitted from the orifice in the fangs of +the arancidæ." That this quality was even lethal has been both believed +and questioned. _Insect Life_, Vol. I., No. 7, pp. 204-211, Washington, +1889, contains "A Contribution to the Literature of Fatal Spider Bites," +in which the credulity of mere medical observers and the emphatic +incredulity of professed "entomologists and arachnologists" are dwelt +upon, and concerning which its author cautiously concludes as follows: + +"It will possibly appear to the reader that after collecting this +testimony we are as far from the solution of the question--'Do spider +bites ever produce fatal results?'--as we were before; but it seems to +us, after analyzing the evidence, that it must at least be admitted that +certain spiders of the genus Latrodectus have the power to inflict +poisonous bites which may (probably exceptionally and depending upon +exceptional conditions) bring about the death of a human being. +Admitting in its fullest force the argument that in reported cases the +spider has seldom if ever been seen by a reliable observer to inflict +the wound, we consider that the fact that species of the Latrodectus, +occurring in such widely distant localities as South Europe, the +Southern United States, and New Zealand, are uniformly set aside by the +natives as poisonous species, when there is nothing especially dangerous +in their appearance, is the strongest argument for believing that these +statements have some verification in fact. It is no wonder that a +popular fear should follow the ferocious-looking spiders of the family +Theraphosoidæ; but considering the comparatively small size and modest +coloring of the species of Latrodectus so wide-spread a prejudice, +occurring in so many distinct localities, must be well founded." P. 211. + +Is it indeed an _argument_ that "in reported cases the spider has seldom +if ever been seen by a reliable observer to inflict the wound?" How an +Orfila, a Christison, and a Caspar would smile when asked if the +evidence of a poisonous quality depended upon the administration of the +poison being "seen by a reliable observer." Toxicology detects a poison +by the physiological test as well as the chemical. Strychnia in quantity +too small for the coarse chemical test is revealed by the tetanized +muscles of a frog whether that "arch martyr to science" be in "South +Europe, the Southern United States, or New Zealand," and that +infinitesimal fractions of Strychnia will display its characteristics +whether or not its administration is "seen" by a Christison, or a +college janitor. Of course, a Christison would recognize Strychnia from +and in the phenomena, while a college janitor (and here and there an +over-scientific entomologist) might not. + +It is neither the aim nor the purpose of this paper to establish the +lethal property of spider poison; though I must acknowledge that, until +I read the paper in _Insect Life_, I had no thought that its possession +of such a property would be called in question. I shall content myself +with calling attention to the pathogenetic quality of the poison of +_Latrodectus mactans_, leaving my reader to discern the resemblance of +its _tout ensemble_ to an attack of angina pectoris, and therefore to +infer its homoeopathic applicability in that dread disorder. I shall +not enter upon the pathology--various and much confused--of that cardiac +seizure, because, as I get older, I find the "like" more and more of a +"pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night," whilst in my short +life I have found "pathology" as changeable as a dying dolphin--and +every one knows that a dead fish "stinks and shines, and shines and +stinks." + + +CASES OF SPIDER BITE. + +BY G. WILLIAM SEMPLE, M. D., HAMPTON, VA.[J] + + [J] _Virginia Medical Monthly_, Vol. II., No. 9, pp. 633-38, + 1875. "He was commissioned surgeon in the Confederate army, + July 1, 1861; served until August 1st in the field on the + peninsula; then placed in charge of hospital in Williamsburg; + afterwards ordered to Richmond and placed in charge of an + hospital, and remained until close of war." Failing to find + any further trace of him I am led to believe that he has been + mustered out of service by the Grand Commander. + +"Spider bites are of rare occurrence in this vicinity, but are generally +productive of grave symptoms. [Isn't it bad taste for doctors to use the +words grave symptoms?] I will report all that have occurred to me in a +practice of forty years: + +"CASE I. September 4, 1853. I was called to see Mr. D., at Old Point, +who had been bitten by a small, black spider on the prepuce, whilst on +the privy seat, at 12:30 o'clock. The bite at first caused only itching +of the prepuce, with a little redness of the part, but in less than half +an hour _nausea_, followed by _severe abdominal pains_, ensued. A +messenger was dispatched in haste for me to Hampton, three miles off. +Before I reached the patient, at 2:30 o'clock, _violent præcordial pains +extending to the axilla, and down the_ [left] _arm and forearm to the +fingers_, with _numbness of the extremity_, had succeeded, attended by +_apnæa_. + +"In consequence of the violence of the symptoms, Dr. Stineca, surgeon of +the post, had been sent for, who had given two doses of _Laudanum_ of +[Latin: ezh]j each, and two of rectified whiskey of [Latin: ezh]ij each, +and, being in ill health and unable to remain, had ordered his steward +to apply four dry cups over the præcordia. This had just been done when +I arrived. I saw the _blood, thin and florid_, fill the cups like water +oozing through the muslin. When the cups were removed, the _blood_, +emptied into a basin, _did not coagulate_; and blood continued to ooze +slightly from the surfaces to which the cups had been applied until the +next morning, though a solution of _Tannin_ was applied. + +"I found the patient _suffering extremely from the most violent +præcordial pains and from apnæa_, and also _violent pain in the left_ +arm, which was almost _paralyzed_. His _pulse_ was 130 _and very +feeble_, his _skin cold_ as marble, and his _countenance expressive of +the deep anxiety_ he felt and expressed in words. The laudanum and +whiskey seemed to have produced no effect--the nausea and abdominal +pains having subsided before they were administered. There was no pain, +inflammation, or swelling where the bite was received. Even the itching +of the part had subsided. I gave the patient every half hour for several +hours [Latin: ezh]j of aromatic spirits of ammonia, and as much whiskey +and water as he could be induced to take, and afterwards gave them every +hour; also pediluvia of hot mustard and water, frequently repeated, +until the next night. + +"September 5th, 8 A.M.--The symptoms continued unabated; indeed, the +patient grew worse until 2:30 o'clock, twenty-six hours after he was +bitten, for his _pulse_ had then become _so frequent that it could not +be counted, and so feeble that it could scarcely be felt_. He then +_vomited black vomit_ copiously--a quart or more. Soon afterwards +reaction set in, his pulse gradually gained force, and became less +frequent, the pain subsided and the respiration improved. At 8 P.M., the +pulse had gained considerable force, and the patient slept until some +minutes after 12; his pulse was pretty full at 1:10; his surface warm +and perspirable, and he felt almost free of pain. After a short interval +he again fell asleep, and slept quietly until morning, when he +awoke--his respiration healthy, pulse 80, regular and with sufficient +force, and entirely relieved of pain. He soon afterwards had _two pretty +copious evacuations from the bowels_, similar to the black vomit he had +vomited. After this he said he felt quite well, and took a light +breakfast and dinner, and returned that evening to his residence in +Portsmouth, and in a few days went to work at his trade. + +"In thirty-six hours from the time he was bitten, he took three and a +half quart bottles of the best rectified whiskey--about three quarts +without showing the least symptom of intoxication." + +I have cited this case at full length in order to present the _evolution +of the symptoms_, on which alone depends the resemblance of the action +of the poison to the chief symptoms of an attack of angina pectoris--a +closer resemblance than half a lifetime of somewhat wide reading has +enabled me to find in the effect of any other noxious agent. In fact, +after much searching, I find this case to be unique. In other cases of +spider bite I can find evidence that assures me of its genuineness, but, +to my knowledge, its _order of symptom evolution_ is as solitary as it +is singular and significant. This feature of _uniqueness_ will cause +many to regard it with suspicion. I think they will do wrong; for some +experience in proving work has taught me that one positive result from a +drug out-weighs any number of negative. + +In the case of _Latrodectus mactans_ we shall find, from other +poisonings, that, as a rule, it displays an affinity for the præcordial +region as the _locus_ of its chief attack; and having assurance of that +fact, we shall not find it difficult to accept a clue from even a +solitary instance. + +Of the remaining cases in Dr. Semple's paper I shall cite only the +symptoms, and be it observed that in all the cases as here given the +italics are my own. + +CASE 2. A man "was bitten in the groin, and complained of only a slight +prickling and itching at the spot where he was bitten, but was +complaining [when Dr. S. saw him] of _severe abdominal pain_, with +_nausea_, and a _sinking sensation at the epigastrium_; and his _pulse_, +in a few minutes after the bite, had already become _quick and thready_; +and the _skin very cold_." The man soon recovered under ammonia and +whiskey--two quarts of the latter produced no symptoms of intoxication. + +CASE III. A lad of eighteen years of age. "There was no pain, but only +itching and redness at the part bitten at first; but _violent pain soon +commenced there_ [on the back of the left hand] _and extended in a short +time up the forearm and arm to the shoulder and thence to the præcordial +region_." + +CASE IV. "A tawny woman [daughter of a quadroon mulatto woman] about +twenty-two years old, the mother of two children." "Found her +_apparently moribund_; her _skin_ as _cold_ as marble; _violent pain +extending from the bite on the right wrist up the forearm and arm to the +shoulder, and thence up the neck to the back of the head on the right +side_; more _violent pain in the præcordia_, _extending thence to the +shoulder and axilla on the left, and down the arm and forearm to the +ends of the fingers_, and _this extremity partially paralysed_; added to +this, _apnæa was extreme; the respiration only occasional--gasping_; the +_pulse could not be felt in the left radial_, and I was not sure that I +felt it in the right." + +In about fifteen minutes after the intra-venous injection of 13 minims +of undiluted _Aqua Ammoniæ_, the doctor "was astonished at the calm and +painless expression of her _countenance_, so lately _expressive of +anxiety and pain_." + +CASE V. A healthy young girl of 13. She felt a stinging sensation on the +[right] wrist, accompanied by itching and redness at the spot [bitten]. +For several minutes there was but little pain, but in half an hour a +_painful sensation_ began to be felt at the spot, which quickly +_extended up the arm to the shoulder_, and, in the course of an hour, +_along the neck to the back of the head_. * * * _Pain in the præcordial +region, with apnæa_ coming on, I was sent for. When I arrived she was +screaming fearfully with _pain_, and frequently exclaiming she would +_lose her breath and die_. The _pulse_ had become _thready_ and the +_surface cold_. + +From these _data_ the poison of _Latrodectus mactans_ is suggested for +trial in _angina pectoris_, in that its physiological action presents +the closest _similimum_ yet found. + +II. + +It may be well to offer a critical examination of the foregoing cases. +If they are genuine effects of the poison of _Latrodectus mactans_, +they must afford a _recurrence of corresponding symptoms_. They may +differ in _degree_, because the quality of the venom may vary; first, +from the season in which the bite occurred (and judging from cases I, IV +and V, the poison of _Latrodectus mactans_ is most virulent in the month +of September), and, secondly, from the more thorough elaboration of the +venom. It is known that the poison of _Crotalus horridus_ differs in +intensity according to the frequency with which the snake has bitten in +a given period of time; of four successive "strikes" in four different +organisms, and at brief intervals, the intensity of the action will +vary, so that while the first wound is lethal the last is not--on which +fact depends the vaunted reputation of many an antidote to the bite of +the rattlesnake. That this may be also true of the spider poison is the +only explanation I can offer for the fact that many naturalists have +allowed themselves to be bitten by spiders of reputed poisonous species, +and with impunity. + +RECURRENCE OF CORRESPONDING SYMPTOMS. + + (_Arabic numerals refer to the Cases._) + + +-----------------------------------------+---------+----------+ + | I. Nausea 1 | 2 | | + | II. Abdominal pain 1 | 2 | | + | III. Countenance anxious 1 | | 4 | + | IV. Pain up arm to shoulder, | | | + | thence to back of neck | | 4 5 | + | V. Præcordial pain extending to | | | + | left axilla, and down arm to | | | + | finger ends 1 | | 4 | + | VI. Left arm almost paralyzed 1 | | 4 | + | VII. Pain up arm to shoulder, | | | + | thence to præcordia | 3 | 4 5 | + | VIII. Apnæa 1 | | 4 5 | + | IX. Præcordial pain 1 | 3 | 4 5 | + | X. Pulse feeble, thready 1 | 2 | 4 5 | + | XI. Skin cold 1 | 2 | 4 5 | + | XII. Sense of impending dissolution 1 | | 4 5 | + +-----------------------------------------+---------+----------+ + +While Dr. Semple's reports do not precisely state it, I think we may +safely infer a _sense of impending dissolution_ in cases I, IV and V. +The girl exclaimed she "would lose her breath and die;" the man in case +I "expressed in words" "the deep anxiety he felt;" the woman in case IV +was found "apparently moribund" with "gasping respiration," and +therefore incapable of speech, but who can doubt that she had _a sense +of impending dissolution?_ + +ISOLATED SYMPTOMS. + + _Numbness of the arm, 1._ + _Black vomit, 1._ + _Alvine evacuations similar to the black vomit, 1._ + _Sinking sensation at epigastrium, 2._ + _Respiration only occasional--gasping, 4._ + +It must be admitted that many of our accepted provings cannot as well +bear a similar test. + +III. + +There is another feature that the believer in the law of similars should +find no insuperable difficulty in accepting as a criterion of the +validity of a proving, namely: _the similarity of the drug symptoms to +certain disease symptoms_. I am not ready to believe that drug symptoms +are only the result of a "fortuitous concourse of atoms," nor can I for +one moment imagine that they are the product of blind and aimless +chance. I plainly discern in them the result of law, and I am wholly +unable to conceive of existing law without the absolutely necessary +_pre_-existing law maker. The consequent must have its antecedent. +Therefore, in a drug symptom I see a purpose, and by the light of the +law of similars I find the purpose of a drug symptom in an analogous +disease symptom--they answer to each other as face unto face in the +refiner's silver--and behind and beyond them both is another purpose, of +wisdom inscrutable, of love unfathomable. In a word, my reader, the +problem of the visible universe forces upon me the alternative that +weighed upon Marcus Aurelius--"either gods, or atoms." With atoms only I +cannot account for law; with God and in God both atoms and law find a +meaning and a purpose. + +If I were submitting these convictions, or, if you will, this "working +hypothesis," to a Sir Thomas Browne, or a William Harvey, or a Thomas +Sydenham I should feel no momentary hesitation; as it is, I can only +hope that the spirit that filled these worthies is not extinct in days +when the "spiritual colic" that disordered an imaginary _Robert Elsmere_ +is thought to disturb the eternal Verities. I much doubt if they who +mistake an eclipse for an annihilation will get any good from this poor +pen of mine. + +The resemblance between the symptoms of angina pectoris and the effects +of the poison of _Latrodectus mactans_ are so striking as to justify the +presentation of a comparison; and it is hoped that physicians of wide +reading will pardon what may seem to them a piece of supererogation for +the sake of many a humbler practitioner whose opportunities have not +been so happy. At the same time, the widest reader must admit that he +has not found any one authority who has given a complete picture of +angina pectoris. Nor is it essential that such an all-including +"composite" shall now be presented; on the contrary, we shall offer only +salient points substantiated by observers of the highest order. + +It will be well to start from an authority whose scholarship has never +been excelled--_Copland_. Of all our medical writers he may be called +the _Great Definer_--his readers will know what that means. + +"_Acute constricting pain at the lower part of the sternum, inclining to +the left side, and extending to the arm, accompanied with great anxiety, +difficulty of breathing, tendency to syncope, and feeling of approaching +dissolution._" + +Copland presents a group of constants, and, for a terse definition, has +well covered the principal phenomena. As variants he has omitted the +pulse and the surface temperature. He errs on the side of dogmatism in +defining the character of the pain as "constricting;" "aching, burning, +or indescribable," and "generally attended with a sense of +constriction" is more in accordance with the actual condition. Of +Copland's seven constants, Case 4 presents an analogue for each in +symptoms IX., V., III., VIII., XII., and the "tendency to syncope," +which is not included in our table because Dr. Semple did not put the +fact in express words. If to this group we add the _thready pulse_ and +_cold skin_, we shall have "covered" nine of the most prominent symptoms +of angina pectoris; a pathological "composite" with a most striking +pathogenetic _similimum_. + +But all the elements of Copland's group are not of equal importance; two +of them, at least, are pathognomonic. "The two constituent elements of +the paroxysm," says Latham, are "the sense of dissolution and the pain." +"Pain with one awful accompaniment may be everything." "This mixture of +the sharpest pain with a feeling of instant death." According to +Fothergill "the two prominent subjective phenomena are pain in the chest +and a sense of impending death." Eulenburg and Guttmann include another +element: "We regard the substernal pain, the feeling of anxiety, and the +disturbance of the heart's action, as the essential symptoms of angina +pectoris." Romberg notes the companionship of these two elements: "The +patient attacked with angina pectoris is suddenly seized with a pain +under the sternum in the neighborhood of the heart, accompanied by a +sense of anxiety so intense as to induce a belief in the approach of +death." + +We have laid the emphasis of these various citations on the "essential +symptoms" in order to assert, with equal emphasis, that their analogues +occur in not only one case of _Latrodectus mactans_ poisoning. The +præcordial pain is noted in Cases 1, 3, 4 and 5, and the sense of +impending dissolution in Cases 1, 4 and 5. And that disturbance of the +heart's action which Eulenburg and Guttmann consider an essential +element is found in Cases 1, 2, 4 and 5; so that the _tout ensemble_ +presented by Case 4 is corroborated. + +Another important element, though it is one subject to variations, is +the direction of the extension of the pain. It most generally extends to +the left axilla, and down the arm to the fingers; as variations it +sometimes affects the right axilla and the back of the head. In Cases 1 +and 4 the spider poison followed the direction of the disease, and in +Cases 4 and 5 it also affected the back of the head. In Case 1 it +produced the numbness of the arm and hand that is sometimes observed in +the diseases. + +Copland includes "difficulty of breathing" amongst the elements of +angina pectoris. Trousseau does not regard this difficulty as real. +"Although patients think they are going to be suffocated during a +paroxysm, the chest is normally resonant on percussion, and if it be +auscultated as they draw in breath again vesicular breathing is heard +everywhere." Watson says, "the patient is not necessarily out of breath. +It is not dyspnoea that oppresses him; for he can, and generally does, +breathe freely and easily." Stokes is decided: "Respiration is +_secondarily_ affected; there may be slight dyspnoea or orthopnoea, +with lividity of the face, yet by an effort of the will (if the patient +dares to encounter the pang this commonly produces) the chest may be +pretty freely expanded, and the breathing relieved for a brief space; +dyspnoea is not a primary symptom of angina." Eulenburg and Guttmann +say, "Our own experience leads us to adopt Parry's conclusion, that the +changes in the respiration are principally, perhaps even solely, due to +the pain." Bristowe speaks of the sufferer as "fearing to breathe." We +can readily see that the "apnæa" observed by Dr. Semple in Cases 1 and 5 +had physical origin, but in Case 4 he says "apnæa was extreme; the +respiration only occasional--gasping." This shows to what an extreme +extent the action of the spider poison had gone--even to implicating the +diaphragm; and it is noteworthy that Anstie records a case of angina +pectoris (_Neuralgia and its Counterfeits_, p. 67, London, 1871), in +which "there was so marked a catching of the breath as to make it almost +certain that there was a diaphragmatic spasm." + +Of the changes in respiration accompanying angina pectoris we have, +then, both the general, and the rarest, form, produced pathogenetically +by the poison of _Latrodectus mactans_. + +IV. + +In its physiological action the poison of _Latrodectus mactans_ +resembles angina pectoris vasomotoria--a purely functional derangement. +The similitude of the physiological action to pure angina pectoris +corroborates the accepted pathology of the latter condition, because the +phenomena of _Latrodectus_ poisoning were educed from previously healthy +organisms, and in pure angina pectoris there is no pre-existent organic +change occasioning the attack. According to the accepted pathology, we +have in angina pectoris vasomotoria, sudden spasms of the arterioles; +from this an increase of the arterial tension; to overcome this is more +forcible and rapid action of the heart; as the arteriole spasm persists +and doubtless deepens in intensity, distension of the left ventricle +follows, and from overdistension the agonizing breast-pang, and even +death from stoppage of the heart's diastole. But we must include another +element--spasm of the coronary vessels. "When there is a sudden rise in +the blood-pressure in the arteries, due to vasomotor spasm of the +peripheral systemic arterioles, and the heart-walls are strong and well +nourished, palpitation is evoked; when the coronary branches are +involved in the vasomotor spasm then angina is produced, and the +heart-walls, acutely distended with blood, can scarcely contract in the +face of the opposition presented to their contraction by the high +arterial tension. When this sudden systemic arteriole spasm extends to +the coronary vessels in a heart whose walls are diseased, a fatal attack +of angina with the heart full of blood may be induced. The danger +increases with the extent of the structural degeneration of the +heart-walls. Sudden rises of blood-pressure in the arteries will tax +hearts in their textural integrity, and lead to painful distension; such +sudden demands on decayed hearts lead to agonizing angina pectoris, and +the sense of impending dissolution is frequently followed by sudden +death." + +Spasm of the arterioles and coronary vessels, rise of blood-pressure in +the arteries, embarrassed action of the heart, and painful distension +are just so many consecutive links in the phenomena produced by the +poison of _Latrodectus mactans_, as Cases I and IV amply testify. + +The spider poisons are akin to the serpent poisons in their property of +producing a disorganization of the blood. In Case I, thin and florid +non-coagulable blood continued to ooze from the cut surface despite the +application of tannin. It may be a question whether this condition of +the blood is directly toxicological, or a pathological result of stasis +in the peripheral vessels. I incline to regard it as due to the latter +condition, and I believe this explanation also holds good in the case of +serpent poisoning. + +The hæmorrhage recorded in Case I was of gastric origin; splenic +congestion existed, and the vasa brevia--branches of the splenic +artery--gave way under the pressure. I once met a similar hæmorrhage in +a case of intermittent fever in a child, and I recorded the fact as a +possible hint for the applicability of _Latrodectus mactans_ in a +similar condition. + +In all the year that the stray copy of the old magazine was in my +possession I felt it a duty to write up this remedy. I have done it +lamely, but as well as I was able. Reader, where my duty ends yours +begins. May you discharge it more worthily than I. + + (There have been a number of cases reported in which + _Latrodectus mac._ acted as Dr. Jones predicted; from + them we select the following by Dr. E. H. Linnell, _North + American Journal of Homoeopathy_, December, 1890): + +S. L. G., a man fifty years old, of bilious temperament, a dentist by +profession, had slight attacks of angina after severe exposure and +overexertion during "the blizzard" in March, 1888. He did not consider +them of sufficient importance to consult a physician about them, but +some months later he had a suppurative prostatitis, which was followed +by considerable prostration, and the attacks of angina became very +severe. I never could get a satisfactory description of the character of +the pain, and I never saw him during a paroxysm. The pain was brought on +by exertion of any kind, and was especially frequent soon after dinner. +The pain was sometimes felt in the left arm, but was usually confined to +the cardiac region. I once or twice detected a slight aortic obstruction +sound, but aside from this failed to find any evidence of organic +disease. The usual remedies gave no relief, but _Latrodectus_ [Latin: +ezh]c was of great benefit. Under its use the attacks gradually became +less frequent and less severe. He has taken no medicine now for at least +six months, and he tells me that although he occasionally has a little +reminder of his former trouble, the attacks are so slight that he pays +no attention to them. I have given the remedy in another similar case, +with even more gratifying success. The attacks were very promptly +arrested and have not returned, although nearly a year has elapsed. I +think we have in this remedy, to which Dr. S. A. Jones directed +attention in one of the issues of the _Homoeopathic Recorder_, a very +valuable remedy in this painful affection. It is probably, as Dr. Jones +suggests, in angina pectoris vasomotoria that it will be found +especially serviceable. + + +LEMNA MINOR. + +NAT. ORD., Lemnaccæ. + +COMMON NAME, Duckweed. + +PREPARATION. The fresh plant is pounded to a pulp and macerated in two +parts by weight of alcohol. + + (The following is by Dr. Robert C. Cooper, of London, and + appeared in the _Hahnemannian Monthly_, 1894): + +"The lowest form of phoenogamous vegetation. It consists," says +Lindley, "of lenticular floating fronds, composed of stem and leaf +together and bearing the flowers in slits in the edge." It forms the +green scum found on stagnant ponds and dykes. It is found in two +varieties, the _Lemna minor_ and the _Lemna gibba_. + +Before going any further I may as well at once make a bald as well as a +bold statement, and say that the special province of _Lemna minor_ is to +pitch with vigor upon the nostrils; from the very moment I began +prescribing it this was beyond question evident. I can think of no +possible source of error except that this beneficial action may be due +to the germs adhering to the fronds of the _Lemna_ rather than to the +pure plant-force. + +To guard against this I have carefully filtered my tincture, but this +has not made the slightest change in its beneficial influence. + +CASE I. Woman aged seventy-four; admission date, September 24, 1892. +Nose never clear; breath very unpleasant; for twelve hours nose bled +continuously last Christmas; unable to smell properly; hearing for the +past seven or eight weeks bad; watch not heard on contact. Prescribed +_Lemna minor_ [Greek: theta]A. October 1, 1892: Feeling of cold in nose +is better; sense of obstruction nearly gone; can smell better; hears on +contact on both sides; no medicine. October 22: Decided, though slight +improvement in hearing; nose, throat and all parts around more +comfortable. Last attendance. + +In proceeding with the consideration of the action of this remedy, I +must consider myself fortunate in having the following case to bring +forward: + +1. A boy of fourteen, whose nose was completely blocked up for the last +two years, and whose nostrils were full of polypi, the nose itself being +broadened, and in whom the nose had been cleared out by operation a year +ago at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, was sent to me by my colleague, Dr. +J. H. Clarke. The boy never remembers having smelt anything, and the +polypi can easily be seen blocking up both nostrils. + +From the 26th of November, 1892, to the 4th of March, 1893, four doses +of _Lemna m._ [Greek: theta]A were given at regular intervals without +much change, then _Calcarea carbonica_ 200 was given, and two weeks +after, as he had faceache, _Mercurius_ 3d dec., and on the 8th of April +following the faceache was better but the nose in no way improved. + +Then _Lemna_ was given again, and this time with the most pronounced +relief; the nose became much clearer, and he went on taking it, and it +alone with scarcely an exception, in fortnightly doses, till the 14th of +March last, when his nose was quite clear, with none but a very small +polypi visible; he could breathe freely and his sense of smell had +completely returned. + +The delay in the manifestation of remedial change from November to March +arose from complete blockage of the nose, and until the space created by +the subsidence in the size of the polypi sufficed for a passage of air +the patient had no reason to acknowledge relief. + +In the treatment, both of swollen tonsils and in that of nasal polypi, +the prescriber will be led away at the onset who accepts the testimony +of the patient alone; he should make careful inspection of the parts, +and be guided by what is often but a slight local change, as well as by +concomitant, and it may be remote, symptoms. + +2. The next case I have to bring forward is one of ozoena in a girl of +sixteen, who had been three years under the treatment of a colleague who +kindly sent her on to me for treatment at the London Homoeopathic +Hospital. The girl, whose occupation was a teacher, has had ozoena +since three or four years old. The odor complained of was horrid, and +the discharge excessive; a most unpleasant smell in the nose and nasty +taste in the mouth; she takes cold easily if out in the night air or +damp, and her nose, at times, gets stuffed up; bowels irregular; +catamenia only twice--once three months ago and two months before that. + +On December 30, 1893, I prescribed _Lemna minor_, and she returned to me +from the country, where she was living, on the 31st of the following +March, imploring me for another powder, as she had been almost well for +two weeks after the last and then had relapsed to her old state; +breathing is short and is low spirited. + +21st of April, very much better; odor not nearly so bad, discharge much +less; unmedicated pilules, three times a day. + +19th of May, 1894, kept better for a month; took cold two weeks ago, and +since then throat has felt thick and nose has discharged with a horrid +odor. Catamenia regular. Breathing is better; crusts coming from both, +worse on the left side. To have _Lemna minor_. + +This patient came from a distance which prevented frequent attendance, +but the above is quite sufficient evidence of the power possessed by +_Lemna m._ in acting upon the nasal mucous membrane. + +In both these cases relief was immediate after the administration of the +dose, and in neither case could any reasonable doubt exist as to its +being drug effect. + +In some cases I have known a certain disturbance of the bowels to set in +after a dose of _Lemna_, but this effect of the remedy is not +sufficiently pronounced to be able to say much about it. Still it is +interesting to narrate one or two experiences, especially as in the +first of these, at all events, the concomitants were interesting. + +3. In a married lady, aged about twenty-six, for whom I prescribed +_Lemna m._ [Greek: theta]A on Saturday afternoon, November 12, 1892, and +in whom there existed a good deal of catarrhal pharyngitis, due to high +up post-nasal ulceration, and who suffered from a dry feeling at the top +of the throat with flatulence, and some pain in the bowels toward the +evening, described as "twisting" pain, and in whom the nose was blocked +on the right side, but without any visible polypus, and in whom the +heart was easily disturbed, causing dyspnoea, the bowels being +slightly confined. + +Two weeks subsequently she stated that after the dose of _Lemna_ the +nose felt less blocked, and she felt better in every respect; but that +on the Tuesday following diarrhoea set in, which began with twisting +pains in the bowels and went on to sickness; continual watery stools. +The least chill or nervousness, I must say, upsets her in this way; and +she was subject to the same the last two catamenial periods. She still +wakes with her throat dry and tongue coated. _Borax_ 2x was then +(November 25) given without any noticeable effect, and on the 9th of +December _Lemna minor_ [Greek: theta]A was again prescribed for the +following symptoms: + +Mouth sore after talking or singing, and dry in the morning; tongue +coated. + +On the 23d of December, reported herself much better; tongue not so +coated; heart less disturbed; no indigestion or diarrhoea. + +Nose not perfectly clear, but no unpleasant smell or taste as she used +to have, and throat no longer dry or uncomfortable. Instead of waking up +with a dirty mouth, it feels clean and her taste pure. + +4. A man, aged forty-seven, who suffered from old-standing vascular +deafness and who specially complained of snoring a great deal, was given +_Lemna minor_, and next day a rumbling and disturbance in the bowels set +in and he felt as if he had taken medicine of a searching character. +This lasted for three days, bowels acting during this time freely with +much heat in the passage (anus); but was not bilious, nor were the +motions diarrhoeic; the snoring went away, and he ceased to dream +unpleasantly when asleep. Hearing, too, seemed somewhat improved. + +5. In another case, after a similar dose, diarrhoea came on next day, +with pains across the bowels as from flatus; worse after eating, and a +very putrid taste with an improvement at the same time in a stuffiness +of the nose from which he was suffering. + +6. Crusts form in the right nostril and pain like a string extends from +the right nostril to the ear of the same side and right ear is deaf. (In +a woman, aged twenty-six, great relief.) + +It is with great pleasure that I have now to bring forward, not my own +observations, but those of two valued colleagues. Dr. J. H. Clarke sends +me the following: + +_Lemna minor_, CASE I. A lady, aged forty-seven, two years previously +met with an accident; a sign board fell on her head when out walking in +the street. Seven days after that was taken with sneezing attacks, +suffered from nasal catarrh with little intermission until March, 1893, +when she came under my care. _Psorinum_ 30 soon put a different +complexion on the case, and she became so far relieved of her trouble +(which has made her life almost unbearable, as she never dared make an +appointment for fear of an attack coming on) that she discontinued +treatment. Last Christmas a sharp attack of influenza brought back the +catarrh, and this time it proved less amenable to treatment. + +Fears of polypus distressed the patient, though I could not discover +any. + +However, she again made progress, but scarcely as rapid as I could have +wished, when I thought of giving her _Lemna_ on indications given by Dr. +Cooper. + +On February 15, 1894, I gave it in the 3x, one tablet four times a day. + +February 22, very much better; has felt freer in the head than at any +time during the last ten years; has felt very much better generally; +spirits braced up. + +She steadily progressed to cure, and by March 15th could endure the +smell of strong scented flowers, which before was impossible. + +CASE II. Captain B., aged forty-four, consulted me on February 29, 1894, +for violent neuralgia on the right side of the neck, the part being +exquisitely sensitive to touch. He had cough and cold for a month. On +getting up in the morning he filled two pocket handkerchiefs with yellow +deflusion before he got his nose clear. I gave him _Bell._ 12 to take +till the neuralgia was better, and then told him to take _Lemna_ 3x gtt. +j. three times a day. + +On March 9th he reported that the _Bell._ speedily took away the +neuralgia, and that then the _Lemna_ cleared off the catarrh in a most +astonishing fashion. He never had a medicine to act so magically before. + +_30 Clarges street, Piccadilly, W., April 21, 1894._ + +The next communication that I have to bring forward is one from Dr. J. +C. Burnett: + +Dr. Cooper told me that he had relieved a case of nasal polypus with +_Lemna minor_, and having several cases of the kind that had long been +under my observation I thought it my duty to give them the benefit of +_Lemna_. + +CASE I. A gentleman of sixty years of age, with nasal polypus only +moderately developed, yet of many years' duration, was much troubled by +the chronic nasal obstruction which was markedly worse in wet weather. + +I gave him _Lemna_ 3x, five drops in water, night and morning. Returning +in a month, he exclaimed: "That is the best tonic I have ever taken; I +have never taken any medicine in my life that has done me so much good. +I feel quite comfortable in my nose and can breathe through it quite +well." + +CASE II. A lady, about forty-five years of age, mother of a large family +and whom I had formerly cured of an uterine tumor, was so troubled with +nasal polypi that her life was very distressful; moreover, the polypi +had swelled so much that they hung out of the nostrils and compelled the +patient to remain within doors. This was notably the case in wet +weather. Why not have them removed chirurgically? + +"Oh, I have had them operated on over and over again, but it's no good; +they only come again worse than ever." + +I have tried many things to cure these polypi, but in vain; they would +get temporarily better, but the first rainy weather brought them back +worse than ever; hence Dr. Cooper's recommendation of _Lemna_ is very +welcome to me. + +I ordered, as in the last case, with the result that the polypi very +greatly diminished in size, and the patient could again take her place +in society. + +I have used _Lemna_ in many other similar cases, and with the like +result. In no case is the polypus really cured, but greatly diminished +in size, and the patient rendered relatively comfortable. Clearly the +_Lemna_ does not either kill, cure or otherwise get rid of the polypi, +but it rids them of much of their succulence and thus reduces their +volume, and also diminishes the influence of wet weather to which such +patients are so prone. And this is no small boon; is itself in every way +superior to any operative interference. The tincture I made use of was +made by Dr. Alfred Heath. The first prescription only being of Dr. +Cooper's own make. Both acted alike well. + +_86 Wimpole street, June 4, 1894._ + +From these remarks of Dr. J. H. Clarke and Dr. J. Compton Burnett, as +well as from my own, I think there can be no doubt, whatever, that the +_Lemna_ exercises a powerful influence upon the Schneiderian mucous +membrane. How far it is capable by its specific action of removing large +groups of polypi remains, as yet, an open question. + +My own experience of the treatment of nasal polypi is that we have very +few remedies that can at all be depended upon for giving even temporary +relief. Even from _Calcarea carbonica_ and _Teucrium marum verum_ I have +not had the effects that some practitioners testify to their possessing. + +_Lemna_ has so far given relief in my hands to cases of nasal polypi and +to cases where the nostrils were plugged by swollen turbinates and other +causes in a matter far surpassing the effect I have obtained from any +other remedy. + +In saying this I do not at all wish it to be understood that we have in +it a specific for all such cases. + +We must remember that the symptoms in all such obscure diseases must be +our guide for the selection of our remedy, and that, therefore, the +important point is to work out the specific indications for the drug as +we learn them from clinical observation, in the hope that on some +future occasion pathogenesis may render these still more certain. + +The indications that I myself have noticed as belonging to _Lemna_ are +either a putrid smell in the nose or a loss of all sense of smell and a +putrid taste in the mouth, especially on rising in the morning, with a +general foulness of the mouth, due apparently to the dropping down of +impure material from the post-nasal region. Along with this there +sometimes seems to prevail a disposition to "noisy diarrhoea." + +Dr. Burnett has noticed that _Lemna_ patients have their nasal symptoms +aggravated in damp and rainy weather, and I have to some extent +confirmed this observation. + +I hope on some future occasion to return to the subject of _Lemna_; it +is in every way well worthy of being prosecuted further. + +Thus, for example, a lady patient, æt. fifty-eight, suffering from pains +flitting about her head and legs, with pains in her eyes during heavy +rain, and in whom drowsiness by day and restless sleep at night existed, +had all these symptoms removed by a single dose of _Lemna_, and the +pallid, dullish, sickly look in her face changed to a complexion that +was natural and healthy. + +The truth would seem to be that _Lemna's_ symptoms are specially +aggravated in heavy rains; _Calendula's_, when heavy clouds are about; +_Rhododendron's_, in thunder storms, and _Dulcamara's_, in damp +surroundings and in foggy weather. + + (In 1895 Dr. Thomas L. Shearer contributed the following + concerning the remedy to the _Homoeopathic Eye, Ear and + Throat Journal_): + +_Lemna minor_ where the crusts and the muco-purulent discharge are very +abundant with fetor (in rhinitis atrophics). Its action is wonderful, +but it must not be administered in too low a dilution, as it then +produces a sensation of intense dryness in the pharynx and the larynx. +Possibly if it were exhibited in a much higher dilution it would be +applicable to cases which have only a slight amount of discharge. It +seems best to stop the remedy as soon as its action upon the secretions +is marked, and then to wait a while before returning to its further +employment. Dr. Cooper, of London, was, I believe, the first to +investigate the action of _Lemna minor_ upon the upper air passages, but +I do not think that he had tried it in cases of atrophic rhinitis. There +is a great future for this new addition to our therapeutic resources, +and it certainly deserves further investigation. It modifies the +secretions to such an extent that we can more readily improve the +condition of the nasal chambers with the aid of local measures. Whether +it has the power to prevent or even retard the actual process of atrophy +remains to be seen. + + +LEVICO. + +PREPARATION.--Dilutions made from the mineral water or triturations from +the residue obtained by evaporation of the water. + + (Dr. Burnett has called the attention of the profession + to this water in his books. The following concerning its + constituents is from _The Therapist_, a London journal): + +Of all mineral waters those of Levico are distinguished, not only by +their contents of these three elements, arsenic, iron and copper, but +they are remarkable for the state of combination in which they occur. +Situated in South Tyrol, on the confines of Italy, Levico has for many +years been a favorite sanitorium of the Italian medical profession for +their nervous and skin patients. Of late years Levico water has also +been increasingly recognized by the German and Austrian faculty, among +whom Bamberger, Billroth, Hebra, Nussbaum, and others testify to the +extraordinary remedial activity of the waters, favoring assimilation, +increasing nutrition, and in chronic and dyscratic skin diseases +functioning as antiseptic or astringent. + +Merely as an internal medication _Levico_ water has, however, proved so +satisfactory that it is a recognized member of the pharmacopoeia in +many German and Austrian hospitals and clinics. Thus Professor Nussbaum, +of Munich, writes that '_Levico_ water is given in my orthopædic +institute in doses of two or three ounces to scrofulous and anæmic +children. The water is well tolerated, and in spite of the smallness of +the dose the result is, in many cases, very evident.' Professor +Eulenberg, of Berlin, finds _Levico_ water especially satisfactory in +chorea minor in children and at the age of puberty, as well as for +hysterical neuralgia and spasms. A very copious testimony of like nature +has been borne respecting _Levico_ water. + + +LATHYRUS SATIVUS. + +NAT. ORD., Leguminosæ. + +COMMON NAMES, Wild Vetch. Chick pea. + +PREPARATION.--Trituration of the dried pea. + + (Dr. W. A. Dewey contributed the following paper + concerning this remedy to the _Medical Century_, 1899): + +HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF EFFECTS, + +The _Lathyrus_ is a vetch, and a member of the leguminosæ family growing +in India. + +This remedy, which produces a perfect picture of certain spinal +affections, has been known for over a century. In _Christison's +Toxicology_ it is stated that it causes paraplegia, dragging gait, +turning-in of the toes, stiffness and semi-flexion of the knee-joints. + +The attention of the homoeopathic profession was directed to the drug +as a possible remedy in paraplegia, in the _British Journal of +Homoeopathy_, Vol. III. Here is found an account of a wheat famine in +India, where the peas of the plant were substituted for wheat and used +as a food. Those who subsisted on it were taken, even during sleep, +with sudden paralysis of the lower limbs; this occurred without +warning, in young men more than in young women, and was never recovered +from. Another observer records fifty cases who had eaten the _Lathyrus_ +bread and all stated that they became paralytic during the wet season of +the country, that they went to bed quite well and awoke with stiff legs, +unsteady gait, and aching, but no severe pain. The upper extremities +were free. + +Another who saw the disease in Algeria and described the symptoms found +in ten cases observed that they came on suddenly, in damp weather, with +some pains in the loins, trembling, motor paralysis and exaggerated +reflexes. He attributed these phenomena to an acute transverse myelitis +with degenerative changes in the cord. + +A German writer states that the drug produces disturbances of nutrition +of the muscles of the lower extremities, paresis, and that the muscles +of the trunk and neck and face remain unaffected. Sensation remains +normal. It seems to produce a sclerosis of the pyramidal tracts of the +cord. + +In animals the same condition is found; namely, paralysis of the hind +legs. Pigs drag their hind legs and horses give out. + +AGGRAVATED SYMPTOMATOLOGY. + +From all the sources which I have been able to find, the following seem +to be the symptoms caused by the drug: + +Sudden loss of power in the lower extremities, from the waist down. + +Tremulous, tottering gait. + +Great exaggeration of the reflexes. + +Stiffness and lameness of the ankles and knees. + +Excessive rigidity of the legs; flexion difficult; spastic gait, the +legs becoming interlocked, and walking is difficult or impossible. + +Sudden onset of the trouble, and apparent aggravation in cold and damp +weather. + +Emaciation of the gluteal muscles also observed. + +Those having taken it walked on the metatarso-phalangeal articulation, +the heel not touching the ground. + +Impossible to stand steady; swayed from side to side, but closing the +eyes had no effect. This with the exaggerated reflexes would exclude its +use in locomotor ataxia. + +Debility and tremors of the legs. + +Rigidity of the adductors of the thighs. + +Staggering gait, with eyes fixed on the floor. + +Could not extend or cross the legs when sitting. + +Sensibility unimpaired. + +CORRESPONDENCE TO SPINAL DISORDERS. + +From these symptoms it will be seen that the effects of the drug +correspond to many spinal symptoms, but more especially to what is known +as spastic paraplegia. Indeed, Struempel asserts that it produces a +perfect picture of this disease. + +It is not so often that such a perfect picture of a disease can be had +as in this instance. The disease itself is easily recognized by the +stiff, spastic gait; the spasm of the adductors, causing the knees to +strike each other, or to become locked, causing the patient to fall; the +shuffling of the feet; the excessive muscular rigidity and the other +well-known symptoms of paraplegia. + +Therefore, reasoning from our law we would expect the drug to be of +service in such cases, and although our pathogenesis of it is coarse we +may be permitted to apply it to a disease whose symptomatology is of the +coarse order; for it is often difficult to elicit any fine and +characteristic symptoms in diseases like ataxic and spastic paraplegia. + +It has been recognized as a remedy by but few of our writers on nervous +diseases. O'Connor finds that marked benefit follows its use in old +cases of myelitis with marked spastic symptoms. Bartlett, in _Goodno's +Practice_, recommends it in excessive knee-jerk and rigidity. Hart +speaks of it as a remedy in locomotor ataxia, but the absence of sensory +symptoms and the presence of exaggerated reflexes would seem to +contra-indicate it in this disease. He also speaks of it in spinal +anemia, giving as symptoms: "Numbness, followed by pain in the lower +extremities; sensation of a band around the body; unable to step or +distinguish one limb from another"--symptoms which I am unable to find +that the remedy produced. Elliott also speaks of it. + +CLINICAL RÉSUMÉ. + +The clinical record of _Lathyrus_, though very meagre, gives great hope +that it may prove useful in numerous cases of bed-ridden paraplegiacs +and in infantile spinal paralysis, as well as in certain forms of +myelitis. + +The following is a résumé of all that I can find published: + +I. Case of spinal paraplegia, relieved. + +II. A case of multiple sclerosis in a young man of twenty-eight who had +been ill seven years and unable to walk for six years was greatly +benefited by _Lathyrus_ [Latin: ezh]x. + +III. Case of paraplegia, could walk after taking the remedy for some +time. + +IV. Case of paraplegia, no improvement. + +V. Rheumatic paralysis, with stiff knees, could walk after use of +_Lathyrus_. (Clark _Homoeopathic World_.) + +VI. In a case of a clerk with loss of power of the lower limbs, reflexes +exaggerated, knee-jerk violent, locomotion difficult and unsteady, +probably a case of transverse myelitis, _Lathyrus_ [Latin: ezh]x, night +and morning, gave most satisfactory results. The patient could walk a +mile without assistance. (Simpson, _Homoeopathic Review_.) + +VII. In a man aged fifty-two who had been unable to walk for six years, +the paraplegia coming on after a "stroke" from exposure to wet, +_Lathyrus_ [Latin: ezh]x practically cured in eight months. He had been +tied to a chair for six, and at the time he stopped treatment he was +walking four miles daily. (Blake, _Homoeopathic Review_.) + +From the fact that the _Lathyrus_ disease occurs frequently in certain +mountainous regions of Asia it has been remarked that it is akin to +Beri-Beri, which has been traced to eating the _Lathyrus_ bread. + + +LIATRIS SPICATA. + +NAT. ORD., Compositæ. + +COMMON NAMES, Dense Button-Snake-root. Gay Feather. Devil's Bit. + +PREPARATION.