Chapter L: F. Jacobi de Bismutho. Erford, 1697 (3)

PATENT SEIDLITZ POWDERS.—These consist of two different powders; the
one, contained in a white paper, consists of ʒij of Tartarized Soda,
and ℈ij of Carbonate of Soda; that in the blue paper, of grs. xxxv of
tartaric acid. The contents of the white paper are to be dissolved in
half a pint of spring water, to which those of the blue paper are to
be added; the draught is to be taken in a state of effervescence. The
acid being in excess renders it more grateful, and no less efficacious
as a purgative. This preparation cannot be said to bear any other
resemblance to the mineral water of Seidlitz, than in being purgative.
The water of this spring, which was discovered by Hoffman about a
century ago, contains Sulphate of Magnesia as its active ingredient,
together with Muriate of Magnesia, and Sulphate, and Carbonate of
Lime. In the Codex Medicamentarius of Paris there are two formulæ for
the preparation of a water which may resemble that of Seidlitz, the
one differing from the other merely in the proportion of its Sulphate
of Magnesia.

Footnote 639:

Our English Salt is generally thus contaminated; for which reason it
is unfit for the curing of several kinds of fish; this will not appear
strange, says Mr. Parkes, when it is considered that merely its own
weight of water is all that is necessary for the complete solution of
muriate of magnesia; a circumstance which renders it impossible to
preserve such salt for any length of time in a dry state. This muriate
however might be separated from common salt, on a large scale, for one
shilling per cwt. By exposing the salt to a gentle heat in
reverberatory furnaces, the muriatic acid of the magnesian muriate
will fly off, and the magnesia (on a subsequent solution of the salt)
will be precipitated. It is well known that muriate of magnesia begins
to part with its acid at a temperature a little higher than that of
boiling water.

Footnote 640:

The annual quantity of salt raised from the Salt Mines and Springs in
Europe, is estimated at from 25 to 30 millions of cwt.

Footnote 641:

The respect paid to Salt amongst Eastern nations is very remarkable,
and may be traced to the highest antiquity. Homer gives to it the
epithet of θεὶον, Il. ix. p. 214.

Footnote 642:

In addition to the numerous instances cited by these authors, I may
here introduce one which has been just communicated to me by my friend
Mr. John Taylor, the agent of the London Company for working the Real
del Monte Silver Mines in Mexico. He states that the ore, which
consists of the Sulphuret of Silver, is, together with Mercury,
amassed in heaps with iron pyrites and common salt; and that such is
the greediness of the Mules employed in the works for the Salt, that
they are constantly licking the materials; the consequence is that a
portion of the Silver Amalgam is introduced into their stomachs; the
animals, however, suffer no inconvenience; but, after death, on
opening their stomachs, it is not unusual to find considerable masses
of Silver, the mercury having escaped, or been dissolved by the
gastric juice.

Footnote 643:

The celebrated Indian Tonic for Dyspepsia and Gout, called Bit laban,
is prepared by fusing together muriate of soda and some other
ingredients. See Dr. Fleming’s Catalogue of Indian Medicinal plants
and drugs, p. 54, 55.

Footnote 644:

I have myself witnessed the bad effects of a diet of unsalted fish;
and in my examination before a Committee of the House of Commons in
1818, appointed “for the purpose of inquiring into the laws respecting
the Salt Duties,” I stated the great injury which the poorer classes
in many districts sustained in their health, from an inability to
procure this essential article. Lord Somerville (in his address to the
Board of Agriculture) gave an interesting account of the effects of a
punishment which formerly existed in Holland. “The ancient laws of the
country ordained men to be kept on bread alone, UNMIXED WITH SALT, as
the SEVEREST punishment that could be inflicted upon them in their
moist climate; the effect was horrible: these wretched criminals are
said to have been DEVOURED BY WORMS, engendered in their own
stomachs.”

SALT was an object of taxation at a very early period in this country;
Ancus Martius, 640 years before our era ‘_Salinarum Vectigal_
instituit.’ This tribute was continued on the Britons when our Isle
was possessed by the Romans, who worked the Droitwich Mines, and who
made salt part of their soldiers _Salarium_, or salary. Hence the
custom at the Eton Montem of asking for salt.

