4 
he fald of every medicine ; and though Dr. Cullen repeatedly ex- 
perienced Its inefHcacy, yet the fads he adduces in confirmation of 
the utility of this plant, are clear and decifive : " I have had a cancer 
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of the lip entirely cured by it ; a fcirrhofity in a woman's breaft, 
of fuch a kind as frequently proceeds to cancer, I have found 
entirely difcufled by the ufe of it ; a fore ajittle belov^ the eye, 
v^hich had put on a cancerous appearance, was much mended by 
the internal ufe of the Belladonna : but the patient having learned 
fomewhat of the poifonous nature of the medicine, refufed to • 
continue the ufe of it, upon which the fore again fpread, and 
was painful ; but upon a return to the ufe of the Belladonna, was 
again mended to a confiderable degree : when the fame fears again 
returning, the ufe of it was again laid afide, and with the fame 
confequence of the fore becoming worfe.. Of thefe alternate 
Hates, connected with the alternate ufe of, and abftinence from, 
the Belladonna, there were feveral of thefe alternations which fell 
under my own obfervation." 
The fenfible efFeds produced by the leaves of this plant taken In 
medicinal dofes, are ufually by the fkin, the urinary pafTages, and 
fometimes by ftool ; in larger dofes troublefome drynefs of the mouth 
and throat, giddinefs, and dimnefs of fight are experienced. 
That the advantages derived from the internal ufe of Belladonna 
are only in proportion to the evacuations efFeded by it, is a con- 
clufion we cannot admit as fufficiently warranted by the fads adduced 
upon this point. 
As this plant is very uncertain in its operation, the proper dofe is 
with difficulty afcertained ; the moft prudent manner of admiriifter- 
ing it is by beginning with one grain or lefs, which may be gradually 
increafed according to its efFeds. Six grains are confidered as a very 
large dofe. — With refped to the berries, fo fuccefsfully employed as 
an anodyne, by Gefner and others, in dyfenteries, a fmall fpoonful 
(coch. parvum) of a fyrup of the juice was the dofe given. 
The root feems to partake of the fame "qualities as the leaves, 
|3ut is lefs virulent. 
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MENYANTHES TRIFOLIATA 
