tories of the saliva and mucus, and thickening those humours; that decoction of figs in milk and water has a contrary effect, especially if some sal ammoniac be added, by which the saliva is made thinner, and the glands brought to secrete more freely; a circumstance always conducive to

the cure.

Anodyne Plaister.

Melt an ounce of adhesive plaister, and, when it is cooling, mix with it a dram of powdered opium, and the same quantity of camphor, previously rubbed up with a little oil. This plaister generally gives ease in acute pains, especially

of the nervous kind.

Diachylon, or common Plaister.

Take of common olive oil, six pints; litharge, reduced to a fine powder, two pounds and a half. Boil the litharge and oil together over a gentle fire, continually stirring them, and keeping always about half a gallon of water in the vessel; after they have boiled about three hours, a little of the plaister may be taken out and put into cold water, to try if it be of a proper consistence: when that is the case, the whole may be suffered to cool, and the water well pressed out of it with the hands.-This plaister is generally applied in slight wounds and excoriations of the skin. It keeps the part soft and warm, and defends it from the air, which is all that is necessary in such cases. Its principal use, however, is to serve as a basis for other plaisters.

Blistering Plaister.

Take of Venice turpentine, six ounces; yellow wax, two ounces; Spanish flies in fine powder, three ounces; powdered mustard, one ounce. Melt the wax; and while it is warm, add to it the turpentine, taking care not to evaporate it by too much heat. After the turpentine and wax are sufficiently incorporated, sprinkle in the powder, continually stirring the mass till it be cold.-Though this plaister is made in a variety of ways, it is seldom made of a proper consistence. When compounded with oils and other greasy substances, its effects are blunted, and it is apt to ron; while pitch and resin render it too hard, and very inconvenient. When the blistering plaister is not at hand, its place may be supplied by mixing with any soft ointment a sufficient quantity of powdered flies; or by forming thei into a paste with flour and vinegar..

Stomach Plaister.

Take of gum plaister, half a pound; camphorated oil, an ounce and a half; black pepper, or capsicum, where it can be had, one ounce. Melt the plaister, and mix with it the oil; then sprinkle in the pepper, previously reduced to a fine powder. An ounce or two of this plaister, spread upon soft leather, and applied to the region of the stomach, will be of service in flatulencies arising from hysteric and hypochondriac affections. A little of the expressed oil of mace, or a few drops of the essential oil of mint, may be rubbed upon it before it is applied.-This may supply the place of the anti-hysteric plaister.

Friar's Balsam

Put four ounces of sarsaparella cut in short picces, two. ounces of China root thinly sliced, and an ounce of Virginian snake-weed, cut small, with one quart of spirits, of wine, in a two quart bottle. Set it in the sun, or any equal degree of heat; shake it two or three times a day, till the spirit be tinctured of a fine golden yellow. Then clear off. the infusion into another bottle; and put in eight ounces of gum guaiacum; set it in the sun, or other similar heat, shaking it often, till all the gum be dissolved, except dregs, which will be in about ten or twelve days. It must be again cleared from the dregs; and, having received an ounce of Peruvian balsam, be well shaken, and again placed in the sun for two days: after which, add an ounce of balm of Gilead, shake it together, and finally set it in the sun for fourteen days, when it will be fit for use.

Anodyne Balsam.

Take of white Spanish soap, one ounce; opium, auprepared, two drams; rectified spirits of wine, nine ounces. Digest them together in a gentle heat for three days; then stram off the liquor, and add to it three drams of camphor. This balsain, as its title expresses, is intended to ease pain. It is of service in violent strains and rheumatic complaints, when not attended with inflammation. It must be rubbed with a warm hand on the part affected; or a linen rag moistened with it may be applied to the part, and renewed every third or fourth hour, till the pain abates. If the opium is left out this will resemble the soap liniment, or opodeldoc.

Compound Tincture of Bark.

Take of Peruvian bark, two ounces; Seville orange-peel and cinnamon, of each half an ounce. Let the bark be powdered, and the other ingredients be bruised; then infuse the whole in a pint and a half of brandy, for five or six days, in a close vessel; afterwards strain off the tincture. This tincture is not only beneficial in intermitting fevers, but also in slow, nervous, and putrid kinds, especially towards their decline. The dose is from one drain, to three or four every fifth or sixth hour. It may be given in any suitable liquor, occasionally sharpened with a few drops of the vitriolic acid.

Decoction of Bark.

Take two ounces of the best bruised or powdered Peruvian bark, and put it into a pint and a half of boiling water, in a tin saucepan, with a cover, with some cinnamon and a little Seville orange-peel. Boil it together for twenty minutes, then take it off the fire, and let it stand till quite cold afterwards strain it through flannel, put it up in small phials, and take four table spoonfuls three times a day.

Carminative Powder.