The great advantages which must ultimately accrue to this nation in
its fisheries, agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, from a late
remission of the odious and impolitic tax upon salt, are incalculable.
The government of France appears to have been as impolitic with regard
to this tax as the English. Buonaparte abolished the collection of
turnpike dues; and imposed a tax on salt, payable at the Salt-pans, in
its stead. It is not perhaps generally known, that by the aid of this
tax he was enabled to complete the grand entrance into Italy, over the
Simplon; so that it may be fairly observed, that if HANNIBAL was
enabled to cross the Alps by the aid of VINEGAR—BUONAPARTE, by the
assistance of SALT, succeeded in constructing a public road over the
same mountains.

Footnote 645:

CHELTENHAM SALTS.—A factitious compound has been long vended, as a
popular purgative, under this name; it is formed by triturating
together the following salts. Sulphate of Soda, grs. 120. Sulphate of
Magnesia, grs. 66. Muriate of Soda, 10. Sulphate of Iron, gr. ½. As a
purgative it is very efficacious, and superior probably to that which
is actually obtained by the evaporation of the Cheltenham water
itself; for notwithstanding the high pretensions with which this
latter salt has been publicly announced, it will be found to be little
else than common Glauber’s Salt. This fact has been confirmed by the
experiments of Mr. Richard Phillips, (Annals of Philosophy, No. lxi,)
who observes, that the “REAL CHELTENHAM SALTS contain no chalybeate
property, but are merely sulphate of soda, mixed with a minute
quantity of soda, and a very small portion of common salt.” It could
not be imagined that the salt should contain oxide of iron even in a
state of mixture, much less in combination, for carbonate of iron is
readily decomposed by ebullition, and the oxide of iron is
precipitated before the salt can be crystallized. A preparation, under
the name of Thomson’s Cheltenham Salts, is accordingly manufactured in
London, by evaporating a solution consisting of sulphate of soda and
sub-carbonate of soda.

“EFFLORESCENCE OF REAL CHELTENHAM SALTS.” The preceding salt deprived
of its water of crystallization.

“EFFLORESCENCE OF REAL MAGNESIAN CHELTENHAM SALTS,” MADE FROM THE
WATERS OF THE CHALYBEATE MAGNESIAN SPA. This is asserted to be a
sub-sulphate from nature, which combines both a pure and a
sub-sulphated magnesia in its composition; “but,” says Mr. Phillips,
“neither nature nor art has ever produced such a combination; in
truth, it consists of Epsom Salt, with small portions of magnesia, and
muriate of magnesia or muriate of soda.”

MURIO-SULPHATE OF MAGNESIA AND IRON. The preparation thus named by Mr.
Thomson, was found by Mr. Phillips to consist of Epsom Salt, deprived
of part of its water of crystallization, and discoloured by a little
rust of iron, and containing a small portion of muriate of magnesia.

Thus it appears, that not one of these preparations is similar to the
water which is drank at the Spa; in order to remedy this difficulty,
Mr. Thomson prepared the “ORIGINAL COMBINED CHELTENHAM SALTS,” by
evaporating the waters to dryness: but a very small share of chemical
penetration is required to satisfy us that no process of this
description can remedy the defect described, for as Mr. Phillips has
observed, the chalybeate properties of the water must be essentially
altered by such an operation.

Footnote 646:

HUNGARY WATER. Aqua Reginæ Hungariæ. This article, when genuine, is a
pure spirit distilled from the Rosemary, and is strongly scented with
the rich perfume of that aromatic plant.

Footnote 647:

I apprehend that the peculiar flavour of Cogniac depends upon the
presence of an æthereal spirit, formed by the action of Tartaric or
perhaps Acetic acid upon Alcohol; it is on this account that Nitric
Æther, when added to Malt spirits, gives them the flavour of French
Brandy. The same flavour is also successfully obtained by distilling
British spirits over wine lees, or by distilling a spirit obtained
from Raisin Wine, which has become acescent.

In new brandy there also appears to be an uncombined acid, giving to
it a peculiar taste and quality, which are lost by age. This explains
the reason why the addition of five or six drops of “liquor ammoniæ,”
to each bottle of new brandy, will impart to it the qualities of that
of the oldest date.

Footnote 648:

TAYLOR’S RED BOTTLE, commonly called the Whitworth Doctor. British
Brandy coloured with Cochineal, and flavoured with oil of Origanum.