--The root is pounded to a pulp and macerated in two parts +by weight of alcohol. + + (The following, by Dr. T. C. Duncan, was called forth by + the publication of an item in _Eclectic Medical Journal_, + stating that twice during the past year _Liatris_ had + given good results in dropsy; in one case, on the second + day, the patient had passed a gallon and a half of urine. + Dr. Duncan's paper was published in the _Homoeopathic + Recorder_ for 1898): + +Any new remedy that promises relief in dropsy will be hailed with +pleasure by the profession. Happening into a pharmacy soon after +receiving the January _Recorder_, a physician rushed in and inquired for +"that new remedy for dropsy--that got rid of 'a gallon and a half of +urine in one day.' Have a bad case cardiac dropsy. Want to try it. How +do you give it?" He could not get it. "Get me some," was his order. +"There is the article, be sure to get the right thing, _Liatris_!" + +_Liatris spicata_ is the familiar "button-snake-root" that I used to dig +every fall for our old family physician (who called himself a "botanic +physician") and who gave it for indigestion. It is also called "colic +root" and "devil's bit," because a piece is missing from each tuber as a +rule, just as if bitten out. _Kost's Medicine_ (my first medical work) +describes it as follows: "Root perennial, tuberous, ovate, abrupt, beset +around the base with many fine fibers; it is aromatic. Stem round, about +three feet high, bearing a spike of scaly purple-colored blossoms, +bearing in the aggregate a resemblance to an acorn. The leaves are +linear or sword-shaped, somewhat resembling the leaves of young corn. +It is found in prairies and open woods in the western States." + +"The _Liatris_ is an aromatic stimulant, diaphoretic, diuretic, anodyne +and carminitive. It is particularly useful in colic, backache and +flatulency." + +It is interesting to know that it has had clinically a good effect in +dropsy, (1) due to liver and splenic enlargement, also (2) where the +kidneys were involved. In the second case referred to, "_Apocynum can._, +_Aralia_, _Digitalis_, _et al._" had been given, but the kidneys failed +to respond until the _Liatris_ "was given in infusion," then "on the +_second_ day the patient passed _a gallon and a half of urine_"--equal +to 192 ounces of urine! In the first case the _Liatris_ was followed by +_Ferrum carb_. + +Whether it will prove equally efficient in cardiac dropsy only time will +tell. I hope that the readers of the _Recorder_ will report results, +whether favorable or otherwise. The dose that Dr. Bradley gave was about +a pint, drank during the course of the day, containing about half an +ounce of the root. The tincture will be more convenient, and it is a +question if the dilutions will not be equally efficient. Try the third, +and then go up or down the scale as the case seems to demand. This drug +should be proved. It is harmless. If any young physician will volunteer +I will gladly direct him. + +Infusion of _Digitalis_ (English leaves) is a favorite prescription with +some physicians in cases of cardiac dropsy, but I have not found that +form any more efficient than the dilution, except in cases where alcohol +had been a cause, then _Strophanthus_ or _Arsenicum_ had a better +effect. + + +LOLIUM TEMULENTUM. + +NAT. ORD., Gramineæ. + +COMMON NAMES, Darnel. (G.) Taumellolch. + +PREPARATION.--Trituration of the dried seeds. + + (The following concerning this little used drug was + reported by Dr. Bonino, an Italian physician, translated + by Dr. Mossa and published in the _Allgemeine Hom. + Zeitung_, July, 1898. The use of the drug by Dr. Bonino + was truly homoeopathic for the short proving of it. + Allen's _Encyclopædia_ reports trembling of the limbs and + hand so great that "he could not hold a glass of water.") + +A carpenter, aged twenty-nine years, had been suffering ever since his +eighteenth year of trembling in both hands, especially in the morning; +of late also his legs began to tremble. It is remarkable that both his +father and his brother were subject to the same ailment, while no +definite cause could be indicated. He was first given _Mercurius vivus_, +then _Agaricus_, which brought a partial but only transitory +improvement. Finally I prescribed _Lolium tem._, which in a short time +effected a cure. + + (On this Dr. Mossa comments as follows): + +The pathogenetic effects of this remedy which has not yet been proved at +all are only known to some degree from its effects when it has been +mixed with grain and baked into bread. It has caused chest troubles, +_vertigo_ (thence the name darnel-grass, in German _Taumellolch_), +_trembling_, paralysis with anguish and distress, vomiting, failing of +the memory, blindness, headache, epileptic attacks, deep sleep and +insanity. The good success obtained by its use in the case given above +shows what curative effects may be expected from it in severe affections +of the brain or spinal marrow. An Italian physician, Fantoni, has tried +it in cephalalgia, meningitis rheumatica and in ischias. + + +LYCOPUS VIRGINICUS. + +NAT. ORD., Labiatæ. + +COMMON NAME, Bugle Weed. + +PREPARATION.--Tincture of the whole plant by macerating one part by +weight of the fresh plant in two parts by weight of alcohol. + + (Although a well-known remedy, the following concerning + it may not be amiss here; it is from the _Homoeopathic + World_, 1889, by Dr. Proell): + +_Lycopus Virginicus_ seems to be a specific for bringing back an old +(but long disappeared) hæmorrhoidal flux in persons with light eyes. I +gave, a week ago, the first decimal dilution to a gentleman (sixty +years) for noise and throbbing in the head during the night (which +prevented the quietness of sleep); because neither _Cactus_ (which +helped quickly when he had blood-spitting) nor _Kalmia_, nor _Gelsemium_ +helped radically. The night after taking _Lycopus_, he was a little +better, and in the forenoon came a bleeding from the rectum (about three +tablespoonfuls after defecation) with great general relief. There was +chronic catarrhus bronchialis. Two days afterwards, I gave an elderly +lady (sixty years), who had glycosuria, cataract of the left eye, and +every third night was very restless, _Lycopus Virginicus_ 1 decimal +dilution, one drop in the evening. The following night was excellent, +and in the morning came an abundant bleeding from the rectum, with great +relief. Both patients are tall, very irritable, have weak innervation of +the heart, without decided organic disease of the heart; both are +hypochondriacs; have light eyes; noise in the left ear. Both had, years +ago, hæmorrhoidal flux, which stopped suddenly. + + +MALARIA OFFICINALIS. + +PREPARATION.--It is prepared in three degrees of strength: + +No. I. Is the water that stood on decomposed vegetable matter for one +week at a temperature of 90° F. + +No. II. Is the water that decomposed vegetable matter for two weeks. + +No. III. Is the water that decomposed vegetable matter for three weeks. + + (The following is an abstract of a paper on this peculiar + remedy, by Dr. G. W. Bowen, that appeared in the + Transactions of the Indiana Institute of Homoeopathy, + 1895): + +In the summer of 1862 vegetable matter of different forms was decomposed +in my office in glass jars, and malaria was freely generated. Persons +were hired to inhale the gas evolved in its different stages of +decomposition, and a careful observation of its effects on them was made +that gave me a clue to its future use, and the only reliable guide for +combatting its effect when acquired naturally. + +Not only did the gaseous form demonstrate, but subsequent use of the +liquid product proved it capable of producing not only the three leading +types that the past years had made me conversant with, but also others +of a minor grade yet of unsuspected parentage. + + The miser made delight of added gain, + Was like a pebble on the shore again, + +In comparison to the satisfactory consolation that came as a realization +of the comprehension of the producing cause. Henceforth the battle need +not be carried on mid the gloom of the night. + +The decomposition of the vegetable matter passed through three stages or +degrees. The first gave off gases freely, yet of not so offensive odor +as later. After ten days or two weeks the expense of securing inhalers +was more than doubled, even for one moment of time. After three or four +weeks not much gas was generated, for it seemed only capable of lying +still and sending its fearful odor heavenward. Inhalation of the gases +evolved produced for the first week or ten days a headache, nausea, +distress in the stomach, coated the tongue white, and this in from one +to two hours time generally; and there, if not carried too far, would +generally pass off in two or three days. Inhalations after ten days or +two weeks did not produce results in less than twelve or twenty-four +hours, according to time and amount inhaled. Then there was fearful +headache, nausea, aversion to food, distress through the hypochondriac +region, first in the spleen, the liver and stomach, and on the third day +chills that would doubtless have continued on indefinitely if not +interfered with. + +After decomposition had gone on for three or four weeks it was ascetic +and simply fetid to a fearful degree, and no results except nausea were +apparent in any one exposed to it in less than three or four days. The +first was extreme lassitude and loss of appetite, and apparently a +continued fever, with an unlimited amount of pains and aches and a +lassitude that limited locomotion. + +Three vials of the watery tincture were saved, one each from the various +stages of decomposition, and from these an attempt was made to make +provings and find out what were the reliable antidotes to them, and thus +be able to cope with my invisible foe in my daily avocation. Their +provings were not carried far enough, or continued long enough to be +justified in placing them in our Materia Medica, but are ample to aid +and guide the future steps that ought to be taken. Its discontinuance +was rendered rather necessary by my enthusiasm that led too far in a few +cases, but the antidotal effects of certain remedies amply compensated +me for my financial and reputational loss. + +Bilious colic, nausea, cramps, diarrhoea and headaches were readily +secured from a few drops of the first vial, in many cases, while the +second vial gave me a large number of cases where the liver, spleen, +stomach and kidneys were apparently seriously involved, and not them +alone, but fair types of intermittent fever with its attendant shakes, +some daily, some tertian. + +With the third vial trouble came, as it did reduce many that had been +able to be up and around to their beds, and unmistakably cause them to +get worse, and cause them to degenerate into a typhoidal or +semi-paralytic condition. In a few cases I was deprived the liberty of +finding my antidotes and helping them out of the dilemma. + + (Among the experiments made with these strange tinctures, + if they may be so called, was the following, which is + strangely confirmatory of a speculation advanced by + several old physicians that consumptives are benefited, + or even cured, by being exposed to malaria): + +It was a lady, the last of a family of five, all others had died of +consumption, and three in her preceding generation of the same disease. +I doubted the probability of saving her, yet _theoretically_ decided +that as the primitive action of malaria was, first, the spleen, next the +liver and stomach, that I would develop an artificial or drug disease +there, in hopes that her chest would be relieved and doubtless be +benefited. She was given the tincture from second vial, and on the fifth +day she had a fairly perceptible chill, and a harder one the sixth and +seventh. On the eighth I saw her shake for one hour, and her fever +lasted over six hours. Out of pity my drug was neutralized and her +health was restored, with no more cough distress in her lungs or heart. +She was cured of her tendency and certainty of dying with consumption. +She remained well for twelve years when she was lost to my call. + + (In his search for remedies, or antidotes, for the + malarial poisons, Dr. Bowen was disappointed in + _Eupatorium perf._ In his experience the following + remedies are best): + +For the first or primitive effects, the remedies that did act most +promptly and effectually were _Nux vomica_ and _Bryonia_, thus calling +to mind the effect of those remedies that experience had led me to use +in the attacks that come in the summer, that are usually designated as +of a bilious nature. + +In the secondary form, or where my malaria seemed to be the result of +the decomposition of the material or vegetable fiber, its effects were +more permeating, as different symptoms were developed by it. Then a +change of remedies (or chemical antidotes, if you please), became +necessary, and far the best results were secured by the use of _Bryonia_ +and _Arsenicum_. _China_ did not act well or give any reasonable +satisfaction. + +Prior and later experience give ample satisfactory proof of the utility +of the use of _Arsenicum_ in all types of an intermittent nature, yet +not to discredit the fact that other remedies can and will cure this +form. But that a pernicious case can, or will, be as readily restored by +any other remedy, I reserve to myself the liberty to doubt. +Opportunities and time have demonstrated that these two remedies are +able to restore the system and remedy a majority of the diseases that +are wont to make their advent in the early autumn or late in the spring. + +Later, after the total decomposition of my vegetable matter had taken +place, and it almost seemed to possess a demoniacal potency or power to +undermine the humblest human form, then to my surprise _Bryonia_ seemed +to hold prestige and give splendid results, but needed a different +assistant, one that could and would permeate the muscular system, yet +slowly, and for this _Rhus tox_ was called into requisition, and from +that day to this it has not been the means of causing me a single +disappointment. + + (Again, and as a last quotation from this interesting + paper, we quote): + +Many years of observation have demonstrated one more important fact in +relation to the means that will render the system less liable to its +absorption, at least to that extent that it will give evidence of its +presence, and that is, by the liberal use of coffee. + + (In 1897 Dr. Bowen sent the following to the + _Homoeopathic Recorder_ concerning _Malaria off._): + +Messrs. Boericke & Tafel prepared me a new supply of it, and I have used +so far only one form of it and in the one attenuation. + +It was prepared in three degrees of strength: + +No. I is the _water_ that stood on decomposed vegetable matter for one +week at a temperature of 90 degrees. + +No. II is the _water_ that decomposed vegetable matter for two weeks. + +No. III is the _water_ that decomposed vegetable matter for _three_ +weeks, and it is fearfully offensive. + +I have only used the No. II, or that that had only partially decomposed +the vegetable fibres. + +In preparing it for use I put _ten drops_ of the water to ninety drops +of alcohol and then medicated my pellets (No. 30), and it does not +soften them up. This is the only form I have used it in, and give from +three to ten of these pills for a dose two, three or four hours apart. + +I have been confined to my home for three months this year, and hence +will only report a few of the most marked cases. + +CASE I. Mrs. R., aged 45, weighing 245 pounds, could scarcely walk or +get into a buggy for two years, from the effects of rheumatism in her +back and limbs. I gave her last March two drams of No. 30 pills +medicated with the first decimal, or No. 2 preparation, with orders to +take ten pills three or four times a day. In _one week_ she could walk +as well as ever and has no rheumatism or lameness since. + +CASE II. Mr. S., foreman in a large saw mill, has been afflicted with +rheumatism for years. He came to me in April with a stiff neck and his +right arm and shoulder helpless and painful. He wished me to keep it +from his chest and heart. I gave him two drams No. 30 pellets, first +decimal, and a vial of _neutral_ globules, with orders to take two hours +apart, changing, when better, three hours apart. In three days he was +better and could turn his neck and use his arm fairly well. One week +later gave him two drams more of _Malaria_, to be taken six hours apart. +He has not had any rheumatic troubles since that time. + +CASE III. Mr. C., proprietor of two large saw mills, one in Arkansas, +where he passes part of his time (and frequently gets wet), has been +afflicted with what some doctors called gout. I found it was of a +rheumatic nature (caused from malaria) and made worse by _Quinine_ and +external applications. I gave him _Malaria_, two drams, No. 30 pills. +In three days he assured me he was better and did not have half as many +pains or aches. He took only four drachms, at from three to six hours +apart, and has not had any rheumatic or gouty pains since. I saw him +last week and he says he is fully ten years younger than he was last +spring. + +CASE IV. I was called to see I. S., aged 55, a veteran and pensioner of +the last war. He was poor and bronzed in color. Had not been able to +walk for years. After repairing his heart, chest, stomach and curing his +piles and regulating his bowels he was content, yet he could not walk. +Being assured that his back had been injured while in the army, and as +his limbs would not move at his will and he could not walk alone or get +out of a chair, I gave him for a week _Ruta graveolens_ and _Rhus tox._, +of each the first cent., three hours apart. This enabled him to get up +and down two steps alone to the kitchen. Then, concluding his trouble +was due to rheumatism, and that was caused by malaria, I gave him two +drams of No. 30 pellets of No. 2 form of _Malaria_, first decimal, with +orders to take ten pills three or four times a day. In one week he rode +to my house and came up and down steps alone. I gave him two drams more +and in five days he came to my office, having walked nearly three miles +that morning alone. I need not say I was deeply surprised and could +hardly believe it was all due to _Malaria_. It certainly was, as nothing +else was taken or applied. He has gained flesh and seems to be at least +ten years younger than he was. + +These are a few of the surprising results that have been obtained from +_Malaria_ this year. I much wish that others would try it and help to +obtain its proper place as a medicine and healer when used where it +should be given. + + (Dr. W. A. Yingling contributed the following to the same + journal): + +On the day I received from Boericke & Tafel _Malaria off._ 30, I was +foolishly led to try Hahnemann's inhalation. The thought just occurred +to me on the spur of the moment, and without stopping to think I took +three strong inhalations, with both sorrow and a proving resulting. None +of the symptoms were distressing, yet marked and clear cut. The remedy +commenced its work very promptly and in the order following: + +Aching in both elbows. + +A kind of slight concentration of feeling at root of nose, and just +above, as though I should have a severe cold, similar to that complained +of by hay-fever patients. + +Aching in the wrists. + +A tired ache in the hands. + +A tired ache in the knees, and for a distance above and below. + +A feeling as though I should become dizzy. + +Pain in top of left instep. + +A tired feeling in wrists. + +Aching in an old (cured) bunion on left foot. + +Sensation on point of tongue as though a few specks of spice or pepper +were there. + +Itching on right cheek over molar bone; ameliorated by slight rubbing or +scratching. + +When leaning face on left hand, elbow on the table, perceptible feeling +of the heart beats through upper body and neck. + +Slight itching on various parts of the face and extremities; ameliorated +by slight rubbing. + +Sense of heat in the abdomen. + +Chilly sensation in left forearm. Soon followed by chilly feeling in +hands and fingers; feet are cold with sensation as if chilliness was +about to creep up the legs. A few moments later knees feel cold. A sense +of coldness ascending over body from the legs. + +Arms feel tired. + +Belching several times, easy; no taste. + +A drawing pain in right external ear. + +Lumbar back feels tired as though it would ache. + +Neck feels tired, with slight cracking in upper part on moving the +head. + +Shallow breathing which seems from languor, with a desire to take a deep +inspiration occasionally. + +A kind of tired feeling through abdomen and chest. + +A general sense of weariness. + +A feeling about head as though I would become dizzy. + +Pain in upper left teeth. + +A sensation as though I would have a very loose stool (passed away +without a stool). + +Feeling rather stupid and sleepy. + +A sensation in the spleen as though it would ache. + +Saliva more profuse than usual; keeps me swallowing often. + +Pain in abdomen to right of navel. + +Dull aching through forehead. + +Face feels warm as if flushed, also head; becomes general over body, as +if feverish. + +Aching across upper sacral region. + +Legs very weary from short walk. + +Pain at upper part of right ilium. + +General sense of weariness from a very short walk, especially through +pelvis, sacral region and upper thighs. I feel strongly inclined to lie +down and rest. + +Qualmishness at stomach, as though I should become nauseated. + +General sense of malaise and weariness becoming quite marked. + +Aching above inner angle of right eye. + +A kind of simmering all through the body. + +Felt impelled to lie down, and on falling to sleep a sense of waving +dizziness passes all over me, preventing sleep. + +At times I feel as though I should become cold or have a chill, then I +feel as though I should become feverish or hot, though neither is very +marked. + +Eyes feel heavy and sleepy. + +Uneasiness in lower abdomen. + +Gaping, yawning and desire to stretch. + +Legs are restless; feel like stretching and moving them. + +I feel very much as I did one time before having the ague, twenty-five +years ago. + +Odor from cooking is pleasing, but I have no desire for dinner. Yet when +I sit down I eat a good dinner with relish. + +Dizziness on rising from a reclining position. + +Feel generally better after eating dinner. + +Aching in the occiput. + +During the afternoon leg weary. + +Unusual hearty appetite for supper (the good appetite keeps with me for +some days). + +A good night's rest following, and have felt much brighter and generally +better ever since the first day. (Healing.) + +I have no doubt had I repeated the inhalations several times I should +have been very sick. It is not necessary to push a proving to extremes. +I think Hahnemann did not as a rule. If I were strong I should push this +proving, but I dare not. Who will take it up? + + (Apropos of the foregoing Dr. G. Hering, of England, made + the following suggestions which hint at a possible use of + the remedy in tuberculosis): + +What curious discoveries are made by the observant! Witness the +following remarks of Dr. Casanova, as recorded in the _Homoeopathic +Review_ of over thirty years ago: + + "I know several localities in South America, Africa and + Spain where the marsh miasma has unquestionably arrested + and cured that fatal scourge of the human race, phthisis + pulmonalis, without any other treatment or restriction in + food or drink. And why should not the climate of the fen + lands of Lincolnshire, in the neighborhood of Spalding, + prove as curative an agent for this disease as the climate + of so many foreign regions where patients go and die, + deprived of all the comforts of a home? Penzance, among + the British localities, is reported to be superior to + nine-tenths of the places to which patients are sent. + Penzance, then, and Spalding should be particularly + studied by medical men and recommended to consumptive + individuals who wish to enjoy the benefits and advantages + of a national place of relief, if not of cure." + +Upon reading this I began to reflect upon the limitless nature of +science. We never seem to find either beginning or end to it. Circles +within circles, and no one can tell what communications there are +between those circles. We cannot trace them. We are lost in infinity. + +Miasmatic places are the most healthy places--for some of us at least. + +Now, I think of it, I find I can give some support to this statement of +Dr. Casanova. I was once on board a Liverpool steamer which put into +Aspinwall, on the swampy Isthmus of Panama, for nine days. Upon our +return home several of the sailors, otherwise healthy fellows, were +prostrated by what was called Panama fever, whilst I myself, who had +formerly suffered from tubercular disease of the lungs, was totally +unaffected. + + +MULLEIN OIL. + +PREPARATION.--Fill a bottle with the blossoms from the Verbascum +thapsus, cork tight, and hang in the sun for four or five weeks. By that +time there will be an oily liquid distilled. Mix with ten per cent. of +alcohol. + + (Dr. A. M. Cushing introduced this now rather well-known + remedy to the medical profession in 1884. He writes of it + as follows): + +The history of it is this: My father's house was the home for all poor +tramps, as well as ministers, etc. He fell into the river, got water in +his ears and was quite deaf for months. A blind man called, heard loud +conversation, asked the cause, etc., then said for kindness received he +would tell us how to make something that would surely cure him, and it +was worth a thousand dollars in New York city. We made the oil, put it +in his ears at night, and he was well in the morning. For years we kept +a bottle of it, and it travelled all around the towns and did wonders. +That was when I was a youngster. When I studied medicine, or when I was +practicing, I wanted to know if it was homoeopathic, and made a +proving, and developed the symptoms of almost constant but slight +involuntary urination, keeping my pants wet. + +I did not make any this past season, and have divided till I have but a +little, half-and-half alcohol, left. I could spare a little of that, and +next season, if I live, will try and make a quantity. + + (The next item is from a letter of Dr. H. C. Houghton's, + of New York, addressed to Boericke & Tafel.) + +I have been much interested in the clinical study of this remedy--new, +yet not new--but I have not succeeded in demonstrating what the +symptom--deafness means in this case. Dr. Cushing does not claim to be +an expert in this department, so time must help us out, and I am anxious +to learn all I can of its effects on the ear. + +In an old note-book of Dr. Hering's, _Hearing and Ears_, copied for me +with the author's permission by my friend Dr. C. R. Norton, I noticed +the following: "In Germany, flowers of Verbascum thapsus put in a +dark-colored bottle, hung up in the sunlight, give in two or three weeks +an oily fluid which has cured many old people and children." This method +is impracticable, the amount produced being so small. Verbascum prepared +in olive oil or fluid petroleum has the same effect as any oil; +excellent in chronic disease of the integument; negative in middle ear +disease. When your house brought out _Mullein oil_ under Dr. Cushing's +direction, I took it up again, and have prescribed it in a large number +of cases. In chronic dermatitis of the external meatus and drum-head, or +exfoliation after furuncle, it is excellent; in chronic catarrhal +inflammation of the tympanum I have not been able to see any effect, but +in chronic suppurative disease of the tympanum, or in accumulations of +detritus in cases of perforation, scarred drum-heads, etc., it acts to +dislodge accumulations, free the ossicula from pressure, and thereby +improves the hearing; this process goes on for months till the tympanum +has thrown out an amount of _débris_ that is surprising. In a few cases +it has caused soreness and increased muco-purulent discharge, due, I +think, to excessive use. + +My experience with it in chronic catarrh of the tympanum coincides with +that of my friend, H. P. Bellows, M. D., of Boston, as published by him, +but I purpose to continue the study of the drug, and hope for better +results. In sub-acute or chronic disease after suppuration its effect is +very gratifying; it aids exfoliation and checks irritation from +exfoliated material. + +I am able to confirm the symptoms noted of its effects in nocturnal +enuresis in many instances. There is one effect I have not seen noticed +by any observers: relief of night cough. More than ten years ago, Dr. H. +A. Tucker, Brooklyn, N. Y., told me of a _Glycerole of Mullein_ made by +macerating the plant in Jamaica rum for two or three weeks, expressing +it and adding to this product an equal quantity of glycerine. This led +me to the use of the fluid extract of the plant, glycerine and water, +equal parts, as a mollifier in cases where patients would resort to some +popular remedy containing opium or similar opiate. The same effect can +be produced by drop doses of _Mullein oil_, the teasing cough which +comes on lying down, preventing the sleep usually yielding to a few +doses. + + (Dr. J. C. Wentz contributed the following bit of + folk-lore): + +The application of _Mullein oil_ is of more general application than +anything I have found in print. I report to you some cases: + +CASE I.--Mertie B., aged sixteen. Called to see her May 20, 1888. Found +her suffering great pain in right ear. Parotid gland very much enlarged +and painful. The right side of the head and face much swollen. Pulse +about 100; tongue coated. + +_Treatment._--_Mullein oil_ in the ear, and used as a liniment twice +daily on the swollen parts. For the fever, _Aconite_. Great improvement +during the first twenty-four hours, and on the 23d found the case +convalescent. + +CASE II.--Carrie H., aged twenty-two. Her second child four weeks old. +Called November 15, 1888. Right breast inflamed and sore. Two weeks +previous it had been lanced by another physician, a little above the +nipple, but now a place a little below and to the left of the nipple +gives evidence of forming pus. I told her that in my judgment it had +gone too far to check it then. + +_Treatment._--_Mullein oil_, one-half ounce in four ounces of water. Wet +cloths and apply. The inflammation and soreness disappeared in one week, +and by the use of the same remedy occasionally has entirely recovered +without breaking. Her husband, when he paid me, said: "Well you have +done better than any of the rest of the doctors." + +CASE III.--Linford S., aged sixty-four. Called to see him September 20, +1888. Has just recovered from typhoid fever, but is able to be around. +Taken with inflammation of the right testicle. Swollen to the size of a +goose egg, and much pain. Red and shining appearance of the skin. Cause +unknown, unless it was in connection with chronic enlargement of +prostate gland. + +_Treatment._--_Mullein oil_ applied twice daily as a liniment. +_Mercurius sol._ internally. In three days the soreness and pain had +entirely disappeared, but the enlargement continued several days. He +walked around with ease three or four days before swelling had +diminished any. + +CASE IV.--F. C., aged thirty. Called November 16, 1888. Found +inflammation of left kidney and of left testicle. Had been under +treatment by another doctor and had recovered partially, but relapsed. +Suffering much with pain in testicle, which ran up the spermatic cord +and through to the left kidney. + +_Treatment._--_Cantharis_ and _Aconite_, as there was some fever. +_Mullein oil_ applied to the testicle. Rapid improvement during the +first twenty-four hours, and made a quick recovery. + +I have also cured a case of chronic inflammation of the eyes, and a case +of chilblains from which the patient had suffered, during the winter, +for about six years. * * * + +Every drug has its exact range. This one being new to the profession, we +are just learning what it will do. In all these cases the _Mullein oil_ +has had an outward application twice daily. + +A short time ago I was in Dodge city and was talking with a friend about +the use of various remedies in veterinary practice, and amongst them I +mentioned an almost instant cure of earache in a boy and also the same +in a cat by the use of _Mullein oil_. He said: "Why do you homoeopaths +use that? I used to have the well sweep full of bottles of mullein +blossoms when I was a boy. We used the oil as a dressing for burns, and +it was the best thing we could get." He also related to me the following +case, which is of interest and may prove of great value: An old +neighbor, a Mr. Kemmis, had spent a large amount of money treating with +various physicians for what they pronounced a rose cancer and without +any relief. An Indian squaw told him to use _Mullein oil_. He distilled +it (as it is now prepared, by sun exposure), and for a short time bathed +the cancer with the oil. The growth of the cancer was permanently +checked, but was not healed. Mr. K. lived, perhaps, forty years after +the treatment was used, and the cancer never again bothered him. + + +MUCUNA URENS. + +NAT. ORD., Leguminosæ. + +COMMON NAME, Horse-eye. + +PREPARATION.--The pulverized bean is macerated in five times its weight +of alcohol. + + (Delgado Palacios, of Venezuela, in 1897, wrote Messrs. + Boericke & Tafel concerning this remedy): + +Reading the list of remedies of your "Physicians' Price Current," I was +very much astonished to meet with the name _Dolichos pruriens_, which +the greater and modern authorities in botanical matters consider an +identical plant with _Mucuna urens_. + +You will meet the botanical description of _Mucuna urens_ and +_altissima_ (two varieties) in the Flora of West Indian Islands, by A. +H. R. Grisebach, p. 198 (Grisebach regards _Mucuna_ and _Dolichos_ as +two different genus). + +If one consider that there is a discussion upon this subject, and on the +other hand that the mother tincture you possess is that which is made +with the hair on the epidermis of the pod (_North American Journal of +Homoeopathy, vol. 1, p. 209._ _Allgemeine Homoeopathische Zeitung, +vol. 53, p. 135._ _Oehme, Hale's Amerikanische Heilmittel, p. 242_), +while the tincture which we employ is made with the pulverized bean (1:5 +alcohol) enclosed in the pod of a special plant which grows in the calid +regions of Venezuela I believe you must try the same tincture we use and +the success will be that which we obtain. + +I have used my tincture of _Mucuna urens_ extensively in a great number +of hæmorrhoids and with the most satisfactory results. It seems that the +characteristic symptom or key-note is a sensation of burning. The +hæmorrhoids may be or not in a great stage of development, there may be +more or less blood, etc. + +One can consider the _Mucuna urens_ as a specific against the +hæmorrhoidal diathesis. The diseases of other organs, depending upon +that cause, liver, uterus (hæmorrhage) and intestinal affections, yield +admirably to its use. + +I have been treating recently a remarkable case of chronic ingurgitation +of a testicle, small and frequent hæmaturias, and other intestinal +troubles with a prominent symptom, the hæmorrhoidal state, which led me +to use _Mucuna_, and in a few months I have obtained a perfect success. + +The experiences have taught me, and I have the conviction that this +tincture is a more perfect remedy for the cure of hæmorrhoids than any +other remedy known. I rely upon it more faithfully than I do upon +_Hamamelis, Æsculus_, etc. + +Its pathogenetics are not known. + +I frequently use the mother tincture in the hæmorrhoids, one drop daily. +I seldom use the lower dilutions. _Mucuna_ may be used also, and with +success, as an ointment. + +The beans are very difficult to obtain; the plant has a single yearly +crop. + + +NAPHTHALIN. + +ORIGIN--A chemical compound procured from coal, alcohol, ether vapor, +etc. + +PREPARATION.--Trituration of the pure naphthalin. + + (Two clinical cases illustrating the use of _Naphthalin_. + The first is by Dr. W. L. Hartman, in Transaction of the + Homoeopathic Medical Society of New York, 1896.) + +In treating children we are often disappointed in our results; in making +prescriptions we think we have just the right thing in the right place, +but when we come to see our case again we are confronted with the same +condition that we had before. We may say the same in adults, but not so +often. In whooping cough in the very young who are unable to tell us how +they feel we must rely on what the mother may tell us; but how often do +we find mothers who cannot tell their own symptoms, let alone those of +their children? Now, what do we do? Sit and look wise and guess at our +prescriptions while we hear the little fellow coughing, in fact trying +to cough his head off and at the same time lose his breath. + +Well, now while you are thinking and looking wise in this case, just +think of _Naphthalin_ and give a tablet triturate of the 1x every two +hours, and when you are consulted the next time you will not be annoyed +with the dreadful choking spell. Now in prescribing this remedy it is +not necessary to wait until the child chokes to death with the cough, +but give it from the first and you will be surprised how it will cut the +disease short. I do not know as I have ever given this remedy without +receiving benefit, and in many cases it was unnecessary to give any +other remedy to cure the case; if it is, _Drosera_ will follow best. + +The grand characteristic of this remedy is long and continued paroxysms +of coughing, unable to get a respiration, sometimes so violent as to +cause perspiration. + +This remedy is not only good in whooping cough, but in any condition +where you get the above symptoms _Naphthalin_ will cure your case just +the same. Now my experience with this remedy where I have prescribed +above the 1x has been very unsatisfactory, so, of late, I only use the +one potency. + + (The other by Dr. W. A. Weaver in _Hahnemannian Monthly_, + 1898.) + +My experience with _Naphthalin_ in whooping cough is as yet limited, but +the results obtained have very much exceeded other remedies and I wish +to cite a few cases in which the alleviation of the symptoms was soon +appreciable. + +CASE I.--Francis----, a boy of 9 months, with a severe bronchitis as a +complication. The breathing was labored. The respiratory murmur was +feeble and a large number of sibilant and sonorous râles were heard, +when I was called to see the case. The child had become emaciated, had a +cyanotic appearance, was unable to retain food for any length of time, +because of the frequent paroxysms accompanied by vomiting, and was very +much exhausted. Later, the moist râles became very prominent over the +entire chest. The paroxysms were of great length, and accompanying was a +free discharge of thick, tenacious mucus from the nose and mouth. Many +of the favorite remedies employed in this disease were prescribed, but +with little effect. _Naphthalin_ was then given, four or five drops of +the tincture in one-half glass of water. In a short time the paroxysms +were lessened in severity and frequency, the expectoration was freer, +the number of râles were lessened, and shortly convalescence was well +established. + +CASE II.--John----, 3-1/2 years, with an accompanying bronchitis. +Symptoms worse at night. Paroxysms very long and severe; would hold his +head to relieve the pain from coughing. Great difficulty experienced in +breathing. A number of râles heard over portion of the chest, with +little expectoration. After _Naphthalin_ had been given for a short time +improvement began, and terminated without further complications. + +CASE III.--Patrick----, a man 23 years of age, large physique and +healthy appearance, contracted pertussis from other members of the +family, and, although not accompanied by the whoop, the paroxysms were +very severe. They were not frequent during the day but many during the +night. He would wake the entire house by coughing and would become +purple in the face. He had been suffering a week or two before I saw +him. I prescribed _Drosera_, _Corrallium rub._, _Ipecac_ and +_Hyoscyamus_, without appreciable improvement. He gradually grew worse +until _Naphthalin_ 1x in pellets was given. The spasmodic condition was +relieved very shortly, and although the cough remained for a short time +it never became severe and soon entirely disappeared. + + +NARCISSUS. + +NAT. ORD., Amaryllidaceæ. + +COMMON NAME, Daffodil. + +PREPARATION.--The young buds, stems and leaves are macerated in two +times their weight of alcohol. + + (The following is from the _Homoeopathic Recorder_ for + May, 1899): + +"Agricola," one of the _Homoeopathic World's_ oldest contributors, +has the following to say of this very old, yet little known, remedy. +After stating how he prepared it, he continues as follows: + +"A case of bronchitis (a _continuous_ cough) has from _Narcissus_ 1-3x +obtained such _prompt_ marked relief, where a most varied selection of +the standard remedies had hitherto failed, as to induce me to write +these few lines in hope that as this beautiful flower is about to be +found in most cottage gardens the prevalent bronchitis, whooping and +other coughs may meet with prompt cures. Dr. Chargé's work, _Maladies +de la Respiration_, quotes the great Laennec, M. D., as an authority +_in re Narcissus_." + +There is no proving whatever of this drug, although in the +_Encyclopædia_ (Allen) a case of poisoning from the bulbs eaten as a +salad is given; but the remedy as prescribed by Agricola was prepared +from the young buds, stems and leaves, so the case in the _Encyclopædia_ +is not apropos, nor is the old tincture from the bulbs of use. + +The name of the plant, _Narcissus_, is not from that of the fabled youth +who fell in love with his own image reflected in the water, but is from +the Greek _Narkao_, "to be numb," on account of the narcotic properties +of the drug. The classic Asphodel and the Narcissus are the same, from +which it may be seen that the plant dates back as far as man's records +go. Fernie, in his excellent _Herbal Simples_, from which we gather the +preceding, also says: "An extract of the bulbs applied to open wounds +has produced staggering numbness of the whole nervous system and +paralysis of the heart. Socrates called this plant the 'Chaplet of the +Infernal Gods,' because of its narcotic effects." + +Fernie also says that a decoction of the dried flowers is emetic, and +when sweetened will, as an emetic, serve most usefully for relieving the +congestive bronchial catarrh of children. "Agricola's" experience, +quoted above, however, seems to disprove the notion that the beneficial +action in bronchial catarrh is the result of the emetic properties of +the drug, but demonstrates rather that it is peculiarly homoeopathic +to this malady and long-continued coughs, especially of nervous origin, +as may be inferred from the following, the concluding paragraph in +Fernie's section on the _Narcissus_: + +"The medicinal influence of the Daffodil on the nervous system has led +to giving its flowers and its bulb for hysterical affections, and even +epilepsy, with benefit." + +The _National Dispensatory_ says practically the same, _i. e._, "The +emetic action of _Narcissus_ has been used to break up intermittent +fever and relieve bronchial catarrh with congestion or obstruction of +the air tubes. Like _Ipecacuanha_, it has also been prescribed in +dysentery, especially of the epidemic form. Its influence upon the +nervous system, is attested by the vogue it has enjoyed in hysteria, +chorea, whooping cough and even epilepsy." + +It is still the emetic action that is looked to here, but any good +homoeopath will see beyond that, in Agricola's experience, and +perceive a strong homoeopathic action in the drug to the conditions +named, for if it were the emetic action only that is efficacious then, +certainly, one emetic would do as well as another, but there is +something more, and the curative action can be obtained from +homoeopathic doses without the emetic action. The tincture should not +be prepared from the bulb, as has been the case in the past, but from +the fresh buds and leaves. From such a preparation considerable benefit +in obstinate bronchial coughs should be confidently expected. + + +NEGUNDO. + +NAT. ORD., Sapindaceæ. + +COMMON NAMES, Box Elder. Ash-leaved Maple. + +PREPARATION.--The bark of the root is macerated in twice its weight of +alcohol. + + (In the _California Medical Journal_, 1898, Dr. O. S. + Laws, of Los Angeles, California, writes of a new "pile" + remedy, _Negundo_): + +I suggested that we have a "Symposium," in Our Journal, on single +remedies. They are the backbone of whatever science there is in +therapeutics, and should be kept in view. As a starter I offer one that +is entirely new to the medical fraternity, as I cannot find it in any +medical work. + +In botanical language it is known as Negundium Americanum. The common +name is "box elder." It is a native of Kansas. It is a distant relative +of the Acer family. I had just fairly begun to test its value when I +left Kansas for California, and not finding it here, except as a shade +tree on the sidewalks, I cannot get any of the root bark, which is the +part used. From the short experience I had with it I conclude it is the +best internal remedy we have for hemorrhoids. I have used _Colinsonia_ +and _Æsculus_ without ever being impressed with their prompt action. But +_Negundo_ goes at it as _Colocynth_ does in its specialty, so that the +victim who has been writhing with an engorged rectum "will arise up and +call you blessed." So you see this is not only a single remedy, but a +"fundamental" one. The bark of the root in the yearling plants is what I +prefer. + +Recent cases of hemorrhoids can be completely cured in this way, and the +old hard cases temporarily relieved. So, gentlemen of the medical +profession, I hereby introduce to you my friend _Negundo_. + + +ONOSMODIUM VIRGINIANUM. + +NAT. ORD., Borraginaceæ. + +COMMON NAME, False Cromwell. + +PREPARATION.