THE POISON OF THE HONEY-BEE. 69 



result ; how the iatervals of relief becomes shorter 

 and shorter, and how, in the end, the stomach is 

 totally ruined, and the abnormal irritation and 

 paralysis of this visous, with the diarrhoea and 

 constipation, corresponding to these conditions, 

 gradually lead to the complete derangement ot 

 the reproductive process. 



In spite of all this, long habit has secured to 

 these pernicious customs a sort of prescriptive 

 right. The distress consequent upon them, in- 

 creases in proportion as the reactive powers of the 

 organism decrease, which is more particularly the 

 case in the present generation. The suppression oi 

 these abuses has never been more necessary than 

 in our age. Indeed, the old proverb is again veri- 

 fied : " Where need is greatest, there help is 

 nearest." 



The world is not only indebted to Hahnemann 

 for a knowledge, but also for a natural corrective 

 of this serious abuse. His provings on healthy 

 persons show this beyond a doubt. Few men, if 

 their attention has once been directed to this abuse, 

 will feel disposed to deny its extent. Nor has a 

 favorable change in this respect been looked for in 

 vain, since homoeopathy has now, for half a cen- 

 tury at least, shown the uselessness of all regular 

 methods of purgation, and the superiority of the 

 means with which this new system accomplishes 

 most effectually all that those pernicious methods 

 promised to do. It should be considered a duty 

 by every physician, to be acquainted with the new 

 means of cure. The continued use of purgatives 



