330  Projjertles  and  Ikes  of  Acaroid  Resin.  {^"^jX^si!"^' 
the  tincture  of  this  resin  Avith  the  opium  (or  not  as  often  as  the  opium) 
for  three  days.  I  never  knew  this  resin  produce  coprostasis.  It  has 
a  tendency  to  relieve  the  nausea  connected  with  diarrhoea  and  dysen- 
tery. In  common  cholera  it  is  valuable  as  an  auxiliary.  According 
to  Mr.  Kite,  common  cholera,  even  when  attended  with  convulsions, 
has  been  cured  by  this  resin  alone.  I  have  seen  cases  of  chronic  nasal 
catarrh  cured  1)y  this  resin  alone. 
"  In  typhus  nervosus,  when  attended  with  diarrhcea  and  vomiting^' 
[perhaps  typhoid  fever  is  here  meant],  "  it  often  surprisingly  relieves 
these  symptoms. 
"  I  have  seen  great  benefit  from  it  in  catarrhal  phthisis.  It  is  always 
a  valuable  auxiliary.  I  have  used  it  in  a  great  variety  of  cases  of 
dysentery,  and  have  seen  more  or  less  benefit  in  all. 
In  intestinal  flatulence  I  have  seen  it  do  good.  It  produces  its 
remedial  effects  slowly  and  gradually,  but  certainly.'^ 
Dr.  Tully  also  speaks  of  its  use  in  vaginal  leucorrhcea,  gonorrhoea 
and  profuse  secretion  of  urine  with  incontinence.  In  conclusion  he 
says : 
"  This  resin  was  used  in  New  Haven,  Conn.,  by  Dr.  Eneas  Munson 
and  Dr.  Eli  Ives  as  early  as  1803,  and  was  finally  relinquished  by 
them  from  the  belief  that  the  resin  of  Larix  americana  possessed  sim- 
ilar powers  and  was  of  equal  value." 
While  a  student  of  Dr.  Tully's  I  procured  a  quantity  of  the  Botany 
Bay  resin  from  a  druggist  in  New  Haven.  The  drug  was  in  clean 
lumps,  of  irregular  shape,  two  or  three  inches  in  length,  resembling  on 
the  outside  gamboge,  readily  powdered,  the  powder  being  of  a  duller 
yellow  than  that  of  gamboge.  I  used  it  considerably  in  the  early  years 
of  my  practice,  both  in  the  form  of  powder  and  of  tincture,  princi- 
pally in  the  treatment  of  diarrhoea,  with  good  results.  I  finally  dis- 
continued its  use,  from  the  difficulty  I  experienced  in  getting  a  fair 
quality  of  the  drug,  the  last  specimen  that  I  received,  from  a  very 
reputable  house  in  New  York  city,  being  mainly  sticks  and  dirt,  with 
little  resin.  I  suppose  tlie  difficulty  of  procuring  it  was  owing  to  the 
cessation  of  its  importation. 
I  may  add  that  the  Dr.  Tully  mentioned  is  the  one  who  first  com- 
pounded the  valuable  powder  of  morphia,  camphor,  prepared  chalk 
and  licorice  root,  now  pretty  widely  known  as  Tully's  Pow^der. 
Yours  very  truly,  Wm.  Manlius  Smith. 
