406 
PHARMACEUTICAL MEETING. 
in the production of the disease. Having ascertained thus much, I from that 
time confined my treatment of the disease to the local application of the various 
substances known to be destructive to the lower forms of animal life. These 
are sufficiently numerous, but to a large number of them serious objections 
may be raised. Thus, without referring to more than two,— 
Since the disease is spread most commonly over the greater part of the surface 
of the body, the use of mercurial ointment is not to be recommended. 
Again, the nauseating odour and the irritating properties of turpentine ren¬ 
der it equally ineligible. 
In brief, I found the seeds of the Delphinium Staphysaejria the safest, the 
pleasantest, and the most effectual remedy of many that I employed. 
Even in cases where the disease had lasted for six or eight years, and the 
irritation occasioned by it had at length become so severe as entirely to deprive 
the patient of sleep for nights together, this remedy would cause it to dis¬ 
appear altogether, and that frequently in less than a week. 
I mention thus much about the disease, in order to show the importance of 
what might else appear to be a very trivial question—the question of what is the 
best method of preparing Stavesacre for employment as an external application. 
A way in which it is sometimes used is the sprinkling of the powdered seeds 
over the skin ; this, however, I found a much less efficacious plan than its em¬ 
ployment in the form of ointment. 
The ointment that I had made for me was, however, a by no means satis¬ 
factory preparation.* You will observe that it has a measly, spotted appear¬ 
ance, that is anything but inviting ; I thought this proceeded from carelessness 
in powdering the seeds, but was told they could be powdered no finer. On 
removing the bung of a bottle containing some of the powder, it was noticed 
that the paper that covered the cork was stained with grease spots, and this at 
once suggested the reason why the seeds would not powder any finer than the 
coarse meal-like substance that you see. The seeds evidently contained a con¬ 
siderable quantity of oil. 
With a view of making a more elegant-looking ointment, I had all the oily 
matter extracted from a given quantity, by means of ether; and after this 
process, the meal-like matter was pounded afresh,'—it readily broke into a much 
finer powder, this is some of it. And this powder, as might be expected, made 
a much more presentable ointment. Here is a specimen. But on employing 
this ointment in the treatment of the disease, I found that what I had gained 
in appearance I had lost in efficiency ; the ointment so made was powerless 
as a therapeutical agent. 
I then betook myself to the constituent that had been extracted in this pro¬ 
cess, viz. the oil, which amounted to as much as the half (by weight) of the 
seeds, and had an ointment made of this, adding a little white wax to it to 
preserve its consistency. The oil is a dark yellow, tolerabl 3 r bland fluid; this 
made an ointment which, as this sample shows, is preferable in appearance even 
to the last. On employing this last ointment, I found it much more efficacious 
even than the one I had first used. 
Another mode and a cheaper one of coming at nearly the same result, is to 
digest the crushed seeds in hot lard; this produces an ointment scarcely less 
efficacious than the one last described, but it has, as you may see, the disadvan¬ 
tage of being stained of a brown colour. I should not conclude this com¬ 
munication without mentioning that there is another disease of the skin, be¬ 
sides the one which first led me to this ointment, in which the same remedy 
may be most advantageously employed, and that is the disease known as Sca¬ 
bies, or the Itch, the coloured photograph of which now before you will give 
those who may not be familiar with its appearance a fair idea of it. 
* Specimens of the differently prepared ointments were exhibited at the meeting. 