--The entire plant with root is macerated in twice its +weight of alcohol. + + (This paper was prepared by Dr. W. A. Vingling for the + Kansas State Homoeopathic Society, and reprinted in + _Homoeopathic Physician_ for July, 1893). + +To the homoeopathic physician a new remedy, well proven, is an +acquisition of greater importance than honor or wealth, for his sole +duty being to relieve the sufferings of humanity, he acquires a new tool +with which to accomplish his work. To the degree that the new remedy has +peculiar characteristics its value is enhanced, to the extent that the +pathogenetic effects are different from every other drug its usefulness +becomes the more apparent. Generalities constitute a poor basis upon +which to prescribe. Peculiarities, the unusual symptoms, give certainly +an assurance in every prescription. + +We have in _Onosmodium_ a remedy with some peculiarities, and occupying +a sphere unique, a curative range differing from that of every other +drug. The remedy holds within its grasp the power to restore peace to +the disrupted family, and to prevent the truant husband seeking the +sweets of "stolen waters" by restoring the wife to the enjoyable +performance of her wifely functions, and thus gratifying the +dissatisfied husband. This generation of one-child families, Malthusian, +with the long train of misery entailed upon the licensed family, +adultery consequent upon preventive measures, _malum in se_, has its +remedy in _Onosmodium_ to a very large extent. + +We pass to consider the more important pathogenesis of the remedy in +regular course. A great part of this paper is necessarily based upon the +notes of the original author, Dr. W. E. Green, with some isolated +symptoms from the journals and my own experience. + +We find marked in the mental sphere a DROWSINESS OF MIND and CONFUSION +OF THOUGHT, DULNESS OF INTELLIGENCE, a DAZED feeling of the mind. The +party wants to think and not move, so absorbed in thought as to forget +all else and where she is. There is a _complete listlessness and apathy_ +of the mind; she cannot _concentrate_ her thoughts. From this want of +concentration there follows an impairment of the memory, _she cannot +remember what is said_. In conversation she will forget the subject, +will begin a new one, and then suddenly change to another. There is +great _confusion of ideas_. This listlessness is so great as to cause +forgetfulness of what one is reading, or that one is reading at all: the +book drops in vague and listless thought. The time passes too slowly, +and minutes seem like hours. There is great irritability of temper. + +There is a continuous and ever-present feeling of heaviness of the head. +PAINS IN THE LEFT SIDE OF THE HEAD and _over the left eye_, extending +round the left side to the back of the head and neck, greatly aggravated +by moving or jarring. Intense pain driving her to bed; relieved by +sleep, but soon returning after waking. There is a constant dull +headache, chiefly centered over the left eye and in the left temple; +always worse in the dark and when lying down. Here we have a +contradictory symptom--always worse lying down. The general symptoms are +ameliorated by lying down. This peculiar feature is also seen in some of +the polycrests. _Bryonia alb._ has a "pain and pressure in the shoulder +when at rest." _Rhus tox._ has a "stiff neck, with painful tension when +moving;" _Arsenicum alb._ has a headache relieved by cold water. + +_Onosmodium_ has a DULL, HEAVY PAIN IN THE occiput pressing upward WITH +A DIZZY SENSATION. Pain changing from the right frontal eminence to the +left and remaining there. Darting and throbbing in the left temple. A +dull pain in the mastoid process. She cannot bear to move. A sense of +fullness in the head. Relieved by eating and sleep. + +The eyes are HEAVY AND DULL; the eyes feel as though one had lost a +great deal of sleep. The lids are heavy. The eyeballs have a _dull, +heavy pain with soreness_. A sensation of the eyes being very wide open, +with a desire to look at distinct objects, it being disagreeable to look +at near objects. Distant objects look very large. _Picric acid_ patients +can only see clearly at very close range, often at only five inches from +the eye; _Natrum sulph._ has impairment of vision for distant objects. +With _Onosmodium_ the ocular muscles feel tense, tired, and drawn. Pains +in and over left eye. Pain in upper portion of left orbit, with a +feeling of expansion. The vision is impaired and blurred. + +The hearing is impaired. There is a stuffed-full feeling in the ears as +after catching cold. Singing in the ears as from quinine, but very +slight. + +The NOSE FEELS DRY. There is a stuffed feeling in the posterior nares. +The discharge from the posterior nose is whitish and sticky, producing a +constant hawking. Constant sneezing in the morning; sneezing when first +getting up. The bones of the nose pain. + +Flushed face, with relief from headache. That dry feeling of the nose is +also present in the mouth and lips. Bitter, clammy taste in the mouth. +Saliva is very scant, with the dry feeling in the mouth; cold water +relieves. Sore throat. It hurts to swallow or speak. That dryness +follows down the _throat_ and _pharynx_, and is accompanied with _severe +soreness_. Raw, scraping feeling in the throat. When swallowing the +pharynx feels constricted. All the throat symptoms are relieved by cold +drinks and by eating. The voice is husky. The chest feels sore. + +Morning sickness like that of pregnancy. Distaste for water, yet there +is a _craving for ice water and cold drinks_; _wants to drink often_. +The abdomen _feels bloated_ and distended, which is relieved by +undressing. The pains in the lower part of the abdomen are also relieved +by undressing or by lying on the back. This amelioration from undressing +is observed to run through all the symptoms of the drug. A constant +feeling as though diarrhoea would come on. + +The stools are yellow, mushy, or greenish-yellow, stringy, mushy, with +tenesmus. Also, slimy, bloody, stringy stool, with tenesmus. The provers +were hurried out of bed in the morning to stool. + +The urine is scanty, highly colored, dark straw and brown, very acid, +and of high specific gravity. The desire is seldom, or else frequent, +with scanty flow. + +In regard to the sexual organs we quote from that racy writer, Dr. S. +A. Jones, who says: "_Onosmodium Virginianum_ in its primary action +seems directly opposite to _Picric acid_. Perhaps provings of it with +smaller doses will oblige me to change this _dictum_. If they do not, +then _Onosmodium_ will occupy the singular position of a remedy that +_primarily depresses the sexual appetite_. If this should ultimately +prove to be the case, it will invest this remedy with an unmistakable +significance to physicians who are practicing at the _tail end_ of the +nineteenth century, for, from our habits of life, it is the _end_ that +is showing signs of distress. In estimating the validity of this +suggestion, the reader will bear in mind Hahnemann's _dictum_ that _only +the primary symptoms of a drug afford the indications for its +therapeutical application_. This is a canon of Hahnemannian +Homoeopathy, and it _is true as regards the infinitesimal dose_. Then, +this being true (for I will not stop to discuss it), _Picric acid_ will +be indicated for the _initial stage_ of sexual debility and _Onosmodium_ +for the _fully developed consequences_ of sexual abuse; and this, +because the said 'initial stage' is characterized by erethism while the +ulterior consequences are denoted by atony asthenia. The erethism of +sexual debility is plainly evinced in _Picric acid_, and the ultimate +asthenia is as really discovered in _Onosmodium Virginianum_." + +In the male we find diminished sexual desire. Cold feeling in the glans +penis. Nocturnal emissions. Too speedy emissions. Deficient erections +with diminished pleasure. + +In the female we find SEVERE UTERINE PAINS. BEARING-DOWN PAINS IN THE +UTERINE REGION. Uterine cramps. _Soreness in region of uterus_, +increased by _pressure_ of the hand or of the clothing; had to remove +the corset. Return of old uterine pains. Dull, heavy aching, and slowly +pulsating pains in the ovaries. Pains pass from one ovary to the other +and leave a soreness which remains till the pain returns. Ovarian pains +increased by pressure. SEXUAL DESIRE COMPLETELY DESTROYED. This symptom +I have verified a number of times, and in every case the parties +prevented conception. The uterine pains are all better when undressed +or lying on the back. Constant feeling as though the menses would +appear. Menses early and profuse, but otherwise normal so far as known. +Leucorrhoea light yellowish, slightly offensive and excoriating; +profuse, running down the legs. Itching of the vulva aggravated by +scratching and from the leucorrhoeal discharge. Aching in both +breasts, but worse in the left. Breasts feel swollen and engorged. Left +breast feels bruised and painful on pressure. Nipples itch. In one case +where this remedy was given for dryness of the nose and throat, the +diminutive almost absent, breasts were restored to their pristine glory, +and resulted in the displacement of the cotton batting pads to the +exceeding joy and delight of the proud woman. + +_Pains in the neck_, running back from the forehead. _Dull aching in the +neck._ Bearing down pain in the lumbar region. Dull, aching pain in the +lumbar region. In the female provers there was produced a pain over the +crest of the left ilium. TIRED, WEARY AND NUMB FEELING IN THE LEGS AND +POPLITEAL SPACES. FEELING OF NUMBNESS, MOSTLY BELOW THE KNEES. The legs +feel as if they were partially anæsthetized. The tendons and joints of +the knees have a dull, aching pain. Tremulousness of the legs. +DISTURBANCE OF THE GAIT IN WALKING, WITH A SENSE OF INSECURITY IN STEP. +STAGGERING GAIT, _he cannot keep in the walk_. The sidewalks seem too +high; he must step high which jars him and greatly aggravates the +headache. Dull, heavy pain in the instep of the left foot. Numb, +tingling pain in the outer side of both little toes. THE LEGS FEEL +TIRED, _as though they would not sustain the weight of the body_. +Sensation of formication in the calves of the legs. Ankles swollen. + +_Pain in the left scapular region_, confined to a small spot. _Fluoric +acid_ and _Lilium tig._ have pain confined to a small spot in any +location, while _Oxalic acid_ has a pain confined to small longitudinal +spots. _Magnesia phos._ has a sharp burning pain, about an inch in +diameter, under the border of the left scapula, as from a hot iron (see +also _Phos._); with _Onosmodium_ there is a dull, aching pain in the +biceps muscle, also a pain of like nature in the elbow joint and wrists. +_The arms and hands feel tired and weak_; they tremble. Inability to +co-ordinate the muscular movements of the arms. Pain in the phalangeal +articulation. + +The aggravations are generally from motion or jarring; from pressure or +tightness of clothing. + +The ameliorations are peculiar and marked. Better when quiet, _when +lying down on the back_, _when undressed_, when in the open air, from +sleep, _from cold drinks_, _from eating_. + +In the generalities we find great MUSCULAR WEAKNESS OR PROSTRATION AND +TIRED FEELING OVER THE ENTIRE BODY. A feeling as though one had just +gotten up from a severe spell of sickness. Nervous trembling as if from +hunger. The least exertion produces a tremulousness. _The muscles feel +treacherous and unsteady as though one did not dare to trust them._ A +desire to change position without any definite cause or reason, and +without any change for the better or worse. Later in the proving there +was a desire to lie down and be quiet, with a drowsy, sleepy feeling. _A +sensation as if a chill would come on_; a tired, aching, stretching, +gaping, disagreeable feeling. All sensations are worse in the left side. + +In my own experience I have used the remedy from the mother tincture up. +I got no results from the tincture. Hardly any from the 30th, but a +marked, decided, and very rapid action from the CM. I use nothing lower +than the CM, and prefer the higher. + + +ORIGANUM MAJORANA. + +NAT. ORD., Labiatæ. + +COMMON NAME, Sweet Marjoram. + +PREPARATION.--The whole plant without the root, gathered when in flower, +is macerated in two times its weight of alcohol. + + (A treatise on the "Sexual Passion," by the late Dr. + Gallavardin, Lyons, France, contains this item on + _Origanum_): + +The person who discovered a remedy that in a certain sense may be +considered as a specific against sexual passion was a clergyman of +Mizza, the founder of an orphan asylum. This remedy is _Origanum +majorana_ (or common marjoram), which proves effective in masturbation +and in excessively-aroused sexual impulses. The author uses it in the +4th dilution, as he has not found the higher potencies effective. He +dissolves five or six globules of this dilution in four teaspoonfuls of +fresh water, and the young masturbator takes of this every two days, a +quarter of an hour before the meal, one teaspoonful. If the cure is not +accomplished eight days after this solution is used up, the same dose is +repeated in the same way. When desired, this remedy can be used, +according to the author, without the knowledge of the patient, by +pouring a teaspoonful into the soup, milk or chocolate. + +The effect frequently appears very rapidly, but sometimes it does not +appear. + + +OXYTROPIS LAMBERTI. + +NAT. ORD., Leguminosæ. + +COMMON NAMES, "Loco" Weed. Rattle Weed. + +PREPARATION.--The whole plant without the root is macerated in two times +its weight of alcohol. + + (The following proving of the "loco weed" was conducted + by the late Dr. W. S. Gee, of Chicago, in 1887): + + +OXYTROPIS LAMBERTI, Pursh.--_Commonly taller, as well as larger_, than +other varieties (the scapes often a foot or more high); silky,--and +mostly silvery-pubescent, sometimes glabrate in age; leaflets from +oblong-lanceolate to linear (4 to 16 inches long); _spike, sometimes +short-oblong and densely flowered_, at least when young; _often +elongated and sparsely flowered_; _flowers mostly large_ (often an inch +long, but sometimes much smaller), variously colored; pod, either +narrowly or broadly oblong, _sericeous pubescent_, _firm-coriaceous_, +half-inch or more long, _imperfectly two-celled_. Includes _O. +Campestris_ of Hook, Fl. Bor. Am., in part. Common along the Great +Plains from Saskatchewan and Minnesota to New Mexico, Texas, etc., and +in the foot-hills.--From Coulter's _Manual of the Botany of the Rocky +Mountain Region_. + +It is one of the poisonous members of that family. It is found in +California and New Mexico. + +It is a perennial plant, with herbaceous or slightly shrubby stems, the +foliage remaining green during winter when grass is scarce, and so +attracting animals that would otherwise probably instinctively shun it. +The plants do not appear to be equally poisonous at all seasons or in +all localities, and it has been doubted whether the active properties +they possess are due to a normal constituent of the plant. No medical +use has ever been made of these plants, although their poisonous +character has often led to the suggestion that they might be found +valuable. No physiological study has been made of the action of the +poison, and no complete chemical analysis has as yet appeared. + +The stockmen speak of it as causing intoxication in the animals which +eat it, and a prominent symptom is the "loco" condition, in which the +power of co-ordination is lost or greatly limited. They cannot readily +readjust for changes in gait, etc. A horse travels on level ground, but +finds great difficulty in changing to pass over an elevation or +depression, or, when going up hill, he has great difficulty in starting +down hill; it is difficult, when he is still, to impress him that he +must go, and as difficult to stop him when desired. The same rule +applies to eating and other necessaries. Such a horse is said to be +"locoed." Professor Hawkes procured specimens from which Boericke & +Tafel made a tincture. To further test the merits of the remedy, the +students of the class at Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago kindly +participated in a proving. + +Professor Hawkes received some reports from his group, but has mislaid +his papers, and he is unable to give in detail the symptoms produced. He +stated, however, that the principal action corroborated that given +above. + +During 1886-'87 term I made another attempt, and a few reports were +received. The remedy was given by number, that the prover should not +know what he took, nor the strength of it. Some were given the [Greek: +theta], others 1x^d, 2x^d, 3x^d, 12x powders, 30x powders, and some +higher. + +A few reported "no effect" from the [Greek: theta]. The following +includes the report from five persons: + +1. (Mr. S. P. F., 10 drops of [Greek: theta].) 2. (Mrs. W., 10 drops of +3x^d repeated.) 3. (Mr. G. H. A., 15 drops of 3x^d.) 4. (Mrs. P., +powders of 12x repeated.) 5. (Mrs. L., powders of 30x.) 6. (Mrs. L., +powders of 12x.) + +SYMPTOMATOLOGY. + +_Mind._--Great mental depression,^1,^3. Cannot think or concentrate his +thoughts,^1,^3. Very forgetful of familiar words and names,^3. No +life,^1. Disinclination to talk or study,^3. Wants to be alone,^3. Is +better satisfied to sit down and do nothing,^3. Feels perfectly +despondent,^3. A feeling as if I would lose consciousness,^3. All +symptoms worse when thinking of them,^1,^3. + +_Sensorium._--Strange sensation about the head,^4. A feeling as if I +would lose consciousness, or as if I would fall when standing,^5. Sense +of fulness of the head, and of instability, when standing or sitting,^6. + +_Head._--The head has a feeling of great pressure, especially on moving +the eyeballs,^4. Head hot,^6. Was unable to move around on account of +this strange, uncertain feeling of numbness, with prickling sensation in +left arm and hand,^4. Full, uncomfortable feeling in the head,^5. Slight +headache in vertex and occiput in forenoon, over the eyeballs about +noon,^1. Pain in the helix of the ear for two or three minutes, then +pain commenced between the eyes and went in a straight line up over the +head and down to the base of the brain,^2. Pain across the base of the +brain,^2 ("gone in a minute or two"). Dulness in frontal region, must +lie down,^4. Pain in occipital region is constant since 1 P.M.; heavy +ache, as if a weight were attached to the lower edge, pulling it back, +but pain does not extend down the back,^2; all stop at 3 P.M.,^2. A +pressing headache from 2 to 5 P.M.,^3 (on 2d day). Awoke with slight +pressing pain in forehead, which increased gradually until about 2 P.M., +and then gradually decreased,^3. Pain, dull and heavy, in the head, with +sense of pressure,^4. Head very sensitive, < on the side on +which I lie,^3. Pressure upon the head disappearing after sleep,^4. +Dull, heavy feeling in the head, with uncertain gait and walk, so that +she was obliged to lie down, when she fell into a deep sleep and woke up +with the metallic taste. + +_Eyes._--Feel dull and heavy, blurred, pupils dilated,^3,^4. When +reading, it seems as if a light were reflected from a bright copper +plate seen at the left side, as if the light were at the end of the +room,^6. Pain in the eyeball,^4. Pain over the right eye,^6. + +_Ears._--Roaring sound in the ears,^3. + +_Nose._--Very dry; scabs form in the nose,^3. Frequent violent sneezing, +with fluent coryza in the evening,^1. Nose feels as if sunburnt; red and +shining, especially on alæ,^1. Feeling of pressure over the bridge of +the nose,^1. Fluent coryza, somewhat bloody,^1. + +_Mouth._--Very dry, especially in the morning,^3. Metallic taste in the +mouth, strongly marked,^1. Gumboil on left lower maxillary; profuse +saliva,^1. Pain in left lower maxillary,^1. Tenderness of all the +molars,^1. + +_Throat._--Slight inflammation of the pharynx, a "husky" feeling,^1. Dry +and sore,^3. + +_Eating and Drinking._--Appetite gradually increasing,^1. + +Appetite good; symptoms, < after eating, > after an hour,^2. Loss of +appetite,^6 (unusual). + +_Nausea and Vomiting._--Eructations, as after taking soda-water (after +each powder), with colicky pains,^5, and looseness of the bowels +(constipated before taking the remedy),^5. Eructations, empty, +frequent,^1. Slight nausea, all day at intervals,^2 (first day). A very +tired, languid feeling all forenoon, accompanied by nausea on lying +down, passing away on getting up, and returning on lying down again (not +at night). + +_Stomach._--Tenderness in the epigastric region,^1. A kind of pressing +soreness,^3. Cold during the chill,^2. + +_Abdomen._--Sharp, lancinating pains all through the abdomen, early in +the evening,^5 (observed but once). Sharp pain, running from right to +left across the bowels, for several minutes, followed by a very strong +desire to go to stool; entire relief after stool; slight griping pain in +the region of the umbilicus, working down at 8 P.M., followed at 10 P.M. +by discharge of flatus; full feeling in abdomen, causing short breathing +after lying down in bed,^1. + +_Stool._--Symptoms marked and constant. Fæces of the consistency of +mush, which slips through the sphincters in little lumps, very similar +to lumps of jelly,^3. Stools dark brown, or like jelly,^3. Urgent desire +for stool, sometimes removed by passing wind; quantity normal,^3. Sore +feeling in the rectum,^3. Crawling sensation in rectum as if little +worms were there,^3. Stool inclined to be hard; unsatisfied feeling, as +though not done,^1. Stool solid at first, then diarrhoea,^1. Movement +of the bowels at an unusual time,^2 (6:30 P.M., had moved the morning of +same day). Sharp pain from right to left across the bowels, followed by +very strong desire for stool,^2. Stool, first hard, then loose,^2. +Entire relief from pain after stool,^2. + +_Urine._--Symptoms very marked,^3. Characterized from the first by a +very profuse flow of clear, or almost colorless urine, nearly the color +of water,^3. Three to four times the normal quantity,^3,^1,^4,^2. When +thinking of urinating I had to go at once,^3. No sediment +whatever,^3,^1. Pain in the kidneys, hardest in right, with some +tenderness,^1. At the expiration of every two or three hours after +stopping the remedy, there was an enormous flow of pale, straw-colored +urine, and with this would gradually disappear the metallic taste which +was so marked,^4. Free urination, dark in color, no distress,^2. Urine +scanty, and looked like that of a child troubled with worms, light +red-colored stain on bottom of vessel,^2 (second day). Awoke with a +heavy pain in the kidneys,^2 (third day). Urine clear on passing, but +becomes as above described on standing,^2 (third day). During day urine +scanty, with considerable irritation, as if the muscles of the bladder +were contracting, > moving about,^2. + +_Male Sexual Organs._--From being naturally of a passionate nature, the +_desire_ and _ability_ diminished to impotence,^3. No sexual desire or +ability,^3. Bruised feeling in the testicles, beginning in the right and +extending to the left--came on after going to bed,^1. Occasional pain, +of short duration, in glans penis,^1. Pain in testicles, worse with +extension along spermatic cord and down thighs,^1 (third day). + +_Sexual Organs, Female._--At 1.30 P.M., felt a pain in left ovary, like +something grasping or holding tightly for about an hour, then +disappeared,^2. + +_Larynx._--Slight accumulation of mucus in the larynx, hard to cough it +up,^2. + +_Breathing._--Short and quick breathing from the full feeling in the +abdomen,^1. Hard breathing, as though lungs and bronchi were closing as +the chill passes off. + +_Cough._--A dry cough, from any little exercise,^3 (eleventh day). A +short, hacking cough, with tightness across the chest,^2 (third day). + +_Lungs._--Oppression at 9 P.M.,^1 (first day). + +_Heart and Pulse._--Palpitation after lying down at night, for 15 to 20 +minutes,^1 (seventh day). On going to bed, pain, like a wave, over the +heart,^2 (second day), < lying down. Pulse 84, intermittent,^2 +(2 P.M. of third day). + +_Outer Chest._--A warm, tingling sensation over left chest, just under +the skin,^2 (lasted five minutes). + +_Neck and Back._--Neck pains. Pain and stiffness of the muscles of the +back of the neck. + +_Upper Extremities._--Stitching pain in right wrist for half an hour, +leaving a tired feeling in joint,^2. At 12:30, a sharp, cutting pain +running from point of shoulder down front of chest to point of hip bone, +going suddenly,^2. Flesh feels as though she had taken a heavy cold,^2. +Sharp pain, with coldness, from left shoulder-joint extending down the +arm < in shoulder-joint, > sleep; goes away gradually,^4. Prickling +sensation in left arm and hand,^4. + +_Lower Extremities._--Stitching pain in right leg and knee-joint for +half an hour, leaving a tired feeling in the joint,^2. Hard pain in the +left big toe-joint,^2. Pain inside of left leg from the groin to the +knee,^2. + +_Extremities in General._--Flesh on under side of limbs sore,^2. Sore +feeling of all the muscles of the right side of the body,^2. All the +pains come and go quickly, but the muscles remain sore and stiff,^2. +Frequent fine pains all over the body until 3 P.M., when all disappeared +and felt as well as usual,^2. + +_Position._--All pains better when moving about and when in the cool +air,^2. Nausea, heart symptoms and breathing, < lying down,^1,^2. + +_Nerves._--At 10 A.M. a very sick, exhausted feeling appeared,^2. + +_Sleep._--Not very sound,^3. Dreams of a pleasant or lascivious +character,^3. Wakes often,^2. On rising feels sad, weary, despondent,^3. +Twitching of the muscles on falling asleep roused him,^3 (once three or +four nights). Dreamed of spiders, bugs,^2 (first night), of swimming in +water,^2 (second night--am not in the habit of dreaming). + +_Chill._--Chill at 11:40 A.M., beginning in back between shoulders, +down over body to feet; stomach feels cold; pains all over body during +chill; a peculiar sensation of crawling or contraction of the abdominal +muscles, hardest about the navel, lasted about half an hour,^2. As the +chill passes off a smarting in the throat and a feeling as though the +lungs and bronchi would close up, making breathing very difficult; chill +lasted until 1 P.M., followed by perspiration of palms of the hands and +soles of the feet; the changeable pains remained until 3 P.M., when all +disappeared,^2. No thirst in either stage,^2. Felt badly for three days +at same hour as chill,^2. For four weeks on every seventh day had a +chill with all the above symptoms; the coldness of the spine was +continuous for eight weeks, and was then removed by _Gelsemium_,^2. + + (Dr. W. D. Gentry, while at Las Vegas, New Mexico, made + the following summary of the action of the remedy. + _Homoeopathic Recorder_, 1895): + +For the present I will only give a few of the leading symptoms produced +by the _Loco weed_: + +Brain and Mind: Stimulation of mind; pleasant intoxicated feeling. +Satisfied indifference to all influences and interests. + +Head: Full, warm feeling about the head. + +Eyes: Strange feeling of fullness about the eyes, with sight obscured, +so that it appears that one is looking through clear water which +produces about all of the seven prismatic colors, red, orange, yellow, +green, blue, purple and violet. + +Paralysis of nerves, and muscles of the eyes, producing amblyopia. +Pupils contracted and do not respond to light. + +Eyesight lost with feeling as if in consequence of long exposure to +strong, arc-electric lights. + +Neck and Back: Numb, pithy or woody feeling about and in the spine. + +Lower Extremities: Loss of power to control movements of body or limbs. + +Swaying, staggering gait. + +Reflex action of tendon-patella lost. + +General: Weakness and insecurity of all powers of locomotion. + +Feeling of intoxication, with almost entire loss of vision. + +Amblyopia: sense of touch greatly weakened. + + (From the _Kansas City Star_.) + +The loco weed of the Western plains is to vegetation what the +rattlesnake is to animal life. The name comes from the Spanish and +signifies insanity. It is a dusky green and grows in small bunches or +handfuls and scatters itself in a sparse and meagre way about the +country. It is in short a vegetable nomad and travels about not a +little. Localities where it this season flourishes in abundance may not +see any of it next year, nor indeed for a number of years to come. + +The prime property of the loco is to induce insanity in men or animals +who partake of it. Animals--mules, horses, sheep and cattle--avoid it +naturally, and under ordinary circumstances never touch it. But in the +winter, when an inch or two of snow has covered the grass, these green +bunches of loco standing clear and above the snow are tempting bits to +animals which are going about half starved at the best. Even then it is +not common for them to eat it. Still, some do and it at once creates an +appetite in the victim similar in its intense force to the alcohol habit +in mankind. + +Once started on the downward path of loco a mule will abandon all other +forms of food and look for it. In a short time its effects become +perfectly apparent. You will see a locoed mule standing out on the +shadowless plain with not a living, moving thing in his vicinity. His +head is drooping and his eyes are half closed. On the instant he will +kick and thresh out his heels in the most warlike way. Under the +influence of loco he sees himself surrounded by multitudes of +threatening ghosts and is repelling them. + +The mind of the animal is completely gone. He cannot be driven or worked +because of his utter lack of reason. He will go right or left or turn +around in the harness in spite of bits or whip, or will fail to start or +stop, and all in a vacant, idiotic way devoid of malice. The victim +becomes as thin physically as mentally, and after retrograding four or +five months at last dies, the most complete wreck on record. Many +gruesome tales are furnished of cruel Spanish and Mexican ladies who, in +a jealous fit, have locoed their American admirers through the medium of +loco tea. Two or three cases in kind are reported in the Texas lunatic +asylum. + + +OENTHE CROCATA. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh root is macerated in two parts by weight of +alcohol. + + (The following paper on _OEnanthe crocata_ was kindly + sent to the editor by Dr. W. A. Dewey, of the Ann Arbor + University, Michigan): + +_OEnanthe crocata_ belongs to the large family of the Umbelliferæ +which furnishes us with _Conium_ and _Cicuta_. It grows in marshy +localities in England and France. In Botanical works of the 16th and +17th centuries it was often confounded with _Cicuta virosa_, an error +which has even been made in more recent times, in fact, only one +Botanist of the 19th century described the plant with sufficient +exactness for its recognition, and that was DeLobel, who published his +Botany in 1851. It is one of the largest plants of the family, being 3 +to 5 feet high. Our tincture is from the fresh root. + +HISTORICAL.--_OEnanthe_ was known to Galen and Dioscorides, and +numerous citations might be made to show that the drug was used from the +earliest times in various affections, affections that nearly every drug +was tried in, but it is in the "Cyanosura Materia Medica of Boecler, +published in 1729," that we first find a hint as to its true action. +"Those who ate much of it were taken with dark vertigos, going from one +place to another, swaying, frightened, turning in a circle as Lobilus +pretends to have seen." + +Hahnemann, in his "Apotheker Lexicon" (Leipzig, 1793), says of the drug: +"It is said that the whole plant is poisonous and causes vertigo, +stupefaction, loss of force, convulsions, delirium, stiffness, +insensibility, falling of the hair, and taken in large quantities will +cause death." + +He says further: "That, administered with great circumspection, it +should prove useful in certain varieties of delirium, vertigos and +cramps." + +This is interesting coming from Hahnemann at the time when he had +discovered the law, but had not as yet given it to the world. + +_OEnanthe_ was considered in the last century as one of the most +pernicious plants of Europe, especially for cattle, who, having eaten +it, can neither vomit nor digest it and they soon die in convulsions; +this from the root, however, as they eat the leaves with impunity. It is +interesting to note that animals poisoned with it decompose rapidly. + +Much of the following study is taken from a series of excellent papers +on the drug, which have been appearing for over a year in "Le Journal +Belge D'Homoeopathie," from the pen of Dr. Ch. DeMoor, of Alost, +Belgium. + +GENERAL ACTION.--From a very large collection of observations of cases +of poisoning with _OEnanthe_, dating from 1556 to the present time and +recorded in "Allen's Encyclopædia," the "Cyclopædia of Drug +Pathogenesy," and in the article of Dr. DeMoor, above mentioned, we find +that _OEnanthe crocata_ produces, almost invariably, convulsions of an +epileptiform character and which are marked by the following symptoms: + +Swollen, livid face, sometimes pale. + +Frothing at mouth. + +Contraction of chest and oppressed breathing. + +Dilated pupils or irregular. Eyeballs turned upward. + +Coldness of the extremities. + +Pulse weak. + +Convulsions are especially severe, at first tonic then clonic. + +Locked jaws. + +Trembling and twitching of muscles. + +_OEnanthe_ also produces a delirium in which the patient becomes as if +drunken, there is stupefaction, obscuration of vision and fainting. + +The Greek name of the plant signifies "wine flower," and so-called on +account of its producing a condition similar to wine drunkenness, and +there is a difference, so I have heard, between wine and other beverages +in this respect. Hiccoughs are also produced by the drug. + +There is also great heat in the throat and stomach and a desire to vomit +and to have stool, and a great deal of weakness of the limbs and +cardialgia. Like other members of the same family, as _Conium_, it +produces very much vertigo, this has always been present in the cases of +poisoning with the plant. In a number of cases who had been poisoned by +the drug the hair and nails fell out. + +HOMOEOPATHIC ACTION AND APPLICABILITY.--The uses of _OEnanthe_, +homoeopathically, have been taken from the reports above mentioned; +the drug has never been proved, and it is doubtful if one could be found +who would prove it to the convulsion-producing extremity. All the +evidence in all the authorities shows clearly that the drug produces in +man all the symptoms of epilepsy, and it is in that disease that +clinical testimony is gradually accumulating. Accepting the theory that +epilepsy is a disturbance or irritation in the cortex of the brain, it +would seem that _OEnanthe crocata_, which produces congestion of the +pia mater, would prove a close pathological simillimum to epilepsy. Its +usefulness in this disease is unmistakable and only another proof of the +truth of the homoeopathic law. + +Let us review briefly some of the evidence of its action: Dr. S. H. +Talcott, in the report of the Middletown Asylum, 1893, notes that +_OEnanthe_ possesses a marked power in epilepsy, stating that it makes +the attack less frequent, less violent and improves the mental state of +the patient. He prescribes it in the tincture, 1 to 6 drops daily. + +In the Materia Medica Society of New York its use has been verified +several times. Dr. Paige greatly benefited a case with the 3x potency. + +Dr. F. H. Fisk reports the cure of a case which had lasted two years, +with the tincture. This case during the last month before the doctor +took it was having from 6 to 10 attacks daily. + +Dr. Garrison, of Easton, Pa., reports a case of reflex uterine or +hystero-epilepsy in which the 2x acted promptly. + +Allen in his Hand-Book mentions the cure of three cases with the remedy. + +Dr. J. Ritchie Horner reports that the remedy greatly modified the +attacks in a lady who had had the disease over 20 years, and who, for +the two months previous, had had a convulsion daily. He used the 3x. + +Dr. J. S. Cooper, of Chillicothe, Ohio, reports the cure of a case of 25 +years' standing with the 4x. + +Dr. Henderson reports the cure of a case of 9 years' standing, where the +patient was almost idiotic; the convulsions were relieved and the mental +condition was greatly relieved and improved. In two other cases equally +satisfactory results were had. + +Dr. D. A. Baldwin, of Englewood, N. J., entirely controlled the +convulsions in a young man of 16 with _OEnanthe_. + +Dr. Ord reports a case of petit mal cured with the 3x, and in a South +American homoeopathic journal a Dr. Rappaz reports the cure of a case +of three years' standing with increasing seizures with the remedy in +doses ranging from the 6 to the 12. + +The late Dr. W. A. Dunn reported a genuine cure of a young girl of 16 +who had been epileptic for 7 years, latterly having as many as 4 or 5 +attacks during a night. The remedy caused these attacks to entirely +disappear. The girl commenced menstruating at 12, so the establishment +of the menses had nothing to do with the cure. + +Dr. Charles A. Wilson, of San Antonio, Texas, reports a number of cases +cured with _OEnanthe_ in the 3x dilution, and the same potency greatly +lessened the number of seizures in others. + +Dr. Purdon, of the University of Dublin, relates a case of epilepsy +cured with this drug in 1 to 6 drop doses several times a day. + +Dr. F. E. Howard, in a case which had 3 or 4 attacks a week, gave 5 +drops of the tincture every two hours, which caused violent pains in the +head, but complete recovery followed on reducing the dose. + +Several cases of the cure of epilepsy with _OEnanthe_ in alternation +with _Silicea_ or some other drug have been reported, but as the +question, "which cured?" comes in they need not be given. + +In my own practice I have had some marked results from its action and +have seen it modify attacks when everything else failed. In two cases, +one a boy of 13 who had had the disease 5 years and who had suffered +much of many sphincter-stretching orificialists and "lots of other +things," the remedy made a complete cure; the other case was in a man of +30 who had the grand mal, the petit mal and the epileptic vertigo. +_OEnanthe_ removed entirely the two former conditions leaving only the +latter, and that in a very mild degree. It also greatly improved the +mental condition of the patient. + +I have several cases under treatment at the present time, and some of +them are showing a marked effect from its use. The question of dose I +believe to be an important one. I used generally the tincture in water, +but latterly I have been using the third, and I believe with better +effect than I ever obtained with the tincture, and I am now of the +opinion that the lower dilutions, say from the 3 to the 12, will be +found more efficacious than the tincture, and the higher potencies will +suit certain cases. In order to prescribe the drug with accuracy +provings will be necessary to develop its finer symptomatology. + + +PARAFFINE. + +PREPARATION.--The purified Paraffin is triturated in the usual way. + +(This proving was made by Dr. Wahle, of Germany, who was the chemist of +Hahnemann. He never published it, but gave the manuscript to his son, +who in his turn gave it to Dr. Held, now a practicing physician in Rome. +Dr. Held at the request of his colleagues translated it into Italian and +it appeared in the medical journal, _L'Omiopatia in Italia_, from which +this article is translated and slightly condensed. The remedy is used by +the homoeopaths of Rome and found to be valuable in uterine and other +troubles, indicated by the proving. It is particularly serviceable in +constipation.) + +PROVING OF PARAFFINE. + +HEAD. + +Weight in the head. + +Bruised feeling in the left side of the occiput. + +Head heavy and dull; a feeling when leaning forward as if a weight fell +toward the forehead. + +Pulsation in the head. + +Pressing pain in the head, extending from the vertex toward the forehead +as if something would come out. + +Pricking, stinging in the head, extending to the left temporal bone. + +Pain as of a contusion in occiput. + +At 9 o'clock in the morning there comes a pain in the left side of the +vertex as if a nail were being driven into the head, with extension of +the pain to the left lower jaw. + +Touching the left side of the head causes pain as if the part were +crushed and a feeling as if the whole side of the head were soft and +spongy. + +Twisting and wrenching in the sinciput so that he must lie down; having +lain down a quarter of an hour, and having placed the right hand under +the head, there was experienced a feeling of painless shock so that the +hand under the head was drawn away and the legs were thrown down from +the sofa. Soon afterward occurred severe palpitation of the heart. + +Twisting and wrenching in the whole head, as well as the face. + +Feeling as of knife stabs under the right temporal bone extending into +the right eye and becoming worse on bending over. On the outside of the +forehead a pressing pain which seems to thrust inward, passing, in half +an hour, into the inside of the head. + +Painful pulsation in the forehead, which gradually disappears when lying +down, but becomes worse when bending over. + +The left side of the head and face suffer most; pains stinging and +twisting, often going and returning at the same time. + +Twisting in the left side of the head and face; the teeth of the same +side ache as if they would fall out. + +On touching the vertex the skin pains as if it were suppurating, in the +afternoon. + +Sticking in the forehead extending into the nose. + +The skin of the head feels soft on being touched or as if suppuration +was going on underneath it. + +Falling out of the hair. + +EYES. + +Throbbing and sticking over the right eyebrow laterally and from +without, extending into the lower jaw and there disappearing. + +Stinging pains above the left eye and toward the temple. + +Raised spots upon the cornea. + +The eyes seem as if there was a veil before them in the morning. + +In the morning the eyelids are closed with mucus; dry mucus in the +internal angles of the eyes. + +Itching in the internal angles of the eyes which ceases a moment on +rubbing, but a sore pain remains and very soon the itching returns +again. + +Pressing pains under the right upper eyelids as if some foreign body had +gotten in. + +Pain under the upper eyelids as if from the prick of a needle. + +The eyelids are red, as after crying. + +Pain as of a wound in the external angle of the left eye, in the +morning. + +Itching of the eyelids, lasting the whole day. Rubbing relieves only for +a short time. + +A feeling in the eyes as if they had fat in them. + +A feeling in the eyes as if they were always moist. + +Eyes moist and tearful. + +The mucus in the internal angles of the eyes is cold and viscid. + +Lachrymation and itching of the eyes in the morning on rising. + +In the morning the left eye is closed with mucus and seems to have a +veil before it. + +A veil before the eyes or they feel as if they contained fat observed on +rubbing the eyes. + +The eyes are dim, she sees nothing, but feels everything; has sensation +as if all the limits were numb for five minutes toward evening. + +The eyes are pale; things seem to be seen through a veil. Little black +flies are seen before the eyes. + +Short vision on account of the many little black flies before the eyes. + +On fixing any object for some time the eyes become moist, as if a cold +wind was blowing into them, with a gentle itching. + +In the open air there seems to be a black veil before the eyes; objects +seen seem to be pale, with short vision. + +She sees objects as if in a mist. + +The white of the eye is full of blood; worse toward the external angle. + +FACE. + +Itching in the face as from urticaria, smooth red spots come out on the +face. + +EAR. + +Roaring in the right ear like the rumbling of a mill wheel, in the +afternoon. + +Gurgling in the left ear like the beating of the pulse. + +Ringing in both ears, in the morning. + +Stinging and twisting in the left ear, with a feeling as if it was +stopped up. + +The odor of cordials is perceived. + +The nose is moist and there is frequent desire to blow it, but without +sneezing. + +Blood from the nose of a dark red color. + +TEETH. + +Tearing in the teeth on the right side of the jaw, extending to the ear +on the same side. It is not relieved until support is given to the +painful cheek. + +Stabbing pain in one of the left lower molar teeth. + +Twisting in the teeth, with stinging in the ear, which after some hours +affects the whole left side of the head and face, down to the lower jaw. + +Twisting pain in the lower teeth of the left side, affecting also the +temporal region, sleep is rendered thereby impossible. + +MOUTH AND THROAT. + +In the evening there appeared under the upper lip, upon the gum, a hard +painless tumor which broke of itself during the night. + +Mouth full of saliva; she was obliged to spit constantly, lasting for +twenty-four hours. + +Voice hollow and harsh. + +Mouth feels sticky. + +Dryness of the throat, the fauces are as if they were dried up, but +without thirst. + +Sense of suffocation in the pharynx. + +The mouth is without taste and the appetite fails. + +Bitter taste in the mouth. + +Tongue slightly coated; dirty-white in color; chill, followed by dry +heat with thirst, which is soon followed by sweat, lasting a long time. + +STOMACH. + +Acid eructations some hours after eating. + +A constant feeling of satiety. + +Appetite good, but nothing seems to taste as it should. + +Inclination to vomit at 9 o'clock in the evening. + +After eating, repeated urging to vomit with expulsion of the ingested +food. + +Disturbance of the stomach with increase of saliva in the mouth as if +emesis must occur, with stinging pains in the forehead and cold over the +whole body, without thirst or feeling of heat following. + +Hunger almost all the time. + +Pain across the stomach as if a blow had been received. + +The pain persists even after thirty-six hours. + +On account of the severe pain in the stomach can only breathe slowly and +carefully. + +The pains in the stomach extend to the chest, causing oppression +thereof, and then pass into the shoulders, with much belching and +alternating pains in the throat and in the spine. + +Great sensibility of the stomach; cannot draw the vest together. + +In walking, a feeling of relaxation in the region of the stomach as if +there was a sore in it which was causing pain. + +Smoking soon causes pain in the stomach and tobacco is distasteful. + +Pain as if from a beating in the region of the stomach; she wished to +gape and was obliged to support the region of the stomach with the hand, +thereupon arose a fixed pain in the left hypochondrium as if some of the +parts were being twisted. + +Chill, heat and sweat, frequently alternating. The stomach swells up +like a ball and forces itself upwards; hard and very painful to the +touch; there is also very little appetite. + +When the pains in the stomach subside, those in the teeth also +disappear, as if there was a causal relation between the two. + +Weight in the stomach as if there was a stone placed upon it, in the +morning, evening and after dinner during the time of digestion, that is +from half an hour to an hour after meals. + +Sometimes there occurs palpitation of the heart in connection with these +stomach symptoms, so severe that he is often incapacitated from doing +anything whatever. + +After breakfast, between nine and ten o'clock, griping and drawing with +crawling in the stomach, which extends into the chest and between the +shoulders, causing oppression of the chest with a sense of heat. + +The face and hands become hot and red and there is hot sweat upon the +upper part of the body, especially upon the forehead. + +ABDOMEN. + +Sense of lassitude in the abdomen which grows less when the parts are +supported. + +Swelling of the abdomen and nausea as if about to vomit. + +Feeling in the abdomen as if he had been disemboweled; he wishes to +walk fast which causes the parts to pain severely. + +Cutting pains in the abdomen so that he was unable to sleep the whole +night. + +In the morning at 9 o'clock, colicky pains in the abdomen which ceased +after some minutes and a quantity of white mucus issued from the vagina; +these attacks are often repeated. + +Under the umbilicus, a cutting pain as if caused by a sharp knife, +extending down to the genitals. + +Colicky pains for some hours internal to the umbilicus with a painful +sensation as if a cord was bound around the abdomen above the stomach, +lasting ten minutes. + +A griping sensation in the region of the umbilicus extending to the +spine. + +When sitting, spasmodic pains in the lower portion of the abdomen +extending into the rectum and coccyx. After long sitting the pains are +relieved, but walking makes them worse so that the body must be held in +a slightly curved position. + +Toward six in the afternoon, griping and cutting internal to the +umbilicus with nausea, afterward vomiting of acid water and at the end a +little food, with twisting pains in the vertex and temples; dryness of +the mouth with much thirst. + +Wrenching pains in the calves extending into the toes and preventing +sleep the whole night; she does not know where to put her legs. + +At 10 o'clock in the evening, without having supped, the abdomen +suddenly swelled as if she had eaten to excess; before and during the +attack flat and viscid taste in the mouth. She went to bed in this +condition and on waking in the morning the attack was entirely gone, the +bowels, however, refused to move. + +Painless swelling of the abdomen lasting twenty-four hours. + +Abdomen hard; tense and swollen with painless rumblings unaccompanied +with belching of wind; he goes to bed with these symptoms, but they are +gone in the morning. + +However, there remains a constrictive pain below the ribs, passing +across the stomach with much thirst. Five hours later there occurred +alvine discharges; the first was very hard with much tenesmus, so that +the whole abdomen was retracted; the last discharges were fluid, +abundant and without tenesmus, in consequence of which the swelling of +the abdomen went down a little. + +The pains disappear, however, with redness of the face, alternating with +cold sweat. + +Standing and walking soon bring back the symptoms again. + +Pressing the arm against the stomach and squeezing it relieved the pain +and then she was able to breathe deeply, which she could not do +otherwise. + +Stomach swollen in the afternoon; went to bed at 10 o'clock and slept +one hour, awoke with urging to vomit and soon after threw up acid water +and the food taken the preceding day. + +Griping in the abdomen, extending down into the rectum, with a feeling +as if this organ was ligated; she feels so weak that she has to support +herself to keep from falling, with cold sweat in the face, lasting half +an hour. + +Severe itching in the abdomen which ceases and is always followed by +copious white expectoration, with flashes of heat in the face and great +weakness. + +At first coldness in the feet, then stinging and pressing pains in the +right hypochondrium. From here the pains pass to the stomach with +swelling of the abdomen; then they extend up the spine to the shoulders. + +Spasmodic, stabbing pains, one after the other, in the Mons Veneris, +when standing on her feet she has a desire to put one foot over the +other. + +A spasmodic pain in the left inguinal region as of incarcerated wind, +which extends upward across the abdomen, causing a painful spot in the +region of the spleen. + +STOOL. + +Bowels confined for two days and very hard; the evacuation occurs in +small pieces. + +No evacuation for three days, the abdomen seems very full, as if much +had been eaten, with loss of appetite. + +Evacuations accompanied with stinging, cutting pains in the rectum which +persist more than an hour, with vehement tenesmus. + +Obstinate constipation in children is readily cured. + +The child has a movement only once in three or four days, accompanied +with severe pain in the anus. + +Frequent desire for stool without result. + +Stools hard but occurring every day. + +After going for three days without stool he is obliged to remain an hour +before expelling anything and becomes very much fatigued. + +Evacuations hard as nuts expelled with much difficulty, with spasmodic +pains in the intestines; the feces escape in small pieces. + +Chronic constipation with hemorrhoids and continual urging to stool +without result. + +URINARY ORGANS, ETC. + +Often passes much urine. + +Frequent desire to pass urine after cramps in the stomach. + +Was obliged to urinate three times in the space of four hours, but only +a small quantity each time; otherwise she only urinated once during the +same length of time and with strangury. + +Urine very hot and light colored. + +Passes much urine and after a quarter of an hour passes an equally large +quantity, although she had drunk but little. + +Slight itching and burning in the vulva when not urinating. + +Feeling of heat in the vulva. + +Very hot urine causing heat at the vulva. + +Very hot urine with burning pain at the vulva. + +The menstruation appears several days too late. + +The blood is black and abundant. + +The menstrual blood is reddish-black. + +The menstruation comes on six days too soon, when on the feet the blood +flows continuously. + +During the menstruation she feels cold externally and hot internally and +must drink a great deal. + +Cutting pains through the body on the second day of the menstruation. + +White fluid discharge like milk coming away in drops. + +Very profuse white discharge, leaving white and gray spots on the linen, +with itching in the abdomen. + +The white discharge has a sweetish odor. + +A chronic rattling in the throat causes a dry cough. + +The whole chest pains as if compressed, and when breathing, sharp +stabbing pains traverse the chest, worse on the left side. + +Stinging in the chest which prevents him from taking a long breath. + +Pain in the region of the diaphragm as if it was inflamed; when gaping, +drawing pains under the right ribs, extending as far as the spine; they +come and go frequently and are aggravated by respiration. + +Stabbing pains one after another in the upper portion of the left +breast, worse when breathing, lasting half an hour. + +Stinging pains under the false ribs on the left side which grow on lying +down, on external pressure and on deep respiration with flashes of heat. + +Twisting pains in the left breast. + +The nipples pain on touching them, as if they were sore inside. + +BACK. + +Pains in the spine, extending into the lumbar vertebræ and then into +both sides above the crests of the ilia and into the inguinal regions, +where a pain as of inflammation is felt. + +The dorsal pains are increased by bending. + +Pains in the spine as if it had been injured, as bad during repose as +when in motion. + +Drawing and stinging between the shoulders with oppression of breath. + +Drawing pains between the shoulders, extending downward along the spine, +toward the liver and upward into the chest; then the respiration becomes +oppressed and frequent shooting pains traverse the entire body. + +In the left axilla, an electric shock which shakes the whole body, and +in all the joints there occurs a trembling, such as might be produced by +an electric machine, and which causes each time a sensation of fear. + +UPPER EXTREMITIES. + +The whole right arm, but principally the axilla, feels as if it had been +dislocated by a blow. + +Stabbing pain under the right arm toward the breast. + +The right arm feels heavy and she cannot lift it well; feels a sensation +of numbness as if the clothing was too tight, with turgescence of the +veins. + +The muscles of the forearm seem to grow large and have a feeling of +stiffness. + +Wrenching pains in the elbow joints. + +Wrenching pains in the joints of the left hand. + +Pains as if from fatigue in both loins, when ascending the stairs. + +Drawing and cutting pains from one iliac crest to the other as if a +knife had traversed the abdomen; often intermitting and always +returning. + +LOWER EXTREMITIES. + +Painful tension in the muscles of the thigh as if a long walk had been +taken. + +Wrenching pain on the outside of the right knee extending down the +right side of the leg to the malleolus, from thence into the heel, where +it ceases. + +Trembling of the legs from the knees to the toes so that there is +difficulty in walking or raising the feet. + +Tearing pains in the calves of the legs, with a feeling of heat, +extending down to the toes; the palms of the hands and soles of the feet +are very hot. + +Tearing pains in the articulations of the feet and in the toes, for +several hours. + +The back and soles of the feet are swollen, after thirty-four hours, +with tearing pains in the ankles and soles of the feet on account of +which, though very tired, he was not able to sleep. + +A feeling as of electric shocks in all the joints. + +GENERALITIES. + +General weariness lasting several days. + +When sitting down, a feeling as if the whole body were swaying to and +fro. + +At 4 o'clock in the afternoon great fatigue with profuse cold sweat and +somnolence for two hours. + +Much of the hair falls out. + +Pulse weak and thready and increased in frequency. + +Frequent gaping with great somnolence. + +Continued yawning, although the joints of the jaw are painful. + +She would like to sleep all the time, day and night. + +She cannot keep awake and goes to sleep in her chair; her feet go to +sleep. + +After having passed the night rolling around in bed without waking and +passing from one dream to another, she wakes at 5 o'clock, the bed +clothing thrown aside and without her night cap, a thing which had never +happened to her before. + +Sensual lascivious dreams. + + +PARTHENIUM HYSTEROPHORUS. + +NAT. ORD., Synanthereæ. + +COMMON NAME, "Bitter broom." Escoba amaya. + +PREPARATION.