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MEMOIR 


OF  THE  LATE 


WILLIAM  WRIGHT,  M.  D. 

FELLOW  OF  THE  ROYAL  SOCIETIES  OF  LONDON'  AND  EDINBURGH,  ETC. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  HIS  CORRESPONDENCE,  AND  A 

SELECTION  OF  HIS  PAPERS  ON  MEDICAL 

AND  BOTANICAL  SUBJECTS. 


WILLIAM  BLACKWOOD,  EDINBURGH;  AND 
T.  CADELL,  STRAND,  LONDON. 

MDCCCXXVIIL 


P.  NEILL,  PRINTER. 


CONTENTS. 


MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT,  INCLUDING  EXTRACTS 
FROM  HIS  CORRESPONDENCE, 


t'agi. 


SELECTION    OF    PAPERS    BY    DR   WRIGHT    ON 
MEDICAL  AND  BOTANICAL  SUBJECTS. 

1.  An    account    of  the    Medicinal    Plants    growing    in 

Jamaica,  _____     183 

2.  Extracts  from  Dr  Wright's  Herbaria,  -  -     246 

3.  A   Botanical  and  Medical  Account   of  the  Quassia 

Simaruba,  or  Tree  which  produces  the  Cortex 
Simaruba,  _-_--     308 

4.  On  the  Potato,         -  -  -  -  -    316 

5.  On  the  Antiseptic  Virtues  of  Vegetable  Acid  and 

Marine  Salt  combined,  in  various  disorders  ac- 
companied with  putridity,  -  322 

6.  History  of  an  Obstruction  of  the  Rectum   at  birth, 

successfully  cured  by  operation,  -  -     328 

7-  On  the  Use  of  Cold  Bathing  in  the  Locked  Jaw,        -     330 

8.  Account  of  a  Child  who  had  the  Small-Pox  in  the 

Womb, 340 

9.  On  the  External  Use  of  Cold  Water  in  the  cure  of 

Fever, 342 


ii  CONTENTS. 

Page. 

10.  On  the  External  Use  of  Cold  Water  in  the  Small-Pox,  347 

11.  An  account  of  a  Dropsy  cured  by  Blue  Vitriol,  -     351 

12.  Farther  remarks  on  the  efficacy  of  Blue  Vitriol  in  the 

cure  of  Dropsy,  -  355 

13.  Description  of  the  Jesuit's  Bark  Tree  of  Jamaica  and 

the  Carribbees,  -  358 

14.  Description  and  use  of  the  Cabbage- Bark   Tree  of 

Jamiaca,  _____     360 

15.  An  account  of  a  remarkable  fact  relative  to  the  Small- 

Pox,     ------    365 

16.  Practical  observations   on   the  Treatment   of  Acute 

Diseases,  particularly  those  of  the  West  Indies,       368 
17-  Report  concerning  the  Diseases  most  common  among 

the  Troops  in  the  West  Indies,  -  -     383 

18.  A  Dissertation  on  the  Yaws,  -  399 

19.  Remarks  and  Observations  on  Febrile  and  Spasmodic 

Diseases,  with  Cases,     -  414 

20.  Dr  Wright's  Directions   to   Officers   going  to    the 

West  Indies,        -  -  -  -    422 

21.  Instructions  prepared  by  Dr  Wright  for  a  Person 

about  to  sail  for  the  East  Indies  and  China,        -     427 

22.  Directions  regarding  Troops  embarked  for  Foreign 

Service,  -  -  -  -  -    430 

Index,     -  -  433 


MEMOIR 


OF 


DR  WILLIAM  WRIGHT 


X  HE  mind  of  the  late  Dr  Wright  was  frequently 
occupied,  particularly  towards  the  close  of  his  career, 
with  the  idea  of  collecting  his  scattered  papers,  on 
Medical  and  Botanical  suhjects,  and  giving  them  to 
the  world  in  a  connected  form.  The  present  publica- 
tion had  its  origin  in  a  desire  to  carry  into  effect  the 
purpose  which  Dr  Wright  himself  did  not  live  to 
accomplish.  It  was  afterwards  thought  desirable  that 
the  papers  should  be  accompanied  with  some  biogra- 
phical account  of  the  author  ;  for  which  it  appeared 
that  his  extensive  correspondence  would  furnish  the 
necessary  materials. 

His  earliest  letters  are  chiefly  addressed  to  his  pa- 
rents ;  and,  from  the  ardent  expressions  of  gratitude 
with  which  they  are  chiefly  occupied,  as  well  as  from 
the  struggles  which  they  discover  to  share  with  them 
his  earliest  earnings,  it  may  be  inferred,  that  the  rank 
to  which  he  raised  himself  in  society,  in  letters  and  in 
science,  was  entirely  the  result  of  his  own  genius  and 
industry. 


2  MEMOIR  OF  DIt  WRIGHT. 

He  was  born  in  the  month  of  March  1735,  at  Crieff, 
a  village  of  Perthshire,  delightfully  situated  on  the 
first  rise  of  the  Grampians,  and,  until  the  abolition  of 
heritable  jurisdictions  in  1747,  a  place  of  some  import- 
ance in  this  border  district,  from  its  having  been  the 
seat  of  the  stewartry  of  Strathearn. 

It  does  not  appear  to  what  circumstances  his  choice 
of  the  medical  profession  is  to  be  ascribed.  The  fleets 
and  armies  of  Great  Britain  presented  at  this  eventful 
period,  a  field  of  enterprize  well  suited  to  his  disposi- 
tion and  temperament ;  and  the  early  predilection 
which  he  discovered  for  literary  pursuits,  would  pro- 
bably determine  his  preference  of  a  learned  profession 
to  that  of  a  mere  soldier  of  fortune.  The  ill-fated  de- 
scent of  Prince  Charles  Edward  on  the  shores  of 
Scotland,  and  the  occupation  of  the  Highland  passes 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Strathearn,  by  parties  of  fo- 
reign troops,  under  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  whose 
head-quarters  were  for  some  time  at  Crieff,  in  the  year 
1746,  occurring  at  a  period  when  the  mind  is  so  open 
to  permanent  impressions,  could  hardly  fail  to  inspire 
a  young  person,  more  spirited  and  better  educated 
than  his  companions,  with  a  passion  for  participating 
in  the  stirring  scenes  of  the  period,  and  a  desire  to  see 
the  world  beyond  the  boundaries  of  his  native  valley. 

It  is  an  old  observation,  "  that  when  children  play 
at  soldiers,  war  is  at  hand  ;"  but,  whether  it  is  to  be 
taken  as  a  sign  of  the  times,  or  as  an  indication  of  his 
own  purpose  to  make  some  noise  in  the  world,  it  ap- 
pears that  our  young  friend  was  the  drummer  of  his 
regiment,    of  which  his  brother  James,  about  two 


MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT.  .9 

years  older,  was  the  captain-commandant.  It  is  said, 
that  on  one  occasion,  when  the  staff  of  the  Royalists 
was  passing-  the  Earn,  a  salute  was  fired  from  some 
tiny  pieces  of  ordnance,  which  the  lilliputian  army 
had  erected  on  the  parapet  of  the  bridge,  without 
much  regard,  probably,  to  political  preference,  when 
the  Duke  of  Cumberland  was  heard  to  say  to  one 
of  his  attendants,  that,  however  hostile  the  adult  po- 
pulation had  hitherto  shewn  themselves  to  the  House 
of  Hanover,  he  regarded  this  \\tt\c  feu  dejoie  as  a 
symptom  of  their  winning  the  affections  of  the  rising 
generation. 

Having  acquired  the  elementary  part  of  his  educa- 
tion at  the  grammar  school  of  Crieff,  young  Wright 
was  apprenticed,  in  his  seventeenth  year,  to  Mr 
George  Dennistoun,  a  surgeon  in  Falkirk,  with 
whom  he  remained  till  the  year  1756.  No  record  has 
been  preserved  of  the  nature  of  his  studies  during  the 
period  of  his  apprenticeship ;  but,  in  a  letter  of  Mr 
Dennistoun  to  a  friend  of  the  family,  dated  the 
31st  of  July  1756,  he  speaks  of  his  young  friend  in 
terms  of  strong  attachment ;  commends  the  earnest- 
ness and  diligence  with  which  he  had  prosecuted  his 
studies,  and  expresses  the  strongest  conviction  of  his 
making  a  figure  in  the  line  of  his  profession. 

In  the  winter  of  1756  we  find  him  in  Edinburgh, 
residing  in  the  house  of  an  uncle,  attending  the  medi- 
cal classes,  and  admitted  to  the  society  of  several  of 
the  professors  in  the  University,  with  one  of  whom, 
Dr  Whytt,  he  appears  to  have  lived  on  habits  of  in- 
timacy. 

A  2 


4>  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

It  is  incidentally  mentioned,  in  the  course  of  the  sub- 
sequent correspondence,  that  Mr  Wright  had  made 
a  voyage  to  Greenland  in  the  summer  of  1757  ;  and, 
in  the  winter  of  that  year,  we  find  him  again  engaged, 
with  his  wonted  ardour,  in  the  acquisition  of  the  know- 
ledge which  was  necessary  for  the  successful  practice 
of  his  profession. 

At  this  early  period,  Mr  Wright,  in  a  letter  ad- 
dressed to  his  parents,  on  the  occasion  of  his  proceed- 
ing to  London  for  examination  at  Surgeons'  Hall, 
discovers  some  indication  of  those  habits  of  providence 
and  forethought  which  marked  his  after  life.  The 
letter  is  in  the  nature  of  a  testamentary  disposition. 
It  acknowledges  the  food  and  raiment  with  which  he 
had  hitherto  been  provided ;  the  liberal  education 
which  had  been  afforded  him,  and  the  acquirement  of 
a  profession  which  was  to  make  him  independent  of 
farther  assistance,  should  health  and  strength  be  grant- 
ed. He  authorises  his  father  to  uplift  a  legacy  which 
had  been  bequeathed  to  him  by  a  deceased  relative, 
and  assigns  to  his  parents,  and,  failing  them,  to  his 
brother  James,  his  whole  means  and  estate,  with  any 
pay  which  might  be  due  to  him  at  the  time  of  his 
death.  To  his  brother  he  writes,  on  an  envelope,  that 
his  hopes  of  obtaining  an  appointment  were  not  so 
sanguine  as  he  had  led  his  father  to  believe,  but  that 
he  could  not  think  of  alarming  his  parents  by  the  com- 
munication of  his  own  feelings  of  anxiety  and  suspense. 

Another  indication  of  his  habits  of  method  and  ar- 
rangement, and  of  the  strict  integrity  which  uniformly 
regulated  his  most  indifferent  actions,  is  to  be  found  in 


MEMOIR  OF  1)1!   WK1GHT.  J) 

a  letter  addressed  to  his  father,  on  the  eve  of  his  de- 
parture from  Edinburgh,  in  which  he  enumerates,  with 
scrupulous  minuteness,  the  various  periods  of  his  resi- 
dence in  his  uncle's  family,  and  combats,  with  great 
earnestness,  the  impression  on  his  father's  mind  that 
his  uncle  would  decline  any  farther  remuneration.  He 
quotes  an  observation  which  had  fallen  from  his  aunt, 
soon  after  his  going  to  Edinburgh  in  1756  ;  "  just  as 
if  she  had  been  getting  great  board  wages  and  'pren- 
tice-fee for  him,"  which  he  says  he  had  never  been  able 
to  forget.  This,  indeed,  is  the  only  feeling  of  bitter- 
ness which  can  be  traced  through  all  his  early  corres- 
pondence ;  "  and  I  am  resolved,"  he  says,  "  if  God 
spare  me  in  life  and  health,  that  they  shall  have  it." 

He  embarked  at  Leith  on  board  a  tender,  with  a 
convoy  of  merchantmen,  in  company  with  seven  other 
students  of  medicine,  who  were  proceeding,  like  him, 
to  push  their  way  in  the  world.  On  their  arrival  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Thames,  they  were  put  ashore  on  the 
coast  of  Essex,  and  appear  to  have  felt  some  of  those 
difficulties  and  extortions  which  the  youthful  and  inex- 
perienced are  so  liable  to  encounter  on  their  first  visit 
to  the  metropolis.  Mr  Wright,  on  parting  with  his 
fellow  adventurers,  proceeded  to  the  house  of  an  elder 
brother,  the  son  of  his  father  by  a  former  marriage,  and 
appears  to  have  met  with  a  kind  and  cordial  reception. 
His  passage  had  been  tedious  and  comfortless  ;  and,  al- 
lowing himself  to  be  infected  with  the  fears  of  some  of 
his  companions,  as  to  the  success  of  their  enterprize, 
he  seems  to  have  reached  his  destination  under  the  in- 
fluence of  a  feeling  of  dejection,  which  was  evidently 


6  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

foreign  to  the  firm  and  equal  temper  of  his  mind.  On 
his  recovery  from  a  fever  with  which  he  had  been  seiz- 
ed immediately  on  his  arrival,  he  writes  to  his  father 
and  mother ; 

"  Dear  Parents, 

"  Do  not  cast  yourselves  down  at  my  present  state  of 
health.  I  hope  and  trust  in  God  Almighty  I  shall  soon  be 
better.  My  brother,  his  wife  and  child,  are  well.  They  are 
very  kind  to  me,  and  let  me  want  for  nothing.  When  I  write 
next,  I  hope  it  shall  be  with  more  courage.'''' 

A  few  days  afterwards,  the  result  of  his  examination 
is  communicated  in  the  following  terms : 

"  Dear  Parents,  London,  February  8.  1758. 

"  I  wrote  you  about  a  fortnight  ago  that  I  had  fallen 
sick.  I  lay  for  ten  days  in  a  high  fever,  and  every  one  thought 
I  should  not  live.  The  surgeon  of  the  Princess  of  Wales' 
armed  ship  at  Leith  attended  me ;  he  is  come  hither  for  a 
larger  ship.     I  am  now,  thank  God,  perfectly  recovered. 

"  I  went  to  Surgeons'1  Hall  with  other  three  who  came  up  in 
the  same  tender,  to  be  examined.  We  waited  all  in  a  large 
outer  hall,  about  thirty  in  number  ;  some  for  mateships  in  the 
army,  some  for  the  navy.  About  nine  at  night,  I  was  called 
in  before  eight  severe  looking  judges,  who  sat  at  a  long  table 
in  large  white  wigs.  They  asked  me  sternly  where  I  was  born 
and  brought  up, — how  long  I  had  been  a  'prentice, — whether 
I  had  been  at  college, — and  how  I  had  spent  my  time  since. 
Having  answered  these  inquiries,  '  Well'  says  the  president, 
4  What  are  the  contents  of  the  thorax  P1  I  gave  him  every 
particular  but  one,  and  that  was  the  bag  or  covering  of  the 
heart.  '  Has  not  the  heart  a  cover  ?'  said  one.  I  imme- 
diately recollected,  and  told  him  the  name    I  was  then  strict- 


MEMOIR  OF  JDR  WRIGHT.  j 

ly  examined  on  burns  of  all  degrees,  and  desired  to  retire. 
In  five  minutes  I  was  called  in,  and  ordered  to  pay  down  five 
shillings.  By  this  time  I  guessed  my  fate,  and  was  vexed. 
It  was  done,  however,  and  I  could  not  help  it.  I  was  de- 
sired to  attend  at  the  Navy  Office  at  12  next  day,  and 
there  I  should  have  my  warrant.  I  went  at  the  time  ap- 
pointed, and  was  desired  to  return  at  six  in  the  evening;  but, 
on  coming  home  here,  I  was  obliged  to  take  to  bed,  where  I 
lay  until  the  fever  left  me.  On  the  4th  of  this  month  I  went 
to  the  Navy  Office  with  one  of  my  companions,  who  had  like- 
wise been  ill.  We  were  desired  to  return  on  the  6th,  at 
11  o'clock,  and  we  should  then  get  our  warrants.  We  went. 
Mine  turned  out  to  be  second-mate  of  the  Intrepid,  60  gun 
ship.  I  shall  have  fifty  shillings  a  month.  To-morrow  I 
set  out  by  the  coach  to  Portsmouth.  I  hear  the  fleet  will 
sail  on  the  13th  for  North  America. 

"  Dear  Parents,  I  have  had  the  best  fortune  of  any  that 
came  up  in  the  tender.  I  am  inclined  to  think  they  qualify 
young  men  as  they  have  occasion  for  them  ;  but  I  have  liber- 
ty, in  six  -months,  to  be  re-examined  for  a  higher  station. 
Had  it  not  been  for  my  Brother's  kindness,  my  money  would 
by  this  time  have  been  quite  exhausted.  I  have  had  above 
two  guineas  from  him  already,  and  am  to  have  three  more 
to-morrow. 

"  I  went  to  Lord  Breadalbane's  yesternight,  and  de- 
livered Barcaldine's  letter.  He  was  very  kind,  and  dis- 
coursed with  me  a  long  time  about  my  Greenland  adventure. 
He  has  few  acquaintances  in  the  Navy  ;  but,  when  he  knows 
my  Captain's  name,  he  will  try  to  get  me  recommended  to 
him.  His  Lordship  gave  me  a  few  franks  for  letters;  he  hear- 
tily wished  me  success ;  and  so  I  left  him.  I  am  very  much 
obliged  to  Barcaldine  for  the  introduction.  If  ever  I  be  so 
fortunate  as  to  be  qualified  lor  surgeon,  I  should  not  he 
afraid,  if  my  Lord  were  in  London,  but  I  should  soon  gel 
my  warrant  signed. 


8  MEMOIR  OF  1)R   WRIGHT. 

"  I  am  weary  of  this  famous  city  already,  and  thankful  I 
leave  it  so  soon.1-1 

This  letter  is  quoted  at  length,  as  affording  a  fair 
specimen  of  M r  Wright's  early  correspondence,  and  as 
placing  the  native  simplicity  of  his  character  in  a  point 
of  view  which  cannot  he  mistaken.  The  frankness 
and  condescension  of  Lord  Bread albane  had  cheered 
his  drooping  spirits.  But  the  experience  he  was  daily 
acquiring  in  the  ways  of  the  world,  and  the  confidence 
he  began  to  repose  in  his  own  resources,  enabled  him, 
in  a  short  time  after  this  period,  to  affix  a  very  mode- 
rate estimate  to  the  patronage  of  the  great. 

In  answer  to  a  suggestion  of  his  brother,  that  he 
should  wait  on  Barcaldine,  "  I  could  wish,"  he 
says,  "  for  an  opportunity  to  thank  him  for  his  good- 
ness, but  I  have  no  desire  to  give  him  any  farther 
trouble  in  recommending  me.  I  shall  endeavour  to 
carry  it  through  myself.  If  I  succeed  I  shall  value  it 
the  more,  as  being  free  and  independent.  Had  you 
any  idea  of  the  servility  and  degradation  which  it  is 
necessary  to  undergo,  and  the  protestations  of  grati- 
tude which  are  expected,  you  would  be  of  my  opinion." 

The  sickness,  anxiety,  and  embarrassment  which 
attended  Mr  Wright  on  his  first  arrival  in  London, 
appear  to  have  destroyed  that  sense  of  novelty  and  en- 
joyment, on  which  it  is  usual  for  the  youthful  stran- 
ger to  place  so  high  a  value.  The  attentions  which 
he  received  from  his  brother's  family  left  him  only 
with  a  keener  sense  of  desolation,  while  preparing  to 
make  his  final  plunge  into  the  ocean  of  life.     "  Oh  ! " 


MEMOIR  Or  DR  WEIGHT..  9 

says  he  to  his  brother  James,  in  a  letter  of  the 
8th  February  1758,  "  Oh  !  my  Dear  Brother,  ne- 
ver come  to  this  wicked  place,  but  settle  among  your 
own  kindred,  in  your  own  country,  and  so  you  may 
live  happily.  Had  I  been  made  some  mean  mechanic, 
I  should  not  have  had  occasion  to  range  the  world  in 
quest  of  bread." 

Mr  Wright  was  accompanied  in  his  journey  to 
Portsmouth  by  Mr  Thomas  Steel,  a  young  surgeon, 
who  had  been  his  fellow  student  at  the  University  of 
Edinburgh,  and  with  whom  he  contracted  an  intimacy, 
which  was  only  terminated  by  death.  Soon  after  their 
arrival,  Mr  Wright  entered  himself  on  the  books  of 
the  Intrepid;  but  he  and  Mr  Steel  were  obliged,  for 
some  time,  to  reside  on  shore,  until  their  luggage  and 
bedding  should  arrive.  His  first  impressions,  when  he 
took  up  his  quarters  on  board,  were  very  unfavourable. 
The  crew  he  describes  as  "  the  refuse  of  mankind,  and 
the  very  dregs  of  the  human  race,"  whose  dissipation 
afforded  full  employment  to  the  medical  officers  of  the 
ship.  The  Intrepid  he  pronounces  to  be  "  a  plaguy 
old  hulk,"  the  sickliest  in  the  Royal  Navy,  and  in  such 
a  state  of  filth  as  to  engender  contagion.  The  jail 
fever  raged  on  board,  for  which  no  less  than  seventy 
of  the  crew  were,  at  one  time,  under  medical  treat- 
ment. Mr  Wright  himself  was  seized  with  it,  and 
twice  experienced  a  relapse ;  but  being  with  three  of 
his  brother  officers  sent  on  board  the  Ruby  Hospital 
Ship,  in  Plymouth  Sound,  he  speedily  regained  his 
wonted  strength. 

The   Intrepid  was  at   this  time   commissioned   by 


10  .    MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

Captain  Pratten,  an  officer  of  some  standing  in  the 
service,  who,  with  the  temporary  rank  of  Commodore, 
was  frequently  entrusted,  by  the  Admiral  of  the  Chan- 
nel Fleet,  with  the  command  of  a  cruizing  squadron  of 
five  or  six  ships  of  the  line,  and  one  or  two  frigates. 
The  surgeon  of  the  Intrepid  was  Pierce  Butler, 
an  Irishman,  who  is  described  as  "  the  best  of  his  coun- 
try, good-natured,  and  well-bred  in  the  extreme."  His 
first-mate,  George  Eason,  a  native  of  Dysart,  in 
Fifeshire,  had  been  Mr  Wright's  fellow  student  in 
Edinburgh. 

While  engaged  in  the  Channel  Service,  Mr  Wright 
conducted  a  regular  and  very  interesting  correspon- 
dence with  his  friends  in  Scotland,  and  particularly 
with  his  brother  James  ;  on  whom,  and  afterwards  on 
his  family,  he  appears,  through  life,  to  have  concen- 
trated the  best  feelings  of  a  kind  and  affectionate  dis- 
position. The  detail  which  he  gives  of  the  mode  of 
living  on  ship-board,  from  the  cock-pit  to  the  table  of 
the  Admiral,  is  of  the  most  graphic  description  ;  and 
it  was  no  doubt  at  this  period  that  he  began  to  accu- 
mulate that  store  of  professional  information  to  which 
he  was  prompted  by  habits  of  method  and  persever- 
ance, and  which  afterwards  enabled  him  to  contribute 
so  largely  to  the  removal  from  the  British  Fleet  of  its 
greatest  scourge,  the  scurvy. 

From  the  commencement  of  his  career,  Dr  Wright 
appears  to  have  kept  a  regular  journal  of  his  practice ; 
and  even  at  this  early  period,  his  natural  shrewdness 
and  sagacity  are  strikingly  displayed  in  the  reproba- 
tion he  applies  to  the  prevailing  practice  in  this  dis- 


MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT.  11 

temper,  and  in  the  enlightened  views  which  he  de- 
velopes  of  a  more  natural  and  rational  mode  of  treating 
this  /lias  malorum.  Thanks  to  the  radical  improve- 
ment in  cleanliness  and  discipline  which  has  long  been 
observed  on  board  the  Fleet,  and  to  that  better  system 
of  anti-scorbutics,  which  consists  in  habits  of  tempe- 
rance, in  a  liberal  supply  of  wholesome  viands,  and  in 
strict  attention  to  all  that  is  known  by  regimen  and 
prophylaxis  in  general,  the  medical  officers  of  the  pre- 
sent generation  have  triumphantly  succeeded  in  pre- 
venting, rather  than  in  curing,  the  foulest  blot  in  the 
annals  of  the  navy. 

Mr  Wright  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  present 
at  the  great  naval  engagement  off  the  Isle  of  Rhe,  on 
the  4th  of  April  1758,  under  Sir  Edward  Hawke. 
He  shared  in  the  prize-money  of  the  Raisonnable  64, 
commanded  by  Prince  Me  in  in  gen,  which  was  cap- 
tured by  Commodore  Pratt  en,  on  the  26th  of  April  in 
the  same  year ;  and  on  the  16  th  of  August  1759,  he  wit- 
nessed the  great  victory  which  Admiral  Boscawen 
achieved  off  Cape  Lagos  over  the  French  Fleet  under 
De  la  Clue.  His  untravelled  correspondents  would 
no  doubt  read,  with  wonder,  the  account  he  gives  of  the 
Turks  and  Egyptians,  the  Armenians  and  the  Jews, 
with  the  peculiarities  he  observed  in  their  habits  and 
costume.  Of  the  classic  shores  of  the  Mediterranean 
he  speaks  with  enthusiasm  ;  and  with  the  deepest  awe 
and  veneration,  when  he  alludes  to  those  places  where 
the  authors  of  the  sacred  volume  were  visited  with  the 
language  of  inspiration. 

On  the  return  of  the  Intrepid  to  Portsmouth  to  re- 


12  MEMOIR  OF  Dlt  WRIGHT. 

fit  after  Boscawen's  victory,  Mr  Wright,  with  the 
concurrence  of  his  commanding  officer,  and  with  the 
friendly  assistance  of  Mr  Butler,  the  surgeon,  and 
his  first  mate  Mr  Eason,  proceeded  to  London,  and 
offered  himself  for  re-examination,  with  a  view  to  his 
advancement  in  the  service.  When  in  London,  on  this 
occasion,  he  resided  with  the  family  of  Mr  Butler, 
of  whom  he  uniformly  speaks  in  terms  of  regard  and 
attachment,  which  are  equally  creditable  to  both. 
He  succeeded  in  his  mission,  was  rated  first  mate  at 
Surgeons'  Hall,  and  returned  to  Portsmouth  with  his 
warrant,  which  proved  to  be  for  the  Danae,  Captain 
Sir  Henry  Martin,  a  40  gun  frigate,  the  finest,  as  he 
describes  her,  at  that  time  in  the  service.  The  letter 
announcing  his  promotion,  is  written  with  great  feel- 
ing and  moderation  :  "  But,  dear  Brother,"  he  con- 
cludes, "  I  shall  soon  surmount  all  my  difficulties ;  and 
assure  yourself,  that  my  first  wish  is  to  make  you  all 
comfortable." 

He  had  already,  when  only  second  mate  of  the 
Intrepid,  at  fifty  shillings  a  month,  made  two  remit- 
tances to  his  father :  The  one  consisted  of  savings  from 
his  little  pittance  of  pay,  the  other  of  the  prize-money 
he  had  received  when  at  Gibraltar. 

His  first  cruize  in  the  Danae  was  directed  to  the 
north  of  Scotland  ;  and,  soon  afterwards,  we  find  a 
letter  dated  from  Leith  Roads,  on  the  8th  of  Decem- 
ber 1759,  in  which  he  anticipates  the  pleasure  of  sur- 
prizing his  uncle's  family  with  a  visit,  under  better  aus- 
pices than  when  he  last  parted  from  them.  The  sig- 
nal victory  which  Havvke  had  lately  achieved  over 


MEMOIR  OF  J)]{   WRIGHT,  l.'i 

the  Brest  fleet,  appears  to  have  induced  the  belief  that 
a  general  peaee  was  at  hand  ;  and  accordingly  lie  con- 
sults his  brother  as  to  the  course  which  it  would  be 
proper  for  him  to  pursue,  on  the  supposition  of  his  be- 
ing turned  adrift  from  the  service.  The  homeward 
views  which  he  had  begun  to  entertain  are,  however, 
soon  directed  to  other  objects.  M.  Thorot,  and  a 
French  squadron,  having  made  a  descent  on  the  West- 
ern Islands,  the  Danae  was  directed  to  join  in  the 
pursuit.  Having  at  length  succeeded  in  clearing  the 
coast  of  the  privateers  with  which  it  was  infested,  the 
Danae  and  her  consorts  lay  for  some  time  at  Loch 
Swilly,  on  the  Irish  coast ;  and  Mr  Wright  speaks  in 
the  warmest  terms  of  the  hospitality  of  the  inhabitants, 
and  of  the  introductions  which  he  obtained  to  the  best 
society  of  the  neighbourhood,  through  the  favour  of 
his  superior  officers.  "  Colonel  Vaughan,"  he  writes 
to  his  brother,  "  keeps  quite  an  open  table,  and  conde- 
scends to  express  his  disappointment  if  any  of  the  of- 
ficers of  the  expedition  are  known,  when  ashore  at  Loch 
Swilly,  to  dine  elsewhere  than  at  his  hospitable  board." 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year  1760,  the  Danae  re- 
ceived an  order,  while  stationed  at  Cork,  which,  un- 
consciously to  Mr  Wright,  imparted  a  colour  to  his 
future  fate.  She  was  appointed  to  form  part  of  a  con- 
siderable armament,  which  was  to  assemble  at  the 
Cove,  with  orders  to  proceed  to  the  Antilles,  for  the 
protection  of  our  West  India  possessions,  and  the  re- 
duction of  Martinique.  From  Cork  he  writes  to  his 
brother,  on  the  15th  of  December  1760: 

"  We  arrived  in  Plymouth  on  the  210th  of  October, 


14  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

when  the  ship  was  put  into  dock.  During  that  time 
I  was  not  idle.  Among  other  things,  I  made  applica- 
tion, at  the  proper  quarter,  for  recovery  of  the  last  ten 
guineas  which  I  had  directed  to  be  sent  to  my  father ; 
and  the  ship  having  sailed  from  Plymouth  before  the 
matter  was  adjusted,  I  have  appointed  Mr  Oliver 
Toulmain  to  act  for  me  in  my  absence.  If  it  should 
please  God  to  call  me  hence,  he  is  empowered  to  re- 
ceive all  my  wages  and  prize  money  ;  and,  as  he  is  a 
very  honest  man,  he  will  give  you  a  faithful  account. 

"  We  only  arrived  here  this  morning,  having  left 
Plymouth  on  the  4th  of  the  month  ;  and  we  are  to  re- 
main in  this  harbour  till  the  convoy  is  ready  for  sea. 
If  God  spare  me  to  come  home  again,  I  have  the  pro- 
mise of  being  made  a  surgeon  directly." 

Some  time  after  the  date  of  this  letter,  the  armament 
under  the  command  of  the  gallant  Rodney,  proceed- 
ed on  its  destination.  The  strong  redoubts  of  Port 
Royal  were  obstinately  defended  by  the  French  gar- 
rison, who  thus  provided  a  long  arrear  of  arduous  duty 
for  the  surgical  department ;  but  the  ultimate  success 
of  the  expedition  was  satisfactory  and  complete. 

It  was  here  that  Mr  Wright  became  acquainted 
with  Dr  Saunders,  Dr  George  Monro,  and  Dr 
Garthshore  ;  with  the  last  of  whom  he  contracted 
an  intimacy,  which  eventually  ripened  into  the  warm- 
est and  most  lasting  friendship.  The  fall  of  Marti- 
nique was  immediately  followed  by  that  of  Grenada, 
St  Vincents,  and  St  Lucia ;  and  Mr  Wright  having 
been  successively  transferred  from  the  Danae  to  the 
hospitals  on  shore,  at  Fort  Royal  and  St  Pierre,  and 


MEMOIR   OF  DR   WRIGHT.  15 

from  thence  to  the  Culloden  74,  and  the  Levant  Fri- 
gate, he  was  constantly  engaged  in  a  great  variety  of 
practice  in  both  departments  of  his  profession.  In  the 
course  of  the  visits  which  he  had  an  opportunity  of 
paying  to  the  various  islands  of  the  Archipelago,  he 
enjoyed  the  best  opportunities  for  observing  the  nature 
and  symptoms  of  tropical  diseases  ;  and  those  particu- 
larly to  which  the  European  is  peculiarly  subject  on 
his  first  exposure  to  the  influence  of  the  climate. 

He  had  also,  while  thus  moved  about  from  one 
station  to  another,  some  prospects  of  promotion,  which, 
however,  were  not  realized  until  the  conclusion  of  the 
Seven  Years'  War. 

From  St  Christophers,  he  writes  on  the  25th  of  July 
1761 :  "  I  have  been  recommended  to  Commodore  Sir 
James  Douglas,  and  have  come  on  board  the  Cullo- 
den to  wait  for  preferment,  which  I  hope  will  be  soon." 
In  a  subsequent  letter  from  on  board  the  Levant,  at 
Antigua,  he  says,  "  My  friend  Sir  James  Douglas 
has  been  suddenly  despatched  to  the  succour  of  Ja- 
maica ;  and  I  should  have  gone  with  him  as  first  mate 
in  the  Dublin,  had  not  this  frigate  been  unfortunately 
out  of  the  way  ;  so  that  my  hopes  of  promotion  are  for 
the  present  at  an  end." 

