discharges a ferous humour, &c. this fome attribute to the various changes of the moon, but it should be rather deduced from the nurfe's menftruation, whereby her milk becomes more acrid and active, than usual, which produces fuch a commotion and change in the infant's body, that its effect is soon manifest in the tender affected part, though the change is in itself very imperceptible, as we fee with regard to feveral other cafes of the fame kind in the human body; that the changes of the part affected spring from this fource, is proved alfo, from this, that they always appear in the time of menstruation, and rarely at any other.

2. How comes it to pafs, that after this cruft, the skin is always the whiter, softer, and more beautiful? this I am apt to attribute to the great afflux of the humours, which are attracted by the part affected, whereby its fibres are relaxed, and become more foft and pliable; what is hard or coarse being thus carried off, whilft the heat and and harden the skin of fuch as

dirt dry up

have no Crufta Lactea.

3. It may be demanded, whether this evil

may be communicated by contagion. The

nurfes

nurfes always apprehend this effect, nor can I blame them, fo it be not carried too far. But in the mean time, I am not of opinion that it is communicable this way, as is the Tinea, of which we shall speak in the next chapter.

SYMPTOMS. Most of these are learned from what we have hitherto faid of the state of the infant. Though the humour flowing from the affected part is mild, balfamic, and incapable of irritating; yet the pendulous moveable scab, by its inequality and roughnefs, compreffes and irritates the fubjacent parts, fo as to force the child to scratch himfelf continually, and very often excoriate the part, especially when the scab begins to dry.

If the humour be abundant thin and ferous, it will flow plentifully. If vifcid and in fmall quantity, it fcarcely appears.

The accidents are much more violent, and dangerous, if the evil be repelled; for the blood being thus impregnated with a great quantity of the morbid particles, lodges them in feveral parts, according to their dif pofition. Thus they are fometimes thrown on the intestines, where they produce dangerous diarrheas; in the brain they cause

con

convulfion; in the bronchia or lungs, violent coughing; in the stomach they produce inappetency, &c.

DIAGNOSTICS. From the description of the disorder appear its diagnostics, as also its prognostics, obferving only, that it is no way dangerous, if it be left to itself, and not repelled.

CURE. As the blood is vifcid in the Crufta lactea, and over-charged with milk, the child should be purged now and then with the fyrup of peach-flowers, or the cathartic fyrup of apples, or the compound fyrup of fuchory, to an ounce and half or two ounces of any of them, to which you may add occafionally, two spoonfuls of the tincture of rhubarb, or rhubarb in fubftance to a small dose.

But the best and fafeft method, if the scab be too large and requires our attention, is to change the infant's nurse for one newly delivered, whofe milk being ferous, will cure the infant without danger of repelling the morbid humours. But if this cannot be conveniently done, and the diforder still fubfifts, augments, and gives room to a troublefome irritation, let it be fomented

with a decoction of barley and mallow roots, for the firft is deterfive, and the fecond relaxing and anodyne. Inftead of this, nurses, commonly employ fome of the infant's urine, which has almost the fame qualities. If the fuperficial ulcer under the fcab be phagedenic and difpofed to fpread, it must be closely kept from the influence of the air, especially that part whence the scab has fallen. This is done by applying to the fame parts a kind of pomatum, made by beating

up the oil of sweet almonds with water, for all oils beat up and intimately blended with water, produce the fame effect. But if the adjoining fkin be confiderably damaged, you may add to this pomatum a little tutty, litharge, or cerufs, reduced to impalpable powder.

CHA P. II.

Of the TINE A.

THIS cutaneous disorder attacks only the hairy-fcalp. It is confufedly defcribed by the Greeks, who called it Keria, and confounded it with the preceding dif

order.

order. The Latins have treated of it more exactly they gave it the name Tinea, from its likeness to the moth-holes in cloth; Favus from its refemblance to a honey comb, being full of fmall holes, (which is alfo the import of the Greek ungíov) and -Acores from the accrimony of the humours, which flow from the affected part. The Arabians, like the Greeks, confounded this with the foregoing diforder; they indif criminately called them Saphati and Afaphati; they only added the epithets of dry and moift to thefe names, to distinguish, as it were, the different fpecies of the fame diforder. Thus far of the names; now of the defcription of the diforder.

It always affects the hairy-fcalp, feldom or never the parts deftitute of hair: the bulb or root of every hair in the affected part firft begins to fwell, then to form fmall ulcers, and as many imperceptible orifices, which daily augnient and exfude an acrid humour. These elevations may be of various bulk and number, of different colours, as yellow, grey, black, &c. according to the habit of the patient, and nature of the humours ; afterwards the discharged hu

mour