536 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [aNNO 1748. 



a little red. Soon after dropping in 1 drops of cold water, the eyelids swelled, 

 and a violent inflammation of the eye ensued, with a speck appearing ; but these 

 symptoms went off by repeated applications of leeches and a mercurial purge. 

 The 19th a sternutatory of hellebore and euphorbium was ordered. In a few 

 days after the inflammation left her eye ; when she complained she saw double ; 

 which complaint also soon left her. 



The eye was myopical, and she saw the right side of* objects a little darkened ; 

 yet she could read pretty small characters. The uvea was net united where it was 

 divided, but still retained its natural power of contraction ; the transparency of 

 the humours and convexity of the cornea were the same as before ; there was no 

 scar on the cornea ; the shape of the pupil was much altered; 



On catching cold she was subject to a slight pain in her eye. At the above 

 date there remained no other alteration than what he had just mentioned, and 

 what necessarily followed from the contraction of the pupil, the not admitting a 

 sufficient quantity of rays to pass to the retina, on which account she was 

 short-sighted. Her seeing objects darkened on one side, might proceedfrom the 

 artificial part of the pupil being situate nearer to the great canthus of the eye 

 than usual in nature ; by which the rays which fall on the side of the cornea, 

 next to the little canthus of the eye, being partly intercepted, must occasion a 

 defect in the picture ; from which defect a darkness will be seen on one side of 

 the object. To the weakness of the vessels of the eye we may attribute the pain 

 of the eye on catching cold : it often happens to those who have had a severe 

 ophthalmia, that during life the small vessels are too weak ; and hence, from 

 slight causes being distended, they will be painful and frequently red. 



When her eye had little or no appearance of inflammation, he tried cold water, 

 but with rather bad success. All cold applications to inflamed eyes, astringents 

 or repellents, require the utmost caution in applying them ; for if they produce 

 not a good, they will produce a bad effect. In slight cases they often have 

 very happy effects, but where the obstruent matter is so fixed that it will not 

 suffer itself to be easily repelled back, the vessels being straitened, the fluids co- 

 agulated, the disease will be increased ; which happened in this case from the 

 application of cold water. 



The good effects of evacuations are very evident in abating the inflammation. 

 Wounds in the cornea, attended with a wound of the uvea, and a troublesome 

 ophthalmy, heal without any scar. 



Tables of Specific Gravities, extracted from various Authors, with some Obser- 

 vations on the same. By Richard Davies, M. D. N° 488, p. 4 16. 



The ancients have left but itw particulars concerning the different specific gra- 

 vities of bodies, though it is plain they were in the general sufficiently acquainted 



