OassJl_G_2Z 
 BookJLi.! 
 
 COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 
 
OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 DOMESTIC AND BOTANICAL REMEDIES 
 
 SIMPLIFIED AND EXPLAINED 
 
 FOR FAMILY TREATMENT. 
 
 WITH A TREATISE UPON 
 
 SUSPENDED ANIMATION, 
 
 THE DANGER OF BURYING ALIVE, 
 
 AND 
 
 Directions for Restoration. 
 
 
 BY / 
 
 MOORE RUSSELL FLETCHER, M.D. 
 
 FELLOW OF THE MASS. MED. SOC. SINCE 1837. 
 
 1 Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; 
 The proper study of mankind is man." — Pope. 
 
 
 BOSTON :v 
 PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 
 

 Copyright, 
 
 By A. C. Fletcher. 
 
 188-v 
 
 ELECTROTYPED. 
 BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY, 
 
 NO. 4 PEARL STREET. 
 
 a a r A 
 
TO 
 
 £Hg Bclobrti miU, 
 
 AXXE CATHARINE ALLANSHAW FLETCHER: 
 
 A MOST AFFECTIONATE AND DEVOTED MOTHER, 
 
 A TRUE FRIEND, WITH SYMPATHY AND KINDNESS FOR ALL IN THE 
 
 HOUR OF ADVERSITY; WITH UNSELFISH FORTITUDE 
 
 AND BENEVOLENT PERSEVERANCE 
 
 IN THE RIGHT : 
 
 AND OUR SURVIVING SON, 
 
 JOHN MACMASTER FLETCHER. 
 
 WHOSE UNTIRING ZEAL AND CONSTANT EFFORTS IN THE COMPILATION OF THIS 
 WORK, HAVE CONFERRED ON THE WRITER, AND THROUGH HIM HIS 
 READERS, A LASTING OBLIGATION WORTHY OF COMMENDA- 
 TION; WITH ALL PROGRESSIVE THINKERS OF THE 
 PRESENT AGE, WHO ENTERTAIN LIBERAL 
 VIEWS UPON THE GREAT QUES- 
 TIONS OF LAW, MEDICINE, 
 AND HUMANITY, 
 
 WORK IS WITH GREAT SINCERITY DEDICATED 
 BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 This book is intended for the people, — the farmer, the 
 mechanic, and the laboring man ; the bone, muscle, heart, 
 and lungs of the nation, in whose integrity, good sense, 
 and judgment we have great confidence, — but not to the 
 exclusion of the educated or professional classes. We know 
 there are several family medical books in the market, but, 
 as regards placing them in households there are in most 
 cases serious objections ; such as their large size, price, 
 scientific terms used, and, more especially, because of the 
 description and method of treatment of certain diseases, 
 information about which is highly improper to be placed 
 in families where it can be read by the young of both sexes. 
 This objection alone has in many instances excluded such 
 books from the home circle. We have, therefore, avoided 
 these objectionable features, and endeavored to render this 
 volume suitable for any family library, where fathers and 
 sons may peruse it for reason and reflection, and mothers 
 and daughters can consult it with propriety and profit. 
 
 This book is not intended to do away with physicians, 
 for our readers will see that we advise employing them in 
 all difficult and dangerous cases. We hope to give such 
 information, by describing the symptoms of diseases, and 
 directing such treatment as will enable intelligent men 
 and women to care for the lesser ills of the family, by 
 using domestic remedies ; these are cheap, simple, safe, 
 and effective, and will often relieve the sufferer speedily, 
 avoid delay, save the journey after a doctor, and the ex- 
 
 v 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 pense of his bill. Such cases as can be treated only by a 
 physician or surgeon we have omitted. 
 
 We hold it a self-evident truth, that every individual is 
 intrusted with the care of himself, physically and intellect- 
 ually, and has a right to all the knowledge he can acquire, 
 upon all subjects, medicine, law, and theology not ex- 
 cepted ; for, the more extended his information, the better 
 he is prepared for the duties of life. Knowledge of our- 
 selves is one of the first demands of Nature, and is to 
 woman, above everything, of vital importance. 
 
 Multitudes of young men and women begin life in a 
 deplorable state of ignorance, disregarding the laws of 
 health. The natural result is the greatest suffering and dis- 
 appointment, for which the parents to a great extent are 
 responsible. We earnestly hope our advice will reach and 
 benefit that class. 
 
 We discountenance the use of mineral medicines and 
 powerful drugs, and some of the evil results which follow 
 their use have been pointed out. 
 
 Regardless of the profession and their divine right, — 
 which consists in writing prescriptions in Latin, thereby 
 blinding the people, and keeping them in ignorance of the 
 medicines they are taking, — our aim has been to give, in 
 plain English, such information as has heretofore been 
 held as exclusive by' a few. Here is a case in point : A 
 Boston doctor went to an adjoining town in haste to see a 
 patient, wrote a prescription (in Latin), and sent, the gar- 
 dener to Boston to have it put up. Upon his return, the 
 master of the house examined the articles called for in the 
 prescription, and was enraged, as they were all in the 
 house in quantities, and were as follows : — 
 
 Latin. English. 
 
 R. Olei Terebinthinae, § iv. Spirits Turpentine, 4 ounces. 
 Pulv. Carbonas Ligni, § ij. Fine Charcoal, 2 ounces. 
 Humuli Lupuli, S viii. Hops, 8 ounces. 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 While writing this work we have consulted many authors, 
 to all of whom we tender our thanks, whether we accepted 
 or rejected their views, for we often learn more by rejec- 
 tion than by adoption. 
 
 The latter part of this work is devoted to the subject of 
 suspended animation and resuscitation, — a theme which 
 we think must interest all thinking persons. 
 
 Trusting that we have contributed to the general stock 
 of knowledge beneficial to humanity, we will abide the 
 judgment of our readers. 
 
 With pleasure we extend our cordial acknowledgment 
 to Messrs. A. S. Barnes & Co., of New York, for twenty- 
 eight plates of illustration in this work, from J. Dorman 
 Steele's Human Physiology, from No. 4 to 32, inclusive. 
 
 The Author. 
 
Fig. 
 
 SKELETON OF THE HUMAN FORM. 
 
THE HUMAN FORM. 
 
 The skeleton, which is composed of about two hundred 
 bones, is the frame. The number of bones varies in youth 
 and manhood, several of those which are separate at birth 
 uniting and becoming one in after-life. For example, the 
 bones of the lower part of the spinal column, the sacrum, 
 and four little bones unite and become one ; also the bones 
 of the head, or cranium, which are separate in infancy, 
 and the edges of which can be lapped in childbirth, unite 
 as the frame becomes mature, and form one firm, globular 
 cavity of bone. This latter, instead of being composed of 
 one solid thickness, has two plates, between which is a 
 fine, spongy texture of bony substance, which arrangement 
 clearly demonstrates the wisdom of the great Creator and 
 Architect. In the first place, the cranium is much lighter ; 
 in the second, it is a better protection to the brain, possess- 
 ing greater power of resisting blows and injuries, than if 
 solid ; and in the third, it allows the enlargement of the 
 bones as the brain grows with advancing age. 
 
 Bones differ in their formation according to the purposes 
 they are' to serve : some are for lightness, others for 
 strength, some are flat and irregular ; but evety one is gov- 
 erned by a due proportion to the others, so that from any one 
 bone, a veiy exact measurement may be made of the dimen- 
 sions of its original occupant. 
 
IO 
 
 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 The bones are larger at their ends, to afford a better 
 bearing for the joints ; they are also spongy in their struc- 
 ture, and are thereby able to sustain sudden weight or 
 
 Fig. 2. 
 
 Fig- 3 
 
 I 
 
 m 
 
 The thigh-bone 
 sawed lengthwise, 
 to show its hollow 
 cavity and spongy 
 ends. 
 
 A thin slice of bone magnified. Bones in the body are 
 not dry, dead things, bat moist, living structures, covered 
 with a membrane called periosteum. 
 
 fall without fracture. The long bones are hollow, which 
 gives them greater strength, and allows a chamber for 
 the marrow, in which to perform its numerous and im- 
 portant functions. 
 
THE HUMAN FORM. 
 
 II 
 
 Bone is estimated twice as hard as white oak, and there 
 would be required to crush a cubic inch of it, a weight 
 
 Fig. 4. 
 
 <c 
 
 of from three to five tons, the resisting 
 power varying according to the age of the 
 bones ; those of an old person having 
 more lime and less strength. It is not 
 unusual for aged persons, from slight falls 
 or coming down stairs, to fracture their 
 
 Fig. 5- 
 
 m 
 
 THE SKULL. 
 
 .parietal bone; 3. temporal bone; 
 ■,. ethmoid bone; 6. superior maxil- 
 
 malar bone ; 8. lachrymal 
 10. inferior maxillary (under 
 
 1. Frontal bone; 
 4. sphenoid bone ; 
 B lary (upper jawbone) ; 
 
 bone; 9. nasal bone; 
 jawbone). 
 The Spine of twenty- 
 four bones, with a carti- 
 lage between every two bones, and, when so broken, they rarely 
 
 bones, which serves as a 
 pad, or cushion, for pro- 
 tection of the brain and 
 body from jars and falls. 
 a. The Sacrum, b. The 
 Coccyx. 
 
 thigh bones. 
 
 unite and become as strong as before such 
 injury. We once knew an old man, who 
 in his haste to get out of bed, broke both 
 They never united. 
 
OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Fig. 6. 
 
 «l « 6 
 
 The admirable adaptation of the human hand for the 
 business and purposes of life, are displayed in its mechani- 
 cal structure ; and upon reflection, we see the operation of 
 those invisible telegraphic lines (nerves) from the brain, 
 which transmit messages of thought, and return to the 
 brain an unfailing report of the slightest injury of the 
 operatives at the outward terminus. 
 
 Fig. 7. 
 
 The wonderful skill in the formation and adjustment of 
 the head of the thigh-bone to the socket or cavity in the 
 bone of the pelvis, with the ligament which holds it in its 
 place ; to guard against dislocation, although simple in 
 form, is a marvellous display of infinite wisdom and bene- 
 
THE HUMAN FORM. 
 
 Fig. 8. 
 
 FRONT MUSCLES OF THE HUMAN FORM. 
 
H 
 
 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 Fig. 9. 
 
 BACK MUSCLES OF THE HUMAN FORM. 
 
THE HUMAN FORM. 
 
 15 
 
 ficent power. The attachment of the arm at the shoulder 
 joint has no such ligament ; hence its greater motion and 
 frequency of dislocation. 
 
 THE HOUSE WE LIVE IN IS WONDERFULLY MADE. 
 First, a frame of bones ; second, a covering or boarding 
 in of muscles, the number of which Fig. 10. 
 
 is about five hundred ; they are called J- 
 
 superficial and deep-seated, and are in te-r-^ 
 
 pairs, except twelve single muscles, l^fs^^C'-. \ 
 
 each having its antagonist, They are '"\..r 
 
 divided into two classes, the voluntary, iBHr 
 
 or those controlled by the will ; and 
 the involuntary, or those acting inde- 
 pendently of the will, — such as the 
 heart, stomach, diaphragm, and intes- 
 tines. A few are both voluntary and 
 involuntary. Third, an outer covering 
 or clapboarding by the skin. 
 
 SKIN. 
 This is composed of three layers, the 
 cutis or inner ; the rete mucosum, or 
 network of circulating vessels, called 
 lymphatics, and the cuticle or outer 
 layer. It is a well understood fact, 
 that the lymphatics of the body give 
 out the odors of substances taken into 
 it, and also absorb liquid substances 
 upon it. conveying it to all parts of 
 the system. That onions placed on 
 the feet, are smelled at the breath in a 
 short time ; and we have ordered lini- 
 ment in which was spirits turpentine, 
 and when used more than directed, 
 it went to the stomach, causing vomiting and purgin 
 
 \ 
 
 Lymphatics ot the leg, 
 with glands at the hip. 
 
1 6 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 The chest is composed of a portion of the spine, to which 
 the ribs are attached, and extend around the sides with 
 a double curve (one around the lungs and heart of a 
 semi-circle, and the other a downward curve), thereby 
 allowing them to expand and contract, as they are being 
 filled and emptied of air in respiration. The ribs are 
 attached in front to the breast-bone by cartilages, which 
 allows them to bend without injury, when the ribs are 
 compressed. 
 
 Ft? ii 
 
 THE CHEST. 
 
 Then comes the lining, or finishing of the room inside 
 (called cavity), which is called the pleura, and lines the 
 thorax or chest, which contains the heart and lungs, they 
 being securely fastened above, and held up by a flooring 
 called the diaphragm. 
 
 The form of the heart and lungs will be hereafter 
 illustrated, and their important functions explained. 
 
 The heart or pump is located in the chest or thorax. It 
 is a hollow muscle, pear-shaped, with the apex downwards. 
 Its length is from five to five and a half inches, and its 
 
THE HUMAN FORM. 
 
 17 
 
 width from four to four and a half inches, when contracted 
 and emptied of arterial and venous blood. It is enclosed 
 in a loose serous membrane or sac (called peri, about, and 
 cardia> the heart), pericardium. It throws arterial blood 
 through the dorta, and thence through the countless small 
 arteries to every minute particle of the body ; from whence 
 it is returned through the veins, as dark or venous blood 
 to the heart, 
 
 Fig. 
 
 from which it is thrown to the lungs for vitali- 
 
 A. Right ventricle ; 
 other letters see Figs. 
 
 right uricle; 
 
 left uricle, and for 
 
 zation, by oxygen and electrical influences ; from whence 
 it is drawn by the force of the vacuum in the heart, and 
 by the respiratory force of the lungs, back into the heart, 
 and again throws out arterial blood, through the system. 
 Each ventricle and auricle is estimated to hold a wineglass 
 full of blood. The valves serve as gates, by closing, pre- 
 vent the blood from flowing: backwards. 
 
i8 
 
 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 VENTRICLES AND AURICLES OF THE HEART. 
 Fig. 13- 
 
 A Right ventricle; B. left ventricle; C. right auricle; D. left auricle; E. tricus- 
 pid valve ; F. bicuspid valve; G. semilunar valve; H. valve of the aorta ; 1. inferior 
 vena cava ; K. superior vena cava ; L.L. pulmonary veins. 
 
 Showing the fibrous structure of the heart and shape of the valves. A. tricuspid 
 valve; B. bicuspid valve; C. semilunar valves of the aorta; D. semilunar valves of 
 ths pulmonary artery. 
 
THE HUMAN FORM. 
 
 19 
 
 THE LUNGS, 
 Showing the larynx, windpipe, and bronchial tubes. From 
 the larynx the windpipe extends down in front of the 
 oesophagus, and is strengthened by ringlike cartilages ; 
 the lower end of the windpipe divides into two branches, 
 called right and left bronchi ; these subdivide into number- 
 less branches and ramifications, like fine branches of the 
 twigs of a tree, so minute that there are, by estimation in 
 all, six hundred millions. 
 
 Fig- A5- 
 
 The lungs are invested or covered with the pleura in a 
 two-fold form ; one layer is attached to and covers the lungs, 
 and another layer covers or lines the walls, or cavity of 
 the chest or thorax. The lungs are sensitive to the pres- 
 ence of impure air. We notice this when the air is offen- 
 
20 
 
 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 sive, and a cough at once repels the offending substance, 
 be it gas, vapor, or dust. 
 
 Below the diaphragm is the greater cavity, called the 
 abdomen, which is lined by a membrane called the peri- 
 toneum. In the upper portion of this cavity is the stomach, 
 which is suspended and hangs, or lies, in front, extending 
 backward to the right side, while the liver, the largest 
 
 Fig. ib. 
 
 The thorax or chest and abdomen, with their viscera or vital organs. A. the heart ; 
 B. the lungs ; C. the diaphragm ; D. the liver ; E. the gall cyst ; F. the stomach ; G. 
 the small intestines ; H. the large intestines, or transverse colon. 
 
 gland in the body, is firmly attached at its upper portion 
 and placed in the right side of the cavity. 
 
 Below the stomach and liver are the intestines, which 
 are divided into six sections ; viz. duodenum, jejunum, 
 ileum, coecum, colon, and rectum, each having its peculiar 
 functions to perform in combination with the other portions. 
 
THE HUMAN FORM. 
 
 21 
 
 There are two distinct 
 masses of the brain, the 
 cerebrum and the cere- 
 bellum, from which are 
 given nerves of motion, 
 and sensation ; its aver- 
 age weight is fifty 
 ounces. 
 
 Fig. 17. 
 
 The surface of the cerebrum, showing its two 
 lobes and convolutions 
 
 Fig. 18. 
 
 The brain or nerve centre, from which originates the twelve pairs of nerves. E. F. 
 the cerebrum; D. the cerebellum, showing the arbor vitae (tree of life); G the eve ; 
 H. the medulla ablongata; A. the spinal cord ; B. and C. the first two pairs of spinal 
 nerves r 
 
22 
 
 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 Fig. 19. 
 
 The nerves of motion and sensation, after leaving the 
 brain, divide and subdivide so minutely that the touch of a 
 pin to a finger or any part of the body, is carried to the 
 
LAWS OF NATURE. 23 
 
 brain ; and so distinct, and separate are the nerve lines, that 
 the identical part is reported. 
 
 The bladder (and womb in females) are located at the lower 
 part of the abdomen, and, although in one sense in the cav- 
 ity of the abdomen, are outside of the peritoneum or lin- 
 ing, which entirely envelops them within the abdominal 
 cavity. The intestines in an adult are about twenty-five 
 feet in length, the lower part being the largest. The heart, 
 or pump, is located in the chest or thorax, and throws the 
 arterial blood through the countless small arteries, to every 
 minute particle of the human body, from whence it is re- 
 turned, as dark or venous blood, through the veins to the 
 heart, from which it is in turn thrown to the lungs, for 
 vitalization by oxygen and electrical influences. Lastly, 
 there are the two distinct masses of the brain, the cere- 
 brum and the cerebellum, from which are given off nerves 
 of motion and sensation, which divide and subdivide so 
 minutely, as to detect the smallest touch of a pin's point at 
 any part of the body. 
 
 THE LAWS OF NATURE, 
 
 To which all her children are answerable, must be under- 
 stood and obeyed, else we must pay the penalty of trans- 
 gression. The evil habits of youth entail upon manhood 
 poverty and weakness, causing life-long sorrow. A strained 
 muscle, or injured joint, may apparently recover its former 
 strength, but the weakness is felt in after years ; and thus 
 we may see that it is much easier to preserve health, than 
 to cure disease. 
 
 In childhood we learn how Nature punishes a violation 
 of her laws by falls, burns, or cuts ; and we should not fail, 
 in riper years, to note the certain punishment which is 
 entailed by bad habits. Nature supplies us with a foun- 
 tain of health, and leaves us to draw from it as we will ; 
 
24 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 and thousands waste or destroy during y but Ji and early man- 
 hood, an amount of physical strength, which would have 
 served them during a long life, and learn from bitter experi- 
 ence the difference between folly and wisdom. 
 
 Most of our knowledge comes from experience, too late 
 for improvement. We eat and drink too much, over- 
 work, go without food and sleep, thinking all will be right 
 after a rest ; but later in life, Nature will refuse our drafts, 
 and they will be returned protested. Dame Nature keeps 
 an exact account ; we may find a cure for a disease, but 
 the system is never the same afterwards ; a wound may be 
 healed, but tJie scar remains forever — we reap as we sow, 
 from folly, thorns, and thistles ; or from wisdom, rejoice in 
 a hale, happy manhood, and a cheerful, sunny old age. 
 
 SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 " Know thyself," is a Greek proverb which will be quoted, 
 in all languages, till the end of time. To know ourselves 
 is to have some clear idea of our origin, healthy develop- 
 ment, powers, capabilities, and a rational regard for what 
 we should do, and what avoid, to promote the most desir- 
 able objects of life. First, The mother, during pregnancy, 
 should be surrounded with everything pleasant and agree- 
 able, such as books, pictures, paintings, and cheerful friends. 
 Second, The mother should see that the child has sufficient 
 nourishment at proper times. Third, She should see that 
 it has suitable clothing at all seasons. Fourth, The child 
 should have proper training and exercise, to strengthen 
 and develop the physical, and enlarge the mental powers. 
 The result of this will be, strong, healthy, intelligent men 
 and women, adapted for the procreation and perpetuation 
 of the human race in its highest type. 
 
VENTILATION. 2$ 
 
 VENTILATION 
 
 Is a subject which has been very generally discussed by 
 public speakers and by journalists. 
 
 It is a self-evident truth, that all animal life requires air 
 for its healthy subsistence, and that the same air cannot 
 be breathed more than once, without causing, to a greater 
 or lesser extent, suffocation, and eventually death It is a 
 fact that no fire in stove, grate, or fireplace will burn well 
 or draw freely, without a current of air into the room. 
 If the windows and doors are so tight as to prevent the 
 ingress of air, an open fireplace will create a current of air 
 downwards, while the heated air is passing up. Houses 
 built upon the sensible plan will have a pipe from one to 
 two inches in diameter, to admit air into every room, ter- 
 minating near the stove or furnace, that the air may be- 
 come warm. There should also be an opening at the top 
 of the room, to let the air escape. Each pipe should have 
 a valve or regulator. Many persons open wide the window 
 in their sleeping-room in all weather, which is imprudent. 
 The window may be raised from three to eight inches, 
 according as the weather is fair or stormy, and varying 
 with the size of the room, and the number of sleepers in it. 
 We advise having one pane in a frame, and on hinges, or a 
 register ventilator. Our forefathers required no venti- 
 lators in houses or barns ; — their windows and doors were 
 so loose, that plenty of air went in, and the boards in their 
 barns were so far apart, that snow and rain blew in upon 
 their cattle. 
 
 STATISTICS OF MALES AND FEMALES. 
 
 ist. The distinction of sex was no accident or after- 
 thought of the Creator, in the formation of the individual, 
 but commenced with the first conception of life. The 
 
26 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 most patient investigator with microscope, has not been 
 able to discover any cause of sex, other than that imprinted 
 upon the individual by the Creator, at the moment of con- 
 ception. There has been nothing discovered in the human 
 germ, which distinguishes the male from the female, and 
 yet sex is the earliest and most potent element of human 
 life. It controls and modifies all other traits. From birth, 
 the distinctions are numerous and marked. 
 
 2d. Physicians, from a careful weighing and measuring, 
 have established the following interesting facts : Male chil- 
 dren at birth weigh, on an average, one pound more than 
 females, — that is, eight pounds for males, and seven for 
 females ; the stature of males is from a half to an inch 
 greater than females, and their pulse a few beats more 
 in a minute. As the boy grows, his bones and muscles are 
 developed, quite unlike his sisters. His bones are larger, 
 flesh firmer, and his force greater. He delights in rude 
 exercises, which she avoids. These traits indicate his des- 
 tiny and ability to engage in the rough battles of life, 
 while the female instinctively develops the gentle, social 
 traits, which are so marked in the family circle, in her after- 
 life or womanhood. 
 
 French statistics give the average weight of an adult 
 male at one hundred and thirty-seven pounds, and the 
 height at five feet four inches. In England the gymnasium 
 reports give the average weight of one hundred young 
 men at one hundred and thirty-three pounds, and their 
 height a little over five feet nine inches. 
 
 In Harvard, Amherst, Bowdoin, and other colleges in 
 America, the average weight is reported at one hundred 
 and thirty-nine pounds, and the height at five feet eight 
 inches. The average height of American women is five 
 feet four inches, and their weight one hundred and twenty- 
 nine pounds. The average weight of the men of America 
 is put down at one hundred and fifty pounds ; that is, the 
 working and business men. 
 
HEALTH. 27 
 
 HEALTH. 
 
 Health is beyond question the foundation of all physical 
 happiness and comfort, and none will deny that mental 
 happiness is dependent upon a sound bodily condition. 
 The ancients thought, that disease was the result of evil 
 spirits taking possession of the body, or parts of it, and 
 deranging its functions ; or the result of an overruling 
 Providence, as a judgment, for some sin of the sufferer or 
 some ancestor. Hence incantations, spells, fasting, and 
 prayer. This subject furnishes abundant material for long 
 discussions. It is not our purpose, however, to enter into 
 such discussions, but to be as brief as possible. 
 
 In order to maintain a sound bodily condition, a cer- 
 tain quantity and quality of food, at proper times, is 
 requisite, and to be taken under proper conditions. We 
 need sufficient sleep to restore the body after labor ; exer- 
 cise for the development of the various parts, a suitable 
 amount of clothing to insure warmth, and an abundant 
 supply of good air to breathe. A lack (or in some cases 
 an excess) in any of these will result in an ailment of some 
 sort. If we eat too much food, very rich or very poor in 
 quality, or do not have enough nourishment, there is a 
 penalty to be paid ; if we breathe foul air, the lungs imme- 
 diately suffer ; if we lose our sleep, or do not indulge in 
 any exercise or physical exertions or labor, if we do not 
 have sufficient clothing, — these all bring an ill of some 
 kind, so that some organ suffers, and, these being inti- 
 mately connected, when one is afflicted, the others sympa- 
 thize. For this reason we assert, that in the great 
 majority of cases, sickness is the result of our indiscre- 
 tion, and therefore our own fault. How are we to prevent 
 this ? We believe by paying proper regard to our diet, 
 getting plenty of exercise, and having regular habits. 
 
28 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Where one individual dies from want of food, hundreds 
 die from over-eating, or the complaints brought on by such 
 a course. Eat less food ; make a few rules, and live by 
 them ; have regular meals, and do not eat at other times ; 
 chew your food properly; it will aid digestion, and do not 
 eat too many kinds at once, and you will feel better ; avoid 
 alcoholic liquors, strong tea and coffee ; drink little while 
 eating ; have regular rest and sleep, retiring in good sea- 
 son and rising early, for the first of the morning is the 
 glorious part of the day. 
 
 If the lungs, and through them the whole body, are to be 
 kept in a sound condition, they must be constantly sup- 
 plied with fresh air ; and physical exercise is indispensable 
 for the general health. If one needs to walk every day, in 
 order to get exercise, do so by all means, and the more the 
 better. Do not think to harden the constitution by all 
 manner of exposure, as extremes of such nature may result 
 in death ; take care of your throat, protect your lungs and 
 feet, and keep the bowels open. 
 
 We would advise a liberal use of vegetable food ; it will 
 be instrumental in keeping the bowels in proper condition, 
 and this must be done, to insure health. It is asserted by 
 many careful investigators, that not only are those who 
 depend wholly or mainly upon a vegetable diet less liable 
 to disease, but that a resort to such food will often have a 
 marked effect in curing disease. 
 
 We have not room to enter into details, and give a list 
 of the most desirable articles of food, but refer the reader 
 to articles on animal and vegetable food, — in this work. 
 During meal-time be cheerful, and indulge in mirth freely, 
 it being conceded by all authorities, that doing so is an 
 advantage to the appetite and digestion ; do not come to 
 the table with a long face, as though some solemn duty 
 was to be performed, and then eat in silence, as though 
 everything depended upon finishing the meal, in the short- 
 est possible time. . 
 
BATHING. 29 
 
 Bathing will be of great benefit to most persons, and 
 baths may be taken in either warm or cold water ; for most 
 exhilarating effects, commend us to a cool bath, or shower 
 when the vitality is good. We say, if the vitality is low and 
 the blood easily chilled, take warm baths, sponge or wet the 
 body from head to foot night and morning, and rub vigor- 
 ously with a towel. It is all done in two minutes, but the 
 bracing effects last for hours ; if you take a warm bath, 
 avoid all drafts of cold afterwards. (See article on Bathing.) 
 Frequent bathing, or sponging the body, is acknowledged 
 to be a safeguard against many forms of disease, but the 
 time spent in cold bathing should be short. Many physic 
 their lives away, but never begin until sickness has seized 
 upon them. It is true that all disease should be taken in 
 hand when the least indications are to be seen ; but in 
 many cases its approach is so slow, and hidden, that it 
 becomes seated before it is known to exist ; and if obscure 
 and slow in coming, it is slow to yield to treatment. Do 
 not crowd your stomach. When a doctor is called to an 
 obscure case, he first inquires, "what has been eaten." 
 Health is better than fortune — for a person can enjoy 
 health without wealth, but not a fortune, without health. 
 We hope our readers will prove our maxims, and find last- 
 ing benefit. 
 
 BATHING 
 
 Is desirable and refreshing to most persons, especially in 
 warm climates, and when people are inclined to corpulency, 
 and have a great amount of vitality ; but they should 
 bathe or wash and go out after a few minutes' emersion, as 
 too long a stay chills the blood, increases the circulation to 
 the surface of the body, during the first few moments of 
 submersion, but soon closes the millions of capillaries and 
 drives the blood back upon the heart and lungs ; and if 
 there is a weak organ in the body, the chilled blood settles 
 
3° . OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 upon it ; if the lungs are weak, a slight cough will be 
 noticed ; if the kidneys are weak, the person will be im- 
 pelled to urinate often ; if the stomach and bowels are 
 weak, the bather will shiver, tremble, and in many instances 
 the teeth will chatter. All persons who are thus afflicted 
 will, if they act prudently, bathe when the water is 
 warm, and they are not heated, and remain in but a 
 short time ; and better still for them to sponge them- 
 selves all over with warm water, or take a warm bath. 
 Too much bathing is injurious to adults, whose blood is 
 poor or their vitality low ; children and infants are often 
 made feeble and debilitated, by too much daily washing • 
 their bodies would be benefited by being rubbed every 
 week in equal parts of sweet oil and honey, to close the 
 pores, and wash once a week only. 
 
 We have often watched a group of men and boys, plung- 
 ing and swimming in fresh and salt water, which was cold 
 enough to chill the blood ; it is plain, to a reasoning mind, 
 that the blood at 98 degrees, subjected to water at 58 
 degrees (a difference of 40 degrees), long continued, must 
 prove injurious to the system ; and if continued, seal theii 
 death-warrant. 
 
 ANIMAL FOOD. 
 
 Animal food is, as a rule, more readily digested than vege« 
 table, but is more productive of heat, tends more towards 
 inducing inflammatory diseases of various kinds, and, being 
 very stimulating, should form but a small portion of the 
 food during the hot weather, and of the diet of those not 
 actively engaged. Mutton is the most easily digested of 
 all meats, and is much used for invalids ; beef has a de- 
 servedly excellent reputation, notably so in England, as a 
 constant diet, and in sickness is used for making tea, 
 broth, and soup; pork is one of the most difficult meats 
 to digest, and may be liberally used only by the robust, and 
 
VEGETABLE FOOD. 3 I 
 
 those in active out-of-door occupations ; perhaps no meat is 
 so much used in this country as pork in its different forms ; 
 it is, in many hundred of rural homes, almost the only 
 animal food used. Venison or deer meat is easily taken 
 care of by the stomach, and is a desirable food ; veal and 
 lamb are not so good as beef and mutton, being less nour- 
 ishing and more difficult of digestion, because of the 
 gelatine they contain. Wild fowls are preferable to the 
 domestic ; soft-boiled, better than hard-boiled eggs ; clams 
 are harder to digest than oysters, which are most digesti- 
 ble when raw ; fresh fish is a desirable food ; lobsters are 
 not easily digested, and salt and smoked fish ought not to 
 be used, unless the digestive organs are in a most vigorous 
 condition. 
 
 VEGETABLE FOOD. 
 
 First in importance on the list comes wheat, or bread, 
 the product of wheat ; none will dispute that bread is the 
 "staff of life," — by bread we mean wheat, rice, corn, etc., — 
 as a certain quantity of it seems to be needed continually. 
 In some countries, notably Italy, wheat comes in as the 
 great mainstay, but in another form, that of maccaroni. In 
 China, we find the great number of the inhabitants depend- 
 ing upon rice for their support ; while in Ireland, we see the 
 potato, forming the reliance of the majority of the dwellers 
 in that island, while a large portion of the people of the 
 United States live mostly on corn. Rice is nutritious 
 and easily digested ; potatoes in all forms are a most ac- 
 ceptable food ; sago, tapioca, and arrow-root all are well 
 adapted to invalids. Peas and beans contain a great deal 
 of nutriment, but are not easy of digestion, and cause 
 flatulence ; turnips, parsnips, carrots, beets, radishes, 
 squashes, onions, and the like, are not so nourishing, but 
 are of great benefit in regulating the bowels ; fruits, though 
 not so full of nutriment, are all good, when eaten in 
 moderation. 
 
3- 
 
 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 The fact seems to be well established, that the greater 
 number of mankind, in the temperate zones of the earth, 
 require for their proper development a mixed diet, one 
 composed of both animal and vegetable food ; and those 
 nations thus supplied, thrive best. In various countries 
 the diet must be adapted to the climate ; thus, in Lapland, 
 we find the Esquimaux eating enormous quantities of oil, 
 fats, and animal food ; the Chinese consuming their rice ; 
 the Italians their maccaroni, and tribes in Africa, subsist- 
 ing upon fruits and roots. The Esquimaux diet could not 
 be endured in China or Egypt ; we cannot eat meats, or 
 any food as freely in July, as in January ; we do not need it. 
 
 We give here a short table, showing the amount of 
 nutriment, in several varieties of food : — 
 
 Rice 90 parts. 
 
 Beans 89 " 
 
 Wheat 85 " 
 
 Barley 83 " 
 
 White bread .... 80 " 
 
 Rye 80 " 
 
 Meat (on average) . . 35 parts. 
 
 Potatoes 25 " 
 
 Carrots or beets . . 14 " 
 
 Turnips 8 " 
 
 Cabbage / " 
 
 Greens 6 " 
 
 Below we append a table, showing the time required for 
 the digestion of different articles of food, as variously pre- 
 pared : — 
 
 HOURS. 
 
 Rice, boiled 1 
 
 Apples, raw, sweet . . . 1.30 
 
 " " sour .... 2 
 
 Venison, broiled . . . . 1.30 
 
 Turkey, roast 2.30 
 
 Goose " 2.30 
 
 Chicken, fricassee . . . 2.45 
 
 soup 3 
 
 Sago, boiled 1.45 
 
 Tapioca, barley, or milk . 2 
 
 Beef liver, broiled ... 2 
 
 Codfish, boiled, salt ... 2 
 
 Cabbage, raw, with vinegar 2 
 
 Lamb, broiled 2.30 
 
 Beans, pod, boiled . . . 2.30 
 
 Parsnips 2.30 
 
 HOURS. 
 
 Potatoes, baked .... 2.30 
 
 " boiled .... 3.30 
 
 Custard 2.45 
 
 Oysters, raw 3 
 
 " roast 3.15 
 
 " stew 3.30 
 
 Beef, boiled 2.45 
 
 " roast, or beefsteak . 3 
 
 " broiled 3.15 
 
 " fried 4 
 
 " corned, boiled . . . 4.15 
 
 Eggs, soft boiled .... 3 
 
 " hard boiled, or fried . 3.30 
 
 Pork, raw, salt 3 
 
 " steak, broiled . . . 3.15 
 
 " salt, " . . . 3.15 
 
FOOD AND DRINK OF MANKIND. 
 
 33 
 
 
 HOURS. 
 
 Pork, " fried . . 
 
 • • 4-15 
 
 " " boiled . . 
 
 • • 4.30 
 
 " roast .... 
 
 . . 5.15 
 
 Mutton, boiled . . . 
 
 • • 3 
 
 " roast . . . 
 
 • • 3-15 
 
 Poultry, roast . . . 
 
 • • 4 
 
 Corn-bread .... 
 
 • • 3-15 
 
 HOURS. 
 
 Sasuage 3.30 
 
 Carrots 3.15 
 
 White bread 3.30 
 
 Turnips, beets, corn, or. 
 
 beans, boiled .... 3.30 
 
 Veal cutlets 4.30 
 
 From these two tables there can readily be selected, by 
 any person, those articles of food which contain the great- 
 est amount of nourishment, and also those which are most 
 easily digested. 
 
 DRINK OF MANKIND. 
 
 Undoubtedly water may be regarded as the drink of 
 man, for not only is it the most satisfactory in allaying 
 thirst and refreshing the body, but it is the only drink with 
 many persons and of the entire animal creation. The 
 supply is drawn from many sources, among which may be 
 mentioned lakes, rivers, ponds, springs, wells, rainfalls, 
 and melted snow ; but its best condition is that in which it 
 is received from springs and wells. Time and money ex- 
 pended, in order to secure a permanent supply of good 
 drinking-water, is always a safe, sound, permanent invest- 
 ment, and a movement that we heartily indorse. And a 
 word of caution just here to our readers : In digging or 
 locating a well upon your premises, let it be as far removed 
 from any possible source of taint to the water, as yon can 
 have it ; or if yon have a good well of water, have all cattses 
 by which the water could be rendered impure, far from the 
 well. Innumerable ailments arise from using impure water. 
 It not only creates disease, but carries the seeds or cause 
 with it. The drinks used besides water are mainly coffee, 
 tea, milk, and chocolate. Coffee is a stimulant, the effects 
 of which are most marked ; and while some cannot use it, 
 others are very dependant upon it, some are kept awake by 
 
34 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 it, others made very bilious. In those countries where 
 coffee grows, the drink is made by pouring boiling water 
 upon the ground berries, no sugar or cream being used, as 
 with us ; the effects of coffee when made in this manner, 
 are claimed to be entirely different from those of the drink 
 commonly used among us. We have been informed, that 
 coffee-drinkers in Paris, have added to it a little extract 
 of dandelion, which deprived it of the nervine or narcotic 
 principle, and they use it three times daily. The balance 
 of evidence seems to be against the free use, of strong 
 coffee especially, and we advise it only in very moderate 
 quantities. 
 
 Tea is more extensively used in this country as a beverage 
 than coffee ; there are two kinds, the black and the green, 
 and many grades of each ; the leaves are taken from the 
 tea-plant of China, the island of Formosa, and adjacent 
 country. The black tea is better than the green, which 
 has a more marked effect in producing nervousness, and 
 a noticeable action upon the brain and heart. There is no 
 drink to which its devotees are more given than tea. 
 We advise the moderate use of tea and coffee ; to be a 
 stimulant to the stomach and beneficial for digestion. 
 
 Chocolate is used extensively, and is usually made too 
 rich for delicate stomachs. It is a sleepy, heavy drink, 
 that does not bid fair to rival either tea or coffee in 
 popularity. 
 
 Milk (the natural food of all young animals, as well as 
 the only food for a time), is universally used, and very few 
 can be found, who do not like it, or with whom it does not 
 agree ; it is easy to digest,- and very nourishing, for which 
 reasons we favor its free use ; and we do not mean milk 
 largely diluted with water, or clear cream, but a good, rich 
 milk. As regards drink, do the same as with food ; if any 
 one kind disagrees with you, avoid it. Nor do we recom- 
 mend the excessive or large consumption of any kinds of 
 drink. 
 
BOTANICAL MEDICINES. 35 
 
 COMMON SENSE MEDICINES. 
 
 By a careful survey of our globe, we find that man and 
 animals require but few articles of food to afford a subsist- 
 ence and preserve them in a healthy condition. 
 
 Those animals known as herbivorous feed upon grass, 
 herbs, and roots, while another class, called carnivorous, 
 live on animal food principally ; but man, who is known as 
 omnivorous, eats and thrives best upon a mixed diet of 
 animal and vegetable food. 
 
 Reasoning from analogy, if man requires but few kinds 
 of food to keep him in health, he needs but few medicines 
 (and those of the simplest kind) to restore his system 
 when disordered. 
 
 The first thing to do is to regulate the stomach and 
 bowels ; the second, to purify the blood, that life-giving 
 element ; and the third, to cleanse the liver, that great 
 gland which secretes or collects all impurities of the 
 body — a strainer for utilizing the bile in the alimentary 
 canal. A lesson, in brief, is handed down to the profes- 
 sion by this account of a celebrated doctor in England ; 
 he left three large books, sealed, to be sold unopened after 
 his death. Several joined in their purchase for mutual 
 benefit. 
 
 Vol. I contained, " Keep the feet dry and warm" 
 Vol. 2 contaijied, " Keep the head cool." 
 Vol. 3 contained, "Keep the bowels open" 
 
 The best doctors give a cheerful anecdote, instead of 
 medicines. 
 
 BOTANICAL MEDICINES. 
 
 The vegetable kingdom, upon careful examination, is 
 found to afford the greatest supply and variety of material, 
 which, when properly prepared, serves as a cure and pre- 
 
36 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 ventive of almost every form of complaint that affects the 
 human race. 
 
 The number of druggists at present engaged in the sale 
 of that class of medicines called botanical, provide every- 
 thing of that nature now required for general use in the 
 cities and towns, whether the demand be for them in their 
 crude state or for their preparations ; but for the benefit of 
 those persons who are located in the country, and at a dis- 
 tance from such stores, it may be well to treat the subject 
 at some length, and with care, in order that such persons 
 may be informed when and how to gather and preserve 
 the plants, roots, herbs, flowers, and barks so numerous 
 and effective in curing disease. The season for gathering 
 botanical medicines must be, according to tlie part of the 
 plant used. 
 
 Roots should be dug, washed, and dried in the shade in 
 the early spring, before the sap has all passed up into the 
 plant or shrub, or late in the autumn, after the leaves have 
 dried and the sap and virtue have descended into the root. 
 
 Bark may be stripped early in the spring or late in the 
 fall, say the months of May and October in the Northern 
 States, but in the Western and Southern, a month earlier 
 in spring, or later in autumn. The ross, or rough outer 
 part of the bark, should be shaved or scraped off, the inner 
 preserved, dried in the shade, then kept where there will 
 be no possible chance of its getting wet or damp. 
 
 Plants and herbs should be collected just before blossom- 
 ing, and dried in the shade ; in fact, their virtues are not 
 much impaired, if gathered at any time before the frost 
 kills the plant. 
 
 Flowers and seeds should be selected when fully ripe, 
 dried in the shade, wrapped tightly in paper, put in a close 
 box and kept from the air ; in this manner they may be 
 preserved for years. It will not answer to place several 
 kinds of herbs in close contact, or keep them in the same 
 
MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 7>7 
 
 box, because each will impart a portion of its fragance and 
 properties to the others. The mints should be tied in one 
 bundle, and the bitter herbs in another. The best and 
 the proper way is to keep each kind in a tight box, which 
 should be labelled. 
 
 From these roots, herbs, flowers, or seeds may be made 
 powders, infusions, extracts, decoctions, or teas. The com- 
 mon method and the quickest, is to make a tea or infusion 
 by steeping or boiling in water; but the best way, and 
 that by which all the strength can be obtained, is to pour 
 alcohol upon them, press dry after they have stood awhile, 
 leaving the extract, the strength of which can be increased 
 by evaporation in the sun, or by artificial heat. When tea 
 or an infusion is made, it should be made in the same 
 manner as common black or green tea, by pouring boiling 
 water upon the herbs and steeping, not boiling them, for 
 twenty minutes. 
 
 MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 
 
 Plants are chemical compounds prepared in Nature's 
 mysterious laboratory, and although overlooked by some 
 and despised by others, who claim learning from books, 
 their compositions are more scientific than if prepared by 
 the most expert chemist. 
 
 Vegetable medicines usually contain, in natural combina- 
 tion, gum, farina, gluten, sugar, oil, balsam, tannin, acid, 
 wax, and albumen, many possessing all of them, and all 
 possessing several of them. From the properties con- 
 tained they are classified under various heads, and accord- 
 ing to their medicinal character, as follows : — 
 
 Antispasmodics : medicines which allay spasms or irritation. 
 Antacids : " " neutralize acidity of the stomach. 
 
 Anthelmintics : " " expel worms from the intestines. 
 
 Astringents : " " contract the living fibre. 
 
 Cathartics: " " purge, and in large doses are emetic. 
 
38 
 
 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Demulcents : 
 Diaphoretics : 
 
 Diuretics : 
 Emetics : 
 
 Emmenagogues 
 Emollients : 
 Epispastics : 
 Errhines : 
 
 Escharotics : 
 Expectorants : 
 Narcotics : 
 Rubefacients : 
 
 Refrigerants : 
 Sialoooorues : 
 
 o o 
 
 Tonics : 
 
 medicines which prevent the action of poisons. 
 " " promote perspiration ; open 
 
 pores. 
 " " increase the urinary discharge. 
 
 the 
 
 excite vomiting ; small doses laxa- 
 tive. 
 
 promote the menstrual discharge. 
 
 soothe and relax the living fibre. 
 
 blister when applied to the surface. 
 
 increase the discharge from the 
 nose. 
 
 are caustic, corrode, or dissolve. 
 
 promote discharge from the lungs. 
 
 induce sleep and diminish pain. 
 
 stimulate, redden, or inflame the 
 skin. 
 
 allay heat of the blood or body. 
 
 cause an unusual flow of saliva. 
 
 strengthen by increasing the tone of 
 animal fibre. 
 
 The above, and others not so much in use, are seen in 
 the following forms : First, plants ; second, roots ; third, 
 floivers ; fourth, seeds ; fifth, barks ; sixth, gums ; seventh, 
 oils and balsams ; eighth, extracts. 
 
 HOME AND FOREIGN HERBS. 
 
 There are thousands of remedies in our immediate neigh- 
 borhood, adapted to the cure of diseases and ailments, 
 which are prevalent in the very locality where the said 
 herbs grow and flourish. And we trust that the virtues 
 of these plants will at an early day be seen, and made 
 plain, so that they may be on every side adopted, to the 
 exclusion of those imported foreign herbs, of which we 
 know literally nothing, which may have been rained upon, 
 sun-dried, and again wet and damaged during a voyage to 
 this country. We rejoice that so large a number of home 
 
REMARKS UPON ALLOPATHY. 39 
 
 remedies are being used, and even by the old school of 
 allopathists, to the exclusion of bleeding, calomel, opium, 
 copper, lead, arsenic, and others of like nature. We will 
 only say of them that we leave them as things of the past, 
 hoping that their adherents will use more reason and less 
 drugs. 
 
 REMARKS UPON ALLOPATHY. 
 
 The question naturally arises, why the author of this 
 book, after he had been educated in the school known as 
 allopathic, studied medicine, attended lectures in Harvard 
 Medical University in 1834, '35, '36; and also in Bowdoin 
 Medical College, in Brunswick, Me., in 1836, obtained a 
 diploma therefrom, and became a Fellow of the Massa- 
 chusetts Medical Society, should relinquish that system of 
 practice and adopt another. Our reasons for the change 
 may be thus stated : we learned that minerals and drugs 
 did not nourish, but set up another disease which checked 
 the one then active, destroyed the appetite, prevented 
 sleep, and kept the patient sick for thirty or forty days ; 
 whereas, rest, gruel, and relaxation of the bowels for a 
 few days would have insured restoration. 
 
 We also saw that a system known as botanical or vege- 
 table was practised among all nations with safety and suc- 
 cess ; and every day's experience served to convince us of 
 the value of domestic remedies and treatment. 
 
 Some of the most prominent physicians in Europe and 
 America have declared their want of faith in the efficacy 
 of allopathic medicines, and have resorted to herbs, roots, 
 and domestic remedies, among which, though last, but not 
 least, is water, hot or cold, variously tempered with stimu- 
 lants, mints, mustard, cayenne, acid, or alkali. 
 
40 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 MEDICAL PRACTICE AND OPINIONS OF PROM- 
 INENT DOCTORS OF THE WORLD. 
 
 The following facts are generally known, and admitted 
 by those familiar with medicine and its practice : — . 
 
 i st. Medicines known as allopathic are by nature unlike. 
 
 2d. The quality of a medicine that is manufactured 
 varies. 
 
 3d. The effect of a medicine is not the same with differ- 
 ent persons. 
 
 4th. The effect of a medicine is different with the same 
 person on different occasions. 
 
 5th. Medicines set up new diseases instead of curing 
 the one given for. 
 
 6th. Medicines leave the system permanently injured. 
 
 7th. No two doctors use the same medicines for the 
 same purposes, and under the same circumstances ; neither 
 take nor give them to their families, thus showing clearly 
 their want of faith in them. 
 
 Fasting, low diet, and external remedies are cheaper, 
 more agreeable, as effective, and operate without injury to 
 the system ; in a word, roots, barks, gums, and herbs given 
 with prudence are natural remedies, and embrace the 
 medicine of common sense. 
 
 It has long been the practice of doctors and apothecaries 
 to adopt and use new medicines and remedies, in almost 
 the same manner as new fashions are seized upon by milli- 
 ners and dressmakers : they have a run, and are then dis- 
 carded for the next. The early practitioners, who were 
 called the "fathers of the healing art," in cases of wounds 
 or injuries inflicted by sharp instruments, dressed the 
 instrument with lint, salve, plaster, and bandages, while 
 the cut was bound up in the blood to recover. Then calo- 
 mel came into use, and all its compounds, no water, inter- 
 nal or external, and no sweating ; then bleeding for all 
 
OPINIONS OF DOCTORS. 41 
 
 complaints ; then blistering, chloroform, stethoscope, 
 moxa, or the process of burning spots in the skin along 
 the spine or other places, chloral hydrate, electro-magnetic 
 treatment, mesmerism, injecting morphia into the blood, 
 hot and cold baths, and cod-liver oil (vile fish-oil, that 
 requires the addition of whiskey, to enable patients to take 
 it). What fever patient could endure first, an emetic ; 
 second, bleeding ; third, blistering ; and fourth, frequent 
 pills of calomel, opium, ipecac, antimony, colocynth, or 
 other drugs ? 
 
 We here give a few of the opinions of celebrated physi- 
 cians and writers, regarding the practice of medicine : — 
 
 " Our remedies are unreliable." — Prof. Valentine Mott, 
 M.D. 
 
 " Of all sciences medicine is the most uncertain." — Prof. 
 Willard Parker, M.D. 
 
 "The science of medicine is founded on conjecture, 
 improved by murder." — Sir Astley Cooper, M.D., F.R.S. 
 
 " We are not acquainted with any agents that will cure 
 consumption." — Prof. Alonzo Clark, M.D. 
 
 "I have no faith whatever in our medicines." — Dr. 
 Bailey. 
 
 In relating a cure of dropsy, Sir Thomas Witherby, 
 M.D., said : " Now, no man upon earth, in his senses, would 
 have prescribed such a water-course tc cure dropsy, which 
 shows how little we know of nature, and the great uncer- 
 tainty of art." 
 
 " More infantile subjects are diurnally destroyed by the 
 mortar and pestle, than in ancient Bethlehem fell vic- 
 tims to the Herodian massacre." — Dr. Reid. 
 
 "Would that medicine were only as wisely established 
 as surgery ! When a man has a broken bone, the surgeon 
 is content to put it in its place, prescribe rest and a mod- 
 erate diet, and leave nature to mend it. But when it is 
 the liver or lungs that are disordered, the doctor bleeds, 
 
42 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 blisters, doses, gives alteratives, cathartics, opiates, and 
 does more mischief in a week than nature can remedy in a 
 year. I confess I have no patience with the folly of 
 patients, or the ignorance, to call it no worse, of physi- 
 cians." — Dr. Thomas L. Niclwls. 
 
 " The drugs which are administered for the cure of 
 scarlet fever and measles kill more than those diseases 
 dor —Prof. B. F. Parker, M.D. 
 
 " As we place more confidence in nature, and less in the 
 preparations of the apothecary, mortality diminishes." — 
 Prof. Willard Parker, M.D. 
 
 " Let us no longer wonder at the lamentable want of 
 success which attends our practice, when there is scarcely 
 a sound physiological principle among us." — Magendie, 
 M.D., Fra?ice. 
 
 " Medicine seems one of those ill-fated arts, whose im- 
 provement bears no proportion to its antiquity." — Sir 
 William Kj right on, M.D. 
 
 " As often practised by men of undoubted respectability, 
 medicine is made so much a mystery, and is so nearly 
 allied to, if not identified with, quackery, that it would 
 puzzle many a rational looker-on to tell which is the one, 
 and which the other." — Dr. Andrew Combe. 
 
 "The physician mixes, combines, and jumbles together 
 vegetable, mineral, ^and animal substances, and adminis- 
 ters them, right or wrong, without considering for a 
 moment the cause of the disease, and without a single clear 
 idea as to his conduct." — Magendie, M.D., France. 
 
 " No better evidence of the ignorance of the profession 
 generally, as to the nature and seat of any disease, than 
 the number and variety of remedies that have been confi- 
 dently recommended for its cure." — Dr. Mackintosh, 
 Edinburgh. 
 
 " In all our cases we did as other practitioners did, — we 
 continued to bleed, and the patients continued to die." — 
 Dr. Maddon. 
 
OPINIONS OF DOCTORS. 43 
 
 " Cod-liver oil has no curative power in tubercular con- 
 sumption." — Prof. Horace Green, M.D. 
 
 " Medicine is so far from being a science, that it is only 
 conj ecture. ' ' — Dr. Evans. 
 
 " The administration of our powerful medicines, is the 
 most fruitful source of deranged digestion." — Prof. E. R. 
 Pcaslee, M.D. 
 
 " Men who are really sick die, and we cannot save 
 them." — Prof Frederick R. Marvin, M.D. 
 
 " Of the essence of disease very little is known." — Prof 
 S. H. Goss, M.D. 
 
 " Mercury has made more cripples than all wars com- 
 bined." — Dr. McClintock. 
 
 " So gross is our ignorance of the physiological charac- 
 ter of disease, that it would be better to do nothing." — 
 Magendie, France. 
 
 "There has been a great increase of medical men of 
 late years, but, upon my life, diseases have increased in 
 proportion." — Dr. Abernethy. 
 
 " We have done but little more than multiply diseases, 
 and increase their fatality." — Dr. Benjamin Rush. 
 
 " The science of medicine is a barbarous jargon, and the 
 effects of our medicines on the human system, are in the 
 highest degree uncertain, except that they have already 
 destroyed more lives than war, pestilence, and famine com- 
 bined."—/^;/ Mason Good, M.D., F.R.S. 
 
 "Opium increases the nerve force." — Prof B. F. Par- 
 ker, M.D. 
 
 "Opium diminishes the nerve force." — Prof E. H. 
 Davis, M.D. 
 
 " We do not know whether our patients recover because 
 we give medicine, or because Nature cures them." — Prof 
 / W. Carson, M.D. 
 
 "The action ©f remedies is a subject entirely beyond 
 our control." — Prof John B. Beck, M.D. 
 
44 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 " Of the essence of disease very little is known : indeed, 
 nothing at all." — Prof. S. D. Gross, M.D. 
 
 " I visited the different schools of medicine, and the 
 students of each hinted, if they did not assert, that the 
 other sects killed their patients." — Prof. Billings, M.D., 
 of London. 
 
 " Thousands are annually slaughtered in the quiet sick- 
 room." — Prof. Frank, M.D., London. 
 
 " It is my firm belief, that if the medical profession, with 
 its prevailing mode of practice, were absolutely abolished, 
 mankind would be infinitely the gainer." — Francis Cogs- 
 well, M.D., Boston. 
 
 " I declare as my conscientious conviction, founded on 
 long experience and reflection, that, if there was not a sin- 
 gle physician, surgeon, man-midwife, chemist, apothecary, 
 druggist, nor drug on the face of the earth, there would 
 be less sickness, and less mortality than now prevails." — 
 Jas. Johnson, M.D., F.R.S., Editor of the Medico-Chirur- 
 gical Review. 
 
 The extraordinary efforts now being made by the old 
 school of practitioners, to hedge themselves under the pro- 
 tection of special legislation, calls for a fortified antagonism, 
 which justifies the liberal use of means, so abundantly pro- 
 vided by everyday's experience in common-sense practice, 
 with Dame Nature's botanical remedies. 
 
 Who calls for legislative protection ? Amid all the cry 
 through the United States in the past, not a voice from 
 man or woman has been heard asking for legislative pro- 
 tection, neither eclectics, homcepathists, hygienists, or 
 water-cure physicians : from the allopathists, only, has the 
 wail, "for the protection of the dear people," been heard. 
 The people virtually proclaim that whoever is best, in 
 medicine, theology, law, and mechanics, we will employ 
 and pay. Who will deny us our rights ? " 
 
 Dr. Dewees, a celebrated American writer and practi- 
 
OPINIONS OF DOCTORS. 45 
 
 tioner, late in life expressed his increasing want of confi- 
 dence in medical practice. 
 
 The late Dr. John Ware, Professor of Theory and Prac- 
 tice of Medicine in Harvard University, gravely announced 
 to the medical class, that their main business in the prac- 
 tice would be to keep people from taking medicines, or 
 making apothecary-shops of their stomachs. 
 
 The late Dr. Bigelow, Professor of Materia Medica in 
 Harvard Medical University, read a paper before the Massa- 
 chusetts Medical Society, and subsequently published it in 
 book-form, about the year 1835, in which we read with 
 surprise at the time, in substance, the following : " If there 
 was not a doctor upon the globe, many thousands or multi- 
 tudes would be walking and working upon, who are now 
 quietly resting beneath, its surface." 
 
 And again : " If I were sick, I would rather have an 
 old woman, and for want of her, a young woman, if she 
 were good-looking, than all the doctors in Boston." 
 
 Notwithstanding the above, he enjoyed an extensive 
 practice in Boston for sixty years or more, and for a time 
 was President of the Massachusetts Medical Society. 
 
 After fifty years' experience, reading, and reflection, we 
 fully indorse the foregoing statements, and where doctors 
 are unknown, sickness and death among the young sel- 
 dom happens. We also fully believe in the efficacy and 
 specific effects, of Dame Nature's botanical remedies ; and 
 who that possesses and withholds them from the suffering 
 children of humanity, is not a friend to his race. 
 
 M. R. Fletcher, M.D. 
 
 PUBERTY 
 
 Is the period of development or the change from youth to 
 manhood in males, and from girlhood to womanhood in 
 females. The exact age of puberty varies in different 
 countries, according; to race and climate. Phvsicians have 
 
4-6 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 collected a great number of statistics, from which we 
 arrive at the conclusion that, in a large portion of the 
 temperate zone, the average age of puberty is fourteen or 
 fifteen years. If it appears more than six months earlier 
 or later it is an exceptional case, or something is wrong. 
 In hot climates both men and vegetables arrive at matur- 
 ity earlier than in temperate or cold ; marriages are not 
 unusual at twelve or fourteen years of age ; both sexes 
 arrive at puberty at the age of ten or twelve years. We read 
 that one of Mohammed's wives bore him a son at the age 
 of ten years. The case is very different in the cold and 
 barren regions of the North. 
 
 In Lapland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Siberia that 
 period comes on at the age of eighteen or nineteen years, 
 and they retain to a later period in life their vigor and 
 youthful appearance. 
 
 Here we must enter a warning to parents and teachers 
 of youth. At this critical period of their lives, see that 
 you understand, appreciate, and observe the duties devolv- 
 ing upon you, and let no notions of false delicacy deter you 
 from duties, the neglect of which, may entail upon the 
 young lasting evils. Females of certain races and families 
 mature earlier than their neighbors. Jewesses are two 
 years earlier than the European and American races : so 
 are the African and the Creole ; and careful observation 
 has shown, that brunettes develop earlier than blondes, 
 and that short, dark-haired, and black-eyed females are 
 more precocious in this development, than blue-eyed, light- 
 haired, tall girls. 
 
 Mothers should take special pains, on suitable occasions, 
 to instruct their daughters, and all young females under 
 their care, that such a change takes place in the ordinary 
 course of nature, for wise and beneficent purposes ; know- 
 ing well, that if allowed to remain in ignorance, and the 
 event is revealed to them as a mystery, they may be 
 
MENSTRUATION. 47 
 
 alarmed, bathe in cold water, sit in a cold bath, wade in 
 brooks or ponds, by which means they are liable to bring 
 on serious consequences for life, often premature death. 
 Fathers and teachers of young men, should take suitable 
 occasions to warn them against the evil practices common 
 among youths, and portray the evil consequences, which 
 are physical and mental debility, often terminating in im- 
 becility or insanity, — far worse than an early or untimely 
 death. 
 
 MENSTRUATION. 
 
 When girls arrive at the age of puberty, which in the 
 great majority of cases is when about fifteen years old, 
 there commences the process of menstruation, which is the 
 result of that great change in the system from girlhood 
 to womanhood, preparatory to conception and gestation. 
 This consists of a discharge, of a bloody nature, from the 
 womb, occurring every month, and continuing regularly 
 (until that period commonly called the turn of life), except 
 during such time as it may be interrupted by child-bearing 
 or sickness. These discharges, seem to be the means used 
 by nature for disposing of that portion of the blood which 
 tends towards the womb for the purpose of procreation or 
 generation. And at the time of its beginning with a 
 young girl, she should have the counsel of her mother, or an 
 experienced female, for her guidance in the care of her 
 health, because, owing to their ignorance in this matter, 
 many have been permanently injured. 
 
 The average duration of this discharge is three or four 
 days, but this varies with different females, and even with 
 the same women on different occasions ; delicate females 
 generally lose more by these discharges than their more 
 robust and healthy sisters, who could better endure it. 
 When once commenced, these discharges should occur at 
 regular intervals ; the quantity that comes away should be 
 
4<5 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 the same or nearly so on each occasion, and the more 
 healthy the physical condition of the female, the less dis- 
 turbance there is created at the time. There are but few 
 who are not affected by painful, copious, or retarded men- 
 struation, for the treatment of which, they can refer to that 
 portion of this work, devoted respectively to those com- 
 plaints. When a young female notices a change in her 
 condition at such times, such as irregularity or pain, she 
 should at once see that the difficulty is corrected, and not 
 allow it any possible chance of becoming established. As 
 this discharge is thrown out by a perfectly healthy female, 
 with very slight disturbance and without pain, it may be 
 stated, as a rule, that the inconvenience attending these 
 periods will be decreased in proportion as the health is 
 good. 
 
 Quiet at this time is of the utmost importance, and if 
 the woman would avoid needless suffering, let her beware 
 that no cold is taken : let her not strain herself in any way 
 nor get very fatigued, nor allow herself to be under the 
 influence of great excitement. We learn that the females 
 among the Indians, at the time of this act of nature, retire 
 alone to some place, and there remain in perfect quiet, 
 until the termination of their temporary illness ; and we 
 also learn that ailments, affecting the female organs of gen- 
 eration, are almost entirely unknown among them. 
 
 Therefore we repeat to those in charge of young girls, 
 that they cannot be too careful, to have them understand 
 fully those natural periodicals, and how to care for them- 
 selves : for this is with them the turning-point, and knowl- 
 edge means health, happiness, and comfort, while ignorance 
 of such matters, and the laws of general health, means misery 
 and endless suffering. 
 
THE WOMB. 49 
 
 THE WOMB. 
 
 If we consider this organ, according to its varied func- 
 tions in the animal economy, we must regard it as the 
 most important in the female body. In form it is like a 
 flattened pear, the base being uppermost, and being in its 
 normal state between three and four inches in length, two 
 and a half inches in breadth, and weighing at the period 
 of puberty, on an average, three and a half ounces, but 
 during the last month of pregnancy, weighing from three 
 to four pounds. 
 
 The womb is partly a membranous, and partly a mus- 
 cular bag. It performs three distinct functions or offices : 
 those of menstruation, gestation, and parturition, or expul- 
 sion of the water, the child, and after-birth. About the 
 middle of the fourth month, after conception, the mother 
 experiences that peculiar sensation known as quickening ; 
 after which, the motion of the child is distinctly and fre- 
 quently felt. 
 
 The womb is supplied with blood-vessels, glands, lym- 
 phatics in great abundance, and a network of nerves ; in 
 fact, the uterus is supplied more extensively with blood- 
 vessels and nerves than any other organ of the body. 
 These blood-vessels in the normal state are extremely 
 small, but where impregnation takes place, they become 
 large and distended, the womb increases in size and weight, 
 until within a few days of labor. 
 
 MIDWIFERY. 
 
 This is a business that elderly women in every country 
 usually regard themselves well informed about, and com- 
 petent, not only to advise in, but to practice ; and when 
 it is considered that therein women are primarily con- 
 cerned, this conclusion on their part is a very natural one, 
 and should by all means be encouraged. 
 
50 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 PREGNANCY. 
 
 The chief signs or symptoms of pregnancy are : First, 
 The cessation of the monthly illness, so called, although 
 this is not an infallible sign, for sometimes it will cease 
 from other causes, and sometimes it will continue after 
 conception has taken place. Second, The morning- sick- 
 ness, which commences about the fourth or fifth week 
 after conception has taken place, and continues until about 
 the fourth month ; with some women this sickness is but 
 slight ; the feeling is one of nausea, with a disposition to 
 vomit, and it is better that there should be vomiting ; or it 
 may exist as a feeling of languor, with no desire to do any 
 kind of work, but to sit and brood over things. This sick- 
 ness causes loss of appetite, and while it is not an unerring 
 sign of pregnancy, it is a very strong indication. TJiird, 
 Enlargement of the breasts, which generally increase in 
 size and firmness, about two months after conception ; 
 they also become tender to the touch, throb and feel 
 heated, and when pressed by the hand, seem hard and 
 knotty. This condition is caused by the swelling of the 
 milk-secreting glands ; the nipples also enlarge, and be- 
 come prominent, while the areola (or part of the breast 
 immediately around the nipple) assumes a purplish tinge, 
 and presents upon its surface several very small whitish 
 pimples or a blistered appearance. Fourth, In the fourth 
 month the womb, on account of its enlargement, is cramped 
 in the pelvis, rises into the abdominal cavity, and forces 
 the bowels upward. This enlargement of the womb, and 
 change of position in the fourth month, are very perceptible. 
 It can now be felt as a firm, round body, and this is an al- 
 most unmistakable sign of pregnaney. Fifth, A tendency 
 to flatulency or wind in the stomach, especially towards 
 evening, rendering unbearable a corset pressure, that was 
 
PREGNANCY. 5 1 
 
 comfortable in the morning. Sixth, Quickening, so called, 
 which occurs about the middle of the fourth or early part 
 of the fifth month, and which is the mother's first " assured 
 recognition of the second life within her." At first there 
 is a slight, tremulous motion like a strong pulsation, and 
 this, day by day, grows stronger, until it becomes quite 
 distinct, often painfully so, and is* as though the child 
 leaped in the womb. This movement can be felt by plac- 
 ing the hand upon a pregnant woman's abdomen, espe- 
 cially after the middle of the fifth month. In some instances 
 the mother knows the moment of quickening. There 
 are other signs that may also be present and be noticed. 
 The mouth and eyes seem to enlarge, and the nose appears 
 to become pinched, or has a look of being pointed ; the 
 eyes, if blue, become paler. In some cases, after the fourth 
 month, the woman becomes unnaturally peevish and fret- 
 ful, while in other cases she will be wonderfully bright, 
 cheerful, and happy. After the fifth month, she has " long- 
 ings," as they are termed, — cravings for things not easily 
 obtained, as, for instance, very uncommon articles of food, 
 and these, if possible, should be procured for her. 
 
 She requires during the time of pregnancy gentle words 
 and affectionate care, and any harsh or unkind treatment 
 would be not only inhuman, but have a positively injurious 
 effect upon both her and her offspring. Nothing should 
 be left undone by the friends and relatives, but more par- 
 ticularly by her husband, whose image and conduct are 
 impressed upon the child, to be developed in after-life. 
 
 Pregnancy, or the period of child nurture in the mother's 
 womb, continues from the hour of conception to that of 
 delivery, forty weeks, or two hundred and eighty days ; 
 although some writers upon the subject fix the time as 
 forty-two weeks. It is commonly set at nine months, or a 
 few days less than two hundred and eighty, but nine calen- 
 dar months and one week, is the exact time that should be 
 
52 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 estimated, or from the given day of any month to the same 
 day of the fortieth week thereafter. It is best to calculate 
 from midway between the last occurrence of menstruation 
 and the one which would have followed, if conception had 
 not taken place, and allow nine calendar months from that 
 time. Thus, if the last sickness had occurred about the 
 first of January, and continued one week, labor or child- 
 birth might be expected by the middle of October,, al- 
 though women who have had a number of children may 
 overrun the time a week or so. Our experience is forty- 
 two weeks from the day of conception. 
 
 CONDUCT DURING PREGNANCY. 
 
 During this period quiet and regularity of life are indis- 
 pensable ; proper and nourishing food should be moder- 
 ately indulged in ; every kind of excitement and all ex- 
 tremes of weather, all scenes of distress, fires, exhibitions 
 of deformities, and any and all diseases of a contagious 
 nature should be avoided. All exercises of a violent char- 
 acter, such as dancing, running, jumping, or horseback 
 riding should not be attempted. Frightful and disgusting 
 objects should be shunned, as they are liable to work on 
 the mind of the mother, and result in deformity of her 
 child. She should not assume awkward and unnatural 
 positions, as, by some sympathetic influence, these may be 
 imparted to the child. That the mind has, in this connec- 
 tion, an influence on the babe, that it is greatly affected 
 by the surroundings to which the mother is at this time 
 subjected, is a fact that has long been established and 
 conceded. We read that Jacob of old, in recognition of 
 this law, had striped poles placed where they might be 
 seen continually by the cattle, that he might thereby in- 
 crease the number of speckled calves ; and the Greeks, 
 from a belief in the same effect, had their rooms and sur- 
 roundings adorned with painting, sculpture, and most beau- 
 tiful objects they could obtain. 
 
CONDUCT DURING PREGNANCY. 53 
 
 Cases might be named where the results, after following 
 this plan, have been highly gratifying. Therefore, we say, 
 let the surroundings during this important period, be made 
 as pleasing as the circumstances will allow. Let pictures 
 and statuary be studied ; let moderation be the rule of 
 woman's life while in this state. It is a mistake for her to 
 believe that she is required to eat for two ; eat no more 
 than the stomach craves ; to overload it is bad in any case y 
 and sure to increase the sickness, referred to as occurring 
 during the first three months of pregnancy. 
 
 The treatment for morning sickness is to take a seidlitz 
 powder, or any other form of effervescing drink, lemon 
 juice or cream of tartar, in a little water every two hours, 
 until the nausea ceases. Small lumps of ice, also, afford 
 relief when swallowed. As it is advisable to remain in a 
 reclining position for some time after eating, let breakfast 
 be taken before arising, if the household work can be 
 arranged with this object in view. 
 
 As the womb enlarges in the fourth month, it rises, as 
 we have stated, into the abdomen. Here it naturally 
 presses, upon and crowds the digestive organs, causing re- 
 tention of the urine and' costiveness. This should be 
 relieved by gentle purgative medicines, such as small 
 doses of castor-oil, and every desire for an operation of the 
 bowels should be immediately attended to, and in no case 
 put of, or it may be followed by a pain in the head, if not 
 more serious and distressing afflictions. The increasing 
 pressure of the womb upon the organs of digestion impedes 
 the circulation, and in some cases may cause convulsions. 
 Should these be frequent and attended with giddiness and 
 confusion of mind, if the woman is robust and fleshy, some 
 blood-letting will be necessary, or dieting, with the use of 
 laxatives to reduce the system. But under these circum- 
 stances only, is bleeding to be recommended. 
 
 For the constipation, which is almost always present 
 
54 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 during the latter months of pregnancy, no violent purga- 
 tives should be taken ; but moderate doses of castor-oil, 
 perhaps every other day, or enough to keep the bowels in 
 a good condition ; or take carbonate of magnesia, cream of 
 tartar with molasses ; or put a small piece of rhubarb into 
 the mouth, and swallow the saliva that comes, while it is 
 kept there and bruised or chewed very slowly. Should 
 piles be present, as is sometimes the case, treat them as 
 directed in the part of this work devoted to that complaint. 
 Support of the abdomen is at this time, especially to women 
 who are physically weak, a means of affording great relief. 
 This may be effected by swathing with a cloth or bandage. 
 
 In the ninth month the nipples, if sore and enlarged, 
 should be bathed daily with an astringent and cooling 
 lotion, such as an infusion of oak bark, borax water, alum 
 water, or a solution of tannin, or with strong tea ; but in 
 all cases these must be applied cold. The object of this 
 is to harden and render them firm enough to endure the 
 child's nursing. Should a flow of milk occur before child- 
 birth, some friend should draw the breasts in the natural 
 manner. 
 
 The greatest pains should be taken to prevent sore nip- 
 ples, for they cause sore breasts, which are the cause of 
 great anguish ; they make the mother sick, and be assured 
 that if the mother is sick, the child will not be well. But 
 more important than all medicine, is the necessity that the 
 mother should have a cheerful mind, and nothing be 
 allowed to happen that will worry or distress her. 
 
 LABOR — CHILDBIRTH. 
 
 Every prudent female, who has the power to do so, will 
 during her pregnancy make all necessary preparations for 
 her approaching confinement. By certain unmistakable 
 signs, she will be aware that she is about to become a 
 mother, and if for the first time, a world of cares and anx- 
 
LABOR AND CHILDBIRTH. 55 
 
 iety will open up before her. Through much suffering she 
 yet has to pass before she can clasp her child in her arms, 
 and even then its life hangs by so slight a thread, that very 
 little mismanagement may snap it. 
 
 If possible, the woman should have the company of her 
 mother, or some near and dear female friend of experience, 
 for some time before, as well as at this important time. 
 On the approach of confinement, the expediency of keeping 
 the bowels in good condition should not be overlooked, 
 and this can be done by injections of castile soap and 
 warm water, or of thin gruel. Should there be difficulty in 
 passing the urine, such diuretics should be used as teas 
 made from the flaxseed or slippery elm, or gum-arabic 
 water, chickweed tea, pennyroyal, or catnip tea, which 
 latter is in most cases at hand, and all excellent remedies. 
 
 And now everything should be got in readiness for the 
 approaching event. See to it that the breasts are in proper 
 condition, and free from soreness ; provide a piece of 
 water-proof cloth, three and one-half or four feet square ; 
 for use on the bed, short gowns and bandages for the 
 mother, and binders and clothing for the child, and all 
 these should be placed where they will be at hand, and can 
 be found at a moment's warning. As, in almost all cases, 
 there is, or should be, a physician or nurse of experience 
 to take charge of the patient, and see that everything is 
 attended to, it seems needless to give any more explicit 
 or detailed instructions than those which follow : — 
 
 Childbirth will be preceded by the usual warning symp- 
 toms. As every nurse, midwife, or woman of experience 
 knows, there are intermitting pains in the back and loins, 
 slight at first but increasing in severity. When the mem- 
 brane (containing the liquid in the womb, in which the 
 child has for many weeks floated) is ruptured by pressure, 
 or the finger of the nurse or physician, this liquid comes 
 away, and if the pains are frequent, a pillow should be 
 
56 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 rolled up tightly and placed between the woman's knees : 
 let her lie with her back to the front of the bed to accom- 
 modate the midwife, the front being that side to the left 
 when standing at the foot and facing the head : have a 
 shawl or long towel tied to the foot of the bed, the free end 
 being within her reach, so that when the pains are upon 
 her she may pull on it, and thus aid herself in this trying- 
 hour — using this towel serves a double purpose ; when 
 pulling on it, the woman holds her breath and stops talk- 
 ing ; in doing this, she brings into use the abdominal mus- 
 cles, which aids greatly in expelling the child. 
 
 If there is no unnatural obstruction to the delivery, it is 
 best left to nature ; should the labor be prolonged several 
 hours, as is sometimes the case with the first child, a little 
 stimulant may be given, at intervals, such as wine or 
 spirit and water, and given warm. 
 
 It is positively asserted, on the best authority, that the 
 pains and sufferings of childbirth, can be almost wholly 
 done away with, by the judicious use of chloroform and 
 ether ; one part of the former and three parts of the latter. 
 Recently this agent has been used for this purpose, with 
 the most gratifying results. However, it should be admin- 
 istered with much caution, and only by a physician, mid- 
 wife, or nurse, who will not allow the woman to breathe it 
 long enough to become unconscious. For the informa- 
 tion of those not familiar with giving ether or chloroform, 
 we will give a few directions. Ether alone relieves pain, 
 but is slower in its operation than chloroform ; to use it 
 with advantage, it should be poured in teaspoon-doses, 
 upon a sponge or handkerchief, or napkin, and put in the 
 large end of a paper tunnel, and drawing the air through 
 the small end ; in this way the ether is more perfectly 
 inhaled, and not so much diffused through the room : when 
 the pain subsides discontinue the inhaling. The napkin 
 or sponge should not touch the lips. 
 
MIDWIFERY. 57 
 
 A physician or midwife will know what to give to hasten 
 labor, when unusually protracted, but no other persons 
 should attempt practice of this kind. If there be actual 
 danger of the patient's life from lack of assistance, then, 
 and in that case only, is the nurse justified in the use of 
 powerful medicines, or in attempting to aid the operation 
 of delivery by unusual means, such as tea of spurred rye, 
 pennyroyal, or catnip : give toddy as well ; spurred rye 
 should not be given in the early stages of labor, but only 
 when the pains have ceased. The most dangerous Sow- 
 ings occur when the after-birth is over the mouth of the 
 womb, at the time labor begins, and the womb begins to 
 open. In such case the after-birth must be partially separ- 
 ated, and, if the flowing is so profuse as to endanger life, 
 the child must be turned in the womb. To do this the 
 attendant, after first lubricating his or her hand thoroughly 
 with fresh lard or olive oil, should pass it into the womb 
 and seize the child, holding firmly ; when the pain ceases 
 press the child backward in the womb, and bring the head 
 forward for delivery. In all cases of profuse flowing, keep 
 the patient perfectly quiet and lying down; apply to the 
 abdomen cloths wet with alcohol and water that have 
 been mixed half and half, and then heated ; and let cold 
 sage tea be given frequently as an internal medicine. 
 Give gruel very cool and cold weak tea to keep up the 
 patient's strength. 
 
 As soon as the child is born, the cord or navel string 
 should be attended to. Pulsation is full and strong in this 
 cord immediately after delivery, but it gradually weakens, 
 so that in five or ten minutes it may be cut ; and the safest 
 way to do this, is to tie it in two places (with cotton twine), 
 the first of these tyings to be made at a distance of two or 
 three inches from the child's body, and the second an inch 
 or an inch and one-half from that : then taking the cord in 
 the left hand, cut between the two points where it has been 
 
58 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 tied. Tying twice checks a flow of blood from the child, as 
 well as from the after-birth, which might follow the cutting 
 if the pulsation had not ceased. 
 
 Flooding or hemorrhage rarely happens before birth ; 
 but when it does, it should receive prompt attention. 
 
 If the mother has sunk under the action of delivery, and 
 her strength is exhausted, a little stimulant of some such 
 nature as wine, brandy, or gin may be given, and she 
 should be allowed to rest. Upon the return of the pains 
 for expelling the after-birth, if no physician be on hand, 
 the attendant will see that it comes away : should this not 
 take place within two hours, it should be removed. The 
 after-birth being out of the way, a broad and stout bandage 
 or long towel should be passed around the loins of the 
 mother, so as to cover the hips and support the form, 
 drawn tight and secured with pins, this being the most 
 desirable form of fastening. Hot alcohol and water applied 
 over the womb will assist its contracting. The object of 
 the bandage is to exert a pressure upon the womb, stop 
 the flowing, and stimulate the organs to return to their 
 natural condition. But if the flowing continues and the 
 womb does not contract, a compress formed of a good- 
 sized book wrapped in cloth should be laid on the abdo- 
 men directly over the womb, and bound there with the 
 bandage, as tightly as the patient can bear. After this a 
 warm, dry napkin should be placed over and below the 
 external parts, so that the amount of flowing (which may 
 continue for some time, even three or four hours) may be 
 known. The bandage should be tightened as it becomes 
 loose. 
 
 We may here state, that at the Government Hospital at 
 Vienna, at which institution alone there are annually ten 
 thousand births, and in the principal cities of Europe, the 
 bandage is not applied immediately after the operation of 
 childbirth ; not until the mother is about to leave her bed • 
 
MIDWIFERY. 59 
 
 and in all cases of flooding or convulsions arising from or 
 preceding childbirth, instead of employing cold applica- 
 tions, as is done in this country, hot ones exclusively are 
 used. 
 
 For at least six hours after the expulsion of the after- 
 birth the patient should be disturbed as little as possible ; 
 if the pulse be feeble, lips colorless, and breathing hardly 
 noticeable, as though life seemed ebbing away, administer a 
 very little wine, or brandy, and warm water sweetened ; 
 cease at once, doing this, if you notice her flushing and 
 restless, and do not give it at all unless from the presence 
 of the above symptoms there seems urgent need of it. 
 
