346 



prolapfus uvula?, and cynanche tonfillarls, to which fome people are 



liable upon the lead expofure to cold : and in many cafes this decodio% 



pplied, has appeared ufeful in preventing thefe diforders. It 

 muft be remarked however, that the Dr. almoft conftantly added a 

 .portion of alum to thefe decodtions/ 



Some have fuppofed that this bark is not lefs efficacious than that 

 of the Cinchona, efpecially in the form of extract ; but this opinioa 

 nov^ obtains little credit, though there be no doubt that Oak bark 

 may have the power of curing intermittents/ 



Galls, which in the warm climate of the Eafi: are found upon the 

 leaves of this tree, are occafioned by a fmall infed:, with four wings, 

 called Cyn'ips qtierci fol'ii^ which depofits an ^^^ in the fubflance of 

 the leaf, by making a fmall perforation through the under furface. The 

 ball prefently begins to grow, and the egg in the centre of it changes 

 to a worm ; this worm again changes to a nymph, and the nymph to 

 the flying infed: above mentioned,* which by eating its palTage out 

 leaves a round hole : and thofe galls which have no holes, are found 

 to have the dead infedt remaining in them. 



Two forts of galls are dillinguifhed in the fhops, one faid to he 

 brought from Aleppo, the other from the fouthern parts of Europ 



"The former are generally of a bluifh colour, or of a greyilh, or black, 

 verging to bluenefs, unequal and warty on the furface, hard to 

 ibreak, and of a clofe compact texture : the others are of a light 

 ^brownifh or whitifli colour, fmooth, round, eafily broken, lefs com- 

 :pad:, and of a much larger fize* The two forts differ only in flrength, 



^ Dr. Cullen tried alfo a folutlon of the alum alone, " but it did not prove fo efFe6lual." 



See Mat. Med. vol il. p. 45. 



L 



^ " I have employed the Oak bark in powder^ giving it to the quantitj o fhalf a dram 

 ?€very two or three hours during the intermiffions af a fever; and, both by Itfelf, and 

 joined v/ith camomile flov^erSj have prevented the return of the paroxyfms of inter- 

 anittents/^ Cullen^ L c. 



■* Many ether excrefcences are produced on this tree, and the infe6ls which inhabit 

 Mr are very nunicrous. For an enumeration of thefe, fee Witherh 



We have already poticed that the Oak in fome parts of the Eaft diftills a fpecies of 

 ;snaRnaj (p^ 105) fo that the words of Virgil feein literally verified : 



^^ Et dur«e quercus fudabunt rofcida mella," £cL iv. 30. 



two 



r. 