--The dry plant is macerated in five parts by weight of +alcohol. + + (Dr. Edward Fornias contributed to the _Homoeopathic + Recorder_, 1886, two papers on this remedy. The first + gave the results of physiological experiments; the second + is a résumé of those results, including the proving by + Dr. B. H. B. Sleght, as follows:) + +_Résumé of Symptoms._--If we boil down the matter, extracting only the +symptoms and changes observed during the above experiments with +_Parthenina_, we have the following: _Heaviness and dulness of head, +tendency to vertigo, malaise, apathy, lassitude, profuse and very fluid +salivation, sensation of heat and weight in the stomach, increased +appetite, gastric intolerance, nausea and vomiting. Increased stupor, +desire to be quiet, refusal of food, and indifference. Excitation of the +heart beats, or slow beating of the heart; depressed circulation, or +general functional activity; pulse accelerated, or slow, weak, soft, +compressible, without dicrotism; progressive slowing of the pulse, +followed by syncope, cardiac paralysis_ (and death). _Accelerated, or +slow, irregular breathing_ (_Cheyne-Stokes_); _rise and fall of +temperature, tremors, shivering, diminished perspiration; dilation of +the pupils; convulsions_ (clonic and tonic); _muscular relaxation, +anæsthesia and increased urine and saliva. _The kidneys were found +enlarged and congested, with evident signs of sanguineous stasis. The +process of coagulation of the blood was retarded. The red corpuscles +increased in volume. There was a fall of the blood-pressure, and +vascular dilatation_ (of reflex origin). _The heart was found arrested +in diastole, and the brain anæmic. A marked diminution of reflex action +in the hips and extinction of the voluntary movements_, were noticed. +Also a transient excitement of the voluntary movements. And finally the +sensibility and the muscular contractility were diminished._ + +CASES CURED BY PARTHENINA.--In regard to the therapeutic value of +_Parthenina_, little is known as yet, but the plant from which this +alkaloid is derived, as said before, has been employed for years in +Cuba, both by the people and profession, against fevers of a paludal +origin. + +Dr. Ramirez Tovar has reported in several numbers of the _Cronica +Médico-Quirúrgica_, of Havana, the following cases treated by him with +_Parthenina_, with the best results: + +CASE I.--"A lady living in the lower part of the city, where the rain +always leaves constant channels of infection, was suffering with _daily +attacks of intermittent_, which grew more intense every day. She +received 1 gram of the salt, divided in six powders, to be taken one +every hour after the attack. The next day she had no chill, and the +thermometer indicated the absence of fever. She was nursing at the time, +and stated that she had noticed a marked increase of milk in her +breasts; 50 centigrams more, in doses, were given to her, and the fever +did not return again." + +CASE II.--"A tailor, 30 years of age, had moved to the lower part of the +city and contracted a _tertian intermittent_. He had four paroxysms +before the doctor saw him, the last one being _attended by much pain in +the left hypochondrium_. He received 1 gram, in 5 doses. There was +apyrexia on the day the attack was due, and this did not return again. +This man continued to live in the same house, under the same regimen and +hygienic conditions." + +CASE III,--"A little girl, 6 years of age, lymphatic constitution, +living near the beach of the harbor, was brought to Dr. Ramirez Tovar's +clinic, suffering for 17 days with _malaise, loss of appetite, +sleepiness and fever_. She had taken quinine, both internally and +externally, with little benefit, and _was wasting away notably_. At 4 +P.M. she commenced to take 50 centigrams of the salt, in 8 doses, and +the next day at the same hour the thermometer indicated a fall from +39.5° C. of the previous day to 38.5° C. The mother was ordered to +repeat the medicine at longer intervals, but for want of means the child +did not take any more. On the 4th or 5th day the temperature went up to +39.5° again, then she was provided with the medicine, and 3 days later +the temperature was normal. The action of the alkaloid was aided here by +a tonic wine prepared from the extract of the plant." + +CASE IV.--"A man 45 years of age, _of delicate constitution, poorly +nourished, with a straw yellow face, yellow sclerotics, enlarged liver +and spleen, the latter somewhat painful to pressure_, who had contracted +_intermittent fever_ while in Panama, and had taken quinine, was +complaining, when Dr. Ramirez Tovar saw him (middle part of December), +_of a pain in the right side_ (more severe in some points than in +others), which commenced at 1 P.M., with _shiverings_, and which +disappeared after two hours to return again the next day at precisely +the same time and with the same symptoms. He received 1 gram of +_Parthenina_, in 5 doses, one every hour, right after the cessation of +the pain. He was seen by the doctor the next day at 4 P.M., and up to +that time the pain had not returned. He took then 50 centigrams more, in +5 doses, one every hour, and was free of pain until the latter part of +January, when he again consulted the doctor, this time the _pain being +located in the stomach_, for which _Parthenina_ was repeated (1 gram in +5 doses, one every two hours). The next day the pain had ceased, but +returned on the third, and he again received 1 gram, in the same manner +as before, and since then he has been free from pain." + +CASE V.--"A young lady, 18 years of age, complained of _facial neuralgia +with periodical exacerbations_, from which she was suffering four days. +She received 1 gram of _Parthenina_, in 5 doses, one every hour, and on +the following day she was entirely free from pain. Fifty centigrams +more, in 4 doses, were given to this lady to prevent a relapse, and the +result was a complete cure." + +And to finish this report, I will mention a case which came under my +notice: "A little girl, my niece, 5 years old, living in Havana, who, +when seen by the late Dr. Govantes, of that city, had been suffering for +some time before from _a continued fever, with periodical mid-day +exacerbations, which later on, assumed an intermittent type_. She had +been saturated with _quinine_, and complained, at the time, of +_malaise_, _lassitude_, _languor_, _headache_, _loss of appetite_, +_gastric intolerance_, _etc._ The temperature went up as high as 40.6° +C. during the hot stage, which was short and was followed by copious +sweats, giving relief. _Parthenium hysterophorus_ in the form of an +extract, prepared and sold at Dr. Villavicenci's Pharmacy, in Havana, +was prescribed by Dr. Govantes. Three doses a day, each of the size of a +pea, dissolved in water, were given for 4 or 5 days, and at the end of +that time she was entirely free of fever and made a quick recovery." + +If such results can be ascribed to _Parthenium_ and its alkaloid +_Parthenina_, I think it would be unjustifiable to set them aside. An +early proving of the plant will not only enhance our therapeutic +resources, but prevent the non-scrupulous from employing it empirically. + + * * * * * + +Proving of _Parthenium hysterophorus_, Dr. B. H. B. Sleght. + +February 12th.--Until a few days ago had a slight continuous toothache +due to a cavity in last molar of lower jaw; cavity recently filled. +General health has been excellent for some time. + +7:40 A.M. Took 5 drops of tincture. At once have a full feeling in head, +especially vertex, pressing from within. + +7:45. Ringing in ears, < left. + +7:50. Took 10 drops. Ringing and fulness continue and become worse. + +7:58. Upper teeth feel "on edge," with slight prickling pains in +sockets, which slowly grow more severe. + +8:00. Breakfast; above symptoms continue, but grow less severe. + +8:10. Loud rumbling in bowels; irrepressible eructations, tasteless. + +8:20. 20 drops. A "shivery" feeling runs over limbs and back as this is +taken. Singing in ears had ceased but begins again, as does the +rumbling. + +8:40. "Goneness" in epigastrium, singing ceases; some fulness in head +remains. + +8:45. Same feeling in teeth as above; singing in ears; head thick, +heavy. + +8:50. Sharp, aching twinges in upper molars; some sharp pains in ears. +Pulse 72. + +9:10. 25 drops. + +9:15. Stitching pain in left temple, of short duration. Upper incisors +tender at sockets when biting. + +9:25. Sudden pain in upper teeth with lachrymation, < pressing jaws +together. + +9:45. 25 drops. + +9:55. Aching pain at left supra-orbital foramen. On going into open air +no symptoms but taste of drug and fulness of head. A tooth filled +yesterday aches slightly, same as before filling. + +11:15. 60 drops. Renewed fulness of head. Pulse 76. + +11:30. Goneness in epigastrium; vertigo while sitting, with heat of face +and blurred vision. Aching at supra-orbital foramen (left), extending to +root of nose and becoming more severe there, > eyes closed. Feel dull, +stupid. Goneness comes and goes; hunger. + +11:45. Aching at lower edge of right ear spreads over side of face; ear +feels plugged up. Am drowsy, eyes "heavy;" goneness and unusual craving +for food. + +11:50. Prickling in skin of back of wrists and hands. A twinge of pain +at right infraorbital foramen, gradually increases; cannot fix attention +on what I am reading. Hard, painful lump in epigastrium; better after +eructations tasting of drug. Slight nausea with some relief. + +12 M. 60 drops. Requires much effort to fix attention while counting +drops. + +12:15 P.M. Head heavy, brain feels loose. + +12:30. Stitching pain at lobe of left ear and deep in and above external +auditory meatus. + +12:45. Dinner. + +1:45. 75 drops. + +1:50. Hard lump in epigastrium. Head feels as if in a vise. During P.M. +only "goneness" and continued taste of drug. + +9:00 P.M. 100 drops, followed at once by sudden stitching pains in left +frontal eminence, which soon cease. + +9:10. Pain in frontal eminence has returned and continues. Teeth "on +edge" and tenderness at sockets. Upper incisors ache as after filling. +Teeth feel too long. + +9:30. Lump in epigastrium. Severe plunging pain in left frontal +eminence. + +9:45. Stabbing pain runs up rectum after passing flatus. + +Mushy stool at 10:30 P.M. (Usually have passage at 10 A.M.; to-day no +desire.) + +February 13th.--Passed restless night, waking at 3 or 4 o'clock, then +dozing and dreaming until 7:30; rose with throbbing deep in brain, as if +it would push through top of head; "big" head, > after moving +about and washing face. 7:45. 120 drops. 7:55. Breakfast. 8:20. Aching +in eyeballs. No further symptoms all day. + +9:30 P.M. 5 drops. 9:35. 5 drops. + +Same tenderness at sockets of upper incisors when biting. + +9:40. 5 drops. Sudden darting pains in right, then in left frontal +eminence, with dull heaviness in forehead, gradually increasing. + +9:45. 5 drops. Sudden return of pain in frontal eminence. Fulness and +aching in ears, coming suddenly. Upper teeth all ache, and feel too +long. + +9:50. 5 drops. Beating ache in middle of forehead. Bursting pain in +right malar bone. Tingling in tip of tongue. Sudden motion increases +frontal pain. + +9:55. 5 drops. Slight colicky pain at navel. Eructations of drug. + +10:00. 5 drops. Same frontal pain, and brief feeling as if blood would +burst through face; this returns in a few minutes, especially about nose +and root of nose. + +10:05. 5 drops. Same frontal pain, and head feels swelled. Pulse, 72. + +10:10. 5 drops. Heart-beat all over head, < motion, and over +eyes. + +10:15. 5 drops. Splitting pain over both ears in spots the size of +silver dollar. + +10:20. Must look intently to see the words; as I write, letters look +pale and eyes ache. + +10:25. 5 drops. Eructations tasting of drug. Colicky pains about navel. + +10:30. 5 drops. Aching in left lower molars. + +10:35. 5 drops. Stabbing pain in left ear. Teeth "on edge." + +10:50. All the upper jaw aches, especially at sockets of teeth and on +biting. Fulness and pressure in ears. Temples feel as if in a vise. All +symptoms < after going up stairs. + +February 14th.--Again awoke early, 3 or 4 A.M., and rose at 7:30, after +a dreamful sleep, with headache. Felt better after going about. No +symptoms during day. + +February 15th.--Passed restless night. Fell asleep late, with headache +at vertex--a pushing out. Awoke at 4 or 5 A.M. heavy and stupid; then +again slept. + +February 17th.--5:00 A.M. Took 2-1/2 drachms. + +5:02. Eructations taste of drug. Goneness in epigastrium. Pulse, 72. +Some rumbling about navel. + +5:10. Head heavy; pressure at right frontal eminence, which increases to +sharp, penetrating pain, going to root of nose, then to end of nose, +where it is most severe. At root of nose, stuffed feeling, as with dry +coryza. Pain in nose gets more and more severe; restlessness succeeds; +never had such a pain; seems now all in bones of nose and worse on left +side. Forehead has ceased to ache. Pain seems to start from +supra-orbital foramen now. + +5:15. Upper incisors commence to ache. Aching and bursting pain in nose +remains; nose feels swollen. Teeth "on edge." Epigastric goneness. + +5:25. Sharp pain in left upper and lower molars. Pain in nose has +ceased. Bursting pain in left frontal eminence. Upper molars tender at +sockets. + +February 23d.--12:30. Took 6 No. 40 pills saturated with 6x dil. 2:00 +P.M. Same dose. 4:20. Same. 5:00. Sharp, aching pain deep in left ear, +gradually grows worse. + +5:10. Singing and dull aching in right ear. + +5:15. Singing and a pushing out in left ear. Fulness of frontal +eminences; thence pains go to root of nose and nose becomes tender to +touch. Sharp pain again deep in right ear. Aching of "bridge" of nose +and of upper left molars. Hands feel numb, especially dorsal aspects. +Rumbling in bowels about navel. Pain again at root of nose. Colic deep +in pelvis; pains run down back of thigh to knees. + +5:15. Pains again in frontal eminences. + +5:25. Aching over eyes; feel like closing them; aching pains run up from +above left eye-tooth to eye and over face; occurs by starts and stops. +Frontal headache and pains down nose recur at intervals. + +5:30. Aching, very severe, at the left side of "bridge" of nose. Sharp +stitch deep in left ear. Throbbing in vertex. Sockets of upper teeth +tender. Aching at end of nose, which feels full of blood. + +5:45. 6 pellets. All pains continue as above. Brain seems loose, +< moving head. Front of head feels big. + +6:00. P.M. Stabbing deep in left ear, < by pressing teeth +together. + +6:30. Various pains gradually subside. + + +PASSIFLORA INCARNATA. + +NAT. ORD., Passifloraceæ. + +COMMON NAME, Passion flower. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh leaves and flowers gathered in May are macerated +in two parts by weight of alcohol. A preparation may also be made from +the expressed juice of the fresh leaves. + + (There has been so much written concerning this unproved + remedy that we can only give an abstract of a part of it. + Dr. Lindsay, formerly of Bayou Gras, La., was the first + to call attention to it a few weeks before his death. He + wrote in answer to an inquiry as follows--Hale's New + Remedies): + +I have much to say. I am satisfied it is no narcotic. It never stupefies +or overpowers the senses. A patient under its full influence may be +wakened up, and he will talk to you as rationally as ever he did; leave +him a moment and he will soon be off to the Elysian Fields again. I have +tried it, my friend, in all sorts of neuralgic affections, and have +usually astonished my more enlightened patients with it. Many times I +have had them to ask me what in the world it was that had such a sweet +influence over them. + + (Dr. L. Phares, of Newtonia, Miss., states): + +I never saw anything act so promptly in erysipelas. I have used it with +advantage in ulcers, neuralgias and tetanus. I have seen wonderful +effects of it in relieving tetanus, and will mention one case from +memory: Some ten years ago I was called to see an old lady, in a distant +part of the country, who was reported to be "having fits." I found her +to be able to be up most of the time, but, while examining her, +convulsions came on, affecting mainly the trunkal muscles, and drawing +the head back. I gave her instantly a dose of _Passiflora_. The +convulsions subsided, and she has never had one since. I continued the +use of the medicine in small doses for a few days. I have used it in +treating tetanus in horses--a disease usually considered as inevitably +fatal to that noble animal. It has never failed to cure the horse. * * +During the late war, my son, Dr. J. H. Phares, had occasion many times +to prescribe the _Passiflora_ for tetanus in horses, with one invariable +result--prompt, perfect, permanent cure. He fortunately saw no case in +man. * * * Since the foregoing was written, I have treated with the +hydro-alcoholic extract of _Passiflora_ several cases of neuralgia, and +one of sleeplessness, with incessant motion and suicidal mania. With the +same extract during the current week, Dr. J. H. Phares has treated, with +the most prompt and satisfactory success, a very virulent and hopeless +case of tetanus, with ophisthotonos, trismus and convulsions, in a child +two years old. Other most potent remedies, in heroic doses, having +failed to produce any effect in this case, he thinks that nothing but +the _Passiflora_ could possibly have saved the child. + + (The editor of the _California Medical Journal_ (1889) + says): + +We have been employing it [_Passiflora_] in some cases of spinal +meningitis after the acute symptoms had subsided, when the patients were +unable to sleep, either day or night: could not endure the bed, and were +unable to maintain the sitting posture, with highly satisfactory +results. It is administered in small doses. Add ten drops of the mother +tincture (Homoeopathic) to half a tumbler of water; teaspoonful every +two hours. + + (At the meeting of the Homoeopathic Medical Society of + Delaware and Peninsula, November 14, 1889, Dr. W. D. Troy + read a paper on _Passiflora_ (see _Homoeopathic + Recorder_, May, 1890), from which we take the following): + +My erysipelatous case was a man of some fifty years. When first seen was +a-bed, high fever, facial erysipelas of the flaming, rampant sort, the +one eye had disappeared, the other was in rapid retreat. Patient in +great anxiety; sharp, stinging pains; could not rest. Was about to give +_Apis_ when I thought of my _Passion flower_. Gave two-drop doses of the +tincture every two hours. Put one-half an ounce of same into one quart +of water for local application, to be applied hot by flannels and oiled +silk. After six hours patient fell asleep; was awakened for medicine +every three hours during the night; went to sleep easily after each +dose. Said in morning he had had a night's good rest. Found inflammation +markedly reduced. I now changed the remedy--gave _Ham._, both internally +and externally. On next visit found patient every way worse. The disease +had sneaked across the scalp and invaded the whole face. The case began +to look serious. Returned to the _Passiflora_ and kept to it with the +most happy results. + +My next experience was in a Chorea--a girl budding into womanhood, but +in whom the menses had not yet appeared. Child was well developed for +her years, fourteen. I learned that for two or three years past the +child had "fits," varying at times from moderate to severe. The neurosis +was unilateral, the right side alone being affected. The child had had +traditional treatment, "off and on," for some time without manifest +improvement. I began with the _Passiflora_ 1x dil., 10 gtt. doses every +three hours. Kept it up for several days, the Choreic symptoms being not +quite so violent; still I was growing anxious--wanted more positive +results. Added daily a five-drop dose of tincture. After a few more days +the mother informed me that there had been a slight "show"--merely +enough to stain the diaper, and that for the last two days there had +been hardly any "fits." This was encouraging. I judged that the day of +deliverance was nigh. Very little more of the drug was given until about +the time for next menstrual flux. Then I resumed it with the most +satisfactory results. No nervous symptoms save such as are more or lest +common to all women at the "periods" subsequently prevailed. + + (The following case was reported by Dr. D. C. Buell + Dunlevy, of Port Chester, N. Y.--_Homoeopathic + Recorder_, Nov., 1890): + +Mr. D----, æt. 52, sent for me to attend him during the month of May. I +found him presenting all the prodromal symptoms of delirium tremens, and +at once ordered him to bed, and none too soon, as the event proved. For +seven days he tossed about in a wild delirium, which was greatly +aggravated by marked gastric irritation. I had him carefully watched, +both day and night, until the delirium wore off. The treatment up to +this time was _Cannabis Ind._ for the mental trouble and _Nux v._, which +greatly relieved the gastric symptoms. But the moment he began to +improve the old cravings for liquor and morphine returned. Right here +let me say that for years he has been a great sufferer from piles, and +the only rest he could get was to sit propped up in his chair. His +sufferings caused him to seek relief during the day in liquor, and at +nights in morphine. And this habit had so fastened itself upon him that +try as he might he could not give it up. When he came under my treatment +I at once put a stop to all stimulants and narcotics, but not without +considerable trouble, for he seemed determined to have them. Night after +night he would lie there calling for something to make him sleep, and +this kept up until he was bordering on a state of insanity. Fully +realizing that something must be done, and that quickly, too, I made up +my mind to try _Passiflora_. This I did, and from the time I gave him +the first dose improvement set in and has continued ever since. I at +first gave him a half teaspoonful of the [Greek: theta] at bed time, but +this not proving sufficient I increased it to a teaspoonful. He has now +been taking it almost constantly for a period of eight weeks and claims +he has not had as natural a sleep for years; and lays particular stress +on the fact that when he awakes in the morning he feels so refreshed and +his mind remains clear. But what seems even more wonderful is that from +the day he first took this drug up to the present he has never felt the +slightest desire to return to his former habits. The mere mention of +liquor or opium seems to sicken him, and I am fully satisfied that he is +now cured and will (so far as liquor and opium are concerned) remain so. +He now takes special delight in praising the drug to his friends, and +really seems never to tire talking about the wonderful help it has been +to him. I have also prescribed the drug to others for insomnia and +always with success, one case excepted, in which I gave it for +hemicrania, and here, although it quieted the patient, it failed to +produce the desired sleep. + + (The following is extracted from a paper on _Passiflora_, + by Dr. C. A. Walters, of Brooklyn. _Homoeopathic + Recorder_, July, 1890:) + +In April, 1888, was called to an infant, 14 months, convulsions, caused +by dentition; symptoms called for _Belladonna_, of which the 1x dil., 5 +drops in half a glass water, teaspoonful every fifteen minutes until +better, then once an hour. The child improved from start, and the +convulsions ceased in one hour from commencing the medicine. The next +day the child appeared in usual health, and the _Belladonna_ was given +once in eight hours and discharged from further attendance. + +Thirty-six hours after I was recalled, the child was in another spasm. +No _Belladonna_ symptoms being present I gave 5 drops of _Passiflora_ +tincture, every fifteen minutes, with the result that it never had +another spasm from that day to this. The child slept soundly all through +the night and awoke the next morning in its usual good health. + +Since then I have prescribed it for the sleeplessness of dentition +without a failure, giving it usually in from 5 to 10 drops a dose, to be +repeated every fifteen minutes until sleep. I never give it during the +day for this purpose, but begin at bedtime. + +In the insomnia of adults, from whatsoever cause, I always give 60 drops +at bedtime, and if not asleep in half an hour I give the same dose. + +Experience has taught me that to give it in smaller doses is a waste of +time and disappointing to the patient. Two such doses, _i. e._, 60 drops +a dose, are almost absolutely sure of giving the patient a natural and +refreshing sleep. The old school seem to have been forced to resort to +_Sulfonal_ (whatever that may be) as the only thing capable of producing +sleep, and yet, judging from the reports in their journals, it does not +seem to "fill the bill." Were they ever to give this a trial we would +not hear so much of _Morphine_, _Chloral_, _Bromides_, and the like. + +I have never used _Passiflora_ in erysipelas, having always been able to +discharge my patients in from two to four days by giving them +_Jaborandi_. + +In neuralgia and headache it has acted with wonderful rapidity, even the +headache of uterine displacements being brought under its influence. It +is almost a daily occurrence to have people whom I never saw before come +miles to my office for that "sleeping medicine made from the passion +flower." + +In conclusion let me say to the brethren, try it. But give it in +appreciable doses. Don't be afraid of it. I would not hesitate to give +it in four drachm doses, if required. But why give four when one will +do? + +P. S.--Since writing the foregoing I have used _Passiflora_ in two cases +of delirium tremens. It acted like a charm in both cases; sent them to +sleep in half an hour, and when they awoke, twelve and fourteen hours +after, they were themselves again. Sixty drops of tincture a dose, two +doses in each. + + (The following was reported by Dr. Joseph Adolphus, in + _American Medical Journal_:) + +A lady who had for several months suffered untold agonies, as she +described her sufferings; her pain was described as if a weight of many +pounds was lying on her brain; the sense of pressure and tearing inside +the skull was fearful; her head felt as if enveloped in ice; the pains +ran down the back of her neck, and finally reached the lower end of +sacrum, so that a slight touch of the coccyx caused exquisite agony. +This was a case in which coccygodinia was associated with the cerebral +and spinal disease. I failed to relieve the pain for more than a few +hours at a time with all other remedies I had tried; at this juncture, +when despair was taking the place of hope, I thought of _Passiflora_, +which I then administered in teaspoonful doses every two hours; the +result was something to be remembered, for she enjoyed excellent and +refreshing night's rest the following night, waking up in the morning +much refreshed, nearly free from pain, with a good relish for breakfast. +I continued the medicament every four hours for several days, for no +further uses for medicine seemed indicated, as there was a rapid and +complete recovery. + +A lady complained of pain in her rectum continuously; the coccyx was +also quite tender to the touch. There were several erosions on the lips +of the os uteri; leucorrhoea and severe pain in the small of the back +when a certain spot (over last dorsal and first and second lumbar +vertebræ) was pressed on. I found she had been treated secundum artem +for the uterine trouble, locally and constitutionally, to no certain +satisfactory result. Her respirations were often twenty-eight to thirty +per minute, much wakefulness, and at times feeling of constriction +across her breast and a sense as if her heart would stop beating. +Teaspoonful doses of the _Passiflora incar._ was the specific in her +case. She continued it every four hours two weeks, but from the outset +of treatment she felt the right remedy was administered. + +These rectum troubles in women are frequently met with in practice. I +find the _Passiflora incar._ the best single remedy I have for them. + +Recently a man consulted me for a constant pain in his heart; he +described it as sharp and like a pang--often causing a sense of +immediate dissolution, and fear of death was on him all the time; pulse +irregular in rhythm, now rapid, next slower, occasionally a beat +missing; sounds very normal, but accentuated and sharp. _Passiflora +incarnata_ was a specific in this case; no doubt the center and probably +the local ganglia were irritated from some cause, and, whatever it was, +the medicament removed both. + +By the way, I must not forget to say you will find it a valuable +medicament in sleeplessness and tossing restlessness in your fever +patients. I use the tincture in teaspoonful doses every four hours. It +appears the remedy has a soothing effect on the whole nervous system, +without any appreciable narcotic properties. + + (From the Transactions of the Twenty-fifth Annual Meeting + of the Maine Homoeopathic Medical Society we take the + following from a paper by Dr. A. I. Harvey on + _Passiflora_:) + +It does no good where the inability to sleep is due to pain or distress +of any kind; but in cases where we find that the nervous erethism is not +controlled by the action of _Coffea_, _Opium_, _Sulphur_, or other +apparently indicated remedy. _Passiflora_ is in its place as a +succedaneum for _Morphia_ or other sedatives. The dose varies from ten +drops to one dram of the tincture, according to the age of the patient. +I do not hesitate, in the case of an adult, to give dram doses of the +tincture every hour until the patient sleeps, and have seen it act in +the happiest manner in restoring the rhythm of the heart's action, when +that organ has been deranged in its movements by the combined effects of +exhaustion and loss of sleep. + +_Passiflora_ has also given me much aid in a case of morphine habit of +six years' standing, which I cured wholly and entirely by the use of +this remedy. It is recommended in the above mentioned doses for delirium +tremens, trismus, tetanus and kindred diseases of the nervous system, +repeated every hour or half-hour until relief is obtained. The remedy +leaves no after effects, is incapable of creating an appetite, and, so +far as my observation extends, it is perfectly harmless even in large +doses, often repeated. + + (Dr. Scudder claimed that the one great indication for + _Passiflora_ in all cases is _a clean tongue_; when the + tongue is foul the remedy will do no good.) + + +PENTHORUM SEDOIDES. + +NAT. ORD., Crassulaceæ. + +COMMON NAME, Ditch Stone Crop. + +PREPARATION.--The whole fresh plant with the root is macerated in two +parts by weight of alcohol. + + (The _Medical Advance_ for June, 1887, contains a paper + by Dr. D. B. Morrow, from which the following is taken.) + +The object of this paper is to call attention to the fact that the only +proving of _Penthorum_ was made on scientific principles, as these +verifications demonstrate. If the pathogenesy is carefully studied, it +will be seen to meet all the conditions of "common colds," or acute +catarrhs, so prevalent in all sections of North America, from the +symptoms of chill, malaise, headache, soreness, cough, coryza, dry and +flowing, with their secondary consequences of disturbed digestion, +constipation, debility, etc. and it will probably cure any or all of +these conditions when indicated by correspondence to the pathogenesy. + +A medicine having such a catarrhal range is probably a remedy for female +troubles equal to _Pulsatilla_ or _Calcarea_, and is worthy of a careful +proving by women. It cures where antipsoric medicines have failed, and +possibly may possess antipsoric qualities. + +_Authorities._--1, Dr. D. B. Morrow, U. S. Med. Inves., N. S., 3, p. 565 +(_Eclectic Med. Jour._, 1875); effects of tincture, doses of 10 drops, +and after one hour 20 drops; on second day, 40 drops; third day, 60 +drops at 9 P.M., and 50 drops at 1 P.M.; 1 A.M. same, effects of 100 +drops. 2, Dr. Scudder took 20 drops ("a young man took same dose and had +similar effects"). + +MIND.--During both provings the mind was dull and exceedingly depressed +and desponding; everything wrong but dinner; reading interfered with +because of mental dullness (second day), 1.--Mind became so dull I gave +up reading and lay upon the lounge (third day). + +HEAD.--On closing my eyes felt like I was floating; vertigo (third day), +1.--Headache continued, could not read; went to hear Boutwell, followed +his argument with difficulty, was much annoyed by the little noises made +by the audience (second day), 1.--Headache came on again (third day), +1.--When commencing the proving, had a dull, heavy headache, with heat +and soreness in the sacrum; this was cured (third day), 1.--An +unpleasant heavy pain in the forehead, about the edge of the hair (after +four hours), 2.--Catarrhal aching in the forehead, 1a.--[10] The +fullness in the sinciput became an ache, as though a weight were pressed +down upon it (second day), 1.--Itching of the hairy scalp (second day), +1. + +EYE AND EAR.--The inner superior tarsal border of both palpebra itched +and burned (third day), 1.--A full sensation in supra-orbital region (a +hearty supper), (first day), 1.--Ringing and singing in both ears, 1a. + +NOSE.--Discharges from nares thick, pus-like, streaked with blood, and +an odor as from an open sore (third day), 1.--A peculiar wet feeling in +my nares as though a violent coryza would set in, which did not; the +secretion from the nose became thickened and pus-like, but not +increased. Wet feeling in trachea and bronchia, passing from above +downward, as if a coryza would set in, followed by a slight feeling of +constriction, which passed from above downward through the chest (first +day), 1. + +Catarrhal feeling repeated itself (third day), 1.--Nose felt stuffed, as +if swollen (second day), 1.--Sense of fullness of the nose and ears +(after four hours), 2.--[20] A secondary symptom, a drawing or +contractile feeling of the muscles of the side of the nose affected with +catarrh, 1a.--Itching in the nares, 1a. + +MOUTH.--Prickling burning sensation on the tongue, as if scalded (first +day), 1.--Increased flow of saliva (first day), 1.--The bloody sputa +continues, 1a. + +THROAT.--The posterior nares feel raw, as if denuded of epithelium, 1a. + +STOMACH.--Appetite increased (third day), 1.--Eructations and dejections +of little collections of odorless flatus expelled with force (second +day), 1.--An unpleasant sensation of disgust and nausea, lasting for +three hours, but not interfering with the following meal, which was +eaten with greater relish, 2.--Soreness in epigastrium; this symptom +appeared at first, not recorded because thought idiopathic, 1a. + +ABDOMEN [30].--Borborygmus (second day), 1.--Parietes of abdomen felt +thickened (second night), 1.--A clawing, uneasy sensation about the +umbilicus, which gradually passed to lower bowel (second day), +1.--Twitching of the muscles in the abdomen (second day), 1. + +RECTUM AND ANUS.--A crawling sensation in lower rectum, as though a worm +tried to escape (second day), 1.--Burning in rectum at stool, continuing +through afternoon, 1a.--Itching of anus; hemorrhoids with aching in +sacrum and in sacro-iliac symphysis (some weeks after proving), 1a. + +STOOL.--Semi-fluid evacuation of the bowels next morning, having been +somewhat constipated, 2.--Some weeks after proving suffered from +constipation, an atonic condition of bowels and rectum, 1a.--Was costive +when commencing proving; had two natural stools from yesterday's +medicine (third day), 1. + +URINARY ORGANS [40].--A dull aching in kidneys (third day), 1.--The +bladder becomes sore to pressure (third day), 1.--Urine still increased +in flow, with burning along the urethra when micturating (third day), +1.--Urine clear, passed more frequently (second day), 1.--Urine actively +acid, as shown by litmus; no cloud on boiling; threw down a sediment +with _Sulphuric acid_, _Ammonia_, and _Argentum nitrum_ and _Nitric +acid_, when boiled; the next day after the dose it was alkaline, as +shown by litmus, and only precipitated with _Argentum nitricum_; +slightly cloudy, with caloric; unloaded, but increased in quantity, 1a. + +SEXUAL ORGANS.--Sexual orgasm (second night), 1.--Erythismus of the +sexual system, almost a satyriasis; a slight variocele of long standing +was apparently cured (some weeks after proving); this condition was +succeeded by a corresponding depression of sexual function, approaching +impotency, after months of time returning to the normal condition, 1a. + +RESPIRATORY ORGANS.--In the morning a cough seemed to come from deep in +the chest, with soreness throughout the chest (third day), 1. + +CHEST.--Slight feeling of constriction, which passed from above down +through the chest, followed the wet feeling in trachea and bronchia +(first day), 1. + +PULSE [50].--Pulse regular at 58 (first day), 1. + +NECK AND BACK.--Aching through basilar region, from back to front, +1a.--The aching in sacral region reappeared, but subsided as the +medicine was eliminated, 1a.--Aching in sacrum and in sacro-iliac +symphysis, with the itching of anus, hemorrhoids, 1a.--(When commencing +the proving, had heat and soreness in the sacrum, with a dull, heavy +headache; this was cured), (third day), 1. + +EXTREMITIES.--Arm went to sleep (numb), 1.--Hand felt swollen (second +night), 1.--A trembling feeling of legs for several days, with soreness +of knees, 1.--While on the lounge the muscles of the leg were suddenly +contracted, jerking up the foot as in stepping; in a moment the right +one performed the same manoeuvre (third day), 1. + +SKIN.--A long-cured impetiginous eczema reappeared on both legs, +1a.--[60] A few hot prickings in the skin (second and third days), +1.--Itching of the face and forehead, 1a.--The itchings repeated +themselves (third day), 1. + +SLEEP AND FEVER.--Fantastic dreams (second night), 1.--Voluptuous dreams +and increased sexual desire, sympathetic with urinary excitement, 1a.--A +few cold chills rushed up the spinal column (first day), 1. + + (In addition to the foregoing we quote the following from + same authority): + +Prover cured a severe acute flowing coryza, headache, vertigo and cough, +with sticking pains throughout the chest, heaviness and trembling of the +lower limbs; pulse, 110. _Penthorum_ 3x quickly cured. + +Miss P----, a blonde of 17, had a severe cough of several weeks +duration; worse from talking or singing. Frothy greenish sputa. +_Pulsatilla_ and afterwards _Phosphorus_ were given without benefit. +_Penthorum_ soon cured. + +In the prover it produced a general malaise, headache, weakness of limbs +and inability to attend to business, a feeling as though he must give up +and be sick. I have promptly relieved several patients having these +symptoms with _Penthorum_. It produces a soreness throughout the chest, +with a severe dry cough, "as though I would cough my insides out," worse +in the morning. Have speedily cured several such coughs with it. + + +PHASEOLUS NANA. + +NAT. ORD., Leguminosæ. + +COMMON NAME, Dwarf Bean. + +PREPARATION.--The crushed beans are macerated in five parts by weight of +alcohol. + + (In 1896 and 1897 Dr. A. M. Cushing wrote several + articles on this new remedy, and among them the + following, which appeared in the _Homoeopathic + Recorder_, 1897.) + +While making a proving of the above remedy I felt a sudden curious +sensation in the region of the heart, and immediately felt of my pulse +and found it _very weak and fluttering_. I have been asked what that +sensation was, but I can't describe it, for, to tell the truth, I +believe I was frightened and failed to remember it. Although it is +unpleasant to be badly frightened, the nice results I have seen from the +use of the remedy and the kind words I have received from the +profession in regard to it has more than paid for the little fright. As +so little is known of the remedy, I wish to report one case that was not +at all indicated by the proving and two cases under the care of an old +school doctor. My case was that of a lady aged about forty, who for two +years was under the care of a homoeopathic doctor for some trouble, I +don't know what; then two years under the care of another homoeopathic +doctor for a fibroid of the uterus. She had twice consulted a specialist +in Boston, who said it could not be removed. Then she came under my care +with a fibroid as large as a fetus at full term. Suffice it to say, I +gave remedies in a higher attenuation than I believed she had taken, and +in a few months the tumor had greatly diminished and gave her no +trouble. Still she was nervous and had neuralgic pains almost all over +her. As remedies did not seem to relieve her for any length of time, I +decided to give her _Phaseolus_ 9x, as it probably would do as well as +what I had given her. The next time I called she met me with "I want a +whole bottle like what you gave me last." She does not have to take any +medicine now. + +I was called in consultation with an old school doctor to a case of +confinement. Patient, 26; first child; had been in pain forty-eight +hours, but not severe till the last twelve hours. Patient, fleshy; urine +heavily loaded with albumen. I knew that trouble was ahead, as she +became blind. I found the head jacked firmly in the superior straits, +face presentation which I could not change. I decided to wait a little, +help what I could and watch the results. In a little while she went to +sleep, the first quiet sleep in forty-eight hours; but when she moved it +was in a fearful convulsion. I expected the convulsions, but felt that +if I applied the forceps, before they appeared some might say if he had +let her alone she would not have had them. I immediately turned her upon +her left side, well covered up, and adjusted my forceps and soon had the +head through the bony parts; and as it is my custom to remove the +forceps till the soft parts are dilated to prevent rupture I commenced +to do so, when a fearful expulsive convulsion threw forceps and a +thirteen-pound child into the bed with a complete rupture of the +perineum--my first such case in forty-one years. While she was +unconscious I took the necessary stitches, the doctor attending to the +medical part. One hour later, when I was in the kitchen helping the +nurse and a few damsels dress the baby, the doctor came to me and said +her heart was failing in its action fast. I gave him a vial of No. 25 +globules medicated with 9x _Phaseolus_, and told him to give her a dose +about the size of a bean (being a bean remedy). Ten minutes later he +said: "That is wonderful, her heart is all right." Three times during +the night he had to repeat it with the same results. Afterwards she had +no trouble. + +One week later the same doctor came to me saying: "I want a bottle of +that remedy." Yesterday I was called to see a lady who was unconscious, +pulseless, breathing ten times a minute, beyond hope as I supposed. I +gave her three doses of _Phaseolus_, and she is all right. + +P. S.