feems to distrust their power: even laxatives, he remarks, are by no means conftantly fuccefsful. Narcotics, in defperate dofes, vomits, and falivation, have fucceeded but their fuccefs is by no means conftant: at last, in our author's opinion, we should have recourfe to paracentefis, which, he thinks, is ufually delayed too long. The fymptoms favourable to the operation, and every part of the conduct during it, are next explained very clearly and judiciously: we think only that he does not give a fufficient trial to medicine, before he takes up the ca nula; but this will always be the fubject of difpute between phyficians and furgeons. The confideration of the tympanites, which M. Camper fuppofes, except from accidents, is always within the alimentary canal, and of partial cyfted dropfies, in which alone the trocar is faid to be ferviceable, follow. The dropfy of the uterus probably has not yet been obferved, though feveral fingular inftances of an apparent dropfy of this vifcus are recorded. The inftances are chiefly of the ovaria, from whence the water is evacuated by the uterus, or a preternatural quantity of the liquor amnii. Some other anomalous dropfies in eyfts, the anafarca, and the supposed dropfy between the peritoneum and muscles, are next examined; but they afford no. thing very interesting.

The fifth chapter relates to the hydrocele in both fexes; for M. Camper confiders the collection of water, within the du plicature of the peritoneum, which occafionally protrudes beyond the ring of the mufcles in newly born females, as a disease of this kind. He prefers the puncture, and repeats it occafionally, without having recourfe to either of the radical methods: yet he owns he has ufed the feton with great fuccefs, and het oppofes it chiefly because the pain from the most frequently repeated puncture is lefs than by the feton. He finds the origin of this method by the feton, in Peter Frank's Treatife on Hernias, 1567. The two laft chapters are on water in the burfæ under the fkin and mufcles, as wellas a fluid collected in the fheaths of the tendons; and on dropfies and melicere of the joints. They contain fome curious cafes, but are incapable of abridgment. Our author greatly doubts of the permanent effects of difcutients, and even of mercurial ointment. A perforation, he tells us, may be made in the acetabulum, inter fartorii mufculi & tenforis vagina femoris partem fuperiorem, paulo fupra oram fuperiorem trochanteris majoris offis femoris adfecti. The needle must be pushed horizontally, directing the point towards the center of the pelvis.

If M. Camper's memoir fhows the author to be an able anatomift, an acute pathologist, and a skilful furgeon, M. Barailon's effay is more minute, and more practical, fo far as repects internal remedies. His erudition is not lefs, but it is less recondite. He is more converfant with works in every one's hands, and does not fo frequently adduce facts which feldom occur. He fpeaks of the nature, fymptoms, and caufes of

6

dropfy,

dropfy, both remote and proximate, with much propriety, though, among the latter he does not dwell fufficiently on the abforption of water from the air, which muft neceffarily take place in those inftances, where the accumulation of water greatly exceeds the proportional deficiency of the urine. The following is a fingular inftance of droplies of the ftomach. A taylor was fubject to violent colics, and was attacked with a fit in September 1766, more acute than any former paroxyfm, which, however, paffed off in a few days, though without any ftool. His belly was very large, without any fluctuation; and the patient complained only of an infupportable uneafinefs. In this state I was called; and, after hearing an exact account of the preceding circumftances, as well as examining the prefent appearances, especially the retention of the fæcal matter, I was convinced that there was an obftruction of the intestines. With this idea I gave a dry vomit to force a paffage *; but no ftool was procured, though twenty pints of a fluid were dif charged by vomiting: the fwelling difappeared; the patient flept, and thought himself cured. But the difeafe returned on taking food, and he foon died. It appeared to be an intus fufception, and the flomach was greatly diftended with a fætid fluid.

In the account of the mechanifm of dropfy (the proximate caufe), our author mentions Van Swieten's opinion of the dif eafe often following fevers, because the drink did not mix with the blood. For this reafon, our author tells us, that feverish patients should be diffuaded from drinking; a practice certainly improper, as its bad effects are by no means to be dreaded. The dropfy arises from the weakness; and, if there is any obstruction to the fecretion, nothing is so useful in bringing it back, or washing away any obstructing caufe, as frequent draughts of diluting and diuretic liquors. The diftinctions and complications of dropfies; the conftitutions and modes of living which induce them, as well as the places where the disease first appears, are the fubs fequent objects of our author's attention. We cannot think the frequent drinking of warm liquids fo injurious as M. Barailon fuppofes; nor have we obferved the peculiar influence of old wounds and ulcers, in inducing the difeafe."

