broth, prepared with calf's lungs, or narbon honey, is also excellent. In the height of the paroxyfm, you may order your antiafthmatic remedies, or those used in convulfions, or the following, fyrrup of hedge-mustard, or that of hyfop. A decoction of figs, or equal parts of flowers of fulphur and fugar-candy reduced to a powder; or fyrup of apples, or the white lohoc, may be put into every cup of the patient's ptifan, &c. according as the occafion requires. But the principal remedy on which we should depend, is a strict regimen, retrenching what was fuperfluous and indigeftible, giving lefs panada, or pap, &c. than before. If he does not digeft the breaftmilk well, let the nurse be changed, and let him avoid all acid and acrid meats, &c.

Before I put an end to this fubject, I cannot pass over in filence two famous fpecifics very much in vogue, particularly in our own country.

The first is made mention of, and recommended by Dr. Willis, as the most efficacious remedy in the chinc-ough, as he experienced very frequently, in the course of his practice. It is the plant called cupmofs; and may be given in fubftance or pow

der

der, with a little fugar-candy, to eighteen grains. Its abforbent juft like crabs-eyes, or any other teftacious fubftance. It may be alfo exhibited in a decoction, broth, ptifan, or apozem; or thirdly, it may be made into a fyrup, by making a strong decoction of it, reducing the fame to the confistence of a fyrup, with a fufficient quantity of fugar. It may be given in this form without danger, to two drams, or half an ounce.

The fecond remedy recommended by Mr. Boyle, is much preferable, which is also extolled by Mr. Rawly. Yet it is no infallible medicine in this cafe. It is the Juice of penny-royal expreffed, adding to each spoonful fome fugar-candy.

CHA P. XVIII.

Of the DIARRHEAS of Infants.

AMONG the diforders of the lower-belly

incident to children, Diarhaas, Ruptures and Worms, are the most frequent. I fhall begin this article with Diarhaas, in which two effential things are to be remarked.

L 4

marked. 1. Too frequent evacuations of the contents of the inteftines. And, 2. Their too great fluidity..

DIFFERENCES. The differences are principally deduced from two heads. 1. The nature of the evacuated matter. 2. The quality and nature of the symptoms which attend the diforder.

As to the nature of the evacuations, a Diarrhea is of four fpecies. 1. Stercoral. 2. Caliac. Lienteric. And, 4. Dyfenteric.

3.

I. The Stercoral Diarrhea is that wherein the faces have almoft the fame confiftence as in a natural ftate; but with fome change in their other qualities. This change of the fæces is fourfold; 1. argillacious, or of a grey or whitish colour. 2. greenish, almost like leeks. 3. yellowish, or bilious. and, 4. vifcid, without any mixture of blood.

II. The caliac Diarhaa is that wherein the patient discharges by ftool, a milky, whitish humour, which is nothing else but a chyle which could not enter the lacteals.

III. The Lienteric Diarrhea is that wherein the aliments are evacuated just as taken, almost without any alteration; it is perfect when the aliments undergo no alteration, and imperfect when a little changed.

IV.

IV. The Dyfenteric Diarrhea is that wherein a bloody vifcid matter is discharged; but we are to guard against taking the hemorrhoidal blood, which fometimes flows from the hemorrhoidal veins in the rectum, for a dyfenteric flux.

As to the quality of the fymptoms of these fluxes in general, whence some differences may be deduced, they are, 1. with or without colic pains, &c. 2. they are colliquative, or not. They are attended with colliquation, when inveterate, and when a flow fever fupervenes, or is the cause of the flux, as in the phthifis, but not colliquative, when there is no fever, as in the beginning, when the fever does not produce them.

CAUSES. The general causes of these fluxes are, as we remarked. 1. the too frequent evacuations of the different fubftances contained in the intestines. 2. their too great fluidity.

The causes of the frequent evacuations are not, as the vulgar imagine, the too great relaxations of the inteftines, &c. whereby they are incapable to retain their contents; and confequently let them flip out as faft as they present

prefent themselves. This I own would have a plausible foundation, if the intestinal canal was ftrait and perpendicular, like a cylindriacl tube. But anotamy teaches us the contrary; for we find that the intestines are variously folded, and complicated; fo that their contents fhould lodge the longer in them in confequence of their relaxation. Bėfides the fœces having a tendency to descend by their proper weight, could never in this cafe do fo, for want of fufficient force in the inteftines; confequently this relaxation is chimerical; wherefore we must feek for a more adequate cause of the frequent ftools, which I imagine confifts in the too ftrong and accelerated contractions of the inteftines. This depends, 1. on the acrimony of their contents, whereby they are irritated, and thrown into this contraction, in conjunction with the fympathetic contraction of the other organs intended to exclude the faces, &c. 2. The too great fenfibiltity of these organs which has the fame effect, though the contents of the inteftines be as in the natural ftate. 3. The concurrence of both thefe caufes. Before we enter into a detail of thefe caufes, we fhall examine the nature of

the