Footnote 649:

Mr. Parkes, in his Chemical Essays, has the following remark: “an
ingenious friend assures me that if new rum be exposed for a night to
a severe frost, and then removed to a heated room, and thus
alternately treated for a week or two, it will in that short time have
acquired a flavour equal to fine _old_ spirits.” The mischievous
effects of new rum, as drank in the West Indies, would seem to depend
upon the presence of Lead; see Plumbi Acetas.

Footnote 650:

_Mock Arrack._ The author of ‘Apicius Redivivus,’ directs, for the
purpose of making a mock Arrack, that two scruples of Benzoic acid be
added to every quart of Rum. By a receipt of this kind the celebrated
Punch of Vauxhall is prepared.

Footnote 651:

The famous Helvetian Styptic, described in page 83, depended wholly on
this accidental contamination for its colour, and it was no small
mortification to our chemists, when this nostrum was first introduced
amongst us, that they could not prepare it with our own spirits, but
were obliged to be at the expense of true French Brandy. Our own
Spirits, although equally coloured, would never produce a violet
tincture; at length, however, the mystery was discovered, and the gall
nut imparted to the tincture that characteristic colour which was so
long considered essential to its efficacy; but the discovery threw
discredit upon the nostrum, and it fell into disuse.

Footnote 652:

If any additional argument were necessary, we might repeat, that
Arsenic in its metallic state is not poisonous. As it is almost
impossible to reduce metallic arsenic to a state of powder, without
its becoming oxidized, M. Renault had recourse to its alloys for
deciding the question; and he found that Mispickel (an alloy of iron
and arsenic,) when given to the extent of two drachms, had no apparent
effect; this result agrees with the conclusion of Bayen in his work on
Tin, and proves that the arsenic which may be contained in that metal
cannot produce any medicinal effect, as it exists in its metallic
state. Recherches Chimiques sur l’Etain, par Bayen et Charlard, 1781.

Footnote 653:

GUY’S POWDER OR ETHIOPIA. This once celebrated remedy consisted of
pure rasped Tin, Mercury, and Sublimed Sulphur, triturated together.

BLAINE’S POWDER FOR THE DISTEMPER IN DOGS. The basis of this nostrum
is the Aurum Musivum, or Sulphuret of Tin, and which has been said to
be more efficacious in cases of Tænia than the simple metal.

MATHIEU’S VERMIFUGE was indebted to Tin for its efficacy, see Filicis
Radix.

Footnote 654:

SULPHUR LOZENGES. Sublimed Sulphur one part, sugar eight parts,
Tragacanth mucilage q. s. used in Asthma, and in Hæmorrhoids.

Footnote 655:

Sugar, perfectly free from the extractive matter with which it exists
in combination in nature, and which constitutes that compound to which
the name of Sweet Principle has been given, will not, however diluted,
undergo any kind of fermentation; for it is the presence of this
peculiar extractive matter, the natural leaven of fruits, that enables
it to undergo that process; since, however, all clayed sugars, or
modifications of sugar which are short of perfect purity, still
contain a small proportion of this extractive, they are capable of
fermenting, when sufficiently dilute; Dr. Maccullough, in his essay on
the art of making wine, observes, that by the addition of a very small
quantity of the Sulphite of Potass, the fermentation of syrups and
preserves may be effectually prevented; he states also, that the same
object may generally be attained by the use of Oxy-muriate of Potass,
a salt absolutely tasteless, and easily procured.

Footnote 656:

The Damask Rose, Rosa Centifolia, of which this Syrup is composed, was
imported into this country by Linacre, on his return from Italy.

Footnote 657:

MAJOR COCHRANE’S COUGH MEDICINE. White poppy heads without seeds, are
made into a decoction, which is strained, and boiled again with
vinegar and brown sugar, until it assumes the consistence of syrup,
which is then acidified by elixir of vitriol.

Footnote 658:

It would appear that there are two principles of activity in Tobacco,
an essential oil, and nicotin, either of which are, individually,
capable of producing death, but by a very different physiological
action, the former by its effects on the brain, the latter by its
influence on the heart! See page 132.

Footnote 659:

It seems very probable that the “juice of cursed hebenon,” by which,
according to Shakespeare, the king of Denmark was poisoned, was no
other than the essential oil of Tobacco:—

——“Sleeping within mine orchard,
My custom always of the afternoon,
Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole,
With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial,
And in the porches of mine ears, did pour
The leperous distilment.”

