Collections for an essay towards a materia medica of the United States. Read before the Philadelphia Medical Society, on the twenty-first of February, 1798. / By Benjamin Smith Barton, M.D. One of the honorary members of the Society, and professor of materia medica, natural history, and botany, in the University of Pennsylvania. ; [Four lines of quotations in Latin]

Collections for an essay towards a materia medica of the United States. Read before the Philadelphia Medical Society, on the twenty-first of February, 1798. / By Benjamin Smith Barton, M.D. One of the honorary members of the Society, and professor of materia medica, natural history, and botany, in the University of Pennsylvania. ; [Four lines of quotations in Latin]

Table of contents

Title page

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TO JAMES EDWARD SMITH, M. D. F. R. S. PRESIDENT OF THE LINNAEAN SOCIETY, MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ACADEMIES OF TURIN, UPSAL, AND LISBON; AND MEMBER of the AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, &c.

PREFACE.

ERRATUM.

COLLECTIONS, &c.

MATERIA ALIMENTARIA.

MATERIA MEDICA.

SECT. I. ASTRINGENTS.

SECT. II. TONICS.

SECT. III. STIMULANTS, OR INCITANTS.

GENERAL STIMULANTS.

TOPICAL STIMULANTS.

SECT. IV. ERRHINES.

SECT. V. SIALAGOGA.

SECT. VI. EMETICS.

SECT. VII. CATHARTICS.

SECT. VIII. DIURETICS.

SECT. IX. ANTHELMINTICS.

APPENDIX, CONTAINING ILLUSTRATIONS AND ADDITIONS.

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COLLECTIONS FOR AN ESSAY TOWARDS A MATERIA MEDICA OF THE UNITED-STATES.

READ BEFORE THE PHILADELPHIA MEDICAL SOCIETY, ON THE TWENTY-FIRST OF FEBRUARY, 1798.

BY BENJAMIN SMITH BARTON, M. D. ONE OF THE HONORARY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY, AND PROFESSOR OF MATERIA MEDICA, NATURAL HISTORY, AND BOTANY, IN THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

Sunt Simplicia desumpta e triplici Naturae Regno: e Lapideo, Vegetabili & Animali; heic VEGETABILIA tantum depromsi, quae maximam constituunt Materiae Medicae partem, alio tempori reservans cetera. LINNAEUS.

[...]DEM NON ABSTULIT ERROR.

PHILADELPHIA. PRINTED, FOR THE AUTHOR, BY WAY & GROFF, No. 27, ARCH-STREET.

1798.

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COPY-RIGHT SECURED ACCORDING TO LAW.

TO JAMES EDWARD SMITH, M. D. F. R. S. PRESIDENT OF THE LINNAEAN SOCIETY, MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ACADEMIES OF TURIN, UPSAL, AND LISBON; AND MEMBER of the AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, &c.

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DEAR SIR,

I CANNOT expect to add any thing to your reputation, by dedicating to you the following pages. I mean not, by this act, to choose a patron who shall veil my faults, or screen me from the censure of the public critic. The actions of men, particularly perhaps of young men, are sometimes disinterested. It is with pleasure I declare to the public, how much I admire your exertions for the extension of that amiable science which both of us cultivate: you with the happiest success; I with an humble ardour.

THE age in which we live is the age of natural science. The mind of LINNAEUS has effected more than the combined intellects of all the naturalists of any preceding century. Natural history, however, is still an infant science. This is particularly the [Page] case with respect to America. Even the nomenclature of our productions is extremely imperfect. We are still less acquainted with the properties of our productions. I view this blank in the history of science, with pain. This pain, however, is daily diminished: for something is daily added to the stock of our knowledge.

I AM far from insinuating, that what I offer you is important in its kind. I am fully sensible of the imperfections of this Essay. I could wish it were more worthy of your attention. If I succeed in convincing you, that there are some lovers and cultivators of botany in the United-States, one of my objects in writing this dedication will be accomplished.

ACCEPT of my sincere wishes for your happiness, and believe me to be, with great respect,

Dear Sir,

Your friend and humble servant, &c. BENJAMIN SMITH BARTON.

Philadelphia, March 12th, 1798.

PREFACE.

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I HOPE the following pages will be received as an earnest of my desire to extend our knowledge of the medical properties of the indigenous vegetables of the United-States. I do not expect to acquire any reputation by the publication. Perhaps, in making this assertion, I shall not be doubted, when I confess that in every thing which I have hitherto published, I have had reputation in view. If I have not acquired it, I have borne the disappointment with tranquil indifference.

THE readers of these Collections (for every thing that is written and published solicits some readers), will form different opinions about my medical faith. Some of them will think I have too much; and others that I have not enough. I certainly do not repose implicit confidence in the half of what is said concerning the powers of medicines. Accordingly, I have not given a place in these pages to many of our vegetables which have been praised as specifics for the cure of diseases; in particular, as specifics against the bites of venomous serpents. But, on the other hand, it will be asked, whether I mean [Page] that all the different vegetables which I have mentioned, should have a place in the materia medica of physicians? I answer, No. But how are we to know what plants are most proper for the purposes of medicine, until we shall have examined the properties of a great body of vegetables? The Digitalis is now thought one of the most important of the diuretic medicines: but perhaps future inquiries will discover a diuretic which shall, in a great measure, supersede the frequent use of this active plant. I wish to turn the attention of our physicians to an investigation of the properties of their native productions. When it is considered how little has hitherto been done in this way, every attempt (mine is an humble one) should be candidly received. I do not mean that its faults should not be pointed out.

THE arrangement of the articles which I have mentioned is by no means faultless: on the contrary, it is liable to many objections. I should not have followed this arrangement had I been considering all the articles of the materia medica. I shall give a sketch of my ideas of a method of the science, in my strictures on the arrangement of the learned and elegant author of the Botanic Garden, a poem which unites the fire of Lucretius with the taste of Virgil, and a learning unequalled by that of Camoëns or of Milton.

[Page] I THINK it but candid to confess, that since reading this address to the Medical Society, I have made some alterations in it. These alterations, however, are very inconsiderable. In general, even the very style and faults of each phrase are preserved, for I had not time to alter or correct much. I have left out the concluding part of the address, relative to the establishment of a medical library: not that I doubt the ability of the society to form a library of its own. The notes contained in the appendix were not read to the society.

WHATEVER may be the reception of this essay by the public, whether favourable or unfavourable, I shall pursue my inquiries concerning the nature and properties of the natural productions of my native country. I shall pursue them, because there is at least a possibility that they may ultimately tend to something useful: and because I have the experience of several years to teach me, that the cultivation of science is the extension of my happiness.

ERRATUM.

Page 13. For Cornus Cincinata. read Cornus circinata.

COLLECTIONS, &c.

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GENTLEMEN,

WE have assembled together to celebrate the anniversary of our foundation. It is an occasion which ought to give pleasure to us all. We have met, however, for the difficult purpose of mingling science with pleasure. This difficulty falls peculiarly upon me. By your vote, I have been called upon to deliver the annual discourse. I accepted of the appointment cheerfully, because I was anxious to demonstrate my attachment to the Society, of which I had the honor to be a member at a very early period of my life; a Society in which I first imbibed my love of the different sciences which constitute the great fabric of medicine.

BUT if I accepted of the appointment with pleasure, I do not address you with confidence. I have found it difficult to select a subject for your [Page] entertainment. I, at one time, contemplated a comparative view of the different theories which have prevailed in medicine, in the present century. But I soon found this subject too extensive for our purpose: besides, in the investigation of this view, I should have been obliged to speak with a freedom, which might not have given pleasure to every one of us. Men are often attached to theories, as parents are attached to their children.