--If not too late, I would like to add a little to the paper I sent +you not long ago. The same old school doctor to whom I referred in that +paper tells me he has used _Phaseolus_ in another case of heart disease +with a success similar to the others reported. + +A few weeks since a lady aged 50, nurse by profession, came to me +saying, at times, she had fearful time with her heart palpitating and +feeling as if she should die. Being in great haste, I made no +examination, but gave her a vial of _Phaseolus_ 15x to take a dose three +or four times a day, as needed. Yesterday she called, saying she was +going out of the city, but did not dare to go without some more of the +medicine, for she _never took anything in her life that did so much good +as that_. + + (Dr. Cushing also read the following paper before the + Massachusetts Homoeopathic Medical Society, which we + take from the _New England Medical Gazette_. January, + 1897:) + +By request I appear before you to-day, and I presume you will be +disappointed if my paper is not on some new remedy; and such it is,--a +remedy, I think, worthy the careful investigation of every +homoeopathic physician,--phaseolus nana, or the common white bean. It +is unnecessary for me to say to you that Boston is called a bean-eating +city, or refer to the many sudden deaths there or in its vicinity from +brain or heart trouble, nor how in a certain way young men grow old. Can +you tell me the cause? I shall not take the time to report the proving I +made, nor why I began it, nor how I prepared it, nor its wonderful +effects upon the nervous system, the genital organs, stomach, bowels, or +kidneys, in the provings, referring only to three symptoms. A medical +student has made a short but interesting proving of the remedy, +confirming some of my symptoms. While my proving was going on nicely, I +suddenly felt a curious sensation in the region of the heart. It was so +sudden and strange I immediately felt of my pulse and found it very +irregular and feeble, so much so I think I was frightened, at least I +did not take any more of the medicine. Never before had I had any +irregular action of the heart. Soon after, I read that foreign +physicians were using a decoction of the growing bean and pod for +dropsy. + +About that time I was called to see a hopeless case of uterine cancer +with severe general dropsy. I prescribed the best I knew and decided to +try the bean remedy. Several days elapsed before I could get any, and +then only the dry pods, as it was in December. I steeped them and gave +it with apparent relief. I report this case more especially to speak of +the final result. I called one day expecting to find her quite +comfortable, but found her dead. She suddenly screamed, "Oh, my head!" +grasped it with both hands and was dead. + +Months later, after an experience with another patient which I will +report later, it suddenly dawned upon me that possibly the bean +decoction might have hastened her death. + +I was called to see a man about forty-five, suffering from general +dropsy with heart and other complications, who had been under the care +of a homoeopathic physician some time. Although he had taken +_Digitalis_, _Strophanthus_, _Strychnia_, _Nitroglycerine_, salts, etc., +he had been unable to lie down for two weeks. I prescribed for him, but +as soon as I could I prepared and gave him the bean-pod decoction. In +about one week he was able to lie down in bed, and his legs, which at my +first visit measured over twenty-one inches in circumference, measured +fifteen inches. Then hay fever appeared, and by the advice of nineteen +or twenty-five women an old-school expert from New York was called and I +was left out. + +The following cases, having symptoms similar to those developed in the +proving, were given the same preparations as those used in the proving. + +A man aged sixty-nine, a retired clergyman on account of a heart disease +that had troubled him many years, yet no physician had been able to +satisfactorily diagnose, came home from a trip where he had unwisely +preached twice, greatly exhausted. The heart's action was weak and +irregular, growing weaker each day for a few days, when he was entirely +pulseless at both wrists, which continued four days in spite of my best +efforts. I then gave him _Phaseolus_ 9x, and in a few hours there was an +improvement, and in thirty-six hours his pulse was regular and strong, +about seventy per minute; and it remained so till my last visit, +one-half hour before his death, two weeks after beginning the medicine. +I was called to New York and returned too late to make a _post-mortem_ +examination. Among his children were a public school teacher and a +college professor. I told them what I was giving, and they watched the +case very closely and were surprised at its effects. Later they asked me +if I would send some of the same medicine to a friend in Connecticut +who had no money but a bad heart, said by the doctor there and an +expert in Boston to be a weak heart. I sent the medicine and two weeks +later they wrote: "His breath is not as short, his limbs were not as +badly swollen, could walk and sleep better, but they did not know as he +was any better." I sent more medicine and have not heard from that. + +A lady living in the West, aged about fifty, had been ailing several +years. Her greatest complaint was a weak, bad-aching heart. I treated +her a few months with general improvement, but she complained of a weak, +tired, bad-acting and bad-feeling heart. I sent her _Phaseolus_ 9x, and +later she wrote me that forty-eight hours after commencing the last +medicine sent her heart wheeled into line all right and remains so. + +A lady, aged eighty-seven, had diarrhoea, which was soon relieved; +then I found her heart acted badly, about every third beat omitted, and +she said it had been so for a year or more. I gave her _Phaseolus_, and +two days later her pulse was all right. + +Dr. Brown, of Springfield, reported a case of a young man that only once +in two weeks did he get his pulse up to sixty, ranging from fifty to +fifty-five the two weeks. He gave _Phaseolus_ 6, which I furnished him, +and the next forenoon his pulse was seventy-two and remained so. + +I will report only one more case, treated with this remedy, one which I +think very interesting. + +A lady physician, aged thirty, married, no children, never has been sick +except with childhood diseases. Two years ago had considerable mental +trouble and rode a bicycle a good deal. Since that time, two years ago, +five times each minute, or about that, her heart would give one hard +unpleasant throb, then omit one beat, this in the day time, but much +worse at night, preventing sleep. Being in somewhat of a hurry, I did +not examine the heart, thinking there would be a plenty of time later, +but gave her _Phaseolus_, the 10th I think. Thirty-six hours later the +heart would beat one hundred consecutive times without the slightest +variation, and it continued to improve, although after taking the +medicine thirty-six hours she was obliged to desist on account of a +severe headache. She is never subject to headaches, but it was so bad +she dared not take any more of the medicine. It was as if something was +pressing hard against each temple, much worse soon after taking each +dose of the medicine. This headache led me to fear that the death I +mentioned might have been hastened by the medicine. + +A medical conundrum. A lady, aged about thirty, decided she would +investigate the next world to see if she could enjoy it better than +this, and called in the aid of morphine to help her along. Not being in +the habit of taking morphine, to disguise the bitter of it, placed a +tablet of morphine in the middle of a baked bean and swallowed it whole. +She took her little dose in the evening, having eaten nothing since +noon, and went to sleep. At seven in the morning she awoke and was +surprised to find herself in this world. When asked if she would get up, +replied, no, she would sleep a little longer. At eleven A.M. she awoke +and tried to get up, but could not walk, so crawled to the door and +opened it to let in fresh air. A servant found her there, and at her +request handed her the camphor bottle, and she took a little. Dr. Rowe +was called and said she vomited a little mucus, some dark specks that +looked like blood, and a small piece of lettuce she ate the noon before. +She had taken twelve and one-half grains of morphine. Did the lettuce +antidote it? Did the bean destroy its power? Why did it not kill her? + + +POTHOS. + +NAT. ORD., Araceæ. + +COMMON NAME, Skunk Cabbage. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh root gathered in spring is macerated in twice +its weight of alcohol. + + (Contributed by Dr. S. A. Jones to the _Homoeopathic + Recorder_, 1889.) + +This perennial, odorous member of the natural order _Araceæ_ is one of +our most common meadow and bog plants. From its very realistic, +skunk-like odor when cut or bruised, and its resemblance in shape of +leaf and mode of growth to the cabbage, it has been commonly well known +as the skunk cabbage. + +Belonging to the same family as the Calla lily and Indian turnip, the +shape of its flower becomes at once familiar to anyone who observes it. +Among the first plants to flower in spring is this species, and by +closely observing the surface of any boggy meadow in the latter part of +March or early April one will find irrupting the earth like mushroom the +points of many beautiful spathes gaping open to extend invitations to +the earliest slugs and carrion beetles of the season. These are the +flowers of Pothos appearing some time before the leaves, and when +divested of the mud that clings to them, and polished with a damp cloth, +as the apple-woman serves her pippins, they shine out in beautiful +mottled purple, orange, and deep red, and, being very fleshy, will keep +up appearances many days if cut deep and placed in hyacinth jars. + +The root is large, thick, and cylindrical, giving off its lower end +numerous long, cylindrical branches; the leaves which appear on the +fertilization of the ovary are large, smooth, entire, and deeply plaited +into rounded folds. On opening the pointed spathe or floral envelope, a +club-like mass will be noted arising from its base. This is the spadix +bearing the naked flowers, which are perfect, consisting of a +four-angled style and four awl-shaped stamens. The fruit, when mature, +is a globular, ill-smelling, glutinous mass, consisting of the enlarged, +fleshy spadix and changed perianths, and enclosing several large +bullet-like seeds. + +The roots are easily gathered, one alone being sufficient to make a +year's stock of tincture for the most lavish practitioner. + +THE TINCTURE. + +Take the fresh root stalks and rootlets, gathered in spring on the first +appearance of the flowers, and chop and pound them to a pulp, and weigh. +Then taking two parts, by weight, of alcohol, mix the pulp with +one-sixth part of it, add the balance, and, after stirring the whole +well, pour it into a well-stoppered bottle and let it stand for eight +days in a dark, cool place. After straining and filtering, the resulting +tincture should be of a light brown color and have a slightly acrid +taste and a neutral reaction. + +CHEMISTRY. + +The active principle of this plant is doubtless volatile, as the dried +root presents none of the acridity of the fresh, and is odorless as +well. Dr. J. M. Turner determined in the root a volatile fatty body, a +volatile oil, a fixed oil, and a specific resin. + + * * * * * + +On the 16th of December, 1887, there came into my hands a case that the +family physician (a homoeopath) had pronounced epilepsy and declared +incurable. Upon being consulted, his diagnosis had been confirmed and +his prognosis corroborated by the late Prof. E. S. Dunster, of the +University of Michigan. + +Up to date that identical patient has had neither a "fit" nor any +approximation thereto, and that fact is an occasion of this paper. One +who already discerns the first gray shadows of that night which comes to +all, does not now write at the urging, or the _itching_, of the Ego. He +disclaims any merit, having evinced only a monkey-like imitativeness. He +had from the Infinite, the gift of a good memory, and an old book, +picked up one happy day at a street stall, flashed into recollection +some twelve years later, and enabled him then to imitate the much +earlier doing of its worthy author-- + + "Only the actions of the just + Smell sweet and blossom in the dust." + +This dead worthy--he that was James Thacher, M. D.--more than any other, +made known the virtues of _Pothos foetida_, and gratitude for what his +book had taught me to do made me feel that to write up this forgotten +remedy were the fittest return that I could make for his well doing. + +A second incentive, ample enough, is found in the fact that the first +homoeopathic paper on _Pothos foet._ has never had a faithful +translation into our language, and has not been critically reproduced in +any other. A study of the _Homoeopathic Bibliography_, as given in +this paper, will teach an impressive lesson not only to the _real_ +student of Materia Medica, but also to those who assume the +responsibilities of editorship. + +A third inducement, and perhaps a pardonable, is the singular fact that +much search in our literature has not enabled me to find any assistance +of the clinical application of _Pothos foet._ by a homoeopathic +practitioner. If any reader knows of any such, he will greatly gratify +the writer by making it known. + +AN EMPIRICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY.[K] + + [K] As my researches are confined to my own library, I do not + profess to be exhaustive. I have not given all the references + at my command, but have aimed to include such writers as have + made positive contributions to our knowledge of this drug. Of + my list, only Rafinesque is a mere (but a useful) compiler. + +1785. Rev. Dr. M. Cutler.--_Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and +Sciences._ Boston. + +1787. D. J. D. Schoepf, M. D.--_Materia Medica Americana potissimum +Regni Vegetabilis._ Erlangen. (Not in my possession. Quoted from +Barton.) + +1813. James Thacher, M. D.--_The American New Dispensatory._ Boston. +(This is the second edition wherein Pothos is mentioned for the first +time. Our citations are from the fourth edition. Boston, 1821.) + +1817. James Thacher, M. D.--_American Modern Practice, etc._ Boston. + +1818. Jacob Bigelow, M. D.--_American Medical Botany, etc._ Vol. 2. +Boston. + +1820. Wm. M. Hand.--_The House-Surgeon and Physician._ Second edition. +New Haven. + +1822. Jacob Bigelow, M. D.--_A Sequel to the Pharmacopoeia of the U. +S._ Boston. + +1822. John Eberle, M. D.--_Materia Medica and Therapeutics._ +Philadelphia. (The citations are from the fourth edition. Philadelphia, +1836.) + +1825. Ansel W. Ives, M. D.--_Paris' Pharmacologia._ Third American +edition. New York. + +1830. Elisha Smith.--_The Botanic Physician, etc._ New York. (The title +page proclaims him "president of the New York Association of Botanic +Physicians.") + +1838. C. S. Rafinesque.--_Medical Flora, etc._ Philadelphia. + +It was admitted into the _catalogus secundarius_ of the second edition +of _The Pharmacopoeia of the United States of America_, and dropped +into the dust-heap when the men who knew how to use it had passed away. + +EMPIRICAL APPLICATIONS. + +In dealing with authors who have gone to their reward, it has always +seemed to me a duty to give their own words as far as possible. It +brings them face to face with the reader, and is as if one brushed the +moss from their gravestones, or perhaps, like Old Mortality, carved +afresh a half-obliterated name. + +It is not the briefest way, but it has the merit of showing from whence +the bricks came of which the edifice is built. I shall, then, cite the +authorities in chronological order, and copiously enough to include +essentials. + +_Cutler._--The roots dried and powdered are an excellent medicine in +asthmatic cases, and often give relief when other means are ineffectual. +It may be given with safety to children as well as to adults; to the +former, in doses of four, five or six grains, and to the latter in doses +of twenty grains and upwards. It is given in the fit, and repeated as +the case may require. This knowledge is said to have been obtained from +the Indians, who, it is likewise said, repeat the dose, after the +paroxysm (_sic_) is gone off, several mornings, then miss as many, and +repeat it again; thus continuing the medicine until the patient is +perfectly recovered. It appears to be anti-spasmodic, and bids fair to +be useful in many other disorders.--_Op. cit._, 1,409. + +_Schoepf._--I am obliged to cite at second hand, as I have never been +able to find a copy of his _opus_. One may judge of its rarity, when a +foreign advertisement by a German bookseller some years since failed to +obtain it for me. + +Prof. W. P. C. Barton, _op. cit._, gives the gist of the Hessian +surgeon's contribution in a style and manner as prim and orderly as that +of Surgeon Schoepf himself on a dress parade. + + "Pharm. _Dracontii Radix._ + Qual. _Acris_, _alliacea_, _nauseosa_. + Vis. _Incidens_, _califaciens_, _expectorans_. + Usus: _fol. contrita ad vulnera recentia et ulcera._ + _Tussis consumptiva._ _Scorbutus et elii morbi radix._ + _Ari officin. utilis._" + +"Incidens": Young reader, you must go back more than a century to +understand the "pathology" that is wrapped up in that word like a mummy +in its cerements. Don't laugh at _that_ "pathology," for some graceless +graduate will laugh at yours in 1989. Note, however, in passing, that +Schoepf says nothing, save _tussis_, that suggests the _vis +anti-spasmodica_ of Cutler. + +_Thacher._--The roots and seeds, when fresh, impart to the mouth a +sensation of pungency and acrimony similar to Arum. + +It may be ranked high as an anti-spasmodic, experience having evinced +that it is not inferior to the most esteemed remedies of that class. In +cases of asthmatic affections, it alleviates the most distressing +symptoms, and shortens the duration of the paroxysms. * * * Rev. Dr. +Cutler experienced in his own particular case very considerable relief +from this medicine, after others had disappointed his expectations. * * +* The seeds of this plant are said by some to afford more relief in +asthmatic cases than the root. + +In obstinate hysteric affections this medicine has surpassed in efficacy +all those anti-spasmodics which have generally been employed, and in +several instances it has displayed its powers like a charm. In one of +the most violent hysteric cases I ever met with, says a correspondent, +where the usual anti-spasmodics, and even musk had failed, two +teaspoonfuls of the powdered root procured immediate relief; and on +repeating the trials with the same patient, it afforded more lasting +benefit than any other medicine. In those spasmodic affections of the +abdominal muscles during parturition, or after delivery, this root has +proved an effectual remedy. In chronic rheumatism, and erratic pains of +a spasmodic nature, it often performs a cure, or affords essential +relief. + +It has in some cases of epilepsy suspended the fits, and greatly +alleviated the symptoms. + +In whooping cough, and other pulmonic affections, it proves beneficial +in the form of syrup. + +During every stage of nervous and hysteric complaints, and in cramps and +spasms, this medicine is strongly recommended as a valuable substitute +for the various anti-spasmodic remedies commonly employed. It is free +from the heating and constipating qualities of Opium. [Yet Schoepf +endowed it with the _vis colifaciers_.] + +Having in a few instances tested its virtues in subsultus tendinum, +attending typhus fever, its pleasing effects will encourage the future +employment of it in similar cases. + +Two instances have been related in which this medicine has been supposed +to be remarkably efficacious in the cure of dropsy. + +The roots should be taken up in the autumn or spring, before the leaves +appear, and carefully dried for use. Its strength is impaired by long +keeping, especially in a powdered state.--_Mat. Med._, 4th ed., p. 249. + +A young woman, about eighteen years of age, was harassed by severe +convulsive and hysteric paroxysms, almost incessantly, insomuch that her +friends estimated the number at seven hundred in the course of a few +weeks; her abdomen was remarkably tumefied and tense, and there was a +singular bloatedness of the whole surface of her body, and the slightest +touch would occasion intolerable pain. At length her extremities became +rigid and immovable (_sic_), and her jaw was so completely locked that +she was unable to articulate, and liquids could only be introduced +through the vacuity of a lost tooth. She had been treated with a variety +of anti-spasmodic and other medicines, by an experienced physician, +without relief. Having prepared a strong infusion of the dried root of +skunk cabbage, I directed half a teacupful to be given every few hours, +without any other medicine; the favorable effects of which were soon +observable, and by persisting in the use of it about ten days the +muscular contractions were removed, the jaw was relaxed, and her faculty +of speech and swallowing, with the use of all her limbs, were completely +effected. + +Another young woman had been exercised with the most distressing +paroxysms of hysteria for several days, without obtaining relief by the +medicines prescribed, when the skunk cabbage infusion was so +successfully directed that her fits were immediately arrested, and in a +few days a cure was completely effected. + +The brother of this patient was seized with violent convulsions of the +whole body, in consequence of a cut on his foot; the skunk cabbage was +administered, and he was speedily restored to perfect health. + +A woman was affected with violent spasmodic pains, twenty-four hours +after parturition; six doses of skunk cabbage entirely removed her +complaints.--_American Modern Practice_, p. 530. + +_Barton._--The smell from spathe and flowers is pungent and very subtle. +Experience leads me to believe they possess a great share of acridity; +_having been seized with a very violent inflammation of my eyes_ (for +the first time in my life), which deprived me of the use of them for a +month, by making the original drawings of these plates. The pungency of +the plant was probably concentrated by the closeness of the room, in +which many specimens were at the time shut up.--_Veg. Mat. Med._, 1, +128. [The italics are not in the original text.] + +The seeds are said to afford more relief in asthmatic cases than the +root; and this I believe very probable, for they are remarkably active, +pungent, and, as has before been mentioned, exhale the odor of +Asafoetida.--_Op. cit._, p. 131. + +The bruised leaves are frequently applied to ulcers and recent wounds, +and, it is said, with good effect. They are also used as an external +application in cutaneous affections; and I have heard of the expressed +juice being successfully applied to different species of herpes. The +leaves are also used in the country to dress blisters, with the view of +promoting their discharge. * * * For this purpose I can recommend them +where it is desirable to promote a large and speedy discharge, and no +stimulating ointment is at hand. + +_Colden_ recommends the skunk cabbage in scurvy.--_Op. cit._, p. 132. + +_Bigelow._--The odor of the Ictodes resides in a principle which is +extremely volatile. I have not been able to separate it by distillation +from any part of the plant, the decoction and the distilled water being +in my experiments but slightly impregnated with its sensible character. +Alcohol, digested on the plant, retains its odors for a time, but this +is soon dissipated by exposure to the air. + +An acrid principle resides in the root, even when perfectly dry, +producing an effect like that of the Arum and the Ranunculi. When chewed +in the mouth, the root is slow in manifesting its peculiar taste; but +after some moments a pricking sensation is felt, which soon amounts to a +disagreeable smarting, and continues for some time. This acrimony is +readily dissipated by heat. The decoction retains none of it. The +distilled water is impregnated with it, if the process be carefully +conducted, but loses it on standing a short time.--_Amer. Med. Bot._, 2, +45. + +To insure a tolerably uniform activity of this medicine, the root should +be kept in dried slices, and not reduced to powder until it is wanted +for use.--_Op. cit._, p. 49. + +A number of cases have fallen under my own observation of the catarrhal +affections of old people, in which a syrup prepared from the root in +substance has alleviated and removed the complaint.--_Op. cit._, p. 48. + +In delicate stomachs I have found it frequently to occasion vomiting +even in a small quantity. In several cases of gastrodynia, where it was +given with a view to its anti-spasmodic effect, it was ejected from the +stomach more speedily than common cathartic medicines. I have known it +in a dose of thirty grains to bring on not only vomiting, but headache +(_sic_), vertigo and temporary blindness.--_Op. cit._, pp. 48-49. + +_Hand._--The root is a pungent anti-spasmodic in colics and griping of +the bowels. + +Leaves bruised relieve painful swellings, whitlows, etc.--_House Surg. +and Phys._, p. 250. + +_Eberle._--In chronic cough attended with a cold, phlegmatic habit of +body, I have employed the powdered root of this plant with the most +decided benefit. In an old man who had been for many years afflicted +with a very troublesome cough and difficulty of breathing, I found +nothing to give so much relief as this substance. + +In cases of chronic catarrhal and asthmatic affections, and very +generally with evident advantage.--_Mat. Med. and Thur._, 2, 154. + +_Ives._--The root loses its pungent taste, and appears to be nearly +inert in a few weeks after it is gathered. I prepared, however, an +alcoholic extract some years ago, by digesting the fresh roots and +evaporating the tincture in the sun, which possessed and retained all +the acrimony of the recent root. The fresh leaves are actively +rubefacient.--_Pharmacologia_, p. 147. + +_Smith._--Skunk cabbage is not only a good anti-spasmodic in all cases +where such are indicated, but it is also a powerful emmenagogue, +anthelmintic, and a valuable remedy in dropsy, in spasms, rheumatism, +palpitations, etc. It is frequently used in childbed to promote the +birth. * * * * For expelling worms, the pulverized root should be +administered in molasses for a sufficient length of time, following it +up with a purge.--_Op. cit._, p. 511. + +_Rafinesque._--Powerful anti-spasmodic, expectorant, incisive, +vermifuge, menagogue, sudorific, etc. Used with success in spasmodic +asthmas and coughs, hysterics, pertussis, epilepsy, dropsy, scurvy, +chronic rheumatism, erradic and spasmodic pains, parturition, +amenorrhoea, worms, etc.--_Op. cit._, 2, 230. + + +III. + +THE HOMOEOPATHIC BIBLIOGRAPHY.[L] + + [L] The definite article is used because it is believed to be + complete, thanks to the scholarship and courtesy of Dr. Henry + M. Smith, of New York. To him, also, am I indebted for the + original text of _Pothos foet._ from the + _Correspondenzblatt_. + + +1837. _Correspondenzblatt der Hom. Aerzte_, January 18th, 2d part, No. +1, p. 6. Allentown, Pa. Hering, Humphreys, and Lingen. + +1843. _Symptomus Kodex_, vol. 2, p. 392. Jahr. (Taken from the +_Correspondenzblatt_, and not correctly.) _Handbuch der Hom. +Arzneimittellehre_, vol. 3, p. 613. Noack and Trinks. (Taken from the +_Correspondenzblatt_, and incompletely.) + +1847. _Manual of Hom. Mat. Met.--Jahr._ Translated by Curie, 2d ed., +vol. 1, p. 462. London. (This is the first appearance of the Allentown +"abstract of symptoms" in English. _Curie_ credits his _data_ to some +"United States' Journal," probably meaning the _Correspondenzblatt_. His +translation is erroneous, and yet, up to date, it is the fullest source +of information for him who reads English only.) + +1848. _New Manual or Symptomen Codex.--Jahr._ Translated by Hempel, vol. +2, p. 573. (This is a singularly incomplete translation from the German +_Kodex_, with no reference to any source. A literal copy of this +translation is all there is of _Pothos foet._ in the _Encyclopædia_. +It omits the only symptom in the _Correspondenzblatt_ abstract that made +my application of this remedy not purely empirical.) + +1851. _Jahr's New Manual._ Edited by Hull, 3d ed., vol. 1, p. 797. + +1851. _Characteristik der Hom. Arzneien._ Possart, part 2, p. 506. + +1860. "_Hull's Jahr._" _A New Manual of Hom. Practice._ Edited by +Snelling, 4th ed., vol. 1, p. 977. + +1866. _Text-Book of Mat. Med._ Lippe, p. 545. + +1878. _Encyclopædia of Pure Materia Medica._ Allen, vol. 9, p. 155. + +1884. _American Medicinal Plants._ Millspaugh, vol. 1, p. 169. + +POTHOS FOETIDA SYMPTOMATOLOGY. + +Translated from the _Correspondenzblatt_ by T. C. Fanning, M. D., +Tarrytown, N. Y.[M] + + [M] Literalness rather than elegance has been sought in the + translating. + +Because the odor is quite like Mephitis it is considered a so-called +anti-spasmodic. + +_Abstract of symptoms from Hering, Humphreys, and Lingen._ + +So absent-minded and thoughtless that he enters the sick rooms without +knocking; pays no attention to those speaking to him. Irritable, +inclined to contradict; violent. + +Headache of brief duration, in single spots, now here, now there, with +confusion. Pressure in both temples, harder on one side than on the +other alternately, with violent pulsation of the temporal arteries. + +Drawing in the forehead in two lines from the frontal eminences to the +glabella, where there is a strong outward drawing as if by a magnet. + +Red swelling, like a saddle, across the bridge of the nose, painful to +the touch, especially on the left side near the forehead, while the +cartilaginous portion is cold and bloodless; with red spots on the +cheek, on the left little pimples; swelling of the cervical and +sub-maxillary glands. + +Unpleasant numb sensation in the tongue; cannot project it against the +teeth; papillæ elevated; tongue redder, with sore pain at point and +edge. + +Burning sensation from the fauces down through the chest. With the +desire to smoke, tobacco tastes badly. + +Pain in the scrobiculus cordis as if something broke loose, on stepping +hard. + +_Inflation and tension in the abdomen_; bellyache here and there in +single spots; on walking, feeling as if the bowels shook, without pain. + +Stool earlier (in the morning), frequent, softer. + +Urging to urinate; very dark urine. + +Painful, voluptuous tickling in the whole of the glans penis. + +Violent sneezing, causing pain in the roof of the mouth, the fauces and +oesophagus all the way to the stomach, followed by long-continued +pains at the cardiac orifice. + +Pain in chest and _mediastinum posticum_, less in the _anticum_, with +pain under the shoulders, which seems to be in connection with burning +in the oesophagus. Pressing pain on the sternum. + +Sudden feeling of anxiety, with difficult (or oppressed) respiration and +sweat, followed by stool and the subsidence of these and other pains. + +Inclination to take deep inspirations with hollow feeling in the chest, +later with contraction in the fauces and chest. + +The difficulty of breathing is better in the open air. + +Pain in the crest of the right tibia. + +Rheumatic troubles increased. + +Sleepy early in the evening. + +All troubles disappear in the open air. + +In attempting to analyze this "abstract of symptoms," to see if the +internal evidence tends to show that the recorded effects are genuine +results of the drug, it is well to remember that these provings--for we +infer that three observers participated therein--were made in the light +of the empirical history of _Pothos foet._ The said history was on +record before the date of these provings, and it cannot have escaped +Hering's eye; he was too wide a reader for that. He was, beyond doubt, +aware of the pathogenetic effects observed by Bigelow--_headache_, +_vertigo_, _temporary blindness_, _vomiting_, _even from small +quantities_. Having, then, this clue to its physiological action, these +symptoms should reappear in his proving _if his imagination furnished his +symptoms_. As only a mild headache is noted in the _Correspondenzblatt_, +it is evident that these provers did not _work from a pattern_. It is +also evident that the _usus in morbis_ did not suggest the Allentown +symptomatology, for the anti-asthmatic virtue of _Pothos foet._ is one +feature on which the greatest stress had been laid, and yet the only +_pathogenetic_ suggestion of its applicability in asthma is: "_Sudden +feeling of anxiety with difficult_ (or oppressed) respiration and sweat, +followed by stool and the _subsidence of these and other pains_." Who +ever heard of an asthma relieved by stool? Who could have _invented_ +such an odd modality? As it stands it is an _unicum_, and by every rule +of criticism this single symptom-group gives the stamp of verity to the +Allentown "abstract of symptoms." But there is other and singularly +convincing evidence of the genuineness of this abstract. As the reader +is aware, Thacher had emphasized the efficiency of _Pothos foet._ as an +anti-spasmodic in hysteria, although the "key-note" that indicates it in +hysteria had wholly escaped his discernment. + +Now this very "key-note" appears in the Allentown pathogenesis, but so +unobtrusively as to show most conclusively that the prover who furnished +it did not recognize its singular import and value. Such testimony is +absolutely unimpugnable by honest and intelligent criticism. + +It is also apparent that some of the less pronounced of its empirical +virtues are reflected in the proving. For instance, Thacher found it +efficacious in "erratick pains of a spasmodick nature." Is not this +"erratic" feature reproduced in such conditions as: + +"Headache, of brief duration, in single spots, now here, now there?" + +"Pressure in both temples alternately, harder on one side than on the +other?" + +"Bellyache, here and there, in single spots?" + +Brevity of duration and recurrence "in single spots, now here, now +there," are phenomena at once _spasmodic_ and _erratic_. It must be +admitted that the trend of its pathogenetic action and the lines of its +therapeutical application are parallel, and, therefore, that the latter +are confirmatory of the former. + +With such an anti-hysterical reputation as the empirical use had given +to _Pothos foet._, it might fairly be anticipated that its +pathogenesis would be distinguished by a paucity of objective _data_, +for only a tyro in pharmacodynamics, or a "Regular," would expect to +find a full-lined picture of hysteria in any "proving." And so we have +in the "abstract" a flux of subjective symptoms, "erratic" enough for +hysterical elements, and still further characterized by an apparent +evanescence, as if its phenomena of sensory disturbance were as fleeting +and unsubstantial as those of an hysterical storm. + +The _will-o'-the-wisp-like_ character of its subjective symptoms, and +its physometric property (hinted at in the pathogenesis and emphasized +in Thacher's case) are the features that will chiefly impress one in +studying this distinctively American remedy. + +That the "abstract of symptomes" evinces a cautious trial of this drug, +and that more heroic experiments will add to our knowledge of its +pathogenetic properties, are plain deductions from the absence in the +"abstract" of such pronounced effects as Bigelow observed and also from +the evidence of the _usus in morbis_. The remedy needs an efficient +proving, especially in the female organism. + +AN APPLICATION OF POTHOS FOETIDA. + +Miss B----, æt. 20; a tall, spare brunette, and a good specimen of +Fothergill's _Arab type_, brainy and vivacious. General health has been +good, but she was never robust; could not go to school regularly. +Between her thirteenth and fifteenth years grew rapidly in stature, and +then she was easily wearied on walking; knees tired and limbs ached. Had +good digestion through the growing period, but subsequently became +subject to "bloat of wind" in abdomen. These meteoristic attacks came +when lying down. A "weight rises from the abdomen up to the heart." She +must at once spring up. This condition is relieved by eructating, by +liquor, and by drinking hot water. The night attacks of meteorism are by +far the worst. _She is now subject to them._ + +[Her grand-mother had such "spells of bloating;" would spring out of bed +at night, lose consciousness, and "bloat up suddenly." If she had such +an attack when dressed, they had often been obliged to cut open her +clothes.] + +Patient has found that apples, tomatoes, cabbage and onions disagree +with her; no other food. She is constipated--"wants to and can't." + +Her hair is unusually dry; scalp full of dandruff; skin, generally, soft +and flexible. + +She has frequent epistaxis; has had four and five attacks a day. Blood +bright red, "runs a perfect stream," does not clot at the nostrils. Has +previously a "heavy feeling" in the head, which the bleeding relieves. + +In appearance she is "the picture of health;" good complexion, fairly +ruddy cheeks, sparkling eyes--in a word, she is an incarnated protest +against "single blessedness." + +In the latter part of July, 1886, had her first "fit." She had arisen +with a headache, which kept on increasing in severity. Just after a +light meal had the attack; "Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" and fell insensible. +Stiffened at first, then had clonic spasms. Neither bit the tongue nor +frothed at the mouth. No micturition or defecation. On coming to, did +not remember that she had fallen, but recollected being borne up stairs. +Had a "dreadful nosebleed" after the attack. Left her very weak; could +hardly lift her feet from the floor. Before the "fit" the headache had +become unbearably severe. + +Had her second "fit" on August 7th, 1887. Headache came on and kept +growing worse; was in temples, beating and throbbing, and in eyes, +"light hurt"--also on vertex, "pressing-down" pain. At 4 P.M. suddenly +fell down insensible. No cry. Tongue bitten. Slight frothing at the +mouth. First "stiff all over," then clonic spasms. After the "fit" knew +that something had happened to her. Was prostrated for nearly a month, +but not so much as after first attack. + +December 10th, 1887, third "fit." On the night of the 9th her mother had +been very ill, and she herself was very uneasy and alarmed. Had the +attack before breakfast. Blurred vision, headache, fall; no biting of +tongue, nor frothing. First rigid, then clonic spasms; after attack, +nose bled profusely, head ached all day, face flushed and dark. +Prostrated as usual. + +In none of the attacks was there any involuntary micturition or +defecation, nor was it ever necessary to use any force to hold her on +the bed. + +One other fact I gathered from her brother, namely: during her "fits" +her abdomen bloated so rapidly and to such a degree that the family had +learned to remove her clothing as soon as possible after she fell. + +Of course, Thacher's case, wherein the "abdomen was remarkably tumefied +and tense," came into memory at once. The old volume was taken down, and +that case re-read. Then followed the _Encyclopædia_, and then the +English _Symptomen Codex_. No pathogenetic light or corroboration +_there_. Then Curie's "Jahr." Ah! "_Inflation and tension in the +abdomen._" Only a straw, but a pathogenetic, and I grasped it +thankfully. I found also, "_aching in the temples with violent arterial +pulsation_." + +It was an open winter; my son dug some skunk cabbage roots in a swamp; a +tincture was made; ten-drop doses, four times daily, were taken until +six ounces had been consumed. + +No "fit" up to date; no epistaxis; only once a slight headache. + +I never made a diagnosis in this case; have not reached one yet, nor am +I grieving over that omission. I did rashly declare that it was not +epilepsy, because Sauvages _tympanites intestinalis_ is a feature of +hysteria, but not of epilepsy. But not a word of this was said to the +patient. It was not a "mind cure," for I have no "mind" to spare; nor +was it "Christian science," for I am not up to that. I had an _amnesis_ +in which grand-mother and grand-daughter participated. Nature had put +the "key-note" in italics, not only in the patient but also in the drug. +Thacher stumbled upon it empirically; Hering found it pathogenetically, +and that led to its application under the guidance of the only +approximation to _a law_ in therapeutics that has yet been discovered by +any of woman born: _similia similibus curantur_! + + (Anent the foregoing paper Dr. W. C. Campbell sent the + following to the same journal:) + +POTHOS FOETIDA, HYSTERIA. + +November 6, 1889, was called in haste to see Miss N----, aged 19 years. +Found her lying upon the floor, exhibiting all the phenomena of +epilepsy, clenched hands, frothing at the mouth, clonic spasm, etc. + +On questioning the family, I learned that she had been subject to such +seizures for about two years, and that they were increasing in +frequency. She had been dismissed from the various cotton mills in which +she had been employed because of them. The father had been informed that +she had epilepsy, and she had been treated accordingly by three old +school physicians. + +The sister informed me that although she had frequently fallen near the +stove she had never struck it. Further questioning elicited the fact of +her never having injured herself more seriously than to bite her tongue. +It was then I became suspicious, and later felt convinced that it was +hysteria and not epilepsy with which I had to deal. + +I remembered having read in _The Recorder_ an article by Dr. S. A. +Jones, of Ann Arbor, on _Pothos foetida_, with the record of a case in +some respects similar to mine. After again reading it up, I made a +tincture of the roots and tendrils gathered at the time, of which I gave +her a two drachm phial, directing her to take ten drops three times per +day. + +On the second day she had a slight seizure while at dinner. After two +months she again resumed her place in the mill, where she has since been +steadily employed, and is strong and well in every way. + +Have used _Pothos_ in epilepsy, also in dropsy, with negative results. + + +PRIMULA OBCONICA. + +NAT. ORD., Primulaceæ. + +COMMON NAME, Primrose var. obconica. + +PREPARATION.--The entire fresh plant in flower with root is macerated in +twice its weight of alcohol. + + (Dr. E. V. Ross, of Rochester, N. Y., thus summarizes the + various papers that have appeared on this remedy--sources + of papers named in his article:) + +The following summary of the pathogenetic effects of _Primula_ were +produced from handling and in otherwise coming in contact with the +plant, and so far as known the poisonous properties are wholly confined +to the leaves. + +The effects bear a close resemblance to _Anacardium_, _Euphorbium_, +_Ranunculus_, _Rhus_, etc. It is evidently deserving of a thorough +proving, and it is our intention to attempt one as soon as a reliable +preparation can be had. + +References: (1) _Syme, British Medical Journal_; (2) _London Lancet_; +(3) _Homoeopathic World_, March, 1892; (4) _American Homoeopathist_, +1897, p. 429; (5) _New York Medical Journal_, January, 1898, p. 68. + + (1) 1. Eczema on face. + + 2. Eczema on face and arms. + + 3. Moist eczema on face and forearms, papular and + excoriated. + + 4. Severe cracking over joints and fingers as from frost. + + 5. Great itching of the skin. + + 6. Eruption appears at night. + + 7. Eruption and itching worse at night. + + 8. The itching was intolerable at night. + + (2) 9. Irritable papular eruption on both hands, followed + by desquamation. + + 10. Papular eruption on chin. + + 11. Eruption of small papules on a raised base with + intolerable itching. + + (3) 12. Papular eruption (eczematous) on hands, wrists + and fingers. + + 13. Skin red and swollen and itching violently. + + 14. At night she became feverish, hands and face would + burn, then intolerable itching followed by erythema with + small papules becoming pustular. + + 15. Papular eruption itching violently. + + (4) 16. Confluent blotches on face resembling urticaria. + + 17. Eruption between fingers which resembles scabies. + + 18. Desquamation. + + 19. Purple blotches on dorsal surface of hands. + + 20. Palmar surface of hands and fingers are stiff and + unusable. + + 21. Deep-seated blisters form on tip of each finger and + above and below each phalangeal flexure. + + 22. Blisters on fingers from which a clear fluid escapes + on being pricked. + + 23. Intense itching and burning accompanies the eruption. + + (5) 24. Eruption preceded by pricking sensation which + gradually changes to a smarting. + + 25. Skin tumefied and diffuse infiltration with a red + serosity, with here and there small fullæ filled with a + limpid liquid. + + 26. Eyelids greatly swollen and covered with large fullæ, + eyes half closed. + + 27. Great tension and redness of skin resembling + erysipeias. + + 28. Desquamation sometimes furfuraceous, sometimes + lamellar, involving all of the epidermic layer in such a + manner that in some places the papillary layer was + exposed. + + 29. Eyelids stiff and immovable, resembling ptosis. + + 30. Dryness and heat in palms of hands. + + 31. Deep infiltration of tissues rendering the parts + stiff and immovable. + + 32. Skin symptoms accompanied by pronounced febrile + symptoms. + +From symptoms Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, 14, 15, 23 it would appear the time of +aggravation is at night, and the most prominent sensation is _itching_ +and less prominent is burning. This is characteristic of the _Arsenicum_ +eruption, also of _Anacardium_, _Rhus tox._, and some others. The +eruption also bears a strong resemblance to these remedies, and if one +may judge from the symptoms enumerated ought to prove a potent rival in +erysipelas and eczematous complaints. _Rhus_ poisoning will no doubt +find a new and efficient remedy in _Primula_. + + +PYRUS AMERICANA. + +NAT. ORD., Rosacæ. + +COMMON NAME, Mountain ash. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh bark is macerated in twice its weight of +alcohol. + + (We find the following in the _American Observer_, 1878, + credited to _Northwestern Analist_ and written by Dr. H. + P. Gatchell. Allen, in the _Encyclopædia_ has not + mentioned the drug, and we can find no mention in any of + the dispensatories consulted. Dr. Fernie, in his + excellent book, _Herbal simples_ devotes some space to + it. We quote: "'There is,' says an old writer, 'in every + berry the exhilaration of wine, and the satisfying of old + mead; and whosoever shall eat three berries of them, if + he has completed a hundred years, he will return to the + age of thirty.' At the same time it must be noted that + the _leaves_ of the Mountain ash are of a poisonous + quality, and contain prussic acid like those of the + laurel." The following is Dr. Gatchell's paper, the + proving, be it noted, is made from a tincture of the + bark:) + +My memory of details, never remarkable, except as the details belonged +to some system, is not as good as in earlier life, and in the matter of +disconnected or partially connected incidents, the widow Bedott could, +at any time, have given me five points in ten, and then have beaten me +easily. + +No. 1 of the provers was a married lady; No. 2 and No. 3 were lads. The +tincture of the bark was used, several drops being put in a cup of +water, of which teaspoonful doses were given and repeated at, I do not +remember what, intervals. Myself experienced some irritation of the +eyes; no other symptoms. + +No. 1. Feels like crying. Feels as if the knees are immensely swollen, +as if the toes the same. Knees and toes ache. Feels constricted around +the waist, obliged to loosen the clothes at once. Headache begins over +the eyes, left side of head aches terribly, like a tooth ache. Aches +everywhere, in every joint. Left great toe feels as if torn from the +socket. Sense of prolapsus of womb, bearing down and pressing out, as if +swollen, and burning all over. Pains in the head knife-like. All the +pains intense, acute. Thinks the conditions that of inflammatory +rheumatism as if the lungs were congested, especially at the base. Can +hardly breathe, as if cold water in the stomach. Thinks mucus +accumulated in the cold stomach. Craves hot teas. Headache extends to +the right side. Head feels as if it would burst. Great weight on top of +head. Toes burn. Aching at heart. Twinging pains in arms, legs and toes. +As if rectum were shrunken, dried up. Bearing down pains and pressing +out, like labor pains. Feels gloomy and discouraged, but can't cry. Very +cold, shivers internally; thinks she must look blue. Cold creeping all +over. Pain in knees subsides, and is succeeded by pain as in the tendons +and along the calves. "Oh, such a drawing pain, cutting and darting +also, like that in the head." Feels resolute, as full of a gloomy +determination. Stomach cold again. Thinks meat bad for her, would not +digest; needs soft, mild food. Irritation of bladder and urethra; feels +as if prolapsus of bladder. Dreads to move, especially on account of the +joints. Sensitive to cold. Stomach still feels as if full of cold +water. Sick feeling under right scapula. Thinks bile deficient. +Shooting pains in forehead. Feeling as if coldness in stomach extends up +under the sternum. Same feeling in the gullet. Excessive aching of bones +of toes; seems unendurable. Thinks the stomach very weak, as if it would +digest nothing; thinks it is dry and wrinkled. Hypochondriac, not +nervous. Feels lazy, as if she would like to lie in bed and be waited +on. Selfish. Headache penetrating in temples. Thinks she is clairvoyant, +can read character and understand motions; can see into herself; thinks +the blood dark blue. Feels pains drawing, rending along posterior aspect +of thighs and down to toes. Left side most affected. Feels as if the +left leg were drawn up, and would never straighten again. Pains seem to +move in meandering lines. Seems to be able to go out of herself for a +short distance, to walk around and return into the body. Thinks she is +looking down upon her own body. Seems to her that the fundus of the +stomach is depressed in the abdomen, as if on fire at the pyloric end of +stomach. Thinks there is a red spot there, looking like raw beef, as if +the stomach burnt up with raw whisky. Exclaims in a plaintive tone, +"Don't get out of patience with me" (of which I had given no +indications). Cries, feels babyish. Apprehension; fears something +terrible is about to occur. Very chilly. Can't talk loud; voice gone. +She feels so weak, as if about to die. Moans and groans, calls for help. +Oppression about the heart, as if it had stopped beating, as going into +convulsions. Feels as if a spasm of the heart, tetanic. As if the blood +too thick to circulate. Thinks she would have died but for the _Camphor_ +I gave her. Felt as she did when near dying of hemorrhage. Brain is +active, intellect clear, thoughts vivid, the whole being intensified. +Next morning, sense of constriction at base of lungs. Some cough. Clammy +feeling of skin. Very sensitive to air. + +No. 2. Causes a glow all over, hands sweat. Some pain in finger joints. +Throat feels obstructed. Some hoarseness. Dry cough, as if pharynx +stuffed with cotton. It is an effort to talk. Tongue feels partially +paralyzed, cannot direct it. Throws the paper down, has lost inclination +to read. Feels indolent, indifferent. Feels chills when air strikes. +Spasmodic breathing, like a nervous woman--silly, mystical. Pain in +finger joints continues. Feels like crying. Sad, weeping mood. Tears +will come. Eyes smart. Heart aches, as from some great sorrow. Eyes feel +as if had been crying a long time, as if swollen, burning. Very +sensitive to cold, easily chilled. Chills down the back and both legs. +Ends with a very tranquil feeling, particularly of consciousness. Next +morning, tight feeling of patella. Joints all feel constricted and sore. + +No. 3. Very chilly. Can't endure cold at all. Other symptoms not +recorded. + +In all three, pains and chilliness much increased by moving about. + +No. 1. Subsequently her muscular condition was much improved. Her +muscles did not ache from work as formerly. + +A cut bled less freely than usual, bled scarcely any, and healed very +quickly. + + +SALIX NIGRA AMENTS. + +NAT. ORD., Salicaceæ. + +COMMON NAME, White Willow. