Chapter II: SAPO MOLLIS. Soft Soap (3)

The characteristic ingredient of all wines is _Alcohol_, and the quantity of this, and the condition or state of combination in which it exists, are the circumstances that include all the interesting and disputed points of medical enquiry. Daily experience convinces us that the same quantity of alcohol, applied to the stomach under the form of natural wine, and in a state of mixture with water, will produce very different effects upon the body, and to an extent which it is difficult to comprehend; it has, for instance, been demonstrated that Port, Madeira, and Sherry, contain from one-fourth to one-fifth their bulk of alcohol, so that a person who takes a bottle of either of them, will thus take nearly half a pint of alcohol, or almost a pint of pure brandy! and moreover that different wines, although of the same specific gravity, and consequently containing the same absolute proportion of the spirit, will be found to vary very considerably in their intoxicating powers; no wonder then that such results should stagger the philosopher, who is naturally unwilling to accept any tests of difference from the nervous system, which elude the ordinary resources of analytical chemistry; the conclusion was therefore drawn, that alcohol must necessarily exist in wine in a far different condition from that in which we know it in a separate state, or in other words, that its elements only could exist in the vinous liquor, and that their union was determined, and consequently alcohol produced, by the action of distillation. That it was the _product_, and not the _educt_ of distillation, was an opinion which originated with Rouelle, who asserted that alcohol was not completely formed, until the temperature was raised to the point of distillation; more lately the same doctrine was revived and promulgated by Fabbroni, in the memoirs of the Florentine Academy. Gay Lussac has, however, silenced the clamorous partisans of this theory, by separating the alcohol by distillation at the temperature of 66° _Fah._ and by the aid of a _vacuum_, it has since been effected at 56°: besides, it has been shewn that by precipitating the colouring matter and some of the other elements of the wine by _sub-acetate of lead_, and then saturating the clear liquor with _sub-carbonate of potass_, the alcohol may be completely separated without any elevation of temperature; and by this ingenious expedient Mr. Brande has been enabled to construct a table, exhibiting the proportions of combined alcohol which exist in the several kinds of wine: no doubt therefore can remain upon this subject, and the fact of the difference of effect, produced by the same bulk of alcohol, when presented to the stomach in different states of combination, adds another striking and instructive illustration to those already enumerated in the course of this work, of the extraordinary powers of chemical combination in modifying the activity of substances upon the living system. In the present instance, the alcohol is so combined with the extractive matter of the wine, that it is probably incapable of exerting its full specific effects upon the stomach, before it becomes altered in its properties, or, in other words, _digested:_ and this view of the subject may be fairly urged in explanation of the reason why the intoxicating effects of the same wine are so liable to vary in degree, in the same individual, from the peculiar state of his digestive organs at the time of its potation.[699] Hitherto we have only spoken of _pure_ wine, but it is essential to state that the stronger wines of Spain, Portugal, and Sicily, are rendered remarkable in this country by the addition of _Brandy_, and must consequently contain _uncombined_ alcohol, the proportion of which however will not necessarily bear a ratio to the quantity added, because, at the period of its admixture, a renewed fermentation is produced by the scientific vintner, which will assimilate and combine a certain portion of the foreign spirit with the wine: this manipulation, in technical language, is called _fretting-in_. The free alcohol may, according to the experiments of Fabbroni, be immediately separated by saturating the vinous fluid with _sub-carbonate of potass_, while the combined portion will remain undisturbed: in ascertaining the fabrication and salubrity of a wine, this circumstance ought always to constitute a leading feature in the inquiry; and the tables of Mr. Brande would have been greatly enhanced in practical value, had the relative proportions of _uncombined_ spirit been appreciated in his experiments, since it is to _this_, and not to the _combined_ alcohol, that the injurious effects of the wine are to be attributed. “It is well known,” observes Dr. Macculloch, “that diseases of the liver are the most common, and the most formidable of those produced by the use of _ardent_ spirits; it is equally certain that no such disorders follow the intemperate use of _pure_ wine, however long indulged in: to the concealed and unwitting consumption of spirit, therefore, as contained in the wines commonly drunk in this country, is to be attributed the excessive prevalence of those hepatic affections which are comparatively little known to our continental neighbours.” Thus much is certain, that our ordinary wines contain no alcohol, but what is disarmed of its virulence by the prophylactic energies of combination.

The odour, or _bouquet_, and flavour which distinguish one wine from another, evidently depend upon some volatile and fugacious principle, soluble in alcohol; this in sweet and half fermented wines, is immediately derived from the fruit, as in those from the _Frontignan_ and _Muscat_ grapes; but in the more perfect wines, as in _Claret_, _Hermitage_, _Rivesaltes_, and _Burgundy_, it bears no resemblance to the natural flavour of the fruit, but is altogether the product of the vinous process; and in some wines it arises from the introduction of flavouring ingredients, as from almonds in Madeira wines, as well as in those of Xeres and Saint Lucar, and hence their well known nutty flavour. Among the ancients it was formerly, and in modern Greece it is to this day, the fashion to give a resinous flavour, by the introduction of Turpentine into the casks.[700] These wines are supposed to assist digestion, to restrain ulcerous, and other morbid discharges, to provoke urine, and to strengthen the bowels; but Dioscorides also informs us that they were known to produce vertigo, pain in the head, and many evils not incidental to the same quantity of vinous liquor when free from such admixtures.[701]

Wines admit of being arranged into four classes.[702]

1. SWEET WINES; which contain the greatest proportion of extractive and saccharine matter, and generally the least ardent spirit, though this is often rather disguised than absent; as in these wines a proportion of sugar has remained unchanged during the process of vinification, they must be considered as the results of an imperfect fermentation, and are in fact mixtures of wine and sugar; accordingly, whatever arrests the progress of fermentation, must have a tendency to produce a sweet wine; thus boiling the _must_ or drying the fruit will, by partially separating the natural leaven and dissipating the water, occasion such a result as is exemplified by the manufacture of the wines of Cyprus, the _vino cotto_ of the Italians and the _vinum coctum_ of the ancients, by that of _Frontignac_, the rich and luscious wines of _Canary_, the celebrated _Tokay_, _Vino Tinto_ (Tent of Hungary) the Italian _Montefiascone_, the Persian _Schiras_, the _Malmsey wines of Candia_, _Chio_, _Lesbos_, and _Tenedos_, and those of the other islands of the Archipelago. The wines of the ancients, as Chaptal observes, were so concentrated by boiling, that they rather deserve the name of extracts or syrups, than that of wines; they, must have been very sweet, and but little fermented; apparently to remedy this, they were kept for a great length of time; according to Aristotle and Galen, seven years was the shortest period necessary for keeping wine before it was fit to drink, but wines of a century old were not uncommon at the tables of the luxurious citizens of ancient Rome, and Horace boasts of his drinking _Falernian_, born as it were with him, or which reckoned its age from the same consuls.[703]

2. SPARKLING OR EFFERVESCING WINES, as Champagne, are indebted for their characteristic properties to the presence of carbonic acid; they rapidly intoxicate, in consequence of the alcohol, which is suspended in, or combined with the gas, being thus applied in a sudden and very divided state to a large extent of nervous surface; for the same reason, their effects are as transitory as they are sudden.[704]

3. DRY AND LIGHT. These are exemplified by the more esteemed German wines, as _Hock_, _Rhenish_, _Mayne_, _Moselle_, _Necker_, and _Elsass_, and those highly flavoured wines, _Burgundy_, _Claret_, _Hermitage_, &c. They contain a very inconsiderable degree of ardent spirit, and combine with it the effect of an acid.

