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OIL OF THE DUGONG, A SUBSTITUTE FOB COD-LIVER OIL. 
Several substitutes for cod-liver oil have been proposed. 
Dr. Hobbs, of Moreton Bav, has latelv recalled attention to 
the curative properties of the Dugong oil, and if reliance 
may be placed on his experience of its efficacy, he has fallen 
on a discovery of inappreciable value. 
The Dugong is found in considerable numbers in the 
rivers and bavs of the eastern coast of New Holland, from 
Moreton Bay to Cape York. This animal is thus described 
in 1 Knight’s Animated Nature’: 
{i The Dugong (Ilallcore Dugong, Cuvier), is a native of 
the Indian Seas, being common among the islands of the 
7 O O 
Indian Archipelago, and visiting also the coasts of New Hol¬ 
land. Its favorite haunts are the mouths of rivers and 
straits between proximate islands, where the depth of water 
is but trifling (three or four fathoms), and where, at the 
bottom, grows a luxuriant pasturage of submarine algae and 
fuci. Here in calm weather may small troops be seen feeding 
below the surface, and every now and then rising to take 
breath. The position of the mouth, the muscular powers, 
and mobility of the lips, garnished with wiry bristles, and 
the short incisor tusks of the upper jaw, enable these animals 
to seize and drag up the long fronds of sub-aquatic vegetables 
which constitute their nourishment.” 
The use of cod-liver oil in the treatment of diseases is a 
comparative novelty. The wonderful cures ascribed to its 
agency, allowing for any possible exaggeration, establish its 
claims to rank among the chief resources of the healing art. 
But cod-liver oil is intolerably nauseous. The patient turns 
from it with ineffable disgust. If, then, it can be shown that 
the dugong oil is of equal medicinal value, its substitution 
would be a great blessing to multitudes. We do not know 
why we should assume that medicine must always be nau¬ 
seous to be effectual. One of the greatest domestic trials is 
the infliction of torture with the hope of facilitating recovery. 
The process by which a cure has been sought, has often 
proved more fatal to the constitution than the original 
malady. Anything, therefore, which abates the bitterness of 
the cup, ought to command the attention of all, whether of 
the profession or not. 
It appears from analysis, that cod-liver oil contains a small 
portion of iodine, which the dugong oil does not. It is, of 
course, a question for medical men, whether this property is 
the active agent in promoting a cure. This theory Dr. Hobbs 
