A GUIDE TO HEALTH
being an Exposition of the Principles of the
THOMSONIAN SYSTEM OF PRACTICE,
and their Mode of Application
in the Cure of Every Form of Disease
By
Benjamin Colby
Third Edition
Milford, N.H.
JOHN
BURNS
1846
PART III-MATERIA MEDICA
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Quaint and antiquarian though this book may
seem, Colby, a more
polished voice than his mentor, Samuel Thomson, was
dealing as best as
possible with the arrogant, hubristic and mechanistic
disarray of Medicine
between 1800 and 1860. The Thomsonians were
radical populists that
espoused the rude concept that common sense and a
little learning was a
better doctor than professionals seemingly addicted to
bloodletting,
purging with heavy metals, and heroic cleanses. They were
a popular and
robust "sect", with lay practitioners crawling all over the
woodwork like
ticks on a feeble dog.
The substantial presence in later years of
"irregular" physicians
(licensed M.D.s) such as the Eclectics and the
Physio-Medicalists, as well
as medical Homeopathy, was opposed with almost
religious fervor by the
"regulars" of the Eastern Establishment. Better
funded (often by public
moneys) and with close ties to full universities, the
regulars prevailed in
almost all arenas by the first decade of the twentieth
century. The last
Eclectic Medical School closed to resounding
indifference in 1938. Well
before that time, mainstream American
Medicine had responded to the CAUSE
of opposition by cleaning its house, and
reestablishing the general trust
of most Americans. The populist
movements, by whatever name, had served
the greater good...and sealed their
own doom.
Frankly, the problems of
mid-nineteenth-century medicine uncomfortably
resemble the state of medicine
at the end of the twentieth century, with
alternative
medicine/healing/therapy presenting a populist resistance to
Standard
Practice Medicine that seems to be growing almost expotentially.
The slow,
ritually scathing indictment by Colby of Medicine in his day may
seem
quaint...unless you remember that the physicians he verbally
eviscerates were
products of the most rigorous training available anywhere.
His
denouncement of the quack remedies of his age are blamed upon the
people's
loss of faith in regular medicine, a state disturbingly similar to
our
present circumstance.
In my life I have seen DES therapy and the
standard practice of thymus
implants with radium come and go...a few brief
years later scoffed at as
"primitive". Yet hundreds of thousands of
physicians still in practice
dutifully used BOTH of these modalities at the
time, with nary a question
(until later). To the educated outsider, it
seems astonishing how little
attention is given by Medicine to its own
history...even that of a decade
or two past. History of Medicine as
taught in medical schools consists of
the exposition of its SUCCESSFUL
lineage, whereas the most important parts
are not who first observed the
circulation of blood or saw the potential of
the Digitalis in a Herb Woman's
brew. The greatest lessons medicine has
learned in the last several
centuries has come from CORRECTING its
mistakes.
If the last century is an example to learn
from, it will be many
frantic years before we "irregulars" bring about the
re-ordination of
mainstream medicine back into the vitalist center. In
that context, as
well as for some of its surprisingly sound observations,
this popular
little book from 150 years ago can serve as a parable for our
present
perceptions of the early-stages of medical decline.
LATIN NAMES: These are all added by myself, since
Colby did not use
them in the original text. Herbs such as Coolwort
were dropped rather
quickly from latter Thomsonian and Physiomedicalist
writings. References
to "The Entire United States" must be viewed
within the context of 1846.
The plants, understandibly and properly,
were weighted heavily towards
New England...where the whole thing
started.
Michael Moore
Having mentioned the indications necessary
to be accomplished in the
cure of different forms of disease, we will now
describe the articles
calculated to answer each of these indications, and
arrange them under
their appropriate heads. It will not be necessary
for us to describe all
the remedies that might be used, but only such as are
the best, and will
accomplish the object in the shortest time. This
course will reduce our
Materia Medica to a small compass, but sufficiently
extensive to answer all
practical purposes. A few simple remedies,
properly applied, will do all
to cure disease that ever medicine was ever
designed to do; air, exercise,
diet, bathing, &c., must do the remainder,
and they will often do more
alone for the cure of disease than all other
remedial agents.
The following classification of remedies
has been adopted, in
conformity with the theory advocated in this work. Under
each head we shall
mention those articles that may be used as a substitute
for those we have
described.
Relaxants are those substances that have
the power of relaxing muscular
fibre, and alleviating spasm. The best
and most powerful is LOBELIA
INFLATA.
LOBELIA INFLATA.
Common name--Indian Tobacco, Puke-Weed, Eyebright (not to be confused with
Euphrasia), &c.
Lobelia Inflata is a common herb, growing
plentifully in pastures,
stubble fields, by the roadsides, and on the banks
of streams, in almost
every part of the United States. It is a biennial
plant, growing from ten
to eighteen inches high, much branched. The
flowers are palish blue,
succeeded by pods, or seed-vessels, which contain a
multitude of brownish
and very minute seeds. It blooms about the middle
of July, at which time
the herb should be gathered for tincture; but the seed
should not be
gathered until the month of September, or
October.
PROPERTIES AND USES.--Lobelia, when first taken
into the mouth, is
nearly insipid, but soon produces a burning, acrid
sensation upon the back
part of the tongue and palate, attended with a flow
of saliva. The Plant
Yields readily its medical qualities to
water and alcohol, and may be
preserved and used in a fluid
state.
Lobelia is the most powerful, certain, and harmless
relaxant that has
ever been discovered; and as relaxation is an important
indication in the
cure of the majority of the various forms of disease, this
article is
almost indispensable in the Thomsonian Materia
Medica.
"The true therapeutic action of lobelia," says Dr.