In the first place, the learned commentator Dr. Grey, observes that
the word here used (hebenon), was more probably designated by a
metathesis, either of the poet or transcriber, for henebon, i. e.
henbane. Now it appears from Gerarde, that “tabaco” was commonly
called henbane of Peru, (hyoscyamus Peruvianus,) and when we consider
how high the public prejudice ran against this herb in the reign of
James, it seems very likely that Shakespeare should have selected it,
as an agent of extraordinary malignity. No preparation of the
hyoscyamus, with which we are acquainted, would produce death by
application to the ear, whereas the essential oil of Tobacco would,
without doubt, occasion a fatal issue. The term distilment has also
called forth a remark from Steevens, which is calculated to support
this conjecture; surely, says he, this expression signifies, that the
preparation was the result of a distillation.

Footnote 660:

See “An Essay on the means of lessening Pain, and facilitating certain
Cases of difficult parturition, by W. P. Dewes, M.D. 1806. also Med.
Journ. vol. xviii.”

Footnote 661:

CEPHALIC SNUFF. The basis of this errhine is powdered Asarum, diluted
with some vegetable powder.

Footnote 662:

Tamarind, from _Timmer_ a Date, and _Hend_ India, Timmerhend, i. e.
Date of India.

Footnote 663:

Various substances have been proposed at different times as
substitutes for Coffee. In the “Fourth Century of Observations” in the
“Miscellanea Curiosa,” we find a critical dissertation on the (Cahve)
Coffee of the Arabians; and on European Coffee, or such as may be
prepared from grain or pulse. Dillenius gives the result of his own
preparations made with Pease, Beans, and Kidney Beans, but says that
that made from Rye comes the nearest to true Coffee, and was with
difficulty distinguished from it. This fact is curious, in as much as
a spurious Coffee has been lately vended, which is nothing more than
roasted Rye. The article is well known by the name of “HUNT’S
ŒCONOMICAL BREAKFAST POWDER.”

Footnote 664:

See “Some account of the Medicinal and other Uses of various
Substances prepared from Trees of the genus Pinus, by W. G. MATON,
M.D. &c. being a Supplement to Mr. Lambert’s splendid work on that
genus.”

Footnote 665:

The Τερμὶνθος of Theophrastus (lib. 3. c. 3.) and Dioscorides; (lib.
1, c. 76) from which the word Terebinthus seems to have been derived.

Footnote 666:

The term Balsam is very improperly applied to this substance, since it
contains no Benzoic Acid.

Footnote 667:

The product of the Amyris Gileadensis, and probably the Balsamum
Judaicum, Syriacum e Mecca, Opobalsamum, &c. of the older writers.

Footnote 668:

A fluid extract, prepared by decoction from the twigs of this species
of Fir, is the well known Essence of Spruce, which, when fermented
with melasses, forms the popular beverage, called “Spruce Beer,”
(Cerevisia Pini Laricis.)

TRUE RIGA BALSAM, Beaume de Carpathes, from the shoots of the Pinas
Cembra, previously bruised, and macerated for a month in water.

This same fir also affords BRIANÇON TURPENTINE.

HUNGARIAN BALSAM.—A spontaneous exudation from the P. Pumilio, or
Mugho Pine.

Footnote 669:

Lib. 16, c. 10.

Footnote 670:

Prax. Med. Lib. 14. c. 1.

Footnote 671:

STARKEY’S SOAP. This compound is effected by a long and tedious
trituration of alkali and oil of turpentine.

Footnote 672:

This case was occasioned by a violent whirling of the body in a
frolic! the circumstances attending it are so interesting, that I
shall take an opportunity of submitting the details to the profession.
See Dr. Yeat’s work on Hydrocephalus.

Footnote 673:

See “A Memoir on the employment of Terebinthinous Remedies in Disease,
by James Copland, M.D.” in the Medical and Physical Journal for 1821,
p. 185.

Footnote 674:

Kaauw de Persp. N. 430.

Footnote 675:

THE GUESTONIAN EMBROCATION FOR RHEUMATISM. ℞. Ol. Terebinth: f℥iss—Ol:
Oliv: f℥iss—Acid: Sulph. dilut: fʒiij.

Footnote 676:

SCOURING DROPS. The peculiar odour which distinguishes oil of
turpentine, may be destroyed by the addition of a few drops of some
fragrant volatile oil, as that of lemons: a combination of this kind
is commonly sold under the name of Scouring Drops, for the purpose of
removing paint, oil, or grease from cloth.