 If the patient be strong and vigorous, her clothing can 
 be changed and the bed made after eight or ten hours ; 
 but if she is not, some three or four days may have to pass, 
 before this can be done ; at the end of a week or ten days, 
 if the mother is anxious to rise and leave her bed, she may 
 do so, but upon the least feeling of giddiness, she should 
 give up the attempt, and not make the trial until her 
 strength has fully returned. 
 
 Some extraordinary cases of activity and recovery of 
 strength on the mother's part have come to our knowledge. 
 We knew a woman of very robust constitution, who, after 
 giving birth to a child early in the morning, almost imme- 
 diately arose and prepared dinner for her husband, who 
 was a laboring man ; seeing the priest passing soon after, 
 she called him in, and had the child christened, got a lunch 
 for him, and afterwards supper for her husband ; all of 
 which very unusual proceedings were followed by no bad 
 effect Another woman, a tenant of ours in New Bruns- 
 wick, who was confined in the forenoon, arose from her 
 bed after a few hours, went to the spring, twenty or thirty 
 rods distant, for a pail of water, and made a pot of oatmeal 
 gruel, saying as she did so, " Tom (her husband) may make 
 his own, or go wanting ; may be I'll want the whole of 
 
60 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 this, and may be I wont." Both of these women were ac- 
 customed to working in the fields with their husbands, and, 
 as a rule, it may be said, that the lower the order of life, 
 the greater the ease and less pain there is attending child- 
 birth. 
 
 In ordinary cases, when the mother is able to sit up, the 
 bed-clothing may be changed. If the after-pains continue, 
 there should be given an anodyne draught, composed of 
 mint or caraway tea. As regards the time of applying the 
 child to the breast, the various authorities differ greatly; 
 some claiming that this should not take place for twenty- 
 four or thirty-six hours, while others advise its being done 
 as soon as possible. Dr. Marshall Hall, an English writer, 
 says, " Let the child suck as soon as the fatigue of labor is 
 perfectly over, if the mother is doing well." Our experi- 
 ence is, that the child should be put to the breast at the earli- 
 est moment, within the first hour or two after its biith, and 
 for this iv e believe there are many forcible reasons. This 
 course will very often prevent flooding, will almost wholly 
 if not completely prevent milk fever, and the sooner the 
 child nurses the better it will be for both it and the mother, 
 as in case of long delay, it may not readily take to the 
 breasts. There is, also, in the first milk, a laxative prop- 
 erty which the child should have as physic. 
 
 In cases where the nipples, through lack of treatment, 
 have not been made to project as they should do, a healthy 
 child, eight or ten months of age, should nurse the mother 
 until the breasts are brought into the proper condition; 
 An excellent salve for all soreness of the nipples or breasts 
 may be made, by mixing five grains of tannin, or powdered 
 alum, or a spoonful-strong decoction of white-oak bark, 
 with a half cup of fresh cream or lard. When this salve 
 has been used, it must be washed off before the child nurses 
 again. 
 
 If the child is affected with canker in the mouth, make 
 
MIDWIFERY. 6 1 
 
 a decoction of gold-thread in half a cup of hot water, dis- 
 solve a piece of borax as large as a pea in it, and sweeten 
 with sugar or honey. Wash the mouth with this frequently 
 until the trouble is removed. 
 
 The mother's diet for the first few days after confine- 
 ment should be of such nature as can be taken with a 
 spoon, as oatmeal gruel, or other gruel as she may choose. 
 A woman, naturally robust, should confine herself to nour- 
 ishment of this sort, for a longer time than one who is 
 delicate or feeble. For such, beef-tea, mutton-broth, ale, 
 or wine, can be prescribed as early as the third day ; and 
 after the first week she may return to her usual manner 
 of living, if her appetite is good. The object of eating 
 lightly at first, is to prevent the two rapid secretion of 
 milk, and any results which such act might bring about. 
 There is, however, nothing more acceptable and nourishing 
 to the feeble mother than beef-tea, properly made. The 
 following is an excellent way of preparing it : Take the 
 beef, which should be lean, cut into small pieces and put 
 into cold water, and in an earthen bowl, allow it to stand 
 for two hours ; then place the bowl and contents in a dish 
 of hot water, and boil this latter until the tea in the bowl, 
 becomes boiling hot, having seasoned it before it reaches 
 this point. Then skim out the pieces of meat, and when 
 cool enough, the tea can be used with the most gratifying 
 results. This tea will afford as much nourishment as the 
 meat from which it was made, if cooked and eaten in any 
 other manner. No cathartics or purgative medicines 
 should be administered, until the mother is able to leave 
 her bed ; if there is costiveness, injections of thin gruel or 
 rice water can be oven. 
 
OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 TREATMENT OF THE CHILD. 
 
 As soon as the child has been released from the mother 
 by the cutting of the cord, the nurse may rub it all over 
 with warm lard ; this must be thoroughly wiped off with 
 dry cloths, after which the hands and face should be 
 washed with soap and water, care being taken not to 
 allow any soap to get into the eyes, as that will make 
 them sore. The navel cord can now be done up in muslin 
 well oiled ; a hole cut in it, and the cord put through it ; 
 after which the binder should be put on. This consists of 
 a piece of flannel five or six inches wide, or wide enough 
 to cover from the arm-pits to the lower part of the abdo- 
 men, and long enough to go one and a' half times around 
 the body. The babe may now be dressed by the nurse, in 
 the clothes it is to wear. 
 
 It is a common practice for nurses to give infants when 
 dressed a little thin oatmeal gruel, with a drop or two of 
 castor-oil in it. While this serves as food, it also excites a 
 gentle action of the bowels, and has the effect of relieving 
 them of a thick and dark matter which they contain at 
 birth. At the end of an hour or two, if no milk can be ob- 
 tained from the mother, or if the child will not take to the 
 breast, milk must be prepared to use, and this is to be 
 made by mixing cow's milk and boiled water, one-half as 
 much water as milk, then sweeten a little with white sugar, 
 stand it in a dish of boiling water until it is blood warm, 
 when it can be given to the child in a feeding-bottle. The 
 mother's milk during the first few days possesses laxative 
 properties — so that the child needs no other laxative or 
 oil. For a time milk alone should be the food of infants, as 
 it contains everything necessary for the proper sustenance 
 of the child. When cow's milk is used, it is best to procure 
 that from the same cow for continual use, and there should 
 
MIDWIFERY. 63 
 
 never be the slightest sourness or taint about it. After 
 nursing, it is natural for the child to drop asleep, and this 
 should be allowed. 
 
 If the child's bowels are not well purged for three or 
 four days after birth, by the castor-oil mentioned, or some 
 other preparation, it will have a sore mouth, and this will 
 be communicated to the mother's nipples, and give her sore 
 breasts. 
 
 The child's first sleep may continue for many hours, and 
 upon awakening it will want to nurse, which may be 
 allowed if the mother's strength is sufficiently restored 
 and her nipples in proper condition. Should the mother 
 be unable to afford her child sufficient nourishment, the 
 nurse can fill a bottle with the prepared milk and water 
 already described, and feed enough of that to make up the 
 deficiency. This is better than employing a wet-nurse. 
 Nursing once in two and a half or three hours is often 
 enough, as a child is not always hungry when it cries, but 
 may be troubled with pain, zvJiich too much nursing would 
 only increase. It may safely be said that a very large por- 
 tion of the sickness and deaths of infants, is caused by 
 over-feeding or over-dosing. 
 
 In going to sleep the mother, if in the same bed, should 
 place the child near her, and go to sleep upon her side 
 facing the child. It will readily be seen, that should she 
 turn in her sleep, she would naturally turn from rather 
 tJian towards the babe. From lack of this precaution, many 
 an infant has been smothered by the mother while in a 
 heavy sleep, unconscious of the dreadful accident. 
 
 After washing the child, it is a good plan to rub it well 
 with the hand, as the friction thus given will be beneficial 
 to the circulation ; also let it lie in the nurse's lap or on 
 the bed, and work or use its little limbs. 
 
 The navel cord must not be forgotten, but seen to each 
 time the child is washed, until it drops off, which will 
 
64 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 likely occur in four or six days, leaving a wrinkled or 
 puckered appearance of the skin, but healthy. If there 
 should be a small sore or ulceration remaining in its place, 
 this should be washed with castile soap and warm water, 
 then bathed with alum water or strong black tea, and 
 dressed with mutton tallow or some healing salve. In case 
 of bleeding of the navel, which is a bad sign, a doctor 
 should at once be called in. 
 
 In warm weather the child may be taken out when two 
 or three weeks old ; but in winter it is not advisable to do 
 so until five or six weeks of age, and in any case for 
 a very short time only and in the finest zveather. The 
 sun should not be allowed to shine in its face, nor should 
 it be permitted to sleep in the open air. To this it should 
 be accustomed gradually ; morning and evening chills 
 avoided ; and it is much better for the nurse to take the 
 child out in her arms than in a carriage. 
 
 In warm weather, if the child is of feeble constitution, 
 whether an infant, or two or three years old, it should not 
 be washed every morning or evening, for the pores of the 
 skm are too open without the washing, and we have 
 found it beneficial in many cases, for the mother or nurse 
 to rub together a little sweet oil and castile soap, and with 
 a sponge bathe or rub the child all over, and leave it un- 
 washed to close the pores of the skin ; then wear its flannel 
 dress a week. It may seem untidy, but will invigorate the 
 child. Many children are washed and dosed to death. 
 
 PREMATURE BIRTH. 
 
 Premature births ; or those taking place in the eighth or 
 ninth month, are sometimes necessitated by certain con- 
 ditions of the mother. Principal among these conditions is 
 an unnaturally small space between the pelvic bones, 
 through which it would be impossible to deliver a fttll-grown 
 child. None but a surgeon should be called upon in such 
 
MIDWIFERY. 65 
 
 critical cases, and only such a necessity as is here indi- 
 cated should authorize him to attempt it. 
 
 ABORTION AND MISCARRIAGE. 
 
 Abortion may be said to occur, when the contents of the 
 womb are expelled before the sixth month ; miscarriage 
 when it happens between the sixth and eighth. Premature 
 birth, as above stated, takes place in the eighth or ninth 
 month. Miscarriage happens often with the first child, and 
 much more frequently than is commonly supposed, with 
 women who are approaching the end of their child-bearing 
 period ; when it has occurred once, there is a tendency to its 
 repetition. Therefore, the greatest care should be taken to 
 prevent it ever happening. Among the causes which 
 bring it on, may be named nursing a child after conception 
 has taken place, frights, falls, straining, strong purgatives, 
 excitement, or any sudden or great shock to the system ; 
 jumping from any heigJit, such as a chair, and slipping, are 
 especially apt to cause it. In case of a second occurrence, 
 it will be likely to take place at the same time or period 
 during gestation ; if in the sixth month in the first case, in 
 the sixth month in the second. It is attended with great 
 pain, and affects the system severely. The symptoms of 
 miscarriage are pains in the back and loins, a feeling of 
 dragging down in the region of the womb, and more or 
 less discharge therefrom. 
 
 Upon feeling any of the symptoms, the patient should 
 immediately assume a reclining position upon the bed, and 
 remain perfectly quiet. Let her take cooling drinks, 
 such as lemonade, tamarind-water, or cream of tartar in 
 water; place cloths, wrung out in cold water and vinegar, 
 equal parts, upon the abdomen, and renew when they 
 become warm. If the flooding becomes profuse, all 
 hopes of prevention may be given up, and every effort be 
 made to ease pain, and relieve the womb of its contents as 
 
• 66 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 quickly as possible. In some cases it may be necessary to 
 resort to mechanical means, but this should be done by a 
 surgeon or practitioner only ; and in all cases of this kind, 
 it is more necessary to have a physician in- attendance, 
 than in common cases of childbirth. It is to be hoped 
 that all women of experience will upon every occasion 
 warn young wives against doing anything of an unsafe 
 nature when pregnant, as we have already done, in our re- 
 marks upon the conduct of the mother during pregnancy. 
 After miscarriage, the mother should remain in bed for 
 some days, and be treated as after childbirth. 
 
 STILL-BORN. 
 
 After the birth of the child, the first duty of the attend- 
 ant is to see if it is alive. For this purpose, before the 
 cord is tied and cut, it should be turned face upwards, and 
 rolled and rubbed to see if it breathes. If no signs of life 
 appear, and the cord was noticed to have been wound 
 about its neck, it has been choked or strangled, and must 
 be revived by sprinkling cold water upon the face, and 
 blowing air into the lungs. Should these fail, the child 
 should be wrapped in flannel and rolled, rubbed, or worked 
 over gently, as the experience of the nurse may suggest. 
 Cases are known where, by working steadily, infants have 
 been revived six hours after birth ; and none should be 
 given up as dead, until indications of decomposition are 
 noticed. 
 
 AFTER-BIRTH 
 
 This is the name of that membrane which surrounds the 
 child, and the water in which for months it has floated, 
 without air, light, or sustenance, except what it has 
 obtained from the mother through the umbilical cord. 
 One side of the after-birth is attached to the side of the 
 womb, and from that portion so attached extends the um- 
 
MIDWIFERY. 67 
 
 bilical cord, which is two or three feet long, and to the 
 other end of which is attached the child at its navel. It is 
 called the after-birth from the fact that it comes away, 
 usually, a few minutes after the child is born. 
 
 It sometimes happens that this cord gets around the 
 child's neck, in which case the nurse or midwife should 
 ascertain the fact, and, by skilful management, try and 
 bring it over the head, so as to avert the danger of strangu- 
 lation. 
 
 AFTER-PAINS. 
 
 These are similar to labor-pains, but much less severe ; 
 and of a few minutes' duration each, and may continue, 
 more or less, for four or six days after delivery. These 
 pains are caused by the contracting of the womb, to re- 
 sume its former size. There is more or less escape of 
 blood into this organ through its vessel ; — this blood co- 
 agulates, and efforts to expel these clots constitute the 
 pains. The expulsion brings relief. These pains are said 
 to increase in duration and severity, according to the num- 
 ber of children born. Should the pains be severe and con- 
 tinue for several days, steep a little tansy and hops in spirits 
 and water, and lay a flannel wet with it, as hot as the patient 
 can' bear, upon the lower part of the abdomen, over the 
 womb ; a little spirits in hot water, given at intervals for a 
 few days, may be beneficial as a medicine. 
 
 PREGNANCY WHILE NURSING. 
 
 Except in unusual instances, mothers are, after confine- 
 ment, free from the ordinary periodical sickness for eight 
 or nine months ; but should it appear, is not apt to cause 
 disturbance, unless the flowing is profuse and attended 
 with pain. Should pregnancy take place, the child must 
 at once be weaned, as the disturbance in the system will 
 promptly show. In winter, the weaning can be more 
 
68 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 readily done than in hot weather, — the season for summer 
 complaints, and when there are various troubles from using, 
 the milk which can be obtained in cities and towns. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF, OR BROKEN BREAST. 
 
 During nursing, the milk should be regularly and prop- 
 erly drawn from the breasts, or they will become inflamed ; 
 this condition is indicated by chills and shooting pains, 
 which pains increase by pressure. The skin becomes dusky 
 red, hot, and shining, the breasts enlarge, become tender 
 and throbbing. This condition may be caused by the 
 mother's taking cold, but generally is the result of neglect- 
 ing to draw the breasts properly. It should be the duty 
 of the nurse, to see that this condition does not arise. It 
 is best when the slightest sign of swelling and soreness 
 appears, to prevent the formation of an abscess by keeping 
 the breasts empty, letting the child nurse freely at the 
 affected side rather than the well one. The application of 
 dry heat is both agreeable and beneficial ; the bowels must 
 be well opened, and the breast rubbed with sweet oil and 
 liquid camphor. But in case an abscess does form, the 
 speedier and more effectual cure is to have it opened by a 
 physician. Mother's of still-born children are not subject 
 to this trouble. 
 
 MOTHER'S MARKS. 
 
 It is an admitted fact, that during pregnancy there is a 
 great susceptibility to impressions, and the effect of this 
 may be shown upon the child, in the form of various birth- 
 marks, This fact should be carefully borne in mind by the 
 woman, as well as by those who are with and caring for 
 her. Above everything, let her avoid all sights which are 
 repulsive, shocking, or which may be calculated to make 
 a vivid impression on her mind. Prominent among these 
 may be mentioned unsightly deformities. On this ac- 
 
MIDWIFERY. 69 
 
 count too much care cannot be used at this period by the 
 mother, nor by those who are with her. Allow nothing 
 of an unpleasant nature to occur, to bring about this con- 
 dition of mind. 
 
 PROTRACTED LABOR. 
 
 Labor may continue for twenty-four or forty-eight hours, 
 and when protracted to that length of time, the water 
 having come away, the pains being strong, and the presen- 
 tation right, no alarm need be felt. The mother should be 
 encouraged, should have what gruel she can take, as well 
 as wine and water, or weak spirits, which will serve to 
 keep up her strength and secure a continuance of the 
 pains. The nurse or midwife should learn by an examina- 
 tion the kind of presentation that exists. Should the 
 head present, and be facing the mother's back, it is as it 
 ought to be ; but if the head be in a different position, it 
 should be turned, the face towards the back, by the hand 
 of the nurse, introduced (after being well oiled), when the 
 pain is absent, and turning it. If in the early part of labor 
 the breech should present, the nurse should seize it and 
 pass it away, to allow the head to come in its place. So 
 long as the mother's strength holds out, and the pains con- 
 tinue, do not give ergot or other medicine early in labor to 
 Jiasten the delivery, as they may cause the death of the child, 
 especially ergot (spurred rye). 
 
 IMPROPER FOOD AND MEDICINES. 
 
 When it is remembered that .the effect of everything 
 taken by the mother, is at once imparted to the child by 
 nursing, the reason for avoiding strong alcoholic stimulants 
 and medicines composed of opium or laudanum is plainly 
 seen. For this reason all coarse and indigestible food, or 
 of such nature as would be liable to create disturbances 
 in the mother, should be avoided. 
 
JO OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 It is a fact well known, that laxative medicines given to 
 the mother affect the infant in a few hours, and other 
 medicines, food, and drink in a similar manner. 
 
 Undoubtedly there are cases in which a little wine or 
 stimulants can, and ought to be given, and will be of great 
 advantage (as in cases of weakness after childbirth) ; but 
 giving alcoholic stimulant as a practice, should not be allowed. 
 
 SORE NIPPLES. 
 
 Women suffering from sore nipples are apt to keep the 
 infant at the breast least affected, and applying it to the 
 tender side only, for the purpose of obtaining relief from 
 the pain of the full breast. This trouble usually begins 
 as a small crack, which does not appear to heal, and which, 
 on account of the child's mouth being so often applied, 
 has a tendency to become ulcerated. Sometimes these 
 ulcers are on the surface, but often they are deeply seated 
 in the nipple itself; yet they could readily be healed, were 
 it not for the frequent nursing of the child, l^wo objects 
 are to be sought : to protect the part from continued irrita- 
 tion, and to Jieal the soreness. For the first, the nipple may 
 be protected with an india-rubber shield of the right size 
 and form ; for the other purpose, use a strong decoction of 
 green tea, or a piece of alum the size of a pea, dissolved 
 in a wine-glass full of water ; one of the best lotions that 
 can be applied is one ounce of pure glycerine, and five 
 grains of tannin, or a teaspoonful of decoction of oak-bark, 
 and one of sweet oil. When the infant is not at the breast 
 the nipples should be kept covered with a piece of soft 
 linen, wet with the above astringent lotion. Of course the 
 wash should be removed from the nipple before the child 
 nurses. 
 
TEETHING. J I 
 
 TEETHING. 
 
 There is no fixed time at which the first teeth of chil- 
 dren will appear ; but an infant will usually cut some teeth 
 at the age of six or seven months. As this period is a 
 trying one to both mother and child (the little one in 
 almost all cases being cross and fretful, which is natural 
 and to be expected), it is looked forward to with anxiety by 
 the mother. We give some general rules regarding the 
 times at which the various teeth appear. The first teeth 
 are called milk-teeth, and come in the following order : — 
 
 First. The two lower middle front teeth, at six or 
 eight months of age. 
 
 Second. At the age of eight or nine months, the six 
 front teeth in the upper jaw, the two in the centre, being 
 in advance of the two on each side of them. 
 
 Third. About the fifteenth month of age, six teeth ap- 
 pear at nearly the same time ; these are the two front 
 grinders or double teeth in the upper jaw, the two front 
 grinders in the lower jaw, and the two lower front teeth, 
 one on each side of the central two, which appeared first of 
 all. 
 
 Fourth. Between one and a half and two years of age, 
 the canine teeth are cut. These are opposite the eye-teeth, 
 so called, in the upper jaw. 
 
 Fifth. Between the ages of two and a half and three 
 years, the second four grinders are usually cut. 
 
 Generally when the child has reached the age of five or 
 six years, the second or permanent teeth begin to appear, 
 and are cut, one or two at a time, at intervals, until the list 
 is completed ; the appearance of the wisdom-teeth may 
 happen at any time, between the ages of eighteen and 
 twenty-four years, or later. 
 
72 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 DIARRHOEA OF INFANTS. 
 
 If an infant has diarrhoea, it is caused by impure milk. 
 If cow's milk is used, this may be caused by the animal's 
 feeding upon certain herbs or weeds, which impart to the 
 milk a laxative tendency ; if the mother's milk only is 
 given, the same effect may be seen in the child, after her 
 partaking of improper food. 
 
 If cow's milk is to be used in feeding a child, it is impor- 
 tant to select a young and healthy animal, to know that 
 she is well and carefully fed, and not allowed to eat all 
 sorts of food. Let her have only that food from which it 
 would seem impossible that the milk could acquire the 
 slightest taint. When a child fed from a bottle has bowel 
 complaint, give sweetened yarrow tea, with half a tea- 
 spoonful of sweet oil. If the child nurses the mother, she 
 may drink yarrow tea morning, noon, and night ; and if 
 the discharges do not then cease, let her chew, very slowly 
 during the day, a piece of rhubarb as large as a bean, and 
 swallow the saliva therefrom. This will affect the milk 
 and reach the child. 
 
 If the operations are frequent and green, or dark-colored, 
 give for an injection a tablespoonful of cinnamon or all- 
 spice tea, adding a little powdered starch or flour, and ten 
 drops of laudanum ; if this comes away soon, give half the 
 quantity after fifteen minutes. If this is retained one hour, 
 give another injection of the same ; if there are streaks of 
 blood in the discharges, make a strong tea of white-oak 
 bark, add the starch and a few drops of laudanum, and 
 give as an injection. 
 
 If the relaxation is caused by teething, it is not easy to 
 check suddenly, neither is it desirable. 
 
fits. 73 
 
 FITS. 
 
 In cases of fits or convulsions, brought on by teething 
 or improper food, let the child be put into a warm bath, 
 followed by feeding gruel, into which has been put twenty 
 or thirty drops of castor-oil ; also give an injection of warm 
 water and castile soap, which will usually relieve the child 
 as soon as the bowels are moved. 
 
 An excellent injection for children can be made by dis- 
 solving a tablespoonful of sugar in half a pint of warm 
 water, and in case an operation does not take place in an 
 hour after giving the injection, repeat it, giving half the 
 quantity. 
 
 Sometimes when fits are caused by teething, it is well to 
 lance the gums directly on the spot where a tooth is about 
 to cut through. However, it is best to let the child have 
 some hard substance, like rubber, to bite on and bring the 
 teeth through ; for if the gums are lanced too soon, they 
 will heal over, and be hard for the teeth to press through. 
 
 If the fits are caused by worms, small doses of pink-root 
 tea, made of half an ounce of pink-root and two drachms 
 of senna in a pint of water, and give one wine-glass full at a 
 dose. 
 
 NURSERY MEDICINES. 
 
 These, in a great majority of cases, consist of soothing 
 syrups and paregoric, and, whenever these are found, they 
 should be disposed of as not only undesirable, but positively 
 injurious. Except in cholera or diarrhoea, there are no 
 diseases of children in which any preparation of opium need 
 be administered ; but to avoid the noise of crying children, 
 nurses are very free to use any syrups or medicines that 
 will quiet the little sufferer. Many a child's life has been 
 made miserable, by narcotic poisons that have been sown 
 in its system by this practice. The use of such means as 
 
74 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 injections, warm baths, and gentle purgatives is always 
 safe, and no unpleasant effect is left. And these, too, are 
 almost always at hand. 
 
 We want to say most emphatically, that the less medicine 
 given to children, the better for them. Alany tJwusands of 
 children are dosed into poor health, and multitudes have been 
 dosed into their graves. There should be no such thing as 
 nursery medicines ; the mother, by taking care of herself, 
 can ordinarily keep her child in good health. Let any medi- 
 cines given be taken only under the directions of the phy- 
 sician or experienced nurse. 
 
 INFANTICIDE. 
 
 After conception a new and independent life exists 
 within the mother, and any attempt made by any person to 
 enable her to avoid bringing the same into being, is an 
 endeavor to take human life ; any cjfoit made by Jier for this 
 purpose is an attempt at child-murder, and of her ozvn child. 
 The perpetrators of this act are guilty of wilful murder, 
 and liable to punishment as murderers, and for this crime 
 the law is justly severe, but not too much so. As before 
 stated, a physical condition of the mother may exist, which 
 demands abortion or premature delivery, in order to save 
 her life, but no other reason can be given as justifying 
 such means. 
 
 If the motherly feeling and instinct are not strong 
 enough to overcome every inclination to resort to any such 
 practice, the fact that it is exceedingly dauge?'ous to them- 
 selves, and productive of endless misery {in the way of womb 
 difficulties and injured health), may work tipon their fears 
 and prevent this dreadful crime of abortion. ■ There is noth- 
 ing more certain than the fact, that every woman who avails 
 herself of such means will pay the extreme penalty in health 
 and happiness, or both, if not of the criminal law. 
 
OVER-NURSING. 75 
 
 OVER-NURSING. 
 
 The secretions of milk in the breast of a mother in good 
 health will usually amount to two or three pints during the 
 twenty-four hours, and the child will require that quantity, 
 nursing, as it does, eight or ten times daily during the first 
 three months, and four or six times per day when five or 
 six months of age. Therefore, it will be seen, that a 
 mother can usually furnish all the nourishment needed by 
 her child. Should a further supply be needed, let there be 
 care used (as directed) in securing cow's milk of an unmis- 
 takably good quality, and in keeping the same milk in use. 
 Let this be mixed with an equal quantity of water (for 
 children three months old), slightly sweetened and warmed. 
 
 The symptoms of over-nursing shown in the mother are 
 nervous depression, debility, wakefulness, pains in the back 
 and shoulders, and headache, all of which go to prove that 
 a great draft is being made upon the system. When any 
 of the above symptoms make their appearance, the child 
 should be partly supplied with cow's milk, which will at 
 once be seen to take part of the burden off the mother, and 
 relieve her. 
 
 By this means the mother will be enabled to nurse her 
 child as long as required, or until such time as may be 
 selected for weaning, unless some other reason should 
 hinder. 
 
 MOTHERS WHO CANNOT NURSE. 
 
 Although there are manifold reasons why a mother 
 should nurse her child in all cases where this is possible 
 (one of which reasons is that by nature's wise provision a 
 nursing mother commonly does not become pregnant for a 
 period of nine or ten months after confinement), still there 
 may, in many instances, exist the strongest objections to her 
 nursing it, and objections of such nature that they must be 
 
j6 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 regarded. A tendency to insanity or cancer should pre- 
 vent the mother's taking charge of her child ; also the 
 presence of scrofula or consumption, which latter cannot 
 be anything but disastrous to both mother and child. It is 
 in this way only, that any strong predisposition to disease 
 in the mother may be helped or overcome in the child's 
 case. 
 
 In this event it will be necessary to employ a wet-nurse, 
 or bring the child up on a bottle with cow's milk ; and in 
 selecting a person for wet-nurse it is only prudence to exer- 
 cise the greatest care, as any person may well imagine. 
 The nurse ought to be both healthy and young, some writ- 
 ers advising the employment only of nurses not exceeding 
 thirty years of age. She should have had experience in 
 nursing and taking care of infants. The nearer in age her 
 own child is to that which she is to nurse the better, 
 because the greater the difference in the age of the children 
 the more liability of the milk disagreeing with the younger. 
 The same freedom from all hereditary taints and diseases 
 as were required in the mother must be insisted upon here. 
 A good disposition is an invaluable characteristic for a 
 nurse to possess, because children should never be put to 
 the breast of one who is angry. The effect of an infant 
 suckling the milk of an angry or greatly excited person is 
 most unfortunate. 
 
 It seems almost needless to say that if the nurse becomes 
 pregnant, her place must be filled by another. In many 
 cases it will be the place of the doctor to furnish the nurse, 
 in which event he will be the one to assume responsibility 
 in regard to her fitness for the position. 
 
 WEANING. 
 
 Weaning the child should be done in ordinary cases at 
 the age of fourteen or eighteen months, and it should be 
 done in cool weather, if practicable. There may be cases 
 
WEANING. yj 
 
 in which the child should be weaned at the age of twelve 
 months, or continued to eighteen, or even twenty months, 
 if the mother has not become pregnant, or had a return of 
 the catameriia; if so, the child should be at once taken 
 from her and fed from the bottle. If a wet-nurse has 
 become sick, has her periodical returns, or becomes preg- 
 nant, she should not be allowed to nurse the child ; and it 
 is not well to inform the nurse of your intended change, 
 until her successor is present, or she is about leaving. 
 When the child is fourteen or sixteen months old, it 
 has ten teeth, and may digest ordinary food if cut into 
 small pieces or fed in small quantities. To wean a child 
 in the city in summer, is regarded by the best authorities 
 as almost certain death. 
 
 The process of weaning by some is tedious, embracing 
 two or three months, while others accomplish it in two 
 weeks. A very common way in New England is for the 
 mother to wash the nipple with a strong solution of aloes, 
 wormwood, or other bitter substance ; after a few trials at 
 the breast, the child gives up in despair. We advise wean- 
 ing the child during the day, letting it nurse occasionally 
 during the night, and not taking it from the breast too 
 suddenly ; it must, in the meantime, be fed with milk and 
 such solid food as before mentioned. 
 
 The weaning of the child is an important event with the 
 mother, who looks at the almanac to see if the signs are 
 going down and below the heart (in the groin or thighs) ; 
 this may be regarded by some as a whim, but to others is 
 a matter of the greatest importance. 
 
 The mother's breast must be drawn from day to day, 
 and means used for drying the milk, such as the nurse 
 rubbing it often with her hand. If any hardness or lumps 
 appear, rub them several times daily with sweet oil, or 
 goose grease and liquid camphor ; and if there is much 
 milk, and the fulness becomes painful, let the breasts be 
 drawn in part. 
 
yS OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 GROWTH AND TREATMENT OF THE HAIR. 
 
 Infants' heads should be attended to for' the healthy 
 growth of the hair for the first week or two, by washing the 
 head when the child is washed. It is not a good plan to 
 apply soapsuds to the head often, and when used it should 
 be weak, as such applications remove the natural oil (so 
 necessary to its growth and healthy condition). After 
 washing with soap, rinsing, and drying, a little oil should 
 be well rubbed in ; and by rubbing and stimulating the 
 scalp, the growth of the hair is greatly assisted. Let the 
 scalp be kept moistened with a little oil. 
 
 Constant care and attention is the price of a good head 
 of hair : when this on the child s head gets to be an inch in 
 length, the mother will see the results of her labor. As a 
 head of fine hair is always admired (besides being very 
 desirable), let its care be continued ; of course any brush 
 used on children's heads should be soft. In addition to a 
 little oil, well rubbed into the hair, once or twice a week, 
 the following is an excellent preparation or tonic for daily 
 use by adults as well as children : Water, four ounces ; 
 castor-oil, one ounce ; alcohol, one ounce ; borax, one 
 drachm or a teaspoonful ; mix the alcohol and oil together 
 first ; then add water, borax, and any perfumery desired. 
 
 Frequently after childbirth the mother's hair combs out 
 freely ; to prevent this, let her wet her head or scalp daily 
 with the above wash. 
 
 CHOLERA INFANTUM. 
 
 This is, perhaps, the most common disease among chil- 
 dren in summer and autumn. In many instances it comes 
 like an epidemic, attacking nearly all the infants and chil- 
 dren in the place, and often in many towns and places 
 simultaneously. It may result from a peculiar condition 
 
SLEEP FOR CHILDREN. 79 
 
 of the atmosphere. It is usually preceded by diarrhoea for 
 a few days, which is attributed to the mother's eating un- 
 ripe or stale vegetables and berries, which have deranged 
 her stomach and bowels, but which she may relieve by 
 prudence. 
 
 Let her take a little castor-oil or carbonate of magnesia, 
 or chew pieces of rhubarb root as large as a pea. (The 
 root of garden rhubarb cut into pieces and dried is good.) It 
 sometimes happens that vomiting is the first symptom — 
 the tongue is white, the patient thirsty, head hot, skin dry, 
 feet cold, pulse quick, and the child restless in sleep. If 
 the medicine taken by the mother does not check the 
 child's diarrhoea, it may take, every twenty minutes, a tea- 
 spoonful of tea, made of half an ounce blackberry -root, half 
 teaspoonful pulverized dried rhubarb-root, half teaspoonful 
 ginger, half teaspoonful soda or saleratus, one teaspoon 
 white sugar, all to be well steeped in half a pint of water. 
 If there is vomiting, break ice into small pieces, say, as 
 large as peas, and if the child is old enough to swallow, let 
 them be taken one at a time until a tablespoonful has been 
 given. When the stomach will retain food, give gum 
 arable or slippery elm, dissolved or mixed with sweetened 
 water. 
 
 SLEEP FOR CHILDREN. 
 
 Until a child is six years of age, it is safe to say that 
 fully one-half of its time is passed in sleep. During all 
 this period the growth is very rapid, and we think it well 
 to allow the little one to sleep in the morning until it 
 awakens fully rested. They need also an hour or two 
 of sleep in the middle of the day, but this may be left off 
 at six years of age. From this period, the length of time 
 passed in sleep may be gradually reduced, until it amounts 
 to about eight hours, or the time commonly devoted to 
 sleep by adults. During a child's zvaking hours, it is on 
 
80 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 the go, and moving about all the time, and in no way can the 
 needed rest be supplied, except by sleep. Infants pass the 
 greater part of the time in sleep. 
 
 If the child sleeps with its mother, let the latter see that 
 it has plenty of room, go to sleep lying on her side, and 
 facing the little one, so she will not be liable to roll upon 
 it ; see that there is no danger of the clothes getting over 
 the head and smothering it, because an infant in such 
 cases is not able to help itself in the least. 
 
 A child sleeping alone must be warm enough, but not 
 too much so, especially in summer, and kept out of drafts ; 
 the difference between the warmth of a feather-bed and a 
 mattress must be taken into account. It should early be 
 taught to go to bed in the dark without fear. The practice 
 of frightening children should be rigidly forbidden, and 
 when done, the offender ought to be severely punished. 
 The effect of such frightening often lasts the child through 
 its whole life. Let damp clothing and drafts be strictly 
 guarded against. 
 
 DIET OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 
 
 It is impossible to lay down any specific rules as to the 
 kinds and quantities of food that should be given to chil- 
 dren of different ages ; but some general rules may be 
 given and followed to advantage : First, When the little 
 one is old enough to eat any material quantity of solid food, 
 let it be taken at regular intervals during the day. Second, 
 Do not give the child highly-seasoned food, pickles, very 
 salt food, that is hard to digest ; avoid candies, also tea and 
 coffee, which are not necessary or desirable, while milk is 
 excellent, and is greatly enjoyed. Third, If necessary, and 
 it will be, let the child have a lunch in the morning and 
 one in the afternoon, at regular times, and of good nour- 
 ishing food, such as bread and butter, or bread and milk, 
 and not cake, pies, doughnuts, or sweet diet. Fourth, 
 
CLOTHING OF CHILDREN. 8 1 
 
 Teach the little one to eat slowly, and chew all food prop- 
 erly, which should be done in order to have the digestion 
 good ; and do not allow it to eat a great variety. As 
 already stated, the kinds of food given, as well as the quan- 
 tity, must depend entirely upon the judgment of the nurse 
 or mother. The growth during childhood is very rapid, so 
 that besides the large amount of sleep needed at this 
 period, there will be a correspondingly large quantity of 
 food needed to supply the demands made by the system. 
 The appetite of a healthy child is at all times keen, and 
 much larger in proportion than that of a grown person. 
 
 CLOTHING OF CHILDREN. 
 
 From the manner in which children are sometimes 
 dressed one would not imagine them to be the sensitive 
 little beings to cold that they are. In countless instances, 
 mothers do not realize their lack of care in this respect, 
 but clothe their little ones in such manner as to sacrifice 
 both comfort and health to fashion or appearances. In 
 cold, or even cool or damp weather, no child should ever 
 be dressed with the neck, arms, or legs exposed, as is com- 
 monly done. This practice, in place of hardening or 
 strengthening the child, as claimed, renders it liable to 
 sickness and death. The way to harden or build left a con- 
 stitution is to take good care of it. 
 
 Let the clothing be light as possible, warm enough, and 
 have all parts of the body protected ; flannel is a most ex- 
 cellent kind of clothing, and should be used the entire 
 year, heavier being employed during the winter. The 
 effect of fine soft flannel worn next the body is very bene- 
 ficial. 
 
 Let all clothing be loose, and of such nature that it may 
 be put on or taken off readily ; be made for warmth and 
 health instead of appearance. 
 
82 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 AIR, EXERCISE, AND LIGHT. 
 
 These are as necessary to the healthy growth of the 
 child as they are to all plants, and these, as we know, 
 cannot do without them. Children born in winter cannot 
 be taken into the outer air for some time, and then only 
 for very short while. In summer, the out-of-door exercise 
 can be quite freely indulged in, on suitable days. 
 
 For a delicate child, air and sunshine are the most bene- 
 ficial in their action, and a ride or moderate airing will 
 often quiet a fretful child, who will learn to look for it, 
 and show pleasure in taking it. In no case, however, is 
 it advisable to expose a young child, to wet or windy 
 weather. 
 
 The first week or ten days of an infant's life must be 
 passed in a dimly-lighted apartment, either with the face 
 partly covered, or in a room partially darkened. The young 
 eyes are not able to stand the full light, but should be 
 accustomed to it gradually. The effect of neglecting this 
 precaution, may be seen in the form of inflamed eyes, with 
 which so many children are troubled. 
 
 Various diseases may be brought on, or their seeds devel- 
 oped, by the child's having a lack of fresh air and sunlight. 
 And that mother is not true to her duty, who, for fear of 
 her children becoming freckled or burned by the sun, keeps 
 them within doors, and plants in their cheeks the pale 
 looks of an invalid rather than brown their faces with the 
 tan and glow that belong to ruddy health. 
 
 There are tJiousands of young persons now taking iron 
 tonics, and innumerable preparations for their blood and 
 general system, zuJw need only those from which they have 
 excluded themselves so carefully, and which are fresh air, 
 sunshine, and moderate exercise. 
 
 For some three months after birth the spine of a child is 
 
GAMES AND PLAYS. 83 
 
 not strong enough to enable it to support itself in a sitting 
 position, therefore, during this time, it should be kept in a 
 reclining attitude, and when carried can be placed upon a 
 pillow, or properly supported by the arms of the nurse. 
 In lifting young children, it should never be done by taking 
 them by one or both arms, because at this time of life the 
 bones are held in their proper positions but weakly by the 
 muscles, and any sudden pull or wrench is liable to be fol- 
 lowed by a fracture or a dislocation. 
 
 When it is desired to lift a child, place one hand on each 
 side of the body, directly over the chest, and under the 
 arms, the thumbs being on the front and fingers on the 
 back of the chest, when the child faces you. 
 
 It is a very common practice for mothers, nurses, and 
 visitors to toss a young child into the air, catching it when 
 descending. This practice cannot be too strongly censured, 
 because no benefit can come from its indulgence, while 
 great harm may result from it. Many of the cripples in 
 our midst owe their deformities to falls they had in infancy. 
 When old enough, let the little folks go out of doors in all 
 pleasant weather, and stay and play there ; — the more they 
 can be out the better ; they cannot have too much of it. 
 No matter if they do get burned by the sun ; put old 
 clothes on them, and let them dig in the dirt, and make 
 all the houses and mud-pies they want to. 
 
 GAMES AND PLAYS. 
 
 The benefits received by children from various games 
 and plays cannot be over-estimated ; in this way only can 
 the foundation of a robust constitution and good health be 
 laid. Thoughtful parents will see the wisdom of a child's 
 developing itself physically in this manner, and allow the 
 fullest reasonable indulgence in them. Nearly all plays 
 are desirable ; for instance, one may train and quicken the 
 
84 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 eyesight or the hearing ; others may assist the memory 
 and mental faculties ; while some will develop the whole 
 muscular system by the running and jumping to be in- 
 dulged in. 
 
 No child ought to be sent to school until six or seven 
 years of age. Many are sent much younger, but there is 
 never any gain in the end. In many cases it is done to 
 get the child out of the way and relieve the mother of the 
 care ; and our readers can form an opinion in regard to 
 sncJi a reason, whether it is wise or cruel. 
 
 When a little one is sent to school so young, the time 
 which it ought to be spending in the air and sunshine, 
 strengthening its little frame, so that it will be fitted to 
 withstand sickness and disease, is passed in the close 
 school-room, while it attempts to keep its mind for hours 
 busy on the work before it. Upon arriving at the age we 
 have mentioned, the child is much better able to endure 
 the confinement, and to keep his mind on the lessons ; 
 learns faster in proportion, and in the long run will come 
 out as well in the studies as those who started earlier, and, 
 the chances are, better physically. 
 
 This crowding and pushing boys and girls on in their 
 studies in our schools and colleges is in thousands of 
 instances disastrous to them. In utter disregard of their 
 health, their age, or their getting sufficient exercise, they 
 are urged on to fresh trials by the parents. In proof of 
 this, let any person visit any of our higher schools or col- 
 leges, and notice the number of pale, thin, and careworn- 
 looking scholars, who have sacrificed their physical to their 
 mental development. 
 
 We say, give us robust health, with moderate knowledge, 
 rather than a Jiead stored with education and a broken con- 
 stitution. 
 
APOPLEXY. 85 
 
 APOPLEXY, 
 
 Except so far as the heart and lungs are involved, might 
 pass for death. During the continuance of a fit, there is 
 an entire loss of motion and of all the senses, and the third 
 attack almost invariably terminates the life of the patient. 
 Tall, spare persons are seldom or never attacked by 
 apoplexy, however much their habits and manner of living 
 may resemble those of persons whom the disease affects. 
 It usually seizes persons who are stout, red-faced, and have 
 short necks, and especially when advanced in years and 
 given to high living or free eating of rich foods, and drink- 
 ing wines and liquors. 
 
 Tendency to attacks of this nature are, m many cases, in- 
 herited, and the fits usually show themselves suddenly ; 
 inactivity, taken in connection with full diet, is another 
 cause of this complaint, while violent exertions may bring 
 it on. Elderly persons in cold and rainy seasons are liable 
 to this complaint. The direct cause of apoplexy is an 
 over quantity of blood or serum in the brain ; and the 
 treatment must be such as is calculated to afford relief by 
 drawing it down from the head, and sending it circulating 
 through the extremities. 
 
 Let the collar be at once loosened, and the head and 
 neck treated with cold applications, while the feet can be 
 put into hot water for a quarter of an hour. It would 
 seem as though bleeding would be a means of relief, but 
 experience has not always proved tHis to be the case, — 
 sometimes far to the contrary, because the trouble is not 
 owing to the quantity of blood, but to the unequal circula- 
 tion of the fluid. 
 
 Any person who does not take the first attack of this 
 sort as a fearful warning; to change his habits and manner 
 of living, but keeps on in precisely the same way, simply 
 invites death. Regard for his life imperatively demands 
 
86 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 that he shall at once, after such experience, deny himself 
 the free use of rich foods, and wines or liquors, and confine 
 himself to a spare and cooling diet, composed largely of 
 vegetables ; he should adopt regular hours and habits, 
 take regular and moderate exercise, and indulge in walk- 
 ing, bathing, and riding ; it is best to avoid fatigue, great 
 excitement, and too close application to study, or business 
 in which brain-work enters ; nor should a patient remain 
 for any length of time in positions which tend to force the 
 blood towards the head. 
 
 Apoplectic patients being generally subject to cold feet, 
 the adoption of any means by which the extremities may 
 be kept warm and dry, and the circulation assisted therein, 
 cannot be otherwise than beneficial ; and so long as the 
 stomach is not overloaded, the organs of digestion will not 
 be injured. The person will feel in every way better, the 
 circulation will be improved, and the patient, aside from 
 escaping the dangers of dyspepsia, indigestion, and other 
 ailments, induced by abusing the stomach, will greatly 
 lessen his liability of receiving further visitations from the 
 dreaded apoplexy. 
 
 All cases of this disease should be in charge of a physi- 
 cian as soon as possible. 
 
 INSANITY. 
 
 The word is derived from two Latin words, meaning not 
 sound, and the. condition is defined as a derangement of 
 the intellect. Though there cannot be a great deal said 
 as to what should or should not be done, yet the condition 
 demands some attention, in the hope that mankind, by 
 reading and learning of the cases to which this state is 
 attributed, may be able to escape it in a measure. 
 
 The manner in which this derangement may be manifest 
 is varied. It may exist as a morbid and perverted condition 
 
 
INSANITY. 8? 
 
 of the natural feelings and disposition, and without any 
 apparent or particular delusion in any one direction ; or it 
 may be shown by holding wild or unreasonable views upon 
 some cme subject (while upon others the reasoning will be 
 sound), and by the exhibition of the greatest excitability 
 when dwelling upon or referring to the one special subject ; 
 or raving madness, with ceaseless activity, incoherent mut- 
 terings, and displays of violence, through all of which there 
 is hardly a gleam of reason. 
 
 A noticeable fact in all cases of the kind is the existence 
 of some mental delusion, based on religious excitement, 
 fear of endless punishment, disappointment in love, loss of 
 property, imaginary missions or identities ; and in the 
 belief of such delusions the patient lives and acts. When 
 such delusion is harmless, the person need not be placed 
 under restraint ; but when the tendency of their condition 
 is vicious, the subject cannot be too soon removed to an 
 asylum, and placed beyond the possibility of doing harm ; 
 experience having in many cases demonstrated in a shock- 
 ing manner the need of such a move. 
 
 Although a mental condition, it will usually be found to 
 have been caused by some disturbance of the general, 
 health, such as a restless and sleepless condition at night, 
 nervousness, excitability, and eccentricity. In some in- 
 stances the condition appears suddenly, and without any 
 warning, being caused by some great emotion, like joy, 
 grief, or fear, and Especially is this true where an heredi- 
 tary tendency exists ; poor food and impure air may also 
 do their part in the work of undermining the reason. 
 
 The treatment of the insane naturally resolves itself into 
 the moral and the medical. As to the latter, if the com. 
 dition proceeds from a diseased function, the efforts will 
 all be toward restoring the same to its normal condition or 
 action. As to the moral treatment, we are glad to say that 
 each State is providing one or more asylums for the in- 
 
88 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 sane (the number of whom, we regret to say, is increas- 
 ing), where the afflicted can be treated according to the 
 degree of complaint. Should there be no improvement 
 manifested at the end of a year's treatment, the physicians 
 in charge do not usually hope for a recovery or marked 
 benefit. The time of life at which the chance of recovery 
 is best is between the ages of twenty and thirty ; in ad- 
 vanced life, it may generally be said to be hopeless. Sta- 
 tistics show that the majority of demented persons are 
 females, and also that they can be cured more readily than 
 men ; still this fact can be accounted for by the restraints 
 of society. 
 
 Whatever tends to build up and strengthen the system, 
 and render the health robust, is the best preventive of 
 insanity. The country is comparatively free from it, and 
 this fact can be accounted for by the difference between 
 the habits, occupations, and manners of those living in the 
 rural districts and those living in the cities. In the latter 
 places all is hurry, excitement, confusion, anxiety, late 
 hours, and irregular habits ; while in the farming, or 
 country places, a quiet life is the rule — nothing but regu- 
 lar living and entire freedom from excitement and dis- 
 turbing causes. The effects of the two modes of life are 
 plainly stamped upon the faces of those living in the one 
 or the other locality. By all means spare the nervous sys- 
 tem from excitement and bustle. Intemperance, slowly, 
 perhaps, but surely working, is another cause to avoid ; the 
 anxieties of business life, and the inability of controlling 
 the feelings. The best possible manner of guarding our- 
 selves against this condition is, to understand the laws of 
 our being, and to build upon the broad and solid founda- 
 tion of good health ; and so long as we remain in such 
 condition of body, just so long are we shielded with the 
 best possible armor against the dangers of a clouded 
 intellect. 
 
BRAIN FEVER. 89 
 
 BRAIN FEVER. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN. 
 
 This may be of the membrane surrounding the brain, or 
 of the substance of the brain itself ; the cause may be in- 
 tense and continued mental application, exposure to great 
 heat, cold, or dampness, from fits of extreme passion, frac- 
 ture of the skull, or excessive use of alcoholic drinks. 
 
 The symptoms are pain in the head, intense and deep- 
 seated tightness from ear to ear across the forehead, 
 throbbing of the temporal arteries, flushed face, bloodshot 
 eyes, with a wildness and brilliancy about them, pupils of 
 the eyes contracted, showing that light is painful. These 
 are followed by delirium, sleeplessness, and the whole may 
 be terminated in one day or continue for weeks ; or it may 
 result in convulsions and death in a few days, if not sub- 
 dued by treatment. 
 
 The treatment should be such as will divert the blood 
 from the head, and restore the circulation to all parts of 
 the body. Let the head and face be bathed in cold water 
 and alcohol, and the feet be placed in a tub of hot water, 
 in which has been dissolved a teaspoonful of saleratus. If 
 with a frequent use of this treatment, the head is not re- 
 lieved so that the patient can see, and the pupils become 
 dilated, then pound ice into small pieces, as large as cher- 
 ries, and put a quantity of them (perhaps two quarts) into 
 a cloth bag ; place this bag in a large pan or shallow basin, 
 which will serve to catch any of the water that drips, and 
 place the patient's head upon the bag and his feet in warm 
 water. If the ice feels too cold, remove it for a time and 
 then replace it ; put the feet into the hot bath three or 
 four times a day, and see that the bowels are kept from 
 being costive by using the following : — 
 
90 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Salts 2 ounces. 
 
 Senna i ounce 
 
 Manna . . i " 
 
 Pulverized Ginger i teaspoonful. 
 
 Steep for half an hour in a pint of water, strain and bottle. 
 Of this give for a close half a wine-glass full three or four 
 times a day, according to the freedom with which the 
 bowels operate, and which, at this time, should be four or 
 six times in twenty-four hours. Almost everything de- 
 pends upon active cathartics, in connection with the heat 
 applied to the feet, and perhaps to the sides, chest, and 
 abdomen, by means of cloths wet in hot vinegar and worm- 
 wood, laid upon those places, and changed often. 
 
 The drinks should be cool, and such as tea, toast water, 
 lemonade, tamarind water, cream of tartar water, sweet- 
 ened to the taste, and gruel. Small pieces of ice may be 
 swallowed often. Drafts of burdock or onions, or both, 
 may be applied to the feet and hands when the feet are 
 not in the bath. Should there be any retention of the 
 urine, give fifteen or twenty drops of sweet spirits of nitre, 
 in a tablespoonful of peppermint or pennyroyal tea, every 
 twenty minutes, and place a fomentation of wormwood and 
 rum, or vinegar, on the lower part of the abdomen, over 
 the bladder, and renew when it gets cool. This disease 
 requires the best medical skill, and should have it early, 
 and not delay until too late. If these remedies do not act 
 effectually, the urine must be drawn by a catheter. 
 
 HYPOCHONDRIA. 
 
 This disease, sometimes called vapors, or low spirits, is 
 an imaginary, mental disorder, caused by the condition of 
 the nervous system ; it is, in fact, the lowest type of mental 
 derangement or insanity, and is closely connected with 
 disordered digestive organs. The complaint is character- 
 ized by such feelings as loss of recollection, or activity, 
 
GIDDINESS. 91 
 
 melancholy, dread, or apprehension of some impending 
 evil, thinking themselves severely afflicted with some 
 dreadful disease ; in fact, there is great solicitude felt 
 regarding their health and life. 
 
 This trouble may be said to originate in dyspepsia, 
 brooding continually over some trouble, disappointment, 
 anxiety, association with affected or low-spirited persons, 
 or from causes calculated to shatter the nerves. Physi- 
 cians agree in pronouncing cases of this nature very diffi- 
 cult and delicate to manage. Though the ailments are 
 wholly imaginary, the patient must never be told so. En- 
 deavor to get him confident in the belief that y 011 can cure 
 liim, and, this accomplished, a great point is gained. Cor- 
 rect everything that may possibly have a tendency to in- 
 crease the affection ; let the patient have good, cheerful 
 company, as well as a change of air, exercise, regular 
 hours, and regular habits. In the summer months, if pos- 
 sible, let the sea-shore be visited, and sea-bathing indulged 
 in. Some light bitters, or tonic, for the appetite may be 
 well enough to give; but what is needed, more than medi- 
 cine, is change, and to keep the patient's thoughts away 
 from himself. 
 
 GIDDINESS, 
 
 Or vertigo, as it is technically termed, may occur at various 
 times, and may result from sundry causes ; a person in 
 health, without any apparent reason, becomes dizzy, and 
 staggers about. The feeling is similar to that produced 
 by swinging, dancing the round-dances, ascending to 
 heights, etc., and may last for a few minutes only, or be 
 felt for several hours. 
 
 In Flint's Practice, the author says, "he has never known 
 it to be a premonition (or forerunner) of apoplexy, paraly- 
 sis, or epilepsy." With females this feeling may proceed 
 from difficulty in menstruation. Where any particular act 
 
92 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 is known to induce this feeling, it is needless to advise the 
 same to be discontinued ; where the cause is unknown a 
 physician should be consulted. The patient can be as- 
 sured that this indicates the presence of no other disease, 
 and treatment for the removal of it alone is to be adopted. 
 
 HEADACHE. 
 
 This affection may be brought on by a number of causes, 
 — such as overloading the stomach, and causing acidity, ner- 
 vousness, lack of exercise, impure air, excitement, debility, 
 and tendency of blood to the head. The treatment must be 
 governed by the cause, which has to be known. In the 
 great number of cases, the cause may be said to be over- 
 eating, or eating improper and indigestible food, and in 
 such instances, relief can be had by taking an emetic of 
 a teaspoonful of mustard, and half as much salt in warm 
 water. This will thoroughly cleanse the stomach ; a tea- 
 spoonful of powdered charcoal, or citrate of magnesia, will 
 afford relief when acidity is the cause. 
 
 When the cause arises from debility, as is sometimes 
 the case with females, the patient can make use of some 
 tonics or wines, with which to nourish the system ; if 
 from a tendency of blood to the head, the feet can be 
 placed in hot water, into which some salt has been put, 
 and thus draw the blood down Other methods to equalize 
 the circulation can be adopted. In many cases to go with- 
 out eating, perhaps omitting the next meal, will be enough 
 to accomplish the desired result. One of the most thorough 
 emetics that can be employed is equal parts of lobelia and 
 mustard, each a tablespoonful, and half as much blood-root 
 as lobelia. Mix thoroughly in half-a-pint of water ; dose, a 
 tablespoonful every twenty minutes, in a cupful of warm 
 tea, mint, or catnip, till free vomiting takes place. After 
 the stomach becomes somewhat settled, some broth, gruel, 
 or tea and toast can be taken. 
 
SUNSTROKE. 93 
 
 Tea and coffee may be used, apparently, without any ill- 
 effects, by those who are engaged in active out-of-door 
 work most of the time ; but for persons whose business is of 
 a sedentary nature we do not recommend them, especially 
 the coffee. A safe and healthy drink and medicine com- 
 bined may be made by steeping dandelion-root, black cherry, 
 and butternut barks, a cupful of each, in a quart of water, 
 and taking a wine-glassful three times a day. 
 
 The great mass of mankind bring on headaches and 
 other aches by overloading the stomach, — over-eating ; and 
 the sooner they learn this fact, and live in accordance with 
 it, the better it will be for them and their children. 
 
 SUNSTROKE. 
 
 Such accident, as is well known, is caused by exposure 
 to the rays of the sun, though those working under cover 
 (in such places as laundries) may be similarly affected. 
 Very close, muggy days are productive of sunstroke, and 
 persons who have been afflicted in this manner can foretell 
 an attack by the fact that the perspiration will cease on the 
 approach of such danger. 
 
 All that can be clone for a sunstruck person is to remove 
 him to a cool room, put to the head applications of ice or 
 cold water, and sponge the neck and shoulders with cool 
 water ; bleeding in many cases has proved beneficial, but 
 such an operation should be intrusted to a doctor only, and 
 in all cases of this sort we certainly recommend sending 
 for one. 
 
 The old saying that " an ounce of prevention is worth a 
 pound of cure," is surely applicable to this case ; and we 
 strongly advise all who are engaged in out-of-door occupa- 
 tions during the hot season to use the prevention, by 
 wearing inside of the hat some large green leaves, such as 
 cabbage, rhubarb, or burdock, or a cloth or sponge, wet 
 
94 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 with cool water, and to wet it again when it becomes 
 warm. One trial of this plan will convince anybody of its 
 value. 
 
 CATALEPSY. 
 
 This is a spasmodic seizure which controls the person, 
 and causes the body and limbs to be retained in the posi- 
 tion in which they were when the attack came on, or in 
 any other in which they may be placed, regardless of how 
 unnatural or painful it might be. In some cases the limbs 
 are so rigid that they can with great difficulty be moved. 
 Ordinarly it lasts but a few hours, though it may continue 
 for days, and upon its departure leaves no effect or disease 
 as a result of its presence ; nor has the subject any recol- 
 lection of the lapse of time, or of passing events. 
 
 During the continuation of the fit, the patient remains 
 otherwise in a natural condition, the body warm, and unlike 
 its appearance in death. Nevertheless, while in cataleptic 
 fits, many persons have been buried, and, shocking as it 
 may seem, have aroused to consciousness when in their 
 coffins, where after ineffectual struggles they died in- 
 deed. Instances of this sort, which can be related, should 
 serve as a terrible warning to those near and dear, to 
 such as are unfortunately afflicted with this extraordinary 
 affection. 
 
 In very many cases the patient is not wholly uncon- 
 scious of passing events ; the sense of hearing, especially, 
 may be active, while all the others are perfectly dormant, 
 or lost, and the only existing or apparent evidence that 
 death is not really present is the unchanged expression of 
 the features and surface of the body. But this is, or should 
 be, enough to call for active treatment, by rubbing and 
 friction applied to the extremeties, and the region about 
 the heart particularly. In this country fits of this nature 
 have been caused by drinking freely of bad liquors, and 
 
EPILEPSY. 95 
 
 the consequent weakening or impoverishing of the blood. 
 It is sometimes complicated with such disease as epilepsy. 
 
 There may, or may not be, any premonitory symptoms 
 of an attack of this nature ; a person talking with another 
 has been stopped in the middle of a sentence ; upon return 
 to consciousness and speech, after the lapse of half an 
 hour, he resumed the subject, beginning in the middle of 
 the sentence, and just as though nothing had occurred. 
 
 Thus it would seem that death by catalepsy is totally 
 without pain, and its suddenness may terminate all the func- 
 tions of life as really and effectually as appearances would 
 indicate, but in the majority of cases such is not the fact, 
 as instead of actual death temporary death only occurs ; 
 but this, by mistake or lack of treatment, may be made 
 permanent by burying the person or packing in ice. The 
 only treatment in addition to that of rubbing, already indi- 
 cated, is to administer to the patient when awaking resto- 
 rative medicines, as wine or spirit, and allow a suitable 
 diet, with proper amount of exercise, as well as giving ton- 
 ics to strengthen the system. 
 
 EPILEPSY. 
 
 Epilepsy, or, as it is often called, " falling sickness," is a 
 sudden loss of consciousness, upon which the patient falls 
 prostrate, as though stunned by a blow, and usually falls for- 
 ward upon the face, at the same time giving utterance to a 
 sharp and agonized scream, which is most alarming to 
 those who hear it. It occurs in paroxysms, which happen 
 more frequently in the night than during the daytime ; in 
 some instances it is hereditary. Both male and female 
 are subject to the attacks, but statistics do not agree as to 
 which sex suffers to the greatest extent. 
 
 In event of the complaint becoming chronic, the patient 
 will usually be able to foretell an attack, by the presence 
 of symptoms, such as headache, dizziness, dimness of sight, 
 
96 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 or flashes of light passing before the eyes ; but the most 
 common of all epileptic warnings is a singular sensation of 
 cold or numbness, which commences at the extremity of a 
 limb, and passes to the head, when the fit takes place. 
 
 During the fit the eyes are fixed, the pupils dilated, the 
 teeth gnashed together, by means of which action the 
 tongue is often severely bitten, so that the foam which 
 comes out of the mouth is mixed with blood ; the breathing 
 is not only labored, but very irregular, and the thumbs 
 are turned inwards towards the palms of the hands. 
 Although the duration of a paroxysm is usually but a very 
 few minutes, yet during that short time the convulsions of 
 the limbs, distortion and livid color of the features are most 
 alarming. As the convulsions pass away, the patient, in a 
 majority of cases, falls into a deep, stupid sleep, from 
 which, after a time, he arouses confused and exhausted, 
 without the slightest recollection of anything that has 
 taken place ; upon attempting to walk he will stagger, and 
 the attack may leave him affected with a mania which 
 renders him dangerous to himself or others. After one fit, 
 others occur at irregular and uncertain times. 
 
 The paroxysms last for so short a time, that unless the 
 physician happens to be on the spot he seldom sees them. 
 All that can be done for the patient during their continu- 
 ance, is to try and prevent his injuring himself. For this 
 purpose place the patient upon a bed, or upon the grass, 
 and put a little roll of cloth (such as a handkerchief) 
 between the teeth to protect the tongue, and loosen any 
 article that may be tight about the person, such as collars, 
 belts, or corsets. Free ventilation is necessary ; dp not 
 attempt to restrain the convulsion by holding the person. 
 It is not an uncommon event for elderly persons to be thus 
 attacked while in church, in which case speedy recovery 
 generally follows relief of the pressure about the waist, or 
 the tightness caused by a collar. 
 
DELIRIUM TREMENS. 
 
 97 
 
 No epileptic should use spirituous liquors, eat to excess, 
 or largely of very fat or rich food, or become greatly excited, 
 or allow himself to be in positions from which there is 
 danger by falling. 
 
 With all the treatments that have been tried there ap- 
 pears to be nothing that can be depended upon, in the 
 majority of cases, as effectual. We read of a noted Euro- 
 pean doctor who laid the cause to worms, asserting that 
 "he had never had a post-mortem examination where epi- 
 lepsy had caused death, without finding one or more tape- 
 worms." We knew a physician who had fits from his 
 youth, but cured himself, after suffering with them for 
 nearly thirty years. His treatment was the use of sulphur, 
 saltpetre, and charcoal, — the three articles used in making 
 gunpowder. If there is a tape-worm, doses of salt are 
 good, while the remedies advised in tape-worm treatment 
 may be given, and the patient relieved of the worm. 
 
 DELIRIUM TREMENS. 
 
 This condition is the direct effect or result of the excess- 
 ive and prolonged use of alcoholic drinks ; the stomach 
 and brain are intensely stimulated, while the blood is de- 
 ranged or poisoned. Those who have had any experience 
 with persons in this condition are perfectly familiar with 
 the symptoms, and all have heard how such patients were 
 affected. 
 
 The sufferer is possessed with the idea that he sees and 
 is tormented by demons and snakes ; frightful dangers 
 threaten him, and he continually appeals to those about 
 him for aid to enable him to escape ; or he may go on 
 lamenting his condition, calling upon his long-buried 
 relatives or friends for help, or for forgiveness ; instantly 
 following may come bursts of wild laughter, only to be as 
 quickly succeeded by shuddering and shrinking from some 
 
98 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 imaginary devils or animals, and frantic appeals for protec- 
 tion. 
 
 Very many articles and methods have been used in the 
 treatment of persons in this condition, but our main 
 dependence has been long placed in bromide of potash, 
 which we regard somewhat as a sheet-anchor remedy. 
 
 Administer, dissolved in half a glass of water, sixty grams 
 bromide of potash ; rub the neck and chest with spirit ; 
 wet flannels with it, and place over the bowels, on the 
 chest, thighs, and feet, and give drinks of hop, wormwood, 
 yarrow, or camomile tea. If no spirit is at hand, steep worm- 
 wood in vinegar, rub the neck and body with the decoc- 
 tion; place bags of the wormwood at the feet, and change 
 as often as they become cool. If the patient does not 
 become quiet in an hour, give a further dose of thirty grains 
 of bromide of potash ; and if this is not effectual at the end 
 of half an hour, give thirty grains more. If the ravings 
 are severe and difficult to quiet, a tablespoonful of spirit 
 may be given in three of wormwood tea, though we prefer, 
 if possible, to do without this, and have the spirit absorbed 
 by external application. 
 
 And just here we wish to say a word in regard to the 
 quantity of bromide given at one dose. We are well 
 aware that the regulation quantity dose varies from five to 
 fifteen grains ; but in our treatment of patients affected 
 with hysterics and delirium tremens, ive have repeatedly 
 given the quantities above recommended zvitJi the most grati- 
 fying results, and with no ill-effects remaining after such 
 administration. We give below a brief synopsis of a few 
 of the cases in which we have used it the most freely, hav- 
 ing in some cases had almost a fight at the druggist's to 
 secure the desired quantity ; and in one instance we took 
 a dose of sixty grains in proof of our assertion. 
 
 We attended a patient with the delirium tremens in 
 Boston, gave sixty grains with the effect of partially quiet- 
 
DELIRIUM TREMENS. 99 
 
 ing him ; gave forty grains more, when the man soon be- 
 came perfectly quiet, bade us good-night, after which he 
 slept quietly until morning. 
 
 To a patient in Cambridge with the same trouble we 
 gave sixty grains, and during the hour following forty 
 grains more, with the effect of quieting and producing 
 sleep. In the case of a patient in Boston, a woman with 
 hysterics, and unmanageable, we gave forty grains, and 
 forty minutes later thirty grains more ; she slept until 
 morning, at which time she was able to take breakfast. 
 While in Washington on business, in 1877, the landlord 
 called us to see a lady in the house who had cramps and 
 spasms, convulsions and hysterics, and who was uncon- 
 trollable. After obtaining, with difficulty, at the drug 
 store, the eighty grains we desired, we divided them into 
 three powders, one of forty, and two of twenty grains each, 
 and gave them during the following three hours. Obtain- 
 ing a further quantity of sixty grains, after another argu- 
 ment with the druggist, it was divided into four powders, 
 and all of them taken before morning, at which time the 
 patient was free from spasms and took some nourishment. 
 
 In some cases delirium tremens may be cured by a shock 
 of cold water. We know a delirious man who ran for the 
 river to drown himself, and plunged in through the thin 
 ice that covered it ; but no sooner was he wet with the 
 ice-cold water, than he shouted lustily for help, and as soon 
 as pulled out was as sane as anybody, and laughed heartily 
 at the exploit. In recovering from this condition, all that is 
 necessary is to remain quiet for a few days, until the brain 
 and system become normal and equalized. Some physi- 
 cians administer a glass of spirits, in which are put thirty 
 drops of laudanum ; but we prefer to put double that quan- 
 tity of laudanum into the spirit ; and use it in bathing the 
 chest and neck, instead of using it internally. We are of 
 the opinion that bathing the whole body with spirits and 
 cold water would be beneficial. 
 
100 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 PALSY, OR PARALYSIS. 
 
 This is a partial or complete loss of voluntary motion in 
 a portion of the body, and is shown in a great variety of 
 ways and degrees. An attack may be confined to the 
 tongue alone, causing inability to speak plainly, or perhaps 
 to speak at all, or it may affect one arm, one leg, one side, 
 or the lower half of the body ; or it may affect one side of 
 the face only, and thereby produce a most extraordinary 
 and ludicrous appearance, as one-half of the countenance 
 will be devoid of any expression whatever, perfectly dead 
 and motionless, while the other half will display all the 
 changes usually seen in the features of a person engaged 
 in animated conversation. 
 
 With elderly persons there is sometimes met a shaking 
 palsy, the effect of which is shown by a continual nodding 
 or tipping of the head from side to side. In itself paralysis 
 may not scientifically be regarded as a disease, but as a 
 result of a morbid or an abnormal nervous condition. 
 
 An attack of this nature may unexpectedly make it's ap- 
 pearance, or it may be preceded by a period of days, or 
 even weeks, during which there has been sleepiness, a 
 numb or giddy feeling, inability to recollect things, indis- 
 tinct sight and utterance ; and very little hope can be 
 entertained when the affected part is cold, appears to waste 
 away, and there is a rapid loss of memory noticed, as well 
 as of reason. 
 
 It may be asserted that literary men are especially liable 
 to this condition of the brain, as also are habitually heavy 
 drinkers, or those whose habits keep the brain much ex- 
 cited. As the cause may be in many cases traced to lead 
 or mercury, those men who follow the business of plumb- 
 ers, plating, and working in the manufacture of lead, are 
 peculiarly exposed to danger from this source. 
 
 The symptoms of an attack may consist of thick utter- 
 
PALSY, OR PARALYSIS. IOI 
 
 ances, similar to those of. a person under the influence of 
 liquor, loss of mind, or he may awake in the morning, and 
 be unable to move an arm or perhaps a leg, and thus dis- 
 cover that he has been seized even in his sleep. Although 
 remedies may be resorted to and the malady treated with 
 a certain degree of success, insomuch as to partially re- 
 store motion to a helpless limb, or to render the speech 
 plainer, still we have not yet seen a case of entire and com- 
 plete recovery, nor one in which there was not, soon or 
 late, a recurrence of the affection. It is an undoubted 
 fact, that persons who have been stricken do, in many in- 
 stances, live to old age ; but there will remain traces of the 
 shock in such ways as a dragging of the foot, impaired con- 
 trol of some part of the body, or a defect in the speech. 
 
 In some cases a slight local difficulty may be benefited 
 by a plaster applied directly over the place ; dry friction 
 has, in some instances, proved valuable, rubbing the place 
 vigorously with the hand or with cloths. Electricity has 
 been used very many times, and with marked success ; but 
 should no benefit be derived after a few applications, its 
 use ought to be discontinued. When the patient has vio- 
 lent twitchings of the face, mix a teaspoonful each of lauda- 
 num, sulphuric ether, spirits of camphor, .tincture ginger, 
 tincture capsicum, and one gill of whiskey or spirit ; dose, 
 one teaspoonful in a cup of hop tea every two hours. Steam- 
 ing the parts with a decoction of bitter herbs will some- 
 times afford relief. When there is a paralyzed condition 
 of the lower part of the trunk, stimulating remedies should 
 be used, and for this purpose the following will serve to 
 great advantage : — 
 
 Cayenne pepper , . . 10 grains. 
 
 Lobelia dessert spoonful. 
 
 both in a pint of boiling water, and steep to get the 
 strength ; sweeten with molasses, add half a pint of milk 
 
102 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 and one gill sweet oil ; give of this injections, as much as 
 can be borne, say a gill ; to induce sleep give yarrow and 
 camomile tea, use a hop pillow, and bathe the chest with 
 hop tea. Sea-bathing and sea-air will be very beneficial. 
 
 Paralysis may be of the nerves of motion, or of the 
 nerves of sensation or feeling ; in one case the patient can 
 feel, but not move ; and in the other, can move, but not 
 feel. We have had cases of partial loss of feeling, and 
 treated them with stimulating food, such as raw onions, 
 mustard, cayenne, and horse raddish, eaten freely. Take 
 before eating and retiring a teaspoonful of mustard seed ; 
 keep the bowels regular, sponge the body with rum and 
 cayenne pepper, and use the following liniment on the 
 affected parts : — 
 
 Hartshorn, or ammonia . . I ounce. 
 
 Liquid camphor I " 
 
 Tincture cayenne . i " 
 
 Saltpetre . . . i " 
 
 Alcohol 4 ounces 
 
 Mix, and shake well. 
 
 Although we have given above an outline of the symp- 
 toms and general treatment usually adopted for this com- 
 plaint, we would say to all, that our most emphatic advice 
 is, when the disease first shows its symptoms, to employ 
 the best physician that can be had, and put the case into 
 his hands. 
 
 There is no danger, however, in using the remedies 
 above given, for a few days; in which case, if the patient 
 improves under your treatment, there will be no need of 
 calling a physician. 
 
NEURALGIA. 103 
 
 NEURALGIA. 
 
 This name is from two Greek words signifying pain and 
 nerve, and the disease is a painful affection of the nerves ; 
 when it is located about the face it is called tic-doloreux, 
 or face ague ; when located in the great nerve of either 
 leg it is called sciatica. That it is symptomatic is shown 
 by the fact of its being often traced to some difficulty, 
 such as decaying teeth. Its presence is shown by violent, 
 darting, shooting pains, which come on in paroxysms (or 
 by spells), which, except in very severe cases, are not at- 
 tended by any inflammation or external swelling. There is 
 no constitutional disarrangement, except such as might be 
 occasioned by the extreme suffering and loss of sleep and 
 rest, naturally to be looked for, during the time the disease 
 lasts. 
 
 Tenderness and swelling occur only when the pain has 
 been frequent and severe, and which, in most cases, leaves 
 the patient as suddenly as it came. Its coming and going 
 with the absence of inflammatory symptoms are the particu- 
 lar characteristics by which it can be distinguished from 
 other affections. Among the causes tending to produce 
 it, we may mention exposure to cold and dampness, and' 
 acidity or alkaline condition of the stomach. The cause 
 that brought on the disease must govern the treatment : 
 if induced by decayed teeth, they must be removed or 
 filled, so as to leave no exposed nerves ; if the patient is 
 living in a damp location, he should select one where he 
 will have the benefit of dry air. A generous diet may be 
 given, but without excess. The best results have been 
 obtained by giving bromide of potassa in twenty-grain 
 doses, which may be taken in tea or water, say a table- 
 spoonful every hour. The place may be bathed with a 
 mixture of one ounce each of arnica tincture, tincture 
 aconite, and sweet spirits of nitre ; wet a cloth with it, and 
 
104 0UR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 lay upon the face. When the pain is caused by decayed 
 teeth or inflamed gums, the same liniment can be used. 
 
 We would advise persons who may read these lines to 
 use the above liniment for the cure of this disease, bathing 
 the face and inhaling it from a cloth or sponge, until the 
 desired insensibility is produced. This will afford relief, 
 except in severe cases, which should be treated by a 
 physician. 
 
 RHEUMATISM 
 
 Is pain, either with or without swelling, and may be either 
 located or transitory ; it may be caused either by an excess 
 of alkali or of acid in the system ; it commonly attacks 
 people in the autumn or spring, seldom in the summer or 
 winter, unless from sudden changes of weather, from warm 
 to cold, or upon exposure to cold after great exertions. 
 When located in the back it is called lumbago, and when 
 in the hips, sciatica. In many cases it is hereditary, and 
 may attack young persons at any or all times ; and while 
 it may, upon its first appearance, be cured by some simple 
 remedy, the next attack, as we have learned in our practice, 
 will not yield to the same treatment. At one time the 
 difficulty will give way to colchicum readily, and the suf- 
 ferer thinks he has a specific, only to learn upon the next 
 appearance of the complaint that a new remedy must be 
 looked for. 
 
 With lemons alone we have cured men who have been 
 severely afflicted for four or six weeks : this was in cases 
 where the system was impregnated with alkali. We 
 ordered the patient to eat a third of a lemon before each 
 meal, and another piece the same size before retiring. We 
 have also cured cases of rheumatism of long standing by 
 giving tartaric acid, fifteen grains before each meal, and 
 the same quantity before going to bed ; and dissolving- 
 forty grains of the same acid in a half pint of water, and 
 
RHEUMATISM. 105 
 
 bathing the affected parts with the solution, night and 
 morning ; and for six years there was no return of the 
 complaint. 
 
 Persons of plethoric habit, or regular drinkers, or per- 
 sons who are working in mills, or in any business where 
 they are exposed to dampness and moisture, are more 
 liable to attacks of this nature than those of medium size, 
 regular habits, and whose occupations are active. Some- 
 times its presence is indicated by a stitch, upon making a 
 certain movement of the body, or of a leg or an arm, but 
 is not felt when the person is at rest or perfectly quiet ; at 
 times the pain will last for several days, and be followed 
 by swelling, which upon the application of a remedy dis- 
 appears. In other cases, it shifts or moves about from one 
 locality to 'another, in the most exasperating manner, 
 showing that the seeds of the disease are there, and need- 
 ing only some exciting cause for their development. The 
 pain is more severe during the night than in the day, and 
 either dry or moist heat may afford relief. If the affected 
 part is hot and dry, sponge it with warm water, in which 
 has been put a teaspoonful of soda, and if a bath-room is 
 at hand, take a bath in water as hot as can be used, and 
 into which some few tablespoonfuls of soda have been put ; 
 upon coming out, rub the body briskly until dry, and a 
 glow is upon the skin. 
 
 We knew of a patient who was badly affected, in all 
 parts of the body, in fact, who cured himself in one night 
 by drinking heavily of gin and molasses in hot water, with 
 the addition of a fourth of a teaspoonful of flour of sul- 
 phur in each glass, and drinking so freely as to become 
 thoroughly drunk. The next day his rheumatism had dis- 
 appeared, and he was not again troubled with it for thirty 
 years. 
 
 We knew a merchant in Boston who had been afflicted 
 many years with rheumatism ; had suffered many things 
 
I06 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 from physicians, and rather grew worse ; then learned to 
 cure himself. His treatment was, take to his room, and 
 eat onions, raw, and cooked in every known way. Three 
 or four days' treatment cured him every time. 
 
 A very good remedy can be made by mixing the follow- 
 
 Flour of Sulphur i tablespoonful 
 
 Cayenne Pepper 1-4 " " 
 
 Saltpetre the size of a bean 
 
 Mix in a teacupful of molasses, and take three times a day 
 a teaspoonful, bathing the feet in hot water in the morn- 
 ing and at evening, in which has been put a teaspoonful of 
 soda or saleratus. If this does not relieve the pain in three 
 days, eat lemons, and bathe the feet and part affected with 
 acid water, lemon juice, or vinegar, hot or cold. 
 
 In many cases the following will be found very benefi- 
 cial : — 
 
 Bromide of Potash 1-2 ounce 
 
 Pulverized Extract Podophyllin 40 grains 
 
 Cayenne Pepper 1 drachm 
 
 Mix in a cup of molasses, and take a teaspoonful before 
 eating and before retiring. Bathe the feet twice daily in 
 hot water, in which put a teaspoonful of saltpetre. If re- 
 lief should not be obtained in three or four days, prepare 
 the following : — 
 
 Flour of Sulphur 1 ounce 
 
 Pulverized Guiacum . . . , 1-4 " 
 
 Tartaric Acid 1-4 " 
 
 Mix in a cup of molasses, and take a teaspoonful before 
 eating, and one before retiring, and while following this 
 course, bathe the feet twice a day in hot vinegar, with salt 
 dissolved in it. 
 
INFLAMMATORY RHEUMATISM. 107 
 
 And another preparation that has worked well in some 
 cases is made thus : — 
 
 Pulverized Extract Podophyllin 30 grains 
 
 Extract Hyoscyamus 15 " 
 
 Extract of Butternut 60 " 
 
 Pulverized Ipecac 30 " 
 
 Sulphate of Potash 60 " 
 
 Mix and make into sixty pills ; of which take two when the 
 stomach is empty ; and if no operation follows in ten hours, 
 take another pill. 
 
 A Spanish remedy for rheumatism and deep-seated 
 pains is to apply a poultice, one-fourth or one-third of 
 which is leaves of lobelia, pulverized and mixed in or 
 spread on the surface. 
 
 INFLAMMATORY RHEUMATISM. 
 
