YEW. 441 



Inaugural Dissertation *, in which he states that the extractum 

 taxi is a useful narcotic in the dose of one or two grains 

 dissolved in water or spirit, and gradually increased ; and he 

 recommends it in obstinate tertians, rheumatism, epilepsy, and 

 amenorrhcea. An Italian physician, with whose name we are 

 unacquainted, asserts that the leaves of Yew have a power 

 similar to digitalis over the action of the heart and arteries, 

 diminishing the circulation ; and if given in too large doses, 

 to be as certainly fatal as that plant. Dr. Hildebrandf 

 mentions, that a decoction of the wood of this tree is a 

 favourite popular remedy in some parts of Germany for 

 hydrophobia. According to Claudius Drusus, the juice of 

 the Yew was esteemed by the ancients a sure antidote to the 

 bite of the viper. 



We have sanguine expectations that when the properties of 

 the Yew are more fully investigated, it will be found a valuable 

 addition to the list of remedial agents. 



* De Taxo baccata, 4to, 1794. 



f Hufeland's Journal, Vol. vii. No. 4. 



