New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies E-Book

Edward Anshutz

• Herausgeber: Interactive Media
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies

Leseprobe

Edward Anshutz

New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies

THE BIG NEST

Published by The Big Nest

This Edition first published in 2020

Copyright © 2020 The Big Nest

All Rights Reserved.

ISBN: 9781787361676

Contents

PREFACE

NEW, OLD AND FORGOTTEN REMEDIES

PREFACE

During the many years that the compiler has had the management of the publishing department of Messrs. Boericke & Tafel—long to look back over, yet short to live—so many inquiries came in for “literature,” or, in the form, “where can I find something about” this, that, or the other, remedy, that finally I became convinced that there might be a niche in the great world’s already over-crowded library for a book containing, in part, at least, the information desired by my numerous correspondents. This determined, and the great publishing house willing to back the enterprise, came the task of collecting the material. The work once begun, it was soon found that it is much easier to plan such a volume than to carry out the plan, for it involved no inconsiderable amount of delving in dusty piles of old journals to discover the sought for matter, which, when brought to light, had to be scanned closely to determine whether it was of a nature to justify this literary resurrection. However, in the odd hours of time that could be bestowed the work was finally completed and—the result is before you, kindly reader.

That this collection of papers has many gems is, I believe, not to be questioned; that some better papers on the remedies than those herein presented may exist is also probable; that it may contain some that are of doubtful value is not to be denied, and even some that have no right in such a book may have crept in. But what it is, it is; take the good and, in the current phrase of the hour, “forget” the rest.

The part born by the editor, beyond delving for and selecting the remedies, will be found scattered through the book in[Pg iv] bracketed small type, and consists simply in announcing who the writer of the paper was and where it may be found; no attempt has been made at editing any of the papers, or commenting on them, beyond a little cutting out of a little verbosity here and there, or of matter not bearing on the use of the remedy.

The material was drawn from journals of all “schools,” wherever a paper could be found that seemed to contain something not to be found in medical-book literature, and to be honestly written.

The new remedies of the laboratory have been purposely ignored because they do not come in the scheme of this book, they having a literature of their own that, not infrequently, may be had “free on request” to the laboratories. Only remedies (with a few exceptions) such as nature gives us are included in this work.

And now the task completed naught remains but for the compiler to subscribe himself,

Edward Pollock Anshutz.

1011 Arch St., Philadelphia, January 2, 1900.

NEW, OLD AND FORGOTTEN REMEDIES

ACALYPHA INDICA.

Nat. Ord., Euphorbiaceæ.

Common Name, Indian Acalypha, Indian Nettle.

Preparation.—The fresh plant is macerated with two parts by weight of alcohol.

(Dr. Tonnère, of Calcutta, India, seems to have been the first to call attention to this plant as a remedy. In a small work, Additions to the Homœopathic Materia Medica, collected and arranged by Henry Thomas, M. D., and published in London in the year 1858, appears the following credited to that physician.)

Tincture of the Acalypha Indica, prepared and administered in the sixth decimal dilution, is specific in hæmorrhage from the lungs. In three cases in which I have employed it, the persons were affected with phthisis. In one case there was a tuberculous affection of the upper portion of the left lung, of some two years› standing. Hæmoptysis had been going on for three months; the expectoration had been in the morning pure blood; in the evening dark lumps of clotted blood, and the fits of coughing were very violent at night. In this case all homœopathic remedies had been tried unsuccessfully, when I accidentally discovered the virtues of the Acalypha Indica, that remedy having been given me by a native for jaundice. I prepared the mother tincture upon the homœopathic principle, and took 10 drops, which brought on a severe fit of dry cough, followed by spitting of blood. Having noted all the symptoms experienced by myself, and finding that they were nearly all similar to those of my patients, I gave six drops 6th [decimal] dilution in half a tumbler of water, a spoonful to be taken every half hour, beginning immediately (9 a.m.). At 6 p.m., the blood stopped. I continued this for eight days, and the blood has never reappeared (now three months since). The patient is improving, and auscultation proves the disease has decreased, and I am in hopes to affect a cure, yet one month since I have been giving them the medicine they have not spit any blood, although previously one of them never passed a day without spitting a great quantity. Calcarea carb. is an antidote to the Acalypha.

Another transatlantic medical friend writes:—»I hope you obtained some of the Acalypha Indica while you were here. I have found it perfectly successful in arresting hæmoptysis in three cases of consumption in the last stage; I could not perceive any other effect from its use, but the cessation of the hemorrhagic sputa was, I think, a great advantage.»

Its use in my hands has been very satisfactory, but I have only tried it in similar cases to those already cited. The first instance of my using it—in a hopeless case of phthisis—a continued and wearisome hæmoptysis succumbed to its exhibition, and quiet sleep succeeded its use—the patient eventually died of pulmonary paralysis.

In a case of passive hæmorrhage from the lungs, after Arnica was used with little benefit, Acalypha benefited, and then failed; after which the use of Arnica entirely stayed the hæmorrhagic flow. (Perhaps Hamamelis would have at once cured, but it was not at hand.)[A]

K., a phthisical patient, had hæmoptysis to a considerable extent; in a short time his voice failed him; he took half-drop doses of 7th [decimal] dilution of Acalypha in water every half hour, and in a few hours the blood spitting left him entirely.

(In 1885 Dr. Peter Cooper, of Wilmington, Delaware, read a paper on the drug Acalypha Indica of which the following is an abstract:)

Professor Jones recapitulates as follows: «Time. Hæmorrhage occurs in morning. Blood. Bright-red and not profuse in morning; dark and clotted in afternoon. Pulse. Neither quickened nor hard; rather soft and easily compressible. Cough. Violent and in fits at night; patient has a played-out feeling in the morning and gains in strength as the day advances.