4. DRY AND STRONG, as _Madeira_, _Port_, _Sherry_, &c. The name _Sec_, corruptly written Sack, signifies dry; the _Sec_ wine prepared at Xeres[705] in Spain, is called according to our orthography, _Sherris_, or _Sherry_. In the manufacture of Sherry, _Lime_[706] is added to the grapes, a circumstance, observes Dr. Macculloch, apparently conducive to its well known dry quality, and which probably acts by neutralizing a portion of _malic_ or _tartaric_ acid.

By the adulteration and medication of wines, three principal objects are attempted, viz. 1. _To give them strength_, which is effected by adding any ardent spirit; but the wine is slowly decomposed by it. 2. _To perfect or change their colour._ It is very usual to change _white_ wines, when they have grown brown or rough, into _red_ wines, by means of sloes, or other colouring matter. 3. _To lessen, or remove their acidity._ It is well known that lead in different forms has frequently been employed for this purpose; the practice, however, is attended with most dangerous consequences; but which Dr. Macculloch is inclined to believe has been over-rated, since the compounds which this metal forms with the tartaric and malic acids are insoluble; but against this argument, the decisive results of experience may be opposed, and Fourcroy conceived that by the addition of Vinegar, a soluble triple salt, an _aceto-tartrate_ of lead, was produced. The fraud may be easily detected by the test[707] invented by Dr. Hahnemann. The ancients, it appears, were acquainted with this property in lead, for according to Pliny, the Greeks and Romans improved the quality of their wines by immersing a plate of lead in them.[708] Wine, as a pharmaceutical agent, has been employed to extract several of the principles of vegetables, and to dissolve certain mineral bodies: as a solvent, however, it is liable to many serious objections, as inequality of strength, and uncertainty of composition; thus sound and perfectly fermented dry wine, as _Sherry_, is frequently unable to dissolve iron, while tartarized antimony is instantly decomposed by every other. As a menstruum, to obtain an extract, it is quite inadmissible on account of the residuum which it leaves by evaporation. From such considerations the London College have at length substituted a weak spirit, for the wine formerly employed, although the term “_Vinum_” is still retained in the Pharmacopœia, to obviate those embarrassments which must ever attend a change of name, with a corresponding change of properties. The Committee were fully prepared to expect the captious objections which are urged against this measure, but as the name is _chemically_ and _medicinally_ correct, the etymologist may be fairly allowed to enjoy his assumed triumph without molestation.

VINUM ALOES. L.E.D. This solution contains all the virtues of the Aloes, and is more agreeable than the tincture. It is a warm stomachic in doses of fʒj to fʒij, and a stimulating purgative when given from f℥j to f℥ij.

By referring to the Pharmacopœia, it will be perceived that alcoholic menstrua of different strengths, have been employed for the different preparations. The proportions were deduced from careful experiments, and are adapted to the composition of the substances which the spirit is intended to dissolve: _e. g._

Proof Spirit. Water.
Vinum Aloes 1 part 1.
—— Antimonii Tartariz: 1 ditto[709] 1.
—— Colchici 1 ditto 2.
—— Ferri 1 ditto 1½.
—— Ipecacuanhæ 1 ditto 1⅔.
—— Opii 1 ditto 1⅔.
—— Veratri 1 ditto 1½.

VINUM ANTIMONII TARTARIZATI. L.

LIQUOR ANTIMONII TARTARIZATI. P.L. 1809.

_Antimonial Wine._

During the period that I was Censor of the College, I took considerable trouble, in conjunction with my colleagues, to ascertain the state in which this preparation was to be generally met with in the wholesale and retail shops of the metropolis. We were satisfied, during our official visitations, that where _sound_ Sherry wine had been employed as a solvent, an efficient and permanent solution was obtained, and that no precipitation of Antimony took place, the sediment which occurred being merely _Tartrate of Lime_, an incidental impurity derived from the _Cream of tartar:_ but in a majority of instances an inferior wine of British manufacture was substituted, in which case the Antimonial Oxyd was universally found in a copious precipitate, in combination with vegetable extractive matter; and I have even seen this decomposition so complete, that the supernatant liquor would not yield any trace of the antimonial salt. This report has been confirmed by successive Censors, and the College have accordingly endeavoured to remedy the evil, by superseding the use of wine altogether, and of introducing a spirit of equivalent strength. The virtues of this solution are those detailed under the history of _Antimonium Tartarizatum_; of which two grains are contained in every fluid-ounce of the preparation. The Medicinal Dynameter will shew the proportion of salt in any other given quantity. DOSE, ♏︎x to fʒj, in any suitable vehicle, repeated every three or four hours, in which case it acts as a diaphoretic. As an emetic, it may be given to infants in the dose of a tea-spoonful, every ten minutes, until the desired effect is produced. See _Form: 69_, and 117.[710]

VINUM COLCHICI. This medicated wine is made as follows: Take of the recent bulb of the Colchicum, sliced and bruised, [pound]j; of Proof Spirit, f℥iv; of water, f℥viij; let them infuse for fourteen days, and filter for use. There is perhaps no form better calculated to ensure the medical effects of the plant than the one we are now considering. Its dose may be stated to be from ♏︎xx to fʒiss. The virtues of Colchicum have been already noticed, see _Colchici Radix_.

