RANUNCULUS. 1^1 



night, awaking with heat and violent thirst. Pulse full and 



accelerated ; afterwards sweat over the whole body. Chilliness 



while eating. 



The following remarks by the prover of R. sceleratus will not 



be found uninteresting. 



w I have learned a good deal from the proving of the B. 

 sceleratus. I have learned, in the first place, that there are 

 no real local remedies for all the symptoms which arise from 

 any local irritation of the skin, or from chewing the plant, or 

 expressing its juice, such as burning in the tip of the tongue, 

 smarting in the region of the palate, in the pharynx, nose, and 

 most violently in the eyes, painful pressure in the eyeballs, 

 redness of the vessels of the conjunctiva, profuse lachrymation, 

 tension in the pit of the stomach, itching and burning of the 

 fingers, sensation of nausea. All these symptoms arise also from 

 the internal use. This accounts for the cure of the itch and 

 chronic ulcers by external application. From my provings, I 

 have also learned >vhy no greater injury is done by the exces- 

 sive and oft-repeated doses of allopathic physicians, than com- 

 mon sense would seem authorized to apprehend. On the 16th 

 and 17th October I took two drops of the mother-tincture 

 before breakfast; on the 20th, three; on the 25th, four; on 

 5th November, four; on the 10th, six; on the 29th December, 

 twelve ; and on 4th January, fifteen drops. The greatest num- 

 ber of symptoms, and the most disagreeable, occurred after the 

 small doses; the twelve and fifteen drops which were taken 

 after the small dose, affected me but very little. Hence I drew 

 this conclusion : one triborium, and a second and a third having 

 been swallowed and disposed of by the organism, the subse- 

 quent doses are much more innocent, and give much less 

 trouble, for the system becomes used to the medicine." 



Of the other Ranunculi. JR.fammula produces rapid vomit- 

 ing. Dr. Withering advises this plant as the best emetic in cases 

 of poisoning. Some years ago a man travelled through several 