N. B.—Worthy of trial in all pathological hæmorrhages having notedly a morning exacerbation.»

Such is an outline presentation of the drug given us by so eminent an authority as Professor Jones, of the University of Michigan. It was his «N. B.,» his suggestion that Acalypha was worthy of trial in all pathological hæmorrhages from any source, providing the morning aggravation was present, that fixed my attention upon the drug especially. At the time I had a case of hæmorrhage per rectum that had baffled me for several months. No remedy had aided the case in the least, so far as I could see, unless it was Pond›s Extract used locally in the form of injection; and I finally came to the conclusion that the relief apparently due to the Hamamelis was merely a coincidence. I had given all the hæmorrhagic remedies I knew of or could hear of. Still the bleeding came just as often, with increasing severity. Each time the patient was sure she would «bleed to death,» and I was not positive she would be disappointed. In fact, I was so hopeless that I used to delay the answer to her summons as long as possible, so that the bleeding might have time to exhaust itself. She became reduced in flesh and the hæmorrhagic drugs became reduced in number, until like the nine little Indians sitting on a gate the last one tumbled off and then there was none. As soon as I read Dr. Jones› monograph on Acalypha Indica, I determined to try it. She had all the symptoms—bright-red blood in the morning; dark and clotted in the afternoon and evening; weak and languid in the forenoon, stronger during the afternoon—except one, i.e., instead of the blood coming from the lungs it came from within the portals of the anus. I procured the 6x dil. and served it in water. It gave speedy, almost immediate relief. Each subsequent attack came less profuse and at longer intervals. She has not had a hæmorrhage now for two months, while before she was having from seven to one (continuous) a week. She is gaining in flesh, is in every way improved, and keeps Acalypha Indica constantly by her.

FOOTNOTES:

[A]Homœopathic Review, vol. 1, p. 256.

ACIDUM LACTICUM.

Common Name, Lactic acid.

Origin.—Lactic acid is obtained from sour milk, resulting from the fermentation of the sugar of milk under the influence of casein.

Preparation for Homœopathic Use.—One part by weight of pure lactic acid is dissolved in 99 parts by weight of alcohol.

(A very complete proving of this remedy will be found in Allen›s Encyclopædia of Pure Materia Medica, but little use seems to have been made of it, though the following by Dr. Tybel-Aschersleben, Allgemeine Hom. Zeitung, March 13, 1890, seems to show that it is very efficient in certain forms of rheumatism).

We are by no means rich in remedies against arthritic rheumatism, and those which we do use lack the reputation of being reliable. A new and a valuable remedy will therefore be a welcome addition to this list. I say reliable, inasmuch as this remedy is truly homœopathically indicated for, according to Foster, of Leitz, Niemeyer›s Pathology, 10th edition, 2d vol., pp. 561: «Lactic acid in large doses and used for a long time will produce symptoms entirely analogous to arthritic rheumatism.» We also find mention elsewhere that the use of lactic acid occasioned rheumatic pains in the thigh.

Clinical Cases.

1. A young girl æt. 15 was afflicted with acute arthritic rheumatism, she received Acid Lacticum 2x dil., a dose every 2 or 3 hours, and was so much improved in two weeks that the pain had subsided, and for her remaining weakness China off. sufficed.

2. A nine-year-old girl was confined to her bed for three weeks with acute arthritic rheumatism. Acid Lacticum 2 speedily cured her.

3. A miner, B., had been afflicted over six weeks with acute arthritic rheumatism. The first dose of Acid Lactic 2 gave relief and a second dose cured the man.

4. In a case with swollen and very painful joints one dose of Acidum Lactic 2 sufficed to overcome the pain and the swelling. Against the remaining weakness China proved efficacious.

5. Arthritic rheumatism of the wrist vanished slowly after using Acid Lactic 2 from two to three weeks.

6. A patient afflicted with arthritic rheumatism for four weeks, accompanied by copious perspiration, soon mended under the use of Acid Lactic 2 and was entirely cured within two weeks.

7. Even in a case of chronic arthritis with inflation of the Epiphyses of Metacarpal bones and consequent partial displacement of the fingers, Lactic Acid 2 produced such a decided amelioration that two months later the report said: all pains are gone even the anchylosis has disappeared.

(It has also been successfully employed in cases where the digestive powers are weak and is said to be preferable to other acids in such cases. It has also been successfully employed in cases of dyspepsia.)

ÆTHIOPS ANTIMONIALIS.

(This remedy is prepared by triturating together equal parts of Æthiops mineralis and Antimonium crudum; we may add that the first named consists of a trituration of equal parts of Mercurius viv. and washed flowers of sulphur. Therefore Æthiops antimon. consists of mercury, crude antimony and sulphur.

The following clinical cases illustrating the use of the preparation is by Dr. H. Goullon and was published in Vol. II of the Zeitschrift fuer Homœopathie:)

The following case was cured in a few days by Æthiops antimonalis after having been treated by a homœopath who strictly followed Hahnemann›s rules, but failed to make an impression beyond a certain point.

Miss A. inherited from her father, who was reported to have suffered from laryngitis, a distinct disposition to scrofulosis and tuberculosis. This was proved two years ago by a bloody cough caused by lung catarrh. After the lung was affected she suffered from profuse sweats, especially down the back, but of special interest was the appearance of a «quince colored» swelling of the size of a pea at the extreme corner of the left eye with suppuration which threatened the bulbus. A skilled specialist removed by operation this pus-hearth, which no doubt acted as a fontanel. The immediate result was a large furuncle under the arm and the affliction for which I was consulted. A patient presented herself to me whose appearance was shocking. Numerous parts of her face were literally covered with thick, elevated fissured scabs. A scrofulent liquid was oozing out, and the worst were those parts on the side of the lower lip, the nostrils and the root of the nose. On the whole, a certain symmetry could be observed in the arrangements of these frightful diseased products.

This eruption, which according to its nature must be called herpetic-eczematous, had existed for five months. The patient, who has red hair, and is between 20 and 30 years old, contracted this disease at the sight of a fainting sister. This kind of genesis is an established fact. I remember of reading in Stark›s «General Pathology» of an instance where a mother was affected with eczema of the lips immediately on seeing her child fall on a knife.

Our patient, however, lost the above mentioned sweats, which proves that the fright had a metastatic effect. I learned that at first there appeared very small spots which developed into pustules, infecting half of the forehead. Scratching aggravated the condition, so that some places assumed a cup-like appearance, somewhat as favus.

When patient came to me the face was oozing so terribly that the pillow was thoroughly soaked in the morning, and she suffered greatly. When asked the nature of the pains she said that they were sometimes itching, sometimes tensive, and often indescribable, suddenly appearing and disappearing.

What should be done? Certainly no strictly homœopathic indication presented itself since one might think of Sulphur, another of Arsenicum, Silicea, Hepar sulphur, Causticum, Mezereum, etc. In such case I have laid down, as a rule for my guidance, never to experiment at the cost of the patient (and my own as well as Hahnemann›s), but to employ a so-called empirical remedy. I know Æthiops antimonialis as a very effective remedy through its recommendation (by the Berlin Society of Homœopathic Physicians) in ophthalmia scrofulosa of the worst kind, a fact which I proved myself to be correct. In this case, also, we find the deepest and most stubborn disturbance of the organic juices and a subject with every indication of the worst form of scrofula, ending in lethal cancer—dyscrasia or tuberculosis.