Footnote 677:

DUTCH, or HAERLEM DROPS. The basis of this nostrum consists of the
residue of this redistillation, which is a thick, red, resinous
matter, to which the name of Balsam of Turpentine has been given; a
preparation, however, is frequently vended as “Dutch Drops,” which is
a mixture of oil of turpentine, tincture of guaiacum, spirit of nitric
ether, with small portions of the oils of amber and cloves. Serapion,
the younger, one of the earlier Arabian writers on the Materia Medica,
describes them as bearing some analogy to “Pine nuts.”

Footnote 678:

The reader will find an account of the Botanical Literature of this
plant, by J. Frost, Director of the Medico-Botanical Society, in the
17th volume of the Medical Repository, p. 461.

Footnote 679:

Rumphius, (Herb: Amboinense) in speaking of the Grana Molucca,
observes that women who are desirous of getting rid of their husbands,
give them four grains at one dose.

Footnote 680:

See Ainslie’s Materia Medica of Hindostan.

Footnote 681:

I state this fact on the authority of a communication made by order of
the Court of Directors of the East India Company, to the College of
Physicians, enclosing the extract of a letter from Mr. Conwell.

Footnote 682:

Journal of Science and Arts. No. xxvi.

Footnote 683:

I understand that to the Veterinary Surgeon this oil has proved an
article of great utility, as it uniformly purges the horse, and may be
employed, for that purpose, in those cases in which Aloes would be
inadmissible.

Footnote 684:

In making such a tincture we should employ a fluid-drachm of Rectified
Spirit, to two drops of the oil. They should be digested for some time
and then filtered. With all the care that can be used, a certain
portion of the spirit will be evaporated, and half a fluid-drachm of
the tincture may be thus considered as nearly equivalent to a drop and
a half of the oil.

Footnote 685:

The object of this preliminary step is to saturate the alcohol with a
fixed oil, that it may not dissolve any portion of that in the
Tiglium, and thus confuse the results. The quantity of fixed oil which
alcohol is capable of dissolving is extremely small, and will not in
the least degree injure the alcoholic solution for subsequent
medicinal use.

Footnote 686:

The change of colour which Guaiacum undergoes by admixture with other
bodies, not only affords a test by which we may appreciate its purity,
but at the same time it becomes a reagent by which we may assay the
virtues of other vegetable substances. According to the experiments of
M. Taddey and Rudolphi, it appears that GUAIACUM in powder, is an
excellent test for vegetable gluten, forming with it a fine blue
colour, whence it affords the means of determining the quality of
wheat flour. From the experiments of M. Planche, it moreover appears
that there is a series of vegetable roots which, when fresh, are
capable of producing a blue colour, if introduced into an alcoholic
solution of Guaiacum: so that we may hereafter be furnished with a
chemical test that will at once appreciate their freshness, which is
undoubtedly one of the greatest desiderata of pharmaceutical science.

A communication has appeared from Mr. A. T. Thomson, in which he
proposes Guaiacum as a test for the freshness of Colchicum. I have,
however, never been able to succeed with it, to my satisfaction.

Footnote 687:

HUDSON’S PRESERVATIVE FOR THE TEETH AND GUMS. Equal parts of Tincture
of Myrrh, Tincture of Bark, and Cinnamon water, to which are added
Arquebusade and Gum Arabic.

GREENOUGH’S TINCTURE FOR THE TEETH. The following receipt is given on
the authority of Mr. Gray. Of Bitter Almonds, 2 oz. Brazil Wood and
Cassia Buds, equal parts, half an ounce; root of the Florentine Iris,
2 dr.: of Cochineal, Salt of Sorrel, and Alum, equal parts, one
drachm; Rectified Spirit, 2 pints; Spirit of Horse Radish, half an
ounce.

RUSPINI’S TINCTURE FOR THE TEETH. This consists of the root of the
Florentine Iris, eight ounces; Cloves, one ounce; Rectified Spirit,
two pints; Ambergris, one scruple.

Footnote 688:

From παρηγορέω lenio, to assuage pain.

Footnote 689:

MATTHEW’S INJECTION. This once celebrated remedy for Fistula in Ano,
was nothing more than a diluted Tincture of Cantharides.

Footnote 690:

SOLOMON’S BALM OF GILEAD. An aromatic tincture, of which Cardamoms
form a leading ingredient, made with brandy. Some practitioners have
asserted that Cantharides enter its composition.