 This form of rheumatism usually shows itself by pain 
 and swelling at some one of the joints, while in other cases 
 several of them may be attacked at the same time ; in 
 some cases the complaint changes its location very fre- 
 quently. In various instances, though very rarely, rheu- 
 matism may strike inward, and affect the heart, in which 
 case it will result fatally. One of the most plainly mani- 
 fested symptoms of this complaint, is the acid sweats 
 which escapes from the patient, causing a sour smell about 
 the clothing and person ; the urine is high-colored, and 
 there is a deposit in it resembling brick-dust ; in some in- 
 stances there is a softness, or watery feeling, about the 
 swelling, with red lines running from it ; afterwards there 
 is a tenderness and fever, and the tongue is furred. In 
 the most common forms of rheumatism, the fever is not so 
 marked, and moderates with the improvement of the joints. 
 Relief is sometimes obtained by bathing in hot water, in 
 
108 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 which is a little carbonate of soda ; but we place reliance 
 upon the remedies used in rheumatism, — which see. We 
 have known chronic inflammatory rheumatism to be cured 
 by the application of rum and cold water, and taking every 
 four hours a powder composed of twenty grains of bromide 
 of potash, and fifteen grains of mandrake. 
 
 We knew a Boston gentleman of strict integrity, who 
 told us that, having had a siege for weeks of rheumatism, 
 declared he would have one night of ease and rest by get- 
 ting gloriously drunk. He sent a friend with a bottle for 
 rum, gin, or whiskey, and before the messenger returned 
 with the liquor all his sufferings left him in the twinkling 
 of an eye. 
 
 MERCURIAL RHEUMATISM. 
 
 This is a form of the complaint most prevalent in the 
 Southern and Western States of America, and where the 
 disease has been treated with mercury, as in the old school. 
 Whenever the weather changes, the patient who has been 
 thus treated feels pains in all the joints of his body, which 
 are almost as sensitive as a barometer. In treating this 
 form of rheumatism, the object is to equalize the circula- 
 tion around the parts affected, by means of heat or warmth, 
 and this may be clone by a warm bath, or by bathing the 
 places with hot fomentations, made by steeping the boughs 
 or bark of juniper, spruce, or fir, in hot vinegar, and laying 
 on flannels wrung out of the decoction ; put the feet into 
 hot water, to which has been added a spoonful of saleratus ; 
 make and take the following cathartic : — 
 
 Mandrake 20 grains 
 
 Rhubarb 10 " 
 
 Bromide Potash 20 " 
 
 Ipecac 5 " 
 
 Mix and divide into two powders ; take one at night, and 
 the other in the morning. • 
 
CRAMPS. 
 
 IO9 
 
 If the warm flannels do not give relief in a few hours, 
 try laying on flannels wrung out in cold rum and water. 
 We may here repeat what we have often said, as well as 
 heard remarked by others : " That one mans remedy is 
 not another s, and what will cure at one time, will not 
 operate in the same manner, with the same patient > on another 
 occasion y 
 
 We knew of a case of chronic rheumatism which had 
 been located in the ankles of an elderly lady for a number 
 of years; she had used hot applications during this time, 
 but unsuccessfully, and at last, in despair, tried cold water, 
 the result of which was an immediate, as well as a per- 
 manent, cure. We also know a lady, of delicate constitu- 
 tion, who had suffered with neuralgia in one side of the 
 head, and who, after in vain using warm applications, re- 
 sorted to the cold, as in the above case, and with precisely 
 the same result. 
 
 If acute rheumatism is properly and promptly treated, it 
 will not become chronic. We have known of several in- 
 stances where this form of rheumatism (the acute) has 
 been cured by a plunge into the snow or cold water. We 
 cannot account for it, except by means of the shock given 
 to the system. A sponge bath with cold rum and water, 
 or a cold bath in a river or tub, is easily tried. 
 
 CRAMPS. 
 
 Painful contractions of the muscles, which impart to 
 them a rigid or knotted feeling, are known as cramps. 
 This affection is generally in the feet, legs, or arms ; writ- 
 ers, musicians, or those who use the hands a great deal, 
 and employ one set of muscles continuously, may be 
 thus affected in the active part. Women are frequently 
 troubled with cramps. 
 
 It may be caused by bathing too freely during the warm 
 
IIO OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 season, or by bathing in water that is too cold, by damp 
 clothing, damp bed-clothes, or by the feet becoming chilled 
 at night upon removing the boots ; and indigestible food 
 may be a cause. 
 
 The first form of treatment adopted for cramp is usually 
 vigorous friction ; rub the place with the hand or with 
 warm flannels ; or a warm bath can be given with benefit.. 
 For cramp in the stomach (which is a serious thing), lay 
 upon the place cloths wrung out in a decoction made of 
 hops or wormwood, in hot water or vinegar ; or wet cloths 
 in spirit and water and lay them on. Also give drinks of 
 ginger, brandy, peppermint, pain-killer, hot tea, or any hot 
 drinks that will at once warm the stomach. The pain- 
 killer, or red pepper, can be taken in hot water. Upon the 
 system or affected part becoming thoroughly warmed, the 
 cramps will disappear speedily. 
 
 LOCKED JAW. 
 
 This dreadful malady, which is in its nature similar to a 
 fixed cramp in the affected part, is usually caused by 
 wounds of a stabbing nature, such as running a nail, splin- 
 ter, or sharp instrument into the flesh ; or by some injury 
 which lacerates a muscle. It is a spasmodic contrac- 
 tion or rigid condition of the muscles, and while it lasts 
 the patient endures the greatest suffering, through all of 
 which he is perfectly conscious. The premonitory symp- 
 toms of locked jaw are pain along some muscle, a numb 
 feeling or one of stiffness about the neck, and painful and 
 difficult swallowing ; the muscles of the -face are soon 
 severely affected, and draw the lips away from the teeth, 
 thereby giving the sufferer a frightful, grinning appear- 
 ance ; the jaws become closed, and remain so in spite of 
 all attempts to open them. Unless the unfortunate person 
 is speedily relieved, death will soon follow. Various treat- 
 
NIGHTMARE. Ill 
 
 ments are recommended : by some, applications of cloths, 
 wet with hot lye water; by others, half teaspoonful doses 
 of laudanum. If the jaws are set together, a tooth or two 
 must be removed in order to administer anything. Chloro- 
 form and ether are, however, considered the most useful 
 agents to employ, given by the direction of a physician, 
 inhaled or taken into the stomach in sufficient quantity 
 to quiet the spasm. We have been informed by respon- 
 sible persons that whiskey, or strong drink, has been used 
 in cases of this nature, and that a most liberal use of it for 
 a few hours has wrought a cure. 
 
 NIGHTMARE 
 
 Always takes place when the sleep is uneasy or disturbed, 
 and is a frightful sense of oppression or suffocation ; fear- 
 ful dreams, in which the sleeper appears to be in the most 
 alarming danger of shocking death, and can neither escape 
 nor help himself, in spite of his utmost exertions ; he en- 
 deavors to cry out, but succeeds in making only a loud 
 groaning or moaning, which arouses some one, by whom he 
 is awakened. 
 
 There are several causes which produce this condition, 
 such as eating late, or hearty suppers (and especially when 
 fatigued), severe study, indigestion, or costiveness. The 
 fact that it happens only when the person is sleeping upon 
 his back, would indicate plainly that impeded circulation 
 is intimately connected with the complaint. Persons have 
 no doubt died during attacks of nightmare, and the cause 
 of death been laid to apoplexy or heart disease. 
 
 To avoid this trouble, let the subject of it endeavor by all 
 means to sleep on the side. If late suppers or lunches are 
 the cause, omit them ; do not allow the bowels to become 
 constipated in this or in any other complaint. In any 
 event, let the cause be sought, and, when ascertained, 
 avoided. 
 
112 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 As a general rule, it may be well to have the patient or 
 subject reduce the diet somewhat, and take more exercise. 
 And in the diet let all foods of an indigestible nature be 
 shunned. 
 
 To prevent sleeping on the back, have a cloth belt, eight 
 or ten inches wide, to button in front like waistbands of 
 drawers, and on the back of which have securely fastened 
 ten or more hard balls of cork or wood, an inch and a half 
 or two inches in diameter ; these can be placed an inch 
 and a half apart, and by making two holes through each 
 one, they can be tied with twine to the belt. The sleeper 
 can be on either side, and have no inconvenience from the 
 cloth belt ; but, if he turns on his back, the balls serve as 
 a gentle reminder. 
 
 SLEEPLESSNESS. 
 
 There are many persons who, after retiring, are for a 
 long time unable to go to sleep ; they roll and toss about 
 for perhaps hours. To prevent this condition, take a 
 rough, dry towel, just before retiring, and rub the face, 
 neck, chest, and arms vigorously ; or rub with a damp 
 towel, and then dry. If much troubled, wet a towel in 
 water in which hops have been steeped, and rub with 
 that. This rubbing will serve to equalize the circulation,, 
 by drawing the blood from the head, and out upon the 
 surface. 
 
 Do not use strong tea or coffee at supper, nor eat too 
 heartily ; and if any habit is thought to be injurious, cease 
 to indulge it. We do not advise medicine of any sort to 
 induce sleep under these circumstances, as a habit of this 
 sort once formed is difficult to overcome. Make a change 
 in the habits usually adopted, such as taking a little fresh 
 air before bedtime ; this will often accomplish the desired 
 effect. 
 
FAINTING, OR SWOONING. 113 
 
 FAINTING, OR SWOONING. 
 
 This is the apparent cessation of the pulse and breath- 
 ing ; the subject lies motionless and without any of the 
 ordinary signs of life ; the face has a deathlike paleness, 
 the hands and feet are cold, the eyes are closed, and the 
 body limp. When recovery commences, the patient 
 breathes deeply, as though the lungs had been entirely 
 empty of air. This condition may be brought about by loss 
 of blood, excitement, heat, fright, great pain, or weakness. 
 
 The first remedy for the fainting state, is to lay the 
 patient flat upon the bed or elsewhere, place the head a 
 little lower than the body. In this position the current of 
 blood toward the head is not impeded by the force of 
 gravitation, as would be the case were the head raised ; 
 remove from the person anything that may be close or 
 tight, such as boots, collar, belt, or corsets ; sprinkle the 
 hands and face with cold water, and let cologne or ammonia 
 be held near the nostrils ; let the patient have plenty of 
 fresh air, and rub the hands and limbs briskly. Recovery 
 will be hastened by placing the feet in hot water, and by 
 rubbing the stomach with warm water, to which has been 
 added a little red pepper. While recovering, a little stimu- 
 lant, such as brandy in hot water, will be beneficial. 
 
 Those who are subject to fainting should especially 
 avoid crowded rooms and halls, where the air becomes 
 unfit for breathing, and injurious even to well persons. 
 
 It is advisable for those who are liable to attacks of this 
 nature, to carry about their person a small bottle (say two 
 ounces) containing the following mixture : — 
 
 Tincture ginger 1 ounce 
 
 Paregoric 2 drachms 
 
 Tincture peppermint 1-2 ounce. 
 
 " cayenne 1 drachm 
 
 Carbonate potash 20 grains 
 
114 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Dose, a teaspoonful when the symptoms of fainting 
 come on ; a teaspoon or some small measure may be 
 wrapped up with the bottle. 
 
 ST. VITUS'S DANCE. 
 
 This is partial paralysis of the nerves, caused by confine- 
 ment, severe exercise or labor, and usually affecting young 
 persons before the age of puberty. Sydenham, who has 
 closely investigated the subject, says, that " the disease is 
 first shown in an unsteadiness of the walk, dragging one 
 leg after the other, the hand is unsteady, and if an attempt 
 is made to pass food or drink to the mouth, many curves 
 and motions are made before it reaches there." The 
 bowels and stomach are often deranged. An emetic will 
 clear the stomach, and should then be followed by an 
 active cathartic. We have laid the cause in many cases to 
 worms, and several cases are reported in which by the 
 removal of worms a cure was at once effected. It may be 
 tape-worm — the large stomach worm, the hair worm, 
 thread worm, or the invisible little animalcule which in- 
 habits the lowest portion of the intestine. 
 
 The treatment advised is to leave books and excitement ; 
 partake largely of vegetable food, take out-of-doors exer- 
 cise and play, go into the country, bathe daily with tepid 
 water, using it cooler from day to day. If meat is eaten 
 let it be fresh. A good nervine can be made of — 
 
 Scullcap i ounce 
 
 Valerian I " 
 
 in a quart of water. Dose, a teaspoonful three times a day. 
 If it is believed to be the effect of worms, treatment for 
 their removal can be used. 
 See treatment for worms. 
 
HYDROPHOBIA. II5 
 
 HYDROPHOBIA. 
 
 This malady is as unnatural as cow-pox or delirium tre- 
 mens, being the result of a poison introduced into the 
 system by the bite of a reptile, dog, cat, or other animal, 
 which is by nature poisonous, or has been biten by some 
 rabid animal. It was thought by the ancients to be infec- 
 tious and contagious ; communicated by contact and inha- 
 lation, but experiments and tests disproved that theory. 
 The treatment and remedies have long been discussed by 
 physicians who claim to be in possession of the " divine 
 art of healing, or revelation from the gods ; " but, alas, for 
 the revelations ; for during six thousand years, they have 
 made few discoveries, not to speak of their revelations, 
 until we come to Hippocrates, about four hundred years 
 before the Christian era. He made more discoveries and. 
 greater progress in the knowledge of physiology, medicine, 
 and practice upon the human system than all who lived 
 before him ; and excepting Galen, Cullen, Aristotle, and a 
 few others of the earlier school, little, and very little, has 
 been discovered since. 
 
 Although many remedies have been brought forward,, 
 experience has not sanctioned them as reliable. 
 
 In the Eastern countries, it is asserted that snake-bites 
 are cured by drinking freely of hot punch, or spirit and 
 water, with twenty drops of ammonia in each drink, coupled 
 with hard exercise for six or eight hours, to induce sweat- 
 ing. The fact that sweating was a means of salvation 
 of life in such cases was discovered in the following 
 way : Some friends of a man who had been bitten, in 
 order to save him from the agonies, and his relatives the 
 distress of seeing him pass through such horrible suffer- 
 ings, which all deemed inevitable, endeavored to smother 
 him between two feather-beds. The raving man struggled 
 
lib OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 violently for a long time, sweating profusely, as also did 
 his friendly extinguishers, and finally he begged for release, 
 vowing himself cured and well. They desisted and found 
 such to be the fact. 
 
 Cat Poison. — We have been informed of, and read 
 about, cases in which death was caused by the bite and 
 scratch of cats, not known to be mad, except in the sense 
 of being cross at a child when driven about a room, 
 whereon the cat in anger bit the child in the leg or hand. 
 These bites have been followed by swelling, which in a few 
 hours turned blue, and resulted in death at the end of 
 several days. 
 
 Cat Scratch. — We know of a case where a little girl 
 (the mother told us) was scratched on the leg by a cat 
 while at play ; the scratch became inflamed, swelled fright- 
 fully, the skin burst and turned black, resulting in the 
 death of the child, but the usual symptoms of hydrophobia 
 were not present. The doctor did not know what to do, 
 but adopted poultices. Such instances only serve as terri- 
 ble warning to mothers not to allow children to play with, 
 or certainly not to tease, cats or dogs. 
 
 From the foregoing we would advise an eclectic treat- 
 ment, as bathing with warm water or vinegar ; or poul- 
 ticing with tobacco in the poultice, and renewing as often 
 as four times a day, injecting half a grain of sulphate of 
 morphia under the skin every two hours, taking twenty 
 drops of hartshorn and one-quarter teaspoonful sulphur in 
 a hot drink of spirit every half hour, if it does not intoxi- 
 cate, and continuing for six or eight hours ; then taking an 
 active cathartic, such as powdered mandrake twenty grains, 
 jalap ten grains, ipecac five grains, mixed in molasses. Get 
 a physician as soon as you can. 
 
 In rural districts, upon the appearance of hydrophobia, 
 after the bite of any animal, and neither doctors nor 
 medicines are at hand, we would advise the following until 
 
DIPHTHERIA, PUTRID SORE THROAT. I I / 
 
 aid arrives : Squeeze out all the blood, and wash with 
 warm vinegar : put on poultices partly of tobacco, and eat 
 onions, raw and cooked, with horse radish, mustard, and 
 cayenne pepper ; drink freely of spirituous liquors in hot 
 water, with flour of sulphur added to them. In fact, get 
 half intoxicated, and keep up sweating for some hours by 
 violent and continued exercise. One man cured his patient 
 by giving him half a pint of vinegar before each meal, and 
 before retiring at night. 
 
 DIPHTHERIA, PUTRID SORE THROAT. 
 
 This is one of the most serious of all the throat difficul- 
 ties, if not the most so. It has been described and treated 
 in various parts of the world as an epidemic, but has rarely 
 occurred of late years in this country as such, having been 
 more or less common, and those with the afflicted being 
 often seized with it. In a majority of cases the seat of the 
 disease is the fauces, one or both of the tonsils being 
 affected. The false membrane (the word diphtheria signi- 
 fies false membrane) which forms over the entire back 
 part of the mouth and throat may be prevented, in the 
 early stages of the disease, by gargling frequently with 
 chlorate of potash, flour of sulphur, and cayenne pepper ; but 
 after its formation it may be removed with forceps, or if 
 left to nature will be thrown off. The time of its coming 
 off varies from four to twenty-one clays. This disease 
 sometimes extends to the nose, eyes, and down along the 
 aesophagus to the stomach. A more serious extension is 
 that into the larynx and windpipe, and then it assumes the 
 character of croup. The breath is often fetid. 
 
 Many who have devoted much time and study to this 
 affection depend a great deal upon local treatment, believ- 
 ing that the system becomes infected by absorption, and 
 the disease thereby extended. As far as we can judge for 
 
I 1 8 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 domestic practice, gargles and lotions can be used with 
 advantage and good effect, with greater safety than any 
 other method. The following may be made and used as 
 gargles, spitting out of the mouth after using : Twenty-five 
 grains of sulphate of copper, or of chlorate of potash, or 
 of sulphate of zinc in a wine-glass full of water, or thirty 
 drops of creosote or carbolic acid in same quantity of 
 water ; dose for a gargle, a teaspoonful. A mild astringent 
 is made by using a teaspoonful of glycerine, ten grains 
 tannin, in a half teacupful of water. Another good gargle 
 is made of — 
 
 Carbonate soda 1-2 teaspoonful 
 
 Lac sulphur 1-2 " 
 
 Cayenne pepper 1-4 " 
 
 in half a cupful of water ; teaspoonful for a gargle. In 
 rural districts for putrid sore throat make a gargle of half 
 a teacupful of whiskey, rum, or reduced alcohol, and a 
 strong tea of oak, black cherry, or poplar bark, with one- 
 quarter teaspoonful red pepper ; also cut a thin slice of 
 bacon or ham to reach from ear to ear, cover it with 
 petroleum or kerosene, on which sprinkle cayenne pepper 
 and bind it on the throat : give fifteen drops of petroleum 
 internally, in mint water, every fifteen minutes. Another 
 remedy found by some practitioners to be of great service is 
 a mixture of wood-ashes and salt, with red pepper. Make 
 it of the consistency for a poultice, spread on a double 
 flannel, and bind around the neck warm, and renew every 
 hour ; place a piece of muslin on the poultice to prevent 
 its coming in direct contact with the flesh. 
 
QUINSY. 119 
 
 QUINSY. 
 
 This complaint, usually called inflammatory sore throat, 
 is an inflammation of the tonsils and mucous lining of the 
 throat, and is most prevalent in the autumn and spring. 
 Several attacks predispose a person to it. It may be caused 
 by acrid food or such as stimulates the fauces, by exposing 
 the neck when the person is warm, or by going into the 
 open air after speaking for some time in a large, warm 
 room. The disease is ushered in by a tightness in the 
 throat, a difficulty in swallowing, and one or both of the 
 tonsils being enlarged and inflamed. 
 
 The object of treatment is to scatter and reduce the 
 inflammation before it advances towards suppuration ; in 
 which direction it has a tendency, and in which case a 
 very unfavorable result may be looked for. Give an emetic 
 of a teaspoonful of mustard, and half as much salt in warm 
 water ; use a strong gargle, made of vinegar, red pepper, 
 and borax, and use this often. See that the bowels are 
 open. Tying around the neck a thin slice of pork, on 
 which black pepper has been freely sprinkled, is very 
 effectual in some cases. A poultice about the neck of 
 boiled or roasted onions, sprinkled with pepper, often pro- 
 duces satisfactory results. They should be renewed every 
 four hours, or upon becoming dry. Inhaling strong decoc- 
 tions of wormwood or bitter herbs is good. 
 
 The patient may drink freely of gum-arabic water and 
 flaxseed tea, and may with benefit eat all the onions wanted. 
 
 An excellent preventive of this, and, in fact, any ailment 
 of the throat, and which we would advise, is bathing or 
 showering the neck and chest with cold water morning and 
 evening. Many render themselves liable to throat diffi- 
 culties by keeping the neck tied or wrapped up, and in this 
 manner making it so tender and sensitive to cold that they 
 are affected by the slightest exposure. We know of many 
 
120 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 persons who, after such practice, have thrown away the 
 wraps gradually, and by accustoming the neck to cold, and 
 bathing in cold water, have got rid of that tendency. 
 
 SORE THROAT. 
 
 This arises from a variety of causes, in much the same 
 manner as cold, quinsy, and laryngitis, and the same treat- 
 ment is applicable ; in the early stage of the disease, a light 
 emetic of half teaspoonful of salt and a teaspoonful of mus- 
 tard in a cupful of warm water will be of advantage. 
 
 The nurse's remedy is to pin the stocking about the neck 
 before retiring, and to give drinks of cold water and 
 molasses. This is simple, convenient, and safe, but we 
 would prefer a strip of flannel, wet with vinegar and cay- 
 enne, and pinned about the throat, hot as can be used. 
 Cayenne and vinegar added to the drink of water and 
 molasses will tend to start the perspiration and equalize 
 the circulation. In severe cases, where the fauces and 
 tonsils are inflamed, a thin slice of pork or bacon, three or 
 four inches wide and eight in length, and thickly sprinkled 
 with black pepper, may be fastened on under the flannel 
 and bound closely to the throat ; th-e bowels must be kept 
 open with salts and senna, the feet bathed in hot water, in 
 which has been put a teaspoonful of mustard, and use the 
 following : — 
 
 'Half pint of sage and gold-thread tea (strong), in which 
 steep for an hour one-fourth teaspoonful cayenne pepper; 
 add chlorate of potash one drachm, and one tablespoonful 
 honey ; dose, teaspoonful every hour. 
 
COUGHS. 121 
 
 COUGHS. 
 
 Coughs are the results of cold, damp weather, inhalation 
 of powder, vapor, gas from chemicals, exposure to drafts of 
 air when sitting in warm rooms, speaking in close halls or 
 rooms, and then going out into the night air, and, in some 
 cases, they are inherited from parents or grand-parents ; in 
 other cases they result from affections of some one or 
 more organs of the body ; and the chronic cough is the 
 sympathetic outcome ; in some instances it is impossible to 
 tell how a cold was taken, whether from a warm room, 
 changing bed, room, clothing, or changes of weather. We 
 have had all the symptoms of cold after putting on thicker 
 underclothing, and we are led to question if it is cold or 
 only an irritation of the skin which concentrates upon the 
 throat and bronchial tubes or lining membrane, usually 
 affected at such times. Cold makes a person feel languid, 
 heavy, and indisposed to do any work or make any effort ; 
 when a discharge commences from the nose or the throat 
 the head feels relieved. 
 
 Let the patient inhale mint tea, hot vinegar, and cay- 
 enne ; should the cold move downward to the lungs, use 
 the same inhalations and gargles of vinegar, cayenne, and 
 molasses ; if the uvula is affected and hangs down, so as 
 to produce a tickling, use every little while a gargle com- 
 posed of vinegar, salt or sugar, and pepper. The following 
 is a simple as well as an excellent remedy for a cough : — 
 
 Break an Qgg, shell and all, in half a teacupful of sharp 
 vinegar, and allow it to stand over-night ; then take out 
 the lining membrane of the Qgg, the shell having been dis- 
 solved by that time, and mix this liquid with a cupful of 
 molasses, a piece of butter as large as a thimble, and grate 
 in fine half a nutmeg ; simmer all together for an hour ; 
 dose, one teaspoonful when the cough is troublesome. 
 
 Or, for a chronic cough, use the following : — 
 
122 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Water „ I teacupful 
 
 Cayenne pepper 1-2 teaspoonful 
 
 Tobacco size of a bean 
 
 Steep together for half an hour, strain, then add — 
 
 Sweet oil . • 1 ounce (2 tablespoonfuls) 
 
 Molasses ...... 1 cupful 
 
 Vinegar 1-2 " 
 
 Steep for half an hour, and add balsam tolu, one ounce, or, 
 in place of it, a teaspoonful powdered slippery-elm bark ; 
 dose, one teaspoonful when required. 
 
 The following: is an excellent mixture for chronic 
 coughs : — 
 
 l o 
 
 Syrup of balsam tolu 2 ounces 
 
 Iodide of potassa 20 grains 
 
 Tar water 4 drachms 
 
 Tincture of anise 1 drachm 
 
 Sulphate of morphia 1 grain 
 
 Dose, one-half a teaspoonful, as required. 
 
 MUMPS, 
 
 Or parotitis, as it is called, is an inflammation of the parotid 
 glands, and is almost wholly confined to children. Boys are 
 more subject to it than girls ; it is contagious, sometimes 
 prevailing as an epidemic, but attacking the same person 
 once only. This complaint, though painful, is a simple 
 one, unless it should be allowed to extend as far as the 
 brain ; should the patient (a male) take cold it may settle 
 in the genital organs, and make the case serious. In 
 case of the testicles swelling, the result of cold settling 
 there, apply slippery r -elm poultices, with leaves of lobelia, 
 finely bruised and softened by hot water, and laid on, the 
 poultice to be next the skin ; place a piece of thin muslin 
 over it to prevent its sticking to the skin ; the poultice 
 
WHOOPING COUGH. I 23 
 
 should be as warm as can be endured, and renewed every 
 hour. If it causes nausea and vomiting put on less lobelia. 
 The symptoms of this disease are swelling (attended with 
 pain) of the parotid gland, which is directly under the ear, 
 sometimes on both sides of the face or neck ; frequently 
 there are slight chills, the breathing may be affected, and 
 swallowing, as well as eating, difficult, exciting anger. 
 The only treatment required is to use laxative medicines 
 to keep the bowels open, and warm drinks to start the per- 
 spiration ; apply around the neck flannels dipped in hot 
 water, to which has been added a little laudanum, poppy 
 leaves, or hops. In severe cases use a poultice of slippery 
 elm and milk. With a little care and attention the com- 
 plaint will usually run its course in about one week. 
 
 WHOOPING COUGH. 
 
 This is a disease of childhood, and though grown persons 
 are liable to be attacked, they very seldom are. This is 
 accounted for by the fact that the same person is rarely, if 
 ever, affected a second time, and although adults may be 
 susceptible when they have never experienced it, there are 
 very few of this class, most persons having been affected 
 with it when children. Nearly all are acquainted with the 
 symptoms, which at first appear, like those of catarrh, with 
 a running at the nose ; and following this stage which may 
 continue for ten or fifteen days, there commences the cough, 
 which gives sure indication of the presence of this disease. 
 This may be described as a spasm, during which the per- 
 son coughs a number of times in quick succession (perhaps 
 from half a dozen to fifteen or twenty times), without being 
 able to draw any breath ; but at the end of the spasm of 
 coughing there is drawn a long and deep breath, which 
 makes, while passing in through the glottis, a whooping or 
 crowing noise, from which the disease takes its name. An- 
 
124 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 other spasm of coughing takes place only to be immedi- 
 ately followed by the deep and sounding breath as before ; 
 this continues for a short time, until the child vomits, or 
 is relieved by ejecting from the mouth a matter resembling 
 the white of an Qgg ; during the spasm the patient, from 
 the violence of the action, becomes livid in the face, and 
 will grasp anything within reach, as though for support ; 
 but with the vomiting comes relief, until the occurrence of 
 a succeeding attack. A peculiarity is, that sometimes the 
 person will seem perfectly well during the intervals be- 
 tween the paroxysms. The disease will run its course, 
 requiring ordinarily five or six weeks, and it may not dis- 
 appear for three months, and passes gradually away, while 
 the patient coughs less and less, as though more from the 
 force of habit than from necessity ; and even after re- 
 covering there is left a tendency to cough, which appears 
 to be developed upon any slight occasion, as for instance, 
 taking cold. It usually disappears as cold weather comes 
 on. This complaint is very contagious, and is most easily 
 and readily spread among children, from the fact that it 
 may be communicated by the little patient before he is 
 known to be affected. In itself it is not dangerous, but, in 
 complication with other diseases, may become so ; and for 
 this reason it must be carefully watched during its entire 
 course, that any changes may be at once noticed. 
 
 Of the many methods of treatment adopted, we here 
 enumerate the following : — 
 
 Honey or molasses I teaspoonful 
 
 Quinine 1-2 grain 
 
 Mix, and put a few drops upon the roots of the tongue, 
 d have it dissolve slowlv. 
 
 and have it dissolve slowly 
 
 Honey or molasses 1 tablespoonful 
 
 Burnt alum 1-2 teaspoonful 
 
CATARRH. 125 
 
 Mix, apply every hour a few drops on the roots of the 
 tongue, and have it dissolve slowly. 
 
 Molasses or honey 1 tablespoonful 
 
 Lemon juice or acetic acid, a teaspoonful 10 grains 
 
 Mix and use as above (a few drops on the tongue). 
 
 Mix ten drops of nitric acid in two ounces of water, made 
 thick with sugar, or two tablespoonfuls honey or molasses ; 
 use in same manner as the above mixtures. 
 
 We prefer two ounces of honey, ten drops nitric acid, and 
 one grain of morphia. Dose as above. 
 
 Lobelia (powdered) 1 teaspoonful 
 
 Bayberry bark (powdered) 1-2 " 
 
 Skunk's cabbage 1-2 " 
 
 Put them into a half pint of saffron tea ; steep for half an 
 hour, strain, and sweeten with honey. When the spasm is 
 severe, give a dessertspoonful of this every fifteen minutes 
 and the effect will be vomiting and relief. 
 
 CATARRH. 
 
 The complaint has of late years become wonderfully 
 prevalent, in fact to such an extent that there are many 
 persons devoting their whole time and attention to its 
 treatment. It is an inflammation or irritation of the 
 mucous membrane which lines the nose and fauces back to 
 the throat. If neglected it may extend up, over, and behind 
 the eyebrows, and around to the ears ; it may also follow 
 the bronchial tubes into the lungs, causing at first a slight 
 tickling cough, but eventually a tight and severe one ; it 
 will also follow the membrane of the oesophagus into the 
 stomach, and extending the entire length of the intestines, 
 will cause irregularity of the bowels, and in time may effect 
 the kidneys and bladder. 
 
126 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Catarrh is said to be caused by exposure to cold or 
 dampness, or from drafts or cold air ; but we believe it to 
 be in many instances caused by malaria carried in the 
 air, for we took it in a warm day, while returning from a 
 bath, in a pond of fresh water, and thousands of the citi- 
 zens of Cambridge were affected within a few days with it. 
 
 The symptoms consist of a cough, running at the nose, 
 redness about the eyes, which may also be watery ; the 
 appetite will in most cases be poor, the breath foul, and a 
 hawking up of phlegm or mucus from the nasal cavity and 
 fauces. When these signs are present the disease must be 
 promptly treated, or it may become so firmly settled on 
 the patient as to trouble him for life, or be very difficult of 
 cure for a long period. 
 
 Let the patient bathe his head, neck, and shoulders daily 
 with warm water, and make the following gargle : One-half 
 teaspoonful borax or of chlorate of potash in one-half pint of 
 water ; use this frequently during the day, or make a snuff 
 of one teaspoonful pulverized bloodroot, one teaspoonful 
 of gum myrrh, white sugar eight teaspoonfuls, and thirty 
 grains of gum camphor ; pulverize separately, then mix and 
 use every hour or so, the same as ordinary snuff. 
 
 INFLUENZA. 
 
 This complaint prevails as an epidemic frequently, and 
 consists of an inflammation of the mucous membrane of 
 the nose, bronchia, and mouth. 
 
 It comes on quickly, and is attended by signs of fever, 
 coughing, sneezing, thirst, loss of appetite and of the 
 senses of smelling, tasting, and hearing ; the sight also is 
 more or less affected. The symptoms are those of a severe 
 cold or catarrhal difficulty, this ailment being very similar 
 to catarrh. This complaint was known in Italy and France 
 first under the name of glanders. 
 
CROUP. 127 
 
 The treatment should be similar to that adopted in cases 
 of severe cold ; gargle the throat with vinegar, honey, and 
 borax, or a tablespoonful honey and twenty grains chlorate 
 of potash ; inhale vinegar, with cayenne pepper in it, or 
 camphor which has been dissolved : warm drinks and warm 
 fomentations around the throat are beneficial. 
 
 CROUP. 
 
 This is a disease common to children between three and 
 seven years of age, generally prevailing in winter or 
 spring. Those having once had it, are liable to other at- 
 tacks ; that is, become more or less predisposed to it. The 
 name is derived from the peculiar noise made by the act 
 of breathing, and prompt treatment is needed. It may ap- 
 pear suddenly, and without warning, in the night (at 
 which time the symptoms are most marked), or it may be 
 caused by checking the perspiratio^ by such means as 
 changing the clothing. The symptoms are unmistakable, 
 and soon show themselves, being a short, dry cough, a pe- 
 culiar tone of voice, a harsh wheezing, or rattling noise in 
 the throat, made by the child v/hen breathing during sleep. 
 The curious crowing cough or noise peculiar to this dis- 
 ease cannot be described, but once heard will be always 
 remembered. The phlegm, or mucus, in the throat must 
 be removed. 
 
 Put the feet in hot water ; keep around the neck cloths 
 wet with hot water, in which has been put a little mustard ; 
 mix a teaspoonful of tincture of lobelia and bloodroot in 
 equal quantities, and give an emetic of this, ten to thirty 
 drops in a tablespoonful of warm water, every ten minutes 
 until vomiting takes place. This will afford relief ; but no 
 matter how thoroughly the child may seem to have got 
 over the difficulty, he should be watched with the greatest 
 care, and upon the return of any of the symptoms, must be 
 
128 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 promptly treated. Endeavor to produce a perspiration by 
 giving warm drinks, having the patient inhale the steam 
 from hops, steeped in vinegar, or a decoction of other 
 herbs ; apply poultices of the same to the feet. The child 
 should be kept in bed for a day or two after an attack, and 
 the air in the room should be kept moist. See that the 
 bowels are not costive, and that the little patient is not ex- 
 posed to the cold after as well as during an attack. 
 
 A remedy claimed to be very effective, and which is 
 used in country localities, is a mixture of goose grease, or 
 sweet oil, molasses, and child's urine, equal parts, and given 
 warm. In many cases this has speedily succeeded in induc- 
 ing vomiting, and giving relief to the patient, when numer- 
 ous other remedies had been tried in vain. ' 
 
 LARYNGITIS. 
 
 This is an inflammation of the larynx or upper end of the 
 windpipe, — what is commonly called the organ of speech. 
 It is brought on by various causes, — such as speaking, or 
 sitting in heated, crowded rooms, and while warm, or in a 
 perspiration, going out into the cold, damp, night air, get- 
 ting the feet wet,sleeping in cold or damp rooms, — and is 
 most prevalent in cold weather. It is regarded a very 
 hard disease to cure, especially as persons affected with it 
 feel better at midday, and venture out, and are sure to pay 
 the penalty at night. Many people think it an uncommon 
 disease, requiring new and wonderful remedies for its treat- 
 ment ; but plain, simple remedies continued, such as gargles 
 of strong sage tea, vinegar, salt, or honey, and cayenne 
 pepper, or a strong decoction of oak-bark, — say half a pint, 
 in which put a tablespoonful of honey, and thirty grains of 
 chlorate of potash, or half a pint of strong tea, in which 
 put a tablespoonful of honey, and forty grains of borax, 
 and half a teaspoonful of fine cayenne pepper. Gargle fre- 
 
THE TONGUE. 1 29 
 
 quently. Rub the throat briskly night and morning with 
 rum and cold water. When the disease does not yield to 
 the above treatment, we would advise the application of a 
 mustard paste on the throat, over the larynx, followed by 
 a mild emetic of a teaspoonful of mustard, half a teaspoon- 
 f ul of salt in warm water, followed by drinks of warm water, 
 or molasses and water, chewing sage, and slowly swallow- 
 ing the juice, and keeping the bowels freely open by Epsom 
 salts. 
 
 THE TONGUE. 
 
 James wrote in his epistle about eighteen hundred years 
 ago : " The tongue is a little member, and boasteth great 
 things : no man can tame it ; it is an unruly evil." We 
 assume that James and his leader (Paul) were both bache- 
 lors, and wanted to tame woman's tongue. Paul wrote, " It 
 is a shame for a woman to speak in meeting." We wonder 
 he was not ashamed to have women in his meetings ; he 
 wanted her to keep at home, keep her mouth, eyes, ears, 
 doors, and blinds closed, have no will of her own, but be 
 subject to her lord and master (her husband), and then he 
 advised all men to keep away from women. Paul must 
 have had the blues when he wrote those lines. 
 
 We have known vast numbers of married men and 
 women whose tongues were as tame as pet kittens. We 
 think Paul got bravely over his dislike to the women ; for 
 we read in another place that when he was about leaving 
 them (his converts), " they all wept, and fell on his neck 
 and kissed him ; sorrowing most of all at the words which 
 he spake, that they should see his face no more." 
 
 Why should any one wish to tame or bridle the tongue ? 
 What would Paul have done, when he stood forth in Mars 
 Hill, in the midst of those learned Athenians, with a bridled 
 tongue ? 
 
 Would he not in mental agony have exclaimed, Oh, for 
 
130 
 
 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 a thousand tongues wherewith to proclaim the wonders of 
 their unknown God ! Although a little member, it cer- 
 tainly boasts great things ; all the other members of the 
 body are sensitive to joy, sorrow, pleasure, and pain ; but 
 as to giving expression to their consciousness they are 
 silent ; the eye, the ear, the nose, the touch, and taste, all 
 
 Fig. 20. 
 
 
 The Tongue, showing the three kinds of papillae — the conical, D : the whiplike, 
 K, I ; the circumvallate or intrenched, H. L. ; E, F, G, nerves ; C, glottis. 
 
 are keenly alive to surrounding objects ; but the little 
 member, called the unruly evil, is the only one which can 
 speak out in defence of all their wrongs. It is a mouth- 
 piece, a printing-press, a newspaper, a library, a universal 
 mail-carrier, a telephone, and a telegraph, the world over, 
 for the whole family of deaf mutes ; and yet it is called an 
 
CONSUMPTION. 131 
 
 untamable boaster. Who would be without it ? Who will 
 not speak in its defence ? 
 
 All the other members and parts of the body have two 
 sets of nerves only, — the nerves of sensation and nerves of 
 motion ; but the tongue is endowed with three sets of 
 nerves ; those of sensation, motion, and taste. We are told 
 about rolling a sweet morsel under our tongues ; not so : 
 the taste is only upon the top of the tongue. 
 
 THRUSH. 
 
 An affection to which infants or young children are sub- 
 ject, or it may sometimes happen that very old and feeble 
 persons may have it. It makes its appearance as small 
 white ulcers in the mouth, upon the tongue, gums, etc.; it 
 lasts for a few days, and is apt to come again, and in some 
 instances it is severe enough to produce great soreness. 
 The patient has at the time of its presence indications of 
 general disturbances, such as poor appetite, paleness, ner- 
 vous and irritable feeling. 
 
 Attend to the general health by using tonics, and 
 regulate the bowels, and for this latter purpose let the 
 mother of the young child chew small pieces of rhubarb, 
 and let the saliva be swallowed ; afterwards the child's 
 mouth should be washed several times daily with a solution 
 of borax, honey, and gold-thread. Steep the latter in 
 water, strain, and add the borax, then the honey. 
 
 CONSUMPTION, 
 
 So called, has been the cause of more deaths in America 
 than any other known disease. There are several kinds of 
 consumption, such as consumption of the lungs, the blood, 
 the liver, stomach, bowels, and muscles ; but the term 
 consumption ordinarily implies decay or wasting of the 
 
132 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 lungs, the blood, or both ; that of the lungs is pulmonary 
 consumption ; that of the blood and muscles is marasmus. 
 We will only speak of the last two mentioned, as the 
 others are but secondary, or a result. Consumption either 
 of the lungs, or of the blood, may be developed and prove 
 fatal without any evidence of the presence of the other ; 
 a patient may have hemorrhage from the lungs repeatedly, 
 when the blood is good and abundant ; or may become 
 pale, the blood wasted, and the patient die from want of 
 nourishment and supply of blood, and the lungs give no 
 evidence of wasting or hemorrhage. Consumption in 
 many instances is induced by the maltreatment of other 
 diseases. The indications and symptoms are hereditary in 
 scrofulous persons, and lie dormant for many years ; later 
 in life, from inflammation or other exciting cause, there are 
 developed tubercles, which increase in size, and break into 
 the bronchial tubes, and the discharge, with streaks of 
 blood, is thrown up. The indications of hereditary con- 
 sumption are long neck, prominent shoulders, narrow 
 chest, weak voice, fair hair, and great sensitiveness. The 
 symptoms of consumption are a short, dry cough, which 
 after a few months becomes habitual, spitting a frothy 
 mucus, which after a few months becomes tough and 
 stringy, and at a later period becomes green, and slightly 
 streaked with blood. Although the flesh is diminishing, 
 the appetite remains good ; there are frequent fits of 
 coughing during the night, with flushed face, although 
 during the day it will be pale. The white of the eyes 
 have a pearly whiteness. Hectic fever and night-sweats 
 set in, and the flesh and strength fail rapidly, unless 
 checked by simple treatment, diet, and exercise, as directed. 
 There is no doubt about consumptives having recovered, 
 after ulceration and hemorrhage from the lungs have taken 
 place ; but it has been in those cases in which the system 
 generally had strength and vitality to bring on a healthy 
 
CONSUMPTION. 133 
 
 action of the breathing apparatus. Consumption has been 
 called the king of diseases ; but we say, without fear of 
 contradiction, that it is king of indiscretions ; as far from 
 consumption as black is from white in many cases. Some 
 are victims of gluttony, strong drink, tobacco, secret habits, 
 over-work, over-study, unrequitted love, carelessness in 
 dress, exposure in damp or night air, dancing, thin shoes, 
 sexual indulgence, abortions, miscarriages, and premature 
 childbirth ; although the above and other improprieties ter- 
 minate in a running down or wasting of the vital powers, in 
 many instances it is only another name for ruined constitu- 
 tion from improprieties and dissipation. We read on many 
 tombstones, " Died of consumption," and are reminded of 
 that sarcastic pencilling on the cemetery post, " Here lies 
 the dead and here the living lie." 
 
 The practice of allopathic physicians formerly was to 
 keep patients on starvation diet : half an allowance of thin 
 gruel ; not a spoonful of water inside or out ; but instead 
 of food and drink, pills of calomel, opium, and ipecacuanha. 
 Thanks to the car of progress, they and others are ignored. 
 
 Some Fishmonger, with a fertile brain, while straining 
 fish-oil, conceived the idea that fish-oil (called cod liver), 
 as medicine at a dollar a pint, was far better than lubricat- 
 ing oil for wagon wheels at a dollar a gallon. It took 
 with invalids, who grasp at a shadow ; the doctors endorsed 
 the fraud by saying, " Well, its a new thing, let them try it ; 
 it can do no harm." They soon learned that it must be 
 disguised, as patients were obliged to hold their noses, and 
 surround the vile, filthy stuff with whiskey to be able to 
 swallow it, and follow it with another dose of whiskey to 
 disguise the stomach. 
 
 It is a well-known fact that spirits, used freely by invalids, 
 especially those with lung difficulties, afford relief and 
 prolong life. We often meet master-mariners who are 
 hale and rugged, who took their first sea voyage on account 
 
134 0UR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 of hemorrhage from the lungs (said to be in consumption). 
 The fact that fat meats, such as mutton, lamb, beef, and 
 pork, are beneficial to the healthy, and to invalids, is well 
 established. 
 
 Baron Humboldt says, as the result of his researches, 
 that those people who eat swine flesh freely are the most 
 vigorous, active, and long-lived ; and our ancestors and 
 their descendants for the past two centuries, as well as the 
 lumbermen and their families in the Canadian dominion, 
 draw supplies from their pork barrels two or three times a 
 day, and are a healthy and long-lived class. 
 
 When the symptoms of consumption are apparent, and 
 the patient resides in the North, either by the sea-shore or 
 in the country, a change of residence, food, air, and ex- 
 ercise is very desirable, and a trip to Florida, or California, 
 is advisable ; but if governed by limited means, go from 
 the sea-shore into the country, or from the country to the 
 salt water, and enjoy the change of surroundings as much 
 as possible. Avoid extremes, damp drafts, night air, to- 
 bacco, and excitement in heated rooms ; but embrace 
 chances for riding, fishing, and excursions ; diet on fish, 
 fruit, berries, vegetables, milk, cream, and fat meats ; 
 sponge the whole body night and morning with alcohol, 
 or rum, and water, with a little cayenne or mustard in it, 
 and rub with a coarse towel until the skin is in a glow. 
 Keep the bowels regular by eating brown bread, graham, 
 and oat-meal, fruits, and vegetables, beets, parsnips, onions, 
 and boiled cabbage. When exercising, do it in modera- 
 tion, and not to excite or exhaust the system. If there is 
 not a good chance to indulge in fishing, hunting, and pic- 
 nicking, a little exercise on the farm or in the garden is 
 good. 
 
 When consumption is evidently seated, little good will 
 be derived from a voyage or trip South, except in cases of 
 hemorrhage from the lungs, when, if the body and other 
 
CONSUMPTION. 135 
 
 organs are in a good condition, a voyage on the salt water 
 or a trip South may restore the lungs and prolong life ; 
 this we have witnessed frequently. Whether in the 
 country or near the sea-shore, eat fresh fish, fat meats, 
 drink milk warm from the cow, and cream with milk by 
 the half pint, as often as the stomach will receive it with 
 a relish ; an Qgg beaten with milk, whiskey, and sugar ; 
 and, instead of cod liver oil, take a spoonful of olive 
 (sweet) oil with a little whiskey and lemon juice. We 
 have known of several cases of persons far gone in wast- 
 ing of the body to rally and get well by eating rare beef- 
 steak, drinking freely of whiskey, and walking from day to 
 day as much as they were able to endure. 
 
 (From an Apothecary.) 
 
 Extract of butternut 1 ounce 
 
 Extract of dandelion 1 " 
 
 Sulphate of potash ........ 1 " 
 
 Extract of henbane ........ 1-2 " 
 
 Sulphate of quinine ........ 10 grains 
 
 Extract of podophyllin .,, = ,,, 10 " 
 
 Water ,...11-2 quarts 
 
 Mix hot, and stir in honey, one pound ; alcohol, half a pint, 
 or whiskey, one pint. Dose, a small tablespoonful before 
 eating and retiring. 
 
 (Made in the Country.) 
 
 Butternut bark (green) 1 pound 
 
 Black-cherry bark (green) 1 " 
 
 Milkweed root (cotton pods) . , . . 1-2 " 
 
 Blue cohosh (green) 1-2 " 
 
 Yellow dock root (green) 1-2 " 
 
 Thorough wort 1-4 " 
 
 Cayenne pepper 1 teaspoonful 
 
 Water 4 quarts 
 
 Steep three hours and strain : add saleratus, one teaspoon- 
 
13^ OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 ful ; alcohol, one-half pint ; honey, one pound, or molasses, 
 one pint. Dose, one tablespoonful before eating and re- 
 tiring. 
 
 (Made in the Country.) 
 Scrape inner bark juniper baldspruce . . . 1-2 peck 
 Spikenard root and dandelion root, each . . 1-2 pound 
 Thoroughwort leaves and blood-root, each . 1-4 " 
 Canada snake-root, and caraway, each . . 2 ounces 
 
 Steep three hours in six quarts of water ; strain, and add 
 honey, one and one-half pounds ; alcohol, one-half pint ; 
 of whiskey, gin, or rum, .one pint ; one tablespoonful of 
 soda or saleratus. Dose, half a wine-glass before eating 
 and retiring. 
 
 PNEUMONIA, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE 
 LUNGS. 
 
 This is caused by insufficient clothing and exposure to 
 cold, leaving a warm room and going directly into the cold, 
 the body thus being chilled, and more especially is this the 
 case if the hands and feet are subject to cold. 
 
 The symptoms are cold chills, or rigors in the back, fol- 
 lowed by a sharp pain in the side, which extends upwards 
 as far as the shoulder-blades, on either or both sides ; 
 Hushed face, difficulty in breathing, dry cough, full and 
 hard pulse. The pain is nearly always present, but wan- 
 dering from side to side ; and any attempt to take a long 
 and deep breath increases the pain experienced during the 
 disease, so the patient, in order to avoid all possible suffer- 
 ing, shortens his breathing, tries to prevent all coughing, 
 and fears to lie down. Because of the sudden changes of 
 our climate this disease is prevalent, and often fatal, dur- 
 ing a period of five or six months, and after a mild attack 
 the patient is left rather predisposed to further attacks. 
 
 The treatment must be prompt and energetic. Put the 
 
PLEURISY. 137 
 
 patient into bed, and bottles of hot water or heated flat- 
 irons at his feet ; give hot drinks of tea made from pleurisy 
 root, mint, saffron, or pennyroyal ; and if sweating is not 
 profuse, put hot bricks, hot irons, or bottles filled with hot 
 water along the patient's sides ; after the perspiration 
 commences, continue the warm drinks, and have the sweat- 
 ing last for six or eight hours, or until the pain in the 
 head and back are gone, when the patient can be washed 
 with warm water, rubbed dry, and have dry bed-clothes 
 substituted for those already on. The bowels must be 
 kept open by cooling laxatives, such as citrate of magnesia, 
 or the compound made by mixing two ounces of Epsom 
 salts, one ounce of senna, one ounce of manna, and half a 
 teaspoonful of cayenne pepper in a pint of water, and steep- 
 ing for half an hour; strain and bottle ; dose, half a wine- 
 glassful three or four times a day, or let enough of it be 
 taken to have the bowels operate every five or six hours. 
 
 PLEURISY. 
 
 When from any cause that thin membrane, called the 
 pleura (which surrounds the lungs and lines the thorax or 
 cavity containing the heart and lungs), becomes inflamed, 
 there exists pleurisy or inflammation of the pleura ; this 
 may be induced by a number of causes, such as going from 
 heated rooms into the cold air, exposure to drafts or damp- 
 ness, or using cold drinks when the person is warm. The 
 disease is shown by a stitch in the side, or a pain in the 
 back or chest ; this pain is increased upon drawing a long 
 or deep breath ; there is a cough which the patient tries 
 to suppress, because of the pain it causes, and as the dis- 
 ease progresses this cough grows more troublesome, and is 
 attended with some expectoration or spitting ; the pulse is 
 quickened and hard ; there is thirst, chills, shivering, and 
 pains in the region of the lungs. 
 
I38 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Let the efforts be to establish a perspiration ; give a 
 hot bath, put the feet and legs into hot water, and place 
 upon the chest clothes wrung out in a quart of hot vinegar, 
 with a teaspoonful each of mustard and cayenne pepper. 
 An emetic of a teaspoonful of mustard and half as much salt 
 can be used with good effect (mustard, salt, and warm 
 water) ; put hot bricks at the feet, and give hot drinks of 
 catnip and pleurisy-root teas. 
 
 For pleurisy, inflammation of the lungs, catarrhal diffi- 
 culties, etc., the pleurisy root is used, with the greatest 
 success, to produce sweating and expectoration. We 
 know of nothing so good for this purpose. It is common 
 in this country, especially in the Southern parts, and can 
 be had of the druggists ; either hot water or alcohol will 
 extract the virtues, and a strong tea or decoction can be 
 made, of which two or three dessert spoonfuls at a dose can 
 be given four or five times a day, or until perspiration is 
 induced. In place of this, mint or pennyroyal tea can be 
 given. 
 
 A vapor bath will be of great benefit ; this can be given 
 by seating the patient in a chair with a blanket around him, 
 and placing a pan of hot water under the chair, and putting 
 either hot bricks or irons into the water to keep up the 
 temperature, or replacing the dish by one with hotter water. 
 A very effective sweating can thus be given, the mouth 
 and nose being left open for breathing. But a perspiration 
 should be started. See that the bowels are not constipated. 
 The patient should continue treatment until all traces of 
 the disease are gone ; until he can cough or draw a deep 
 breath without any sensation of pain. 
 
 If there should be any tendency to trouble in this direc- 
 tion, the patient must be especially careful to avoid any and 
 all exposure by which the lungs are liable to be affected. 
 
ASTHMA. I39 
 
 ASTHMA. 
 
 This is a bronchial difficulty that attacks males more 
 frequently than females, more or less violently, usually 
 spasmodically, and without warning during the sleeping 
 hours. In some instances it may be possible to foretell an 
 attack, and in such cases where the cause is, for instance, 
 over-eating or indigestion, it can be warded off by dieting ; 
 moisture or change of temperature may produce it ; the 
 spasms may happen at regular or irregular intervals, and in 
 some cases the attacks are hereditary. To a person not 
 familiar with the disease, a patient with a severe attack 
 seems to be dying, but such result is very rare, if, indeed, 
 it ever happens. 
 
 The symptoms are an oppressive tightness across the 
 chest, which impedes the breathing, so that the patient 
 starts to an erect position in bed, or flies to a window ; the 
 breathing makes a wheezing or gasping sound, and it seems 
 to the patient as though he could get no air into his lungs. 
 Cold air affords relief ; there is also coughing ; the breath- 
 ing, though labored, is not quickened. The attack may 
 last a short time, or hang on for several days ; usually it 
 passes off towards morning, only to return again at night 
 or after a short time. The patient dislikes to do any talk- 
 ing or to move ; there is an itching under the chin, and in 
 humoral asthma a spitting up of mucus. 
 
 In treating the spasms, what will cure one person may 
 have no effect upon another. Inhaling the vapor of ether 
 or chloroform will, in many cases, exert a beneficial effect 
 in a short time ; smoking stramonium leaves or pas- 
 ture mullein in a common pipe in the same manner as 
 tobacco will be found to afford great relief ; or put some 
 of the leaves into hot water, and inhale the vapor. The 
 remedy of all, and which is pronounced as such by promi- 
 
I4O OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 nent physicians, is lobelia ; by some this is asserted to be 
 a specific or sure cure. To a half pint of water, add a half 
 cupful of the leaves ; steep for thirty minutes ; give a table- 
 spoonful at a dose, till vomiting is induced, or relief ob- 
 tained by the free spitting of mucus, which takes place. 
 A dose of the tincture of lobelia for a grown person is two 
 or three teaspoonfuls. Another remedy, which in many 
 instances effects a speedy cure, is salt dissolved in alcohol, 
 brandy, or spirit, and rubbed on the chest till it is in a 
 glow. 
 
 When this trouble is brought on by the locality in which 
 a person lives, a change of residence is always desirable, 
 and in many cases such has resulted in a complete cure. 
 Changes of temperature should be avoided, and if possible 
 wear flannel next the body constantly ; eat light nutricious 
 diet, and avoid all coarse, indigestible food ; keep from 
 dampness of all kinds. We would advise having a physi- 
 cian present in all severe cases of this nature, to afford the 
 relief which his experience will enable him to extend to 
 the sufferer. All those who are subject to this complaint 
 can lessen their liability to it, by avoiding everything which 
 they believe has a tendency to provoke attacks of the 
 kind. 
 
 BRONCHITIS. 
 
 This complaint is quite common in England, owing to 
 the moisture of the atmosphere and frequent changes of 
 weather. In cases of public speakers, it often becomes 
 chronic, causing the person to remain for years an invalid, 
 and finally terminating in death. In America, it is most 
 common in New England and the Middle and Western 
 States, but is seldom fatal ; when finally seated, or chronic, 
 the voice becomes hoarse, husky, and feeble, and speaking 
 audibly difficult. The premonitory symptoms are weak 
 eyes, running at the nose, dullness, shivering, sneezing, 
 
PALPITATION OF THE HEART. I4I 
 
 pain in the head, an irritation in the windpipe, causing 
 frequent efforts to cough and raise, but in vain ; a tight 
 sensation over the chest, hoarseness, with difficulty in 
 breathing. After a few days the cough brings up a thin 
 fluid, and as the fluid becomes thicker, the breathing is 
 easier, and the pain is diminished. When the disease has 
 been neglected, the quantity of mucus is increased, and the 
 inability of the patient to remove it is evident ; the wheez- 
 ing comes on, and the fact is clearly seen, that the disease 
 has extended down into the bronchial tubes, and suffoca- 
 tion may follow. 
 
 The feet should be bathed in warm water ten or fifteen 
 minutes, sip slowly flaxseed tea, barley water, rice water, 
 gum arabic, slippery elm, etc. In severe cases warm poul- 
 tices sprinkled with mustard may be applied to the throat 
 and upper portion of the chest. A warm bath is desirable, 
 a mild emetic of lobelia, or of a teaspoonful of mustard, 
 and half as much salt, will bring up the bronchial phlegm, 
 and lessen the tightness across the chest. Inhaling vapor 
 of mint or bitter herbs, will afford relief. If the throat 
 is sore, take thirty grains chlorate of potash in two table- 
 spoonfuls of honey, and a quarter of a teaspoonful of 
 cayenne, and sip it every few minutes. 
 
 PALPITATION OF THE HEART. 
 
 The symptoms of this disease are shortness of breath 
 after exertions, a feeling of fatigue upon walking rapidly a 
 short distance ; at times the feet swell, and a paleness about 
 the mouth is visible, and occasionally distressing paroxysms 
 of pain come on. If the person becomes much excited or 
 undergoes any violent exertion or exercise, the pulsations 
 are increased in rapidity and strength, and to bystanders 
 are often audible ; and not only are they varied in strength 
 and rapidity, but are very irregular, being full and quick 
 
142 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 for a minute, then at once becoming slow and measured; 
 then it may appear as though a few beats were wholly lost 
 or omitted, only to be instantly followed by the rushing 
 speed as at first. 
 
 This disease may be symptomatic, that is, occasioned by 
 some other malady, such as dyspepsia, indigestion, or 
 dropsy of the chest, or it may be primary, or located, and 
 having its origin in the heart itself. In either case the 
 subject may, by guarding himself carefully, live for years, 
 although, where disease of the heart proper exists, the 
 patient is liable at any time to drop dead in one of the 
 attacks. Palpitation may be brought on by any cause that 
 will impede or disturb the circulation ; it may continue 
 for years, apparently without any serious injury, owing to 
 the excitability of the heart, and not to a disease, as the 
 following case will illustrate : — 
 
 When the author was examining surgeon of volunteers 
 for the City of Cambridge, during the late war with the 
 South, one of the men presenting himself was found to 
 have palpitation to an alarming extent, although of robust 
 and healthy appearance. He was put through the several 
 tests of running around the hall, etc., and we, as surgeon, 
 were on the point of rejecting him, when he exclaimed, ex- 
 citedly : " Doctor, you don't give me a fair trial; I can 
 bring any number of our engine company who will testify 
 to my endurance at a fire with the best of them." Some 
 of the company being called in, indorsed what he had said, 
 and he urged a further test. No test was feasible except 
 to run around the hall three tunes with a man on his back 
 (the distance around the hall once being about three hun- 
 dred feet). After this trial, the pulsations were not more 
 affected than they would have been in a healthy man. He 
 then ran around three times more, carrying a man as before, 
 with the same result, and we accepted him as an able- 
 bodied soldier, in the belief that the more he ran the less 
 
JAUNDICE. 143 
 
 the palpitation. In the "Journal of Health " was an article, 
 giving an account of a lady who had suffered for years 
 with this malady, on some occasions the attacks being so 
 severe as to cause a shaking of the bed upon which she 
 was lying. On one of these occurrences she asked for a 
 drink of soda water, and upon drinking it the palpitations 
 immediately stopped. When the next attack took place, 
 the physician in attendance, wishing to investigate and 
 learn which one thing it was that produced the desired 
 effect, gave her a dose of citric acid, but without success ; 
 some carbonate of soda was then administered, but ap- 
 parently without any effect ; then mixing the two articles 
 named, as having been given separately (and which formed 
 soda water when together), he gave a dose with the effect 
 of at once curing the palpitations. This remedy was 
 always successfully used by the- lady in her attacks. From 
 the experiments of the doctor, it would seem that carbonic 
 acid gas was the curative agent. It may be asserted that 
 primary heart disease never was cured ; all that science can 
 do is to direct such methods of living as will afford relief. 
 In every case of palpitation the patient must at all times 
 use extreme caution, avoiding great excitement or exer- 
 tion and over-eating ; beware of indigestion, constipation", 
 and dyspepsia; do not retire with cold feet, and if subject 
 to them adopt remedies for assisting the circulation, such 
 as a hot brick, and thus preventing the extremities from 
 being cold. By care, patients with this disease have been 
 enabled to live many years. 
 
 JAUNDICE 
 
 This name is derived from a French word signifying 
 yellow. The disease is caused by a superabundance or 
 overflow of bile, which gets into the circulation and imparts 
 a yellow color to the entire body, this appearance being 
 
144 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 plainly visible in the whites of the eyes, in the hands, 
 and around the finger-nails ; the bowels are costive, and 
 whatever passes them will be light colored, while the urine 
 will be very high colored or of a saffron shade. A sleepy 
 and listless feeling, such as is experienced when one is 
 bilious, is not uncommon. In short, the indications of 
 this complaint are plainly exhibited and unmistakable. 
 The patient should take first, an emetic of lobelia or mus- 
 tard, with warm water, and endeavor to clear or free the 
 stomach thoroughly of its contents. After this has been 
 accomplished, for the purpose of clearing the bowels a 
 teaspoonful of pulverized mandrake root should be mixed 
 with an equal quantity of cream tartar, and one-quarter 
 teaspoonful cloves (to prevent griping), the whole mixed 
 thoroughly, made into eight powders, one of which is to be 
 taken in the morning, and one at evening, until a change 
 in the color of the skin is noticed. When this is observed, 
 let the powders be omitted, and half a wine-glassful of 
 the following bitters be taken three times a day : — 
 
 Yellow dock root I drachm 
 
 Bitter root 2 " 
 
 Inner bark of white poplar ....... 2 " 
 
 Cayenne pepper 1 " 
 
 Add one quart of boiling water, cover with a wet cloth to 
 retain the steam, add half a pint of Holland gin. While 
 taking this, the following will be beneficial to drink freely : 
 dandelion root and barberry bark, half pound of each, put 
 in an iron pot with a gallon of water ; simmer for two 
 hours, strain, and use as a drink in the morning and after- 
 noon. A raw egg beaten with a little cider, wine, or spirit 
 can be taken before meals, occasionally, in place of the 
 bitters, or when there is a desire for food between meals. 
 Raw eggs in this complaint are very beneficial. The diet 
 ought to be light, and devoid of fat and indigestible 
 substances. 
 
DIGESTION. 
 
 145 
 
 DIGESTION, 
 
 The process performed by the stomach and intestines 
 when in a healthy condition. The first step in the opera- 
 tion is the mastication or chewing the food thoroughly, in 
 which process the saliva from the salivary glands in the 
 throat is mixed with it, when it is passed into the stomach by 
 swallowing. By watching the 
 neck of a horse while drinking, 
 we may see the operation of the 
 oesophagus. The stomach is an 
 enlarged portion of the alimen- 
 tary canal ; it ordinarily holds 
 about three pints, but is capable 
 of considerable distension. In- 
 ternally it is composed of a mu- 
 cous membrane, from which is 
 given out the digestive fluids ; 
 an outer smooth serous mem- 
 brane, and a strong muscular 
 coat between them ; this last is 
 composed of two layers of cir- 
 cular and longitudinal fibres. 
 By contracting, they produce a 
 peculiar motion, or churning, 
 called peristaltic movement, mix- 
 ing the food perfectly. The 
 structure of the intestines is 
 similar to that of the stomach : 
 they are divided into small and 
 large, and are from twenty-five to 
 twenty-eight feet long. Bile is secreted by the liver, the 
 largest gland in the body, weighing about four pounds ; it is 
 located on the right side, below the diaphragm. Its secre- 
 tion of bile is estimated at three pounds daily. Its action 
 
 STOMACH AND INTESTINES. 
 
 1, stomach ; 2. duodenum ; 3, small 
 intestines ; 4, termination of ileum ; 
 5, caecum ; 6, vermiform appendix ; 
 7, ascending colon ; 8, transverse 
 colon; 9, descending colon; 10, sig- 
 moid flexure of the colon ; 1 1, rectum ; 
 12, spleen, a gland whose action is 
 not understood. 
 
146 
 
 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 on the food is not definitely understood, but it is necessary 
 to life. The absorbents or lymphatics of the stomach 
 commence taking up sugar, albumen, and other substances 
 from the food in it, and continue to do so during the whole 
 length of the intestinal canal. The time required for 
 digesting a full meal is from two and a half to four hours, 
 according to the kind of food and condition of the stomach. 
 
 Fiz. 
 
 A section of the small intestine highly magnified, in which it is estimated that ten 
 thousand of the lymphatics or absorbents are contained within a square inch. 1, cellular 
 structure of epithelium or outer layer ; 2, a vein ; 3, fibrous layer ; 4, villi covered with 
 epithelium: 5, a villus in section showing its lining with its blood vessels and lym- 
 phatics ; 6, a villus partially uncovered ; 7, a villus stripped of its epithelium ; 8, lacteals 
 or lymphatics; 9, orifices of the glands; 10, it, 12, glands; 13, capillaries around 
 the orifices of the glands. 
 
 When we consider the nicely arranged and varied opera- 
 tions in digestion, and take into account the irregularities 
 and faults of omission and commission of mankind, the 
 wonder is that all are not dyspeptic. 
 
 In 1822 a Canadian named Alexis St. Martin, in the 
 American Fur Company, was shot in the left side. After 
 two years the wound was entirely healed, leaving an open- 
 
DYSPEPSIA, INDIGESTION. 1 47 
 
 ing in the stomach two and a half inches in circumference. 
 For several years he was under the care of Dr. Beaumont, 
 a skilful physician, who experimented upon him by giving 
 various kinds of food, and watching their digestion through 
 that opening. By means of these observations, and others 
 performed on Katharine Kutt, a woman who had a similar 
 aperture in the stomach, we have very important informa- 
 tion upon the digestibility of various kinds of food. 
 
 The question has often been asked, why the stomach 
 itself is not digested by the gastric juice, as it belongs to 
 the albuminous substances ? One reason assigned has 
 been, that life protects that organ, and that living tissues 
 are not digestible. The fallacy of this theory was showns 
 by introducing into an opening in a dog's stomach the leg 
 of live frogs and ears of rabbits ; they were readily digested. 
 The later opinion is that the blood, which circulates freely 
 through the lining of the stomach, being alkaline, protects 
 the tissues from the gastric juice. Our theory in regard to 
 this, and many of the mysterious operations of the human 
 body, is — God knows ; we do not. 
 
 DYSPEPSIA, — INDIGESTION, 
 
 A state of the stomach in which the functions are dis- 
 turbed, without the presence of other diseases, or if others 
 are present they are of minor importance. Its symptoms 
 are loss of appetite, nausea, heartburn, a sense of fulness, 
 weight, or distress in the stomach, etc. It is often caused 
 by irregularity of living. In the days of our fathers, when 
 brown bread, crust and pea coffee, pea and bean porridge, 
 thick boots and shoes, and homespun clothing were in use, 
 and work for both man and woman was the order of the 
 day all the year round, indigestion or dyspepsia was un- 
 known. But the days of fashionable living came, and with 
 them tea, coffee, wine, beer, hot bread, mince pies, eating 
 
148 
 
 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 many kinds and often, and, worse than all, eating in great 
 haste, brought in their train dyspepsia. While in Boston, 
 in 1835, we knew young men who would come to the table 
 and eat all the courses of a common dinner, and start off 
 with a piece of pie in hand inside of five minutes. It 
 seemed as though each was trying to eat in a shorter time 
 than his neighbor. 
 
 Meeting some of these young men twenty-five or thirty 
 years afterwards, looking haggard, bent, and showing 
 plainly the marks of impaired constitution, we inquired 
 for the cause : the reply was, " Dyspepsia ; been dying of 
 it for years. " 
 
 Eating either one or many varieties of food hastily is 
 
 contrary to nature : our 
 teeth were given for use, 
 and the salivary glands 
 give out saliva as it is 
 required by nature to 
 mix with the food ; but 
 if food is rushed into 
 the stomach without 
 mastication, the penalty 
 is sure to follow, and not 
 only to follow, but fasten 
 itself upon the injudi- 
 his 
 
 THE PAROTID, 
 
 One of the salivary glands in the throat, which cioilS victim and 
 gives out saliva as the jaws are worked, and min 
 gles with the food. 
 
 children. 
 
 We knew several dyspeptics who could not, and would 
 not, regard the proprieties of eating, but would take down 
 in haste large allowances of every kind of food on the 
 table, and soon after walk the room or roll upon the sofa 
 in agony worse than a thousand deaths. We think we can 
 see in the children of confirmed dyspeptics evidence of 
 their ancestry, confirming the truth of that part of the 
 commandment, " visiting the sins of the fathers upon the 
 
DYSPEPSIA, INDIGESTION. I49 
 
 children unto the third and fourth generations in them that 
 hate me " (or break my commandment). Nature often 
 punishes the innocent. 
 
 Indigestion is largely among men in Europe and America 
 who use calomel and tobacco, and the man who eats with- 
 out mixing the saliva with his food, and then chews and 
 smokes tobacco and spits out the saliva, may expect, and 
 will find, Dame Nature's infliction. When we look for the 
 symptoms of dyspepsia, or rather the infliction resulting 
 from it, we find headache, liver, lung, and kidney difficul- 
 ties, with their numerous offsprings, rheumatism, gout, 
 neuralgia, toothache, earache, sore eyes, deafness, loss of 
 hair, taste, sight, and feeling ; these destroy the stomach, 
 which, next to the heart, the chronometer stands pilot or 
 sentinel over the entire body and its functions. 
 
 The treatment is common sense and moderation. Throw 
 away medicines and stop eating — no ! stop bolting and 
 gorging. Eat less, of simple, plain food, well cooked, and 
 one kind at a time. English physicians will tell you to 
 live on mutton, stale bread, and a pint of sherry wine for 
 dinner : fish, toast, and chocolate for breakfast, and toast 
 or hard bread and tea for supper. We have found that no 
 rule can be laid down for all dyspeptics, this one excepted, 
 viz. : Eat little and masticate it well ; do not make the stom- 
 acJi do tlie work of the frying-pan, of mastication and diges- 
 tion ; but eat a small piece of meat or fish, zvith brown or 
 graham bread, stale bread toasted, oatmeal, or hard bread, 
 and find by experience what kind you can safely take and 
 how much. At dinner take moderately of meats, and a 
 small portion of one kind of vegetable, with coarse bread 
 and weak tea. One patient can use meat at every meal, but 
 no vegetables or fish ; another fish and vegetables, but no 
 meats or fruit. In some cases cider in wine-glassful doses, 
 at any meal, will act as a tonic, especially if the stomach is 
 alkaline in its secretions. 
 
I50 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Do not drink while eating, nor drink much after meals ; 
 if weak tea and coffee do not occasion distress or ill-feeling, 
 they can be used in moderation. Whatever is selected for 
 a diet, be sure and eat coarse bread, oatmeal, and porridge 
 enough to keep the bowels in good condition ■ avoid consti- 
 pation, piles, and alcoholic drinks. 
 
 A better tea for dyspeptics is that made from yarrow ; 
 another is from camomile flowers. If a tonic is needed at 
 dinner-time, take — 
 
 Black cherry-tree bark 1-2 pound 
 
 Mountain ash or roundwood bark .... 1-2 " 
 
 Put them into a gallon of cider ; dose, wine-glassful at 
 dinner. If cider disagrees with the patient, let the barks 
 be put into a gallon of water and steeped for two hours ; 
 strain, and add a pint of gin, whiskey, or spirit, and sweteen 
 to the taste : dose, a wine-glassful. If constipated, add 
 one-half pound butternut bark with the others. 
 
 GASTRITIS. 
 
 This malady, or gastric fever, is usually an acute inflam- 
 mation of the stomach, and one which happens rarely ; but 
 one which develops rapidly, and in many cases to a fatal 
 termination. It may be brought on by eating irritating or 
 stimulating food, drinking freely of acid or alcoholic liquids, 
 poisoning, or possibly by the very free use of water that is 
 cold when the person is very much heated. 
 
 The symptoms are an intense, burning pain in the stom- 
 ach, thirst, restlessness, vomiting, attended with great 
 pain ; water is taken only to be immediately thrown off 
 the stomach. In cases of poisoning, there will be present 
 a diarrhoea, and at the near approach of death hiccoughs 
 begin, the pulse becomes feeble or wiry, and the patient 
 languid. 
 
CONSTIPATION. I 5 I 
 
 The treatment must be directed to checking the vomit- 
 ing, and allowing the stomach to rest ; as the latter rejects 
 almost everything that is given, small pieces of ice may be 
 tried, as they are sometimes retained. But as cases of this 
 nature are not only very uncommon, but develop with 
 alarming and fatal rapidity, and are exceedingly difficult to 
 control even by physicians, we would advise unskilful 
 persons not to attempt to manage them, but to put the 
 patient in charge of the best physician to be had, and at the 
 earliest possible moment. 
 
 CONSTIPATION. 
 
 One of the most common troubles in the whole list, to 
 which old and young, male and female, are alike subject, 
 and which is generally brought upon those affected by their 
 own neglect or carelessness, is constipation. Costiveness 
 and constipation are one and the same, though the former 
 term would be used to express a milder form of the latter. 
 They indicate a difficulty or irregularity in the operations 
 of the bowels, together with their attendant symptoms, 
 such as dull or drowsy feelings and headache ; and this 
 condition continued may result in piles, colic, fistula, or 
 indigestion. 
 
 During health, and to insure its preservation, it is neces- 
 sary that there should be an operation or movement of the 
 bowels daily, or twice each day, at regular times. This, 
 almost as a rule, may be said to occur once a day, — that 
 is, once in twenty-four hours ; but there are many instances 
 in which it occurs regularly twice in twenty-four hours. 
 The tendency of nature is towards a regular daily opera- 
 tion ; and when any inclination to such act is put off to 
 some more convenient time, the natural susceptibility of 
 the parts will be affected by such a course, and a partially 
 paralyzed condition of the rectum become seated, so that 
 
152 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 the desire for an operation will neither be so plainly felt 
 nor given with any regularity. 
 
 It is known to be true, in the case of many who have a 
 regular time for such operations, that if they delay, or put 
 off for half an hour, they lose all desire for that day. Not 
 drinking enough water, eating too much, or very rich food, 
 drinking wines and liquors, or coffee freely, sedentary 
 habits, or lack of excercise, and not taking sufficient time 
 for a proper movement of the bowels, will all tend to de- 
 velop constipation. It is a very easy matter to bring on this 
 difficulty, but it is very Jiard to remove it ; as it is generally 
 brought on by the patient's neglect of himself, so it must be 
 cured by his care of himself, more than by medicine. He 
 must lay down some rules, and follow them. There are 
 many methods in use, and we will point out some of the 
 best. 
 
 First among these in importance is the necessity of hav- 
 ing a regular time for attending to the bowels ; continue 
 to go at such time, and endeavor to have a movement, even 
 if not successful for a while ; do not strain or use violent 
 efforts, as they may be the cause of serious ills, such as 
 piles or rupture. Adopt such a diet as will tend to move 
 the bowels, and is easy of digestion, — brown bread, corn- 
 cake, graham bread, toasts, fruits, berries, vegetables, 
 baked-apples, etc. The free use of boiled cabbage is 
 thoroughly effective in many cases ; oatmeal is excellent, 
 being laxative and easy of digestion ; it has of late years 
 been steadily gaining favor, when properly cooked. If not 
 well cooked it will not be even palatable. Prunes and figs 
 eaten freely are in many cases excellent as laxatives. In 
 place of the above dieting, there may be taken first thing in 
 the morning a glass of cold water, or with a little cornmeal 
 or oatmeal stirred into it ; or if the mouth is bitter in the 
 morning, take an egg in a little cider before each meal ; or 
 keep small pieces of rhubarb in the mouth at intervals 
 
DIARRHCEA. 1 53 
 
 during the day, and swallow the saliva. Purging or violent 
 medicines are not advised, but gentle laxatives. Injections 
 of warm water, or water with soap or molasses added, will 
 serve the purpose well for a time, but will lose their effect 
 after long usage. 
 
 From what has been written, it will be seen that the 
 cure depends mainly upon the individual, and by studying 
 the causes which produced the trouble (whether it be inac- 
 tivity, neglect, or improper food or drink), the remedy 
 can be applied ; and as might be expected, it will require 
 time and care to effect a cure. The following is simple 
 and effectual : — 
 
 Flour of sulphur I tablespoonful 
 
 Cream of tartar 1-2 " 
 
 Pulverized charcoal 1-4 " 
 
 Cayenne pepper 1-2 teaspoonful 
 
 Mix in molasses 1 cupful 
 
 Dose, one-half teaspoonful on empty stomach once or twice 
 a day, as required. 
 
 DIARRHCEA. 
 
 Diarrhoea, or looseness of the bowels, may be an effort 
 of nature to throw off feculent matter (desirable to be got 
 rid of), and should not be checked unless it proceeds to 
 such an extent as to cause weakness in the patient. Ex- 
 cept in such cases, where it takes place in the last stages 
 of some disease, it may be caused by colds, or eating im- 
 proper foods, such as unripe fruits, berries, or vegetables. 
 Persons of all ages are liable to this disease, which is simi- 
 lar to dysentry in its acute form, and which prevails in 
 summer. Acute diarrhoea, by improper treatment and 
 being allowed to run, will develop into dysentry or chronic 
 diarrhoea. 
 
 The following cordial has been used with the best 
 effects in diarrhoea : Pulverized rhubarb one ounce, pep- 
 
154 0UR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 permint leaves one ounce, capsicum one-eighth ounce ; 
 steep in a pint of water, strain, and acid one-half ounce bi- 
 carbonate of potash, one-half ounce nutmeg, add brandy 
 or whiskey, equal to one-eighth of the quantity of the de- 
 coction, and sweeten the whole with honey or sugar. The 
 dose for an adult should be from one to two tablespoonfuls, 
 and for a child one or two teaspoonfuls ; and in either 
 case should be taken several times a day. In severe cases 
 the following can be made, and injections of it given : — 
 
 New milk .1-2 pint. 
 
 Slippery-elm mucilage 1 wine-glass. 
 
 Molasses 1 " 
 
 Sweet oil 1 tablespoonful. 
 
 Laudanum 1 teaspoonful. 
 
 For an adult administer one gill, and repeat in an hour ; 
 for a child four years of age, inject a teaspoonful, and re- 
 peat in fifteen minutes if it is not retained. 
 
 Blackberry wine is good in all cases of this nature, as 
 also is a cordial made as follows : Blackberries two quarts, 
 boiled with sugar, seasoned with cloves, allspice, and a pint 
 of brandy added when cold. This makes a pleasant drink, 
 and can be taken once every three or four hours, in quan- 
 tities varying from a teaspoonful to a wine-glassful. 
 
 A tablespoonful castor oil, in which has been put twenty 
 or twenty-five drops laudanum, will in very many cases 
 afford marked relief ; and these two articles are usually on 
 hand. If near a drug store, the following may be obtained 
 and used : — 
 
 Tincture rhubarb 2 ounces 
 
 Carbonate potash 1-2 " 
 
 Essence peppermint 1-2 " 
 
 Paregoric 1 drachm 
 
 Tincture cayenne 1 " 
 
 Brandy or whiskey I gill 
 
 Water 1 " 
 
 Sugar 4 tablespoonfuls 
 
DYSENTERY. I 5 5 
 
 Mix ; dose, a tablespoonful every twenty minutes till relief 
 is obtained. 
 