The patient received the remedy in doses of the 1st centesimal trituration, every evening and morning, as much as a point of a knife blade would hold. There was no attempt at external removal of the eruption, a method so much favored by the allopaths, and yet the simple internal effort was magical, since after a few days the scabs were dried up, had fallen off, and the terrible oozing as well as the pain had ceased. The happy patient presented herself again on Friday, after having taken the medicine for the first time on Sunday evening. Very great changes could, indeed, be noticed which justified the hope for a speedy and total cure.

I again ask all my colleagues which was the principle of healing in this case? We may soonest think of Schüssler›s therapeutic maxim, the biochemic principle. The definition that this preparation acts as a blood purifier is not sufficient, and yet it may be accepted as the most intelligent.

Schoeman triturates the Æthiops antimonalis with Æthiops mercurialis (or mineralis), which last consists of equal parts of quicksilver and sulphur, and says of the product: «It acts analogous to Æthiops mercurialis, but stronger, and is therefore preferred to it in scrofulous eruptions of the skin, scald, milk-scab, scrofulosis conjunctivitis, keratitis, blepharitis glandulosa, otorrhœa and swellings of the glands. It is especially valuable for children as a mild but nevertheless effective remedy.»

AGAVE AMERICANA.

Nat. Ord., Amaryllidaceæ.

Common Names, American Aloe, Maguey, Century Plant.

Preparation.—The fresh leaves are pounded to a pulp and macerated with two parts by weight of alcohol.

(We find the following concerning this little known remedy in Volume I, 1851, of the North American Journal of Homœopathy.)

1. Agave Americana or Maguey.—[Dr. Perin, U. S. A., stationed at Fort McIntosh, in Texas, having many cases of scurvy to treat, and finding the usual allopathic routine ineffectual, was led to make inquiry as to the domestic remedies in use among the natives. Among others, his attention was called to the Agave Americana or American Aloe, and he reports to the Surgeon General the following cases in which it was the drug relied on. We extract from the N. Y. Jour. Med.:]

Private Turby, of Company «G,» 1st U. S. Infantry, was admitted into hospital March 25th, in the following state: Countenance pale and dejected; gums swollen and bleeding; left leg, from ankle joint to groin, covered with dark purple blotches; leg swollen, painful, and of stony hardness; pulse small, feeble; appetite poor; bowels constipated.

He was placed upon lime juice, diluted and sweetened, so as to make an agreeable drink, in as large quantities as his stomach would bear; diet generous as could be procured, consisting of fresh meat, milk, eggs, etc.; vegetables could not be procured.

April 11th. His condition was but slightly improved; he was then placed upon the expressed juice of the maguey, in doses of f. ǯij. three times daily; same diet continued.

April 17th. Countenance no longer dejected, but bright and cheerful; purple spots almost entirely disappeared; arose from his bed and walked across the hospital unassisted; medicine continued.

May 4th. So much improved so as to be able to return to his company quarters, where he is accordingly sent; medicine continued.

May 7th. Almost entirely well; continued medicine.

Private Hood, «G» Company, 1st U. S. Infantry, was admitted into hospital April 10th. His general condition did not differ much from Private Turby›s. He had been on the sick report for eight days; had been taking citric acid drinks, but grew gradually worse up to the time of his admission, when he was placed upon lime-juice until the 13th, at which time no perceptible change had taken place. On that date he commenced the use of the expressed juice of the maguey; same diet as the case above described.

April 21st. General state so much improved that he was sent to his company quarters.

May 22d. Well; returned to duty.

Eleven cases, all milder in form than the two just related, were continued upon the lime-juice; diet the same. On the 21st of April they exhibited evidences of improvement, but it was nothing when compared with the cases under the use of the maguey.

Seven cases were under treatment during the same time, making use of citric acid. On the 21st of April no one had improved, and three were growing worse.

At this time so convinced was I of the great superiority of the maguey over either of the other remedies employed that I determined to place all the patients upon that medicine. The result has proved exceedingly gratifying; every case has improved rapidly from that date. The countenance, so universally dejected and despairing in the patients affected with scurvy, is brightened up by contentment and hope in two days from the time of its introduction; the most marked evidences of improvement were observable at every successive visit. From observing the effects of the maguey in the cases which have occurred in this command, I am compelled to place it far above that remedy which, till now, has stood above every other—the lime-juice.

This no doubt will appear strong language, but further experience will verify it.

The juice of the maguey contains a large amount of vegetable and saccharine matter, and of itself is sufficiently nutritious to sustain a patient for days.

This succulent plant grows indigenous in most parts of the State, and, if I am correctly informed, in New Mexico and California. In Mexico it is well-known as the plant from which they manufacture their favorite drink, the «Pulque,» and grows in great abundance. As it delights in a dry sandy soil, it can be cultivated where nothing but the cactus will grow; for this reason, it will be found invaluable to the army at many of the western posts, where vegetables cannot be procured.

The manner in which it is used is as follows, viz.:—The leaves are cut off close to the root, they are placed in hot ashes until thoroughly cooked, when they are removed, and the juice expressed from them. The expressed juice is then strained, and may be used thus, or may be sweetened. It may be given in doses of f. ǯij. to f. ǯiij. three times daily.

It is not disagreeable to take, and in every instance it has proved to agree well with the stomach and bowels.

After the leaves have been cooked, the cortical portion near the root may be removed, and the white internal portion may be eaten; it appears to be a wholesome and nutritious food. I have seen muleteers use it in this way, and they seem to be very fond of it. I have been informed, upon good authority, that several tribes of Indians in New Mexico make use of it in the same manner. The use of the leaf in this way, I believe, will ward off most effectually incipient scorbutus.

(In El Siglo Medico, 1890, Dr. Fernandez Avila reports the case of a boy, æt. 8, who had been bitten by a supposedly mad dog on Feb. 18. The wound healed up, but on July 7th the boy developed all the symptoms of rabies and on the 17th was so violent that he had to be tied and had not tasted food for seventy-two hours as all remedies failed to produce any effect, the doctor, having read that Agave Americana was efficacious in such cases, and having none of the tincture at hand, gave the boy a piece of the plant itself which he greedily ate; it was given to him as long as he would take it. On the 25th his symptoms had all abated and he was dismissed cured.)

AMBROSIA ARTEMISIFOLIA.

Nat. Ord., Compositæ.

