Amjunc!'J7trm'}  Aspdium  Marginale.  29 1 
counterbalanced  by  having  the  control  of  its  preparation.  I  at  once 
collected  what  I  had  thought  to  be  Filix  mas,  selected  the  greenish 
colored  remains  of  the  leaf  stalks,  with  an  adhering  portion  of  the 
rhizome,  dried  them  by  means  of  a  gentle,  artificial  heat,  and  made 
an  oleoresin  according  to  the  British  formula.  Dr.  Suesserott  admin- 
istered the  same  quantity  of  this  oleoresin  that  he  had  of  the  other  to 
the  same  patient,  the  result  of  which  was  the  expulsion  of  nine  feet  of 
taenia,  including  the  head.  For  an  expression  of  the  doctor's  satisfac- 
tion with  the  result  see  "  Report  of  Franklin  County  Society,"  in  the 
published  "  Transactions  of  Pennsylvania  State   Medical  Society," 
1875,  page  637.1 
Believing  this  result  sufficient  for  further  trial,  I  gathered  in  October 
of  the  same  year,  1874,  more  of  the  fern  and  made  four  ounces  of  oleo- 
resin.  I  did  not  dispense  this  on  prescriptions,  however,  but  in  August, 
1876,  a  friend  of  mine  stated  to  me  that  he  was  passing  sections  of  tape 
worm.  My  anxiety  to  test  still  further  the  virtues  of  our  indigenous  fern 
led  me  to  violate  my  usual  custom  of  not  prescribing.  Two  drachms  of 
the  oleoresin  were  put  into  nine  gelatin  capsules,  of  which  three  were 
taken  at  10  P.  M.,  and  two  at  12  P.  M.  Unpleasant  eructations  fol- 
lowed, so.  that  no  more  of  the  preparation  could  be  taken.  A  bottle 
of  citrate  of  magnesium  was  taken  at  6  A.  M.  next  morning,  and 
after  an  hour  and  a  half,  the  subject  passed  over  24  feet  of  taenia, 
tapering  down  apparently  close  to  the  head,  which,  however,  was  not 
found.  In  the  latter  part  of  October,  about  two  months  after  the 
expulsion  of  the  24  feet,  the  same  person  began  to  void  fully  developed 
sections  of  taenia.  Two  drachms  more  of  the  oleoresin  were  put  into 
nine  gelatin  capsules.  The  subject,  after  fasting  from  12  M.,  took 
three  of  these  at  10  P.  M.,  and  one  more  at  12  P.  M.,  and  followed 
them  in  six  hours  with  emulsion  of  castor  oil,  and  in  two-and-a-half 
hours  he  discharged  8  feet  of  the  worm,  tapering  down  apparently  to 
the  head,  which,  however,  was  not  found  in  this  instance  either.  To 
this  date  careful  observation  has  failed  to  discover  any  further  evidence 
of  the  presence  of  the  parasite. 
The  fern  used  is  an  evergreen,  and,  according  to  Wood's  Botany, 
seems  to  be  the  Aspidium  marginale  described  by  James  Lemon  Pat- 
*In  reading  the  paragraph  referred  to,  in  first  line  read  alcohol  instead  of  tinct. 
phytolaccae. 