VINUM FERRI. L.D. When prepared according to the London College (P.L. 1809.) each pint is stated to contain 22 grains of the red Oxide of Iron; the strength however must in such a case depend upon the quantity of _tartar_ contained in the wine. Very dry Sherry is frequently incapable of acting upon the iron until a small proportion of Cream of Tartar be added to it; would it not therefore be adviseable to direct at once a given portion of _ferrum tartarizatum_ to be dissolved in wine? The Dublin formula is more eligible than that of the former London Pharmacopœia, since it directs the use of _Rhenish_ wine instead of Sherry as a solvent, and iron wire in preference to iron _filings_; this last circumstance is important, for the purest iron can only be drawn, and this is most easily acted upon by the super-tartrate of potass. These observations are offered to those who still prefer to make the preparation with wine. They can have no relation to the present _Vinum Ferri_ of the London College, which is prepared with a weak spirit, and which contains tartrate of potass and iron, with an excess of super-tartrate which supplies the place of the acid contained in the wine, and ensures the solution of the tartarized iron in the Spirit. According to the experiments of Mr. Phillips, which I have every reason to believe accurate, the present preparation contains less peroxide of iron than the former did; it will be seen by the Dynameter that f℥j contains exactly one grain, which is exactly equivalent to five grains of Tartarized Iron, whereas an equal quantity of the former wine held in solution 1–4/10 gr, which was equivalent to seven grains of the salt. _Med. Uses._ It is the least unpleasant of all the preparations of iron, and its medicinal activity is supported by the testimony of ages, for it is one of the oldest preparations with which we are acquainted. _Dose_, fʒij to f℥ss.

VINUM IPECACUANHÆ. L.E.D. The virtues of this root are completely extracted by dilute spirit. _Dose_, as an emetic, from fʒij to f℥ss: as a diaphoretic, from ♏︎xx to xl. _See Form. 63, 137._

VINUM OPII. L.E.[711] This is a spirituous solution of the _extract_ of Opium combined with various aromatics, which are supposed to modify the effects of the opium, while by the substitution of the extract for the crude opium, it is considered as being less likely to disturb the nervous system. I submit whether the views offered under the history of Wine, respecting the relative effects of combined and uncombined Alcohol, might not lead us, by analogy, to prepare a more efficient _vinum opii_, and a preparation less likely to affect the stomach: by adding the opium to the wine during its state of fermentation, it would enter into intimate union with its elements, in the same way that brandy is incorporated by the technical manipulation of _fretting-in:_ this suggestion is also sanctioned by the generally acknowledged superiority of the _Black Drop_, which I have little doubt is indebted for its peculiar efficacy to the state of combination in which the _acetate of morphia_ exists in the vinous menstruum. The preparation, when made with wine, as directed in the late Pharmacopœia, is nearly analogous to the celebrated _Liquid Laudanum_[712] of Sydenham, and its degree of narcotic power is nearly the same as that of the ordinary tincture, as may be seen by referring to the _Medicinal Dynameter_.

VINUM VERATRI. L. Since the discovery of the real nature of the _Eau Medicinale_, this preparation has fallen into comparative disuse, and might have been removed, as we have now introduced the _Vinum Colchici_. It is however a singular circumstance that both these preparations should owe their medicinal powers to the same elementary principle, viz. _Veratria_; and as some practitioners are still addicted to its use, the Committee agreed to let it remain.

ULMI CORTEX. L.E.D. (Ulmus Campestris.)

_Elm Bark._

QUALITIES. _Odour_, none; _Taste_, slightly bitter and mucilaginous. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Gum, extractive, gallic acid, and super-tartrate of potass. SOLUBILITY. Water is its appropriate solvent. MED. USES. It has been commended in herpetic eruptions, but in the hands of Dr. Willan and others it has not proved successful; it is one of those articles that might be discarded from our Pharmacopœia with much propriety. OFFICINAL PREP. _Decoct: Ulmi_. L.D.

UNGUENTA. L.E.D. _Ointments._

These are unctuous substances analogous to _Cerates_ except in consistence, which is much less firm, and scarcely exceeds that of butter: formerly, ointments were numerous and complicated in their composition, and surgeons adapted with much technical formality different ointments to answer different indications: this practice however has undergone a very judicious reform, and it is now well understood that _in general_ all that is required in an ointment is a suitable tenacity and consistence, to keep the parts to which it may be applied soft and easy, and at the same time to exclude from them the atmospheric air; in some cases, however, these simple compositions are made the _vehicles_ of more active remedies, as in the following preparations, _viz._

UNGUENTUM CANTHARIDIS. L. As the active ingredient in this ointment is derived from an infusion of the Cantharides, it is extremely mild, and frequently inefficacious. The _ceratum cantharidis_ furnishes a more certain application.

UNGUENTUM ELEMI COMPOSITUM. L. The elemi and turpentine in this ointment, render it stimulant and digestive.

UNGUENTUM HYDRARGYRI FORTIUS. L. The precise nature[713] of this compound does not appear to have been known until the late researches[714] of Mr. Donovan, (_Annals of Philosophy_, _November, 1819_,) which promise to lead to a more uniform, efficacious, and economical mode of preparing it; for they[715] shew that in the officinal ointment, the mercury exists in two different conditions,—in the state of metal, _mechanically mixed_, as asserted by Vogel, and in that of an oxide, _chemically combined_ with the lard, and that the medicinal activity of the ointment exclusively resides in this latter portion, the presence of metallic mercury not only being useless but injurious, by obstructing the absorption of the active compound of the oxide. Mr. Donovan accordingly formed a direct chemical combination, by continually agitating together lard and black oxide of mercury at the temperature of 350° _Fah:_ for two hours. At the end of the process it appeared that every ounce of lard had dissolved, and combined with 21 grains of oxide; and from the trials which have been made respecting its activity, it would seem to be as efficient as the officinal ointment, and moreover that it may be introduced by inunction in one third of the time. The investigation is highly important, for it not only offers the means of preparing a mercurial ointment more œconomically, but one more active and manageable, and less liable to that want of uniformity in strength, which must always attend a preparation in which so much labour is required for its completion; for independent of that variation in strength which will arise from imperfect triture, it is by no means an uncommon practice to use chemical means, which are not admissible, to facilitate the process, such as the addition of _Sulphur_, which is found to abridge very considerably the labour requisite for the extinction of the mercury, but it converts a portion of the metal into a _Sulphuret_, and diminishes the power of the unguent. There is however a method of facilitating the process, which is not liable to any apparent objection, but the theory of its operation is obscure; it consists in adding to the half-prepared ointment a portion of that which has been long kept; which appears to act as a _leaven_ to the whole mass.

The following table exhibits the relative quantity of mercury contained in each of the different ointments directed by the British Pharmacopœia, and in that prepared according to the process of Donovan.