Common Names, Rag Weed, Hog Weed.

Preparation.—The fresh leaves and flowers are pounded to a pulp and macerated with two parts by weight of alcohol.

(The following concerning this little used remedy was contributed to the Homœopathic Recorder, 1889, by Dr. C. F. Millspaugh, at that time the editor):

Of late years much attention has been called to the species of the genus Ambrosia (the Rag Weeds) as being, through the agency of their pollen, the cause of hay fever. Many people afflicted with this troublesome complaint lay the charge directly at its doors, while others claim that, in all probability, it is the direct cause, as their sufferings always commence during the anthesis of the plant. The general impression, however, both among the laity and the medical fraternity, has been that the effect was a purely mechanical one, the nasal mucous membranes being directly irritated by the pollen dust in substance. If this were true, would not every one suffer from hay fever? Impressed with the above report, I had the pleasure of curing two attacks while writing my work upon «American Medicinal Plants,» in which the above species figures. Since the publication of the work, all the cases I have had of the disease (four) have yielded beautifully to the 3d centesimal potency of the drug.

The four cases, Mr. B——, Mrs. I——, Mr. C—— and Miss P——, presented the following generic symptoms: Inflammation of the mucous membranes of the nose, adventing yearly in the autumn. At first dryness, then watery discharges, finally involving the frontal sinuses and the conjunctival membrane. In Mr. B. and Miss P. the irritation extended to the trachea and bronchial tubes, in Mr. B. amounting to severe asthmatic attacks. In all cases the coryza was very severe, and in previous years lasted, in spite of all treatment, from four to eight weeks. Mr. B. has found relief from Ambrosia ʒ₁, three times a day, in from four to six days, for three successive years, with no return of the trouble in the same year; Mrs. I. has been relieved in from two to four days for two years; Mr. C. gets immediate relief in twenty-four hours (three seasons); Miss P., in this her first experience with Ambrosia, found entire relief from six doses.

AMYGDALUS PERSICA.

Nat. Ord., Rosaceæ. Amygdaleæ.

Synonym, Persica vulgaris.

Common Name, Peach.

Preparation.—The tincture is made by pounding to a pulp the fresh bark of the twigs and macerating in two parts by weight of alcohol. The infusion is made by taking of the bark one part and of boiling Distilled Water ten parts. Infuse in a covered vessel for one hour and strain.

(Outside the old herbalists the virtues of the bark and leaves of the peach tree have received little attention. The following contributed by Dr. C. C. Edson in the Chicago Medical Times, 1890, however, aroused some attention):

Some ten years ago I had a little patient whose principle difficulty seemed to be an inability to retain anything whatever upon its stomach. It would vomit up promptly everything I gave it, and I had given it everything I had ever heard of and also had eminent council, but it was no go; I was literally at my rope’s end. At this juncture an elderly lady neighbor, one of “the good old mothers,” timidly suggested an infusion of peach bark. Well, as it was any port in storm, I started to find the coveted bark, which I was fortunate enough to procure after a long tramp through the country and two feet of snow. I prepared an infusion, gave the little patient a few swallows, and presto! the deed was done, the child cured. * * It fills all the indications of the leaves and many more. It fills the indications of hydrocyanic acid, ingluvin, ipecac or any other anti-emetic. It will more frequently allay the vomiting of pregnancy than any remedy I have ever tried. And nearly every case of retching or vomiting (except it be reflex) will promptly yield under its use. * * * For an adult the dose is five drops, and in urgent cases repeat every five to ten minutes until the symptoms subside, after which give it at intervals of one to four hours as indicated. After ten years’ use I am thoroughly convinced that any physician once giving it a thorough trial will never again be without it. Of course it is not a specific for all “upheavals of the inner man,” but will I think meet more indications than any other known remedy of its class.

(This brought out the following from Dr. Kirkpatrick in the same journal):

I must say that I feel a little plagued after reading what Dr. Edson says about Amygdalus; he has taken the wind out of my sails, but I must give my experience. Quite a number of years since a good friend in the profession called on me, and asked me to visit one of his patients, honestly stating that he thought she would die. I went a few miles in the country to see her. She had been vomiting blood for two or three days, and, notwithstanding she had had oxalate of cerium, bismuth, pepsin, ingluvin and other good remedies, everything she swallowed would come up, so that she looked more like a corpse than a living being. I ordered them to go out and get me some of the young switches of the last year’s growth from the peach tree; I had them pound them to loosen the bark; I then nearly filled a tumbler with this bark, then covered it with water. I ordered her a teaspoonful to be taken after each time she vomited, one dose being given then, and one every hour after the vomiting stopped. The result was, she vomited no more and made a good recovery.

* * * In recent cases I have very rarely had to give the second prescription to relieve morning sickness. I was visiting a doctor in Quincy; while there he told me he was afraid he would have either to make a lady abort or let her die, from the fact that he had failed to stop her vomiting. I happened to have a sample of the medicine with me; I gave it to him, he took it to the lady and in a few days he reported her well. I may say, like Dr. Edson, it is a standard remedy with me. I have found it very useful in hæmorrhage from the bladder. Some of my lady patients find it very good in nervous headache. I have used the tincture prepared from the leaves, but it is far inferior to that prepared from the bark of the young shoots. A medical friend was going to see a lady who had morning sickness; he told me he had thought of advising her to use popcorn; I handed him a small bottle of my Amygdalus and told him to take a couple of ears of corn in his pocket and try both. The next time I met him he said my medicine had done the work.

(Dr. Oliver S. Haines, of Philadelphia, also contributed the following experience):

Apropos of the remarks made by Dr. C. C. Edson upon the efficacy of infusion of peach bark in the gastric irritability of children, we might mention the following authentic case:

An infant, during its second summer, had been much reduced by acute dyspeptic diarrhœa. A marked feature of this case was the persistent vomiting of all food. The stomach would tolerate no form of baby food with or without milk. The child’s parents had consulted some eminent physicians of our city. The child had been treated homœopathically. None of the remedies chosen seemed to produce the desired effect. After a consultation it was deemed best to send the infant to the mountains. The change aggravated its condition. While the parents hourly expected their baby would die, it was suggested that they send for an old practitioner living in the mountains near at hand. This man had a local reputation as a saver of dying babies. His prescription was as follows: Two or three fresh peach leaves were to be put in a cup of boiling water, the infant to receive a “drink” of this infusion at frequent intervals. The effects of this remedy were as remarkable in this case as in the case narrated by Dr. Edson. Our child soon retained food and eventually recovered.