We next meet with an account of the indications and contraindications, where the author is still afraid of water: he continues to labour under the hydrophobia, which has no existence but in his imagination. So far does his dread carry him, that, though a difeafe of the liver is faid to be one of the caufes of dropfy, he diffuades the physician from using the vegetable aperients, because they are in a watery form. It is fifteen years fince we indulged dropfical people in drinking freely, directing only their

Perhaps it may be proper to remark, that this remedy, though it has the fanction of great names, and is fometimes fuccessful, yet is more often injurious; and if it fails, generally leaves the cafe desperate.

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attention

attention to aperient and diuretic drinks, without feeing a finge inftance, where it was eminently injurious, while numerous ones occurred of its being the chief means of cure. To kaxatives our author is equally averfe; but, if he means to condemn every kind, he is certainly wrong; if the draftics only, he will be fometimes right. We have often had occasion to say, that this is the most beneficial difcharge, and generally indif pentible, in fome degree, even in the most exhaufted conftitutions. He retails the ufual objections to blifiers, that in weak conftitutions, in thofe who have been walled in hofpi als and prifons, they produce gangrene. They certainly have fometimes this effect; but the gangrene is fuperficial, and easily removed. Our author objects alfo to narcotics, without adverting to the extreme inquietude and pain which fometimes occurs; without confidering, that, in the droplies of failors, opium, directed to the fkin, is the best remedy. In most other refpects, the remarks on the indications, and the circumftances which influence them, are very corsect: they are only too far extended. The author does not understand the art of compreffing

his matter.

M. Barailon's first indication in the cure, fhould have been the laft. He directs warm aromatics, and tonics, by which he will often conftringe weak fibres, while the diftending caufe fubfifts: they fhould never be employed till fome evacuation has been procured. He then endeavours to restore the digef ton, fill forbidding drink, by vomits, gentle 1 xatives and tonics, and warm ftimulants, as horfe-radish, arum, iron, ginger, mustard, and fome draftics employed as alteratives.' His chief evacuants are diuretics; and of thefe he uses fixed alkali, tartar, tamarisk, wormwood, nitre, fquills, colchicum, bulbous plants, &c. In extremities, he would employ the most violent and active draftics; and he thinks very juftly, that fuccefs depends chiefly on active plans fteadily purfued. Paracentefis has failed in his hands; but, notwithilanding his fear of gangrene, he does not object to fcarifications and blifters. His great dependence is on the ufe of the cordials and corroborants with diuretics. When the dropfy is combined with ague, he properly directs his first efforts to the intermittent; but we know not whether by accident, or idiofyncracy, we could never, in the few inftances we have met with, cure the ague. By changing our plan and evacuating the waters, the intermittent has fpontaneously ceased: but we conflantly employed the milder laxatives for the purpofe of evacuation. His directions for pati cular dropfies are very correct; but we think his plan for the hydrocephalus internus not fufficiently powerful. In hydrothorax, he highly commends emetics, and an iffue between the ribs. Puncturing the cheft he confiders as a doubtful and precarious operation. It is very certain, he thinks, that a blifter behind each ear will evacuate fluids from the lungs.' But it is impoffible to follow our author in his modifications of his

plan,

plan, according to the feat of the difeafe, its complications and accidents. We have given enough to enable our readers to judge of his merits, which are, on the whole, very confiderable. Indeed the minuter parts of the fubject, which depend on the disease, rather than conftitute a part of it, he has examined with a particular attention; and his advice is falutary and judicious. Where great activity is not effential, our author is an useful guide.