One Drachm { _stronger ointment_ contains of Mercury 30 grs.
of the Lond: { _weaker ointment_ 10 ——
of the Edinb: _common ointment_ 12 ——
of the Dub: { _stronger ointment_ 30 ——
{ _weaker ointment_ 20 ——
of that prepared according to Donovan 2½ ——

Mercurial ointment furnishes the most prompt, and least exceptionable mode of impregnating the system. The external method of administering mercury, says Mr. John Hunter, is always preferable to the internal, because the skin is not nearly so essential to life as the stomach, and therefore is capable in itself of bearing much more than the stomach. The inunction is generally performed by rubbing ʒss to ʒj on some part of the body where the cuticle is thin, generally on the inside of the thigh, except perhaps in cases of chronic hepatitis, when it is more usually applied to the region of the liver, care being taken that the friction is continued until every particle of the ointment disappears; and for obvious reasons, the operation ought if practicable to be performed by the patient himself. Where it has been an object to saturate the system with mercury as quickly as possible, I have witnessed the advantage of confining, by means of slips of bladder, a drachm of mercurial ointment in each axilla, in addition to the mercurial friction. Camphor, turpentine, and other stimulants, have been sometimes added to the ointment, with a view of promoting its absorption; this however is an erroneous practice, since these acrid ingredients soon produce pustules on the skin, which prevent the continuance of the friction; the warm bath is a more certain, and less objectionable _adjuvant_, many practitioners therefore advise the body to be immersed in a warm bath, once and again, before the course is commenced, and to repeat it once or twice a week during its continuance: the length of time to be employed in a course of mercury, and the quantity to be given, are circumstances that must in every case be left to the discretion of the practitioner. Mercury, when introduced into the body, acts as a powerful stimulant, and pervades every part of the system; hence it is the most powerful evacuant belonging to the Materia Medica; from its stimulant operation, exerted directly or indirectly, we are able to explain its utility in the cure of disease, and it may be made to act according to management and circumstances, as a tonic, antispasmodic, diuretic, cathartic, sialogogue, emmenagogue, or alterative; but its most important operation is that displayed in removing the diseases induced by the syphilitic poison, although its _modus operandi_ is still buried amongst the many other arcana of physic. The mode of directing and controlling the influence of mercury in the cure of the venereal disease, is now very generally understood, and it is to be hoped that a full confidence in its antisyphilitic powers is as universally maintained, in spite of the late opinions which tended to depreciate its value and to question its necessity; there is however no advantage to be gained, as was once imagined, by exciting profuse salivation. On its next important application, that of curing chronic affections of the liver and dropsy, a remark which has been suggested to me by the results of practice, may not be unacceptable. I think I have generally observed, that when the remedy has been pushed to such an extent as to excite the salivary glands to excessive secretion, the urinary organs cease to participate in its stimulating action, and _vice versa_, for the mouth is rarely affected when the mercury runs off by the kidneys; this may suggest a precaution of some practical moment in the treatment of dropsy, and it will be generally judicious to accompany the administration of this metal with certain diuretics, in order to direct its operation to the kidneys;[716] and it would seem, that for such an object those diuretic medicines should be preferred that act _primarily_ on the organs, as alkalies and their combinations, squill, &c. the success of such a plan of treatment will also depend greatly upon the exact period at which these remedies are administered; it will for instance be right to wait until the system is, to a certain degree, under mercurial influence. It is hardly necessary to observe, that if the mercury runs off by the bowels, we shall be deprived of all, or of a great share of, the benefit to be expected. In certain cases, the lymphatic vessels seem to resist the admittance of mercury, and to refuse the conveyance of it to the general circulation: I have already thrown out some vague hints upon the subject, at page 156, and I must refer the reader to some farther remarks, which I apprehend bear upon this question under the following article.

UNGUENTUM OXIDI HYDRARGYRI CINEREI. E. This consists of a mixture of _one part_ of grey oxide of mercury, and _three parts_ of axunge: it was reasonable to suppose, _a priori_, that, as the whole of the mercury in this ointment is oxidized, its adoption would supersede the necessity of the labour required for the preparation of the common mercurial ointment, and at the same time afford a combination of equal if not superior efficacy; but experience has not justified the conclusion, for it has been found to possess little or no activity; the consideration of it is therefore introduced into this work, not on account of its utility, but as an object upon which I may pause with advantage, to offer those observations which its history is so well calculated to call forth and illustrate. The circumstance which renders this preparation inert, will now receive a satisfactory explanation from the experiments of Mr. Donovan, as related in the preceding article; in short, it is a _mechanical mixture_ instead of a _chemical combination_; and I beg again to urge the importance of this distinction, and to offer the present example as a farther illustration of the views I have already submitted upon the subject. By subjecting this ointment for some hours to a heat of 300°, it would without doubt become an active preparation. It is probable that the lymphatics offers less resistance to the ingress of a mineral body into the system when it is presented to them in combination with some animal substance, which must alone be regarded as their peculiar stimulus, and the only matter which they are destined perpetually to receive and convey; for the same physiological reason, the lacteals may probably take up iron with greater readiness when in combination with vegetable matter, than when introduced into the stomach in a more purely mineral form.

UNGUENTUM HYDRARGYRI MITIUS. L. This weaker preparation is sometimes preferred, as it irritates the skin less; it is however principally used as a topical dressing to venereal sores, and as an application to kill vermin on the body.

UNGUENTUM HYDRARGYRI NITRATIS. L.E.D. vulgo _Citrine Ointment_. It is stimulant, detergent, and alterative; when diluted with an equal quantity of simple ointment or almond oil, it may be almost regarded as a specific in ophthalmia tarsi, smeared upon the cilia every night at bedtime.

UNGUENTUM HYDRARGYRI NITRICO-OXYDI. L. An excellent stimulant application, well adapted for giving energy to indolent ulcers. If mixed with any ointment containing resin, it loses its red colour, passing through olive green to black, which depends upon the conversion of the _red_ into the _black_ oxide of mercury.

UNGUENTUM HYDRARGYRI PRÆCIPITATI ALBI. L. Stimulant and detergent. It is said to be very efficacious in certain inveterate forms of the Itch. With the addition of Carbonate of Potass, it has been much extolled in various cutaneous affections.[717]

UNGUENTUM PICIS LIQUIDÆ. L.E.D. _Tar Ointment._ This ointment has been much extolled for the removal of tetter, and for the cure of tinea capitis.

UNGUENTUM RESINÆ NIGRÆ. L. olim, _Ung. Basilicum[718] nigrum._ Digestive stimulant.

UNGUENTUM SAMBUCI. L.D. It possesses no advantage over the simple ointment.