It seems this ancient disciple of Esculapius had long used peach leaves and regarded them as possessing specific virtues.

ANAGALIS ARVENSIS.

Nat. Ord., Primulaceæ.

Common Names, Scarlet Pimpernel. Poor Man’s Weather-Glass.

Preparation.—The fresh plant, of the scarlet-flowered variety, gathered before the development of the flowers, is pounded to a pulp and subjected to pressure. The expressed juice is mingled with an equal part by weight of alcohol.

(This paper was arranged from the provings by Dr. W. H. A. Fitz for the Organon and Materia Medica Society of Philadelphia, and published in the Medical Advance, 1891)

We think of this remedy for the following clinical indications: Hypochondriasis, mania, epilepsy. Amblyopia, cataract, spots on the cornea. Syphilis, hepatitis and indurated liver, visceral obstruction, inflammation of rectum (horses), hemorrhoids, inflammation of kidneys, gleet, copious urination (horses), gravel, syphilis with deranged mind, nosebleed, pain in small of back, gonorrhœa, amenorrhœa, cancer of mammea, sterility (cows), consumption, lumbago, itching, gout, bloody sweat (murrain of calves), dropsy, ill-conditioned ulcers, snake bites and hydrophobia, promotes the expulsion of splinters, inflammation of stomach (horses).

It is characterized by great tickling and itching. We find tickling and pricking in the urethra, in left ear; on tip of nose; at soft palate as from something cold; in symphysis pubis; as from a brush against epiglottis (with hoarseness); pain in right leg and at os illium; itching on vertex and occiput; of eyelids; in left ear; on cheek bones; itching and tickling stitches on left corner of mouth and upper lip; in rectum; at anus after evacuation of bowels; on left side of chest, principally on nipple; on neck and scapula; on inside of upper arm, just above elbow joint; on back of right hand; tetter on hands and fingers. In fact, great itching all over the skin.

Headache just over supra-orbital ridges, with eructations and rumbling in bowels; spasmodic lancination in temples, extending to eyes; pressive aching in forehead and occiput from a current of air blowing on him; intense headache and nausea, with pains throughout the body. Occiput: dull or tearing pains and inclination to vomit; violent headache, with hard, knotty stools; knocking pains in left side; dull pain all night.

Pains: Teeth pain as from cold.

Stitches: In scalp, over left ear and on occiput; in eyeballs; in temples; in left corner of mouth; in right ear; in left side, region of fourth and fifth ribs; in left tibia, when sitting, when moving leg or foot; disturb sleep.

Neuralgic Pains: In right cheek bones.

Rheumatic, gouty pains.

Tearing Pains: In occiput; in right cheek bone; in upper molars; in spermatic cords; in muscles of left leg; disturb sleep.

Drawing Pains: In right testicle and cord; tensive drawing in left shoulder to neck, returns when lifting or stretching arms; in muscles of upper arm; especially when moving hands or arm in writing; in right carpal and metacarpal bones (sometimes left), returning at regular intervals; also tearing; in muscles of left leg.

Pressing Pains: In forehead and occiput; with stitching in eyeballs; in eyes; on lungs; in sacrum.

Dull Pain: In occiput; in hollow tooth, with trembling of heart; in upper molars; in gums, accompanied by hard stools.

Cramps: In right thenar; ceasing there as it goes to the left.

Violent Pain: As if caused by external pressure on occiput, behind the left ear; in sacrum when lifting, they take her breath; in muscles of forearm, inside near elbow joint; in carpal and metacarpal bones, extending to shoulder; in palm of right hand, extending between thumb and forefinger, as if a pin were thrust through.

Sensation: In lungs as if struck by a cushion full of pins; anxiety in chest; skin of forehead feels too tight; tension in bend of left knee, as if swollen or sore. Cold or chilly sensation on right frontal protuberance; in teeth, as if something cold were placed on tongue; at soft palate, as from touch of something cold; chilly, trembling; scratching in throat after eating; when reading aloud.

Soreness on chest.

Burning in urethra.

Heat rising to head.

Dryness in throat.

Things seem to float to and fro; he cannot write.

Pain: In right ear, as if meatus auditorius were obstructed; in facial muscles, in lungs, in the front and the back up to the scapulæ; in right side of back, followed by violent sneezing; in upper arm, outside, near the shoulder; pain and twitching in the left thumb; in bend of left knee; in upper part of metatarsus of right foot; in great and little toe of left foot in morning; in sole of left foot.

Hence we find under—

Locality and Direction—below upwards.

Pains in upper limbs.

Right: Chilly sensation in frontal protuberance; pain in the eyeball; in palm of hand; in about knee and tibia; in foot; pain and stitches in ear; tickling pains in leg and os ilii; drawing in testes and cord; pressure on lungs; itching on scapula; weak, lame feeling in leg.

Left: Knocking inside of occiput; pain in knee and posterior muscles of leg; in tibia; in foot; glittering before eye; stitches over ear; in corner of mouth (and itching); tensive drawing from shoulder; drawing in muscles of leg; itching in ear; on side of chest; tight feeling in bend of knee.

Motion: In bed: trembling of heart with toothache; chilliness.

Position: Sitting with legs crossed; pain in and about right knee; stretching arm; tensive drawing from left shoulder up to neck; lifting; tensive drawing in left shoulder; pain in sacrum.

Rest: Walking: pressure on right lung; motion: of leg or foot < stitches in and left tibia.

Time: Night: dull pain in occiput; neuralgia in cheek; tickling at palate; erections.

Morning: burning in urethra when urinating; pain in feet.

Towards evening: spells of chilliness.

Evening: glittering before left eye; trembling, anxious feeling in chest; toothache.

Aggravations: Pain right eyeball < from touching lids; burning in urethra when urinating, mostly in mornings; violent pain in sacrum when lifting a slight load; tensive drawing, ascending from left shoulder to nape of neck; < raising and extending arm; pain in right eyeball < from touch.

Ameliorations: Coffee relieves headache; burning in urethra before and during erection, ceases during coition.

Causes: Mental work causes great prostration (Picric acid); when cutting with shears, cramps in ball of thumb; pressure on right lung after eating, or when walking; pressing in eyes after headache; obstruction and pain in right ear after pressure in eyes.

Mental State: Exhilarated, mind very active; everything gives pleasure.

Nose: Nosebleed, violent sneezing, expelling lumps of yellow phlegm; running of water from nose; copious secretion of yellow phlegm.

Mouth: Viscid saliva in mouth, raised by coughing; water in mouth with tearing pains in molars.

