MODUS OPERANDI OF TONICS. 985 



am therefore inclined to believe, that they operate 

 by augmenting the partially suspended circula- 

 tion of the capillaries, which is the proximate 

 cause of inflammation. As for the balsams, they 

 stimulate the mucous membranes, which, in 

 chronic catarrh and gonorrhea, are in a weakened 

 state. 



The opinion of Cullen, that Peruvian bark and 

 other tonics render the tissues more firm, and 

 augment their cohesion, has been rendered highly 

 probable by the researches of Dr. Adair Craw- 

 ford, who maintains, in his " Experimental In- 

 quiry into the Effects of Tonics," that their ope- 

 ration is chiefly mechanical, and owing to their 

 astringent properties. Should it be objected that 

 alum, acetate of lead, and many other astringents, 

 are greatly inferior as permanent tonics to the cin- 

 chona, other bitters, pepper, and spices ; I answer, 

 that the former operate as poisons, and gradually 

 impair the vital properties of the blood ; whereas 

 the latter remedies do not produce this effect. It 

 is consoling to find that the most agreeable of all 

 remedies are the most speedy, efficacious, and 

 safe, in the prevention and treatment of diseases. 

 For example, what is so pleasant and effectual in 

 arresting and preventing the chilliness by which 

 they are all ushered in, as the warm bath, hot 

 drinks, and the application of dry heat? or when 

 the temperature has been raised above the natural 

 standard, what so delightful and salutary as fresh 

 air, with cooling drinks and ablutions? 