Curtis, "I think is
not generally understood. Most persons are under
the impression that it is
the principal agent in producing the action which
we call vomiting. But
this must certainly be incorrect. All
practitioners, regular and
irregular, who habitually use it, agree that its
effect is antispasmodic,
as it instantly relieves cramps, spasms, fits,
lock-jaw, &c., and relaxes
contracted sinews. It is also agreed
that vomiting is produced by muscular
contraction, either of the chest,
abdomen, or stomach, or all combined. If
this were the effect of the
irritation produced by lobelia, that article
should not be, as it certainly
is, a sovereign remedy for spasms. Where
there is no disease, that is,
debility of the organs, the lobelia has not
the power to relax the system
much, and hence there is no room for any
remarkable degree of reaction, and
of course there is little or no
vomiting. 'But,' says one, 'are you sure that
lobelia possesses no other
control over the living body, than simply to relax
its several organs ?' I
answer, not quite sure; but am perfectly
convinced that, if it have fifty
other influences, this one of relaxation so
far predominates over them all,
as to throw them entirely into the
shade. 'But is not lobelia a sudorific
?' Yes; but its mode of
producing this effect is by relaxing, through
nervous action, the contracted
mouths of the emunctories or pores of the
skin, and letting off the portion
of the blood called perspiration. It
also promotes the secretion of the
bile and urine, by relaxing vessels
whose unnatural constriction is the cause
of the retention of these
fluids." "Lobelia is to be considered,, at all
times, and under all
circum-stances, and wherever applied, not only a pure
relaxant, but the
most powerful and innocent yet known. This fact puts
to flight from
obstetrics the use of instruments, and even manual force, in
every case
except perhaps the few patients whose pelves are known to be
remarkably
deformed by rickets or some other unfortunate
circumstance."
Some have been led to suppose, in
consequence of what appeared to them
the alarming effects of lobelia, in
cases where there is but little
vitality, or it is improperly administered,
that it is a poison, the
administration of which is very dangerous. But
nothing can be farther from
the truth.
In proof that
lobelia is not a poison, we shall adduce the testimony of
some of the most
enlightened professors and practitioners of medicine of
the present
age.
Says Prof. Tully, of Yale College, New Haven, in a
letter to Dr. Lee,
"I have been in the habit of employing lobelia inflata for
twenty-seven
years, and of witnessing its employment by others for the same
length of
time, and in large quantities, and for a long period, without the
least
trace of any narcotic effect. I have used the very best officinal
tincture
in the quantity of three fluid ounces in twenty-four hours, and for
seven
days in succession; and I have likewise given three large
table-spoonfuls
of it within half an hour, without the least indication of
any narcotic
operation. I have likewise given it in substance, and in
other forms, and
still without any degree of this operation.
* *
* *
I am confident
(the old women's stories to the contrary
notwith-standing,) that lobelia
inflata is a valuable, a safe, and a
sufficiently gentle article of
medicine."
Here is the testimony of a celebrated professor
of Yale College, who
had ample opportunity of judging, from experience and
observation, whether
lobelia was a poison or not.
Says
ProŁ Waterhouse, of Harvard University, Cambridge, "The efficacy
and safety
of lobelia inflata, I have had ample and repeated proofs of, in
a number of
cases, and on my own person, and have reason to value it equal
with any
article in our Materia Medica."
Says Dr. Thomas Hersey,
surgeon in the United States army in the last
war, practicing physician and
surgeon at Columbus, Ohio, "The lobelia
inflata has been denounced as a
deadly poison. The imposition intended to
be practiced by such an
assertion, is too notorious to merit a serious
reply. I have
administered lobelia successfully to the child of thirty
minutes, and to the
hoary adult of eighty years of age, and never knew any
danger result from its
use."
We could bring forward the testimony of thousands of
others, who have
used lobelia for five, ten, twenty, and some forty years, in
proof that it
is perfectly innocent, acting in harmony with the laws of life
and motion.
Those who have asserted that lobelia is poison, have, in nine
cases out of
ten, without any doubt, been such persons as never used it, or
saw it used,
and therefore their testimony is not to be depended
on.
"But lobelia," says Dr. Peckham, "is sometimes given
when the vitality
of the system is so nearly extinguished by disease, that
little or no
effect is obtained from it. Nature is exhausted, though
the spark of life
be not quite extinct. Death will take place, and the
lobelia may be
retained, and a like result would have followed if so much
warm water had
been taken. If nature be wanting, the best remedial
process will be
exhibited in vain. She may be assisted to a certain
extent to save life;
but she has her bounds, and she declares that thus far
shalt thou come, and
no farther, and here shall thy remedial waves be
stayed. But because
lobelia cannot go beyond these bounds, and save
life where nature, in her
omnipotence, has declared that life should no
longer be, such deaths are
laid at the door of this herb, and it is made
answerable for a wrongly
imputed sin."
The different
modes of preparing and administering lobelia, will be
given under the head of
compounds and course of medicine.
CRAWLEY, OR FEVER ROOT.
(Corallorhiza odontorhiza, C. maculata and others: Coral Root)
This plant occupies high, sandy banks, in
sandy woods. The leaves
spring forth all around the bottom of the stem,
at the top of the root.
The stock rises from six to eight inches high,
bearing yellow blossoms.
The upper side exhibits a smooth, dark green
surface; underneath they have
a silvery appearance. The roots are of a
dark brown or blackish color, are
tender, and easily broken, resembling the
claw of the dunghill fowl. It
grows plentifully in almost all the United
States.
PROPERTIES AND USES.--The pulverized root of this
plant composes the
fever powder, so often recommended in Dr. Elisha Smith's
botanical work.
It is not commonly known among botanical practitioners, and
as we have not
sufficiently tested it ourself, shall depend on the testimony
of Dr. Smith,
of New York. "It is," says he, "a powerful febrifuge, and an
agreeable
anodyne. I have found it a sure and quick medicine to excite
perspiration,
without increasing the heat of the body. This root is
effectual in all
remittent, typhus, nervous, and inflammatory fevers, and
will relieve
cramps, constrictions, and all pains caused by colds,
&c. It produces a
general relaxation of the system, equalizes the
circulation, and brings a
moisture on the surface. It is an excellent
medicine in pleurisy,
inflammation of the chest and brain, and is a pure
remedy in erysipelatous
inflammation."