UNGUENTUM SULPHURIS. L.E.D. This ointment is a mechanical mixture of Lard and Sulphur, although it would appear that a small proportion of the latter exists also in a state of chemical combination. MED. USES. A specific in the itch. Dr. Bateman proposes a combination, equally efficacious, but which has not the same disagreeable smell; _viz_. “Take of sub-carbonate of potass, _half an ounce_; rose water, _one ounce_; red sulphuret of mercury, _one drachm_; essential oil of Bergamot, half a _fluid-drachm_; sublimed sulphur, hog’s lard, of each _eleven ounces_. Mix them.” Jasser’s Ointment also, as altered in the Prussian Pharmacopœia, is an excellent application in Psora, _viz._ ℞._Sulphur: Sublim:_ ℥ij, _Zinci Sulphat:_ ℥ij, _Ol:_ _Lauri, et Axung. q, s, ut fiat Unguentum_.

UNGUENTUM SULPHURIS COMPOSITUM. L. More stimulating than the simple ointment, from the addition of white hellebore; it is however frequently found to excite too much irritation.

UNGUENTUM VERATRI. L.D. It is used for the cure of scabies, but is less certain than the ointment of sulphur.

UNGUENTUM ZINCI. L.E.D. Astringent and stimulant; very beneficial in some species of ophthalmia, smeared upon the tarsi, every night.

Very efficient preparations may be also constructed by adding together equal weights of lard and narcotic vegetable powders, as those of _Conium_, _Digitalis_, _Belladonna_, &c.

The addition of a small quantity of powdered white sugar will frequently prevent ointments becoming rancid.

UVÆ URSI FOLIA. L.E.D (Arbŭtus Uva Ursi.)

_Uva Ursi_, _Bear-berry_, or _Trailing Arbutus_.

_Bear’s Whortle-berry_, _Wild Cranberry_, &c.

QUALITIES. _Odour_, slight, resembling that of hyson tea; _Taste_, bitterish and sub-astringent. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Tannin, mucilage, gallic acid, extractive, resin, and traces of lime. SOLUBILITY. Both water and alcohol extract its virtues. MED. USES. The ancients employed it on account of its astringency, the moderns however have exhibited it for various diseases, more especially for those affecting the bladder and urinary organs, and, it would seem, without any theory respecting its _modus operandi_; but it has at length fallen into disrepute, and probably with justice: it occasionally renders the urine of a blackish colour, a fact which is not easy to be explained. When it is administered, the form of powder is preferred, and in doses from ℈j to ʒj. The leaves of the _Vaccinium Vitis Idæa_ (Red Whortle-berry,) are sometimes substituted for those of _Uvæ Ursi_; but they may be easily distinguished; _botanically_, by the net work appearance of their veins above, and by their dots underneath; _chemically_, by their infusion neither precipitating the solution of isinglass, nor that of sulphate of iron.

ZINCI OXYDUM. L.E.D.

_Oxide of Zinc._

This is occasionally used internally as a tonic, and may be exhibited in the form of pill. It is however principally employed externally, as a mild but efficient astringent; viz. _Ung: Zinci_. ADULTERATIONS. Dr. Roloff of Magdeburg has lately discovered the casual presence of _Arsenic_[719] in this oxide; by boiling the substance in distilled water, and assaying the solution with the ammoniaco-nitrate of silver, its presence may be instantly recognised; _Chalk_ may be detected by sulphuric acid exciting an effervescence; and _White Lead_, by its forming an insoluble sulphate of lead. It ought to be volatile.

ZINCI SULPHAS. L.E.D.

_Sulphate of Zinc_, olim, _White Vitriol_.

QUALITIES. _Form_, crystals, which are four-sided prisms, terminated by four-sided pyramids; they are slightly efflorescent; _Taste_, styptic, metallic, and slightly acidulous. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. One proportional of oxide, and one proportional of acid; its crystals contain seven proportionals of water. SOLUBILITY. It is soluble in 2.5 times its weight of water at 60°, and in less than its own weight of boiling water, but is quite insoluble in alcohol. INCOMPATIBLE SUBSTANCES. _Alkalies_; _earths_; _hydro-sulphurets_; _astringent vegetable infusions_; _Milk_. MED. USES. Tonic, astringent, and, in large doses emetic, (_Form. 66._) As an emetic it operates directly, and offers therefore a prompt resource in cases of poison, or where an immediate discharge from the stomach is required; it appears to differ from most remedies of this nature, in not proving diaphoretic in smaller doses: in spasmodic[720] coughs it is administered with the best effects, especially when combined with camphor or myrrh, (_Form. 59:_) in affections of the chest attended with inordinate secretion, I have witnessed much benefit from its exhibition, particularly when presented in the form of lozenge; and, when dissolved in water, in the proportion of grs. ij to f℥j, it forms a useful injection in fluor albus, &c.; in small doses its internal exhibition is also useful in Leucorrhæa. When combined with opium it is well calculated to obviate that atony, and those frequent discharges of fæces, without pain, that take place in the protracted stages of dysentery. As an external application it is very generally employed in the proportion of grs. x to eight fluid-ounces of water. The supposed ill effects consequent on the application of preparations of lead to a great surface, have determined some practitioners to substitute in their place, solutions of sulphate of zinc, but not with the same effect; for to that very property, which may occasionally render saturnine lotions dangerous, is their virtue to be attributed; see _Liquor Plumbi Sub-acetatis_. DOSE, as an emetic from grs. x. to ʒss—as a tonic, and astringent, from grs. j. to ij. OFFICINAL PREP. _Liquor: Alum: comp:_ L. (=B=) _Solutio Sulphatis Zinci._ _Solutio Acetatis Zinci._ E. (=I=). _Tinct: Acetatis Zinci_. D. (=I=). ADULTERATIONS. The _white vitriol_ of commerce ought never to be used in medicine without previous purification, since it generally contains the sulphates of copper and iron.

ZINGIBERIS RADIX. L.E.D. (Zingiber Officinale.) _Ginger_.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Volatile oil, fecula, and resino-extractive matter; on the first of these principles its well known flavour and odour depend; but its pungency resides in the last. SOLUBILITY. Water, alcohol, and æther, extract its virtues. MED. USES. It is highly stimulant and is therefore frequently beneficial in flatulant cholic, dyspepsia, and gout; it is however more generally employed as an adjunct to other remedies, to promote their efficacy or to correct their operation, (see _Form. 92, 94, 112, 153_,) and it is found, that it does not produce the ill effects of those spices, whose virtues reside in an acrid oil. DOSE, of the powders grs. x. to ℈j. OFFICINAL PREP. _Syrup: Zingib:_ L.E.D. _Syrup: Rhamni:_ L. (=E=) _Tinct: Zingib:_ L.D.[721] _Tinct: Cinnamom: comp:_ L. (=B.=) _Acid_. _Sulphuric: aromat:_ E. _Confectio Opii_. L. _Confectio Scammon:_ L.D. (=E=) _Infus_. _Sennæ_. _co._ L. (=E=) _Pulvis Cinnamom: comp:_ L.E.D. (B) _Pulv: Scammon: comp:_ L.D. (=E=) _Pulv_. _Sennæ_. _comp:_ L. (=E=) _Pil: Aloes:_ D. _Pill: Scillæ comp:_ L.D. _Vinum Aloes_. L.E.D. ADULTERATIONS. The powder is rarely met with in any tolerable degree of purity: there are two varieties of ginger in the market, viz. _Black_, produced by scalding the root, and afterwards hastily drying it in the sun; and the _White_, being that which has been carefully washed, scraped, and gradually dried.

