Essential Oil of Lemons. 75 
every wish to give the stimulant treatment a fair trial, but he 
has not as yet employed it in any case. 
The theory on which this peculiar plan was first introduced 
was founded on an opinion of John Hunter's, which has 
become almost an axiom in medicine, viz. “ that no two dis- 
eases can exist at one and the same time in the same consti- 
tution.” That which he applied to the system generally has 
been adopted in reference to a single organ of that system: 
in consequence, it was conceived that, by exciting a more 
severe inflammation in the eye than that which already 
existed, but at the same time of shorter duration, a cure 
_ would be effected of the original malady. Whether this 
theory be or be not a valid one, it matters little, so long as 
the treatment deduced from it be successful; and that it has 
hitherto been attended with success, is amply proved by the 
records in the various medical journals of this and other 
_ countries, and by the case-books of the various ophthalmic 
institutions, where it has been fairly tried. In saying this, 1 
am not alluding to any particular formula, to any peculiar 
preparation, but to all those remedies which come under the 
general head of external stimulants. Neither do I mean to 
aver that in no cases has it been unsuccessful: in some few, 
probably from idiosyncrasy, or extreme nervousness, the 
stimulant application appears to have done harm, and was 
necessarily abandoned; but these serve only to form the ex- 
ception to the rule. 
nder such circumstances, my ophthalmic lore havin 
been acquired in a sthenic school, if | may so term it, it wil 
scarcely be wondered at that, knowing from experience the 
stimulating properties of the essential oil of lemons, when in 
contact with the conjunctiva, | should be ready to admit its 
powers in the treatment of ophthalmia, and anxious to test its 
properties. For this purpose, the Royal Westminster Oph- 
thalmic Hospital offered me an ample field. 
In the year 1529, the following paragraph, which appeared 
in the Collectanea department of the London Medical and 
Physical Journal, under the head “Surgery,” first directed 
my attention to this essential oil as a remedial agent in affec- 
tions of the eye. 
* Lifficacy of Lemon-juice in some Diseases of the Eye. 
(From the Journal fir Chirurgie und Augenheilkunde.) 
M. Werlitz thus employs this novel remedy. He cuts a slice 
of lemon-peel about an inch long and half an inch broad, 
_— the outer part opposite the aflected eye, the eyelids 
ing opened, and by slight pressure squeezes out the little 
‘drops of volatile oil contained in the tissue of. the rind into 
ES ela lee. lt ten tl acai | gl 