"Pulverize the
root fine, sift it, and put it in bottles well stopped
from the air.
After proper evacuation of the stomach and bowels, a small
teaspoonful of
this powder may be given every twenty minutes, in a little
pennyroyal or
other herb tea, till a gentle breathing moisture appears on
the skin, or till
from four to six are taken, which has never failed in my
practice of
answering the purpose."
BONESET.--the Leaves and Flowers.
(Eupatorium perfoliatum)
This plant is also called thoroughwort, Indian sage, feverwort,
sweating plant, &c. It grows plentifully in almost every part of the
United States, and may be found in meadows and in low, moist land. It
grows from two to five feet high, branched at the top. The leaves are
the
broadest where they are connected with the stock, and taper off each way to
a point. It remains in bloom from August to October. The flowers
are of a
dullish-white color, and are found on the top of the stem and branches.
It
should be collected when in bloom, and carefully dried.
PROPERTIES AND USES.--The warm infusion of boneset, in large
doses,
operates as an emetic; in small doses it produces perspiration, and
promotes all the secretions. The decoction, administered cold, is both
laxative and tonic. It acts as a gentle laxative without irritating the
bowels. Many families use the boneset alone in the cure of every form
of
disease, and are seldom disappointed in the result. There is no article
in
the Materia Medica more general in its application that boneset, either the
infusion or decoction; it being a relaxant, sudorific, antiseptic,
stimulant, diuretic, and tonic.
DOSE.--To produce vomiting, take two ounces steeped in a
quart of water,
but not boil; drink a cupful every fifteen minutes until it operates.
For
sweating, take the same in small doses, often repeated; for a tonic and
laxative, drink a cupful of the decoction once in two hours.
Stimulants are substances capable of
increasing the action or energy of
the living body. Pure, diffusible
stimulants act in harmony with the laws
of life, and therefore assist nature
in her efforts to overcome disease;
while acrid and narcotic stimulants
produce local irritation, exhausting
the powers of nature. The most
pure and healthy stimulant is Cayenne.
CAYENNE. Capsicum.--The Pods and Seed-Vessels.
The Cayenne most commonly used by
Thomsonians is imported from Africa
and the West Indies, being more permanent
and gently stimulating than the
American Cayenne. It is somewhat
difficult to get a pure article, such is
the propensity to defraud for
gain. The African Cayenne is frequently
mixed with a cheaper kind,
called Bombay, or chilly peppers. Even those
who profess to be friends
of the Thomsonian system, have been known to mix
India meal, ginger, red
lead, logwood, &c., with pure Cayenne, when
grinding it, and color it
with dye-stuffs and red saunders.
Capsicum annuum,
(Cayenne) says Hooper, "is one of the strongest and
purest stimulants
known. This pepper has been successfully employed in a
species of the
cynanche maligna, (putrid sore throat,) which proved very
fatal in the West
Indies, resisting the use of the Peruvian bark, wine, and
other remedies
commonly employed. In ophthalmia from relaxation, the
diluted juice is
found to be a valuable remedy."
PROPERTIES AND
USES.--Cayenne is the purest and undoubtedly the most
powerful stimulant
known, and as stimulation is all important indication to
be accomplished in
nearly every form of disease, this invaluable article is
among the
indispensables. Taken into the mouth, it produces a pungent,
biting
sensation; and if taken in large quantities into an empty stomach,
it will
frequently occasion considerable distress, so as to be alarming to
those
unacquainted with it. This is attended with no danger, as it will
soon
pass away. It should always be given in small doses at
first,
increasing the quantity according to the emergency of the case.
The
burning sensation produced by Cayenne may be relieved by taking or
applying
a small quantity of milk or cream. Cayenne may be used with
advantage in
all cases of coldness, debility, indigestion, costiveness, and
in
combination with other medicines in nearly every form of disease to
which
mankind are subject.
DOSE.--. From one fourth to
a whole teaspoonful in hot water, if
designed to produce perspiration; if for
costiveness, one half teaspoonful
in cold water or molasses three or four
times a day.
Ginger is obtained from the East and West
Indies. It is a perennial
shrub, growing about three feet high.
Care should be observed in
purchasing it, as it is generally mixed with other
articles. For medicine,
it is better to purchase the root
unpulverized.
PROPERTIES AND USES.--Ginger is warming and
moderately aromatic, and may
be used in mild cases as a substitute for
cayenne. It is used principally
in combination with other articles, and
externally for poultices.
DOSE.--From a half to a whole
teaspoonful in warm water, sweetened.
PRICKLY ASH.--The Bark and Seed Vessels.
(Zanthoxylum americanum and others)
This shrub is found in the Southern,
Middle, and Western States,
growing in rich and commonly wettish soil, to the
height of from ten to
fifteen feet. The bark is of an ash color, leaves
somewhat similar to
those of the elder. The branches are usually
prickly, from which it
derives its most popular name. The seed-vessels
are greenish red; in the
autumn they assume a brownish
color.
PROPERTIES AND USES.--The seed-vessels have a warm,
pungent taste, and
are an excellent stimulant; the bark of the stem and root
are also pungent,
but in an inferior degree. It is a valuable remedy in
all cases where
stimulants are required, as rheumatism, cold hands and feet,
ague and
fever, &c. The bark is sometimes chewed for the tooth
ache.
PENNYROYAL.--The Herb.
(Hedeoma pulegioides)
This plant, which the God of nature has
scattered over almost every
part of this country, is one of the most valuable
of the Thomsonian Materia
Medica. Its qualities are a strong and hardy
aromatic but pleasant smell,
a warm and pungent taste. The medical
principle resides in an essential
oil, possessing the same smell and taste of
the herb. Its medical
properties are carminative, (having power to
remove wind from the stomach
and bowels,) stimulant, (possessing the property
of exciting increased
action in the system,) diaphoretic, (promoting moderate
perspiration. ) It
also relieves spasms, hysterics, promotes
expectoration in consumptive
coughs, and is a good medicine in the whooping
cough. It is good also to
take away marks and bruises in the face,
being bruised in vinegar, and
applied in fomentations.