Footnote 691:

DAFFY’S ELIXIR. This is the Tinctura Sennæ Composita, with the
substitution of treacle for sugar candy, and the addition of aniseeds
and elecampane root. Different kinds of this nostrum are sold under
the names of DICKY’S DAFFY, and SWINTON’S DAFFY; but they differ
merely in some subordinate minutiæ, or unimportant additions.

Footnote 692:

The following remarks, with which I have lately been favoured by Dr.
Davy, appear interesting. “In the few cases which I have tried this
remedy for the retention of urine, I have seen no good effects
produced, until it excited nausea. For this purpose I have found it
advantageous to give it in a little tepid water: upon chemical
examination I could not discover that it ever passed off by the urine;
the fæces, however, are uniformly coloured black by it, whence I
conclude it must be evacuated through the bowels. In order to prevent
its tendency to constipate the bowels, I have found it necessary to
give some aperient, as castor oil, speedily after its exhibition.” May
not this latter circumstance explain the reason of his not having
detected it in the urine? (See p. 95.)

Footnote 693:

DE LA MOTTE’S GOLDEN DROPS. An Æthereal solution of Iron.

Footnote 694:

It has, for this reason, been substituted for oak bark in the tanning
of leather.

Footnote 695:

BRITISH HERB TOBACCO. The basis of which is Coltsfoot; this appears to
have had a very ancient origin, for the same plant was smoaked through
a reed in the days of Dioscorides, for the purpose of promoting
expectoration, and was called by him βηγὶον, from βηξ, tussis, whence
Tussilago.

ESSENCE OF COLTSFOOT. For an account of this nostrum, see page 314.

Footnote 696:

In the first edition of this work, I stated the probability of the
Veratrum being the active ingredient of the EAU MEDICINALE, and, upon
the authority of Mr. James Moore, I inserted a formula for its
preparation; subsequent enquiry, however, has shewn the fallacy of
this opinion; but the fact of the medicinal efficacy of the Veratrum,
when combined with opium, in the cure of gout, remains
incontrovertible. One of the two Sweating Powders of WARD was a
combination of the Veratrum and Opium, it is certainly a very singular
coincidence, that recent experiments should have shewn that the active
principle of colchicum is identical with that which gives efficacy to
the hellebore, viz. Gallate of Veratria. The fact itself offers a
striking instance of medical experience having anticipated the
discoveries of chemistry, while it affords a powerful case in support
of the arguments which I have urged in the first part of this work, p.
55.

Footnote 697:

EDINBURGH OINTMENT. The principal ingredients of which are the White
Hellebore and Muriate of Ammonia.

Footnote 698:

For an account of which the reader is referred to a most ingenious and
interesting Essay by Dr. Macculloch, entitled “Remarks on the Art of
making Wine, with suggestions for the application of its principles to
the improvement of Domestic Wines.”

Footnote 699:

This may also explain why bitters, under certain circumstances, have
been found to counteract the effects of wine, as in the instance of
the “Poculum Absinthiatum,” of which the ancients entertained so high
an opinion. See page 68.

Footnote 700:

“Resinata bibis vina, Falerna fugis.—Martial.”

Pliny (lib: 14. c. 14.) mentions a Wine under the name of Myrrhina,
which was so called on account of its being impregnated with Myrrh.

This custom explains the origin and meaning of the Thyrsus of Bacchus,
which appears to have been a spear entwined with leaves or a fillet,
and surmounted with a _Fir_ cone; thus,

Footnote 701:

See Dioscorides, lib. 5, c. 35, 36, 37, 38, 39.

Footnote 702:

An interesting and highly embellished work upon the subject of Wines,
has lately been published by Dr. Henderson.

Footnote 703:

“O Nata mecum consule Manlio.”—Od: xxi. Lib: 3.

The Odes of Horace abound with manifestations of the same taste, thus,

“I pete——
Et Cadum Marsi memorem duelli.”—Od: xiv. Lib: 3.

Here Horace sends his Slave for a cask of the wine on which the Marian
war was recorded, and which must therefore have been sixty-eight years
old.

In ode xxviii. book 3, we find him calling for

“Bibuli Consulis amphoram.”

Now as the poet was born in the Consulate of Manlius, as above stated,
which happened A. U. C. 688, and Bibulus was Consul in 694, the wine
must have been hoarded from the time Horace was six years of age.