AFTER some difficulty, I have selected a subject. It is An Essay towards a materia medica of the United-States; or, if you please, An Inquiry what indigenous vegetables of our country may be used with advantage in the treatment of diseases. This, you will immediately perceive, is a task both extensive and difficult. But it is an important one. I shall not, perhaps, perform a duty altogether unacceptable to you, if I furnish you with a few facts, not generally known to you before. This is all I aim at.

MINE is not the first attempt of this kind. Besides the paper entitled Specifica Canadensium, * Dr. Schoepf, of Erlangen in Germany, has favoured us with a specimen of such a work, under the title of Materia Medica Americana potissimum regni vegetabilis. [Page] This work was printed in 1787. The author arranges the articles according to the sexual system of Linnaeus. This, though an objection, is not the greatest. He has given us nothing from his own experience. He ascribes active powers to plants which are nearly inert, and appears to me to be, in some measure, governed by the old notion of Signatures: one of the tyrants of the ancient schools. He discovers none of that infidelity, or, if you please, scepticism, which ought ever to be attached to physicians: I mean not an infidelity relative to religion; but an unwillingness to acquiesce, without good proofs, in the truth of every tale concerning the powers of medicines. This pliant, this credulous disposition, has been one of the causes which have obstructed the regular march of medical science. But as the effort of Schoepf is the best of the kind, so we ought to tread lightly on his work. He is at least a man of learning; and learning should always claim indulgence from the lovers and cultivators of science.

I AM far from supposing that it is in my power, especially on this occasion, to supply all the defects of Schoepf's book. It would be easy to point out its faults. I aim at a rude sketch of our materia medica. It is so extremely unfinished, that I have no objection to its being called by any inferior name. I confine myself entirely to vegetables.

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MATERIA ALIMENTARIA.

YOU are all acquainted with the great general division of the materia medica into two parts: that which relates to the aliments, or nutrientia, of mankind, and the medical part, more strictly so called. Each of these is highly important; but I mean in this address to confine myself almost entirely to the latter branch. Yet the former should claim some of our attention. Much may be expected from a country which has blessed us with the maize, the potatoe, &c. I could readily furnish you with a long list of the indigenous nutrientia of this country; but such a list would be very uninteresting. On this subject, however, an useful work might be written. He who shall undertake to examine the subject extensively will find, that Providence has, in the gift of esculent vegetables, been as liberal to the countries of the United-States, as to any other countries of the world, of equal extent.

UNDER this head of the nutrientia, I shall content myself with mentioning two native articles, which deserve the attention of physicians and others. Perhaps, they may even supersede, on many occasions, the use of some other articles, which are purchased at a pretty dear rate.

[Page] THERE grows upon the river Mobile a species of palm, which is but little known to naturalists, but which promises to be an important article of food to man. It has no stalk or stem above ground. The leaves spread regularly all round, and when fully expanded are flabelliform. In the centre of these leaves is produced the receptacle of the fruit, which is of the form and size of a common sugar-loaf. This receptacle consists of a vast number of drupes, or berries, of the size and shape of common plumbs: each is covered with a fibrous, farinaceous, pulpy coating of considerable thickness. This substance is said to resemble manna in texture, colour and taste; or, perhaps, it still more resembles moist brown sugar, with particles of loaf sugar mixt with it. It is a most delicious and nourishing food, and is diligently sought after in the places where it grows. Upon first tasting it, it is somewhat bitter and pungent.*

THE large tuberous roots of the Smilax China afford our southern Indians a nourishing food. The fresh roots are well macerated in wooden mortars. The mass is then put into vessels nearly filled with clear water, where it is well mixed with paddles. It is decanted off into other vessels, where it is left to settle, and after the subsidence is completed, [Page] the water is cast off, leaving the farinaceous substance at the bottom. When this is taken out and dried, it is an impalpable powder of a redish colour. Mixed with boiling water, it becomes a beautiful jelly, which, when sweetened with honey or sugar, affords a most nourishing and pleasant food for children or aged people. The Indians sometimes use it mixed with fine corn-flour, and fryed in fresh bears' oil.*

THE chemical history of the maize, or Indian corn, the blessing of our country, deserves to be farther investigated. Its importance as an article of diet is sufficiently established by the experience of whole nations.

MATERIA MEDICA.

I AM not very anxious, on this occasion, about my division of the materia medica. I have attempted, in my lectures, to make some improvements upon the arrangement of Dr. Cullen; and, if I live, I hope to publish, in a few months, my strictures on the late arrangement of the ingenious Dr. Darwin. At present, in possession of only a small collection of original facts immediately relative to the materia [Page] medica of the United-States, I shall content myself with disposing of these facts under the nine following heads, viz. 1. ASTRINGENTS; 2. TONICS; 3. STIMULANTS; 4. ERRHINES; 5. SIALAGOGA, or SALIVATING MEDICINES; 6. EMETICS; 7. CATHARTICS; 8. DIURETICS; 9. ANTHELMINTICS.

SECT. I. ASTRINGENTS.

I THINK it proper, in the present state of our knowledge of medicines, to give place to a class of ASTRINGENTS. There is the more propriety for the adoption of such a class, because we see more readily, than with respect to many other medicines, their direct mode of operation. Our vegetable astringents, I mean the purer and more unmixed astringents, are numerous. The barks of all our oaks are of this kind. But I may here particularly mention three or four native astringents, which seem to be more especially entitled to your attention.

THE first is the Geranium Maculatum, or Spotted Geranium, which grows very plentifully about this city: it flowers in the spring. The root is used: this boiled in milk has been found an excellent medicine in the cholera of children. It is not necessary to be very nice about the dose. I imagine it would also prove useful in old diarrheas, where [Page] the kino, and other astringents are exhibited. If nephritis, of certain kinds, be relieved by astringents, this geranium would seem entitled to attention, not merely because it is a powerful astringent, but because a species of the same genus, the Geranium robertianum, or Herb-Robert, has been employed with advantage in this distressing complaint.*

THE Heuchera Americana is the next astringent. This is sometimes called American Sanicle. It is more commonly called Alum-Root. The root is a very intense astringent. It is the basis of a powder which has lately acquired some reputation in the cure of cancer. I suppose all its virtue, in this case, depends upon its astringency. I may here observe, that the disease of cancer is not confined to civilized nations. It is known among our Indians. I am informed that the Cheerake cure it with a plant which is thought to be the Hydrastis Canadensis, one of our fine native dies. I do not believe that the Heuchera has cured genuine cancer: but it seems certain that it has proved very beneficial in some obstinate ulcers, which have been mistaken for cancer. In such cases, the astringent medicines are too much neglected.

[Page] THE Actaea racemosa, or Black Snake-root, is also a valuable medicine. It is sometimes called Squaw-root, I suppose from its having been used as a medicine by our Indians. The root of this plant is considerably astringent. In a putrid sore throat which prevailed in Jersey, many years ago, a strong decoction of the roots was used, with great benefit, as a gargle. Our Indians set an high value on it. A decoction of it cures the itch. In North-Carolina, it has been found useful, as a drench, in the disease of cattle called the murrain.

THE Uva Ursi* is considerably astringent. Yet I suspect that it does not operate entirely by virtue of its astringent quality. This plant, from my own experience, I can recommend to you as a most valuable medicine. It should be in the hands of every physician. I have used it with advantage in old gonorrhea. But its great virtue is that of a medicine in nephritis. I am inclined to think that it is peculiarly adapted to cases of what I call nephritis podagrica, or nephritis depending upon gout. This is one of the plants which is common to the old and to the new-world. It grows plentifully in Canada, New-York, New-Jersey, &c. Schoepf says, the Indians mix the leaves with tobacco.†

[Page] THE Liquidambar asplenifolium* of Linnaeus is well known by the name of Sweet-Fern. It has often been found useful in diarrhea. Other virtues have been ascribed to it.†

SECT. II. TONICS.