The  coloured  population  of  the  islands  are  described 
by  Mr  Wright  as  a  "  spindle-shanked,"  attenuated, 
race,  differing  in  all  respects,  both  moral  and  physical, 
from  their  British  forefathers.  The  Negroes,  on  the 
contrary,  are  said  to  be  healthy  and  robust ;  "  but  no 
one,"  he  observes  with  truth  and  feeling,  "  endowed 
with  the  common  attributes  of  humanity,  can  witness 


16  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT, 

their  sufferings,  and  reflect  on  their  hard  fate,  without 
pity  for  misfortunes  which  end  but  with  their  lives/' 

It  appears,  however,  that,  in  after  life,  his  senti- 
ments on  the  subject  of  Negro  slavery  had  suffered  a 
material  change  ;  and  it  is  due  to  his  memory  to  state, 
that,  in  common  with  the  great  majority  of  those  who 
have  long  resided  in  our  West  India  settlements,  Dr 
Wright  retained  these  altered  opinions  after  his  final 
return  to  Great  Britain,  and  indeed  long  after  he  had 
ceased  to  have  any  personal  interest  in  the  affairs  of 
the  colonies. 

In  the  year  1792,  he  was  called  upon  to  give  his 
evidence  on  the  subject  of  the  abolition  of  the  slave 
trade  before  a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons. 
Among  his  papers  a  memorandum  has  been  found 
containing  an  answer  to  the  following  question  :  "  How 
comes  it  about  that  slave  Negroes  are  able  to  labour  in 
the  heat  of  the  sun,  which  you  allege  so  fatal  to  Eu- 
ropeans ?"  Dr  Wright's  answer  was  as  follows : — 
"  From  many  conversations  I  have  had  with  sensible 
Guinea  Negroes,  I  think  they  change  their  climate  and 
condition  for  the  better.  They  described  their  country 
to  be  hot,  sultry,  and  in  many  places  unhealthy  ;  their 
habitations  as  temporary  and  miserable,  infested  by 
noxious  animals,  and  surrounded  by  hostile  nations,  so 
that  their  lives  and  properties  are  perpetually  in  dan- 
ger. They  are  brought  to  a  fine  healthy  island,  where, 
in  a  little  time,  they  find  themselves  quite  at  home,  in 
safety  and  under  protection.  The  Negro  is  supplied 
with  every  necessary  of  life,  both  in  food  and  clothing. 
He  has  a  good  house,  and  proper  utensils.     When  at 


MEMOIR  OF  T)R  WMGtHfF.  \7 

length  he  is  put  to  work,  it  is  proportioned  to  his 
strength.  The  heat  of  the  sun  is  so  far  from  beiiig 
hurtful,  he  takes  delight  in  it.  This,  too,  is  precisely 
the  case  with  his  descendants." 

In  another  place,  he  compares  the  comforts  and  ad- 
vantages enjoyed  by  his  own  immediate  domestics,  in 
a  situation  where  all  the  misery  of  bondage  was  miti- 
gated and  softened  down,  with  the  privations  of  food 
and  clothing,  which  are  too  often  suffered  by  the  la- 
bouring poor  of  his  native  land ;  and,  again,  by  still 
stronger  contrast,  he  refers  to  the  savage  habits  of  the 
naked  African  in  a  state  of  nature,  many  of  whom 
he  describes  as  having  seen,  with  their  teeth  mechani- 
cally sharpened,  the  better  to  enjoy,  according  to  their 
own  confession,  an  inhuman  banquet  on  the  bodies  of 
their  captive  foes. 

It  is  impossible  to  doubt  the  fact,  that  the  situation 
of  the  individuals  who  had  providentally  been  rescued 
from  such  a  state  of  barbarism,  and  placed  under  the 
guardianship  of  a  man,  whose  heart  overflowed  with 
the  milk  of  human  kindness,  was  immeasurably  im- 
proved. But,  on  a  subject  where  reason  is  all  on  one 
side,  it  is  impossible  to  argue.  In  his  original  reproba- 
tion of  the  practice  of  slavery,  as  well  as  in  subsequent- 
ly yielding  to  the  prevailing  habit  of  the  country,  Dr 
Wright  was  equally  guided  by  the  influence  of  good 
and  honourable  feelings,  and  permitted  them  to  sup- 
ply the  place  of  arguments,  which,  to  a  mind  like  his, 
must,  under  any  other  circumstances,  have  all  arrang- 
ed themselves  in  opposition  to  slavery  in  its  most  mi- 
tigated form. 


]8  MEMOES  OF  DB  WRIGHT. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  Seven  Years'  War,  in  1763, 
Mr  Wright  returned  to  Britain  in  the  Levant  fri- 
gate, which  was  paid  off  on  her  arrival  at  Sheerness, 
in  the  September  of  that  year.  Mr  Wright  appears 
by  this  time  to  have  adopted  the  resolution  of  return- 
ing to  the  Antilles,  and  applying  himself  to  the  prac- 
tice of  physic  in  the  island  of  Jamaica :  "  Being 
wearied,"  he  says,  "  of  wandering,  I  would  fain  settle 
ashore,  but  I  fear  it  must  be  abroad,  as  our  own  coun- 
try is  full  of  my  profession."  With  this  view  he  re- 
paired to  London,  and  applied  himself,  with  his  wont- 
ed assiduity,  to  those  studies  which  the  proposed 
change  of  circumstances  had  in  some  degree  rendered 
necessary. 

Although  the  general  pacification  which  resulted 
from  the  treaty  of  Paris,  precluded  all  hope  of  obtain- 
ing any  farther  employment  in  the  public  service,  Mi- 
Wright,  with  that  stedfastness  of  purpose  for  which 
his  character  was  distinguished,  immediately  on  his  ar- 
rival in  London  presented  himself  once  more  at  Sur- 
geons' Hall  for  examination ;  when  he  obtained  the 
barren  qualification  of  surgeon  to  a  man-of-war,  of  the 
third  rate,  which  ranges  from  6'4  to  80  guns.  His 
motives  for  making  this  application  are  described  in  a 
letter  to  his  brother,  to  have  been  the  satisfaction  of 
his  friends  in  Scotland,  and  the  self-assurance  that  he 
merited  the  advancement  which  he  had  hitherto  been 
unable  to  command.  He  laments  the  necessity  which 
compels  him,  from  prudential  considerations,  to  pre- 
pare once  more  to  cross  the  Atlantic,  without  being 
able  to  see  his  aged  parents,  and  with  no  definite  pros- 


.MEMOIK  OF   DB   WRIGHT.  19 

pect  of  a  speedy  return.  "  Nothing,"  he  says,  ^  could 
give  me  more  pleasure  than  to  see  you,  nor  greater 
grief  than  again  to  part."  The  time  he  would  thus 
have  spent  he  devotes  to  his  professional  improve- 
ment ; — the  money,  he  remits  to  his  father,  to  purchase 
those  additional  comforts  which  were  suitable  to  his 
advancement  in  years.  In  a  subsequent  letter,  he  ac- 
knowledges the  obligation  which  he  owes  to  his  bro- 
ther for  his  acquiescence  in  the  measure,  and  for  the 
kind  interest  which  he  took  in  reconciling  their  pa- 
rents to  so  severe  a  trial  of  their  patience.  "  The  only 
consideration  which  alleviates  my  grief,"  he  adds,  "  is 
the  tender  care  and  concern  you  have  ever  shewn 
them.  May  God  reward  you  for  it,  and  enable  me  to 
shew  you  my  gratitude." 

It  was  at  this  period  that  Mr  Wright  obtained 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine,  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  a  gentleman  who  had  served  with  him  as 
a  surgeon  in  the  navy,  and  whose  father,  Dr  Simson, 
at  that  time  occupied  a  professor's  chair  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  St  Andrew's,  in  which  he  was  afterwards 
succeeded  by  his  son,  the  early  friend  of  Mr  Wright. 

Of  the  five  or  six  years  which  Dr  Wright  had 
spent  in  the  navy,  he  uniformly  speaks  as  a  series  of 
misfortunes  ;  but  wisely  comforts  himself  with  the  re- 
flection, that  the  slowness  of  his  advancement  had 
operated  as  a  spur  to  his  exertions,  and  prompted  him 
to  improve  himself  by  study,  while  others  were  wast- 
ing their  time  in  idleness  and  dissipation.  Of  this  he 
had  a  striking  instance  when  he  first  went  on  board 
the  Levant,  where  the  surgeon,  a  man  of  talent  and 


20  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGWT. 

education,  and  many  amiable  qualities,  had  totally  in- 
capacitated himself  for  the  duties  of  his  station  by 
habitual  intemperance.  The  labour  and  responsi- 
bility which  thus  devolved  on  Dr  Wright,  without 
any  adequate  remuneration,  in  place  of  relaxing  his 
efforts  or  disturbing  his  equanimity,  only  tended,  as 
we  have  seen,  to  confirm  those  habits  of  activity  and 
application,  which  were  the  natural  bent  of  his  well 
constituted  mind. 

The  last  surgeon  with  whom  he  served  in  the  Le- 
vant was  Mr  William  Collart,  a  native  of  Dum- 
fries, who  is  described  as  a  very  good  man,  and  an  ex- 
pert surgeon.  In  him  Dr  Wright  found  a  disposi- 
tion and  habits  congenial  with  his  own ;  and,  but  for 
the  disturbances  which  soon  afterwards  broke  out  in 
North  America,  he  had  it  in  contemplation  to  accede 
to  a  proposal  which  was  made  to  him  by  Mr  Collart, 
of  establishing  a  partnership  in  one  of  the  British  co- 
lonies on  that  continent.  The  two  friends  resided  to- 
gether during  Dr  Wright's  stay  in  London,  and,  on 
his  departure  for  Jamaica,  he  received  a  present  from 
Mr  Collart  of  a  valuable  medicine  chest,  and  an 
assortment  of  surgical  instruments. 

In  the  intimate,  uninterrupted,  and  confidential 
correspondence  which  Dr  Weight  maintained  with 
his  brother  from  the  earliest  period,  there  is,  strange  to 
say,  not  the  slightest  trace  of  his  having  ever  been  un- 
der the  influence  of  the  tender  passion.  He  had  al- 
ways, indeed,  a  keen  relish  for  a  good-natured  joke, 
and  was  as  ready  to  receive,  as  to  return,  a  little  well- 


.i  EMOIK   OF    !>K    WKHiin  .  2  1 

•mant  raillery,  on  a  subject  to  which  a  bachelor  of 
twenty-eight  is  peculiarly  subject.  His  uncle,  for  in- 
stance, who  had  been  for  sometime  a  widower,  inquir- 
ing', in  a  letter  addressed  to  him  while  in  London, 
whether  his  views  have  yet  been  directed  to  the  sub- 
ject of  matrimony,  and  when  he  may  hope  to  congra- 
tulate him  on  being  the  Benedict,  "  Purely,  my  dear 
Uncle,"  is  ])r  Wrk;ht's  reply,  "  you  imagine  that  I 
measure  my  corn  by  your  bushel.  Make  my  compli- 
ments to  your  intended,  and  say  how  my  cousin  Jean 
enjoys  the  prospect  of  her  new  Mamma  !"  On  ano- 
ther occasion,  he  writes  to  his  brother,  "  Well,  then, 
since  all  my  old  sweethearts  have  forsaken  me,  what 
say  you  to  my  attacking  some  rich  widow,  and  mak- 
ing my  fortune  by  a  coup  de  main  ?" 

Having  completed  his  preparations  in  London,  and 
almost  exhausted  his  little  store  in  the  cxpences  of 
his  outfit,  Dr  Wright  sailed  from  the  Downs  on  the 
15th  of  December  1764,  on  board  the  Bonella,  com- 
manded by  his  friend  Captain  Duthie,  who,  with  the 
assistance  of  his  lady  passengers,  enabled  the  little 
party  to  spend  a  three  months'  passage  with  mutual 
satisfaction.  The  Bonella  remained  fourteen  days  at 
Madeira,  where  Dr  Wright  was  well  received  in  the 
best  society  of  the  place  ;  and,  in  a  letter  to  his  bro- 
ther, communicates  a  great  deal  of  interesting  infor- 
mation as  to  the  manners  of  the  inhabitants,  and  the 
natural  history  of  the  island ;  but  the  necessity  for 
quoting  it  is  in  a  great  measure  superseded  by  the 
more  recent  researches  of  other  travellers. 

Dr  Wright  was  provided  with  letters  of  introduc- 


22  MEMOIR  OF  Dli  WRIGHT. 

tion  from  Sir  Henry  Martin,  and  other  friends  in 
London,  to  some  of  the  leading  inhabitants  at  King- 
ston ;  but,  on  his  arrival  there  in  March  1/64,  he 
found  to  his  mortification,  that  the  supply  of  medical 
practitioners  in  Jamaica,  was,  from  the  same  causes 
which  left  him  unprovided,  quite  as  much  above  the 
level  of  the  demand,  as  he  had  found  it  in  Great 
Britain  ;  insomuch,  that  individuals  whom  he  had 
known  acting  as  surgeons  in  the  navy,  he  found  serv- 
ing under  indentures  at  the  rate  of  £  40  a-year.  This 
in  particular  he  found  to  be  the  case,  in  the  parish  of 
Savanna  le  Mar,  where  he  had  proposed  to  settle,  so 
that,  on  his  return  to  Kingston,  after  a  tour  through 
the  island,  he  was  induced  to  accept  a  proposal,  which 
his  respectable  introductions  had  procured  for  him, 
from  the  principal  practitioner  of  the  place,  Dr  Gray, 
to  engage  as  his  assistant.  The  term  was  limited  to  six 
months,  and  the  emoluments  were  at  the  rate  of  £  1 00 
per  annum,  with  the  addition  of  board  and  lodging, 
which  he  describes  as  equal  to  so  much  more,  from  the 
extravagant  habits  of  the  place,  and  the  period,  in  the 
article  of  dress. 

This,  however,  was  only  a  temporary  expedient.  He 
never  abandoned  his  purpose  of  engaging  independent- 
ly in  practice  ;  and  while  he  was  yet  hesitating  what 
course  to  pursue,  he  received  a  very  welcome  letter 
from  his  old  friend  Dr  Steel,  announcing  that  his 
business  had  become  greater  than  he  could  manage, 
and  proposing,  by  means  of  a  partnership,  to  share  his 
good  fortune  with  Dr  Wright.     The  offer  was  of 


MEMOIR  OF  DIl   WliK.UT.  ''■'> 

course  very  readily  embraced,  and  the  partnershijre'om- 
menced  on  the  1st  of  November  1764. 

Dr  Steel's  residence  was  at  Hampden  Estate, 
about  150  miles  from  Kingston,  at  that  time  situated 
in  the  parish  of  St  James's,  but  afterwards,  by  subdi- 
vision, in  the  parish  of  Trelawny,  so  called  in  honour 
of  Sir  William  Trelawny,  the  Governor.  Hamp- 
den was  the  property  of  Mr  James  Stirling,  and 
was  at  that  time  under  the  management  of  the  late 
Patrick  Stirling  of  Kippendavie.  The  Negroes 
under  the  medical  charge  of  the  two  partners  amounted 
to  1200,  which,  at  5s.  each  per  annum,  produced  a 
considerable  item  of  ascertained  revenue.  To  this  was 
added  a  respectable  medical  practice  among  the  free 
population,  within  a  circuit  of  ten  or  twelve  miles. 
Dr  Steel  and  Dr  Wright  resided  together,  in  a 
snug  little  dwelling,  about  a  mile  distant  from  the 
mansion-house  of  Hampden.  Around  their  residence 
they  had  an  in  closure  of  twenty  acres,  which  served  as 
pasture  for  their  horses.  The  whole  was  situated  in  a 
valley  of  considerable  extent,  surrounded  by  hills  of 
great  elevation.  The  climate  is  described  as  perfect- 
ly salubrious,  and  constantly  refreshed  by  alternate 
breezes  from  sea  and  shore. 

The  profits  of  the  partnership  appear  to  have  been 
considerable,  as,  in  six  months  after  its  commence- 
ment, they  had  expended  upwards  of  £  500  in  house- 
hold furniture,  and  in  the  purchase  of  seven  horses 
and  four  Negroes :  A  short  time  afterwards  they  ac- 
quired 107  acres  of  land,  part  of  the  estate  of  Hamp- 
den, for  which   they   paid  £321.      Their  object  in 


24  MEMOIR  OF    DR   WRIGHT. 

making  this  purchase  arose  from  an  apprehension  that 
the  estate  might  pass  into  other  hands ;  by  which 
they  might  not  only  lose  the  medical  charge  of  the 
Negroes,  but  he  driven  from  the  most  lucrative  portion 
of  their  practice,  among  the  free  population  of  the 
neighbourhood, — a  feeling  which  Mr  Stirling,  the 
superintendant,  in  his  anxiety  to  serve  his  two  medi- 
cal friends,  suggested,  and  obtained  this  mode  of  re- 
moving. These  efforts  were  not  made,  however,  with- 
out involving  them  in  some  temporary  embarrassment ; 
but  Dr  Wright,  in  a  letter  dated  in  September 
1766,  speaks  with  some  confidence  of  being  able,  in 
another  year,  to  extricate  themselves  out  of  all  their 
perplexities.  "  Our  business,"  he  adds,  "  continues  to 
prosper,  and,  as  my  friend  Steel  and  I  are  both  of 
us  healthy,  obliging  and  diligent,  we  hope  to  retain,  at 
least,  if  we  do  not  extend,  the  practice  we  have  already 
acquired,  notwithstanding  the  numerous  competitors 
who  settle  in  our  neighbourhood.  Having  already 
discovered  something  of  consequence  in  the  way  of 
our  profession,  we  are  not  without  hopes  that  hereafter 
we  may  be  better  known  in  the  world." 

In  July  1 767,  it  appears  that  their  Negroes  amount- 
ed to  fifteen  in  number.  Some  of  them  were  em- 
ployed in  clearing  their  little  plantation.  The  labour 
of  others  was  let  out  to  hire  ;  and  this  last  he  de- 
scribes as  the  only  possible  mode  of  making  a  fortune 
speedily,  the  annual  profit  being  equal  to  50  per  cent, 
on  the  value  of  the  slave.  In  the  mean  time,  Dr 
^Y^RI(;HT  is  never  forgetful  of  his  friends  at  home. 
With   the  family  of  his   brother   in   particular,   there 


MEMOIR  OF   DR  WRIGHT.  2.) 

seems  to  have  been  a  constant  interchange  of  mutual 
good  offices.  His  sister-in-law  had  been  a  school- 
companion  of  his  own,  hut  her  marriage  had  not  taken 
place  until  after  he  had  left  the  country.  In  his  early 
letters,  however,  he  had  probably  anticipated  the  con- 
nection, as  he  seems  desirous,  on  all  occasions,  of  in- 
troducing some  allusion  to  his  favourite  Efty  Mac- 
vkan,  whom  he  describes  as  equally  distinguished  for 
good  sense  and  beauty,  and  for  perfect  good  temper, 
an  every-day  quality  perhaps  more  valuable  than  either. 
While  his  parents  yet  survived,  their  comfort  and 
happiness  was  the  pivot  on  which  all  his  homeward 
views  were  turned.  For  some  time  after  his  settle- 
ment at  Hampden,  he  was  unable  to  make  pecuniary 
remittances,  but  when  he  sent  home  a  consignment  of 
cotton,  to  exercise  his  sister's  industry,  or  a  puncheon 
of  rum  for  his  brother's  table,  it  was  always  accompa- 
nied with  some  grateful  acknowledgment  to  the  daugh- 
ter-in-law, for  her  attention  to  his  parents,  and  with 
the  most  ardent  commendation  of  the  filial  piety  of 
his  brother. 

The  fears  of  the  two  partners  lest  they  should  lose 
the  valuable  business  of  Hampden  estate,  on  a  sale  of 
the  property,  were  happily  disappointed.  Their  sepa- 
rate practice  proceeded  prosperously,  and  progressively 
increased ;  and,  in  November  1 768,  their  success  is 
described  as  beyond  their  expectation.  It  was  in  the 
midst  of  this  scene  of  activity  that  Dr  Wright  re- 
ceived an  application  from  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh, which  appears  to  have  given  a  fresh  impulse  at 
least,  if  not  a  new  direction,  to  his  literary  and  scien- 


26  MEMOIR  OF  DP,  WRIGHT. 

tific  pursuits.  A  resolution  had  been  recently  adopt- 
ed by  that  University,  for  the  establishment  of  a 
Museum  of  Natural  History  ;  and  the  invitation  which 
was  offered  to  Dr  Wright,  through  the  medium  of 
Dr  Ramsay,  the  Regius  Professor  of  the  science,  to 
become  a  contributor  to  the  collection,  was  accepted 
with  as  much  alacrity  as  it  was  afterwards  prosecuted 
with  perseverance  and  effect.  His  earliest  contribu- 
tions were  chiefly  confined  to  the  departments  of  Or- 
nithology and  Entomology,  in  which  the  stores  of  the 
Museum  have  since  become  so  copious  and  so  rich. 
In  the  preparation  of  his  specimens,  and  in  those  in- 
stances, especially,  where  any  preservative  process  was 
required,  Dr  Wright  had  a  singular  neatness  of  me- 
thod and  manipulation,  which  added  greatly  to  their 
value.  They  were  uniformly  accompanied  with  a  ca- 
talogue raisonnee ;  and  whenever  objects  of  novelty 
or  curiosity  occurred,  a  separate  historical  memoir  was 
added  :  but  it  is  matter  of  regret,  that  the  facts  which 
were  thus  accumulated,  and  the  valuable  correspon- 
dence which  was  for  many  years  maintained  between 
Dr  Wright,  while  resident  in  Jamaica,  and  Dr  John 
Hope  and  Dr  Ramsay,  the  Professors  of  Botany  and 
Natural  History  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh, 
should  be  for  ever  lost  to  science  and  the  world. 

But  Dr  Wright  never  permitted  the  avocations 
of  science  to  interfere  with  the  exact  performance  of 
his  professional  duties.  The  leading  characteristic  of 
his  medical  practice  appears  to  have  had  its  origin  in 
a  close  and  discriminating  attention  to  the  operations 
of  nature,  in  opposition  to  the  visionary  views  of  in- 


memoir  of  dr  wiught.  27 

experienced  theorists.  In  the  months  of  ApifC  May, 
and  June  of  1768,  the  district  of  Trelawney  and  St 
James's,  and  the  neighbouring  country,  was  severely 
affected  with  an  epidemic  smallpox,  which  proved  fa- 
tal to  many  who  were  seized  with  it  in  the  natural 
way.  It  appears  to  have  been  a  custom  among  the 
Maroons  of  Jamaica,  as  well  as  in  some  of  the  nations 
on  the  coast  of  Guinea,  to  cover  the  body  with  wet 
clay  during  the  eruptive  stage  of  the  disease.  Com- 
bining this  practice  with  the  cool  mode  of  treatment 
recommended  by  Sydenham,  and  successfully  pur- 
sued by  Sutton  and  Baron  Dimsdale,  and  with  his 
own  observation  of  the  relief  experienced  by  the  pa- 
tient, on  exposure  to  the  open  air,  Dr  Wright  was 
induced  to  prescribe  the  cold-bath  in  cases  of  vario- 
lous fever,  whether  proceeding  from  inoculation,  or 
taken  naturally.  The  cold  water  was  applied  by  as- 
persion or  affusion  every  four  or  six  hours.  By  this 
treatment  the  febrile  symptoms  speedily  assumed  a 
milder  form.  An  agreeable  glow  was  succeeded  by  a 
gentle  perspiration,  and  the  eruption  was  generally  fa- 
vourable *. 

The  happy  results  of  the  great  discovery  of  Dr 
Jenner,  in  staying  the  progress  of  smallpox,  and 
the  prospect  which  it  affords  of  at  last  effecting  the 
total  annihilation  of  this  scourge  to  the  human  race, 
has  deprived  the  success  of  Dr  Wright's  experiment 
of  much  of  its  interest.  But  it  is  worthy  of  being 
recorded,  as  presenting  the  first  link  of  that  chain  of 

*  Edinburgh  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  \v.  123. 


28  MEM<  111  OF  DR   WRIGHT. 

circumstances  which  led  to  the  external  application  of 
water,  as  a  remedy  in  fever  and  other  diseases. 

Neither,  however,  did  the  laborious  and  exhausting 
duties  of  his  profession,  nor  his  undiminished  zeal 
for  the  interests  of  science,  engross  so  much  of  Dr 
Wright's  attention  as  to  make  him  unmindful  of 
those  dearer  ties  which  connected  him  with  home. 
In  a  letter  to  his  brother,  dated  in  July  1769,  Dr 
Wright  says,  "  I  am  fighting  hard  for  a  little  inde- 
pendence, and  hope  in  a  few  years,  with  God's  bless- 
ing, to  secure  it.  I  have  already  set  bounds  to  my 
ambition  :  When  I  arrive  at  that,  I  shall  quietly  get 
home,  and  spend  the  remainder  of  my  days  with  you 
in  my  native  land.  It  gives  me  the  greatest  satisfac- 
tion to  observe,  that  the  harmony  and  good  under- 
standing between  you  and  our  parents,  too  seldom 
seen  in  families,  should  continue  to  subsist  in  so  emi- 
nent a  degree.  The  supplies  which  my  sister  is  kind- 
ly preparing  for  me  will  be  very  acceptable.  I  beg 
that,  in  the  mean  time,  she  may  continue  to  think 
well  of  me,  and  give  me  a  place  in  her  affection  and 
esteem." 

In  the  month  of  March  1770  Dr  Wright  was 
seized  with  one  of  those  intermittent  fevers  which,  in 
warm  climates,  arc  so  peculiarly  dangerous.  He  had 
caught  the  infection  from  a  patient ;  but  the  tem- 
perance of  his  habits,  and  the  natural  soundness  of  his 
constitution,  joined  to  the  assiduity  and  attention  of 
his  partner,  and  his  own  medical  skill,  enabled  him,  in 
a  short  time,  to  conquer  the  disease.  In  the  follow- 
ing June  he  says,  "  Our  practice  continues  as  usual, 


MEMOIR  OF  DK  v.'KK.liT.  (2^i 

and  my  health  is  quite  re-established.  However  Tom 
and  I  are  heartily  siek  of  this  nay  of  life,  and  long  for 
the  time  when  we  can  leave  it  with  a  good  grace, 
that  is,  when  we  can  do  without  it." 

Having  erected  a  house  on  their  plantation,  and 
named  it  Orangehill,  the  two  partners  went  to  reside 
there  in  the  year  1771.  By  this  time  their  slaves 
amounted  to  thirty-three,  so  that  it  became  necessary 
to  engage  a  white  man  to  superintend  them 

In  this  year,  also,  he  began  his  magnificent  collection 
of  dried  plants,  arranged  and  described  according  to  the 
system  of  Linn..:  is.     A  copy  of  the  third  edition  of 
the  Species  Plantarum,  printed  in  1764,  is  now  in  the 
possession  of  Dr  THO.vsoNof  Glasgow,  in  which  all 
those  species  are  marked,  amounting  in  number  to  7i>l, 
which  had  been  examined  and  verified  by  Dr  Weight 
during  his  residence  in  Jamaica.     The  popular  names, 
by  which  they  were  known  in  the  island,  are  generally 
added,  and   reference  is  made  to  those  elaborate  pro- 
ductions of  BnowNE  and  Sloane,  to  which  the  na- 
tural history  of  Jamaica  is  so  much  indebted,  in  every 
case  where  the  great  Swedish  naturalist  himself  had 
omitted  to  do  so.      -V  point  of  interrogation  has  been 
placed  against  a  number  of  additional  species,  to  indi- 
cate probably  that  Dr  Wright  had   not  fully  satis- 
fied himself  of  their  identity  with  the  specimens  which 
had  fallen   under  his  observation.     These  particulars 
are  recorded  as  affording  some   indication  of  the  pro- 
gress which  Dr  Wright  was  making  in  this  fascina- 
ting study,  and  of  the  origin  of  that  splendid  herba- 
rium which  he  had  accumulated  during  his  residence 


.30  MEMOIR  OF  I)R  WliKJHT. 

in  those  regions,  where  the  climate  and  the  soil  are 
equally  favourable  to  the  productions  of  the  vegetable 
kingdom,  and  where  nature  appears  to  have  exhausted 
her  efforts  in  the  gay  profusion  of  her  gifts.  But  the 
enquiring  mind  of  Dr  Wuight  was  not  to  be  limit- 
ed to  the  mere  purposes  of  classification  and  arrange- 
ment in  his  botanical  pursuits.  The  practice  of  me- 
dicine was  not  in  his  hands  a  matter  of  dull  and  or- 
dinary routine.  His  attention  was  constantly  applied 
to  its  advancement  as  a  science,  and  while  he  discover- 
ed an  extraordinary  diligence  in  procuring  the  results 
of  the  latest  observation,  from  all  the  quarters  of  the 
world  of  letters,  he  was  indefatigable  in  availing  him- 
self of  the  peculiar  advantages  which  he  enjoyed  in 
making  his  researches  in  the  school  of  Nature. 

The  valuable  information  which  Dr  Wright  was 
so  industrious  in  acquiring,  he  was  equally  ready  to 
communicate.  He  was  visited  by  every  scientific  tra- 
veller who  made  the  natural  history  of  the  British 
West  Indies  the  subject  of  his  study.  To  such  visi- 
tors the  ordinary  offices  of  hospitality  formed  a  small 
part  of  the  obligation  which  they  had  reason  to  ac- 
knowledge. With  a  liberality  for  which  collectors  are 
not  universally  remarkable,  his  own  stores  were  always 
open  to  the  inspection  of  the  curious,  and  his  dupli- 
cates were  readily  bestowed  on  such  as  could  appre- 
ciate their  value.  The  habitats  of  the  rarer  objects 
of  pursuit  were  carefully  pointed  out ;  and  when  the 
time  or  the  limits  were  exhausted  within  which  his 
own  personal  attentions  could  be  conveniently  devoted 
to  the  accommodation  of  his  visitors,  he  provided  them 


MEMOIll  Ol'  DR   W-RIG-HT.  .3  t 

with  letters  of  introduction  to  such  friends  as  would 
be  able  to  promote  their  views.  He  had  opened  a 
correspondence,  in  both  hemispheres,  with  men  of  emi- 
nence in  his  own  profession,  as  well  as  in  general 
science,  and  had  placed  himself  in  communication  not 
only  with  many  of  the  learned  societies  in  Great  Bri- 
tain, but  with  some  of  those  infant  establishments  on 
the  continent  of  North  America,  which  are  destined, 
in  future  ages,  to  give  a  new  lustre  to  the  parent 
stock  by  an  honourable  rivalry.  The  extent  of  his 
living  contributions  to  the  Royal  Gardens  at  Kew, 
and  of  his  liberal  additions  to  the  dried  collection  of 
Sir  Joseph  Banks,  are  matters  of  historical  interest. 
His  personal  friends  *  were  supplied  with  equal  libe- 
rality, and  by  their  means,  not  less  than  by  his  genius 
and  application,  his  name,  as  a  naturalist,  became  fa- 
vourably known  wherever  the  science  of  nature  was 
encouraged. 

The  simplicity  as  well  as  efficacy  of  the  remedies 

*  It  is  in  acknowledgment  of  obligations  of  this  kind,  as  well 
as  in  compliment  to  the  great  attainments  of  Dr  Wright  in  the 
same  paths  of  science  with  himself,  that  Dr  Storks  of  Chester- 
field has  dedicated  to  him  his  learned  and  elaborate  work,  en- 
titled the  Botanical  Materia  Medica,  in  four  volumes  8vo.  Dr 
Stores  avails  himself  of  the  public  opportunity  afforded  by  the 
dedication,  to  call  upon  Dr  Wright  to  resume  his  pen,  and  com- 
municate to  the  world  all  that  he  bad  observed  in  the  plants  and 
diseases  of  the  West  Indies.  This  eminent  botanist  speaks  of  the 
Herbarium  of  Dr  Wright,  which  he  had  seen  at  Edinburgh,  as 
one  of  the  most  complete  collections  which  had  ever  fallen  under 
his  observation.  Dr  Storks  is  understood  to  be  still  a  survivor 
of  Dr  Wright  ;  and  affords  another  instance  of  the  efficacy  of  bo- 
tanical pursuits  in  promoting  longevity. 


S§  MEMOIR  OF   DR  WIUCJHT. 

employed  by  Dr  Wlll(iHT,  are  strikingly  illustrated 
by  the  following  memorandum  :  "  In  1772,"  he  says, 
"  I  was  sent  for  to  see  a  person  ill  of  a  fever,  at  a  consid- 
erable distance  from  Orangehill.  His  name  was  Wil- 
liam Jewel,  aged  about  thirty  years,  and  by  trade 
a  cooper.  He  had  caught  the  fever  by  exposure  to 
the  heat  of  the  sun  ;  and  it  was  attended  with  the 
usual  symptoms  of  remittents.  He  had  been  attended 
by  a  person  of  no  experience,  who  had  already  admi- 
nistered several  drastic  vomits  and  purges. 

