630 
Varieties, 
Am.  Joiir.  Pharm- 
Dec,  1881. 
war  simultaneously  against  the  elements,  the  exigencies  of  nature  and  the 
attacks  of  the  enemy.  A  few  had  laid  in  a  stock  of  coca,  and  this  resource, 
apparently  so  scanty,  turned  out  the  most  powerful  allies,  since  it  j)ermitted 
'  them  to  sujDport  fatigue,  suppress  sleej),  endure  hunger  without  suffering,, 
and  to  brave  the  rigors  of  the  cold. 
During  the  same  war  a  body  of  patriotic  infantry,  obliged  to  traverse, 
during  a  rigorous  season,  one  of  the  coldest  plateaus  of  Bolivia,  found  itself 
deprived  of  provisions  while  advancing  in  forced  marches  to  rejoin  the 
divisions  encamped  in  Janin ;  on  arrival,  hunger  and  fatigue  had  deci- 
mated it,  and  but  a  few  were  in  a  state  to  combat,  but  these  privileged 
ones  were  nearly  all  young  mountaineers,  habituated  from  childhood  to 
carry  with  them  always  a  stock  of  coca.  From  time  to  time  they  swallowed 
tiny  balls,  prepared  in  advance  with  the  leaves  of  coca,  from  which  they 
had  removed  the  nerves,  and  which  they  chewed  until  they  contained  no 
more  juice.  This  precaution  conserved  their  strength. —  Virginia  Medical 
Monthli/^  Aug.,  18S1,  from  Cine.  Lancet  and  Clinic. 
ERCfOTiN  IN  Prolapsus  Axi. — A  boy  tive  years  of  age  was  suffering 
from  prolapsus  ani  of  two  years  standing.  The  gut  came  out  in  the  extent 
of  two  and  a  half  inches  after  each  passage.  The  treatment  at  first  was  of 
the  routine  kind — cold  affusions,  cauterization  with  nitrate  of  silver,  tinc- 
ture of  iron,  etc.  The  bowel  persisted  in  coming  down  at  every  passage. 
As  a  last  resort,  a  suppository  composed  of  ergotin  gr.  ii  and  cacao  butter 
q.  s.  was  tried.  The  effect  of  the  remedy  has  been  magical,  as  after  the 
use  of  a  few  of  the  su])positories  there  has  been  no  return  of  the  condition, 
and  the  case  is  cured. — Country  Practitioner. 
Oil  of  Er.got  in  Skin  Diseases. — Dr.  Shoemaker  has  obtained  Excel- 
lent results  from  the  use  of  the  oil  of  ergot  in  the  treatment  of  the  acute- 
variety  of  eczema.  He  finds  that  it  is  i^articularly  valuable  in  that  form  in 
which  the  part  is  hot,  tumefied  and  covered  with  small  vesicles,  some  of 
which  have  burst,  and  the  fluid  coming  in  contact  with  the  surrounding 
parts  has  caused  considerable  irritation.  It  is  also  a  most  useful  applica- 
tion in  eczema  of  the  lips,  in  which  the  surface  is  tumified  and  fissured, 
bleeding  readily  upon  the  slightest  movement  of  the  parts.  It  is  efficacious 
in  cracked  nipples  and  in  herj^es  of  the  genitals,  as  well  as  in  checking  the 
formation  of  scales  in  seborrhea  of  the  seal})  and  other  hairy  parts  of  the 
body.  As  a  local  application  in  erysipelas,  oil  of  ergot  is  also  of  great  ser- 
vice. In  rosacea,  after  making  punctures  over  the  j^atches  with  a  needle- 
knife,  and  allowing  the  surface  to  bleed  freely,  the  application  of  oil  of 
ergot  will  soothe  the  part,  constrict  the  blood  vessels,  and  thus  greatly 
modify  the  diseased  action.  The  remedy  is  equally  serviceable  in  diseases 
of  the  mucous  membranes,  and  has  been  found  of  use  in  catarrh  of  the 
nasal  passages,  in  ulceration  of  the  cervix  uteri  and  in  gleet.  The  oil  of  ergot 
may  be  prepared  by  the  addition  of  benzin  to  ergot,  and  afterwards  allow- 
ing the  benzin  to  evaporate.  The  substauce  thus  obtained  is  a  moderately 
thick,  reddish-brown  fixed  oil,  with  a  slight  odor  of  herring  pickle  and  an 
acrid  taste ;  it  is  soluble  both  in  alcoholic  and  alkaline  solutions. — Trans,  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Med.  Society  ;  London  Practitioner. 
