curable or complicated with organic disease, ought rather to blame our own want of experience and skill in recognising the "simile" appropriate to the individual case than allege any real defect in our science itself, we have nothing to fear, but much to gain, by fairly stating our unsuccessful practice.

Especially in experimenting with new and unproved remedies is it desirable that we should report our want of success, as has been done by Dr. Hughes with regard to Phytolacca, in the last number of the Monthly Homœopathic Review. Our American brethren seem to be of a more sanguine temperament than ourselves, and describe the effects of the numerous new medicines they have introduced in such glowing terms that inexperienced practitioners at least are apt to be beguiled into relying on them to the exclusion of our old and approved friends, the Polychrests of Hahne

mann.

Moreover, it must have occurred to every practitioner to have met with cases where, from some unexplained peculiarity or idiosyncrasy of constitution, our remedies either fail to produce their usual effects or, what is much more rare, over-excite the patient's system.

I propose here to give a short history of four such cases, which have occurred in my own practice, illustrating both these categories of failure-remarking, by the way, that these are nearly the only ones I can recall in thirteen or fourteen years' experience.

I. When in practice at Tunbridge Wells some years ago, I was consulted by a young lady suffering from a febrile attack, caused by exposure to cold. The usual remedies were applied, and with success, the attack being readily cut short. I afterwards attended her for various chronic affections, sore throat, cough, and other ordinary complaints, but never could succeed in producing the slightest impression on any of them by any medicine, however carefully selected or in whatever dilution (from three to thirty) employed. I may add that on more than one occasion, mistrusting my own judgment, I had recourse to the advice of my friend the late Dr. Chapman, but always with the same results, the complaints seeming to get slowly well of themselves, without being in the slightest degree influenced by the medicines. On the other hand, one or two smart attacks of acute disease, attended by fever, were perfectly amenable to treatment. The only peculiarity of constitution which I could discover in this case was an unhealthy condition of the skin. The young lady's mother told me that the VOL. XXIV, NO. XCVI.—APRIL, 1866.

X

skin on the thighs, chest, and abdomen was thickened, cracked, and scaly. I recommended a course of water-cure to obviate this state of things, but am not aware if my advice was followed.

II. A case the exact converse of this occurred to me here a few months ago. I was sent for to see a lady suffering from severe dysmenorrhoea, attended with pain at the region of the heart, palpitation, and other distressing symptoms. I tried all the usual remedies-Belladonna, Spigelia, Hydrocyanic Acid, Lachesis, Naja -in various dilutions from 1 to 6, without success, and failed signally in my attempts to remove obstinate dyspepsia and constipation, which remained after the more urgent symptoms had passed off. She told me that she had frequently tried Homœopathy on former occasions of the kind, but with equal want of success, and she finally had recourse to her old remedy of blue pill and castor oil, which at once relieved her. The singular part of the case was that she was in the habit of taking Homeopathic medicines, with excellent effect, for a complication of chronic disorders, including a spinal affection and great uterine derangement, under which she had suffered for years. Her box, which had been supplied by a Homœopathic practitioner at Brussels, contained a set of medicines all of the 30th dilution.

III. The next case I shall cite is one of extreme sensibility to our remedies. This occurred at Tunbridge Wells, where, having been consulted by a lady for some dyspeptic affections, I prescribed Nux vom. 6. The first dose was followed by an immediate aggravation of the symptoms, and a similar effect was produced by the minutest dose of any dilution from 3 up to 30. The patient took fright at this, and declined further trials with any other medicine, and as, according to her own account, she suffered in a similar way from the ordinary system of medicine, she was rather in a helpless predicament. I lost sight of her shortly afterwards, on her proceeding to join her husband in the West Indies.

IV. A somewhat similar case presented itself to me about a month ago. I was consulted by a lady of middle age suffering from a variety and complication of disorders, retroversion of the uterus, leucorrhoea, chronic enlargement of the liver, and, lastly, carbuncles, from a succession of which she was only just recovering. Her husband and daughter were confirmed Homœopaths, and had prevailed on her to try the system, in which her own faith was but slight. She told me that she had occasionally tried some of our remedies with good effect, but that most of them gave her a

headache. The immediate complaint for which I was consulted was a sore throat, which on examination proved to be somewhat inflamed and congested. I accordingly prescribed Phytolacca 3, half a drop every six hours. Next day she described herself as worse, though the throat was less inflamed, but there were traces of incipient ulcerations, and the ulcers looked unhealthy. As she declared the medicine had made her worse, I prescribed Mercurius and Belladonna 12, in half globule doses alternately every three hours. Next day her husband came to tell me that she felt much worse; the medicines had brought on violent headache ; that, losing courage, she had decided on sending for an Allopathic physician. I must confess I felt greatly relieved by this decision, as I never undertook a more unpromising case. Making all allowance for a little unintentional exaggeration and want of faith, there appeared every reason to believe that she was inordinately sensitive to even the smallest doses of medicine, her own testimony on this head being confirmed by that of her daughter,

and

I have since heard from her husband that the case terminated in a severe attack of gastric fever, with a tendency to diphtheritic inflammation of the throat, from which she is now only slowly recovering.