"  I  found  him  in  a  hot  room,  with  all  the  doors  and 
windows  shut,  stewing  with  warm  drinks  under  a 
load  of  bed-cloaths.  His  headach  was  great — his  thirst 
intolerable — his  skin  burning  hot ;  nor  were  the  symp- 
toms abated  by  the  partial  sweats  produced  by  the 
warm  drinks,  the  bed-cloaths,  and  the  surrounding 
curtains.  My  first  object  was  to  cool  the  atmosphere 
in  which  he  breathed.  I  drew  aside  the  curtains,  and 
caused  the  blankets  to  be  gradually  removed.  The 
door  was  opened,  and  the  Venetian  lattice  of  the  win- 
dow was  let  down,  so  as  to  admit  a  free  circulation  of 
the  external  air,  without  permitting  it  to  blow  in  the 
direction  of  the  bed  The  poor  man  was  greatly  re- 
lieved. '  Will  you,'  he  said,  '  indulge  me  with  a  cup 
of  cold  water?'  '  Most  certainly,'  I  replied,  and  hand- 
ed him  a  half  pint  tumbler.  He  drank  it  hastily, 
with  a  thousand  thanks,  and  was  much  refreshed. 
After  ten  minutes  he  begged  for  another,  which  was 
also  granted.  In  a  short  while  he  exclaimed,  '  You 
have  saved  my  life,  I  am  cool  and  comfortable  !  The 
skin  was  now  restored   to  its  natural  heat,  a  kindly 


MEMOIR  OF   DR    WEIGHT.  33 

perspiration  succeeded,  and  my  patient  was  inclined 
to  sleep.  Next  morning  he  was  perfectly  free  of  all 
complaint,  and  recovered  without  the  use  of  any  other 
medicine." 

In  the  year  1774  Sir  William  Trelawney 
was  succeeded  in  the  government  of  Jamaica  by  Sir 
Basil  Keith,  in  whom  Dr  Wright  had  the  satis- 
faction to  find  a  man  of  congenial  sentiments,  who 
could  appreciate  the  value  of  his  labours  in  the  pur- 
suit of  knowledge.  For  his  first  introduction  to  the 
new  governor,  Dr  Wright  was  indebted  to  the  late 
Dr  HorE  of  Edinburgh ;  but  soon  after  Sir  Basil's 
arrival  in  the  island,  on  the  occasion  of  his  tour  of 
inspection  of  the  territory  of  his  government,  Dr 
Wright  had  the  pleasure  of  making  his  personal  ac^ 
quaintance.  He  paid  his  respects  to  the  governor  at 
all  those  points  of  the  journey  which  were  consistent 
with  his  professional  avocations,  and  he  speaks  of  the 
entertainments  which  were  prepared,  on  this  occasion, 
by  the  principal  inhabitants,  for  the  reception  of  the 
cortege,  as  placing  the  luxury  and  splendour  of  the 
western  world  in  competition  with  the  extravagance 
of  oriental  pageantry. 

In  the  month  of  September  1774,  Dr  Wright  re- 
ceived the  appointment  of  surgeon -general  of  Jamaica, 
an  office  of  honour  and  distinction,  but  not  connected 
with  any  direct  emolument  or  revenue,  and  important 
only  as  it  indicates  the  station  to  which  Dr  Wright 
had  been  able  to  raise  himself  by  his  own  unassisted  ef- 
forts, and  as  it  marks  the  esteem  in  which  he  was 

c 


M  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

held  by  the  respectable  and  gallant  officer  to  whom 
the  government  of  the  island  had  been  entrusted. 

It  was  in  1775  that  Dr  Wright  made  known  the 
Cinchona  Jamaicensis,  a  species  of  the  Jesuit  Bark  tree 
which  he  discovered  in  the  island,  and  of  which  a  full 
description  was  afterwards  published  on  his  return  to 
Great  Britain.  The  inner  bark  of  this  species  he  re- 
commends as  equally  efficacious  in  medicine  with  that 
which  was  formerly  known  to  apothecaries,  but  like 
it  as  losing  some  of  its  valuable  qualities  by  the  ne- 
cessary process  of  desiccation. 

It  was  in  this  year  also,  that  Dr  Wright  first  ap- 
peared before  the  world  as  an  author.  A  medical 
paper  of  his  was  read  before  the  Philosophical  Society 
of  Philadelphia,  and  published  in  the  second  volume 
of  their  Transactions.  In  this  paper  a  medicine  is 
recommended  which  is  well  deserving  the  attention  of 
the  professors  of  the  healing  art  at  the  present  day. 
It  respects  the  treatment  of  diabetes,  a  disease  which 
continues  to  baffle  the  skill  of  the  most  eminent  phy- 
sicians. Some  have  attempted  to  cure  it  by  restrict- 
ing the  patient  from  vegetable  aliment,  and  confining 
him  to  the  use  of  animal  food  and  a  stimulating  regi- 
men ;  some  by  the  copious  exhibition  of  opium  ;  some 
by  blood-letting  ;  and  some  by  the  use  of  emetics  ad- 
ministered in  such  doses  as  to  occasion  nausea.  Dr 
Wright's  remedy  consisted  of  lime-juice,  saturated 
with  sea-salt ;  and  in  addition  to  the  more  direct  and 
satisfactory  evidence  which  his  own  experience  afford- 
ed, it  is  right  to  notice  the  theoretical  advantages 
which  are  claimed  for  it  by  one  of  the  most  eminent 


MEMOIR  OF  DR   WRIGHT;  .85 

chemists  of  the  present  day,  in  a  manuscript  memoir 
of  I)r  Wright,  which  has  never  been  published.  "  It 
is  remarkal)le,"  he  says,  "  that  the  usual  acids  which 
it  appears  to  be  the  province  of  the  kidneys  to  form, 
either  disappear  altogether,  or  become  exceedingly 
scanty.  These  arc  uric  acid,  sulphuric  acid,  and  phos- 
phoric acid.  In  place  of  these,  a  quantity  of  sugar  is 
found  in  the  urine,  and  must  be  produced  by  the  kid- 
neys, the  office  of  which  appears,  in  this  disease,  to  be 
perverted.  This  disappearance  of  acids  would  lead  to 
the  notion  that,  in  all  probability,  acids  might  be  use- 
ful in  this  hopeless  disease." 

The  historv  of  the  process  of  reasoning  which  leads 
to  important  discoveries,  is  always  an  interesting  sub- 
ject of  inquiry.  But,  in  the  present  case,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  dismiss  the  ingenious  hypothesis  which  has  just 
been  quoted,  without  suggesting  a  better  :  For,  in 
writing,  many  years  afterwards,  to  his  friend  Dr 
Gartshore,  in  answer  probably  to  some  inquiry  on 
the  subject,  Dr  Wright  observes,  *'  that  he  was 
not  led  to  the  use  of  his  specific  in  diabetes,  by  the 
doctrines  of  the  modern  chemistry." 

About  this  period,  also,  Dr  Wright  found  leisure 
to  write  a  number  of  those  papers  which  were  after- 
wards given  to  the  world,  on  his  return  to  Great  Bri- 
tain. This  can  only  be  accounted  for  by  the  systema- 
tic arrangement  of  his  hours  and  duties ;  by  the  adop- 
tion of  the  golden  rule,  "  A  time  for  every  thing,  and 
every  thing  in  its  time ;  a  place  for  every  thing,  and 
every  thing  in  its  place ;"  and  by  those  strict  habits  of 
temperance   and  moderation  in  all  his  appetites,  for 

C  2 


36  MEMOIR  OF  Dli  WRIGHT. 

which  he  was  distinguished.  By  this  time,  however, 
he  began  to  experience  a  yearning  desire  to  return  to 
his  native  country.  It  was  not  exactly  that  home 
sickness  to  which  the  inhabitants  of  mountainous  re- 
gions are  said  to  be  peculiarly  subject,  but  was  com- 
bined with  that  strong  affection  for  his  parents,  which, 
up  to  this  period,  was  the  master  emotion  of  his  mind. 
"  Crieff,"  he  says  in  a  letter  to  his  brother,  "  you  think 
one  of  the  finest  villages  in  Scotland.  I  thought  so 
too  :  but  if  my  ideas  are  altered  on  seeing  it  again,  I 
cannot  help  that.  I  hope  not,  and  that  I  may  find 
the  society  of  the  place,  and  its  neighbourhood,  so 
agreeable  as  to  induce  me  to  sit  down  quietly  amongst 
you.  Whether,  after  an  absence  of  eighteen  years, 
twelve  of  them  of  excessive  fatigue  in  this  sultry  cli- 
mate, my  inclination  would  lead  me,  or  my  ability  or 
strength  admit  of  my  practising  again  at  home,  I  can- 
not determine  till  I  see  you.  I  cannot  come  to  you 
till  next  summer.  It  is  enough  that  my  reasons  are 
good,  and  cannot  be  dispensed  with.  It  has  given  me 
much  concern ;  but  I  must  not  allow  my  health  or 
spirits  to  be  affected  by  it,  but  endeavour  to  preserve 
them  to  be  a  comfort  to  our  parents." 

In  the  following  year,  he  again  writes,  "  I  am  doing 
every  thing  I  can  to  get  away  from  this  island.  Pray 
remember  me  with  affection  to  my  father  and  mother, 
and  help  them  to  keep  heart.  Remember  me  also  to 
my  sister,  and  the  little  strangers.  After  an  absence 
of  nineteen  years,  my  acquaintances  in  Crieff  must  be 
few  ;  but  my  memory  is  strong ;  and  if  a  single  fea- 
ture remains  unchanged,  I  shall  be  able  to  recall  it." 

The  adjustment  of  accounts  with  their  numerous 


MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT.  37 

debtors,  appears  to  have  occupied  the  attention  of  Dr 
WEIGHT,  and  his  partner  Dr  Steel,  during  the  great- 
er part  of  the  year  1776.  Every  thing  seems  to  have 
been  conducted  in  the  most  amicable  manner,  as  well 
between  the  partners  themselves,  as  in  their  settlements 
with  third  parties.  But  at  a  period  when  the  rate  of  ex- 
change was  very  unfavourable,  Dr  Wright  found  so 
many  difficulties  in  realizing  what  was  due  to  him, 
that  he  at  length  resolved,  in  the  month  of  July  1777, 
to  embark  for  England,  and  on  the  1st  of  August,  he 
set  sail  from  Montego  Bay,  on  board  the  Thomas  Hall, 
Thomas  Mercer,  commander,  bound  for  Liverpool, 
accompanied  by  a  fleet  of  seventy-six  merchantmen, 
and  protected  by  a  convoy  of  three  ships  of  war. 

About  two  years  before  Dr  Wright's  departure 
from  Jamaica,  his  friend  and  partner  Dr  Steel  was 
married  to  the  daughter  of  a  neighbouring  planter; 
but  that  circumstance  produced  no  alteration  in  Dr 
Wright's  domestic  arrangements.  The  two  friends 
continued  to  reside  together  under  the  same  roof? 
maintaining  to  the  last  that  perfect  harmony  and  mu- 
tual good  understanding  which  had  continued  undis- 
turbed during  a  connection  of  fourteen  years.  In  his 
anxiety,  however,  to  effect  his  purpose  of  breaking 
away  from  Jamaica,  Dr  Wright  was  at  last  obliged 
to  content  himself  with  such  a  supply  of  money  as  his 
immediate  exigencies  required,  and  to  leave  the  great- 
er part  of  the  fruits  of  his  labour  to  the  proverbial  un- 
certainty of  West  India  remittances,  after  his  arrival 
in  Great  Britain. 

On  the  22d  of  August,  the  fleet  experienced  a  vio- 


38  MEMOIR  OF   DR  WRIGHT. 

lent  gale,  which  lasted  for  several  days ;  so  that  twen- 
ty-two sail  parted  company,  "  and  no  doubt  some  of 
them,"  Dr  Wright  observes,  "  have  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  rebels."  The  rest  of  the  passage  was 
stormy,  and  would  now  be  considered  tedious,  the  fleet 
having  been  at  sea  for  sixty-five  days. 

It  was  in  the  course  of  this  passage  that  an  event 
occurred,  which  is  not  only  important  as  it  affords  an 
illustration  of  Dr  Wright's  character  for  moral  cou- 
rage and  professional  skill,  but  as  it  has  become  so  pro- 
minent an  object  in  the  history  of  the  healing  art,  and 
has  had  so  material  an  influence  in  improving  the  lot  of 
humanity.  It  would  be  doing  injustice  to  the  subject 
to  record  the  fact  in  any  other  than  Dr  Wright's  own 
words. 

"  On  the  1st  of  August  1777,  I  embarked,"  he  says.. 
"  in  a  ship  bound  to  Liverpool,  and  sailed  the  same 
evening  from  Montego  Bay.  The  master  told  me  he 
had  hired  several  sailors  on  the  same  day  we  took  our 
departure,  one  of  whom  had  been  at  sick  quarters  on 
shore,  and  was  now  but  in  a  convalescent  state.  On 
the  23d  of  August,  we  were  in  the  latitude  of  the 
Bermudas,  and  had  had  a  very  heavy  gale  of  wind  for 
three  days,  when  the  above  mentioned  man  relapsed, 
and  had  a  fever,  with  symptoms  of  the  greatest  malig- 
nity. I  attended  this  person  often,  but  could  not  pre- 
vail with  him  to  be  removed  from  a  dark  and  confined 
situation,  to  a  more  airy  and  convenient  part  of  the 
ship ;  and,  as  he  refused  medicines,  and  even  food,  he 
died  on  the  eighth  day  of  his  illness. 

"  By  my  attention  to  the  sick  man.  I  caught  the  con- 


MEMOIR   OF   DB   W&1GH1  ;$9 

tagion,  and  began  to  be  indisposed  on  the  5th  oT  Sep- 
tcmber  ;  and  the  following  is  a  narrative  of  my  case. 
extracted  from  notes  daily  marked  down.  I  had  been 
many  years  in  Jamaica  ;  but  except  being  somewhat 
relaxed  by  the  climate,  and  fatigue  of  business,  I  ailed 
nothing  when  I  embarked.  This  circumstance,  how- 
ever, might  perhaps  dispose  me  more  readily  to  receive 
the  infection. 

"  September  5,  6,  7. — Small  rigors  now  and  then  ; 
a  preternatural  heat  of  the  skin  ;  a  dull  pain  in  the 
forehead ;  the  pulse  small  and  quick  ;  a  loss  of  appe- 
tite, but  no  sickness  at  the  stomach  ;  the  tongue  white 
and  slimy ;  little  or  no  thirst ;  the  belly  regular  ;  the 
urine  pale  and  rather  scanty  ;  in  the  night  restless, 
with  starting  and  delirium. 

"  September  8. — Every  symptom  aggravated,  with 
pains  in  the  loins  and  lower  limbs,  and  stiffness  in  the 
thighs  and  hams. 

"  I  took  a  gentle  vomit  on  the  second  day  of  this 
illness,  and  next  morning  a  decoction  of  tamarinds; 
at  bed-time  an  opiate,  joined  with  antimonial  wine ; 
but  this  did  not  procure  sleep,  or  open  the  pores  of  the 
skin.  No  inflammatory  symptoms  being  present,  a 
drachm  of  Peruvian  bark  was  taken  every  hour  for  six 
hours  successively,  and  now  and  then  a  glass  of  port- 
wine,  but  with  no  apparent  benefit.  When  upon 
deck,  my  pains  were  greatly  mitigated,  and  the  colder 
the  air  the  better.  This  circumstance,  and  the  failure 
of  every  means  I  had  tried,  encouraged  me  to  put  in 
practice  on  myself  what  1  had  often  wished  to  try  on 
others,  in  fevers  similar  to  my  own 


40  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

"  September  9. — Having  given  the  necessary  direc- 
tions, about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  I  stripped 
off  all  my  cloaths,  and  threw  a  sea-cloak  loosely  about 
me,  till  I  got  upon  the  deck,  when  the  cloak  also  was 
laid  aside.  Three  buckets  mil  of  salt  water  were  then 
thrown  at  once  upon  me.  The  shock  was  great,  but  I 
felt  immediate  relief.  The  headache,  and  other  pains, 
instantly  abated,  and  a  line  glow  and  diaphoresis  suc- 
ceeded. Towards  evening,  however,  the  same  febrile 
symptoms  threatened  a  return,  and  I  had  again  re- 
course to  the  same  method  as  before,  with  the  same 
good  effect.  I  now  took  food  with  an  appetite,  and, 
for  the  first  time,  had  a  sound  night's  rest. 

"  September  10. — No  fever,  but  a  little  uneasiness 
in  the  hams  and  thighs ;  used  the  cold-bath  twice. 

"  September  11. — Every  symptom  vanished  ;  but, 
to  prevent  a  relapse,  I  used  the  cold-bath  twice. 

"  Mr  Thomas  Kirk,  a  young  gentleman  passenger 
in  the  same  ship,  fell  sick  of  a  fever  on  the  9th  of  Au- 
gust. His  symptoms  were  nearly  similar  to  mine ; 
and,  having  taken  some  medicines,  without  experien- 
cing relief,  he  was  desirous  of  trying  the  cold-bath, 
which,  with  my  approbation,  he  did  on  the  11th  and 
12th  of  September  ;  and,  by  this  method,  was  happily 
restored  to  health." 

In  the  course  of  the  correspondence  which  will  fee 
introduced  in  the  sequel,  there  may  probably  be  occa- 
sion to  recur  to  this  interesting  and  important  narra- 
tive ;  but  it  is  proper,  in  this  place,  so  far  to  antici- 
pate the  chronological  order  of  events,  as  to  notice 
that  the  narrative  itself  was   communicated   to   the 


MEMOIR  OF  DK  WRIGHT.  41 

London  Medical  Society  in  1779,  and  was  published 
by  Dr  Simmons,  in  the  London  Medical  Journal  for 
178b*. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  circumstances,  and  of  the 
general  train  of  reasoning  which  led  Dr  Weight  to 
the  adoption  of  this  bold  and  successful  experiment  on 
his  own  person,  it  may  here  be  mentioned,  that,  in  the 
course  of  his  practice  in  Jamaica,  he  had  repeatedly 
employed  the  cold  bath  in  cases  of  tetanus,  or  locked 
jaw,  and  other  convulsive  disorders.  On  this  subject, 
Dr  James  Lind,  in  the  fourth  edition  of  his  Essay  on 
the  Diseases  of  Hot  Climates,  page  271,  published  at 
Edinburgh  in  1778,*  puts  the  following  inquiries  : — 
"  As  the  locked  jaw  most  frequently  makes  its  appear- 
ance in  warm  weather,  and  in  hot  countries,  would  not 
an  immediate  change  of  air  prove  the  means  of  saving 
the  patient's  life  ?  And  where  it  is  impossible  to  re- 
move the  patient  into  a  cool  air,  would  not  some  be- 
nefit be  derived  from  the  immersion  of  the  whole 
body,  or  part  of  it,  in  cold  water,  adding  frequently 
sal  ammoniac,  or  nitre,  in  such  quantities,  that,  by 
their  continual  solution,  the  water  may  acquire  the 
utmost  degree  of  coldness  ?  Agreeable  to  this,  my 
friend  Dr  Wright  has  of  late  very  successfully 
employed  at  Jamaica,  the  affusion  of  cold  water 
on  the  naked  body,  in  cases  of  locked  jaw." 

The  ancients  were  undoubtedly  acquainted  with  the 
advantages  of  the  cold  bath  in  this  disease  ;  but  they 
supposed  that  its  beneficial  effects  did  not  extend  to 
such  cases  as  originated  in  wounds,  or  local  injuries ; 

*  The  first  edition  appeared  in  1768. 


42  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

a  limitation  of  its  efficacy  which  Dr  Wright  ascer- 
tained to  be  erroneous. 

On  his  arrival  in  Liverpool,  on  the  5th  of  October 
1777,   he  found  that  the  debility  produced  by  the 
fever,  and  the  discomforts  attending  a  tedious  passage 
in    stormy   weather,   had   considerably  impaired   his 
general  health.    To  this  was  added  the  state  of  hazard 
and  uncertainty  attending  a  West  India  investment 
of  property,  which  at  that  time  was  greatly  enhanced 
by  the  alarm  which  had  arisen  as  to  the  future  stabi- 
lity of  the  whole   trans-atlantic   possessions   of  the 
crown.     Above  all,  he  was  agitated  by  the  contending 
emotions  created  by  the  desire  to  proceed  to  Scot- 
land, and  embrace  his  parents  and  his  friends ;  and  by 
the  opposing  calls  of  prudence  and  of  duty  which  re- 
quired him  to  direct  his  steps  to  the  metropolis,  for 
the  superintendance  and  protection  of  his  own  pecuni- 
ary interests,  with  those  of  his  partner  Dr  Steel,  and 
other  friends  in  Jamaica,  the  charge  of  which  his  obli- 
ging disposition   had   prompted   him   to   undertake. 
These  latter  considerations  predominated ;  and  after 
recruiting  his  strength  for  a  few  days  at  Liverpool,  he 
proceeded  by  easy  stages  to  London. 

During  his  stay  in  London,  Dr  Wright  resided  with 
his  friend  Dr  Gartshore,  who  had  established  him- 
self in  a  lucrative  and  respectable  practice  in  St  Martin's 
Lane,  in  the  obstetric  department  of  the  profession. 
The  correspondence  he  had  long  maintained  on  lite- 
rary and  scientific  subjects  with  Mr  Banks  and  Dr  So- 
lakdeb,  those  accomplished  naturalists,  and  enlight- 
ened men,  who  had  already  circumnavigated  the  globe 
in  quest  of  knowledge,  afforded  him  a  ready  introduc- 


MEMOIK   Ol     DR    WRIGHT.  43 

tion  to  classes  of  society,  to  the  enjoyment  ofwhich 
it  is  no  mean  ambition  to  aspire.  He  writes  with  rap- 
ture of  the  weekly  conferences  at  the  house  of  Sir  John 
Pringle — those  nodes  canaeque  deum, — at  which 
he  had  often  the  happiness  to  assist ;  and  there  is  no 
limit  to  the  enthusiasm  with  which  he  expatiates  on  the 
celebrated  collection  of  Mr  Banks,  to  which  he  had 
the  satisfaction  of  adding  several  hundreds  of  speci- 
mens. Among  his  personal  friends,  he  had  the  plea- 
sure of  ranking  ])r  Fothergill  and  Dr  William 
Pitc  aiiin,  two  distinguished  collectors,  between  whom 
there  subsisted  an  honourable  and  friendly  rivalship, 
to  the  amusement  of  their  contemporaries,  and  the 
benefit  of  science,  for  priority  and  precedence  in  the 
number  and  the  rarity  of  their  acquisitions. 

In  such  circles,  the  company  of  Dr  Wright  was 
courted,  from  the  ample  store  of  information  he  pos- 
sessed, and  from  the  talent  for  conversation  which  en- 
abled him  to  make  his  knowledge  at  all  times  available, 
independent  of  the  rich  collection  of  exotics  which  he 
brought  with  him  to  Europe,  and  the  liberality  with 
which  he  shared  his  riches  with  his  numerous  friends. 

Soon  after  his  arrival  in  London,  he  was  induced  to 
submit  a  memoir  to  the  Royal  Society,  at  that  time  un- 
der the  presidency  of  Sir  John  Pringle,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  tlie  cabbage-bark  tree  of  Jamaica,  which  was  pub- 
lished with  illustrative  engravings,  in  the  Philosophical 
Transactions  for  1778.  Ostensibly  as  an  acknowledge- 
ment for  this  communication,  but  rather,  as  he  inclin- 
ed to  regard  it,  in  testimony  of  the  friendship  of  Aii 
Banks,  and  the  other  magnates  of  the  aristocracy  of 
letters,  he  was  admitted  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society. 


44  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

after  the  shortest  period  of  probation  which  was  con- 
sistent with  the  due  observance  of  its  rules. 

The  hours  which  could  be  spared  from  the  import- 
ant duties  which  detained  him  in  London,  he  had 
thus  the  fullest  opportunity  of  employing  with  advan- 
tage and  satisfaction.  In  the  Royal  Gardens  at  Kew, 
that  noble  monument  of  the  taste  and  munificence  of 
George  III,  Dr  Wright  possessed  peculiar  sources 
of  information  and  enjoyment,  in  watching  the  progress 
of  those  natives  of  the  torrid  zone,  which  he  had  formerly 
transmitted  to  Mr  Aiton,  the  superintendant,  as  a  con- 
tribution to  this  splendid  epitome  of  all  that  is  rare  and 
valuable  in  the  vegetable  kingdom.  In  Mr  Aiton 
himself,  the  respectable  author  of  the  Hortus  Kew- 
ensis,  he  found  an  able  and  obliging  assistant  in  his 
botanical  researches  ;  so  that  in  the  society  of  his 
literary  friends  in  London,  and  in  his  devotions  at  the 
shrine  of  Flora,  in  this  her  favourite  retreat,  he  found 
alternate  sources  of  solace,  from  those  harassing  cares 
which  threatened  to  deprive  him,  and  the  friends  for 
whom  he  had  toiled,  of  the  hard  earned  fruits  of 
twenty  years'  labour  and  anxiety. 

To  an  original  thinker  like  Dr  Wright,  who  ad- 
mitted no  dictum  upon  mere  authority,  nor  any 
theory  without  evidence,  it  was  no  inconsiderable  ad- 
vantage to  have  an  opportunity  of  submitting  the 
views  which  had  been  elicited,  under  the  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances of  a  tropical  climate,  and  an  insulated 
situation,  to  the  candid  and  confidential  examination 
of  the  highest  names  in  the  profession.  At  the  stated 
meetings  of  the  London  Medical  Society,  and  at  the 


MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT.  4>5 

private  houses  of  many  of  its  most  distinguished  mem- 
bers, he  enjoyed  this  advantage  in  a  very  eminent  de- 
gree ;  and  while  at  these  interesting  interviews  he 
supplied  his  full  quota  of  ratiocination  and  discovery, 
he  was  enabled  to  bring  up  the  state  of  his  informa- 
tion to  the  level  of  the  latest  improvements  in  the 
medical  art.  It  was  on  the  records  of  the  Medical 
Society,  that  the  evidence  was  preserved  of  Dr 
Wright's  indisputable  priority  in  the  use  of  cold 
water  in  fever,  by  the  communication  of  that  remark- 
able narrative,  from  which  an  extract  has  already  been 
given.  But  although  the  narrative  itself  was  read  at 
three  different  meetings  of  the  Society,  and  although 
it  was  communicated  in  consequence  of  a  request  that 
it  should  appear  in  the  sixth  volume  of  the  Medical 
Reports ;  yet  such  is  the  force  of  prejudice  in  the 
highest  walks  of  a  profession  which  claims,  par  excel- 
lence, the  palm  of  liberality,  that  the  interesting  paper, 
and  the  important  facts  which  it  recorded,  were  silent- 
ly suppressed ;  so  that  it  was  not  given  to  the  world 
until  the  second  return  of  Dr  Wright  from  the 
West  Indies  in  1786. 

In  consequence  of  the  gloom  which  at  this  period 
pervaded  the  western  horizon,  and  of  the  probability 
which  thence  arose  of  its  being  necessary  to  resume 
the  practice  of  his  profession,  Dr  Wright  was  warmly 
urged  by  many  of  those  friends  who  could  appreciate 
his  talents,  and  were  acquainted  with  his  medical  skill, 
to  set  himself  down  as  a  physician  in  the  metropolis. 
But  whether  from  a  certain  diffidence  of  manner  in  the 
presence  of  strangers,  which,  in  his  case,  may  be  said 


46  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

to  have  been  constitutional,  and  the  total  want  of  that 
brusquerie  and  self-assurance,  so  necessary  to  success 
in  this  bustling  profession  ;  or  whether  he  was  actua- 
ted by  an  undefined  and  lurking  preference  for  the 
northern  capital,  he  hesitated  about  the  adoption  of 
the  advice  which  was  offered  him  ;  and  at  length  re- 
solved, as  appears  by  a  letter  to  his  brother,  to  be 
guided  by  the  opinion  of  his  friends  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Tweed. 

Dr  Wright  left  London  on  the  15th  of  January 
1778,  and  arrived  soon  afterwards  in  Edinburgh. 
From  thence  he  proceeded  to  Crieff,  where,  if  we  may 
judge  from  the  hiatus  in  the  correspondence  with  his 
brother,  he  appears  to  have  made  a  stay  of  several 
months. 

When  a  young  man  sets  out  in  life  with  firmness 
of  character  and  habits  of  reflection,  sufficient  to  guide 
him,  unassisted,  on  his  onward  path,  he  generally  pro- 
poses some  object  in  the  distance  as  the  goal  for  which 
he  is  to  strive.  In  the  case  of  Dr  Wright,  the  even 
tenor  of  his  way  was  never  disturbed  by  any  project  of 
unreasonable  ambition.  The  purpose  of  contributing 
to  the  comfort  of  his  parents  in  their  declining  years, 
was,  in  his  case,  more  a  passion  than  a  duty.  It  con- 
strained him  to  hasten  his  departure  from  Jamaica 
prematurely  ;  and  the  pain  and  disappointment  he  ex- 
perienced must  have  been  proportionably  aggravated, 
when  he  found  his  expected  remittances  so  miserably 
deficient  as  to  be  little  more  than  equal  to  his  own 
immediate  wants. 

With  the  view  of  offering  some   tangible  induce- 


MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT.  47 

incut  to  Dr  Wright  to  take  up  his  abode  among  his 
friends  in  Perthshire,  his  brother  had,  some  time  be- 
fore his  arrival,  erected  a  house  for  him,  which  was  al- 
ways known  in  the  neighbourhood  as  "  Dr  Wright's 
house."'  To  insure  its  fitness  in  point  of  warmth  and 
comfort  for  the  reception  of  a  visitor  from  the  torrid 
zone,  Mr  James  Wright  and  his  family  had  removed 
into  it,  leaving  their  own  house  unoccupied,  to  wait 
Dr  Wright's  arrival.  But  in  the  painful  state  of 
uncertainty  in  which  he  found  his  affairs  to  be  involv- 
ed, he  thought  it  best  for  the  present  to  forego  any  se- 
parate establishment,  until  he  should  be  able  to  form 
some  definite  resolution  as  to  his  future  mode  of  life. 
He  continued  to  foster  the  hope,  that  such  a  favour- 
able change  might  arise  in  the  aspect  of  public  affairs, 
as  would  enable  him,  by  realizing  his  West  India  in- 
vestments, to  accomplish  a  long  cherished  purpose  of 
purchasing  some  small  estate  in  his  native  county. 
In  the  mean  while,  he  would  not  permit  his  brother's 
family  to  return  to  the  inferior  accommodations  of 
their  own  residence,  but  proposed,  until  better  times 
should  arrive,  to  reside  with  them  in  the  new  house,  as 
their  friendly  lodger. 

It  was  in  the  course  of  this  visit  that  Dr  Wright, 
with  his  usual  warmth  of  feeling,  attached  himself, 
with  paternal  tenderness,  to  his  nephew,  James 
Wright,  the  only  son  of  his  brother,  a  boy  at  that 
time  about  eight  years  of  age.  He  undertook  to  su- 
perintend, as  well  as  to  defray  the  expence  of,  his  edu- 
cation— a  duty  which  he  discharged  with  exemplary 
fidelity ;  and  thus,   by  a  reciprocity  of  the  most  en. 


48  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

clearing  sentiments  of  gratitude  and  affection,  drew 
close  the  ties  which  nature  has  entwined  around  the 
domestic  hearth.  Thus  arose  an  attachment  afford- 
ing scope  and  exercise  for  the  best  and  purest  attri- 
butes of  humanity,  but  liable,  alas !  like  all  human 
possessions,  to  premature  decay.  Let  us  indulge  the 
delightful  assurance,  that  the  interruption  which  their 
intercourse  sustained  by  the  too  early  death  of  a  young 
man  of  the  highest  promise,  was  only  destined  to  con- 
tinue for  a  season,  and  that  their  restoration  to  each 
other  has  now  been  placed  beyond  the  reach  of  ca- 
sualty or  change. 

In  the  course  of  the  summer  of  1778,  Dr  Wright 
made  the  tour  of  the  west  of  Scotland,  partly  in  pur- 
suit of  the  objects  of  that  delightful  science  which 

Finds  tongues  in  trees,  books  in  the  running  brooks, 
Sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  every  thing — 

and  partly  with  a  view  to  make  the  personal  acquaint- 
ance of  those  literary  and  scientific  correspondents 
with  whom  he  had  long  been  on  habits  of  epistolary 
intercourse.  Of  this  number  was  the  Earl  of  Buchan, 
at  whose  seat,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Linlithgow, 
Dr  Wright  spent  several  happy  days. 

On  his  arrival  in  Edinburgh,  at  the  conclusion  of 
his  tour,  Dr  Wright  was  invited  to  become  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Royal  College  of  physicians.  But  in  the 
uncertainty  under  which  he  still  laboured  as  to  the 
course  which  it  might  be  necessary  for  him  to  pursue, 
and  in  the  precarious  condition  in  which  his  finances 
unfortunately  remained,  making  so  small  a  matter  as 


\n..\ioii:  OF  DB  WRIGHT.  49 

L.50  an  object  of  some  consideration,  he  judged  it 
prudent  to  postpone  at  least  the  acceptance  of  the 
honour  proposed  to  him.  He  did  not  hesitate,  how- 
ever, to  avail  himself  of  the  opportunity  which  was 
afforded  him  by  the  politeness  of  the  profession,  of 
profiting  by  the  lectures  of  Black,  Monro,  and 
Cullen,  whose  reputation  at  that  time  shed  a  lustre 
around  this  northern  seat  of  science. 

