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~ 
- ~ BOTANIC PHYSICIAN. 
rived from it in the cure of diseases. Many practitioners are dis- - 
_ ‘posed to view it as a specific, but it cannot be considered entitled to 
- that ion; but it is a very powerful remedy of the operation 
of which no satisfactory explanation has yet been given. = 
Be s first introduced for the cure of intermittent fevers; and in 
t see open] administered, it is generally successful. But 
_ iniatter years, if not formerly, it has.so frequently disappointed ex- 
a ear that the general confidence in it is shaken. Its failure, 
wever, is probably in a great measure owing to its improper ad- 
uistration ; to its adulteration; to its profuse use ; and last, though 
least, to its being employed alone indiscriminately, uncombined _ 
with proper aids. It is now generally given from the very com- 
mencement of the disease, without any previous evacuation, or with« 
out any thing being done towards the removal of the original cause, 
which is often a cold slime in the stomach, or a weak and watery state 
of the blood. Until these are first remedied, neither Peruvian bark 
~ mor any other astringent tonic can be expected to cure with certain< 
ty. It may, by its bracing power, quell the present fit; but the ori- 
‘ ¥ 
gimal-cause and disposition remaining, the patient continues feeble, 
and liable to frequent returns, of the ague, the cure is retarded, and _ 
abdominal inflammation, scirrhus, jaundice, hectic, dropsy, &c, are | 
induced. These effects of the indiscriminate and improper use of 
Peruvian bark, or of its salts, quinine, have been severely felt through= 
out this country, within a few years. : . ; 
Bark has been used-with success, after proper evacuations, in con- 
tinued fevers, in gangrenous sore throats, contagious dysentery, pas~ 
sive hemorrhage, dropsy, mortification, and similar affections. — 
It may be exhibited in substance, in fine powder, which is consi- 
dered the best manner. It is given in doses from five grains to two 
-drachms and upwards, and must be taken in some liquid, as wine, or — 
any spiritous liquor, and jf it excite nausea it is combined with aro- 
matics.. Neither water nor alcohol extract all the properties of bark. 
_ It is also administered in the forms of infusion, tincture, decoction, 
and extract, and latterly in a substance composed of the salts of bark 
and sulphuric acid, termed sulphate of quinine. 
From my observation of the use and effects of bark, I conclude 
that it would generally be attended with far greater benefit, if its ex- 
hibition were preceded by proper evacuations of the stomach and 
~ bowels; if it. were combined with suitable carminatives, aroma- 
tics, &c. ; and, generally, if it were given in a less quantity than is 
usually prescribed ; in a word, if it were administered with some de~ — 
gree of discretion and judgment, instead of throwing it in indiseri- 
In intermittent fevers, it is generally given in doses of a scruple or 
half a drachm, and repeated every two or three hours during the in- 
terval of the paroxysm. In remittent fevers it is given with equ 
freedom. In fevers connected with debility, it is by some consider- 
edasavaluableremedye : 
' The extract is a preparation of considerable power, when proper- 
ly prepared, and is adapted to those where the remedy requires — 2 
to be continued for some time. It is then given inthe form of apilh, 
in a dose of from five to fifteen grains. — 
