TJ3NICTDE  PROPERTIES  OF  PEPO. 
429 
a  cough  of  a  spasmodic  nature,  and  the  parents  noticed  that  this 
was  always  much  worse  when  the  child  took  milk  for  his  supper, 
and  likewise  that  prompt  relief  was  sure  to  follow  the  taking  of 
some  bitter  substance.  I  directed  that  Jj  of  the  pumpkin  seeds 
should  be  freed  from  their  shells,  and  then  with  3iv  of  sugar 
and  Jvj  of  water,  to  be  made  into  an  emulsion,  and  of  this  one- 
third  was  to  be  taken  every  hour,  after  fasting  from  supper 
until  morning,  and  in  one  hour  after  the  last  dose  3ss  of  castor 
oil.  As  this  failed  to  act  on  the  bowels,  three  hours  after,  3j 
more  of  the  oil  was  given,  which  produced  only  a  mild  laxative 
effect,  and  this  not  until  three  hours  after  it  was  taken,  bring- 
ing away  only  about  thirty  segments  of  the  worm.  This  was 
on  Sunday,  and  not  wishing  to  keep  the  boy  from  his  school,  I 
postponed  further  treatment  until  the  following  Saturday,  when 
I  ordered  the  same  amount  of  emulsion  as  before,  directing  that 
one-half  of  it  be  given  in  the  morning,  fasting,  the  remainder 
in  half  an  hour;  and  one  hour  thereafter,  3xij  of  the  liquor 
magnesia  citratis.  In  a  little  more  than  two  hours  this  occa- 
sioned active  catharsis ;  the  first  three  dejections  containing 
only  disjointed  segments  of  the  worm,  but  the  next  brought  the 
entire  parasite,  a  taenia  solium,  twenty-two  feet  in  length  but 
not  dead. 
I  have  reported  this  case,  not  a3  anything  new,  but  hoping  it 
may  have  some  influence  to  induce  others  to  test  the  virtues  of 
this  article.  To  obtain  a  medicine  that  shall  be  efficient  for  the 
cure  of  disease,  at  the  same  time  that  it  is  absolutely  innocuous 
to  the  patient,  is  a  desideratum  greatly  to  be  desired,  but  not 
always  found.  Of  this  remedy  it  is  known  that  its  use  is  neither 
unpleasant  nor  injurious,  and  it  remains  only  to  demonstrate 
it3  efficacy,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  experience  may  prove  it 
to  be  the  best  remedy  for  tapeworm,  all  things  considered,  that 
we  possess. 
The  following  are  some  of  the  advantages  that  the  pepo  may 
perhaps  justly  claim  over  other  taenifuge  remedies  in  common 
use,  as  the  male  fern,  the  bark  of  the  pomegranate  root,  kousso, 
oil  of  turpentine,  etc.,  1st.  To  the  patient  it  is  entirely  harm- 
less and  is  not  unpleasant  to  take.  2d.  In  this  country  it  may 
always  be  obtained,  and  of  a  quality  known  to  be  good.  3d.  To 
us  it  is  indigenous,  and  other  things  being  equal,  such  remedies 