About  this  period,  also,  he  writes  to  his  brother, 
that  a  number  of  literary  gentlemen,  consisting  chief- 
ly of  physicians,  lawyers,  and  divines,  had  formed 
themselves  into  a  Philosophical  Society  a  few  months 
before  *  "  While  last  at  Crieff,"  he  says,  "  I  was  elect- 
ed a  member.  They  mean  to  publish  periodical  vo- 
lumes of  literary  and  philosophical  essays,  and  as  my 
stock  of  observation  is  considerable,  I  shall  be  at  no 
loss  in  furnishing  my  quota." 

On  the  death  of  his  friend  Dr  Ramsay,  the  Pro- 
fessor of  Natural  History  in  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh, in  the  month  of  December  1778,  a  proposal 
was  made  to  Dr  Wright  to  become  his  successor ; 
but  although  it  was  never  doubted  by  the  patrons  of 
the  University  that  Dr  Wright  was  peculiarly  fitted 
to  conduct  the  study  of  a  science  in  which  his  mind 
had  been  so  deeply  engaged  for  the  greater  part  of  his 
life,  yet  he  thought  it  right  to  discourage,  and  at 
length  definitively  to  decline,  the  proposal,  in  conse- 
quence, as  it  appears  from  his  letters  to  his  brother,  of 
certain  scrupulous  misgivings  as  to  his  own  qualifica- 
tions in  some  subordinate  departments  of  the  science. 

*  This  Institution  gave  rise  to  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh. 

D 


50  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

The  summer  of  1779  was  again  devoted  to  his 
friends  in  Perthshire,  so  that  another  blank  has  been 
created  in  the  correspondence  with  his  brother,  from 
whence  the  greater  part  of  the  materials  lias  been  de- 
rived for  the  earlier  portion  of  these  imperfect  sketches. 
His  brother  seems  to  have  been  urging  him  thus  ear- 
ly to  assist  in  the  choice  of  a  profession  for  his  ne- 
phew. In  a  letter  dated  from  Edinburgh,  he  says, 
"  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  from  Jemmy.  His  profes- 
sion in  life  must  be  left  to  himself.  I  wish  it  may  be 
one  that  will  not  oblige  him  to  wander,  as  I  have 
done,  amidst  a  thousand  difficulties,  anxieties  and  dan- 
gers." It  was  in  this  year  that  Dr  Wright  had  to 
lament  the  loss  of  his  father,  at  the  age  of  84,  a  cir- 
cumstance which  only  tended  to  strengthen  the  bonds 
of  affection  between  him  and  the  other  members  of  his 
family. 

On  the  18th  of  September  1779,  he  writes  to  his 
brother,  that  a  squadron  of  French  men  of  war  had 
been  cruising  in  the  estuary  of  the  Forth  for  several 
days.  He  mentions  that  they  had  made  a  number  of 
captures,  and  appeared  to  threaten  a  descent  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Leith.  On  the  23d  of  September, 
he  again  writes,  "  I  have  received  all  the  things  you 
mention — the  sword  in  good  condition.  He  that 
would  not  draw  one  in  defence  of  his  country,  is  un- 
worthy to  live  in  it.'' 

At  the  instance  of  his  friend  Mr  Banks,  who  had 
now  been  called  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  fel- 
lows to  the  chair  of  the  Royal  Society,  Dr  Wright 
was  induced  to  direct  his  views  once  more  to  the  island 


MEMOIR  OF  Di;  wricmt.  51 

of  Jamaica,  which,  with  our  other  West  India  posses- 
sions, had  long  been  menaced  by  a  powerful  arma- 
ment under  the  French  admiral  D'ESTAIGN.  About 
the  end  of  the  year  1779,  a  corps  of  infantry  was  raised 
under  the  name  of  the  Jamaica  Regiment,  a  condition 
of  whose  sen  ices  it  was  that  the  corps  should  not  be 
called  on  to  do  military  duty  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
single  island  for  the  protection  of  which  it  was  origi- 
nally organized.  This  regiment  was  given  to  General 
Rainsford,  a  near  relation  of  Mr  Banks,  through 
whom  Dr  Wright  received  the  appointment  of  re- 
gimental surgeon,  an  office  which  he  accepted  the 
more  readily,  as  it  afforded  him  the  prospect  of  a  fa- 
vourable opportunity  for  placing  his  pecuniary  con- 
cerns in  a  more  satisfactory  position. 

Before  leaving  Edinburgh  on  this  occasion  to  as- 
sume the  medical  charge  of  the  troops,  Dr  Wright 
was  induced  to  become  a  licentiate  of  the  Royal  Col- 
lege of  Physicians,  with  a  view  probably  to  his  be- 
coming a  fellow  of  that  respectable  body  on  his  return. 

The  first  detachment,  consisting  of  five  hundred 
men,  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Balfour,  with  whom  Dr  Wright  pro- 
ceeded from  London  to  Warwick  on  the  1st  of  April 
1780.  In  external  appearance  and  physical  force, 
the  detachment  is  described  as  a  fine  body  of  men, 
but  ranking,  in  point  of  morals,  on  the  very  low- 
est level,  having  chiefly  been  drafted  from  the  over- 
flowings of  the  London  prisons,  and  several  of  them 
having  been  recognized  by  Dr  Wright  as  the  lead- 
ers of  the  mutiny  in  one  of  the  regiments  of  Scottish 

u  2 


52  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

fencibles,  which,  concurring  with  the  presence  of  a 
French  squadron  in  the  Firth  of  Forth,  created  so 
much  alarm  in  Edinburgh  in  the  year  1779. 

On  their  arrival  at  Hillsea  Barracks,  Portsmouth, 
on  the  23d  of  June,  the  troops  were  reviewed  by  Gene- 
ral Monkton,  and,  on  the  27th  of  July,  they  were 
embarked  on  board  the  transports  prepared  for  their 
reception,  which,  with  a  fleet  of  merchantmen,  amount- 
ing in  all  to  fifty-five  sail  of  unarmed  vessels,  were 
placed  under  the  protection   of  the  Ramilies  74,  the 
Thetis  and  Southampton  frigates      On  the  29th,  the 
fleet  was  joined  off  Portsmouth  by  the  Inflexible  74, 
and  two  other  ships  of  war,  by  whom  they  were  at- 
tended for  eight  days,  until  their  force  was  strength- 
ened after  clearing  the  Channel,  by  a  powerful  arma- 
ment under  the  command  of  Admiral  Geary.     On 
board  the  Morant  transport,  in  which  Dr  Wright 
had   embarked,  he   had  for   messmates   Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Balfour,  Captain  Croker,  and  three  sub- 
alterns, besides  the  Adjutant  of  the  regiment,  his  wife, 
and  four  children.     Two  full  companies  of  the  corps, 
with  women  and  children,  made  the  total  number,  ex- 
clusive of  mariners,  amount  to  202  persons  on  board 
the  Morant.     The  squadron  under  Admiral  Geary, 
with  a  fleet  of  Indiamen,  soon  afterwards  parted  com- 
pany, so  that  the  fleet  from  Portsmouth  was  again  left 
under  the  exclusive  guardianship  of  the  Ramilies,  the 
Thetis  and  Southampton. 

Two  days  after  the  separation,  a  dense  fog  arose, 
and  at  day-break,  on  the  following  morning,  when  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Cape  St  Vincent,  the  Morant 


MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT.  '53 

found  herself  under  the  wake  of  a  line  of  battle  ship, 
bearing  Spanish  colours,  and  a  Vi(£-AdmiraPs  flag.  At 
a  short  distance  they  could  descry  several  French  men- 
of-war,  one  of  whom  was  distinguished  by  a  Rear-Ad- 
miral's flag ;  and  it  soon  became  obvious  that  the  whole 
of  the  transports  and  merchantmen  had  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  the  combined  fleets  of  France  and  Spain, 
— a  loss,  perhaps,  the  greatest  which  the  mercantile 
navy  of  Great  Britain  had  ever  sustained.  The  force 
of  the  enemy  was  so  overwhelming  that  any  attempt 
at  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Commodore  would  have 
been  quite  unjustifiable.  The  return  of  the  fog  af- 
forded the  only  chance  of  escape ;  and  in  this  they 
were  disappointed.  The  ships,  however,  were  cleared 
for  action  :  Cabins  and  catheads  were  knocked  away  : 
the  soldiers  were  placed  under  arms ;  and  such  guns 
as  they  had  on  board  the  Morant  were  cleaned  and 
prepared  for  the  reception  of  the  enemy.  These  pre- 
parations having  been  observed  on  board  of  the 
Spanish  Admiral,  the  Morant  was  saluted  with  a 
broadside,  which  being  directed  chiefly  to  the  rigging, 
cost  them  the  life  only  of  one  poor  woman,  the  wife 
of  a  sergeant  of  the  regiment.  The  Adjutant  and 
his  family  were  permitted  to  remain  on  board  the 
Morant ;  but  the  other  officers  were  transhipped  to  the 
Bourgogne,  a  French  74  ;  and  having  been  permitted 
to  carry  with  them  their  personal  luggage,  Dr 
Wright  had  the  address  to  secrete  the  colours  of  his 
regiment  in  one  of  his  trunks,  and  two  days  afterwards, 
when  on  board  the  Bourgogne,  to  get  them  thorough- 
ly destroyed. 


/)4  MEMOIR  OF  Dlt  WRIGHT. 

The  British  officers  were  greatly  amused  with  the 
manners  of  the  Frenchmen,  and  with  their  habits  and 
discipline,  or  rather  want  of  discipline,  on  ship-board. 
M.  Mariex,  the  commander  of  the  Bourgogne,  is  de- 
scribed as  a  sloven  in  his  dress,  at  table  a  gourmand, 
and  a  gascon  in  conversation.  The  favourite  topic  of 
the  day  was  the  supremacy  of  the  House  of  Bourbon, 
and  the  speedy  prostration  of  all  Europe,  before  the 
arms  of  the  Allies.  On  the  29th  of  August,  the  fleet 
cast  anchor  in  the  Bay  of  Cadiz,  and,  on  the  3d  of 
September,  the  British  officers  were  placed  on  their 
parole,  and  permitted  to  land.  On  this  occasion  Dr 
Wright  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  escaping  from 
the  courtesies  of  M.  Marien,  who  thought  it  neces- 
sary to  express  his  sorrow  at  parting  with  his  prisoners, 
by  kissing  them  from  ear  to  ear, 

The  officers  were  landed  at  Santa  Maria,  and  con- 
ducted to  the  Passado,  where  they  were  civilly  saluted 
by  well  dressed  people  of  both  sexes,  with  "  How  do 
senor  Inglese."  They  afterwards  went  to  the  amphi- 
theatre to  see  a  bull-baiting,  which  seems  to  have  been 
a  sad  scene  of  butchery,  nine  wretched  animals  having 
been  first  goaded  to  madness,  and  then  destroyed  ;  but 
the  Spaniards  pronounced  it  poor  sport,  as  neither  man 
nor  horse  had  suffered  any  injury. 

On  the  following  day  they  were  marched  into  the 
interior,  under  a  military  escort,  commanded  by  an 
Irish  officer  in  the  Spanish  service,  of  the  name  of 
Malone.  The  town  of  Xeres  de  la  Frontera,  so  fa- 
mous for  its  white  wine,  completed  the  first  day's 
march ;   having  passed  through  a  district  in  a  high 


MEMOIK   01    DR   WRIGH  I  .  j.'> 

state  of  cultivation,  and  remarkable  chiefly  for  its  rich 
plantation  of  olives  ;  but  they  arrived  too  late  for  any 
better  supper  than  bread  and  cheese,  with  a  seasoning 
of  garlic  ;  nor  could  they  prevail  on  their  host  to  pro- 
duce a  flask  of  sherry,  except  such  as  was  too  new  to  be 
fit  for  the  table.  The  next  day's  inarch  brought  them 
to  Arcos,  where  the  British  officers  found  themselves 
to  be  objects  of  great  interest  to  the  wondering  na- 
tives. They  had  now  arrived  at  the  location  assigned 
for  them  by  the  Spanish  authorities ;  and  they  lost  no 
time  in  making  themselves  as  comfortable  as  the  place 
and  the  circumstances  would  admit. 

Arcos  is  a  town  of  Moorish  origin,  situate  on  the 
summit  of  an  eminence  on  the  banks  of  the  Guadalete, 
which,  in  the  course  of  ages,  has  worn  itself  a  deep  and 
precipitous  channel,  and  has  in  several  places  under- 
mined the  ancient  buildings  and  fortifications  of  the 
town.  During  their  residence  in  Andalusia,  the  Bri- 
tish officers  had  frequent  occasion  to  place  the  activity 
and  industry  of  their  own  countrymen  in  favourable 
contrast  with  the  habits  of  the  natives.  The  narrow 
streets  of  Arcos  were  constantly  thronged  with  crowds 
of  idlers,  in  such  extraordinary  numbers  as  to  induce 
Dr  W  might  to  make  some  general  enquiry  on  the 
subject.  From  the  result  he  was  led  to  the  conclu- 
sion, that  the  modern  Spaniards  had  sadly  degenerated 
from  their  forefathers,  in  every  moral  quality,  and  that 
industry  and  virtue  had  in  a  great  measure  been  exi- 
led from  the  Peninsula  with  the  Moors.  During  the 
olive  season,  and  the  period  of  the  vintage,  which  to- 
gether do  not  occupy  more  than  two  or  three  months, 


60  MEMOIR  OF  1)11  WRIGHT. 

these  people  are  able  to  earn  enough  to  support  them- 
selves in  idleness  for  the  remainder  of  the  year ;  but 
this,  perhaps,  affords  only  another  modification  of  a 
principle  which  is  common  to  human  nature.  In  fa- 
vourable seasons  our  own  artisans  are  known  to  work 
only  so  many  days  of  the  week  as  will  enable  them 
to  devote  the  remainder  to  idleness  and  relaxation. 
The  machinery  of  the  olive-press  was  of  a  most  im- 
perfect description,  similar  in  form,  but  inferior  in 
power,  to  that  which  was  then  used  in  Scotland,  in  the 
manufacture  of  linseed  oil.  The  flocks  of  sheep  in  the 
neighbourhood  are  spoken  of  as  highly  valuable ;  and 
great  attention  appears  to  have  been  paid  to  the  pro- 
cess of  irrigation,  by  which  the  value  of  the  pasture 
was  materially  enhanced. 

Within  a  circuit,  of  which  Arcos  was  the  centre, 
the  radius  being  equal  to  six  English  miles,  the 
British  officers  were  allowed  to  ramble,  and  to  en- 
joy the  amusements  of  fishing  and  shooting.  In  the 
sluggish  and  muddy  waters  of  the  Guadalete,  they 
found  abundance  of  eels  and  mullet ;  and  on  the  banks, 
a  rich  variety  of  aquatic  plants,  for  the  commencement 
of  a  new  herbarium,  Dr  Wright  having  lost  the  va- 
luable collection  which  he  had  brought  with  him  from 
England,  on  his  transhipment  from  the  Morant  to 
the  Bourgogne.  On  the  one  side,  the  mountains  of 
Grenada  encroached  on  their  allotted  boundary,  and  af- 
forded considerable  variety  to  the  sports  of  the  field. 
On  the  low  grounds  they  had  a  great  variety  of  wild 
fowl,  with  hares  and  rabbits  in  abundance  ;  but  the 
sportsmen  of  the  party  found  their  chief  amusement 


MEM-OIB   OF   DB   WRIGHT.  UJ 

in  hunting  the  wolf  on  the  first  rise  of  the  moun- 
tains. 

While  the  other  officers,  however,  were  restricted  to 
these  narrow  limits,  the  medical  skill  of  Dr  Wright 
introduced  him  to  a  wider  circle  of  usefulness  and  en- 
joyment. In  many  of  the  diseases  which  he  had  occa- 
sion to  notice  during  the  excessive  heats  of  September 
and  October,  he  observed  a  strong  analogy  with  those 
which  are  usually  described  as  peculiar  to  tropical  re- 
gions ;  and  the  remedies  which  this  analogy  suggested, 
were  found  to  be  attended  with  the  most  successful 
results. 

The  ridicule  of  their  great  national  satirist  appears 
to  have  never  reached  the  medical  practitioners  of  Ar- 
cos.  Bloodletting  and  warm-water,  the  favourite  prac- 
tice of  Sangradoj  was  here  the  order  of  the  day.  At  this 
period,  indeed,  the  medical  student  enjoyed  no  other 
means  of  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  his  profession  than 
by  living  in  family  with  a  practising  physician,  and  at- 
tending him  on  his  visits  to  his  patients.  At  Sala- 
manca and  Seville,  and  most  of  the  other  Spanish  uni- 
versities, the  course  of  study  seems  to  have  been  con- 
fined to  the  philosophy  of  Akistotle,  the  doctrines 
of  civil  law,  and  the  tenets  of  scholastic  divinity. 
There  was,  it  is  said,  at  that  time  but  one  demonstrator 
in  anatomy  in  the  whole  province  of  Andalusia,  and  his 
residence  was  at  Cadiz.  Surgery  was  in  consequence 
in  the  lowest  state  of  degradation.  The  business  of 
the  apothecary  was  distinct,  indeed,  from  the  practice 
of  the  physician  :  but  surgical  operations  were  an 
object    of   competition    between    the    apothecary  and 


58  •         MEMOIR  OF   DR  WRIGHT. 

the  barben  At  the  shops  of  the  apothecaries  Dr 
Weight  found  the  greatest  difficulty  in  supplying 
himself  with  the  medicines  he  reo^ired.  The  pr«r 
scriptions  of  the  physicianslie  found  as  tedious,  and 
their  materia  medica  as  complicated,  as  they  had  been 
in  Great  Britain  a  century  before.  But,  as  the  prin- 
ciples of  inductive  reasoning  had  not*  yet  found  their 
way  into  the  Spanish  seats  of  learning,  it  was  not  to 
be  supposed  that  the  simplicity  of  modern  science 
could  be  successfully  applied  to  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine, until  the  light  of  knowledge  was  more  generally 
diffused. 

The  simplicity,,  the  novelty,  and  success  of  Dr 
Wright's  practice  among  his  brother  officers,  and 
their  families,  soon  attracted  the  attention  of  the  gen- 
tlemen of  Arcos  and  its  neighbourhood.  In  cases  of 
difficult  labour,  it  was  a  recognised  rule  that  the  in- 
fant should,  if  possible,  be  saved,  although  at  the  ex- 
pence  of  the  life  of  the  mother  ;  and  the  reason  as- 
signed for  it  was,  that  another  christian  might  be  add- 
ed to  the  church.  A  rule  so  abhorrent  to  the  feelings 
of  humanity,  was  followed  by  its  natural  result.  The 
compulsory  care  of  the  physician  was  terminated  by 
the  ceremony  of  baptism ;  and  from  thenceforth  the 
young  christian  was  consigned  to  the  care  of  some  ig- 
norant domestic. 

Dr  Wright's  introduction  to  the  native  society 
of  Arcos,  originated  in  a  case  of  this  kind  Don  An- 
drea Cambrea,  a  man  of  considerable  fortune,  and 
of  high  rank  in  the  secular  department  of  the  priest- 
hood,  waited  on  Dr  Wright,  and  represented  to  him 


MEMOIR  &e  ni;  WRIGHT.  59 

that  the  infant  daughter  of  his  brother  was  so  danger- 
ously ill  that  the  family  physician  had  declined  to  pre- 
scribe for  her.  Having  prevailed  on  DrW«  IGHT  to  visit 
the  little  girl,  he  found  a  case  of  fever  incident  to  child- 
hood, which  happily  yielded  to  the  antimonial  powder 
which  he  administered.  From  this  period  his  hands 
were  full  of  practice  ;  and  leave  was  obtained  for  him, 
in  several  important  cases,  to  extend  his  visits  far  be- 
yond the  line  by  which  the  rambles  of  his  fellow  pri- 
soners were  circumscribed. 

On  one  occasion,  he  Was  requested  to  proceed  to 
Cadiz  to  attend  a  lady,  whose  case  had  been  given  up 
as  hopeless  by  the  physicians  of  tha  place.  On  his  ar- 
rival there,  he  found  to  his  surprise  that  his  patient 
was  a  near  relation  of  his  old  friend  Butler,  the  sur- 
geon of  the  Intrepid,  and  that  she  had  been  one'  of  a 
family  of  children  who  had  sailed  with  him  as  passen- 
gers from  Gibraltar  to  England,  in  the  year  1759. 
The  family  had  been  for  some  time  settled  in  Cadiz ; 
and  such  of  them  as  chanced  to  have  been  born  in 
Gibraltar  were  recognised  as  Spanish  subjects  by  the 
authorities  of  the  place.  •  It  was  otherwise  with  the 
older  branches,  who  were  natives  of  Ireland.  They 
were  regarded  as  aliens,  and  were  forced  to  reside  at  a 
distance  from  their  friends,  in  the  interior  of  the  coun- 
try, where  several  of  them  had  formed  connections 
with  native  families  of  distinction.  Through  this 
channel  Dr  Wright  was  enabled  to  recover  a  part  of 
the  property  which  he  had  been  induced  to  abandon 
on  board  the  Morant,  in  his  anxiety  to  secure  the  co- 
lours of  his  regiment.     He  obtained  the  greater  part 


60  MEMOIR  OF  Dlt  WRIGHT. 

of  his  books,  but  of  the  collections  of  dried  specimens, 
on  which  he  placed  the  greatest  value,  no  trace  could 
afterwards  be  found. 

The  jealousy  of  his  fellow  prisoners  was,  however, 
chiefly  excited  by  the  admission  which  his  fame  pro- 
cured for  him  into  the  nunneries  of  Arcos, — a  privi- 
lege which  he  found  to  be  valuable  only  in  proportion 
to  its  singularity,  and  possessing  no  attractions  after 
he  had  gratified  the  first  impulse  of  curiosity.  On 
such  occasions  the  foreign  physician  was  attended  by 
the  prior  of  a  neighbouring  convent,  who,  through 
the  medium  of  Latin,  was  in  use  to  act  as  interpreter 
between  him  and  his  patients.  The  greatest  precau- 
tion was  observed  on  their  admission.  They  were 
preceded  by  the  Lady  Abbess,  and  one  of  the  most  an- 
cient of  the  sisterhood,  who,  in  their  progress  through 
the  long  passages  of  the  building,  kept  incessantly 
tinkling  the  hand-bells  which  they  carried  to  announce 
their  approach,  and,  as  may  be  supposed,  to  warn  the 
fair  inmates  against  the  unseasonable  indulgence  of  an 
idle  curiosity.  The  hall  into  which  they  were  shewn 
was  uniformly  darkened,  and  the  Doctor  was  permit- 
ted to  sec  his  patients,  as  they  were  successively  intro- 
duced, by  the  light  of  a  lamp.  It  was  with  great  diffi- 
culty that  the  ladies  were  persuaded  to  unveil,  and 
not  until  the  Doctor  had  declared  that  he  could  not 
prescribe,  with  any  chance  of  success,  until  he  had  seen 
the  faces  of  the  fair  invalids.  But  the  age  of  romance 
had  passed  away,  the  uplifted  veil  discovered  neither 
youth  nor  beauty,  and  even  the  genius  of  a  Radcliffe 
would  find  no  materials  for  a  talc  of  mystery  in  the 


MEMOIR  OF  DB  WRIGHT.  61 

professional  visits  of  Dr  Wkight  to  the  nunneries  of 
Areos. 

Tlie  departure  of  the  British  officers  from  the  terri- 
tories of  his  Catholic  Majesty,  was  unexpectedly  acce- 
lerated by  the  discovery  of  certain  emblems  of  free- 
masonry in  the  possession  of  one  of  the  party,  which 
appear  to  have  excited  the  vigilance  of  the  officers  of 
the  Inquisition.  An  entry  was  forcibly  effected  into 
the  lodgings  of  the  young  gentleman  who  possessed 
the  unfortunate  apron ;  but,  on  the  proposal  of  the 
Corregidor,  with  his  posse  of  priests  and  officials,  to 
extend  their  domiciliary  visits  to  the  houses  of  the  other 
officers,  the  English  gentlemen  resolved  to  resist  the 
intrusion,  and  to  repel  force  with  force.  The  local 
functionaries  of  this  dark  tribunal  were  startled  at  the 
resolution  of  the  British  strangers  ;  they  desisted  from 
farther  molestation  ;  but,  in  ten  .days  afterwards,  an 
order  arrived  from  Madrid  to  march  the  prisoners 
across  the  Spanish  frontier. 

On  this  occasion  they  were  again  escorted  by  their 
old  friend  Mr  Ma  lone.  Their  route  lay  across  the 
Guadalquivir,  leaving  the  city  of  Seville,  to  their  great 
regret,  about  three  miles  to  their  left.  On  the  tenth 
day  of  their  march,  they  reached  the  left  bank  of  the 
Guadiana,  where  they  were  left  by  Mr  Malone  and 
his  party,  to  fight  their  way  as  they  best  could  through 
the  Portugueze  territory,  to  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic. 

It  was  agreed  on  all  hands  that  Lisbon  was  the  most 
convenient  point  for  embarkation  ;  but  a  difference  of 
opinion  arose  as  to  the  route  to  be  adopted.  A  divi- 
sion of  the  party  was  at  length  resolved  on.     The  one- 


69  MEMOIR   OF   DH   WRIGHT; 

half  undertook  to  traverse  the  mountainous  regions  of 
the  ancient  kingdom  of  Algarve;  but  Dr  Wright, 
and  the  remainder  of  the  party,  proposed  more  pru- 
dently, if  we  may  judge  from  the  event,  to  follow  the 
course  of  the  Gnadiana,  and  engage  a  coasting  vessel 
to  carry  them  and  their  baggage  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Tagus.  Having  been  thrown  upon  the  Portuguese 
territory  without  passports,  the  provincial  authorities 
refused  to  recognise  them  as  the  subjects  of  a  friendly 
power ;  and  those  gentlemen  who  proceeded  overland 
to  Lisbon  were  seriously  maltreated  in  the  course  of 
the  journey.  The  coasting  party  were  more  fortunate. 
They  dropped  down  the  Guadiana,  and  proceeded  as 
far  as  Taro  in  an  open  boat.  At  Taro  they  rested 
four  days,  and  having  freighted  a  sloop  to  carry  them 
to  Lisbon,  they  reached  that  city  in  safety  on  the  21st 
of  December  1780. 

On  the  24th.  they  embarked  in  the  Hampden 
packet :  and.  after  a  pleasant  passage,  arrived  at  Fal- 
mouth on  flic  6th  of  January  1781. 

Dr  \Vkk;ht  was  accompanied,  in  his  Peninsular 
adventure,  by  a  young  gentleman  who  had  resided  for 
some  time  with  his  friends  in  Edinburgh  ;  but  his  des- 
tination being  the  Island  of  Madeira,  where  the  Ja- 
maica Regiment  was  to  have  touched  in  the  course  of 
its  passage,  Dr  WRIGHT  consented  to  undertake  a 
charge  which  probably  proved  more  serious  than  he  at 
first  anticipated.  On  their  arrival  in  London,  how- 
ever, about  the  middle  of  January,  they  found  that  an 
uncle  of  his  protege*  had  arrived  from  Madeira,  to  whom 
the  guardianship  of  the  young  traveller  was  immediate- 


M  E  won;  of  dh  w  \:n.i\  r.  li:; 

l\  assigned.  The  superior  facility  which  this  young 
gentleman  displayed  in  tin.'  acquisition  <>i  the  kindred 
languages  of  the  Peninsula,  as  compared  with  the  im- 
pesfeot  advances  of  his  Benior  associates,  affords  a  strik- 
ing confirmation  of  the  received  opinion,  thai  youth  is 
the  most  favourable  period  for  this  department  of 
study. 

Immediately  on  bis  arrival  in  London,  Dr  Wright 
reported  himself  to  General  Rainsford,  the  Colonel- 
in-Chief  of  the  Jamaica  Regiment,  by  whom  he  was 
thanked  for  the  signal  service  He  had  performed  in  pre- 
venting the  regimental  colours  from  falling  into  the 
hands  ot*  the  enemy. 

r»\  a  scrupulous  interpretation,  as  it  appears,  of 
the  code  of  honour,  rather  perhaps  than  from  an\ 
obvious  necessity  arising  from  the  principles  or  prac- 
tice of  international  law,  it  was  held  that  the  Bri- 
tish officers  wore  precluded  by  the  parole  which  they 
had  subscribed  on  their  landing  at  Cadi/,  from  enga- 
ging in  the  hostilities  which  still  subsisted  with  France 
and  Spain,  until  they  should  be  relieved  b\  a  regular 
exchange  oi'  prisoners,  notwithstanding  the  unceremo- 
nious and  extraordinary  way  in  which  their  expulsion 
had  been  effected  from  the  Spanish  territory.  To  Dr 
Wright,  in  particular,  this  delay  was  extremely  vexa- 
tious* His  last  advices  from  Jamaica  informed  him 
that  the  health  of  his  attorney  was  in  a  \cr\  pivcarious 

condition,  and  he  was  aware  that,  by  this  gentleman's 
death  or  incapacity,  the  wreck  of  his  fortune  would  be 
placed  in  the  greatest  jeopardy.  Under  all  thr  cir- 
cumstances,  however,   lie  chose   rather  to  wait  the  o\- 


(J4  MEMOIR  OF  DR   WRIGHT. 

pected  cartel  with  Spain,  than  hastily  to  throw  up  a 
commission  which  had  been  procured  for  him  by  his 
friend  Mr  Banks,  at  so  providential  a  crisis.  In  the 
mean  time,  he  resumed  his  favourite  pursuits,  and 
sought  for  solace  from  the  cares  of  the  world  in  a  closer 
application  to  those  studies  which  are  perhaps  best 
fitted  to  sustain  the  "  mens  sana  in  corpore  sano" 

About  this  period,  Dr  Wright  had  to  lament  the 
loss  of  his  friend  Dr  Fothergill,  the  celebrated 
Quaker  physician ;  but  the  kindness  of  Mr  Banks, 
and  his  friendship  for  Dr  Garths h ore,  had  suffered 
no  intermission  or  abatement. 

In  the  midst  of  the  anxiety  which  the  embarrass- 
ments of  Dr  Wright's  situation  were  calculated  to 
excite,  he  was  never  unmindful  of  the  interest  he  had 
taken  in  the  son  of  his  brother,  nor  of  the  task  with 
which  he  appears  to  have  tacitly  charged  himself,  of 
superintending  his  young  friend's  education.  "  When 
I  formerly  advised  you,"  he  says  in  a  letter  to  his  bro- 
ther, dated  the  12th  of  October  1781,  "  to  have  your 
son  James  taught  some  mechanical  employment,  I 
was  induced  to  say  so,  from  the  innumerable  difficul- 
ties I  had  met  with  in  working  my  own  way  through 
life.  Destined  to  be  myself  a  wanderer  over  the  face 
of  the  earth,  could  I  recommend  that  James  should 
follow  a  profession  which  has  subjected  me  to  so  much 
hardship,  distress,  and  danger  ?  It  is  very  right  to 
send  him  to  the  Perth  Academy.  He  is  now  old 
enough  to  be  sensible  of  the  importance  of  a  good  edu- 
cation ;  and  he  must  double  his  diligence  to  make  up 
for  past  defects.      Let  him  begin  the  rudiments  of 


MEMOIR  or  DR  WRIGHT.  <>."> 

Latin  anew.  While  doing  this,  lie  may  be  improving 
himself  in  writing,  arithmetic,  and  book-keeping.  I 
regret  much  that  I  had  not  an  opportunity  of  learning 
to  draw  in  my  youth,  as  it  is  of  real  consequence  to 
one  in  my  profession.  When  I  know  the  result  of 
your  and  his  deliberation,  I  shall  say  more.  The  ex- 
pence  of  a  medical  education  is  great,  and  to  you,  with 
such  a  family,  insupportable ;  but  in  this  you  will  be 
assisted  as  far  as  my  means  will  admit.  My  own  edu- 
cation was  narrow- ;  and  it  was  only  by  dint  of  resolu- 
tion and  perseverance  that  I  afterwards  acquired  those 
necessary  attainments  which  my  dear  father  was  un- 
able to  afford." 

On  the  same  date,  he  thus  writes  to  his  nephew. 
"  You  must  sit  down  yourself,  and  inform  me  of  your 
own  wishes  as  to  your  future  mode  of  life.  When  you 
do  so,  I  shall  give  you  my  best  advice  and  assistance. 
You  will,  I  trust,  be  diligent  in  your  studies,  cour- 
teous, obliging,  and  attentive  to  every  one.  Associate 
only  with  persons  of  worth  and  good  character,  care- 
fully shunning  the  wicked,  the  abandoned,  and  the 
low.  Aspire  to  the  company  of  your  superiors,  as 
from  them  only  you  can  hope  to  benefit  in  your  man- 
ners, conversation,  or  knowledge.  Remember  your 
duty  to  God  and  your  parents ;  be  kind  to  your  sisters, 
and  grateful  to  every  benefactor  and  well-wisher.  By 
these  means,  in  whatever  situation  you  may  be  placed, 
you  will,  I  trust,  be  a  good  man,  a  good  neighbour, 
and  a  sincere  friend. ' 

The  summer  of  1781  was  devoted  by  Dr  Wright 
to  his  botanical  pursuits,  at  such  a  moderate  distance 
from  London  as  would  enable  him  to  proceed  to  the 


66  ME.MQIR  or  DB  WRIGHT. 

head-quarters  of  his  regiment  on  a  few  hours'  notice. 
Part  of  his  time  was  spent  very  agreeahly  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Odiham,  in  Hampshire,  at  the  resi- 
dence of  Mr  Baxter  *,  a  friend  of  his  from  Scotland, 
who  had  been  for  some  time  settled  in  that  delightful 
county,  and  through  whom  he  became  favourably 
known  to  a  circle  of  friends,  whom,  in  after  years,  he 
often  revisited  with  new  and  increasing  satisfaction. 

