Part 2

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

AGAVE AMERICANA.

NAT. ORD., Amaryllidaceæ.

COMMON NAMES, American Aloe, Maguey, Century Plant.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

May 7th. Almost entirely well; continued medicine.

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

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

May 22d. Well; returned to duty.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AMBROSIA ARTEMISIFOLIA.

NAT. ORD., Compositæ.

COMMON NAMES, Rag Weed, Hog Weed.

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

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

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

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

AMYGDALUS PERSICA.

NAT. ORD., Rosaceæ. Amygdaleæ.

SYNONYM, Persica vulgaris.

COMMON NAME, Peach.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ANAGALIS ARVENSIS.

NAT. ORD., Primulaceæ.

COMMON NAMES, Scarlet Pimpernel. Poor Man's Weather-Glass.

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

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

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

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

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

PAINS: Teeth pain as from cold.

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

NEURALGIC PAINS: In right cheek bones.

Rheumatic, gouty pains.

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

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

PRESSING PAINS: In forehead and occiput; with stitching in eyeballs; in eyes; on lungs; in sacrum.

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

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

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

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

Soreness on chest.

Burning in urethra.

Heat rising to head.

Dryness in throat.

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

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

Hence we find under--

LOCALITY AND DIRECTION--below upwards.

Pains in upper limbs.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Towards evening: spells of chilliness.

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

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

AMELIORATIONS: Coffee relieves headache; burning in urethra before and during erection, _ceases_ during coition.

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

MENTAL STATE: Exhilarated, mind very active; everything gives pleasure.

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

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

ABDOMEN: Distended with wind; weak feeling in abdomen.

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

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

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

ULCERS and swelling on joints; promotes expulsion of splinters (_Hepar_).

RELATIONSHIP: Collateral relation. _Cyclamen._ Similar to _Coffee_ (joyous, excited); _Picric acid_ (prostration after mental exertion); _Cyclamen_ (sneezing); _Lithia carb._ (rough skin, ringworm); _Sepia_, _Tellur._ (ringworm); _Pulsatilla_ (chilliness; catarrhs); smelling of _Rhus_, and, an hour later, taking _Col._, relieved sacral pains. _Rhus_ relieved swollen gums.

ARSENICUM BROMATUM.

COMMON NAMES, Arsenous or Arsenious Bromide; Arsenic Tribromide.

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

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