I BELIEVE all the astringent medicines are more or less TONIC. But there are a good many tonics which are not astringent. There is, certainly, some propriety in considering the astringents and tonics under two distinct heads, as Dr. Cullen has done. But, perhaps, the tonics should only form one section of the great class of stimulants. Certain it is, that many of the tonic medicines are considerably stimulant.

THE class of tonics is extremely interesting to physicians. It embraces some of the most valuable medicines with which we are acquainted, such as the Peruvian bark, the extensive tribe of bitter medicines, as the gentians, &c. The natural infirmities of mankind, and perhaps especially the vices to which civilized nations are so propense, will always render the tonics most necessary implements in the hands of physicians.

[Page] OUR woods possess several medicines which I am inclined to think might to be used, with advantage, as substitutes for the Peruvian bark. Perhaps, most of our Oaks, which are in general different from the oaks of the old-world, are of this kind. Sufficient trials have not been made with them; at least internally used. Externally some of them have been employed with advantage. I have used the bark of the Spanish oak* in gangrene, and I had every reason to think it was, in this case, equal in power to the best Peruvian bark. The bark of the Prunus Virginiana, or Wild-Cherry-tree, has been used in intermittent fevers, and found useful. This is a very common tree. Its leaves are poisonous to certain animals, as calves. Even the berries intoxicate different kinds of birds. The barks of the Common Sassafras (Laurus Sassafras) and Persimmon (Diospyros Virginiana) have likewise been found useful in intermittents. In the year 1793, I used the bark of the last of these vegetables in an ulcerous sore throat.† Our Willows have not been attentively examined. We have several native species, and I believe they possess nearly the same properties which have been ascribed to the willows of [Page] Europe,* by Stone, Haller, and other writers. The Dogwood is a genus which seems well worthy of attention. Of this, the Cornus of the botanists, there are several species in North-America. The most common is the Cornus Florida, or Common Dogwood. I find this in every part of the United-States. It is one of our most beautiful shrubs. It flowers early in the spring, and with so much regularity, that some of our southern tribes were accustomed to name the spring season from its flowering. The bark is considerably astringent. It has long been employed in intermittent fevers. A decoction of it has also been employed, and found very useful, in a malignant fever, called the yellow water, Canada distemper, &c. which, within the last eight years, has carried off great numbers of the horses in the United-States. The ripe fruit, or berries, infused in spirit or brandy, make an agreeable bitter. Our Indians employ an infusion of the flowers in intermittents. The same infusion has been much recommended by some in flatulent cholic. I have used it as a tea.

THE Cornus sericea, another species, is called Red-Willow and Rose-Willow; which are very improper names. The bark of this is often mixed with tobacco and smoken by the savages. It has [Page] been found but little inferior to the common pale Peruvian bark, in intermittent fevers. This species grows in wet places, on the sides of rivers, creeks, &c. and flowers in August and September. I know nothing of the medical properties of the other native species of this genus; viz. Cornus Canadensis, Cornus Cincinata, &c.

MANY years ago, Zannichelli, and of late, Cusson and other writers, recommended the bark of the AEsculus Hippocastanum, or Common Horse-Chesnut, as a substitute for the Peruvian bark. This AEsculus is not a native of America, though it thrives very well in the open ground of Pennsylvania, &c. But we have at least two native species of the same genus within the limits of the United-States.* Whether the bark of these possess the properties which have been ascribed to the Hippocastanum, I do not know. They deserve to be examined.

I MUST not omit to mention, under this head, the Magnolias. Of this fine genus, we have at least six species, viz. the Magnolia glauca, the acuminata, the tripetala, the grandiflora, the auriculata, and the Fraseri. I believe they all possess nearly one general assemblage of properties; but of this I am [Page] not quite certain. The species that is best known to me is the glauca, commonly called Magnolia, Beaver-tree, and Swamp-Sassafras. The bark of this is an agreeable aromatic, tonic, bitter medicine. It has been used in intermittent fevers. The flowers have a powerful and to most persons an agreeable smell. It is an emanation which must be considered as a potent stimulant, or incitant. I am well acquainted with a physician in whom the newly-expanded flower evidently increased the paroxysm of a fever which came on every afternoon; and also increased the pain of inflammatory gout. This is an interesting fact. In Virginia, a spirituous tincture of the cones, or seed-vessels, of the Magnolia acuminata, which is commonly called Cucumber-Tree, has been used, and we are told very advantageously, in rheumatic complaints.* The bark of the root of the Magnolia grandiflora, sometimes called Tulip-tree, is used in Florida, in combination with the Snake-root, as a substitute to the Peruvian bark, in the treatment of intermittent fevers. The flowers of the Magnolia tripetala, or Umbrella-tree, have a very powerful smell. They often induce nausea and head-ache.

I AM inclined to think that the Cortex Angusturae, which has lately been introduced into medical [Page] practice, and is so greatly celebrated as a tonic, by the practitioners of Britain, is the bark of some species of Magnolia.

THE Liriodendron Tulipisera, well known in the United-States, by the names of Tulip-Tree, Poplar, White-Wood, &c. is very closely allied, by its botanical character, to the Magnolias. They both belong to the same class of the sexual system, and both, I believe, possess nearly the same properties. The bark of the Liriodendron is sometimes used in intermittents. Many persons are of opinion, that in this case, it is but little inferior to the Peruvian bark. I have never employed it.

THE bark of the Populus tremula? or Aspin? has likewise been used in cases of intermittent fevers. This is a powerful tonic, and deserves the attention of the American physician. It has been found very useful, as a stomachic, in the diseases of our horses.

THE Snake-root, the Aristolochia Serpentaria, is one of the more stimulating tonic bitters. It is certainly a valuable medicine, in the second stage of certain fevers, after the inflammatory diathesis has been removed. It was used with great benefit, in a most malignant fever, attended with carbuncles, [Page] which prevailed at Bristol, on the Delaware, in this state, in the years 1749 and 1753. Another species of this genus, the Aristolochia sipho of L'Heritier, grows in the neighbourhood of Pittsburg, and in other parts of the United-States. This is a large, climbing plant. The root has a pungent, aromatic taste, and for certain purposes is perhaps preferable to the common Snake-root.

I SHALL conclude this subject of tonics by observing, that we possess a good many of the bitter plants of Europe, which have long claimed the attention of physicians. Our Gentians have not been carefully examined. We have one species which appears to be equal to any of the officinal kinds yet known.

SECT. III. STIMULANTS, OR INCITANTS.

THE class of STIMULANTS, or INCITANTS, is so very extensive, that in order to exhibit a methodical or natural medical arrangement of these articles, it would be necessary to consider them under a number of different heads, or sections. But this, in such a sketch as I offer you, does not appear necessary. I shall content myself, therefore, with speaking of a few of our native stimulant vegetables, [Page] under the two heads of such as are more general, and such as are more partial, or topical, in their operation.

GENERAL STIMULANTS.

I THINK that many of our different balsamic products may, with propriety, be considered under the head of GENERAL STIMULANTS, though they are certainly not the most diffusible articles of this class. Such is the resin of the Populus balsamifera, called Balsam, or Tacamahaca-Tree. This is a native of North-America and of Siberia. The resin is procured from the leaf-buds. This balsam is so very penetrating, that it communicates its peculiar smell and taste to the flesh of certain birds which feed upon the buds. It was formerly supposed, that the Tacamahaca of the shops was the produce of this tree. But it seems more probable that it is the produce of the Fagara octandra.

