chap. 33.] 
497 
purgative and as an expellent, by vomit and by alvine evacu- 
ation, of black bile"^^ or coagulated blood, as the case may be. 
Some authorities prescribe it, taken internally, for quartan 
fevers, as also for tenesmus and diseases of the joints ; pur- 
poses for which it is kept a considerable time, to mellow with 
age, and so lose its noxious*^* properties. Some, again, are for 
boiling it, but in all cases* it is recommended to be taken from 
out at sea, and untainted with the mixture of fresh water, an 
emetic also being taken before using it. "When used in this 
manner, vinegar or wine is generally mixed with the water. 
Those who give it unmixed, recommend radishes with oxymei 
to be eaten upon it, in order to provoke vomiting. Sea-water, 
made hot, is used also as an injection ; and there is nothing in 
existence preferred to it as a fomentation for swellings of the 
testes, or for chilblain-s before they ulcerate. It is similarly 
employed, also, for the cure of prurigo, itch- scab, and lichens. 
Lice and other foul vermin of the head, are removed by the 
application of sea- water, and lividities of the skin are restored 
to their natural colour ; it being a remarkably good plan, in 
such cases, after applying the sea- water, to foment the parts 
with hot vinegar. 
It is generally considered, too, that sea- water is highly 
efficacious for the stings of venomous insects, those of the pha- 
langium and scorpion, for example, and as an antidote to the 
poisonous secretions of the asp, known as the ptyas in all 
which cases it is employed hot, [Fumigations are also made of 
it, with vinegar, for the cure of head-ache ; and, used warm as 
an injection, it allays griping pains in the bowels and cholera. 
Things that have been heated in sea- water are longer than 
ordinar}^ in cooling. A sea- water bath is an excellent cor- 
rective for swelling''^ of the bosoms in females, afi'ections of 
the thoracic organs, and emaciation of the body. The steam 
also of sea-water boiled with vinegar, is used for the removal 
of hardness of hearing and head- ache. An application of 
sea- water very expeditiously removes rust upon iron; it is 
It is still considered useful, Ajasson says, for the treatment of lym- 
phatic diseases. 
74 "Virus." "'^ Or '^spitter.'* See B. xxviii. c. 18. 
76 « Mammas sororiantes." A malady, according to Dalechamps, in 
which the mamilla^ are so distended with milk that they kiss, like sisters 
"sorores." 
VOL. V. K K 