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh aments are macerated in twice their weight of +alcohol. + + (Dr. John Fearns writes of this remedy in _Chicago + Medical Times_, 1896:) + +At this writing I wish to speak not of the tonic and antiseptic +properties of this species of _Salix_, but of its usefulness as a +sedative to the generative system. As a sedative on these lines I have +had very good results from its use. + +In cases of acute gonorrhoea with much errotic trouble. Also in cases +of chordee with great irritation; for these purposes I have given it in +doses of thirty to sixty drops on retiring, and repeat at midnight or +towards morning, if needed; in these cases nothing has given me more +satisfaction than this remedy. It answers the purpose, it robs night of +its terrors, and it leaves no unpleasant consequences in its train. + +In cases of excessive venereal desire, amounting to satyriasis, from +experience I would use this remedy first. I have seen it control the +venereal appetite in a very satisfactory manner. It can be given in +cases where the bromides have always been considered appropriate, and it +can be given where the bromides would be very inappropriate and there is +no reflex effect on the brain or nervous system. + + +SALVIA OFFICINALIS. + +NAT. ORD., Labiatæ. + +COMMON NAME, Common sage. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh leaves are macerated in twice their weight of +alcohol. + + (Although scarcely used in the present day sage runs back + in medical history to the Greeks, and, according to + Fernie, is still held in the highest esteem by country + people in many parts of Europe. Quoting Gerard: "Sage is + singularly good for the head and brain; it quickeneth the + senses and memory; strengtheneth the sinews; restoreth + health to those that have palsy; and takes away shaky + trembling of the members." The following appeared in + _Echo Med. du Nord_, 1897, concerning this remedy:) + +This remedy (in English, _Sage_) has been almost forgotten in modern +medical art, but still remains in high repute as a domestic medicine. +Lately, French physicians have called attention to it, and not only for +gargling in cases of inflammation of the throat and for washing the +mouth in affections of the gums, but more especially as an unfailing +remedy for night-sweats in persons suffering from affections of the +respiratory organs. In the numerous experiments made with it, there +were never any disagreeable concomitant effects. On the contrary, it was +found that _Salvia_ acts even more favorably on the tickling coughs with +consumptives than _Belladonna_, _Rumex crispus_, etc., so that +preparations of _Morphine_ and _Codeine_ could be dispensed with. + +_Salvia_ should be used in the form of the tincture, and, indeed, the +tincture prepared from the fresh leaves and the blossom tips, as we find +it in homoeopathic pharmacies. It should be given in doses of 20, 30, +or 40 drops, in a tablespoonful of water. The effects manifest +themselves very quickly, two hours after taking a dose, and these +effects persist for two to six days. + + +SAURURUS CERNUUS. + +NAT. ORD., Piperaceæ. + +COMMON NAME, Lizard's Tail. + +PREPARATION.--The entire plant including the root is macerated in twice +its weight of alcohol. + + (The following short notice of this almost unknown remedy + appeared in the _Homoeopathic Recorder_, 1895:) + +Readers who are interested in the remedies of nature rather than those +produced in the laboratory and sold under trademarks will remember that +it was Dr. D. L. Phares, of Mississippi, who, over half a century ago, +pointed out the wonderful virtues of _Passiflora incarnata_, so much +used to-day. What Dr. Phares said of the remedy laid dormant until Hale, +in his ever perennial _New Remedies_, rescued it from the dusty pages of +old medical journals, in which so much of value is buried awaiting +resurrection. Among such buried remedies is _Saururus cernuus_ or, as it +is more commonly known, "lizard's tail." Dr. Phares, who seems to have +been an unusually keen observer, used _Saururus cer._ in his practice, +as he did _Passiflora_, for many years before he communicated his +observations to the medical journals, and the _Saururus_ seems to be +quite as important and useful a remedy in its sphere as is _Passiflora_, +and one quite as worthy of a thorough proving. In absence of proving it +may be said that Dr. Phares used it for years with marked success in all +irritation and inflammation of the kidneys, bladder, prostate and +urinary passages. He considered it peculiarly adapted to all such cases +if they were attended by strangury, or painful and difficult urination. +Dr. Phares used the remedy both externally and internally and he found +that the stomach was very tolerant of the rather heroic doses he +prescribed. + +The plant is an indigenous perennial found in swampy localities, in some +parts of the United States, and has been, and is still, used in domestic +practice for those conditions for which Dr. Phares commends it. + + +SCOLOPENDRA MORSITANS. + +PREPARATION.--The insect is triturated with sugar of milk in the usual +way. + + (In the case of a man bitten in the arm by a centipede, + reported in _Nashville Journal of Medicine_, 1870, among + the striking symptoms was no perspiration in the arm for + three months. Dr. Sherman, of California (_Med. + Advance_), reports the following symptoms as prominent in + a woman bitten by a centipede:) + +_Head._--Vertigo, with blindness, worse in the morning. + +_Stomach._--Nausea and vomiting; unable to retain either food or liquid. + +_Back._--Terrible pains in back and loins, spasmodic and irregular, at +times extending down the limbs. Pains returned every few days for three +weeks, commencing in the head and going out at the toes. "Resembled +labor pains as nearly as anything I ever saw." + + +SCUTELLARIA LATERIFOLIA. + +NAT. ORD., Labiatæ. + +COMMON NAME, Mad-dog skullcap. + +PREPARATION.--The whole fresh plant is macerated in twice its weight of +alcohol. + + (The following proving of _Scutellaria lat._, from + _University Bulletin_, 1897, was made, under the auspices + of Dr. Geo. Royal, by nine provers:) + +No symptom has been recorded unless experienced by two provers. When +experienced by two provers, and not often repeated, the symptom is +recorded in common type. When often repeated in two provings is found in +italics. When often repeated in three provings, or found in four or +more, the symptoms appear in black type. + +MIND.--=Inability to study or fix the attention on one's work.= +_Confusion of mind._ _Apathy._ Irritability. + +HEAD.--=A full or throbbing sensation in head.= =A dull heavy headache +mostly in the forehead and temples.= Sharp shooting pain in the head. +Pain in the occiput. Headache relieved in the open air. Headache +relieved by eating. Headache aggravated by motion. + +EYES.--_Aching in the eyeballs._ Eyeballs painful to touch. Eyeballs +feel too large. + +FACE.--Flushed. + +MOUTH.--_Bad taste_; _sour_; _bitter_. + +THROAT.--Sensation of lump in throat which could not be swallowed. + +STOMACH.--=Nausea.= =Sour eructions.= _Poor appetite._ Vomiting of sour +ingesta, hiccoughs, pain and distress in stomach. + +ABDOMEN.--=Gas in bowels.= _Colicky pain in abdomen._ _Fullness or +distension of abdomen._ _Uneasiness in abdomen._ Pain in the abdomen. + +STOOLS.--=Diarrhoea.= _Light colored._ Stools preceded by colicky pain +in abdomen. + +URINARY ORGANS.--=Quantity of urine diminished. Biliary salts increased.= +Frequent micturition but quantity small. + +CHEST.--Pain in chest. + +HEART AND PULSE.--Pulse rate irregular. + +BACK.--Pain in back. + +UPPER EXTREMITIES.--_Sharp stinging pains._ Aching. + +LOWER EXTREMITIES.--=Weakness.= =Aching.= _Uneasiness._ + +SLEEP.--=Restless.= =Unrefreshing.= _Disturbed._ + +GENERAL SYMPTOMS.--=Restlessness.= =Tired weak feeling.= _Uneasiness._ +_Languor._ + +The remedy seems most suitable to persons of a nervo-bilious +temperament. All the symptoms seem to be aggravated by work or +excitement and ameliorated by sleep. + + +SISYRINCHIUM. + +NAT. ORD., Iridaceæ. + +COMMON NAME, Blue-eyed grass. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh root is macerated in twice its weight of +alcohol. + + (Dr. W. U. Reed, of Northmanchester, Ind., contributed + the following in 1892 to the _Hom. Recorder_, concerning + this little known remedy. _Sisyrinchium_ was one of the + old "Thompsonians." From what Dr. Reed says of it the + remedy must be a very powerful one and worthy of full + investigation.) + +Numerous articles have appeared in our medical journals during the past +few months relative to the treatment of persons bitten by venomous +reptiles, especially the rattlesnake. Whether the rattlesnakes found in +the marshes of Indiana are in any respect different from those found in +Oregon, or in the mountains of Pennsylvania, I do not know. The bite of +the Indiana rattler has been known to prove fatal to both man and beast. +Notwithstanding we have growing in our woods and fields a small plant, +which I believe to be a specific for the treatment of persons or animals +bitten by the rattlesnake. From my own experience and observation in the +use of this remedy, I believe it to be a positive cure in all cases if +exhibited in any reasonable time. I have never known it to fail in a +single instance, even where the alcoholic treatment and many other kinds +had failed. + +The plant referred to, the roots of which are used in the treatment of +snake bites; or a tincture made from the roots, is the _Sisyrinchium_ of +the _Iris_ family, I think, and is said to have been used by the Indians +in treating snake bites, by bruising and moistening the roots and +applying to the wound. I am not aware of its ever having been used as a +medicine by the profession, and, so far as I know, I am the first to +prepare and use it in the form of a tincture. By your kind permission I +will report, through the columns of your valuable journal, a few cases +treated by this remedy, which for convenience I will call +_Sisyrinchium_. + +Case 1. Bessie A., aged six years, while playing in the yard on a farm, +some twelve miles in the country, was bitten in the hand by a +rattlesnake which was killed a moment after by the mother of the little +girl who was attracted by the screams of the child. Sixteen hours after +I arrived, everything having been done in the meantime that had ever +been heard of by the parents, even to poulticing the wound with entrails +of a black chicken. The little sufferer was, indeed, an object of pity. +The hand and arm were swollen almost to bursting, the swelling extending +to the shoulder and spine, being of a bluish black color as if +dreadfully bruised. This discoloration extended over the back to the +hips. Skin hot and dry, face flushed, pulse quick and hard. Child +unconscious. I felt that the case was hopeless. But through the earnest +entreaties of the mother, I proceeded to do what I could. Saturating a +piece of cotton with the tincture I had prepared, I bound it on the +wound; then dropping twelve drops in a glass of water I directed that a +teaspoonful be given every hour, the compress to be renewed every hour +also, until my return. I confess I had little hope of seeing my little +patient alive again, but on my return the following day I was much +rejoiced to find a decided change for the better in the condition of the +little sufferer. The swelling was not nearly so tense, the fever had +subsided, the delirium gone, and the danger seemed past. The treatment +was continued, and a speedy and permanent recovery followed. + +Case 2. Burt Whitten, aged ten, while out in a marsh with a number of +older boys gathering huckleberries, was bitten in the right ankle by a +rattler. He was so frightened when he saw the snake, as it bit him, that +he ran all the way home, a distance of nearly a mile; although the day +was very hot. This patient came to my hands after the usual alcoholic +treatment for twenty-four hours by an Allopathic physician, with the +patient growing worse all the time. I found this patient in about the +same condition as the first. The leg and foot were enormously swollen +and of the same general appearance; the foot, calf of the leg and thigh +were black; the whole body was very red, hot and dry; face dark red; +pulse quick and hard; patient delirious but would cry out if touched. +Fifteen drops in a glass of water. Teaspoonful every hour, with cotton +saturated with the tincture applied to the wound. In this case the +change, I was informed by the father, was quite noticeable in two hours. +The boy had been in a wild delirium all night and up to the time he +received the first dose of _Sisyrinchium_. After the second dose he +became quiet, and in two hours the delirium had passed away. Under this +treatment the patient was able to be out on the streets again in four +days, though the discoloration did not disappear for some time after. + +Many more cases might be given where this remedy has been given to both +man and beast with the same results. + + +SKOOKUM CHUCK. + + (Some readers may be startled at this name, applied to a + remedy, but under that name it came before the profession + and the name has stuck. It is the Western Indian's + designation of the waters of what is now known as + "Medical Lake." The following by Dr. W. D. Gentry + appeared in the _U. S. Med. Investigator_, 1889:) + +The water is of a deep amber and almost red in the sunlight. The +following is an analysis of the salts, obtained by evaporation of the +water; the proportion being in grains per U. S. gallon 231 cubic inches: + + Sodic chloride, 16.370 + Potassic chloride, 9.241 + Sodic carbonate, 63.543 + Magnesic carbonate, .233 + Ferrous carbonate, .526 + Calcic carbonate, .186 + Aluminic oxide, .175 + Sodic silicate, 10.638 + Organic matter, .551 + ------ + 101.463 + Lithic carbonate, } + Potassic sulphate, }Each a trace. + Sodic bi-borate, } + +The lake has no outlet, but is fed by two enormous springs. It contains +no living things with the exception of axolotl, a kind of salamander, +such as are found in the lakes of the Mexican Cordilleras. + +The medical and curative properties of this remarkable lake was known to +the Indians of the northwest as far back as they have any legends or +tribal history, and it was held in such reverence by them that the +country around this lake was called 'Sahala Lyee Illihe,' or 'Sacred +Grounds,' and no matter how hostile the tribes were to each other no +Indians journeying to or from the 'Skookum Limechen Chuck,' or 'strong +medicine water,' were ever molested. + +When the Indians were considering the transfer of their lands to the +government, many years ago, it is recorded as a matter of history, that +old Quetahlguin, father of the present Chief Moses, and 'Old Joseph,' +father of Chief Joseph, lately a prisoner of war, with the broken +remnants of his band, after weeks of deliberation and consideration, +with the 'Sahala Lyee,' or Great Spirit, through their medicine-men, or +prophets, firmly said: 'We have talked with the Great Spirit and we have +slept with his words in our ears. The Great Spirit is our father and the +earth is our mother. We have a good home and it was made for us by the +Great Spirit; it is a part of us; it is our mother. In Wallowa Lake are +an abundance of fish created especially for our tribe. None other of his +red children have such fish. In the 'Skookum Chuck' we have a remedy for +all our ailments. We only have to bathe in and drink its water and we +are made well. If we sign the treaty we will forever offend the Great +Spirit; we will sign away our mother and she will cry. Her tears will +dry up these lakes and we will be hungry and sick. We will go to the +Skookum Chuck only to find that its waters have disappeared.' + +The story is told of a Frenchman passing the lake many years ago, before +the properties of the water became known to the whites, with a drove of +sheep afflicted with a skin disease called 'the scab.' As soon as the +sheep saw the water they ran to it, but would not drink. They stood in +the water for some time, and in a few days they were well of the 'scab.' +The Frenchman was suffering with rheumatism. He concluded to try the +water of the lake for his disease. He was speedily cured. The whites +were soon attracted to this lake by the stories of marvellous cures +reported by the Indians, and by seeing Indians return in health and +vigor from the lake, who had been taken there on litters, appearing at +the point of death. It is estimated that over 20,000 people have visited +this lake since 'Joseph's Band' were driven from that section of the +country, and it is fast becoming as popular as any other of our great +health resorts. + +My attention was called to _Skookum chuck_ some time since, and I +procured some of the salts and triturated a quantity, making the first, +second, third and sixth potencies. I partially proved the first potency +by taking two grains every two hours. The first effect produced was a +profuse coryza with constant sneezing, as in hay fever. This continued +until the medicine was antidoted by tobacco. My appetite was greatly +increased. Some rheumatic pains in limbs, and heaviness about the +sacrum. The catarrhal effects were so severe I could not continue the +remedy. I have used the third and sixth potency in my practice and have +cured a number of cases of catarrh, and am confident that the remedy +will be curative in hay fever. + + (Later investigation, however, demonstrated that the + chief curative action of the salts was in skin diseases. + Dr. D. De Forest Cole, of Albion, N. Y., wrote the + following to the firm from whom he procured the remedy:) + +Some time since I received from you one bottle _Skookum chuck_ 3x trit. +I had a very bad case of urticaria which resisted the usual remedies as +_Apis_, _Urtica ur._, etc., and I gave her (a girl twelve years old) +four powders of about four grains each of the _Skookum chuck_, +instructing her to take one powder in one-half glass water, one +teaspoonful every two hours, and she returned in a week free from any +urticaria. I gave her four powders more, and no appearance of urticaria +since. Besides curing the urticaria the patient's health is in every way +improving. I write this thinking you might desire to know of its value +in urticaria, as well as eczema. + + (The following cases were contributed by Dr. D. W. + Ingalls, Bridgeport, to _N. Y. Med. Times_, 1894:) + +CASE 1. Mrs. D., aged forty-eight years, suffered four years with eczema +plantaris, fissured, red and painful, which gave forth a viscid +secretion, drying into scales half an inch in thickness. For the past +two years the patient had not been able to wear shoes nor walk any +distance, owing to the excessive soreness of the feet. + +Patient consulted me March 1st, and the following treatment was given: +Two-grain powders of the 2x trituration of _Skookum chuck_ every two +hours, and an ointment applied nightly consisting of _Skookum salt_, one +drachm to the ounce of _Vaseline_. In the morning the feet were washed +with _Skookum chuck_ soap. April 1st the patient walked to the +dispensary in felt shoes. The fissures and greenish tinge of the crusts +had nearly disappeared. The two-grain powders were then given every four +hours and the former treatment continued. On May 1st, patient walked to +the dispensary wearing leather shoes for the first time, the ointment +was stopped, the fissures and crevices being hardly perceptible. The +patient was advised to wash the feet night and morning with the _Skookum +chuck_ soap. + +June 1st patient presented herself, stating that she had very little +trouble with her feet, except some tenderness upon a misstep. Appearance +good. + +A powder of the 3x was given every night, together with the continued +washing of the feet night and morning. July 1st the patient was +discharged cured. + +CASE 2. Mrs. B., aged twenty-eight, eczema of the nose of one year's +standing. The usual ointments were given, but without result. March 15th +the following treatment was given: Five-grain powder of the 2x +trituration _Skookum chuck_ four times a day, together with the +_Skookum_ ointment applied nightly. This case was entirely cured in six +weeks. + +CASE 3. Mrs. H., aged twenty-three, benign growth in left breast about +the size of a walnut; first noticed about eight months previously. Upon +strict inquiry, no history of cancer or tuberculosis was given. +One-grain powders of the 1x were given, the first week every four hours. +Two-grain powders of the 2x were given every four hours the second week. +Five-grain powders of the 3x were given the third week and continued +seven weeks, when the patient was discharged cured. + +CASE 4. Mr. S. was afflicted with eczema of the scalp, which spread from +back of the ears to the eyebrows, covering the entire scalp with a +squamous or scabby eczema, accompanied with a constant itching and +shedding of scales. On March 18th the following treatment was given: +Head to be washed four times a day with _Skookum chuck_ soap. A +five-grain powder 2x trituration was given every hour during the first +week, when _Sulphur_, third decimal, was given for three days, and +_Skookum chuck_, second decimal, was continued for one week. One-grain +powder of the 1x was given in water four times a day for two weeks; then +the third decimal trituration was used until June 1st, when patient was +discharged cured. + +CASE 5. Mr. J., nasal catarrh, of years' standing. A greenish-yellow +discharge having the odor of a slight ozoena. The patient had been so +much relieved that he is at present writing very comfortable, and +believes that he will be permanently cured. + +CASE 6. Mrs. D., aged thirty-six, prolonged suppuration due to abscess +of the axilla; nine months' standing. June 20th the following treatment +was given: The abscess was washed four times a day with the solution of +_Skookum_ salts, five grains to one quart of water, and the 2x given +internally every two hours until July 10th, when the abscess was healed. +A two-grain powder was then continued, night and morning for one month, +with no return of the abscess. To sum up, I have simply verified what +Dr. Gentry and others have given us about the remedy. I have used it +with gratifying success in all suppurating wounds. It evidently has a +great sphere of action, and I hope some day to see a good proving. + + (The following was contributed by Dr. B. F. Bailey, + Lincoln, Neb.:) + +We have many remedies brought to our notice in an empirical way, which +soon lose their prominence, first because we have no provings, and +second, having no provings, clinical study is not close enough. When +_Skookum chuck_ was first written up, I began to use it and watch its +effects, that it might be possible to find its proper niche in practice. +The following two cases will, I think, give an idea of the cases in +which it may always be depended upon: + +Case No. 1.--A married woman of 40 years of age. History and present +condition show a lithæmic diathesis. For years has never been free from +eczematous troubles. At times suffers much from rheumatism, not +infrequently, rheumatism disappears to be immediately followed by +hordeoli upon eyelids. Has been treated long and faithfully by +Allopaths, and now for some years by our own school. Prescribed +_Skookum_ 3x--one powder every 4 hours. Improvement was soon evident. +Persisted in this treatment for three months, and now for two years +patient has been perfectly well. + +Case No. 2.--Patient, married woman of about 26 years, comes to me with +urine, sp. grav. 1.030, marked uric acid deposits, flushed face upon a +yellowish background--so often seen in lithæmic cases. Much difficulty +of digestion. Great dryness of skin, especially of scalp, with great +trouble from falling out of hair--in short a thoroughly lithæmic case. +_Skookum chuck_ 3x every four hours. Satisfactory improvement. Has +feared head will become entirely bald. Now no loss of hair, and a loss +of the heated, congested feeling of face and head. In fact, a +satisfactory recovery now of some weeks standing. These cases briefly +stated ought to be of interest, in that they show it to be probable that +we will find the sphere of action of _Skookum_ to be in lithæmic cases, +and for the treatment of these cases we have but a few clearly defined +reliable remedies. + + +SOLANUM CAROLINENSE. + +NAT. ORD., Solanaceæ. + +COMMON NAME, Horse-nettle. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh, ripe berries are macerated in twice their +weight of alcohol. + + (In 1889 Dr. Napier called attention to _Solanum + Carolinense_ as a remedy in the treatment of epilepsy, + stating that it was used as a domestic remedy in the + South for convulsions and "that he had successfully + prescribed it in his practice." Dr. Charles S. Potts, of + the University of Pennsylvania, contributes a paper + _Therap. Gazette_, Dec., 1895, on the remedy, giving some + new points, from which the following is condensed:) + +At the clinic for nervous diseases of the University Hospital, _Solanum +Carolinense_ was tried in a series of twenty-five cases, twenty-one of +which were idiopathic, three organic, and one probably so. Of these, +eight of the idiopathic cases either did not return after the first +visit or else were not under observation sufficiently long to offer a +fair test. In the remaining seventeen cases the following results were +obtained--viz., five, two of them organic, were not improved. In the +remaining twelve the results showed more or less benefit from the use of +the drug. The five cases in which no improvement was noted were +afterwards placed upon other treatment, either antipyrin and bromide of +ammonium or the mixed bromides with amelioration of the symptoms in +four; in the remaining one no drug seemed to be of service. The dose +used at first was 10 drops. This dose was found to be useless, and after +the first few cases they varied from 30 drops to teaspoonful three or +four times daily. No unpleasant effects were observed, excepting a mild +diarrhoea in some cases. This was also noticed by Dr. Herdman. He also +noticed that in large doses the temperature was lowered and the pulse +slowed. + +In many epileptics diarrhoea is more of a benefit than otherwise. + +The conclusions derived from the results obtained in seventeen cases +are:-- + +1. That the drug has a decided influence for good upon the epileptic +paroxysm. + +2. That this influence is probably not so great or so sure as that +obtained by the use of antipyrin and the bromide salts or even of the +mixed bromides. + +3. That in those cases in which it is of service it relieves the +paroxysms, without causing any other unpleasant symptoms, such as are +sometimes caused by the use of large doses of the bromides. + +4. That the dose ordinarily recommended is too small, and that as much +as a teaspoonful or more four times daily is often needed to secure +results. + +The following are some of the cases in which the remedy seemed to act +beneficially: + +H. T., male, aged thirteen years. Idiopathic epilepsy; had his first +spell when five years of age; averages one paroxysm daily. The _Solanum_ +was first given in 10 drop doses _t. i. d._ without effect. When +increased to 25 drops the spells were lighter in severity, but occurred +about as often. The dose was finally increased to a teaspoonful four +times daily. After being put upon this dose he was under observation six +weeks, during which time he had six seizures much lighter in severity. + +T. H., male, aged twenty-eight years. He had epileptic seizures for the +past three years. They followed an injury to the head which rendered him +unconscious, but produced no other visible injury. Since this, however, +has had almost constant headache. First spell six month after the +injury, and have been very frequent since, averaging three to four +weekly; they are of ordinary type. _Solanum_ in 40 drop doses three +times daily was ordered. Spells at once decreased in frequency and +severity. During the last six weeks he was under observation he only had +three spells, very mild in type. + +C. R., male, aged twenty-one years. Epileptic seizures for past three +years following an injury. Had been trephined in right parietal region +before coming under our observation. After trephining the symptom +improved, but got worse again; when seen by us was having one daily. +40-drop doses of _Solanum_ caused diarrhoea, and dose was reduced to +30 drops _t. i. d._, when diarrhoea ceased. Under this treatment he +had no spell for two weeks. In the following month he had three spells; +was then lost to observation. + +A. N., male, aged thirty years. First spell one year ago; have since +occurred every two weeks; good deal of headache. Ordered _Solanum_ 30 +drops _t. i. d._ No spells for one month and headache ceased. He then +stopped attendance. + +J. D., female, aged eighteen years. First spell when thirteen years old; +has one spell a month at the time of her menstrual period. About a week +before this period was given 40 drops _t. i. d._, and escaped the usual +spell. The following month, however, she had one. + +I. K., female, aged twenty-five years. Nocturnal epilepsy for past three +years; about one spell a month. While using 40 drops _t. i. d._ went +three weeks longer than usual without a spell. The dose was then +increased to 1 fluid drachm _t. i. d._; she then ceased her visits. + +F. S., female, aged twelve years. First spell five weeks ago; has been +having them daily since. _Solanum_ 30 drops _t. i. d._, ordered; this +dose was gradually increased to 1 fluid drachm _t. i. d._ During the +three months that she was under observation her spells averaged in +number about one a week. + +H. B., male, aged eighteen years. First convulsion at age of ten years; +then had none until three months ago; has had general convulsions about +once daily since. _Solanum_, 40 drops _t. i. d._, ordered. He was only +under observation nine days, having during that time four spells, much +milder in character. + +A. C., female, aged fifteen years. First convulsion one year ago; they +have been increasing in frequency; now has one about every three days. +During the three weeks she was taking 30 drops of _Solanum_ three times +a day she had one spell, that occurring during the third week. + +H. K., male, aged eighteen years. First spell when fourteen years old. +Every three or four days has several attacks in succession, an average +of about one daily. While taking _Solanum_ in 40-drop--afterwards +increased to teaspoonful--doses he had twelve in thirty-eight days, an +average of a little less than one in three days, going six without +having any. + + +SPIRITUS GLANDIUM QUERCUS. + +NAT. ORD.--Cupuliferæ. + +COMMON NAME--European or English oak. + +PREPARATION.--The spirit is destilled from the tincture prepared by +macerating the acorn kernals from the Quercus robur, in five times their +weight of dilute alcohol. + + (The following, from Rademacher, is quoted and translated + by Dr. J. C. Burnett in his _Diseases of the Spleen_). + +I became acquainted with this remedy in a wonderful way. Many years ago +(I do not remember the exact time) a working carpenter, who had +previously lived at Crefeld, came to seek my advice for his bellyache, +which was of long standing. According to his own statement, he had long +been under Sanitary Councillor Schneider in Crefeld, who was not able to +help him, and so sent him to Professor Günther in Duisberg. Ten journeys +thither were likewise in vain. + +I tried my usual remedies for seemingly such cases, but to no good; and +as I noticed he was a good cabinetmaker, and dabbled a bit in +upholstery, I told him it would be a good plan if he were to hire +himself out to a country squire as joiner, thinking that the food of the +servants' hall would suit his sick stomach better than the beans, black +bread, and potatoes of the master carpenter. The good fellow followed my +advice, and lived with a squire for many years; and I heard nothing more +about him. Finally, he married the parlormaid, and settled here in this +town as a joiner. One day when visiting his sick wife I remembered the +old story of his bellyache, and wanted to know how it then was. "All +right," said he, "I have not had it for years." It seems that a local +surgeon, being one day at the squire's, told him to get some acorns, and +scrape them with a knife, and then put the scrapings into brandy and +leave them to draw for a day, and then to drink a small glass of this +spirit several times a day. He did as he was advised, and was forthwith +relieved, and very soon entirely freed from his old trouble. + +From what I knew of the surgeon, I was very sure he could not give me +any intelligent reason for his prescription. I should only have heard +that acorn scrapings in brandy were good for the bellyache, or, at the +most, I may have ascertained from what doctor, or peasant, or old wife +he had got the tip. + +But this would have done me but poor service; and as I had in the +meantime become much more cunning, I questioned the joiner himself +afresh as to the kind of his old pain, particularly as to the part of +the belly where the pain was _last felt_ when he had had a bad attack. +He was in no doubt about it, but at once pointed to the part of the +belly nearest the left hypochondrium. So I very shrewdly suspected that +the abdominal pains were really owing to a primary affection of the +spleen, in which notion I was strengthened by remembering that the best +pain-killing hepatic and enteric remedies had done him no good. + +To get as soon as possible to the bottom of the thing, I set about +preparing a tincture of acorns, and gave a teaspoonful five times a day +in water to an old brandy drunkard, who was sick unto death, and of whom +I knew that he had suffered from the spleen for a very long time, the +spleen being from time to time painful. He had likewise ascites, and his +legs were dropsical as far as the knees. It occurred to me that if the +acorn tincture were to act curatively on the spleen the consensual +kidney affection and its dependent dropsy would mend. I soon saw that I +had reckoned rightly. The urinary secretion was at once augmented, but +the patient complained that each time after taking the medicine he felt +a constriction of the chest. I ascribed this to the astringent matter of +the acorns, and thinking the really curative principle thereof would +most likely be volatile I caused the tincture to be distilled. This +acorn spirit caused no further constriction, and the urinary secretion +was still more markedly increased, the tension in the præcordia became +less and less, and this hopelessly incurable drunkard got quite well, +much to the surprise of all who knew him, and, honestly speaking, much +to my own surprise also. + +Having thus put the spirit of acorns to such a severe test, and that in +a case that I already knew so well, in which it was impossible to make a +mistake as to the primary affection, I went further, and used it by +degrees in all sorts of spleen affections, and that not only in painful +ones, but in painless ones, in the evident ones, and in those of a more +problematical kind. Gradually I became convinced that it is a remedy, +the place of which no other can take. More particularly is it of great, +nay, of inestimable value in spleen-dropsy. Later on, I found that the +volatile curative principle of acorns may be still better extracted with +water with the addition of alcohol. [The _aqua glandium_ is thus +prepared:--One pound of peeled and crushed acorns to the pound of +distillate.] Perhaps water alone might extract the healing principle, +but it would not keep thus, and so the cures would be uncertain, not to +mention the fact that such-like decaying medicines are a great trouble +to the chemists. The dose of the spirituous acorn-water (the only +preparation I have used of late years) is half a tablespoonful in water +four times a day. It has not much taste; some would even say it has +none, but the doubter may make a solution of alcohol and water in the +same proportions, and he will soon find that it has quite a taste of its +own. + +I must make mention of two of its peculiar effects. Certain people feel, +as soon as they have taken it, a peculiar sensation in the head, lasting +hardly a minute or two, which they say is like being drunk. + +With a few people, particularly with those who have suffered from old +spleen engorgements, diarrhoea sets in after using it for two or three +weeks that makes them feel better. It seldom lasts more than a day, and +is not weakening, but moderate. Hence it is not needful either to stop +the acorn water or to lessen the dose. + +I could add many instructive cases of spleen-dropsies and other spleen +affections in which the volatile principle of acorns proved curative, +but as I have so much more to say on other subjects I dare not be too +discursive on this one point; besides, what I have already said will +suffice for common-sense physicians. Still I cannot forbear noticing a +few bagatelles. For instance, I have found that the acute spleen fevers +that occur intercurrently with epidemic liver fevers are best cured with +_aqua glandium_--at least that is my experience. + +Furthermore, I am of opinion that the three _splenics_ of which I have +made mention are curative of three different morbid states of the +spleen, and I know well from my own experience that acorns are indicated +in the most common spleen affections; and, finally, I am not acquainted +with any positive signs whereby those three separate morbid states of +spleen can with certainty be differentiated from one another. + + (In a later work, _Gout and its Cure_, by Burnett, the + remedy is again brought up as follows:) + +For some years past I have been acquainted with a remedy that antidotes +the effect of alcohol very prettily, as I will show. I enter upon the +subject in this place, because it deserves to be widely known, and also +because in the treatment of gout, the alcoholism not infrequently bars +the way. The remedy I refer to is the distilled spirit of +acorns--_Spiritus glandium quercus_. My first account will be found in +my "Diseases of the Spleen," where _Spiritus glandium quercus_ is dealt +with as a spleen medicine. I speak of set purpose of the homoeopathic +antidote, because alcoholism is a disease, and as such must be met by +specific medication. + +Some of Rademacher's patients complained to him that while taking his +acorn medicine they felt in their heads somewhat as if they were drunk; +but as Rademacher did not believe in the law of similars--indeed, knew +but little about it--their complaint had no ulterior significance to +him, but still it struck him as worthy of record. "A few, but not many, +of those who take it immediately feel a peculiar sensation in the head, +which they say is like they feel when they are drunk, the sensation +lasting only a minute or two." Now, in the light of the homoeopathic +law, this symptom is eminently suggestive, but whether any one beside +myself has ever noticed this symptom I am not aware. Rademacher had +previously related the following brilliant cure. * * * He says that in +order to get a clear idea of the action of the remedy he caused to be +prepared a tincture of acorns, of which he gave a teaspoonful in water +five times a day to an almost moribund brandy toper, who had long been +suffering from a spleen affection that at times caused him a good deal +of pain, and who, at the time in question, had severe ascites and whose +lower extremities were dropsical up as far as the knees. Our author was +of opinion that the affection was a primary disease of the spleen, and +reasoned that if the tincture of acorns cured the spleen the kidneys +would duly resume work and the ascitic and anasarcous state would +disappear. He soon found he was right; patient at once began to pass +more urine, but he complained that every time he took a dose of the +medicine he got a constriction about the chest, and this Rademacher +ascribed to the astringent quality of the acorns, and to avoid this he +had the tincture of acorns distilled. The administration of this +distilled preparation was not followed by any unpleasant symptom, and +the quantity of urine passed increased still more, the tension on the +præcordia slowly lessened and this inveterate drunkard got quite well, +much to the amazement of everybody, Rademacher included, for he did not +at all expect him to recover. + +Now, it must be admitted that a remedy that can cure an old drunkard of +general dropsy and restore him to health deserves closer acquaintance, +and when we first regard it from the pathogenetic side as producing, of +course, contingently, a cephalic state, resembling alcoholic +intoxication, and then from the clinical side as having cured an +abandoned drunkard, it looks very much as if we had a remedy +homoeopathic to alcoholism. I may add that Rademacher nowhere hints +that the _Spiritus glandium quercus_ stands in any relation to +alcoholism; he regards it merely as a spleen medicine, specially +indicated in dropsy due to a primary spleen affection. At first I +regarded it merely in the same light, but when I really gripped the +significance of the pathogenetic symptoms just quoted I thought we might +find in our common acorns a notable homoeopathic anti-alcoholic. + +(It is not fair to quote further from Burnett, but we may add that in +his book, _Gout and Its Cure_, there are given a number of clinical +cases in which the remedy acted brilliantly in those addicted to +tippling, or drinking hard. It is not so much that the remedy extirpates +the habit, but it enables those afflicted to easily control their +appetite and drink "like other people," without that insatiable craving. +The dose is about ten drops in water three to four times a day.) + + +SOLIDAGO VIRGA-AUREA. + +NAT. ORD., Compositæ. + +COMMON NAME, Golden Rod + +PREPARATION.--The fresh blossoms are macerated in twice their weight of +alcohol. + + (The following is to be found on p. 131 of Dr. + Gallavardin's "Homoeopathic Treatment of Alcoholism:") + +"A lady, by administering, morning and evening, an infusion of the dry +leaves and flowers of Golden Rod (_Solidago virga-aurea_) tells me that +she cured her husband of an affection of the bladder which had compelled +him to use a catheter for a year or more. A friend of Homoeopathy, not +a physician, desired to test the efficaciousness of this plant. He +caused the first dilution of its tincture to be taken three times a day +by seven patients of from forty-two to seventy-four years of age, who +had been obliged to catheterize themselves for weeks, months and years, +and cured them so thoroughly that they had no relapses. Surgeons who +spend much time in catheterizing such patients for months and years +could often cure them much more rapidly by prescribing for them the +remedy just mentioned." + + (Dr. A. E. White, _Homoeopathic Recorder_, July, 1891, + relates the following case:) + +Mrs.----, age 37, married, has had seven children. Came to me December +10, 1890, with the following history: "Had not had her menses for four +months. Thought she was in a family way. Abdomen bloated up every P.M.; +sick at her stomach all of the time; frontal headache, P.M.; felt better +when first getting up in the morning, at which time her abdomen was +almost normal in size. + +"Her water she complained of more than anything else. Had to pass it +every half hour during day and several times during night. + +"Backache all of the time, which was not decreased by passing water. +Urine had a white, slimy deposit on standing a short time. + +"Requested an examination, but could not discover that she was in a +family way. Found her back very sensitive in region of kidneys, trace of +albumin in urine. + +"I gave her a vial of _Solidago_ 1x, told her to take two disks every +four hours and report in three or four days. She came back December +13th, 'the medicine went right to the spot.' From the second dose her +water became natural and she did not bloat so much in P.M. Her stomach +did not bother her any more. I gave her a bottle of _Puls._ 3x to take +with the _Solidago_, and she reported December 17th, that her menses had +come on. + +"I have used it in several other cases where it seemed indicated by the +tenderness in kidney region and the inability to control the water from +whatever cause, always with perfect satisfaction to patient and myself." + + (The following paper on the use of _Solidago virga-aurea_ + is by Dr. M. Gucken, of Eupen, Germany:) + +The Golden Rod is in Homoeopathy, according to my opinion, not as much +made use of as it deserves. Foh. Gottfr. Rademacher, who has many +admirers among us, says, in his _Justification of Experience in +Medicine_, about _Virga-aurea_: "This herb is a very old and good kidney +medicine. It is a specific for kidneys, and brings the patients back to +the normal condition." I have used the Golden Rod for a long time, and +have to make favorable reports. The results of extensive homoeopathic +proving of this remedy on healthy persons cannot be found in our +literature, but a Würtemburg physician, Dr. Buck, has given us a list of +cures with the Golden Rod in the popular homoeopathic paper edited by +Dr. Bolle, which wholly confirms the statements of Rademacher, besides +the cases reported by Dr. Buck. + +According to this last, _Virga-aurea_ is especially adapted for +scrofulous subjects; at the same time other constitutions do not exclude +the use of this remedy. In the first place, _the condition and the +action of the kidneys and the quality of their secretions_ are to be +considered in the selection of this remedy. The symptoms on the part of +the kidneys and the urinary organs, which point to _Virga-aurea_, are as +follows: + +Pains in the kidneys; region of kidneys painful upon pressure; feeling +of enlargement and tension in the kidneys, also pains in the kidneys +which extend forward to the abdomen and to the bladder. Dysuria, +difficult and scanty urination; urine dark, red-brown, with thick +sediment; stone and gravel, albumen, blood or slime in the urine; urine +dark, with sediments of phosphates; slightly sour, neutral or alkaline; +urine with numerous epithelial cells or small mucous particles. +Epithelial cells with gravel of triple phosphates, or phosphate of lime. +Bright's disease. + +Side symptoms which point to this remedy: + +_Skin._--Scrofulous rash; little blotches on hands and feet, itching +very much; very obstinate, itching exanthemas; exanthema of the lower +extremities without swelling of the inguinal glands, but with +disturbance in urinating (catarrh of the kidneys). + +_Sleep._--Insomnia. + +_Fever._--Rheumatic fever; very frequent pulse; high fever. + +_Head._--Headache. + +_Eyes._--Scrofulous, herpetic inflammation. + +_Ears._--Sudden deafness, with ringing in the ears and albuminous urine. + +_Nose._--Dry; the inner surface of the nose covered with blood crust; +scalding and very scanty brown urine. + +_Mouth._--Flat ulcers in the mouth and throat. + +_Gastric: Stomach, Abdomen and Stool._--Continuous bitter taste, +disturbing the rest, especially nights; heavily covered tongue, which +does not become clean in spite of the use of anti-gastric remedies, and +only cleanses itself at the return of abundant urinating; chronic +catarrh of the bowels; diarrhoea, with scanty, dark urine; dysentery; +costiveness; sensation of pain in the abdomen on both sides of the +navel, upon deep pressure; physconia of the abdomen by gases; severe +pricking in both hypochondria to the region of the kidneys, reaching to +the lower extremities, with continued bitter taste in the mouth, +especially at night, with very scanty brown and sour urine. + +_Female Parts._--Hæmorrhage, chronic leucorrhoea, in connection with +copious, watery urine and sediments of mucous particles and uriniferous +tubules; epithelium. + +_Respiratory Organs._--Heavy expectoration in coughing; croup, with +little blotches on the hands and diminished urine; chronic catarrh of +the lungs; continuous dyspnoea; periodical asthma, with nightly +dysuria. + +_Trunk and Lower Limbs._--Rheumatism of the intercostal muscles; chronic +pains in the loins; limping, dragging gait; rheumatic pains in the +legs; pains in the thighs; the legs can be moved horizontally, but when +moved perpendicularly they feel lame. + +In connection with these symptoms the description of a few cases of +sickness, in which _Virga-aurea_ proved itself, might be of some +interest. + +CLINICAL. + +During the spring of 1886 scarlet-diphtheria appeared in this place. On +March 28th I was called to attend the 8-year old son Matthias, of +Wernerus, a weaver, in the hamlet of Niepert, that showed symptoms of +the above disease. Cynanche was at high degree, and the throat was +filled with diphtheritic coating, so much so that I had reason to fear +the worst, on account of the accompanying fever and of the choked-up +condition and weakly (scrofulous) habit of the patient. But the +well-known remedy of Viller, given alternately with _Belladonna_, proved +itself also in this case, and the symptoms in the throat assumed, after +a few days, a less dangerous character. Not so with the fever, which +gradually assumed the form of typhoid, and ran very high, while the +scarlet-rash grew quite pale. On the morning of April 5th, his +temperature was 42.5°, the patient unconscious, the pulse weak and +intermittent, the feet swollen. Upon inquiry the parents told me that +the boy urinated very little. His urine, of which I had taken a quantity +the day previous for examination, contained a considerable amount of +albuminous sediments. I prescribed _Kali arsenicosum_ in the fourth +centesimal potency, which had been recommended in similar cases by Dr. +Hock in the international homoeopathic press; but, although the +temperature decreased after using this remedy, the dropsical swelling of +the feet increased more and more, and after a few days the entire body +of the patient was swollen very much. The discharge of urine grew +continually less. Under these circumstances I examined the patient again +thoroughly, and found great sensitiveness of the kidneys against +pressure, in spite of his otherwise apathetic condition. These symptoms +reminded me of _Virga-aurea_. This remedy was immediately applied, and I +had no reason to regret it. Within one day the urinal discharge became +profuse, the general condition improving at the same time; the peeling +off took place without further trouble, and after the patient had taken +_Virga-aurea_ for two weeks, and, on account of anæmia, for one week +three times a day, a dose of _Ferrum peroxydatum_ in the 2d trituration, +he had so far recovered that I did not consider it necessary to give +further medicine. + +In 1885 a 45-year-old Belgian mine official (his work was office-work) +consulted me on account of sleeplessness and pain in the back. The +patient had no other complaints, only he carelessly added it sometimes +took him a long time to urinate, because of want of the necessary +pressure. He considered this weakness as the result of gonorrhoea, +from which he had suffered years ago. The sleeplessness, for which he +had tried all remedies possible, would make itself known from the time +he went to bed until 3 o'clock in the morning, at which time he could +get sleep, but not a refreshing one, and on arising he would feel very +tired, especially in the upper part of the thighs, and then would +commence the pain in the back, which extended to the loins, and lasted +until he went to bed in the evening, without being prompted by external +influences (warmth, cold, rest, motion). Also sleeplessness nights, pain +in the back daytimes. At first I considered _Nux vom._ proper, and I +prescribed the same for the patient, in the 3d decimal potency, four +drops twice a day. At the same time I requested the patient to bring a +sample of his urine at his next visit. After some time he came back with +the sample, and declared that the prescribed remedy had not shown the +least effect. + +The urine was dark and slimy, reddish, slightly acid, and had at the +bottom of the bottle brick-dust settlings. Heat did not show albumen, +but by heating it the dark urine became clearer, and contained also +salts of uric acid. I examined the kidneys of the patient, found them +sensitive against pressure, and the diagnosis pointed to chronic catarrh +of the kidneys. Sleeplessness, pain in the back and the tired feeling in +the upper parts of the thigh were additional symptoms of this malady, +and I determined to use _Virga-aurea_. The patient took this for three +months three times a day, after which he wrote me that he was entirely +well. About a year afterwards he had a relapse, but not in the form of +former symptoms, but in the form of ischias, against which disease +Golden Rod proved itself beneficial. + +In conclusion, may be mentioned a double case of the curative power of +_Virga-aurea_, which also contributes to the heredity of disease. Some +time ago, the wife of a farmer, 53 years old, asked me for a +prescription for a trouble which she had had for twenty-six years, since +her first confinement. The patient, a stout and fresh-looking person, +made the following statement: After the confinement, which was very +laborious, and which was followed by prolapsus uteri, the latter still +existing, her legs began to swell, and an itching rash broke out by +degrees. Menstruation had always come at the proper time, but suddenly +stopped six months ago. + +Since that time the itching had become almost intolerable, the legs more +swollen and always cold, but she did not feel a continuous heat in her +head. The appetite was very poor; she had always a bitter taste in the +mouth, and the tongue was thickly coated. At the same time she had +rising from the stomach, as if she should suffocate, and at the least +exertion she lost her breath. She urinated very little, and this mostly +at night. My question, if there were pains in the back, was answered in +the negative, but the kidneys of this patient were also sensitive +against pressure. The appearance of the lower limbs of the patient +frightened me. From knee to heel they formed a bluish-red mass in the +shape of a stove-pipe, which were covered with little blotches and +crusts. This kind of an eruption, together with the other symptoms, led +me to the use of _Virga-aurea_, the prolonged use of which, although it +did not affect a cure, produced a mitigation of the whole body, so that +the lady induced her eldest son to come to me for help. This man had +also trouble in his lower limbs not unlike his mother. He had a year ago +passed through a severe throat difficulty, after which his lower limbs +began to swell and to itch; they were also tainted bluish-red and +covered with vesicles; he also complained of scanty urine, and his +kidneys were sensitive against pressure. What better could I, under the +circumstances, prescribe than _Virga-aurea_? + +The result was good. After a few months the patient had no more +difficulty. + +In the cases above mentioned, I prescribed the 3d decimal dilution of +the tincture of the whole plant of Golden Rod. The water of Golden Rod, +recommended by Rademacher and others, I have never tried. + + +STELLARIA MEDIA. + +NAT. ORD.