THE gum-resin which exudes from the Sweetgum, or Maple-leaved Liquidambar-Tree, the Liquidambar Styraci [...]lua of Linnaeus, deserves to be mentioned. The storax of the shops is thought to be the produce of this tree: but perhaps this point is not yet quite ascertained. I am informed that the produce of our tree has been used, with advantage, [Page] in diarrheas. Some of our southern Indians mix the dried leaves with tobacco, for smoking.

To the head of stimulants I have no hesitation in referring a number of poisonous vegetables, with the properties of which we are not so well acquainted as we ought to be. Such are the Datura Stramonium, or James-town-weed, the Cicuta maculata, &c.

THE Datura is one of our most common plants. It is certainly a medicine possessed of useful powers. The properties of this vegetable have lately been more satisfactorily investigated by one of our members, Dr. Samuel Cooper.

WE have several native plants of the natural order umbelliferae. That described by the late Dr. James Greenway, under the name of Cicuta venenosa, should be carefully investigated. This, from his account, must either be a direct sedative, or a stimulant, whose first operation is very soon accomplished. It kills without inducing pain or convulsions. Perhaps the plant with which some of our Indians, when weary of life, destroy themselves, is the same. It grows in meadows, and has a root like a parsnip.

BEFORE I take leave of these poisonous plants, I may mention some others whose properties are but [Page] little known. The first is the Rhododendron maximum, or Pennsylvania Mountain-Laurel. This is certainly a poison. It is a species of the same genus as the Rhododendron Crysanthmum, which has lately acquired much reputation in the cure of chronic rheumatism.

NEARLY allied to the Rhododendron is the genus Kalmia. Of this we have several species, and all of them are poisons. The Kalmia latifolia, or Broad-leaved Laurel, is best known to us. It kills sheep and other animals. Our Indians sometimes use a decoction of it to destroy themselves. In the county of Lancaster, an empiric has used the powdered leaves with success in certain stages of fevers, and in tinea capitis. A decoction of the plant externally applied has often cured the itch; but it must be used with great care, for thus applied it has been known to occasion disagreeable subsultus, or startings, and convulsions. I have given the powder of this plant internally in a case of fever, and have thus, at least, ascertained that it may be used with safety.

THE medical properties of our different species of Andromeda and Azalea, which in botanical character are very nearly akin to the Rhododendron and Kalmia, are but little known to me. I have long suspected that they are poisons. A decoction of [Page] the Andromeda Mariana has been found useful as a wash in a disagreeable ulceration of the feet, which is not uncommon among the slaves, &c. in the southern states.

THE Gaultheria procumbens, which we call Mountain-Tea, is spread very extensively over the more barren, mountainous parts of the United-States. It belongs to the same class as the plants just mentioned. I have made use of a strong infusion of this plant, which is evidently possessed of a stimulant and anodyne quality. I am told it has been found an useful medicine in cases of asthma. But I have not learned to what particular forms of this disease it is best adapted, nor in what manner it operates.

OUR native species of Laurus deserve to be investigated. The Camphor and the Cinnamon belong to this genus: but hitherto, they have not been discovered within the limits of the United-States. The properties of the Common Sassafras, which is a species of Laurus, have not been sufficiently examined. It is the Laurus Sassafras of the botanists. I have already mentioned the bark. Its oil seems to be an useful medicine. I have been assured that this oil has been found an efficacious medicine, externally applied, in cases of w [...]ns. This looks probable; for our medicine is nearly allied to camphor, which has been used with advantage in [Page] bronchocele.* I knew a woman in whom an infusion or tea of the root of the Sassafras always induced an oppression at breast, with sighing, and depression of spirits.

DURING the late American war, necessity drove the inhabitants, in many parts of the United-States, to seek for a substitute for some of the spices to which they had been accustomed. They used the dried and powdered berries of the Laurus Benzoin, which we call Spice-Wood, and Wild-Alspice-Bush, and found them a tolerable substitute for alspice.†

THE celebrated Gynseng, or Panax quinquefolium, may, with propriety, be thrown into the class of stimulants. I find it difficult to speak of this plant with any degree of certainty. If it were not a native of our woods, it is probable that we should import it, as we do the teas of China and Japan, at a high price.

THE Eryngium aquaticum, or Water-Eryngo, is one of the stimulants which more especially act as sudorific. It is nearly allied in its qualities to the [Page] contrayerva of the shops. It is one of the medicines of our southern Indians. They use the decoction.

AMONG the more acrid stimulants of our country, I may mention the Arum Virginicum, or Indian-Turnip, as it is most commonly called. I could wish that the properties of this plant were examined with attention. The leaves of a plant a good deal allied to this, I mean the Dracontium pertusum of the botanists, are employed, by the Indians of Demerara, in a very singular manner, in the treatment of general dropsy. The whole body of the patient is covered with the leaves. An universal sweat, or rather vescication, is induced, and the patient often recovers. Perhaps, it would be worth trying this practice in cases of anasarca, which have resisted the usual modes of treatment.*

TOPICAL STIMULANTS.

BY the TOPICAL STIMULANTS, I mean those articles which more especially increase the action or living powers of the parts to which they are applied, and which, at the same time, generally produce a [Page] discharge of fluid from the part. The Cantharis is one of these articles: but of this, as an animal body, and not a native, I have nothing to say.

THE bark of our White-Walnut, or Butternut, the Juglans cinerea of Wangenheim, is a pretty efficacious blister. The bark of the root is more powerful than that of the stem or branches. It has been applied with advantage, as a blister, to the bite of some of our venomous serpents.

I BELIEVE the bark of our Moose-wood, or Leather-wood, the Dirca palustris of Linnaeus, is also a blister. This plant, by its botanical habit, is nearly allied to the genus Daphne, all the species of which are blisters; especially the Daphne Gnidium.

SOME of our Indians make use of a plant, which, when mashed a little, induces nearly as good a blister as the cantharides. It has been used with advantage in sciatica. I do not know this plant.

THE Ranunculus sceleratus, or Celery-leaved Crowfoot, is a very acrid plant. If it be bruised, and laid upon any part of the body, it will, in a few hours time, raise a blister. This plant is a native of Europe and of America. The Ranunculus bulbosus, called Bulbous Crowfoot, and Buttercups, [Page] possesses the same properties. This plant grows very plentifully in our meadows and fields; but I believe it is not a native.

To this head of topical stimulants, I may refer several species of the genus Rhus, or Sumac; particularly the Rhus radicans, or Poison-vine; the Rhus Vernix, or Vernice-tree; and the Rhus Toxicodendron, or Poison-oak. In many persons they induce a peculiar and very troublesome vescication, which I have frequently removed, in a short time, by means of a mercurial wash. These plants are more active in the southern than in the northern climates. They more readily poison immediately after than before a full meal. Their stimulant effect is extended beyond the skin. It is said that the bark of one species (but I cannot tell you what species) has been found useful in intermittents.

SECT. IV. ERRHINES.

I HAVE but little to say under the head of ERRHINES, or STERNUTATORY MEDICINES. Our native vegetables of this class, with the exception of the Tobacco, are but little known to me. Of the Tobacco, as being so well known to you all, I need say nothing.

[Page] THE brown powder which is attached to the footstalks of the leaves of the Andromeda, the Kalmia, and the Rhododendron, formerly mentioned to you, is considerably errhine. The powder about the seeds, in the seed-vessels of the same vegetables, possesses a similar quality. Whether this powder may be advantageously employed in practice I cannot say.

WE have many native species of the genus Euphorbia, or Spurge. There can be little doubt, that some of them are sternutative.

SECT. V. SIALAGOGA.

