308 Dr. Hancock on Quinine. 



Hillary speaks of an epidemic intermittent at Barbadoes, in 

 which " the bark was of no avail, unless combined with saline 

 remedies, or some of the tonic bitters." 



In a subsequent page, Dr. Paris adds, i( I shall conclude the 

 present section by shewing, that many of our most valuable 

 vegetables owe their useful properties to the joint operation of 

 the several distinct and different ingredients which enter into 

 their composition. How many substances does nature pro- 

 duce in the vegetable kingdom, in which the permanent tonic 

 quality of bitterness exerts its influence in union with the tran- 

 sient stimulating powers of an aromatic principle ? Peruvian 

 bark may be said to combine within itself the properties of bit- 

 terness, astringency, and aroma ; a fact which suggested the 

 probability of our being able to produce an artificial compound 

 that might emulate the effects of cinchona, and to a certain ex- 

 tent the idea appears to have been realized ; for we are told by 

 Dr. Cullen, that he frequently succeeded in the cure of an 

 intermittent by a combination of oak bark and gentian, when 

 neither bitters nor astringent, separately, produced the least 

 impression ; and I am informed by Dr. Harrison, that in the 

 Horncastle Dispensary, of which he was for many years phy- 

 sician, he never employed any other remedy for curing the 

 ague of Lincolnshire than equal parts of Bistorta (astringent) 

 and Calamus aromaticus (bitter and aromatic), neither of 

 which plants, individually, ever produced the least benefit in 

 such diseases. Berzelius attempted to produce a compound 

 of this description, by adding to the bark of the ash some tor- 

 mentil root and ginger ; and he observes, that it acted as an 

 excellent tonic, and that, according to the experiments of his 

 friends, it seemed to cure quartan agues*. In the aromatic 

 barks and woods, such as those of the canella, orange peel, 

 sassafras, &c. the aromatic principle t is combined with a 

 bitter ingredient; a union which proves of singular service 



* " Dr. Young's Medical Literature," 2d edit. p. 570. 



♦ " The vegetable kingdom presents us with many natural compounds 

 of this kind ; several of which might be pressed into the service of medi- 

 cine with much advantage. With respect to the number and variety of 

 such substances, it must be confessed that our Pharmacopoeia contains 

 but a meagre bill of fare." 



