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res times in an hour ; and so cruciating, as toproduce spasmodic contractions os every muscie bout the face and necla, and even affecting thevhole body. Under these circumstances he arrived from America, and brought with him an exadi de tallos the progress of his dis ease, and the means made use of for his relie . Untii I could have leis ure to consider the caseattentiVely, and what farther might be reas nablyproposed, Ι ordered him to talae the extraet ofhemloch, beginning with tWenty gratias a day, and dire 'ted him how to proceed in increasng it. He called about a week after the time I hail , fixed), when Ι observed his cohantenance to besomewhat lessi disturbed, and he owned himselfrather beller. He was advised to continue in the same method, which he did very constantly during the autumn and winter. In the spring, as he und himself much better, he took the medicine less regularly, and returned to Americaalmost free frona pain, and enti rely so stom any of those spasmodic contorsions, whicli accompani edhim almost incessantly at his arrivat. He tookno other medicine during the whole time.
A healthy sober young man applied to me in the spring 1766, on account of a pain in his
arm. The part aflected was from abolit themiddie of the biceps, down the inside of the armio the wri t. He knew of no particular accident
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dent that had brought it on, excepi taking Cold;.it Was deemed rheumatic, and he had en dured ita considerable time besore I saw him. It wasneither Melled, discoloured, or fore to the touch;
teratives, decoctions of the woods, the bark in various mapes, antimonials likewise and anodynes, Were made Use os; b Ut without gaining any considerable benefit. He then took the ex tract of hem c in a fuli dose about a forinight, when he found the pain began to abate. Hecontinued it during the summer regularly, got persectly well, and so remain s.
A few instances of this kind naturalty induceone to apply a remedy like this, in very disssimi
long time infirm, subject to coughs, hectic heais, and a train os complainis, arising from sim allvomica's being frequently formed in the lungs and discliarged, applied to me ston after a largeone had broke. She had then a copiOUs PUrUlent haemoploe, incesiant cough, quick smali pulse, night sweais, With lossi os appetite, and lossos strength. Sost demulcent cooling pectoralswere given, With anodynes frequently in sinaliquantities, but to no purpose. A light decoction os bark with elixi r of vitriol and anodynes
and w be Washed down with a ses spoonfuls of tincture
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tinisture of roses. The patient Was ordered into the COUntry, and I s- her no more, nor heardany thing of her, tili I was informed, severat
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belleve, been made with due attention to theseason when the plant is in iis greatest perseC-tion. So soon as the plant appeared strong and succulent, it Was Commonly gathered sor Use. But Ι know stom repeated experimenis, that theextraei, prepared frona hem c bes ore the plantarrives at maturity, is much inferior to that whic his made when the hemioch has acquired iis fultvigour, and is rather on the verge of decline :just when the flowers sede, the rudiments of theseeds become observabie, and the habit of the plant inclines to yellow, seems the proper timeto collect the hemioc . It has then had the fuit benefit of the summer heat; and the planis that grow in exposed places, wili generalty be found more virose than those that grow in the saade. In respect to the manner of preparing this extrast, it may be neces ary to observe, that thelest heat it undergoes the better. Theresore, is a considerable quantity of the dry powder of the plant, gathered at a proper season, is added, thelest botling will be necessary, and the medicine will be the more efficacioUS. But let the extract be prepared in What man-ner foever it may, provided it is made frona thegenuine plant, at a proper season, and is not de
stroyed by boiling, the clites difference observabie in using it, is, that a larger quantity of onekind is required to produce a certain essect, Uian of another. I have found that twenty grains of one fori of
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thirty, nay near forty of another, yet both of them made frona the genuine plant, and most probably prepared Willi equat fidelity. To prevent the inconvenien cies arising frontritis uncertainty, it seems alWays expedient tobegin with smali doses, and proceed, step bystep, tili the extrast produces certain essedis, whicli sel dona fati to ariste frona a fuli dose. These essedis are different in different consti tutions. But, for the most pari, a giddiness as secting the head, and motions of the eyes, as i something pushed them out ards, are first feli: a stight sicliness, and trembling agitation of thebody ; a laxative stool or two. One or ali these symptonas are the martis os a fuli dose, letthe quantity in Weight be what it Will. Here we must stop tili none of these effects are seli,