The number of SALIVATING MEDICINES is, I believe, much greater than has been commonly imagined. Perhaps, there are but few of the Incitant medicines which may not be so managed as to salivate. Opium, camphor, and hemloc* all induce salivation.

I AM but little acquainted with our indigenous salivating vegetables. The Seneca Snake-root has long since been observed to possess this property.

[Page] THE Zanthoxylum Clava Herculis, or Ash-leaved Tooth-ach-Tree, is a very powerful stimulant. Applied to the mouth and internal fauces, it occasions a copious flow of saliva. By this property it appears to be a good deal allied to the Pyrethrum, Cochlearia, &c. I am informed that our plant is not merely an external sialagogue, but that even when taken into the stomach, it exerts its effects upon the salivary glands. I speak of the bark of the plant: but the feed-vessels have the same property. This medicine has been given internally in cases of rheumatism.

SECT. VI. EMETICS.

AMONG the indigenous vegetables of our country, there are several which are entitled to your attention as EMETICS. Such are the Euphorbia Ipecacuanha, the Spiraea trifoliata, the Asarum Canadense, &c.

THE first of these, the Euphorbia Ipecacuanha, like all the species of the genus, is an extremely active plant. It is employed as an emetic by some of the country-people. I do not know the dose. I suppose it is small, for it belongs to the head of drastic emetics. I am not certain that it would be a valuable addition to the materia medica; but, perhaps, it would. There are many cases in which [Page] we have occasion to make use of immediate and active emetics; as when certain poisons, such as laudanum, &c. have been swallowed. In such cases it may possibly be of much use.

I CAN speak with more confidence of the Spiraea trifoliata. This is a shrub, which grows very plentifully in various parts of the United-States. It is one of the few active plants of the class Icosandria, to which it belongs. The root, which is the part made use of, like that of the officinal ipecacuanha, consists of a cortex or bark, and a ligneous or woody part. The active power of the root seems to reside exclusively in the bark. It is a safe and efficacious emetic, in doses of about thirty grains. Along with its emetic, it seems to possess a tonic power. It has accordingly been thought peculiarly beneficial in the intermittent fever, and it is often given to horses to mend their appetite. This plant has a number of different names, such as Ipecacuanha, Indian-Physic, Bowman's Root, &c.

WE have several species of the genus Asarum, or Asarabacca. I am best acquainted with the Asarum Canadense, which is well known by the name of Wild-Ginger. In Virginia it is called Coltsfoot. Both the root and leaves may be used. The expressed juice of the fresh leaves is a powerful emetic.

[Page] SOME of our Indians also prepare an emetic from the bark of a certain vine, which a good deal resembles the Celastrus scandens of Linnaeus. This vine bears bunches of red berries of a sweetish taste, but of a poisonous nature. I know nothing of this plant from my own experience; but a gentleman* who has used it prefers it to every other emetic. The Indians make a decoction of the bark. A large dose is required to produce the effect. This is certainly an objection against its use.

A DECOCTION of the Eupatorium perfoliatum, or Thorough-wort, is also emetic. I might have observed, that this plant is used by our Indians as a medicine in intermittent fevers.

THE root of the Sanguinaria Canadensis† has been mentioned to me as an emetic. I know nothing particular of this property of the plant. I should have observed, under the head of General Stimulants, that the seeds appear to possess nearly the same quality as the seeds of the Datura Stramonium.

I HAVE been assured, that the Six-Nations make use of at least twelve or fourteen different emetic. [Page] All them, except the sulphat of iron, are vegetables. It is probable that the Spiraea, Euphorbia Ipecacuanha, &c. are among the number of these vegetable emetics.

I SHALL conclude this subject of emetics by recommending to your attention an examination of the properties of some of our native species of Viola, or Violet. I suspect it will be found, that the roots of some of these are endued with an useful emetic quality.

SECT. VII. CATHARTICS.

WE have many indigenous CATHARTICS. Some of them are well worthy of your attention. These may be divided into two kinds, the milder, and the more drastic.

AMONG the more mild, I may mention the Triosteum persoliatum, sometimes called Bastard-Ipecacuanha. This, when given in very large doses, sometimes proves emetic; hence the vulgar name. But I find it a good cathartic. The cortex, or bark, of the root is employed. I give it in doses of twenty and thirty grains. On some occasions, it has seemed to operate as a diuretic. But this may have been only an accidental circumstance. Rhubarb sometimes produces the same effect, as has been observed by C. Piso.

[Page] NEARLY allied to the Triosteum, I mean in its properties, is the Asclepias decumbens. This is one of our most beautiful and common plants. It has received many vulgar names, such as Pleurisy-root, Flux-root, Butterfly-weed, &c. It has been much celebrated in Virginia, as a remedy in dysentery. I have used it, and I think with advantage. I believe it does good principally by its purgative quality. The dose is from twenty to thirty grains of the root in powder. A great deal has been said about the virtue of this vegetable in pleurisy.

THE powder of this Asclepias is escarotic, and has been found useful in restraining fungous flesh in ulcers. I believe this, and not the Poke, as has been supposed, is the plant which is employed by our southern Indians in cases of venereal chancre.

THE dried fruit of our Papaw, or Custard-apple, the Annona triloba of Linnaeus, is likewise purgative. I can say nothing of it from my own experience.

I KNOW nothing, from experience, of the Mechameck, or Wild-Rhubarb, of some of our Indians. It is, certainly, a species of Convolvulus, or Bind-weed, and I believe the Convolvulus panduratus, which in Virginia is called "wild potatoe." Its name Wild-Rhubarb, implies that it is a purgative. An extract [Page] but little, if any thing, inferior to the Scammony of the shops, has been procured from one of our species of Convolvulus. One must have a good deal of medical faith to believe what Catesby has said concerning the remarkable power of the Convolvulus purpureus, or Purple-Bindweed.*

MORE active than any of the native purgatives which I have mentioned is the Podophyllum peltatum of Linnaeus. This is a very common plant through the whole of the United-States, and in other parts of North-America. It is known by a variety of names, such as May-apple, Mandrake, Ipecacuanha, Wild-lemons, &c. The fruit is esculent, and by many persons is thought delicious. The leaves are poisonous.—It is the root which is used in practice. In doses of twenty grains, it is an excellent cathartic. It has some advantages over the rhubarb and jallap. It is most advantageously used in combination with calomel, or the crystals of tartar. I have heard much of the virtues of an extract prepared of this root; but have never used it.

THERE is a plant which was thought by Linnaeus to be a species of the same genus. He called it Podophyllum diphyllum. I have shown, that it is [Page] a new genus.* I have not been able to collect a sufficient quantity of this to ascertain its powers; but, judging by the taste and smell, which it must be confessed are sometimes fallacious tests, I suspect its root possesses the virtues of the May-Apple, or Podophyllum peltatum.

THE Cassia Marilandica, one of our finest plants, belongs to the same genus as the senna of the shops. The American species possesses nearly the same virtues as the eastern species. It is used as a purgative in different parts of the United-States.

AN extract prepared from the inner bark of the Juglans cinerea, or Butternut-Walnut, has long been used as a purgative in the United-States. It is a valuable medicine. As it is often, however, very carelessly prepared by the country-people, it has gone into some kind of neglect. It ought to be prepared by the better informed apothecaries, and have a place in the Pharmacopoeia of this country, WHEN SUCH A DESIDERATUM SHALL BE SUPPLIED. The dose of this extract is from ten to thirty grains. I have thought it possesses something of an anodyne property.

I HAVE been told, that some of our Indians use as a cathartic a decoction of the bark of the root of [Page] the Dirca palustris, or Leather-wood, already mentioned to you. Of this property of the Dirca I know nothing farther.