At  length,  about  the  middle  of  September,  a  cartel 
was  finally  adjusted  with  Spain ;  but  it  was  not  until 
after  Christmas  that  the  first  detachment  of  the  troops 
arrived  at  Portsmouth.  Dr  Wright  immediately 
hastened  from  London  to  meet  them  at  Alresford, 
where  he  arrived  on  the  1st  of  January  1782.  By 
this  time,  a  second  detachment  had  arrived  ;  but  of  the 
body  of  500  men  who  had  sailed  with  him  from  Ports- 
mouth, in  the  summer  of  1779,  a  miserable  remnant, 
not  amounting  altogether  to  200  in  number,  and  in  the 
most  deplorable  state  of  nakedness  and  destitution,  was 
all  that  remained.  A  considerable  proportion  of  them, 
including  all  those  of  the  Catholic  persuasion,  had  been 
induced,  while  in  confinement  at  Cordova,  to  join  the 
standard  of  the  enemy;  thus  preferring  the  claims  of  cle- 
rical authority  to  the  duty  of  civil  allegiance,  when  the 
enjoyment  of  freedom  was  thrown  into  the  scale.  The 
number  of  deserters  amounted  to  200  ;  the  remainder 
had  died  of  starvation,  warm  water,  and  loss  of  blood  ; 

*  This  gentleman  was  a  native  of  Berwickshire  ;  and,  about  this  pe- 
riod, is  described  by  Dr  Wright  as  the  son  of  Mr  Andrew  Bax- 
ter, a  learned  and  worthy  man  of  the  last  age,  the  author  of  Matho, 
or  the  Immortality  of  the  Soul,  and  other  pieces,  and  some  time  En- 
voy to  the  States  of  Holland,  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne. 


\ioii{  OF  DH  \\  i:  hi  ill'.  (>7 

and  oven  of  those  who  survived  the  prescriptions  of 
the  physicians,  and  withstood  the  machinations  of  the 
priesthood,  a  considerable  number  were  found,  on  exa- 
mination, to  be  unfit  for  service.  The  complement  of 
five  companies  was,  however,  speedily  supplied  by 
draughts  from  the  general  depot  in  the  Isle  of  Wight, 
and  from  the  independent  companies  at  Portsmouth  ; 
so  that  they  were  once  more  ready  for  sea  on  the  2c2d 
of  April,  on  which  day  Colonel  Balfour  and  Dr 
WitiGHT  embarked  on  board  the  West  Indian  trans- 
port at  Portsmouth,  and  sailed  soon  afterwards,  with 
convoy,  from  Spithead. 

Before  leaving*  England,  Pr  Wright  addressed 
another  letter  of  instructions  to  his  brother,  with  a  se- 
parate memorandum  for  the  use  of  his  nephew,  con- 
taining the  rationale  of  his  views  on  the  subject  of  his 
young  friend's  education.  His  advice  was  not  direct- 
ed merely  to  the  cultivation  of  the  powers  of  the 
mind,  or  the  acquisition  of  personal  accomplishments. 
The  dispositions  and  affections  of  the  heart  were 
equally  an  object  of  his  fatherly  solicitude, — a  branch 
of  education  which  does  not  always  receive  its  due 
share  of  attention  in  the  curriculum  of  domestic  study. 

The  fleet  on  board  of  which  the  Jamaica  Regiment, 
now  called  the  99th  Foot,  had  embarked,  arrived  in  the 
West  Indies  just  too  late  to  witness  the  victory  ob- 
tained by  Admiral  Rodney,  over  the  French  fleet, 
under  De  Grasse,  when  proceeding  to  join  the  Spa- 
niards at  Hispaniola,  in  making  a  descent  on  the 
Island  of  Jamaica,  and  the  other  possessions  of  Great 
Britain.     The  victory,  however,   was  not  so  complete 

as  to  quell  the  alarm  of  the  colonies.     Of  thirty-four 

e  <2 


68  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

ships  of  the  line,  of  which  the  French  fleet  had  con- 
sisted, twenty-six  had  been  suffered  to  escape  ;  and,  if 
allowed  to  refit,  and  to  form  a  junction  with  the  Spa- 
niards at  Cape  Francois,  there  was  no  British  force  in 
these  seas  which  could,  at  that  time,  have  opposed  an 
effectual  resistance.  In  the  mean  time,  however, 
their  fears  were  happily  disappointed  by  the  general 
pacification  which  came  very  seasonably  to  their  relief. 
The  99th  was  soon  afterwards  sent  home  to  be  dis- 
banded ;  but  Dr  Wright  was  permitted  to  remain 
in  Jamaica  for  the  settlement  of  his  affairs. 

His  reception  at  Orange  Hill  by  his  old  friends  Dr 
and  Mrs  Steel,  was  of  the  warmest  and  most  af- 
fectionate description  ;  but,  in  a  few  months  after 
his  arrival  at  Trelawney,  Dr  Steel  was  seized  with 
a  fever,  of  which  he  died,  on  the  4th  of  August 
1784.  Mrs  Steel  was  left  with  five  children,  all 
amply  provided  for  ;  and  Dr  Wright  was  named  one 
of  the  executors.  He  was  restrained,  however,  from 
administering,  by  a  sense  of  delicacy,  which,  in  a  West 
India  executor,  deserves  to  be  recorded, — the  greater 
part  of  his  own  fortune  having  been  invested  in  the 
hands  of  Dr  Steel.  The  example  of  right  feeling 
and  correct  conduct  which  was  thus  set  by  Dr  Wright, 
was  met  by  his  fellow  executors  with  a  corresponding 
spirit  of  moderation  and  good  will ;  so  that  he  was 
enabled  to  effect  the  realization  of  his  property  in  a 
much  shorter  period  than  he  could  have  anticipated, 
and  allowed  to  devote  the  remainder  of  his  time  in 
Jamaica  to  an  object  which  he  had  very  near  his  heart. 

That  object  was  the  restoration  of  the  Hortus  sic. 
cus,  of  which  the  want  of  feeling  perhaps,  rather  than 


MEMOItt  OF  Dlt  WRIGHT.  69 

tlic  rapacity  of  INI.  MaRIEN,  had  deprived  him  in  the 
year  1779-  He  now  addressed  himself  to  the  task  of 
its  renovation,  with  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  habits 
and  location  of  the  objects  of  his  pursuit, — with  a  great 
accession  of  general  knowledge,  and  with  alacrity  and 
zeal  for  the  interests  of  science,  as  fresh  and  vigorous 
as  ever.  On  this  occasion  he  had  not  merely  the  sa- 
tisfaction of  completely  restoring  his  former  Herba- 
rium, which,  till  then,  as  a  dried  collection  of  the  na- 
tive plants  of  Jamaica,  was  perfectly  unique ;  but  of 
adding  several  new  and  non-descript  species  to  his 
long  list  of  discoveries.  Neither  did  he  disregard  those 
natives  of  the  neighbouring  islands,  which,  though  not 
indigenous  to  Jamaica,  had  been  reared  and  naturalized 
by  the  friendly  hand  of  the  florist,  or  had  been  for- 
warded for  his  herbarium  by  his  more  scientific  cor- 
respondents. In  this  year,  too,  he  had  for  his  collabo- 
rateur  the  celebrated  Schwartz,  the  Swedish  bota- 
nist, who,  in  his  great  work  on  the  Plants  of  the  West 
India  Islands,  acknowledges  with  gratitude  the  per- 
sonal attentions  and  efficient  assistance  he  received 
from  Dr  Wright.  The  title  of  Dr  Wright  to  the 
discovery  of  a  number  of  new  species,  is  distinctly  re- 
cognized in  the  work  of  M.  Schwartz,  in  the  names 
and  synonymes  he  has  appended  to  them  ;  and  refe- 
rence is  repeatedly  made  to  the  medical  dissertations 
of  Dr  Wright  on  the  subject  of  these  discoveries, 
in  such  terms  as  the  following  :  "  De  usu  ejus  medico 
(Geoffraca  inermis,  viz.)  longe  lateque  disseruit,  I.  c. 
cdibique  clarissimus  Wright  *." 

*  In  the  Wernerian   Society's  Transactions,  vol.  i.  p.  73.  a  very 
liigh  compliment  is  paid  to  Dr  Wright.  I>y  Mr  Roheut  Brown. 


70  ME  MO  lit   OV   DR  WiaiOHT: 

It  was  some  time  after  his  arrival  in  Jamaica,  be^ 
fore  Dr  Wright  was  presented  to  Brigadier -General 
Camibell,  the  new  Governor,  in  consequence  of  the 
avocations  and  arrangements  which  were  necessary  for 
placing  the  island  in  a  satisfactory  posture  of  defence. 
At  first,  indeed,  "  the  inundation  of  Campbells, 
Macleans,  and  Maclaughlans,"  and  the  dispro- 
portionate share  of  the  Governor's  favour  which  they 

universally  recognized  as  the  most  eminent  botanist  of  the  present 
day.  In  constituting  a  new  genus,  and  naming  it  after  Dr  Wright, 
he  expresses  himself  in  the  following  terms  : 

"  Wrightia.  [Nerii  sp.  Linn. 

Char.    Corolla   hypocrateriformis.       Faux   Coronata   squamis    de- 
cern, divisis. 
Stamina  exserta.     Filamenta  fauci  inserta.     Antherce  sagittate, 

medio  stigmati  cohserentes. 
Ovaria  2,  cohserentia.      Stylus  1,  filiformis,  apice  dilatato.     Stig- 
ma angustius. 
Squamce  5-10,  basi  calycis  extra  corollam  inserte. 
Folliculi  distincti,  v.  cohserentes,  placentis  adnatis. 
Habitus.     Frutices  erecti,   arboresve  minores.    Folia  opposita. 
Corymbi  subterminales.     Flores  albi.      Albumen  0.      Embryo 
cotyledonibus  longittidinaliter  involutes,  albus,  aqua  calida  im- 
mersus  roseus  evadit ! 
Patria.   India  Orientalis,  Zeylonia,  Archipelago  Malaica,  et  Nova 
Hollandia  tropica. 
Obs.  Gartner  has  given  an  excellent  account  of  the  fruit  of  this 
genus,  in  his  description  of  Nerium   Zeylanicum,  and  he  no  doubt 
supposed   that  the  fruit  of  Nerium   Oleander  was   essentially  the 
same.     It  is,  however,  very  remarkably  different,  and  no  genus  is 
more  distinct  in  habit,  or  more  beautifully  characterized,  than  this 
which  I  have  dedicated  to  my  respected  friend  William  Wright, 
M.  D.  F.  R.  S.  Lond.  and  Edin.,  whose  ardour  in  the  pursuit  of  bota- 
nical knowledge,  oven  when  engaged  in  extensive  medical  practice  in 
the  Island  of  Jamaica,  has  long  entitled  him  to  this  mark  of  distinction." 


MEMOIR  OF   OH    WillOHT.  71 

were  supposed  to  enjoy,  appears  to  have  created  some 
little  jealousy  in  a  regiment  which  lnul  been  raised, 
like  the  99th,  so  far  to  the  south  of  the  Tweed.  But 
as  soon  as  the  alarm  which  was  exeited  by  the  vieinity 
of  a  hostile  armament  had  been  removed  by  the  gene- 
ral peace,  the  new  Governor  evinced  the  same  disposi- 
tion with  his  predecessors,  to  sanction,  by  his  coun- 
tenance and  authority,  the  high  station  which  Dr 
Wkight  had  acquired  in  the  respect  and  esteem  of 
the  inhabitants.  Immediately  on  his  being  relieved 
from  the  duties  of  his  regiment,  he  was  raised  to  the 
highest  medical  situation  in  the  gift  of  the  Governor, 
that  of  Physician-General  of  the  Island ;  an  office 
which,  while  by  some  it  would  be  valued  from  the 
steps  of  precedence  it  inferred,  or  the  trappings  at 
tached  to  it,  at  a  military  review,  would  by  others  be 
despised,  from  its  pecuniary  insignificance,  but  which 
was  truly  valuable,  as  an  indication  of  the  high  cha- 
racter which  Dr  Wright  had  continued  to  sustain 
after  so  long  a  period  of  probation. 

While  yet  in  Jamaica,  Dr  Wright  received  a  let- 
ter from  his  brother,  announcing  the  death  of  their 
mother,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-two.  In  his 
answer,  he  says,  "  Your  letter  of  the  20th  of  June 
came  to  hand  the  29th  of  August,  but  the  agitation  of 
mind  occasioned  by  the  contents  will  excuse  the  delay 
of  my  reply.  From  my  mother's  situation  and  time 
of  life,  we  had  every  reason  to  expect  what  has  hap- 
pened ;  and  while  we  drop  a  filial  tear  for  one  of  the 
most  affectionate  of  parents  and  best  of  women,  let 
us  be  thankful  to  the  Almighty  for  continuing  her  so 


72  MEMOIH  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

long  to  bless  us,  and  for  the  assurance  which  a  life  of 
piety  has  left  us  of  her  happy  immortality." 

It  appears  that  the  Jamaica  Regiment  had  not  been 
a  favourite  in  the  service.  The  strong  reinforcements 
which  the  defence  of  the  island  had  rendered  neces- 
sary, left  a  corresponding  scarcity  of  accommodation  in 
the  barrack  department ;  and,  in  order  to  make  room 
for  other  troops  of  higher  moral  character,  the  99th 
was  ordered  on  board  the  transports,  at  the  unhealthy 
station  of  Port-Royal.  Here  the  health  of  Dr  Weight 
suffered  severely  by  the  fever  and  ague,  which  the  ad- 
joining swamps  are  so  apt  to  engender  ;  and  from  which 
even  the  pure  air  of  Trelawny,  and  the  colder  climate  of 
the  mountains,  did  not  suffice  to  restore  him.  From 
the  slowness  of  his  recovery,  he  allowed  himself  to  be 
persuaded  to  delay  his  departure  from  Jamaica  till  the 
1st  of  August  1785,  when  he  embarked  on  board  a 
ship  bound  for  Bristol,  and  arrived  there  on  the  23d 
September. 

The  death  of  his  friend;  Dr  Steel,  and  his  own 
serious  illness  in  Jamaica,  appear  to  have  strongly  im- 
pressed him  with  the  uncertainty  of  human  life.  In 
a  letter,  dated  from  Trelawny,  some  time  before  his 
embarkation,  he  mentions  that  he  had  executed  a  tes- 
tamentary settlement  of  his  affairs,  in  which  he  had 
provided,  in  the  first  place,  for  the  education  and  out- 
fit of  his  nephew ;  and,  after  certain  fixed  legacies  to 
his  nieces,  he  had  bequeathed  the  residue  to  his  bro- 
ther and  sister-in-law,  with  unlimited  discretionary 
powers,  for  its  ultimate  division  and  disposal ;  an  ar- 
rangement which  was  admirably  calculated  for  meet- 


MEMOIH  OF  DB  WRIGHT.  73 

ing  every  probable  contingency,  and  for  sustaining,  at 
the  same  time,  the  proper  and  becoming  influence  of 
parental  authority. 

On  his  arrival  in  London,  about  the  end  of  Sep- 
tember, Dr  Wright  found  his  health  so  much  im- 
paired, as  to  make  it  unsafe  for  him,  at  that  season  of 
the  year,  to  proceed  to  Scotland.  The  months  of  Oc- 
tober and  November  he  appears  to  have  spent  with 
his  friends  in  Hampshire,  where  his  strength  was  in  a 
great  measure  restored.  The  winter  was  devoted  to 
the  society  of  those  personal  and  literary  friends  in 
London,  particularly  Dr  Garthshore  and  Sir  Jo- 
seph Banks,  with  whom,  in  every  situation,  he  con- 
tinued to  maintain  an  uninterrupted  intimacy. 

In  arranging  his  specimens  of  Natural  History, 
Dr  Wright  had  never  contented  himself  with  the 
completion  merely  of  his  own  collection.  His  en- 
joyment was  at  least  as  great  in  supplying  such  de- 
ficiencies as  he  knew  to  exist  in  the  collections  of 
his  friends ;  and,  on  this  occasion,  as  on  his  former 
return  from  the  West  Indies,  his  contributions  to 
the  Royal  Gardens  at  Kew,  and  to  the  collections 
of  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  and  other  scientific  friends, 
were  valuable  and  extensive. 

During  his  stay  in  London,  he  opened  a  corres- 
pondence with  his  nephew,  who  was  at  that  time 
engaged  in  his  medical  studies  at  the  University  of 
Edinburgh.  It  continued  without  interruption  un- 
til the  untimely  death  of  this  excellent  young  man, 
in  the  year  1794-.  Dr  Weight's  letters  to  his  ne- 
phew have  not  been  preserved ;   but  his  amiable  cha- 


74  MEMOIR  or  dr  wright. 

racter,  his  liberal  disposition,  and  enlightened  views, 
are  strongly  reflected  in  the  interesting  volume  of 
letters,  which,  during  these  eight  years,  were  address- 
ed to  him  by  his  youthful  correspondent. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1786,  Dr  Wright  pro- 
ceeded northward.  He  arrived  in  Edinburgh  in 
the  month  of  March,  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
following  summer  he  devoted  to  his  friends  in 
Perthshire.  In  the  autumn  of  this  year,  a  vacan- 
cy occurred  in  the  Botanical  Chair  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Edinburgh,  by  the  death  of  his  friend  Dr 
Hope.  On  his  arrival  in  Edinburgh  some  time 
afterwards,  from  a  tour,  he  was  surprised  to  find 
that  the  zeal  of  several  of  his  friends  had  induced 
them  to  put  him  in  nomination  as  a  candidate  for 
the  vacant  chair,  from  the  general  knowledge  they 
possessed  of  his  distinguished  attainments  in  this 
department  of  science,  and  from  the  perseverance 
with  which  he  was  known  to  have  pursued  the  stu- 
dy of  botany  in  the  New  World  as  well  as  in  the 
Old.  But  as  soon  as  he  found  that  his  friend  Dr 
Rutherford  had  also  been  put  in  nomination,  he 
at  once  resolved  to  forego  all  pretensions  to  the  ap- 
pointment. By  this  promptitude  of  purpose,  he  not 
only  avoided  the  evils  of  a  contested  election,  but 
secured  a  basis  of  general  good  will,  on  which  many 
valuable  friendships  were  raised  during  his  subse- 
quent residence  in  Edinburgh. 

Dr  Wright  had  long  maintained  a  correspond- 
ence, on  literary  and  scientific  subjects,  with  indivi- 
dual members  of  the  American   Philosophical  Socie- 


MEMOIU  ()!    1)15   WRIGHT.  ",:> 

tv,  and   several  of  bis  papers  had  appeared   in  sue* 

tvssive  volumes  of  their  Transactions,  published  at 
Philadelphia;  but  it  was  not  until  the  year  1786 
that  he  was  formally  elected  a  member,  bis  diplo- 
ma bearing-  the  signature  of  Dr  Fit  AN  KLIN,  the  Pre- 
sident of  the  Society,  and  several  other  individuals, 
distinguished  for  their  efforts  in  the  cause  of  indepen- 
dence. 

About  this  period,  Dr  WiUGHT  appears  to  have 
formed  the  resolution  of  withdrawing  from  the  more 
laborious  duties  of  his  profession.  The  fortune  which 
he  had  earned  during  his  first  residence  in  Jamaica, 
and  which  he  had  at  length  been  able  to  realize,  he 
believed  to  be  sufficient  for  all  his  wants.  He,  resolved 
to  establish  himself  in  Edinburgh,  where,  in  that 
retirement  from  the  cares  of  the  world,  which  so 
many  propose  to  themselves  as  the  chief  object  of 
pursuit,  he  could  find  the  books,  the  society  and  the  lei- 
sure, which  his  tastes  and  his  habits  had  so  well 
qualified  him  to  enjoy.  But,  however  desirable  in 
prospect,  something  more  is  necessary  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  life,  than  the  mere  immunity  from  applica- 
tion to  professional  employments.  To  a  mind  like 
that  of  Dr  Wright,  naturally  vigorous,  and  habitu- 
ally active,  some  definite  object  must  be  combined 
with  the  otium  cum  digmtate  of  literary  retirement. 
Such  an  object  he  happily  found  in  the  superintend- 
ence of  the  education  of  his  nephew ;  and  when  the 
extent  of  his  correspondence  is  taken  into  view,  it  is 
clear  that  no  one  was  ever  less  prone  to  indulge  in 
ennui,  or  less  in  danger  of  suffering  from  listlessness 


?6  MEMOIR  UT  Dlt  WRIGHT. 

or  inactivity.  Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  dili- 
gence with  which  he  applied  himself  to  literary  pur- 
suits, from  a  simple  enumeration  of  his  correspondents. 
A  list  has  been  preserved  of  them,  arranged  in  alpha- 
betical order.  It  extends  to  the  extraordinary  num- 
ber of  two  hundred  and  sixty,  and  comprises  the  great- 
est names  in  literature  and  science  in  every  quarter  of 
the  globe. 

In  the  month  of  November  1787,  Dr  Wright  re- 
ceived such  a  communication  from  the  Secretary  at 
War,  proposing  his  return  to  the  Service,  as  induced 
him  to  go  to  London,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 
the  rank  and  employment  which  it  was  proposed  to  as- 
sign to  him.  He  undertook  the  journey  with  the  re- 
solution of  declining  the  medical  charge  of  a  regi- 
ment. Such  an  appointment  was  offered  him  ;  but 
after  several  interviews  with  Mr  Surgeon-General 
Adair,  and  the  Secretary  at  War,  he  preserved  his 
resolution,  and,  after  a  short  visit  to  Odiham,  and  a 
few  weeks'  stay  among  his  friends  in  London,  he  re- 
turned to  Edinburgh,  without  engaging  in  the  ser- 
vice. 

It  is  probable  that  Dr  Wright  would  never  have 
entertained  the  proposal,  but  for  a  circumstance  which 
reflects  the  highest  credit  on  all  the  parties  concerned 
in  it.  Soon  after  his  second  return  from  Jamaica,  he 
invested  the  greater  part  of  his  fortune  in  the  hands 
of  a  gentleman,  at  that  time  engaged  in  mercantile 
pursuits,  without  exacting  any  other  security  than  the 
personal  obligation  of  the  borrower.  About  this  pe- 
riod, and  for  some  years  afterwards,  Dr  WEIGHT  had 


MEMOIR  OF  DB  WEIGHT.  77 

reason  to  apprehend  ;i  serious  deficiency  in  his  friend's 

resources ;  but  his  fears  were  ultimately  disappointed 
by  the  exemplary  good  faith  of  the  party.  The,  only 
point  of  difference  between  them,  consisted  in  a  race  of 
disinterestedness  and  liberality.  By  the  debtor's  mode 
of  accounting,  a  considerable  arrear  of  interest  arose 
to  l)r  Wright,  while,  by  his  own  calculation,  the 
whole  debt  was  extinguished.  The  point  at  issue,  in 
this  friendly  dispute,  was  finally  adjusted  by  the  pur- 
chase of  an  equivalent,  in  the  form  of  a  piece  of  plate, 
which  was  marked  with  an  inscription,  to  commemo- 
rate the  sense  which  was  entertained  of  Dr  Wright's 
disinterestedness,  and  of  the  mutual  respect  which  the 
parties  preserved  for  each  other. 

The  literary  distinctions  conferred  on  Dr  Wright 
in  the  year  1788  were  his  election  as  Fellow  of  the 
Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh,  and  his  admission  as  a 
member  of  the  Society  of  Natural  History  and  the 
Royal  Physical  Society  of  that  city. 

In  the  year  1789  Dr  Wright  found  the  studies  of 
his  nephew  so  far  advanced  as  to  qualify  him  for  a  very 
interesting  appointment  of  a  temporary  nature.  Mi- 
Stanley,  a  friend  of  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  proposed 
to  follow  the  footsteps  of  that  distinguished  naturalist, 
in  exploring  the  volcanic  territories  of  Iceland,  and  in 
examining  the  phenomena  attending  the  boiling  and  ex- 
ploding springs,  for  which  that  island  is  so  remarkable. 
Mr  STANLEY  was  to  be  attended  by  a  number  of 
scientific  individuals;  and  Dr  Wright  had  sufficient 
influence  to  get  his  nephew  attached  to  the  expedi- 
tion, in  the  capacity  of  surgeon  and  naturalist,  an  ap- 


78  MEMOIR  OF  1)11  WRIGHT. 

poiiitment  for  which  he  was  eminently  qualified  by 
the  nature  of  the  studies  he  had  been  pursuing  under 
the  fostering  care  of  his  uncle. 

A  very  interesting  account  of  the  boiling  fountains 
of  Geyzer  and  Rykum,  was  communicated  by  Mr 
Stanley  to  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh  in  the 
year  1791,  and,  with  an  analysis  of  the  waters  by  Dr 
Black,  appears  among  the  papers  of  the  physical  class 
in  the  third  volume  of  the  Society's  Transactions.  The 
party  embarked  at  Leith,  in  Mr  Stanley's  yacht,  on 
the  23d  of  May;  and,  after  touching  at  the  Faro, 
Shetland,  and  Orkney  Islands,  arrived  in  Edinburgh, 
on  their  return,  in  the  month  of  November  1789. 
Writing  soon  afterwards  to  his  brother,  Dr  Wright 
observes,  that  "  James  has  completed  his  journal,  and 
given  the  copy  to  Mr  Stanley,  with  specimens  of 
every  thing  collected.  I  am  happy  to  acquaint  you  that 
he  has  acquitted  himself  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of 
that  gentleman,  with  advantage  to  himself,  and  infor- 
mation, as  well  as  benefit,  to  the  public." 

Having  established  himself  in  a  house  in  the  new 
town  of  Edinburgh,  Dr  Wright  began  to  lay  the 
foundation  of  that  valuable  library,  which,  in  the  sub- 
sequent years  of  his  life,  contained  almost  all  that  was 
rare  and  curious  in  his  favourite  departments  of  study. 
His  time  was  also  a  good  deal  occupied  by  the  guar- 
dianship of  several  young  gentlemen  who  had  been 
sent  to  Edinburgh  to  enjoy  the  advantage  of  his  ad- 
vice in  the  progress  of  their  education  ;  and  his  ne- 
phew, who  was  now  in  his  twentieth  year,  with  a  be- 
coming spirit  of  independence,  began  to  be  impatient 


MEM01U  01    DB  witH.HT.  75) 

of  a  routine  of  study,  too  slow  for  his  attainments,  and 
was  urgent  with  his  uncle  to  procure  him  an  appoint- 
ment on  some  foreign  station.  The  surgeoncy  of  one 
of  the  forts  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  about 
this  time  offered  to  Mr  Wright,  and  he  was  desirous 
of  accepting  it,  from  the  opportunity  it  would  afford 
him  of  exploring  a  new  field  in  the  study  of  natural 
history,  for  which  his  uncle  had  inspired  him  with  a 
decided  predilection.  But  this,  and  several  other  sug- 
gestions, were  discouraged  by  Dr  Wright,  from  the 
idea  he  had  formed,  that  his  nephew's  talents,  and  his 
own  influence,  would  in  due  time  secure  a  more  suita- 
ble appointment. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year  1790,  Mr  James 
Wright  proceeded  to  London,  charged  with  the 
strongest  letters  of  recommendation  from  his  uncle  and 
his  other  friends,  with  a  view  to  an  appointment  in 
the  service  of  the  East  India  Company ;  but,  to  the 
surprise  of  all  parties,  within  a  few  days  after  his  arri- 
val in  the  metropolis,  he  was  enabled  to  announce  to 
his  friends  in  Scotland,  that  his  desires  had  been  anti- 
cipated, in  the  most  gratifying  manner,  by  his  friend 
Mr  Stanley.  In  a  letter  of  the  24th  December  1790, 
Dr  Wiught  communicates  the  appointment  to  his 
brother  in  the  following  terms.  "  The  favourable  ac- 
counts from  James  are  farther  confirmed  by  his  letter 
of  the  20th  instant,  received  yesterday.  He  is  ap- 
pointed for  Madras,  and  owes  it  entirely  to  Mr  Stan- 
ley. Our  obligations  are  none  the  less  on  that  ac- 
count to  those  friends  who  were  kindly  exerting  them- 
selves on   his  behalf.     The  next  steps  are  his  outfit. 


80  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

his  passage,  and  his  introduction  in  India.  The  two 
first  I  shall  endeavour  to  manage.  I  know  his  heart 
is  good  and  grateful.  He  needs  only  to  be  put  in  the. 
way  to  prove  it  both  to  you  and  myself.  In  India, 
and  particularly  in  Madras,  I  happen  to  have  a  num- 
ber of  friends,  who  wish  for  an  opportunity  to  serve 
and  oblige  me.  James  is  well  satisfied  with  his  des- 
tination,  as  it  is  the  healthiest  in  India,  and  desires 
me  to  say  so  to  you  all,  for  your  comfort.  He  says, 
too,  '  I  am  singularly  fortunate  in  being  thus  early  ap- 
pointed, when  others  have  waited  two  years  without 
even  now  succeeding.'  " 

It  may  be  interesting  to  notice  the  fate  of  a  pre- 
vious unsuccessful  application  to  the  minister.  It  is 
communicated  by  Mr  Wright  to  his  uncle  in  the 
following  terms  :  "  I  dined  enfamille  with  Dr  Garth- 
shore,  on  Thursday,  where  I  found  your  welcome 
letter  of  the  6th,  enclosing  Mr  Drummond's  to  Mr 
Dundas.  I  went  instantly  to  Professor  Bruce,  but 
he  dined  abroad.  I  then  went  to  the  Royal  Society, 
in  the  hope  of  finding  him  there,  but  he  did  not  ap- 
pear. As  I  was  determined  to  lose  no  time  in  seeing 
him,  I  called  at  his  house  before  9  o'clock  yesterday 
morning.  He  dispatched  me  immediately  to  Mr 
Puxdas's  residence  in  Somerset  House,  but  he  was 
not  at  home.  The  porter  desired  me  to  call  at  the 
Board  of  Control,  in  Whitehall,  at  half-past  twelve  ; 
which  I  did,  and  waited  there  till  four,  before  I  could 
procure  an  audience ;  there  being  such  a  crowd  of 
things  called  Lords  and  Courtiers,  dancing  attendance 
on  the  same  errand !    After  reading  the  letter,  he  said 


Memoir  of  dr  wright.  81^ 

it  was  extremely  unfortunate  that  I  did  not  apply  a 
fortnight  sooner,  as  he  is  afraid  I  am  now  too  late  ;  he 
being  engaged  for  every  appointment  of  that  kind  in 
his  power.  He  said  he  was  very  sorry  for  it,  as  there 
was  no  person  he  would  sooner  serve  than  Mr  Drum- 
mono*.  He  desired  me  to  write  him  so,  and  inform 
him  that  he  would  still  try  what  could  be  done,  though 
he  had  little  hopes  of  succeeding  this  season.  He  de- 
sired me  also  to  leave  my  address,  which  I  did.  From 
his  mode  of  speaking  I  am  sure  Mr  Drummond's  let- 
ter was  written  in  very  strong  terms,  and  I  beg  you  to 
offer  him  my  grateful  acknowledgments." 

Writing  to  his  brother,  on  the  17th  of  February 
1791,  Dr  Wright  says :  "  My  last  letter  from  Jem- 
my, was  dated  from  London  on  Saturday  last ;  and  I 
think  he  is  hardly  yet  embarked.  So  far  he  has  suc- 
ceeded to  his  utmost  wish,  in  a  line  the  most  honour- 
able and  respectable.  It  would  grieve  him  to  know 
that  his  mother  repined  at  his  good  fortune.  I  part- 
ed with  you  all  at  his  age,  under  every  disadvantage, 
in  money  and  prospects.  How  different  his  case  !  He 
has  had  a  finished  education,  an  outfit  equal  to  any, 
and  has  been  introduced  to,  and  patronized  by,  the 
companions  of  the  Sovereign.  More  could  scarcely 
be  desired.  Let  us  then  be  contented  and  thankful, 
for  thus  ushering  him  so  auspiciously  into  the  great 
theatre  of  life.  I  have  not  a  single  doubt  of  his  act- 
ing his  part  with  honour,  and  returning  with  afflu- 

*  Afterwards  Lord  Perth. 
F 


82  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

ence.     A  good  heart  makes  him   full  of  gratitude  ; 
and  I  am  confident  he  will  be  kind  to  his  relations." 