The last memoir in this volume is by M. Hallé, on the fwelling and the fecondary fever of the fmall-p -pox. He endeavours to thow that each is diftinguishable from the confequences of the eruption, in its nature, progrefs, metaftafis, and accidental circumstances. He confiders that there are two depurations, the one an eruptive fever attended with puftules; the fecond a fever terminated by fwelling, attended with perfpiration, and often with falivation: the one ends by a depofition on the skin, the other on the cellular fubftance: in the first, the blood-veffels; and, in the daft, the lymphatics, he fays, are chiefly concerned. We think that he does not prove very clearly thofe pofitions; but that the fecondary fever depends en fomething, befides the abforption of the pus, may be fufpected from its being generally abfent even in the most violent ftate of the inoculated fmall pox. It is not, however, univerfally absent, as has been often afferted.

FOREIGN LITERARY INTELLIGENCE.

N our late review of chemical improvements, we could

I no farther than mall now

proceed to the neutrals, the alkalis and acids. M. Gmelin, in a late number of Crell's Chemical Annals, describes a new mural falt found by profeffor Giefecke on the Gymnafium, at Hamburg. The falts which efflorefce from old walls, are nitre more or less pure, quadrangular nitre, mineral alkali in abundance, more or lefs pure, and mixed with calcareous earth; M. Goetling has extracted a true Epfom falt from the clayey ardoise: with which the old caftle of Schwartzburg was built. The falt found by M. Gmelin is, notwithstanding, a true Glauber's falt, contaminated only with a little of the calcareous earth, which in its paffage it has collected from the mortar.

A native mineral alkali has never hitherto been found in Europe, except in fome mineral waters. It has, however, lately been difcovered in Switzerland, and carefully examined by M. Morel. Between Guggifhorn and Stockhorn, is a chain of mountains, evidently fecondary, which, in the height of fummer, are free from ice and fnow. The numerous caverns in these rocks afford the falt, which is found at the bottom, in foliated crystals on a bed of fand: the walls of the cavern are dry. Our author examined this falt, and found it to con

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tain about half the quantity of Glauber's falt: the reft was pure mineral alkali. The ftone is a grit, containing scarcely any falt this discovery may lead, we think, to a ftratum of this falt, and prove ultimately very beneficial.

M. Weftrumb gives also an account of a method of feparating the mineral alkali from fea-falt; but in a manner, which we think will not bring it within the reach of our manufacturers. He diffolves twenty pounds of fea-falt in thirty quarts of water, and adds to it twenty-five pounds of pure pot afhes. The liquor is evaporated till a faline pellicle has repeatedly formed, broken, and fallen to the bottom. The veffel is then taken from the fire; and, when the folution is cooled to about fifty-five or fixty degrees of Fahrenheit, many crystals of digeftive falt will form. In that state, it must be ftrained through a flannel, and the lixivium left undisturbed for an hour, when a certain quantity of the fame crystals will form, mixed with fome cryftals of the mineral alkali. When the liquor is quite cold, it must be decanted into a clean veffel and put in a very cold place, when a large quantity of the crystals of the mineral alkali will concrete almoft pure. The first crystals, which are faid to be vitriolated tatar and digeftive falt, the former probably proceeding from the Epfom falt of the marine falt, muft be washed and kept, together with what was left on the filter, for the next operation, though it may be employed for other purposes, if wanted. If the liquor which covers the crystals of the alkali be decanted, and again evaporated, it will be easily feen whether it contain alkali enough to admit of another operation, or if it should be kept for the next procefs. Afterwards the alkali obtained is purified, and, from this quantity, our author tells us, that he has procured twenty pounds of pure alkali in large transparent crystals, and one pound and a half of what was lefs pure: the operation is finished in about twelve or fourteen days. His tranflator, M. Courcet, thinks it may be procured more easily in the following way. Eight ounces of the Epfom falt of Loraine, which is a Glauber's falt, with three ounces and a half of the purified fixed alkali of tartar, are diffolved in water. If the lixivium is evaporated, filtered and cryftallifed, firft vitrolated tartar; and afterwards beautiful cryftals of mineral alkali, will be formed. The vitriolated tartar, which is of use in medicine, will, he thinks, lessen the expence of the preparation. M. Weftrumb's plan will only fuc ceed in the great way; but the duty on falt will prevent its being employed in England.

If we next confider the acids, our attention will be immediately drawn by M. Crell's information refpecting the vege table acids, We mentioned, in our last Number, that M, Weftrumb had fhown, by new experiments, that all the vegetable acids give, at leaft, phofphoric and aerial acids, We wait with great impatience for the experiments at length. We

may