It will be observed that all the above cases are those of females. I have met with nothing precisely similar in males, though I have encountered some most puzzling instances of varying susceptibility to different dilutions of the medicines, a curious subject, on which we have yet much to learn.

Psoriasis Guttata.

The first number of the Homöopathische Vierteljahrschrift of 1864 contains an article of Dr. Wilhelm Arnold, of Heidelberg, treating the question of doses. The first case is psoriasis guttata, which resisted all the higher preparations of Arsenic, but two grains of 2nd decimal trituration, once daily, cured the case permanently. I have met similar cases frequently, some of them having been of five or six years' duration. Arsenicum, 2nd dec: trituration, has always cured them in a short time, providing it was indicated.— Dr. Spranger, Am. Hom. Obs.

Nasal Polypus.

The second case is one of nasal polypus, which was treated for

a long time with Calcarea carbonica, with higher and lower dilutions, the lowest seeming to have some beneficial effect. The patient was then put on the usual officinal Aqua calcis (lime water), a tablespoonful to be taken twice a day, mixed with a little sweet milk. In four weeks the patient returned. Not the slightest trace of polypus could be detected.

This winter, a young man, æt. 20, applied to me for treatment, having been under the treatment of five or six most prominent allopathic physicians of this city. One of them, a professor of surgery, pronounced the case cancer of the eye, which diagnosis afterwards he changed. The patient is a plumber, very much exposed to cold by out-door work, has had scrofulous tumours and abscesses of the glands of the neck. After they left him he began to have coryza, which remained and continually grew worse. In the left nostril, soon afterwards, a tumour was detected of a

yellowish white colour, spongy, moist appearance. This tumour extended higher up, forced its way into the orbit behind the eye, displacing it one half of its diameter to the left external angular process of the orbit, and protruding about one third of an inch further than normal. The eye appeared perfectly well, although the cellular tissue of the upper and lower palpebræ would be so infiltrated as to form a large tumour. The lachrymal duct was not obstructed. The passage of air through the one nostril was almost entirely obstructed; only by continued violent efforts to blow the nose, pus-like matter would be discharged, after which the swelling of the eyelids would partly diminish. But to accomplish this, it would require violent straining and blowing for hours. He was downhearted and gloomy. Great pallor of the face. Had been treated with Baunsheidtismus for some time; was just full of vesicles around the neck, the result of the operation. Prescribed Mercurius biniodatus, 2nd dec. trit., one or two grains to be blown up into the nostril thrice daily. After eight days the polypus in the nostril had entirely disappeared, but the condition of the eye was the same as before. Now I prescribed Aqua calcis, a tablespoonful to be taken three times a day mixed with a little milk, at the same time using the Biniodide of Mercury as before. This was about six or eight weeks ago. The patient is now perfectly well, no trace of the disease to be seen. The eye has also returned to its natural position, and the patient is now bright and cheerful. Those physicians that have attended him before, all called his disease nasal polypus except the pro

fessor, who diagnosed cancer of the eye, but afterwards also called it polypus. Dr. Spranger, Am. Hom. Obs.

Apocynum can. in Dropsy.

I have lately treated several cases of dropsy. The first case being hydrothorax and anasarca, depending on organic disease of the heart, percussion over the region of the heart was entirely dull. By the use of Apocynum can. every sign of dropsy disappeared in two weeks; percussion sound of the chest natural. Patient feeling tolerable well withdrew from treatment, not wishing to take medicine for the heart disease.

Case 2.-A man, æt. 80, found him panting for breath, face bloated, colour of the lips, face and finger nails of a bluish-like lead colour, lower extremities, penis, scrotum and abdomen considerably swollen, body covered with large drops of cold sweat, could scarcely speak for want of breath. Prescribed Apocyn, can. Better in two days, and continued to improve ever since (which was last December), is able to go to church now, although the disease of the heart with which he is affected will probably carry him off before long.

Several other cases of a similar and dissimilar character derived great benefit of this remedy. I did not note the symptoms of the cases clearly, but only mention them to confirm what has been written by several authors of the virtues of Apocyn. can. in curing dropsy. Whether it is homœopathic to dropsy, or carries the water off mechanically, I do not know, for we have but very few provings of this drug, and therefore we use it only empirically, and necessarily in larger doses than any other drug of which we only have clinical data. The tincture used I purchased from Dr. Lodge, which is of dark-brown colour. Five years ago I had some from an eastern pharmacy, which was of a gold yellow colour, but which had no effect on dropsy. I usually give five drops in a teaspoonful of water every two hours.-Dr. Spranger, Am. Hom. Obs., July, 1865.

Tape Worm cured. By B. L. DRESSER, M.D., SEARSPORT, ME.

Mrs. J. W-, on Nov. 27th, 1860, sent an urgent request to me, desiring me to visit her immediately. I found her suffering