Such  is  the  kind  and  considerate  manner  in  which 
the  balm  of  consolation  is  offered  to  an  afflicted  father, 
and  to  the  more  sensitive  apprehensions  of  a  doting 
mother,  at  parting,  perhaps  for  ever,  in  the  bloom  of 
manhood,  with  an  only  son.  Soon  after  his  arrival  at 
Fort  St  George,  Mr  Wright  was  appointed  Surgeon 
to  the  23d  Battalion  of  Native  Infantry.  He  had  the 
fortune  to  be  engaged  with  the  combined  army  from 
the  different  presidencies  under  Lord  Cornwallis, 
in  storming  the  lines  of  Tippoo  Sultan  before  the 
walls  of  Seringapatam  ;  and  his  services  on  that  occa- 
sion produced  an  offer  from  Colonel  Baird,  then  in 
the  command  of  the  71st,  of  a  vacancy  which  had  oc- 
curred in  the  office  of  assistant-surgeon  to  his  regi- 
ment. But  Mr  Wright  was  obliged  to  forego  the 
flattering  prospect  of  promotion  in  the  British  service, 
which  the  proposal  of  Sir  David  Baird  had  afforded 
him,  in  consequence  of  the  necessity  which  arose  for 
making  a  pecuniary  arrangement  with  the  surgeon  of 
the  regiment,  to  which,  at  such  a  distance  from 
Europe,  his  finances  were  unfortunately  unequal.  A 
few  months  after  this  period,  when  Mr  Wright  was 
in  the  immediate  prospect  of  an  appointment  as  bo- 
tanist to  the  Honourable  Company,  a  situation  for 
which  he  was  eminently  qualified  *,  he  was  suddenly 

"  In  Mr  Wright's  letters  to  liis  uncle,  on  the  occasion  of  his  ap- 
plication for  this  appointment,  he  makes  many  grateful  acknowledg- 
ments of  the   unwearied  exertions  which  were  made    on   his  belialf 


MEMOIR  OF  DR  Willi.  H'l 


cut  off  by  a  bilious  fever,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty- 
four.  The  tributes  of  respect  which  were  paid  to  his 
memory,  evince  the  strong  feeling  which  his  death 
had  excited  among  his  brother  officers ;  and  several  of 
the  poetical  effusions  transmitted  to  Dr  Wright  on 
the  occasion,  discover  taste  as  well  as  genius  of  no  or- 
dinary kind  *  His  illness  had  only  been  of  eight  days' 
duration,  but  it  had  not  overtaken  him  unprepared 
for  the  event.  On  the  supposition  of  his  having  died 
intestate,  a  Court  of  Inquiry  was?  appointed  to  ar- 
range the  affairs  of  the  deceased,  and  make  an  in- 
ventory of  his  effects.  But  the  court  was  antici- 
pated in  this  melancholy  duty,  by  the  arrangements 
which  Mr  Wright  had  himself  directed  to  be  made. 
In  the  short  and  comprehensive  terms  of  a  military 
codicil,  he  named  two  brother  officers  his  executors, 
and  bequeathed  his  whole  property  to  his  uncle;  whom 
failing,  to  his  parents ;  whom  failing,  to  his  sisters,  in 
equal  proportions  ;  thus  leaving,  at  his  death,  a  lesson 
of  that  propriety  and  prudence  for  which  his  short  but 
interesting  and  instructive  life  had  been  a  steady  ex- 
ample. 

If,  with  some  imaginative  persons,  we  could  believe 
in  the  possibility  of  being  visited  with  a  preternatu- 
ral presentiment  of  approaching  dissolution,  the  idea 
would  seem  to  be  corroborated  by  the  terms  of  a  let- 
ter, addressed  to  Dr  Wright,  and  found  in  his  ne- 

by  his  friend  Dr  Andrew   Berrie,  at  that  time  stationed   at  Fort 
St  George. 
•   See  Scottish  Register  for  1 794. 

i   2 


84  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT 

phew's  repositories  after  his  death.  It  had  been  writ- 
ten by  Mr  Wright  some  time  before  the  accession 
of  the  fever  which  terminated  so  fatally,  when  in 
the  mriritermpted  enjoyment  of  perfect  health.  He 
disclaims,  indeed,  the  fear  of  any  untoward  accident, 
or  even  an  ominous  "  foreboding,"  of  his  approaching 
fate;  but  the  intensity  of  feeling  he  evinces  in  the 
concluding  passages  of  the  letter,  and  the  minute  at- 
tention which  he  pays  to  subordinate  arrangements, 
would,  with  some,  be  held  to  indicate  the  presence  of 
an  undefined  and  lurking  apprehension,  which  the 
writer  himself  was  unwilling  to  acknowledge,  or,  per- 
haps, unable  to  explain.  The  codicil  was  found  in 
one  of  the  repositories  of  the  deceased  ;  and,  beside  it, 
a  packet,  inscribed 

"   To  him  wlw  opens  the  box. 

"  Dear  Sir, 

"  Whoever  you  are  that  opens  this  box,  and  will  send  the 
inclosed  letter  and  parcel,  as  directed,  will  do  a  thing  which 
I  had  very  much  at  heart,  when  I  was  such  as  you  are. 

(Signed)         "  James  Wright." 

The  letter  to  Dr  Wright  is  thus  expressed  : 

"  My  Dear  Uxcle,  Alton;  19th  June  1793. 

"  In  two  or  three  days  this  corps  marches  to  Cuddalore,  in 
order  to  join  the  army  assembling  for  the  attack  of  Pondi- 
eherry.  As  the  French  are  putting  that  place  in  as  strong  a 
state  of  defence  as  possible,  it  is  supposed  the  siege  will  be  a 
pretty  hard  one,  without,  however,  any  doubt  being  enter- 
tained  of  its   falling   at   last,  the  force  intended   to  proceed 


.MEMOIH  01'    1>K   WJtKiHI.  85 

against  it  being  very  strong.  Though  I  have  do  foreboding 
or  fear  of  any  untoward  accident  happening  to  me  individual- 
ly, yet,  on  the  other  hand,  as  I  will  be  as  much  exposed  as 
the  rest,  and  having  no  charm  about  me  to  keep  off'  a  cannon 
ball  more  than  others,  I  have  thought  it  proper,  for  my  own 
peace  of  mind,  and  in  justice  to  you,  to  whom  I  owe  so  much, 
to  prepare  lor  the  worst,  by  leaving  my  little  affairs  without 
any  confusion ;  so  that,  should  I  meet  my  fate  in  this  ap- 
proaching business,  the  amount  of  what  I  am  worth  may  be 
transmitted  to  you  with  as  little  delay  as  possible.  This,  I 
am  very  sure,  will  be  done  by  the  two  gentlemen  I  have  left 
my  executors,  with  that  honour  and  integrity  for  which  they 
have  always  been  known. 

"  It  is  needless  to  desire  your  kind  and  generous  nature 
to  cherish  my  parents  and  sisters  after  my  death.  I  would 
beg  you  to  console  them  ;  but  you,  my  Dearest  Uncle,  will 
want  consolation  yourself.  I  am  unable  to  proceed.  God 
Almighty  bless  and  comfort  you  all. 

(Signed)  "  Jam  ks  Wright." 

"  P.  S. — My  voyage  to  Iceland,  and  a  few  other  papers, 
I  have  directed  to  be  sent  to  you." 

Dr  Wright  had  become  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal 
College  of  Physicians  of  Edinburgh  in  1782,  and  for 
many  years  took  an  active  interest  in  its  concerns. 
Preparatory  to  the  republication  of  their  Pharmacopeia, 
in  1792,  he  was  enabled,  by  his  extensive  correspon- 
dence, as  well  as  from  the  fruits  of  his  own  experience 
and  skill,  to  contribute  very  materially  to  the  improve- 
ment and  simplification  of  that  department  of  the  art. 
The  records,  indeed,  of  all  the  public  institutions  with 
which  he  was  connected,  afford  the  fullest  evidence  of 
the  efficiency  and  steadiness  of  his  exertions  in   the 


86  MEM  OIK   OF   DR  WRIGHT 

cause  of  literature  and  science, — a  cause  which  at  all 
times  he  took  great  delight  in  promoting,  by  the  esta- 
blishment of  a  good  understanding  among  literary  men ; 
and  by  strengthening  the  learned  societies  to  which 
he  belonged,  by  the  accession  of  some  of  the  greatest 
names  of  the  age. 

On  the  24th  of  January  1792,  he  writes  to  his 
friend  Dr  Garthshore  as  follows :  "  I  have  now  to 
congratulate  you  on  your  election  as  a  member  of  our 
Royal  Society,  which  happened  at  a  full  meeting  yes- 
terday, and  was  unanimous.  As  it  is  not  customary 
for  the  Society  to  intimate  this  to  the  newly  elected 
members,  I  thought  it  best  to  write  a  few  lines  to  Sir 
Joseph  Banks  and  Dr  Saunders,  on  the  occasion 
of  their  election.  I  got  Dr  Rutherford  to  pro- 
pose Dr  Saunders,  and  Dr  Black  to  propose  Sir 
Joseph  ;  Dr  Gregory,  in  the  absence  of  Dr  Monro, 
proposed  you,  and  I  gave  my  support." 

On  the  16th  of  March  1792  he  again  writes  to  Dr 
Garthshore  :  "  I  was  duly  favoured  with  your  and 
Dr  Pearson's  obliging  note,  which  has  been  given  to 
the  Committee  for  our  Pharmacopseia,  a«iid  will  be 
literally  adopted  as  a  formula  for  Pulvis  antimonia- 
lis. 

"  1  have  not  neglected  the  other  affair  you  and  I 
have  so  much  at  heart.  Our  President  has  entered 
warmly  into  the  business,  and  has  sounded  the  dif- 
ferent members  of  the  Council,  who  are  all  very  friend- 
ly. One  of  our  laws  expressly  excludes  any  British 
physician  from  being  an  honorary  fellow  of  our  Col- 
lege.    But  the  way  I  have  proposed  is  to  elect  Sir 


MEMOIH  OF  1)1!   WEIGHT.  S7 

GrEQRQE  Baker,  as  a  baronet  and  philosopher  of  tifgh 
rank.  Dr  Duncan  has  just  been  with  me,  and  is  to 
rail  a  meeting  of  the  Council  for  to-morrow;  and  of  the 
whole  College,  if  the  deliberations  are  to  our  purpose. 
As  matters  stand,  I  have  great  hopes  that  a  singular 
compliment  will  be  paid  to  this  distinguished  and  wor- 
thy individual." 

He  again  writes  to  Dr  Garthshore  on  the  18th  : 
"  I  have  great  pleasure  in  announcing  to  you  that 
yesterday,  at  a  full  Meeting  of  the  Royal  College  of 
Physicians,  your  worthy  and  learned  friend  Sir 
George  Baker  was  unanimously  elected  an  hono- 
rary fellow  in  room  of  John,  Earl  of  Bute,  deceased. 
Sir  William  Forbes,  Dr  Monro,  Dr  Gregory, 
and  Dr  Duncan,  took  the  most  active  part.  Dr 
Gregory,  our  secretary,  acquaints  Sir  George  of  his 
election,  and  I  beg  to  congratulate  him  and  you  on 
our  success.  I  have  one  more  feather  to  offer.  If  ac- 
ceptable to  Sir  George,  I  shall  have  him  proposed  as 
a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh." 

The  idea  had  now  for  some  time  been  entertained 
of  raising  the  necessary  funds,  by  subscription,  for  re- 
building the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and  Dr 
Wright  engaged  in  the  promotion  of  the  underta- 
king with  his  accustomed  zeal  and  activity.  The  re- 
mittances he  obtained  from  his  friends  in  Jamaica  were 
of  very  considerable  amount ;  but,  about  this  period, 
it  appears  that  a  defalcation  arose  to  the  amount  of 
L.  11,000,  from  the  failure  of  a  bank  in  a  more  dis- 
tant settlement,  where  the  money  had  been  deposited. 

In  the  course  of  his  correspondence  with  his  bro- 


88  MEMOIR  OF  1)K   WUIGHT. 

thcr,  sonic  light  is  occasionally  thrown  on  the  views 
which  he  entertained  on  political  subjects.  Such  in- 
stances, indeed,  are  of  rare  occurrence,  and  appear  only 
to  have  been  excited  by  some  striking  public  event. 
For  instance,  on  the  10th  of  May  1792,  he  expresses 
himself  as  follows :  "  The  Slave  Trade  Bill  has  met 
with  an  unexpected  check  in  the  House  of  Lords. 
Ministers  must  have  foreseen  this ;  but,  by  fine 
speeches  on  humanity,  keep  up  their  popularity,  and 
retain  their  places.  Prince  William  Henry  was 
in  Jamaica  when  I  was  there,  and  saw  the  real  state 
the  Negroes  were  in.  He  seems  to  have  weighed  the 
consequences  of  abolishing  the  trade,  as  fatal  to  our 
commerce,  ruinous  to  our  islands,  destructive  to  our 
countrymen,  and  no  way  serving  the  cause  of  huma- 
nity. In  Africa,  where,  if  they  have  no  vent  for  their 
prisoners  or  felons,  they  will  butcher  them  ;  nay,  eat 
them  !  Several  nations  have  their  teeth  filed  as  sharp 
as  those  of  dogs ;  and  I  have  been  told  it  was  done  to 
bite  and  devour  their  enemies.  Such  are  the  canni- 
bals we  are  making  a  noise  about,  while  we  lose  sight 
of  all  the  tender  ties  of  relationship,  colour,  country, 
and  Christianity.  A  levelling  disposition  and  spirit  of 
innovation  seem  very  prevalent.  A  new  society  has 
been  formed,  to  get  a  more  equal  representation  in 
Parliament.  This  will  give  ministers  something  else 
to  mind  than  the  savage  tribes  of  Guinea.  All  Europe 
seems  in  a  ferment;  and  will  probably  soon  be  in 
arms." 

Soon  after  the  date  of  this  letter,  Dr  Wright  paid 
a  visit  to  his  friends  in  England,  and  made  some  stay 


M  i:  \Kiii;  <>i    in:   w  i;  u.  n  i 

in  London,  having  been  summoned  to  attend  i  <  om- 
mittce  of  the  House  of  Commons  <>n  the  Bubjcct  of  the 
Abolition  of  the  Slave  Trade. 

On  the  16'th  of  August  1  793,  he  Bayi  to  his  friend 
Dr  Garthsiioke  :  "  Tliis  will  be  handed  to  yon  1»\ 
Mr  Lawson  of  this  place,  for  whom  I  beg  your  good 
offices  with  Mr  Hunter  and  .Mr  Home.     .Mr  Law- 
son  carries  with  him  two  saw  Hies,  male  and  female, 
for  Mr  Hunter,  from  me.     The  female,  1   belii 
has  not  been  seen  before;  and   Mr  Ilrvn.i:  will  pro- 
bably let  the  President  examine  it."     As  an  illustra- 
tion of  the  interest  which  is  taken    l>\  naturalists   in 
such  subjects,  another  quotation  is  offered,  from  a 
ter  to  Dr  Garthshore,   of  the  L5th   of  Octob 
"  Mr  Home  tells  me  the  female  saw  IK  never  reach- 
ed him.     If  our  friend  Jonas  purloined  the  lady  for 
Sir  Joseph  Banks  I  am  satisfied,  and  will  Bend  the 
only  one  I  had  for  myself.*' 

On  the  17th  of  December  he  again  writes  to  l>> 
Garthshore  :  "  Mr  Archibai  d  Ai  won,  brother 
in-law  of  Dr  GREGORY,  and  author  of  an  e88ay  on 
Taste,  is  a  candidate  for  a  fellowship  in  the  Royal 
Society  of  London.  I  am  greatly  interested  in  hifl 
success,  and  1  trust  yon  will  take  care  of  his  election 
Dr   (4hec;'>uy    was  foremost    in    the-    interest    of   Sil 

George  Bakeb  here*' 

On  the  15th  of  February  1793,  Dr  Wright  e 
addresses  DrGARTHSHORE  as  follows:  "  Mi  LlNB 

say  of  Westmoreland.  Jamaica,  has  made  several 
communications  to  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh; 
and  two  of  them,  on  the  Quassia  polygama,  and  tin 


90  MEMOIR  OF  Dlt  WRIGHT. 

Cinchona  brachycarpa,  are  in  the  hands  of  the  print- 
er. At  the  desire  of  the  Society,  and  with  the  au- 
thor's permission,  I  have  put  them  in  proper  order, 
and  prepared  them  for  the  press.  As  soon  as  the 
plates  are  finished,  I  shall  send  you  copies  for  Sir  Jo- 
seph Banks,  Dr  Pulteney,  and  Dr  Woodville. 

"  You  may  say  to  Dr  Woodville  that  I  now  send 
him  specimens  of  the  Quassia  excelsa  of  Swartz  and 
Lindsay  (my  Pierania  amara,  London  Medical 
Journal) ;  also  some  of  the  Cortex  Cascarittcc,  gather- 
ed by  myself.  Tell  him  he  has  copied  the  errors  of 
Linnaeus  and  others  on  this  point ;  and  that  he  will 
see  a  fine  specimen  of  mine  of  the  true  plant  at  Sir 
Joseph's,  as  Croton  Eleutheria.  I  have  a  notion, 
too,  that  the  leaf  of  his  Quassia  amara  is  also  a  mis- 
take, and  that  Linnveus  took  the  leaves  of  the  Sa- 
pindus  saponarius  for  the  other.  This,  too,  Sir  Jo- 
seph Banks  will  clear  up.  Dr  Woodville  will 
probably  rectify  any  mistakes  at  the  close  of  the  work, 
and  make  some  additions  from  Murray's  last  volume. 

"  You  may  acquaint  our  friend  Dr  Pulteney, 
that  I  got  Drs  Rutherford  and  Monro  to  make 
and  second  the  motion  for  his  election,  which  was  una- 
nimous ;  and  which,  I  hope,  will  not  be  the  less  agree- 
able to  him,  because  unsolicited  on  his  part." 

"  The  Trismus  infantum,"  he  again  writes  on  the 
7th  of  May,  "  locked  jaw,  or  jaw  falling  of  new-born 
children,  is  rife  and  fatal  in  Jamaica,  and,  in  some  in- 
stances, cannot  be  accounted  for.  It  was  very  com- 
mon for  a  Negro  man  to  prepare  a  small  inner  apart- 
ment for  his  wife,  previous  to  her  lying-in  ;   besides 


MEMOIB  OF  DK   WRIGHT.  **       91 

shutting  up,  and  plastering  every  crevice,  the  closet 
was  heated,  and  kept  hot  with  a  fire  of  wood.  The 
usual  consequence  was  a  puerperal  fever  to  the  mo 
ther,  and  frequently  the  child  was  carried  off  by  this 
cruel  disorder.  At  times  I  was  of  opinion  that  the 
improper  mode  of  treating  the  umbilical  cord  might 
be  the  cause ;  at  others,  the  omission  to  purge  off  the 
meconium  in  proper  time.  I  have  seen  these  accidents 
occur,  from  keeping  the  infant  too  hot  with  body 
clothes  and  bed-clothes  in  that  burning  climate ;  and  I 
have  known  it  happen  when  none  of  these  causes  ex- 
isted. 

"  Some  years  before  I  left  Jamaica,  I  introduced 
a  material  change  in  the  treatment  of  pregnant  wo- 
men. I  had  a  lying-in  ward  prepared,  which  was 
kept  clean,  airy,  and  commodious  ;  with  black  nurses 
and  midwives,  properly  instructed.  The  pregnant 
woman  went  about,  and  did  some  easy  work,  till  the 
last  day  of  her  reckoning  ;  and  this  practice  is  now 
universal  in  that  island.  By  this  means,  few  women 
die  of  puerperal  fever ;  and  the  proportion  of  children 
that  die  of  locked  jaw  is  small,  in  comparison  with  the 
numbers  of  former  times.  The  women,  too,  by  gentle 
exercise,  have  seldom  those  difficult  and  preternatural 
labours,  which  often  happen  to  ladies  of  rank  and  fa- 
shion, and  to  those  in  inferior  ranks  who  follow  the 
pernicious  example,  by  giving  themselves  up  to  sloth 
and  idleness  during  the  period  of  pregnancy. 

"  The  locked  jaw  happens  before  the  ninth  day  af- 
ter birth,  and  often  without  any  notice  or  warning  of 
its  approach.     In  a  few  cases,  where  the  infant  seemed 


92  MEMOIR  OF   Dll  WRIGHT. 

griped,  and  not  inclined  to  suck,  as  usual ;  where  it 
started,  and  was  somewhat  convulsed,  I  suspected  te- 
tanus was  forming.  In  such  situations,  I  removed 
occasional  causes,  and  immediately  emptied  the  sto- 
mach, by  Vinum  antimoniale,  and  the  bowels  by  a 
smart  injection.  I  ordered  one  grain  calomel,  in  a 
tea  spoon,  with  syrup  ;  and,  if  it  did  not  operate,  by 
stool,  in  three  hours,  a  repetition  of  the  dose.  This 
often  succeeded  ;  and,  as  I  thought,  prevented  the 
locked  jaw. 

■*  But,  when  the  disorder  was  once  formed,  I  never 
saw  it  cured,  except  in  one  instance.  The  Negress 
was  my  own  ;  and,  with  her  consent,  I  plunged  her 
infant  in  cold  water.  It  grew  as  stiff  as  a  board.  A 
Mulatto  lady  rubbed  it  till  it  became  warm  and  flexi- 
ble. The  child  had  no  more  tetanus.  The  Mulatto 
lady  took  the  merit  of  the  cure !" 

"  I  have  conversed  with  several  gentlemen  from  the 
Windward  Islands  on  this  subject.  Some  allege  they 
have  succeeded  by  the  application  of  a  poultice  of  pow- 
dered bark  to  the  umbilical  region  ;  and,  of  late,  I 
have  heard  a  report,  that  a  drop  or  two  of  the  oleum 
terebinthinse  to  the  navel  itself  is  a  sovereign  cure  ; 
but  upon  what  principle  I  cannot  conceive." 

On  the  15th  of  March  1794,  he  again  writes  to 
Dr  Garthshore  : — "  Sir  Joseph  Banks's  splendid 
present  has  arrived.  I  send  you  by  Mr  Seton  a  let- 
ter for  the  Baronet,  with  a  rare  Iceland  specimen  ; 
and  '  The  profitable  Arte  of  Gardening,  Englished  by 
Thomas  Hile,  Londoner — imprinted  anno  1574,' 
which  I  will  thank  you  to  deliver." 


MEMOIR  OF   1)K   WRIGHT.  ~  -       §3 

About  this  time,  in  a  letter  to  his  brother,  he  says, 
— "  I  am  sorry  to  acquaint  you  with  the  death  of  se- 
veral friends,  viz.  Dr  Colin  Campbell,  of  the  in- 
fectious fever  at  Guadaloupe,  and  Sir  Henry  Mar- 
tin, Comptroller  of  the  Navy.  Mr  Innes,  formerly 
Roman  Catholic  priest  at  Drummond-Castle,  had  for 
some  years  resided  in  France ;  his  niece  was  of  the 
same  persuasion,  and  kept  his  house.  Both  of  these 
unhappy  persons  perished  about  a  month  ago  by  the 
hands  of  the  executioner." 

Soon  afterwards  he  again  writes  to  his  brother : — 
"  Your  ideas  as  to  the  situation  of  France  are  very 
just.  Confusion  and  anarchy  reign  in  the  Convention. 
Tallien  and  Barrere  are  in  a  precarious  situa- 
tion, and  will  probably  share  the  fate  of  their  prede- 
cessors. But  the  people  must  at  last  awake  from  their 
delusion,  and  see  the  necessity  of  a  head,  and  a  regu- 
lar government,  although  that  period  indeed  seems 
yet  far  distant.  The  wretches  amongst  ourselves 
rejoice  at  every  disaster,  and  wish  to  involve  us  in  si- 
milar misery,  that  they  may  satiate  themselves  with 
blood,  and  seize  on  riches  which  they  have  neither 
the  talent  nor  the  industry  to  acquire  for  themselves. 
Yesterday  I  went  to  the  Lawnmarket,  and  saw  Ro- 
bert Watt  brought  down  from  the  Castle*;  I  then 
went  to  Heriot's  Green,  where  300  gentlemen  volun- 
teers were  under  arms.  There  was  happily  no  disturb- 
ance. Indeed,  every  thing  was  more  quietly  conduct- 
ed than  at  the  execution  of  a  common  malefactor.     I 

*  Watt  had  been  convicted  of  high  treason. 


94  MEMOIR  OF   DR  WRIGHT. 

hope  in  God  that  this  example  may  have  its  due  effect 
with  the  deluded  multitude." 

On  the  9th  of  June  1794,  he  writes  to  Dr  Garth- 
shore  : — "  I  thank  you  for  Dr  Woodville's  four 
numbers ;   the  engravings  are  executed  with  all  the 
neatness  and  elegance  which  characterized  the  former 
work.    I  observe  he  has  taken  the  earliest  opportunity 
of  inserting  the  tree  which  produces  the  true  Cortex 
Cascarillaz,  or  Eleutheria.    You  may  say  to  him  that 
Sir  Joseph  Banks,  as  well  as  myself,  made  it  a  Cro- 
ton.     Swart  z,  in  his  Prodromus,  is  of  the  same  opi- 
nion.   The  circumstance  of  its  being  polygamous,  mi- 
litates but  little  against  this  idea.     The  last  Quassia 
I  sent  you  is  polygamous,  although  the  genus  Quassia 
belongs  to  the  class  Decandria  of  Linnaeus.     Very 
lately  I  got  a  small  parcel  of  Conessi  bark  from  Dr 
Roxburgh  at  Madras.  The  tree  is  the  Nerium  anti- 
dysentericum  of  Linnaeus,  and  you  will  find  an  ac- 
count of  its  uses  in  medicine  in  the  Edinburgh  Me- 
dical Essays,  and  in  Murray's  Apparatus  Medicami- 
num.     If  Dr  Woodville  takes  notice  of  it,  he  may 
see  a  specimen  of  the  plant  at  the  President's ;  and  I 
shall  take  the  first  opportunity  of  sending  a  little  of  the 
bark  to  give  him." 

On  the  20th  of  May  1795,  he  again  writes  to  Dr 
Garthshore  : — "  Messrs  Veght,  Schmissar  and 
Watte nb ac H  called  to  take  leave.  I  have  shewn 
these  foreigners  every  civility  and  attention  in  my 
power,  and  they  have  left  me  well  pleased.  Mr 
Schmissak  gave  me  the  first  volume  of  his  System 
of  Mineralogy.     If  Dr  Crichton  does  not  get  the 


MEMOIR   OF    1)11   WRIGHT.  95 

second  from  the  author,  you  will  he  so  good  as  huy  it 
for  me. 

?'  Mr  John  Bell's  work  on  Wounds  is  in  the  press. 
That  part  which  treats  of  gunshot  wounds  I  have  now 
hy  me  to  revise  and  correct,  having  seen  many  acci- 
dents of  this  sort." 

Up  to  this  period  l)r  Wright  had  continued  to 
reside  in  Edinburgh  during  the  winter  months.  On 
the  appointment  of  a  medical  staff  for  North  Britain, 
in  1795,  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  Sir  George  Bakkr, 
and  Dr  Garthshore,  combined  their  influence  and 
exertions  to  get  their  friend  placed  upon  it,  but  with- 
out success ;  and  as  the  security  on  which  he  had  in- 
vested the  greater  part  of  his  property  was  still  in  a 
precarious  and  unsatisfactory  condition,  he  was  in- 
duced to  accede  to  a  proposal  which  was  then  made  to 
him,  to  accompany  Sir  Ralph  Abercrombie,  as 
physician  to  a  considerable  armament,  about  to  be 
despatched  for  the  protection  of  our  West  India  pos- 
sessions. 

On  the  25th  of  August  1795,  he  writes  to  Dr 
Garthshore  as  follows : — "  I  had  the  honour  of  your 
letter  by  Mr  Kirwan,  who  has  been  here  for  a  fort- 
night. He  is  so  well  pleased  with  the  country,  and 
the  attention  he  has  met  with,  that  he  is  resolved  to 
return  to  Scotland  next  year.  Dr  Black  and  Dr 
Rutherford  have  been  much  with  him ;  I  have 
seen  him  as  often  as  I  coidd,  and  gave  him  a  share  of 
any  fossils  I  had. 

"  I   am  also  favoured  with   yours  of  the  22d  cur- 

l 


96  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

rent ;  and  as  you  and  my  excellent  friend  have  inte- 
rested yourselves  to  procure  for  me  so  respectable  an 
appointment,  I  shall  accept  it  cheerfully.  I  trust, 
however,  that  I  shall  not  be  called  on  for  examina- 
tion before  the  London  College  of  Physicians,  in  order 
to  be  licensed.  If  my  military  services,  my  fellowships 
in  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians  of  Edinburgh  and 
of  the  Royal  Society,  and  my  character  as  an  author, 
be  not  sufficient,  I  must  be  excused  if  I  decline  the 
tender  now  made  me. 

"  In  the  mean  time,  I  shall  be  making  the  neces- 
sary preparations,  that  I  may  be  ready  at  the  shortest 
notice." 

Soon  after  this  period,  Dr  Wright  was  induced 
to  proceed  to  London  ;  but  on  his  arrival  there,  he 
found  that  his  appointment  was  to  be  strenuously  op- 
posed by  the  London  College  of  Physicians,  as  an  en- 
croachment on  the  exclusive  privileges  which  were 
claimed  for  the  licentiates  of  that  corporation.  Dr 
Wright  was  intimately  acquainted  with  many  of  the 
leading  members  of  the  College ;  but  such  is  the  in- 
fluence of  that  esprit  de  corps  by  which  such  bodies 
are  governed,  that  his  ultimate  success  in  resisting 
the  right  of  exclusion,  is  not  to  be  ascribed  in  any 
measure  to  the  intimacy  which  he  enjoyed  with  Sir 
George  Baker,  and  several  other  individuals  of  the 
highest  influence  in  the  body  ;  but  solely  to  the  force 
of  his  own  high  character,  to  the  firmness  and  intelli- 
gence of  the  distinguished  Commander  of  the  arma- 
ment, and  to  the  liberal  and  enlightened  views  of  the 


AII.AIOIK   OK   Dlt   WliKiHT.  ^       '97 

Secretary  at  War*.  But  the  opposition  which  he 
met  with  from  the  London  College  of  Physicians  in 
its  corporate  capacity,  was  never  allowed  to  disturb 
the  harmony  of  private  friendship.     A  line  of  distinc- 

*  Dr  Wells,  in  his  celebrated  letter  to  Lord  Kknvon,  since  re- 
published with  his  own  Autobiography,  and,  with  his  Essays  on  Vi- 
sion and  on  Dew,  (London,  8vo,  1818,)  gives  the  following  account 
of  Dr  Wright's  appointment : — 

"  Suspicions  having  arisen  in  the  beginning  of  the  present  war, 
that  the  dreadful  mortality  of  our  troops  in  the  West  Indies  had,  in 
part  at  least,  been  owing  to  their  want  of  proper  medical  aid,  it  ne- 
cessarily became  an  object  of  great  national  concern,  that  the  im- 
mense armament  which  was  preparing  in  1795  to  be  sent  to  these 
countries  under  the  command  of  Sir  Ralph  Abercrombie,  should 
be  provided  with  able  physicians.  In  this  state  of  things,  Dr  Wil- 
liam Wright  of  Edinburgh  was  mentioned  to  a  person  in  power 
as  being  well  acquainted  with  the  diseases  of  the  West  Indies  ;  in 
consequence  of  which  a  gentleman  connected  with  administration, 
authorized  a  common  friend  to  make  him  the  offer  of  being  a  phy- 
sician to  the  armament.  Having  signified  his  willingness  to  accept 
this  appointment,  he  was  desired  to  remain  in  Edinburgh  until  his 
services  should  be  required.  ■ 

"  It  is  proper  to  say  somewhat  here  concerning  the  fitness  of  Dr 
Wright  for  the  situation  to  which  he  was  designed.  He  tvas  a 
Fellow  of  the  College  of  Physicians  of  Edinburgh,  and  had  for- 
merly served  his  Majesty  seventeen  years,  chiefly  in  the  West  In- 
dies. He  had,  besides,  practised  medicine  in  Jamaica,  while  uncon- 
nected with  the  army,  for  thirteen  years,  during  great  part  of  which 
-time  he  was  physician-general  to  the  militia  of  the  island.  His  ta- 
lents had  not  in  the  mean  while  been  confined  to  the  cultivation  of 
the  practical  part  "of  his  profession.  Having  included  natural  his- 
tory among  the  objects  of  his  study,  he  had,  during  his  residence  in 
Jamaica,  explored  almost  the  whole  of  it,  in  his  attempts  to  extend 
the  limits  of  that  science,  and  had  in  consequence  made  many  im- 

G 


98  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

tion  was  anxiously  drawn  between  the  rights  of  the 
body,  and  the  individual  feelings  of  its  members,  from 
many  of  whom  he  received  the  most  flattering  marks 
of  attention,  and  such  recommendatory  letters  to  Sir 

portant  discoveries  of  plants,  some  of  which  bad  been  published  in 
the  Philosophical  Transactions  of  London  and  Edinburgh,  and  vari- 
ous other  works.  By  these  means  he  had  become  well  known  to 
many  of  the  learned  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  and  had  been 
admitted  a  member  of  the  Royal  Societies  of  London  and  Edin- 
burgh, and  several  other  bodies  of  literary  men.  In  short,  if  pri- 
vate worth,  patient  industry,  diversified  knowledge,  great  general 
skill  in  medicine,  and  long  experience  of  those  diseases  in  particu- 
lar which  attack  Europeans  in  the  West  Indies,  were  qualities  to  be 
desired  in  a  physician  to  his  Majesty's  forces  there,  the  fitness  of  Dr 
Wright  to  be  one  was  most  eminent. 

