5l6 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. • [aMNO I768. 



Copy of a Letter from Mr. James Farley, Practitioner in Physic in the Island 



of Antigua, to his Partner, Mr. ^rch. Gloster, in London ; dated Antigua, 



July 26, 1767. 



" Mr. T r has been extremely ill since his arrival with a fever, which lasted 



for many hours ; and, on its going off, he could not retain the bark in any 

 shape whatever. Many things were tried to check, the vomiting, and enable him 

 to keep down some bark, but to no purpose. At last I tried the quassia root, 

 ■ an account of which I read in one of the magazines for this year ; it sat ex- 

 tremely well on his stomach ; he had no vomiting after the first dose, and re- 

 covered very speedily. 



I have lately tried it in 3 or 4 cases, where there has been a tendency to 

 putrefaction, and the bark would not stay on the stomach; a dram of this root 

 has effectually answered every purpose that the bark would. It has this advan- 

 tage over the bark, that it does not heat the patient. 



I have given it in fevers, joined with the radix serpentariae virginianae, with 

 success. I had a pound or 2 from Esquebo, and have sent you a little of it. 

 Dr. Warner has sent Dr. Jackson a piece of it ; he saw the good effects of this 

 medicine in a patient, Capt. B — n, who sails for London to day. He attended 

 him with me. I could not get the bark to sit on his stomach, for he had a per- 

 petual vomiting, and could not keep down any nourishment whatever. I pre- 

 pared a decoction of I4- dr. of the quassia root, and 1 dr. of the rad. serpent, 

 virgin. When it was ready, I sent for Dr. Warner, that he might see the 

 patient before I administered it ; he complained of some pain on touching the 

 pit of his stomach, had a very sluggish low pulse, a great pain over his eyes and 

 in his eye-balls, and vomitings. He took the decoction, which surprizingly put 

 a stop to his vomiting; he had no return after the first dose, and kept down 

 every thing. We indeed gave him some camphor and sal succini, on account of 

 the sluggishness of the pulse, but I have tried it alone in a decoction, with infi- 

 nite advantage." 



XL Meteorological Observations for 1767> made at Carlisle, Bridgwater, and 

 Ludgvan; and communicated by the Bishop of Carlisle, F. R. S. p. 83. 



Some monthly accounts, now uninteresting, of the state of the barometer, 

 thermometer, hygrometer, and rain, for the 3 places above mentioned; by which 

 it appears that the total of the year's rain, was at Carlisle 26.268 inches; at 

 Bridgewater 24.85 inches; and at Ludgvan 37-ro inches. 



XIF. On the Different Species of the Birds called Pinguins.* By Thomas Pen- 

 nant, Esq. F.R.S. p. 91. 

 The characters of this genus are, very small wings, and those covered with 