Take of coriander-seed half an ounce; ginger, one dram; nutmegs, half a dram; fine sugar, a dram and a half. Reduce them into powder for twelve doses.-This powder is employed for expelling flatulencies arising from indigestion, particularly those to which hysteric and hypochondriac persons are so liable. It may likewise be given in small quantities to children, in their food, when troubled with gripes.

Pills for the sick Headach.

A dram and a half of Castile soap; forty grains of rhubarb in powder; oil of juniper, twenty drops; sirup of ginger, enough to form the whole into twenty pills. The dose is two or three of these pills, to be taken occasionally.

For an habitual headach, arising from costiveness, take of socotrine aloes, one dram; precipitated sulphur of antimony, and filings of iron, each half a dram; and simple sirup enough to make into twenty-four pills; two to be taken night and morning.

Tincture of Rhubarb.

Take of rhubarb, two ounces and a half; lesser cardamom seeds, half an ounce; brandy two pints. Digest for a

week, and strain the tincture. Those who choose to have a vinous tincture of rhubarb may infuse the above ingredients in a bottle of Lisbon wine, adding to it about two ounces of proof spirits. If half an ounce of gentian and a dram of Virginian snake-root be added to the above ingredients, it will make the bitter tincture of rhubarb.-All these tinctures are designed as stomachics and corroborants as well as purgatives. In weakness of the stomach, indigestion, laxity of the intestines, fluxes, colicky and such like complaints, they are frequently of great service. The dose is from half a spoonful to three or four spoonfuls, or more, according to the circumstances of the patient, and the purposes it is intended to answer.

Stomachic Elixir.

Take of gentian root, two ounces; Curassas oranges, one ounce; Virginian snake-root, half an ounce. Let the ingredients be bruised, and infused for three or four days in two pints of French brandy; afterwards strain out the elixir-This is an excellent stomach bitter. In flatulencies, indigestion, want of appetite, and such like complaints, a small glass of it may be taken twice a day. It likewise relieves the gout in the stomach, when taken in a large dose.

Infusion for the Palsy.

Take of horse-radish root shaved, mustard seed bruised, each four ounces; outer rind of orange peel, one ounce. Infuse them in two quarts of boiling water, in a close vessel, for twenty-four hours.-In paralytic complaints, a tea cupful of this stimulating medicine may be taken three or four times a day. It excites the action of the solids, proves diuretic, and, if the patient be kept warm, promotes perspiration.-If two or three ounces of the dried leaves of marsh-trefoil be used instead of the mustard, it will make the anti-scorbutic infusion.

Balm of Gilead Oil.

Put loosely into a bottle, of any size, as many balm of Gilead flowers as will come up to a third part of its height; then nearly fill up the bottle with good sweet oil; shake it a little occasionally, and let it infuse a day or two; it is then fit for use. If closely stopped, it will keep for years, and will be the better for keeping. When about half used, the bottle may be again filled up with oil, and well shaken; and,

in two or three days, it will be as good as at first. Cuts and bruises of the skin, are completely cured in a few days, and sometimes in a few hours, by this oil. It is excellent for all green wounds, burns, bruises, scalds, &c.

Cures for the Cramp.

Bathe the parts afflicted every morning and evening with the powder of amber; and take inwardly, at the same time, on going to bed at night, for eight or ten nights together, half a spoonful, in from a gill to half a pint of white wine. -For sudden attacks of the cramp in the legs, relief may be instantly obtained by stretching out the limb affected, and elevating the heel as much as possible, till the toes bend backward toward the shin-This, also, may be considered as an infallible remedy, when only in the leg. A hot brick, in a flannel bag, placed for the feet, at the bottom of the bed, all night; and friction with the hand, warm flannels, coarse cloths, or the flesh-brush, well applied, to restore the free circulation of the blood in the contracted part, are all recommended as efficacious expedients for relieving this terrible pain, as well as for preventing its return.-In Italy, as an infallible cure, a new cork is cut in thin slices, and a narrow ribbon passed through the centre of them, and tied round the affected limb, laying the corks flat on the flesh; this, while thus worn, is said to prevent any return of the cramp.

Oils for a Sprain.

Take of oil of john's wort, oil of swallows, oil of worms, oil of whelps, oil of camomile, and spirits of wine, each half an ounce; mix them together, and apply them to the part affected, with a feather, by the fire-side when going to bed; keep it moist with the oil as fast as the fire dries it for half an hour, and, in the most obstinate case, it will effect a cure in a few days.

·Cure for a recent Sprain.

Put an ounce of camphor, sliced or coarsely pounded, into a pint bottle; add half a pint of rectified spirits of wine; and nearly fill up the bottle with bullock's gall. Let it stand two or three days by the fire-side, shake it frequently till all the camphor be completely dissolved, and keep it very closely stopped for use. The sprained part is to be bathed plentifully every three or four hours, till relief be obtained. This embrocation may be hastily prepared, by at once mixing common spirits of wine and camphor with an equal quantity of ox gall,