316 IIORTUS JAr.IAlCENSl-S. -a'-Rl.*? 



t\hon applied to the feet, its scent is soon discovered in the breath ; and, when taken 

 iiiternaliv, its smell is communicated to the urine, or the matter ol'an issue, and per^ 

 sj)ires through the pores of tl>eskin. Hence, in cold eucophiegmatic habits, it proves 

 a powerful expectorant, diuretic, and ennncnagoguc ; and, if the patient is^ kept warm, 

 sudorific. It is also of great service in humoral asthmas,. and catarrhous disorders of 

 the breast, and in other disorders proceeding frem a laxity of the solids, and cold slug- 

 gish indispositions of the fluids. It is also frequcntiy of service in the dropsy ; in the 

 beginning of which it is particularly reconimciidcd i)y Sydenham, as a warm sirengtii- 

 ennig medicine ; we have even many examples where it acts so pawerfuUy as a diuretic, 

 as to carry ofi all the water of dropsies. It mav be taken the length of a drachm or two 

 in substance for ji dose. We have a syrup and oxymel made with it, which may be 

 employed for thesame. purposes as the garlic in substance ; but they are mostly used 

 in pulmonic disorders. fJxternally applied, it inflames and' ulcerates the skin, Tind is 

 sometimes employed for this use in sinapisms. It has also been recommended by Sy- 

 denham as a most powerful reveilent; for vvhich purpose he wps led to make use of it 

 in the confluent small-pox. His method was to cut the root in pieces, and apply it 

 tied in a linen cloth, to the soles of the feet, about the eighth day of the disease, aftef 

 the face began to swell, renewing it once a day till the danger was over. When made 

 into an unguent with oils, and applied esternallv, .garhc is said to resolve and discuss 

 cold tumours, and has been by some greatly celebrated in cutaneous disorders. The 

 acrimonious qualities of this root, liowever, render it manifestly improper on many oc- 

 casions. --Its liberal use is apt to occasion head-achs, flatulencies, thirst, febrile heats,' 

 inflammatory distempers, and sometimes discharges of blood from the hasmorrhoidal 

 vessels. In hot bilious constitutions, where there is already a degree of irritation, 



Avhere the juices areioo thin and acrimonious, or the viscera unsound, it never fails to 



-ap'gravate the distemper. 



A dose or two oi garlic, pounded v/ith honey, and taken two or three nights together, 

 is good in rheumatic cases ; a clove of it kept in the mouth is said also to be a good 

 preservation against infection. A quart of water, poured boiling hot upon a pound of 

 the fresh njot cut into slices, and suffiered to stand upon it in a close vessel, for twelve 

 hours, becomes strongly impregnated with the smell and taste of it ; and this infusion, 

 with a proper quantity of sugar, makes the syrup of srarlic of the shops. Vinegar and 

 honey excellenily coincide with and im;)rove this medicine, as a detergent and deob- 

 struent, in disorders of the breast : a composition of -this kind is prepared by infusing 

 an ounce and a half of the fresii root in half a pint of vinegar, and dissolving in the 

 strained liqaof, by thp heat of a water-bath, ten ounces of clarified honey : to cover ia 

 some degree the ill smell of the garlic, a little carraway and sweet fennel seed, bruised, 

 two drachms ot each, are boiled for a short time in the vinegar, before the garlic is put 

 in. The garlic itself should never be boiled, its essential oil, in which its virtue con- 

 sists, exhaling during thai process. 



Sir William Temple, in his Treatise on Health and Long Life, says, " Garlic h^s, 

 of all plants, the greatest strength, affords most nourishment, and supplies most spirits 

 to those wiiO eat little flesh. It is of great virtue in colics, a great strengdiener of the 

 stomach upon decays or indigestion, uiid, I believe, (if there be any such) a specific 

 remedy in the gout. I have known great testimonies of this kind within my acquaint- 

 ance, and ha\ e never used it nijself, u^jon tiiis occiiiion, vvitliout ail Oipinion of some 

 success or advantage." 