Abdomen: Distended with wind; weak feeling in abdomen.

Stools: Piles; passes offensive flatus; stools soft and pappy; watery diarrhœa; stools hard, like stone, knotty.

Urine: Dark, straw-colored; orifice seems agglutinated; presses to urinate; urine escapes in divided streams.

Skin: Rough, dry; dry, bran-like tetter in rings; groups of small vesicles, smarting and itching, oozing a yellowish-brown lymph, which soon turns into a scurf, new vesicles appearing beneath.

Ulcers and swelling on joints; promotes expulsion of splinters (Hepar).

Relationship: Collateral relation. Cyclamen. Similar to Coffee (joyous, excited); Picric acid (prostration after mental exertion); Cyclamen (sneezing); Lithia carb. (rough skin, ringworm); Sepia, Tellur. (ringworm); Pulsatilla (chilliness; catarrhs); smelling of Rhus, and, an hour later, taking Col., relieved sacral pains. Rhus relieved swollen gums.

ARSENICUM BROMATUM.

Common Names, Arsenous or Arsenious Bromide; Arsenic Tribromide.

Preparation.—Add one drachm each Arsenious acid, Carbonate of Potassium and Tartar to eight ounces of Distilled Water; boil until entirely dissolved; after cooling add sufficient water to make eight ounces. Then add two drachms of pure Bromine. Clemens.

(The following paper was translated, 1888, from the German (Deutsche Clinic, March, 1859) of Dr. Th. Clemens, by the late Dr. Samuel Lilienthal):

Arsenious acid, Arsenic blanc, Arsenic oxide, Flowers of Arsenic (AsO3) is commonly used as the only preparation in which it could be assimilated. In the Solutio Fowleri we find a combination with Kali carbonicum e Tartaro, a combination which allows to the Arsenious acid its full destructive power. Now comes Spiritus Angelicæ comp. and the pure chemical preparation smells like Theriac, but it ought hardly ever be allowed to add something to a pure chemical preparation in order to give it taste, color, and use. This Spir. Angel. comp. is made up of Anglica, Siordium, Juniper berries, Valerian, Camphor, and Alcohol, and Solutio Fowleri is prepared even to this day in the same manner, and ought therefore be expelled from every pharmacopœia, especially as it is sure to spoil in the pharmacies if kept too long on the shelves. Looking, therefore, for a better preparation, I prescribe now for the last decade: ℞. Arsen. albi. depurat. pulv., Kali carb. e Tartar. āā ʒj., coque cum Aqua destill. lb 1/2 ad perfect. solutionem, refriger., adde aqua destil. q. s. ut fiat solutio ǯxii., Dein adde Brom. pur. ʒii. This solution, which during first eight days is frequently shaken, becomes colorless in the fourth week, and is then ready for use. It must be kept in a dark, cool place.

I will now give my reason for choosing Bromine as a combination. The study of mineral waters is an old pet of mine; many of them contain Arsenic in combination with Bromine, and are all well known for their roborating and alterating qualities. I begun, therefore, my experiments with minute doses of Brom. arsen.; gradually these were increased, and I felt astonished what large doses were well borne, and how long I could use this preparation without injurious consequences. After a few drops of my solution I could prove Arsenic in all secretions, an experiment easily made by Marsh›s test. Experiments on animals with toxic doses of either solution (Clemens and Fowler) showed that the same quantity Arsenicum brom. is less poisonous (one has to be careful with the selection of animals, as many of them, especially ruminants, bear very large doses of Arsenic without injury). My preparation gives a rapid, not destructive, but roborating action on every part of the body.

In doses of two to four drops daily, always to be taken in a full glass of water, it always shows its specific action as an antipsoricum. Herpetic eruptions and syphilitic excrescences or exanthemata dry up and heal up, while simultaneously the relaxed and thoroughly infected body steadily increases in turgor vitals. Glandular tumors and indurations of dyscrasic origin, where any other treatment has failed, are scattered by the long-continued use of my preparation. I have in suitable cases given it for years without noticing any hurtful sequelæ, and after my patients were cured I kept them under observation for years afterwards, and know, therefore, that nothing injurious followed. This cannot be said of the usual arsenical preparations, and old Heim, a great admirer of Arsenic, opposed a lengthy use of it; he rather preferred larger doses, which is rather a dangerous procedure. Given for a long time for carcinoma, it stops the rapid progress of this fearful disease, and though at the same time Chloride of arsenic was used externally, a real cure remained an impossibility. My best successes were in obstinate cases of lues inveterata, in the first stages of tabes dorsalis (ataxie locomotrice), in the reconvalescence from exhausting acute diseases, in gastric suppurations, inactivity of bowels, tardy digestion, constipation. In cases where Chininum sulph. failed in intermittent fevers, I prescribe Brom. arsen. twice daily, four drops, each time in a full glass of water, gradually diminishing it to one daily dose, and in four weeks even the most obstinate cases yielded to this treatment. The patient feels encouraged by his increasing vigor, the fever-cakes disappear, the bowels move regularly, and appetite leaves nothing to be desired. Those mean obstinate cases of intermittens larvata, often appearing in the form of unbearable neuralgiæ, yield more rapidly to it than to the Quinine. It is often quite astonishing what good results can be obtained by the daily use of only one drop of this solution, kept up for a very long time in dyscrasic constitutions, who spent a fortune to regain their health and failed with every other treatment. Its full solubility and rapid assimilation are the reason that it can be used without injury, but it must be taken largely diluted. Let me give you a few cases for elucidation.

St., 46 years old, contracted syphilis several years ago and was relieved of it by mercurial treatment and Zittman›s decoction. About six years ago he felt out of sorts, and a papular eruption appeared on forehead, temples, and especially at the root of the nose. Though treatment was immediately instituted, still in a few weeks the face of the patient was covered by an ugly, foul-smelling crust. Cod-liver oil was now taken internally, and applied externally till the scuffs fell off and the eruption concentrated on three points. For six months that treatment was kept up, but after being omitted for a few weeks, the eruption spread again to its former extent. Every treatment was tried in rotation without the least benefit. In the spring 1856 he entered my clinic. In the centre of the forehead, at the root of the nose, on both eyebrows, on the temples and right cheek there are moist herpetic eruptions covered with crusts, exuding on least pressure an acrid ichor and easily bleeding. Around these eruptions the skin is injected, reddened, interspersed with a large network of veins. Cough and expectoration hint to a beginning of tuberculosis, an heirloom in the family. Little appetite, disturbed digestion, tardy defecation, and evening fever. He is ordered Solutio arsen. brom. twice a day, four drops in a glass of water, and already after two weeks the eruption begins to dry up, appetite returns, and bowels are regular. A generous diet and fresh meat several times a day are accessories to an arsenical cure. After two months two crusts fall off and the skin under them is soft, shining, somewhat red. About July all eruption had gone, and the cough greatly improved. A few months ago I saw the patient again, and I feel sure that the disease is eradicated.

