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children, in the form of thick and fhort hairs or briftles, and fo cannot be got out, without irritating them. They are discovered, and the child cured, by rubbing his back oppofite to a warm ftove, or in a bath of honey and garlic. The infects come forth along with the fweat, and it is then eafy to fcrape them off with a knife, or a cruft of bread, as foon as they fhew their head. Some, instead of this bath, put the children as far as the neck into a lee, in which the dung of fowls has been boiled,and allowing them to fweat, while they excite the infects to come out, by rubbing them with their hand dipt in honey. As foon as they are seen, they are scraped off as before, and this must be continued two or three days, till no more appear. During this procefs, it is advantageous to give the patient a dofe of tincture of antimony, or effence of myrrh, and to wash him in water, in which wormwood has been fteeped, and a fuitable quantity of aloes.

It is customary to extirpate worms from the inteftines, by various forts of bitter herbs. The mostin ufe are the leffer centaury, camomile, marfh trefoil, feverfew and rue; thefe are boiled in water, and the decoction drunk for fome time. Things that are fweet, prove equally efficacious with thofe that are bitter, provided they be accompanied with wormfeed, or infufed in hydromel, or enclosed in an apple, a pear, a peach, in prunes, or any thing elfe that children are fond of. If they difcover repugnance or difguft, and refuse to swallow thefe, they are rubbed on them about the navel, and the friction ferves for what ought to have been taken internally. All forts of oil, however, do not answer this purpose; they maft be fuch as have a strong fmell, and are of a glutinous and bituminous quality, for example, petroleum, oll of amber, and all thofe which exude from the juniper, the birch, the box, or the hazel

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Such things as have a ftrong tafte, are likewife commended, that is, all in which a falt prevails, because its acrid nature difagrees with the worm, and obliges it to leave the body. For this reafon, I would propofe falt-petre, and fal-ammoniac; and mineral waters, both cold and hot. The common people are not ignorant of the ufe of thefe. People who inhabit the fea coafts, give their children fea water to drink, and those who live inland, cure them with water used in the refining of falt. Neither would I reject the vitriolic falts obtained from metals, fuch as fal martis, and lunar cryftals. Orange and lemon juice, spirit of vitriol, fpirit of falt-petre, and clyffus of antimony, are beyond every thing in putrid fevers, proceeding from worms: but the dose must be cautioufly prefcribed, as the too great acidity of these remedies would convert the chyle into a folid fubftance, The rifque of mistaking, with regard to children at the breaft, obliges me to warn against the confequences; for whatever the proportion might be, it would not fail to coagulate the milk on their ftomach. Hartshorn, fal ammoniac, and other volatile fpirits have likewife the properties of a vermifuge. The fame may be faid of aftringents: various experiments on tea, the rind of the pomegranate, and root of the mulberry have long ago brought them into repute, Purgatives, likewife, ought not to be rejected, provided they be accompanied with turbeth or jalap, and that care is taken to prepare the pati ent by fuitable medecines. If opium be thought proper, or other anodynes, I would strongly recommend caution, for inftead of a cure, the confequence might be a fever.

When worms have got into the ftomach, we fhould not only proceed in the manner directed above, but they must be attracted towards the lower intestines, by injections of honey and milk. Dulci

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fied mercury is, in this cafe, confidered as the prime fpecific; but, in the use of it, two things must be attended to, with great care: First, not to give it in the form of powder, or in too great quantity:Secondly, to abftain from it, when the duodenum is furcharged with acrimony. In my opinion, it would be beft to prescribe it in the form of an electuary, or rather in troches, which feems to be the fafeft way.. But the physician muft judge, and prefcribe for his patients, according to their age, their ftrength and constitution: he must find the means of fpeedily discharging those worms which he has been fuccessful in destroying, left they become more prejudicial after their death, than they were when alive.

The poifon of infects is cured with the affistance of antidotes. If any external part is affected, terra figillata may be applied, root of gentian, and angelica, leaves of carduus benedictus, fage, rue, juniper berries, oil of citron, ferpent stone, fcorpion, tarantula, and other venomous infects, provided they are bruised. These are so many emollients and aperitives, but which would not be fufficient for any internal part. Whether the poifon of an infect, which has been fwallowed, refides in the ftomach, or has already mixed with the mafs of blood, there is a neceffity for counterpoifons, as active and effectual; fuch as the gloffopetræ, cinnabar, oil of almonds, mallows, and wormwood, gentian wine, milk, butter, lard, viper's flesh, oil of fcorpions, &c.

Of antidotes in general, none appears to me so fingular, as that for the bite of the tarantula. It cons fifts not in the fympathy of animals, nor in the ftrength of metals, nor in the quinteffence of vegetables: it is in mufic alone that it must be fought. It has fo much influence on the affected perfons, that it puts all their fluggifh members in motion, fo that Ii 2 they

they get up and dance till they put themselves into a profound fweat, and then fall down in a lethargy. The perfpiration continues, during this ftate of rest, which frees the body from the poifon diffused thro' it. Another fingularity is, that the fame air does not always produce the fame effect; various kinds must be tried, till one fuited to the quality of the poifon is found; there is, however, one favourite air, which is agreeable to almost all the patients; it is called, by the Italians, l'Aria Turchefca. Neither is the fame inftrument of mufic always ufed, one patient defiring the tambour, another the flute, the hautboy, the harp, the violin, &c. and each dances and agitates himself, till the ftrength of the puifon is evaporated by the violence of the motion. The difference of fymptoms obfervable in different patients, is obfervable in the tarantulas themfelves. They are of various colours, and when taken, they are placed on thin boards, laid over a veffel of water. At the found of a mufical iuftrument, fome are feen to leap, others remain at rest, according to the difference of their temperament.

Before concluding this chapter, I have to mention one or two other methods of deftroying flies. Regulus of arfenic is a most deadly poifon to them, and the use of it could not be fufficiently recommended, if it were poffible to expect the neceffary attention from thofe employed in preparing it; but, the careleffness of most people, makes me almoft inclined to decry this method, notwithstanding its fuc cets I leave it, therefore, to the prudence of those who are acquainted with its effects, and who are cautious in trying the experiment, to provide for the fatety of themselves, and their families. This poison is given to flies in a cup, or in earthen veffels made on purpose.

In 1735 appeared an anonymous work containing the description of an apparatus for deftroying fleas. In 1729 was published the third edition of a curious work on a fort of trap for these infects. The reader may confult thefe works, and profit from the receipt of Dr Southall an Englishman, who acknowledges his having got it from a negro. This receipt has the fingular effect of attracting the whole fleas in a houfe to the fame fpot where their death awaits them.

CHAP. VI.

OF THE IMPROPER USE OF INSECTS IN THE affairs OF LIFE.

WHEN mankind, neglect to make a good ufe of reason, and give themfelves up to vain and chimerical fpeculation, there is nothing in nature which they may not pervert into a fource of delufion. Every object however which we behold is diftin&ly marked with its own peculiar character which cannot be mistaken unless we willingly deceive ourselves. This is the cafe of thofe perfons who prefume to look into futurity, and who apply things to other ufes, than thofe for which God intended them. Matthiolus tells us that every gall that grows on the oak, if it has not a hole in it, does without exception contain either a fly, or a fpider or a worm; that the first foretokens war, the

fecond

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