 It is almost needless to say that an attack should not be 
 too quickly checked ; and, when getting over one, care 
 should be taken to avoid a too liberal diet, or such food as 
 might have a tendency to bring on this difficulty anew. 
 
 DYSENTERY. 
 
 This is an affection of the alimentary canal, and is com- 
 monly met with in the last of summer and first of autumn ; 
 it may be caused by contagion, by very hot weather fol- 
 lowing immediately damp or rainy spells, by noxious 
 vapors, but in many instances is doubtless occasioned by 
 the free use of fruits and vegetables that are unsuitable for 
 food. In armies and navies, the disease has often pre- 
 vailed so alarmingly as to be regarded as the scourge of 
 the troops, prevailing as an epidemic to a fearful extent, 
 and from causes similar, apparently, to those which induce 
 cholera morbus. 
 
 Dysentry may be either acute or chronic, the latter 
 being a result of the former form when neglected or im- 
 properly treated. An attack of this complaint may be pre- 
 ceded by loss of appetite, more or less costiveness, and in 
 some instances it may originate with a diarrhoea; the 
 desire to have an operation of the bowels will not only be 
 imperative, but very frequent, yet there will scarcely be 
 anything to justify the feeling, as the motion is of a very 
 painful and griping character, while the discharge is ex- 
 ceedingly small. When inflammation sets in, the desire to 
 empty the bowels becomes irresistible, as well as more fre- 
 quent, while the discharges are continually decreasing in 
 quantity. These vary in appearance, — in some cases being 
 frothy mucus, streaked with blood ; in others, presenting 
 a watery appearance, with an unusually offensive smell ; 
 
156 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 in others, blood is passed, and in some instances coagu- 
 lated mucus, having a resemblance to crumbs of cheese ; 
 natural excrement is rarely passed, and when it is, it has 
 the appearance of small lumps, but such operation is 
 always followed by relief. The disease is attended with 
 more or less fever ; and where the symptoms are marked 
 with loss of strength and involuntary discharges, the result 
 is apt to be speedily fatal. The treatment must first be 
 directed to correcting the condition of the liver, and next 
 to curing the irritation of the exposed lining membrane of 
 the intestine, by means of healing and mucilaginous sub- 
 stances. 
 
 For this purpose, we do not advise the use of active 
 cathartics, but to begin the treatment by preparing the 
 following mixture : — 
 
 Pulverized turkey rhubarb 1 teaspoonful. 
 
 Bicarbonate potash 1 " 
 
 Pulverized cinnamon 1 " 
 
 Pulverized peppermint leaves . . . . 1 teacupful. • 
 
 Steep for fifteen minutes in half a pint of boiling water ; 
 then strain and add one teaspoonful of white sugar ; give of 
 the mixture for a dose, a tablespoonful every hour until 
 there is a change for the better, and the discharges are 
 improved in appearance. The patient may drink a table- 
 spoonful of lime-water in milk every three hours, and use 
 the same for injections. 
 
 Another very efficacious preparation is the following 
 compound : — 
 
 Pulverized charcoal 2 tablespoonfuls 
 
 " rhubarb 1-2 teaspoonful 
 
 Carbonate potash 1 " 
 
 Pulverized cinnamon 1 " 
 
 Mix and make twenty powders, and take one every hour 
 until relief is obtained. 
 
DYSENTERY. 1 57 
 
 In adopting either of these remedies, it should be accom- 
 panied by warm fomentations of spirit and water applied 
 over the bowels and changed often. If any injections are 
 used, the quantity must be very small ; it may be a table- 
 spoonful for a child, or a wine-glassful for an adult, as the 
 parts are so irritable and tender that a large quantity 
 would be at once rejected. If one comes away soon, give 
 another in fifteen minutes. A most excellent though old 
 remedy for chronic diarrhoea and cholera morbus, which is 
 always at hand, is, take a pint of hardwood ashes, a wine- 
 glassful of soot collected from the chimney, or cooking- 
 pans, and mix in a quart of water ; steep twenty minutes, 
 strain, and add a teaspoonful essence of peppermint and mo- 
 lasses, or sugar, to suit the taste ; dose, a tablespoonful be- 
 fore eating, or three times a day. After the desired change 
 in the character of the discharges has been brousrht about, 
 there may still be more or less inflammation in the colon 
 or lower intestines, which may be relieved by injections of 
 the following : — 
 
 Pulverized slippery-elm bark . . . .1-2 ounce 
 
 Milk 1 pint 
 
 Olive oil 1 wine-glassful 
 
 Molasses 1 tablespoonful 
 
 Of this mucilage give for an injection one tablespoonful 
 when the patient complains of pain, and have it retained as 
 long as possible ; if it can readily be retained for a long 
 time, give larger quantities. 
 
 If the desire to evacuate the bowels continues to be in- 
 tense, half a tablespoonful of laudanum can be added to 
 this mixture, and the effect of the injections will be speedy 
 relief ; and in some instances the disease may become 
 located in the lower bowel, so that this form or method of 
 treatment may have to be depended upon wholly. 
 
 Copious or abundant perspiration is not called for, but 
 
I58 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 during the continuance of an attack of dysentery it should 
 be the aim of those in charge of the patient to keep him 
 in a gentle perspiration, by which we mean a natural con- 
 dition of the skin, and not dry or feverish. Warm drinks 
 can be given of such herbs as mint, balm, saffron, or 
 pleurisy-root. Good nursing is very essential in this, as in 
 all diseases ; the clothing should be changed frequently. 
 Special attention should be paid to the food of the patient, 
 which should be composed of light and nutritious articles, 
 such as crackers toasted and soaked, gruels, broth, boiled 
 milk, and rice water, or toast water. As this disease is 
 liable to assume serious forms, and relief is not easily ob- 
 tained, by following such directions as are given here, we 
 advise having a physician in whom they can depend. 
 
 CHRONIC DYSENTERY. 
 
 When dysentery assumes this form, which it will after a 
 time if not checked, it must be treated in much the same 
 manner as in its first stage, but to bring about a cure is 
 very difficult. A remedy in which we place great confi- 
 dence is according to the formula here given : — 
 
 Essence peppermint 1 ounce 
 
 Paregoric 2 teaspoonfuls 
 
 Pulverized rhubarb 25 grains 
 
 Carbonate of potash 25 " 
 
 Sugar 1 tablespoonful 
 
 Mix in a cupful of water, and take for a dose one teaspoon- 
 ful every fifteen minutes. We also advise at the same 
 time injections of the following : — 
 
 Slippery -elm bark in a gill of hot water, enough to make 
 a mucilage; strain, and add — 
 
 Sugar of lead 5 grains 
 
 Laudanum . . 25 drops 
 
CHOLERA MORBUS. I 59 
 
 This is a sufficient quantity for an injection. In case of 
 its coming away inside of half an hour, repeat the injec- 
 tion after waiting thirty minutes, giving only half the 
 quantity used at first, and lay upon the bowels flannels 
 wet in fomentations of tansy, wormwood, catnip, or bur- 
 dock leaves, in water and rum, or vinegar, used as warm 
 as can be borne, and renewed as often as they become 
 cool. 
 
 For diet take thin flour gruel, boiled for an hour, and in 
 which is grated cinnamon or nutmeg to suit the taste, and 
 sweetened with sugar or honey ; take small doses, say two 
 or three tablespoonfuls every hour. Take peppermint or 
 Virginia snake-root tea, in every pint of which is dissolved 
 a quarter of a teaspoonful of saleratus ; of this use two or 
 three tablespoonfuls every half hour. 
 
 If there should be vomiting, and it continues, give small 
 pieces of ice as large as chestnuts, and let them be taken 
 until it is checked. If there is heat and fever about the 
 bowels, apply flannels wrung out in warm fomentations, 
 and put the feet into hot water ; place upon the head 
 cloths wet with water and spirit, in order to cool it. 
 Moderate quantities of cream of tartar in hot water, with a 
 little sugar, say a wine-glassful at a time, will give tone 
 to the stomach and a relish for food, unless acid is the 
 cause of the dysentery ; and if so, the discharges will not 
 be diminished ; and magnesia (either carbonate or calcined) 
 in mint tea may be taken ; take half a wine-glass every 
 hour or so, according to the degree of thirst. 
 
 CHOLERA MORBUS. 
 
 This is an affection of the stomach and intestines, which 
 is prevalent in this country, and often proves fatal. It in 
 many cases results from sudden changes of climate. There 
 are many theories regarding the origin of this disease ; 
 
l60 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 but that which seems to us most reasonable is that at cer- 
 tain seasons persons who are predisposed have an acid 
 poison generated, — the result of eating fruit and vegetables, 
 — which attaches itself to the stomach and liver, causing 
 in these organs an excitement which may be either mild or 
 intense, according to the condition of the system. The 
 disease is most prevalent in the summer, and the symp- 
 toms are nausea and griping pain in the stomach and 
 bowels, weakness in the limbs, and a feeling as though 
 something which had been eaten must be thrown off the 
 stomach. There will be the desire to have an operation of 
 the bowels and to vomit at the same time ; the discharges 
 are at first dark colored, bilious, and fetid, but soon become 
 watery, and nothing is retained on the stomach. 
 
 The treatment which we have found to act like a charm 
 in allaying the pain, and stopping both vomiting and purg- 
 ing, is the following : — 
 
 Tincture or essence of peppermint I ounce or 4 tablespoonfuls 
 
 Carbonate of potash 20 grains 
 
 Water 4 tablespoonfuls 
 
 Paregoric 1 drachm (1 teaspoonful) 
 
 Honey or white sugar . . . . 1 dessertspoonful 
 
 Mix well ; dose, a teaspoonful every fifteen minutes. When 
 the patient becomes quiet let him sleep, and have hot 
 bricks or bottles of hot water placed at the feet to draw the 
 blood to the extremities and equalize the circulation. If 
 vomiting continues after taking several doses of the medi- 
 cine, swallow small pieces of ice until it is checked ; after 
 a few hours the patient may have thin gruel and toast 
 water. 
 
ASIATIC CHOLERA. 
 
 161 
 
 ASIATIC CHOLERA. 
 
 This is a disease that attacks adults, and is really cholera 
 morbus in its most severe or malignant form. It has often 
 prevailed as an epidemic in Europe and in this country ; 
 the symptoms are vomiting and purging at the same time, 
 with great pain and griping, cramps in the legs, stomach, 
 and bowels, chills and cold extremities ; white, frothy, 
 watery liquid is thrown off the stomach at first, but later a 
 dark mass resembling coffee-grounds. In the latter stage 
 of the disease the face is pale and haggard, the eyes dull 
 and sunk in the head, features shrivelled, hands discolored, 
 breathing labored, great heat and thirst in the stomach. 
 Slight hopes can be entertained when these latter symp- 
 toms are present. 
 
 The following prescription embraces the remedies which 
 have been used with the best results where this disease 
 has appeared : — 
 
 Spirits of camphor . 
 Tincture of rhubarb 
 Tincture of cayenne 
 Carbonate of potash 
 Tincture of ginger . 
 Tincture of opium . 
 Essence of peppermin 
 Hartshorn . . . 
 Brandy or whiskey 
 
 1-2 ounce 
 1-2 " 
 1-4 " 
 
 1-2 " 
 1-2 " 
 1-8 " 
 
 1-4 " 
 1-8 " 
 
 1-2 pint 
 
 Mix ; dose, one tablespoonful every twenty minutes in 
 wine-glassful of water. 
 
 For the country, where there is no drug store : — 
 
 Powdered rhubarb ....... 2 tablespoonfuls 
 
 Ginger I teaspoonful 
 
 Cayenne pepper 1-2 " 
 
1 62 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Steep well in half pint of water, simmer down to a gill, 
 strain, and add — 
 
 Essence peppermint I tablespoonful 
 
 Spirits camphor ....... 1-2 " 
 
 Hartshorn or ammonia 1 teaspoonful 
 
 Laudanum 1 " 
 
 Saleratus 1 " 
 
 Whiskey or brandy 1-2 pint 
 
 Dose, half a tablespoonful every twenty minutes in table- 
 spoonful of hot water. 
 
 After the patient is relieved, give small doses of black- 
 berry-root tea ; to make this, bruise an ounce of the root, 
 and steep for an hour in a pint of water. In extreme 
 cases, where the patient is cold, there may be given warm 
 injections of half a pint of starch and half a teaspoonful of 
 laudanum, one teaspoonful brandy or whiskey ; and in 
 case of its coming away immediately, repeat in ten minutes 
 with less starch. Hot bricks or bottles of water should be 
 placed at the feet and sides of the patient ; poultices, with 
 mustard on the surface, should be applied over the stomach 
 as hot as endurable : if thirst is great, give hot drinks of 
 ginger tea with spirit. 
 
 When the patient has been relieved, the most perfect 
 quiet must be maintained for some time, as any attempt at 
 rising may be followed by a relapse. 
 
 MILK SICKNESS. 
 
 This is a species of cholera, confined to and known 
 only in the Western States, and supposed to be caused by 
 using milk and butter made on farms on which the cows 
 have been kept in pastures where the feed was short, and 
 in the driest time when the milkweed is in blossom (August 
 and September). As the disease is not known during other 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS. 163 
 
 months, or when feed is plenty, there appears good reason 
 for attributing it to that cause. 
 
 Milkweed is known and used in medicine, and possesses 
 valuable properties, which in small doses stimulates the 
 heart, stomach, and lungs, and quickens the circulation. 
 
 Like the symptoms of poisoning, cholera, or dysentery, 
 those of this disease are sudden ; the treatment should be 
 similar to that adopted in mild cases of cholera or cholera 
 morbus, with this exception : if there has been no vomiting 
 induce it by giving an emetic of mustard and salt, a tea- 
 spoonful in a tumbler of warm water. When the stomach 
 is thoroughly emptied take the following : — 
 
 Tincture or essence peppermint ...... 1 ounce 
 
 Carbonate potash ... 20 grains 
 
 Paregoric, one teaspoonful 1 drachm 
 
 Mix, and take half a teaspoonful every twenty minutes, in 
 a tablespoonful of mint tea, sweetened 
 
 If vomiting continues after several doses have been 
 taken, let the patient swallow small pieces of ice, and it 
 will be checked. Put the patient to bed, with something 
 hot at the feet, and in a few hours give warm thin gruel. 
 At the end of five or six hours, take thoroughwort or dande- 
 lion root tea to act as a cathartic. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS. 
 
 Inflammation of the lining membrane of the intestines is 
 marked by fevers, great costiveness, vomiting, and a 
 doubled-up feeling of the stomach and bowels, with cramp- 
 like pains, shooting from side to side among the intestines, 
 as though something must be passed from them. The 
 matter that is thrown off the stomach is dark, and in its 
 nature resembles excrement, thus indicating that the nat- 
 ural action of the bowels has been reversed, because of 
 
164 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 their present inflamed condition. The symptoms are very 
 similar to those of colic, but may be distinguished from 
 them as follows : in the colic there is the twisting pain 
 directly beneatJi the navel ; also by the fact that during a fit 
 of colic, pressure upon the abdomen is a relief ; in this dis- 
 ease it only increases the suffering. The treatment should 
 be to check the vomiting by having the patient swallow 
 small pieces of ice, or drink tea made of leaves of pigweed, 
 or of the striped alder, and also by giving injections of 
 warm soapy water, or gruel made thin and blood-warm ; 
 place upon the abdomen flannels wrung out of warm 
 fomentations of wormwood, rum, and water as warm as can 
 be endured. If an operation is not produced in half an 
 hour, take a tablespoonful of castor oil in peppermint tea, 
 or if the patient prefers he can chew small pieces of rhu- 
 barb root at intervals of half an hour between, so as to 
 use in the space of three hours a piece as large as a chest- 
 nut ; this, with the flannel and fomentations on the bowels 
 and the injections, will most likely cause an operation and 
 afford relief. After this the patient must have rest and 
 quiet, avoiding food, except such as gruel, toast water, etc. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE PERITONEUM. 
 
 This membrane lines the cavity of the abdomen and 
 covers the organs known as the abdominal viscera, and is 
 seldom affected except from sympathy with the womb in 
 cases of childbirth, inflammation of the bowels, bladder, 
 liver, stomach, or from injuries received. The symptoms 
 are similar to those of inflammation of the bowels, and re- 
 quire the same treatment. 
 
 Nature will do a great deal toward equalizing the circu- 
 lation, but in many cases she must have help; the patient 
 may be placed in bed, and a free perspiration started by 
 placing hot bricks and bottles at the feet and sides. At the 
 
PLAGUE, OR BLACK VOMIT. 165 
 
 same time give warm drinks of mint or saffron tea. If 
 there is no doctor present, and the patient does not 
 improve in a day or two, it is best to call one in without 
 delay. 
 
 PLAGUE, OR BLACK VOMIT. 
 
 This is, thanks to Providence, a rare visitor to this 
 country. It has appeared in the Old World and the New : 
 during the eighteenth century it prevailed extensively in 
 Eastern and Southern Europe, and with a terrible fatality, 
 the treatment not being understood. The same is true of 
 cholera. This disease, which has appeared so. seldom in 
 Europe and South America, breaks out with innumerable 
 cases, and has its run, and is ended fatally before the 
 doctors have decided what course to adopt, and the disease 
 does not again appear during the lifetime of the same 
 physicians. 
 
 It is well-known that malignant diseases or plagues 
 make their appearance periodically, or at intervals one 
 hundred years apart, while another peculiarity has been 
 that the symptoms have not been alike on the various 
 occasions of its visit ; nor have they yielded to the same 
 treatment. 
 
 The treatment may be hot drinks of ginger, spirit, and 
 cayenne pepper tea, the feet in a bath-tub, with fomenta- 
 tions on the pit of the stomach, drafts on the feet, warm 
 injections of gruel, with a tablespoonful of spirit in them, 
 as in remittent fever, and sponging with alkaline water. 
 We can say very little of value about it that will meet 
 the cases, should it break out again. 
 
1 66 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 COLIC. 
 
 This, in the case of young children, may be caused by 
 cold or damp feet, by improper food, or by the mother's 
 system being out of order. In the cases of adults, it may 
 be from dampness next the body, exposure to a chill when 
 warm, eating acid or indigestible food, and a costive state 
 of the bowels. The symptoms of this complaint are an 
 enlarged and hard condition of the belly, very severe pain, 
 of a twisting nature directly beneath the navel, flatulency, 
 and vomiting. This ailment can be distinguished from 
 any other by the twisting pains under the navel, these 
 being peculiar to it alone. It is also attended by the most 
 obstinate costiveness. In the cases of it in little children, 
 it may be known by the large and hardened state of the 
 abdomen, the wind being thrown off the stomach, and 
 from seeing the little sufferer draw its knees up towards 
 the bowels. In bilious colic, there is a bitter taste in the 
 mouth while vomiting bile, and great costiveness. 
 
 To relieve the pain let the feet be put into hot water, 
 and cloths wrung out in hot water, and a few drops of 
 laudanum (or turpentine) poured on them, and placed on 
 the bowels ; take hot stimulants, such as cayenne in sweet- 
 ened water, or spirit with cloves or cinnamon added ; give 
 an injection of starch or slippery elm in a half-pint of mint 
 tea, with a teaspoonful of laudanum added, and have the 
 same retained. If there is no relief in an hour or so, give 
 another injection of half the quantity. This complaint, 
 though the symptoms are so violent and painful, is seldom 
 if ever fatal. 
 
 In the bilious colic the vomiting is as intolerable as the 
 costiveness is obstinate. To relieve the former, add a tea- 
 spoonful of brandy or whiskey to a cup of mint tea, and 
 take a spoonful when the feeling of nausea comes on ; to 
 move the bowels, use an injection ; and a most effective 
 
SEA-SICKNESS. \6j 
 
 one is made of child's urine in starch, and administered 
 warm. In all cases of colic, for some time after as well 
 as during the fit, let the effort be made to have the bowels 
 well opened. 
 
 Painters' colic, as the name indicates, affects painters 
 and those working in lead, and is poisoning by that metal. 
 In such cases there may be seen a fine blue line at the 
 edge of the gums, or where they meet the teeth. Iodide 
 of potassium has been used with great benefit in the treat- 
 ment, five grains, three times daily, and the dose increased 
 as the use is continued. In this as in other cases of colic, 
 the costiveness must be removed by food or injection. 
 
 SEA-SICKNESS, 
 
 As the name implies, affects those travelling by water. In 
 this sickness there is present an irresistible impulse to 
 vomit, equally so when the stomach is empty, thus showing 
 that the feeling is caused by excitement of the brain, 
 brought on by the motion of the vessel. 
 
 With some persons the duration of this feeling will be 
 but for a day or two, while with others it will last during 
 an entire voyage ; and when those affected in this latter 
 manner at last step upon land, it is with a feeling of thank- 
 fulness and resolutions never to travel by water in the future, 
 if it can possibly be avoided. 
 
 The complaint is very distressing, and in some cases 
 particularly so, the compulsion to vomit being so strong, 
 that the organs of digestion may be strained and a feeling 
 of soreness be left. When the sickness is not severe, it is 
 beneficial rather than otherwise, as the stomach is thor- 
 oughly cleansed, and the liver discharges its surplus bile. 
 The treatment is, of course, such as will check the nausea 
 and vomiting, which, in the majority of cases, can be done 
 in a day or two. At the first indication of sickness the 
 
1 68 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 patient should retire to his berth and remain there, lying 
 on his back, keeping quiet, eating little, if anything, taking 
 a little stimulant, brandy or whiskey, often, and when 
 really hungry, eating some toast, crackers, or other light 
 food, and raw codfish. The small doses of spirit will serve 
 to stimulate the stomach, and until, the patient is sure that 
 he can endure the rolling motion of the vessel, he ought 
 not to move about much or attempt going to the table. 
 When the sickness passes away the appetite will be won- 
 derfully keen, and food of all kinds can be indulged in. 
 
 It is not uncommon for persons of sensitive organiza- 
 tion to become affected with all the symptoms of sea-sick- 
 ness, when swinging or riding in a carriage, especially a 
 close or covered carriage, like a stage-coach. Much has 
 been said and written regarding the cause, prevention, and 
 cure of sea-sickness ; but the cause remains a mystery. 
 Some sea-faring men are never sick, others are not sick 
 after a first trip, while still another class have an attack 
 evciy time they are subject to the motion of the sea, but 
 attribute it to the sight of the ocean, or the smell of the 
 bilge water, or to the muriatic acid of the sea air ; but swing- 
 ing on land dispels this theory. Those who do not suffer 
 severely can have half a pint of spirit, in which has been 
 put a tablespoonful of sulphuric ether, and take a little 
 when the nausea comes on ; or, any person who objects to 
 using spirit can use a piece of raw salt codfish, or raw 
 onion. Having had an attack of sea-sickness, the person 
 should take a mild cathartic soon after landing. 
 
 VOMITING 
 
 Sometimes occurs when, as far as can be seen, there is no 
 cause ; it may take place after meals, and be attended with 
 retching and nausea, or be without them. It may not be 
 regarded as indicative of any disease, but as an irritation 
 
VOMITING BLOOD. 1 69 
 
 of the stomach, the effect of over-eating, or of an overflow 
 of bile in the stomach. There are instances in which the 
 patient has vomited after nearly every meal, and from the 
 fact that this continued without the patient losing flesh, 
 it must show that all the food eaten was not ejected from 
 the stomach. Therefore, upon the appearance of such 
 symptoms, the quantity of food eaten should be reduced 
 until it can be taken without any ill-effects ; and drink a 
 cup of tea or coffee, part at a time, in the forenoon or 
 afternoon. If the adoption of such a course does not 
 afford relief, it is evident that the difficulty is occasioned 
 by dyspepsia or some irritation in the stomach, and the 
 remedy must be looked for in another direction. 
 
 When caused by an overflow of bile into the stomach, 
 such condition will be shown by the substance that is 
 thrown up. A tablespoonful of decoction of dandelion root 
 and butternut bark, taken on an empty stomach, three 
 times a day, will in most cases prove beneficial. 
 
 VOMITING BLOOD. 
 
 This complaint may be said to be rarely met with, and 
 when there is a discharge of blood from the mouth, it 
 should be examined to ascertain whether it comes from the 
 lungs or stomach. If from the lungs, the blood will be 
 light in color, or bright red, and mixed with a mucus or 
 froth ; but if from the stomach the blood will be dark in 
 color, and have with it portions of half-digested food. 
 
 With women this effect may be caused by suppression 
 of their periodical sickness, whereby the blood is diverted 
 from the natural channels, and relief may be afforded 
 by applying drafts to the feet, or putting them into hot 
 water, keeping the patient quiet in bed and inducing per- 
 spiration. 
 
 When the quantity thrown up is considerable, send for 
 
I/O OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 a physician at once, and in any event of the kind it is best 
 to take medical advice early. Relief in some cases may 
 be afforded by sipping alum water, or salt and water, by 
 applying to the sides hot bricks saturated with vinegar. 
 In cases where chills are present, the vapor bath will be 
 useful. Be particular and avoid straining and all possible 
 sible chances of taking cold. 
 
 HEARTBURN. 
 
 This has not, as the name would indicate, anything to 
 do with the heart, but is an acid condition of the stomach 
 brought on by eating some coarse or indigestible kind of 
 food ; we have known it to affect a person who used con- 
 siderable corn-meal in his diet, such as corn-cake, brown 
 bread, and puddings. Although this complaint is some- 
 times an attendant symptom of dyspepsia, it may be, and 
 in many cases is, entirely independent of the latter. 
 
 Women during pregnancy are often subject to this com- 
 plaint. The symptoms consist of a burning sensation in 
 the stomach, and often of nausea. As a means of preven- 
 tion, learn what causes the feeling and avoid eating it. 
 Avoid acid food of the nature of pickles ; also such food as 
 is apt to turn sour in the stomach, such as jellies, pre- 
 serves, candies, sugar, and rich sweet cakes. An emetic, 
 a teaspoonful of mustard in a cup of warm water, will empty 
 the stomach and afford relief, as will also a teaspoonful of 
 magnesia taken after eating; or half a teaspoonful of sale-, 
 ratus, or baking soda, in a little water. 
 
 HICCOUGHS 
 
 Are too well known to require any description. Opinions 
 differ in regard to this convulsive affection, some believ- 
 ing it to be caused by the stomach, while others think it 
 
WORMS. 171 
 
 caused by the diaphragm. It may be brought on by eating 
 too hastily, or by eating dry food (like crackers) which 
 does not become sufficiently moistened by the saliva ; cold 
 drinks when a person is warm may bring them on, and it 
 is a fact generally known that those who have been drink- 
 ing heavily of intoxicating liquors may have them severely. 
 There are many things named as cures, among them the 
 following have been found upon trial to be good : Take 
 half a cup of warm drink, such as tea, or coffee ; soak a 
 lump of sugar with vinegar and eat it ; when caused by 
 anything poisonous, take milk and oil, or give an emetic ; 
 when by wind, take one-fourth of a teaspoonful carbonate 
 of soda in a wine-glassful of water ; in severe cases, ten 
 or fifteen drops of laudanum may be given. Various minor 
 methods are sometimes followed by success, and among 
 these may be mentioned holding the breath and counting 
 one hundred, or frightening the person ; this can be done 
 by accusing them of stating falsehoods about another, or 
 of taking things belonging to others. 
 
 WORMS. 
 
 A careful examination shows that mankind are afflicted 
 with many different kinds of worms, which infest the 
 various organs of the body, the heart and brain included ; 
 but are found principally in the intestines. Those com- 
 monly met with are the following five species : first, the 
 invisible worm ; second, the thread-worm ; third, the pin- 
 worm ; fourth, the long, round worm ; fifth, the tape-worm. 
 The three first named infest the lo\ver intestines, the first 
 named being too small to be seen with the naked eye, re- 
 quiring a magnifying glass ; the thread-worm is a very 
 small, white parasite, that can be seen by a close examina- 
 tion ; while the pin-worm, which is also white, varies in 
 length from half an inch to an inch. The long, round 
 
172 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 worm is found in the upper, or small intestines, and varies 
 in length from three to nine inches ; they are occasionally 
 met with in old people in vast numbers, causing many 
 serious symptoms, and sometimes get into the stomach, 
 and are vomited up. The tape-worm may occupy the 
 entire intestines, and may attain a length of from two to 
 thirty feet ; it is white, flat, like the common tape, and 
 made up of numerous joints, each one of which has the 
 power of reproducing an indefinite number of joints at 
 its lower end or tail ; each joint contains by estimation 
 three thousand eggs and the male and female organs for 
 reproduction. A reference can be had to the chapter de- 
 voted exclusively to tape-worm. 
 
 The thought that the human body should furnish a lodg- 
 ment for these parasites is a most exasperating and disgust- 
 ing one, and indications of their presence should be 
 carefully looked for, and if present prompt measures should 
 be taken for their expulsion. 
 
 The symptoms denoting either pin or long round worms 
 are similar, and may be enumerated as fetid breath, coated 
 tongue, changeable appetite, griping pain in the stomach, 
 belly hard and full, hacking cough, itching at the nose and 
 anus, restlessness and gritting the teeth during sleep, and 
 flushing and paling of one or both cheeks. With young 
 children worm fits are sometimes brought on, and with 
 adults various diseases sometimes disappear when the 
 worms are expelled from the patient. 
 
 The indications are strongest at night, and there are 
 often other signs besides those named, such as frequent 
 discharges of urine, from sympathy of the bladder, every 
 half hour, and wakefulness. The remedies used for their 
 removal are numerous, and must be used for a time in 
 order to be effective, and prevent their speedy reappear- 
 ance. We give the following list of articles that have 
 been often tried successfully: — 
 
WORMS. 173 
 
 Sulphur 1 tablespoonful 
 
 Cream tartar 1-2 " 
 
 Mix in molasses. Dose for a child, half a teaspoonful, 
 morning and evening ; adult or youth, twice as much. 
 
 A cheap, safe, convenient, and effectual remedy is half a 
 tablespoonful of salt in half a teacupful of water : let a child 
 take half of this in the morning and half in the evening, 
 and an adult take all of it at a dose. While using it, give 
 also injections of a teaspoonful of salt and a teacupful of 
 water. 
 
 Take equal quantities of pink root and garden rue, of 
 both half a teacupful ; make a tea, and take some of it two 
 or three times a day on an empty stomach. 
 
 Make a strong tea of sage, or mix pulverized sage with 
 molasses, and take before eating and at nisfht. If it does 
 not kill, them it drives them down and affords relief. A 
 strong decoction of quassia or wormwood taken several 
 times daily will drive them down and afford relief. 
 
 Take half a dozen tablespoonfuls of lime water every 
 day, taking each spoonful alone or in four times as much 
 milk. To make lime water : Slake a piece of lime as 
 large as a teacup in three quarts of water, and, after settling, 
 pour off the clear water ; use this also for injections, taking 
 a tablespoonful in thin gruel. 
 
 Dissolve a half teaspoonful of saltpetre in half a pint of 
 water, and give as an injection. 
 
 Give as an injection one teaspoonful of tincture muriate 
 of iron in half a pint of water. 
 
 We have found an injection of some bitter herb the best 
 and safest remedy for the expulsion of worms. 
 
 Take a tablespoonful of wormseed, crush or bruise it, 
 steep it in half a pint of hot water an hour, strain ; give as 
 injection one-half to an adult, and from one to four table- 
 spoonfuls to a child, according to the age. The second 
 half may be o-iven twenty-four hours afterwards if needed. 
 
174 0UR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 If wormseed is not to be had, take half a teacupful of 
 wormwood, yellow dock root or burdock root, bruise or 
 grate them, and steep an hour in half a pint of hot water, 
 and give as injection, as above directed, one-half at a time. 
 
 TAPE-WORM. 
 
 The best-defined symptoms are an uneasy feeling in the 
 pit of the stomach, which often abates after eating ; gener- 
 ally a craving appetite, but this at times may be poor or 
 wanting, itching at the nose and anus, feeling of nausea, 
 colicky pains, giddiness, and an acid or sour breath ; pupils 
 dilated, constant flatulency of the bowels, and a twitching 
 or slightly convulsive movement of the body. 
 
 In ten cases of tape-worm which were treated by Louis, 
 he observed, "that all of them had pains in the abdomen, 
 but that in the different cases it varied in degree and 
 extent, and while in some it was constant and stationary, 
 it was in others transient and intermittent." 
 
 We have noticed, besides the above symptoms, a tremor 
 of the hand, a wavering of the eye similar to that which 
 warns the patient of an approaching fit of epilepsy, an 
 unsettled expression of countenance, a blue tinge, like that 
 produced on a cold day, about the eyes, and denoting 
 poisoning or derangement of the blood. We often meet 
 patients with the looks and symptoms of worms, and if an 
 opinion were ventured to them, the reply would be, " Yes, 
 I will see about it," which means that they will see their 
 doctor, and he in reply would ask them, " Who put that 
 idea into your head ? You have no worms." 
 
 Without going into the opinions and arguments of 
 writers, we will give from the long list of remedies some 
 of which have been used with success and without injury. 
 
 One physician employs the bark of pomegranate root 
 steeped ; another uses the bark of slippery elm chewed, 
 
TAPE-WORM. 175 
 
 and taken freely ; a third relates a very succesful cure by 
 eating freely of garlic, and using as much salt as possible 
 with it ; another cure was the result of using twenty-grain 
 doses of mandrake and salt ; another advocates cowhage, 
 from the pod, one teaspoonful ; another remedy is made by 
 compounding — 
 
 Garden rue 2 ounces 
 
 Garlic 2 " 
 
 Assafcetida 4 " 
 
 Whiskey 2 quarts 
 
 Bottle and let stand for ten days ; dose, one-half wine-glass- 
 ful taken three times daily, before eating. The flowers of 
 kousso (a remedy recommended by our son, the late Dr. 
 Webster Fletcher of Boston, to whom it was imparted by 
 a travelling medical lecturer, who obtained it from an 
 Abyssinian who knew its virtue and use in the East. Its 
 virtue has been proved by many trials. We have used it 
 with certain and satisfactory results, the last time in the 
 case of a young man, clerk in a store. On the morning 
 after administering the dose the worm came away entire, 
 a length of eleven feet, which was preserved. The dose 
 is one ounce of the flowers, which are pulverized, and 
 taken in two parts, as follows : the patient to fast or eat 
 very little for one day, and on the following morning take 
 no breakfast, other than perhaps a cup of tea : put half of 
 the ounce of flowers into a tumbler of milk, and after it 
 has stood for an hour, drink or eat with a spoon ; wait half 
 an hour, then take the other half of the flowers in like 
 manner. Soon afterwards the patient may take some 
 lemon juice, and after a few hours should take some oil, or 
 other laxative medicine to move the bowels, and bring 
 away the worm. 
 
 We speak and feel confident about the value of this 
 remedy, when tried in the proper manner. 
 
176 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 PILES. 
 
 Piles are of two kinds, internal and external ; the variety 
 first named usually appears as a swelling or distended con- 
 dition of the veins in the vicinity of the anus. When these 
 veins become ruptured, the patient has bleeding piles ; ex- 
 ternal piles have the appearance of a tumor or excrescence, 
 which appears hard ; this form is also known as blind or 
 strangulated piles. The piles may be brought on by 
 various causes, among which are the use of aloes or other 
 drastic medicine, sedentary habits, straining to obtain an 
 operation, and neglecting to attend to nature's calls 
 promptly. 
 
 For internal piles, keep the bowels open by the use 
 of vegetables, the best of which are cabbage, beets, 
 carrots, parsnips, and onions. Of the list onions and cab- 
 bage are the most effective, if the smell of cooking and 
 eating is not objected to ; but what of this, compared to 
 the suffering caused by the piles ? Rye, oat, and the 
 coarse ground meals tend to keep the bowels in a good 
 condition. If there should be protruding piles when at 
 stool, wash them with warm water and castile soap, after 
 which rub them with an ointment made as follows : — 
 
 Mutton, tallow, or lard 2 tablespoonfuls 
 
 . Flour of sulphur 1 teaspoonful 
 
 Borax 1-2 " 
 
 Carbolic acid . 1 teaspoonful liquid or 5 grains solid 
 
 Mix thoroughly, anoint, and pass some up the passage. 
 
 In some instances piles are caused by very small worms, 
 which produce an intense itching ; this may be relieved 
 and the worms destroyed by injections of salt and water, 
 — a teaspoonful of salt in a teacupful of warm water. 
 
 Another injection may be made of a teacupful of gruel, 
 in which dissolve half a teaspoonful of saltpetre. 
 
FISTULA. I77 
 
 FISTULA. 
 
 The word signifies a long pipe-like ulcer, callous within, 
 and frequently opening into or communicating with a 
 larger cavity ; the two kinds commonly met with are fis- 
 tula in ano, and fistula in perineo ; the former penetrates 
 into the tissues around the anus, or into the rectum itself, 
 or it may break through the skin externally. 
 
 The causes that produce them are irregularity of the 
 bowels, constipation, derangement, high living, want of 
 exercise, piles, etc. 
 
 The most prominent symptoms are swelling and pain in 
 the rectum about the anus and the formation of a tumor, 
 which, by the slow accumulation of matter, gradually ad- 
 vances to suppuration. The common method of treatment 
 is by the surgeon's knife ; but this operation is severe and 
 does not, in our opinion, always cure. We advise a trial 
 to be made of the following treatment : Bathe the parts 
 thoroughly with water as warm as can be borne, then 
 steam with a decoction of hops, tansy, and wormwood ; a 
 handful of each boiled together for an hour ; put the de- 
 coction into a large pail or a small tub, add half a pint of 
 soft soap, place a piece of narrow board on the edge of 
 the tub, and the patient sit in it with a blanket over the 
 shoulders, remaining there for fifteen or twenty minutes 
 over the hot decoction. Do this three times daily. After 
 steaming anoint the parts with an ointment made of — 
 
 Lard 2 tablespoonfuls 
 
 Spirits turpentine 1 teaspoonful 
 
 Flour sulphur ,1 " 
 
 Alcohol 1 " 
 
 Or this: — 
 
 Ointment for piles, ulcers, and sores : One-fourth pound 
 witch-hazel bark, one-fourth pound black cherry bark, one- 
 
iy8 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 fourth pound white-oak bark, one ounce sage leaves, one- 
 fourth pound apple-tree bark ; steep in a quart of water 
 three hours ; steep down to half a pint, strain, and add a 
 teacupful of lard stirred in while warm. 
 
 Keep the bowels open by the use of laxatives, or by 
 means of warm water injections if necessary. In case of 
 an opening of piles or fistula, and there is considerable 
 matter discharged, give injections of weak lye made with 
 wood ashes ; or make a pint of thin gruel, add a teaspoon- 
 ful saleratus, one of flour of sulphur, and one of finely pul- 
 verized charcoal. In chronic cases for an injection use the 
 following mixture : — 
 
 Milk or cream i pint 
 
 Flour of sulphur . . . I teaspoonful 
 
 Sulphate zinc 10 grains 
 
 Borax 30 " 
 
 Dissolve zinc and borax in a little water ; have the injec- 
 tion retained by pressing upon the opening with a soft 
 cloth. 
 
 In cases of this sort it is impossible to lay down exact 
 rules for the guidance of any person ; the most that can be 
 told is what will give a general idea of the sore and of the 
 treatment ; but in every instance of the kind we advise the 
 employment of a doctor. 
 
 PROLAPSUS ANI. 
 
 This is a greater or less protruding of the rectum, or 
 lower portion of the intestines, caused by weakness, dysen- 
 tery, diarrhoea, and in some instances by minute worms. It 
 is most common with young children, perhaps, after eating 
 green fruit ; in appearance it resembles little bags or bulbs, 
 and at other times it looks like a ring of the intestines 
 folded. It should be washed with warm water and dressed 
 
STRICTURE OF THE RECTUM. 1 79 
 
 with a salve, made by dissolving a piece of alum the size 
 of a cherry in a tablespoonful of warm water, and adding 
 this to a wine-glassful of cream. This will act as an as- 
 tringent, and by regulating the child's bowels the difficulty 
 will be obviated. 
 
 If the child is much relaxed, give caraway tea, anise seed 
 tea, or boiled milk into which is grated nutmeg or cin- 
 namon, and give injections of a tablespoonful of starch, as 
 thick as cream, to which has been added a piece of alum 
 as large as a cherry, dissolved in water, as directed above. 
 Keep the child on a moderate diet (gruel, toast, porridge, 
 puddings, etc.), for a few days, and if frequent discharges 
 should continue, use the remedies given in this book under 
 the head of diarrhoea. 
 
 STRICTURE OF THE RECTUM. 
 
 This difficulty is a very uncommon, as well as a very 
 distressing one, produced by costiveness, piles, drastic pur- 
 gatives, and by the matter which passes the bowels being 
 hardened, and therefore tending to irritate. As the causes 
 which bring them on are similar to those which produce 
 piles, the treatment should be similar. The parts should 
 be bathed with soap and warm water, after which the salve 
 or ointment named for fissure may be used with benefit. 
 The same diet as that advised for the use of those who 
 have piles can be followed when this affection exists ; bread 
 made of the coarse or unbolted graham flour, and the corn 
 and rye meals ; the use of oat-meal is recommended as 
 well as the various vegetables that tend to keep the 
 bowels open. 
 
 If the stricture remains obstinate, give an injection of 
 one teacupful gruel, one teaspoonful shavings of castile 
 soap, and two teaspoonfuls glycerine mixed. 
 
ISO OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 FISSURE OF THE ANUS. 
 
 This is both sore and troublesome, most painful to en- 
 dure, and difficult to cure. It is caused by a contracting of 
 the muscles, or a muscle, and is a crack, or similar to a 
 large chap, such as comes on the hands. Effort must be 
 made to soften and lubricate the place with ointments and 
 injections, and the following may be used : — 
 
 Sweet cream i gill 
 
 Flour sulphur I teaspoonful 
 
 Borax 1-2 " 
 
 Rosin large as chestnut 
 
 Melt rosin, mix, and rub well together, and pass some up 
 the passage. Or — 
 
 Mutton tallow 2 tablespoonfuls 
 
 Glycerine, sweet oil, or cream . 1 " 
 
 Flour sulphur 1 teaspoonful 
 
 Tannin 10 grains (even teaspoonful) 
 
 Mix, and rub well together ; pass some up the passage and 
 rub upon the sore place. 
 
 Relief will be afforded by bathing the parts in castile 
 soap and warm water as hot as agreeable. 
 
 DIABETES 
 
 Is an immoderate flow of the urine. There are two species 
 of this complaint ; the first is that in which there is an 
 unusually large discharge of clear and natural urine ; and 
 the second that in which the urine is charged with sugar, 
 in addition to there being more than the ordinary quantity ; 
 the accompanying symptoms are great thirst and appetite, 
 gradual loss of flesh, or emaciation, frequently passing the 
 urine, till in the course of a day, the entire quantity that 
 
DIABETES. l8l 
 
 comes away will exceed the whole amount of the food and 
 drink taken during that time. Persons whose constitu- 
 tions have become shattered, or free drinkers, are the most 
 liable to be subjects, although it may attack young persons 
 from various causes, such as cold, damp weather, wet feet, 
 wet clothing, great exertions, irregularity in living, and not 
 being warm enough when sleeping. 
 
 In regard to the quantity of urine passed during the day, 
 it is stated in Watson's ''Practice" that "the quantity 
 voided is sometimes enormous, far more than could be sup- 
 plied by the food and drink, although that, as I shall explain, 
 is excessive too. A healthy person passes from one to three 
 or four pints of urine in twenty-four hours. The quantity, 
 as is well known, is liable to considerable variation, accord- 
 ing to the time of the year (ordinarily more in winter), the 
 amount of exercise taken, the quantity of food and drink 
 taken, and the amount of perspiration. The average quan- 
 tity is about forty ounces, but patients with diabetes will 
 in some cases void forty pints in the same time. I have 
 myself seen twenty-six pints ; thirteen or fourteen are not 
 uncommon, and cases are recorded by writers of veracity 
 in which seventy pints were voided daily." 
 
 The fact of the urine's containing sugar was accidentally 
 discovered by a patient in St. Bartholomew Hospital, who 
 noticed that upon the spots where some few drops had 
 been spilled, there was visible a white powder, or substance, 
 about which the flies gathered ; another patient of Dr. 
 Mclntire's observed the same powder upon his stocking, 
 which had by chance been slightly wet ; while another 
 complained that there was a dry white powder on his black 
 pantaloons, that had been stained. One patient in the 
 Edinburgh Infirmary noticed the flies and wasps that 
 were attracted about the vessel in the room that he was 
 occupying. 
 
 Patients affected with this disease suffer greatly from 
 
I 82 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 thirst, and when drink has been denied them, have been 
 known to take almost any liquid within reach. Examina- 
 tions after death have shown the bladder and kidneys to be 
 diseased. 
 
 But this, as other diseases, requires treatment directed 
 towards the root or fountain of the trouble : it is coupled 
 with dropsy, for the reason that it sometimes ends in or 
 with it ; there are three objects to be kept in view in this 
 ailment : — 
 
 First, To restore the digestive apparatus. Second, To 
 cut off or restrict as much as possible the supply of 
 saccharine matter. TJiird, To mitigate or remove the dis- 
 tressing symptoms. 
 
 For foods we would suggest salt meats and salt fish ; and 
 when the patient is near the salt water, or can get clams 
 to eat them, — boiled, roasted, fried, stewed, and every way 
 they can be cooked, — and in every case drink the water 
 which comes from them in boiling. Salt water will not make 
 sugar, and may be safely taken. When eating a clam 
 diet, bathe the body and limbs with vinegar, in which 
 wormwood has been steeped ; put a little salt into water or 
 tea for a constant drink. After trying this for a few days, 
 change and drink acid waters; such as lemonade, tamarind 
 or cream of tartar water, and bathe the body and limbs 
 with salt and rum, rubbing the skin dry with flannels. 
 
 GRAVEL. 
 
 A collection of small grains of alkali, acid, or salts in the 
 kidneys, ureters, or bladder sometimes being present in a 
 form like dust, and being deposited in the urine. When it 
 is allowed to stand, such deposit resembling brick-dust ; at 
 other times it is like grains of sand, of a dark, reddish 
 color. When the disease has reached this stage, the 
 patient is often attacked by severe pains, such as would be 
 termed excruciating:. 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS. 1 83 
 
 We remember a case in Cambridge in which the man 
 was ordered to take some old cider, which gave immediate 
 relief. Another excellent remedy is to eat honey at 
 meals or between ; we know of several cases that have 
 been cured by this simple method, simply eating honey 
 freely, six or eight times daily. The following is highly 
 beneficial : — 
 
 Acetate potash , ... 1-2 ounce 
 
 Clear honey 2 " 
 
 Fir balsam . . . 1 drachm 
 
 Mint water or essence 8 ounces 
 
 Dose, one tablespoonful three times a day. 
 Eat raw onions, mustard, and horse-radish freely with 
 the food, and use for drink mint tea. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS 
 
 Is known by pain and aching in the small of the back or 
 about the loins. There are other pains shooting upwards 
 along the spine as far as the base of the brain, and down- 
 wards to the groin and thighs ; but the strongest indi- 
 cation is afforded by the urine, which is high colored, like 
 molasses and water, or reddish, as though tinged with 
 blood, while a sediment, either a reddish brick-dust color, 
 or light colored and albuminous, will settle in the urine 
 when allowed to stand over-night. The disease is most 
 frequently, if not always, connected with inflammation or 
 irritation of the bladder, and the treatment should be the 
 same as adopted for that complaint. 
 
 This difficulty is brought on by strains, falls, violent 
 exercise, or improper food or drink which stimulate the 
 kidneys. In some constitutions checking the perspiration 
 will bring on an irritation, shown by aching pains and an 
 inability to move. Heat should be applied to the back and 
 
184 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 loins by flannels wrung out of hot rum and water, in which 
 wormwood or camomile flowers have been steeped, and 
 these cloths should be changed often. In some cases dry 
 heat answers better than moist, and hot bricks may be 
 applied, the feet bathed in hot water, in which has been 
 dissolved a spoonful of saleratus. 
 
 The bowels should be kept well open by a tonic laxative, 
 such as the following : — 
 
 Extract butternut ...» ...... 1 ounce 
 
 Extract dandelion . 1 " 
 
 Dissolve in one quart of water, and add four ounces honey 
 and half a teaspoonful cayenne pepper; dose, tablespoonful 
 three times a day, taken before eating. To make this 
 tonic back in the country take — 
 
 Inner bark of butternut 1-2 pound 
 
 Dandelion roots 1-2 " 
 
 Black-cherry bark '.1-2 " 
 
 Milkweed roots 1-2 " 
 
 Steep for three hours in two quarts of water, strain, and 
 add — 
 
 Cayenne pepper ........ 1-2 teaspoonful 
 
 Saleratus 1 " 
 
 Alcohol 1 gill 
 
 Sweeten with honey or molasses, and bottle the whole 
 (about three pints) ; dose, one tablespoonful before eating. 
 
 For tea take saffron, yarrow, elecampane, slippery elm, 
 or gum arabic, dissolved. 
 
 Tea and coffee, if used, should be weak, and spirituous 
 liquors avoided. If the urine is diminished in quantity, or 
 does not pass away readily, take twenty drops of sweet 
 spirits of nitre in a spoonful of water, repeating this four 
 or five times a day ; and nitre mixed with rum and water, 
 and cloths laid on the back over the kidneys, will often 
 afford immediate relief. 
 
RETENTION OR SUPPRESSION OF THE URINE. 1 85 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER. 
 
 This complaint is manifested by pain in the region of 
 the bladder, frequent and painful discharges of urine, which 
 is high colored, and has a sediment like brick-dust, or is 
 bloody, milky, albuminous, or stringy. In most cases of 
 this nature the kidneys or prostrate gland, or both, are 
 affected. In the mild -form it may be relieved by the fol- 
 lowing : — 
 
 Pennyroyal 2 ounces 
 
 Yarrow . . 2 " 
 
 Canada snake-root , . . 1-2 " 
 
 Steep slowly, covered over for three hours in a quart of 
 water, strain, and drink a wine-glassful every two or three 
 hours ; drink also slippery-elm juice or strained tea; place 
 over the bladder a bag or compress of wormwood as large 
 as the two hands, which has been dipped in vinegar as 
 hot as can be borne, and let this be changed as often as it 
 cools. The bowels must be kept free with some such lax- 
 ative medicine as the following : — 
 
 Butternut bark 1-4 pound 
 
 Dandelion root , 1-4 " 
 
 Steep in a quart of water, reducing it to a pint ; dose, a 
 tablespoonful, morning and evening. If there is constipa- 
 tion, and it is obstinate, give injections of soapsuds as 
 warm as can be endured. 
 
 RETENTION OR SUPPRESSION OF THE URINE. 
 
 As indicated by the name, this ailment exists when the 
 person is unable to pass any water, or very little, and as 
 may be supposed, is a most distressing complaint. The 
 causes that produce this condition may be inflammation or 
 
1 86 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 gravel in the bladder, or it may be inflammation or spas- 
 modic contraction of the neck of the bladder. 
 
 Steam the patient over a decoction of bitter herbs or 
 hops, the same as would be done for inflammation ; place 
 the patient in a cane-seat chair, with a blanket around him, 
 and the decoction where the steam can come up under the 
 blanket, with the feet in hot water, and drink freely of tea 
 made of chickweed, pumpkin seed, gum arabic, or slippery 
 elm ; or half a teaspoonful of sweet spirits of nitre, every 
 half hour, in a tablespoonful of tea or mint water. 
 
 After steaming for twenty minutes, put the herbs into a 
 flannel bag, and apply it over the bladder as hot as is con- 
 venient : give an injection of mint water, a pint, as warm 
 as the patient can endure. Should there be a failure to 
 obtain relief, a physician should at once be called in to 
 draw the water, which operation should be performed by a 
 medical man, or one who has been instructed. 
 
 WETTING THE BED. 
 
 This is a trouble common to the little ones, almost 
 wholly so, and is well known to nurses and mothers. No 
 blame whatever should attach to the child, as is often 
 done, because the act is one wholly beyond his power to 
 control. The cause must be carefully looked for, and may 
 be found to result either from a condition of the urine, or 
 from the presence of worms in the rectum. Drinking 
 freely during the after-part of the day may tend to develop 
 this trouble, as also may sleeping on the back. Another 
 cause may be neglect to take the child up during the hours 
 of evening sleep, which are of long duration. See that the 
 child relieves its bladder just before going to bed, and also 
 that it is taken out of bed in the night for the same pur- 
 pose ; do not allow him to drink too freely in the evening, 
 and teach him to sleep upon the right side, instead of his 
 
SECRET BAD HABITS. 1 87 
 
 back. Tying a cloth or towel around him, in such manner 
 as to bring a knot directly under the spine when lying on 
 the back, has been advised and found to be an effectual 
 way of preventing this position in sleeping, when the 
 knot can be secured so as to keep its place. (See remedy 
 for nightmare.) It will be seen that the object is to make 
 lying on the back uncomfortable. Make a tea or decoction 
 of black-cherry bark and yarrow leaves, equal parts, add to 
 it a little cinnamon or allspice, and let this be taken fre- 
 quently during the day ; do not let tea or coffee be used, 
 nor the child be exposed to cold and dampness ; also pre- 
 vent the use of salt food, as it creates a continual thirst. 
 
 SECRET BAD HABITS. 
 
 The evil consequences of these most serious and repre- 
 hensible practices on the part of the young, who have 
 passed the age of puberty, cannot be too strongly spoken of 
 and condemned, nor can the dangers be explained in too 
 strong language, or the young of both sexes be too forcibly 
 impressed with the necessity of avoiding everything of the 
 kind. Parents should be watchful over their children, and 
 not allow them, in their ignorance, to go on with these 
 habits that have been contracted, until their systems are 
 so exhausted of blood and debilitated that physicians and 
 observant persons often remark, " Something must be the 
 matter with that young man, or woman." 
 
 Very many persons in youth by this means, and the in- 
 voluntary discharges that occur at night as a consequence, 
 plant in their systems the seeds of incurable disease, which 
 develop in after-life, and which, for want of a better name, 
 is called consumption. Young and old, whose attention 
 has not been called to this subject, do not realize that the 
 seminal fluid which is thus drawn away is the vital prin- 
 ciple of the blood, brain, and nervous system, and that 
 
1 88 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 each emission or discharge is a draft upon the citadel of 
 life, equal to eight or twelve ounces of blood, and this 
 speedily undermines the strongest constitutions ; for who 
 could endure bleeding at this rate — for such it virtually is. 
 
 The appearance of any young person who is addicted to 
 this practice is such that they may readily be distin- 
 guished from those who are not thus unfortunate. The 
 effects upon both sexes are such as to destroy confidence 
 in themselves, and to cause them to avoid the company of 
 the opposite sex, and to act as though ashamed of them- 
 selves, as though this practice was known to their compan- 
 ions, and they abhorred by them. If the family physician 
 is summoned they may not acknowledge to him that they 
 are given to this habit. We see no impropriety, but 
 regard it as a duty on the part of fathers and mothers to 
 examine into this matter, and to warn the young of the 
 frightful consequences that are sure to follow such prac- 
 tices. 
 
 We find upon research and careful observation, that 
 nearly all the diseases that affect our race may be, and are, 
 traceable to improper and inordinate indulgence, or exciting 
 sexual passion ; and not the least among these are idiocy, 
 insanity, consumption, palsy, epilepsy, apoplexy, neuralgia, 
 dropsy, and barrenness, or inability to beget offspring, — 
 which is one great object of life. Parents and guardians 
 should not blame the young for sinning against their own 
 souls ; it is an undesirable inheritance, often ''visiting the 
 children unto the third and fourth generations." 
 
 Do not apply to any of the quack doctors, many of 
 whom have been shoemakers, or blacksmiths, until within 
 three months, who advertise to cure everything of the 
 kind, but make a thorough trial of some of the remedies 
 that we name. First of all, the habit must be abandoned, 
 and at the same time keep the mind entirely free from all 
 exciting thoughts. Vile pictures and improper conversation 
 
BLOODY URINE. 1 50, 
 
 must be strictly avoided; eat little meat, — but freely of 
 vegetable diet. To quiet the mind and assist in securing 
 sleep of a sound nature, take before retiring half a tea- 
 cupful of hop tea, into which put twenty drops of camphor ; 
 and during the day take, before each meal, a tablespoonful 
 of the following : — 
 
 Bromide of potash 1-4 ounce 
 
 Ginger (pulverized) 1 teaspoonful 
 
 In one pint of water. Rub the back and groins with cold 
 hop tea, or rum and salt, vinegar and salt, or saleratus 
 water. It is much better to sleep on a mattress than on a 
 feather-bed. 
 
 SCALDING URINE. 
 
 Sometimes when passing the urine the feeling produced 
 by the act is most unpleasant and painful, and is as though 
 the urine was excessively hot and almost scalding in its 
 passage. The feeling is due to an inflamed condition of 
 the sphincter of the bladder and urethra, which is increased 
 by the use of alcoholic liquors, superabundance of bile, or 
 sexual excitement. The treatment should be to take tea 
 made of yarrow, queen of the meadow, or camomile ; dose, 
 a wine-glassful three times a day ; and before retiring add 
 twenty drops of camphor in half a wine-glass of the tea. 
 To a half pint of water add a tablespoonful of gum arabic, 
 or a teaspoonful of slippery elm, ground flaxseed, ground 
 rice or oatmeal, and use it freely for a drink. 
 
 BLOODY URINE. 
 
 When such a condition is present, it may be taken as an 
 indication or symptom of some disease, not being such in 
 itself, or be caused by some external injury, or originate in 
 the kidneys or bladder. This discharge of blood in the 
 
I90 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 urine is a dangerous sign, and at the start, or as soon as 
 ascertained, the case ought to be placed in the care of a 
 skilful physician. The presence of blood may usually be 
 detected by the color of the urine, or by the sediment 
 deposited. The more accurate means or tests of deciding 
 are by the use of the microscope, or by raising the liquid 
 to the boiling point ; but these more positive tests belong 
 to the physician. For ordinary purposes a piece of white 
 cloth can be clipped into the urine when it has not settled ; 
 and if blood is present the cloth, when dry, will appear 
 discolored. 
 
 The causes that bring on this condition are various, 
 obscure, and not understood by the uninformed, but are 
 in many instances perplexing to the physician, and difficult 
 to relieve and cure. By way of a plain treatment, a strong 
 decoction of green peach-tree leaves taken frequently dur- 
 ing the day, is said to be beneficial ; also hot fomentations 
 applied to the lower part of the abdomen, over the bladder. 
 The following may also be given with advantage, such as a 
 decoction made of — 
 
 Buchu leaves . . . . 1-4 ounce 
 
 Yarrow 1-4 " 
 
 Steeped in a pint of water ; take for a dose one table- 
 spoonful every three hours ; or — 
 
 Balsam copaiba 1-2 ounce 
 
 Pulverized cubebs 1 drachm 
 
 Paregoric 1 teaspoonful. 
 
 Alcohol 2 ounces 
 
 Water 2 " 
 
 Dose, a teaspoonful three times a day. The patient should 
 live on a low and cooling diet. See that the bowels are 
 kept free from costiveness, and zvhen there is a desire to 
 pass the water, never delay or hold back, but attend to it at 
 
FEVERS. 191 
 
 once ; and as stated in the first part of this article, we 
 advise, in cases of this sort, if the symptoms do not yield 
 in two or three days, calling in a physician. 
 
 FEVERS. 
 
 Fever stands at the head of all diseases, and fever and 
 ague at the head of all fevers ; all diseases begin with 
 fever, preceded by chills, and so long as chills and fever 
 are present we have an indication of disease. Whatever 
 reduces fever, and restores the natural functions of the 
 body, gives health. 
 
 The character of this class of diseases is known by an 
 increase of heat, accelerated pulse, foul tongue, pain in the 
 head, back, and an impaired condition of several of the 
 functions of the body. • As a definition of fever in general, 
 we may say that it is an increased action of the heart and 
 arteries to expel from the system irritating, poisonous, or 
 diseased matter, and to restore the subject to health. 
 During its continuance nature seems to be laboring to 
 throw off something that oppresses or offends her, and in 
 this effort becomes excited. If fevers are fatal in many 
 cases, it is more from maltreatment than from the disease 
 itself. 
 
 Typhoid, bilious, intermittent, and remittent fevers, all 
 commence in the same way (with chills and aches), and if 
 treated promptly require remedies similar in kind and 
 quantity. We quote Watson's " London Practice" : "We 
 hear continually, both in and out of the profession, differ- 
 ent species of fever spoken of — typhus, bilious, intermit- 
 tent, remittent, slow, inflammatory, brain, putrid, nervous, 
 gastric, hectic, black, rheumatic, yellow, spotted, puerperal, 
 hay-fever, etc. Now, admitting that fever shows itself 
 under different forms, I am persuaded that the effect upon 
 the mind of all this sub-division is bad and hurtful. There 
 
I92 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 is no line of genuine distinction between the continued 
 fevers that can be relied upon. They run imperceptibly 
 into each other, even the most dissimilar of them, and are 
 traceable to the same cause, or contagion. The ancients 
 attributed various disorders to a fermentation of the 
 animal fluids ; the cause of fever, according to Hippoc- 
 rates, was some morbid matter in the blood, which theory 
 is nearly the same as that taught by Liebig in the nine- 
 teenth century" — while the more ancient thought diseases 
 of all kinds the working of evil spirits in the patient, to 
 be got rid of by incantations, prayers, and fasting, as 
 spoken of by Jesus and the apostles. All fevers do not 
 commence in the same way, and the common-sense method 
 is to treat each according to its symptoms as they are de- 
 veloped. 
 
 Fever will continue, or have its run, unless broken up 
 by treatment, — such as warm baths, hot-water applications 
 to the feet, taking drinks of warm tea, keeping the bowels 
 open, inducing perspiration, and bathing the body all over 
 in saleratus water, or in acid water, — this latter made of 
 one part vinegar and two parts water. Continue bathing 
 with either the acid or the alkali wash, according to which 
 affords the most relief. We find that during fevers, while 
 one patient will be benefited by an acid bath, another will 
 be helped by saleratus water. These washes should be 
 used blood warm. 
 
 The causes of fevers are cold, damp localities, exposure, 
 irregular habits, excitement, great exertion, joy, grief, 
 malaria, or contagion from low lands, or epidemics. 
 
 The symptoms are well known in all countries, and by 
 all classes of people, but it may be well to name them, and 
 point out rules for treatment. They consist of chills, fol- 
 lowed by a hot, dry skin, quick pulse, languid feeling of 
 distress, loss of appetite, thirst, coated tongue, bad breath, 
 restlessness, loss of strength, headache, backache, and the 
 
FEVERS. I93 
 
 secretions that pass from the body are diminished ; the 
 blood, brain, and nervous system are deranged, and the five 
 senses imperfect and unreliable. 
 
 When the circulation of the blood at the surface of the 
 body is obstructed from any cause, the blood is thrown back 
 upon the heart and lungs, and the natural result is that the 
 heart strives to relieve itself of the increased burden, and 
 a warm bath or good sweat in bed should be given to 
 equalize the circulation. When the circulation is restored 
 throughout all the organs and parts of the body, the patient 
 will desire food, and may gradually have stimulants and 
 tonics, such as cordials, wine-bitters, fruits, jellies, etc., which 
 should be taken in moderation, but not just before retiring. 
 
 Many have been killed by treatment instead of the dis- 
 ease. Within our recollection the custom was to give a 
 fever patient an emetic, calomel, bleed and blister him, 
 but give him nothing to eat or drink, — no water inside 
 or out. The practice was to bleed " until fainting was the 
 effect;" and some physicians have seen three or four 
 pints drawn before producing that effect. 
 
 The first thing to do when indications of a fever show 
 themselves is to get the patient into bed ; put hot bricks, 
 bottles of hot water, bags of hot sand, or, better still, of 
 salt, at the feet and sides ; give drinks of pleurisy root, 
 balm, saffron, or peppermint tea to produce sweating. In 
 some slight cases of fever, two hours sweating is sufficient 
 to break up the disease ; but in others, some six or eight 
 hours of this treatment are needed before the headache 
 and backache disappear ; then wash the body all over with 
 warm water, rub dry, and, if desired, give gruel, tea, toast 
 water, etc. 
 
 After resting sixteen or twenty hours, take a gentle lax- 
 ative, such as castor oil in peppermint ; or chew small 
 pieces of rhubarb, as large as a pea, and swallow the saliva. 
 A very good laxative and blood purifier is made thus : — 
 
194 0UR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Flour of sulphur I tablespoonful 
 
 Cream of tartar 1-2 " 
 
 Pulverized charcoal 1-4 " 
 
 Cayenne pepper 1-2 teaspoonful 
 
 Molasses 1 teacupful 
 
 Mix well ; dose, half a teaspoonful on an empty stomach 
 once or twice a day. If traces of fever appear, wash the 
 body, and especially the head, chest, and arms, with sale- 
 ratus water, half a teaspoonful to a pint of water ; for a 
 drink, give tamarind water, lemonade, very sour ; eat inside 
 of lemons ; cream of tartar in water, or citrate of magnesia, 
 and tea of camomile flowers, and sage alternately ; give 
 injection of half pint soapy water with half a teaspoonful 
 of saleratus. If after a day or two you find that the fever 
 is increasing, and that you cannot control it, call in your 
 physician. 
 
 In cases of wandering, or slight insanity, shave the back 
 of the head, and put on a blister that will reach nearly from 
 ear to ear ; flannel wrung out in hot water (in which a tea- 
 spoonful of mustard has been put) can be placed over the 
 pit of the stomach ; to draw the blood from the head, there 
 may be applied to the feet burdock leaves taken hot out of 
 vinegar, to which mustard has been added. Great care 
 should be taken to keep the bowels free, and to see that the 
 urine passes in sufficient quantity. 
 
 A German physician of large practice and great expe- 
 rience claims that fevers at the outset may be treated, and 
 most successfully checked, by immersing the patient in 
 water as warm as the temperature of the body, then grad- 
 ually cooling the water to fifty or even to forty degrees, 
 then rubbing and drying thoroughly, and putting to bed. 
 We think this method would be productive of good, and is 
 easily tried where a bath-tub is in the house ; and for want 
 of a bath-tub, sponge the body ail over with warm water, 
 
FEVER AND AGUE. 1 95 
 
 and a teaspoonful of soda or saleratus to the quart of water, 
 and repeat it as often as it dries, until the patient feels 
 cool. 
 
 FEVER AND AGUE. 
 
 This form of disease stands at the head of all fevers, and 
 is marked by three distinct stages or periods : the first is 
 that of chills or cold, in which the patient shakes from 
 head to foot, the teeth chatter as though moved by some 
 rapid perpetual motion, and no amount of clothing or of 
 heat from the fire will enable the patient to feel warm. 
 The feeling is often described like that which would be pro- 
 duced by cold water running down the back. When this 
 chill passes off the second begins ; the patient complains 
 of heat, and a fever which begins with hot, dry skin, hard, 
 quick pulse, aching in the head, back, and all over the body. 
 This lasts for several hours, and is followed by the third or 
 sweating period, which is accompanied by lassitude and 
 want of energy to do anything ; and unless some remedy 
 is adopted, these same symptoms will return again, usually 
 on the third day. 
 
 This disease prevails to the greatest extent in the West- 
 ern and Southern States in this country, where sluggish 
 rivers, lakes, and ponds are located, where vegetation is 
 rank, and the hot sun generates miasma. In such districts 
 this malady may be expected in the fall of the year, and is 
 caused in innumerable instances by sitting in the sun, and 
 to a greater or less extent by the damp evening air. 
 
 Fever and ague are sometimes manifested in New Eng- 
 land ; in fact, in the State of Connecticut cases of it are 
 very numerous. In a few instances it appears in Vermont, 
 Maine, or New Hampshire. It has often been asserted by 
 clear-headed and thinking persons in various parts of the 
 world, that nature has provided in the vegetable kingdom 
 remedies, preventives, and specifics for all the ills and dis- 
 
I96 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 eases incident to each locality ; " and as the virtues of 
 botanical remedies are being developed and understood, 
 the evidence of the truth of this statement is strong. The 
 three cardinal points in the question are, first, if there 
 are such remedies, they are accessible ; second, they are 
 cheap ; and, third, they are harmless, and are, therefore, to 
 be recommended to the poorer classes. One of these is the 
 bark of willow sprouts, which may either be made into a 
 decoction, or dried, pulverized, and taken in molasses; 
 it is a very bitter medicine, and will likely cause vomiting 
 as well as purging, but, both being beneficial, should be 
 encouraged. If this bark will cure ague, as claimed, it 
 would appear as though Providence had placed the remedy 
 and the disease side by side, for willows abound in low, 
 marshy lands. Holly leaves have in France the same 
 repute as willow bark in America. 
 
 In the hospital at Leghorn, Italy, Doctor Gordini made 
 trials of piperine, and reported that doses of six or eight 
 grains cured intermittent often when the sulphate of quin- 
 ine failed ; and with the lower class the belief has prevailed 
 that a teaspoonful of red pepper in a glass of gin, brandy, 
 rum, or whiskey will cure ague. 
 
 Notwithstanding the remedies named thus far, the one in 
 almost universal use in this country is quinine, and the 
 best compound of it which we have been able to find is 
 the following : — 
 
 Sulphate quinine 30 grains 
 
 Ferrocyanuret of iron (Prussian blue) ... 60 " 
 
 Pulverized extract podophyllin 30 " 
 
 Pulverized cayenne pepper ....... 60 " 
 
 Pulverized hardwood charcoal 60 " 
 
 Mix, and divide into twenty powders ; dose, two every two 
 hours, with a glass of spirits, after symptoms of chills, until 
 the same are over and sweating begins ; one powder for a 
 
FEVER AND AGUE. 197 
 
 youth ten or fifteen years of age, and half of a powder for 
 a child five to seven years of age. 
 
 On the first indications of a chill, take two of the powders 
 in molasses, then get into a warm bath, if one can be had ; 
 if not, take a large tub and fill it half full of water as hot 
 as can be borne, put into it a tablespoonful of mustard, or 
 a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper ; place a low chair in the 
 tub, and let the patient be seated upon it, with a blanket 
 or comforter thrown over him. The limbs may be bathed 
 in the water for ten or twenty minutes, according to the 
 feeling or relief experienced by the patient. Then rub him 
 dry, wrap in flannels, and give hot drinks of camomile tea, 
 with a strong sprinkling of cayenne pepper ; or if not to be 
 had, give mint or pleurisy-root tea to excite warmth and 
 drive the circulation to the surface of the body. 
 
 We have been informed by men who have had the ague 
 at a distance from cities and apothecaries, that they have 
 broken up the chills by the free use of whiskey or gin, 
 with hot water and molasses, in each glass of which was 
 mixed half a teaspoonful of flour of sulphur, and one-fourth 
 teaspoonful of cayenne pepper. In a case under such cir- 
 cumstances we would advise the willow-bark decoction, to 
 which can be added a sprinkling of cayenne pepper, while 
 the feet can be put into hot water, as before directed. 
 
 A light diet of gruel, rice water, barley water, or oat- 
 meal porridge, with syrup or milk, can be eaten ; and 
 after a few days, the chills being broken up, the patient 
 may eat more freely, and partake of a little stimulant, such 
 as a cordial or negus. 
 
 Another remedy that is accessible, and claimed to be 
 effective in many instances when the chills are coming on, 
 is a lemon (with a tip or end cut off), filled with salt and 
 eaten (eat several). 
 
 When the patient has the ague without the shakes, it is 
 called the dumb ague, and is much more distressing and 
 
I90 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 unbearable than when the shaking is present, the chills 
 being almost a relief. 
 
 We have been informed by several reliable persons who 
 had suffered greatly with fever and ague, that they effected 
 a thorough and lasting cure by the following simple, cheap, 
 and easily-obtained remedy, of which we advise all sufferers 
 to make a trial : Make some thoroughwort tea, and take 
 some of it a dozen or more times a day, — it may be upon 
 the back of the stove to keep it warm. It may cause purg- 
 ing and vomiting, but both will be beneficial. A Western 
 physician expert treated twenty cases with five drops of 
 nitric acid, in half a wine-glass of sweetened water, every 
 four hours -for forty hours ; in nineteen out of twenty the 
 fever was cured. 
 
 SCARLET FEVER. 
 
 This derives its name from the color of the eruptions on 
 the skin. It is a disease generally attacking children and 
 infants, but adults are sometimes subject to it, and in their 
 cases it is much more to be dreaded. It may be divided 
 or classed into three varieties, the simple, the severe, and 
 the malignant. Simple scarlet fever may be described as 
 that in which the skin is florid, without any trouble in 
 the throat ; severe is that in which the skin and throat 
 are involved ; malignant is that in which the throat is in- 
 volved, often including the eyes, nose, and ears ; the 
 throat is sore from the fauces and roots of the tongue 
 along down over the glottis, causing difficulty in swallow- 
 ing ; the hearing is affected in one or both ears, often 
 because of a running which terminates in sores ; the nose 
 often bleeds, and there is a soreness reaching from the 
 upper lip up towards the top of the head ; the eyes are 
 weak, sore, and troubled by light, and the lids swollen. 
 The attack usually begins with a chill or shivering, fol- 
 
SCARLET FEVER. 1 99 
 
 lowed by vomiting or diarrhoea, or both ; the sore throat 
 often begins before the eruption appears. The fever, 
 headache, and prostration are not always in proportion to 
 the severity of the disease. 
 
 In mild cases children do not get to bed, and the stage 
 of fever passes off in twenty-four hours. The eruption 
 appears usually on the second day, but in exceptional cases 
 before, or it may be one, two, or three days later, in which 
 case it is delayed by some obstruction or irregularity in the 
 system ; it commonly appears about the neck and chest 
 first, though sometimes on the arms and body. 
 
 It is sometimes ushered in by spasms or convulsions, 
 more especially in the cases of children who are teething. 
 When such is the case, put the child in a warm bath, fol- 
 lowed by warm drinks of balm, mint, or saffron tea, to 
 induce a perspiration. 
 
 The eruptions are not large pimples, like those of 
 chicken-pox, but are fine points, as though pepper had 
 been sprinkled on the skin, nor are they all of uniform size, 
 or the same color ; pressure upon them with the finger 
 will drive away the redness for a momentary period ; and 
 in mild cases they are out more or less for two or three 
 days, and are most vivid when the skin is delicate or 
 tender, as, for instance, on the thighs, arms, and arm-pits. 
 The eruption is generally at its height on the third day, 
 and remains visible for four or six days, and not always 
 in proportion to the severity of the disease, because when 
 the fever is great, and the eruption does not shozv, it has 
 evidently turned inward upon the tJiroat, which is highly 
 inflamed, as also the fauces and tonsils, in which there will 
 be a tendency towards ulceration. 
 
 The fever is often more severe after the eruption. Scar- 
 let fever is both contagious and infectious, and, fortunately 
 for mortals, it attacks the same person but once, although 
 eminent physicians report cases in which it has been three 
 
200 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 times clearly marked in the same patient. We strongly 
 condemn in some physicians the practice of deceiving their 
 patients and attendants by telling them, when asked if 
 scarlet fever is the disease, " No ; only a light scarlatina." 
 Recently a middle-aged lady of decided opinions, in 
 speaking of an illness, asserted that it was not typhus 
 fever, but typus only. When we tried to convince her of 
 her doctor's whim, she asserted and repeated the imaginary 
 distinction with decided emphasis. 
 
 As in all other diseases, the treatment in this is as vari- 
 able as the views of the physicians who have charge of the 
 cases. " Prof. W. T. Gairdner attaches more importance 
 to inhaling steam from hot water than to any other rem- 
 edy ; this can be done by inverting a funnel over a bowl 
 of hot water or mint tea, and breathing through the small 
 end. Some German physicians recommend the applica- 
 tion of bacon fat, in the form of a rind of bacon rubbed 
 over the body ; this was adopted in the country, but a 
 pleasanter substitute, in the form of glycerine, sweet oil, 
 cream, or fresh butter ; and rose water, or cologne, is rec- 
 ommended, viz. one tablespoonful of glycerine and one of 
 butter to two or three of rose water or cologne ; rub all 
 over the body." 
 
 The patient should be kept warm ; drink balm, catnip, 
 or mint tea, and take gruel, rice water, thin oatmeal 
 gruel, etc. 
 
 One of the best gargles for sore throat is two drachms 
 of chlorate of potash, dissolved in a gill of water, with a 
 teaspoonful of honey ; dose, a teaspoonful, to gargle and 
 spit out, and a teaspoonful to swallow. An excellent rem- 
 edy is sweet spirits of nitre ; a dose for a child is half a 
 teaspoonful in tablespoonful of water, or mint tea, every 
 hour. It is cooling and diuretic. A medicine of the fol- 
 lowing parts has been used in the Indies and other warm 
 countries in throat affections, viz. : — 
 
YELLOW FEVER. 201 
 
 Cayenne pepper 1-2 tablespoonful 
 
 Salt < . 1 teaspoonful 
 
 Boiling water , . . 1-2 pint 
 
 Stir, then add cider vinegar . . . . 1-2 " 
 
 After standing for an hour, strain through fine muslin ; 
 dose for adult, a half teaspoonful every half hour. This 
 preparation has been found to be of great service in clean- 
 ing the throat and fauces. If vomiting, or diarrhoea, or 
 both, are present, they may be regarded as beneficial and 
 ought not to be checked immediately. The chance of re- 
 covery is best when the eruption is florid and stands out 
 well ; after a few days, the cuticle peels off, like a thin 
 glove, in fragments. In cases of the malignant type, we 
 advise applying cloths wrung out in wormwood, steeped in 
 rum and water, or vinegar and water, with a little cayenne 
 pepper added, and a tablespoonful of borax dissolved in it ; 
 let the cloths be changed as often as they become cool ; 
 if there is much fever in the head and throat, bathe the 
 feet often in water (in which there has been mustard 
 sprinkled), in order to draw the blood from the head ; bathe 
 the head in vinegar, spirit, or water. 
 
 YELLOW FEVER. 
 
 "The question has been much discussed," says 'Flint's 
 Practice,' "whether this is another form of remittent fever, 
 or a distinct disease. It seems upon close examination 
 that they are not the same. Yellow fever prevails in 
 towns, while remittent prevails most in rural districts. 
 There is abundant evidence that' the cause of yellow fever 
 has been imported ; but there is no evidence of remittent 
 fever having ever been imported ; both yellow fever and 
 remittent fever have been known individually to prevail, 
 where the other was never known to appear ; remittent 
 fevers are characterized by the occurrence of remissions, 
 
202 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 while yellow fever is devoid of remissions, and does not 
 end in remittent paroxysms. The remedies which exert 
 an influence over remittent fevers, such as preparations of 
 cinchona, as specifics, do not exert any influence over yel- 
 low fever ; also, an attack of yellow fever exempts from 
 subsequent attacks, in an immense majority of cases. 
 This is not the case with remittent fever ; although the 
 treatment of yellow fever is not that of remittent, never- 
 theless the remedies for remittent may, to some extent, be 
 useful. Yellow fever is infectious, but not contagious ; 
 that is, any person visiting a patient in a fever locality will 
 or may take the disease ; but any one taken from the fever 
 locality into the country will not communicate the disease 
 to those who are exposed." 
 
 The symptoms are a day or two of lassitude and feverish 
 feeling, thirst, pain in the vicinity of the eyes, and dimin- 
 ished secretions ; chills, and quickened pulse, perhaps run- 
 ning up to ioo, and of a curious, faint, and uncertain 
 character ; there is nausea and vomiting of green or yellow 
 matter ; tongue moist, and dark in the centre. The 
 patient is very wakeful, his eyes roll wildly, and he may 
 be unable to see for a time ; the perspiration is yellow and 
 foul-smelling; there is blood discharged from the nose 
 and mouth ; the evacuations are black ; the breast, neck, 
 and eyes are yellow. During the progress of the disease 
 there will be changes that appear to be for the better, but 
 which only pass away, leaving the patient much worse. 
 