Miss W., 42 years old, passed her childhood in the West Indies, and brought from there a peculiar skin disease. When I saw her for the first time her features looked old for her age, skin gray and sallow, hair gray, rough, full of dandruff, and moisture oozing from the ears and forehead. The scalp feels hard and thickened. The cervical glands are indurated all around the neck. On the left chest an herpetic eruption of the size of a dollar, and on the mamma a hard tumor of the size of a fist. For a year past this tumor began to be painful and sensitive to pressure, and my advice was sought for relief of all her ailments, especially as her hands were also in a fearful state, where the eruption looked as if she had the itch. The nails were discolored, knobby, easily bleeding and covered with a gluey eruption. She had to wear and to change gloves every day. For nine years she never entered society, as the exhalation from her body disgusted even herself, and was hardly bearable, though sponging the whole body and daily renewal of linen was strictly adhered to. In such an obstinate chronic psoric case treatment with small doses is at first necessary, and Arsen. brom., two drops twice daily, ordered, and her cold bath continued. After four weeks the dose was doubled, and after nine weeks the first glimmer of improvement could be seen. The tumor in the mamma was smaller and painless, and where before it was so sensitive as to be covered with oil-silk she could bear now the pressure of her clothing. After four months steady continuation of four drops twice daily, she was able to go without gloves. The scalp also was cleaner, less hard, and the ears more dry. But with the return of spring the eruption gained new vigor. The head and hands became covered with suppurating nodules and small exuding herpetic spots, which became confluent and itched terribly, a most classic picture of the herpes of the ancients. Though for years she had been accustomed to an aggravation in the spring, she never witnessed it in such severity. I now omitted the drug and ordered head and hands frequently washed with cold water. After eight days the storm calmed down, and it was remarkable to witness the steady decrease of the induration in the cervical glands and mamma. After four weeks the old treatment was renewed. During the summer months she took regularly her four drops twice daily, and in the beginning of autumn the dose was reduced to two drops, and so continued during the whole winter. The following spring crisis was the mildest one she ever experienced. During the summer she took her four drops, during fall and winter two drops. The third spring aggravation came with full severity, but lasted only three days, when desquamation followed. Another year of the same treatment and the fourth spring eruption showed itself slightly only in small papules behind the ears and between the fingers, and were hardly worth noticing. She now felt a slight weakness in right arm, which from childhood up was rather weaker than the other one. After the disappearance of the induration in the mamma the arm seemed to regain its former strength and the patient felt therefore rather astonished at the reappearance of the weakness when its cause seemed removed, but it yielded readily to a mild constant current applied a few times, and some faradic shocks each time from the shoulder through the arm, and in September she went to Nizza in order to use sea-bathing, with the advice to take for a whole year one drop daily of her solution. She considered herself now well, but still her skin was flabby, especially on the hands where the epidermis often desquamated, and the nails remained hard, brittle and without lustre.

I may here remark that I found repeatedly Arsenic in the urine of such patients. A case of obstinate intermittens larvata, characterized by vomiting of chyme, also yielded to Arsen. brom. One case more must suffice. A young man went to America but failed in his trade, and became barkeeper on a Mississippi steamer, which place he had to give up on account of intermittent fever. We find him then as hostler in Chicago where he was laid up with an attack of cholera, and as he did not fully recover his strength he returned to the old home again. When I saw him for the first time the diagnosis seemed to be first stage of Bright›s disease. Anamnesis, ætiology, and present state, albumen in the urine, justified the diagnosis. Patient is pale, bloated, œdema pedum, no appetite, white tongue, thin feverish pulse, swollen spleen, watery diarrhœa alternating with constipation. Every drug produced vomiting, and he perfectly abhorred the old Quinine powders. I ordered four drops Arsen. brom. and a full meat diet. Improvement followed with the continuance of the treatment. After three weeks the spleen was reduced in size, his face showed better color, hardly any œdema. To strengthen the skin he was advised to take pineneedle baths, and after three months› treatment he could be discharged, a well man. He was advised to take for a few months one drop daily of his solution, and to take often an airing in the pineries which abound around Frankfort. Though he returned to America the latest reports from him are that he feels again as well as ever, but he keeps his drops about him.

Arsen. brom. is also a powerful remedy in diabetes mellitus and insipidus, for I cured cases with it where the patient had already been reduced from 138 pounds to 98, and where the urine could be condensed, by boiling, into syrupy consistency. Mixed diet may be allowed, though I insist upon large quantities of fresh meat during treatment with Bromide of arsenic. Let the patient take three drops thrice daily in a glass of water, and after a week the insatiable burning thirst will be quenched, and these doses must be continued till the quantity of sugar in the urine is reduced, when the drug might be taken twice a day and continued for a long time. A diabetic patient needs fresh pure air if he wishes to get well; confinement in a room or in the office prevents the action of any treatment, for it needs ozone to reduce the sugar of the blood into carbonic acid and water.

ASPIDOSPERMINE.[B]

Preparation.—Trituration of the alkaloid.

(Dr. Edwin M. Hale communicated the following concerning this alkaloid to the Homœopathic Recorder for 1889):

Dyspnœa.—This alkaloid is from the South American tree—Quebracho. The maximum dose, according to Merck, is 1/10th grain. I use the 1/500th trituration, which I find most efficient in doses of 2 to 5 grains.

Case I.—A boy of ten. The attacks of spasmodic dyspnœa were a sequel of hay fever. The aggravation was at night, when lying down, or sleep was impossible. I tried Ipecac and Arsenic, but with no effect. Aralia, also. (I never had any curative or palliative effects from Aralia.)

Prescribed Aspidospermine, 1/500th trituration, 2 grains every two hours, all day. The night was comfortable, could lie down and sleep. Continued the remedy for four days, when he was so much better that the medicine was suspended.