A tea of this plant is perhaps the best drink that can be given,
together
with the composition powder, Cayenne, &c., to warm the stomach,
and
assist an emetic in its operations. The tea should be made and
given
warm, freely and frequently. A person upon taking a "bad cold,"
(by the
way, he never has a good one,) by taking freely of this tea may throw
it
off, and of course prevent fever, it being caused by cold. This is
a
popular remedy all over the country for female complaints; but still
few
persons are aware of its extensive medicinal
properties.
The best time for gathering this herb is about
the month of August. It
should be tied up in bundles, and hung in a
warm, dry, and shady place
until dry; then wrapped in paper, as the best
means of excluding the air,
by which, if exposed, it will lose a large part
of its strength and virtue.
This plant, simple as it is, will do more
in the curing of the sick than
all the poisonous preparations invented since
the age of Paracelsus;
bleeding and blistering into the bargain. No
family should let the season
for gathering it pass without securing a good
supply.
CANADA SNAKEROOT.--The Root.
(Asarum canadensis--Wild Ginger)
This plant is found in almost every part of
the United States,
particularly in the Northern and Eastern States, in the
woods, and dry,
shady places. The root only is
used.
PROPERTIES AND USES.--This is a pleasant, warming
stimulant and nervine.
It is very useful in all affections of the
lungs, as colds, asthma, croup,
consumption, &c. The ordinary dose
is a moderate teaspoonful, which may be
taken in warm water sweetened.
A decoction with saffron is excellent to
give children when attacked with any
eruptive form of disease.
Black pepper, cinnamon, tansy, red pepper,
bayberry, yarrow, &c., may
also be given where stimulants are
required.
Astringents are those substances that, when
taken internally or applied
externally, contract the muscular tissue, or make
it more dense and firm.
They depend for their astringency on tannin, a
substance well known as
being used in the tanning of leather.
BAYBERRY.
(Myrica cerifera)
This shrub grows most plentifully in towns
bordering on the sea,
although it is found in the interior, in neglected
fields, and on the side
of stony hills. It grows in the New England
States from three to five feet
high, and bears small berries, of which
candles are sometimes manufactured,
combined with
tallow.
The bark of the root is the only part used for
medicinal purposes, and
should be gathered in the spring before the bush
vegetates, or in the
autumn before it has shed its foliage, as the sap is
then in the bark, and
consequently possesses a greater degree of medical
virtues. The roots
should be dug and thoroughly cleansed from dirt, and
while green the rind
may be easily separated from the trunk by pounding it
with a wooden mallet;
after which, dry the bark well, and pulverize it to the
consistency of
ordinary flour, and it is then ready for
use.
PROPERTIES AND USES.--Bayberry is both astringent and
stimulant,
producing a pungent sensation upon the glands; it is therefore
an
invaluable medicine for canker, whether located in the mouth,
throat,
stomach, or bowels. It is an excellent article for bowel
complaints, and
if given freely in the commencement, will generally cure. It
makes an
excellent tooth-powder to cleanse the mouth and gums. There
are many other
articles useful for canker, but bayberry is decidedly the
best.
DOSE.--It may be used either in the powder, about a
teaspoonful at a
dose, by mixing a little sugar and warm water to it, or
making an infusion,
and drinking freely of the tea
BETHROOT.--The Root.
(Trillium spp. -- Wake Robin)
The bethroot is found in damp, rocky woods,
delighting in a rich soil,
and grows from one to two feet high, surmounted at
the top with three
leaves. It blooms in the month of May, bearing a
white flower.
PROPERTIES AND USES.--The bethroot being an
astringent, is useful in all
kinds of hemorrhage, immoderate menstruation,
diarrhea, dysentery, fluor
albus, flooding, &c.
DOSE.--The pulverized root may be taken in teaspoonful doses, or it may
be
steeped, one ounce to the pint, and given in gill doses.
SUMACH.--The Bark, Leaves, and Berries.
(Rhus glabra--Smooth Sumach)
The common upland sumach rises to the
height of from five to ten feet,
producing many long compound leaves, which
turn red in autumn. The berries
are also red when ripe, and are of an
agreeable, but very sharp, acid
taste. The bark, leaves, and berries
are astringents, tonics, and
diuretics; either of which may be used in strong
decoction in all cases in
which medicines of this class are needed.
WHITE POND LILY.--The Root.
(Nyphaea odorata)
This herb grows in low wet grounds, and
ponds and pools of water, as
indicated by its name.
The
leaves are large, round, and cleft from the edge to the stem in the
centre,
each lobe or portion of the leaf ending in a short, acute point;
the upper
surface being smooth, glassy, and without veins, and the lower
surface
reddish, with branching nerves.
The flowers are large and
white, giving out a very delicious, sweet
odor; opening to the sun in the
morning, and closing at night with the
setting of the
sun.
The root, which is the part used as medicine, is
perennial, very long,
somewhat hairy, blackish, knotty, and nearly as large
as a man's wrist. It
is a valuable article, used internally or
externally. Internally, it is a
mild astringent tonic, very useful in
dysentery, diarrhea, &c. Externally,
it is used in poultices for
biles, tumors, inflammations, &c. The
powdered root
given in teaspoonful doses in warm water sweetened, is almost
a sure remedy
for bowel complaints in children, if given in the
first
stages.
It is said that the fresh juice of the
root, mixed with the juice of
the lemon, will remove freckles, pimples,
blotches, &c. from the skin.
An infusion of the root
is good for sore or inflamed eyes.
RED RASPBERRY.--The Leaves.
