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as a decifive proof that nurfe's milk turned four in her child's 

 ftomach, and of courfe muft difagree with it. The cloth on 

 which this ftool was received happened to be thrown into a 

 corner of the room, where it lay 'till next morning, when 

 nurfe, to her great furprize, found it had changed the green 

 for a miural yellow colour. The miftrefs fufpefted mifreprc- 

 fentation on the part of the nurfe, and I was fent for to 

 decide between them. Not knowing well how to give a fatis- 

 fadory determination, I begged of the lady to fufpend her 

 judgment, and to remark particularly whether in future fuch 

 changes, as nurfe defcribed, would happen. She made the 

 experiment repeatedly with great care, and uniformly found 

 that the green colour changed to a yellow by time, and 

 perhaps by being diffufcd on the cloth. A very particular 

 attention to this cafe led me ftrongly to fufped that green 

 ftools in infancy (which medical writers have long imputed 

 to predominant acidity) are often really of a bilious nature. 

 The inefficacy of abforbent medicines to corred them, joined 

 to fome other confiderations to be hereafter noticed, ferved 

 ftill farther to confirm my fufpicions, Impreffed ftrongly 

 with thefe ideas, I determined to deviate from common prac- 

 tice, by having recourfe to the ufe of calomel, one of the 

 few remedies which experience has found powerfully .to influ- 

 ence the biliary fecretion in adults. It anfwered my expec- 

 tations fo well then, and in many fimilar inftances fince, that 

 I am perfuaded it may be of fome utility briefly to ftate the 

 refult of my obfervations refpedling it. 



As 