Case II.—Cardiac dyspnœa in a man of 60. Valvular disease, hypertrophy with dilatation. Distressing difficulty of breathing from the slightest exertion; had to sit upright day and night. Face livid from venous stasis. Strophanthus regulated and strengthened the heart›s action, but only slightly benefited the dyspnœa. Five grains of Aspidospermine, 1/500th trituration, every two hours effected a marvellous change. He could walk about the house and out to his carriage with but little discomfort. He has now continued it three weeks. Observes no unpleasant symptoms. Can lie on his back and right side and is very grateful for the relief. It seems to act as well as an aid to Digitalis, or Strophanthus, in cardiac dyspnœa.

FOOTNOTES:

[B]Aspidospermine or Quebrachine is derived from the Chilian «white Quebracho» (Aspidospermia Quebracho). At Santigo de Chile the bark is used as a substitute for Cinchona as a febrifuge. The alkaloid forms salts with Citric, Hydrochloric and Sulphuric acids.

AURUM MURIATICUM NATRONATUM.

Common Name.—Chloride of Gold and Sodium.

Preparation.—A mixture composed of equal parts of dry chloride of Gold and chloride of Sodium, triturated in the usual way.

(The following is an extract from a paper by Dr. H. Goullon in the Allg. Hom. Zeit., bd. 114, No. 12, on the therapeutics of this remedy):

Never have I observed gold so startling in its action as in the following case: The patient is a type of the scrofulous habit; reddish hair, pasty complexion, thick nose, coarse features. About thirty years of age. He has had the misfortune of being infected by syphilis, and the still greater ill-luck of being treated by mercurial inunctions and iodine to excess. All these circumstances conjoined helped to produce a complication of morbid conditions which would put medical art to a severe test. Let us recall the region in which gold makes such brilliant cures, and we find it especially suitable in an uncommon swelling of the left testicle. In this case I do not exaggerate, when I say that the scrotum was as large as a gourd of moderate size and the tumor was four or five times larger in circumference than the right testicle, which was also swollen. The entire mass simulated an oblong, heavy weight, like those one meets with in old-fashioned clocks, and could hardly find space in the capacious suspensory.

The skin was also involved. On the elbow was a wide-spread herpetic eruption; on different parts of the body were gummy indurations; the ear discharged; in short, the many characteristic manifestations of the syphilitic poison were to be seen throughout the cutaneous and mucous systems. There were also ulcerous formations in the oral cavity and on the sides of the tongue.

After about four weeks the patient again set foot upon the floor, saying: ‹The drops have done wonders.› And indeed the influence upon the testicles was so striking that now the right, which was formerly the smaller, seemed the larger, without having actually at all increased in size. Not the less remarkable had been the action of gold on the general condition. The patient, formerly irritable and uneasy, is cheerful and comfortable; enjoys sound sleep, whereas before he was disturbed with morbid dreams; has lost his previous debility and disgust for everything; and says that his digestive power is quite a different thing. He assimilates articles of diet which he did not formerly dare to take, unless he wished to suffer with flatulence, gastric acidity and vomiting. Among other things punch, which he ‹could not even smell,› agrees well.

But, evidently, the mode of administering gold in such cases is not a matter of indifference. And although I have only recently published a cure with high potencies (in which I subsequently corrected the mistake of the 100th Dec. for the Centes., which was what I used of the Natrum muriaticum), I cannot commit myself to high potencies in syphilitic complications. Experience in these cases is always in favor of substantial doses. But, as we shall soon see, these proportionally massive and heavy doses are always quite out of the allopathic posological range, and even on this ground one must set boundaries, and seek for the conversion of the traditional school. By two or three clinical experiences of this sort many a Saul would become a Paul in spite of all former prejudices, vis inertia, and most tormenting skepticism. One-half grain Aurum muriaticum natronatum was dissolved in 6 grms. Spiritus vini, but of this first 6 drops are again put into a wineglass of water, of which the patient takes a teaspoonful thrice daily.

(Dr. Tritschler, of the Gynæcological Clinic of Tübingen, furnishes the following on the use of this remedy in diseases of women. From Allg. Hom. Zeit., bd. 94. Nos. 17. 18, 19):

Permit me now to specify some practical instances of the curative powers of Aurum, and especially of Aurum muriaticum natronatum, in reference to gynæcology.

Chronic Metritis.

The first case is that of a woman with chronic metritis and prolapsus uteri. Hydrarg. chlorat. mit. was given at first, which acted favorably on the inflammation, but whose further use was prevented by its giving rise to salivation. The intumescence of the uterus continued about the same. Chloride of gold entirely reduced the chronic inflammation, and restored the uterus to its natural position without external means.

Induration of Uterus.

The second case was an unmarried woman at the climacteric, the vaginal portion of whose uterus showed an induration which disappeared during the administration of chloride of gold.

Hysterical Spasms.

The third case was a woman with periodical attacks of hysterical spasms, which involved the entire body, with unconsciousness lasting several hours, asthma, palpitation, etc., beginning with a sense of coldness, ascending from the abdomen, and perceptible even to the bystanders. Sometimes the attack began with pulsation through the occiput. Examination showed an inflamed uterus, filling not only the true pelvis, and interfering with urination and defecation, but the enlarged uterus perceptible through the thick abdominal walls above the pubes. At the end of seven months, Aur. mur. nat. had entirely reduced the swelling. The woman has enjoyed good health for several years, quite free from the so-called hysteria.

Induration of Cervix.

It happened that a woman presented an induration of the cervix, together with a remarkable softening in the posterior uterine wall. The result of treatment with chloride of gold was, that in proportion to the decrease of the induration there was an increase in the consistency of the softened posterior wall. The woman, who had been married for three years and childless, became pregnant for the first time and has since borne several children. With this experience, the Gold-chloride was also given for a softening of the atrophied cervical canal, in one case until it was curved at right angles to the body of the uterus; also in a diffused softening of the uterine tissues, with the result that the hitherto sterile woman, after toning up the uterine tissue, attained the joy of motherhood. * * * * *

Habitual abortion and premature labor recurring at about the same month of pregnancy generally depended upon induration in some portion of the uterus, which, preventing its natural expansion during gestation, gives rise to premature expulsion of the fœtus. By the use of Aur. mur. nat. before and during pregnancy, the absorption of this induration will conduce to the proper termination of parturition.

A swelling of the ovary, reaching as far as the umbilicus, I have cured with Aur. mur. nat., and have improved others of considerable extent very decidedly. Martini has cured five cases of ovarian dropsy in the greatest possible degree with the same remedy.

Ulcers of the os and the vaginal portion, which had resulted from inflammation and induration, some as large as a dollar, and of a gangrenous character, were healed by the use of gold, without any topical applications.