anil, in three or soUr days, adVance a feW grainsmore. For the generat eXperience of ait wholiave used this medicine to any good purpose, with whom Ι have any acquaintance, agrees, that the cicuta seldom procures any benefit, thoughgiveri sor a long time, uniessi in as large a dose asthe patient can bear, Without suffering any of the inconveniencies above mentioned. Patienis Commonly bear a greater quantity of the extrast at night, than at noon ; and at nOOn, than in the morning. The method I commonly
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with directions to increasse each dose, by the ad dition of a pili to each, as they can bear it. The extrach of hemioc , given in this manner, is apparently anodyne ; it promotes rest, and eases patia. It seldom creates thirst, or that Lind of morning head acti, whicli sUCCeeds an Optate of any Lind.It seldom occasions costivenest, but, in most, it procures a laxative stool the day sollowing. In sonae habiis very smali doses offend the stomach, excite spasmodic twitchings, heat, and
From the certain quality it possesses of altering the property of a thin, Corro sive, CanCCTOUSichor, and changing it to a milder fluid, Iliave been induced to try it in sanio as Ulcers, and gleety, patiat ut dis charges frona the Uagina, and osten with successi. Also in fixed excruciat-ing patias, probably arising from acrimony, noldisiimilar to that of CanCerS. The Materia Medica is atready Ioaded with a number of very inefficacious simples, and itwould give me extreme concern to assist in addinganother to the catalogue: but, Dom the observations I have had an opportunity of mahing, and from the concurrent opinion os severat ofmy medicat acquaintance, Ι persuade myself, that the cicuta will be an useful acquisition, and will assist us in the cure of many diseases, in Whichthe medicines noW in use are inadequale auxiliaries.
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I Have sor a long time proposed to myself,
to lay besore yoti sonae account of a dis ease whicli occurs more frequently, I belleve, than is generalty apprehended, and is very ostencons unded with another, to whicli, in many re- specis, it appe ars not dissimilar; yet arises Doma very different caiisse. At the sanae time, I inuit OWn to yoU, it is not in my power to suggest any probabie means of curing the disease of whicli I treat: it has bassed ali my attempis, both when confided in alone, and in consultation Withthe ablest of the Faciat ty. All that Ι pretend todo is, to exhibit suci, an idea of this diseasse asmay serve to make it known when it occurs in praetice, and to sorm sucti a prognostic of iis progress and event, as may justis' praetitionerato themselves, and to the families in which lachsatat occurrences may present themselves.' Froin the Medicat Observations and Inquiries, vol. iv. I have
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64 Remaris on the wdrocephalus Infernus.
tory of this distemper, in his works, lately piab iis hed, in a tradi at the end. The Doctor has done more in elucidating this subject, than any of the writers I have seen. It will appear frona what Ι have to say on this subject, that we per feetly agree in the seat of the disse ase, in most os iis symptoma, and in iis fatality. Nevertheless,
in some potnis, our observations have led us tomahe different Conclusions.
bears the ne arest resemblance, are sicli as are supposed to proceed frona Wornas ; and what increases the resemblance is, that they are,
for the most pari, diseases of the fame age. Ιhave seldom met with the Iindrocephalus in sub jects younger than three years; most frequently it has happened, in my practice, frona sive to
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but as the cause of my not heing able to learn What the distemper reatly was, so soon as I could have wimed. It was dissiculi to assi, and stili
more dissiculi to obtain leave, under such tender circumstances, to examine the subject. At
tengili, hoWever, I succeeded, and, in severat dissections, found the sanae cause subsisting ; viz. a collemon os clear pellucid lymph, amountingin quantity, by appearance, to tWΟ, three, ors OUT OUnces, contained in the ventricle of thebrain, Under the corpus callosum, Dom Whence itwas impossibie to dis charge it by any medicine
Or operation hitherio discovered.
verat succeeding years, I had occasion to see these unliappy objecis. Os late years, they have not occurred to me quite so frequently, thoughΙ am now lamenting a dissester of this fori, whichlias deprived a large and honourabis family of the only male amongst them. Two or three instances I have met with, thathad very strong appearances of being enteredinto the last stage of this disorder, but were hap-pily recovered; they Were actual Worm cases,
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and were cured by anthelm inthi cs. I had been led, from these appe arances that were so similario those whicli attend the H 'drocephalus, to judgeit was the fame, and to form an uias avourable Prognostic. Dr. Whyti stipposses, that the commen emene of this diseasse is obscure that it is generallys orne monilis in forming ; that, after some Ob-
sary, it continues sonae weelis bes ore it en is fatally. This, in generat, differs frona what I havehitherio observe l. I have seen Children, who, frona ali appearance, Were well, healthy, and ac live, set ged with this distemper, and carried offin about so arteen days. I have seldom been ablexo trace the commen Cement os it above three