"  To  return  to  my  narrative  :  in  September,  Dr  Wright  came 
to  London,  expecting  to  receive  the  promised  appointment  imme- 
diately upon  his  arrival ;  but  he  was  told  at  the  Army  Medical 
Board,  that,  by  a  rule  of  Sir  Lucas  Pepys,  it  could  not  be  given  to 
him  unless  he  had  a  license  to  practise  medicine  from  the  Col- 
lege of  Physicians  qf  London.  He  declared  his  readiness  to  sub- 
mit to  the  forms  necessary  for  obtaining  one,  but  these  could  not  be 
completed  before  the  end  of  December,  and  the  armament  it  was 
intended  he  should  accompany  was  almost  on  the  point  of  sailing. 
Sir  Lucas  Pepys  was  therefore  strongly  urged  by  several  persons 
to  suspend  his  rule ;  among  others,  by  two  of  his  own  friends,  who 
told  him  that  Dr  Wright  would  certainly  be  appointed  whether 
he  recommended  him  or  not.  His  answer  was,  He  would  never 
recommend  Dr  Wright,  and  he  noas  sure  the  King  "would  not 
sign  his  commission.  But  it  was  quickly  seen  that  he  had  grossly 
overrated  his  consequence.  It  was  indeed  not  to  be  supposed  that  a 
rule  of  a  court  physician,  whose  connexion  with  the  army  had  com- 
menced only  a  year  or  two  before,  by  his  being  placed  at  once  at  the 
head  of  its  medical  department,  would  long  prevent  the  execution 


UK  M  OIK  OF  DB   WRIGHT.  ^.    99 

Km. rii  Abercrombie,  as  laid  a  favourable  founda- 
tion for  his  subsequent  intimacy  with  that  able  com- 
mander. 

The  fleet  prepared  for  the  embarkation  of  the  ar- 
mament, amounting  altogether  to  300  sail,  was  ap- 
pointed to  rendezvous  at  Portsmouth,  which  enabled 
Dr  Wright  to  pay  a  short  visit  to  his  friends  in 
Hampshire  ;  hut  on  his  joining  the  fleet,  his  profes- 
sional duties  required  his  constant  attendance  on  board 
the  hospital  ship.  They  set  sail,  with  a  fair  wind,  on 
the  15th  of  November ;  but  were  scarcely  four  and 
twenty  hours  at  sea,  when  a  violent  storm  arose,  which 
dispersed  the  fleet,  and  compelled  them  to  run  for 
shelter  to  the  various  harbours  of  the  Channel.  The 
ship  in  which  Dr  Wright  had  embarked,  reached  St 
Helen's  Roads  in  safety,  on  the  17th  of  November; 
but  such  was  the  severity  of  the  tempest,  that  the  ad- 
jacent coasts  were  covered  with  the  wrecks  of  mcr-* 
chantmen  and  transports  ;  and  the  loss  of  lives  con- 
nected with  the  armament  alone  amounted  to  600  in 
number.  In  a  letter  to  his  brother  from  St  Helen's 
Roads,  on  the  20th  of  November,  Dr  Wright  ob- 
serves :  "  It  will  be  a  fortnight  before  we  can  be  ready 
for  sea  again,  as  it  will  be  necessary  to  refit.  Our  si- 
tuation was  rather  uncomfortable,  but  I  know  too 
much  of  the  Channel  service  to  apprehend  any  serious 

of  a  measure  deemed  by  the  ablest  judges  highly  beneficial  to  the 
military  service  of  our  country.  In  October,  by  the  influence  chief- 
ly of  Sir  Ralph  Abercrombie,  Dr  Wright  was  appointed  a 
physician  to  the  armament,  and  shortly  after  went  with  it  to  tho 
West  Indies." 

2  c;  2 


100  MEMOIR  OF  UK  WUIOHT. 

danger  in  a  stout  well-manned  ship.  I  have  with  me 
a  Surgeon-General,  Apothecary-General,  a  Medical- 
Purveyor,  and  three  hospital  mates.  All  these  assist 
me  in  the  management  of  the  sick  sent  from  the 
transports. 

"  The  last  letters  from  Mr  Colman,  state  the 
amount  of  my  dear  James's  estate  to  be  at  most 
L.  350  ;  but  this  is  independent  of  the  Pondicherry 
prize-money.  Before  embarking,  I  had  arranged  all 
my  affairs:  need  I  say,  that  every  thing  I  possess  is 
destined  for  you  and  your  family." 

From  Spithead  he  writes  to  Dr  Garthshore,  on 
the  26th  of  November :  "  You  ask  me  how  early  I 
got  the  first  hint  of  using  calomel  f  It  was  ever  a 
happiness  to  me,  that  I  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  the 
late  Dr  Lind,  and  was  conversant  with  his  writings. 
In  his  work  on  the  diseases  of  warm  climates,  he  takes 
"notice  of  the  East  India  practice  of  giving  mercury  in 
inflammations  of  the  liver,  and  of  the  late  Sir  John 
Elliott  treating  patients  with  visceral  obstructions 
successfully  by  means  of  mercurial  medicines.  All  this 
I  knew  so  early  as  1760 ;  but  it  was  only  in  1764  that 
I  began  to  give  calomel  in  so  free  a  manner  as  I  have 
done  ever  since,  not  only  in  hepatitis  or  splenitis,  but 
in  all  the  other  acute  diseases  I  have  treated  of.  It 
was  from  reasoning  in  my  own  mind,  and  from  ana- 
logy, that  I  adopted  the  practice,  and  I  have  never 
had  cause  to  repent  it. 

"  I  never  saw  any  thing  of  Dr  Crawford's  Trea- 
tise on  the  Liver,  except  what  I  read  in  the  Monthly 
Review,  about  the  year  1773.     I  am  glad  to  observe 


MEMOIR  OF  ni;  WEIGHT.  ~  -    101 

tli.it  his  brother  is  engaged  in  a  work  which  promises 
to  be  so  useful  to  mankind." 

On  the  8th  of  December  he  again  writes  to  Dr 
(Jautiishoke  :  "  The  wind  still  keeps  westerly,  and 
gives  me  another  opportunity  of  writing  to  you.  The 
General  and  Admiral  are  embarked,  and  we  shall  sail 
with  the  first  change  of  wind. 

"  On  the  6th  current,  I  received  a  polite  and  friend- 
ly letter  from  Dr  John  Crawford,  giving  me  a 
sketch  of  his  intended  publication,  and  some  practical 
hints  for  regimen,  and  the  cure  of  diseases  in  warm 
climates.  I  beg  you  to  return  him  my  best  thanks  for 
the  pains  he  has  taken  ;  and  say  that  I  shall  adopt  his 
ideas,  as  far  as  circumstances  will  admit.  I  am  aware 
that  the  quantity  of  animal  food  and  fermented  li- 
quors, ought  to  be  diminished  as  Europeans  approach 
the  tropics.  In  an  hospital  ship,  or  even  in  a  gene- 
ral hospital,  our  numbers  are  fluctuating,  and  the  sick 
are  dieted  on  what  is  called  the  full,  middle,  and  low 
regimen.  Previous  to  our  embarking,  a  medical  board 
settled  the  diet  of  soldiers  in  health,  when  in  the 
West  Indies,  by  regulations,  of  which  we  have  printed 
copies  on  board.     The  plan  is  very  good. 

"  Since  we  first  embarked  at  Southampton,  I  have 
not  been  once  on  shore.  I  could  not  with  propriety 
leave  the  ship,  as  we  have  many  bad  cases  constantly 
sent  to  us  from  the  fleet.  There  is  no  sick-berth  al- 
lotted to  soldiers  on  board  of  transports,  as  in  ships 
of  war,  nor  the  same  able  practitioners  to  treat  them, 
in  the  beginning  of  fevers.  The  truth  is,  they  have 
been  obliged  to  take  any  that  offered,  and  young  lads 


102  .MEMOIR  OF  Dll  WRIGHT. 

from  behind  a  counter  are  made  hospital-mates.  This 
class  of  men  are  no  way  like  those  of  your  time  and 
mine,  when  medical  men  of  much  information  had 
such  appointments. 

"  Say  to  Dr  Crawford,  that  any  thing  in  my 
power  will  be  at  his  nephew's  service  ;  but  I  see  he 
will  act  with  the  army  at  St  Domingo,  and  not  with 
us." 

The  fleet  again  set  sail  on  the  10th  of  December, 
and  during  the  whole  voyage  met  with  adverse  winds 
and  stormy  weather.  The  William  and  John  hos- 
pital ship,  in  which  Dr  Wright  had  embarked,  was 
separated  from  the  rest  of  the  fleet  on  the  21st  of  De- 
cember, and  they  never  saw  any  part  of  the  convoy 
until  their  arrival  in  the  West  Indies.  The  fleet  sus- 
tained many  serious  losses  in  the  course  of  the  voy- 
age, and  the  William  and  John  escaped  narrowly 
from  shipwreck  on  the  north-west  coast  of  Madeira 
They  got  into  the  Trade  winds,  however,  on  the  1st  of 
February,  and  on  the  18th  of  that  month  reached 
Barbadoes  in  safety.  A  complete  dispersion  of  the 
fleet  had  taken  place.  Fifty  sail  had  reached  the 
rendezvous  before  the  William  and  .John ;  but  of 
these,  scarcely  two  had  arrived  in  company,  and  it  was 
several  weeks  before  any  intelligence  arrived  of  the  ad- 
miral and  the  commander  in  chief.  Dr  Wright 
landed  on  the  21st  of  February,  and  immediately  as- 
sumed the  charge  of  one  of  the  hospitals  on  shore. 
Many  of  the  transports  had  been  sickly  throughout 
the  voyage,  which  is  ascribed  to  the  negligence  of  the 
military  officers,   in  neglecting  to  see  that  the  berths 


MEMOIR  ()!     I)K   WRIGHT.  •  »  10.'i 

were  kept  clean,  and  in  permitting  the  men  under 
their  command  to  indulge  in  slovenly  and  uncleanly 
habits  on  ship-board.  Typhus  or  ship-fever  continued 
to  rage  in  the  harbour  ;  but  the  patients  were  sent  on 
shore  as  soon  as  they  were  seized  with  it,  and  Dr 
Wright  did  not  observe  it  to  spread  after  reaching 
the  hospital. 

"  Yesterday,"  he  observes,  in  writing  to  Dr  Garth- 
shore  on  the  20th  of  March,  "  in  one  ship  I  found 
forty-seven  men  ill  of  typhus,  and  objects  for  the  hos- 
pital. 

"  The  medical  assistants  in  transports,"  he  conti- 
nues, "  are  in  general  raw  and  uninformed.  The 
examination  at  Surgeons'  Hall  is  no  doubt  proper  in 
its  kind  ;  but  every  man  acting  on  board  a  transport, 
or  with  detachments  of  troops,  ought  to  be  more  of 
the  physician  than  the  surgeon ;  and  surely  they 
ought  to  be  examined  by  two  or  more  physicians  who 
have  crossed  the  Atlantic,  and  had  experience  of  tro- 
pical diseases." 

It  was  at  first  intended  that  the  general  hospital 
should  be  fixed  at  Barbadocs,  where  Dr  Wright  was 
stationed ;  but  being  situated  so  far  to  windward,  it 
was  afterwards  found  that  a  scarcity  of  transports 
made  that  arrangement  inconvenient.  In  the  month 
of  April  1796,  the  head  quarters  of  the  armament 
were  moved  to  St  Lucia,  and  Dr  Wright  was  left  in 
command  of  all  the  military  hospitals  in  Barbadoes. 
At  St  Lucia,  as  well  as  at  St  Domingo,  the  mortality 
among  the  troops  was  most  appalling.  Fluxes  and 
remittents  were  the  prevailing  diseases,  and  at  this 


104  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

time  they  were  peculiarly  fatal.  The  ship  or  jail  fe- 
ver had  been  overcome  ;  and  Dr  Wright  observes 
that  he  had  never  seen  the  yellow  fever,  and  hopes 
that  he  never  should.  After  the  removal  of  the  troops 
from  Barbadoes,  Dr  Wright's  professional  duties  be- 
came gradually  less  fatiguing,  as  the  inmates  of  the 
various  hospitals  entrusted  to  his  charge  were  diminish- 
ed in  number.  In  a  few  weeks  he  was  enabled  to  re- 
port, that  the  whole  of  the  sick  in  Barbadoes,  connect- 
ed with  the  armament,  were  in  a  state  of  convales- 
cence. The  leisure  which  he  thus  acquired,  was  de- 
voted, with  his  wonted  ardour,  to  the  pursuits  of  na- 
tural history ;  and  a  large  collection  of  the  produc- 
tions of  the  Windward  Islands  was  the  result. 

In  the  autumn,  however,  of  1796  these  interesting 
avocations  were  interrupted.  Sir  Ralph  Abercrom- 
bie  had  resolved  to  go  home  for  reinforcements,  and, 
before  his  departure,  he  again  fixed  the  head  quarters, 
as  well  as  the  general  hospital,  at  Barbadoes ;  a 
change  which  necessarily  brought  with  it  a  great  ac- 
cession of  fatiguing  duty  to  Dr  Wright.  He  de- 
scribes Barbadoes  as  the  hottest  of  the  West  India 
islands  he  had  ever  visited,  but  observes  that  all  its 
disadvantages  are  counterbalanced  by  its  superior  dry- 
ness and  salubrity.  The  troops,  however,  had  been  so 
greatly  reduced  in  number  and  efficiency,  by  disease 
during  their  absence  from  the  island,  that  a  descent  of 
the  enemy  was  regarded  with  the  most  serious  alarm. 
The  shores  were  in  many  places  open  to  invasion,  and 
the  country,  in  general,  was  incapable,  from  natural 
causes,   of  being   materially  strengthened,     The  mi- 


Ml.MOl!!    OF    1)U    WRIGHT.  ^  ]  ().') 

litia  indeed  was  numerous,  but  in  a  miserable  state  of 
discipline,  and  they  had  never  seen  a  musket  fired  in 
anger  by  an  enemy.  In  such  circumstances  the  re- 
turn of  Sir  Ralph  Abercrombik  was  looked  for  with 
much  anxiety. 

The  command  of  the  armament  had  now  devolved  on 
General  Graham,  who,  in  the  month  of  October,  re- 
moved the  head  quarters  and  the  general  hospital  to 
Martinique,  leaving  Dr  Wright,  as  formerly,  in 
charge  of  the  military  hospitals  of  Barbadoes.  At 
this  period  the  number  on  the  sick  list  was  very  con- 
siderable ;  but  the  diseases  of  tropical  regions  are,  in 
general,  too  acute  to  be  of  long  duration,  so  that  in  a 
short  time  he  was  enabled  to  send  a  staff  surgeon, 
with  twenty  hospital-mates,  to  head  quarters. 

In  reasoning  on  the  subject  of  the  remitting  fever, 
which  had  been  so  fatal  to  the  armament,  Dr  Wright, 
in  a  letter  to  Dr  Garthshore  of  the  5th  December 
1796,  appears  to  regard  it  as  analogous,  or  rather 
identical,  with  the  autumnal  fevers  and  dysenteries  of 
England  ;  and  he  mentions,  in  the  strongest  terms, 
the  advantages  which  he  found  to  result  from  the  li- 
beral use  of  calomel  in  this  disorder. 

"  I  must  now,"  he  continues,  "  advert  to  your  last 
letter,  which  is  a  complete  analysis  of  Mr  Paterson's 
book  on  Sea  Scurvy,  and  of  Mr  Douglas  Whytt's 
papers. 

";  Mr  Paterson's  Acetum  nitrosum  in  sea  scur- 
vy I  believe  to  be  new,  and  if  it  answer  the  purposes 
of  the  benevolent  author,  he  deserves  the  thanks  of 
his  country.     Hitherto  I  have  been  at  no  loss  for  a 


106  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

specific  in  that  formidable  distemper,  when  I  could 
get  lime-juice ;  and  I  hope  every  ship  in  the  navy 
will  be  supplied  with  a  quantity  of  these  juices  in  pro- 
portion to  her  rate.  It  not  only  arrests  the  disorder, 
but  positively  cures  it,  provided  the  sick  have  a  pro- 
per diet  of  rice,  oatmeal,  portable-soup,  and  wine. 
Ships  of  war,  in  my  time,  had  no  wine  laid  in  for  the 
sick.  But  as  the  Commissioners  for  the  Sick  and 
Wounded  have  now  got  the  sole  management,  they 
will  not  neglect  this  best  of  all  cordials  for  sick  sea- 
men on  shipboard. 

"  I  have  carefully  perused  your  extracts  from  Mr 
Douglas  Whytt's  papers,  but  cannot  find  any  thing 
that  merits  the  name  of  a  discovery.  Warm  bathing, 
and  anointing  with  unctuous  substances,  are  as  old  as 
Celsus  and  Hippocrates,  and  have  been  practised,  for 
time  immemorial,  in  febrile  disorders  as  well  as  in  health, 
by  the  savages  of  America  and  the  Negroes  of  Guinea. 
On  the  coast  of  Africa  the  palm-oil  is  daily  applied, 
after  bathing,  as  a  protection  from  cold.  In  acute 
feverish  disorders,  to  depend  on  glysters  would,  in 
these  climates,  be  a  fatal  and  dangerous  practice.  If 
calomel  be  slow  in  its  operation,  he  can  easily  increase 
the  quantity,  and  experience  now  shows  to  what  exent 
it  can  be  given  with  safety  and  efficacy.  The  other 
means  he  proposes  for  a  reform  in  naval  practice,  were 
long  ago  detailed  by  Lind,  Milman,  Trotter, 
Blane,  and  others." 

Early  in  January  1 797,  Sir  Ralph  Abercrom- 
bie  arrived  in  Barbadoes  with  a  reinforcement  of 
troops  from  England  ;  and  soon  afterwards  expressed 


MEMOIR  OF   DB   WRIGHT.  ]  07 

-A.      • 

his  formal  thanks  to  Dr  Wright,  for  his  care  of  the 
sick,  in  general  orders. 

Soon  after  Sir  Ralph  had  resumed  the  command, 
he  ordered  500  sick  from  St  Lucia  and  Grenada  to 
be  removed  to  Barbadoes,  in  order  to  be  placed  under 
Dr  Wright's  superintendence.  Part  of  this  number 
was  composed  of  the  sad  remains  of  the  31st  Regi- 
ment, which  had  been  reduced  to  a  miserable  rem- 
nant of  100  men,  all  labouring  under  the  fever  and 
ague  of  the  climate,  or  the  visceral  obstructions,  jaun- 
dice and  dropsy,  which  are  its  usual  consequences. 
Some  were  so  far  reduced  before  their  arrival  in  Bar- 
badoes, as  to  die  in  landing  on  the  wharf ;  and  many 
of  them  survived  only  a  very  few  days.  But  such  of 
them  as  brought  any  measure  of  strength,  improved 
rapidly  in  the  dry  atmosphere  of  Barbadoes,  and 
under  the  excellent  management  of  Dr  Wright. 
The  extraordinary  mortality  of  the  disease  he  ascrib- 
ed to  the  great  fatigue  which  the  troops  had  un- 
dergone ;  to  the  excessive  heat  of  a  climate  load- 
ed with  moisture ;  and,  above  all,  to  the  baleful 
miasmata  brought  to  them  from  the  marshes  to  the 
windward  of  their  former  stations.  At  the  same  time 
he  disapproved  of  the  medical  treatment  which  they 
had  hitherto  experienced.  The  use  of  bark  he  be- 
lieved to  have  been  carried  to  excess.  The  exhibition 
of  opium  had  been  neglected  during  the  hot  fit  of  the 
intermittents ;  and  in  removing  obstructions  of  the 
viscera,  and  obviating  the  effects  of  long  continued 
agues,  he  continued  to  hold  that  mild  mercurials 
were  attended  with  the  happiest  effects. 


108  MEMOIR  OF  UR  WRIGHT. 

Whilst  the  ranks  of  the  armament  were  thus  rapid- 
ly extenuated  by  disease  and  death,  the  skill  of  the 
medical  practitioners  was  insufficient  for  the  protection 
of  their  own  number  from  the  ravages  of  mortality.  Five 
physicians,  four  surgeons,  and  twenty  hospital  mates, 
had  already  fallen  victims  to  the  climate.  Originally, 
there  were  eleven  physicians  on  the  staff  of  the  arma- 
ment. Of  these  five  had  died,  four  had  returned  to  Eng- 
land in  bad  health,  and  in  eighteen  months  after  their 
arrival  in  the  West  Indies,  Dr  Wright  had  found 
himself  with  only  a  single  coadjutor  :  So  true  it  is  that 
the  cottage  and  the  palace,  the  patient  and  the  physi- 
cian, are  equally  amenable  to  the  visits  of  mortality. 

Sir  Ralph  Abercrombie,  after  the  conquest  of 
Trinidad,  returned  again  to  England  in  September 
1797.  Soon  afterwards,  Dr  Wright  applied  for 
leave  to  return.  His  health  had  happily  remained 
unimpaired  ;  and  in  other  respects  his  situation  was 
as  favourable  as  could  be  consistent  with  the  scene  of 
death  and  desolation  by  which  he  was  surrounded* 
His  emoluments  appear  to  have  been  considerable. 
He  indulged  a  good  deal  in  exercise  on  horseback ; 
and  after  defraying  the  expences  of  an  establishment, 
in  which  there  were  three  men  servants,  and  as  many 
horses,  his  annual  savings  amounted  to  L.  500.  That, 
however,  was  not  a  consideration  sufficient  to  counter- 
balance, in  the  mind  of  Dr  Wkight,  the  want  of  that 
society  which  in  Edinburgh  had  been  his  chief  source 
of  enjoyment.  It  was  under  these  circumstances,  and 
before  the  period  had  elapsed  within  which  it  was 
possible  to  receive  an  answer  to  his  application,  that  a 


MEMOIR  OP  DK   U'lilCIIT.  ..J  Of) 

general  order  arrived  most  opportunely  from  England, 
for  the  reduction  of  the  medical  staff  on  the  West 
India  station,  which  enahled  Dr  Wright  to  retire 
from  the  service,  without  subjecting  his  friends  at 
home  to  the  necessity  of  incurring  any  new  obliga- 
tion. 

Preparatory  to  his  proposed  departure  from  Barba- 
dos on  this  occasion,  Dr  Wright  prepared  an  offi- 
cial report,  for  the  use  of  the  Army  Medical  Board, 
on  the  subject  of  the  most  prevalent  diseases  among 
the  European  troops  in  the  West  Indies,  and  detailing 
the  mode  of  treatment  which  had  been  pursued  in  the 
various  hospitals  under  his  charge.  This  report  was 
very  favourably  received  by  the  gentlemen  of  the  fa- 
culty, throughout  our  West  India  possessions.  It  was 
reprinted  in  most  of  the  periodical  publications  of  the 
period,  and  was  soon  afterwards  translated  into  several 
of  the  continental  languages. 

Dr  Wright  embarked  at  Barbadoes,  on  the  26th 
of  April  1798,  on  board  the  ship  Barton  for  Liverpool, 
where  he  arrived  early  in  June,  after  narrowly  escaping 
capture  by  Le  Tigre  French  frigate  off  the  coast  of 
Ireland. 

At  Liverpool,  Dr  Wright  formed  a  personal  ac- 
quaintance with  Dr  Citrrie,  for  which  they  had  been 
mutually  prepared  by  their  previous  publications  on 
professional  subjects,  and  more  especially  by  the  simi- 
larity of  their  views,  regarding  the  beneficial  effects  of 
the  use  of  water  as  a  remedy  in  fever,  and  other  dis- 
eases. The  great  work  of  Dr  Currie  on  this  subject 
had  appeared  only  a  few  months  before,  most  appro- 


110  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

priately  opening  with  that  interesting  narrative  of  the 
cure  which  Dr  Wright  had  performed  on  his  own 
person,  in  the  course  of  his  former  voyage  from  the 
West  Indies,  in  the  month  of  August  1777- 

Although  the  right  of  these  enlightened  individuals 
to  the  gratitude  of  posterity,  may  he  said  to  rest  on 
the  same  basis  ;  yet,  during  the  subsequent  friendship 
which  subsisted  between  them,  until  the  lamented 
death  of  Dr  Currie,  in  the  year  1805,  no  feeling  of 
jealousy  ever  arose  to  disturb  the  sentiments  of  mu- 
tual respect,  which  they  continued  to  maintain  for 
each  other,  from  the  first  to  the  last  moment  of  their 
acquaintance.  On  the  one  hand,  the  undoubted  pri- 
ority of  Dr  Wright  in  the  application  of  cold  water  to 
the  body  in  cases  of  fever,  was  uniformly  and  unequi- 
vocally admitted  by  Dr  Ctrrie,  during  his  lifetime, 
in  every  possible  form  :  and  on  the  other,  Dr  Wright 
was  equally  ready  to  concede  the  credit  to  Dr  Cur- 
rie, of  ascertaining  more  precisely  the  rules  by  which 
the  application  of  cold  to  the  surface  of  the  body 
should  be  regulated,  and  particularly  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  thermometrical  observations  into  the  history  of 
diseases,  a  practice  which  had  previously  been  either 
unknown  or  neglected. 

Soon  after  Dr  Wright  had  again  settled  in  Edin- 
burgh, a  very  interesting  correspondence  arose  between 
him  and  Dr  Currie,  on  professional  and  miscellane- 
ous subjects,  which,  had  it  consisted  with  the  plan  of 
the  work,  would  have  been  introduced  into  these  pages 
at  greater  length.  A  selection,  however,  has  been 
made ;   and  by  the  favour  of  the  accomplished  son  of 


MEJVJOIE  OF  l)\i   \\  KKIHI.  Ill 

Dr  Cukkik,  this  volume  is  adorned  with  several  of 
the  letters  of  that  elegant  scholar  and  enlightened 
physician.  Many  appropriate  tributes  have  already 
heen  paid  to  Dr  Gurrie's  memory  :  the  anniversary 
of  his  birth  is  even  marked  as  a  white  day  in  the  ca- 
lendar ;  but  a  general  collection  of  his  correspondence, 
would  afford  a  monument,  acre  perennius,  of  his  ta- 
lents, his  accomplishments,  and  his  worth.  To  rear 
such  a  structure  is  a  task  well  fitted  for  the  hand  of 
affection  ;  and  Mr  Wallace  Currie  will  pardon  the 
respectfid  suggestion,  that  the  world  has  long  looked 
to  him  for  its  performance. 

In  the  later  editions  of  Dr  Currie's  work,  he  closes 
it  in  the  following  terms  : 

"  It  would  not  become  me  to  conclude  without  some  no- 
tice of  Dr  Wright,  with  whose  important  narrative  this  pub- 
lication commences. 

"  This  respectable  physician,  after  having  retired  from  the 
fatigues  of  his  profession,  had  his  services  called  for  once  more 
by  Sir  Ralph  Aisercuombie,  and  attended  the  last  West 
Indian  expedition  of  that  illustrious  and  lamented  command- 
er, in  quality  of  physician  to  the  army.  On  his  return  to 
Britain  he  landed  at  Liverpool  in  June  1798,  and  I  had  then 
an  opportunity  of  forming  not  merely  an  acquaintance,  but  a 
friendship,  with  one  to  whom,  while  unknown,  I  had  been  so 
much  indebted.  I  found  in  Dr  Wright  an  excellent  phy- 
sician and  naturalist,  who  had  devoted  a  long  life  to  the  pur- 
suits of  science,  not  in  academic  bowers,  but  in  situations  of 
toil,  difficulty,  and  danger;  who  had  profited  of  his  ample  ex- 
perience, by  constant  and  unprejudiced  observation  ;  who  pos- 
sessed a  generous  and  disinterested  temper,  and  a  simplicity 
of  manners  worthy  of  a  more  virtuous  age.     From  that  time 


112  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

he  has  resided  in  Edinburgh,  (where  he  now  fills  the  office  of 
President  of  the  College  of  Physicians),  and  I  have  had  the 
advantage  of  his  regular  correspondence,  and  of  his  valuable 
observations.  He  has  been  uniformly  zealous  in  promoting 
my  medical  pursuits,  and  to  his  kindness  I  owe  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Dr  Macniel,  Dr  Robertson,  and  Mr  Macgregor, 
by  whose  communications  I  am  so  much  obliged. 

"  During  his  last  residence  in  the  West  Indies,  and  while 
Director  of  the  Military  Hospitals  in  Barbadoes,  Dr  Wright 
drew  up  for  the  Medical  Board  in  London,  a  report  on  the  dis- 
eases most  common  among  the  troops  in  the  West  Indies.  In 
speaking  of  the  cure  of  the  ship^fever,  he  says  :  '  In  the  begin- 
ning of  the  ship-fever,  the  cold  bath  had  the  best  effects  ;  and 
through  the  day,  when  the  sick  were  hot,  washing  the  hands 
and  face  suddenly  in  cold  water  and  vinegar,  was  exceedingly 
refreshing.1  In  like  manner,  in  treating  of  the  yellow  fever, 
he  remarks,  '  In  the  beginning  of  the  yellow  fever,  the  cold 
bath  succeeded  admirably,  but  in  the  advanced  stage  much 
caution  is  necessary.,  I  quote  these  sentences  from  a  report, 
the  whole  of  which  deserves  the  most  careful  attention  of  mi- 
litary practitioners  in  warm  climates,  to  shew  that  the  expe- 
rience of  Dr  Wright  continued  to  justify  his  original  re- 
commendation of  the  cold  bath  in  fever,  and  to  justify  in  par- 
ticular the  mode  in  which  I  had  recommended  it,  at  a  time 
when  my  publication  was  equally  unknown  to  him  as  his  re- 
port was  to  me. 

"  In  a  few  months  after  his  visit  to  Liverpool,  I  received 
from  Dr  Wright  his  remarks  on  the  second  edition  of  the 
Medical  Reports,  much  at  large.  In  these,  after  support- 
ing all  the  principal  parts  of  my  treatment  of  fever  and  con- 
vulsive diseases,  from  original  observations  of  his  own,  he 
concludes  by  assuring  me  that  my  work  has  his  unqualified 
approbation.  In  subsequent  communications  from  this  vene- 
rable physician,  he  informs  me  of  the  success  attending  his 


memoir  or  nu  wright.  -11:3 

use  of  the  cold  affusion  in  febrile  diseases  in  Edinburgh,  par- 
ticularly in  the  late  influenza  ;  which  lie  treated  as  a  fever  of 
debility,  allowing  a  liberal  diet,  and  the  moderate  use  of  wine, 
but  keeping  down  heat  and  flushings,  by  the  sudden  applica- 
tion of  cold  water  to  the  surface  ;  a  mode  of  treatment  which 
he  found  invariably  successful  :  and  he  expresses  a  confident 
opinion  that  the  cold  affusion,  well  timed,  will  not  only  cure 
all  febrile  exacerbations,  but  prevent  their  taking  place,  '  I 
agree,1  says  Dr  Wright  '  with  Dr  Falconkii  of  Bath,  in 
thinking  that  the  cold  affusion  will  secure  persons  from  taking 
the  plague  itself,  though  exposed  to  its  contagion. r' 

After  a  short  stay  at  Liverpool  and  Manchester, 
Dr  Wiiight,  towards  the  end  of  June  1798,  proceed- 
ed to  London,  where  he  had  the  satisfaction  to  find 
that  his  services  in  the  West  Indies  had  been  duly  ap- 
preciated. As  he  was  still  retained  on  the  full  pay  of 
the  army,  he  appears  to  have  felt  that  his  services 
were  more  immediately  at  the  disposal  of  the  Secretary 
at  War,  than  if  he  had  been  reduced  with  the  other 
officers  of  the  Staff.  It  is  probable,  however,  from  his 
never  having  afterwards  had  any  actual  duty  assigned 
to  him,  that  the  delay  in  placing  him  on  half-pay  was 
only  intended  to  afford  him  some  remuneration  for  the 
example  he  had  shewn  of  zeal,  activity,  and  perseve- 
rance in  the  discharge  of  his  professional  duties. 

The  uncertainty  as  to  his  future  destination,  de- 
tained him  for  several  months  in  London,  during 
which  he  had  an  opportunity  of  cultivating  and  ex- 
tending the  friendships  he  had  formed  in  the  metro- 
polis. At  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians,  he  found 
that  he  had  risen  so  high  in  favour  with  the  corpora- 

!I 


114  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

tion,  as  to  be  offered  the  honorary  rank  of  an  extra- 
licentiate,  which,  however,  he  thought  fit,  under  all 
the  circumstances,  to  decline. 

In  the  month  of  October  1798,  Dr  Wright  pro- 
ceeded to  Edinburgh,  and  shortly  afterwards  to  Aber- 
deen, where  the  business  of  a  friend  required  his  atten- 
tion. From  Aberdeen  he  returned  to  Edinburgh,  by 
way  of  Perthshire,  where  he  appears  to  have  concluded 
the  year,  in  the  bosom  of  his  brother's  family,  and  sur- 
rounded by  his  early  friends. 

Upon  his  arrival  in  Edinburgh,  after  obtaining  and 
fitting  up  a  proper  residence,  his  first  attention  was 
directed  to  the  arrangement  of  his  books,  and  the  in- 
spection of  his  numerous  dried  specimens  in  botany, 
and  other  branches  of  natural  history,  which,  with  his 
recent  additions,  had,  by  this  time,  amounted  to  one 
of  the  greatest  private  collections  in  the  kingdom. 