(Rubus strigosus and others)
The red raspberry is so well known that it
needs no description. The
leaves are a valuable astringent, useful in bowel
complaints, and for
external applications to moisten poultices for burns,
&c., and for washing
sore nipples. A strong tea is an excellent
article, says Dr. Thomson, to
regulate the labor pains of women in travail.
WITCH HAZEL.--The Leaves.
(Hamamelis virginiana)
This shrub grows on high lands and the
stony banks of streams, from New
England to Carolina and Ohio, from eight to
ten feet high. PROPERTIES
AND
USES.--Astringent, stimulant, and slightly bitter. This is the
best
article in our Materia Medica, says Dr. Curtis, for stopping hemorrhage.
We have used it in hemorrhage from the lungs, stomach, and other parts
of
the system, and have not yet seen a failure. A strong decoction, drunk
and
used by injection "per vagina," is the best article we have ever used
for
profuse menstruation, fluor albus, or uterine hemorrhage.
HEMLOCK .--The Bark.
(Tsuga canadensis)
This is a well-known astringent, being
commonly employed in tanning
leather. A decoction of the bark is useful
given by injection for bowel
complaints, and for the piles. Applied to
sore nipples it is a
never-failing remedy. The oil combined with other
articles makes a
valuable article for bathing in rheumatism, &c.
Black birch, red and white oak bark, evan root, marsh
rosemary,
hardhack, and yarrow, are also able astringents.
Tonics are those substances, that when
applied to the living body,
increase the strength by rendering the muscular
tissue firmer and more
compact. They should usually be combined with
stimulants, unless they
possess a stimulant property.
Golden seal grows in great abundance in
Ohio and the Western and
Southern States, but is seldom found in the Northern
and Eastern. It is
sometimes called Ohio kucuma, yellow puccoon,
&c. The root is one or two
inches long, and rough or knotted,
giving off a number of yellow fibres.
It grows from one to two feet high in
rich, shady moist lands.
PROPERTIES AND USES.--Bitter,
stimulant and tonic. It is useful in all
cases of debility,
indigestion, &c. Combined with one part Cayenne and one
fourth part
saleratus, it will aid digestion, and prevent pain in the
stomach after
eating. A strong decoction is excellent to wash sore eyes
and all old
sores.
POPLAR.--The Bark.
(Populus alba)
This noble tree, which is found throughout
the United States, is so
well known that it needs no description. It is the
common white poplar of
Maine and New Hampshire. Its qualities are, bitter,
diuretic, and
astringent--it is also a tonic, and somewhat stimulant.
It is a first-rate
article for indigestion, canker in the stomach,
consumption, liver
complaints; also in diarrheal affections and other
complaints, occasioned
by debility--acting as a universal tonic; restoring
the tone of the organs,
and producing a healthy action of the liver; creating
an appetite, and
giving strength and vigor to the whole system. Poplar
bark is perhaps the
most universally applicable tonic of Dr. Thomson's
Materia Medica It
possesses valuable febrifuge qualities, and on
account of its diuretic
qualities, it is a good article in gravel and
dropsy. Dr. J. Young says,
"I have prescribed the poplar bark in a
variety of cases of intermittent
fever, and can declare from experience that
it is equally efficacious with
the Peruvian bark, if properly
administered. There is not," says he, "in
all the Materia Medica, a
more certain, speedy and effectual remedy in
hysterics than the poplar
bark." This, let it be remembered, is "regular"
testimony. This
article should be used in combination with other articles
forming "bitters,"
after the system is cleansed with courses of medicine,
and all morbific
matter expelled--the system is then ready to receive
medicines of a
strengthening character. The mode of procuring the bark is
to strip it
from the tree, any time when the sap prevents it from adhering
to the
wood. The outer bark should be shaved off; the inner cut into
strips
and dried in the shade. The mode of administering it is to infuse
it in
water--an ounce of the bark to a pint of water, and give freely.
BALMONY.--The Herb.
(Chelone Glabra--Turtlehead)
This herb is found in low, damp places and
rich, shaded soils in all
parts of the United States It is called
bitter herb, snake head &c. The
flowers are reddish white,
and grow in clusters, and do not bloom until
late in autumn.
PROPERTIES AND USES.--This herb is an excellent bitter
tonic and
laxative, and is useful in costiveness, dyspepsia, loss of
appetite, &c.
It is an important ingredient in the Spiced Bitters.
It may be given in a
tea--drank freely for worms in children, or jaundice,
yellowness of the
skin, &c.
UNICORN.--The Root.
(Chamaelirium.--Helonias, and variously as both
"True" Unicorn Root and "False" Unicorn Root?!)
The unicorn grows abundantly in
Pennsylvania, New York, and
Connecticut, and may be found in meadows and
woodlands. It is known by the
name of blazing star, devil's bit,
&c. It grows about a foot in height,
and terminates in a long,
graceful spike of flowers, of a whitish color.
It blooms in June. It
has a tapering fibrous root, which is an inch and a
quarter long, and not
quite as thick as the little finger.
PROPERTIES AND
USES.--It is a very excellent bitter tonic and stimulant,
and has been found
very useful in cases of suppressed menstruation, and
whenever a tonic and
stimulant are required.
WINTERGREEN.--The Root and Leaves.
(Gaultheria procumbens)
This evergreen is found on pine plains and
in light shaded soils, in
all parts of the United States. It blossoms
in midsummer. It is called
pipsissiway, pyrola, white leaf,
&c.
PROPERTIES AND USES.--The whole plant has a
pungent and bitter sweet
taste. It is diuretic, sudorific, and
tonic. It is useful in all eruptive
forms of disease, and in cancerous
or scrofulous habits. It is frequently
used in combination with other
articles in the form of Syrups. (See
Compounds.)
GUM MYRRH.
(Commiphora spp.)
This gum exudes from the body of a small
tree growing in Arabia Felix
and Abyssinia. As the juice exudes, it
hardens and adheres to the bark.