Wine however might, according to the opinion of our Poet, be too old;
he terms wine of this description “Languidiora Vina,” and Plautus
compares old wine which has lost its relish and strength, to a man who
has lost his teeth by age, “Vinum vetustate edentulum.”

Nestor’s wine was eleven years old. Od. γ. 390.

The Romans had their wine cellars at the top of their houses; thus
Horace,

“descende Corvino jubente.”

The object of such an arrangement was that the wine might ripen sooner
by the smoke, for their fires were made in the middle of their rooms,
with an opening above to let out the smoke, which is described as
rolling to the top of the house, in the Eleventh Ode of the Fourth
Book.

“Rotantes vertice fumum.”

Footnote 704:

From the noxious effects which some persons experience from potations
of Champagne, it has been conjectured that this wine must possess some
narcotic principle like that which exists in many species of Fungi.
This, however, is extremely improbable.

Footnote 705:

ξηρος signifies dry. This is a curious coincidence.

Footnote 706:

The Sack of Shakespeare was probably Sherry; a conjecture which
receives additional strength from the following passage.

Falstaff.—“You rogue, here’s _lime_ in this Sack too: There is nothing
but roguery to be found in villainous man: yet a coward is worse than
a cup of sack with lime in it; a villainous coward.”

Huldrick Van Speagle, in his “Famous Historie of most Drinks”, says
“Sack is no hippocrite, for any man who knows what an Anagram is will
confesse that it is contained within the litteral letters and limmits
of its own name, which is to say. CASK, i. e. Sack.” See Taylor’s
Translation of the “Work of the painful and industrious Huldricke Van
Speagle, a grammatical Brewer of Lubeck. A.D. 1637.”

Footnote 707:

Expose equal parts of sulphur and powdered oyster shells to a white
heat for fifteen minutes, and when cold, add an equal quantity of
cream of tartar; these are to be put into a strong bottle with common
water to boil for an hour; and the solution is afterwards to be
decanted into ounce phials, adding 20 drops of muriatic acid to each.
This liquor will precipitate the least quantity of lead from wines in
a very sensible black precipitate. As iron might be accidentally
contained in the wine, the muriatic acid is added to prevent its
precipitation.

Footnote 708:

Lead will not only correct the acidity of wines, but remove the
rancidity of oils: a property which is well known to Painters, and
which affords an expedient for making an inferior oil pass for a good
one.

Footnote 709:

The quantity of rectified spirit and water ordered will be found on
admixture to produce a spirit nearly of the above strength.

Footnote 710:

WARD’S RED DROP. A strong vinous solution of Tartarized Antimony.

Footnote 711:

FORD’S LAUDANUM. This is similar to the Vinum Opii of the present
Pharmacopœia.

Footnote 712:

Laudanum. Paracelsus first bestowed the term Laudanum upon a
preparation of Opium, a LAUDATA ejus efficacia, LAUDATUM medicamentum.

Footnote 713:

According to the experiments of M. Vogel, Annales de Chimie, (t. lxiv.
p. 220) this ointment is nothing more than metallic mercury mixed with
grease, the division of which has been carried to such an extent as to
impart a blackish colour to the mixture.

Footnote 714:

It is to be hoped that a quantity of the ointment will be prepared
according to these views, and be submitted to a more extended series
of experiments. The oxide may be procured by decomposing Calomel by a
solution of pure potass, or by pouring a solution of the nitrate of
mercury into a caustic alkaline solution; this oxide should be at
first triturated with a little lard, in the cold, to make the
penetration complete, taking care that the lard be quite free from
common salt, or else Calomel will be the ultimate result: the mixture
is then to be submitted to the action of heat, and it is very
important to attend to the necessary temperature, for at 212° the
oxide and lard will not unite, at 600° the oxide will be decomposed
and the mercury volatilized, at 500° and 400° the oxide is partially
decomposed, some red oxide being formed and mercury reduced; the
proper temperature is between 300° and 320°, at which it should be
maintained for an hour, and the ointment should be stirred until cold.

Footnote 715:

Four ounces, troy, of mercurial ointment, prepared six months before,
were kept at 212°, when it separated into two distinct strata, viz.
the upper one which was light grey, and extremely active as a
medicine, and the under one, which upon being triturated with
magnesia, yielded a large proportion of metallic mercury, and which
was not found to possess any activity.