--Caryophyllaceæ. + +COMMON NAME.--Common Chickweed. + +PREPARATION.--The whole fresh plant in bloom is macerated in twice its +weight of alcohol. + + (Frederick Kopp proved this remedy and the results were + published in the _Homoeopathic World_, 1896, as + follows:) + +"It has proved to me a matter of impossibility to answer all the letters +that have been sent to me by readers of the _Homoeopathic World_ on +the subject of the use of _Stellaria media_ in the treatment of +rheumatism, but I trust that the information given below will satisfy +all the correspondents. It will be remembered by my readers that the new +drug was first proved by me in 1893, consequent on my attention being +drawn to the weed by our esteemed friend, the Rev. F. H. Brett. I made a +thorough proving of the drug, not only once, but several times, so as to +satisfy myself beyond a doubt as to the symptoms peculiar to it, and +the excruciating rheumatic-like pains developed at the time are still +vividly remembered by me; in fact, they were so severe and intense as +not to be easily forgotten when once experienced. There is no mistaking +the _rheumatic_ symptoms of the drug. They come on very rapidly, and the +sharp, darting pains so peculiar to rheumatism are experienced, not only +in almost every part of the body, but the symptoms of soreness of the +parts to the touch, stiffness of the joints, and aggravation of the +pains by motion are also present. These pains may be described as +follows: + +"Rheumatic-like pains over the right side of the head; especially +towards the back, with the parts sore to the touch; rheumatic-like pains +darting through the whole head, worse on right side; rheumatic-like +pains left half of forehead, over the eye, with the parts sore to the +touch; rheumatic-like pains in the left foot; rheumatic-like pains in +the ankles; sharp, darting, rheumatic-like pains in the left knee, +gradually extending above along the thigh; rheumatic-like pains below +the right knee-cap; rheumatic-like, darting pains through various parts +of the body, especially down the right arm and the middle and index +fingers of the left hand; stiffness of the joints in general; +rheumatic-like pains in the calves of the legs, which are sensitive to +the touch; rheumatic-like pains in the right hip; rheumatic-like pains +across the small of the back, aggravated by bending or stooping; +stiffness in lumbar region with soreness; darting, rheumatic-like pains +through right thigh; rheumatic-like pains in right groin. + +"It will be seen by the above symptoms that almost every part of the +body in which it is possible for rheumatic pains to occur is affected, +the rheumatic-like pains darting from one part to another. My +correspondents all being readers of _The Homoeopathic World_ will +remember a case reported in the January number of the journal (1896), by +Mr. R. H. Bellairs, in which the pains were 'now in ankle, now in knee, +now in arm, wrist, or fingers.' This case fully illustrates the +symptoms borne out in my proving of the drug, and it but naturally +followed, according to the law of similars, that the disease should +yield to the month's treatment with _Stellaria media_. Mr. Bellairs says +he thinks that possibly 'shifting pain' is a key-note, and I am glad +that I am able to inform him that he is correct in his supposition. I am +pleased to hear that he has often given _Stellaria media_ in chronic +rheumatism, and now looks upon it as a specific. It is these things that +gladden the heart of the prover of new drugs--the news of the practical +triumph of a new drug over symptoms of disease similar to those it is +itself capable of developing in a healthy body--and one feels amply +repaid for the hours and days of pain and suffering that one has +inevitably to put up with in the vocation of 'proving.' I heartily +congratulate Mr. Bellairs on his success in curing the above case. + +"I have been asked by one correspondent whether a changeable +climate--one with sudden changes of temperature occurring every day, for +instance--would prevent the drug from taking effect in the treatment of +rheumatism. To this question I can promptly return an answer in the +negative. I have proof upon proof lying before me to testify that +_Stellaria media_ is just as efficacious in a changeable climate as in +any other. Reports of cases cured have come to me from various parts of +the world, under varying changes of climate, and the result has always +been the same, namely, 'the cure of the case.' + +"For _internal_ administration I have always found the 2x tincture the +most efficacious, given in from one to two drop doses every two, three, +or four hours, according to the severity of the symptoms. For _external_ +purposes I strongly advise the [Greek: theta] tincture. It may be +employed either in the form of a lotion (20 to 60 minims of [Greek: +theta] tincture to a tumblerful of water), the ointment or the liniment +(30 to 40 minims of the [Greek: theta] tincture to [Latin: ezh]j of +pure olive oil). Cloths steeped in the lotion and renewed when dry may +be applied to the painful parts, or the ointment or liniment may be +rubbed well in. Experience has taught me that external treatment +combined with internal greatly assists in hastening the cure. In the +treatment of rheumatism _Stellaria media_ is a very active drug, acting +very promptly; a low dilution of the mother tincture of the drug taken +internally is very apt, therefore, to intensify the pains, and these +should therefore be avoided and the 2x dilution used." + + +STIGMATA MAIDIS. + +A Tincture of the Fresh Corn Silk. + +NAT. ORD.--Gramineæ. + +COMMON NAME.--Corn Silk. + +PREPARATION.--One part of fresh corn silk is macerated in two parts by +weight of alcohol. + + (A great deal has been published lately concerning this + remedy. The following by Dr. Dufan, _London Medical + Record_, seems to give the best outline of its uses:) + +1. The stigmata of maize have a very marked, though not always a +favorable, action in all affections of the bladder, whether acute or +chronic. + +2. In acute traumatic cystitis, and also in gonorrhoeal cystitis, they +have a very marked diuretic action, but, at the same time, increase the +pain; hence they should not be employed in these cases. + +3. The best results have been obtained in cases of uric or phosphatic +gravel, of chronic cystitis, whether simple or consecutive to gravel, +and of mucous or muco-purulent catarrh. All the symptoms of the disease, +the vesical pains, the dysuria, the excretion of sand, the ammoniacal +odor, etc., rapidly disappear under the influence of the medicine. + +4. The retention of urine dependent on these various affections often +disappears as improvement progresses, but the use of the sound must +sometimes be continued, in order to empty the bladder completely. + +5. The stigmata maize have very often produced a cure after all the +usual internal remedies had been tried in vain, or with only partial +success. In other cases, the ordinary methods of treatment, which had at +first proved more or less entirely useless, became efficacious after +stigmata had been administered for a time, and had, as it were, broken +the ground for them. Most frequently the stigmata alone sufficed for the +cure, but still in some cases the effect was incomplete, and it was +found that the treatment could be varied with benefit. Injections and +irrigations of the bladder also proved useful adjuncts to the maize. + +6. As the stigmata of maize are a very powerful, though at the same time +entirely inoffensive diuretic, they have also been employed with the +best results in cases of heart disease, albuminuria, and other +affections requiring diuretics. Cases have been reported in which the +urinary secretion was tripled and even quintupled in the first +twenty-four hours, and others where the exhibition of the drug was +continued for two or three months without the slightest untoward effect. + + (Though Dr. Dufan condemns the use of the remedy in + gonorrhoea, other practitioners have commended it for + that very purpose. Dr. Leo Bennett, _Therapeutic + Gazette_, 1893, having had "unusual success" in the + treatment of that disease with the _Stigmata maidis_.) + + +SUCCINIC ACID. + +PREPARATION.--The pure chemical is triturated in the usual way. + + (The following is by Dr. Morris Weiner, of Baltimore, + 1892:) + +About twelve years ago I decided to prove _Succinic acid_ (_Acidum +succinicum_). _Agricola_ mentions this acid, 1546, as _Salt of amber_. +_Boyle_, towards the close of the 17th century, was the first who +pronounced it to be acid, and _Stecker de Neuform_ confirmed this +statement, after repeated investigations, calling it a _true_ acid. +_Berzelius_ published its elemental composition, C_{4}H_{2}O_{3}. + +This acid was long ago laid aside as obsolete, and not without good +reason, because since the Puritans in chemistry commenced to rule over +every laboratory of pharmacy, by trying to redistill this crude acid and +changing its yellowish color to snowy whiteness, they drove out every +trace of the _oily matter_ which alone constitutes its medical action. +The whiter this acid becomes the larger doses can be taken without any +action on the human system. Knowing that this _oil of amber_ is driven +out totally by redistillation I was compelled to prepare the crude acid +myself. + +The expense is considerable. One pound of amber yields about half an +ounce of crude acid, and the glass retort, after dry distillation, must +be broken to collect the acid. + +The fumes of _Acidum succinicum crudum_ are inflammable, producing +asthma, cough, sneezing, weeping, dropping of watery mucus from the +nostrils, pain in chest and headache. + +None of our remedies gives a truer picture of hay fever, and since the +_oil of amber_ must be securely inclosed in the amber itself, it was but +natural to conclude that by trituration I may receive all the virtue of +the remedy. + +At the same time I remembered that necklaces and earrings of amber are +considered a popular protection agent against neuralgia, colds, and even +hay fever. + +Since that time I prescribed in cases of hay fever the third decimal +trituration, one or two grains dissolved in twelve teaspoonfuls of +distilled water, one teaspoonful every two hours, with the best results, +and have cured more than thirty persons, who were formerly obliged to go +to the mountains to get temporary relief. Already after the first week +most of them experienced decided relief. + + +SYMPHYTUM OFFICINALIS. + +NAT. ORD.--Borraginaceæ. + +COMMON NAME.--Comfrey, Healing Herb. + +PREPARATION.--One part of the fresh root gathered just before blooming +is macerated in two parts by weight of alcohol. + + (The following concerning this remedy, which dates back + to Dioscorides, we find in _American Journal of + Homoeopathy_, 1846:) + +The Homoeopathic Examiner for August contains a paper entitled +"_Connection of Homoeopathy with Surgery_," by _Croserio_, translated +by P. P. Wells, M. D. It is there stated that "injuries of the bones are +healed most promptly by _Symphytum officinale_ 30 internally once a day. +This remedy accelerates the consolidation of fractures surprisingly." +The translator adds a note as follows: "I have had repeated +opportunities of verifying this declaration of Croserio. A boy, fourteen +years old, broke the bones of the forearm, at the junction of the lower +and middle thirds, two years ago. He had twice repeated the fracture by +slight falls. The ends of the fragments are now slightly movable on each +other, and the arm is weak and admits of little use. Three doses of +_Symphytum_ effected a perfect cure. The lad became more robust, and has +since had better general health than ever before." + +A boy, eight years old, fractured the humerus, near the junction of the +condyles and shaft. _Arnica_ 30 immediately arrested the spasmodic jerks +of the muscles of the injured arm. This remedy was continued the first +three days, when the traumatic fever had entirely subsided. He then had +_Symphyt_. [Latin: ezh], gtt. i., in half a tumbler of water, a +teaspoonful every morning and evening. The splints were removed the +_ninth day_, and the bone was found consolidated. The cure was entirely +without pain. How much earlier than this the fragments ceased to be +movable is not known. Well may the author say it heals broken bone +surprisingly. Let it be remembered that the discovery of this specific +is but one of the many rich fruits of _Hahnemannism_. + + (The following appeared in the _Homoeopathic World_, + 1890, under the signature F. H. B.:) + +In none of the Homoeopathic treatises that I possess do I find any +mention of the above remedy. I am surprised at this, for I believe it to +be a very valuable one in certain cases. Its common name of _knitbone_ +seems to point to popular experience of one of its uses; but I believe +its knitting, or uniting, power extends to muscular and other tissues of +the body, as well as to the bones. Let me give two instances of my own +personal experience. Many years ago I had an inguinal rupture on each +side, not extensive ones, but causing a protrusion about the size of +half a small walnut. After wearing a truss for some time, I bethought me +of what I had heard of the uniting power of Comfrey, and made some +tincture from the root, and rubbed it in. After doing so two or three +times, the signs of rupture quite disappeared, and the parts remained +sound for about three years; when, from some cause or other, the right +side broke out again, but as it did not give much trouble I neglected it +for some time, and then tried the Comfrey tincture again, but this time +without success. I suppose the ruptured edges had got too far asunder. +The left side, however, which originally was the worse of the two, has +kept sound ever since. I think this shows that a rupture, if not too +extensive, and if taken in time, may often be cured by this remedy. The +other case I have to relate was of a different kind. Five weeks ago I +had a fall on my back, the whole force of which was concentrated on a +small portion of the lower spine, through the intervention of the back +pad of my truss. I thought for the moment my back must have been broken, +the pain was so excessive; and not only the back, but diaphragm and all +the organs below it suffered acutely for three or four weeks after the +fall. But a fortnight after the fall I was for the first time conscious +of a pain and tenderness higher up the spine, at a point, I think, where +ribs commence, and on feeling I found a protuberance there, as if a +partial dislocation had taken place there. I again thought of Comfrey, +and had some of the tincture applied. The tenderness at the point +subsided after two or three applications, and in a few days the +protuberance disappeared. * * * On more careful examination I find that +the point of secondary disturbance was higher up than I have +described--two or three inches higher than the first insertion of the +ribs in the spinal column. + + (Dr. Gottweis, in _Hom. Zeitung_, vol. vii., says:) + +An old and very valuable remedy. This plant is found all over Europe +(and in some parts of North America), in wet fields and ditches. We make +a tincture out of it which has marvelous healing and cicatrizing +properties. _Symphytum_ must be a very old popular remedy; its +reputation is well established, and it is mentioned in all the old +medical "tomes." The decoction acts as an effective demulcent and +pain-killer in severe bruises. It diminishes the irritation in wounds +and ulcers, ameliorates and lessens too copious suppuration and promotes +the healing processes. In homoeopathic practice the tincture diluted +with water is used with great success in fractures and bruises or other +injuries of bones. Its effect is really extraordinary in injuries to +sinews, tendons and the periosteum. + +A few days ago a colleague consulted me about a horse with a stab wound +in the fetlock which would not heal, do what he would, and which +rendered locomotion impossible. (The doctor is by no means a young or +inexperienced veterinarian.) I examined the wound, and at once +recommended _Symphytum_ [Greek: theta]. Within two weeks the animal was +cured. This remedy really cannot be overestimated. + + (Dr. W. H. Thompson, President of Royal College of + Surgeons in Ireland, in an address reported in London + _Lancet_, 1896, reports a case of which the following is + the gist:) + +Early in 1895 he saw a man who was suffering from a malignant growth in +the nose--"a malignant tumor of the antrum, which had extended to the +nose." An exploratory operation confirmed this diagnosis. "He refused +the larger operation. The exploration was made by Dr. Woods. We found +that the tumor did extend from the antrum, into which I could bore my +finger easily. Dr. O'Sullivan, Professor of Pathology in Trinity +College, declared the growth to be a round-celled sarcoma. Of that there +is no doubt. The tumor returned in a couple of months, and the patient +then saw Dr. Semon, in London, who advised immediate removal. He +returned home, and after a further delay he asked to have the operation +performed. I did this in May last by the usual method. I found the tumor +occupying the whole of the antrum. The base of the skull was everywhere +infiltrated. The tumor had passed into the right nose and perforated the +septum so as to extend into the left. It adhered to the septum around +the site of perforation. This was all removed, leaving a hole in the +septum about the size of a florin. He went home within a fortnight. In a +month the growth showed signs of return. It bulged through the incision +and protruded upon the face. Dr. Woods saw him soon afterwards, as I had +declared by letter that a further operation would be of no avail. The +tumor had now almost closed the right eye. It was blue, tense, firm, and +lobulated, but it did not break. Dr. Woods reported the result of his +visit to me, and we agreed as to the prognosis. Early in October the +patient walked into my study after a visit to Dr. Woods. He looked in +better health than I had ever seen him. The tumor had completely +disappeared from the face, and I could not identify any trace of it in +the mouth. He said he had no pain of any kind. He could speak well when +the opening remaining after the removal of the hard palate was plugged, +and he was in town to have an obturator made. He has since gone home +apparently well." + +The patient told Dr. Thompson that he had applied poultices of _Comfrey_ +(or _Symphytum_) and that was all. + +"Now this was a case of which none of us had any doubt at all, and our +first view was confirmed by the distinguished pathologist whom I have +mentioned and by our own observation at the time of the major operation. +Here, then, was another 'surprise.' I am satisfied as I can be of +anything that the growth was malignant and of a bad type. Of course, we +know in the history of some tumors that growth is delayed and that in +the sarcomata recurrence is often late. But this is a case in which the +recurrence occurred twice--the second time to an extreme degree; and yet +this recurrent tumor has vanished. What has produced this atrophy and +disappearance? I do not know. I know nothing of the effects of comfrey +root, but I do not believe that it can remove a sarcomatous tumor. Of +course, the time that has so far elapsed is very short; but the fact +that this big recurrent growth no longer exists--that it has not +ulcerated or sloughed away, but simply, with unbroken covering, +disappeared--is to me one of the greatest 'surprises' and puzzles that I +have met with." + + +SYMPHORICARPUS RACEMOSUS. + +NAT. ORD., Caprifoliaceæ. + +COMMON NAME, Snow Berry. + +PREPARATION.--One part of the fresh ripe berries is macerated in two +parts by weight of alcohol. + + (In 1882 Dr. Edward V. Moffat read the following paper on + this remedy before the Homoeopathic Medical Society of + New York:) + +Let us go back about fifteen years and sketch a history of this drug. At +that time Prof. S. P. Burdick investigated the medicinal of many plants +hitherto unused by the profession, among others chanced to be the snow +berry, or _Symphoricarpus racemosus_. He gave some of the drug to the +first prover, an intelligent lady, who on feeling the marked nausea, +which it soon produced, exclaimed: "Doctor, this is precisely like the +morning sickness I always experienced during pregnancy." Dr. Burdick +became more interested, repeated the experiment with other provers, +obtained almost uniform results, viz., a feeling varying from +qualmishness to intense vomiting. It was given to female provers only +and merely tested far enough to verify that symptom. + +Upon this clue Dr. Burdick gave it in the higher potencies to patients +suffering from the vomiting of pregnancy with most satisfactory results. +Indeed, after a trial of many years, he has found it so far superior to +other remedies that he now relies on it altogether with rarely any but +entirely satisfactory results. + +He mentioned the drug in his course of lectures, so I bore it in mind +waiting for a test case. Soon that came in the person of a young lady +three months advanced in her first pregnancy who was suffering from a +deathly nausea, with vomiting and retching so prolonged and violent as +to produce hæmatemesis. The smell or thought of food was repugnant in +the extreme. An examination disclosed no malposition or apparent cause +for the trouble, so I procured some _Symphoricarpus_ (200) from Dr. +Burdick and gave her one dose in the midst of a violent paroxysm. In a +few minutes she stopped vomiting and said she felt soothed and quieted +all over. In half an hour the nausea began again, but a few pellets +checked it promptly and she fell asleep. Once during the night she awoke +distressed and took a dose, but slept again quite soon. For a month or +so she felt very well until after over-exerting herself she became +nauseated once more; but it was promptly checked, nor did it return +during her pregnancy. + +After this I had the opportunity of prescribing it in a number of cases +with such gratifying results that I gave some of the drug to a number of +physicians, requesting a faithful trial. Among them were my father, +brother, Dr. Danforth, Dr. McClelland, of Pittsburg, and several others. +All reported favorably and some enthusiastically, and so I have been led +to bring this subject before this society. The indications as far as I +have observed them in cases of pregnancy are a feeling of qualmishness +with indifference to food. In more severe cases, like the above, there +is a deathly nausea; the vomiting is continuous violent retching, but it +covers every graduation between these extremes; it does not seem to be +confined to any particular _morning_ aggravation; a prominent symptom is +the disgust at the sight, smell or thought of food. One case I remember +where the patient was comparatively comfortable while lying on the back, +but would be nauseated by the slightest motion of the arms, particularly +raising them. The case was completely relieved by a few doses. And so +the cases might be multiplied. + +Thinking that if the irritation of pregnancy were thus subdued, that of +menstruation might be as well, I have given it repeatedly in such cases +of nausea or vomiting just before, during or after catamenia, with +admirable results. + + +TELA ARANEARUM. + +COMMON NAMES, Spider's Web, Cobweb. + +PREPARATION.--Triturate in the usual way. + + (The following paper is by Dr. S. A. Jones, it was + published in the _American Observer_, 1876): + +Dr. Gillespie, of Edinburgh, "cured an obstinate intermittent with +cobweb after other means had failed." Dr. Robert Jackson was led from +this to try it himself. He told his success to Dr. Chapman, of +Philadelphia, who requested one of his pupils, Dr. Broughton, to +investigate the subject, which he did, and wrote his Inaugural Thesis +thereon in 1818. From these and other authorities we can gather enough +testimony to show that it is well worth while to make a systematic +proving of this animal product, thereby predicating its sphere and +precisioning its employment. + +In a work on fevers--which particular edition I have not been able to +consult--Dr. Jackson writes: "I think I may venture to say that it +prevents the recurrence of febrile paroxysms more abruptly, and more +effectually, than bark or arsenic, or any other remedy employed for that +purpose with which I am acquainted: that, like all other remedies of +the kind, it is only effectual as applied under a certain condition of +habit; _but that the condition of susceptibility for cobweb is at the +same time of more latitude than for any other of the known remedies_." + +If we bear in mind Grauvogl's constitution-classification of _Diadema +aranea_ as an hydrogenoid remedy, and recall how generally the +hydrogenoid constitution is induced by intermittent fever, we shall be +ready to acknowledge the truth of the passage which I have placed in +italics, and with this evidence of a truthful beginning we shall be more +ready to accept the subsequent testimony. + +"If the cobweb," continues Dr. Jackson, "was given in the time of +perfect intermission, the return of paroxysm was prevented; if given +under the first symptoms of a commencing paroxysm, the symptoms were +suppressed, and the course of the paroxysm was so much interrupted that +the disease, for the most part, lost its characteristic symptoms. If it +was not given until the paroxysm was advanced in progress the symptoms +of irritation, viz.: tremors, startings, spasms, and delirium, if such +existed as forms of febrile action, were usually reduced in violence, +sometimes entirely removed. In this case sleep, calm and refreshing, +usually followed the sudden and perfect removal of pain and irritation. +Vomiting, spasms, and twisting in the bowels, appearing as modes of +febrile irritation, were also usually allayed by it; there was no effect +from it where the vomiting or pain was connected with real inflammation +or progress to disorganization." + +"In cases of febrile depression, deficient animation, or indifference to +surrounding objects, the exhibition of eight or ten grains of cobweb was +often followed by exhilaration: the eyes sparkled; the countenance +assumed a temporary animation, and, though the course of the disease +might not be changed, or the danger averted, more respite was obtained +than is gotten from wine, opium, or anything else within my knowledge." + +"In spasmodic affections of various kinds, in asthma, in periodic +headaches, in general restlessness and muscular irritabilities its good +effects are often signal. The cobweb gives sleep, but not by narcotic +power;--tranquillity and sleep here appear to be the simple consequence +of release from pain and irritation." + +"The changes induced on the existing state of the system, as the effect +of its operation, characterize it as powerfully stimulant: 1. Where the +pulses of the arteries are quick, irregular, and irritated, they become +calm, regular, and slow, almost instantaneously after the cobweb has +passed into the stomach: the effect is moreover accompanied, for the +most part, with perspiration and perfect relaxation of the surface. 2. +When the pulses are slow, regular, and nearly natural they usually +become frequent, small, irregular, sometimes intermitting. 3. When +languor and depression characterize the disease, sensations of warmth +and comfort are diffused about the stomach, and increased animation is +conspicuous in the appearance of the eye and countenance." + +Dr. J. likewise "effected perfect cures with it in some troublesome +spasmodic affections, and gave it with the most marked benefit in dry, +irritating coughs, usually termed nervous. In the advanced stage of +phthisis it procured a respite beyond his expectation. He also found it +useful in restraining a troublesome hiccough." + +Remembering the fame of _Mygale avicularia_ in chorea we may well expect +this other spider to be of use "in some troublesome _spasmodic_ +affections." + +Dr. Chapman writes of it: "I have cured some obstinate intermittents, +suspended the paroxysms of hectic, overcome morbid vigilance from +excessive nervous mobility, and quieted irritation of the system from +other causes, and particularly as connected with protracted coughs and +other chronic pectoral affections. * * * * Some consider it as highly +stimulant, invigorating the force of the pulse, increasing the +temperature of the surface, and heightening excitement generally--others, +witnessing no such effects, are disposed to assort it with those +remedies which seem to do good _chiefly by soothing the agitations of +the system_. I confess that I concur in the latter view of its +properties." + +How unconsciously the Philistines of Old Physic bear testimony to the +truth of our therapeutic law. Given where "heightened excitement" +obtained, Chapman saw it "do good chiefly by soothing the agitations of +the system," and to him, of course, cobweb was a sedative. + +Dr. Broughton, in his Thesis, says: "In all the cases of disease in +which I have seen or heard of the exhibition of the web, no sensible, or +at least no uniform, operation could be observed. Some patients were +sensible of none, others of a slight sudorific, and some a nauseatic +effect; and one or two thought it proved cathartic after remaining in +the system for the space of twelve or fifteen hours. These accounts +being so incorrect and various, I determined to ascertain (if possible) +the correct operation by giving the web to healthy persons." + +"I found from these experiments that the operation of the web appeared +principally to be upon the arterial system; and perhaps in less time +than any article already known: the force and frequency of the pulse +being uniformly reduced in some cases ten, in others fifteen strokes in +a minute; and in one case, the pulse, from being strong and full, became +soft, small, and very compressible; all which operation took place +within the space of two hours, after which time the artery gradually +regained its former force and frequency. This has been the only +invariable effect I could observe, all others appearing but anomalous." + +Dr. Thacher cites the following case from a paper of Dr. Jackson's: "W. +Sands has been afflicted for many years with a distressing asthma, which +has proved fatal to his father and two sisters. The complaint being +hereditary, and aggravated by malformation of the thorax, no remedy gave +any permanent relief, nor did change of climate procure any alleviation +of symptoms. For a considerable time back he has never been able to lie +down in bed on account of a sense of suffocation, but is obliged to be +supported half sitting by pillows, and is seldom able to sleep. He +swallowed nearly a scruple of the spider's web, he swallowed it at bed +time, and to his utter astonishment enjoyed sound and uninterrupted +sleep all night; a blessing to which he had been an entire stranger +above six years. Since he began with the cobweb thinks his health is +improved; the cough has certainly abated, but whenever the remedy is +omitted the complaint returns." + +Dr. Oliver found that "by the use of this remedy a patient laboring +under organic disease of the heart and hydrothorax obtained great relief +and refreshing sleep, who had not before slept for three nights. +Another, under similar affection, experienced uncommon relief from the +same prescription. To one suffering much pain from cancer it afforded +ease and comfortable sleep. A patient in phthisis pulmonalis being +affected with distressing agitation of mind and nervous irritation, it +answered like a charm, and soon induced great sleep like a moderate dose +of opium." + + +THALLIUM. + +PREPARATION.--Triturate the pure metal in the usual way. + + (The following is from the _Homoeopathic World_, 1893): + +In the "French News" column of the _Chemist and Druggist_ we came across +a note on the effect of _Thallium_, which we have no doubt homoeopaths +will soon turn to good account. Here is the paragraph:-- + + +CURIOUS EFFECT OF A REMEDY. + +"Dr. Huchard read a paper at the last meeting of the Paris Academy of +Medicine on _Acetate of Thallium_, which was formerly advocated by Dr. +Combemale, of Lille, as a medicament against profuse perspiration in +certain cases of serious illness. It appears, however, that its useful +influence is counterbalanced by the fact that it causes the hair to fall +off with great rapidity. Dr. Huchard exhibited at the meeting several +photographs of patients who had become quite bald in several days. He +was consequently very emphatic against the use of the remedy." + +There is all the difference between the two schools in this note. To the +allopath this is a "curious effect" merely, and serves to condemn the +drug. To the homoeopathic it brings to light a new remedy for a +troublesome affection which is by no means too well provided for. + +_Thallium_ is a rare metal, whose atomic weight is 204.2, its symbol +being Tl. It receives its name ([Greek: thallos], a green shoot) from +the green line it gives on the spectrum, through which it was discovered +by Crookes in the residuum left from the distillation of selenium. +_Thallium_ has a bluish white tint and the lustre of lead; is so soft +that it can be scratched by the finger nail. Specific gravity, 11.8. It +belongs to the lead group of metals, but has peculiar reactions of its +own. It is used in the manufacture of glass of high refractive power. + + +THLASPI BURSA PASTORIS. + +NAT. ORD., Cruciferæ. + +COMMON NAME, Shepherd's Purse. + +PREPARATION.--Three parts of the fresh plant in flower are macerated in +two parts by weight of alcohol. + + (The following paper on this remedy is by Dr. E. R. + Dudgeon and appeared in the _Monthly Homoeopathic + Review_, 1888): + +The _Art Médical_, for July, 1888, contains a paper on this plant by Dr. +Imbert Gourbeyre, displaying all his well-known ability and erudition. +Although an unproved remedy, its sphere of specific action is pretty +accurately known, and in former days it was frequently employed by many +eminent medical authorities. In our own days, though almost unknown to +"scientific" medicine, it enjoys a considerable reputation in popular +medicine, chiefly for hæmorrhages, and profuse menstruation, and +metrorrhagia. + +According to Dioscorides, it is emmenagogue and abortive, +anti-hæmorrhagic, and a remedy for sciatica. In Salmon's _Doren Medicum_ +(1683) it is said: "The seed provokes urine and the courses, kills the +_foetus_, resists poyson, breaks inward apostems, and, being taken in +[Latin: ezh]ij, it purges cholera." In Vogel's _Historia Materiæ Medicæ_ +we read of the seed: "Ischiaticis infusum prodesse, et menses ciere +(Dioscorides). Sudorem pellere, et ad scorbutum posse, si eb vius +teratur, adiecto saccharo (Boerhaav)." It was called by the old +herbalists _sanguinaria_--"quia sanguinem sistet." Murray, at the end of +last century, pronounced it useless; but De Maza, arguing against this +opinion, relates a case of metrorrhagia cured by it, applied as a +cataplasm to the loins, on the recommendation of an old woman, after the +doctor had tried several medicines without effect. Lejeune (1822) says +he has seen good results from its employment in hæmoptysis. + +Rademacher has a great opinion of it. He says: "This plant was held to +be an anti-hæmorrhagic medicine by the ancients. The superior wisdom of +later physicians has pronounced it to have no such power, _because it +contains no astringent principle_! (Carheuser's _Mat. Med._) A second +property attributed to it was that of stopping diarrhoea; a third, +that of cutting short agues. I have lately used it repeatedly in chronic +diarrhoea, when this is purely a primary affection of the bowels, with +surprising benefit; but it is useless in consensual diarrhoea. I have +not yet used it in ague, but would not dissuade others from trying it. +But the most important remedial power of this common innocuous plant I +learned from no medical author; the knowledge of it was actually forced +upon me by the following case: I was called to see a poor woman from +whom, eight or ten years before, I had brought away a large quantity of +urinary sand by means of magnesia and cochineal, and thereby cured her. +Now, the tiresome sand had again accumulated in the kidneys, and the +patient was in a pitiable state. The abdominal cavity was full of water, +the lower extremities swollen by oedema, and the urine of a bright red +color, which formed, on standing, a sediment unmistakably of blood. I +prescribed tincture of _Brusa pastoris_, 30 drops, 5 times a day, solely +with the intention of stopping the hæmaturia as a preliminary; but +imagine my astonishment when I found that the tincture caused a more +copious discharge of renal sand than I had ever witnessed. Paracelsus's +words occurred to me: 'A physician should overlook nothing; he should +look down before him like a maiden, and he will find at his feet a more +valuable treasure for all diseases than India, Egypt, Greece or Barbary +can furnish.' I should certainly have been a careless fool had I, with +this striking effect before me, changed to another medicine. I continued +to give the tincture; I saw the urinary secretion increase with the +copious discharge of sand; the water disappeared from the abdomen and +extremities, and health was restored. I went on with the tincture until +no more sand appeared in the urine, and I had every reason to suppose +that the deposit of sand was completely removed. Since then I have used +this remedy in so many cases with success that I can conscientiously +recommend it to my colleagues as a most reliable remedy. Among these +cases was one which appeared to me very striking. It was that of a +woman, aged 30, who came to me for a complication of diseases. I +examined the urine for sand, but found none. I gave her the tincture of +_Brusa pastoris_, and a quantity of sand came away. On continuing the +tincture much more sand came away, and her other morbid symptoms +disappeared." + +It was stated some time ago that Mattei's _anti-angioitico_ was a +tincture of _Thlaspi bursa pastoris_, but, if we are to credit the +statement of a periodical lately published, entitled _General Review of +Electro-Homoeopathic Medicine_, this is not so, for _anti-angioitico_ +is there stated to be a medicine compounded of _Aconite_, _Belladonna_, +_Nux vomica_, _Veratrum album_, and _Ferrum metallicum_. I mention this +inadvertently, but I do not suppose it is of much consequence, and my +first experience of the remedial action of _Thlaspi_ was anterior to the +information that it was one of Mattei's remedies. + +In the 3d volume of the _British Journal of Homoeopathy_, page 63, +there is an observation taken from the Berlin _Med. Zeit._, to the +effect that Dr. Lange found the greatest benefit from "a decoction of +the whole plant in cases of passive hæmorrhage generally, and especially +in too frequent and too copious menstruation." In the _Zeitsch. f. +Erfahrungsheild._, the periodical published by the followers of +Rademacher, Dr. Kinil relates the case of a woman who, three weeks after +accouchement, was affected with strangury. She could not retain her +urine, which dribbled away, drop by drop, with constant pain in the +urethra. The urine was turbid and had a deep red sediment. She got 30 +drops of the _tincture of Thlaspi_ five times a day. The strangury +disappeared at once, the urine could be retained after a few days, and +after eight days it became clear and without sediment. + +Dr. Hannon (_Presse Med. Belge_, 1853) mentions that he had found +_Thlaspi_ very useful in hæmorrhage when the blood was poor in fibrine. +Dr. Heer (Berlin _Med. Zeit._, 1857) found _Thlaspi_ efficacious in the +dysuria of old persons, when the passage of the urine is painful and +there is at the same time spasmodic retention of it. On giving the +medicine, a large quantity of white or red sand is discharged, and the +troublesome symptoms disappear. Dr. Joussett (_Bull. de la Soc. Hom. de +France_, 1866) had a case of hæmorrhage, after miscarriage, at three +months. He tried _Sabina_, _Secale_, _Crocus_, tampons soaked in +chloride of iron, but all in vain. He consulted Dr. Tessier, who +recommended him to try _Thlaspi_, 20 drops of the mother tincture in a +draught; at the second spoonful the hæmorrhage ceased. He found it +useful in hæmorrhage with severe uterine colic, with clots of blood, in +that following miscarriage, in the metrorrhagias at the menopause, and +in those associated with cancer of the neck of the uterus. He found good +effects from the dilutions in some of these cases. Dr. Jousset, in his +_Elements de Med. Prat._, repeats his recommendation of _Thlaspi_ in +hæmorrhages. + +My own experience of _Thlaspi_ is very small. In one case Dr. +Rafinesque, of Paris, cleverly "wiped my eye," to use a sporting term, +with this medicine. A young French widow was treated by me for a severe +attack of jaundice, from which she made a good recovery. But after this +she suffered for a couple of months from a very peculiar discharge after +the catamenial flux. It had the appearance of brownish, grumous blood, +and was attended with obscure abdominal pains. The cervix uteri was +swollen and soft, but not ulcerated. I tried and tried to stop this +discharge, but without success. She went back to Paris and put herself +under the care of Dr. Rafinesque, who was her ordinary medical +attendant. He tried several different medicines without any effect on +the discharge. At last he gave _Thlaspi_, 6th dilution, and this had an +immediate good effect. Afterwards he gave the mother tincture, 10 drops +in 200 grms. of water, by spoonfuls, and again in the 6th dilution, and +after keeping her on this medicine for some weeks the discharge was +completely cured. The full details of the case will be found in the +_Brit. Journ. of Hom._, vol. 32, p. 370. + +One other case I have had illustrative of its action in the presence of +excessive quantities of uric acid in the urine: A lady, æt 76, was under +my care for a very curious affection. She had considerable rheumatic +muscular pains in various parts, and constant profuse perspirations day +and night. Along with this she had the most abundant secretion of uric +acid, which passed away with every discharge of urine. Sometimes the +uric acid formed small calculi, which gave much pain in their passage +down the ureter, but it generally appeared in the form of coarse sand, +which formed a thick layer at the bottom of the utensil. This sand +continued to pass after the cessation of the sweats and rheumatic pains, +which lasted six or seven weeks. I tried various remedies--_Pulsatilla_, +_Picric acid_, _Lycopodium_, etc., but without effect. At last I +bethought me of Rademacher's recommendation of _Thlaspi_, and after a +few doses of the 1st dilution the sand diminished very much, and, +indeed, sometimes disappeared altogether, and when it did return, it was +in insignificant quantity. + +On the whole, I think this medicine deserves a thorough and complete +proving. It is evidently a powerful anti-hæmorrhagic, and its influence +on the urinary organs, more particularly in bringing away and in curing +excess of uric acid in the urine, is very remarkable. + +I have elsewhere mentioned the power of this substance to affect the +secretion of uric acid, and then I have seen several cases corroborative +of its medicinal virtues in this direction. One, a gentleman, æt. 57, +who, in addition to other dyspeptic symptoms, had occasionally large +discharges of coarse uric acid, coming away in masses the size of a good +big pin's head, but curiously enough without pain. I prescribed +_Thlaspi_, which he said soon stopped the uric acid. Nearly a year after +this he called on me for a different affection, and informed me that the +uric acid had reappeared several times in his urine, but that a few +doses of _Thlaspi_ 1 stopped it, and it never came to the height it +attained when I first gave it to him. A lady, nearly eighty years of +age, was suffering from the pressure of a calculus in the left ureter, +which I knew to be of uric acid, as she had previously passed much +'sand.' The urine showed no sand, and was very scanty. I tried several +remedies, among the rest the Borocitrate of magnesia, but it was not +till I gave _Thlaspi_ 1 that a great discharge of coarse brick-colored +sand took place, with speedy relief to her pain. At the same time, +indeed, I made her drink copiously of distilled water, which has a +powerfully disintegrating effect on uric acid sometimes, but, as she had +already been taking this for several days without effect, I am inclined +to give the whole credit of the cure to _Thlaspi_. + +It is not alone in such cases that _Thlaspi_ is useful. Its ancient use +as a hæmostatic has been confirmed in modern times and in my own +experience, and my friend, Dr. Harper, related to me lately a most +interesting cure he had effected by its means of a very prolonged and +serious affection. The case was that of an elderly lady who for years +had suffered from a large discharge of muco-pus, sometimes mixed with +blood, sometimes apparently nearly all blood, which poured from the +bowels after each evacuation. She had been many months under the medical +treatment of the late Dr. D. Wilson, who at last told her he considered +her disease incurable. She then put herself under the treatment of a +practitioner who relies chiefly on oxygen gas for his cures; but she was +no better--rather worse--after his treatment. She then came to Dr. +Harper, who worked away at her with all the ordinary remedies without +doing a bit of good. At last he bethought him of _Thlaspi_, led thereto +by my remarks on its anti-hæmorrhagic properties in my "therapeutic +notes" in _The Monthly Homoeopathic Review_ of October, 1888, and he +found that, from the time she commenced using this remedy, the discharge +from the bowels gradually declined and ultimately ceased, and there has +been no return of it. + +No doubt _Thlaspi_ is a great remedy, and until it is satisfactorily +proved, we may employ it with advantage in cases similar to those I have +mentioned. But it is to be hoped that some of our colleagues endowed +with youth, health and zeal, will ere long favor us with a good proving +of it, whereby its curative powers may be precisionized. At present we +only partially know these from the less satisfactory results of clinical +experience. + + (The following is from a paper by Dr. Millie J. Chapman + in Transactions of American Institute of Homoeopathy, + 1897:) + +The provings are brief and do not furnish very full indications for its +use. However, from them we learn of its effectiveness in expelling +accumulations of sand and uric-acid crystals from the kidneys and +bladder, also in controlling hemorrhage from the nose, kidneys, or +uterus. + +My attention was first called to this remedy in cases of sub-involution +following either abortion or labor at full term, where it many a time +induced recovery. + +I have since witnessed equal success in hemorrhage from uterine fibroid +where the flow was controlled, and the growth was greatly reduced in +size before the age of the individual would naturally produce these +changes. Also uterine hemorrhage, attended with cramps and expulsion of +clots, has been relieved by it after curetting had failed. + +A member of the Women's Provers' Association took five drops of the +tincture three times a day for ten days. This was followed by a great +increase of urine and a menstrual flow lasting fifteen days. She became +alarmed and could not be persuaded to continue the proving. + +Another took ten drops, three times a day, for five days, when the +quantity of urine and brick dust deposit were so unusual that her +interest in scientific investigation suddenly ceased. + +About a year since, there came for treatment a patient who had suffered +long from both disease and treatment of the bladder. _Thlaspi_ 2x and +later five drop doses of the tincture expelled great quantities of sand, +and was followed by complete relief of the bladder symptoms and the +disappearance of rheumatic pains that had been supposed incurable. + +Another case of similar bladder irritation and marked evidences of gout +was promptly relieved. + +_Thlaspi_ also has a reputation in the cure of urethritis. + + +THYROID. + +PREPARATION.