55-2 
be the original of the beautiful scarlet Virginia strawberry. Rafinesque judged 
that about one hundred varieties existed, but contented himself with naming only 
seven of F. vesca, of which, however, none are recognized by botanists to-day. 
The previous medical uses of Fragaria were few; the berries were ordered 
to be freely eaten of in various calcareous disorders. Many early writers consid- 
ered the fruit as beneficial in gouty affections; Linnaeus extols their efficacy in 
preventing paroxysms of gout in his own case; and Rosseau claims that he was 
always relieved of a calcareous affliction by eating freely of them. The root in 
infusion has been used in England for dysuria and gonorrheea. The dried leaves 
(Strawberry Tea) yield a slightly astringent infusion used in domestic practice as 
an excitant, and as an astringent in diarrhoea and dysentery. 
PART USED AND PREPARATION.—The fresh, ripe berries, dealt with as 
in the preceding drug, yield an opaque tincture, having, when in thin layers, a 
deep brownish-carmine color by transmitted light. This tincture has a very 
astringent, somewhat vinous taste, the odor of the berries, and a strong acid 
reaction. 
CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS.—The fruit contains cisso-tanic,* malic, and 
citric acids; sugar, mucilage, and a peculiar volatile aromatic body uninvestigated. 
PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION.—It is a patent fact that many people with deli- 
cate stomach find it almost impossible to eat strawberries and cream—especially 
early in the season—without suffering from symptoms of disordered digestion ; 
the symptoms often culminating in quite severe attacks. A case in my practice 
several years ago, while a small-pox scare was prevalent in this city, gave nearly 
all the symptoms of the toxic effect of the fruit. A young lady, closely veiled, 
called hastily upon me early one morning, and when seated, withdrew her veil, and 
in a frightened manner desired to know if she had small-pox. Her face was 
swollen, bluish-red, and covered with a fine petechial eruption, which she said cov- 
ered her whole body, but especially her face and trunk. She complained of feeling 
at times somewhat faint, slightly nauseated, and generally swollen, but especially 
in the epigastric region and abdomen; her speech was somewhat difficult, and 
examination showed a swollen tongue. I laughingly ventured asking her—although 
it was winter—where she had found strawberries, whereupon she asked me, in 
astonishment, how I knew she had been eating the fruit, adding that a friend in 
_ Florida sent her about two quarts, among other fruit, and that she and a lady friend 
had eaten them all the night before, on retiring. As the symptoms had apparently 
reached their height, I told her the cause, and advised that she eat nothing for 
twenty-four hours, giving no remedy, that I might watch the pure symptoms. In 
the afternoon of the same day the skin was hot and swollen, the patient thirsty and 
restless, and little sleep was gained that night; the next day the eruption began to 
fade, the appetite returned, and restlessness ceased. On the third day exfoliation 
* See under Ampelopsis guinquefolia, p. 40-2. 
