40 LECTURKS. 



in a previous discourse I was enumerating the 

 various tapeworm remedies, I alluded to Dr. John 

 Barclay's recorded experiences with betel-nut. 

 Unquestionably, it is possessed of true vermifuge 

 properties, especially if administered in the form of 

 powder. Why it is not admitted into the British 

 Pharmacopoeia I am at a loss to understand ; unless 

 it be that its efficiency is recognised as inferior to 

 that of the many excellent remedies already in 

 vogue. There may be some prejudice against the 

 employment of a drug so frequently given by 

 veterinarians to dogs ; and it is not a little re- 

 markable that comparatively small doses suffice to 

 expel these parasites from the canine "bearers/' 

 Here is a case in which I recently used the 

 powdered areca or betel nut in combination with 

 small doses of scammony. I should tell you that the 

 male-fern extract had been unsuccessfully employed 

 in this case previously, but not by myself. 



CASE XXV. A. H., a young lady from Bucking- 

 hamshire, aged thirteen, first sought my advice in the 

 autumn of last year (October 21, 1869). It appears 

 that scarcely four months had elapsed since the 

 presence of tapeworm had been placed beyond a 

 doubt. For the cure of the disorder she had taken 

 three separate doses of male-fern, about a month 

 previous to the time at which I first saw her. Un- 

 fortunately the " oil" had been administered in 

 unusually small doses, and consequently there was 