There are two kinds of myrrh to be found in
the market--the India and Turkey
myrrh; the former imported from the East
Indies, the latter from the
Levant. There is a great difference in the
quality of this article. The
Turkey myrrh is usually the most free from
impurities, and when of good
quality it is reddish-yellow--of a strong,
peculiar, and somewhat fragrant
odor, and a bitter aromatic
taste.
PROPERTIES AND USES.--Myrrh is a tonic and
stimulant, and possesses
antiseptic properties in a high degree. It is
therefore a useful article
in all cases of putrescency or tendency to
mortification, for chronic
diarrhea, and general debility. For a dose,
take half a tea-spoonful
pulverized, in half a cup of warm water, sweetened,
and taken before it
settles. It constitutes the most essential
ingredient in the Rheumatic
Drops. In the form of tincture, combined
with the tincture of lobelia, it
is useful applied to fresh wounds,
eruptions, old sores, bruises, &c.
BARBERRY.--The Bark.
(Berberis vulgaris)
This shrub grows plentifully in the New
England States, and is found
usually in rocky or stony fields, rising to the
height of eight or ten
feet. The berries are oblong, of a scarlet
color, and a sharp acid taste.
PROPERTIES AND USES.--The
bark of barberry possesses qualities similar
to the goldenseal, and is
frequently used as a substitute. It is a bitter
tonic, improving the
appetite, and removing the yellow tinge from the skin
and eyes, and a
valuable article to take in the spring of the year for
the
jaundice.
Camomile, archangel, elecampane, wormwood
and tansey, are also good
tonics.
Laxatives are those medicines that increase
the peristaltic motion of
the bowels, without purging or producing a fluid
discharge.
BITTER ROOT.--Bark of the Root.
(Apocynum androsaemifolium--Dogbane, Canadian or Indian Hemp)
Bitter root is found in all parts of the
United States where the soil
is light and sandy. The root is perennial,
from a third to half an inch in
diameter, very long and intensely
bitter. It grows from two to three feet
high, with bell-shaped white
flowers.
PROPERTIES AND USES.--Dr. Thomson says in one of
the earlier editions of
his work, "Bitter root is one of the best correctors
of the bile with which
I am acquainted, and is an excellent medicine to
remove costiveness, as it
will cause the bowels to move in a natural
manner. A strong decoction of
the root, made by steeping it in hot
-water, will operate as a cathartic if
taken freely, and sometimes as an
emetic, and is almost sure to throw off a
fever in its first
stages."
It is a tonic, anti-spasmodic, secernent, and
stimulant. Dr. Curtis
says he has found it an excellent article in all
cases of torpidity of the
lower viscera, particularly of the liver and
kidneys. This article alone
has cured cases of dropsy that had baffled all
the skill of the regular
practice. It will be found an important
auxiliary to the general treatment
in removing obstructions peculiar to
females
BUTTERNUT.--The Inner Bark.
(Juglans cinerea)
This tree is too well known to need any
description, being found in
rich, moist, rocky soils, near streams, in almost
all parts of the country.
The inner bark of the butternut tree, says
Howard, and especially of the
root, "is a mild and efficacious purge, leaving
the bowels in a better
condition perhaps than almost any other in use.
In diarrhea, dysentery,
and worms, it is the best cathartic we have ever
employed. It may be
prepared in extract, pills, syrup, or
cordial. For making the cordial,
take any quantity of the fresh bark,
split it into slips, of half an inch
wide, beat it with a hammer, so as to
reduce it to a soft, stringy state;
then put it into an earthen vessel,
packing it close, and pour on it
boiling water sufficient to cover the
bruised bark; set the vessel on coals
near the fire, having it closely
covered, and allow it to stand and simmer
one or two hours. Then strain
off the liquor, and add sugar or molasses
sufficient to make a syrup,--when
it may be bottled, and one quarter of the
quantity of proof spirits added to
preserve it. Dose for a child, from half
to two great-spoonfuls, repeated at
intervals of half or a whole hour,
until it operates. For grown persons
the dose must be much larger. This
preparation is mild, but highly
efficacious for the bowel complaints of
children or adults, and will cure
without giving enough to operate as
physic; but for dysentery and worms,
enough should be administered to
operate freely on the bowels. It may
be given in all ordinary diseases of
children with the happiest effect, being
a most valuable family medicine.
"The syrup is made in a
similar manner, only it is boiled down so as to
make it much stronger and
more actively purgative."
DANDELION.--The Leaves and Roots.
(Taraxacum officinale and others)
This plant is too common to need
description, growing almost
everywhere, on improved lands that are not
plowed, as pastures, meadows,
yards, &c.
PROPERTIES
AND USES.--The dandelion is diuretic, stimulant, tonic,
antispasmodic,
aperient, and alterative. It is therefore useful in all
cases of
urinary obstructions, jaundice, costiveness, consumption, nervous
debility,
biliary obstructions, &c. It should be used freely
and
perseveringly, as its effects are gradual but sure upon the system.
It may
be used in the form of extract made into pills, combined with Cayenne
and
lobelia, or in syrup.
Diuretics are those medicines, that, when
taken internally, increase
the action of the urinary apparatus.
QUEEN OF THE MEADOW.--The Root.
(Eupatorium purpureum and E. fistulosum--Gravel Root, Joe Pye Weed)
Queen of the meadow, or gravel root, has
long, fibrous roots white or
brownish color. It grows from three to six
feet high, with pale reddish
blossoms. It is found in wet ground, or
near streams, though sometimes on
high land.
PROPERTIES
AND USES.--This is a powerful diuretic, useful in all
obstructions of the
urinary organs. It is considered by those who have
proved it, an
unfailing remedy for the gravel. Used in strong decoction,
freely.
COOLWORT.--The Leaves.
