562 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. [January 14,1871. 
English Handbooks of Europe.” A good deal of it 
is in verse, and it seeks to inform its readers on 
matters of Continental travel, with some foreshadow¬ 
ing even of the polyglot phrases of the modern tourist’s 
guide. 
The “ Dyetary of Helth” is a complete system of 
regimen, not only as its title would impart, for peo¬ 
ple already sound in body, but for those afflicted 
with disorders of divers sorts. It begins by direct¬ 
ing how and where a man should build his house; 
how order his household so as to live in quiet¬ 
ness ; how the head of a house should exercise lxim- 
self for the health of his soul and bodv; and how 
order himself in sleeping, in watching and in appa¬ 
rel. Surfeiting is shown to do much harm to nature, 
but “ abstynence is the cliyfest medyson of all medy- 
sons.” A number of chapters are devoted to the 
consideration of the virtues of various forms of diet, 
whether meat or drink, and many of the conclusions 
would startle the modern physiological chemist; then 
follow dissertations on roots, herbs, fruits and spices. 
We quote the following as a contribution to thera¬ 
peutics :— 
“ Pennyryall doth purge melancoly and doth comforte the 
stomacke & the spyrites of man. Isope (hyssop) clenseth 
viscus fleume, & is good for the breste and for the lunges. 
Roosmary is good for palses, and for the fallynge syckenes, 
and for the cowghe, and good agaynst colde. Roses be a 
eordyall, and doth comforte the herte & the brayne.’’ 
The diet of men should differ according to their 
temperaments, the sanguine, the phlegmatic, the cho¬ 
leric, and the melancholy, will each find a chapter 
for liis guidance. In times of epidemics and pesti¬ 
lence an additional precaution is needed in the 
form of fumigation, and a formula for a sort of in¬ 
cense is given. Then follow the diets for gouty and 
leprous patients, for the stone, colic, fever, dropsy, 
ague, and the like. And lastly, 
“ The xl. Chapytre doth shewe an order or a fasshyon 
how a sycke man shulde be ordered, And how a sycke man 
shuld be vsed that is lykely to dye. v 
We would gladly dwell on the curious glimpse 
this book affords us of the practice of medicine in 
the time of the Tudors. In Mr. FurnivalTs estimate 
of his author every thoughtful student will concur. 
“ I think,” says he, “ the reader will find Andrew 
Boorde worth knowing, a man at times of great 
seriousness and earnestness, yet withal of a pleasant 
humour; reproving liis countiymen’s vices and ridi¬ 
culing their follies; exhorting them to prepare for 
their latter end and yet to enliven their present days 
by honest mirth. A man eager to search out and 
know the truth of things, restless in that search, 
wandering far and often to see for himself. Yet a 
man bound by many superstitions of the time, though 
free from many. * * * Sound at the core, a 
pleasant companion in many of England’s most 
memorable days, worthy, with all his faults, of re¬ 
spect and regard from our Victorian time.” But 
our space at present permits no more than to thank 
Mr. Furnivall and the Early English Text Society 
for the results of their labour, and to bestow a pass¬ 
ing word of admiration upon Mr. W. H. Hooper’s 
masterly reproductions of the droll wood-cuts that 
adorned the original works. 
H. B. Brady. 
METHYLATED SPIRIT. 
BY P. L. SIMMOXDS. 
It is curious to trace the progress that has been 
made in the use of methylated spirit since it was 
first introduced about fifteen or sixteen years ago, as 
given in the detailed reports of the Commissioners of 
Inland Revenue. The high price of duty-paid spirit 
in this country not only repressed scientific research, 
but seriously interfered with trade, by compelling 
manufacturers to resort to cheaper and inferior sub¬ 
stitutes for spirits, which injured the character of 
the goods, and, in some instances, made it doubtful 
whether the manufacturers in this country could 
much longer compete with those on the Continent, 
where the duty on spirit is inconsiderable. 
In the year 1853, a gentleman who had obtained 
a patent for an artificial lubricant as a substitute for 
sperm oil, applied to the Lords of the Treasury to be 
allowed to use spirit in the manufacture of his lubri¬ 
cant, duty free, or at least at a reduced rate. After 
a careful examination of his invention, it was found 
that the spirit was rendered unfit for drinking, and 
that it could not by any process be restored to its 
original purity. A mixture of 10 per cent, of puri¬ 
fied wood naphtha with spirit of wine effects the ob¬ 
ject. An Act was consequently passed in 1855 
allowing such a mixture to be used duty free. 
Although there was good reason to believe that the 
methylated spirit would be so unpalatable that it 
would effectually repel ordinary drinkers, yet as it 
was not, in a peculiar degree, pernicious to health, 
it was impossible to predict what might be the result 
if such a means of intoxication at a cheap rate were 
readily accessible to habitual drunkards. It was, 
therefore, deemed necessary to impose such condi¬ 
tions on the use of methylated spirit as would guard 
against its possible perversion to purposes for which 
it was not intended. Persons who wished to use tliis 
spirit were required to make a written application to 
the Board, and to engage under bond that it should 
be properly applied. They were then furnished with 
forms of requisition, by means of which they could 
at pleasure obtain such quantities as they might re¬ 
quire, not being less than ten gallons at a time. 
These regulations still apply in cases in which the 
spirit is required to be used in quantities greater 
than can be met by supplies not exceeding one 
gallon at a time, but by Act 31 & 32 Viet. c. 121, the 
minimum quantity that may be supplied at one time 
is reduced to 5 gallons. 
The following are the principal purposes to which 
the spirit was at first applied:—Making furniture 
polish, varnishes and lacquers; dissolving resins for 
hat manufacturers ; manufacturing hyposperm oil, 
chloroform, sulphuric, nitric and chloric ethers, 
sweet spirit of nitre, fulminating powder and transpa¬ 
rent soaps; extracting vegetable alkaloids, such as 
quinine, morphine, etc.; making soap liniment and 
extracts required in veterinary medicines; pre¬ 
paring gold-beaters’ skin, floating mariners’ com¬ 
passes and filling spirit-levels ; preserving objects of 
natural history, and in chemical and anatomical 
researches. 
It was not at first allowed to be adopted as a source 
of heat or light for domestic purposes. In order, 
however, to accommodate a large class of work¬ 
people, known as French polishers, the spirit was 
permitted to be sold in smaller quantities than those 
