MEDICINE. 
fcaruanha, either alone, or with a small 
quantity of emetic tartar, should be given 
in the morning fasting, in such doses as 
will excite vomiting once or twice at most ; 
when the lieat, fever, cough, and- pai n jg,. 
the chest are considerable, small (wsfes ot 
the nitre, or the saline mixture, with nau- 
seating doses of the emetic tartar, should 
be given tliree or four times in the course 
of the day : in this stage of the disease, 
small doses of calomel administered at 
bed-time, are of considerable service, ex. 
cept there is a tendency to diarrhoea, as 
the bowels, by its use, are not only kept 
regular, but it, at the same time, acts as a 
powerful deobstruent, and, in our opinion, 
an alterative course of mercury is of ad- 
vantage, in the incipient stage of phthisis, 
for the removal of indolent tubercles : 
should the cough prove violent, opiates 
may be given at bed-time, and in the night, 
if necessary, the extractuin papaveris albi, 
in doses of five grains or more, is particu- 
larly suitable ; if there be a fixed pain in 
tile breast or sides, increased upon cough- 
ing, local blood letting, and small blisters 
applied in succession about the thorax, will 
afford considerable relief, or a seton may 
be made as near the part affected as possi- 
ble. In the second stage of the disease, 
the employment of emetics, composed of 
the ipecacuanha, with a few grains of the 
sulphate of zinc, must, be duly persisted in, 
in the morning fasting ; when the mornii^ 
sweats are veiy profuse, the infusion of roses 
or vitriolic acid, should be employed witli 
freedom; sether in the proportion of two 
or three drachms to a pint of water, with 
some of the mucilage of quince-seeds, makes 
a grateful and slightly tonic mixture, a glass- 
ful of which may be taken frequently, or the 
Bristol or Seltzer water may be drank; 
they arf very efficacious in moderating the 
thirst, burning heat of the palms of the 
hands and soles of the feet, and the partial 
night sweats : opiates must be given in such 
doses as will quiet the cough and procure 
sleep, taking care, however, to obviate cos- 
tiveness, and if the patient feel a sickness 
in the morning after them, coffee will effec- 
tually remove it ; mucilaginous fluids, com- 
bined with small quantities of the sperma- 
ceti, are also of service in allaying tlie irri- 
tation in the fauces. When the inflamma- 
tory iliathesis is subdued, clialybeates, com- 
bined witli myrrh and carbonate of potash, 
may be given with advantage ; lime-water 
is a suitable menstruum for dissolving the 
myrrh. Tlie digitalis is strongly recom- 
mended in these two stages in particular, 
It certainly is deserving of a fair and iinpar- 
tial trial, and appears to be a medicine 
well suited to this disease, more especially 
in the inflammatory stage, from its well 
known power of rendering the action of 
the heart and arteries more slow than natu- 
lal, a desideratum in phthisis, in which the 
pulse ranges from eighty to one hundred 
and twenty, or more ; it also is very effica- 
cious in exciting the action of the absor- 
bents ; the factitious airs may also prove 
an useful auxiliary, or air impregnated with 
the oxide of zinc, or manganese in their 
most comtainiited state, might be applied 
to the lungs by means of an apparatus, as 
recommended by Dr. Darwin in his Zoono- 
mia, or by that of Mr. Watt, of Birming- 
bam : the vapour of a saturated tincture of 
mther, impregnated with hemlock, may be 
inhaled; it is made by macerating for 3 
few days fi om one to two scruples of the 
dried leaves of the hemlock in an ounce of 
the ffither. The hectic paroxysm may be 
prevented, or cut short, by the affusion of 
tepid water at the commencement of the 
hot stage, or its effects may always be mo- 
derated by moistening the palms of the 
hands and soles of the feet with vinegar or 
cold water; it should always be resorted 
to, when the binning heat mentioned above 
is present, it is not only perfectly safe, but 
highly refreshing. In the third stage, should 
the above plan not be adopted in time 
and cUdrrhcea has made its appearance, the 
gentle emetics before mentioned are recom- 
mended to be administered, provided the 
strength of the patient is not too much 
exhausted, mild astringents should at the 
same time be employed, as the decoction 
of hattshorn, or logwood, angustnra, co- 
lomba, kino, and mucilaginous demulcent 
liquors, combined with opiates and ab- 
sorbents. During the inflammatory pe- 
riod of phthisis, a vegetable diet, with 
milk, is indispensably requisite; souins 
sago, barley, and rice, hlford an agreeable 
variety; the lichen islandicus is strongly 
recommended, and is deserving of a trial ■ 
the ripe subacid fruits may be indulged in 
at pleasure, attention must, however be 
paid to the state of the bowels : oysters 
muscles, craw-fish, lobsters, and the testa- 
cea in general, also flounders and whiting*, 
may be allowed occasionally, provided they 
do not disagree with the stomach, and do 
not aggravate the symptoms. In the ad- 
vanced periods, when tlie hectic is com- 
pletely formed, 3 small portion of animal 
B b 2 