FINIS.

INDEX.

A

Abortion, prevented by suppositories of Opium, page 197.

Absolute and Relative remedies, meaning attached to the terms, 68.

Absorbent medicines, why they check diarrhœa, 82.

Absorbent system, specifically stimulated by Mercury, 96.

Acetate of Potass, decomposed _in transitu_, and its alkaline base
developed, 94.

Acetification of Milk by a thunder storm bears some analogy to the
operation of depraved digestion, 56 (_note_.)

Acids, ingenious explanation of their modus operandi, as Refrigerants,
113.

——, vegetable, undergo decomposition in the digestive organs, and are
elaborated into chyle, 94.

——, their effects in cases of Narcotic poisoning, 136.

Acrid, or Rubefacient poisons, the classification of, 128.

Acridness, Galen’s notion respecting the origin of, 21.

Adjuvans, the, in a medicinal formula, 178.

Advice to the ultra chemist, which it is hoped may not be lost, 55.

Adulteration of medicines, how extensively it is practised, 62.

—— —— —— constitutes a regular branch of trade, 62.

Aërial poisons, nature of, 127.

Ætius collected a multitude of nostrums, 19.

Affinities usual of bodies, suspended, modified, or subverted, by the
powers of digestion, 55.

Afzelius, Dr. describes a shrub of the natural family of _Contortæ_
which affords a curious exception to botanical affinities, 41.

Ague, the celebrated Dutch remedy for the, 166.

Air, its state in relation to moisture an important consideration in
the cure of asthma, 105;
its power of conducting heat affected by moisture, 106.

Alcohol, its poisonous effects upon a rabbit, 131.

——, whether absorbed into the circulation or not, still remains a
question, 77.

——, large doses of, act directly sedative, 77.

Ale, the supposed lithonthryptic properties of, 121 (_note_.)

Alexander Trallianus, his prescription for a gout medicine, 32.

—— ——, his just notions on the subject of medicinal combination, 63.

Alexandrian library, the lamentable consequence of its destruction, 45.

—— ——, burnt by the Caliph Omar, the cotemporary and companion of
Mahomet, 46 (_note_.)

Alexipharmics, Alexiterials, Counter-poisons, or Antidotes, true
meaning of the terms, 125.

Alkali, original signification of the term, 38.

——, Volatile, discovered by Basil Valentine, 49.

Alkalies, distinction between the vegetable and mineral first
established by Avicenna, 48.

——, fixed, formerly supposed to vary according to the plants from which
they were produced, 52.

——, their agency as diuretics considered, 96.

——, the great utility of in calculus, often independent of their
chemical agency, 123.

Alkaline salts, how conveyed to the kidneys, 68.

Almond, the wild parent of the peach, 61.

Aloes, the chemical and medicinal influence of Alkalies upon, 178.

——, their insolubility determines their specific action upon the
intestines, 172.

Aloëtic preparations well calculated to correct the consequences of
Opium, 162.

Alterative medicines lose their efficacy by acting violently as
evacuants, 161.

Alternation of similar remedies recommended by Dr. Chapman, 149.

Alvine evacuation suspends the process of intestinal absorption, 94.

Alum, first used by Van Helmont in the cure of Uterine hemorrhage, 50;
why advantageously combined with Nutmeg, 161.

Ambergris, the odour of increased by Musk, 155 (_note_.)

Ambiguity of Nomenclature, a fertile source of error, 36.

Ammonia lends its volatility to certain bodies with which it is
combined, 155 (_note_.)

_Ammoniaco-magnesian phosphate_, how formed in the urine, by the
decomposition of that fluid, 122.

Amulets, the early origin of, 9;
Galen’s testimony respecting, 7.

Amulets of Arsenic used in the plague of London, 26;
their use prohibited by the Emperor Caracalla by a public edict, 8.

Amylum, Starch, derivation of the word, 38 (_note_.)

Analogy, a powerful instrument in the hands of the medical philosopher,
6;
the numerous fallacies to which it is exposed, 6.

An Analytical inquiry into the more remarkable causes which have, in
different ages and countries, operated in producing the revolutions
that characterise the history of medicinal substances, 3.

Analysis of the objects of medicinal combination, 146.

Analysis of vegetables by the French academicians;
its unsatisfactory nature, 52.

Anasarca, sometimes cured by diaphoretics, 101.

Ancient charms, frequently chaunted, 7.

Ancient empirics, reason why their labours proved so barren, 6.

Andes, a journey over them furnishes a good illustration of the effect
of heat and cold upon the animal body, 5.

Antacids, remarks upon the action of, 114;
under what circumstances they may be advantageously administered in
conjunction with tonics, 166.

Anthelmintics, their modus operandi considered, 138.

Anthemis Nobilis, essentially changed by cultivation, 60.

Antidotes, derivation and meaning of the term, 125.

_Antidotum Mithridatium_, the history of, 28.

Anti-hectic mixture of Dr. Griffith, the composition of the, 85.

Antilithics and Lithonthryptics, definition of, 115;
—belong to the class of vital as well as chemical agents, 115.

Antimonial Remedies, the unjust prejudices against, 51;
proscribed by the Supreme Council of Paris, 51.

Antimony, a case related by Dr. James, wherein it occasioned
salivation, 188;
a conjecture respecting the origin of the term, 48.

Antimony and Opium accelerate the effects of Mercury upon the system,
152.

Antimony, experiments concerning, by Basil Valentine, 48;
restored to public favour by a French decree, 51;
its sudorific powers increased by Opium, 153.

Antiseptics, origin of remedies so called, 75.

Antispasmodics, how they differ from Narcotics, 78;
must be considered as both absolute and relative agents, 78;
may be frequently combined with Tonics, or Narcotics, 164.

Antispasmodics, definition of, 78.

ΑΝΤΙΘΗΡΙΑΚΑ, by W. Heberden, M. D., 38 (_note_.)