THE decoction or powder of the root of the Polygala Senega, or Seneca Snake-root, is also a purgative. Dr. Cullen, indeed, thinks its purgative is its most striking property, and therefore he arranges it under his head of cathartics.*

SOME of our native species of Iris, or Flag, are powerful cathartics. Such are the Iris versicolor and the Iris verna. They are both used by our southern Indians.† I can say nothing certain concerning the dose of these vegetables. It is doubtless small, for they are very active plants. Several of the European species of Iris are irritating cathartics.

A SPECIES of Croton, or perhaps of Stillingia, is used in the southern states, as a cathartic. It enters into the composition of a medicine which has acquired much celebrity in the cure of that hideous disease the Frambaesia, or Yaws. This plant grows [Page] spontaneously on the dry, high lands of Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. It is called Yaw-weed, and Cock-up-Hat. The Stillingia sylvatica, perhaps the very plant I have been speaking of, is said to be a specific in the venereal disease.*

SECT. VIII. DIURETICS.

DIURETICS have so long been employed with benefit, in the treatment of dropsies, that it becomes a matter of consequence to increase the number of the medicines of this class, and to learn how to exhibit, with more advantage, those which are already known. I do not mean by this observation to assert, that dropsies cannot be cured without the use of diuretic medicines. On the contrary, I am persuaded that they can, and often are, especially when the dropsy depends upon fever, or is connected with it. But in the management of all kinds of dropsies, it is often necessary to have recourse to the use of diuretics, and I believe that some of the worst forms of this disease, such as hydrothorax, are most effectually cured by these medicines. The Digitalis purpurea, so much and so justly celebrated at present, is not, to my knowledge, a native of any part of [Page] America.* But we have several native diuretics, which deserve the attention of our physicians. Such are the Seneca-Snake-root, the Lobelia siphilitica, the Serratula spicata, the Cassena, and others.

THE first of these, the Polygala Senega of the botanists, along with its diuretic, possesses an emetic, cathartic, expectorant, salivating, and diaphoretic power. I have already hinted at its salivating and cathartic operation. As a diuretic, it has been employed, and found useful, in dropsy, by Tennent, Bouvart, and other writers. I am informed that it has lately been used, with great success, in the treatment of the cynanche trachealis, or croup, by Dr. Archer of Maryland. He uses a strong decoction of the root, which operates as an emetic, cathartic, and expectorant.† This medicine sometimes operates so powerfully as a sudorific, that I have been assured it has been known to remove portions of the mucous body, or rete mucosum, from [Page] the skin of blacks who have used it. I do not vouch for the truth of this fact: but I must confess that to me the circumstance does not seem improbable. Our Indians use a decoction of this root in syphilis. I have no confidence in the powers which have been ascribed to the Seneca, in curing the bite of the rattle-snake. Besides the Polygala Senega, we have several other native species of this genus. I do not know how far they possess the powers which have been ascribed to the Seneca itself. It is probable that they only differ in degree. Kiernander, a long time ago, remarked that the Polygala vulgaris, which grows spontaneously in Europe, possesses, though in a less eminent degree, the virtues of the celebrated American species.*

THE Lobelia siphilitica is also considerably diuretic. This plant was purchased from the northern Indians, by the late Sir William Johnson, as a remedy in the venereal disease: hence its specific name, siphilitica. I do not believe, after paying some attention to the subject, that this plant has cured confirmed syphilis. I know that the Indians, even those who are best acquainted with the plant, are glad to have an opportunity of applying to the whites for relief, when they have the disease. They certainly do not trust the cure entirely to the Lobelia. [Page] They use the bark of the wild cherry (Prunus Virginiana), the root of the May-apple (Podophyllum peltatum), and many other plants.* I believe, however, that the Lobelia has been of service in the disease. In gonorrhea it has certainly performed a cure; but the tendency of the constitution, unaided by medicines, to get rid of this complaint, is well known. I may here observe, that gonorrhea appears to be much more common among the Indians than syphilis. The Lobelia seems to operate chiefly by its diuretic quality. From their ignorance of botany, many persons in the western country have been using a plant, which they call Lobelia, in the same complaints. I have received specimens of the plant under the name of Lobelia. It proves to be the Serratula spicata, or Spiked Saw-wort. There is good reason to believe, that it has been found useful, not only in veneral complaints, but also in cases of nephritis calculosa, or gravel. Thus ignorance sometimes leads to knowledge. This supposed Lobelia is a powerful diuretic. The Indians sometimes drink the decoction of it so strong that it occasions gleets.† It is the root of the plant [Page] which is commonly employed, but the flowers and the leaves may also be used.

An infusion of another species of Lobelia, I believe the Lobelia inflata, has been found very useful in the leucorrhoea, or whites. It is a lactescent, and very active plant. I do not know that this acts as a diuretic, and it would have been more proper to have mentioned the plant under the head of stimulants.

The Cassena is a species of Ilex, or Holly. It is the Ilex vomitoria of Aiton, and is a native of Carolina, West-Florida, &c. It has been called South-Sea-tea, or Evergreen Cassine. It is thought to be one of the most powerful diuretics hitherto discovered. It is held in great esteem among the southern Indians. They toast the leaves and make a decoction of them. It is the men alone that are [Page] permitted to drink this decoction, which is called Black Drink.

The Medeola Virginica grows plentifully in the vicinity of this city, and in almost every other part of the United-States. Its root is white, and tastes a good deal like the cucumber, which has given the plant the name of Cucumber-root. I am told that this root is diuretic, and has cured dropsies. The sensible qualities of the plant do not promise much; but this does not prove that it is not an useful medicine.

SECT. IX. ANTHELMINTICS.

OF the class of medicines called ANTHELMINTICS, or destroyers and expellers of worms, we have several which are entitled to your notice. One of the most celebrated of these is the Carolina Pinkroot, the Spigelia Marilandica of Linnaeus. This is a very common plant in our southern states. It is a valuable medicine, as has been demonstrated by the physicians of Europe and of this country. It is commonly given in the form of an infusion, or tea; but I prefer the exhibition of it in powder. It has been accused of occasioning, for a short time, a disagreeable affection of the eyes. But this effect may often be prevented by combining with the Spigelia some of the common Virginia Snake-root. The [Page] Cheerake-Indians have so high an opinion of this plant, that it would sometimes be dangerous for a person to be detected in digging it up, to carry it out of the country. The whites learned the anthelmintic powers of this vegetable from the Indians. The Spigelia is said to possess other valuable properties. Infused in wine, it has been found an useful medicine in intermittent fevers. But I can say nothing particular concerning the precise mode of administering it in this case.

THE Chenopodium anthelminticum grows plentifully in the United-States. It is commonly called Worm-seed. The whole plant has a most powerful smell, of which it is very retentive. The taste is bitter, with a good deal of aromatic acrimony.

THE root of the May-apple, (Podophyllum peltatum), which I have mentioned to you under the head of cathartics, has often been found to operate as an anthelmintic. It is used as such by the Cheerake, and other southern Indians. Whether it operates by its cathartic quality exclusively, or partly by some other quality, deleterious to the worms, I cannot say. The whites learned from the Indians the anthelmintic power of this plant.*

[Page] THE Helleborus foetidus, or Stinking Hellebore, has been mentioned as a powerful anthelmintic, by Bisset, and other European writers. It has been used in this country, and has been found very efficacious. It is supposed to have been the worm-medicine of a Dr. Witt, who acquired much reputation by the use of it.*

THE Cheerake use a decoction of the root of the beautiful Lobelia Cardinalis, or Cardinal-Flower, as a remedy against worms. I have already mentioned the diuretic quality of another species of this genus, the Lobelia siphilitica.