 The treatment is as varied as are the localities in which 
 it has prevailed. In one district they use hot baths, alka- 
 line washes, sponging with water hot as can be borne, in 
 which a teaspoonful of saleratus, or soda, to each quart 
 had been dissolved, accompanied by warm drinks of balm, 
 mint, or pleurisy-root tea. In the first stage of the dis- 
 ease, if vomiting and purging have not taken place, giving 
 an emetic followed bv a gentle laxative ; in another section 
 
YELLOW FEVER. 203 
 
 of the country hot drinks, cold applications, and gruel have 
 been used ; still in other places, stimulating drinks are re- 
 sorted to, — or opium, camphor, or rhubarb given in fre- 
 quent doses. 
 
 From all that we can learn of the disease and of its 
 treatment, both in Europe and America, in the North and 
 in the South, the symptoms, and not the disease, must be 
 treated. If vomiting has taken place, and the stomach is 
 well cleansed of its contents, — bile, as well as frothy mat- 
 ter, — there is no cause for emetics. If the bowels have 
 been evacuated there can be no need of laxative medicines ; 
 if they are constipated, give an injection of a pint of gruel ; 
 if the stomach will retain hot drinks, give whiskey, gin, or 
 brandy, with hot water, till the patient has had from three 
 to six glasses of spirit, according to what the stomach will 
 bear. If the stomach rejects hot drinks, give small pieces 
 of ice. There may be given injections of one-half pint 
 gruel, half a teaspoonful each of laudanum and camphor, 
 and two of whiskey. 
 
 If the patient is hot and feverish, bathe and sponge the 
 body with tepid water and saleratus (teaspoonful to a 
 quart), and give cooling drinks of tamarind or cream tar- 
 tar water, or lemonade, and use drafts on the feet of flan- 
 nels wet with hot vinegar, to which has been added a little 
 mustard. Should vomiting continue at intervals, give 
 drinks of mint tea, into each cupful of which put a piece of 
 soda, or saleratus, as large as a bean. 
 
 If the patient is cold and shivers, give hot drinks of 
 spirit, put the feet into hot water, and put mustard pastes 
 over the pit of the stomach ; keep the patient warm, and 
 try to induce perspiration. 
 
 A gentleman of intelligence and veracity says that he 
 has seen hundreds of cases in the South, every one of 
 which recovered after being treated in the following man- 
 ner : Dissolve a tablespoonful salt in a wine-glass of water, 
 
204 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 add the juice of one lemon, two wine-glasses of castor 
 oil (or three of olive), and take the whole for a dose for an 
 adult. Then soak the feet in hot water, in which put a 
 teaspoonful each of mustard and salt. Put the patient to 
 bed and wrap warm in blankets, and wait for a free per- 
 spiration ; apply mustard plasters to the feet, legs, and 
 abdomen ; if pain in the head continues, apply flannels 
 wrung out of hot spirit and mustard to the temples and 
 head, and give hot drinks of whiskey and water, in which 
 there has been put a little cayenne, ginger, or liquid cam- 
 phor. 
 
 SPOTTED FEVER. 
 
 This fever has not been known in Europe nor America 
 during this century, and when it did appear (1780) the 
 physicians and nurses were taken by surprise, not knowing 
 how to deal with it. It appeared in New England, New 
 York, and some of the Western States about the same 
 time, and a few cases in Northern New England, and 
 almost all of the cases resulted fatally. 
 
 We remember well the accounts given fifty years ago by 
 aged women, who could relate all the symptoms, changes, 
 treatment, and results of cases of this fever which had 
 occurred in their neighborhood ; and in 1780 families were 
 attacked (in the heart of New Hampshire), surrounded by 
 forests and in the vicinity of streams of pure running 
 water (as pure as in any part of the world), and where 
 neither vegetable nor animal disease had appeared ; where 
 men and women were hard workers, lived on the plainest 
 food, enjoyed almost uninterrupted health, and nearly 
 every mother had a large family of children. Even in 
 such places, young, and middle aged persons were seized 
 with this terrible disease, with pain in the head, back, and 
 finally all over the body. When asked to describe where 
 the pain was greatest, they would place a hand upon the 
 
SCROFULA. 205 
 
 head, then the heart, then the bowels at almost the same 
 time. 
 
 The disease made its appearance not later than March 
 generally. The skill of the best physicians and nurses 
 was exerted to their utmost, but without the slightest 
 avail ; all kinds of hot drinks were given to induce perspir- 
 ation, as well as drafts to the feet, hot fomentations to 
 chest and bowels ; there was neither vomiting nor purging ; 
 no one part or place alone seemed to be affected, but the 
 whole body. 
 
 A physician would be called in, and he only indorsed 
 the general verdict, " never saw or heard of anything like 
 it : " the patients died in twenty-four or thirty-six hours 
 after being taken, but for some hours before death there 
 appeared upon the body, neck, and arms, spots from the 
 size of a thumb-nail to that of a quarter of a dollar, so that 
 the patients thought mortification had begun, and that they 
 must die. The disease was neither contagious nor infec- 
 tious. Nothing can be given for the treatment, as it is 
 altogether uncertain what form this type of fever might 
 take, if it should ever again appear. 
 
 SCROFULA. 
 
 This affection, which has been long known by the name 
 of king's evil, because of the prevailing belief that it could 
 be cured by the touch of a king, requires at the present 
 time something more effective to bring about a cure. The 
 disease is well-known, and in many cases hereditary ; it 
 usually makes its appearance in young persons from six or 
 seven years of age up to twenty, and its presence is shown 
 by the swelling of the glands of the neck, formation of 
 small tumors near the ears or chin. These tumors are 
 painless, of exceedingly slow growth, are liable to run 
 together and form one large tumor, which ultimately 
 
206 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 breaks and discharges. These tumors heal slowly at best, 
 leaving scars, and upon the same places the process of 
 formation and discharge of tumors is again carried on. 
 The abdomen may also be affected, being swollen above 
 and in the groins. The presence of scrofula may also be 
 indicated by a thick upper lip. 
 
 When the affected parts swell put on a poultice of slip- 
 pery elm and narrow dock ; iodine, internally, has also been 
 beneficial, — from three to twelve drops of the tincture taken 
 in some liquid four times a day. Taking for a while a tea 
 made of dried burdock leaf has brought about very gratify- 
 ing results, after being used for a few weeks. If the ulcer 
 is well opened, the following dressing may be used : — 
 
 Bayberry tallow I part 
 
 White turpentine 2 " 
 
 Melt and strain ; when cold spread on a piece of linen, and 
 place over the spot. If the salve is too thick, thin it with 
 sweet oil. For a dressing at night use the following : sim- 
 mer for half an hour in soft water, two handfuls pulverized 
 bayberry root, and then stir in slippery elm until the mass 
 is thick enough for a poultice, which can be applied at 
 night and left till morning. 
 
 Very good results have been brought about by using 
 bayberry. Iodine has also been used in dressing the sore, 
 and in the early stages has been employed in painting the 
 tumor, and modifying the scar. Salt-water bathing is to 
 be recommended, and when out of season, put salt into 
 the water used for bathing ; to eat the dulce found upon 
 the shore is advisable. The following ointment may be 
 used on the sores and the swellings also : — 
 
 Tincture Iodine 2 drachms 
 
 Lard 4 ounces 
 
 Alcohol 2 fluid drachms 
 
DROPSY. 207 
 
 Mix gradually with the lard, and use as an ointment on 
 the sores and swellings. 
 
 These small tumors indicating scrofula may appear upon 
 various parts of the body, and the digestion may be 
 affected. The patient may make and use the following : — 
 
 Yellow-dock root 1 pound 
 
 Bitter-sweet 1 " 
 
 Boil in three or four quarts water in an iron pot ; boil 
 down to two quarts, add sugar to suit, boil a few minutes, 
 strain, and bottle for use, after adding enough spirit to 
 preserve it, or one-eighth as much as the whole bitters ; 
 dose, three or four wine-glasses a day. It may be that 
 several medicines will have to be tried before anvthing is 
 found that will benefit any particular case ; therefore let 
 the use of one thing not be continued for a long time, 
 unless an improvement is noticed. It may be fairly claimed 
 that, in the end, good nutritious food, cleanliness, pure air, 
 and proper exercise will do more for the scrofulous patient 
 than the ordinary course of medicine. 
 
 DROPSY. 
 
 In this class of diseases there are abundant watery se- 
 cretions in the affected parts, and to such an extent as to 
 interfere with the vital functions, — those portions of the 
 body being fearfully enlarged. Of this complaint there 
 are several varieties, as, for instance, dropsy of the head, 
 of the chest, and of the abdomen ; in addition to these are 
 varieties noticed by medical writers, which practitioners are 
 sometimes called upon to treat : these are dropsy of the 
 heart, womb, or legs. Very little can be done for the suf- 
 ferer, — bathing in a decoction of half an ounce of lobelia 
 in a gallon of warm water, morning and evening. 
 
 In all classes and cases of this disease the cause arises 
 
208 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 from weakness of the glandular system, or that process by 
 which the absorption of fluids is effected. The head has 
 been known to swell to an enormous size, the bones 
 separating at their sutures or junctions, and the brain 
 being sometimes softened or destroyed. This disease 
 often runs in certain families, and attacks children between 
 the ages of four and ten years ; in some cases the functions 
 of the body are not impaired until a short time previous to 
 death. 
 
 Scarcely anything can be done to prolong life, which 
 seldom lasts beyond the twentieth year. In one case the 
 head measured forty-four inches around, and the patient 
 retained his senses ; it is recommended to eat freely of 
 cayenne, mustard, and radishes with the food. 
 
 RICKETS. 
 
 This is a disease of children, and its presence indicates 
 that the system is lacking in those mineral salts by means 
 of which the bones are formed, and from which they de- 
 rive their strength ; they, therefore, become soft, tough, 
 and flexible, more of the nature of gristle, instead of being 
 firm and solid, as they must be in order to perform their 
 functions properly. This disease usually appears in chil- 
 dren between the ages of four and seven years, and its 
 presence is shown by enlarged abdomen, loss of flesh, slow 
 and unsatisfactory teething ; and the teeth when formed 
 are brittle, break easily, and are not firm in the jaws ; the 
 joints are swollen, the head large, forehead bulging or 
 prominent, neck small, bodily growth slow, and whole ap- 
 pearance pale and sickly. In many cases this disease may 
 be shown by the legs, which will be weak and give out and 
 be unable to support the weight of the body. The ankles 
 will be affected with a swelling, while the little patient will 
 tumble about on his weak legs and receive occasional falls. 
 
GOUT. 209 
 
 In severe cases the spine is affected, but while the phy- 
 sical system is weakened, the mental faculties seem to be 
 wonderfully developed, so that the child is precocious. 
 
 The causes which bring on rickets are believed to be de- 
 fective nursing, improper food, want of pure air and clean- 
 liness ; and it may often be traced to a scrofulous condition 
 in one or both parents. 
 
 As a course of treatment let the child be taken to the 
 sea-shore, if the season will admit of it, and encourage 
 bathing in and rubbing the parts affected with salt water ; 
 eat freely of the dulce found at the shore ; give a liberal 
 diet, including vegetables largely, as well as fruits, and 
 bread made of unbolted flour, oatmeal, cornmeal, rye, and 
 graham flour. Female children should be kept in a reclin- 
 ing position as much as possible, to avoid any chance of a 
 malformation of the pelvic bones. Attention to the diet, 
 as well as time, will be needed to bring about a change for 
 the better, but, in the meantime, the iron tonic may be 
 taken. This is made by putting a handful of new nails in 
 a quart bottle and filling it with cider ; dose, a tablespoon- 
 ful half an hour before eating. The physical system can 
 be benefited by sponging the body with rum and water, 
 then wiping thoroughly dry. Saffron and yarrow tea may 
 be taken before eating in the morning and evening, and the 
 iron tonic at noon. 
 
 GOUT. 
 
 There is no disease in the catalogue that is more painful, 
 and yet none in which the sufferer receives less svmpathy, 
 in fact, is so much laughed at. As a general rule, an attack 
 of this complaint begins about midnight, and is not pre- 
 ceded by any warning or premonitory symptoms, unless it 
 be flatulency, indigestion, poor appetite, or more or less 
 disturbed condition of the stomach. 
 
2IO OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 The patient is awakened by a pain in the foot, in the 
 joint of the great toe, or in the heel, and possibly with the 
 whole foot affected ; this pain increases in severity until it 
 becomes intolerable, and seems to include all sorts of feel- 
 ings, such as that of coldness, aching, crushing, and burn- 
 ing ; the patient cannot bear to have any weight upon it, 
 or to have it touch anything, not even the bed-clothes, and 
 in vain are all efforts made during the continuance of the 
 attack to place the foot in some position where it will be 
 made comfortable. After lasting for a period of twenty- 
 four hours, the trouble passes away (and this in some 
 cases it does gradually, while in others it will apparently 
 vanish all at once), and the sufferer drops asleep, being 
 covered with a perspiration, the attack seeming to pass 
 away with this sweating, or at its approach. 
 
 Upon examination the foot is found to be red and 
 swollen, the skin having a shining appearance. Similar 
 attacks, but less violent, will follow on the succeeding 
 nights for some time, passing away like the first, till in a 
 short time they cease altogether, and the disease has 
 apparently gone for good. Such is not the fact, however, 
 as in nearly all cases, unless great care is used, there will 
 be another appearance of the malady, though perhaps not 
 for some years. This second attack will be followed by 
 another within a shorter period than that between the first 
 two ; and thus on until these occasions happen every year, 
 then oftener, until the patient will be laid up for half of 
 the year, the disease passing back and forth from one foot 
 to the other. 
 
 This ailment is caused by high living, irregular habits, 
 and sedentary life ; in fact, is confined to those hearty 
 eaters of rich food, who use spirituous liquors freely, and 
 do not have physical exercise ; it is sometimes hereditary, 
 commonly attacks men, and those of large, robust bodies. 
 
 Take hot vinegar and dissolve as much salt in it as it 
 
GOUT. 211 
 
 will hold in solution ; rub the foot with this solution for 
 fifteen minutes every two hours during the first day, and 
 every four hours during the second day. While following 
 this treatment, use internally a compound made by 
 mixing — 
 
 Flour of sulphur . . . i ounce 
 
 Pulverized guiacum 1-4 " 
 
 Tartaric acid 1-4 " 
 
 Mix in a teacupful of molasses or syrup ; take an even 
 teaspoonful four times a day before eating and before 
 retiring. If not effective in four days, use the follow- 
 ing : — 
 
 Bromide potash 1-2 ounce 
 
 Pulverized extract podophyllin 40 grains 
 
 Pulverized cayenne pepper 60 " 
 
 Mix in a cup of molasses ; dose, a teaspoonful four times a 
 day. While taking, bathe the feet several times daily 
 with hot water, to which has been added one teaspoonful 
 of saltpetre. But the remedy which we have found most 
 effective, and which we advise to be first tried, is the fol- 
 lowing : — 
 
 Pulverized extract podophyllin 30 grains 
 
 Extract hyoscyamus 15 " 
 
 Extract butternut 60 " 
 
 Pulverized ipecac 30 " 
 
 Sulphate of potash 60 " 
 
 Mix in syrup or molasses, and make into pills, sixty in 
 number ; dose, two, on an empty stomach ; and if no oper- 
 tion follows in ten hours, take another. We have met with 
 the happiest results from using these pills. 
 
212 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 OBESITY. 
 
 Those persons who, besides being of a lymphatic tem- 
 perament, are in the habit of eating very freely and not 
 taking sufficient exercise, are very liable to become stout 
 or fleshy, and the opposite course must be resorted to in 
 order to overcome this tendency ; thus, when any person 
 finds himself growing rapidly stouter than desired, let him 
 reduce the quantity of food eaten, and take more exercise. 
 In many cases persons become fleshy or fat from eating 
 freely of one particular kind of food, such as oatmeal or 
 bread and milk. When this is known to be the fact, let 
 such food be dropped, and others substituted that do not 
 have such tendency. For this purpose a diet largely of 
 vegetables is advisable. 
 
 A well-authenticated account of a case in which a per- 
 son was reduced from an excessively large and uncomfort- 
 able bodily condition, weighing four hundred and ten 
 pounds, to the ordinary size of one hundred and sixty 
 pounds, is related of one Mr. W., of Billerica, Mass. With 
 great prudence he changed from a liberal and superfluous 
 diet to a spare one, reducing the quantity of ale which he 
 was in the habit of taking to one-half as much as usual, 
 and the food in like proportion ; he retired early, and 
 devoted but six or seven hours to sleep, and by diet and 
 exercise reduced his size to that of an ordinary man upon 
 half food and beer. 
 
 When we first met the late Governor J. A. Andrew, in 
 the spring of 1836, in Bowdoin College, at Brunswick, Me., 
 his weight was nearly three hundred pounds, and he walked 
 with difficulty; and four years afterwards, when reading 
 law in Boston, he had by dieting reduced his weight to 
 one hundred and fifteen pounds, and enjoyed excellent 
 health. Late in life he again became corpulent. 
 
ALCOHOL. 213 
 
 ALCOHOL 
 
 Numbers among its friends legions. It is a substance of 
 almost unlimited power for usefulness ; and on the other 
 side of the question are its enemies, arrayed against its use 
 in every form ; and so great is their zeal that they can see 
 no good in it. They unite in one long, loud anathema 
 against it for any purpose. Their stand is so firm, their 
 position so erect, that others can see their backward slant. 
 We think their opinion is warped, and without considera- 
 tion. We claim broadly that everything is good and has 
 its uses. We read that God promised his people a land of 
 wine, honey, oil, corn, etc. ; also that Jesus made wine at 
 the marriage feast. We have lived and talked a long life 
 of temperance, but never embraced nor advocated total 
 abstinence in all cases. We claim it valuable in chemistry, 
 in mechanics, in surgery, medicine, and medical practice. 
 We know of cases where the patients were taking their last 
 gasps in life, and by the use of spirituous liquors revived, 
 and were restored to health. The advocates of total absti- 
 nence tell us to use something else ; we say, tell us what 
 that something is. It is claimed by some that alcohol is 
 nutritious, is food, because it is made from sugar ; so is 
 vinegar ; but by the process of distillation and fermenta- 
 tion the nutriment is changed, and cannot be reconverted 
 to sugar again. Alcohol and vinegar are not food. 
 
 Alcohol excites the coats of the stomach, stimulates the 
 blood, increases the action of the heart, gives the muscles 
 extra power of motion for a time, but is only a waste of vital 
 force ; the muscles must have renewed force. We say 
 alcohol for persons in health is injurious, but for invalids, 
 as medicine internally and externally, beneficial, and as a 
 tonic and stimulant excites the stomach, and is invaluable 
 in digestion of food. 
 
214 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 SMALL-POX. 
 
 The symptoms of this disease are shivering, pains in 
 the head, back, loins, with nausea and vomiting, redness 
 around the eyes, fever, thirst, and, in many cases, with 
 children convulsions before the eruption appears. The 
 eruption does not show until about the fourth day of the 
 fever, and is first visible upon the face, neck, and breast, 
 spreading afterwards over the body ; the pustules gradu- 
 ally enlarge and proceed to fill with matter, which process 
 is completed by the eleventh day after their first appear- 
 ance. At the outset the eruption consists of fine red 
 points, pimples, or elevations upon the parts of the body 
 named ; the size of these pimples soon increases, and they 
 become filled with a colorless fluid, while the top or centre 
 of each one becomes depressed or pitted ; the fluid be- 
 comes opaque, or thick, as the pustules enlarge and meet, 
 or run together, while the face swells in some cases so 
 much as to prevent the opening of the eyes. By the 
 twelfth day the fever is abated, and the scabs begin to 
 drop off, leaving the skin discolored for some days, and in 
 severe cases pit-marked for life. 
 
 The disease differs from measles and chicken-pox, be- 
 cause of its having the tops of each pimple, or eruption, 
 depressed, although until the time of Sydenham, the 
 measles was regarded as a modified form of small-pox. 
 After the discovery of vaccination by Doctor Jenner, the 
 English Parliament granted him fifty thousand dollars, and 
 enacted a law obliging every child born in Great Britain to 
 be vaccinated, as a preventive against the small-pox. Like 
 other eruptive diseases, this seldom attacks the same per- 
 son a second time. 
 
 This disease is more dreaded than all others known ; 
 unless properly treated it destroys life, mars the beauty of 
 the skin, and the looks ; it attacks persons of all ages, both 
 
SMALL-POX. 215 
 
 sexes, all conditions ; but in the majority of cases the 
 young. 
 
 As yet no satisfactory reason has been assigned for its 
 origin where it has occurred ; it is asserted that persons 
 arriving from a locality where it had broken out have 
 brought it, or that it had been conveyed in goods or cloth- 
 ing from such places ; but we incline to the belief that it 
 is sporadic, or self-generated ; that the existence of these 
 same causes, which first produced it, whether they are 
 electrical, animal, vegetable, or all combined, or other 
 causes, may at any time reproduce the disease. For, like 
 it, quinzy, croup, dysentery, fever, or catarrh, any one of 
 which may appear at once in a whole neighborhood, yet 
 their cause is not attributed to importation, but to the air 
 or some subtle effluvia in the air, or some agent injurious 
 to the human race. Our business is to alleviate the suffer- 
 ing and prevent the marking by pits. Though innumer- 
 able articles have been tried, few are found to possess any 
 specific, or produce certain results. The general treat- 
 ment adopted is to keep the bowels open by small doses of 
 salts and senna daily, and feed with gruel, rice water, and 
 toast water ; keep the patient in a room, the temperature 
 of which is about 60 ° ; allow lemonade to be drank ; and' 
 we find, from experience and the result with patients, hot 
 lemonade is best, — and figs eaten freely. Some years ago 
 we read an account of a remedy that had been most suc- 
 cessfully used, and the efficacy of which was vouched for 
 by both physicians and patients. This remedy, which we 
 copied, was as follows : — 
 
 Sulphate of zinc 2 grains 
 
 Foxglove or digitalis 
 
 3 
 
 Honey 1 teaspoonful 
 
 Mix thoroughly in a gill of water, and take for a dose one 
 tablespoonful every two hours. 
 
2l6 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 The utmost confidence was placed in this by the writer, 
 who claimed it to be a specific. As a preventive against 
 pitting after this disease, painting the face, or marks 
 thereon, with iodine, nitrate of silver, rubber cut in chloro- 
 form, or weak carbolic acid, is recommended ; this may be 
 done with a solution made of four grains of nitrate of sil- 
 ver in one ounce of water, or of weak solution of iodine ; 
 say tincture of iodine one part, water four parts ; use a 
 camel's-hair brush, and paint the pits or pimples. Another 
 plan is to rub the breast with tartarized ointment, into 
 which has been put a very small quantity (few drops) of 
 croton oil ; the effect of this is claimed to be the drawing of 
 the eruptions to this place through the blistering effect 
 of the ointment — 
 
 Lard 2 tablespoonfuls 
 
 Tartarized antimony 10 grains 
 
 Croton oil 20 drops 
 
 Mix. 
 
 But so far as our experience goes we believe the best, 
 safest, most accessible, and reliable of all remedies to be 
 the plant called the Indian cup, which was brought to our 
 notice some years ago by Major John T. Lane, with whom 
 we were acquainted, and whose statement in regard to the 
 plant is before us while writing. Major Lane, who had 
 lived among the Indians of Nova Scotia, learned from them 
 the value of this plant, which may be gathered from June till 
 October. This gentleman assured us by statements, and 
 testimonials from others, that so far as the remedy had 
 been used it had proved a complete specific. He showed 
 us- copies of the local paper from that section, with ac- 
 counts indorsing his assertions, and containing also some 
 statements made by Dr. Morris, who, in opposition to the 
 whole medical fraternity of Halifax, advocated the virtues 
 of the plant and advised its use. The editor of the paper 
 and the masses of the people indorsed him as a man pos- 
 
SMALL-POX. 217 
 
 sessed of good judgment, determined, as well as scien- 
 tific. 
 
 At the time of our conversation with Major Lane he 
 desired us to make special effort to introduce this remedy. 
 His intention was to give the cure to the whole world, and 
 endeavor to obtain an award from the government upon 
 its adoption. He visited Boston, New York, Philadelphia, 
 Baltimore, and Washington, in the hope of being able to 
 secure a satisfactory trial. The late President Lincoln 
 assured him that it should be tried in some of the cases 
 then in the hospital. To the great surprise of Major Lane 
 the hospital surgeons brought in a report that the medicine 
 " was inert and of no value." 
 
 Nevertheless, some samples were sent to the surgeons of 
 London, in charge of hospitals, and within a few months 
 " London Lancets " were received by Major Lane, giving 
 reports of the trial of his remedy in a number of cases and 
 with perfect success. The root is the part that is used ; 
 it is pulverized, and of this a dessertspoonful is simmered 
 in a pint of water until it is reduced to half a pint, which 
 should be divided into two doses, to be taken during the 
 day. Sugar should not be used with it. 
 
 " Dr. Frederick W. Morris, physician of the Halifax 
 visiting dispensary, stated that this plant will cure small- 
 pox, in all its forms, within tzuelve Jwurs after tJie patient 
 has taken the decoction, however mimerous and alarming the 
 eruptions may be, and that no scars or pits will be left. If 
 either vaccine or variolus matter is washed with the infu- 
 sion of this plant, they lose their infectious property. This 
 medicine is so mild that its mixture in tea or coffee is not 
 detected." 
 
 Would not this specific, which so speedily cures, be, if 
 placed in the hands of all, a greater blessing than vaccina- 
 tion, which simply mitigates and perpetuates incurable 
 diseases ? Will not some practitioners try its efficacy in 
 
2l8 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 other eruptive diseases ? From the account given by 
 Doctor Morris it is harmless, and may prove a specific in 
 chicken-pox, measles, scarlet fever, hives, shingles, scurvy, 
 tetter, ringworm, salt-rheum, etc., — some or all of them? 
 And would it not be advisable for the governments on the 
 globe to secure a quantity of the root of this plant for all 
 physicians' use, instead of encouraging a few doctors in 
 their speculative art of passing small-pox matter through 
 young cows for vaccination of their patients ? What evi- 
 dence have the advocates of vaccination given to the world 
 that cows or heifers are not diseased ? They \idMZ periodi- 
 cal changes. Why not innocnlate a young bull ? or, better 
 still, a lamb ? But best of all, give the medical plant. 
 
 COW-POX AND VACCINATION. 
 
 Cow or kine-pox is not a natural disease, but an artificial 
 one, induced by the introduction into the human system 
 of lymph or virus taken from the arm of some person in 
 good health, and for whose vaccination the matter used 
 was obtained from the arm of some other person supposed 
 to be in good health, and soon, reaching back to some 
 doctor who furnished the matter, presumably from some 
 subject in a sound and safe condition. Sixty years ago it 
 was thought that the distinct pit-mark left by previous 
 vaccination was a safe guarantee against that dreadful 
 scourge, small-pox ; but practitioners of Boston (the author 
 among them) and other cities, having doubt of the fact, 
 raised the question. Does not the guarantee of the virus 
 run out in a few years or expend its force ? and this ques- 
 tion was tested by revaccinating persons. 
 
 We tested it on our own person ten years after vaccina- 
 tion, and on others at periods of from seven to thirty years 
 after their last previous vaccination, and in all cases the 
 results consisted in its taking effectually; the arm was 
 
COW-POX AND VACCINATION. 219 
 
 sore, the head and back ache were present, with more 
 marked violence than at the first vaccination, but not one 
 good natural pit-mark was left. We have operated upon 
 children, as many as six or ten at a time, and all took but 
 one, which was repeated until the seventh time, when it 
 was effectual, and for which the reason is unknown. 
 
 The discovery (innoculation of cows with the small-pox 
 virus) was made by Dr. Jenner, who made efforts for its 
 introduction into all countries. The discoverer's claim was 
 brought before the English parliament, which, in 1 80 1-2, 
 granted him ten thousand pounds, or fifty thousand dollars, 
 as a reward for his discovery. 
 
 Great care ought to be used in the selection of virus from 
 healthy children, of healthy parents, otherwise diseases in 
 the system may be transmitted to posterity. The vacci- 
 nation mark or pit may be located on any part of the body 
 where there is a cut, or the skin is broken, and the opera- 
 tion of vaccination has become almost universal. Recently 
 much care and pains have been taken to obtain matter 
 from young and healthy heifers, and certain physicians 
 have innoculated the calves with small-pox virus, and been 
 selling the points dipped in the virus of the pustule of the 
 calf to the profession as pure matter, having been purified 
 by permeating the animal. 
 
 We have been often informed that eruptive and scrofu- 
 lous diseases have been transmitted by vaccination, proving a 
 lasting affliction, not unfrequently ending in death, although 
 the physician gave it another name ; and although there 
 have been many cases of such poisoning, they are isolated 
 and not known beyond the neighborhood. 
 
 A case in point came to our knowledge in Boston re- 
 cently. A doctor was employed, and paid for each scholar, 
 to vaccinate the school. Several little girls declined, having 
 been vaccinated ; they were urged, told it costs you nothing, 
 and consented with the other children. In a few days 
 
220 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 five or six of them were terribly # sick, and in one child the 
 arm turned black, mortification set in, and the arm and side 
 of her body was a mass of putrefaction before death relieved 
 her of her agony, which took place in twelve or thirteen 
 days. We knew and visited the parents in that hour of 
 affliction, but the body was wrapped in disinfectants and 
 not visible to friends. 
 
 We know the fact that the scratch of a needle on the 
 human body until the blood is visible, and the point of 
 the needle then dipped into a vaccine pustule and rubbed 
 on the scratch, will vaccinate that individual ; and we 
 assume that any disease or mercurial affection, however 
 obscure, from ancestors, may be transmitted to the person 
 by vaccination Our opinion in opposition to Dr. Jenner's 
 and the whole medical faculty of the world, who advocate 
 vaccination, is that vaccine virus is a most virulent and 
 subtle poison to the human system ; and that its intro- 
 duction into the circulation, a week or a month after a 
 successful vaccination, will take effect more or less accord- 
 ing to the condition of the system ; carrying with it the 
 seeds of those diseases experienced by the bodies through 
 which it has traversed, and instead of being a protection 
 against disease and death, has scattered them broadcast 
 over the world in males and females. 
 
 CHICKEN-POX. 
 
 This is a mild, eruptive disease that is confined to chil- 
 dren, and which affects the same person but once ; though 
 contagious, its presence need not excite uneasiness. It 
 makes its appearance as follows : after a day or two of 
 apparently slight fever, and general languid, uneasy feeling, 
 small, round pimples, having white centres, appear on the 
 shoulders, neck, breast, face, and more or less on the body. 
 These become filled with a watery humor, and this does 
 
MEASLES. 221 
 
 not turn to pus, but dries down after a few days, leaving 
 dry crusts or scales. 
 
 A peculiarity of this complaint is, that while some of 
 the pimples are drying away, new ones continue coming. 
 These pimples are round, with white, raised centres, but 
 need not be mistaken for those of small-pox, which are 
 depressed or sunken in the centres, and which on drying 
 leave dark-colored crusts or scabs. 
 
 No particular treatment is called for. Do not allow the 
 child to scratch the spots, as this may produce bad sores ; 
 let the bowels be kept open ; give light diet, and drinks of 
 balm and pennyroyal tea to produce perspiration ; avoid all 
 chance of taking cold by keeping in a warm room, and the 
 trouble will in a few days pass away. 
 
 MEASLES. 
 
 This is an eruptive disease that prevails to the greatest 
 extent during the cold weather, especially in the latter part 
 of winter and the beginning of the spring. The majority 
 of cases in which it attacks children is so large that it 
 may virtually be said to be confined to them ; nevertheless, 
 grown persons who have never had it, are at any time 
 liable to have it upon exposure. It can be said that, as a 
 rule, the same person is not affected a second time, yet 
 there are recorded a number of authentic cases in which 
 persons, and even whole families, have been attacked a 
 second time, but where such is the fact the disease is 
 known to have been very light at the time of its first 
 occurrence. 
 
 After exposure some twelve or fourteen days pass before 
 the disease gives any indication of its presence. It is very 
 contagious, and will, when the least chance is afforded, 
 spread through a family or school with great rapidity. It 
 is often a very difficult matter to decide whether there 
 
222 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 exists a case of the measles or of some other malady, such 
 as scarlet fever, while in many instances the symptoms 
 have been mistaken for those of small-pox, and much 
 needless alarm been thereby created by such an announce- 
 ment, as may readily be supposed. To avoid falling into 
 these errors it is necessary to wait until the symptoms are 
 sufficiently marked to enable those in charge to decide 
 with certainty. 
 
 At the beginning of this complaint, the symptoms (which 
 may be either very mild and scarcely noticeable, or severe 
 and troublesome) are similar to those of influenza, and may 
 be enumerated as coughing, sore throat, sneezing, running 
 at the nose, watery eyes to which the light is painful, coated 
 tongue, bad taste in the mouth, thirst, chills or shiverings, 
 and fever. The time at which the eruptions appear is 
 usually the fourth day, although it may occur a little in 
 advance of this time, or a number of days later ; they are 
 seen first upon the face and neck, but immediately spread 
 over the entire body, more or less thickly. These eruptions 
 are of a dull red color ; there is no tendency to suppuration, 
 and the blotches are slightly raised above the surrounding 
 skin, which retains its natural look and color. As the 
 pimples become more plentiful, they group themselves into 
 clusters or patches, having the form of a crescent or half 
 moon. After a few days these fade gradually away in 
 much the same manner as they appeared, the blotches 
 turning darker colored or brown, drying up as scales and 
 falling off. No more danger attends plentiful eruptions 
 than when they are few and scattered ; as the scars abate 
 the attendant fever disappears, and when the disease 
 departs, the patient is left in a weak condition, and with 
 some of the symptoms (perhaps a cough) remaining. 
 
 Although not often in itself dangerous, it may, in com- 
 plication with other maladies, become so, for its presence 
 may start into activity the seeds of consumptive or scrofu- 
 
MEASLES. 223 
 
 lous diseases dormant within the system. The disease 
 does not require a great deal of treatment in the way of 
 medicine, but rather assistance to nature in her efforts. 
 
 As soon as the symptoms are unmistakable, let the 
 patient be placed in a comfortably cool room ; put the feet 
 into hot water, into which saleratus has been stirred, and to 
 further assist in driving the symptoms out upon the surface, 
 make a tea of one part of Virginia snake-root and two 
 parts of saffron, and have the patient drink freely of it, 
 using every means to induce perspiration, or drive the 
 humor out. When this has been accomplished, little 
 medicine is needed ; the bowels must be kept well opened, 
 while the diet should be very spare, and consist of such 
 articles as gruels, broths, etc. ; if light is painful to the 
 eyes, the room can be kept partially darkened. As the dis- 
 ease is passing away the chances are that a diarrhoea will 
 set in, but the results of this are beneficial. 
 
 For a purgative in this disease the following can be usee 
 with excellent effect : — 
 
 Senna 1 teaspoonful 
 
 Manna 1 " 
 
 In half a pint of boiling water ; when cool strain and add 
 one teaspoonful cream tartar, and sweeten the mixture 
 with molasses. For a child two years of age, close a tea- 
 spoonful every two hours, until it operates, and during the 
 continuance of the sickness as frequently as may be neces- 
 sary to keep the bowels open. If the cough should prove 
 troublesome, a very satisfactory preparation can be made 
 by breaking an egg, shell and all, in a cup half full of 
 vinegar, and letting it stand twenty-four hours. At the end 
 of this time take out the thin membrane that lines the 
 shell, the latter having in the meantime (if the vinegar is 
 good) been absorbed or dissolved by the vinegar ; add twice 
 as much molasses as vinegar, and a piece of butter as large 
 
224 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 as a walnut, and grate in it a little nutmeg, then simmer 
 together and use when cold, taking a teaspoonful whenever 
 the cough is troublesome ; also drink freely of gum arabic 
 or Irish moss dissolved. When recovering from an attack 
 the patient must exercise great care, avoiding all ex- 
 posure to taking cold ; the feet must be kept warm and 
 dry, as well as the whole person ; nor must a speedy 
 return be made to a free and generous diet, to violent, 
 exciting, or exhausting work. Neglect of these precautions 
 may result in serious drawbacks to those who are on the 
 road to rapid recovery. 
 
 ERYSIPELAS, 
 
 Sometimes called the Rose, and sometimes Saint Anthony's 
 Fire, is generally caused by severe cold, dampness, ex- 
 posure at night, improper food, drink, or tobacco ; it is 
 commonly preceded by chills and fever, and in some in- 
 stances by sore throat, in some cases by nausea, vomiting, 
 or diarrhoea. Immediately some part of the face, for in- 
 stance the nose, ear, cheek, or forehead, begins to feel hot 
 and tingling, and a feeling of stiffness is manifested. It 
 usually attacks the young and sanguine, and we hope to 
 present and point out enough of its symptoms, together 
 with such details of its treatment, as will enable any per- 
 son to control the disease in its earliest stages. The dis- 
 ease is usually located about the head, although in some of 
 its milder forms it may be seen upon other parts of the 
 body. 
 
 It is a common practice with doctors to give every case 
 of inflammation on the surface the name of erysipelas, or 
 erysipelatous inflammation ; but the symptoms are so well 
 defined that no one familiar with the ailment need mistake 
 it. These symptoms are pain, shining redness of the skin, 
 and swelling in some cases. This pain becomes deepei 
 
ERYSIPELAS. 225 
 
 seated, and the patient requires cooling drinks, and light 
 diet, gentle laxatives, such as citrate of magnesia, or car- 
 bonate of magnesia, in small doses, —half a teaspoonful 
 four times a day, or Epsom salts in small doses. The 
 symptoms of the mild, in addition to those above described, 
 are a watery effusion from the inflamed part, collection of 
 larger or smaller blisters upon the skin, or its formation 
 in large, yellow patches, of a jelly-like consistency. When 
 the skin gives way the fluid escapes, and crusts and scabs 
 form ; but these soon fall off. The disease very rarely 
 assumes a gangrenous form, only in the cases of coarse 
 and gross habits. 
 
 The treatment should be such as to reduce the action of 
 the heart, or diminish the circulation of the blood ; and in 
 this disease, as in so many others, we find it true, that what 
 will benefit one patient will be of no use to another. After 
 repeated attacks, some patients find the most relief afforded 
 by laying upon the affected places cloths wet in equal parts 
 of alcohol and water. Cooling laxatives, like senna, manna, 
 and ginger, steeped with cream tartar added while cooling ; 
 take some of this every other day ; also drink a strong tea, 
 or decoction, of elderberry flowers. The food should be 
 gruel, rice, and toast water, rice porridge, etc. 
 
 Some patients find relief by using cold water ; others, 
 vinegar and water ; another moistens linen cloths with 
 sweet oil, or glycerine and water — equal parts; another 
 wets cloths in an alkaline wash, such as ten grains of 
 bromide of potash in a cupful of soft water. We have 
 found relief to follow giving a dover's powder of five grains 
 with five grains of bromide of potash, mixed in molasses, 
 one of the powders being taken every three hours, and 
 using at the same time cloths wet in alcohol and water ; 
 in a pint of which dissolve a teaspoonful of borax and a 
 tablespoonful of glycerine. Lay cloths wet with this on the 
 affected parts, and rub the entire body with it if there is 
 fever present. 
 
226 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Another simple remedy, always at hand, is a poultice of 
 grated raw potato, laid on cold, and renewed as often as 
 every three or four hours ; if cranberries can be had, 
 spread them, after being crushed or cooked, over the poul- 
 tice of potato. 
 
 LEPROSY. 
 
 This is a disease so uncommon in modern times that 
 virtually nothing is known about it by experience ; the 
 only information we have upon the subject is from read- 
 ing. It is spoken of in the old Jewish writings, and 
 alluded to in the New Testament ; but when we inquire 
 into its origin, history, and treatment, we start out in 
 ignorance, as total as Egyptian darkness. We read of its 
 being cured by dipping seven times in the River Jordan ; 
 but we are not informed by either Christian or Jewish 
 writers of any other specifices or miraculous healing power 
 by which it may be washed away. 
 
 We have no knowledge of its ever having appeared in 
 this country, or anything similar to it, until about 1830 or 
 1832, when a disease prevailed in the district of Gaspe, on 
 the right bank of the Saint Lawrence River, at its 
 entrance into the gulf of the same name, in the Province 
 of New Brunswick, and Dominion of Canada. We are 
 aware of the fact that the Legislature of New Brunswick 
 appointed a committee of medical men (of which commit- 
 tee Dr. Bayard, of Saint John, whose acquaintance we 
 valued, was one) to examine into the origin and cure of the . 
 disease. We read their report, which was printed in the 
 Journal of the House of Assembly, and in it they desig- 
 nated the disease as leprosy. Some few years later, some 
 philanthrophic persons invited a physician from another 
 locality to make an investigation of the matter, which was 
 accordingly done. He pronounced it a syphilitic ailment, 
 giving his reasons for so declaring, one of which was the 
 
LEPROSY. 227 
 
 fearful and indiscriminate illicit intercourse between the 
 sexes, in which sailors took part, and asserting that unless 
 such practice was prevented, the disease would spread. 
 In proof of his theory we believe he treated and cured some 
 of them. We read recently an account of this disease 
 given by a traveller. He had visited" that section of 
 country where it prevailed, and with philanthropic motives 
 obtained permission to investigate the history, treatment, 
 and condition of the malady, and the unfortunate inmates 
 of the hospital. In his account he states that the authori- 
 ties had appropriated for the purpose an island, upon 
 which had been built a pest-house, with all the facilities 
 for the comfort and treatment of the unfortunate patients. 
 Upon the first appearance of symptoms of the disease in 
 any person, the island was his immediate destination, and 
 banishment, regardless of rank or station in life. For sev- 
 eral years their improper intercourse was not regarded as 
 of the slightest consequence to the inmates, or to the out- 
 side world. It was neither infectious nor contagious, as 
 would appear. Several persons, upon the appearance of 
 the symptoms in themselves, were known to have migrated 
 to the United States, and though they were short-lived, 
 there was no evidence of any person having taken the dis- 
 ease from them. The number of persons upon the island 
 is gradually diminishing as death ends their sufferings. 
 
 No instance could be ascertained in which a healthy 
 person had become infected with this malady ; although 
 compelled to wash and keep clean, the bodily condition of 
 the inmates was deplorable. This great physical and 
 moral improvement is due to the Sisters of Charity, who 
 labored for the improved condition of the inmates. Some 
 were engaged in domestic duties, sewing or knitting, while 
 the men were profuse in the use of tobacco, sang, fiddled, 
 and seemed happy, while thus dying by inches. We hope 
 that when the people of that section pay proper regard to 
 
228 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 morality and cleanliness, and these poor unfortunates have 
 ended their wretched existence, that this scourge may be 
 among the things of the past. 
 
 SCURVY. 
 
 This is a near kindred or mild form of leprosy ; and is 
 of two kinds, commonly called land and sea scurvy. In 
 the land scurvy the symptoms are red and purple spots 
 and livid blotches, and the skin is rough in patches, cracks 
 in places, scales off after a short time, becomes sore, forming 
 small ulcers ; the skin turns yellow, and after the formation 
 of the ulcers on the legs or body, turns dark colored, the 
 muscles of the legs shrink away, the gums become ulcer- 
 ated and bleed, as well as the nose, and death is often the 
 result. It makes its appearance in low places, about the 
 sea-shore, and it is also very prevalent in armies. The 
 cause is claimed to be living upon salt food, meat, fish, 
 beans, dry bread, etc., to the exclusion of a vegetable diet ; 
 but there are well-known instances both on land and sea, 
 in which the patient had not been living upon salt food. 
 There were many in our late war, also many in the Florida 
 war, who were thus affected, but whether from damp 
 locality, exposure to night air, miasma, the use of tobacco, 
 liquor, or other causes, it is difficult, if not impossible, to 
 prove. One fact, however, is settled beyond all doubt, and 
 that is, that change of locality, and a diet (in which fresh 
 food and garden vegetables are included largely) suddenly 
 improve the condition of the patients in all cases of the 
 disease. Vegetables and acid, lemon juice, etc., not only 
 cure, but prevent this bodily condition, and persons about 
 to make a voyage, should prepare themselves with a supply. 
 It has been thought by many that land and sea scurvy were 
 the same ; but Dr. Budd, in the "Library of Practical Medi- 
 cine, " has disproved that theory. He collected many cases 
 
SALT-RHEUM, TETTER, SHINGLES. 229 
 
 from various sources, and showed clearly that its cause is 
 not from contagion, cold weather, impure air, or the con- 
 tinued use of salt provisions, but from the privation for a 
 long time of fresh, succulent vegetables, although there are 
 cases of the disease where no such deficiency existed. 
 The same treatment is always adopted. The virtues of 
 lemon juice were made known by John Woodall in 1636, 
 and by Dr. Blair, and Sir Gilbert Blane, as commissioners 
 for the Seaman's Hospital, in 1795. Sir John Herschel 
 says : " That by means of its use, the number of patients 
 in Haslar Hospital, which in 1780 reached the number of 
 1457, was lessened so that there was but one case in the 
 year 1806, and one in 1807. 
 
 SALT-RHEUM, TETTER, SHINGLES. 
 
 This is an eruptive or cutaneous disease, attacking the 
 hands or arms, and includes four varieties. First, The dry 
 tetter. Second, The pustulous tetter, appearing as separate 
 pustules, which afterwards run together. Third, The 
 military tetter, called salt-rheum, frOm the nature of the 
 discharge, and appearing as scores of very small pimples 
 in rings or clusters. Fourth, The corroding tetter, which 
 destroys the part it attacks. This latter variety makes its 
 appearance as a collection of numerous small ulcerations, 
 which run together and form one large sore. This diffi- 
 culty being caused, in some cases, by some particular kind 
 of food used freely, let the person subject to it see that he 
 does not eat or use to excess any one variety, such as salt 
 or acid diet, but have a change. Many cases have been 
 cured by making a strong decoction of yellow-dock root in 
 vinegar and bringing to a boil ; in other cases the juice of 
 cranberries has wrought cures of the eruptions, while some 
 advise the use of cigar ashes rubbed on the spots after 
 they have been wet with saliva. 
 
23O OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 The internal treatment is to keep the bowels open by 
 means of laxatives, one of the most searching and best of 
 which is made as follows : — 
 
 Flour of sulphur 2 tablespoonfuls 
 
 Cream of tartar 1 tablespoonful 
 
 Powdered charcoal 1 teaspoonful 
 
 Cayenne pepper 1-2 " 
 
 Mix in a teacupful of molasses. Dose, a teaspoonful twice 
 a day, and taken when the stomach is empty. Let this be 
 followed for two days, then change, taking instead a tea- 
 poonful of Epsom salts, with a little ginger added, for a 
 period of two days ; then return to the mixture for a like 
 period, and so on until the change has been repeated three 
 or four times. 
 
 While taking the above laxative medicine, use as a wash 
 on the skin the following: — 
 
 Glycerine 1-2 ounce 
 
 Water 2 ounces 
 
 Tincture of blood-root 2 teaspoonfuls 
 
 A very good wash is made by steeping half an hour some 
 blackberry roots and orange peel. 
 
 SCALD HEAD, 
 
 An eruptive disease of the scalp, due to inflammation, 
 and affecting mainly children, especially those who are 
 scrofulous, though it may be caused by uncleanliness, im- 
 proper food, or using the comb of some person who has 
 been afflicted with it. It first appears as a soft spot or 
 patch, with the surrounding skin red or inflamed ; the dis- 
 ease is spread by means of the acrid and offensive discharge 
 that issues ; scabs are formed, and the whole head may 
 become covered with these crusts, and be a very repulsive 
 sight. 
 
ITCH. 23I 
 
 The first step in the treatment is to shave the head, or 
 to cut off the hair as closely to the scalp as possible, then 
 wash with warm water and castile soap, and when drying 
 the head, simply press down upon it with a soft cloth, and 
 then take it up ; do not irritate by rubbing ; then apply 
 the following ointment : — 
 
 Flour of sulphur ........ 1-4 teaspoonful 
 
 Powdered alum 1-4 " 
 
 Lard 4 
 
 Mix. While using this give a purgative, such as cream 
 tartar one teaspoonful, and sulphur two teaspoonfuls, or 
 some other laxative medicine ; or the head may be washed 
 with a solution made of a piece of borax as large as a pea, 
 dissolved in a tablespoonful of water, and then mixed with 
 two tablespoonfuls of cream ; or wash the head with a weak 
 preparation of blood-root. These applications, coupled with 
 a free movement of the bowels, will be all that is required 
 to bring about a cure. 
 
 ITCH. 
 
 This skin difficulty is caused by the presence of para- 
 sites, so small as to be in most cases invisible to the naked 
 eye ; it is very contagious, and may be brought on by un- 
 cleanliness and poor living. Its presence is indicated by 
 the appearance of small pimples, or eruptions, between the 
 fingers, upon the finger joints, on the wrists, and it maybe 
 upon the thighs. They cause a most unendurable, intoler- 
 able itching, and more especially is this true when the 
 patient is in bed, or is heated by any exercise ; it is only 
 with great difficulty that one can avoid scratching or rub- 
 bing them ; but this act will only increase the extent of 
 the affected part, and make the trouble vastly worse. At 
 the head of all remedies stands sulphur — 
 
 Lard 4 tablespoonfuls 
 
 Sulphur I il 
 
232 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Mix, and make an ointment ; when cool add forty drops 
 spirits turpentine, and with this ointment rub the affected 
 parts well before retiring ; then go to bed with old under- 
 clothing on, or after taking such precautions as are neces- 
 sary to prevent soiling the bed-clothes. Another remedy 
 is to make a strong ointment of yellow-dock root, water- 
 dock, or burdock, simmered well in lard ; anoint with this 
 (after cool) at night, and use same care in regard to the 
 bedding. Take warm drinks frequently to keep the oint- 
 ment from striking in. 
 
 BARBERS' ITCH. 
 
 This is a very troublesome and annoying complaint, 
 which aggravates the afflicted severely ; the idea of carry- 
 ing it about is most repugnant. This eruption is located 
 on the part of the face and throat that is shaved, and the 
 name comes from the fact that the trouble is believed to 
 have originated at the barber's, as those who shave them- 
 selves are not affected. Owing to the steady growth of 
 the beard all about the vicinity, the place is most trouble- 
 some to take care of. 
 
 We have known men to suffer with this eruption for a 
 year or more, and the various salves, washes, etc., used, 
 instead of being of any benefit, appeared only to aggravate 
 and increase the trouble. Finally, the tincture of blood- 
 root was tried in some cases, and with a most gratifying 
 result. During its first applications the blood-root was 
 used in twice its quantity of water, and the proportion of 
 water gradually lessened until the wash was made half and 
 half, or of equal parts. Soon after using the wash rub sweet 
 oil over the skin to smooth it. Another remedy recom- 
 mended highly is to wash with a tincture of lobelia. An- 
 other remedy is to steep yellow-dock root in vinegar, and 
 wash the same place with the decoction. 
 
RINGWORM. 233 
 
 NETTLE RASH (OR HIVES). 
 
 This complaint, which is so named because of its re- 
 semblance to the wound produced by the sting of a nettle, 
 is a mild disease which may attack the same person a num- 
 ber of times, and of which there are two varieties — the 
 acute and chronic. It shows itself by oblong elevations of 
 a pink or white color upon the skin, and these are attended 
 with a burning, itching, and tingling sensation, which is 
 only increased by rubbing. This affection is often brought 
 on by some food eaten, such as shell-fish or acid food, like 
 fruits, currants, or cucumbers ; and it may be occasioned 
 by the smell in a house newly painted. 
 
 The patient should take an emetic of a teaspoonful of 
 mustard and half as much salt, and after it has operated, a 
 mild purgative — an even teaspoonful of salts, or an aper- 
 ient, such as a seidlitz powder; and when the stomach has 
 been cleansed the cure will have been accomplished. It 
 is well to wash the places with a solution of half a tea- 
 spoonful of saleratus, or soda, in half a cupful of water. 
 Give injections of warm soapy water to clear the bowels. 
 Where the disease occurs frequently, and is disposed to be 
 obstinate, as in some cases, take a lump of saleratus, the 
 size of a bean, in a wine-glass of water every morning, and 
 if that fails we would advise having the case in charge of a 
 medical man, after two or three days' trial of domestic 
 skill. 
 
 RINGWORM 
 
 Is a cutaneous or skin disease, which appears upon the 
 hands, face, or other parts of the body. It shows itself as 
 a ring or cluster of small, red pimples, containing a humor 
 which, when freed by scratching or rubbing, spreads the 
 disease. It may be said that when the bowels are in a 
 
234 0UR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 good, healthy condition, such affections do not make their 
 appearance. Give a laxative like sulphur and cream tar- 
 tar, or sulphur and molasses, or an aperient, such as a 
 seidlitz powder. Cleanse the affected place by washing 
 with soap and water; afterwards bathe with borax water, 
 or a weak solution of blood-root ; the application of cran- 
 berry juice has in many cases cured it. A decoction of 
 yellow-dock used for washing the place is good. The dis- 
 ease has sometimes been dislodged by applying a solution 
 made by dissolving some common gunpowder in water. 
 The way to effect a permanent cure is to cleanse the blood 
 and liver by gentle cathartic or laxative medicines, such 
 as the following : — 
 
 Flour sulphur - I tablespoonful 
 
 Cream of tartar 1-2 " 
 
 Pulverized charcoal 1 teaspoonful 
 
 Cayenne pepper 1-2 " 
 
 Dose, half a teaspoonful on an empty stomach four times 
 a day — before eating and retiring. Do this for three days, 
 then take a teaspoonful of salts, and repeat for sixteen or 
 twenty days — that is, take the salts every third day. 
 
 ROSE RASH. 
 
 This is an eruption that shows itself upon the body in 
 the form of red spots, and is common among children. In 
 some cases it appears upon the hands and feet, and not 
 elsewhere, usually remaining for a few days ; this complaint 
 is sometimes called false measles. Its coming may be 
 preceded for a day or two by general disturbance, such as 
 poor appetite, nausea, vomiting, or feverish symptoms ; it 
 is liable to a return, and in warm weather is sometimes 
 quite prevalent. The treatment must be such as will 
 change the secretions and keep the bowels open, such as 
 
CORNS. 235 
 
 taking small doses of senna, manna, or chewing pieces of 
 burdock root, rhubarb root, and drinking thoroughwort tea. 
 
 CHAPPED HANDS. 
 
 This condition, as all are aware, consists of cracks or 
 splits in the skin during cold months, and causing great 
 inconvenience and pain. In some instances it may arise 
 from a condition of the system, but in a majority of cases 
 is caused by not wiping the hands dry, and from a want of 
 the natural oil from the skin. 
 
 We advise those affected thus to dry the hands thor- 
 oughly after they have been wet or washed, to rub them 
 with mutton tallow, or glycerine and fine dry corn meal, at 
 night before retiring, and protect the hands with old gloves ; 
 in the morning anoint them with sweet oil, cream, or lard. 
 
 CORNS 
 
 Are, as our readers are aware, brought on by using tight 
 boots or shoes, and relief will be felt by wearing those 
 which are loose and comfortable. Take a small round 
 piece of leather the size of a silver dollar, shave the edge- 
 thin, and cut out a hole in the centre large enough to 
 admit the corn ; cover the under side of the leather with 
 a sticking wax, — rosin softened with oil, or lard, or shoe- 
 makers' wax ; then fasten the leather over the corn so as 
 to relieve the pressure by allowing the corn to come up 
 through the centre. Renew after some days if necessary. 
 Another euro is to cut off a piece of lemon and bind it 
 upon the corn at night ; do this for a number of times. 
 To wet with spirits turpentine, or to bind something wet 
 with it upon the spot, and keep it there is recommended. 
 The use of potash is claimed to produce satisfactory results, 
 but caustic potash is disagreeable to handle. The renowned 
 
236 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Sir Astley Cooper recommended a mixture of one ounce 
 yellow wax (bee's-wax), one ounce gum ammonia, three 
 drachms verdigris ; melt together, spread on a cloth, and 
 apply after paring away the corn. But the first step 
 toward the cure of any corn is to remove the pressure, 
 either by wearing shoes that are loose enough, or by the 
 means we have indicated. 
 
 WARTS. 
 
 These small, rough, and unsightly excrescences appear on 
 the hands, arms, neck, face, and sometimes the feet or 
 other parts of the body ; sometimes they will disappear 
 when nothing has been done to cure them, while at other 
 times their removal is accomplished with great difficulty 
 and repeated trials of various remedies. The methods or 
 remedies used for driving them off are many, but of them 
 all we know of no one that will cure them with certainty 
 so that they will not again appear. 
 
 Wet them frequently with citric acid ; or fasten some 
 lint or cotton over the wart, and wet it often with spirits 
 turpentine ; or slack a piece of potash in the open air, and 
 rub on ; after five minutes wash off, and apply vinegar on 
 the place, as this will neutralize the effect of the potash. 
 Do not handle this potash with the bare hands, so that it 
 can touch the flesh, but use a stick, brush, or old gloves. 
 Dissolve some blue vitriol (sulphate of copper), or mix it 
 with some lard, making a salve and using it on the warts 
 at night, will scatter them, and often cause them to dis- 
 appear. 
 
RETARDED MENSTRUATION CHLOROSIS. 237 
 
 RETARDED MENSTRUATION — CHLOROSIS. 
 
 From some cause there may be an obstruction of that 
 regular discharge which usually commences with females 
 at about the age of fifteen, although it may begin as early 
 as the thirteenth, or not till the eighteenth year. On 
 account of various reasons this may fail to appear when it 
 should, and if nature is not assisted the health will be 
 impaired, or some permanent injury or weakness be the 
 result. Owing to ignorance of this fact on the part of 
 mothers, many a young woman has suffered severely, and 
 died a victim to ignorance. The cause of this appears to 
 be a lack of blood or power in the system, which is brought 
 about by an inactive or sedentary life, and such habits as 
 are peculiar to the higher classes, particularly in cities and 
 towns, which habits deprive the young woman of that 
 exercise that will insure the proper circulation of the blood. 
 For this reason the vessels from which the discharge takes 
 place do not receive the needful stimulating. 
 
 Every woman knows, or should know, that if at the age 
 of fifteen or sixteen years (in the great majority of cases), 
 a young girl has had no such experience, then all is not 
 right. If such absence of any illness of the kind be attended 
 with weakness, debility, or other unfavorable signs, prompt 
 attention to the matter should be given This condition is 
 usually attend by headache, pain in the back, loss of appe- 
 tite, costiveness, desire to eat chalk, charcoal, or spices ; 
 the skin loses its color, becoming yellow, the lips and ears 
 white and almost transparent. Some parts of the body 
 appear dropsical, the breathing is irregular, with occasional 
 palpitations of the heart, and fainting. With the headache 
 comes pain in the back, hips, and loins. 
 
 Take exercise for an hour or so every day in the open 
 air, and let this be of such a brisk and active nature, that 
 the blood be sent coursing to all the extremities in an 
 
238 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 exhilarating manner, until there is a glow in the face, and 
 a mild perspiration over the whole body. Xo slow or 
 sluggish exercise will answer the purpose ; vigorous move- 
 ments alone will suffice. 
 
 The patient should bathe daily in warm salt water, or in 
 a bath to which a cupful of salt has been added. A purga- 
 tive of yellow dock and burdock roots should be taken 
 every day before eating and before retiring, and follow this 
 with pennyroyal tea. After continuing this treatment for 
 several days, the iron bitters — made as hereafter described 
 of cider, nails, black cherry-bark, butternut bark, and 
 dandelion roots — may be used three times a day. Should 
 this treatment be followed by pains that are bearing down 
 in their nature, the patient should use the warm foot bath, 
 and drink freely of tea made of motherwort, thyme, or 
 pennyroyal, and bathe the bowels with fomentations of 
 hops, wormwood, or yellow dock leaves. In this complaint 
 there is great benefit derived from the foot bath. 
 
 A good iron tonic, an excellent remedy, and one that is 
 always at hand, can be made by taking a handful of clean 
 iron nails, putting them into a bottle, adding two quarts of 
 cider, and shaking well ; in a few hours the cider will turn 
 dark or black ; dose, a tablespoonful before eating and re- 
 tiring. When the bottle is partly emptied fill again. If 
 no cider can be had, use vinegar and water — one-third 
 vinegar, or to suit the taste, and sweetened. If the ten- 
 dency of the bowels is to be costive, make a bitter tonic of 
 black-cherry bark, butternut bark, and dandelion root, 
 each one-fourth of a pound ; steep in two quarts of cider, 
 adding the iron nails, and take a tablespoonful once, twice, 
 or three times a day, as may be required. A sudden sharp 
 pain in the abdomen may be eased by applying a heated 
 brick wrapped in flannel. Cheerful society will be of 
 assistance in this difficulty, and visiting among friends — 
 avoiding all excesses, colds, and excitement. 
 
PAINFUL MENSTRUATION. 239 
 
 PAINFUL MENSTRUATION. 
 
 This operation, which should occur without any pain or 
 suffering when the female is in a healthy condition, is with 
 some women attended with pain in the head, back, loins, 
 and lower part of the abdomen, in addition to a general 
 disturbance of the nervous system for some days before, 
 as well as at the time when the periodical sickness takes 
 place. Not only is the condition distressing, but it is more 
 common than is generally supposed. The discharges may 
 be either scanty or quite free, and after their occurrence the 
 pains and ill symptoms usually pass gradually away. Un- 
 less this tendency to pain is checked, it may take place for 
 years, at every occasion of the monthly sickness. 
 
 In some cases, for hours, there may be little or no pain 
 attending a small or scanty discharge ; but this discharge 
 may suddenly cease, only to be succeeded by severe pains 
 and a feeling of bearing or pressing down in the lower part 
 of the abdomen, which symptoms may have a duration of 
 several days. The most gratifying results are found to 
 follow the application of heat, warm hip baths, hot fomen- 
 tations, and warm flannels, containins- wormwood, tansv, or 
 dock leaves, laid on. Let the bowels be kept open by the 
 use of mild laxatives, such as salts, senna, and manna. 
 Bathe the bowels and hips with warm water, in which hops 
 have been soaked or steeped, after which let the patient 
 lie in bed and have cloths wet with the above liquid laid 
 upon the abdomen, and changed as often as they become 
 cool. This plan will be found always to produce relief, as, 
 in fact, will the application of heat in any form during the 
 continuance of this difficulty. 
 
24O OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 SUPPRESSION OF THE MONTHLY ILLNESS. 
 
 The periodical sickness should not only occur at regular 
 intervals, but also be the same in character and quantity. 
 When from any cause the discharge is hindered, nature 
 endeavors to make some outlet for it ; but should this effort 
 fail, the consequences will be a feverish condition, spas- 
 modic affections, or hysteria. Any interruption occurring 
 after the menses have become established (except during 
 conception) is always to be regarded as a case of suppres- 
 sion. Accidents, colds, fright, anxiety, the use of acids, 
 charcoal (or other articles containing carbon largely) will 
 create a tendency towards this complaint. In some in- 
 stances it may be the symptom of other diseases, as of 
 general debility. When this has continued for any length 
 of time, the blood that should have passed off by this 
 means will be diverted to other parts, and give rise to 
 bleeding from the nose, lungs, or stomach, in addition to 
 the other unfavorable symptoms that may be present. 
 
 If this condition is the effect of cold, give a strong in- 
 fusion of garden thyme and pennyroyal, or balm tea ; im- 
 merse the feet and legs in warm water, in which hops have 
 been steeped, and rub briskly with a coarse towel. Should 
 this fail to relieve in twenty-four hours, let the patient be 
 seated for fifteen minutes (or until a perspiration is pro- 
 duced) upon a cane-seat chair placed in a tub, in which has 
 been put a hot decoction of bitter herbs ; rub dry and put 
 to bed, or avoid taking cold. 
 
 Upon the approach of the time when the regular illness 
 should occur, any female liable to this complaint may be 
 benefited by taking the cider tonic prescribed in the treat- 
 ment of retarded menstruation. 
 
 A pill that we know to have been used in the treatment 
 of this complaint with satisfactory results is compounded 
 as follows : — 
 
EXCESSIVE MENSTRUATION. 24 1 
 
 White pine turpentine, or balsam fir .... 60 grains 
 
 Sulphate of iron, or copperas 50 " 
 
 Shavings castile soap 40 " 
 
 Cayenne pepper 30 " 
 
 Roll into pills, making forty; dose, two pills at morning 
 and the same at night. 
 
 The woman at such time, as might readily be supposed, 
 should be temperate in her habits and manner of living ; 
 keep good hours, have nourishing food at regular intervals, 
 and be governed by moderation. 
 
 EXCESSIVE MENSTRUATION 
 
 Results from a condition of the womb or internal organs, 
 which causes a discharge that is unnatural in its continu- 
 ance and amount. The cause may be a tendency of blood 
 to the organs upon which this process intimately depends ; 
 and such tendency may be induced by violent mental ex- 
 citement, violent exercise, abortion, or debility, brought on 
 by the use of food or drink which serves to relax and 
 excite the circulatory system. 
 
 When this immoderate flow is the effect of a full or 
 robust habit, there will usually be pains in the loins, symp- 
 toms of fever or heat in the system, with a strong, wiry 
 pulse ; when from debility there will be paleness, loss of 
 appetite, and exhaustion after slight exertion. 
 
 The treatment should be directed towards checking the 
 flow, — this being exhaustive. Take a strong decoction of 
 beth-root — an ounce steeped in a pint of water — divided 
 into eight doses, and take them in the course of two days. 
 Apply over the bowels and parts affected cloths wet with* 
 spirit, water, and vinegar. The drinks used should be 
 cooling and acid, such as cream tartar in sweetened water, 
 lemonade, tamarind water, lime juice in water, etc. If any 
 injections are used, take weak, warm tea in small quanti- 
 
242 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 ties, say half a cupful ; avoid exertion and excitement ; 
 rub the body briskly to bring the blood to the surface. 
 The chief remedies are quiet, diet, and drinks. 
 
 CESSATION OF THE MENSES, OR THE TURN 
 OF LIFE. 
 
 This period is an important and critical one in the life 
 of women, and accounts for the presence at this time of 
 unusual disorders ; but women who pass this period safely 
 will have better general health, with a prospect of living 
 many years. The probabilities are that this event will 
 occur from the forty-third to the forty-eighth year, seldom 
 earlier or later, and the symptoms are much like those 
 that attend the ushering in of this event in the life of 
 women. In some instances it commences with an unusual 
 flow, but this should not excite any uneasiness or alarm, 
 as such is but the natural outflowing of that mysterious 
 process, indispensable to gestation and the procreation of 
 our race. 
 
 When it is remembered that for a few days in every 
 month, during a period lasting as long as thirty years, the 
 system of a female has been subjected to a moderate drain 
 of its circulating fluids, disturbances that are created by 
 its suddenly ceasing, instead of exciting surprise, should 
 excite wonder that far greater and more serious results do 
 not follozv. 
 
 Very little medicine is needed ; the general health must 
 be seen to, the bowels kept open and regular, and the diet 
 be such as will tend to accomplish this ; do not employ a 
 doctor who will give opium to quiet the pain, and calomel 
 for the circulation, colocynth and scammony, or use patent 
 medicines; but exercise some common sense and judg- 
 ment, and with some of the remedies which we shall 
 direct, let nature take her course in a great measure, and 
 the result will soon be satisfactory. 
 
FLUOR ALBUS LEUCORRHCEA. 243 
 
 For pain in the region of the womb, bathe the hips and 
 lower part of the bowels with hot vinegar, in which bitter 
 herbs have been steeped ; but if the moving and twisting 
 pains continue, procure half an ounce of tartaric acid, 
 divide into eight powders, mix one of them in half a tea- 
 cupful of water, and bathe the back, hips, and groin. In 
 some instances there is a tendency of blood to the head, 
 causing headache, dizziness, and many symptoms of a 
 nervous character ; sometimes the nose-bleed is an outlet 
 for the blood, but at other times it is thrown to the lungs, 
 resulting in hemorrhage ; at times it may go to the rectum 
 and bleeding piles be established ; the treatment must vary 
 according to the symptoms. 
 
 Let us not be misunderstood when we refer to the long 
 period, the number of years during which women is subject 
 to this regular operation of nature. It is undeniably true, 
 that by far the greater number of women do not have 
 these periodical occurrences monthly ; but in the natural 
 course of events are married, and in becoming mothers are 
 to a great extent freed from these returns. But they have 
 been turned into another channel, to support and sustain 
 the child in the womb. 
 
 FLUOR ALBUS — LEUCORRHCEA. 
 
 This complaint, also called by some persons the " whites," 
 is one to which many females are subject. It is indicated by 
 an irregular and uncertain discharge from the uterus or 
 vagina ; after the usual time of the menstrual discharge, 
 this discharge continues, and is white and clear at first, 
 but later in the disease it becomes of a brown or yellowish 
 tinge, and in many cases the passing of the water is 
 attended with a smarting or sensation of soreness, caused 
 by the acrid nature of this matter. 
 
 After the complaint has been established for some time, 
 
244 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 there will be pains in the back and loins, a paleness, poor 
 appetite, and, as a whole, a general appearance of debility. 
 This condition may be brought on by some injury, by 
 over-exertion, by miscarriage, copious monthly illness, or 
 by a weakness of the system, induced by irregular and 
 improper habits. To effect a cure of this disease, which 
 will be readily recognized by all women of experience, is 
 a matter of difficulty, requiring time. The treatment 
 must be directed to toning up the system, and for this 
 object let the following tonic be made and taken : Two 
 quarts cider, four ounces black-cherry bark (or a handful 
 if it cannot be conveniently weighed) ; add two dozen 
 new board nails ; allow it to stand for twenty-four hours, 
 stirring occasionally ; dose, one tablespoonful before eat- 
 ing ; and to renew the supply, simply add more cider to 
 that in the bottle or jar, or make the following : — 
 
 Sumach berries 4 ounces 
 
 Sumach bark 4 " 
 
 Steep for one hour in two quarts of water ; strain, and add 
 one pound honey and one gill of alcohol ; dose, two table- 
 spoonfuls before eating ; also, wet a flannel with it, and 
 bathe the lower bowels and groins, back and hips, morning 
 and night. Of this preparation an injection can be used 
 with good result, and for such purpose one teaspoonful in 
 half a teacupful of warm water should be used. 
 
 Still another preparation that will frequently bring about 
 excellent results can be made by the following rule : — 
 
 Sherry wine or cider ........ 2 quarts 
 
 Figs chopped fine 4 ounces 
 
 Raisins chopped fine ........ 4 ' : 
 
 Cloves ........ 1-2 " 
 
 Cinnamon 1-2 " 
 
 Allspice 1-2 " 
 
 Ginger 1-2 " 
 
 Cayenne pepper one teaspoonful or . . . 1 drachm 
 
FALLING OF THE WOMB. 245 
 
 Use after it has stood for one day, half a wine-glassful 
 before eating ; when necessary to renew the supply, fill up 
 with wine or cider. 
 
 While following the above course of treatment, let ex- 
 citement be avoided, as well as strong tea and coffee, or 
 violent exercise. The diet should be such as is nutritious 
 and wholesome, the habits be regular, or, in a word, be 
 moderate, temperate, and careful in the general living. 
 
 FALLING OF THE WOMB. 
 
 Like all diseases of the internal organs, this is, in its 
 symptoms, obscure, and in its treatment difficult. Whether 
 it has been caused by improper treatment, neglect after 
 childbirth, or other cause, the treatment may be general ; 
 such as the employment of tonics, also the use of local appli- 
 cations, like honey and whiskey; or alcohol, honey, and 
 water, equal parts. Apply over the womb, with a bandage or 
 supporter tightly fastened around the woman. Injections 
 of alum, honey, and water can be used with advantage up 
 the vagina. An arnica plaster should be worn on the back, 
 below the kidneys. The woman should spend as much of 
 her time as possible lying upon her back, and a competent 
 female attendant, by the exercise of good judgment, can 
 do much to reduce the prolapsus, and aid the patient in 
 securing relief by passing up the vagina a long compress 
 saturated with alum water, in which put a teaspoonful of 
 honey, and thus force the womb up into its place, and let 
 the compress remain there for an hour or more, and renew 
 it from time to time. 
 
246 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE WOMB. 
 
 This seldom happens except after childbirth, and when 
 it does occur the symptoms are so obscure, and so similar 
 to after-pains, that any person not informed in physiology 
 and medicine should not attempt its treatment. The only 
 thing that can be done before the arrival of the doctor, is 
 to give the patient a good sweat, by administering hot 
 drinks of mint or pleurisy-root tea, for two or three hours, 
 and laying fomentations of bitter herbs over the womb, as 
 warm as can be used ; let these be changed often. The 
 feet may be bathed in hot water, in which has been put a 
 teaspoonful of mustard. The bowels must be kept open 
 with warm injections, which may be made of soap and 
 water. If only after-pains are present, they will gradually 
 disappear, by the treatment given under the head of child- 
 birth. If the pains are greater and increasing, with fever, 
 send for your physician. 
 
 BARRENNESS 
 
 May not be regarded as a disease, as many women who 
 are childless are apparently in good health. Every married 
 woman who has her periodical sickness may be regarded 
 as being capable of becoming a mother, and if she does 
 not the cause is a matter for investigation and treatment. 
 Many couples who have lived together for a term of 
 years without offspring, and indulged the belief that they 
 should die childless, have after proper treatment, judici- 
 ously observed, been made the happy possessors of healthy 
 children. The remark is common as well as true, " Chil- 
 dren are the poor man's blessing," while the rich have few, 
 if any, to enliven their homes. The poorer the family, the 
 greater the number of children allotted to them. This is 
 easily accounted for ; the active life and plain living of 
 
HYSTERICS. 247 
 
 the poor man and woman keep them in excellent health, 
 while the luxury and indolence of the wealthy, tend to 
 debilitate the physical system, and induce various diseases, 
 which disqualify both the men and women for procrea- 
 tion. It not unfrequently happens that misfortune in 
 business brings the family to poverty, when exercise and 
 plain living are rewarded by health and robust children. 
 Conception may fail to take place from weakness of the 
 womb, ovaries, or other local ailment, which may be 
 relieved or cured. We advise the wife to make a visit 
 among her friends, either at the sea-shore or the mountains, 
 for five or six weeks, enjoying the out-of-door exercise, and 
 being careful to avoid excitement — use light vegetable and 
 milk diet — take tea and coffee in moderation and weak, 
 bathe the body night and morning with weak rum and 
 water, in which put a teaspoonful of honey, and drink a 
 wine-glass of a decoction of black-cherry bark in cider, 
 diluted with two parts of water, before eating and retiring. 
 
 HYSTERICS 
 
 Is the name of an affection usually known among females, 
 and called a woman's complaint, but it is by no means con- 
 fined to young girls, maidens, widows, or to the female sex, 
 for extensive observation and research have shown that 
 men are subject to it ; and even old men have been, and 
 are, ranked among the subjects, although in this case it is 
 called nervous fits, hypo-tantrums, or rum fits. 
 
 The symptoms usual in this complaint are general lan- 
 guor, cold extremities, face pale, then flushed, pulse almost 
 imperceptible, breathing difficult, vomiting ; palpitations 
 of the heart are frequent, pain in the left side rising like a 
 ball to the throat, suffocating feeling, fainting, and convul 
 sions, changes from fits of crying to laughing and scream- 
 ing, and at times a pain in the head, causing a feeling as 
 
248 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 though a nail was being driven into it. Sometimes pain 
 attacks the loins, back, or bladder, and a large quantity of 
 light-colored urine is passed. 
 
 The patient should be laid upon a bed or sofa, plenty of 
 fresh air given, and the clothing loosened ; apply camphor 
 or diluted ammonia (hartshorn) to the nostrils ; give a few 
 spoonfuls of cold water to drink, and dash some in the 
 face ; bathe the temples and top of the head with camphor ; 
 twenty drops of hartshorn, or forty drops of camphor in 
 half a wine-glass of water will rouse the patient. The 
 peculiarity of this disease is, that while the symptoms 
 resemble those of all other maladies, it is itself without a 
 parallel or prototype. 
 
 Writers and practioners differ in opinion as to the origin 
 of this affection, whether it is the brain, nerves, or stomach, 
 and perhaps it is but right to credit each with keen per- 
 ception and sound judgment, and as an honest critic admit 
 each of them to be correct, according to his individual 
 experience. We give our opinion from a careful and ex- 
 tended analysis of the attacks, symptoms, treatment, and 
 results, that it originates in a combined operation of the 
 brain, stomach, and nervous system, in which the womb 
 takes a prominent part ; its causes are many. 
 
 There are two varieties of this disease which attack its 
 victims in a great many ways ; in one form it strongly 
 resembles epilepsy ; the patient may be violent, with trunk 
 and limbs convulsed like those of a person struggling for 
 life, rising to a sitting position then falling back with 
 strong contractions and extensions of the limbs, and re- 
 quiring several persons to restrain the patient from doing 
 injury to herself or others ; in the other form, the patient 
 is faint, languid, pale, almost lifeless, very slight pulse and 
 breathing, apparent unconsciousness, or the jaw is rigid. 
 Sprinkling with cold water rouses the patient, while am- 
 monia, held near the nostrils is effective, and the treatment 
 
THE NATURAL FEMALE FORM. 249 
 
 varies according to the symptoms. In some instances the 
 complaint entirely passes away after marriage, but in others 
 it is aggravated thereby. 
 
 The means to be adopted for its prevention are avoiding 
 all excitement, being careful in regard to the diet, keeping 
 the bowels in proper condition by suitable food and laxa- 
 tives, and by keeping regular hours ; in those cases where 
 the patient is warned of an attack, by certain symptoms, it 
 will be prudent and desirable to carry about the person a 
 small bottle of stimulating drops, and take some in season 
 to prevent a paroxysm. For this purpose use the follow- 
 
 ing 
 
 Bromide of potash 1 ounce 
 
 Tincture ginger 1 " 
 
 Tincture cayenne 1 drachm 
 
 Dissolved or mixed in one quart of water. Fill a four- 
 ounce bottle, and upon appearance of symptoms, take for 
 dose, one-quarter of the contents of bottle, or one ounce. 
 This may be repeated at intervals two or three times with 
 safety. 
 
 THE NATURAL FEMALE FORM. 
 
 We read that God made man upright, but he has sought 
 out many inventions ; and of the long list we would place 
 the corsets at the head, for folly, expense, injury and sin- 
 fulness : for folly, because needless ; for expense, on ac- 
 count of their original cost, and the expense of fitting and 
 wearing dresses over them, wearing more dresses than 
 would be required without them ; and sinful because all of 
 the vital organs of the chest and abdomen are displaced, 
 and their natural functions deranged ; circulation, respira- 
 tion, digestion, and health are all set at defiance by a few 
 corset lacings, and the harvest is reaped by the doctors 
 
250 
 
 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Fig. A. 
 
 and undertakers, and on the tombstone may be read " con- 
 sumption," instead of tight 
 lacing and thin shoes. 
 
 The diseases which re- 
 sult from tight lacing are 
 those of the lungs, heart, 
 stomach, liver, kidneys, 
 bowels, piles, urinary diffi- 
 culties, womb complaints, 
 and, in many cases, disa- 
 bility for procreating off- 
 spring. Those races who 
 do not deform their person 
 by artificial means, show 
 the women equal physically 
 with the men, and are free 
 from the long catalogue of 
 diseases in the train of the 
 corsets. We think it was 
 John Neal who, in writing 
 upon the female, said, " Give 
 a cotton ba£\ and a foot 
 
 A healthy female form, with the in- 
 ternal organs in their natural positions. 
 
 me the girl with a waist like 
 like a flounder." 
 
 TIGHT LACING 
 
 Is denounced as a great evil to the race. There are several 
 conditions requisite for the enjoyment of health, and the 
 first of these is purity of the blood. The lungs are de- 
 signed to maintain the purity of this fluid, by relieving it 
 of the noxious matter it has acquired in its round of circu- 
 lation, and by furnishing it with a fresh supply of oxygen, 
 to repair the tissues ever wasting under the process of 
 vital action. 
 
 The walls of the chest are so constructed that by the 
 admission of air the ribs are elevated, and anything tight 
 
TIGHT LACING. 
 