(Pilea pumila.-- Richweed)
This herb is found in woods, on shady
banks, and in rich cedar swamps,
where the ground is not very wet. The
leaves are heart-shaped, divided
into lobes, and supported on footstalks
eight or ten inches high. The
flowers are white, and make their
appearance in June. The green leaves
have the taste and smell of a
cucumber. They should be collected in July
or first of August, and
dried without exposure to a damp atmosphere, and
preserved in sealed papers,
or covered boxes.
PROPERTIES AND USES.--Coolwort is
beneficial in all cases of suppression
of the urine or gravelly complaints.
The dried leaves may be steeped and
drank freely.
JUNIPER.--The Fruit
(Juniperus communis)
This shrub is so well known as to need no
description. The berries,
the only part used, are ripe in August.
It grows in abundance in all the
New England States bordering on the
sea.
PROPERTIES AND USES.--The berries possess powerful
diuretic properties,
and are useful in all cases of strangury, dropsy,
gravel, and all urinary
obstructions.
Cleavers, poplar,
fir balsam, sumach, strawberry leaves, elder bark and
blows, burdock root,
and spearmint, are also valuable diuretics; but are so
well known as to need
no description.
Expectorants are medicines that promote
the discharge of matter from
the lungs, whether it be mucus, pus, or any
other morbid accumulation. The
best expectorant known is
lobelia.
SKUNK CABBAGE.--The Root.
(Symplocarpus foetidus.--Dracontium
This plant is found plentifully in the
Northern and Middle States. It
grows in wetlands, having many fibrous
roots, sending up many large, bright
green leaves, but without any stem or
stalk. Its smell resembles the
peculiar odor of the skunk, from which
it derives its name.
PROPERTIES AND USES.--It is
expectorant, anti-spasmodic, and nervine;
useful in asthma, consumption,
cough, hysterics, and all spasmodic
affections. One third of a
teaspoonful of the pulverized root is enough
for a dose, combined with
Cayenne and slippery elm. An over-dose produces
vomiting, head-ache, vertigo,
and temporary blindness.
PLEURISY ROOT.--The Root.
(Asclepias tuberosa.--Butterfly Milkweed)
This plant is sometimes called butterfly
weed, flux root, white root,
&c. It is a beautiful perennial plant,
flourishing best in a light sandy
soil by the wayside, under fences, and near
old stumps in rye fields.
There are sometimes fifteen or twenty stalks the
size of a pipe stem,
proceeding from one root, rising from one to two feet in
height, and
spreading to a considerable extent. The flowers are of a
bright orange
color, and appear in July and August. These are succeeded
by long slender
pods, containing the seeds. It has a carrot-shaped
root, of a light
brownish color.
PROPERTIES AND
USES.--This root is diaphoretic, expectorant, and
antispasmodic, and is
therefore useful in cough, pleurisy, colic,
flatulence, and to promote
perspiration. It may be given in decoction, or
in powder, a teaspoonful
at a dose, in some warming herb tea, until relief
is obtained.
NERVINES.
Nervines are those medicines that have a soothing influence,
and quiet
the nerves without destroying their sensibility. They are beneficial in
all cases of extreme irritability, restlessness, and inability to sleep.
LADY'S SLIPPER.--The Root
(Cypripedium calceolus and others)
This valuable plant has various
names--(American) valerian, nerve root,
yellow umbil, &c. "There
are three or four species of lady's slipper, as
the white, red, and yellow,
from the color of their flowers, but the
qualities are the same. It
grows from one to two feet high, and sometimes
has leaves all the way up the
stock; but more frequently they lie on the
ground;--the stock has one flower
on it, in the form of a purse or round
bag, with a small entrance near where
it joins the stalk, and is something
like a moccasin slipper, from which
resemblance it probably derived the
name of lady's slipper." The roots
are fibrous, and thickly matted
together. It is found in all parts of
the United States (not THESE
days!--editor.) The roots have a bitter,
mucila-ginous taste and a peculiar
smell, somewhat nauseous. Its
properties are sedative, nervine, and
anti-spasmodic. It is good in all
nervous diseases and hysterical
affections, allaying pain, quieting the
nerves, and producing sleep. It is
used in nervous head-aches, tremors,
nervous fevers, &c. It is far
preferable to opium, having no
baneful nor narcotic effects. It has
produced sleep when opium has
failed. The dose is a teaspoonful of the
powdered root to a cup of
pennyroyal tea, or an ounce of the root may be
infused in a pint of water,
and drunk freely in nervous disorders. In
giving courses of medicine in
all cases where the patient is nervous, it
should be given with the other
medicine, say a tea-spoonful to each cup of
the emetic. The root should
be dug late in autumn, or early in the spring,
and dried in the sun; it
should then be pounded and sifted through a fine
sieve, and bottled for use.
SCULLCAP.--The Herb.
(Scutellaria latiflora)
This plant grows in damp places, and by the
side of streams. It has a
small fibrous root, stem four cornered, and
from ten inches to two feet
high. The flowers are blue, making their
appearance in July, and the
seed-vessels of a light green color, each one
containing four seeds.
PROPERTIES AND USES.--" Scullcap
has a prominently bitter taste," says
Mattson, "and is the best nervine I
ever employed; it is also tonic and
anti-spasmodic. It is particularly useful
in delirium tremens, St. vitus'
dance, convulsions, lockjaw, tremors, ague
and fever, tic doulourex, and
all nervous affections. It may be given
with advantage to children, when
health is impaired from the effects of
teething."
"The warm infusion may be drunk freely through
the day, or a heaped
teaspoonful of the powdered leaves, with rather more
than an equal quantity
of sugar, steeped in a teacupful of boiling water, may
be taken at a dose,
and repeated as often as the symptoms require."
Demulcents are those medicines that possess
soothing mucilaginous
properties, shielding the surface or membrane from the
contact of any
irritating substance.
This tree, which grows in the Northern and
Eastern States, attains to
the height of about thirty feet, trunk slender,
dividing in numerous
branches, furnished with a rough and light-colored bark,
and oblong leaves.