Antionius Musa cured Augustus by the cold bath, 30.

Apoplexy, use of suppositories in producing counter-irritation in a
paroxysm of, 197;
the supposed powers of Sternutatories in preventing an attack of,
109.

Apothecaries’ Hall, the ingenious machinery at, 52 (_note_.)

Arabians, the improvement of the Materia Medica greatly indebted to
their zeal and industry, 46.

_Archæal_ remedies introduced by Stahl, 22.

Argonauts, the golden fleece of the, a chemical allegory, 45;
one of them cured by the rust of iron, 8.

Aristides, the unhappy dupe and victim of quackery, 20 (_note_.)

Arnoldus de Villa Nova invented Tinctures, 48.

Aromatics Oriental, introduced into practice by the Arabians, 46;
definition of the term, 81.

Aromatic and Tonic qualities often found in conjunction, 81.

Aroma, M. Robiquet’s important experiments respecting, 155 (_note_.)

Arsenic, and other corrosive poisons require very different antidotes,
129.

Arsenic, Amulets of, used in the plague of London, 27;
in its metallic state quite inactive, 170.

Arsenic, derivation of the term, 37.

Art, importance of discriminating its operations from those of Nature,
34.

——, the processes of, may be often improved by imitating those of
Nature, 146.

Artichoke, Jerusalem, origin and meaning of the term, 38.

Ascarides, cured by Suppositories, 197.

Asclepiades, the, a company of empirics, 20.

Asclepiades used the Trumpet in the cure of Sciatica, 8 (_note_.)

Ashes of a Witch, a superstitious remedy against Witchcraft, 26
(_note_.)

Asia, East Indiaman, its crew, how cured of dropsy, 97.

Assafœtida, its specific controul over spasm, 78;
the virtues of vary according to station and soil, 57.

_Assarum_ formerly confounded with the Baccharis, 39.

_Assara-bacca_, origin of the term, 39.

Astral influence, the supposed powers of, 10.

Astringents must be considered as relative agents, 82;
definition of the term, 81;
a combination of with Tonics, frequently indicated in passive
hemorrhage, 165;
they act through the sympathetic medium of the primæ viæ, 82;
for what purpose they should be combined with narcotics and
absorbents, 165;
when they should be conjoined with diaphoretics, 165.
Astringent poisons, 128.

Astringency, no chemical test exists for, 81.

Astruc, his practice of premising a course of Mercury with venesection,
155 (_note_.)

Athenian Poison, doubts respecting its nature, 37.

Attenuant medicines, how supposed to act, 23.

Avicenna, the first person who describes the process of distillation,
47.

Avicenna’s alarm at the internal use of iron, 24.

Augustus restored to health by the cold bath, 31.

Azote, contained in alimentary substances, and supposed by Majendie to
give origin to the Lithic acid, 117.

B

Bacon, Roger, the father of chemistry in England, 48.

Bacon, Lord, believed in the power of charms and amulets, 13;
his opinion concerning mythological fables, 44.

Bagdat, its connection with India facilitated the introduction of
oriental aromatics into medicine, 46.

Baker, Sir George, the remarks of respecting the combinations of Bark
with other medicines, 166.

Baldwin, Dr. found the wild parent of the potatoe plant at Monte Video,
80 (_note_.)

Bark, its virtues discovered by accident, but confirmed by reason, 8;
the original meaning of the term, 37;
its adulteration mentioned by Sydenham, 61;
its combination with Rhubarb recommended by Dr. Mead, 165;
its combination with Muriate of Ammonia recommended by Boerhaave,
165.

Bark and Steel, not equivalent tonics as some have considered, 151.

—— Peruvian, a new alkaline body detected in it, and called
_Cinchonia_, 172.

Barry’s extracts made _in vacuo_;
his discovery of Phosphoric acid in a variety of cultivated
vegetables, 118 (_note_.)

Baryta, its modus operandi as a poison considered, 136.

Base, meaning of the epithet as applied to metals, 46.

Base of vegetable salts eliminated by the digestive process, 97.

Basil Valentine, the father of metallic medicine, 48.

“_Basilica Medica_,” Calomel first mentioned in, 51.

Basis of a medicinal formula, its object, 178;
its efficacy increased by uniting it with some medicine which may
render the system susceptible of its action, 152;
the action of, promoted by combination, 146.

Bath, hot and cold, mechanical notions respecting their operation and
effects, 22.

Bathing wisely considered as an act of religion, 18.

Bath, the use of the, prohibited by certain Priestesses in Greece, 31
(_note_.)

Beer how preserved by hops, 167.

Beguin describes Calomel under the name of _Draco Mitigatus_, in his
“Tirocinium Chemicum,” 51.

_Belladonna_, its sympathetic influence upon the Iris, by contact with
the cornea, 69.

Benediction bestowed on those who sneeze, the supposed origin of the,
109.

Berkley’s “Siris” happily ridiculed by Reeve, 27 (_note_).

Berries of Juniper, unless bruised, will not yield their virtues to any
menstruum, 184.

Berthollet’s important law of affinity highly useful to the physician,
182.

Besnier expelled the faculty of medicine, for having administered
Antimony, 51.

_Bezoar_, often administered in conjunction with active remedies, and
has thus acquired unjust credit, 63;
derivation of the term, 63 (_note_).

_Bezoardics_, a name given to a certain tribe of medicinal substances,
63 (_note_).

_Bi-chloride of Mercury_, the new name for corrosive sublimate, 40.

Bile, the, undergoes decomposition in certain states of disease, 112
(_note_).

Bischoff introduces Gelatin, as a remedy, into Germany, 56 (_note_).

Bitter extractive, its necessity as an alimentary stimulant in an
inverse ratio with the nutritive power of the ingesta, 79;
important use of to man, 79;
passes through the alimentary canal without undergoing any change,
80;
essential to the digestive powers of herbivorous quadrupeds, 79.

—— Principles, how supposed to enter the circulation, 68.

Bitterness in plants, what it indicates, 42.

——, Galen’s notion respecting the cause of, 21;
does not exclusively reside in any peculiar principle, 79 (_note_).

“_Black Drop_,” an unscientific attempt to imitate it attended with
explosion!, 181.

_Black Wash_, upon what its efficacy depends, 171.

Blackall, Dr. his important remarks on Diuretics, 150;
his valuable work on dropsy, 96.

Blair, Dr. opinion of, concerning the botanical knowledge of the
Ancients, 41 (_note_).

Blane, Sir Gilbert, his definition of the term “_Sympathy_,” 68
(_note_);
his attempt to explain the sialogogue powers of Mercury, 108;
his ingenious hypothesis respecting the fœtid breath of salivated
persons, 152, (_note_);
his remarks on medicinal activity, 67.

