14 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



of their diseases, the progressive changes which 

 take place, and the operation and influence of 

 medicinal agents. 



As is common in large establishments of the 

 kind, manj patients resort to the General Hos- 

 pital to undergo surgical operation?, rendered 

 neiffessary by accident or disease. No other 

 kind of institution affords equal opportunities for 

 acquiring a practical acquaintance with opera- 

 tive surgery. Not only the operations tliem- 

 selves, but the treatment of the cases (ircpara- 

 tory and consequent to the operation, and the 

 progress and management of convalescence, may 

 be here studied and observed. The superior 

 conveniences which a well arranged hopital af- 

 fords for the accommodation of tiie sick, renders 

 this institution a resort, not only of the poorer 

 class, among whom in a large city, accidents are 

 of frequent occurrence ; but of other individuals 

 from a distance, who come with the expectation 

 of relief from chronic maladies requiring surgi- 

 cal treatment. 



The following is a record of .surgical cases, 

 and of operations performed in the Massachu- 

 setts Hospital, by the Professor of Anatomy and 

 Surgery, during twenty months, from the open- 

 ing of the building in Sept. 1821, to June 1823. 



1821. Sept. 21. Operation for Prolapsus ani. 

 Oct. 18. Littiotomy. 



" 23. Operation for Popliteal Aneurism. 



" 25. Operation of Fistula in aiio. 

 Nov. 10. Fractured It^. 

 Dec. 9. Dislocation of the hip in the ischi- 

 atic notch. 



1822. Jan. 6. Fracture of the thigh. 



" " Compound fracture of the leg. 



" 30. Removal of a portion of the tibia. 



Feb. 5. Amputation of the leg. 



" 19. Operation for phymosis. 



" " Removal of diseased toes. 



March 9. Fractured leg. 



April 22. Compound comminuted fracture of 

 leg. 



" 24. Extirpation of tumour from the 

 breast. 



June 8- Comminuted fracture of the Os hu- 

 meri. 



July 17. Amputation of the breast. 



August 2. Compound fracture of both patella. 



" 30. Removal of foreign substance from 

 the globe of the eye. 



Sept. 20. Amputation of the breast. 



Oct. 12. Extirpation of the parotid gland. 



" " Operation for prolapsus ani. 



" 23. Operation for Fistula in auo. 



Nov. 23. Operation for Cataract. 



" 28. Operation for Necrosis. 



'' " Removing tumour from the foot. 



Dec. 20. Operation for artificial pupil. 



1823. Jan. 15. Removing tumour from the side. 

 Feb. 5. Removing fragments of rib. 



'^ 12. Operation for cataract. 



" 18. Operation for Inguinal aneurism, 

 the iliac artery tied. 



" " Facial nerve divided for tic dou- 



loureux. 



" 25. Operation for phymosis. 



" " Laying open a fistulous ulcer over 



the ribs. 



" 26. Inferior maxillary nerve divided for 

 tic douloureux. 

 March 6. Fractured leg. 



" " Operation for Cataract. 



April 4. Oper.ation for Cataract. 



" 29. Operation for Cataract. 

 May 26. Operation for Necrosis. 



'• 21. Fracture of the thigh. 



" 26. Operation for Cataract. 

 June 9. Operation for Fistula lachrymalis. 



" 11. Operation for Cataract. 



" "■ Operation for Cataract. 



" " Operation for Eversion of eyelid. 



The fee for attendance on the joint medical 

 and surgical practice of the hospital is reduced 

 to ten dollars. 



Beside the practice of the hospital, opportu- 

 nities frequently occur of witnessing the private 

 practice of physicians, such as the condensed 

 population of large cities is peculiarly calculat- 

 ed to aftbrd, where the poorer class is nume- 

 rous, and many of them the subjects of charita- 

 ble institutions. 



Board in the city may always be obtained at 

 from three to four dollars per week. The med- 

 ical class of.the two last years has consisted of 

 about eighty students. 



Boston, June, 1823. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 1823. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS lO ADVISERS. 



Some of our friends, subscribers and others, 

 have, from time to time, favored us with goodly 

 advice and gracious admonition, with respect to 

 the mode of conducting our paper, which de- 

 serve respectful notice, and our tribute of thanks. 