The bark may be cut into small pieces and put into
water, either hot or
cold, and it will give out much of its mucilage; but the
best way is to
take the bark and dry it thoroughly, then reduce it to a fine
powder. It
is useful in cough, bowel complaints, strangury, sore
throat, inflammation
of the lungs and stomach, eruptions, &c. As an
external application, in
the form of poultice, it is a valuable remedy far
exceeding any known
production, for ulcers, tumors, swellings, chilblains,
burns, sore mouth,
thrush, and as a wash.
The surgeons
in the revolutionary army experienced the most happy
effects from its
application to gunshot wounds, which were soon brought to
a suppuration, and
a disposition to heal. When a, tendency to
mortification was evident,
this bark bruised and boiled in water produced
the most surprising good
effects. The infusion of the bark is highly
esteemed as a diet drink in
pleurisy and catarrh, and also in diarrhea and
dysentery. It is very
nutritious, and much used as food for the sick.
COMFREY.--the Root.
(Symphytum officinale)
This plant is cultivated in gardens, and
may be found growing
spontaneously by road sides. It grows from three
to four feet high, with
yellowish flowers.
PROPERTIES
AND USES.--Comfrey is mucilaginous, and is therefore useful
in coughs,
dysentery, soreness of the bowels, and for poultices. It may be
used in
powder, half a teaspoonful in two thirds of a cupful of hot
water.
Irish moss, buckthorn brake, hollyhock blossoms,
flaxseed,
marshmallows, &c., are also mucilaginous, and may be used in
all cases of
irritation, internally or externally.
Synopsis of the medical properties of Plants used occasionally.
CAMOMILE. (Matricaria camomila)--An
infusion drank warm is useful in
pulmonary complaints, and in all cases of
debility; applied as a
fomentation in glandular swellings.
MAYWEED. (Matricaria cotula)--The infusion
may be given to promote
pers-piration, and used externally in fomentions for
white swellings,
rheumatism, &c.
BLACK COHOSH. (Cimicifuga racemosa)--A
syrup of this plant is useful in
coughs; and a poultice made by thickening
the decoction with slippery elm
is useful in all kinds of
inflammation.
INDIAN HEMP. (Apocynum cannabinum)--This
root has been used with success
in dropsy, by steeping an ounce in a quart of
water, and taking half a
glass three or four times a day.
SPIKENARD. (Aralia racemosa)--The root of
this plant has a warm,
aromatic, balsamic, fragrant taste, and is useful in
all pulmonary
complaints, taken in infusion, decoction, or
syrup.
SOLOMON'S SEAL. (Polygonatum biflorum)--An
lnfusion of the roots is
useful in all cases of fluor albus, (whites,) and in
immoderate flowing of
the menses, arising from female weakness.
SAFFRON. (Crocus or Carthamus?)--This plant
is an excellent article to
promote perspiration, a tea of which is very
valuable in all eruptive forms
of disease, as canker rash, measles,
&c.
CRANE'S BILL (Geranium maculatum) is a good
astringent, useful in
bleeding, internally or externally, or in hemorrhage
from the
lungs,-bowels, or womb.
YELLOW-DOCK. (Rumex crispus)--A syrup made
of this root, with equal
parts of wintergreen and sarsaparilla, is excellent
to eradicate scrofulous
and other taints of the system.
EVAN ROOT. (Geum spp.)--This plant grows in
low, marshy land, and is
sometimes called chocolate root. It possesses
slightly astringent and
tonic properties, and may be used with benefit in
diarrhea, dysentery, and
bowel complaints in general.
HOPS. (Humulus lupulus)--Hop tea may be
used with benefit as a means of
quieting nervous agitation, and promoting
sleep. It is useful in cases of
delirium tremens. The yellow
powder which may be very readily obtained
from hops by rubbing and sifting
them, contains the active principle of
hops. This powder, (called
lupulin;) by being rubbed up in a warm mortar,
will form a paste, which may
be made into pills, and taken for the purposes
above mentioned.
MEADOW FERN. (Comptonia [Myrica]
peregrina)--A strong decoction of the
leaves and burs of the meadow fern have
been found very useful in
erysipelas, taken freely, and bathing the part
affected. It is also a
valuable external application for all eruptions and
troublesome humors.
HORSEMINT. (Mentha arvensis...probably)--A
strong tea affords relief in
gravel and suppression of the
urine.
UVA URSI. (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)--A tea
drank freely is useful in
ulceration of the kidneys and bladder, and all
uneasy obstructions.
HIGH CRANBERRY. (Viburnum opulus)--A strong
tea drank freely (says
Smith) is very effectual in relaxing spasms and cramps
of all kinds.
GUM ARABIC (Acacia spp.) makes a fine
mucilage for strangury and
scalding of the urine.
OX GALL, made into pills, combined with
golden seal and Cayenne, says
Dr. Osgood, is of inestimable value in those
cases of dyspepsia accompanied
with flatulency, sour eructation, and
obstinate constipation of the bowels.
For the method of preparing it
for use, see Compounds.
Directions for gathering and preparing Medicines.
The remedies used for the cure of disease
should be gathered with much
care, and by persons who have a sufficient
knowledge of the roots and
plants they wish to gather, to be a guarantee
against any mistake being
made. The season of the year in which they
are gathered is to be regarded,
with out which the medicine cannot be
depended on. Every practitioner
should gather as much of his own
medicine as possible.
Herbs and leaves should be gathered
while in blossom. If left till
they have gone to seed, the strength is
much diminished. They should be
dried and carefully kept from the
air. Herb tea, to do any good, should be
made very
strong.
Barks and roots should be collected in the spring
or autumn. They
should not be pulverized a long time before they are required
for use, as
they lose their strength.
Flowers should be
gathered when in perfection, and in dry weather,
dried in the shade, and kept
from the air.
Seeds should be gathered when they are fully
ripe, separated from chaff
and dirt, and kept in bottles or jars for use.