“_Blistering Point_” of Dr. Rush, 110.

Blisters first proposed by Archigenes and Aretæus, 46.

Blisters, the primary and secondary effects of considered, 110;
cure inflammation, through the influence of “_contiguous sympathy_,”
110.

_Blood Stone_, or Heliotrope, its supposed powers, 26.

Blood, viscidity of the, a supposed cause of disease, 22;
the red globules of, formerly supposed to depend upon iron, 23.

—— of a Gladiator, an ancient remedy in Epilepsy, 16.

—— of the Goat, curious conceit respecting, 47 (_note_).

Blood-vessels divided, substances enter, 70.

Bodies undergo decompositions in the stomach, independent of their
ordinary affinities, 55.

Boerhaave, a passage in, recommended to the attention of Professor
Brande, 57;
Boerhaave, Kaw, treatment of epileptics in the poor-house at Haerlem,
16.

Boorde, Dr. Andrew, the origin of Merry Andrews, 33 (_note_).

Boracic acid, increases the purgative powers of Cream of Tartar, and
why, 173.

Botanical science, its progress and uses, 41;
its importance in reforming our nomenclature, 39.

Boyle recommends as a powerful remedy the thigh bone of an executed
criminal, 13.

_Bracing_ and _Relaxing_, import of the terms, as applied to medicines,
22.

Brain, odour of alcohol recognised in the, 77;
its influence not directly necessary to the action of the heart, 131.

Brande, Mr. Professor, his attack upon the English Universities
answered, 53;
his opinion respecting the red globules of the blood confirmed by
Vauquelin, 23 (_note_).

——, Mr. E. his case of obstruction from the habitual use of magnesia,
93;
his account of an unscientific combination having produced mischief,
181.

Bread, crumb of, its value as a vehicle for pills, 195.

Breda, celebrated siege of, epidemic during, cured by inspiring
confidence, 16.

Bride-cake, origin of the custom of, 148.

Bree, Dr. his practice of combining Diaphoretics and Tonics, 164.

Brodie, Mr. his enlightened views respecting the operation of poisons,
131.

Brown, Dr. John, his system noticed, 24.

Brown Bread acts mechanically, and promotes the peristaltic motions of
the primæ viæ, 89.

Buffon, his opinion concerning the origin of wheat, 60.

C

Cabbage, the cultivated offspring of the Colewort, 61.

Cabinet of Materia Medica in possession of the College of Physicians, 3
(_note_).

_Cactus Opuntia_, or Indian fig, reddens the urine, 68 (_note_).

Cæsalpinus, the father of botanical system, 41 (_note_).

Caloric, latent state of, symbolically represented by Vulcan, 45;
free, symbolically represented by Vesta, 45.

_Calomel_, speculations respecting the origin of the term, 40 (_note_).

—— and Antimony are mutually changed by combination with each other,
169.

Culpepper, Turner, and Lovel, the three Astrological herbarists of the
seventeenth century, 13.

Camboge, why liable to affect the stomach, 172.

Cambridge, its discipline vindicated against the aspersions of
Professor Brande, 53.

Camphor, of Arabian origin, 46;
propriety of administering it in a state of minute division, 190
(_note_).

Caracalla issues an edict against the use of amulets, 8.

Carbonic acid gas, its effects in increasing the powers of cathartic
medicines experienced, 155.

Cardinal de Lugo, a Spanish Jesuit, intercedes with the Pope, and
obtains his countenance and support for the Peruvian bark, 31.

Carlisle, Sir Anthony, detects gin in the brain, 77.

Castalian Fountain, its prophetic nature considered, 15.

Castille, John, King of, poisoned by medicated boots, 130 (_note_).

Castor Oil, origin of the name, 39.

Catamenia, the suppression of, may depend upon very different causes,
and require very different remedies, 91.

_Cataplasmata_ Poultices, calculated to fulfil several indications, as
_Stimulants_—_Antiseptics_—_Sedatives_—_Refrigerants_—_Emollients_,
205.

Catharsis suspends the process of alimentary absorption, 90.

Cathartic medicines, observations respecting their abuse, 91.

Carthartics, definition of, 88.
—Classed under two divisions, viz. _Laxatives_ and _Purgatives_, 88.

Cato, the Censor, his incantation for the reduction of a dislocated
limb, 17.

Cattle ruminate less in wet seasons, and why, 58.

Cayenne pepper and opium used by the French as a restorative, 77
(_note_).

Celery, its origin from the _Apium graveoleus_, 61.

_Cerussa_, less active than the precipitate produced by the
decomposition of the sub-acetate of lead, 171.

Chaldeans and Babylonians exposed their sick in the markets, in order
that they might obtain the advice of travellers, 8.

Chamomile, flowers of, changed by cultivation, 41.

Chapman, Dr. his assertion respecting the operation of _Kino_ and
_Columba_ refuted, 169;
his opinion respecting Combination confirmed, 149.

Charms for stopping a hemorrhage, 17.

Cheltenham water a natural combination of an instructive character,
164.

Chemists, the manufacturing, errors daily committed by, 155;
—the sect of, and their false theories, 23.

Chemistry, importance of, in reforming medical nomenclature, 39;
—not alluded to in the medical writers of Greece or Rome, 45.

Chemical Nomenclature, the fallacies of, 40;
Chemical Science, the antiquity of, examined, 44;
the application and misapplication of, considered, 44;
Chemical action, the advantages obtained by it in the formation of
new remedies, 171;
Chemical doctrines, influence of, upon the popularity of certain
remedies, 74;
Chemical Remedies, reflections concerning their operation upon living
bodies, 112;
Chemical hypothesis to explain the operation of iron as a tonic, 23.

Cherry-brandy, remarks upon the supposed efficacy of, 63 (_note_).

Chifletius, the phillippic of, against the bark, 31.

Chinese Mandarin, his absurd treatment by twelve physicians, 178.

Chorea and Hysteria cured by purgatives, 90.

_Cicuta_, the term not indicative of any particular plant in ancient
authors, 37.

Circulation, how influenced by nausea, 86;
—through what avenues foreign substances enter it, 68.

Citois attributes the epidemic of Poitou to the appearance of a new
Star, 10 (_note_).

Citrate of Potass acts upon the urinary organs like an uncombined
alkali, 94.

Clarified Glue, substituted for bark in the cure of fevers!, 56.

Clarke, Dr. his gas blow-pipe, 54 (_note_).

Classification of medicinal bodies, 72;
—extreme difficulty of the subject, and why, 70.

Climate, the influence of upon medicinal plants, 57.