Mernia, 7? 



of this kind made by a M. Donfourgerai^. A similar re- 

 port has been recently published by the Institute on a spe- 

 cimen of flint glass presented by Messrs. Kraines and 

 Lan^on. It is described as of great purity, and totally de- 

 void of strire : its specilic gravity is to that of the English 

 flint glass as 37 to 33 : dispersive powers very great, being 

 as 5 to 2 with common glass, while the proportion of com- 

 mon glass to flint glass is 2 to 3. Its refraction being 

 descrii)ed as very strong, the foci of the glasses made 

 with this glass are one-fourth shorter than common glass. 

 M. Delambre informs the Institute that he has made ex- 

 periments with an -achromatic glass of the above mate- 

 rials, and pronounces it to be far superior to a telescope 

 of equal size ujade by Dollond. 



HERNIA. 



]\\ a recent foreign journal the following new remedy 

 for hernia has been proposed by a M. G. Tarenne : — ■ 



" The author of this proposal has made a number of 

 cxperinients on snails, and on ihe singular properties of 

 their slimy juice, which has for a long time been used with 

 success in disorders of the breast. The viscidity of this 

 juice, its astringent virtue, and its reproductive faculty, in- 

 duced him to suppose, that when applied externally in cer- 

 tain infirmities it would easily penetrate the skin, and 

 spread itself throughout the part affected. He presumed 

 that this juice would in some way close hernial openings ; 

 and to assure himself of this property he undertook the 

 care of several persons afilicted with hernia. He had the 

 happiness to succeed in curing them radically in the space 

 of three months. 



** This discovery appearing to him too important to be 

 kept secret, he did not hesitate to publish it. We are obliged 

 here to abridge his manner of proceeding, and refer our 

 readers to the work published by M. Tarenne, entitled- 

 * Cochlioperie ; Recueil d 'Experiences tres-curieuses sur 

 Ics Helices terrestres, ou Escargot/ Sec. 1 vol. Svo. Paris,. 

 1808. 



** The first thing necessary Is to be assured of the na- 

 ture of the hernia by consulting some experienced surgeon. 

 If the ruptured part cannot be returned by any means, or 

 if it is dangerous^ to confine it in the body, this specific 

 must not be made use of, as it would in this case only 

 augment the evil. 



" A truss is then to be made, having the ball at the end 

 Concave instead of convex, as is usual, to receive a kind of 