 251 
 
 around the chest compresses the lungs, depresses the 
 diaphragm, and displaces the stomach and bowels, the 
 liver, womb, and bladder, depriving them of the room 
 required for the performance Fi g . b. 
 
 of their natural functions. 
 The result is that in breath- 
 ing or singing, the woman 
 who laces tightly is obliged 
 to elevate first one shoulder, 
 and then the other, to attain 
 space in the lungs for air, 
 and while singing or reading 
 one shoulder is elevated, 
 which in time produces spinal 
 curvature, heart disease, liver 
 complaint, dyspepsia, with 
 difficulty of the womb, blad- 
 der, piles, cough, and con- 
 sumption, or premature death. 
 The lungs of a well-devel- 
 oped adult occupy a space of 
 from one hundred and fifty 
 to three hundred cubic inches ; 
 the air cells are estimated to 
 number as high as six hundred 
 millions in both lungs. One 
 eminent anatomist estimates the amount of surface at 
 which the blood is exposed to air, oxygen, and electricity to 
 be fourteen hundred square feet. The question is often 
 put to ladies, Why will you torture yourself by tight 
 lacing ? They answer, to please the gentlemen. We say 
 to please the simple. Sensible men admire a good natural 
 form. 
 
 A female form compressed by tight 
 lacing. It is plain to be seen that the 
 lungs and heart are crowded up into a 
 small space, and the liver, stomach, 
 intestines, womb, and bladder are 
 pressed down into the pelvis. 
 
252 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 CANCER. 
 
 This disease has two forms of development, and is one 
 of the most difficult things with which the physician or 
 surgeon has to contend. There are the scirrhus, or occult, 
 which means hidden, and the ulcerative, or open form. 
 They are often called hard or soft cancer, and other terms 
 are used to distinguish them and denote their differences. 
 To describe them so as to point out the differences is diffi- 
 cult, if not impossible, as one variety may run into the 
 other ; and they change in character and appearance, 
 according to the time which they have been growing, the 
 age and condition of the patients. As this book is in- 
 tended for family use only, we will endeavor to speak 
 plainly upon the subject, and in the most easily understood 
 words. 
 
 Any part of the human body is liable to be the seat of this 
 affection ; but those places upon which it usually makes 
 its appearance are the head, face, neck, or body above the 
 waist ; and in females the points generally attacked are the 
 face, breast, womb, or organs of generation ; with men 
 the face, neck, and scrotum. When it makes its first ap- 
 pearance it resembles a mole or a wart, with neither 
 inflammation nor sensitiveness ; this condition may con- 
 tinue for several months, but eventually ulceration sets in, 
 matter is formed which, after drying, forms a scab or crust 
 over the seat of the disease. Ultimately sharp, shooting 
 pains are felt at the spot ; these are lasting in their nature, 
 and occur at long intervals, which, however, grow less, 
 while the pain is of shorter duration each succeeding time, 
 until in the end there is a constant pain located at this one 
 place. 
 
 Following this there is an enlargement of the pimple, or 
 small tumor, which was at first movable, but which now 
 becomes fixed and set in the skin and cellular tissue ; the 
 
CANCER. 253 
 
 ulceration spreads, deepens, and the place finally becomes 
 an open sore, with hard jagged edges and soft centre, 
 eaten into an uneven or irregular hollow; the discharge 
 from it is thin and often bloody, and irritating to the adjoin- 
 ing parts. Inflammation and hardening of the surround- 
 ing glands begin about the seat of the disease, and the 
 whole of the tissues are involved in a ligamentatious growth 
 (that is, one which spreads through and among them like 
 the fine roots of some parasitic plant). In some exceed- 
 ingly rare cases the whole mass has been known to come 
 away or slough off, leaving the place to heal by granula- 
 tion ; and the sufferer to rejoice at the change. 
 
 As stated above, this disease is liable to seize upon any 
 part of the body, and there is scarcely an organ in which it 
 may not become developed, — lungs, liver, stomach, tongue, 
 etc. When the location of the disease is internal, there 
 are only the womb, the vagina, and the rectum, which can 
 be reached with treatment ; and so far as our observation 
 extends neither was the patient ever cured, nor the cancer 
 removed except by the knife, or ligature, in which case it 
 invariably grows again ; but there have been persons treat- 
 ing cancers who claim to have done both by outward ap- 
 plications ; and we will say, in justice to the subject, that 
 we have seen quite a number of persons who declare that 
 they have had cancers removed, and who show the scars ; 
 several of them showed the cancers, preserved in spirit. 
 We once went ten miles to see a cancer, on the under lip, 
 in process of being removed ; it was killed, and partially 
 out, and from the appearance and effects we think we know 
 the remedy. 
 
 From the above evidence we would advise using the 
 remedies herein given for a fair trial, and if not successful 
 apply to some one who professes to treat and cure cancers. 
 One of the most reliable remedies, and by the use of which 
 cures are asserted to have been made, is the following : — 
 
254 0UR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Chloride of zinc ..... piece large as a chestnut 
 Pulverized blood-root . . . I teaspoonful 
 Wheat flour ...... i " 
 
 Wet and make into a paste. Take a large piece of stick- 
 ing plaster, cut a hole in the middle of it as large as the 
 cancer ; then stick this on over the spot, leaving the 
 cancer exposed through the opening, then cover with 
 the salve, which will thus reach only the diseased spot,- 
 and allow it to remain for twenty-four hours. At the end 
 of that time the cancer will appear dark and hard, like 
 burnt leather, and its removal will be assisted by applying 
 slippery-elm poultices. Another remedy is the follow- 
 ing : — 
 
 Ashes of black-cherry bark I teaspoonful 
 
 Nitrate of silver 20 grains 
 
 Verdigris . . . . 1-2 drachm 
 
 Saltpetre . 1 " 
 
 Lard 1 teaspoonful 
 
 Mix all, and put on the cancer after protecting with plas- 
 ter as above. In three or four days the cancer will be 
 killed and come away ; if the fibres of the roots hold it, a 
 poultice of slippery-elm will soften and help bring away. 
 Another remedy highly recommended is — 
 
 Yellow-dock root, fine ,i teaspoonful 
 
 Soot 1-2 " 
 
 Flour of sulphur 1-2 " 
 
 Powdered blood-root 1-2 " 
 
 Chloride zinc 1 " 
 
 Lard 1 tablespoonful 
 
 Mix and make an ointment ; cover with a piece of plaster, 
 the same as in the above cases ; put on the ointment twice 
 in twenty-four hours, continuing for three days, at the end 
 of which time endeavor to remove by the aid, if need be, 
 of slippery-elm poultices, as directed above. 
 
POLYPUS. 255 
 
 TUMORS 
 
 Are swellings located in various parts of the body, unac- 
 companied by inflammation ; they may be either internal 
 or external, and in the latter case the skin does not appear 
 different from that surrounding the place. Dr. Abernethy 
 says that " tumors are caused by diseased action and sus- 
 tained by the same." They are of several kinds, and vary 
 in size from that of a horse-chestnut to that of a water- 
 pail. They are generally enclosed in a sac, — from the 
 ovarian tumor to the smaller ones about the head, neck, 
 chest, and abdomen. To remove them is the work of the 
 physician, or, more especially, the surgeon. In this opera- 
 tion there must be made an incision through the skin 
 large enough to admit the entire sac and contents to pass 
 out, after they have been separated from the surrounding 
 tissues. Should the sac be cut and a portion of the con- 
 tents, escape the tumor is liable to form again. " We have 
 removed tumors, and there was no return of them for thirty 
 years. But small or large, as we said above, it is the busi- 
 ness of the surgeon only to attempt their removal. 
 
 POLYPUS 
 
 Are a sort of' fungus or excrescence, of different sizes and 
 degrees of hardness, shaped like a pear, and attached to 
 the part from which they grow by necks ; in some cases the 
 growth is very rapid, while in others it is slow ; they are 
 found in the nose (in the nostrils), the uterus, and vagina, 
 the first-named location beins; the most common. 
 
 When the polypus begins to- grow it may be washed 
 with very strong tea or alum water ; or a snuff may be 
 made of one part alum and six parts white sugar, both finely 
 powdered ; or a snuff of bayberry bark and blood-root pul- 
 
256 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 verized. This latter can be used every hour or so, and 
 with the effect upon the polypus of turning it black, and 
 causing it to slough off or disappear ; but the use of the 
 powder should be continued until the part is entirely 
 cured. The earlier this treatment is begun the better ; 
 if the nose becomes dry, moisten it with cold water, after 
 which again use the snuff, the effect of which is to act 
 only upon the diseased parts. When a polypus has 
 become large its removal (regardless of its location) should 
 be intrusted to a physician only. 
 
 GANGRENE AND MORTIFICATION. 
 
 Gangrene, which is mortification in its early stage, is 
 the result of inflammation from injury or ulceration, and 
 attacks the weakest parts, or those where the circulation 
 is poor. 
 
 The symptoms are absence of pain, feeling, and heat ; 
 the skin soon becomes yellowish-green or dark-brown ; the 
 pulse is quick, small, and feeble. When gangrene begins at 
 the end of the toe it extends along upwards until the whole 
 toe or foot is affected, and unless checked by treatment 
 passes into mortification ; a hectic appears, the patient 
 is delirious, hiccoughs set in, and in a few hours death 
 relieves the sufferer. 
 
 The treatment, which should begin before, the second 
 stage sets in, should be such as warm poultices and bottles 
 of hot water ; use pulverized charcoal on the poultices, 
 and sprinkle them with carbonate of potash or soot from 
 the chimney ; give stimulating drinks, such as wine and 
 bark (Peruvian), and a generous diet of beef tea, mutton, 
 and chicken broth. Spirit and water may be administered ; 
 also three or four times daily one grain quinine and one- 
 quarter grain of morphine. 
 
THE FLETCHER TRUSS TESTIMONIALS. 2$J 
 
 There is an exceedingly malignant type of gangrene 
 that makes its appearance in hospitals and prisons, the 
 treatment for which need not be referred to in this work. 
 
 THE FLETCHER TRUSS — TESTIMONIALS. 
 
 It may be proper to mention the names of some of the 
 most prominent men in the profession who have examined 
 these instruments, and approved of their construction and 
 ready adaptability to the several forms of hernia, viz. : Doc- 
 tors John C. Warren, George Hayward, W. Ingalls, S. D. 
 Townsend, J. Jeffries, J. V. C. Smith, George B. Doane, 
 Winslow Lewis, Joseph W. McKean, R. H. Salter of Boston ; 
 William J. Walker, Charlestown ; H. L. Pierson, Salem ; 
 E. Alclen, Randolph; J. C. Dalton, Lowell; Dixi Crosby, 
 Professor Anatomy and Surgery Dartmouth College ; E. 
 Hoyt, President, and J. B. Abott, Secretary, New Hamp- 
 shire Medical Society; Timothy Haynes, Concord, N.H. ; 
 J. Roby, Professor Anatomy and Surgery Bowdoin Col- 
 lege ; J. W Mighells, Portland, Me. ; J. Spaulding, Mont- 
 pelier, Vt. ; Amos Twitchel], Keene, N.H. ; B. P. Heine- 
 berg, Burlington, Vt. ; H. Hatch, Burlington, Vt. ; George 
 McClellan, Professor Medical College, Philadelphia; Robley 
 Dunglison, Philadelphia ; O. H. Partridge, Philadelphia ; 
 H. W. Baxley, Professor Anatomy and Physiology, Balti- 
 more, Md. ; F. E. B. Hintze, Baltimore, Md. ; J. Kearny 
 Rogers, Surgeon New York Hospital ; Willard Parker, 
 Professor Surgery in New York, Cincinnati, and Vermont 
 Medical Colleges ; J. J. Loyd Whittemore, New York ; Dr. 
 Knight, New Haven, Conn. ; Dr. Beers, New Haven, Conn. 
 
 All of the above gave letters-testimonial. 
 
258 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 HERNIA, RUPTURE, OR BREACH 
 
 Is generally understood to be a protrusion of a portion of 
 the abdominal viscera from its natural position. It is not, 
 as its name would indicate, a breach or rupture, but a 
 stretching or giving way of the muscles and lining mem- 
 brane, which allows the protrusion of a portion of the 
 intestine, or in many cases of the omentum, a kind of net 
 of fatty substance which lies over the intestines. Proof 
 of the existence of this complaint is very evident, for in 
 addition to the swelling there is a dull aching pain in the 
 same location ; a sense of hauling down of the intestines, 
 often extending up over the abdomen to one or both sides, 
 and but for the swelling it would be difficult to locate the 
 rupture ; upon applying pressure the swelling recedes, and 
 relief is felt. 
 
 There are few cases of surgical nature which should be 
 mentioned in a work of this kind intended for domestic 
 practice only ; but this complaint is so common to both 
 sexes and all classes, and so self-evident, that men and 
 women of intelligence can do something to relieve those 
 afflicted ; hence we give the subject some space. We feel 
 competent to advise and give directions in this branch of 
 surgery, from the fact that we invented and patented in 
 1838 the well-known Fletcher truss ; and in 1838, 1839, 
 and 1840 paid special attention to making, selling, and 
 applying said truss in Boston, during which time we wit- 
 nessed many radical or permanent cures effected by our 
 instruments, properly fitted. 
 
 HERNIA, OR RUPTURE. 
 
 There are four kinds of hernia met with in ordinary prac- 
 tice, viz. : the inguinal, the ventral, the femoral, — all of 
 which protrude in the groin, and the umbilical at the navel. 
 
HERNIA, OR RUPTURE. 
 
 259 
 
 The Fletcher truss can be adjusted to every form and 
 variety of hernia. Experienced physicians only should apply 
 trusses. Hernia may become irreducible or strangulated, 
 but in most cases it is reducible ; it may be passed back 
 by pressure of the hand upon the swelling or protuberance, 
 or by sponging the part with cold water ; in some cases 
 where the rupture has been down several hours, it is well 
 to place the patient upon a sofa, bed, or other flat surface, 
 to have the head lower than the bowels, and to sponge 
 with cold water and manipulate with the hands ; if not 
 successful after working for an hour in this manner, put a 
 piece of tobacco as large as a pea in a cupful of warm 
 water, and steep it well ; of this, give a teaspoonful every 
 five minutes until nausea, but not vomiting, is induced. 
 This will cause the muscles to be relaxed, when by working 
 over it with the hands the rupture will recede ; but if two 
 or three hours' trial with sponging fails to reduce the 
 hernia send for a surgeon. We here give some cuts and 
 explanations of the the Fletcher truss, as made and used 
 by us : — 
 
 A, A cog-wheel on the under side of the rider. 
 
 B, A screw and nut which secures the wheel. 
 
 C, The steel spring attached to cog-wheel and pad. 
 
 D, The pad, which may be round and smooth or oval and covered. 
 
 E, The nut which holds the strap. 
 
 F, The screw which increases the pressure on the spring. 
 
260 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 This engraving shows the movable parts of the truss. 
 
 R P. A 
 
 A, The rotary cog-wheel, showing the manner of attaching the pad. 
 
 B, The screw which permanently locates the pad. 
 
 C, A short piece of steel, by which the pad is connected to the wheel. 
 
 D, The pad, which is represented as turned back to show the construction ; it is 
 circular, hard or soft, thick or thin, to suit individual cases. 
 
 F, The screw by which the pressure is increased on the pad. 
 P, Two posts on the rotary wheel by which it is connected with the pad. 
 Q, The post on the inner side of the main piece and on which the rotary is riveted. 
 R, A bend in the main piece allowing the face of t e rotary to be on a level with the 
 shank of the main piece on account of the covering. 
 
 This is an engraving of the double truss (uncovered) 
 in which condition a better idea can be had of springs, 
 pads, etc. 
 
 A, A rotary wheel on the under side. 
 
 B, A small screw which fastens the rotary wheel. 
 
 C, A short steel spring connecting the pad and rotary wheel. 
 
 D, The pad which is convex on the side next the body. 
 
 E, A brass nut which holds the rider to the springs, holds the cover and the strap 
 surrounding the body. 
 
HERNIA, OR RUPTURE. 
 
 26l 
 
 F, A screw which increases the pressure as desired. 
 
 G, A small screw and nut fixing the end of the spring. 
 
 I, A loop riveted to the hinge part to secure the spring firmly 
 
 J, The double hinge, lateral and horizontal. 
 
 K, The slot in the end of the spring. 
 
 L, A nut holding the rider to the spring. 
 
 M, The circle which the pad performs when the screw B, is out. 
 
 This engraving shows the truss after application and in 
 position, and after the skin and adipose substance have 
 been dissected away to show the relation of the several 
 parts, each to the other, and the adaptation of the instru- 
 ment to the varieties of hernia. 
 
 A, Refers to Pou part's ligament, extending from the anterior superior spinous pro- 
 cess of the ilium downwards and forwards to its attachment at the pubis. 
 
 B, Refers to the internal ring as seen through the fascia; the dotted lines represent 
 the course of the canal from the internal through the external ring C, down into the 
 scrotum. 
 
 C, The external ring formed by the division of Poupart's ligament near its attach- 
 ment at the pubis. 
 
 D, The place where crural or femoral hernia appears under Poupart's ligament. 
 
 E, The femoral artery indistinctly seen through the fascia lata of the thigh. 
 
 F, The circle which the pad may perform, and at any desired point of which it may 
 bs made permanent. 
 
262 
 
 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 This engraving requires no explanation ; it shows the 
 double truss covered ; the same having just been shown, 
 lettered and explained without a covering. 
 
 Mothers may and often do apply a bandage with a soft 
 pad and a thigh strap sewed to it, this strap extending up 
 behind and sewed to the bandage until they get a doctor. 
 
 VARICOSE VEINS 
 
 Is a weakness of the veins, caused by a sluggish circula- 
 tion in the extremities, usually in the legs, and especially 
 affecting females during pregnancy. The blood does not 
 pass up as fast as it collects from the minute vessels be- 
 tween the veins and arteries, and the accumulated blood 
 causes an enlargement or swelling of the veins ; and the 
 greater the collection of blood the weaker the veins be- 
 come, and the slower the circulation. In the early stage 
 of this complaint the veins are enlarged and irregular, 
 almost in knots, and with an aching sensation. 
 
 The affected limb should be bathed with the following 
 wash : In one quart of water put half a pound of white-oak 
 bark (green), or half a pound of sweet fern tops (crushed 
 or bruised), and one teaspoonful cayenne pepper, and steep 
 
WHITE SWELLING. 263 
 
 three hours — - strain and add one tablespoonful alum. 
 Bath the limb with this night and morning, and bandage 
 with a strip of cloth, or an elastic stocking, before moving 
 about in the morning. If the case has become chronic, 
 and the skin partially ulcerated, wash with castile soap and 
 poultice with the following : Slippery-elm, flaxseed, or 
 bread and milk, on which sprinkle a little oak-bark, alum, 
 and cayenne pepper, placing a piece of thin open muslin 
 upon the poultice to keep the leg clean ; renew the poul- 
 tice three or four times daily, bandaging loosely. 
 
 WHITE SWELLING 
 
 Is a disease that attacks the joints, usually the knees, 
 but sometimes an ankle joint ; in some instances it is mild, 
 while in other cases it is exceedingly painful. The pain is 
 located in the periosteum or covering of the bone, and after 
 long continuance of this disease the bone will exfoliate, as 
 the term is, which means throw off scales or decayed layers 
 from its surface. In the majority of cases it affects youths 
 and children, and may be the result of injuries, or of scrofu- 
 lous tendencies in the blood. 
 
 Formerly the treatment was to place the patient, when 
 the affection showed itself, in charge of a physician or 
 surgeon, and the limb would be amputated ; but in later 
 years it has been demonstrated that a cure can be effected 
 without resorting to surgical science. 
 
 Upon the first symptoms of the disease, let the place be 
 thoroughly steamed with a decoction of bitter herbs, by 
 holding the limb over a tub or pail in which the decoction 
 is put, and confining the steam by throwing a blanket over 
 the limb and the tub ; if the steam does not start the per- 
 spiration, put a hot brick into the tub to raise the tempera- 
 ture of the contents. After the affected place has been 
 induced to perspire freely, wipe and rub dry, then rub with 
 liniment made as follows : — 
 
264 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Oil of hemlock 1-2 ounce 
 
 Oil of sassafras 1 " 
 
 Gum camphor 1 " 
 
 Tincture opium 1-2 " 
 
 Alcohol 1 pint 
 
 Shake well together, and bathe the place with it freely 
 three or four times a day. At night apply a poultice made 
 of powdered slippery-elm, mixed with lye made from wood 
 ashes, or mixed in a solution made of thirty grains of sul- 
 phate of potash, dissolved in a gill of water. 
 
 Another excellent stimulant in such cases is made of 
 the following : A tablespoonful of pulverized lobelia, in a 
 pint of water, and half a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper ; 
 steep half an hour, strain, and mix in an even teaspoonful 
 of saltpetre, then stir in powdered slippery-elm or flaxseed 
 meal until thick enough for a poultice, and apply it to the 
 part effected ; renew it every six hours : if lobelia is not to 
 be had, take half the named quantity of tobacco cut fine. 
 
 ULCERS 
 
 Are caused by injuries which require an outlet, or, like 
 boils, from various causes ; or from deep flesh wounds, 
 that do not heal by the first intention, but remain open, 
 discharging a pus or acrid matter. When the wound shows 
 a red granulated surface, and is attended with a discharge 
 of pus only, we would call it a healthy ulcer, that is, one 
 tending to heal ; but when the hollow appears rather to 
 deepen, with no appearance of the red granulations, and 
 the discharges are dark colored, or of a bloody nature, it is 
 called an unhealthy ulcer ; and, unless checked in its ten- 
 dency, will be liable to reach a vital part, or kill the patient 
 by exhaustion. When the vitality is low, there is all the 
 more reason to fear this result ; and the need of a liberal 
 diet and tonics is more imperative. 
 
ULCERS. 265 
 
 Ulcers are most liable to attack those whose circulation 
 is sluggish ; and, while they may show themselves upon 
 various parts of the body, are in the majority of cases 
 located upon the legs, such location being farthest removed 
 from the centres of circulation ; and therefore ulcers often 
 are very difficult to treat in a satisfactory manner, for 
 which reason we would certainly advise having any case of 
 the sort in the hands of a competent physician. 
 
 When the ulcer is foul and dark looking, it may be 
 washed with soap and warm water, then dressed with a 
 poultice of slippery-elm, on which has been sprinkled some 
 soot, or pulverized charcoal, with cayenne pepper or ginger ; 
 upon removing the poultice, wash again and renew the 
 poultice ; let this be done for a day or two, or while the 
 matter is discharged freely, and is of an unhealthy nature. 
 But when the sore shows red granulations, and the dis- 
 charge is clear and healthy in appearance, let it be dressed 
 with a salve made of — 
 
 Mutton tallow 1 tablespoonful 
 
 Cream 1 " 
 
 Beeswax large as a thimble 
 
 Alum half as " " " 
 
 Simmer together and stir well. If the granulations are 
 large and pale, they must be washed with an astringent 
 lotion made of alum, or bluestone the size of a bean, in a 
 wine-glass of water. Dr. Beach recommends for a salve to 
 be used on ulcers a mixture made as follows : — 
 
 Sweet clover tops 1 handful 
 
 Parsley 1 " 
 
 Burdock leaves 1 " 
 
 Simmer in a pint of water, and reduce to half a pint ; add 
 a teaspoonful borax, two ounces rosin, and four ounces 
 fresh butter ; simmer all together till well mixed. This 
 
266 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 can be spread upon a linen cloth and laid upon the sore. 
 A salve or ointment may be made as follows : — 
 
 Blood-root, crushed i tablespoonful 
 
 In one gill water — steep for one hour; strain, and add 
 two tablespoonfuls of lard, and half teaspoonful pulverized 
 charcoal ; heat and stir until well mixed. This is very 
 valuable in removing any growth of a fungus nature from 
 the place. 
 
 Spirituous liquors must be avoided, but teas of sassafras 
 and sarsaparilla can be used with advantage. It is some- 
 times a matter of difficulty to decide whether or not an 
 ulcer should be healed and the discharge stopped, as the 
 condition of the system may be such as to demand an 
 escape or outlet for the matter which is being thrown off 
 by means of the running sore. Under such circumstances 
 the blood must be purified by medicines for the purpose, 
 or the system strengthened by tonics, after which the 
 ulcer will disappear. In some cases a poultice of boiled 
 parsnips has been used, and has proved a satisfactory 
 application. We would prefer one of raw onions crushed 
 fine and warmed. 
 
 ABSCESS 
 
 Is a deep-seated collection of matter, the causes of which 
 are numerous — such as wounds, blows, bruises, and 
 injuries. The symptoms are as varied as the causes. In 
 some cases slight chills are experienced, a dull pain is felt 
 in the region of the affection, with an occasional shooting 
 pain upwards or downwards, and in others an aching, 
 burning sensation, with a weakness in that region ; in 
 other cases there are no marked symptoms, only a weak- 
 ness in the locality of some strain or injury received long 
 before. It is quite common to find the collection of matter 
 several inches below the seat of the injury. In cases of hip 
 
CARBUNCLES. 267 
 
 disease, the abscess sometimes opens down on the thigh. 
 We had a case in which the man complained of weakness 
 in the hip and leg, the result of a previous injury, but he 
 kept about his business ; one day when near his house, he 
 was surprised by the breaking of the abscess ; he hurried 
 to his bedroom, removed his boot, which was half full, then 
 removed his pants, and took the wash-bowl, which was 
 literally filled. We were on the spot ima few minutes, and 
 saw in great wonder about a gallon of matter. The leg 
 and hip were greatly diminished in size ; afterwards the dis- 
 charge continued copiously for about four months, when 
 the patient died, greatly emaciated. Treatment in such 
 cases should be generous diet, quinine in small doses, and 
 injections of witch-hazel decoction ; drink tea of yellow dock 
 and yarrow. To treat an abscess is a delicate and difficult 
 business, and all such cases should be intrusted to a 
 surgeon. 
 
 CARBUNCLES' 
 
 Are hard inflamed tumors, like very large boils, but much 
 more painful and needing skilful treatment. Unlike boils 
 there is a tendency to gangrene and absorption of the 
 matter, and chances of a fatal termination as the result; 
 This ailment first shows as a hard, red swelling, the surface 
 of which soon assumes a livid color, and a soft spongy 
 feeling to the touch ; a number of small ulcers form in the 
 affected surface, and from their several openings flows a 
 thin discharge, which is characteristic of this sore. These 
 small openings soon run together, and form one orifice, 
 from which the discharge continues, becoming of a thick 
 and tenacious nature. 
 
 Those advanced in years are more severely affected by 
 them, and the place of appearance is generally the back of 
 the neck, or between the shoulders ; they are supposed to 
 show a low condition of the system ; the tendency of the 
 
268 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 thick discharge is to eat or affect the surrounding flesh 
 and increase the size of the sore. The name of carbuncle 
 is from a word meaning "to burn," and is given to this 
 tumor on account of the burning sensation experienced. 
 
 When there appears about the head, neck, shoulders, or 
 any part of the body, an angry, painful elevation, with 
 uncircumscribed margin, and an undefined centre or head, 
 you may regard it a deep-seated carbuncle. When such is 
 seen, the system is much out of order — the bowels are 
 sluggish, and the blood imperfectly circulated, requiring a 
 stimulant and cathartic such as the following : — 
 
 Butternut bark, green 1-2 pound 
 
 " " dry 4 ounces 
 
 Extract of butternut 1 ounce 
 
 Black-cherry bark, green . . 1-2 pound 
 
 " " dry 4 ounces 
 
 Milkweed roots, green 4 " 
 
 Blue cohosh roots, green . . . . . 4 " 
 
 Cayenne pepper 1-2 " 
 
 Steep in two quarts of water two hours ; strain, and add 
 half a pint of alcohol ; dose, a tablespoonful on an empty 
 stomach four times a day. To lessen the pain, scatter the 
 inflammation, and give a healthy tone to the part affected 
 and the surrounding parts, apply a poultice of the fol- 
 lowing : — 
 
 Raw onions, bruised fine 2 teacupfuls 
 
 Clear honey 1 tablespoonful 
 
 Black-cherry bark, grated 1 teaspoonful 
 
 Pulverized hardwood charcoal . . . . 1 " 
 
 Barbadoes tar, or white pine pitch . . 1 " 
 
 Cayenne pepper 1-4 " 
 
 Pulverized slippery-elm 1 " 
 
 Water to make it right for poultice ; mix, and warm. 
 Poultice six times a day, each three inches in diameter. 
 In case chills and fever set in, and the sore does not 
 
BOILS. 269 
 
 dimmish and look better, we advise calling in a physician 
 to attend the case. 
 
 BOILS 
 
 Are very troublesome affections, and are liable to come on 
 any part of the body of those who eat much pork, especi- 
 ally in the spring of the year. They frequently attack 
 young and healthy persons ; and there is a common saying 
 that, "boils are healthy," and as a means of ridding the 
 system of injurious matter the saying may be true. The 
 presence of boils is an indication that a change should be 
 made in the diet and manner of living, not merely to pre- 
 vent more boils, but also to avoid carbuncles or other 
 ailments. 
 
 Little, if any, description of boils is needed, nearly every- 
 body having had one, or been familiar with them. They 
 begin with a slight hardness, which soon develops into a 
 small, red, hard pimple, with a white, round centre, where 
 the pus begins to collect ; this pimple increases in size 
 and soreness, grows more angry-looking, with increasing 
 collection of matter, till after some few days it breaks, and 
 there takes place a small discharge of matter and blood. 
 But the trouble is not yet over, and will not be until the ' 
 core comes away ; this will probably take place in a clay or 
 two. When this has occurred the small cavity left can 
 readily be healed. The treatment should be to poultice 
 until the boil comes to a head, breaks, or is lanced and 
 freed of the core ; if desired to bring to a head quickly, let 
 it be treated with a mixture of common brown soap and 
 sugar (pulverize the sugar fine). As might be expected this 
 will increase the pain. Upon the exit of the core the sore 
 spot can be dressed with the following healing salve : — 
 
270 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Rosin 1 teaspoonful 
 
 Beeswax 1 " 
 
 Mutton tallow 10 " 
 
 Borax 1-2 " 
 
 Fine powdered charcoal 1-2 " 
 
 Simmer well together, and use for a dressing ; white pine 
 pitch is better than rosin if it can be had. When any per- 
 son finds himself liable to be troubled with boils, he will 
 be greatly benefited by the following excellent cathartic 
 and blood purifier : — 
 
 Flour of sulphur 2 tablespoonfuls 
 
 Cream of tartar ........ 1 " 
 
 Cayenne pepper 1-2 teaspoonful 
 
 Mix, and take a teaspoonful in molasses, or syrup, for two 
 days, night and morning ; then take for two days in same, 
 manner, one-half teaspoonful Epsom salts in water, with a 
 little ground ginger added. Alternate this till each medi- 
 cine has been taken during three periods of two days each. 
 Even after a boil has commenced to form, taking such 
 medicine will be of great benefit. 
 
 HYDROCELE 
 
 Is a watery collection in the scrotum, or bag containing 
 the testicles ; it is not unusual with boys soon after birth, 
 and is often viewed with alarm by the parents, who may 
 very likely regard it as a rupture and a great misfortune. 
 
 We have cured a number of them by ordering the scro- 
 tum and adjoining parts to be bathed several times daily 
 with a strong decoction of oak bark, say two or three 
 ounces of the inner bark, steeped for two hours in a pint 
 of water ; strain, and add one teaspoonful of alum. 
 
 When this trouble occurs during youth or manhood it 
 is necessary to wear a cloth belt, to which is attached a 
 
INGROWING TOE-NAILS. 27 1 
 
 sack; this may be so adjusted as to support the scrotum. 
 This means, with bathing, will often effect a cure. 
 
 Should it be necessary to puncture the spot and draw 
 the water off, this operation will, of course, be performed 
 only by a physician. 
 
 WENS 
 
 Are small encysted tumors, usually appearing about the 
 head, neck, and face, and varying in size from that of a 
 pea to that of a teacup. When small they may be caused 
 to disappear by binding tightly upon them something like 
 a silver half or quarter dollar for a few days. Some per- 
 sons practice treating them by giving a quick blow ; this 
 will break them, when they will be absorbed in a few days 
 without further trouble. 
 
 We have removed them, when as large as a hen's egg, 
 with the knife, taking care not to cut the sac or cyst in 
 which the tumor is enclosed, otherwise the sac might fill 
 again. Another mode of treating them is to prick or 
 puncture the wen in a number of places, eight or ten, and 
 to wash it twice a day with a solution of blue vitriol, cop- 
 peras, or alum, and bind a piece of flannel over the place. 
 
 INGROWING TOE-NAILS 
 
 Are caused by wearing shoes or boots that are not properly 
 fitted to the feet, being too tight or too short, or such as 
 bring a pressure upon the toes ; and no person with good 
 sense enough to wear proper fitting boots need ever be 
 tormented with these uninvited affections. To many per- 
 sons this tendency of the nail may seem to be a small 
 matter, but in some instances it is carried to such an ex- 
 tent, that the person is laid up, unable to walk, step, or 
 wear anything upon the foot ; and in such cases the suffer- 
 ing is severe. 
 
272 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 When the nail shows any tendency of this sort, let it 
 be scraped upon the top until it is quite thin, being care- 
 ful not to cut through to the quick ; the nail can be soft- 
 ened and the scraping done much easier after the feet 
 have been washed in warm lye water. This scraping will 
 weaken the nail, so as to overcome, in a great measure, its 
 tendency to draw the sides down into the flesh, or will 
 make the nail more flat. After this, little tufts of cotton 
 can be gradually put under the sides of the nail to help 
 spread it ; and to assist in relieving the pressure upon the 
 flesh, a notch may be cut in the centre of the forward edge 
 of the nail, which will naturally try to fill up the place, and 
 thus have a tendency to draw away from the sides. 
 
 The " Boston Medical and Surgical Journal " publishes 
 the following as being a most successful method of treat- 
 ment : " Take a small piece of tallow and heat it hot in a 
 spoon, then pour it upon the granulations, or place where 
 the nail has pressed into the toe ; the effect of this opera- 
 tion, in relieving the pain and bringing about a cure, is 
 wonderful. This method has been tried many times, and 
 with the most gratifying results ; a second operation has 
 rarely been needed." It is certainly a very simple remedy, 
 and we say, "Try it." Another thing that can be readily 
 tried is to bathe the feet, then put powdered alum around 
 the nail ; this will reduce the inflammation and harden the 
 flesh, so that the nail can be cut away, and ease thus 
 secured. 
 
 WHITLOWS, OR FELONS, 
 
 Are ailments to which the fingers and thumbs are liable ; 
 and if there is any difference or distinction between the 
 two, it may consist in the fact of a felon being deeper 
 seated. They are often located close around the nails ; 
 commencing with a swelling, redness, throbbing, and great 
 pain ; there soon appears a white spot in the centre, which 
 
WHITLOWS, OR FELONS. 273 
 
 shows that a collection of matter is there, and this is to be 
 opened with a lancet or sharp knife to allow the contents 
 to escape. 
 
 It is asserted by some that pieces of lemon fastened to 
 the ailing spot will effect a cure ; another method is to 
 make a decoction of herbs, such as tansy or wormwood ; 
 add a little soft soap, and hold the hand in the steam or 
 the liquid for fifteen or thirty minutes ; the steam can be 
 confined by putting a cloth over the vessel, and holding 
 the hand under this covering, and immersed in the water. 
 Still another way is to make a thick syrup-like mass of 
 half ounce Venice turpentine, or white pine pitch, dissolved 
 with a tablespoonful soft soap ; spread this upon a cloth, 
 and fasten about the spot. Another and a common mode 
 of treating is to make a strong lye from wood ashes, and 
 hold the hand in it as hot as can be borne, at intervals, for, 
 perhaps, ten minutes at a time. A salve for felons may be 
 made as follows : — 
 
 Sweet oil, tallow, or lard 1 wine-glass 
 
 Tobacco, bruised and steeped in it . . 1-4 ounce 
 
 Strain, and add gum camphor, one teaspoonful ; red lead, 
 half teaspoonful ; stir until thoroughly mixed ; use as 
 plaster. 
 
 Another remedy is to apply to the spot ammonia (or 
 hartshorn) and tincture of cayenne, equal parts ; or a 
 poultice made of equal parts of poke and blood-root, the 
 roots to be grated or pulverized fine, and shavings of hard 
 soap laid on the poultices, so as to come in contact with 
 the felon. 
 
 Some physicians claim a cure by soaking in strong hot 
 lye, after which bathe with spirits of turpentine or petro- 
 leum, repeating every ten minutes. 
 
274 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 CHOKING 
 
 Is not an uncommon occurrence with children, and may 
 happen while eating, or be caused by holding buttons or 
 other small articles in the mouth, which, during a fit of 
 laughing or loud talking, may be drawn into the windpipe 
 or passage leading to the lungs, and produce most distress- 
 ing results ; or it may fall back and be drawn into the 
 passage leading into the stomach, and though not so dis- 
 tressing or dangerous, will nearly stop the breathing, be- 
 cause of the great spasmodic action created. 
 
 If the handle of a spoon is passed into the mouth, and 
 the tongue pressed down, any article that is there may be 
 seen, in which case turn the spoon end for end, and it may 
 be possible to reach and bring away the cause of the trouble 
 with the bowl of the spoon ; if not, hold the child with the 
 head downwards, and give a few quick slaps between the 
 shoulders. If a grown person becomes choked with food 
 or other substance, lay the head over a sofa or chair, and 
 a few smart blows on the back will do much towards eject- 
 ing the obstruction. To seize the throat with thumb and 
 fingers, and then slap the back, is often of great help, and 
 so, in some instances, is the drinking of water or any liquid 
 which serves to carry the object clown If a button or 
 coin has been swallowed and got into the stomach, an 
 emetic of mustard and salt will bring it up. 
 
 IVY POISONING. 
 
 Such an occurrence is very common during the summer 
 months throughout New England and in parts of the 
 Middle and Western States, also in the Canadian Domin- 
 ion ; in fact, in every locality where the beautiful ivy 
 vines flourish. It appears to be a poison peculiar to the 
 season, for it is cut by the haymakers and dried with the 
 
POISONING. 275 
 
 hay; although the sheep -and cattle feed in the pastures 
 and along the roadside where it grows thickly, there is no 
 evidence of any ill-effect to them. 
 
 It is, as we stated, a peculiar poison, because of other 
 reasons ; some persons become severely poisoned on the 
 feet, hands, face, head, and body, and are laid up by it, 
 suffering terrible itching, burning, the face being swollen 
 and disfigured, the eyes being closed, the nose and ears 
 fearfully enlarged ; and this condition will last for a week 
 and longer. Other persons will work near it, in it, and 
 can allow the hands or flesh to come in contact with it 
 with perfect impunity, never being affected. But, tor- 
 menting as it is, one attack unfortunately does not ward off 
 subsequent ones, — as is the case with the mumps. From 
 experience with it, as well as observation, we recommend 
 washing with a decoction of sweet flag ; if not to be had, 
 use salt and water with saltpetre. If the face is poisoned, 
 take an emetic, bathe it with a decoction of sweet flag, 
 take salts and senna, and drink freely of pennyroyal and 
 peppermint teas. 
 
 POISONING. 
 
 Accidents of this nature happen very often, especially in 
 the night, from being in a hurry, from lack of labels, or 
 other causes, all of whi^h show a want of precaution. 
 
 The first thing to do upon learning that any person has 
 taken poison into the stomach is to empty the latter of its 
 contents (by means of emetics usually) ; then to apply the 
 antidote of the poison that has been swallowed, — as nearly 
 every poison has an antidote. Find out what has been 
 swallowed, and give the antidote specified in the list ; 
 after vomiting, give mucilaginous drinks, such as flaxseed 
 or slippery-elm tea, whites of eggs, flour and water, starch 
 and water, or milk. If opium has been taken, drink salt, 
 mustard, and warm water ; do not allow the patient to 
 
276 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 sleep ; give drinks of cold coffee, keep him walking, throw 
 water on the head and face. If the patient is cold, use 
 stimulants, — ginger tea, cayenne tea, peppermint tea hot, 
 — with friction and warmth. If poisons must be kept in the 
 house, let them be out of the way and securely corked and 
 labelled. The antidotes should be familiar to every one. 
 Below we give a table or list of various poisons and 
 antidotes : — 
 
 POISON BY LAUDANUM OR OPIUM. 
 
 Give emetics of mustard and salt in warm water, or of 
 warm water alone, until vomiting is induced ; lay about the 
 temples flannels, wet in water, as hot as can be borne ; 
 bathe the whole head, neck, and chest with warm water or 
 camphor. Do not allow the patient to yield to sleep, but 
 keep in active motion. 
 
 STRYCHNINE — ITS ANTIDOTE. 
 
 In 1853 Dr. Tewksbury, of Portland, Maine, had a case 
 of a child, in spasms from eating strychnine biscuits, 
 which were intended for rats ; in that moment of great 
 doubt he gave camphor and cured the child. Soon after, 
 having a similar case, he cured it with camphor. He then 
 tried many experiments with cats, dogs, and rabbits, — giv- 
 ing them their poison, then the antidote, then giving both 
 together, — in both of which methods there was no effect 
 upon the animal ; he then administered the poison alone 
 with the result of quickly killing the dog or animal. From 
 these and other tests camphor is set down as an antidote 
 for this deadly poison. We regret that Dr. Tewksbury 
 did not extend his trials and include some of the milder 
 poisons, as camphor might prove an antidote for other 
 poisons. 
 
ANTIDOTES FOR POISONS. 
 
 277 
 
 SNAKE-BITES. 
 
 Where these often occur, the plan adopted is to give 
 fifteen or twenty drops of hartshorn in half a wine-glassful 
 of spirit and water every fifteen minutes, and to keep up 
 rapid and continuous exercise, with profuse perspiration, 
 for six or eight hours. In the East and in South America 
 bites are frequent, and spirits and sweating is the remedy. 
 
 STING OF WASP OR BEE, OR BITE OF 
 SPIDER. 
 
 Apply over the spot at once wet clay, black mud, sal- 
 eratus, baking powder, soft soap, hard soap, or flannels wet 
 with hartshorn. 
 
 ANTIDOTES FOR POISONS. 
 
 POISONS. 
 
 ANTIDOTES. 
 
 Aconite .... 
 Belladona . . . 
 Camphor . . . 
 Croton oil . . . 
 Laudanum . . . 
 Opium .... 
 Morphine . . 
 Carbonate of soda 
 Copperas . . . 
 Cobalt .... 
 Strychnine . . 
 
 Prussic aci 
 
 Lunar costic (nitrate silver 
 
 Hartshorn (ammonia) 
 
 Soda 
 
 Potash 
 
 Mustard emetic ; warm water drank 
 freely. 
 
 Camphor; mustard emetic. 
 
 , j Teaspoonful of ammonia in pint of 
 
 ( water. 
 
 j Tablespoonful of salt in quart of 
 I water, and drink freely of it. 
 
 Vinegar, or lemon ; afterwards give 
 sweet, or castor oil, or cream. 
 
278 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 ^ Milk and whites of eggs ; mustard 
 
 Saltpetre J- emetics and warm water, followed 
 
 J by oil or cream. 
 
 Corrosive sublimate (bug poison) ) whites of eggs in water or milk ; 
 Vermilion — blue vitriol ... y or wheat flour mixed thin with 
 Red precipitate soapsuds. No emetics. 
 
 Arsenic t Mustard emetics and stomach 
 
 ) pump. 
 
 Sugar of lead (acetat plumbi) . Mustard emetics, followed by salts. 
 
 Antimony "1 Nutgalls, or tannin ; strong tea, or 
 
 rr . '. ' > tea of sweet fern leaves, or oak 
 
 Tartar emetic J bark> 
 
 Sulphuric acid 1 Water fredy? t0 dUute . sa]t and 
 
 Nitric acid I water, magnesia, or soap in 
 
 Muriatic acid water ; chalk and lime are anti- 
 Oxalic acid J dotes - 
 
 Matches (or phosphorus) . . Calcined magnesia. 
 
 Carbolic acid J Flour or starch in water ; mucilag- 
 
 inous drinks. 
 
 BRUISES 
 
 Are caused by falling, or by dropping anything upon a part 
 of the body, or member, as, for instance, striking the hand 
 or fingers with a hammer ; the effect is a feeling of numb- 
 ness, followed by aching and a settling of blood at the 
 spot, sometimes in the form of a blood blister. 
 
 Cover the injured part with cloths wet with rum and 
 water, or arnica ; or with a mixture of camphor and laud- 
 anum. Many persons make a practice of using spirits of 
 turpentine upon all small cuts, jams, and injuries of the 
 sort, and with excellent results ; however, in some in- 
 stances this does not agree with the flesh, and occasions a 
 smarting and burning, but one trial will ascertain the fact. 
 Applying hot water prevents the blood from settling at the 
 spot. If the bruise is extensive and severe, use worm- 
 wood, with rum or vinegar, and laid on hot. 
 
SPRAINS. 279 
 
 SPRAINS 
 
 Are so common with all classes of persons, in all sections 
 of the globe, that no other explanation of it, or of its symp- 
 toms are necessary ; therefore, the first thing to be done is 
 to apply something which will relieve and cure, which is 
 to be done by checking the flow of blood to the part 
 affected, and restore to their natural condition the muscles, 
 tendons, ligaments, and membranes, which have been 
 stretched by the fall, blow, or effort made by them in some 
 emergency. The result of such injury is an irritation, and 
 if neglected, inflammation is soon set up, after which the 
 part is relieved by suppuration. 
 
 Sprains if properly treated soon after they are inflicted, 
 do not get beyond the stage of irritation ; this may be 
 checked, subdued, or overcome in a few hours. For a 
 sprain in the ankle, knee, wrist, or elbow, as soon as pos- 
 sible bathe and shower with cold water and rum, or water 
 and alcohol, if it can be had, if not, use water and vinegar 
 for two or more hours, until the pain ceases, keeping the 
 part in a horizontal position. 
 
 After the pain and swelling have gone, rub with lini- 
 ment and wrap in flannel three or four times a day ; it will 
 soon be well, although weak for some days. Cold water 
 bathing will do good. The following is an excellent lini- 
 ment for all sprains, injuries, rheumatism, and cramps.' 
 Take — 
 
 Aqua ammonia (hartshorn) 1 ounce 
 
 Spirit camphor 1 
 
 Tincture capsicum (cayenne) 1-2 
 
 Tincture guiacum gum 1-2 
 
 Tincture opium (laudanum) 1-2 
 
 Powdered nitrate potassa (saltpetre) ... 1-2 
 
 Alcohol 4 
 
 Mix and shake well. 
 
280 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 If not in the vicinity of an apothecary's shop, instead of 
 liniment use rum and wormwood hot as convenient, binding 
 the wormwood on ; if rum or alcohol are not at hand use 
 vinegar. 
 
 If the injury is a compound of sprain and bruise, with 
 breaking of the skin, bathe in warm water to remove the 
 soreness and swelling ; if the skin is much broken, use a 
 tablespoonful of the liniment above named in a teacupful 
 of cream, in which rub some wormwood, and bind on hot 
 three times a day ; after the first two or three days it can 
 be dressed with sweet cream ; if there is pain still in it 
 keep on the wormwood. 
 
 If the feet or knee is the seat of the affliction, it should 
 be kept in a horizontal position to prevent swelling as well 
 as the blood from settling at the spot. 
 
 SCALDS AND BURNS 
 
 Must be taken care off at the earliest moment after they 
 are received, and the object of treatment is to keep the air 
 shut out and prevent the extension of inflammation till a 
 new cuticle or skin can form. The number of remedies 
 used for the treatment of these injuries is very large, and 
 from the list we select the following, which experience has 
 proved to be effectual. 
 
 That which has given the most satisfaction in our treat- 
 ment has been nitrate of silver, or lunar caustic. Take one 
 drachm or piece, the size of a bean, of this, and having 
 crushed it fine, dissolve in a tumbler or teacup half full of 
 water ; wet cloths with this preparation and lay them upon 
 the burn. As this mixture will stain the hands or flesh, 
 the cloth can either be dipped in the solution, or the latter 
 can be dipped out with a spoon and put on the cloths. 
 However, any stain that is received will soon wear off. 
 This mixture should be made and kept in a bottle ready 
 
SCALDS AND BURNS. 28 1 
 
 for use. We do not know as the use of this preparation 
 for this purpose is known ; in fact, we have never heard or 
 read of its being used ; but our experience has proved it to 
 be most valuable. It subdues inflammation in a few min- 
 utes. Another remedy which is in high favor, and thought 
 by a great number to be the best that can be secured, is 
 common wheat flour ; take a dredging-box and cover the 
 injured place with flour, spreading it on profusely; when 
 the flour next the surface dries it can be easily removed or 
 washed off and a new coating put on. Another remedy is 
 to dissolve half teaspoonful sugar of lead or alum in half 
 a pint of water, and apply cloths wet with it over the 
 affected parts for an hour or two, at the end of which time 
 there can be used the salve next given in the list of cures. 
 These washes should be made and bottled ready for use. 
 
 The happiest results are asserted to follow the use of a 
 salve, made of equal parts beeswax, sweet oil, and spirits 
 of turpentine ; melt the wax and oil together, and stir in 
 the turpentine, stirring till the mass is cold, in order to 
 get it thoroughly mixed ; spread upon a cloth and apply 
 over the wounded place, renewing the salve as often as 
 necessary, or every three hours, as it dries. 
 
 In many cases there is great benefit received from a 
 poultice of slippery-elm and milk, spreading it upon the 
 place, and applying another before the first becomes dry. 
 The whites of eggs are used by some ; also eggs beaten up 
 with olive oil ; also bathing the part in new milk, or keep- 
 ing on it cloths wet with new milk ; lime water mixed 
 with oil (it may be either sweet or linseed) makes a dress- 
 ing which, in the experience of many, is satisfactory. 
 
 In dressing burns or scalds, if any of the clothing sticks 
 to the skin or flesh, it should not be pulled oE, but a piece 
 must be cut out of the clothing, clipped close with scissors, 
 and left while the salve or dressing, which is used, should 
 be spread all over that, as well as on the other parts of the 
 burn. 
 
282 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 As burns and scalds are a class of accidents to which 
 persons of all classes, conditions, and positions in life are 
 liable, we would suggest that, whenever it can be done, a 
 salve or preparation for use in case of such occurrences be 
 made and kept where it may be had at a moment's notice. 
 After somebody has been burned is a poor time to hunt 
 around to learn ivhat is good, and to see if it can be made ; 
 besides at such times if persons have known what was good 
 they are liable to become excited and forget it. 
 
 We advocate the doctrine of being prepared for such 
 emergencies. 
 
 FREEZING, OR FROSTBITE. 
 
 Every person is familiar with this condition, though, 
 perhaps, all are not aware how soon and how entirely with- 
 out the knowledge of a person a part may be frozen. Those 
 who are obliged to be out in severe weather should have 
 the hands and feet, nose and ears well protected ; or if not 
 the exposed parts ought to be very frequently rubbed. If 
 any person is troubled with cold feet continually, sprinkle 
 red pepper inside the stockings, or wrap the feet in paper, 
 or serve the hands in the same way ; paper thus employed 
 will be found wonderfully effective in preserving from the 
 cold. The brakemen on the railroads adopt this method 
 of putting papers under their coats, and are much benefited 
 by the practice. 
 
 Upon learning that any part has been frozen the person 
 should be kept away from the heat ; snow should be placed 
 on the parts affected, if such should be the ears or face ; 
 if the feet or hands let them be rubbed briskly with snow 
 or cold water until the place assumes a natural appear- 
 ance ; then let the parts be rubbed dry with soft cloths, 
 after which put on an ointment made as follows : — 
 
 Take an even teaspoonful of alum (powdered) and dis- 
 
CHILBLAINS. 283 
 
 solve in a tablespoonful of water ; then mix it with two 
 tablespoonfuls of cream until it forms a salve ; spread it 
 upon linen cloths and place it upon the affected parts, 
 repeating frequently. 
 
 If in a country district, and no alum can be had, steep a 
 little tea, say, enough for four cups, in one wine-glass- 
 ful of water, strain, and mix with two wine-glassfuls of 
 cream ; stir until well mixed ; then use the salve or cream. 
 These salves are at hand, and are excellent for burns, 
 sores, bruises, and for boils after the cores are out. 
 
 CHILBLAINS 
 
 Are painful affections of the heels and toes, sometimes the 
 hands ; brought on by their being wet and exposed to cold ; 
 the skin is inflamed and of a dark red or purple color, while 
 the pain occurs at intervals, and is of an intensely sharp, 
 shooting nature, and accompanied by an intolerable itch- 
 ing ; the skin may remain whole, or it may break, and a 
 thin discharge be thrown out, while in very severe cases 
 the skin may slough off and a sort of ulcer be left ; this 
 trouble attacks mainly children and elderly persons and in 
 cold weather only. 
 
 Place the feet in cold water for a while to take away the 
 aching ; take three tablespoonfuls of mutton tallow or lard 
 and one of kerosene, warm slowly, mix together, and 
 anoint the feet; or steep a quart of wood ashes in two 
 gallons of water for twenty or thirty minutes, then strain ; 
 wash the feet in this as warm as can be borne, then anoint 
 with mutton tallow or sweet oil ; or soak the feet in 
 hot water with salt added, and rub with lard or tallow ; or 
 steep boughs of ground hemlock, juniper, or cedar, and 
 bathe the feet in the decoction ; afterwards rub with tallow 
 or lard. 
 
 Those near a drug store, or an apothecary, can use the 
 following liniment : — 
 
284 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Water ammonia 1 teaspoonful 
 
 Spirits turpentine 1 " 
 
 Laudanum 1 " 
 
 Saltpetre 1 " 
 
 Alcohol 4 ounces 
 
 Water 4 
 
 Mix, and rub well with it, then anoint with mutton tallow, 
 lard, or cold cream. 
 
 BUNION 
 
 Is an inflamed sac or case surrounding the great toe, and 
 mostly on the inside of it. The cause is usually from long- 
 continued pressure of a tight boot or shoe. The toe should 
 be bathed in water as warm as can be borne, in which put 
 a teaspoonful of soda or saleratus, then place cloths around 
 it wet in a solution of sugar of lead (a teaspoonful of lead 
 to a pint of water), and renew for several hours as often as 
 it becomes dry. When in the rural districts, away from an 
 apothecary shop, and sugar of lead is not at hand, bruise 
 finely a raw onion, wet it with vinegar, and apply to the 
 toe, renewing it as often as it becomes dry ; in a few hours 
 the inflammation will have subsided. Care must be taken 
 not to repeat the pressure. In cases where the pressure 
 has been long continued, the cartilages of the joint are en- 
 larged, and the individual must go through life with a big 
 toe joint. 
 
 When there is a soreness around the joint, it is a good 
 plan to take a piece of buckskin or other soft leather two 
 inches in diameter, cut a hole in it the size of the sore spot, 
 then shave the edge thin, and put wax or sticking plaster 
 on it to stick it to the toe, or, if preferred, wind a thread 
 around it for its confinement. By this means the bunion 
 is protected from pressure. The toe may be painted or 
 washed with tincture of iodine, with half water to excite 
 absorption, which will reduce the enlargement. Washing 
 
NOSE-BLEED. 285 
 
 with iodine may be repeated. Epsom salts will cool the 
 blood and diminish the heat. 
 
 DEAFNESS. 
 
 Accumulation of wax in the passage of the ear, dryness, 
 excessive moisture, or inflammation may cause the above. 
 In many cases persons who have considered themselves 
 deaf have found the whole trouble to be occasioned by 
 wax, which had been allowed to collect ; and no reason can 
 be given for such condition but carelessness. The ears 
 should be cleansed as well as the teeth, or any part of the 
 body. With some persons the accummulation is so con- 
 stant that daily attention is a necessity. 
 
 Should the cause be from excessive secretions, let -the 
 ears be washed with warm water and castile soap ; then 
 with a soft cloth on the end of a stick remove any wax by 
 turning the stick around. Then, to a teaspoonful of sweet 
 oil, add five drops of creosote, put a few drops of the mix- 
 ture on a little tuft of cotton, and put it into the ears. Or 
 in place of the creosote, five drops of liquid carbolic acid 
 can be used. The ears being of delicate structure, we 
 would advise, in case of any ailment, consulting the best 
 doctor who can be found. 
 
 NOSE-BLEED. 
 
 With this everybody is familiar, so that it needs no de- 
 scription ; persons of sanguine temperament and those of 
 plethoric habit are usually most liable to be affected, and 
 wherever there is a tendency of blood to the head, we may 
 reasonably expect to find nose-bleed. When present it 
 may be free and copious, or flow only drop by drop, or it 
 may happen so much as to constitute an ailment of itself ; 
 and yet it may be the warning or indication that points 
 out some disease, or it may operate as a means of escape 
 from some malady. Nature often makes use of the nose 
 
286 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 as a method of bleeding, and when the discharge is not so 
 abundant as to produce faintness and exhaustion, the act 
 is always followed by a feeling of relief. If the bleeding 
 is difficult to stop, and the quantity discharged is large, 
 medical advice should at once be taken. 
 
 In ordinary cases of bleeding there are a number of 
 remedies that have been tried with varying success, and of 
 the list may be given the following : The application of 
 cold water to the parts, or of a tuft of cotton or lint, dipped 
 in sugar of lead or alum water ; let the lint be dipped into 
 the solution and then placed in the nostril. The following 
 method is claimed to have been discovered by accident, 
 and one physician asserts that, for a period of three years, 
 he has used it with uniform success ; this is simply to 
 raise the arms above the head, and hold them there. The 
 feet may be put into warm water, to draw the blood down 
 from the head ; cold applications may be used on the back 
 of the neck and the temples, or a mixture of alum and 
 vinegar for wetting the inside of the nose. 
 
 A method of which we advise making a trial is the fol- 
 lowing : Make a small compress, place it on the upper lip, 
 and fasten there with a cloth bandage or handkerchief tied 
 at the back of the neck. By thus bringing a pressure upon 
 the spot where the artery comes through the jaw below 
 the nose — for the face, the hemorrhage is at once checked. 
 We have had cases of accident where the blood flowed 
 from the back of the nose almost into the throat. We 
 took ten or twelve pieces of sponge as large as a thimble 
 when softened, tied them fast to a thread or piece of twine, 
 about an inch and a half apart, wet them with sugar of 
 lead or alum water ; then with a probe or bent wire passed 
 them one by one down into the back of the nose until the 
 opening was filled, left them there for three or four hours. 
 The blood absorbed by the pieces of sponge, coagulated 
 and formed a pad or compress. Both sides can be treated 
 
ANATOMY OF THE EYE. 
 
 287 
 
 in the same way, and they may be readily pulled out by the v 
 
 thread one at a time. 
 
 ANATOMY OF THE EYE. 
 
 D 
 
 ferior 
 
 H G 
 
 THE MUSCLES OF THE RIGHT EYE. 
 
 A superior straight ; B, Superior oblique, passing through a pulley, D ; G, in- 
 oblique ; H, external straight, and back of it the internal straight muscle. 
 
 G, The lachrymal or tear gland ; it empties by several ducts upon the upper eyelid ; 
 the tears run into the cavity D, a little basin fitted for their reception ; the two canals 
 C, C, drain off the tears through the duct, B, into the nose. 
 
288 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE EYES 
 
 Is a condition frequently induced by injury, the presence 
 of foreign substances, cold, wet weather, straining by night- 
 work, as, for instance, with a poor light, with fine print, or 
 for too long a time, close application to some nice work, 
 great arterial and nervous excitement, or excessive use of 
 alcoholic drinks or tobacco. The eye is possessed of a 
 general redness, the white is red in spots, scarlet or crim- 
 son, caused by the fulness of the blood vessels. In some 
 cases there is a patch on one or both sides, and in others, 
 the whole white of the eye is colored. When the eyes are 
 thus inflamed they must have rest and treatment. Wash 
 them every hour in milk and warm water ; wash the face 
 and head with cold water, and make the following for the 
 eyes : — 
 
 Sulphate of zinc 2 grains 
 
 Borax 3 ' % 
 
 Soft water 1 ounce 
 
 Settle for an hour, then pour off and add ten drops of 
 laudanum ; put a few drops into the eyes every hour ; also 
 take of — 
 
 Epsom salts 2 ounces 
 
 Senna leaves 1 " 
 
 Pulverized ginger 1 teaspoonful 
 
 Steep for one hour in a pint of water and bottle ; dose a 
 wine-glassful morning and evening. The eyes should be 
 kept from the light, and in severe cases the patient should 
 remain in a dark room ; in mild cases a green shade should 
 be worn over them ; avoid strong drinks, and let the diet be 
 low, mostly gruel and vegetable food. An excellent eye- 
 water is 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE EYES. 289 
 
 Camphor water 2 ounces 
 
 Liquid honey 1 teaspoonful 
 
 Tincture of witch-hazel 4 " 
 
 Borax and sulphate of zinc, each ... 2 grains 
 
 Sulphate of morphia 1-2 " 
 
 Carbolic acid 10 drops 
 
 A few drops every two hours. If the patient is of delicate 
 constitution, or a female, the following wash may be used : — 
 
 Sulphate of zinc 1 grain 
 
 Rose water 1 ounce 
 
 Sulphate morphia 1-2 grain 
 
 Put a few drops in the eyes every hour. In some cases ot 
 inflamed eyes the lids are the parts principally affected, and 
 the same wash can be used, and the same cathartic taken, 
 the eyes being kept from the light. If the inflammation 
 does not subside or diminish by the third day, use the 
 following : — 
 
 Sulphate of zinc 3 grains 
 
 Sweet cream 1 tablespoonful 
 
 Rub and dissolve thoroughly before using — a few drops 
 or piece the size of a pea ; use frequently. 
 
 Whether the ball or lid of the eye be inflamed, it is 
 advisable, if the patient be feeble or delicate, to wash the 
 eyes several times daily with warm milk and water ; but 
 should the patient be strong and full of vigor, cold milk 
 may be used, or alum curd ; raw potato scraped is some- 
 times useful. 
 
 Great relief will be experienced from inhaling the fumes 
 of hot vinegar, in which is cayenne pepper, to induce a 
 discharge from the nose. Those not accustomed to using 
 snuff can, by taking a little, induce sneezing and a dis- 
 charge also. A blister behind one or both ears will aid in 
 the cure, and a little mustard or red pepper on a cloth, 
 
29O OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 rubbed so briskly as almost to blister or remove the skin 
 back of the ear, will do as well in mild cases. We have 
 known persons in rural districts with weak and overworked 
 eyes to take the following : Put one ounce of rain or boiled 
 water into a bottle, then put in four or six pieces of cam- 
 phor gum, shake it well for half an hour, pour off the 
 water, remove the gum, and bottle the water ; put three or 
 four drops in each eye, if inflamed, every two or three 
 hours. Another remedy is reported from experience, viz. : 
 Put one ounce of rain or boiled water in a vial, and add 
 twenty drops of essence of peppermint ; of this put three 
 or four drops in the affected eye every two hours ; in case 
 the eye feels cold, omit it for a while. 
 
 STRUCTURE OF THE EYE. 
 
 d, The sclefotic, or tough hard casing which gives form to the eye, in front of 
 which is set, like the crystal of a watch, the transparent cornea ; c, the choroid ; e, a 
 black lining beneath the retina ; b, the retina or expansion of the optic nerve ; 0, the 
 optic nerve; the lens is kept in place by the ciliary processes, ^7 in the back of the 
 eye is /z, the vitreous or glassy humor ; in front and resting upon it, is a, the crystalline 
 lens, which brings the rays of light to a focus on the retina ; z, z, the iris, which floats 
 in the aqueous humor : and k, the pupil or hole in the iris or curtain. 
 
EARACHE INFLAMMATION OF THE EAR. 2C)I 
 
 A diagram showing how the image of an object is formed 
 on the retina by the crystalline lens. 
 
 EARACHE— INFLAMMATION OF THE EAR 
 
 Arises from cold, exposure to moisture, or from an injury 
 received on the head, or it may be the result of cold from 
 having the hair cut short, or any cause that may inflame 
 the membrane lining the ear and covering the drum. 
 
 The treatment most useful is heat in and about the ear. 
 If the pain is severe, take the heart out of an onion, put in 
 it a piece of camphor as large as a bean, a piece of tobacco 
 the same size, and ten drops of sweet oil ; put the heart 
 back into the onion and bake or roast it well ; squeeze out 
 the juice, and put a few drops into the ear with a tuft of 
 cotton over it. This should be removed several times a 
 day ; a few drops of laudanum on the cotton in the ear 
 will aid in subduing the pain. Let the feet be put into hot 
 water two or three times a day to draw the blood away 
 from the head. Should there be heat and fever about the 
 ear, hold a heated shovel, flat-iron, or hot brick near the 
 ear to heat the side of the head. 
 
 A flannel wet with hot vinegar laid over the side of the 
 head, with a hot iron near it, will often relieve the heat and 
 fever. Should inflammation go on to suppuration and dis- 
 charge, let the ear be washed by injecting into it a warm 
 
292 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 decoction of oak bark, blackberry root, or strong sage tea. 
 If the inflammation takes place in the summer time, get a 
 handful of chickweed, bruise it into a mass, warm, and put 
 five drops of laudanum upon a piece of it as large as will 
 fill the ear, and place it in the opening of the ear ; keep 
 the bowels open. 
 
 TO PREVENT COLD FEET. 
 
 Many persons are troubled with cold feet during a great 
 portion of the time, and will be glad to know that they can 
 be relieved from this uncomfortable feeling by the following 
 method : Turn the stocking inside out, and sprinkle slightly 
 with dry cayenne pepper or mustard ; then reverse and 
 wear them. Another plan adopted during very cold 
 weather is to wrap the foot before the stocking is on in 
 paper ; this will be found of great benefit during the day- 
 time. We advise our readers not to go to bed with cold feet 
 if they can avoid it — which they can do by observing the 
 following directions : Before retiring, or at any time during 
 the day, remove the stockings or socks, and take a towel 
 or coarse cloth and make a stirrup, in which place the foot, 
 holding the ends in the hands, then draw the cloth across 
 the sole of the foot briskly, alternating the drawing with 
 the right and left hand : the friction will soon warm the 
 feet, and draw the blood to the surface, and the warmth 
 will remain many hours. In case the legs and tops of the 
 feet are cold, treat them in the same way by rubbing 
 briskly with a coarse towel or cloth, or a flesh brush If 
 the legs are constantly cold from poor circulation in warm 
 weather, rub them with cayenne pepper in rum or vinegar, 
 and take a teaspoonful of mustard-seed before breakfast to 
 quicken the circulation of the blood. 
 
NEAR-SIGHTEDNESS. 293 
 
 NEAR-SIGHTEDNESS. 
 
 There can be no doubt that the number of persons 
 affected by near-sightedness has been of late years, and 
 is now, on the increase, and when the cause was sought 
 has been found to be defective light. Either too strong or 
 too dim a light may produce this difficulty. Sitting in a 
 school-room and facing the light has a tendency to this 
 affection. When persons have good sight they should take 
 proper care of it, and the chances are that they can preserve 
 it. For this purpose a few general hints may be accept- 
 able. 
 
 First, when reading, do not allow the light, either by 
 day or night, to fall upon the eye ; let the position be such 
 that it may shine over one of the shoulders and illuminate 
 the reading matter. This will be found very comfortable. 
 Second, after reading for a time, if the head and eyes be- 
 come tired, and the latter blurred so as to make the print 
 appear indistinct at times, lay the paper aside for a time, 
 as further effort in this direction is not only work, but de- 
 cidedly injurious to the eyes. Third, reading too fine print 
 is another cause ; when this is found to be troublesome, 
 and to demand the near approach of the print to the eyes, 
 let somebody else do the reading, or do as little of it as 
 possible. Fourth, reading in the steam or horse cars, 
 where, owing to their motion, it is impossible to hold any 
 reading matter still ; the constant shaking keeps the eyes 
 continually on the greatest strain to follow the lines and 
 not lose the place, while the effect upon the sight is ex- 
 ceedingly bad. Fifth, do not read when the light is dim, 
 as at dusk, nor by an exceedingly bright light. 
 
 When the sight is found to be failing, and it is neces- 
 sary to bring all reading matter nearer to the eyes, and 
 glasses are required, have them well adjusted, and when 
 
294 0UR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 they fail in giving satisfaction, get them changed for a pair 
 to suit the eyes. 
 
 We heard many years ago that the then aged John 
 Quincy Adams had in his old age renewed his sight, by 
 rubbing the eyes many times a clay from the outer angle 
 inward toward the nose. We advised a friend, sixty-seven 
 years old, to try it ; he did, and in a few weeks could 
 read the Boston " Herald" without glasses. We have 
 often advised our friends to try it, but have not traced 
 them for the results. 
 
 TOOTHACHE 
 
 Needs no description, nearly every person having learned 
 much about it by experience. It may be caused by an ex- 
 posed nerve or an ulcerated condition of the gums. The 
 remedies adopted for the cure of the complaint are in- 
 numerable, and in some cases nothing will stop the aching 
 but to pull the tooth. 
 
 When there is a cavity in the tooth and severe pain, 
 relief is sometimes afforded by inserting a tuft of cotton or 
 lint wet with diluted hartshorn, being careful not to wet 
 the gum or inside of the mouth ; or put some dry mustard 
 in a tuft of cotton and fill the hole with it. A very com- 
 mon, and in many cases effectual, remedy is a mixture of 
 salt and cloves rubbed fine and put around the tooth, or on 
 the gums when all the teeth ache. When the whole jaw or 
 face aches it may arise from cold or derangement of the 
 stomach, in which case an emetic of a teaspoonful of mus- 
 tard and half as much fine salt in a teacupful of water 
 should be given, and if it does not operate, should be fol- 
 lowed by warm water till vomiting is induced ; when the 
 stomach is cleared the toothache will be gone. An excel- 
 lent mixture, or nervine, may be made as follows : — 
 
CANKER. 295 
 
 Liquid camphor .1 drachm 
 
 Tincture of cloves . . . 1 " 
 
 Chloroform 1 " 
 
 Laudanum 1 " 
 
 Tannin . . 5 grains 
 
 Put a little on cotton and fill the cavity, or put between 
 the affected teeth. 
 
 We have known of several cases in which this complaint 
 has been cured by another person rubbing the face over the 
 spot with the hands, the magnetism or electricity most 
 likely doing the work. 
 
 CANKER 
 
 Is caused by a derangement of the circulation, or slight 
 overflow of the bile. Children and infants are usually 
 subject to it, but youths and adults are also affected. 
 It appears as little white or greenish-yellow spots or 
 patches on the tongue, gums, or inner side of the 
 lips, these places being very sore to the touch ; if not 
 checked it may extend downwards, and, by causing ulcera- 
 tion of the bowels, terminate in death. To cure canker in 
 infants, the mother must chew small pieces of rhubarb 
 very slowly, swallowing the saliva, and using in a day a 
 piece as large as a chestnut. This will affect the mother's 
 milk, which will act as a cathartic upon the child. Also 
 steep a little gold-thread, strain, and add honey or white 
 sugar and a piece of borax as large as a bean ; with this 
 wash the child's mouth several times a day by means of a 
 small stick, to the end of which is tied a soft rag. For 
 youths and adults we advise a laxative made as follows : — 
 
 Flour sulphur 2 tablespoonfuls 
 
 Cream tartar 1 " 
 
 Cayenne pepper 1-2 teaspoonful 
 
296 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Mix in a cupful of molasses ; dose, a teaspoonful before 
 eating and before retiring. 
 
 Take a teaspoonful of Epsom salts, with a little ginger 
 added, in a gill of water ; repeat this for several days. 
 Wash the mouth with a decoction of gold-thread, oak bark, 
 or rub with alum ; chew oak bark or sage leaves. 
 
 CARE OF THE SICK. 
 
 We often hear it said that " everything depends upon 
 good nursing ; " but how few there are who understand 
 how to care for the sick in a proper manner. For this 
 delicate and skilful work nature seems to have specially 
 appointed women ; and this appointment appears to be 
 universally accepted, for in almost every case we find her 
 ministering to the wants of the sick and suffering ; and 
 in adapting her for this purpose all the requirements have 
 been freely bestowed for the task. 
 
 The physician being the one in charge, and upon whom 
 responsibility rests regarding the sick, should have all his 
 orders strictly obeyed, as it is almost needless to say. The 
 apartment of an invalid should be roomy and well lighted, 
 and so arranged that the sun can enter, be quiet, and 
 where impure odors or gases cannot reach it, — fresh air 
 being all important to the sick. No persons should be 
 allowed in or about the room tvho are not needed. If the sick 
 person wishes to see any one, it may be beneficial for him 
 to see the one desired, but this is different from allowing 
 all who call and inquire for the patient to "just run up 
 and see him or her a minute." Let the invalid have all 
 the rest possible ; do not keep on the go about the room, 
 doing something all the time ; such a course would worry 
 and distract some well persons. If anything is really 
 wanted, attend to that without talk or noise, as sick per- 
 sons are suspicious that they are being talked about. 
 
CARE OF THE SICK. 297 
 
 Above all things, never whisper in a room with the sick. If 
 anything is to be said they should know it, or it should be 
 told in another apartment. 
 
 The clothing and bedding should be changed frequently, 
 the linen thoroughly dried and warmed before using ; all 
 the articles used in the room kept clean ; the water used 
 ought to be pure ; the temperature of the room must 
 not be allowed to vary from cold to warm, and back again, 
 but be kept at a certain point, from sixty to sixty-five 
 degrees, and for this purpose a thermometer must be 
 employed. Means must be used to secure fresh air sev- 
 eral times daily for the patient without exposing to drafts. 
 
 The nurse should not confine herself too long at a time, 
 but must have the benefit of fresh air and exercise, in 
 order to maintain her proper physical condition, for it will 
 be unfortunate indeed (for the patient) should she become 
 impatient and irritable ; on the contrary, it is indispensable 
 that she should be cheerful, willing, and hopeful, in order to 
 inspire the invalid with her own desirable feelings in this 
 respect, and help and encourage the patient. 
 
 The greatest care should be used in selecting a nurse, 
 as everything depends upon her. Her age should be from 
 twenty or twenty-five to forty-five or fifty years. She 
 should be a well person, and able to help to lift her patient 
 as desired ; a cheerful and sunny disposition is to be greatly 
 prized, as it is of great benefit to an invalid, upon whom 
 nervousness and irritability have a most injurious effect. 
 It is very desirable that a nurse be an orderly person, and 
 able to find any article without delay. She ought to be 
 intelligent and quick to note any change in the patient's 
 condition, and be able to inform the physician. All other 
 qualifications, like neatness, education, or pleasant man- 
 ners, are so much the better. A good nurse is the doctor's 
 greatest dependence. 
 
 Let things be placed where they can be found without a 
 
298 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 hunt, the effect of which is very disturbing to a sick per- 
 son ; have the medicine, drinks, and food given at the 
 times and in the manner ordered, and do not give anything 
 without orders, as many a disastrous result has been the 
 consequence of such practice, especially in regard to giving 
 food. 
 
 WATCHERS. 
 
 The business of such person requires a great deal of tact 
 and prudence ; it is not necessary for them to entertain the 
 patient, not in any sense of the word ; but their duty is to 
 see that the wants of the invalid are supplied, and his com- 
 fort attended to, — all of which can and should be done 
 without much talking. 
 
 The watcher should ascertain what medicines and drinks 
 are to be given, how much of each, and at what times they 
 are to be taken ; these orders should be plainly written and 
 given to the watcher. 
 
 The invalid must be treated with attention and kind- 
 ness, the room properly warm, the patient's eyes shielded 
 from the light, all arrangements convenient, and with an 
 object of being satisfactory to the one cared for. As a 
 rule, the office of watcher is filled by any person who can 
 be found willing to come and remain over-night ; and very 
 many persons who do so have been working all day, and 
 are unfit for such service. We believe it to be more bene- 
 ficial to the afflicted, or those needing watchers ; also safer, 
 and more economical in the end, to engage those skilled 
 in such occupation ; pay them (means permitting) rather 
 than accept the kindness of friends, who are often noisy, 
 forgetful, or go fast asleep, and breathe or snore so that 
 the invalid cannot sleep or rest quietly. 
 
OATMEAL. 299 
 
 OATMEAL. 
 
 As we have in this work on so many different occasions 
 spoken favorable of this article of diet, advising a liberal 
 use of it not only when ailing, but during health, we wish 
 to say a few words in explanation of this subject. During 
 the past ten years its sale has increased wonderfully, so 
 much so that we believe it no exaggeration to state it as 
 ten times as large now as at the beginning of that period. 
 At all of the large hotels it is regularly found at the morning 
 meal;. and the same can be said truly of the small hotels 
 and boarding-houses ; and in innumerable houses through- 
 out the land it is found almost daily. Grocers will inform 
 you that their sales increase each successive year; and 
 what is the cause of this growing demand ? 
 
 Simply because the people have found it to be a nour- 
 ishing food, easy of digestion, excellent as a regulating diet 
 for the bowels, and because they are learning how to 
 cook it. 
 
 Many have told us that "they did not like oatmeal," 
 and if their experience has been with such an article as we 
 have many times had placed before us, and called oatmeal, 
 we cannot blame them, for surely nobody would be enlisted 
 in favor of such uncooked food. Having advised its use so 
 decidedly, and believing that many persons have formed a 
 dislike because of the manner in which it had been pre- 
 pared for their use, we have described a method of cooking 
 so as to render it both palatable and nourishing to the 
 robust and the invalid. 
 
 In four cups of cold water put one cup of oatmeal (use 
 the coarse meal, the fine is not so good) ; put it in a tin 
 can that will hold two quarts, the cover of which fits on 
 closely ; place it in an iron pot or kettle, in which is enough 
 hot water to half cover the can, and put a large nail in the 
 pot, so as to prevent the bottom of the can from fitting too 
 
300 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 closely to that of the pot ; boil for three hours, renewing 
 the supply of water in the pot as needed, and using an 
 ordinary tin cover over the pot. During the first half 
 hour's boiling remove the cover of the can, and stir the 
 contents two or three times to prevent settling, and when 
 stirring for the last time add a teaspoonful of salt, or more 
 if needed. The longer it is boiled the better ; but we think 
 three hours short enough ; six hours is better. Eat with 
 cream, milk, sugar, maple syrup, butter, or other article as 
 suits the taste. We feel confident that after one trial of 
 oatmeal prepared in this manner, you will declare in favor 
 of oatmeal pudding. 
 
 MUSTARD PLASTER THAT DOES NOT 
 BLISTER. 
 
 Few persons know how to make a mustard plaster 
 properly, although they are made and used so extensively. 
 The plaster or paste commonly made and used is a harsh 
 and distressing one ; — often succeeds in blistering the 
 skin in a masterly manner^ leaving soreness for days. 
 
 To make a mustard plaster, mix the mustard in t the 
 whites of eggs, stirring them thoroughly together. To 
 prevent this from drying too quickly when put on, spread 
 it upon the surface of some such poultice as bread or 
 cracker, and apply so that it will come next the skin. Let 
 it remain as long as desired, and it will be found not only 
 to draw thoroughly, but will not blister even the skin of 
 an infant. A piece of thin muslin should be placed over 
 the surface of the poultice to prevent its sticking to the 
 skin. 
 
 MERCURY —QUICKSILVER. 
 
 No mention is made in the Old Testament of quicksilver ; 
 but an Oriental writer tells us that the Egyptians used it, 
 
MERCURY QUICKSILVER. 3<DI 
 
 in their attempts to imitate the miracles of Moses, in 
 wands and rods, which under the influence of solar hert 
 moved liked serpents. 
 
 Aristotle and Theophrastus speak of liquid silver. The 
 first says that Daedalus (who lived thirteen hundred years 
 before the Christian era) obtained a power by pouring 
 quicksilver, which he got from the priests of Memphis ; 
 and Pliny speaks of the method of obtaining it from 
 Cinnabar. 
 
 Mercury was first used as a medicine by the Arabian 
 physicians, who used it for vermin and cutaneous erup- 
 tions. Paracelsus comes in for the curse of introducing it 
 as an internal remedy. It has been called by a number of 
 names ; but the present one (mercury) is after that of the 
 messenger of the gods, owing to its volatility. It has been 
 imported from Spain, Gibraltar, and the Italian islands ; 
 but recently a gentleman showed us samples from Cali- 
 fornia, where he represented it to be abundant. 
 
