Polygala seneka. 3 419 
root possesses the power of rendering the siziness of the blood more 
fluid, has been satisfactorily refuted by De Haen;* and does really 
seem to be entitled to no serious attention. 
From this summary of its virtues and effects, it will be seen that 
the seneka is a medicine of no common powers; but on adverting 
to what is manifestly the most prominent effect ofits operation, its 
stimulant power, we cannot but be struck with the impropriety of 
administering it in the first stages of inflammatory disorders, such 
as pleurisy and croup; for the latter cannot be considered purely 
spasmodic. In these cases, unless the lancet has been freely used, 
the seneka cannot, I apprehend, be safely given. It is a stimulant 
of a very searching nature, influencing besides the circulation of the 
blood, the lymphatic and secretory organs ina powerful and peculiar 
manner. It does not really appear that it has ever cured true pleu- 
risy ; neither has the lancet been omitted in most of the cases of cy- 
nanche trachealis, in which it has proved serviceable: and it may be 
questioned, whether Dr. Archer has insisted enough on the propriety 
of blood-letting, prior to the extensive use of the seneka in croup. 
He recommends a strong decoction of the root in this disease, which 
acts as an emetic, cathartic, and expectorant, The decoction is made 
from half an ounce of the bruised or coarsely powdered root, and eight 
ounces of water, boiled over a slow fire down to half the quantity. 
Of this decoction he gives a tea-spoonful every half hour, or every 
* Ratio Medendi, par. 4. p. 252. 
