120 On the State of Medicine in 



of medicines employed for its treatment. He mentions, that in 

 Tunis, it is usual, in this disease, to rub the whole surface of the 

 body with fresh butter, in order to soften the skin and facilitate 

 the appearance of the eruption, and he observes, that the custom 

 so prevalent in hot countries of anointing the body with oil, fat, 

 or butter, is founded upon the experience of its utility. Thus 

 Bt^khardt, the celebrated traveller, assures us, that when ex- 

 posed to the heat of the sun, he experienced great refreshment 

 from using oily inunctions, and when tired by a long day's jour- 

 ney, he used to feel benefit from rubbing his feet with butter, 

 Dr Oppenheim reserves for his forthcoming work, numerous 

 proofs of the utility of oily inunctions in the plague and in dy- 

 sentery, and he remarks, that in military hospitals they have the 

 additional advantage of destroying pedlculi. 



Scarlet Fever and other Diseases. — The scarlet fever commits 

 frequent ravages in Turkey ; the following remarks by Dr Op- 

 penheim are well worthy of attention, and prove that the pro- 

 phylactic virtues attributed to belladonna, merit further investi- 

 gation * : 



" At Monastir, in 1829, scarlatina raged, both among our 

 troops and the inhabitants of the towns and villages where we 

 were quartered. The grand vizier, who had expended much 

 time and money on the discipline of this his favourite corps 

 d'armee, gladly accepted my proposal to try the effects of bella- 

 donna. As the troops were generally very young men, and to- 

 tally unaccustomed to narcotics, the dose I gave was compara- 

 tively small : thirty-six grains of the extract of belladonna were 

 mixed up with one pound of the extract of liquorice, and ten 

 grains of this were given morning and evening to each soldier. 

 The success of the experiment far exceeded my most sanguine 

 expectations, for not more than twelve men, out of twelve hun- 

 dred, sickened after this plan was adopted ; of these twelve six 

 died, and it is to be remarked, that the disease continued un- 

 abated among the inhabitants where the soldiers were quartered, 

 after it had ceased among the latter, although they lived in the 

 same houses.*" 



This experiment appears almost conclusive, and should en- 



• firandej iti his Pharmacy, scouts the idea of its prophylactic powers. 