 One of the Arabian physicians declares it harmless ; 
 that a patient took ttvo pounds daily for awhile without 
 injury. Another states that with only four ounces at a dose 
 his patient was badly salivated. 
 
 Careful observation shows that the fumes, and not the 
 mercury in a mass, produce serious results. Those work- 
 ing in factories and surrounded by the vapors become not 
 only salivated, but ulcerated, and die of hemorrhage. 
 
 The following is a matter of history : In 1810 the man- 
 of-war " Triumph " and schooner " Phips " received on 
 board several tons of quicksilver, saved from a vessel 
 wrecked near Cadiz. The bags becoming rotten the con- 
 tents escaped, and all on board became more or less 
 affected. Within two weeks two hundred were salivated, 
 two died, and all the animals — sheep, dogs, cats, rats, 
 fowls, and a canary, even mice and cockroaches — were 
 destroyed. 
 
302 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Watson's " London Lectures " relates, in Dr. Farre's 
 practice, the case of a lady who dreaded mercury. Two 
 grains were given without her knowledge ; but she told her 
 physician she knew by the sensation in her mouth. Copious 
 salivation came on in a few hours. She died at the end of 
 two years from the effects of mercury, having lost a por- 
 tion of the jawbone by necrosis, or decay. Another case 
 is related of a man whose wife used mercury in an oint- 
 ment for an eruption on her neck. He became slightly 
 salivated, and had sore gums. This happened three sev- 
 eral times." 
 
 Condie says : " So distressing are the effects of mercury 
 upon the mouth, that you (the students) will often be called 
 upon to do something to relieve the disease which you or 
 your unfortunate brethren, with the best intentions, have 
 inflicted. I have tried all sorts of expedients, asked a great 
 many of my friends for the best means, and their reply is, 
 ' We know of nothing to a certainty.' Neither do I." 
 
 RESULTS OF QUICKSILVER. 
 
 Upon reading the opinions of the European writers, we 
 find great diversity among them. Some indorse and use 
 it as harmless, while others relate most horrible instances 
 of its dreadful effects, ending in death. We think we are 
 better prepared to judge of the effects of mercury and its 
 compounds than they of the past, for, like the Dutchman 
 who said his hindsight was better than his foresight, we can 
 look back on the evil results better than they could look 
 forward ; besides we have a multitude of cases, and they 
 had only a few, and the practice of medicine to the masses 
 was in the dark ; and the practitioner's aim was to get new 
 remedies, and keep the practice and their patients, as well 
 as themselves, in the dark, and we think we should be 
 heard. Christison, in his work on poisons, quotes Zeller, 
 
MERCURIAL AFFECTIONS. 303 
 
 Biichner, Schubarth, and other eminent chemists, who 
 assert that mercury has been found in every part of the 
 human body, in the bones, muscles, skin, blood, brain, 
 urine, and saliva, and that the ordinary tests will not 
 detect it. It is done by destructive analysis only. 
 
 Upon this statement, who that has taken mercury or 
 calomel in any of its combinations, can feel certain that the 
 evils of mercury have not been transmitted to their off- 
 spring, with all their never-ending results. 
 
 From the foregoing, in case of sore mouth or sores, we 
 advise gargling with flour of sulphur, two tablespoonfuls ; 
 cream of tartar, one tablespoonful ; fine charcoal, half a 
 tablespoonful ; mix in molasses, gargle with a little ; take as 
 a laxative half a teaspoonful of sulphur and cream of tartar 
 and charcoal, morning and evening, to cleanse the blood. 
 If wanted for ointment, rub up in cream. Eat onions raw 
 and cooked daily. Sulphur and onions permeate the whole 
 body in a few hours. 
 
 MERCURIAL AFFECTIONS. 
 
 The pernicious effects of mercury or calomel as a medi- 
 cine have for a long time been known ; but there are still 
 physicians who advocate and use it. Undoubtedly, in cer- 
 tain diseases, it is a powerful remedy ; but the question 
 arises, " Does not the calomel set tip in tlie system a disease 
 worse than the one which it overcomes?" It is admitted 
 that it salivates, loosens the teeth, leaves aches, pains, and 
 secondary symptoms, tenderness about the joints when 
 exposed to moisture or cold, and that the patient can never 
 be exposed to the changes of autumn, winter, and spring 
 without a return of suffering. 
 
 While a medical student we heard of the facts in a case 
 where, for some purpose, the family doctor salivated a little 
 child, but salivation did not cease and leave the child "all 
 
3O4 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 right " as promised ; instead of which, after an intense 
 salivation, the muscles and flesh on one side of the face, 
 from the chin to the ear, sloughed off, leaving the teeth, 
 gums, and jaws exposed — a horrible sight. This, although 
 the worst case to the writer's knowledge, is but one of 
 the many that happen, but which are known only to a 
 very limited extent beyond the family circle. 
 
 We well remember a schoolmaster, who was a patient of 
 ours some years ago, who was doing well and recovering 
 from some dyspeptic symptoms by the use of simple medi- 
 cines, and those given to him free of charge. By the 
 advice of his friends he was persuaded that he could be 
 cured by the treatment of a well-known doctor of large 
 practice, but who used calomel extensively. His remark 
 to us was, "The old doctor said he would give me some- 
 thing that would either kill or cure me." Of course it was 
 not for us to remonstrate, and the change of physicians 
 was made. In two or three weeks the unfortunate man 
 took cold, pain settled in the different joints of his body, 
 which became extensively swollen. Realizing the near 
 approach of death, the poor fellow confessed to us the 
 dreadful mistake he had made, and bitterly lamented the 
 folly that induced him to pay for his death-warrant, when 
 he had a life policy, without even an assessment, for 
 many years. These cases, which are but two out of scores, 
 simply serve to illustrate some of the dangers of taking 
 this medicine. Undoubtedly its use is on the decrease ; 
 and let us hope, for the sake of those who know not its 
 danger, that its use may soon be abolished and among 
 things of 'the past. 
 
 TOBACCO. 
 
 There are seven species of this plant, but the one in 
 common use is called in botany Nicotiana Tabacum. This 
 plant was first discovered in America by the Spaniards, 
 
TOBACCO. 305 
 
 about the year 1560, and by them exported to Europe. It 
 had been used by the inhabitants of America long before 
 1560. The inhabitants of the islands called it yoli, and by 
 those on the continent it was called poetun. It was sent 
 into Spain from Tobaco, a province of Yucatan, where it 
 had been first discovered, and hence its name. 
 
 Sir Walter Raleigh is said to have been the first who 
 introduced it into England, about 1585, and taught his 
 countrymen to smoke it. 
 
 Dr. Cotton Mather (in his "Christian Philosopher"), says, 
 that in 1585 one Mr. Lane carried over some of it from 
 Virginia, which was the first that had ever been seen in 
 Europe. For a long time nothing is said of its use, except 
 by smokers, and as a medicine. It was experimented with 
 by some physicians, both externally and internally ; and 
 there can be little doubt but that it is a valuable and 
 powerful medicine in many complaints, if scientifically in- 
 vestigated and judiciously administered, which we hope 
 and expect will be done. 
 
 This plant is used extensively by the Orientals, and in 
 fact by all nations, and cultivated by those who have soil 
 and climate adapted to its growth and perfection. It is a 
 herbaceous plant, growing erect with fine foliage, and a 
 strong stem from six to nine feet high. The stalks near 
 the roots are an inch or more in diameter, and with the 
 roots and stems of leaves are by machinery ground into 
 snuff. The habits of chewing and taking snuff came into 
 use at a later period, with the numerous names for tobacco, 
 cigars, and pipes. 
 
 No description of the article of commerce is needed. 
 Those who use and those who do not use it are familiar 
 with its appearance, smell, and taste ; and many who now 
 abhor it can testify how it once tasted, and set their heads 
 in a whirl, and turned their stomachs into volcanoes. It 
 has become almost universally an extensive article of com- 
 
306 OUR HOME DOCTOR, 
 
 merce and luxury, and we admit frankly that its use is not 
 in all cases injurious ; that while its use poisons the blood, 
 and brings out dyspepsia with all its train of evils to one 
 man, another is benefited ; his appetite and digestion are 
 improved, his salivary glands are adequate to the calls of 
 nature in mastication, and an abundant fountain for wash- 
 ing — tobacco. It has been asserted that man and goats 
 are the only animals which will eat tobacco, and not only 
 survive, but thrive upon it. 
 
 Tobacco, when used to excess in any one or all the 
 methods, is decidedly objectionable and injurious ; and 
 where two are benefited or escape uninjured, ten are 
 physically, morally, permanently, and irrecoverably en- 
 feebled and debilitated for life. We assert, without fear of 
 proof to the contrary, that the excessive. use of tobacco is 
 more injurious and lasting in its consequences than that 
 of rum and alcoholic drinks ; it creates a desire for strong 
 drinks, and entails lasting evils upon the third and fourth 
 generations, and in many cases incapacitates its users for 
 procreation of the human race. A few minutes' smoking 
 after meals may aid digestion, or before retiring may in- 
 duce sleep. 
 
 It is a luxury so costly that a statement in figures will 
 startle any one who sees it. Let us make an estimate. 
 Lord Stanhope computes that inveterate snuff-takers take 
 a pinch every ten minutes, which, with blowing the nose, 
 requires one and a half minutes ; allowing sixteen hours to 
 the day, will be two hours and twenty-four minutes a day ; 
 and in forty years, two years are spent in filling and two 
 years in blowing the nose. The expenses of snuff, boxes, 
 and handkerchiefs in this luxury will be found to encroach 
 on his income, as well as his time ; and in fifty years the 
 amount would buy an elegant estate. If a man smokes six 
 and gives away four cigars a day, at five cents = fifty cents 
 per day ; three dollars and fifty cents per week = one hun- 
 dred and eighty-two dollars per year — 
 
SALT. 307 
 
 In 50 years = $9,100 (would buy a farm) . , . $9,100 
 Chewing 2 plugs a week at 10 cents per plug is 
 
 20 cents ; in 50 years 520 
 
 $9,620 
 Sir Isaac Newton declined snuff and tobacco, saying, "I 
 cannot make necessities for myself." The late R. D. 
 Mussy, professor of anatomy and surgery in Dartmouth 
 and Ohio Colleges, found by experiments that two or three 
 drops of tobacco oil on the tongue killed cats and dogs in 
 from thirty seconds to thirty minutes. 
 
 SALT 
 
 In the food of man, as well as that of animals, has been a 
 fruitful source of discussion among thinking persons dur- 
 ing the past generation; parties for and against its use, 
 each trying to sustain his argument by all available means 
 and proof possible to obtain. As a disinterested party we 
 wish to consider the subject in a rational light, as. it 
 appears to us. 
 
 An examination of the habits of wild and domestic 
 animals shows that, almost without an exception, they have 
 a strong, natural, or instinctive liking for salt. Our domes- 
 tic animals show the greatest relish for it, and require a 
 regular supply. Young animals have a great fondness for 
 it, and its use is judged to be decidedly beneficial to them. 
 Soda is found in the blood, and this would seem to indicate 
 that a constant supply of it with the food is requisite, and 
 we assume from these facts that salt is beneficial to man 
 and animals. However, one animal's food may be another's 
 poison ; the donkey, it is claimed, will thrive on thistles and 
 rock salt, but a new milch cow would starve, and the 
 properties of the salt kill her calf ; goats relish tobacco, 
 but the nicotine in it will kill sheep ; the toucan eats strych- 
 nine and the rabbit eats deadly nightshade, but both 
 
3 o8 
 
 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 articles are deadly poison to man, and and a host of four- 
 footed animals. One person needs salt, another pickles 
 and acids, another, soda, iron, lime, carbon, or phosphates. 
 In our practice we have given for the same disease, in 
 different persons, acid to one and alkali to another, accord- 
 ing as the case demanded, and with equally good results 
 in both instances. A test of the urine is the best proof. 
 
 HUMAN HAIR. 
 
 Like many things daily and hourly seen for years, we pass 
 it by almost unnoticed, in spite of the fact that close 
 examination would reveal wonders. Hair is found on all 
 parts of the human body except the 
 palms of the hands and soles of the 
 feet, and when examined with a micro- 
 scope, each hair is seen to have at its 
 root a bulb, resembling in shape a half- 
 grown onion, furnished with blood ves- 
 sels, nerves, glands or oil sacks, and 
 lymphatics. Each hair has along its 
 entire length fine scales, like those on a 
 fish. The hair of the Caucasian race, 
 which to the naked eye appears round, 
 is shown under the glass to be a bundle 
 of five or six fibres, which form hairs of 
 various shapes, as viewed from the end. 
 The hair begins to grow some months before birth, con- 
 tinues through life, and even after death. Cases are re- 
 corded where the hair has been found growing out through 
 the crevices of the cofhn, and where it had attained an 
 extraordinary length and growth ; it has been found in a 
 state of perfect preservation centuries after the body had 
 been entombed. It is the most indestructible portion of 
 the body, the growth depending upon the care taken of it 
 
 The bulb of 
 hair magnified, 
 dred diametres 
 sack (follicle); 
 papilla, showing the cells 
 and blood vessels V. 
 
 i human 
 
 >ix hun- 
 
 S, the 
 
 P, the 
 
HUMAN HAIR. 
 
 309 
 
 and the frequency of cutting. Upon the heads of females 
 its length is two or three feet, although there have been 
 reported to the author, cases in which the hair was five or 
 five and a half feet in length, and both hair and possessor 
 were in excellent health. 
 
 A head of ordinary size has about one hundred square 
 
 inches upon which the hair 
 grows ; each square inch has 
 about two thousand five hundred 
 hairs, that is, fifty to the inch 
 each way, and if each of these is 
 three feet in length, the aggre- 
 gate length of the hair would be 
 one hundred and forty-six miles. 
 The hair on the heads of men, 
 j|| if left uncut, will grow to a length 
 of eighteen or twenty inches ; if 
 an inch is cut off every three 
 months, this would amount to 
 twenty-six feet during a period' 
 of eighty years; — total length, 
 one thousand two hundred miles. 
 It is a notable fact that females 
 are seldom bald, or have bare 
 spots upon the crowns of their 
 heads ; and in Eastern countries 
 men who wear the hair long 
 retain it, and very often it does 
 not lose its color. North American Indians wear the hair 
 long, and baldness and heads of white hair are, as a rule, 
 unknown among them. 
 
 The author believes that baldness and gray hair are 
 caused by frequent cutting, and wearing constantly hats 
 or caps ; some attribute it to deep-thinking, but women 
 who think, talk, and write a great deal are neither bald 
 
 A hair and section of skin mag- 
 nified ; A, a perspiratory tube with 
 its gland ; B, a hair with a muscle 
 and two oil glands ; C, cuticle ; D, 
 the papillae ^ and E, the fat cells. 
 
3io 
 
 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 nor gray ; while men who do neither are both bald and 
 gray. 
 
 Wulferus gives an account, in the " Philosophical Collec- 
 tion " of the opening of the grave of a woman at Norin- 
 berg, who had been buried forty-three years. The body ap- 
 peared to be in perfect preservation, and was covered with 
 curly hair, and hair issued from the crevices of the coffin ; 
 but when. the sexton attempted to handle the head, all 
 crumbled in his hands, leaving only a handful of hair. The 
 hair was strong, and was the only thing left of the body 
 of the once active woman. 
 
 We have authentic accounts of persons whose hair in a 
 
 a b c 
 
 Circulation of blood in the web of a frog's foot, highly magnified. A, an artery ; 
 B, capillaries crowded with disks, owing to a rupture just above where the disks are 
 jammed into an adjacent mesh ; C, a deeper vein ; the black spots are pigment or paint 
 cells ; a microscope will display the above. 
 
 few hours has turned white on account of great fear or 
 horror. We read that King David's son, Absalom, had 
 his hair cut once a year, and that it weighed thirty-one 
 ounces. The hair is not only ornamental, but useful in the 
 highest sense. It protects the head and brain from heat 
 and cold, reduces the force of blows upon the head, is a 
 conductor of electricity and magnetism to and from the 
 brain, and acts as a regulator for the nervous system. 
 When the head is bald, the scalp is shining and tight over 
 that part of the head, and some, if not all, of the senses 
 
CARE OF THE TEETH. 311 
 
 (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling) are more 
 or less affected or impaired. 
 
 The network of circulation in the scalp resembles that 
 in the web of a frog's foot. When examined under a micro- 
 scope, the red and white blood are seen to flow freely 
 until the network becomes dry and the vessels partly 
 closed ; when the circulation is impeded, putting a few drops 
 of water or liquid upon it enlarges the vessels, and the cir- 
 culation goes on. The scalp needs moisture and nourish- 
 ment. See treatment of the hair. 
 
 CARE OF THE TEETH. 
 
 We do not know as there is anything about a person's 
 appearance that will attract more notice and be more 
 remarked upon than a handsome set of teeth ; nor is there 
 anything so repulsive and objectionable to an observing 
 person as to be confronted by a set of teeth which are in 
 all stages of decomposition, — being black, yellow, and 
 crowded, one upon another, in great irregularity. The 
 owner of a set of fine teeth is to be congratulated ; they are 
 really a pleasure to the beholder, a comfort to the owner, 
 and indicate a sweet breath and good health from thorough 
 mastication of food. 
 
 Children should be taught to take care of the teeth the 
 same as in cleanliness. When a child's second teeth are 
 coming, the parents should see to it that they come in 
 proper position, and if they are crowded and displaced it 
 may be necessary to remove one of them. But this is the 
 time of life when the position of the teeth should be 
 decided. See that the tooth-brush is used several times 
 daily, and especially before retiring ; do not use a brush 
 with stiff bristles, nor brush too hard, as such action only 
 causes the gums to recede from the teeth, and make the 
 latter appear very long ; brush thoroughly all about the 
 
312 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 teeth, and remove the tartar from the inner side of the 
 teeth where it is present. If the teeth become loose in 
 the gums, use salt and water for a few days ; do not sub- 
 ject them to extremes of heat and cold in the food or drink 
 used. Tooth-powder can be made of orris root, prepared 
 chalk, powdered charcoal, or gum myrrh, together or alone, 
 or of many simple articles. 
 
 HABIT. 
 
 It has been said that " man is a creature of habit ; " that 
 he is, in fact/' a bundle of habits," and these sayings are 
 verily true. From early childhood to manhood he indulges 
 those ideas, words, and actions which become a part of 
 himself, and cling to him through life, even through the 
 imbecility of old age. 
 
 Habits are very easily formed, but in every instance are 
 with difficulty corrected, and in some cases the result of 
 such correction will be a temporary and perceptible effect 
 upon the health. How difficult it is to break young per- 
 sons of any habits, — of biting the nails, or late hours, or 
 eating any food that hurts them, or any other habit into 
 which they may have fallen. We have known men, and 
 well-informed men, too, who were unable to resist this or 
 that dish if placed before them, although they knew that the 
 consequences would be suffei ing for hours. We have known 
 persons to use strong tea or coffee, with no ill-effect, for 
 forty years, while others can use neither of these drinks 
 without injury. We have seen those who used a great 
 deal of drink with their food, and those who used very 
 little, and those who used water only as a drink, and all of 
 them apparently equally healthy to old age. Again, we 
 have seen people in good health who always kept late 
 hours. It is wise to avoid all bad habits, although no rule 
 will apply to all persons. 
 
MANIPULATION. 3 1 3 
 
 MANIPULATION. 
 
 This operation of manipulating or shampooing has gen- 
 erally been understood as applicable to the heads of indi- 
 viduals suffering from headache or some nervous affection, 
 not only of the head, but of the whole body ; and manipu- 
 lating or shampooing has afforded immediate relief, whether 
 that nervousness resulted from over-exertion, want of rest, 
 or excitement, and especially if the operator was strong, 
 physically and mentally, having a great amount of vitality. 
 This we cordially commend ; and further, we advise, in 
 cases of sick persons and delicate children, that not only 
 the head, but the whole body, should be manipulated by 
 rubbing, grasping, and pressing the flesh between the 
 fingers and thumb with a moderate pressure, as though to 
 see how hard the muscle is, and thus go over the whole 
 body ; the limbs may be grasped and pressed. 
 
 If the hands are wet with warm wate'r, in which has been 
 put a little alcohol or spirit, and half a teaspoonful of 
 honey, the effect will be agreeable and strengthening, as 
 the pores of the skin are active absorbents. By this oper- 
 ation the muscles get a healthy tone, the blood is made to 
 circulate more freely ; and the nerves, those minute and 
 countless telegraph lines to the brain, are excited to healthy 
 action, and the patient is greatly benefited. In proof of 
 our assertion, we say, "Try it." 
 
314 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 PROUD FLESH 
 
 Is a portion of flesh protruding from a cut or wound ; it 
 makes its appearance after inflammation has passed into 
 suppuration, and the flesh cut or separated by the wound 
 did not heal by what is called the first intention or without 
 suppuration, but begins to heal from the bottom slowly by 
 granulation. Many cuts or slight wounds heal without 
 suppuration and discharge, and in such cases no proud 
 flesh appears. 
 
 It is a spongy or fungus growth, and looks much like 
 those excrescences on decaying trees, called toad stools. 
 Usually they are red, sensitive, and bleed if irritated. In 
 some instances they are bluish, or yellow-white. The 
 tendency is to grow, fill the cavity, and prevent the wound 
 from healing, even by granulation, and it absorbs the vital 
 properties of the muscle, which should go to form a union 
 or attachment between the sound parts. People ordi- 
 narily say proud flesh has got into that wound and must 
 be eaten out. Proud flesh is there always, — else there 
 would be no union or healing. 
 
 If poultices are applied to the wound or cut, the fluids 
 are thereby drawn to that spot, and cause the fungus 
 growth. It indicates an impure state of the system from 
 alkali, acid, or bile, and requires laxatives to purify the 
 blood, liver, and bowels, such as the following : — 
 
 Flour of sulphur 4 ounces 8 tablespoonfuls 
 
 Cream of tartar 2 " *..... 4 " 
 
 Pulv. charcoal 1-2 " 2 teaspoonfuls 
 
 Pulv. cayenne 1-8 " 1 " 
 
 Pulv. saltpetre 1-8 " 1 " 
 
 Mix, and put half of it into half a pint of molasses or 
 syrup, and take a teaspoonful twice or three times a day, 
 as required to produce three operations daily. To reduce 
 or dry away the proud flesh, sprinkle on it blue-stone or 
 
THE ORIGIN OF MAN. 315 
 
 burnt alum, and if neither of these are in the house, steep 
 a teaspoonful of tea in a tablespoonful of boiling water 
 twenty minutes, squeeze out the liquid, and apply several 
 times. 
 
 THE ORIGIN OF MAN. 
 
 The mind of man in all nations has been for thousands 
 of years exercised as to his creation or origin. When we 
 examine the various theories contained in the creeds for- 
 mulating the religious ideas of the inhabitants of the 
 globe, we find a varied phraseology, embodying similar 
 views of the creation of the world and origin of man. 
 By universal consent, there was, there must have been, 
 a great first cause, a designer and creator. Call it Jove, 
 Jah, Jehovah, Fo, Allah, or any other name, they all indi- 
 cate or point to a Deity. 
 
 Many and varied have been the theories which have been 
 discussed by some of the best minds of Europe and Amer- 
 ica, during the present generation, all of which are an em- 
 bodiment or partake largely of that allegorical account in 
 Genesis : " That in the beginning God created the heavens 
 and the earth," gives no intimation as to how long ago that 
 beginning was. Darwin's theory has been much discussed, 
 and is to a great extent embraced by the learned world, 
 (with few exceptions), — that all animal creations have 
 been evolved from minute monadics, developing and im- 
 proving during the vast periods of time which have since 
 elapsed. While we respect the opinions of others, we 
 claim the right of entertaining and expressing our own, 
 however much it may differ from others upon this subject. 
 
 Our views are embodied in the following admissions, 
 viz. : First, That all creations are but expressions of 
 thought or will of the Deity. Second, That all earthly 
 elements being in harmony, God willed that all tilings be 
 created, and creation came forth. Third, Omnipotence 
 
3 16 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 only can call into being a midge, and the same power, 
 with equal ease, called the larger animals and the varied 
 races of men into existence. Fourth, It is generally con- 
 ceded by all scientific thinkers, that the earth was for a 
 long time unsuited for the vegetable kingdom, and accord- 
 ing to the Mosaic account, but after vegetation was called 
 into being, then the animal kingdom ; and when the earth 
 was fitted for human habitation man was created. 
 
 Minerals grow by electric, galvanic, and magnetic forces 
 of nature. Vegetables grow and live upon the mineral 
 kingdom and the electric forces, and move in accordance 
 with the laws of vegetable life ; but man, who feeds upon 
 the animal, vegetable, and mineral, is in and of himself a 
 trinity, — mineral, vegetable, and animal. He lives, grows, 
 and moves by the power of volition, or his own sovereign 
 will. Man is said to have a dual nature, but has, in fact, a 
 trinity, — the mineral, vegetable, and animal. In fact, he 
 is a double trinity, having a body, soul, and spirit. 
 
 We cannot accept Darwin's hypothesis, that because 
 there are resemblances between man and the dog, the 
 lion, the eagle, the cat, or the codfish, they may have all 
 sprung from one paternity, or had a common origin. We 
 could as readily accept the Pythagorean theory of the trans- 
 migration of souls. In fact, they intermingle like light 
 and shade, so that when separated, the one from the other, 
 their individuality is with difficulty recognized. The evo- 
 lution of the body implies a transmission of the instinct 
 or intelligence, and from the monad, all along the chain 
 of the animal creation, — the parrot, the dog, the horse, 
 the elephant, the monkey, and chimpanzee, to man. As 
 the body enlarges, and displays a higher organization, the 
 intellect should increase and improve until the mite be- 
 comes a man. We do not accept the theory 
 
NATURES UNALTERABLE TYPES. 317 
 
 NATURE'S UNALTERABLE TYPES. 
 
 After contemplating the subject of the creation of the 
 world and the origin of man, the mind naturally turns 
 towards surrounding objects, such as the varied races of 
 men, animals, fowls, fishes, insects, trees, fruits, shrubs, 
 flowers, grains, and grasses. During the countless ages 
 of the past they have not changed their type, but are stere- 
 otyped by the "fiat of Deity." Of the races of men, we 
 find the civilized and barbarous, each with their peculiar 
 pyhsiological construction and habits so clearly and dis- 
 tinctly defined as to leave no doubt that the seal of their 
 nationality and individuality was placed upon them at the 
 moment of their primeval conception, by the great un- 
 fathomable Creator, or first cause, as fully as that of sex in 
 the whole family of the animal kingdom. Each link in 
 the vast chain has held, so far as research, reason, and sci- 
 ence can discover, the same type as when by Almighty 
 power and infinite wisdom, by His creative will, said, " Let 
 all things come forth," according to the law of design in 
 the universe. 
 
 We find the African in his physiological structure of 
 bones, muscles, teeth, and hair the same as he was thousands 
 of years ago ; their teeth are nearly all enamel, and almost 
 imperishable; their hair, instead of being straight and 
 round like the Anglo-Saxon's, is three-cornered and kinky ; 
 their eyes always black. The same peculiarities of indi- 
 viduality are visible in the Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and 
 other nationalities. The Indian has dark hair and eyes, 
 but in form and general make-up is closely allied to the 
 white race ; they bear the same unalterable individuali- 
 ties, and the same is true of all the families of animated 
 nature ; those with hoofs, horns, claws, and beaks, and 
 those destitute of them ; the multitudinous family of 
 
3 18 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 feathered tribes, the aquatic monsters, and the lesser 
 species, all the way down to the animalcule, are the same 
 unchanged and uninterrupted " I am." 
 
 All types of animal and vegetable creation have their 
 times and seasons, and each continues to produce its kind, 
 in type. The grains of wheat, which for four thousand 
 years have lain wrapped in mummy bandages, or stuck 
 as a symbol on the nose of some Egyptian hero, when 
 placed in the earth, sprout, and send up stalks which in 
 time bear the same kind and quality of grain as is now 
 raised by the seeds which have been all the years travel- 
 ling through that mysterious process of reproduction. 
 And the toad, which has been during a period of unnum- 
 bered thousands of years imprisoned in solid granite, when 
 discharged from his dungeon, and let loose in air and sun- 
 light, looks about with all the gravity of an elephant, and 
 winks with undaunted familiarity at his brother toads, as 
 though their forms and faces were in some of the yester- 
 days, familiar in his recollection ; and he is in no way back- 
 ward in joining in their hops when he recovers the use of 
 his legs. He is the same in appearance and habits as the 
 toads of the present generation. 
 
INDEX 
 
 OUR HOME DOCTOR. 
 
 Abortion 
 
 
 
 
 
 65 
 
 Abdominal Viscera 
 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 Abscess 
 
 
 
 
 
 266 
 
 After-birth . 
 
 
 
 
 
 66 
 
 After-pains . 
 
 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 Affections of Mercury . 
 
 
 
 
 
 303 
 
 Air, Exercise, and Light 
 
 
 
 
 
 82 
 
 Allopathy, Remarks upon 
 
 
 
 
 
 39 
 
 Anus, Fissure of . 
 
 
 
 
 
 180 
 
 Animal Food 
 
 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 Antidotes of Poisons 
 
 
 
 
 
 277 
 
 Alcohol .... 
 
 
 
 
 
 213 
 
 Apoplexy 
 
 
 
 
 
 85 
 
 Applying Child to Breast 
 
 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 Anatomy of Skeleton 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 Anatomy of Hip Joint . 
 
 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 Anatomy of Hand and Arm 
 
 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 Anatomy of Front Muscles 
 
 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 Anatomy of Back Muscles 
 
 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 Anatomy of Heart 
 
 
 
 
 
 17 
 
 Anatomy of Lungs 
 
 
 
 
 
 19 
 
320 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Anatomy of Brain . 
 Anatomy of Stomach 
 Anatomy of Eye . 
 Anatomy of Hernia 
 Asiatic Cholera 
 Asthma 
 
 B. 
 
 Barber's Itch 
 
 Barrenness . 
 
 Bathing 
 
 Beef Tea, to make 
 
 Bee-Sting 
 
 Bilious . 
 
 Birth, Premature . 
 
 Bloody Urine 
 
 Botanical Medicines 
 
 Boils . 
 
 Bladder, Inflammation of 
 
 Bowels, Inflammation of 
 
 Bowel Complaint . 
 
 Brain, Form of 
 
 Brain Fever . 
 
 Breach, or Rupture 
 
 Broken Breast 
 
 Bronchitis 
 
 Bruises . 
 
 Bunions 
 
 Burns 
 
 Bones, Formation of 
 
 Bones of Skeleton 
 
 Bones of Thigh 
 
 Bones of Head 
 
 Bones of Spine 
 
INDEX. 
 
 321 
 
 Bones of Chest 
 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 Bones of Hip Joint . . . . . . 12 
 
 C. 
 
 Cancer Scirrhus 252 
 
 Canker ..... 
 
 
 
 
 295 
 
 Carbuncle .... 
 
 
 
 
 267 
 
 Care of Infant's Hair 
 
 
 
 
 78 
 
 Care of the Sick . 
 
 
 
 
 296 
 
 Care of the Teeth . 
 
 
 
 
 3ii 
 
 Catalepsy .... 
 
 
 
 
 94 
 
 Catarrh ..... 
 
 
 
 
 125 
 
 Cessation of Menses, turn of life 
 
 
 
 
 242 
 
 Chicken Pox .... 
 
 
 
 
 220 
 
 Chilblains .... 
 
 
 
 
 283 
 
 Childbirth, Labor . 
 
 
 
 
 54 
 
 Chloroform, Use of 
 
 
 
 
 56 
 
 Child, Treatment of 
 
 
 
 
 62 
 
 Chlorosis .... 
 
 
 
 
 237 
 
 Chapped Hands 
 
 
 
 
 235 
 
 Choking .... 
 
 
 
 
 274 
 
 Cholera, Asiatic 
 
 
 
 
 161 
 
 Cholera Infantum . 
 
 
 
 
 78 
 
 Cholera Morbus 
 
 
 
 
 159 
 
 Chronic Dysentery 
 
 
 
 
 158 
 
 Circulation in Scalp 
 
 
 
 
 310 
 
 Clothing of Children 
 
 
 
 
 81 
 
 Cold Feet, to prevent . 
 
 
 
 
 292 
 
 Cold Feet, to warm 
 
 
 
 
 292 
 
 Colic ..... 
 
 
 
 
 166 
 
 Common Sense Medicines 
 
 
 
 
 35 
 
 Conduct During Pregnancy . 
 
 
 
 
 52 
 
 Compressed Female Form 
 
 
 
 
 251 
 
 Constipation .... 
 
 
 
 
 151 
 
322 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Consumption 
 
 Corns . 
 
 Coughs . 
 
 Cough, Whooping 
 
 Cow-Pox — Vaccination 
 
 Cramp . 
 
 Croup . 
 
 D. 
 
 Deafness 
 
 Delirium Tremens 
 
 Diabetes 
 
 Diarrhoea, Adults . 
 
 Diarrhoea, Infants . 
 
 Diet after Confinement 
 
 Diet of young Children 
 
 Diphtheria, Putrid Sore Throat 
 
 Drink of Man 
 
 Diagram of the Eye 
 
 Digestion 
 
 Digestion in Stomach 
 
 Digestion, piece of Intestine magnified 
 
 Digestion of Food, Dr. Beaumont 
 
 Digestion not of the Stomach 
 
 Digestion, time various kinds of food 
 
 Dropsy ...... 
 
 Dyspepsia ..... 
 
 Dysentery ..... 
 
 Dysentery, Chronic 
 
 Earache, or Inflammation 
 Epilepsy 
 
 291 
 95 
 
INDEX. 
 
 323 
 
 Erysipelas . . 
 
 
 
 
 224 
 
 Excessive Menstruation 
 
 
 
 
 241 
 
 Eye, Anatomy of . 
 
 
 
 
 287 
 
 Eye, External Appearance of 
 
 
 
 
 287 
 
 Eye, Structure of . 
 
 
 
 
 290 
 
 Eye, Objects on Retina 
 
 
 
 
 291 
 
 Eye, Inflammation of 
 
 
 
 
 288 
 
 Fainting 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 113 
 
 Falling of the Womb 
 
 
 
 
 
 245 
 
 Felon, or Whitlow . 
 
 
 
 
 
 272 
 
 Female Form, Natural . 
 
 
 
 
 
 249 
 
 Female Form, Compressed 
 
 
 
 
 
 251 
 
 Fever and Ague 
 
 
 
 
 
 195 
 
 Fevers . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 191 
 
 Fever, Brain . 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 89 
 
 Fever, Scarlet 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 198 
 
 Fever, Spotted 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 204 
 
 Fever, Yellow 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 201 
 
 Fistula . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 177 
 
 Fissure in Anus 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 180 
 
 Fits 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 73 
 
 Fits, Worm . 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 73 
 
 Fluor Albus . 
 
 , 
 
 
 
 
 
 243 
 
 Fletcher Truss 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 259 
 
 Food, Animal 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 Food, time for Digestion 
 
 
 
 
 
 146 
 
 Food, Vegetable . 
 
 
 
 
 
 3i 
 
 Freezing, or Frostl 
 
 rites . 
 
 
 
 
 
 282 
 
 Games and Plays 
 
 83 
 
324 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Gangrene 
 
 Gastritis 
 
 Gestation, time of 
 
 Glands, Parotid 
 
 Giddiness 
 
 Gravel . 
 
 Gout 
 
 H. 
 
 Hair, Treatment of 
 
 Hair, Human 
 
 Hair on body after death 
 
 Hair Bulb, magnified 
 
 Hair in Skin, magnified 
 
 Hair in Scalp 
 
 Habit . 
 
 Headache 
 
 Health . 
 
 Heart, Muscles of 
 
 Heartburn 
 
 Heart, Valves of 
 
 Heart, Ventricles and Auricles 
 
 Hernia, or Rupture 
 
 Hiccoughs 
 
 Hives .... 
 
 Home and Foreign Herbs 
 
 House we live in . 
 
 Human Form 
 
 Hydrocele 
 
 Hydrophobia 
 
 Hypochondria 
 
 Hysterics 
 
 Hernia Truss, for single 
 
 Hernia Truss, double . 
 
INDEX. 
 
 325 
 
 Hernia Truss applied 
 
 . 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 261 
 
 Hernia Truss, mechanism ..... 260 
 
 I. 
 
 Improper Food and Medicines .... 69 
 
 Indigestion .... 
 
 
 
 
 147 
 
 Infanticide 
 
 
 
 
 
 74 
 
 Influenza 
 
 
 
 
 
 126 
 
 Inflammation of Bladder 
 
 
 
 
 
 185 
 
 Inflammation of Brain . 
 
 
 
 
 
 89 
 
 Inflammation of Bowels 
 
 
 
 
 
 163 
 
 Inflammation of Breast 
 
 
 
 
 
 68 
 
 Inflammation of Ear 
 
 
 
 
 
 291 
 
 Inflammation of Eyes . 
 
 
 
 
 
 288 
 
 Inflammation of Kidneys 
 
 
 
 
 
 183 
 
 Inflammation of Lungs 
 
 
 
 
 
 136 
 
 Inflammation of Peritoneum 
 
 
 
 
 
 164 
 
 Inflammation of Stomach 
 
 
 
 
 
 150 
 
 Inflammation of Womb 
 
 
 
 
 
 246 
 
 Inflammation of Bronchial Tubes 
 
 
 
 
 140 
 
 Intestine, piece of magnified 
 
 
 
 
 146 
 
 Ingrowing Toenail 
 
 
 
 
 271 
 
 Itch 
 
 
 
 
 231 
 
 Itch, Barber's 
 
 
 
 
 232 
 
 Insanity .... 
 
 
 
 
 86 
 
 Ivy Poisoning .... 
 
 
 
 
 274 
 
 J. 
 Jaundice, Bilious ....... 143 
 
 Jaw Locked .... 
 
 
 
 
 
 no 
 
 K. 
 
 Kidney, Inflammation of 
 
 183 
 
26 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 L. 
 
 Labor . 
 Laryngitis 
 Laws of Nature 
 Lacing, Tight 
 Leprosy 
 Leucorrhcea . 
 Liver Complaint . 
 Lockjaw 
 
 Lime-water, to make 
 Lymphatics . 
 Lungs, Form of 
 
 M. 
 
 Marasmus 
 
 Manipulation 
 
 Measles 
 
 Male and Female Statistics 
 
 Medicines, Botanical 
 
 Mechanism of Truss 
 
 Medical Practice . 
 
 Medical Properties 
 
 Menstruation 
 
 Menstruation, excessive 
 
 Menstruation, painful 
 
 Menstruation, retarded . 
 
 Menstruation, suppressed 
 
 Mercury 
 
 Mercurial Affections 
 
 Muscles of Front Form 
 
 Muscles of Back Form . 
 
 Muscles of Arm and Hand 
 
 Muscles of the Heart 
 
INDEX. 
 
 327 
 
 Muscles of the Eye 
 
 
 
 
 
 287 
 
 Muscles of the Stomach 
 
 
 
 
 
 145 
 
 Muscles of the Intestines 
 
 
 
 
 
 145 
 
 Midwifery 
 
 
 
 
 
 49 
 
 Milk Sickness 
 
 
 
 
 
 162 
 
 Miscarriage . 
 
 
 
 
 
 65 
 
 Morning Sickness . 
 
 
 
 
 
 53 
 
 Mortification 
 
 
 
 
 
 256 
 
 Mother's Mark 
 
 
 
 
 
 68 
 
 Mothers unable to Nurse 
 
 
 
 
 
 7$ 
 
 Mumps . 
 
 
 
 
 
 122 
 
 Mustard Plaster . 
 
 
 
 
 
 300 
 
 N. 
 
 Nearsightedness . 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 293 
 
 Nettle Rash . 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 233 
 
 Nerves of Brain 
 
 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 Neuralgia 
 
 
 
 
 
 103 
 
 Nerves of the Human 
 
 Form 
 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 Nightmare 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 in 
 
 Nosebleed 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 285 
 
 Nurse, Suitable 
 
 
 
 
 
 76 
 
 Nursing Infants 
 
 
 
 
 
 75 
 
 Nursery Medicines 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 73 
 
 Natural Female Form 
 
 
 
 
 
 249 
 
 Nutriment in Food 
 
 
 
 
 
 32 
 
 Nature's Unalterable ' 
 
 Types . 
 
 
 
 
 317 
 
 
 0. 
 
 Oatmeal 
 
 299 
 
 Obesity 
 
 212 
 
 Opinions of Prominent Doctors .... 40 
 
 Origin of Man 
 
 
 
 
 
 315 
 
328 
 Over-Nursing 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 75 
 
 Palpitation of the Heart 
 
 
 
 
 
 141 
 
 Paralysis 
 
 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 Painful Menstruation 
 
 
 
 
 
 239 
 
 Peritoneum, Inflammation of 
 
 
 
 
 
 164 
 
 Piles .... 
 
 
 
 
 
 176 
 
 Plague, or Black Vomit 
 
 
 
 
 
 165 
 
 Plaster, Mustard . 
 
 
 
 
 
 300 
 
 Pleurisy 
 
 
 
 
 
 137 
 
 Pox, Chicken 
 
 
 
 
 
 220 
 
 Pneumonia 
 
 
 
 
 
 136 
 
 Poisons and Antidotes . 
 
 
 
 
 
 277 
 
 Poisoning, Ivy 
 
 
 
 
 
 274 
 
 Poisoning 
 
 
 
 
 
 275 
 
 Poison by Laudanum 
 
 
 
 
 
 276 
 
 Polypus . 
 
 
 
 
 
 255 
 
 Pregnancy, Signs of 
 
 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 Pregnancy while Nursing 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 7 
 
 Premature Birth . 
 
 
 
 
 
 64 
 
 Prolapsus Ani. 
 
 
 
 
 
 178 
 
 Protracted Labor . 
 
 
 
 
 
 69 
 
 Proud Flesh . 
 
 
 
 
 
 3H 
 
 Puberty 
 
 
 
 
 
 45 
 
 Putrid Sore Throat 
 
 
 
 
 
 117 
 
 Peristaltic Motion . 
 
 
 
 
 
 145 
 
 Quicksilver, or Mercury 
 Quinsy . 
 Quickening . 
 Quicksilver, Effects of . 
 
 300 
 119 
 
 5i 
 302 
 
INDEX, 
 
 329 
 
 R. 
 
 Results of Quicksilver . 
 Retarded Menses . 
 Rectum, Stricture of 
 Retention of Urine 
 Rheumatism . 
 Rheumatism, Inflammatory 
 Rheumatism, Mercurial. 
 Rickets .... 
 Ringworm 
 Rose Rash . 
 Rupture 
 
 Skeleton of Human Form 
 
 Salt 
 
 Salt Rheum . 
 
 Scalds and Burns 
 
 Scald Head . 
 
 Scalding Urine 
 
 Scirrhus or Cancer 
 
 Scrofula 
 
 Scurvy . 
 
 Scarlet Fever 
 
 Sea-sickness . 
 
 Secret Bad Habits 
 
 Self-Knowledge 
 
 Sick, Care of . 
 
 Shingles 
 
 Skin 
 
 Sleep for Children 
 
 Sleeplesness . 
 
 Small-Pox 
 
330 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Snake Bites . 
 
 Sore Nipples . 
 
 Sore Throat . 
 
 Spasms . 
 
 Spotted Fever 
 
 Sprains . 
 
 Statistics, Males and Females 
 
 Stillborn 
 
 Sting of Wasp, Bite of Spider 
 
 Structure of the Eye 
 
 Stricture of Rectum 
 
 Strychnine and Antidote 
 
 Saint Vitus' Dance 
 
 Sunstroke 
 
 Swooning 
 
 Tapeworm 
 
 Teething 
 
 Tetter . 
 
 Teeth, Care of 
 
 Thrush . 
 
 Tight Lacing 
 
 Time to gather Herbs, Roots 
 
 Tobacco, Discovery and Use 
 
 Tobacco Poisoning 
 
 Toothache 
 
 Treatment of Infants 
 
 Treatment of the Hair 
 
 Tumors 
 
 Turn of Life . 
 
 Tongue, Nerves, and Use of 
 
 Testimonials, Fletcher Truss 
 
 etc 
 
INDEX. 
 
 331 
 
 U. 
 
 Ulcers .... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 264 
 
 Urine, Suppression of . 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 185 
 
 Urine, Bloody 
 
 . 
 
 
 . 
 
 189 
 
 Urine, Scalding 
 
 . 
 
 
 . 
 
 189 
 
 Unruly Membe~ 
 
 
 
 
 130 
 
 
 V. 
 
 Vaccination . 
 
 218 
 
 Viscera of Thorax . 
 
 , 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 Ventilation . 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 Viscera of Abdomen 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 Various Kind of Food, Digestion 
 
 
 
 
 32 
 
 Varicose Veins 
 
 
 
 
 
 262 
 
 Vegetable Food 
 
 
 
 
 
 3i 
 
 Vegetable Food, Nutriment in 
 
 
 
 
 32 
 
 Vertigo . 
 
 
 
 
 
 9i 
 
 Vomiting 
 
 , 
 
 
 
 
 168 
 
 Vomiting Blood 
 
 
 
 
 
 169 
 
 
 w. 
 
 Warts . 
 
 236 
 
 Watchers 
 
 
 
 
 
 298 
 
 Weaning 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 6 
 
 Web of Frog's Foot 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 310 
 
 Wens 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 271 
 
 Wetting the Bed . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 186 
 
 Whites . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 243 
 
 Whitlow- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 272 
 
 White Swelling 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 263 
 
 Whooping Cough . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 123 
 
 Womb, Falling of . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 245 
 
332 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Womb, The 
 
 49 
 
 Womb, Inflammation of 
 
 246 
 
 Worms ....... 
 
 171 
 
 Worms, Tape 
 
 174 
 
 Water of Lime ..... 
 
 173 
 
 Yellow Fever 
 
 201 
 
ONE THOUSAND 
 
 PERSONS 
 
 Buried Alive 
 
 BY 
 
 THEIR BEST FRIENDS. 
 
 A TREATISE 
 
 Suspended Animation 
 
 Directions for Restoration 
 
 BY 
 
 MOORE RUSSELL FLETCHER, M.D 
 
 FORTY-SIX YEARS FELLOW MASS. MED. SOC, 
 BOSTON. 
 
FOUND DEAD. 
 
 Persons are often found in their beds, in the field, or 
 elsewhere in a comatose or inanimate condition ; they are 
 examined for breathing and pulsation, and finding neither, 
 the family physician is called. He makes an examination 
 for pulse or evidence of feeble action of the heart, and 
 quietly remarks to the friends, " died, probably of disease 
 of the heart, apoplexy, or paralysis," according to the age, 
 habits, and manner of living of the person whose body 
 lies before him, and leaves for the family to arrange for 
 the burial the next day, or the second day after. Fre- 
 quently the doctor and friends remark in wonder the 
 next day, " How warm and life-like the body is, how flex- 
 ible the arms are, and how fresh and florid the face is." 
 
 We trust we have shown in the following treatise that 
 life may be dormant or latent for a time, and not be 
 extinct ; that persons may be dormant from drowning, 
 hanging, choking, suffocation, sunstroke, hysteria, bolt of 
 lightning, still-born infants, or any other cause. We shall 
 show that persons have laid ten, fifteen, or more days in a 
 cataleptic or dormant state, and revived, and that persons 
 drowned may be resuscitated by continued efforts. 
 
PREFACE TO SUSPENDED ANIMATION. 
 
 This subject, so far as we are aware, has, neither in 
 Europe nor in America, been clearly and fully brought in 
 concise form to the notice of the profession, or the general 
 reading public. As a consequence many thousands, while 
 in a state of catalepsy, trance, or somnambulism, have 
 been buried alive by their best friends, which fact we will 
 endeavor to show. 
 
 Although, one hundred years ago, societies were formed 
 in the principal cities in Europe, for the restoration to life 
 of drowned or suffocated persons (which has been accom- 
 plished in many cases), yet in America this subject, not 
 having been agitated, has been wholly neglected, and phy- 
 sicians, as well as the people, have an idea that life be- 
 comes extinct when struggling ceases. We have had this 
 subject under consideration for many years, and have 
 sought information from the best men, in and out of the 
 profession, but have found a wide difference in the views 
 entertained. Strict inquiry develops the fact that among 
 them there are none who have positive knowledge on the 
 question. One thought that life would be extinct after 
 five minutes' submersion ; another, ten minutes ; another, 
 fifteen minutes ; another, twenty minutes ; but a large 
 number have no definite idea as to the time required to 
 cause death, nor of the length of time that must be spent 
 in efforts over a body to restore it to life. 
 
 Physicians have read reports of experiments with cats, 
 dogs, and rabbits, where the spasms ceased in seven or ten 
 
4 PREFACE TO SUSPENDED ANIMATION. 
 
 minutes, and upon the results of such experiments their 
 views respecting human life are based ; but this is incor- 
 rect. 
 
 A man will not die in so short a time as a rabbit or a 
 dog ; neither is life extinct when struggling ceases. We 
 hope we have shown that by judicious and presevering 
 efforts, resuscitation has been accomplished in cases where 
 the subject had been under water for a longer time than 
 thirty minutes ; and we make a large allowance for state- 
 ments as to time in such moments of excitement. 
 
 When persons without pulse or breathing are found~in 
 bed, in the field, or elsewhere, treat them in such manner 
 as will restore from stroke of lightning, paralysis, or sus- 
 pended animation from catalepsy, trance, or somnambulism, 
 and continue the treatment until resuscitation rewards the 
 exertions, or decomposition is evident. 
 
SUSPENDED ANIMATION, 
 
 THE LOWER ORDER OF ANIMALS. 
 
 We call attention to them, although not in strict ac- 
 cordance with the text of the book, to show that life with 
 this order may be suspended or dormant for days, weeks, 
 months, and in some cases, even years. Authentic infor- 
 mation is not wanting to establish the fact, that insects 
 and animals, from those of very small size to those of 
 larger dimensions, including alligators and bears, remain 
 dormant during the cold months. Is it unreasonable to 
 infer that under certain conditions the human race may 
 assume a state of trance, or catalepsy, and remain thus for 
 an indefinite time, giving no indication of life, and being 
 aroused to such only by the active and well-directed exer- 
 tions of friends ? 
 
 Farmers, and persons in the rural districts, have often 
 noticed that snakes and toads go into the ground but a 
 few inches for their winter quarters* ; but it is well known 
 that frost extends down for two or three feet, consequently 
 they must freeze, and remain so for the winter months ; it 
 has also often been noticed that worms in partially de- 
 cayed wood when split for use are exposed, and seem to 
 be perfectly frozen ; but when left for a short time in a 
 warm room they revive, and start out as though spring 
 had jumped in between February and March, and disturbed 
 their winter slumber. 
 
6 SUSPENDED ANIMATION. 
 
 An instance of dormant life is seen when a toad is found 
 imbedded in solid rock. The author has talked with three 
 reliable men, who state that upon opening a rock they 
 found a living toad within, contained in a chamber just 
 large enough to hold him, without allowing any room in 
 which to turn ; the inmate was pale and emaciated, and 
 had just life enough apparently to crawl away when liber- 
 ated from what had been his prison for ages. One man 
 stated that in sinking a well he came upon a rock about 
 thirty feet below the surface, and after blasting, discovered 
 among the fragments the upper and lower portions of the 
 temple of a subterranean little prisoner. Both pieces of 
 the rock were preserved, but the toad escaped. The 
 question naturally arises how long since the rocks were in 
 such a plastic state that a toad could conceal itself in 
 them ? The toad must have been made before the rocks. 
 Another instance of dormant life, similar to that of reptiles 
 known as amphibious, is that of the swallows. Where do 
 the barn-swallows, bank-swallows, and chimney-swallows 
 go when their summer campaign is ended ? It is claimed 
 by most persons that they go South, because certain of the 
 feathered tribes are known to fly southward ; the geese, 
 ducks, and pigeons, which are seen to start, are also seen 
 in great numbers in the South during the winter, and 
 seen to leave there in the spring ; but the swallows are 
 not seen migrating to or emigrating from the South, nor 
 there in increased numbers in the winter. 
 
 The writer was informed by Stuart Seelye, of Saint 
 George, New Brunswick, that when lumbering in the for- 
 est, thirty miles from any settlement, the cook for his gang 
 began digging a shallow well near a brook, so that water 
 could strain through the ground and be clear in the well 
 when the spring freshet made the stream muddy. 
 
 In throwing out the mud, leaves, etc., while digging, 
 they saw what they supposed were frogs, but which upon 
 
THE LOWER ORDER OF ANIMALS. 7 
 
 washing were found to be swallows. A number were 
 placed in the warm camp, where they soon revived and 
 flew off into the woods. 
 
 Several years afterwards the subject was under discus- 
 sion in Rumney, N. H., when the Rev. Mr. Glines con- 
 firmed this theory regarding swallows in winter, by relat- 
 ing the following : " Some years ago, my father, who was 
 a millwright, was in a village where a freshet had carried 
 away part of a dam : the stream in its rapid course had 
 carried vast quantites of sand and mud out over a level 
 spot of land, the surface of which was covered with snow 
 and ice. After the water had subsided, there were found 
 on this spot great numbers of swallows, covered with mud 
 and frozen." 
 
 This same theory of the wintering of swallows has 
 several times been upheld (by persons who had seen the 
 birds unearthed in a frozen condition) since talking with 
 Mr. Glines. We have seen swallows dive into ponds and 
 disappear. 
 
 Snakes, like toads, live for a long time without air or 
 food. The following experiment was made by a Mr. Tower, 
 of Gardiner, Maine. An adder, upwards of two feet. in 
 length, was got into a glass jar, which was tightly sealed. 
 He was kept there for sixteen months without any appar- 
 ent change, and when let out, looked as well as when put 
 in, and crawled away. 
 
 The common pond trout, when thrown into snow, will 
 soon freeze, remain so for days, and when put into cold 
 water to remove the frost become lively as ever. 
 
 When residing in New Brunswick, in 1842, we went to a 
 lake to secure some trout, which were frozen on the snow 
 and kept for use. While there we saw men with long 
 wooden tongs catching frost fish from the salt-water at 
 the entrance of a brook. The fish were thrown upon the 
 ice in great quantities. We had a barrel of them put up 
 
5 SUSPENDED ANIMATION. 
 
 with snow and kept frozen, and in a cool place. For six or 
 seven weeks they were taken out and used as wanted, and 
 might be kept frozen for an indefinite time, and be alive 
 when thawed in cold water. The two pieces of a fish, cut in 
 two when frozen, would move and try to swim when thawed 
 in cold water. 
 
 When any warm-blooded animal is immersed in or sur- 
 rounded by fluid, smoke, or gas, so that the lungs cannot 
 obtain the supply of oxygen that is demanded to render 
 the blood fit for the purposes of life, the result must be a 
 cessation or suspension of the vital functions. 
 
 This state is called asphyxia, signifying apparent death 
 from suffocation, from whatever cause that may arise ; 
 more recently it has been held to mean suspended anima- 
 tion from drowning, hanging, choking, or inhaling gas ; or 
 any other cause in which death begins at the lungs and 
 heart ; and death from asphyxia is that condition of the 
 system in which the dark or venous blood is interrupted in 
 its course towards the lungs, where it would receive the 
 requisite supply of oxygen. The stoppage of this vital 
 process soon causes a suspension of all the vital functions. 
 
 Animals of the lower order may, and do, lie dormant for 
 months, in cold seasons especially ; and human beings may, 
 and do while in a state of catalepsy or traiice, remain quite 
 motionless and without pulse or breathing for an indefinite 
 time, life being dormant, but present, and 7iot extinct. This 
 fact we will hereafter show clearly by citing numerous 
 cases of resuscitation to full health from supposed death. 
 
 Among physicians there have been and will be some 
 who will examine into the theory and methods of restora- 
 tion. Great difference of opinion existed among the 
 fathers of medicine in the time of Hunter, Cullen, DeHaen, 
 and Goodwyn, who wrote treatises upon this subject more 
 than one hundred years ago, and the reason of such varied 
 opinions was that physicians formed hasty conclusions 
 
THE LOWER ORDER OF ANIMALS. 9 
 
 from a few experiments; and the author has found, by ob- 
 servation and inquiry, that the same remarks apply to 
 physicians of the present day. He has had the opinions 
 of professors in medical universities, and men of extensive 
 practice and reading, and the extent of their information 
 is that they have read in journals of experiments made 
 with cats, dogs, rabbits, etc., and that they, being examined 
 under a glass globe, were found to cease violent struggles 
 in from seven to ten minutes, according to their individual 
 tenacity of life ; and their views are formed upon the false 
 theory that dormancy is death. 
 
 The first society formed for recovering persons drowned 
 was in Holland, and in a few years one hundred and fifty 
 persons were restored. Another society was formed in 
 Amsterdam in 1767 ; another in Milan and Venice in 1768 ; 
 afterwards in Hamburg in 1 77 1 ; in Paris in 1772; in 
 London in 1774. Societies were also formed at Leith, 
 Glasgow, Aberdeen, and other places. In many cases the 
 exertions were continued for four, six, or eight hours before 
 resulting in restoration. 
 
 The first effort of a drowning person is to breathe, and 
 in making this effort there takes place a forcible expulsion 
 of air which contracts the lungs, and the attempt at res- 
 piration, which immediately follows, is rendered impossible 
 by the water ; again the effort is repeated, and a few bub- 
 bles of the air thrown out rise to the surface, but none 
 returns to take its place ; the blood is passed back to the 
 heart, dark colored and loaded with carbon ; sensibility and 
 the power of voluntary motion begin to diminish and cease 
 as soon as the arterial blood has lost its bright red color 
 and become wholly venous. 
 
 It is calculated that ten or fifteen minutes under water 
 is sufficient length of time to effect this change and to as- 
 phyxiate or suspend animation; experiments with cats and 
 dogs show it to be eight, ten, or twelve minutes. But by 
 
10 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 prompt and vigorous measures it is possible to restore per- 
 sons from a condition of suspended animation after a 
 greater length of time (as herein shown), because the or- 
 ganic functions go on for a considerable time after apparent 
 death, and which death is not real tintil those functions have 
 wholly ceased ; and thus it often is with persons in a trance, 
 or state of coma, who for a time show not the slightest sign 
 of life, or of animation, yet eventually recover the entire use 
 of their limbs and faculties. 
 
 The struggles of a drowning person, although neces- 
 sarily violent, can be but of short duration ; if he is unable 
 to swim, and the fall into the water is from any height, 
 unless it is very deep water, he goes at once to the bottom ; 
 but going down with inflated lungs, and a considerable 
 quantity of air in his clothing, he soon rises, although it 
 may be he has not sufficient presence of mind to inhale 
 much air in the short gasp he is permitted to take before 
 sinking again ; he will probably come to the surface, or 
 near it a second, and a third time, but after this he will 
 sink to rise no more, unless by friendly aid, until the body 
 on account of the gases generated in it by decomposition, 
 is rendered lighter than the water, when it ascends to the 
 surface and floats, a swollen and bloated corpse. In warm 
 weather this usually occurs on the eighth or ninth day. 
 
 In the violent efforts which are naturally made to draw 
 breath, some water must be swallowed, but this quantity is 
 not nearly so large as is generally supposed, while little or 
 none of it gets into the lungs. There is always some of it 
 mixed with frothy mucus, and sometimes with blood, in the 
 windpipe and bronchial passages, and this fact gives rise 
 to the popular supposition that the body is full af water ; to 
 get rid of this water it was once the ignorant and barbarous 
 custom to suspend drowned persons by the feet, a sure 
 method of finishing that which asphyxia had begun. 
 
 The reason why no water, or very little, can get into the 
 
AND RESTORATION. II 
 
 lungs is, because the irritation of the glottis (excited by 
 the unsuccessful efforts to breathe, and the rush of water 
 instantly when the mouth is opened) is so great, as to cause 
 a strong cough, which expels the fluid ; and when anima- 
 tion is altogether suspended the passage is closed. 
 
 It is generally agreed by the best authorities that, after 
 a person has been under water for fifteen minutes, there is 
 little hope of restoring to life, however quick and judicious 
 methods may be employed for that purpose. 
 
 There are, however, on record, well-authenticated cases 
 of recovery after thirty, forty, and even fifty minutes sub- 
 mersion, but these are cases of continued exertions. Still 
 it is but right and proper to give the person the benefit of 
 any doubt, and make prompt and persevering efforts to 
 restore him to life, although he may have been in the 
 water much longer than the longest of the above named 
 periods, because it is possible that he may have been able, 
 by swimming, or taking hold of some floating object, to 
 keep his head above water for a time. External zvarnitk, 
 artificial respiration, friction, and electricity are the four 
 great agents to be employed in the recovery of drowned 
 persons, and the manner of proceeding we will now pre- 
 scribe : — 
 
 First, as everthing depends upon energy and promptness, 
 let the body be removed as soon as possible to some con- 
 venient place, the warmer the better, taken out of the wet 
 clothing, wrapped in blankets and laid upon a mattress on 
 the floor, or placed on a bed, which being higher, will give 
 better chance for working ; if necessary to remove the 
 body to any distance, care should be taken to keep the 
 head and shoulders raised, and neither allowing the head 
 to fall forward on the chest, nor backward from the posi- 
 tion it would be in were the person standing. The body 
 being placed on its back upon the bed, let two strong, 
 healthy men strip off their clothing, except their shirts, and 
 
12 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 lay, one each side of the unconscious person, and with 
 their arms around him, press the ribs against the lungs ; 
 then relax their hold for a few seconds, then repeat it and 
 continue to do so. This presses the lungs, and then re- 
 leases them, and thus imitates their motion in breathing ; 
 but what is of more importance than the pressing or 
 squeezing, is the animal warmth and vitality of the strong 
 bodies ; while this is being done other attendants should 
 rub vigorously the head, and neck, hands, arms, legs, and 
 feet, always rubbing towards the body, as it is the return- 
 ing venous blood wliicJi goes to the heart and lungs to be 
 purified. 
 
 If the parties lying beside the patient get fatigued let 
 two others take their places, and so change ; if there are 
 no men present who can lie by the side of the drowned 
 person, then let the body be wrapped in a blanket, with 
 the upper part and head raised by means of pillows or bol- 
 sters. The first care should be to free the mouth and 
 nostrils of all obstructions with a sponge or other suitable 
 appliances, and the next to apply warmth to every avail- 
 able part of the body by means of hot sand, salt, or bricks 
 to the extremities ; hot flannel to the chest, abdomen, and 
 sides, with stimulating liniment and plenty of friction. 
 Camphor and brandy make the best liniments, and they 
 should be briskly rubbed in with flannel. While doing 
 this efforts should be made to restore the respiration 
 or breathing by raising the arms up towards the sides 
 of the head, and then lowering them, doing thus repeat- 
 edly, and by alternate pressure and relaxation of the ribs 
 try to imitate their motion caused by breathing. Electric 
 shocks, slight at first, but gradually increasing in intensity, 
 should be passed through the upper part of the spine and 
 chest, if the means of giving them are at hand or can be 
 speedily procured. These are, however, but auxiliary 
 means, as external warmth and friction are mainly to be 
 
AND RESTORATION. I 3 
 
 relied on, and these should be perseveringly applied for 
 six, eight, ten, or twelve hours, or as long as the body is 
 warm and no sign of decomposition. Camphor or weak 
 hartshorn should from time to time be applied to the nos- 
 trils after returning life is visible, and a stimulant injec- 
 tion be given consisting of a pint of water gruel, with two 
 tablespoonfuls of rum, whiskey, or brandy. 
 
 So long as the patient is unconscious nothing can be 
 given him to drink, but as soon as there is a natural action 
 of the lungs and heart, a perceptible pulse, and other 
 symptoms of returning sensibility, a tablespoonful of 
 brandy in an equal amount of hot water should be admin- 
 istered, and this dose repeated every half-hour or so until 
 he is sufficiently recovered. He may then be placed in a 
 warm bed, well wrapped in blankets, with hot applications 
 to the feet (if they still remain cold), and kept quiet for a 
 time, when he will doubtless sleep. Drowned, or supposed 
 drowned persons, have recovered after being worked over 
 for four, six, or eight hours : after recovery there may be 
 considerable congested blood about the brain ; this must 
 be removed by proper means, such as warm applications to 
 the extremities. Stimulants must be given with great 
 caution and in small quantities. 
 
 It sometimes happen that non-professional persons are 
 called upon to work for the recovery of some one who has 
 perhaps attempted self-destruction by hanging, and it is 
 therefore necessary to give some directions as to how they 
 should proceed. The body being taken down, and the 
 cord removed from around the neck, an effort should be 
 made to start the circulation by rubbing the head, neck, 
 hands, and feet, and by applications of hot bricks, bags of 
 hot sand or salt to the feet and sides ; if a physician is 
 present he will likely open a vein in the arm or temple, 
 and if the blood flows freely there is a good chance of re- 
 covery ; if no physician is present use the same means as 
 
14 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 in cases of drowning ; inflating the lungs by raising the 
 arms to the head and then bringing them down to the 
 sides, and pressing the lungs. 
 
 Death by lightning is met with a great deal oftener than 
 suspended animation from the same cause, but sometimes 
 instead of being killed the person struck is merely asphyx- 
 iated, and will remain in a state of insensibility for a long 
 or short time, according to circumstances, unless revived 
 by the exertions of friends. The treatment should be 
 directed to exciting respiration and circulation by pressure 
 of the ribs against the lungs, and then relaxing it, raising 
 the arms to the head, then bringing them down, rubbing 
 the head, neck, chest, and extremities with cloths wet in cold 
 water ; rubbing the back and spine with spirit and mustard 
 or cayenne pepper. As soon as the patient shows signs 
 of returning life, give a tablespoonful of some kind of spirit 
 in two spoonfuls of hot water and sugar. 
 
 In certain cases of catalepsy on record respiration, pul- 
 sation, and motion ceased for days and weeks ; conscious- 
 ness and hearing alone remained active. Hence we can 
 believe that vitality may under certain conditions remain 
 quiet or inactive for hours or days, and life not be extinct. 
 
 The unborn infant lives suspended for months without 
 air or any action of its lungs, and the new-born child, hav- 
 ing never received air into its lungs, may be submerged in 
 water of the temperature of the human body for an in- 
 definite length of time without injury. Let us here give 
 the case of a playmate of ours in youth, who after a severe 
 sickness gradually failed until he expired, leaving no evi- 
 dence of life ; he was washed, laid out, and the friends in a 
 distant State sent for. Days passed and the friends did 
 not arrive ; on the tenth or eleventh day the boy fright- 
 ened the family by coming to life again. After recovery 
 his health was good, but his speech and intellect were de- 
 fective. During the suspension of vital action he heard 
 
AND RESTORATION. I 5 
 
 all conversation as plainly as though in his normal or 
 natural condition. The scene of this incident was Ply- 
 mouth, New Hampshire. Many such cases might be col- 
 lected and recited, as well as those of drowning, but it is 
 necessary for the purpose of impressing this fact upon the 
 mind of all who may have occasion to attempt the restora- 
 tion of drowned or suffocated persons that they must not 
 weary until there is unmistakable evidence (by the failure 
 to draw blood after opening a vein as directed, or the 
 absence of a blister upon applying fire to the skin) that life 
 is totally extinct, which is positive only when decomposi- 
 tion begins. When the blood begins to flow from an open 
 vein it should at once be stopped, and the efforts to revive 
 continued until animation is set up, although many hours 
 or days are spent in the exertions. 
 
 Suspended animation by freezing is not uncommon in 
 this country, and the proper treatment is not generally 
 known. This is to keep him in a cool room, and rub him 
 him with snow or sponge with cold water until the parts 
 become warm by the friction, when the frozen extremities 
 should be treated as in other cases of suspended anima- 
 tion. 
 
 A case is related by Dr. Beach of a person who was sup- 
 posed to be frozen to death, in which the treatment was as 
 follows : A barrel or cask of cold water was provided, and 
 the patient placed naked in it up to his neck, and there 
 allowed to remain for ten minutes ; when the body was 
 removed ice was found formed upon it in scales, being 
 drawn from the surface by the cold water, the temperature 
 of which was (although cold as usually required for drink- 
 ing purposes) much warmer than the external parts of 
 the body. The patient was dried well, briskly rubbed 
 with flannels, and thus gradually warmed to life. When 
 consciousness returned brandy and cayenne pepper were 
 given in large quantities. When reaction took place, and 
 
1 6 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 the blood began to circulate freely, there was great sore- 
 ness of flesh, excessive pain, fever, etc. It was nearly two 
 hours before the patient recovered consciousness, and a 
 week elapsed before he was restored to health. 
 
 In this connection it is proper to mention that what is 
 called frost-bites, where feet, hands, or other exposed parts 
 of the body may be badly frozen, should never be brought 
 near the fire or into a room above the ordinary tempera- 
 ture : instead of so doing have the parts thoroughly rubbed 
 with snow if it can be had, but if not rub the parts with 
 cold water, the colder and nearer the freezing point the 
 better. This should be continued until the affected parts 
 begin to feel warm and change color, when they should be 
 treated by rubbing with liniments or spirit, and the patient 
 thoroughly heated by drinks of brandy, whiskey, or like 
 draughts, with powders to produce perspiration until he is 
 in a sweat and the circulation well established. Then the 
 patient should be thoroughly dried, put to bed, and encour- 
 aged to sleep. 
 
 To show the great danger there is of burying persons in 
 a state of trance or before actual death has occurred, we 
 will here give a number of well-authenticated instances, 
 in some of which persons were from accidental causes 
 enabled to avert this danger to their friends, while in 
 others they did not do so, and afterwards never ceased to 
 regret their neglect and great error. 
 
 These incidents have been arranged only in a general 
 way, and the number, which might be indefinitely increased, 
 may be said to embrace three varieties of cases. First, 
 those in which resuscitation has followed as the result of 
 exertions or efforts made over the body. Second, those 
 in which it has happened simply as the result of accident. 
 Third, those in which the positions of bodies, taken up or 
 removed from the tomb soon after burial, gave certain 
 evidence that a return to life had occurred. 
 
AND RESTORATION. 1 7 
 
 These accounts we have been collecting carefully for the 
 past twenty-five years. Some we know to be true ; some 
 are given by truthful persons, while still others are from 
 good authority. Believing them to be reliable we con- 
 scientiously present them to our readers. In many of the 
 accounts the names are not given, the reasons for which 
 fact will be easily understood. 
 
 A sketch of Greek and Roman history on the subject 
 will not be out of place here, as it is from those races that 
 our customs have descended ; and very early in the history 
 of the Greek it was discovered that a person might present 
 all the appearances of death and yet be alive. 
 
 The first recorded instance of the recovery to life of a 
 person about to be buried was that of a woman of Agri- 
 gentum in ancient Greece, and whose funeral cortege was 
 arrested by Empedocles, a man of great medical skill, and 
 by whom the inmate of the coffin was awakened to life. 
 This gave authority for greater caution in regard to burials 
 than had previously been used, and a law was passed for- 
 bidding the interment of any individual before the third 
 day. Subsequently this time was extended by custom to 
 the sixth or seventh day, in some cases during which time 
 measures were taken to restore consciousness (if there 
 was any doubt of death), and in many cases with happy 
 results. 
 
 Taking their customs from the Greeks, the Romans, like 
 them, paid but little attention to funeral rites in the earlier 
 years of their history, until by similar lessons they were 
 taught the great need of observing the utmost precaution. 
 Alcepiades, a physician who is recorded as living in the 
 time of Pompey, or about one hundred and twenty years 
 before the Christian era, on one occasion returning from 
 his country seat saw near the walls of Rome a crowd of 
 people attending a funeral. The funeral pyre was already 
 lighted when he approached. (It was at that time the 
 
I 8 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 custom in Rome to take the bodies of the dead outside the 
 walls of the city, and to build there a funeral pile or pyre, 
 so called, of wood or combustible materials, upon which 
 the body was placed, and the pile being kindled soon re- 
 duced the remains to ashes. In a word, the bodies of the 
 dead were then cremated.) As the physician looked at 
 the dead he thought he saw signs of life, and he ordered 
 the fire to be extinguished. The discontent of the by- 
 standers was changed to words of wonder and praise when 
 the dead was restored to life by him and his attendants, 
 and returned with his friends to the city. 
 
 Acilius Aviola was not so fortunate. Having fallen in 
 a lethargy or fit of catalepsy, he was taken up for dead, his 
 funeral pile was erected, and he being placed thereon, it 
 was lighted. At this point animation, which had been only' 
 suspended, was revived by the heat of the flames, and he 
 made an attempt to rise. The spectators, at first surprised 
 at what they took to be an apparition, attempted to rescue 
 him, but were too late. The Praetor Laemio had a similar 
 fate ; and the life of Tubero, who had been praetor, was 
 saved by the fortunate discovery of signs of life just as he 
 was about to be laid on the funeral pile. 
 
 These events taught the Romans, as similar ones did the 
 Greeks, to increase the length of time between death and 
 the burning of the remains, and to exercise more caution 
 in distinguishing apparent from real death. Law and 
 custom required that the nearest relative should close the 
 eyes of the deceased as he lay prepared for funeral rites. 
 After the events related, and others of the same character, 
 considerable delay was enjoined, during which the body 
 was submitted to the warm bath : this was for the double 
 purpose of getting the body in condition for anointing 
 and of ascertaining whether any indications of life re- 
 mained. Tests were from time to time applied to see if 
 death had taken place, and after many ceremonies, lasting 
 
AND RESTORATION. 1 9 
 
 for seven or eight days, hope was abandoned. During 
 that time the body was anointed with oil, gums of cedar, 
 and myrrh, with bitumen and other inflammable sub- 
 stances : then, surrounded with lighted tapers and burning 
 perfumes, it was finally carried to the funeral pile and 
 burned in the midst of a concourse of relatives and friends, 
 who marched three times around the body, and at different 
 points offered libations to the gods, asking their aid in 
 destroying the body quickly. 
 
 The practice of burning, however, gradually gave way to 
 the custom of burying in the earth, which has since prevailed. 
 This is supposed to have been copied by the Romans from 
 the Jews, who had always entombed or buried their dead. 
 
 It is doubtful whether modern civilization has much 
 advanced the rites of burial, or the means of preventing 
 interment before positive death. The practice now is, as 
 soon as apparent death takes place, to begin at once pre- 
 paring the body for burial ; the relatives and phvsician 
 desert the room, and give the body into the charge of those 
 whose business it is to prepare the same for interment. 
 One of their first acts is to place the body in a cold room, 
 pack it in ice, or open the windows, thus banishing any 
 possible chance of reviving or resuscitating any spark of 
 vitality which may exist. No examination is ever made by 
 the physician or the friends to see if there are even the 
 faintest signs of life present. Under such circumstances, 
 and with no attempts made at discovering whether any signs 
 of life were still present (but a hasty burial instead), it is 
 not strange that cases of premature interment frequently 
 occur. " Numerous instances," remarks Prof. Beatty of 
 the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, "are recorded 
 of persons buried prematurely, or actually at the verge of 
 the grave before it was discovered that life still remained ; 
 while numerous cases have also come to light under the 
 knife of the post-mortem examiner or anatomist." 
 
20 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 A French physician, who wrote in 1742, relates the case 
 of a young woman thus revived by the first incision of the 
 knife. Peu gives a similar case in which he was about to 
 perform the operation known as the Cesarean, when the 
 first touch of the knife disclosed to him his awful mistake. 
 
 There was a case of drowning in the harbor of Saint 
 Andrews, New Brunswick, in which a sailor attempted to 
 go from his ship to the shore. The time of year was 
 December or January. When in eight or ten feet of water 
 the boat was by wind and waves upset. Two of his ship- 
 mates at once got out another boat and went to his assist- 
 ance, reaching the scene of the accident in fifteen or 
 twenty minutes ; but when near the spot their boat was cap- 
 sized and they thrown into the tide. The people on shore 
 who saw the accident went in larger boats to their relief, 
 with poles, ropes, and rakes ; and after thirty or forty min- 
 utes all three of the bodies were recovered at nearly the 
 same time. Upon getting them to the shore three physi- 
 cians took each a man, the youngest of the doctors claiming 
 the " deadest man" or the one who had been longest under 
 water. His treatment was such as described heretofore, 
 being vigorous friction, hot applications, and compressing 
 and relaxing the lungs with two assistants, and he had the 
 great satisfaction of seeing his man recover. Neither of 
 the other men gave the first indication of life. Doctor 
 Dorsey, a Scotchman, was the physician who restored the 
 sailor to consciousness. 
 
 The next case is also one of drowning. In consequence 
 of a collision between the Boston and St. John (N.B.) 
 steamboat and a schooner, the latter went down almost 
 immmediately, the crew with her. The steamer put about, 
 sent out the boats, and rescued a girl, who after a long 
 time (forty or fifty minutes) came up. She was taken on 
 board the steamer, and for an hour and a half vigorous 
 efforts were made to restore her by pressing and rubbing ; 
 
AND RESTORATION. 21 
 
 then hope and exertions ceased. The parties were tired, 
 and without reasonable hope. Colonel Favor, the express 
 messenger, who gave us the particulars of the case, deter- 
 mined to renew the efforts ; he was joined by others, and 
 after two hours more of incessant working they had the 
 great satisfaction of reviving their patient. Some years 
 afterwards this same girl lived in our family as a domestic, 
 and confirmed the account given by Colonel Favor. She 
 said, however, that after the event her memory was not so 
 good as previously. She also confirmed what has been 
 asserted by others, viz. : that while beneath the water she 
 saw the boats moving about overhead, and heard the per- 
 sons in them shouting ; also that a panorama like a great 
 sheet appeared to be unrolled before her, and upon it she 
 saw vividly every act of her life. Among other things she 
 saw a valuable ring which she and her sister used to wear 
 by turn, but which had been lost for several years. Directly 
 succeeding her recovery she had brain fever for five 
 weeks ; and upon restoration to health told her sister 
 where to look for the ring, which was found in the place 
 indicated. 
 
 Andrew Vesale, physician to Charles V., and afterwards 
 to his successor, Philip II. of Spain, after attending a 
 Spanish grandee, reported him dead, but not being quite 
 easy in his mind, the day after solicited and obtained per- 
 mission to examine the body. Finding it warm, he was 
 astonished to feel the heart beating. Afraid to report the 
 man living after he had reported him dead, he plunged a 
 dagger into the beating heart, and killed him indeed. 
 Then covering up the appearance of a wound, he departed. 
 In preparing the body for burial, the wound was discov- 
 ered, and the physician was accused of murder by the 
 relatives. In addition the Inquisition tried him for pro- 
 fanity. Through the intercession of the king he was sent 
 on a mission to Asia, and thus escaped execution. 
 
22 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 At the sitting of the Royal Academy of France in 1827, 
 a paper was read by M. Chauncy Chautournelle on the dan- 
 ger of hasty burial. This led to a discussion, in which one 
 of the members stated that the superintendent of the 
 cemeteries of Paris informed him that many skeletons had 
 been found in positions proving that they had turned 
 in their coffins. The superintendent further informed 
 him that he was so much concerned by the circumstance 
 that he had inserted a clause in his will relating to his own 
 burial. 
 
 From the hundreds of cases that have occurred in 
 France we select the few following incidents : — 
 
 At Toulouse, in France, in November, 1866, a lady died 
 and was buried in the church of the Capuchin Friars, with 
 a diamond ring of considerable value upon her finger. A 
 servant who knew this fact entered the vault by stealth to 
 steal that ring ; but the finger being swollen, the ring would 
 not come off. He then took out a knife, and began to cut 
 off the finger, when the lady uttered a loud shriek, hearing 
 which the thief fell prostrate and senseless. The monks 
 shortly afterwards entering the church, heard groans, and 
 being directed to the spot by the sound, found the lady 
 alive and the would-be thief dead. Thus death had its 
 victim, though with a change. The lady was removed, and 
 in a few hours restored to her family. 
 
 In Paris a street porter having died or fallen in a fit at 
 the Hotel Dieu, was carried to the hospital morgue with 
 the other dead bodies, where he remained until eleven 
 o'clock at night ; reviving, he arose, and seeing himself 
 surrounded by the bodies, and realizing where he was, 
 rushed out and home to his lodgings, where he found it 
 difficult to gain an entrance, it being reported that he was 
 dead and buried. 
 