--The dried thyroid gland of the sheep is triturated in the +usual way or an extract may be prepared from the fresh gland. + + (The following paper on the effects of _Thyroid_ was + written by Dr. F. G. OEhme, Roseburg, Oregon:) + +The _Thyroid_, especially if used continually or in large doses, +_causes_ the following _symptoms_: + +1. Elevation of the temperature. + +2. Increase of the heart's action and of the frequency and volume of the +pulse, which, however, is more compressible. Walking, even standing, +after taking a dose is apt to cause a feeling of faintness and even +complete syncope. The heart may become so weak that it cannot endure any +overexertion without danger, even death may result. + +3. Shortness of breath. + +4. Increase or decrease of appetite, sometimes nausea, less frequently +vomiting, still less diarrhoea. + +5. Improvement in body nutrition generally, more complete absorption of +nitrogenous food. But later on nitrogen is excreted in excess of that +taken in the food. + +6. Loss of weight. + +7. Increase of sexual desire. + +8. Menses profuse, prolonged or more frequent, rarely amenorrhoea. + +9. Increased activity of the mucous membrane, kidneys and skin, which +becomes moist and oily, sometimes exfoliation of the epidermis. + +10. Rapid growth of the skeleton in the young with softening and bending +of those bones which have to bear weight. + +11. A disease closely resembling exophthalmic goitre. A cataleptic +improved under large doses of _Thyroid_, but when the dose of 75 grs. a +day was reached symptoms like those of exophthalmic goitre developed +with a pulse of 160, but no glandular swelling. When the _Thyroid_ was +discontinued the catalepsy grew worse, the exophthalmic goitre better; +when resumed the catalepsy better, the exophthalmic goitre worse. + +A patient, while under _Thyroid_ treatment for myxoedema, took, +through a misunderstanding, in eleven days nearly 3 ounces of the +dessicated _Thyroid_, whereupon tachycardia, pyrexia, insomnia, tremor +of the limbs, polyuria, albuminuria, and glucosuria, in short, a disease +similar to exophthalmic goitre developed. + +_Thyroid_ has been _used_ with benefit in the following _diseases_: + +1. Arrested development in children, cretinism, idiotism. + +2. Myxoedema. [The extirpation of the entire _Thyroid_ produces a +disease resembling myxoedema.] + +3. Simple goitre. + +4. Excessive obesity with tendency to weakness and anæmia. + +5. Melancholia functional insanity, where improvement has taken place up +to a certain point and then remains so. + +6. Defective secretion of milk during lactation when connected with +reappearance of menses. _Thyroid_ will suppress the latter and increase +and enrich the milk. + +7. In fractures of the bones in which consolidation does not promptly +occur. + +8. Hypertrophy of cicatricial tissue resembling keloid, possibly true +keloid. + +_Doses:_ Either the fresh gland of the sheep prepared like food or the +extract, or in the dessicated state, of the latter may be given from 2-3 +grs., or more or less, once a day (at night) or oftener. + +The _Thyroid_ is _contra-indicated_ in tuberculous persons, as they are +apt to lose quickly in weight, over two pounds in twenty-four hours. + +Rheumatic and anæmic symptoms are more frequently aggravated than +improved. + +As the _Thyroid_ is a powerful remedy, the following should be always +remembered: + +There is a decided difference with regard to individual toleration, some +are very susceptible. + +The pulse should be watched regarding frequency and quality. The least +effort or exertion will increase it even to 160, hence some cases should +be kept in bed or at least very quiet and tranquil even for a time after +the remedy has been discontinued. Deaths have taken place after a few +days' treatment. + +If _Thyroid_ is not taken for myxoedema the patient should be weighed +at least every two weeks, and if pathogenetic symptoms, called +thyroidism, appear the remedy should be discontinued or reduced. + +If softening of the bones has been caused it may be necessary to +restrict the use of the legs or to use splints. + +_Thyroid_ seems to have a cumulative effect. + +In many cases a liberal diet should be prescribed to avoid injurious +consequences. + + +TRYCHOSANTHES DIOICA. + +NAT. ORD., Cucurbitaceæ. + +COMMON NAME, Patal. + +PREPARATION.--One part of the entire fresh plant is macerated in two +parts by weight of alcohol. + + (In 1893 H. L. Saha, homoeopathic practitioner, Pabna, + Bengal, sent the following to _Hom. Recorder_:) + +_Trychosanthes dioica_ (Bengali name, Patal). It belongs to the order of +_Cucurbitaeæ_, is a creeper, flowering in all seasons, but chiefly in +spring. It is a native of Bengal. Its fruit is called Patal, and is used +by the natives as one of their chief curry. + +The plant and its root are used by the native physicians in various +maladies. Its action is mainly upon the liver and intestines. The +decoction of the root is generally used by the mother physicians for +removing costiveness, especially where there is a derangement of the +functions of the liver. + +A boy of fourteen years of age, who had habitual constipation, took, at +the advice of a quack native physician, about three or four ounces of +the decoction of its root, which produced profuse diarrhoea. After +four or five stools I was called. I saw him weak and dejected, using +abusive language to his native physician. His face was very pale. Stools +were profuse, frequent, gushing, yellowish, watery. Much pain and +cutting about the umbilicus during and before stool. After every stool +he felt dizziness of the brain. This case struck me that _Trychosanthes +dioica_ will prove a grand remedy for diarrhoea. I prepared its +tincture from the root and used it in 3x potency, in some cases with +great satisfaction. The following cases will show its curative power: + +1. A girl, aged 6 years, was attacked with diarrhoea; stools were +profuse, thin, yellowish, watery, mixed with little white mucous; very +offensive smell; cutting pain about umbilicus during and after stool. +Pain in liver and eyes; jaundice; face yellowish; very weak; did not +wish to answer questions: sad and peevish. On the fifth day I was +called. I prescribed _Trychosanthes dioica_ 3x every three hours. I saw +the patient much better next day. Within a day or two the patient was +all right. + +2. A boy, aged 16 years, suffering from chronic diarrhoea; passed from +four to five stools in a day. The character of the stool was yellowish, +watery, mixed with a little white and greenish mucus. Smell offensive; +dull, aching pain in the region of the liver. Face very pale; eyes +jaundiced. He was very sad and dejected. His appetite little; taste +bitter. He had been at first treated by an allopath, then, afterwards, +by a homoeopath. The latter showed some improvement. I was called on +the thirteenth day, when I noticed the above symptoms. I prescribed +_Trychosanthes_ 3x every four hours. The patient was completely cured +within four days. + +I cured some cases of choleric diarrhoea by this medicine, but those +cases were vaguely reported to me. + +I hope that, when proven, _Trychosanthes dioica_ will show its large +sphere of action and give our Materia Medica a new remedy for looseness +of bowels. + + +USNEA BARBATA. + +NAT. ORD., Lichens. + +PREPARATION.--The fresh lichen is macerated in five times its weight of +alcohol. + + (This appeared in No. 284 of the _U. S. Med. + Investigator_ signed "---- M. D."): + +In March, 1878, I was cutting wood. I cut down a soft maple; the top was +well loaded with moss. It attracted my attention; I viewed it closely. I +ate a little, about the size of a hickory nut, as I trimmed up my tree. +My head began to ache. I cut off one log, and had to go to the house. I +could feel the blood press to the brain. My wife worked over me, and I +got to sleep. Next morning felt well; never felt better. I did not think +of the moss I had eaten. I went on a visit and was gone five days. On my +return I went to my tree. The first sight of it reminded me of my +headache. + +I gathered some of the moss and made a tincture. I soon had a case of +headache to try my remedy on; it stopped at once. + +In the fall, about September, a load of young folks came to pick +cranberries. Two of the young ladies had headache from riding in the hot +sun. Both took to the lounge. Now for my remedy. I put one drop of +tincture in a goblet of water, gave a teaspoonful; ordered another in +fifteen minutes. The second dose stopped the pain. + +A young married lady came on a visit to a relative--was having pains in +her head. I was sent for; found her wild with pain. She said she had +been subject to headache for five years; had got tired of doctoring. +Gave her one drop in a cup of water, teaspoonful in twenty minutes; no +more pain. I put ten drops in a two-drachm vial of alcohol, directed her +to take one drop when she felt her headache coming on. One year after +she wrote her friend it had cured headache; sent thanks to me. + +I could give many more cases where the pain is over the entire head, or +front head, with a feeling as if the temples would burst or the eyes +would burst out of their sockets. I have always used the tincture. I +have not noticed any other effect from it; would like to see a proving. + + +VERBENA HASTATA. + +NAT. ORD., Verbenaceæ. + +COMMON NAMES, Blue Vervain, Purvain, Wild Hyssop. + +PREPARATION.--One part of the fresh plant, in flower, is macerated in +two parts by weight of alcohol. + + (An extract from a paper by Dr. J. N. White, Queen City, + Texas, detailing at length the case of a five-year-old + boy, who, after six weeks of whooping cough, developed + epileptic symptoms, having as high as twelve spasms in + twenty-four hours. After two months of treatment with + such remedies as _Solanum Car._, _Sulphonal_, + _Hyoscyamus_, _Cannabis Ind._, _Calomel_, _Zinc_, etc., + with no results, the case was given _Verbena hastata_. + Another doctor was in consultation and we quote:) + +I told my friend (the Doctor) that when he became satisfied with the +zinc treatment I wanted to try another eclectic remedy. (The Doctor was +an allopath.) He was perfectly willing and I put him on _Verbena +hastata_, 12 minims every four hours, skipping the dose at midnight. +After we both took the case we decided, as there were no curative +properties in the sulfonal, we would drop it, and not use anything to +control the paroxysms, and consequently the boy seemed to get worse to +the parents, as he would have several falling spells a day. From the +first dose of the _Verbena hastata_ the boy began to improve. He would +have contractions of the muscles of the arms and legs and look wild for +a minute or more for the first week, but after that he never had another +symptom. We kept him on the medicine, as above, for six weeks, and now +he takes twelve drops three times a day. + +He has not had any symptom in over two months, and all that wild vacant +look is gone, and he plays, eats, sleeps, etc., as if he had never been +troubled with epilepsy. + + +VISCUM ALBUM. + +NAT. ORD., Loranthaceæ. + +COMMON NAME, Mistletoe. + +PREPARATION.--One part of the fresh leaves and berries is macerated in +twice its weight of alcohol. + + (The following account of this ancient remedy was + published in the _Allgemeine Hom. Zeitung_, 1886:) + +_The Grand Universal Panacea of the old Gauls and Germans._--By _Dr. v. +Gerstel_, of Regensburg.--This parasite shrub belongs to the 22d class, +Linné, is found on various trees, and was prized above all others as a +healing remedy in the Gallic and German antiquity. The Druids--their +priests--were at the same time naturalists, metaphysicians, doctors and +sorcerers, and to the mistletoe growing on oaks were ascribed, above all +other plants, marvelous healing powers. That the oak mistletoe was +prized above all those growing on fruit or other trees, as a remedy, may +be due to the fact that in ancient times all oaks and oak groves were +regarded with a holy veneration, being considered the favorite abodes of +the old German deities. The mistletoe growing on oaks was therefore +venerated by the ancient Gauls and Germans as the holiest of heaven-sent +gifts to mankind. It was applied in all diseases, and without it no +religious service could be conducted. From the Germanic mythology we +know that as a priest--a Druid--discovered a mistletoe growing on an +oak, he at once called up all the brethren of his order of the +neighborhood. They doffed the many-colored garments in daily use, and +donned flowing white robes as a sign of humility in the presence of the +divine plant. The highest in rank approached the tree provided with a +golden sickle, bent his knees, and was then lifted by his companions on +high until he could reach the plant. This was then cut with the golden +sickle and prepared and preserved for sacred and for healing purposes. + +If it could be secured six days after the new moon, the most exhalted +healing properties were attributed to it, and it was at once made into a +potion which, mixed with the blood of steers that had never done any +work and which had been immolated beneath the oaks, formed a draught +which brought blessings, fruitfulness, health and prosperity to all who +could partake of it. + +As at that time, and for a long time after, the origin and propagation +of the parasitic plant was unknown, it was surrounded with a magic halo, +and by virtue of its undoubted healing qualities, especially in gout, +rheumatism, nerve pains of various kinds, neuralgias, especially of the +rheumatic and gouty variety, as well as of its close affinity with and +influence upon the female sexual system, it was accorded the highest +rank among all remedies by the Priestesses, the female Druids. + +About the year 1857-58, I passed one year in the town of Steger, in +upper Austria, as physician to Prince Lamberg; there I became well +acquainted with Dr. W. Huber, at the time physician to the +Homoeopathic Hospital of the "Sisters of Mercy," and found in him also +an antiquary of considerable learning. His researches brought to his +notice in what high veneration the mistletoe was held by the ancient +Germans and Gauls and its employment as a universal healing remedy. Dr. +Huber, who was a man of unusual intelligence and of high scientific +acquirements, desired to learn the true sphere of action of this +important remedy, and preparing a mother-tincture from the +mistletoe--_lege artis_--he proved the several dilutions on himself and +others, men and women, thus truly following the example of Hahnemann and +his disciples. I still possess some of this identical tincture as +prepared by Dr. Huber, who, I am grieved to say, died suddenly of +apoplexy during my sojourn, in the year 1858. + +Dr. Huber carefully collated all the symptoms experienced by his +provers; he had a great predilection for the mistletoe, which he +prescribed in many different ailments. He frequently conversed with me +about its healing properties, and often gave it in his hospital and in +his private practice. He used it chiefly in the 3d and 6th decimal +dilution. According to Dr. Huber, the symptoms of _Viscum album_ are +similar to those of _Aconite_, _Bryonia_, _Pulsatilla_, _Rhododendron_, +_Rhus_ and _Spigelia_, _i.e._, are in accord with our foremost +anti-arthritic and anti-rheumatic remedies. _Viscum_ has symptoms in +common with each of these remedies, and is thus particularly useful in +gouty and rheumatic complaints, in acute as well as in chronic cases; +more particularly in those having _tearing pains_ in no matter what part +of the body. It follows well after _Aconite_ in acute rheumatism. It is +also very effective in different neuralgias of a gouty or rheumatic +origin, as in ischias, prosopalgia, periostitis, and especially in +earache, tearing pains in the ears, and otitis. It is a sovereign remedy +in rheumatic deafness. As _causa excitans_ of diseases amenable to it +may be regarded high winds, _i.e._, all gouty, rheumatic or other +ailments which, similarly to _Rhus_ and _Rhododendron_, are aggravated +by sharp north or northwest winds, such as we have in winter. For this +reason _Viscum_ is more often applicable in the colder season than in +summer, or at time when gouty or rheumatic affections or pains are +usually aggravated. It has also been found beneficial in asthmatic +complaints if connected with gout or rheumatism. + +The mistletoe moreover stands in a peculiarly close relation to the +female sexual system (uterus), and especially to the climacteric period, +when women cease to menstruate and chronic or periodical hæmorrhages are +often met with. _Viscum_ also promotes labor pains similarly to +_Pulsatilla_ and _Secale_, and is especially efficient in effecting the +expulsion of the placenta, also in incarcerated placenta. + +When the great army of gouty and rheumatic ailments which may befall all +parts of the body are taken into consideration, as well as the manifold +sufferings originating in the female sexual system, which manifest +themselves as menorrhagias as well as amenorrhoea, but more often are +caused by congestive states,--when we consider the powerful influence of +the mistletoe on these forms of diseases as brought out by the careful +homoeopathic provings on the healthy, is it to be marvelled at that +the old Gauls and Germans venerated it, by whose mysterious origin they +were overawed, as a sovereign remedy for their ailments and sufferings, +as a sacred gift presented by the gods of mankind? + + (The following clinical case is from _Hom. World_, 1876, + by Dr. Ivatts:) + +October 24, 1875.--T. H----, æt. about fifty. Rheumatism for the last +six years of ankle, wrists, and knuckle joints, also pains across the +lumbar muscles. Extreme distress on motion, with weariness and pain. +Great pain in walking. Worse on commencing to move, but after continuing +the movement for a time the pain diminishes. No pain when at rest except +when warm in bed, when the ankle and wrist joints are occasionally very +bad. Patient holds a degree L.R.C.S.I., but has relinquished practice +for fifteen years and travelled abroad. Never could get relief from the +rheumatism.--_Viscum album_ No. 1, five drops twice a day. November +14.--After taking medicine for ten days the weary feeling gradually +diminished, and the muscular motion became free from distress. Has now +continued medicine for three weeks, and he says, "I am quite free from +rheumatic pains." February 18, 1876.--Saw patient to-day, and he tells +me he has continued quite free from the rheumatic pains since November. + + (Dr. E. M. Holland wrote as follows concerning the + remedy, _Medical Summary_, 1898:) + +My first case of child birth in which I used _Mistletoe_ (_Viscum +album_) was May 30, 1897. Was called to see Mrs. C.; second confinement; +there was but little advancement; I sent the husband to my office, three +blocks away, for some _Mistletoe_, and I gave the lady half a +teaspoonful with a swallow of water every twenty minutes, and before one +hour had passed labor was on in good shape, and in half an hour longer +all was over. + +I returned to my office, and in less than half an hour I was called to +see a colored woman, much of a lady, mother of two children; on +examination I found only a slight advancement of the child, mouth of the +womb but little dilated. I learned that she had been just about the same +for twelve hours. I prepared a mixture and ordered a teaspoonful every +twenty minutes; this dose contained 30 drops of the _Mistletoe_. I was +not well, and returned to my office, leaving instructions to notify me +when labor was well on; my office was four blocks from her residence. I +reclined on a lounge, intending to return in about an hour, but dropped +into a doze, and in about one and a half hours the husband came on the +run, notwithstanding they had sent a little girl for me. He reached my +office panting, and exclaimed: 'For God's sake, hurry, for her insides +have all come out.' On my arrival, I found the child and afterbirth all +in a pile. The confusion was soon calmed down by the assurance that all +was well. + +Soon after this I was called to see Mrs. M., the mother of seven +children. I had been with her in six of the seven confinements, and +knowing that she had always been tedious I gave the messenger a small +vial of the same mixture and same dose, labelled it teaspoonful every +twenty minutes, stating that I would be there in an hour or two, and I +was; but the child was born about fifteen minutes before. + +On the 14th day of July of the present year I was called to attend Mrs. +B. in her third labor, some two miles in the country. I left home at +3:30 A.M. When I arrived at the house I found nothing to indicate that I +would be permitted to return home sooner than--I will say a number of +hours. I found presentation all right, some dilatation, but there was +but little advancement. The pains seemed to be of excruciating +character, but not the kind to do more than wear the patient out. She +told me that the same kind of pains had been on for a day and night, so +I continued with the _Mistletoe_ in half-teaspoonful doses every twenty +minutes. Pains came on; in just one hour her extreme agony ceased. Labor +came on, and in half an hour more the child was born. + +In all these cases the placenta came readily and everything progressed +well after birth. I said I left my office at 3:30 A.M., and I was at +home again by 7 A.M. It may be that four cases are not sufficient to +decide on the merits of a remedy, but the change was so decided and +prompt that I am satisfactorily convinced that in _Mistletoe_ we have an +oxytocic that is superior to all remedies hitherto tried. + + * * * * * + +After the foregoing was compiled, Dr. George Black's exceedingly +interesting brochure of 79 pages, _Viscum album, the Common Mistletoe_, +etc., etc., appeared, and anyone wanting a complete history of the drug +should procure a copy. + +Dr. Black (Torquay, England) publishes all the known provings, and in +addition some very thorough ones conducted by himself; from these we +select the following striking symptoms: + +Proll experienced a sensation as if a large spider were crawling over +his hands; a glow rising from feet to head, and he seemed to be on fire, +though his face was pale, this repeatedly; also violent aching pain in +right foot recurring frequently. Proving with the tincture in increasing +doses up to 40 drops. + +Two women took the drug to produce abortion; every muscle of the body +was paralyzed, including bowels, save those of the eye, and both died on +the 8th and 9th day, starved to death. + +The provings by Dr. Black. A well-built woman, aged twenty, took +repeated doses of the drug from [Greek: theta] up to 30th. The most +striking symptoms were: Sudden, severe thumps of the heart that then +went on beating at a tremendous rate; it slowed down and was followed by +trembling in the limbs; after this was very marked jerking of the limbs, +and twitching; hot feeling, though not actually hot. "A feeling as if I +should bite some one if I did not keep my teeth clenched. A wretched +feeling as if I should do something awfully wrong if I did not keep +myself under control." Several months later the effect of the drug was +still strongly in evidence; "thinks she will go out of her mind, feels +as if she would have an epileptic fit, says she would feel far happier +in an asylum." + +A second prover, Mrs.---- æt 37, experienced jerking and twitchings of +the muscles, shooting pains in left ovarian region, and, on movement, +lumbar pain and stiffness. Proving made with 3d dilution. + +Third prover, æt 27, a woman. First marked symptom was a shooting pain +in left ovary; then pain and twitching in leg, when aching stopped it +felt very hot; aching repeated, and only relief was shifting the +position of the leg to a cool place in the bed; again a dreadful pain in +the region of the left ovary--"a fearful aching" "it was a pain you +couldn't have put up with long without doing something;" later: "I have +had no pain, but a great twitching in my hands and legs for a long time, +just like a person with chorea--first my left hand jumped, then both +legs, my heart seemed to beat very fast." "When hands were held it +seemed to alleviate the jerking and twitching." The pain in ovaries, +also in other parts of the body at times, the twitchings and jerkings, +and the frequent hot feeling continued during all the proving. It was +made with the 3d and [Greek: theta]. + +The fourth proving was made by Dr. Black himself, chiefly with the 3x +and [Greek: theta]. + +This proving is quite long. From it we note the following symptoms: +Severe pain in right shoulder joint. Muscular twitching in right leg. +Dull pain under left false ribs. Neuralgic pain in sciatic nerve. Back, +lumbar region, stiff and weak. Pain in right knee joint, painful to move +and tender to the touch. Weight and oppression of the heart, with +gripping feeling as if a hand were squeezing it; the load seemed to +lift, with great relief, but came back again. A curious sensation of +tickling about the heart. Twinges of pain in the great toes. The last +record some days after ceasing the proving reads as follows: "I think it +was the same night as the previously recorded symptoms that I went to +bed between 12 and 1 o'clock, and after lying down experienced a curious +general tremor through my body, as if all the muscles were in a state of +fibrillary contraction; not a single involuntary jerk, nor the continued +twitching of the muscle or a portion of one, but a general state +affecting the whole body. It lasted until I fell asleep." + +Therapeutically the drug has been used for palsy, "incompetency and +tumultuous distressing cardiac action," mitral disease, chorea, +epilepsy, retention of placenta, catarrhal deafness, menorrhagia, +sciatica, rheumatism, periostitis, hydrothorax, and transient deafness. + +The Druids sweepingly asserted that it would "heal all diseases." + + +WYETHIA HELENIOIDES. + +NAT. ORD., Compositæ. + +COMMON NAME, Californian compass plant. + +PREPARATION.--One part of the fresh root is macerated in two parts by +weight of alcohol. + + (The following, by Dr. J. M. Selfridge, Oakland, Cal., + was published in _Pacific Coast Journal of + Homoeopathy_, April, 1899:) + +There is probably no State in the Union where there is a greater number +of valuable remedies to be found than in the State of California. These +remedies are waiting to be proved by those of us who have sufficient +enthusiasm and who are willing to take the trouble and make what +sacrifice is necessary to accomplish so desirable a result. I know it +has been said that we have too many remedies which have not been +properly proven. While this is doubtless true, it is equally true that +many of the new remedies which have been introduced within the memory of +some of us are absolutely indispensable in the treatment of certain +forms of disease. + +There is another reason why these California remedies should become a +part of our armamentarium. It is claimed by Teste and others that where +certain forms of disease prevail there, or in that vicinity, the +curative remedy may be found. + +Again, it has been said that there is a remedy somewhere in nature for +every ill to which flesh is heir. + +Whether this be true or not, we know there are certain diseases, which, +so far as we are aware, are incurable, for the simple reason that we +know of no remedy that will control the abnormal conditions. This being +true, the incentive ought to be sufficiently great to urge us forward in +the line of knowing more than we now know of the wealth of those +remedies that lie at our very doors. All we know of these drugs, so +far, are mere hints which have been given us by the older inhabitants of +the Coast. + +Thus, the _Eriodictyon Californicum_ or "Yerba Santa," has been +suggested for the cure of "poison oak" and for certain bronchial +affections. A partial proving of it was made some years ago under the +supervision of the late Dr. Pease, which can be found in "Allen's +Encyclopædia," Vol. iv., page 218. + +The _Micromeria Douglassi_, or "Yerba Bueno," is another plant which +should be proved. Many years ago a friend of mine was suffering with a +series of boils, when an old "Spanish woman" directed him to make a tea +of this plant. This he did, and cured his boils; but, as the tea had an +agreeable taste, he continued to drink it, believing, as some do, "that +if little was good, more was better," until finally he became so weak he +could not continue his work. + +It was one of these hints that induced me some years ago to make a +proving of _Wyethia Helenioides_, or "poison weed." Like many other +provings, it was only partial. A schema of it was published in "Allen's +Encyclopædia," Vol. x., page 168. + +Two years ago an attempt was made to secure additional symptoms, which +are given below in the language of the provers, who at that time were +members of the "Organon and Materia Medica Club of the Bay Cities." + +At the time of the proving, the potency and the drug were unknown to the +provers. + +I. "June 9th, 1896, began taking----, of which I took a drop in a +teaspoonful of water before each meal. First dose 7:35 (did this for +four days); 7:45, feels in nose as if about to sneeze; 7:50, sitting +quietly, a momentary pain on inside of right foot from instep to the +sole; 8:35, stretching and yawning, itching on the left side of the +chin; 4:10 P.M., dry sensation in throat, although mucus is abundant; +5:30 P.M., sensation of dryness and tickling on the edges of eyelids, +such as I felt when a sty was about to appear; sensation of dryness in +throat; 5:35 P.M., a small itching spot on right side of neck; 8 P.M., +dryness in throat with abundant mucus. + +"June 7th.--7:30 A.M., throat sore; 8:35, tingling in right foot when +standing; 11, while in church, sensations of formications in eyelids +with lachrymations; 11:25, pain in the right testicle; 3 P.M., +despondent; P.M., pain on top of right shoulder midway between neck and +point of shoulder; motion does not affect it. + +"June 8th.--Before breakfast, lips feel dry, back of throat (posterior +wall of pharynx) sore, increased flow of tasteless saliva; 10:30, pain +in left ear, itching in left external canthus; 1:30 P.M., mouth full of +sweetish saliva; at lunch bit tongue severely; 9:30 P.M., mouth feels +dry and as if scalded, with desire to drink frequently in order to +moisten it. + +"June 9th.--Scalded mouth continues. + +"June 12th.--6 A.M., lips feel scalded and swollen. + +"June 17th.--Itching in rectum. + +"July 4th.--10 A.M., headache in left anterior part of brain, as if +radiated from left inner canthus; 12:30, headache in left occipital +protuberance. + +"For several nights waken frequently and too early in the morning, +without any disagreeable consequences. + +"July 7th.--A sore hang-nail on third finger of right hand. + + (Signed) "A. MCNEIL." + +Dr. McNeil took the first decimal dilution. (S.) + +II. "June 5th.--Began at 1 P.M., taking a drop before each meal. + +"June 6th.--Depressed all forenoon, languid feeling of mind and body; +despondent almost to desperation; irritable, cross, easily angered about +trifles; melancholy about the future, with no reason for it; seemed that +I was forsaken by all my friends and was on the verge of insanity; +bodily uneasiness, unfitting me for any work; felt that I could 'fall +all down in a heap;' muscles seemed to refuse to respond to the will. + +"June 7th.--Entire incapacity for mental work; could not follow a line +of thought twenty seconds; forehead cold to touch, with heavy feeling +over the eyes as though the skin and flesh of forehead would come down +over the eyes; intense drowsiness all day, worse after meals; +irresistible sleepiness after lunch; accustomed cup of coffee was not +relished. + +"June 8th.--Dreams were vivid and real; was discovered talking in my +sleep; the thoughts and work of previous day were on my mind on waking +as though I had not gone to sleep. + +"June 9th and 10th.--Aversion to company, did not wish to see anyone, +not even intimate friends; great aversion to my work; had to punish +myself to even visit a patient; quarrelsome, impatient, irritable. + + "M. F. UNDERWOOD." + +Dr. Underwood took the fifteenth decimal dilution. (S.) + +III. "June 8th, 1896, commenced taking remedy given by Dr. Selfridge, +one drop three times a day before meals. + +"June 13th.--After a restless night, awakened at 7:30 A.M. with severe, +sharp pain in the right tonsil; throat felt swollen and sore; tonsil red +and inflamed; glands on right side of neck swollen and sore to touch. + +"At 9:30, neuralgic pains commenced in left arm and hand, then in back, +limbs and all over the body; skin felt sore to touch; was quite ill all +day, with no appetite whatever. + +"At 7:30 P.M. commenced to feel chilly; upon the slightest movement +chills would creep up the back, with increase of pain; grew colder and +colder; was very ill, and went to bed. At 9:30 fever commenced with +desire for food; head very hot; cheeks very red and burning; temperature +102°, but still very chilly. Passed a very restless night, with chill, +fever and sweat all at the same time, with constant twinges of pain all +over the body, particularly in back and limbs; could not bear the +slightest touch. + +"June 14th.--Temperature 101-1/2° at 8 A.M. Right tonsil and glands of +neck still very sore, in fact, worse; pains over body less, though back +quite sore and lame; felt very weak and unable to remain out of bed. + +"Still continued the remedy. All symptoms gradually improved, and was +entirely well in a few days. + +"June 20th.--Stopped taking the remedy on advice of Dr. Selfridge. + +"June 21st.--Very depressed, both mentally and physically; menses +commenced at 2:30 P.M., with slight uterine pain. Retired at 10 o'clock, +when the pain became intense and burning. Suffered all night, the pain +being constant, though increasing in paroxysms with sensation as if the +uterus expanded in order to keep all the pain within its walls. Could +distinctly outline the contour of the uterus. Never had such a pain +before. + +"June 22nd.--Pain much better, but still a paroxysm every little while. +Felt very weak all day and mentally depressed. + +"When menses ceased, observed no further symptoms. + +"July 4th.--Commenced the remedy again. + +"July 18th.--At 11 A.M. commenced to feel chilly, with aching pains all +over the body, which gradually grew worse until 12 o'clock, when a most +severe chill took place; shook all over; aching over body and headache +intense. Took no more of the remedy; went to bed, and as I was growing +worse, was given _Aconite_ at 1 o'clock. There was great thirst for ice +water during the entire chill, which lasted until 2:30 P.M., when fever +came on; temperature, 101°; no thirst. In about fifteen minutes +commenced to sweat. Temperature at 4 o'clock 100°; still sweating. At 10 +P.M. menses commenced; no uterine pain, but still aching all over body +which continued all night, preventing sleep; pains worse in limbs and +back; at times jerking in character, making me start with every twinge; +profuse sweating all night. + +"July 19th.--Very weak; aching still continued, but less; cords of neck, +right side, quite painful. Passed a restless night, still sweating +profusely. + +"July 20th.--Much better, but still very weak; some aching and sweating; +did not go to sleep until 3 A.M.; was nervous and restless. + +"July 21st.--Much improved in every way, and was all right in a day or +two. Did not take any more of the remedy. + +"July 26th.--At 1:30 P.M. commenced to feel chilly, with intense +headache and aching all over the body. The chilliness rapidly increased +until at 2 o'clock had a worse chill than ever, which lasted until 4 +o'clock, when fever came on, temperature soon reaching 103°; sweating +commenced almost simultaneously with the fever; headache was the most +prominent symptom, which was terrific; intense, congestive headache; +eyes extremely sensitive; bones of the face sensitive to touch; could +not move the head a hair's breadth without intense agony; thought I +should go mad from the intensity of the pain. This lasted until 10:30, +when there was a sensation of faintness, due evidently to lack of food, +and which passed away after eating some cream toast; the headache then +also began to grow less, and I passed a fairly good night. + +"July 27th.--Was much better, but was too nervous to remain in bed; felt +very weak all day; retired early, but did not sleep a moment all night +long. + +"July 28th.--Arose at 6 A.M.; was weak and dizzy all day; had to lie +down every little while. Slept well this night. + +"Have been fairly well ever since. (August 7, 1896.) + + "ELEANOR F. MARTIN." + +Dr. Martin took the thirtieth decimal dilution. (S.) + + + + +THERAPEUTIC INDEX. + +NEW, OLD AND FORGOTTEN REMEDIES. + + + Abscess, 320 + Acne, 116 + Alcoholism, 328 + Albuminuria, 97 + Amblyopia, 16 + Amenorrhoea, 16 + Angina, 111, 113, 174, 187 + Anteversion, 32 + Arthritic rheumatism, 4 + Arthritis, 5 + Asthma, 65, 352 + Axilla, abscess of, 320 + + Backache, 331 + Back, pain in, 16, 335 + Baldness, 354 + Bellyache, 325 + Bilious, 38, 63, 207 + Bites of snakes, Sisyrinchium, 314 + Bladder troubles, 330, 340 + Bladder, inflammation of, 311 + Blepharitis, 8 + Bloat, wind, 299 + Boils, 38, 61, 116, 118, 377 + Bones, injuries to, 343 + Brain, pain at base of, 37 + Breast, growth on, 319 + Breasts, inflamed, 218 + Bright's disease, 46, 332 + Bronchitis, 51, 56, 58, 224 + Broncho pneumonia, 52 + Bruises, 345 + + Calculi, 131 + Calculus, 359 + Cancer, 16 + Carbuncle, 116 + Carcinoma, 22 + Cataract, 16 + Catarrh, 38, 193, 275, 320 + Catarrh, lungs, 6, 52 + Catheterism, 321 + Cervical glands enlarged, 172 + Cervix induration, 30 + Chilblains, 219 + Cholera infantum, 114 + Chordee, 309 + Chorea, 225, 269 + Coccygodinia, 272 + Coldness of extremities, 162, 244 + Colic, bilious, 207 + Colic, renal, 82 + Congestions, 133 + Conjunctivitis, 8 + Constipation, 22 + Consumption, 2, 16, 208 + Convulsions, 243, 271, 286, 322 + Cornea, spots, 16 + Coughing, 1, 224 + Coughs of consumptives, 310 + Cramps, 207, 243 + Cretinism, 52 + Cystitis, 52, 340 + + Deafness, 99, 215 + " vascular, 192 + Debility, 37 + Delirium, 243 + " tremens, 269, 272 + Dentition, 52 + Dermatitis, chronic, 216 + Diabetes mellitus, 26 + Diarrhoea, 52, 207, 365 + Digestion, tardy, 22 + Diphtheria, 118, 170, 334 + Dropsy, 16, 97, 161, 202, 283, 327 + Drunkard's sickness, 326 + Dyspepsia, 5 + Dyspnoea, 26, 27, 52 + Dysuria, 332 + + Earache, 217 + Eczema, 96 + " of nose, 319 + " plantaris, 318 + " of scalp, 319 + Emissions, nocturnal, 36, 132 + Enuresis, 217 + Epilepsy, 225, 243, 322, 367 + Erysipelas, 61, 267, 268 + Exanthemata, 21 + Expectoration purulent, 49 + Exophthalmic goitre, 140 + Eyes, inflammation of, 214 + + Feet, swollen, 334 + Fever cakes, 22 + " inflammatory, 87 + " intermittent, 79, 87, 260, 349 + " paludal, 260 + " rheumatic, 87 + " typhoid, 118 + Fibroid of uterus, 280, 361 + Fits, 289 + Flux, hæmorrhoidal, 205 + Fracture of bones, 343 + + Gangrene, 116 + Gastric irritability, 15 + Glands, 8 + Gleet, 16 + Goitre, 140 + Gonorrhoea, 16, 38, 309 + Gout, 6, 52, 139, 328, 369 + Gravel, 16, 131, 340 + Gums, affections of, 309 + + Hair, falling of, 243, 321, 354 + Headache, 64, 104, 272, 366 + Hæmoptysis, 1 + Hæmorrhoids, 16, 220, 226 + Hahnemann's psoric theory, 84 + Hay fever, 11, 342 + Heart, 27 + " diseases, 109, 273, 279, 353 + " palpitation of, 36 + " failure, 160 + Helminthiasis, 38 + Hepatitis, 16 + Herpes, 6, 21, 23 + Hiccough, 38 + Hip disease, 16 + Hordeoli 321 + Hydrophobia, 11, 16, 138 + Hypochondria, 16 + Hysteria, 30, 35, 225, 302 + Hysterio-epilepsy, 245 + + Idiocy, 52 + Influenza, 50, 51, 58 + Inguinal rupture, 344 + Insanity, 97, 241 + Insomnia, 36, 271 + Intermittents, 22, 79, 87, 349 + Itch, 81 + Itching, 16 + + Keratitis, 8 + Kidneys, 16, 97, 332 + " inflammation of, 311 + Knee-jerk, 198 + + Labor cases, 372 + Lassitude, 38 + Legs swollen, 336 + Leucorrhoea, 33, 116 + Lithæmia, 321 + Liver, indurated, 16 + " inflammation of, 133 + Lock-jaw, 244, 268 + Locomotor ataxia, 22 + Lues, 22 + Lumbago, 16 + Lungs, hæmorrhage, 1 + " inflammation of, 133 + + Malignant tumor, 345 + Mania, 16 + Masturbation, 36, 223 + Melancholia, 98 + Memory, 309 + Menstruation, profuse, 355 + Metritis, 29, 32 + Metrorrhagia, 355 + Milk scab, 8 + Morning sickness, 347 + Morphine habit, 37, 270 + + Nasal obstructions, 189 + " polypi, 189 + " ulceration, 191 + Nausea of pregnancy, 347 + Nephritis, 46, 52 + Nervous exhaustion, 36 + Neuralgia, 22, 97, 143, 261, 272, 369 + Neuralgia of stomach, 144 + Night sweats, 309 + Nodosities, 84 + Nostrils, 189 + Numbness of extremities, 162 + + Otorrhoea, 8 + Oxytoxic, 373 + Ozæna, 116, 190 + + Palsy, 309 + Paralysis, 160 + " rheumatic, 201 + Paraplegia, 198 + Perspiration, no, 311 + Piles, 16, 220, 226 + Pleura, inflammation, 133 + Pneumonia, 47 + Polypi, nasal, 189 + Prolapsus, 32 + " uteri, 336 + Prostate, inflammation of, 311 + Pulmonary congestion, 50 + Provings of anagalis, 15 + " " azadirachta Ind., 38 + " " bellis per., 60 + " " berberis aq., 62 + Provings of cephalanthus oc., 86 + " " cereus Bon., 87 + " " chionanthus Vir., 99 + " " cornus alt., 104 + " " echinacea ang., 115 + " " fagopyrum, 133 + " " heloderma hor., 148 + " " jacaranda gual., 168 + " " lathyrus sat., 198 + " " malaria off., 211 + " " onosmodium Vir., 225 + " " oxytropis Lam., 233 + " " paraphine, 247 + " " parthenium hysterophorus, 262 + Provings of penthorum sedoides, 275 + " " primula obconica, 275 + " " pyrus Americana, 305 + " " scolopendra morsitans, 311 + Provings of scutellaria lateriflora, 312 + " " thlaspi bursa pastoris, 384 + " " thyroid, 362 + " " viscum album, 374 + " " wyethia helenioides, 377 + + Quinsy, 87 + + Rattlesnake bites, 314 + Rectum, pain in, 273 + Renal colic, 82 + Rheumatism, 4, 52, 87, 116, 143, 169, 210, 357, 369 + Rheumatism, chronic, 210, 321 + " inflammatory, 143, 145 + Rhinitis atrophics, 196 + Rigg's disease of the teeth, 81 + Ringworm, 52 + Rupture, inguinal, 344 + + Salt rheum, 104 + Sand in urine, 356 + Satyriasis, 309 + Scabs, 6 + Scab, sheep, 317 + Scald, 8 + Sciatica, 147 + Sclerosis, multiple, 201 + Scrofula, 6, 8 + Scrofulous diathesis, 332 + " enlargements, 173 + Scurvy, 8 + Secretions of uric acid, 359 + Sheep scab, 317 + Sick-headache, 104 + Skin, 8, 23, 321 + Sleep, producing, 267 + Sleeplessness, 97, 268, 274, 335 + Small-pox, 119 + Smell, putrid, 196 + " sense of, lost, 196 + Snake bites, 16, 314 + Snoring, 192 + Sore throat, 87 + Spermatorrhoea, 131 + Spinal affections, 198 + " meningitis, 268 + Sprain, 60 + Spleen affections, 326 + " enlarged, 86 + " fevers, 328 + Strangury, 311 + Stomatitis, 118 + Suppuration, 116 + " gastric, 22 + Syphilis, 16, 22, 27, 116, 168 + Syphilitic eruptions, 21, 52 + + Tabes dorsalis, 22 + Tartar on the teeth, 84 + Testicle, inflammation of, 218 + Tetanus, 268 + Throat, inflammation of, 309 + " sore, 87 + Thyroid gland enlarged, 173 + Trembling of extremities, 204, 244, 309 + Tuberculosis, 6, 41 + Tumors, 21, 23, 345 + " glandular, 21 + Typhoid, 118 + + Ulcers, 16, 118, 345 + Urethritis, 361 + Uric acid, 358 + Urine, retention of, 340 + " dribbling of, 357 + Urination, difficult, 311 + " frequent, 331 + Urinary passages, inflammation of, 311 + Urticaria, 318 + Uterine diseases, 34 + " pains, 33 + Uterus, induration, 29 + + Valvular deficiency, 109 + Venereal desire, excessive, 309 + Vertigo, 243 + Vomiting, 13, 38 + " of pregnancy, 347 + + Wens, 119 + Whooping cough, 221, 225 + Wounds, 345 + " suppurating, 320, 345 + + + * * * * * + +TRANSCRIBER NOTES: + + Missing punctuation has been added and obvious punctuation errors + have been corrected, but as the articles come from many sources, + some inconsistencies in punctuation conventions have been retained. + + Alternate and archaic spellings have been retained as well as + spelling errors with the exception of those listed below. + + Footnotes have been moved closer to their reference points. + + Page v: Fraxinus Excelsior indexed to page 139, but actually + begins on page 138. + + Page vi: "Mullein oil, 205" changed to "Mullein oil, 215". + + Page 2: "benefitted" changed to "benefited" (Acalypha benefited, + and then failed). + + Page 4: "analygous" changed to "analogous" (will produce symptoms + entirely analogous to). + + Page 13: "Amydgalus" changed to "Amygdalus" (after reading what Dr. + Edson says about Amygdalus). + + Page 16: "horseness" changed to "hoarseness" (as from a brush + against epiglottis (with hoarseness). + + Page 27: "trituated" changed to "triturated" (triturated in the + usual way). + + Page 35: "preceptible" changed to "perceptible" (sensible, + perceptible changes in the uterus). + + Page 38: "Sanskirt" changed to "Sanskrit" (Syn.: Sanskrit, Nimba). + + Page 42, footnote E: "homèopathie" changed to "homéopathie" + ("On Tuberculin," an extract from the _Journal Belge d' + homéopathie_, 1895.). + + Page 42, footnote C: "Homèopathique" changed to + "Homéopathique" (_L' Union Homéopathique_, vol. v, No. 3.). + + Page 52: "staphyloccocci" changed to "staphylococci" (of + streptococci, or of staphylococci). + + Page 59: "of" changed to "or" (as the result of influenza or + measles). + + Page 66: duplicate word "the" removed (and more frequently during + the fits of asthma). + + Page 79: "improvment" changed to "improvement" (was not much + improvement in her cough). + + Page 82: "a" changed to "at" (I took at times). + + Page 84: "diappeared" changed to "disappeared" (and my appetite had + completely disappeared). + + Page 108: "Jeninngs" changed to "Jennings" (Dr. M. C. Jennings). + + Page 112: "fiteen" changed to "fifteen" (as surely as does fifteen + drops of). + + Page 140: "kilométres" changed to "kilomètres" (he was able + to walk two kilomètre). + + Page 150: "vemons" changed to "venoms" (from all present known + venoms). + + Page 161: "ask" changed to "asked" (and have frequently asked + myself). + + Page 179: "epxerience" changed to "experience" (for some experience + in proving work). + + Page 190: "week" changed to "weeks" (and two weeks after). + + Page 196: "disharge" changed to "discharge" (a slight amount of + discharge). + + Page 206: "demostrate" changed to "demonstrate" (the gaseous form + demonstrate). + + Page 210: duplicate "and" removed (shoulder helpless and painful). + + Page 221: "remed" changed to "remedy" (than any other remedy known). + + Page 227: "aquisition" changed to "acquisition" (is an acquisition + of greater importance). + + Page 230: "Noctural" changed to "Nocturnal" (Nocturnal emmisions). + + Page 232: "alchohol" changed to "alcohol" (its weight of alcohol). + + Page 233: "majoram" changed to "marjoram" (Origanum majorana (or + common marjoram). + + Page 239: "intermiitent" changed to "intermittent" (Pulse 84, + intermittent). + + Page 252: "hypochrondrium" changed to "hypochondrium" (fixed pain in + the left hypochondrium). + + Page 316: "axoloti" changed to "axolotl" (with the exception + of axolotl, a kind of salamander). + + Page 320: "accompained" changed to "accompanied" (accompanied with a + constant itching and shedding). + + Page 331: "catherizing" changed to "catheterizing" (who spend much + time in catheterizing such patients). + + Page 333: "extremites" changed to "extremities" (of the lower + extremities). + + Page 336: "alway" changed to "always," "prorer" changed to "proper" + (had always come at the proper time). + + Page 341: "conmmence" changed to "commence" (and then would commence + the pain in the back). + + Page 341: "trippled" changed to "tripled" (secretion was tripled and + even quintupled). + + Page 341: "a" removed (after repeated investigations). + + Page 358: "dillutions" changed to "dilutions" (good effects from the + dilutions in some of the cases). + + Page 362: "gotire" changed to "goitre" (resembling exophthalmic + goitre). + + Page 385: "thlaspi bursa pastoris, 384" changed to "thlaspi bursa + pastoris, 354." + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies: +Papers by Many Writers, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NEW, OLD, FORGOTTEN REMEDIES *** + +***** This file should be named 38757-8.txt or 38757-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/7/5/38757/ + +Produced by Bryan Ness, Pat McCoy and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was +produced from scanned images of public domain material +from the Google Print project.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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