Footnote 716:

Whenever it is our object to direct the mercurial impression to any
particular organ, we should if possible rouse its excitability by some
specific stimulus. An exception, however, to this doctrine would seem
to offer itself in the fact, that children at the period of dentition
are not readily salivated; _a priori_, we should have certainly
supposed that a predisposition to a flux of saliva would have produced
a contrary effect. As it is, we can only conclude that those organs
are not disposed to take on any action that may be incompatible with,
or adverse to, that of dentition.

Footnote 717:

The Unguentum Werholfii, so long celebrated on the Continent, was a
combination of this kind.

Footnote 718:

Basilicon, i. e. the _Royal_ Ointment.

BAILEY’S ITCH OINTMENT. This is a very complicated combination;
containing Nitre, Alum, Sulphate of Zinc, and Cinnabar, made into an
ointment with Olive oil and Lard, and perfumed with the essential oils
of Anise Seeds, Origanum, and Lavender; and coloured with Alkanet
root.

The Indians use an ointment in inveterate itch, which is said to prove
very successful, and consists of finely powdered Cocculus Indicus
mixed with a little warm Castor oil.

Footnote 719:

I have been lately informed by a practical chemist, that he has
occasionally found his hydrogen, when produced by zinc and dilute
acid, to contain a portion of Arsenuretted hydrogen; a fact which
confirms the assertion of Roloff.

Footnote 720:

The various quack remedies advertised for the cure of the hooping
cough are either Opiates, or medicines composed of sulphate of zinc.
The nostrum, sold under the name of Anti-pertussis, contains this
metallic salt as its principal ingredient.

Footnote 721:

OXLEY’S CONCENTRATED ESSENCE OF JAMAICA GINGER.—A mere solution of
Ginger in Rectified spirit.

GINGER BEER POWDERS.—White sugar, ʒj ℈ij, ginger grs. v. sub-carbonate
of soda grs. xxvj, in blue paper. Tartaric acid grs. xxx, in each
white paper. These proportions are directed for half a pint of water.

GINGER BEER.—The following is the receipt by which this popular
beverage is prepared. Take of lump sugar half a pound; of cream of
tartar half an ounce; Bruised Ginger an ounce; boiling water one
gallon. Ferment for twenty-four hours with yeast.

PRESERVED GINGER.—That from India is almost transparent, while that
manufactured in Europe is always opaque and fibrous.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

1. P. ix, changed “notorius Quack Medicines” to “notorious Quack Medicines”. 2. P. 21, changed “antisyphylitic powers” to “antisyphilitic powers”. 3. P. 28, changed “Ipecacuhan had been imported” to “Ipecacuan had been imported”. 4. P. 82, changed “absosolute and relative remedies” to “absolute and relative remedies”. 5. P. 174, changed “mucus of the uretha” to “mucus of the urethra”. 6. P. 189, changed “erysipelatous efflorence” to “erysipelatous efflorescence”. 7. P. 279, changed “brused seeds” to “bruised seeds”. 8. P. 298, changed “Desgrangès (Recueil Period: de la Societé” to “Desgranges (Recueil Period: de la Société”. 9. P. 302, changed “alkaline phospate” to “alkaline phosphate”. 10. P. 307, “1⁄000,000” is unchanged from the original. 11. P. 311, changed “Myroxylon Pruiferum” to “Myroxylon Peruiferum”. 12. P. 329, “Sp. Grav. 9·433” is grossly overstated. 13. P. 333, changed “opothecary at Annecy” to “apothecary at Annecy”. 14. P. 386, changed “forms of Desentery” to “forms of Dysentery”. 15. P. 398, changed “tatarized antimony” to “tartarized antimony”. 16. P. 403, changed “when administed” to “when administered”. 17. P. 414, changed “Saturine applications” to “Saturnine applications”. 18. P. 434, split the three part footnote with three anchors into three distinct footnotes. 19. P. 454, changed “iron, and maganese” to “iron, and manganese”. 20. P. 467, changed “suphate of zinc” to “sulphate of zinc”. 21. P. 476, changed “hexaedral prisms” to “hexahedral prisms”. 22. Table of Contents added by transcriber. 23. Silently corrected punctuation errors and variations in spelling. 24. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed. 25. Footnotes were re-indexed using numbers and collected together at the end of the last chapter. 26. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. 27. Enclosed bold font in =equals=. 28. Superscripts are denoted by a caret before a single superscript character or a series of superscripted characters enclosed in curly braces, e.g. M^r. or M^{ister}.