 Towards the close of the last century a woman in Paris, 
 supposed to be dead, was placed upon some straw, and, ac- 
 
AND RESTORATION. 23 
 
 cording to custom, with a lighted candle at her feet. One 
 of the watchers, in hastily passing, overturned it, and the 
 straw was set on fire. When the flames reached the 
 flesh of the supposed dead she screamed and rose. The 
 flames were extinguished, and she was conveyed to a bed ; 
 she recovered and lived a number of years. 
 
 M. Rosseau, of Rouen, married a lady of fortune, and 
 leaving her in perfect health started upon a short journey. 
 On returning he found her in her coffin, and the funeral 
 party ready. He had the coffin opened and the body of 
 his wife placed on a bed. No less than twenty-five inci- 
 sions were made by his order in the skin on different parts 
 of the body, and with no result until the last, when the 
 lady revived and said,, " How severely you wound me." 
 Her recovery was rapid and lasting. 
 
 The wife of a celebrated French lawyer, M. Dubauel, 
 having died, and the twenty-four hours required by law 
 having elapsed, the body was placed upon a table to pre- 
 pare it for burial. The husband stood near, not willing to 
 believe his wife dead, and struggling in his mind whether 
 to oppose the funeral services or not. Remembering her 
 delight at the sound of cymbals, he ordered a pair to be 
 brought, also a drum. Upon their being sounded the lady 
 revived, recovered voice and motion, and lived many years 
 after her narrow escape from burial. 
 
 Some years ago in the Assembly of France a debate oc- 
 curred on the report of the committee appointed on the 
 petition of Dr. Carnol for an amendment to the civil code 
 in the matter of ante-burial ceremonies. The French law 
 allows but twenty-four hours between death and burial; 
 and this length of time Dr. Carnol declared to be insuffi- 
 cient in the minimum of cases, supporting his assertions 
 by numerous instances of suspended animation, and show- 
 ing that he had good reason for his opinion that very many 
 persons were buried alive annually in France. M. de la 
 
24 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 Guerroniere, in presenting the report of the committee, 
 argued against the petition, and proposed to shelve it by 
 the technical motion to proceed with the order of the day ; 
 whereupon His Eminence, the Cardinal Archbishop of Bor- 
 deaux, arose and expressed his dissent from the conclu- 
 sions of the gentleman (Guerroniere), and supported such 
 dissent by declaring that the precautionary regulations of 
 the law were very frequently evaded in practice ; but the 
 strength of his argument lay in the assertion that even if 
 the laws were strictly carried out they were defective. 
 This assertion he supported by stating that while a parish 
 priest he had saved several lives about to be sacrificed by 
 the indecent haste of friends ; he had seen a man taken 
 from his coffin and restored to perfect health. Another 
 man of advanced years had already been put into his coffin, 
 and yet lived for twelve hours afterwards. And more, he 
 himself had performed a miracle equal to any recorded in 
 the Scriptures, and which, had it taken place in earlier 
 times when the church and people believed in miracles, 
 was enough to have caused him to be canonized as a saint. 
 He saw the body of a young lady laid out for dead, the 
 attendants covering the face as he entered, but allowing 
 him to see so much of it as convinced him that the maiden 
 was not dead, but in a sleep ; thereupon with a loud voice 
 he cried that he had come to save her. He entreated her 
 to feel convinced that by an effort she could shake off the 
 lethargy which oppressed her, and return to life. His 
 voice penetrated and revived her benumbed senses, so that 
 she awoke and came back to life — lived for years. The 
 French law, however, was not repealed or altered, but 
 remains as it was, a blot upon the intelligence of the 
 people. 
 
 In 1863 a woman in a hospital in Algeria, who had, as 
 was supposed, died from the effects of some obscure dis- 
 ease, was carried to the dissecting room of that establish- 
 
AND RESTORATION. 25 
 
 merit for post-mortem examination. At the first touch of 
 the knife, the supposed dead body shrieked and sat up on 
 the table. She awoke just in time from her trance or cat- 
 alepsy, which might have been greatly prolonged but for 
 the use of the scalpel. 
 
 The Abbe Prevost was less fortunate, however; for he 
 died from wounds inflicted by the knife under similar cir- 
 cumstances, he being supposed dead from an attack of 
 apoplexy. 
 
 In April, 1868, the wife of a mechanic in Detroit died 
 after a short illness, and the body was prepared for burial 
 and put in charge of two watchers, one of whom, to satisfy 
 herself that the woman really was dead, held a looking- 
 glass over the mouth and observed moisture upon the 
 glass. After repeating the experiment until she was as- 
 sured that there was no mistake, she called in the friends 
 of the woman to witness the fact, and they determined 
 not to bury the body, but to keep it and watch for the 
 return of life. On the fifth day the signs of animation 
 were so encouraging that the body was removed from 
 the coffin and placed in bed, where after a short time the 
 woman opened her eyes and came to life. After a few 
 days' care she recovered her usual health. 
 
 The Boston " Traveller," June 2, 1868, contains the follow- 
 ing : " An interesting case of restoration to life from drown- 
 ing recently occurred in Rochester, N.Y. A little child 
 strayed from its mother's side, and fell into a cistern full 
 cf water. After some five or six minutes, as nearly as could 
 be estimated, the child was discovered at the bottom of 
 the cistern, apparently dead. A physician was immedi- 
 ately sent for, who appeared after a short time (but which 
 seemed very long), and began operations to restore vitality. 
 The child was wrapped in warm flannels, and the process 
 of inflating and compressing the lungs resorted to, and 
 persevered in for three hours before signs of life appeared. 
 
26 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 Convulsions followed, but they were checked by the use of 
 the gum-lancet ; finally the child was completely restored. 
 The lessoii gained from this instance has been often repeated, 
 but learned by few ; it is that patient, persevering, long con- 
 tinued, judicious efforts will restore suspended vitality to 
 drowned persons, in cases wJiicli at first appear quite hope- 
 less." 
 
 In June, 1869, a girl in Cleveland, Ohio, was taken ill, 
 and after a short sickness died, and was laid out for burial ; 
 but as her mother insisted that she was not dead, efforts 
 were made for some time to restore her to life, but in vain. 
 Her mother, however, refused to let her be buried ; and 
 on the fifth day after that set for the funeral the slamming 
 of a door aroused her, so that she recovered. She stated 
 that during most of the eight days which she lay there, 
 she was conscious and heard what was said, although 
 wholly unable to make the least motion. The chances are 
 that if a hand-glass had been held before her mouth there 
 would have appeared a moisture upon it. 
 
 In the year 1855 the wife of Rev. Mr. Wells, of Wood- 
 stock, New Hampshire, was sick with consumption, and 
 greatly reduced in flesh and strength, and it was with 
 difficulty that she could swallow even liquids. One Friday 
 she appeared to die, and was accordingly prepared for 
 burial. On the following Monday the lady revived and 
 conversed freely with her friends ; she told them that she 
 was conscious and had heard all that was said about her, 
 but was not able to speak or make the slightest motion. 
 She lived for three weeks only after this time ; but during 
 this period had no difficulty in swallowing, as had been the 
 case before her unusual experience. 
 
 Says the " South-Side Democrat," of Fredericton, June 30, 
 1858 : " A singular circumstance took place in Allandford 
 on Tuesday. The facts were given to our informant as fol- 
 lows : A negro woman, named Martha Saunders, had been 
 
AND RESTORATION. 2J 
 
 ill for some lime past, and on Monday her family and 
 friends assembled around her, and took, as they thought, 
 their farewell. She appeared to expire at about ten o'clock 
 the same day, and the ceremonies of preparing her for the 
 grave were duly begun, and every arrangement was made 
 for the solemn rites of burial. At three o'clock on Tues- 
 day afternoon, and some little time before she was to have 
 been carried to her resting-place, to the amazement of 
 those present she raised her head, and a short time after- 
 wards sat up in her coffin. A general stampede took 
 place among the negroes, who came to attend the funeral ; 
 and those who remained were so stupified with fright 
 that some time elapsed before assistance was procured. 
 A physician was called in, and stimulants given, which im- 
 mediately revived her, and at last accounts she was recov- 
 ering and doing well. 
 
 A warning against hasty burials occurred in Fremont, 
 
 Sandusky County, Ohio, in June, 1856. D. S , Esq., 
 
 had been ill with a fever for some time, and to all appear- 
 ance died on one Friday afternoon. All the arrangements 
 for the funeral had been made ; the relatives, friends, and 
 minister were assembled to pay the last tribute of respect 
 to the deceased, but as the body then appeared warm, res- 
 torative means were resorted to, and in a very short time 
 the man was sitting up, instead of being buried, and is now 
 doing well. 
 
 In a Western State, while the coffin containing the body 
 was lying upon the table, or stand, waiting for the under- 
 taker to screw down the lid, a creditor of the deceased 
 came in hurriedly and presented a claim for $150 against 
 him. An unrepealed law in the State allowed creditors' de- 
 mands paid before burial. The assembled and astonished 
 friends were moving about the room, and proposed to raise 
 the amount on the spot, when one of them accidentally 
 stumbled against the table and knocked over the coffin, 
 
28 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 whereupon the supposed dead man arose, and learning 
 about the claim, said he would settle that himself pretty 
 quickly. Without noticing his surroundings, he went to a 
 desk, or bureau, in which he kept his books and papers, 
 and in a few minutes showed the receipt for the claim ; 
 and not only the receipt, but charges against the would-be 
 creditor, to the amount of $IJ$, lawfully due him, who 
 zvas supposed to be the dead debtor. 
 
 In February, 1873, in the city of New York, Coroner 
 Young was notified about nine o'clock in the morning, by 
 a Mr. Depew, that a colored house-servant of his, named 
 Carrie Johnson, was found dead in her bed that morning at 
 his residence, 33 Morton street, and a permit was given Mr. 
 Depew by the coroner to remove the body to the morgue. 
 The gentleman was so certain that the girl was dead that 
 he did not think it necessary to send for a doctor, but 
 took the permit to the station-house, and the warden of 
 Bellevue Hospital was telegraphed to send the wagon for 
 the dead. This accordingly arrived at Mr. Depew's house 
 at half-past two in the afternoon, when upon visiting the 
 room the girl's head was discovered hanging over the side 
 of the bed ; but it was thought to have been so placed by 
 some one who had been trying to do something for her in 
 the meantime. When the driver of the wagon took hold 
 of the body, to place it in the coffin he had brought, he 
 discovered that it was limp and warm about the stomach, 
 abdomen, and loins, which he thought could not be the 
 case with a person dead for several hours. Thereupon 
 Mr. Depew sent for a physician, but before his arrival the 
 driver had opened the girl's mouth and put some salt upon 
 the tongue. The physician decided that the girl was not 
 dead, and applied restoratives, but it was not until the 
 afternoon of the next day that her restoration was accom- 
 plished ; on which day, at four o'clock, she took a car, and 
 went to the house of a friend. The girl was subject to 
 
AND RESTORATION. 29 
 
 catalepsy, and had been similarly affected a few months 
 previously, at which time also she narrowly escaped burial. 
 A young man in the town of Vassalboro, Maine, was 
 suffering in the last stages of consumption, as was an- 
 nounced by his physician. For several weeks he had been 
 so prostrated as to be unable to speak, and finally became 
 so pressed for breath that the fire was put out and the 
 windows raised. On the 13th March, 1875 he died. 
 Friendly hands prepared the poor, emaciated body for 
 burial ; but as they were arranging the remains for the 
 casket destined to contain them, unmistakable evidence of 
 returning life appeared, in what had seemed a mass of in- 
 animate clay : it was discovered that the heart had begun 
 again to make its slow and measured beats, the pulse 
 throbbed, the young man arose in his death-shroud, and 
 spoke clearly and distinctly to those who stood appalled 
 about him in the chamber. There was no huskiness of 
 voice ; he appeared lively, and to use his own words, "he felt 
 just as well as he ever did." At his request the neighbors 
 were called in, and they crowded the house for hours, de- 
 claring that his recovery was equal to any miracle recorded 
 in the Scriptures. He told the company that as he died, all 
 things seemed dark, but only for an instant ; his eyes sud- 
 denly opened to a new world, — the heaven which had been 
 so many times in his thoughts, and had given him so much 
 comfort in his last weeks of pain and sorrow. He stood 
 upon a height which overlooked a vast and beautiful plain 
 that extended far beyond the reach of his vision, and he 
 described the scene in language which sounded extravagant 
 in the extreme to his hearers. But the resuscitation of 
 the young man was of very short duration ; before night 
 he again succumbed, and this time died unmistakably. 
 The body was kept several days, and finally, positive evi- 
 dence of death being present, was buried on the Sunday 
 following, the funeral being largely attended. 
 
30 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 On the 28th January, 1866, a woman, twenty-five years 
 of age, a maker of artificial flowers, was taken to the Great 
 Northern Hospital of London, at half-past twelve o'clock, 
 noon, having been taken out of the Regent's Canal in the 
 Caledonia Road. When first called, Mr. Ellis, the warden, 
 was informed that the woman was dead, and to all appear- 
 ances she was, no pulse or respiration being perceptible. 
 The wet clothing was removed and artificial respiration 
 exerted, after the manner prescribed by Drs. Marshall, 
 Hall, and Sylvester, the arms were brought down in con- 
 tact with the chest, and the body half rolled over, the 
 mouth being kept open, and tongue drawn forward ; en- 
 deavors were made to excite respiration, by holding am- 
 monia, etc., to the nostrils. After ten or fifteen minutes 
 the patient made a feeble attempt at breathing, and after a 
 few minutes more she was so far restored that she drank a 
 little brandy. She was then removed to bed, wrapped in 
 blankets, and bottles filled with hot water applied to her 
 thighs and feet, and mustard pastes to the abdomen ; the 
 legs were rubbed briskly, and warm flannels used for the 
 purpose of restoring the circulation. She was then left in 
 charge of a woman who was instructed to give her beef 
 tea, stimulants, etc. At two o'clock she reported that the 
 patient was dead. This was false, however, as she revived, 
 and from two o'clock until four she was kept in a sitting 
 position, it being found that upon her lying down the heart 
 would cease to beat. At four o'clock she improved, and 
 the breathing and circulation became stronger and more 
 regular ; by half-past five she had gained so rapidly that 
 she was allowed to sleep until nine o'clock in the evening, 
 when she seemed quite well. Two days afterwards she 
 was pronounced entirely well, and left the hospital. The 
 chief difficulty in using Dr. Sylvester's method is in over- 
 coming the rigidity of the muscles of the arms to place 
 them as he prescribes. — (London Lancet, May 5, 1866.) 
 
AND RESTORATION. 3 I 
 
 A case occurred on board an Indiaman, proceeding with 
 troops, women, and children, in 1864, in which a child was 
 restored to life three separate times in one night by 
 Charles Moore Jessup, Staff Surgeon, and Associate of 
 King's College, London. September 7th, having been at 
 sea five weeks, a fine healthy baby, three months old, 
 was attacked with capillary bronchitis, and did very well 
 until the tenth day ; then relapsed, but soon rallied ; and at 
 nine or ten o'clock in the night appeared to be doing well. 
 At fifteen minutes to twelve the surgeon was called, the 
 father reporting that the child was dead ; and lying in its 
 mother's arms, it appeared to be, — no pulse, no breath, pupils 
 of the eyes contracted and insensible to light, and but a 
 slight fluttering in the region of the heart, at the rate of 
 twenty or thirty times a minute. Dr. Jessup alternately 
 raised and depressed the arms, as prescribed by Dr. Syl- 
 vester, for artificial respiration, and continued doing so for 
 four or five minutes, when the pallor of the lips changed to 
 a more healthy hue ; and then, with the aid of friction to 
 the feet and legs, he continued the process until the lips 
 were crimsoned, and the breathing re-established. He 
 then administered half an ounce of gravy soup and brandy 
 for an injection, ordered the friction to be continued with 
 oil, extending to the stomach at intervals. He then retired. 
 At one o'clock he was again called by the father, who said, 
 " He is really dead this time, sir." The doctor found the 
 lower jaw fallen, no pulse or respiration ; and had it not 
 been for the contracted pupils, said he would have pro- 
 nounced the child really dead. He commenced the same 
 treatment as before, and with similar results, and leaving 
 again came back at two o'clock, when he learned that the 
 breath had gradually decreased in number and strength, 
 and that there had been none for several minutes. For 
 the third time he adopted the Sylvester method of artificial 
 respiration, by extending and putting back the arms to the 
 
32 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 sides, and this time with entire success, — continuing the 
 same for a few minutes previous to the hours of three, 
 four, five, and six, in the morning, and finally at eight 
 o'clock, after which the child remained permanently 
 well. Thus, concludes the doctor in relating the incident, 
 this child, three months old, but for the method of Dr. 
 Sylvester being put into practice, must have died on any 
 one of the three times when his breathing ceased. The 
 injection of gravy ; soup, and brandy was given after the 
 first attack, once in twenty minutes, but subsequently not 
 oftener than every two hours. 
 
 Mrs. Longley, of Westbrook, Me., told the author in 
 September, 1869, that, about six years before, a young lady 
 of Hadley, Mass., eighteen years of age, returned from 
 school one day, complaining of great fatigue, as the result 
 of hard study, and lying down slept a much longer time 
 than usual. Her friends not being able to awake her, called 
 in the doctor, who, failing to arouse her by the ordinary 
 means, proceeded to bleed her, and did so freely ; this not 
 having the desired effect, he cupped her along the spine, 
 whereupon she revived. This young woman afterwards 
 married, lived a number of years, and enjoyed good health. 
 
 The same lady related that a Mr. J , of Grafton, 
 
 Mass., in the year 1861 or 1862, after a long ride in the 
 cold with some friends, was found, when they stopped at a 
 hotel on the road, to be in a stupid condition and could not 
 be aroused. He was regarded as being under the influence 
 of drink ; and when they arrived home they again tried to 
 arouse him, but in vain, so he was allowed to sleep it off, 
 but the next day was pronounced dead. After the usual 
 time had passed, he was placed in a casket and put into the 
 tomb, to be buried in the spring. When the casket was 
 opened in the spring it was discovered that the man had 
 revived, partially forced off the lid, and torn his nails and 
 fingers severely in trying to liberate himself. 
 
AND RESTORATION, 33 
 
 At the Howard Theatre, in Boston, a few years ago, a 
 spectator, who had, as was afterwards learned, taken opium, 
 could not be awakened when those in charge desired to 
 close the house for the night. He was removed by friends ; 
 and while they were making the arrangements for burial, he 
 opened his eyes, arose, and asked for a glass of beer. After 
 a short time he recovered entirely. 
 
 In 1852 a young lady in Highgate, Vt, was taken sud- 
 denly sick, died apparently, and was laid out for burial. 
 Although the circulation and respiration had to all appear- 
 ance ceased, the body remained warm about the stomach, 
 and in the region of the heart ; and this causing some 
 to doubt whether she was really dead, the body was kept, 
 but no efforts were made to resuscitate her. She remained 
 in that condition four days and nights, when she awoke to 
 consciousness. Her explanation of her condition was, that 
 she had been in the Spirit-land, had seen countless multi- 
 tudes of happy people, and in her lectures afterwards be- 
 sought her hearers to live strictly upright lives. The 
 name of the young lady need not be called ; but after this 
 occurrence, she went about the country as a religious lec- 
 turer and teacher. In her exhortations she would say that 
 " she had a duty to perform, a mission to fulfil, and that at 
 the end of a given number of years she would die and go 
 back to that glorious and final resting-place of all good and 
 virtuous people," and she did. 
 
 In Rumney, N.H., on the 24th February, 1870, Mr. 
 Ross, a resident of that place, told the author the following, 
 which had occurred some years before in Hanover, N.H., 
 and which had made an impression on his mind that he 
 could never forget. A child apparently died, and was 
 buried. Several weeks later a grave for another person 
 was dug so near that of the child that the earth between 
 them caved into the newly-made grave; and the diggers, 
 being curious to see what changes had taken place in the 
 
34 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 appearance of the body, opened the coffin. To their amaze- 
 ment they found that the corpse had turned on its side, 
 and the lining of the coffin and the clothes within reach 
 of the hands were torn to rags, and stained with blood that 
 had flowed from scratches and from the mouth. The 
 coffin was closed and replaced, but these facts were kept a 
 secret among the men, to spare the feelings of the parents. 
 Many years afterwards, when the parents had passed away, 
 the facts became known to many, among whom was Mr. 
 Ross, the narrator. 
 
 In February, 1872, John D. B , a prominent busi- 
 ness man of Palmer, Mass., fell dead in his own door-yard 
 from what was supposed to be disease of the heart. On 
 the Monday following the funeral was held ; the grave was 
 dug, and preparations were being made to convey the body 
 from the house, when the lifelike appearance of the face 
 was remarked, and doubts were expressed as to his being 
 dead. It was discovered that there were warm spots under 
 the arms and on the back. The idea of burial was given 
 up, and a galvanic battery applied by the doctor, without 
 restoring life, however ; and he ceased his efforts, pro- 
 nouncing the man dead, but advising that the body be 
 kept until some positive evidence of deathlike decomposi- 
 tion appeared. The body was kept seven clays, during the 
 whole of which time it remained unchanged, and the blood 
 limpid as in life, while the warm spots were the same. Un- 
 fortunately the account here terminates. 
 
 In Burlington, Wisconsin, in February, 1869, a little 
 girl, seven or eight years of age, lay in a cataleptic fit or 
 trance for twelve days. Before she went into this condi- 
 tion, she told her mother, Mrs. R (the child's name 
 
 was Minnie), that she was going to sleep, but would not 
 die, and not to bury her. They did not bury her for twelve 
 days, when, concluding she was really dead, they buried 
 her without making any efforts to restore her. It is easy 
 to believe that this child was not dead. 
 
AND RESTORATION. 35 
 
 In the month of May, 1869, in the second district of 
 New Orleans, a young lady, on returning from early mass, 
 was seized with sickness, supposed to be heart disease, 
 and apparently died after a few minutes. She was sup- 
 posed to be dead by the physician (her own uncle) who 
 was called, and remained with her until one o'clock, when 
 he pronounced life extinct. Preparations were made for 
 her burial. At five o'clock in the afternoon she was in- 
 terred in the Catholic cemetery. (In New Orleans the 
 graves are shelves in raised mounds ; on these shelves the 
 coffins or caskets are placed and thrust in head-first their 
 entire length. The door consists of a slab, or stone, which 
 can be closed and locked, the same as though it were a 
 single tomb.) About dusk the sexton's son, on his rounds 
 before locking up the cemetery, happened to pass along 
 the path on which the tomb of this young lady was situ- 
 ated, and when in front of the same heard agonizing 
 moans proceeding from it. Losing his self-possession and 
 frightened, he ran to the gate of the cemetery, locked it, 
 hurried home and went to his room, which he did not leave 
 till next day, when he told his father of what he had heard. 
 The sexton immediately notified the young lady's parents, 
 and upon their proceeding to the cemetery, and opening 
 the coffin, a most shocking spectacle was seen. The 
 young lady had evidently come to life, and in her agony at 
 finding herself buried alive, had struggled fearfully ; her 
 face and body were terribly distorted, her hair torn from 
 her head, while her hands were clenched and showed the 
 marks of her teeth. It is not necessary to say that when 
 discovered in this state life was entirely extinct. The 
 horror of the parents, and of the physician and uncle, can- 
 not be described. 
 
 In the same month of 1869 Thomas H , of Burling- 
 ton, Iowa, died on Thursday morning, and was buried in 
 the evening. When the sexton had partly filled the grave, 
 
36 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 a noise from the coffin was heard, which caused him at 
 once to uncover and raise it. The coffin on being opened 
 disclosed the eyes of the dead man widely opened. The 
 body was kept until the next day, but showing no further 
 signs of life, was again buried. It is very doubtful about 
 this man's being dead ; on the contrary, he could very 
 likely have been restored to life with proper exertions, — 
 unless he had revived, and died of terror at finding himself 
 buried alive. 
 
 In July, 1868, Mrs. Crane died suddenly from sunstroke. 
 
 Her husband was book-keeper with Messrs. F & Co., 
 
 wholesale druggists on Magazine street, and she was teacher 
 in a public school. The next day her body was interred at 
 ten o'clock in the morning, and her mother returned home 
 from the funeral almost brokenhearted. Some days after, 
 she dreamed that her daughter had been buried alive. 
 Awaking suddenly, and vividly impressed by her dream, or 
 vision, she rushed into the room of her son-in-law, and 
 cried, " You have buried my daughter alive ! What shall 
 I do?" She could not be quieted; so the son-in-law, to 
 satisfy her, proposed to have the tomb opened. This was 
 done, and on drawing forth the casket, the glass above the 
 face was found broken, the fingers of the dead bitten and 
 torn by the glass ; her hands, face, and everything within 
 reach were marked with blood, and quantities of hair were 
 torn from her head, and scattered over her breast. The 
 expression of agony caused the poor mother to faint, and a 
 sickness of several weeks' duration. 
 
 In Stonington, Conn., in February, 1870, Miss Susan 
 K , a lady of twenty-three, and of fine personal appear- 
 ance, a daughter of Ex-Governor K , was taken sick 
 
 with an affection of the throat, by which she was confined 
 to her bed for several days, when, being supposed conva- 
 lescent, she was allowed to come down stairs. That night 
 she grew suddenly worse, complained of pains in her hands 
 
AND RESTORATION. 3/ 
 
 and feet, which increased in severity until the next day, 
 when she passed into an unconscious state, in which she 
 remained till her supposed death. The usual preparations 
 for burial were made, and the friends had gathered around 
 to take a last look, when a physician present said he 
 thought he saw signs of life, and at his suggestion the 
 body was removed from the coffin and laid in blankets ; 
 friction and artificial respiration were resorted to, but with- 
 out success. Next day the galvanic battery was used, but 
 with no effect. The body was again placed in the coffin, 
 where it remained for several days, and it was estimated 
 that during the fourteen days following as many as twenty- 
 five hundred persons saw it. The appearance was that of a 
 person in good health, asleep ; the face was full and life- 
 like, cheeks flushed, lips red, eyes full and not sunken, and 
 no visible appearances of death. There was a total ab- 
 sence of muscular rigidity, and six days after her supposed 
 death the bed was perceptibly warmed by her body. Phy- 
 sicians applied stethoscopes, but failed to detect any pulsa- 
 tion. Then a lighted match was applied to an exposed 
 part of the skin, but the burn did not blister or fill with 
 serum, as is the case when life is present. Many physicians 
 from the surrounding country visited her and beheld the 
 wonderful phenomena ; but they disagreed, as usual, some 
 saying that the young lady was dead and the lifelike ap- 
 pearance caused by arsenic, which she might have taken 
 for her complexion (which was very fine). But the mother 
 and friends denied that she had ever taken arsenic for any 
 purpose. The body was kept twenty days in all, when it 
 was placed in the tomb, lacking just as much positive evi- 
 dence of death as it had at any time during the period it 
 had been kept, — looking exactly like a person in sound 
 sleep. 
 
 The following was told the author by Albert Webster, 
 Esq., of Plymouth, N.H. : The health of his brother 
 
38 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 Sheldon being delicate, he gradually sank, and, as the fam- 
 ily supposed, died. He certainly ceased to move, breathe, 
 or exhibit any of the usual signs of life, and was therefore 
 prepared for burial. But just before the body was secured 
 in the casket he revived, spoke, and was restored to the 
 family circle. Afterwards, at intervals a few days apart, 
 he went through the same conditions for some weeks ; but 
 his friends being warned, did not hasten to bury him, and 
 he revived on each occasion, until finally, when actual 
 death occurred, they kept the body until decomposition set 
 in. The author was well acquainted with the family, and 
 knew the sick brother. 
 
 In Boston, June 15, 1869 : " A babe of Mrs. D. F. Quinn, 
 two weeks old, apparently died, and was clothed for burial ; 
 but before being placed in the coffin began to cry, and 
 completely revived. Later in the day the child again died, 
 and was again prepared for burial, but after a deathlike ap- 
 pearance of two hours' duration it again exhibited signs of 
 life, and began to cry ; is now doing well." 
 
 Mr. Benjamin Shaw, of Gardiner, Me., related to the 
 author the following facts : In 1844 Mrs. John D. Blake, 
 of Gardiner, Me., who afterwards removed to Pawtucket, 
 R. I., was very sick with a fever. For several days she 
 had no pulse, and finally was supposed to be dead. The 
 appearance was, however, so lifelike that her friends were 
 in doubt about death being actual. They held a hand-glass 
 over her mouth, and the moisture of the breath was visible 
 upon it, although she could not be seen to breathe. After 
 lying in that condition for three days she awoke to con- 
 sciousness and revived. She gradually regained her usual 
 health, and may, for all we know, be at the present time 
 living in Pawtucket. If so, she is a woman of undoubted 
 veracity, and would reassert what she told Mr. Shaw, which 
 we here relate. She said she had been in the land of spir- 
 its, and had seen many of her friends who had passed on 
 
AND RESTORATION. 39 
 
 before her, and several whom she believed to be still living 
 until she met them there. Upon inquiry she learned that 
 they had but recently passed from the mortal to the im- 
 mortal. She saw none of her friends whom she knew posi- 
 tively to be living. We did not understand that Mrs. 
 Blake was a Spiritualist before her wonderful experience, 
 or that she became one. 
 
 In June, 1870, a physician (Dr. Stroinski) stopped at the 
 house of George Chandler, a farmer living near the Lowell 
 Railroad, between Nashua and Tyngsboro, and was in- 
 formed by Mrs. Chandler that her daughter Susan had 
 died on the previous Saturday, and the body had been 
 placed in a coffin for interment. The doctor, upon exam- 
 ining the remains, said that the girl was not dead, but only 
 in a fit. He had the body removed and placed in a warm 
 bath. After a good deal of rubbing, and movements made 
 for artificial breathing, the girl was brought to life. After 
 leaving some medicines, the doctor went on his way, and 
 during the next day the girl voided a tapeworm of un- 
 usually large size. We recollect of reading a statement of 
 an English practitioner and writer that he had made many 
 post-mortem examinations of patients who had been during 
 life subject to epileptic fits or fits of somnambulism, in 
 every one of which he found one or more tapeworms, and 
 not unfrequently one or more families of the lesser classes 
 of these intestinal parasites. We are of the opinion that 
 the cause of epilepsy may be worms. 
 
 On August 15, 1863, Henry Meyers, of St. Cloud street, 
 was struck by lightning, and, supposed to be dead, was duly 
 laid out and a coroner's inquest held, at which he was pro- 
 nounced dead. While lying in his coffin, waiting to be bur- 
 ied, he revived, sat up, and asked "the cause of all this ; " 
 and after twenty-four hours of suspended animation he was 
 helped from his coffin, and fully restored. 
 
40 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 [From the New Orleans "Times."] 
 
 In May, 1873, a child was laid out for interment, — the 
 coffin lid not put on, but the friends surrounding and re- 
 garding the body. The funeral carriages were drawn up in 
 front of the house. Suddenly there arose a thunder storm, 
 and simultaneously with one of the most deafening claps 
 the child opened his eyes, and immediately resumed his 
 natural ability to help himself. 
 
 A physician from Georgia related the fact of a colored 
 woman, who, under intense religious excitement, swooned 
 and remained unconscious and breathless for four days, and 
 then revived. No pulsation was distinguishable. 
 
 Says a recent writer : " I pity the stranger who dies 
 within the gates of Munich. Every one here is treated with 
 equal injustice, be he high or low, friend or foe. The body 
 of the deceased is taken almost immediately to the ceme- 
 tery, where there is a chamber of death prepared for its 
 reception. Windows look in upon the couches, and almost 
 every hour there are anxious faces peering in at the bodies, 
 as they lie side by side, until the hour of burial. Among 
 the number may be seen those borne thither from the ball 
 or bridal halls, attired tastefully and gaudily, so that, if they 
 revive, the scene may be as agreeable and cheerful as pos- 
 sible. Wires are attached to the hands and feet, so that, 
 in case of an awakening, the bell will ring and summon the 
 watchman to bear away the body to the friends." Tradi- 
 tion gives only a very few cases of revival to life, and one 
 reason for it would be, that no efforts were made to revive 
 their energies or circulate the blood. A similar custom of 
 hasty burial prevails in many countries, but not in the 
 United States, although custom becomes law, it is said, in 
 a hundred years, and for a longer period than that our an- 
 cestors have adopted this rule, viz. : "The sooner their dead 
 were out of the house and the funeral over, the sooner will 
 the living become reconciled to their loss." 
 
AND RESTORATION. 4 1 
 
 At Concord, N.H., in 1842, Mrs. Nancy B. Fletcher, 
 aunt of the author, retired to her chamber, as was her cus- 
 tom after dinner, for a short sleep. Not returning to the 
 sitting-room as usual, her niece called at her door ; receiv- 
 ing no reply, she went to her, shook her by the hand, but 
 got no response. She called in the neighbors, then the 
 family physician, who pronounced her dead from some 
 affection of the heart. This was at five o'clock p.m. A 
 messenger was sent for her husband, who was fifty miles 
 from home. He arrived the next forenoon. She was pre- 
 pared for interment, and the day following, about forty-two 
 hours after the supposed death, she was taken in her coffin 
 and deposited in the Old North Church Cemetery. 
 
 The author at that time was several hundred miles from 
 Concord, and did not attend the funeral; but, afterwards, 
 when the husband related the peculiarities of his wife's 
 decease, we were of the opinion that she had been buried 
 alive. The account given by her husband was that there 
 were no signs whatever of death, except the absence of 
 pulsation and breathing. She had more color in the face 
 than usual, hands and feet were perfectly warm, soft, and 
 flexible, as in life. "But," he added, "the weather was 
 warm, and for some cause she remained warm and lifelike." 
 Of course the author said nothing to disturb his mind. 
 
 About thirty-eight years subsequently, while taking tea 
 at the late Dr. Bouton's, the subject of Mrs. F.'s death 
 came up during the conversation ; and Dr. Bouton ventured 
 his opinion " that Mrs. Fletcher was not dead when placed 
 in her coffin, and that she was in a cataleptic or somnam- 
 bulic state, was warm, flexible, and with fresh color in the 
 face." "Why, then," he was asked, "did you not speak 
 out and object to the funeral ? " He replied, " I was inex- 
 perienced in such matters, and thought the doctor must 
 know; but in after life," he added, "I was forced to be- 
 lieve, upon reflection, that Mrs. Fletcher was not dead 
 when placed in her coffin." 
 
42 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 While the author was a student with Dr. McK , of 
 
 Boston, an invitation was sent to the latter to attend a post- 
 mortem examination one afternoon at No. — Hanover street, 
 
 at three oclock. Doctors C and S called at the 
 
 appointed time, and we four set out for the work before us, 
 
 and, as usual, "Fletcher must go to assist." Dr. S , 
 
 who had had the case at the Tremont House, was called at 
 10.30 o'clock in the morning. The man (a waiter) had 
 swooned away, and died in half an hour ; therefore there was 
 no organic difficulty to examine for. The question was to 
 discover the cause of sudden death. It might be rupture of 
 a blood-vessel in the head, or internal aneurism, apoplexy, 
 epilepsy, paralysis, or heart disease. While they were en- 
 gaged thus, the writer was examining the body, which was 
 warm, the arms very rigid, and under them the usual degree 
 
 of warmth as in life. The student said to Dr. C , " Do 
 
 you think he is dead ? " and his reply was, " He seems and 
 
 feels much like life." He then remarked to Dr. McK , 
 
 " Fletcher thinks the subject is not dead; but he is dead 
 enough ; no fear about that." The next instant the scalpel 
 opened the thorax, and blood flowed as freely and as freshly 
 as it would have done in life, in perfect health. As he con- 
 tinued his examination, each of the surrounding physicians 
 remarked in turn, " How fresh and freely the blood flows ; 
 really I never saw anything like it," and when the exami- 
 nation reached the brain, Dr. McK observed, " I de- 
 clare, this is remarkable, — never saw anything like it." 
 
 During that afternoon Dr. McK and the author were 
 
 alone in the office, and the subject was spoken of. Dr. 
 
 McK said he had doubts about the operation having 
 
 been a post-mortem examination (that is, one made after 
 death), but feared it might have been an ante-mortem (or 
 one before death). The author expressed his belief that 
 the body was alive when operated upon, and vowed never 
 again to assist or look on, and allow a similar act. Dr. 
 
AND RESTORATION. 43 
 
 McK had arrived at the same conclusion, and then re- 
 lated a case in which he was called upon by a brother phy- 
 sician to make a post-mortem examination. 
 
 "The subject had been put into a Thompsonian steam- 
 box. After being steamed for a while the door was opened 
 and a pailful of cold water dashed upon him, the door 
 closed, and steam let on again. After several sudden 
 shocks the man swooned and appeared to die. At the post- 
 mortem examination, as the doctors stood by him, one in- 
 quired how long since he came from the steam-box. The 
 answer was, 'Four hours or more.' He was perfectly warm 
 and flexible, with all the appearance of life. ' Well,' said 
 
 one, 'Dr. McK ; suppose you try the scalpel ; you are 
 
 good with it.' I took it, and at that moment passed my 
 finger down along the breast-bone, where I intended to 
 open the thorax or chest, and, upon my word (it could not 
 be imagination), the blood rushed over the face of the sub- 
 ject up to the roots of his hair. And now, Fletcher, I am 
 resolved never again, under any circumstances, to examine 
 a subject until he is to a certainty dead." 
 
 Jacob Merrill, a watchmaker of Campton, N.H., related 
 to the author, when a young man, an experience which he 
 had. He fell into the river, and, never having learned to 
 swim, went to the bottom. With efforts and struggling he 
 came to the surface ; and,, after rising and sinking two or 
 three times, he went down slowly, amid the shouting and 
 screaming on the shore. He stated that, as he lay there, 
 he saw people running up and down the banks, saw them 
 building a raft of boards and rails, with which to rescue 
 him ; he was free from pain, and saw apparently a great 
 sheet unrolled and passed before him, upon which was a 
 record of all the events of his life. It seemed to him as 
 though he lay there several hours, before losing conscious- 
 ness. How long he was unconscious he was wholly un- 
 able to tell; but the first return of his senses was accom- 
 
44 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 panied by terrible agony, indescribable pains all over and 
 through his body. The drowning was pleasure, compared 
 with the reviving to life. Subsequently he was drowned 
 again, and underwent similar experiences. To the author 
 he said, laughing, "And I have got to die again, by-and-by, 
 I suppose." 
 
 In January, 1865, John Reiley, a young man twenty-four 
 or twenty-five years of age, living at Lot 7 Road, Prince 
 Edward Island, returned home on Sunday evening, with 
 his brother-in-law, Martin Merrigan, who carried some wood 
 into the house, while Reiley took in a back-log. Reiley 
 seated himself upon a chair, and began removing his boots. 
 After taking one off, he placed his hand upon the back of 
 his neck, and complained of an intense pain ; started for 
 the lounge, but staggered, and would have fallen had he not 
 been caught. He was placed on the lounge, but never re- 
 covered. This was on Sunday night. The funeral took 
 place on Tuesday. There was a perfectly natural look 
 about the body, and the face was noticed by all. On the 
 day of the funeral there was a sweat on the forehead, 
 color in the face, and the body was neither cold nor stiff, 
 though the day was a most severe one ; and two large 
 evergreen trees had to be place'd near the grave, to serve 
 as a barrier against the weather. We have here a very 
 unusual case, and given to us by an eye-witness ; that of 
 a young man, apparently in perfect health, passing into in- 
 sensibility instantly, and without any uncommon cause, or 
 more than would happen on any day. Although the man 
 was not revived, we think it a case of suspended anima- 
 tion. 
 
 Rev. William Tennent, of Freehold, Monmouth County, 
 N.J., born in Ireland, in June, 1705, when a young man 
 determined to devote himself to the ministry. He went to 
 New Brunswick, N.J., and applied himself so closely to his 
 studies that his health became injured, he lost flesh 
 
AND RESTORATION. 45 
 
 rapidly, was troubled with a pain in the chest, and was 
 reduced almost to a skeleton. He rapidly grew worse, 
 until little hope of his life was entertained. One morning, 
 while talking with his brother about future happiness, he 
 fainted, and appeared to die. After a short time he was 
 laid out, and those in the neighborhood invited to attend 
 the funeral next day. In the evening his physician and 
 friend (to whom he was greatly attached, and who cher- 
 ished the warmest friendship towards him) returned, and 
 was much affected by the news of the death. He could 
 scarcely credit his senses ; and upon examining the body 
 he thought there were visible signs of life. He had the 
 body removed to a warm bed, and began working over it, 
 and insisted that people should be notified not to come to 
 the funeral. The brother objected; but the doctor finally 
 prevailed, and continued his exertions. The third day ar- 
 rived, and no hopes were entertained by anybody except 
 the doctor, who staid by the body day and night. The 
 people were again invited, and assembled to attend the 
 funeral. The doctor, still objecting, continued his requests 
 for delay ; first for hours, then for a half-hour, and finally 
 for fifteen minutes. During this last period, while the 
 doctor was wetting the tongue, the brother came in, and 
 declared that such delays and working over the body were 
 useless and shameful, insisting that the funeral should at 
 once proceed. Just at this critical time the supposed 
 corpse opened his eyes, gave a groan, and sank again into 
 apparent death. Of course all thoughts of a funeral were 
 now banished, and every attempt made to resuscitate the 
 man. After an hour there was a second indication of life, 
 similar to the first, and instantly succeeded by a relapse. 
 Before long a complete revival took place, to the great joy 
 of the family and amazement of those who had been ridi- 
 culing the idea of restoring a corpse to life. Mr. Tennent's 
 recovery was, for some weeks, so slow that doubts were 
 
46 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 entertained as to the ultimate result ; however, after a few 
 months he gained much faster, and at the end of a year 
 was wholly restored. Upon examination after recovery, 
 he was found to be totally ignorant of every transaction 
 of his life preceding his wonderful experience. He could 
 neither read nor write, and had no idea what a Bible was, 
 and was, therefore, obliged to again begin learning, the 
 same as a child. One day, when reading some Latin, with 
 which he had been very familiar formerly, he stopped 
 short, rubbed his head, and said it seemed as though it was 
 something he had seen or known before. By degrees, 
 from this time, his memory returned, until he had a per- 
 fect recollection of his past life, and of the knowledge 
 which he had forgotten. 
 
 In Freelandsville, Indiana, in March, 1879, happened 
 what was considered a remarkable case of trance. The 
 subject was Miss Flora Feihleman, daughter of a well-to-do 
 farmer, near that place. The young lady, whose family 
 are Catholics, returned home from the school of Notre 
 Dame, last December, coming to stay. Since her ar- 
 rival she has been in very ill health, moaning and tossing 
 in fever at night. Immediately after the late cold spell, 
 she was attacked with pneumonia, now so fatally prevalent 
 in this region. Notwithstanding she had the best medical 
 attendance to be procured in this vicinity, she died on 
 Monday, March 3, or, at least, apparently died, for the 
 village physician in charge pronounced her dead. Were 
 it not for the fact, that Miss Feihleman was an only 
 daughter, she might have been buried immediately ; but it 
 was decided to keep the body until the arrival of friends 
 from Ohio, who had been sent for. This delayed the 
 burial until the 8th of March, on which day the funeral was 
 to take place at two o'clock p.m. As the friends were 
 taking a last look (the body not having been taken from 
 the house), the mother, being the last to do so, suddenly 
 
AND RESTORATION. 47 
 
 bent over it, and, uttering a cry, declared she saw the eye- 
 lids move, as in life. The father and other relatives, tried 
 by all means to gently draw her away from the body, and 
 had nearly accomplished this, when, to the surprise of all, 
 the young lady herself assumed a sitting posture in the 
 coffin. She gazed around with a vacant, surprised stare, 
 not unlike persons in a trance when coming to conscious- 
 ness, and then sank back, apparently exhausted. She was 
 at once removed and placed in bed ; but as many as three 
 hours passed before she was conscious enough to talk 
 about her condition. The time she passed in trance was a 
 perfect blank to her. The parents w T ere overjoyed, and 
 the case excited a great deal of comment in that vicinity. 
 
 In January, 1879, a lady travelling in the central part of 
 Arkansas, was obliged to make part of her journey by 
 stage. The only passenger in the coach besides herself, 
 was a man very thinly clad, so far as could be judged. 
 During the passage over the mountains, he complained 
 of cold, but finally fell asleep. Arriving at the station 
 on the north of the mountain, the driver attempted to 
 awaken the man ; but found, to his horror, that he was dead, 
 and frozen so as to be rigid. He was taken from the coach, 
 and into a room, which, though cool, was some degrees 
 warmer than freezing. The lady states, that, when she 
 was leaving on the next day (having been obliged to 
 remain over night), she was surprised to learn that signs 
 of life were present in the supposed dead man, who was to 
 have been buried that forenoon. After brisk rubbing 
 with flannels, wet with spirits, for an hour or so, he had re- 
 vived so as to speak. At the time of her departure, he 
 was fast recovering. Had he remained in his unconscious 
 state a few hours longer, he would surely have been buried, 
 as all who saw him thought life extinct. 
 
 At Bridgewater, N.H., in 1825, Walter Webster, a prom- 
 inent and well-known citizen, while riding with his wife 
 
48 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 past the churchyard, drove in to look at some lots. In 
 passing a newly made grave, the wheels of his carriage 
 sank so deeply into the earth, as to cause suspicion that a 
 body had been taken up by the doctors for dissection. He 
 reported the incident to the friends, who, for their satisfac- 
 tion, had the coffin taken up, and, upon opening it, found 
 that the grave had not been robbed, but that the buried 
 man had turned upon his side, torn his robe as far as he 
 could reach, and had horribly bitten his tongue. Their 
 feelings can be better imagined than described. 
 
 At Irasburg, Vt., in April, 1869, a lad sick with mem- 
 braneous croup, was given up, and appeared to pass away. 
 Preparations were made to lay him out ; but, during this 
 operation, a very faint rattle was heard in his throat ; the 
 most vigorous exertions were made to resuscitate him, and 
 in a short time he was restored to his friends, as 'one from 
 the dead. 
 
 A gentleman known to the author, told him some few 
 years ago, he was watching with a young lady friend, who 
 had died, and to preserve the features, kept the face cov- 
 ered with cloths wet in spirits. In removing these, for the 
 purpose of wetting them anew, he accidently spilled some 
 of the liquid over the face, when to his great surprise, the 
 shock caused by the cold spirits revived the lady, and res- 
 tored her to consciousness. 
 
 The wife of a well-known citizen of Westfield, Mass., 
 who died a year-and-a-half ago, was recently exhumed for 
 burial in another lot. Some persons present had the curi- 
 iosity to open the coffin ; and discovered, to their horror, 
 that the lady had turned over, and the hands clinched in 
 the hair of her head, while the burial clothing within her 
 reach was torn into shreds. "Can there be any doubt of 
 her having been buried alive ? " 
 
 A small-pox patient came very near being buried alive 
 at Ottawa, Canada, in January, 1880. After the coffin had 
 
AND RESTORATION. 49 
 
 been lowered into the grave, the noise made by the first 
 few shovelfuls of earth falling upon it, aroused the sup- 
 posed dead man, and caused him to kick vigorously in the 
 coffin ; this being hastily removed, and the cover unscrewed, 
 the supposed corpse sat up and exclaimed, " My God, have 
 I had such a narrow escape? " He was at once removed 
 (an overcoat being thrown about him), and was taken to 
 the hospital, where he did well, and recovered. 
 
 At Baltimore, Md., in 1881, Barbara Liefeldt, aged 
 twenty-three, died, apparently, at Christmas, but was warm 
 and lifelike ; she was placed in a vault. The friends not 
 being satisfied, opened the coffin, and found the color fresh 
 in her face, the body not cold, and strong indications of 
 life present. As the superintendent of the cemetery was 
 not willing to have the body taken away, the coffin was left 
 open, and a watch kept to see if she would revive in that 
 cold place. After waiting twelve or fourteen days (her 
 face having several times assumed a natural appearance, 
 then becoming pale), she was buried, without any means 
 having been used for restoring her. At the time of her 
 burial there was no indication of decomposition, and it is 
 fair to presume, that any possible chance of revival was- de- 
 stroyed by leaving her in a cold tomb. The same is true in 
 scores of other cases, in which the bodies of those who ap- 
 pear to die, are placed by their friends in cold rooms, with 
 sheets over them ; and, if in a trance, they will become so 
 chilled as to be bevond recovery. 
 
 In February, 1876, John Hammell, a farmer, near Seneca 
 Falls, N.Y., was found frozen near the house of a Mr. More- 
 house, having lain out of doors all night. The coroner, 
 who was sent for, to take charge of the body, and see that 
 it was properly buried, pronounced life extinct. But a 
 physician happening to come in, made an examination of 
 the body ; after which he declared the body not dead, and 
 that he might possibly be recovered. Here was a differ- 
 
50 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 ence of opinion between the doctor and the coroner. But 
 the doctor was allowed to go ahead with his restoratives, 
 to see if he could raise the dead. Sure enough, John 
 Hammell did eventually open his eyes, and now he is alive 
 and a well man. 
 
 In May, 1876, John Clayton, of Painterhood Township, 
 Kansas, was very sick with pneumonia, and sent for Dr. 
 Searcy, of Longton. Just as the doctor arrived, the sick 
 man drew a long breath, and straightened out ; after 
 which he was, upon examination, pronounced dead, and 
 was consequently laid out. Something like half an hour 
 passed, when the supposed corpse gave a slight cough, and 
 spit up a mouthful of bloody matter. Medical aid was 
 called in, and at last accounts the man was likely to get 
 well. 
 
 In February, 1876, the body of Mrs. Harriet Westervelt, 
 of Bloomingdale, N.J., was prepared for burial. When the 
 undertaker was about screwing down the coffin-lid, the 
 supposed corpse started up, saying, in a loud voice, " My 
 God ! what are you going to do with me ? " She was re- 
 moved from the coffin, and placed in bed, where she soon 
 after expired. The " Patterson Guardian," says that the 
 undertaker, before putting her in the casket, had asked the 
 daughter, "if she really thought her mother was dead?" 
 They were both horrified, when the supposed corpse sat up 
 in the coffin, and exclaimed as above. Dr. MacWithey 
 was sent for with all despatch, and on arrival found the 
 woman lying still, and unconscious ; and, after an examina- 
 tion, pronounced her dead, saying, that she had just ex- 
 pired, perhaps from the the terrible fright. After she had 
 spoken as described, there were no signs of animation, 
 which fact gave the body all the more the appearance of a 
 dead person sitting up, speaking but a single sentence, and 
 then relapsing into the everlasting stillness of death. Had 
 she been buried with the haste that usually attends funerals, 
 
AND RESTORATION. 5 I 
 
 she would have experienced her momentary return to life 
 while in her grave. 
 
 One Sunday, in June, i860, in Cattaraugus, N.Y., a child 
 died, and on the following Monday, preparations for the 
 funeral were made. This was held on Monday afternoon, 
 and the body of the child, attended by a number of friends, 
 was conveyed to the grave. As the earth began to fall 
 upon the coffin, a feeble cry was heard. The coffin was 
 instantly raised and opened, and a shriek of "Mother!" 
 burst from the lips of the terrified child. The child is in a 
 fair way of recovery. 
 
 Near Columbus, Ga., an old fellow, known as " Bare- 
 foot Walker " (not having worn shoes for forty years), ap- 
 parently died, about a week ago (earlier than this date, 
 March, 1880), at the age of ninety-five years. His friends 
 thought him old enough to be dead, so they laid him in his 
 coffin, and were about to bear him to his grave, when he 
 suddenly arose, and demanded to know "what they meant 
 by such treatment ? " The astonished assembly had not a 
 word of apology for their actions, and immediately left the 
 old man master of the situation. 
 
 In Holderness, N.H., in the year 1835, a man by the 
 name of Drew, on a certain occasion, laid a bet that he 
 could drink a pint of rum at one draught. This he did, 
 but soon became insensible, and was laid out for dead. 
 Next day he was buried, many of those present remark- 
 ing, " How lifelike he looks ! What a color there is in his 
 face ! " Great drops of sweat stood upon his forehead. 
 Some friends arriving next day, the body was taken up ; 
 he had evidently revived, torn his grave-clothes, and bitten 
 his arm in his agony, and died. 
 
 Near Stratford, Canada, a young man died, was laid in 
 the tomb over night. Next day, two men, while carrying 
 the body to the grave, heard a noise in the coffin. In their 
 fright they dropped it, and ran off ; but the man broke 
 
52 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 open the coffin, and went after aid, dressed as he was in his 
 grave-clothes. 
 
 [Saratoga '"Sun," November n, 1882.] 
 
 Last Tuesday afternoon, Mrs. W. L. Pettit, wife of the 
 Teller of the First National Bank of Fort Wayne, Indiana, 
 apparently died, and the undertaker took charge of the 
 body. Arrangements were making for the funeral, and 
 watchers were sitting by the supposed corpse. At ten 
 o'clock at night, a faint sigh was heard coming from the 
 body ; the watchers started to their feet with alarm, 
 stepped to her side, found her eyes were wide open, while, 
 in a voice that was scarcely an audible whisper, she re- 
 cognized them, and asked for her husband. For a moment 
 the attendants were speechless with wonder at the resur- 
 rection of the dead ; then, with the revulsion of feeling, 
 they almost screamed with excitement. The husband 
 came in haste, and, with joy unspeakable, clasped his living 
 wife in his arms. The doctor was sent for, and was as 
 much astonished as the rest of the household at beholding 
 living one whom, in his exact medical science, he had de- 
 clared dead. He administered the proper restoratives, and 
 the patient rapidly recovered. 
 
 While bathing in a river at Rumney, N.H., a little girl, 
 ten years old, daughter of a Mr. Spaulding, sank under the 
 water. Her companion went for assistance. The body 
 was found about half an hour after it sank, was taken to 
 the house, and appeared to be dead. The usual remedies 
 were applied, and about twelve hours after she was taken 
 from the water, she became slightly conscious ; but did not 
 regain her senses entirely for two days. 
 
 The " Church Advocate and Christian Witness," of 
 August 17, 1855, says: "In a flourishing town in a mid- 
 land county, a clergyman died. On the third day his wife 
 and daughter recalled the fact that no likeness remained 
 of him they so fondly cherished. It was agreed that, 'ere 
 
AND RESTORATION. 53 
 
 the grave closed over him, a portrait should be taken. A 
 young lady of some professional celebrity was engaged for 
 the task. She, with the assistance of the attendant, took 
 off the shroud, and placed the body in the requisite posi- 
 tion ; but other duties required her attention ; the sketch 
 was deferred until noon. About twelve o'clock, at the 
 foot of the bed, the young lady commenced and went 
 through an hour's work on this image of death. At this 
 stage of the proceedings, the head of the deathlike figure 
 fell on one side. Nothing daunted, the artist took the 
 head to replace it, when, lo ! the eyes opened, and, looking 
 her full in the face, the supposed dead man inquired, ' Who 
 are you ? ' The young professional, without trepidation, 
 took the bandage from his head, and rubbed his neck. He 
 immediately saw the shroud, and laughed immoderately. 
 The artist called the family, and their joy may be imagined 
 better than described. That evening he who had been 
 bemoaned as dead was in his seat at the tea-table ; and at 
 the time of writing, was making a tour of North Wales." 
 
 " At this date, March 15, 1882, Miss Josephine Ryman, 
 of Evansville, Indiana, is just recovering from a remarka- 
 ble sickness, at her sister's, Mrs. Brown. Josephine, being 
 an orphan, went to work in Saint James, a small village. 
 One Saturday evening last winter she went to a singing 
 school, and, soon after being seated, felt a strange sensation 
 in her head, accompanied with pains in her back. She 
 started to go out, but, on attempting to stand, dropped in a 
 dead faint. She was carried home to her friends, who 
 thought it a fit, from which she would soon recover, but 
 she lay as though dead. Sunday passed, and she remained 
 with no change. The body became cooler and cooler, the 
 eyes were open and staring, the lips apart. Physicians 
 pronounced life extinct. The priest administered the last 
 rites of the church, the robes and other clothing were pre- 
 pared, the coffin ordered, and the friends about taking 
 
54 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 their farewell look at poor Josie. All Monday passed, with 
 the same condition of the body, but at evening a slight 
 change gave the friends hope that it might be only a 
 trance. Restoratives were applied, but she lay as pale as 
 marble, but there was wanting the icy feeling to the touch 
 that denotes death. On the fourth clay the priest was 
 again sent for, and, after consulting with the physician, said, 
 ' It is a trance, and she may come out of it ; however it 
 will be but momentary ; she will relapse ; she cannot live.' 
 Accordingly, the burial was set for the next clay. Imagine 
 the feelings of horror this girl must have experienced, — to 
 know and hear all that passed when her friends kissed her 
 with ' Good-by, Josie,' and she strove to move, but could 
 not. The sisters began cutting off her hair, took half of 
 it ; she felt the steel scissors, and as they turned her head 
 to get at the other side of it, some slight motion or move- 
 ment convinced them that she was still alive. Soon she 
 sat up, and recovery rapidly followed. In a few days she 
 was able to give an account of her sensations and horrible 
 feelings. The reviving was ten times more painful than 
 the dying." 
 
 [From the Detroit "Free Press," September, 1882.] 
 
 Last Sunday a scene took place so appalling as to blanch 
 the faces and press the life, for the moment, from the hearts 
 of those who witnessed it. The relatives and friends of a 
 deceased lady assembled in the Washington Congregational 
 Cemetery to remove the body from the receiving vault, 
 where it had been deposited to await the return of the 
 husband, and in order to inter it with kindred dead. The 
 circumstances attending the illness and death of the lady 
 
 were unusually sad. Mrs. B had but recently returned 
 
 from a Southern station, where she went to join her hus- 
 band, who is master's mate in the United States navy. 
 A complication of maladies rendered her such a sufferer 
 that opiates were resorted to, in order to afford relief. 
 
AND RESTORATION. 55 
 
 When her recovery was despaired of, her husband was tele- 
 graphed for, but was unable to return immediately. He 
 arrived the latter part of last week, when arrangements 
 for the final burial were made. When the casket had been 
 taken from the vault, the husband desired to look for the 
 last time upon the face of his beloved dead. The attend- 
 ants removed the outer lid, so that the face could be viewed 
 through the glass. 
 
 The changed position of the body, and disarranged con- 
 dition of the clothing at once excited the agonizing suspi- 
 cion that a living body had been placed in the tomb. The 
 carefully arranged hair had been displaced, and lay in dis- 
 order over the shoulders ; the flowers which had been 
 placed on her bosom were scattered ; the folded hands had 
 been wrenched asunder, the palms were open, and the fin- 
 gers strained apart ; the eyes were started from their 
 sockets. 
 
 The changes which would naturally take place after a 
 lapse of eleven days from death, would account for some 
 of the alterations which had taken place. But the dishev- 
 elled hair, the position of the hands, and the distorted fea- 
 tures, leave the horrible conviction, that the unhappy lady 
 sank into that counterfeit of death, suspended animation, 
 and revived, to find herself coffined and'entombed as dead. 
 
 " A most singular circumstance has been brought to our 
 notice," says the Laconia (N.H.) " Tocsin," of the 14th Sep- 
 tember, 1882, — "a remarkable case of suspended anima- 
 tion which happened in Canada ; and, as some parties con- 
 nected with the affair are residents and well known here, 
 an account of the occurrence in detail may be interesting 
 to our readers. 
 
 "The subject of this narration is one of the daughters 
 of Joseph Morin, residing on the St. Lawrence, in tire 
 beautiful city of Saint Levi, three and a half miles from 
 Quebec. Mr. Morin has a family of five children, two sons 
 
$6 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 and three daughters. One of the latter, named Delina, 
 about twenty years old, being ambitious to support herself, 
 came to the United States, and secured a place in the 
 hosiery mill of H. P. Holt, in this town. 
 
 " About the first of last month Delina received a letter 
 from home with the information that her younger sister 
 Angie, some fifteen years of age, had been suddenly taken 
 ill, and no hopes were entertained of her recovery ; and 
 further, that Angie was very desirous of seeing her sister, 
 for whom she had the greatest affection, before her death. 
 Delina at once prepared to visit home. Some two hours 
 later she received a telegram stating that her sister was 
 dead. She started for Canada that evening on the Mont- 
 real night-express train, and arrived home next morning, 
 only to find the telegram true. 
 
 " Preparations had been made for the funeral next day at 
 nine o'clock. The grave-clothes were prepared and ad- 
 justed, the coffin procured, and the body lay shrouded and 
 inclosed therein, ready for the last sad rites. The attend- 
 ants at evening, who were to watch the remains, entered 
 upon their duty for the night. At intervals the face of the 
 girl was bathed with a liquid preparation to prevent putre- 
 faction, which soon follows death. About four o'clock in 
 the morning the attendant, in passing the hand over the 
 face of the apparently lifeless girl, was astonished at the 
 warmth, which excited the keenest' interest. By close vigi- 
 lance for an hour or so, further evidences of returning life 
 were observed. , 
 
 " The friends were at once aroused, and great was their 
 surprise and delight upon assembling around the coffin. 
 A most remarkable change had taken place. The face, 
 which at night was pale and deathlike, now had a ruddy 
 glow. A murmur of hope escaped from the friends : 
 ' Something must be done at once. Can it be that Angie 
 lives ? ' The family physician was called, and saw signs of 
 
AND RESTORATION. 57 
 
 returning life. The lancet was used, and blood flowed 
 from an open vein in the arm. From that time her re- 
 covery was rapid. She opened her eyes ; consciousness 
 was restored, and soon loving hands were ministering to 
 her wants. The effect of the sudden transition from death 
 to life upon the family and friends may only be imagined. 
 The young lady asserts, ' that although unable to move, 
 she was all the while keenly conscious of all that was going 
 on, and fully realized her terrible situation.' The young 
 lady, when last heard from by her friends in the place, had 
 nearly regained her usual health." 
 
 The late Dr. Dana, of Cambridge, Mass., told the author 
 the following case, which came under his observation at 
 the workhouse : A man who had shown signs of great de- 
 pression of spirits, was one day missed by the occupants 
 of the place for a time, and upon making a search, his body 
 was found suspended in an outbuilding. From the time 
 when he was missed to the time when the body was found, 
 was thought to be three-quarters of an hour. The doctor's 
 students wished to try if he could be revived, after 
 strangulation so long and complete ; they were on hand 
 when the body was taken down ; and from the manner of 
 hanging there had been very little drop, and no disloca- 
 tion of the neck. The doctor was very doubtful of their 
 success ; but after about three hours' working over him, 
 the man revived, and consequently was obliged to remain 
 an inhabitant of the workhouse a while longer. This took 
 place about the year 1838. 
 
 Mrs. McLaren, of Boston, a friend of the author, related 
 the case of her son, when a lad at Newton, Mass. He was 
 with the haymakers in the field, and they having loaded 
 and bound the hay to the cart by a pole, as is the custom 
 where the ground is uneven and the hay to be hauled a 
 long distance, men and boy started for home. Soon the 
 load tipped over on its side ; the men were perplexed as to 
 
5o SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 how it could be righted, or to liberate the chain which 
 held the pole, this being tighter than when the load was in 
 an upright position. After a while the inquiry was made, 
 " What has become of the boy who was following the cart ? " 
 He had not been seen to go ahead, and after a few moments' 
 consultation they concluded that he must be tinder that load 
 of hay, and so got fence rails to pry it up. They then be- 
 gan in earnest to pull away the hay with their hands, to 
 make an opening ; soon they saw a foot, and from that 
 moment they pulled hay with a vengeance, until the boy was 
 liberated. They took him home, a fearful sight ; blood 
 running from the mouth, nose, and ears, told of the press- 
 ure that had been upon him ; and as they expressed it, the 
 boy was "as flat as a board." The mother was frantic with 
 grief, and begged them to rub and bring him to life again. 
 They thought, like the neighbors, that it was a useless 
 task ; but to pacify the mother (who almost in a state of 
 insanity walked the house imploring them to bring her boy 
 back to life), continued their exertions that evening, all 
 night, and next morning, until they had spent in all about 
 fourteen hours, when the lad revived, fully recovered, and 
 has not experienced any ill-effects from the accident. He 
 has grown to manhood, and, added the mother, " You can 
 see him by going to his place of business at Newton." 
 The name of this gentleman is Fuller, and his residence 
 was at Newton Lower Falls. 
 
 We had a case of asphyxia from drowning for trial ; 
 while on the way from Boston to Cambridge, we saw a 
 gathering of persons on the shore, and, being called by 
 name, made haste to the spot. A lad who had been under 
 water for fifty-five or sixty-five minutes was taken out, 
 hauled in a wagon to his home, o^e-eighth of a mile dis- 
 tant, placed on a mattress, on a bedstead, and with a pil- 
 low under his head ; two strong men took off their vests, 
 r.nd lay one each side of him, and, as directed, embraced 
 
AND RESTORATION. 59 
 
 him firmly, then relaxed their hold, and continued their ex- 
 ertions, while five were rubbing the feet, hands, and head ; 
 the electro-magnetic battery was used after the first halt- 
 hour, the body and limbs became flexible and warm ; after 
 an hour and a half fresh blood oozed from a cut in the lip, 
 and one of the assistants exclaimed, " See the blood on the 
 pillow ! " At this time in came the family physician with a 
 scowl on his face, felt for a pulse, and looked around upon 
 the operatives with a sinister smile. We remarked, " There 
 is neither pulse nor respiration, the boy having been under 
 water about an hour ; but we hope to resuscitate him, and 
 would like your assistance." He left the room in a sullen 
 manner. We said to our helpers, " He will do nothing ; 
 the burden of labor rests upon us, and we will do what we 
 can without him." He soon returned, however, and with 
 an angry look, inquired, ''How came you here? Who 
 sent for you ? " W T e replied, " The voice of the people, 
 which is the voice of God ; the people called as we ap- 
 proached and we obeyed." He again left the room, sav- 
 ins:, "He 's dead." At this crisis fresh arterial blood started 
 again from the lip, and some one said, " See the blood." 
 We answered, "Just what pleases us — the more of it the 
 better." Very soon in came the family doctor and in a high 
 
 and imperative tone, said, "I am requested by Airs.' " 
 
 (the mother) " to tell you to stop working over that dead 
 boy." The order fell upon us like a sheet of snow ; the 
 men were tired, wanting in faith, had worked more than 
 two hours, and hearing the mother's order ceased all efforts, 
 the lad being left to his fate. Our medical friends who 
 heard the facts in the case sustained us in the opinion, 
 that the bleeding from the lip gave strong evidence of re- 
 turning life, by the circulation of blood in the skin and ex- 
 tremities, and that four, six, or eight hours of efforts would 
 have been rewarded by a restored boy. The father of the 
 boy was absent from home ; but on hearing the facts, sus- 
 tained our opinion. 
 
60 SUSPENDED ANIMATION 
 
 It has been, and still is, an inexcusable custom when a 
 person has been under water for fifteen or twenty minutes, 
 or has been strangled by a rope, suffocated with coal gas, 
 found dead in bed or in field, to leave the patient and 
 send for a doctor. He, of course, arrives as soon as pos- 
 sible, — in an hour, more or less ; and after working over 
 the body for half an hour or so, pronounces life extinct, 
 remarking in many instances, "Half an hour sooner, and I 
 might have brought him to life." 
 
 Our purpose in speaking in this manner is to impress 
 upon our readers the great importance of promptness. Let 
 not a minute be lost befo7'e commencing operations for the 
 person's restoration. If nothing is done until the doctor ar- 
 rives, all such time is wholly lost ; and though 'tis better 
 to have a physician in charge, to aid with his skill and ex- 
 perience, besides inspiring courage, still those present should 
 begin to work over the body as soon as found, or recovered. 
 Bear in mind that every minute s delay makes the recovery 
 more difficult to bring about, no matter by whom attempted. 
 
 Bruhier, in his dissertation upon the uncertainty of the 
 signs of death, and the abuse of precipitate interments, has 
 collected one hundred and eighty cases, in which persons 
 were treated as dead, when life was not extinct. Fifty-two 
 of them were actually buried alive. Four were cut open 
 before it was discovered that life was present. Fifty-three 
 revived after being placed in their coffins, without any 
 efforts being made over them. And seventy-one are sup- 
 posed to have died when they really had not. Facts such 
 as these are far from being rare, and we have related 
 enough to satisfy the most doubting ; yet, did we think it 
 necessary, could narrate many more ; but should the num- 
 ber recounted be largely increased it would not begin to 
 include all the instances known only to persons interested, 
 while the whole number of cases which are known to us to 
 have occurred, forms but a po} tion of the grand total of those 
 
AND RESTORATION. 6 1 
 
 cases in which animation could have been revived, or in 
 which it has awakened, unknown to man, and we do not 
 think this statement will be doubted by those of our read- 
 ers who have investigated the subject, and informed them- 
 selves regarding it. 
 
 The whole subject, while it awakens the most painful re- 
 flections, and, in the minds of many who read these pages, 
 sincere regrets, should excite observation, and induce great 
 care and the closest scrutiny in every case, especially of sud- 
 den death, and the most positive assurance of real decease 
 should be obtained, before the body is put in cJiarge of those 
 whose duty it is to prepare the same for the grave. It is 
 oiily by securing such evidence that the Jwrrible possibility 
 of being buried alive ca?i be avoided. 
 
 To awake to consciousness from what may be but the 
 sleep of returning health, only to find one's self clothed in 
 the robes of death, and enclosed in its remorseless grasp ; 
 to feel the sickening pang which the first realization of 
 this frightful condition produces ; to struggle without one 
 ray of hope to cheer, with, it may be the hum of life rolling 
 overhead within hearing. All these are ideas so filled 
 with horror, that the death-struggles scarcely add to it. 
 And these thoughts all impress us in the most vivid and 
 never-to-be-forgotten manner, that under no circumstances 
 should the risk of this horrible mistake be incurred. 
 
62 suspended animation. 
 
 Extracts from a Lecture Delivered at Everett 
 Hall, in Brooklyn, N.Y., June, 1883, by J. D. 
 Beugless, Esq. 
 
 While speaking on the subject of premature interments, 
 or burying alive, he says words to this effect : That an 
 undertaker in this city recently made provision in his will, 
 and exacted a promise from his wife of great caution, that 
 his body shall be cremated, being induced thereto by the 
 fear of being buried alive. Live burials, he says he be- 
 lieves, are far more frequent than most people think. It is 
 reported that another undertaker of Brooklyn, some time 
 since, deposited a body in a receiving-vault temporarily, 
 and when he went some days later to remove it for burial, 
 what was his horror upon opening the niche in which the 
 coffin had been placed, to find the body crouching at the 
 door, stark in death, the hair dishevelled, the flesh of 
 the arms eaten or larcerated and torn, and the face having 
 the most appalling expression of horror and despair ever 
 witnessed by mortal eyes. 
 
 " Seven hours in a coffin added ten years to my life," 
 was the remark of Martin Strong, of Twelfth Street, Phila- 
 delphia, some time after quitting the coffin in which his 
 family had placed him for burial, after Dr. Cummings had 
 given a certificate of his death. Frank Stoop, of Clar- 
 incla, Iowa, was laid out for burial not long since, a phy- 
 sician having certified to his death ; but fortunately he 
 awoke from his state of coma in time to save his life. 
 
 In epidemics of small-pox, cholera, yellow fever, and the 
 like, as has been shown at Norfolk and Portsmouth, large 
 numbers are hurried into the grave alive. W. H. Clark, 
 of Henry County, Mo., was seized with cholera while 
 travelling across the plains, and having died, as was sup- 
 posed, was buried by his companions at the point where 
 the old Santa Fe trail crossed the Arkansas River. After 
 
SUSPENDED ANIMATION. 6$ 
 
 his fellow-travellers had gone on, the Indians exhumed his 
 body to get his blankets, and finding signs of life in him, 
 they applied restoratives, and Clark subsequently overtook 
 his companions at Prescott, Arizona, where he was living 
 at last accounts. The late C. A. Read, of Newton, Mass., 
 left in his will directions to his attending physician to 
 sever his head from his body after death, -to prevent the 
 possible horror of being buried alive, and left him a fee of 
 five hundred dollars for the service. The advocates of 
 cremation claim that by their disposition of bodies, many 
 would avoid the danger of being buried alive. 
 
 We confess we see but a feeble choice between crema- 
 tion and being beheaded, whether alive or dead. In either 
 case the game of life will be up. 
 
INDEX 
 
 SUSPENDED ANIMATION OR BURIED ALIVE. 
 
 A. 
 
 Animals, lower order of . 
 
 Asphyxia, death from .... 
 
 Animals dormant for months . 
 
 Alcepiades of Rome restores from cremation 
 
 Aviola Acilius burned alive 
 
 Abbe Prevost died under the knife 
 
 Arkansas man frozen and recovered 
 
 Advocates of cremation avoid burial alive 
 
 5 
 8 
 8 
 
 17 
 18 
 
 25 
 47 
 63 
 
 B. 
 
 Bleed in the foot or arm to revive animation 
 Boy lay ten days dormant and recovered 
 Beach's, Dr., case death by freezing 
 Burying alive, danger of . 
 Beatty's, Prof., idea of burying alive 
 Brought to life by post-mortem's knife 
 Bishop of Bordeaux saved lives 
 Bouton's, Rev. Dr., conviction 
 Barbara Liefeldt, Baltimore, Md. . 
 
 B , Mrs., Washington, D.C., buried alive 
 
 Burlington, Wis., trance .... 
 Beugless, J. D., Brooklyn, N.Y., on cremation 
 
 13 
 i4 
 
 15 
 16 
 
 19 
 19 
 24 
 4i 
 49 
 54 
 34 
 62 
 
 65 
 
66 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 c. 
 
 Catalepsy, peculiarities of 
 
 Ceremony of burning the body 
 
 Col. Favor's Str., collision with schooner 
 
 Cymbals arouse a woman 
 
 Child drowned in tank .... 
 
 Claim of $150 on dead man . 
 
 Coroner Young, of New York, and restoration 
 
 Case of child at sea on ship . 
 
 Case at Hadley, Mass., bled and cupped 
 
 Case at Grafton, buried alive . 
 
 Crane, Mrs., from sunstroke . 
 
 Chandler, Miss, near Tingsboro, Mass. . 
 
 Child in New Orleans, case of 
 
 Colored woman dormant 
 
 Cleighton, John, Painterhood . 
 
 Cattaraugus,' N.Y., child recovered .* 
 
 Clergyman recovered coffined for dead . 
 
 Common custom, case of dormancy 
 
 Clark, W. H., Henry County, Mo., exhumed alive 
 
 Custom of burial, many notions 
 
 D. 
 
 Death by drowning, hanging, or choking 
 Drowning, process of ... 
 Directions for restoring . 
 Drowning in St. Andrew's harbor . 
 Debate in French Assembly, " Burials " 
 Dr. McK.'s resolve for future . 
 Dr. Dana, Cambridge, hanging restored . 
 Drowning, asphyxia, Cambridge 
 Drew, Holderness, N.H. 
 
INDEX. 67 
 
 E. 
 
 Experiments with cats, dogs, and rabbits . . 9 
 
 Epidemics — cholera, small-pox, yellow fever, etc. . 63 
 
 Fredericton, N.B., restoration 27 
 
 Fletcher, Mrs. N. B„ Concord, N.H. ... 41 
 Frost-fish, alive while frozen .... 7 
 
 Greeks and Romans . . . . . . 17 
 
 Girl in Cleveland restored by glass . . 26 
 
 Grafton, Mass., buried alive ; . . . 32 
 
 H. 
 
 Hadley, case bled and cupped 32 
 
 Howard Theatre, case revived . -33 
 
 Hammell, John, Seneca Falls ... .49 
 
 H , Thomas, Burlington, Iowa . « • 35 
 
 I. 
 
 Infants before birth . > 14 
 
 Incisions aroused a lady ..... 23 
 
 Importance of prompt action 60 
 
 Jewish custom of burial 19 
 
 K. 
 
 King, Miss S., Stonington, Conn. . . .36 
 
68 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 L. 
 
 Lightning, death by 
 
 
 
 14 
 
 Laemio, the Praetor, burned alive 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 Lady revived by a thief . 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 Lady in New Orleans 
 
 
 
 35 
 
 Lad at Irasburg, Vt, restored 
 
 
 
 48 
 
 Lady revived by cold wash 
 
 
 
 48 
 
 London Hospital, woman 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 Lady at Highgate, Vt. . 
 
 . 
 
 
 33 
 
 Lady at Freelandsville . 
 
 
 
 46 
 
 M. 
 
 Man revived, ran home . 
 
 Myers, Henry, restored . 
 
 Munich, city of, burial . 
 
 Merrill, Jacob, Campton, N.H., drowned 
 
 McLaren, Boston, son recovered 
 
 Morin, Delina, Canada, recovered . 
 
 Man from steam-box died 
 
 Man in Palmer, Mass. . 
 
 22 
 
 39 
 40 
 
 43 
 57 
 55 
 43 
 34 
 
 O. 
 
 Our presence at post-mortem . 
 Opinions of fathers in medicine . ' 
 Opinions of medical men to-day 
 Opinions of doctors, time for drowning 
 Ottawa, Canada, small-pox 
 
 42 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 n 
 
 49 
 
 Persons lie dormant 
 
 Persons in trance or catalepsy 
 
 Practice of burial present time 
 
 10 
 19 
 
INDEX, 
 
 69 
 
 Painful recollections of buried friends 
 Prince Edward Island young man . 
 Pettit, Mrs. W. L., Fort Wayne 
 
 61 
 
 44 
 52 
 
 Q- 
 
 Quinn's, Mrs. child, Boston 
 
 38 
 
 R. 
 
 Restoration, time required 
 Roman and Greek burial 
 Recorded, Society for Restoration, 1st 
 Revived by incision of knife . 
 Royal Academy of France, burial . 
 Report of Supt. Cemetery, France . 
 Restored by knife, woman, Algeria 
 Ryman, Miss Josephine, Evansville, Ind 
 Rumney, N.H., revival in coffin 
 Recovery, after drowning, time of . 
 Recovering persons, 1st Society 
 Read, C. H Milton, Mass. . 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 17 
 
 
 17 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 22 
 
 
 22 
 
 
 24 
 
 
 53 
 
 
 33 
 
 
 11 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 . 63 
 
 s. 
 
 Sandusky County, case of 
 
 Shaw, Benjamin, report of, Gardiner, Me. 
 
 Spaulding girl, Rumney, N.H., revived . 
 
 Stratford, Canada, revived 
 
 Swallows home in winter 
 
 Swallows dug in mud 
 
 Swallows shown by freshet 
 
 Snakes and toads live without air . 
 
 Strong, Martin, Philadelphia, coffined 
 
 Stoop, Frank, Clarinda, Iowa . 
 
 27 
 
 38 
 
 52 
 
 5i 
 6 
 6 
 7 
 7 
 62 
 62 
 

 70 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 
 T. 
 
 Time from death to burial 
 
 Tests of life, bleeding and blistering 
 
 Toads in solid granite 
 
 Tenant, Rev. Wm., recovery . 
 
 U. 
 
 Undertaker of Brooklyn, N.Y., caution 
 Undertaker of Brooklyn, body revived 
 
 Vesale, Andrew 
 Vassalboro, Me., 
 
 V. 
 
 — Philip II. of Spain 
 man restored 
 
 W. 
 
 Water in lungs of drowned 
 Woman revived by burning straw . 
 Woman of Algeria restored by knife 
 Wife restored in Detroit by glass . 
 Wells; E., Mrs., Woodstock, N.H., revived 
 Webster, Sheldon, Plymouth, N.H. 
 Webster, Walter, Bridgewater, N.H. 
 Wife at Westfield buried alive 
 Westvelt, Harriet, Bloomingdale, N.Y. . 
 Walker, Barefoot, Columbus, O. 
 
 18 
 
 15 
 6 
 
 44 
 
 62 
 62 
 
 21 
 29 
 
 10 
 
 22 
 24 
 
 25 
 26 
 
 37 
 47 
 48 
 
 50 
 5i