 We beg leave, however, to accompany our ac- 

 knowledgments with the exposition of certain 

 reasons, why we cannot always altogether com- 

 ply with the wishes of many, who have been so 

 obliging as to point out to us what they suppose 

 to be at once the path of our duty and our high 

 way to popularity. Tliey say that our jiaper 

 would be much more acceptable to the public 

 in general, were it not for the dry, uninterest- 

 ing, and wire-drawn articles with which column 

 after column is crowded, to the almost total ex- 

 clusion of those light and amusing matters which 

 alone can give a charm to a periodical work. 

 They cannot endure a " lengthy" piece, espe- 

 cially if it requires to be read over twice in or- 

 der to be comprehended. They wish for short 

 and pithy items, which contain a little of every 

 thing, like the catalogue of an auctioneer. — 

 They would have us tell them all that is de- 

 serving of the attention of the man of the world, 

 the merchant, the mechanic, &c. as well as the 

 complete farmer, in a few words, which shall 

 be very appropriate, and yet so comprehensive 

 as to embrace all that ought or can be the sub- 

 ject of thought, or call for the exercise of the 

 human faculties. Scientific topics, and details 

 of processes relating to useful but homely arts, 

 they expect us to treat in such a manner as to 

 arrest the attention of all classes of readers like 

 Sir Walter's novels. 



Others of our friendly dictators have taken 

 the trouble to let us know, in substance, that ii 

 we intend to render ourselves agreeable to the 

 more astute and sensible part of the human spe- 

 cies, we must pay a little more homage to the 

 ladies of Helicon. They seem to wish us to 

 give directions for salting beef in " witlj Hudi- 

 brastics," and tell the motherly house-wi(e how 

 to save her bacon in galloping anapeestics, like 



" 1 saw a man catch a fish with a line that was terribly 

 tangled," 1 



or in ambling iambics and strutting spondi 

 like 



" Stay your rude steps whose throbbing breasts inl 

 The legion fiends of glory or of gold." 



Some well-wishers have given us both ( 

 and written information that they are " al 

 lutely tired to death" with our endless ess 

 on the breeds and diseases of cattle, mak 

 manure, digging ditches, planting potatoes, 

 &,c. which cause our papers to be as dull ; 

 merchants' ledger, and disagreeable as a d 

 of ipecacuanha, before breakfast. Oth 

 complain that we are apt to be a little too lea 

 ed, and soar somewhat above the compreh 

 sion of readers in general. That we sometir 

 make use of ear-boring and jaw-cracking woi 

 which are all Greek to farmers— that to addr 

 our disciples in an unknown tongue is har 

 orthodox, and cannot be useful. 



We shall briefly take notice of some of th 

 topics of complaint, but have not room, nor 

 sure, nor inclination to enter at large into i 

 own vindication. With regard to long articl 

 we beg leave to observe that our main objf 

 in the tracts complained of, has been utility : 

 not amusement. In giving directions relat 

 to processes and modes of proceeding in till: 

 and affairs of rural economy, it is generally 

 cessary to be minute and particular to prcv 

 mistakes, and make our meaning perfectly 

 derstood. If we do not tell our readers all, 

 may as well tell fhera nothing^ at all relating 

 these things. It will not do to set down a p 

 and leave the reader to guess at the rest. Pt 

 [licuity is all important in matters which rel 

 to useful arts, and it sometimes becomes nee 

 sary to relate what every body knows, who 

 the least acquaintance with the subject, in or^ 

 to introduce what is not generally known. Co 

 Rumford, Dr. Anderson, and many other writ 

 on topics of rural and domestic economy, hr 

 been found fault with, and we think unjusi 

 for writing long articles and dealing too mi 

 ■.n details with regard to subjects which tfc 

 have treated, very much to the benefit of m: 

 kind. The sententious and aphoristical mc 

 of writing is very improperly applied to top 

 where science is made the hand-maid of use 

 arts. Besides, we would take the liberty to t 

 these critical gentlefolk that long articles a 

 now-a-days, very fashionable — all the rage 

 the Edinburgh, and quite the ton in the Qu! 

 terly Review. With regard to wit, which soj 

 of our readers acknowledge to be their chi 

 object of pursuit, whenever they condescend 

 read, we must tell them that wit and humor a 

 but of plice in scientific articles. It is true, » 

 ometimes attempt something of the kind 

 subjects of agricultural interest ; but in thus d 

 ing, are actuated by the same principle whii 

 would lead us to give a piece of sugar-candy 

 a wayward child to induce him to learn his le 

 son. Wc yield a little to the bad laste of soir 