THE seeds of the Common Tobacco (Nicotiana Tabacum) have also been found useful as an anthelmintic.

THE Silene Virginica, or Ground-Pink, as it is called in some parts of our country, is another native anthelmintic. A decoction of the root is used, and is said to have been found a very efficacious remedy.

†

[Page] I HAVE not lost all confidence in the anthelmintic powers ascribed to the Polypodium vulgare, or Male-Fern. I do suppose, however, that too much has been ascribed to this plant. We have several native species of this genus, which it would, at least, be a matter of curiosity to examine. The Polypodium Virginianum grows about this city, and probably possesses the same powers as the European species.

A PLANT, called the "Pride of India," has lately been mentioned as an excellent anthelmintic. The bark of the root has been used as such in South-Carolina. This vegetable, the Melia Azedarach of Linnaeus, is not a native of our country.*

I SHALL conclude this account of anthelmintics by observing, that the southern Indians dress all their dishes, prepared of the Indian-corn, or maize, (Zea Mays) with a strong lixivium, or lye, of the ashes of bean-stalks and other vegetables, in order to prevent the generation of worms. They are of opinion that this grain nourishes the worms exceedingly. Nor is this opinion peculiar to the Indians.

[Page] I HAVE thus, Gentlemen, endeavoured to present you with a specimen, or rather rude outline, of an Essay towards a Materia Medica of the United-States. My object has been a collection of facts. I could have wished for more leisure to have pursued the subject: but that leisure I do not possess. I hope, however, that with all its imperfections, I have presented you with a sketch which will not prove unacceptable to you. I have opened a path which deserves to be trod by you all.

THE man who discovers one valuable new medicine is a more important benefactor to his species than Alexander, Caesar, or an hundred other conquerors. Even his glory, in the estimation of a truly civilized age, will be greater, and more lasting, than that of these admired ravagers of the world. I will venture to go farther. All the splendid discoveries of Newton are not of so much real utility to the world as the discovery of the Peruvian bark, or of the powers of opium and mercury in the cure of certain diseases. If the distance of time, or the darkness of history, did not prevent us from ascertaining who first discovered the properties of the Poppy, that "sweet oblivious antidote" for alleviating pain, and for soothing, while the memory remains, those rooted sorrows which disturb our happiness; if we could tell who first discovered the mighty strength of Mercury in strangling the hydra [Page] of pleasures and of generation; if we could even ascertain who was the native of Peru, that first experienced and revealed to his countrymen the powers of the Bark in curing intermittent fevers; would not the civilized nations of mankind, with one accord, concur in erecting durable monuments of granite and of brass to such benefactors of the species? Would not even the savage, who wants not a sense of benefits conferred upon him, be seen to form the tumulus of stones, or to raise the green sod, the only monuments his humble condition would admit of his erecting? And may we not yet look for the discovery of medicines as important to mankind as opium, the bark, and mercury?

For this purpose, the discovery of new and valuable medicines, your situation, Gentlemen, (I address myself at present, more especially to the younger part of my audience); for this purpose, your situation is peculiarly happy. In the pursuit of one of the most dignified and most useful of all the sciences, you are placed in an extensive country, the productions of which have never been investigated with accuracy, or with zeal. From this school, I will venture to call it the punctum saliens of the science of our country, you are to spread yourselves over the happiest and one of the fairest portions of the world. In whatever part of this vast continent you may be placed, you will find an abundant [Page] field of new and interesting objects to reap in. The volume of nature lies before you: it has hardly yet been opened: it has never been perused. But by your assistance, the knowledge of the natural productions of our country may be greatly extended, and travellers shall then no longer upbraid us with an utter ignorance of the treasures which an all-benevolent Providence has so largely bestowed upon us. May I not flatter myself that among the number of those whom I am now addressing, there are some of you for whom medical discoveries of importance are reserved? discoveries which would add a lustre to your names, whilst they would ensure to you that which is much more to be desired, in this mixed scene of affairs, an happiness that is imbosomed in the happiness of one's country, and the world.

Notes

*

See Amo [...]nitates Academicae. Vol. iv. Dissertatio lxxii.

↵

*

From the information of Mr. William Bartram. MS penes me. Vol. i

↵

*

From the information of Mr. William Bartram. MS penes me. Vol. i.

↵

*

I am not certain that the Geranium robertianum is a native of any part of America.

↵

*

Arbutus Uva ursi of Linnaeus.

↵

†

Page 68.

↵

*

Comptonia asplenifolia of Aiton.

↵

†

Sec Schoepf, p. 142.

↵

*

Quercus rubra montana of Marshall.

↵

†

Dr. Woodhouse has favoured us with some interesting information concerning the Persimmon. See his Inaugural Dissertation. Philadelphia. 1792.

↵

*

Particularly the Salix alba, Salix pentandra, Salix latifolia, &c.

↵

*

AEsculus Pavia of Linnaeus, and AEsculus [...]lava of Aiton.

↵

*

See Dr. Duncan's Medical Commentaries, for the year 1793. Vol. xviii. p. 445.

↵

*

The oil rubbed upon the head has been found very useful in killing lice. The bark, especially that of the root, powdered and mixed with pomatum, has the same effect.

↵

†

"A decoction of the small twigs makes an agreeable drink in slow fevers, and is much used by the country people. It is said the Indians esteemed it highly for its medicinal virtues." Reverend Dr. M. Cutler.

↵

*

This fact was communicated to me by my friend the late Mr. Julius Von Rohr, a gentleman whose death is a real loss to natural science, and perhaps an irreparable loss to the interests of an injured and distressed part of mankind; I mean the blacks.

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*

Conium maculatum

↵

*

Mr. John Heckewelder.

↵

†

Called, in the United-States, Indian-Paint, Puccoon, Turmeric, &c

↵

*

The Natural History of Carolina, &c. Vol. i. p. 35.

↵

*

See Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. Vol. III. No. XLI.

↵

*

"I have put it into the catalogue of purgatives, as this is the only operation of it that is constantly very evident; and perhaps all its other virtues depend upon this." A Treatise of the Materia Medica. Vol. II. P. 532. Edinburgh: 1789, quarto.

↵

†

Mr. William Bartram.

↵

*

Bernard Romans says, the Jallap grows wild near Pensacola, in Florida.

↵

*

This plant, however, bears extremely well the open ground of Pennsylvania.

↵

†

There is a species, or rather variety, of croup, which I have sometimes called the Bronchial Hives. In this there does not appear to be any reason to suspect the existence of a preternatural membrane in the trachea: but the disease depends upon the presence of large quantities of mucus, which exists in a loose state in the ramifications of the trachea. I believe this species is much more common than the other, which might be called Cynanche trachealis coriac [...]a. In the bronchial hives, I have found strong coffee of evident use: but the disease often requires a much more active treatment. The Seneca should have a trial.

↵

*

See his paper, entitled Radix Senega, in the second volume of the Amoenitates Academicae.

↵

*

I do not believe that the disease of syphilis was known among the North-American Indians before they became acquainted with the whites. Mr. John Heckewelder informs me, that the Indians speak of it as a foreign disease communicated by the whites.

↵

†

They cure these gleets by eating turpentine, as I am informed by Colonel Winthrop Sargent. An old Indian assured this gentleman, that a decoction of this Serratula, cures syphilis in all its forms. Dr. Allison, one of the army-physicians, has an high opinion of the plant, in this disease. I am told Dr Bedford, of Pittsburg, has found it an efficacious medicine in the gravel. It certainly ought to have a fair trial in these diseases. The late Major Jonathan Hart assured me, that the Indians northwest of the Ohio could not cure confirmed syphilis. He said the Lobelia (I suppose the Serratula spicata) had been of service in slight cases; but he was persuaded that the Indians would fall victims to the general complaint, if they were to trust wholly to their own remedies. A Mr. Wilson, who is well acquainted with the Indians, particularly the Delawares and Shawneese, most confidently asserts, that they cannot cure the venereal disease, "when it gets into the blood;" but that they can cure the gonorrhea. He also said, they can remove the venereal disease for a time, but "that it will break out again."

