104 REMARKS on THE 
ed internally may be of ufe. Such, perhaps, are the vari- 
ous deco€tions which are made of the more ftimulating vege- 
tables, the infufions and exprefled juices of vegetables, ac- 
companied with the ufe of large draughts of warm water, 
the fteam-bath, &c. Thefe, by exciting a moft profufe 
perfpiration, may contribute to the difcharge of the poi- 
fon from the mafs of blood. Some of them a& powerful- 
ly as diuretics, and in this way may alfo be of fervice. 
The Indians in the State of Jerfey, [have been informed, 
formerly made ufe of the exprefled juice of the leaves of 
the common Garden-Rue * as a remedy for the bite of the 
RaTTLe-SNake. It is well known that this vegetable 
poffeties very active powers, and in the large dofes in 
which the Indians prefcribed it, it excited a moft violent 
fweat. They gave to an adult, about two table-fpoons 
full of the juice every two hours, uatil this effect was pro- 
duced. I think, there can be little doubt, that it has been 
uf confiderable fervice. 
It deferves, however, to be mentioned, in this place, 
that during the ufe of the Rue, and even before this vege- 
table was adminiftered, external means were employed, the 
principal of which was the application of the ligature. 
We fee, therefore, that without a knowledge of the 
name, much lefs of the ftructure and office, of the abfor- 
bent-fyftem, the rude favages of our continent, from whom 
it is probable the white inhabitants derived their experi- 
ence on the fubje&, had learned the propriety of applying 
a ligature, in order to prevent the farther introduGiion of 
the poifon into the body. From the nature of the favage 
life, man in this ftate of his political exiftence is more lia- 
ble to be injured by the bites of ferpents than inthe more 
polithed ftaves of his improvement. It is fortunate, there- 
fore, that even among fome of the rudeft nations of men, 
the mode of treating the bites of thefeanimals is fo rational. 
| If 
* Ruta graveolens, Lia. 