↵

*

The best time for gathering the may-apple, for medical purposes, is the autumn, when the leaves have turned yellow, and are about falling off The Indians dry it in the shade, and powder it for use.

↵

*

I am indebted to Dr. Adam Kuhn for this information. He says that Witt used the powder of the leaves in combination with the ethiops mineral.

↵

†

From the information of my friend the late Dr. James Greenway, of Virginia.

↵

*

Mr. Andrew Michaux informed me, that in Pers [...]a, where this plant grows spontaneously, the pulp which invests the [...] of the seed is pounded with tallow, and used as an "antisphoric," in cases of tinea capitis in children.

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APPENDIX, CONTAINING ILLUSTRATIONS AND ADDITIONS.

[Page]

PAGE 14. "I am well acquainted with a physician," &c. The room in which the flowers of the Magnolia glauca produced the effects here mentioned, was not a small one, and was well aired. It was in the month of June.

I ought to have observed, under the head of Tonics, that the Menyanthes trifoliata, or Marsh-Trefoil and Bog-bean of the English, is a native of our country. It grows spontaneously in Pennsylvania. This is certainly an active plant, and if we can depend upon the half of what has been said of its virtues, it deserves a place in the Pharmacopoeia of every country.

Page 18. Dr. Samuel Cooper. See his valuable Inaugural Dissertation on the Properties and Effects of the Datura Stramonium, &c. Philadelphia: 1797.

Page 18. Cicuta venenosa. In Virginia, this plant is called Wild-Carrot, Wild-Parsnip, Fever-Root, and Mock-Eel-root. See Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. Vol. iii. No. xxix.

[Page] Page 19. Kalmia latifolia. In South-Carolina, this beautiful shrub is called "Calico-Tree."

Pages 19, 20. "A decoction of the Andromeda Mariana has been found useful as a wash, in a disagreeable ulceration of the feet, which is not uncommon among the slaves, &c. in the southern states." This complaint is very common, particularly among the negroes, and the poorer sort of white people, in Carolina, Georgia, &c. It is called "Toe-Itch and Ground-Itch." It is a kind of ulcerous excoriation between the toes, sometimes extending as high as the instep, and is attended with most intolerable itching. It is probably, in a great measure, the consequence of inattention to cleanliness. Is it occasioned by particular infects? Some persons, with whom I have conversed on the subject, are of opinion, that it is owing to the great warmth of the waters to the southward, in which the inhabitants are accustomed to wade a great deal. The disease is sometimes seen in Pennsylvania. Besides the Andromeda Mariana, or Broad-leaved Moor-wort, a decoction of the leaves of the Kalmia latifolia is used for the cure of this complaint. The decoction of the leaves of both these plants is used. They are both called "Wicke" to the southward.

Page 21. "I knew a woman," &c. She was a stout, and seemingly very hearty, woman. She informed me, that a lady of her acquaintance was affected in the same way by this tea. I could not learn whether the flowers of the Sassafras produced a similar effect.

Page 24. Rhus, or Sumac. "It is said that the bark of one species (but I cannot tell you what species) has been found useful in intermittents." Perhaps it is the [Page] bark of the Rhus glabrum, or Smooth Pennsylvania Sumac. In some parts of our country, this species is called "Indian Salt." Was it used as a condiment to their food by the Indians? The berries of this species are used as a mordant, or fixer, for the red colour with which they die their porcupine quills. They use other mordants for the same purpose. The juice of the Upland-Sumac (Rhus glabrum?) is said to be excellent for removing warts, and also tetters. It is applied to the affected parts.

Page 27. "The expressed juice of the fresh leaves" of the Asarum Canadense, "is a powerful emetic." I should have observed that the leaves are errhine. "Asari canadensis radices suaveolentes in petio vino fermentanti immersae, liquorem gratiorem reddunt." Cornutus, as quoted by Schoepf, p. 73.

Page 30. Asclepias decumbens.—The Asclepias decumbens, and the Asclepias tuberosa, of Linnaeus, appear to me to be merely varieties of the same species. Dr. Schoepf (page 160) mentions a plant which he says is called in Maryland, Butterfly-root, and Pleurisy-root. He says he has not seen the plant; but that the name Butterfly-root seems to shew that it belongs to the class of Diadelphia. I suspect this plant is no other than the Asclepias decumbens. It is called Butterfly-weed, &c. because its flowers are often visited by the butterflies.

Page 35. Polygala Senega. If this plant has been found so useful in pleurisy as it is said to have been, by Tennent, and other writers, I cannot suppose it has been in genuine inflammatory pleurisy, unless previously to the [Page] exhibition of the medicine, the lancet has been liberally used. In the pleurisy, as it is called, which prevails in the low and marshy countries, it is not improbable it has been of real use. This is a true intermittent or remittent, attended with a local pain, either in the side, or in the head. When it is in the head, the disease is called (a ridiculous name) the pleurisy in the head. In either case, it is a complaint in which cordial medicines, and such the Seneca is, have been exhibited with advantage.

Almost an hundred years ago, the Reverend Dr. Cotton Mather mentioned an American plant, called "Partridge-berries," as being excellent for curing dropsy. A decoction of the leaves is to be drank as a tea, for several days. It discharges, he says, a vast quantity of urine, as long as the disease lasts, "after which it may be drank without provoking urine observably. Gouty persons drink it with benefit."* I take the plant mentioned by Mather, to be the Mitchella repens of Linnaeus. This is a very common plant in every part of the United-States. In New-England, it is called Partridge-berry. Catesby has given us a wretched figure of it. I know nothing of the powers of this plant. I could mention some of the superstitious notions of our Indians concerning it.

Page 40. Chenopodium anthelminticum. This is also called Jerusalem-oak. It is the seeds that are used.

THE END.

Notes

*

The Philosophical Transactions, Abridged. Vol. V. Part ii. p. 160.

↵

Information about this book

Title statement

Collections for an essay towards a materia medica of the United States. Read before the Philadelphia Medical Society, on the twenty-first of February, 1798. / By Benjamin Smith Barton, M.D. One of the honorary members of the Society, and professor of materia medica, natural history, and botany, in the University of Pennsylvania. ; [Four lines of quotations in Latin]

Barton, Benjamin Smith, 1766-1815.

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Text Creation Partnership,

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Date

2008-09.

ID [DLPS]

N25181

ID [TCP]

N25181

ID [STC]

Evans 33377

ID [NOTIS]

APX3281

ID [IMAGE-SET]

33377

ID [EVANS-CITATION]

99020049

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Early American Imprints, 1639-1800 ; no. 33377.

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(Evans-TCP ; no. N25181)

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Source

— Collections for an essay towards a materia medica of the United States. Read before the Philadelphia Medical Society, on the twenty-first of February, 1798. / By Benjamin Smith Barton, M.D. One of the honorary members of the Society, and professor of materia medica, natural history, and botany, in the University of Pennsylvania. ; [Four lines of quotations in Latin], Barton, Benjamin Smith, 1766-1815., Philadelphia Medical Society..

Extent

vii, [1], 49, [1] p. ; 21 cm. (8vo)

Printed, for the author, by Way & Groff, no. 27, Arch-Street.,. Philadelphia: :: 1798.. (This forms the "first part" of later editions. The second part was first published in 1804.) (Erratum statement, p. vii.)

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