While  these  matters  were  in  progress,  Dr  Wright, 
in  answer  to  some  inquiries  from  Dr  Garthshore,  on 
the  subject  of  Diabetes,  writes  to  him  as  follows : 

"  Spallanzani,  and  the  works  of  John  Hunter,  may  be 
consulted  with  advantage ;  but  in  what  manner  the  saccharine 
process  is  carried  on  in  the  animal  economy,  is  one  of  the  ar- 
cana of  nature  which  cannot  well  be  developed,  even  with  the 
assistance  of  the  new  chemistry. 

"  In  the  boiling  of  sugar,  I  have  known  some  hogsheads 
spoiled  by  a  mischievous  Negro  squeezing  a  few  limes  or  lemons 
in  a  sugar-mill.  No  granulation  took  place,  and  the  whole 
was  obliged  to  be  sent  to  the  distillery.  It  was  not  this  cir- 
cumstance which  gave  me  the  hint  of  treating  diabetes. 

"  Such  cases  as  fell  under  my  inspection  were  recent,  and 
were  either  accompanied  by  remitting  fever,  or  took  place  in 


MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT.  #  .  1  V5 

young  children  who  laboured  under  lienteria,  and  an  immo- 
derate flow  of  urine.  In  either  case,  my  mixture  of  citric 
acid  and  marine  salt  answered  the  purpose  completely.  That 
such  disorders  are  occasioned  first  by  a  morbid  secretion  in  the 
jyrimec  v'm  is  little  doubted,  and  that  such  secretion  has  an  as_ 
similating  power  is  evident  from  the  effects.  Has  the  medi- 
cine the  power  of  changing  the  nature  of  this  morbid  fer- 
ment ?  Or  does  it  give  the  parts  another  action  ?  Be  that  as 
it  may,  I  have  relieved  many  by  this  medicine ;  and,  had  I 
restricted  my  patients  entirely  to  animal  food,  I  might  have 
succeeded  also  in  diabetic  cases  of  long  standing.  I  think  I 
have  done  good  with  infusions  of  Lignum  Quassia*,  which  is 
quite  the  opposite  to  honey  or  sugar.1"' 

On  the  21st  of  February  1799,  Dr  Wright  thus 
commences  his  correspondence  with  Dr  Currie  : 

"  My  Dear  Doctor, — From  the  time  I  left  you  in  June, 
I  was  detained  four  months  in  England  before  it  was  deter- 
mined to  put  me  on  the  half  pay.  For  that  space  I  lived 
sometimes  in  London,  sometimes  in  Hampshire. 

Our  friend  Dr  Garthshore  told  me  he  had  read  your 
book  several  times  over,  and  always  with  new  pleasure  and 
information.  Till  very  lately,  I  could  not  sit  down  to  exa- 
mine it  with  the  attention  which  it  merits.  From  the  progress 
I  have  made,  I  see  how  little  you  have  left  me  to  correct  or 
to  add.  Any  remarks  which  occur  will  be  speedily  forward- 
ed. 

"  While  I  staid  in  London,  my  friend  Mr  Weir,  Inspec- 
tor-General of  Hospitals  in  San  Domingo,  gave  me  an  origi- 
nal letter  from  Dr  John  Mitchell,  physician  in  Virginia, 
to  Dr  Fothergill,  London,  1741,  referring  to  a  letter  he 
had  some  time  before  sent  to  the  Medical  Society  of  Edin- 
burgh, for  the  Medical  Essays.     This  last  I  suppose  is  the 

H  2 


lit)  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

same  which  Dr  Rush  speaks  of  in  his  book  on  the  fever  of 
Philadelphia.  In  this  letter  Dr  Mitchell  labours  to  prove 
that  the  American  fever  is  the  same  with  the  Hungarian  or 
pestilential  fever,  described  by  Rulandi  and  others.  The 
copy  I  took  will  be  sent  you,  together  with  some  original  pa- 
pers of  mine,  recovered  from  Dr  Thomson,  formerly  Secre- 
tary to  the  Medical  Society  of  London. 

'  I  often  hear  from  Dr  Garthshore.  A  few  days  ago 
he  inclosed  me  a  long  letter  from  Dr  Wells.  He  tells  me 
that  he  has  prepared  to  expose  the  tyranny  of  the  College  of 
Physicians,  and  the  malversation  of  its  members  in  office. 
He  alludes  particularly  to  the  refusal  of  Sir  Lucas  Pepys  to 
recommend  me,  in  form,  to  the  Commander-in-Chief,  in  1795, 
and  to  his  giving  a  preference  to  raw  youths,  for  no  other 
reason  than  because  they  were  of  Oxford  or  Cambridge,  and 
might  one  day  or  other  become  members  of  the  College  of 
Physicians  of  London. 

"  Dr  Wells  requests  information  on  this  head  from  me  ; 
and  I  have  furnished  him  with  so  much  of  my  life  and  con- 
versation as  was  necessary  for  his  purpose.  At  the  same 
time,  I  concur  with  Dr  Gregory  in  deprecating  the  measure 
of  his  addressing  his  letter  to  Lord  Kenyov,  as  it.  would  be 
arraigning  a  judge  for  partiality  before  the  people,  serious 
perhaps  to  the  writer,  and  detrimental  to  the  cause  he  wishes 
to  support. 

"  I  am  now  to  request  what  I  have  no  claim  to,  your  for- 
giveness for  a  seeming  neglect,  and  a  letter  from  you  in  the 
course  of  post. 

"  Your  Report  sells  rapidly,  and  another  edition  will  soon 
be  wanted.  Accept  my  warmest  thanks  for  the  honour  you 
have  done  me.  I  am  proud  to  be  handed  down  with  you  to 
posterity.  Make  my  compliments^acceptable  to  Mrs  Currie 
and  the  family.  I  am,  with  great  esteem  and  respect,  my 
Dear  Sir,  your  faithful  friend,  and  very  humble  servant, 

"  William  Wright." 


MEMOIR  OF   1)K   WEIGHT.  —117 

Dr  Cuhkie's  first  letter  to  Dr  Wright,  is  dated 
the  24th  of  February  1799-  The  following  are  ex- 
tracts : 

"  My  Dear  Sih, — I  received  your  obliging  letter  of  the 
21st,  this  morning,  and  lose  no  time  in  assuring  you  of  the 
satisfaction  it  has  given  me.  I  am  very  happy  to  iind  that 
you  are  about  to  favour  me  with  your  observations  on  my 
book,  on  which  I  will  place  their  just  value.  The  other  com- 
munications you  express  your  intention  of  sending,  I  will  re- 
ceive with  pleasure  and  thankfulness.  I  am  much  pleased  to  see 
that  you  are  going  to  entrust  me  with  some  of  your  own  origi- 
nal MSS.  recovered  from  the  Medical  Society  of  London.  I 
consider  every  thing  from  you  as  of  the  very  first  authority. 
I  have  some  reason  to  believe,  by  a  message  from  Cadkll 
and  Davies,  that  a  new  edition  of  my  Reports  will  be  re- 
quired in  a  little  while ;  and,  on  this  account,  I  am  the  more 
anxious  to  receive  your  packet,  with  as  little  delay  as  conve- 
nience will  admit. 

"■  I  have  received  from  various  quarters  accounts  of  the 
successful  use  of  cold  ablution  in  fever.  Strange  to  say,  in 
the  last  dreadful  fever  in  Philadelphia,  though  every  other 
method  proved  so  utterly  inefficacious,  this  was  never  once 
tried ;  but  at  Boston  it  was  used  with  the  happiest  effects. 
What  murderous  work  they  made  of  it  at  Philadelphia  !  My 
blood  runs  cold  when  I  think  of  it. 

"  1  have  never  the  slightest  opposition  to  the  affusion  <>l 
cold  water  here.  It  is  universally  received  and  admitted 
among  the  better  classes;  and,  indeed,  among  the  poor, 
where  their  miserable  accommodations,  of  which  you  will  see 
some  account  in  my  book,  admit  of  it. 

"  I  have  had  five  eases  of  hydrophobia  under  my  care  in 
the  last  five  years,  one  very  lately.  I  think  I  have  a  dis- 
tinctcr  conception  of  the  nature  of  the  disease  than  I  Iind  m 


118  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

print,  and  have  thoughts  of  publishing  a  memoir  on  it.  I 
have  entirely  failed  of  a  cure  hitherto,  but  have  some  little 
hopes,  if  the  disease  should  occur  again.  My  last  patient 
married  about  a  fortnight  before  he  died.  He  slept  with  his 
wife  every  night  till  he  died.  She  is  pregnant: — a  tolerable 
proof  this,  that  the  disease  is  not  communicated  by  the  hu- 
man subject. 

"  I  am  happy  to  see  that  you  take  an  active  part  in  the 
business  of  the  College,  especially  as  a  new  pharmacopoeia  is 
getting  ready. 

"  Dr  Wells  is  my  old  school-fellow,  fellow- student,  and 
friend ;  as  honest  a  man  as  lives,  and  of  very  superior  talents 
— but  impracticable.  He  wrote  to  me  on  the  subject  of  his 
publication,  and  I  threw  out  a  few  hints  to  him ;  but  I  know 
he  will  take  his  own  way.  There  is,  however,  no  danger 
that  he  will  commit  himself  rashly.  He  will  not,  I  dare  say, 
excite  any  enmity  against  him  but  that  of  the  Fellows  who 
support  the  pitiful  system  of  the  College ;  and  that  system 
will  find  in  him  an  adversary,  able,  intrepid,  and  unrelenting. 
I  am  glad  you  gave  him  the  facts  respecting  yourself.  It  is 
not  possible  to  think  of  their  conduct  in  your  case  without 
scorn  and  indignation. 

"  Allow  me  to  congratulate  you  on  your  returning  to  the 
bosom  of  your  country  and  of  your  friends.  May  the  re- 
maining part  of  your  life  be  as  tranquil  and  happy  as  the 
past  has  been  active,  useful,  and  honourable  ! 

"  Adieu,  my  dear  sir.  Your  faithful  and  obliged  friend 
and  servant,  Ja.  Currie^ 

On  the  12th  of  March  1799,  Dr  Wright  trans- 
mitted to  Dr  Currie  a  paper  of  observations  on  the 
second  edition  of  his  work,  in  which  he  details  a  num- 
ber of  cases  occurring  in  his  own  practice,  which  coin- 
cided in  their  results  with  the  views  of  his  correspon- 


MEMOIR  Ol     DB   WRIGHT.  119 

dent,  and  served  to  confirm  the  doctrines  which  Dr 
Currie  had  so  ably  supported.  At  the  same  time, 
he  transmitted  to  l)r  (Vrrie  those  original  papers  to 
which  he  formerly  alluded,  as  having  been  recovered 
from  the  London  Medical  Society.  In  the  letter  ac- 
companying these  communications,  he  observes,  "  The 
paper  on  small-pox  will  surprize  you.  We  were  born, 
it  appears,  to  think  and  act  alike,  in  separate  hemi- 
spheres, and  at  the  distance  of  thirty  years.  The  co- 
incidence is  very  striking." 

Dr  Currie,  on  the  18th  of  April  1799,  thus  writes 
to  Dr  Wright  : 

"  My  dear  Sik, — If  I  have  not  sooner  acknowledged 
your  most  valuable  and  obliging  communications,  this  has 
arisen  from  the  wish  I  had  to  write  to  you  much  at  large  on 
the  several  points  to  which  they  refer ;  and  such  have  been 
my  avocations,  that  hitherto  it  has  not  been  in  my  power  to 
find  the  necessary  leisure.  Even  at  the  present  moment  I 
must,  in  a  great  measure,  confine  myself  to  an  assurance  of 
the  safety  of  the  papers,  and  to  a  sincere  expression  of  my 
gratitude  for  the  valuable  time  you  have  devoted  to  my  ser- 
vice. 

"  As  yet  my  booksellers  have  not  signified  to  me  in  any 
other  than  general  terms,  that  another  edition  of  my  book 
will  be  required  ;  and  perhaps  they  may  be  mistaken  in  sup- 
posing it  would  be  called  for  in  the  course  of  the  present 
year.  I  shall  not,  however,  go  again  into  the  press,  without 
availing  myself  of  the  communications  you  have  already 
made  me ;  and  you  may  soon  expect  a  long  letter  from  me 
on  those  topics  in  which  we  are  mutually  and  moiv  especially 
interested,  with  a  view  to  your  farther  opinions.  It  shall  be 
my  endeavour  to  point  out  the  coincidence  of  our  experience, 


120  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

because  I  am  fully  sensible  how  much  I  shall  by  that  means 
strengthen  the  authority,  if  I  may  so  speak,  of  the  practice  I 
wish  to  inculcate. 

"  I  have,  since  I  wrote  last,  had  complete  success  in  a  case 
of  tetanus.  Wine,  and  bark,  and  opium  had  been  pushed  to 
the  uttermost,  and  the  symptoms  were  aggravating.  I  was 
fearful  of  using  water  of  the  temperature  of  our  air,  the  wea- 
ther being  then  intensely  cold  ;  and  recollecting  the  success 
of  your  practice  in  Jamaica,  1  heated  the  water  employed  for 
affusion  to  75°.  The  effects  were  most  striking.  The  patient 
himself  afterwards  constantly  called  for  this  remedy  when  the 
spasms  under  the  scrobiculus  cordis  pressed  him,  and  clearly 
attributes  his  recovery  to  this  practice.  I  mean  to  print  the 
case,  which  is  an  excellent  one. 

"  I  have  just  had  a  very  interesting  case  of  diabetes,  to 
which  I  have  paid  minute  and  constant  attention.  The  pa- 
tient is  for  the  present  well.  The  particulars,  which  include 
some  curious  phenomena  respecting  animal  heat,  I  will  com- 
municate to  you  and  to  the  world. 

"  I  write  in  great  haste.  Once  more  accept  my  best  thanks 
and  best  wishes.     Yours  most  faithfully,        Ja.  Curkie." 

Throughout  the  long  life  of  Dr  Weight  there 
was  never  the  slightest  abatement  in  the  warmth  of 
the  affection  he  maintained  for  his  brother.  This  feel- 
ing is  strongly  and  uniformly  evinced,  throughout  a 
correspondence  which  covers  a  period  considerably  ex- 
ceeding half  a  century  in  duration,  and  which  suffered 
only  the  casual  interruptions  arising  from  his  occa- 
sional residence  in  his  brother's  family.  A  variety  of 
extracts  have  already  been  given,  and  another  is  now 
offered,  as  placing  several  of  the  leading  features  of 
his  character — his  kind  and  considerate  disposition — 


MEMOIR  OV  Dlt  WRIGHT.  1  21 

his  habits  of  method  and  arrangement,  and  the  appli- 
cation of  these  habits  and  dispositions  to  a  useful  and 
interesting  purpose,  in  a  prominent  point  of  view. — 
"  It  Will  be  my  study  (he  says)  to  make  your  situa- 
tion as  comfortable  as  lies  in  my  power ;  the  rest  will 
depend  on  yourself.  And  as  you  are  likely  to  continue 
in  a  business  which  has  not  hitherto  been  productive, 
I  am  sure  that  nothing  on  your  part  will  be  wanting. 
Let  your  duty  for  your  family,  and  your  love  for  me, 
stimulate  you  constantly  to  the  strictest  attention  to 
your  affairs :  spend  some  hours  daily  in  your  works  : 
see  regular  entries  made  in  your  books :  keep  your  ac- 
counts clear  and  correct :  be  not  afraid  to  look  nar- 
rowly into  your  private  affairs :  set  down  on  one  side 
every  shilling  you  owe,  and  on  the  other  the  good  or 
bad  debts  which  may  be  due  to  you.  This  will  en- 
able you  to  go  on  with  pleasure  and  satisfaction. 
Above  all,  adjust  your  affairs  with  reference  to  your 
family ;  and  as  you  have  heritable  property  and  per- 
sonal concerns,  it  is  necessary  you  should  have  a  will 
made  in  due  form  by  some  friend  in  the  law,  to  pre- 
vent the  possibility  of  future  dispute  among  your  chil- 
dren. This  is  a  piece  of  justice  which  is  due  to  your 
family ;  and  your  compliance  with  my  request,  with- 
out loss  of  time,  will  be  a  test  of  your  affection  to  me. 
Indeed,  when  we  consider  the  transitory  and  uncer- 
tain tenure  by  which  life  is  held,  there  is  no  time  to 
lose." — He  then  discovers  the  clew  which  had  led  to 
this  train  of  thought,  by  enumerating  a  number  of 
deaths  which  had  rccentlv   occurred  in   Edinburgh, 


122  .MEMOIR  OF   DR  WRIGHT. 

and  among  others,  that  of  the  learned  and  eccentric 
Lord  Monboddo. 

About  this  time  Dr  Wright's  correspondence  with 
Dr  Currie  was  closely  kept  up.  The  latter  had  now 
engaged  in  the  work  which  has  since  connected  his 
name  so  inseparably  with  that  of  Robert  Burns  ;  a 
circumstance  which  gives  to  the  following  passage  a 
peculiar  interest.  It  is  probable  from  his  knowledge 
of  the  tastes  and  habits  of  Dr  Wright,  that  he  did 
not  anticipate  much  encouragement  in  that  quarter 
for  the  prosecution  of  the  undertaking,  a  feeling 
which,  when  combined  with  the  delicate  state  of  Dr 
Currie's  health,  may  have  had  some  influence  on  the 
tone  of  his  expression.  The  letter,  from  which  the 
extract  is  taken,  is  dated  the  18th  of  August  1799  : 

"  I  enjoy,"  he  says,  "  but  indifferent  health,  and  write  at 
present  in  my  bed-room.  Being  much  exposed  to  the  late 
tempestuous  weather,  I  have  got  a  cough,  which  is  teasing. 
I  am  compelled  to  bleed,  which  makes  me  languid,  especially 
as  I  cannot  lie  by. 

"  I  have  unwittingly  engaged  in  a  work,  from  which  I  ex- 
pected nothing  but  amusement  and  relaxation,  but  which  has 
consumed  some  valuable  time, — superintending  a  complete 
edition  of  the  works  of  poor  Burns,  which  is  printing  here, 
and  now  on  the  eve  of  publication.  This  ill-fated  genius  died 
in  Dumfries,  where  I  saw  him,  in  an  excursion  I  made  to 
Scotland  in  1792.  His  family's  great  friend,  Mr  Svme,  was 
an  early  and  particular  intimate  of  mine ;  and  by  him  I  was 
induced  first  to  engage  to  give  an  anonymous  article  as  a  pre- 
face to  the  works ;  afterwards  to  give  my  opinion  of  what 
MSS.  should  be  printed,  and  finally  to  superintend  the  print- 
ing, transact  with  the  booksellers,   and,   in  short,  undertake 


MEMOIR  OF  DR   WRIGHT.  12^ 

the  management  of  the  publication.  At  first  I  expected  no- 
thing but  amusement.  You  must  know  I  am  a  great  admirer 
of  Burns,  and  have  a  partial  attachment  to  our  old  interesting 
country ;  but  it  has  happened  from  various  causes  that  this 
task  has  occupied  and  almost  engrossed  my  little  leisure  from 
professional  pursuits.  Thank  God  it  will  soon  be  off  mv 
hands. 

"  I  mean  to  prefix  a  discourse  on  the  condition  and  man- 
ners of  the  Scottish  peasantry  ;  and  I  mean  also  to  speak  of 
the  effects  of  opium  and  alcohol  on  the  temperament  of  ge- 
nius. So  you  see  I  shall  give  it  a  professional  colouring. 
Can  you  indicate  to  me  any  book  in  which  I  may  find  assist- 
ance in  this  last  particular  ? 

"  I  am  sensible  that  I  have  been  imprudent  in  this  under- 
taking, and  that  it  interrupts  me  in  the  pursuit  of  objects 
fairly  in  my  path  and  in  my  view.  But  I  must  get  through 
it  now  as  well  as  I  can." 

In  Dr  Wright's  next  letter  to  Dr  Currie,  of 
the  24th  of  August  1799,  the  following  passages  oc- 
cur: 

"  Your  welcome  and  kind  letter  of  the  18th  current  came 
duly  to  hand,  and  relieved  me  considerably  from  the  anxiety 
I  had  concerning  you.  I  hope  a  little  time  and  attention  on 
your  part  will  restore  you.  We  all  know  the  ill  effects  of  a 
sedentary  life,  while  at  the  same  time  the  mind  is  making  ex- 
ertions. I  rejoice  that  Bukns  is  now  so  nearly  off  your 
hands,  and  that  you  will  soon  be  able  to  turn  your  attention 
to  other  subjects. 

"  Ckumpe  has  written  best  on  opium,  so  far  as  regards  its 
virtues  in  diseases,  and  Trotter  De  Ebrietate ;  but  I  do 
not  at  present  recollect  any  author  who  treats  cither  on  alco- 
hol or  opium,  as  it  influences  the  morals  or  the  modes  of  think- 
ing in  mankind.      The  latter  I  should  suspect   might  best  be 


124  MEMOIli  OF  Dlt  WRIGHT. 

gathered  from  authors  who  treat  of  the  history  of  eastern 
countries,  or  of  Turkey  ;  but  I  shall  make  inquiry  if  any 
books  are  extant  expressly  on  these  subjects.  Does  not  Dak- 
win  give  some  hints  ?  I  have  not  bought  that  eccentric  work 
the  Zoonomia.  By  the  bye,  his  Loves  of  the  Plants  is  a  mo- 
dernized paraphrase  of  De  la  Croix's  Connubia  Florum  ; 
but  he  has  disfigured  his  elegant  poem,  by  the  introduction  of 
notes  on  the  politics  of  the  day." 

In  a  letter  about  this  period  to  his  friend  Dr 
Garthshore,  Dr  Wright  expresses  himself  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  I  am  very  happy  to  find  you  persevere  in  the  practice 
of  cold  affusion,  and  that  your  success  continues  to  confirm 
my  experience.  I  have  just  received  a  letter  from  Dr  James 
Robertson,  at  Barbadoes,  to  whom  I  had  sent  Dr  Currie's 
book.  He  has  adopted  the  practice  to  the  full  extent,  and 
concludes  with  observing,  '  I  have  not  had  a  single  patient 
ill  of  fever  for  a  longer  period  than  two  or  three  days,  since  I 
received  Dr  Currie's  Reports.1 

"  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  Dr  Currie  has  been  ailing  for 
several  months.  He  is  able,  however,  tc  attend  to  his  lite- 
rary pursuits ;  and  he  tells  me  that  you  have  made  him  some 
valuable  communications.  He  has  been  drawn  in  to  prepare 
an  edition  of  Burn's  Poems,  with  a  prefatory  discourse,  in 
which  he  is  to  treat  of  the  effects  of  alcohol  and  opium  on  the 
minds  and  morals  of  the  people  of  Scotland.  He  requests 
me  to  name  such  authors  as  have  written  best  on  these  sub- 
jects.    Perhaps  you  can  assist  him  ;   I  cannot. 

"  We  have  made  some  progress  with  the  Pharmacopoeia, 
and  have  rejected  a  great  number  of  simples,  which  we  con- 
sider useless  or  obsolete.     When  we  come  to  the  Formula?,  I 


MEMOIR  Or  nil  WRIGHT.  ^J25 

mean  to  request  the  favour  of  you  and  Dr  Pearson  to  give 
us  your  observations  and  corrections. 

"  I  have  been  very  busy  with  West  India  and  British 
Fuci.  Of  the  latter  I  intend  sending  an  assortment  for  Dr 
Pulteney,  and  another  for  the  Linnean  Society,  which  I 
will  beg  you  to  present  through  Dr  Smith.  I  am  also  occu- 
pied with  ascertaining  corallines,  by  the  help  of  Solan  or:  u 
and  Ellis.  In  West  India  corallines,  my  collection  is  com- 
plete." 

To  Dr  Currie  he  writes  on  the  30th  of  September 
1799: 

"  Dr  Wells's  letter  to  Lord  Kenyon  was  handed  to  me 
two  days  ago,  in  which  I  observe  my  case  at  large.  It  is 
elegantly  written,  but  would  have  pleased  me  better  had  it 
combined  more  of  the  suaviter  in  moth  with  the  Jbrtlter  in 
re.  I  suspect  that  the  President  and  Fellows,  and  particu- 
larly Dr  Latham  and  Sir  Lucas,  will  feel  rather  sore  on  the 
occasion.  It  does  not  appear  to  be  published,  but  the  author 
has  no  doubt  sent  you  a  copy.  It  is  printed  by  Whitting- 
ham,  Dean  Street,  Fetter-Lane.  When  you  have  read  it,  I 
shall  be  glad  to  have  your  opinion  of  its  merits," 

A  variety  of  interesting  topics  are  discussed  in  the 
correspondence  about  this  period  between  Dr  Wright 
and  Dr  Currie.  With  the  latter,  the  erection  of  a 
fever  hospital  at  Liverpool  appears  to  have  long  been 
a  favourite  object,  in  the  attainment  of  which  he  at 
length  succeeded,  hut  not  without  a  great  deal  of 
anxiety  and  exertion.  The  details  of  the  measure 
are  carefully  examined  in  the  course  of  his  correspond- 
ence with  Dr  Wright  ;  but  they  extend  to  so  great 
a  length,  as  to  he  inconsistent  with  the  limited  plan 


126  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

of  the  present  memoir.  Another  subject  is  discussed 
in  these  letters,  in  which  the  inhabitants  of  Liverpool 
had  a  material  interest,  regarding  the  quality  and  ana- 
lysis of  the  water,  which  was  about  to  be  introduced 
into  the  town  by  two  rival  companies ;  but  this  it 
is  also  necessary  to  omit. 

On  the  21st  of  November  1799,  Dr  Currie  thus 
addresses  Dr  Wright  : 

"  I  hope  to  enter  very  particularly  with  you  on  medical 
subjects  before  long  ;  and  I  should  be  stupid,  indeed,  if  I  did 
not  endeavour  to  profit  by  your  power,  as  well  as  by  your  in- 
clination to  serve  me. 

"  I  have  received  my  friend  Wells's  powerful  pamphlet, 
and  have  read  it  with  emotions  of  sympathy  and  of  admiration. 
It  is  like  the  man, — in  some  respects  even  superior  to  what  I 
expected.  No  argument  can  be  put  more  clearly,  nor  urged, 
I  think,  with  more  energy.  It  is  impossible  but  that  those 
against  whom  it  is  directed,  must  wince  under  the  flagellation 
they  have  received,  which  they  will  neither  know  how  to  sub- 
mit to,  nor  how  to  repel.  It  is  not  possible  but  that  they 
must  shrink  under  the  chastisement  of  so  superior  an  adver- 
sary, or  that  they  should  bear  him  any  other  sentiments  than 
those  of  the  most  inveterate  enmity,  springing  out  of  the 
mixed  sensations  of  fear  and  hatred. 

"  I  fear  my  high  minded  friend  has  taken  a  very  impru- 
dent step,  and  I  cannot  but  calculate  the  consequences  to 
himself  as  likely  to  be  injurious.  Since  he  has  gone  so  far, 
I  wish,  however  he  would  publish  his  book,  to  prevent  the 
misrepresentations  which  will  otherwise  be  affixed  to  it.  I 
hear  the  lawyers  are  highly  pleased  with  it,  especially  with 
the  part  in  which  he  lashes  our  profession ;  which,  I  confess, 
I  thought  too  severe.     It  seems  to  me    that  he  has  avoided, 

3 


MEMOIR  Ol-    DB  WRIGHT.  127 

very  successfully,  the  imputation  of  disrespect  to  Lord  Ken- 
yon. 

"  What  think  you  of  the  style  ?  I  thought  it  very  supe- 
rior. What  he  says  of  you  is  universally,  I  find,  thought  ex- 
tremely to  the  purpose,  and  has  occasioned  in 

great  uneasiness.  So  I  was  told  by  a  London  lawyer  a  few 
days  ago.     How  beautiful  is  the  eulogium  on  Hebekden  ! 

"  You  must  know  that  Wells  and  I  were  school-fellows, 
and  slept  a  long  time  in  the  same  room.  I  know  him  of 
course  well ;  and  am  deeply  interested  in  him.  The  man  is 
singularly  noble, — brave  beyond  all  sense  of  fear, — ready  to 
sacrifice  his  life  to  serve  any  generous  purpose, — and  not  ca- 
pable of  a  mean  or  base  thing  to  save  his  life.  He  has  the 
corresponding  faults, — an  unbending  pride — unaccommoda- 
ting manners, — inflexible  determination, —  a  disposition  to 
act  solely  under  the  impulse  of  his  own  lofty  spirit, — and  to 
scorn  the  consequences,  whatever  they  may  be.  With  all 
these  obstacles  to  success,  such  is  the  strength  of  his  talents, 
that  he  would  rise  to  the  first  rank  of  society,  if  the  life  of 
man  were  lengthened  to  twice  or  thrice  its  present  duration. 

"  I  wish  he  could  get  a  professorship  in  your  University. 
There  he  would  shine ;  and  he  could  lecture  on  any  branch 
of  science.'11 

The  following  passages  occur  in  a  letter  of  Dr  Cur- 
rie  to  Dr  Wright,  of  the  29th  of  November  1799  : 

"  I  know  not  whether  I  mentioned  to  you  before,  that  my 
book  has  been  abridged,  and  printed  in  America,  in  the  form 
of  a  shilling  or  eighteen  penny  pamphlet,  which  is  circulating- 
through  all  the  great  towns, — and,  I  hope,  doing  some  good; 
but  of  this  I  have  not  yet  particular  accounts.  A  copy  of 
this  abridgment  has  been  sent  to  me  by  the  author  of  it,  a 
Mr  Peter  Edes  of  Augusta,  in  the  district  of  Maine,  who 
seems  a  man  of  good   understanding,  and  some  information. 


128  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

He  prefaces  his  abridgment  with  an  account  of  the  practice, 
so  far  as  it  has  hitherto  been  adopted  ;  and  of  the  motives  for 
adopting  it  universally.  The  abridgment  has  gone  to  a  se- 
cond edition.  He  speaks  very  fully  of  you,  and  in  the  pro- 
per terms  : 

"  It  is  a  miserable  thing  to  think  that,  while  all  their  esta- 
blished and  common  modes  of  treatment  have  proved  so  mi- 
serably inefficient,  the  physicians  of  America  should  have  been 
engaged  in  such  fierce  and  stupid  controversies,  which  have 
diverted  their  attention  from  the  awful  lessons  which  experi- 
ence was  presenting  to  them,  in  the  continued  mortality  of 
the  fever.  Though  I  sent  my  book  to  the  Editors  of  the 
American  Medical  Museum,  published  at  New  York,  they 
never  found  time  to  review  it,  or  even  i  to  notice  it,  be- 
ing entirely  occupied  with  theoretical  disquisitions  in  support 
of  Mitchell's  gratuitous  theory  respecting  the  principle  of 
contagion  being  the  gaseous  oxide  of  azote!  an  f hypothesis 
created  by  the  imagination ;  but  made  the  foundation  of  a 
system  of  practice, — consisting  of  the  administration  of  alka- 
lis and  alkaline  earths,  to  correct,  forsooth,  the  prevailing  aci- 
dity." 

About  this  period,  Dr  Wright  thus  writes  to  Dr 
Garthshore  : 

"  Mr  friend,  Dr  Lind,  desires  me  to  make  his  acknow- 
ledgments to  you,  for  your  great  attention  to  him  while  in 
London.  I  proposed  him  as  a  Member  of  our  Royal  Socie- 
ty, and  he  has  been  unanimously  elected.  I  do  not  know  a 
more  enlightened  man,  or  a  more  judicious  physician,  than 
Dr  Lind.  And,  as  hg  has  preserved  accurate  and  methodi- 
cal records  of  his  cases  for  many  years,  and  reads  all  the 
modern  publications,  he  will  certainly  prove  a  useful  and  va- 
luable correspondent  to  the  Medical  Society. 

"  In  the  Philosophical  Magazine.  No.  7-  I  think,  an  Amc- 


MEMOlfc  OF   UK    NUH.IIT.  J^J  ' 

rican  doctor  details  the  good  effects  of  vegetable  acid  and  sea- 
sakj  in  various  cases,  and  styles  it  <  l)r  Wright's  Medicine.1 

In  fluxes   he   thinks  it  will   supersede  the  use  of  every  other 
remedy. 

"  We  have  had  the  catarrhal  fever  very  prevalent  in  this 
city  ;  and  it  has  proved  fatal  to  some  old  people  worn  down 
by  infirmities:  I  have  heard  of  others  who  narrowly  escaped. 
The  hazard  they  incurred  was  probably  owing  to  the  unsea- 
sonable use  of  means  too  active  in  their  operation.  On  the 
Continent  many  have  died  by  bleeding  and  brisk  evacuants. 
I  recommend  cordial  and  volatile  medicines,  gentle  laxatives, 
and  diaphoretics,  with  wine  and  a  generous  regimen  to  support 
the  strength  of  the  patient. 

"  Dr  IIunteh,  the  Professor  of  Divinity,  lies  dangerously 
ill.  His  disorder  is  said  to  be  an  internal  inflammation.  The 
old  antiphlogistic  mode  of  treatment  continues  here  ;  of  which 
you  know  that  I  do  not  approve.  My  modus  medendi  was, 
by  the  use  of  mercurials,  internally  by  the  stomach,  and  ex- 
ternally by  friction,  increasing  or  diminishing  the  application 
progressively,  as  the  violence  of  the  symptoms  prevailed  or 
abated. 

"  A  number  of  children  have  lately  died  in  hooping  cough. 
In  several  instances  it  caused  an  effusion  on  the  brain,  and 
consequently  hydrocephalus.  Some  practitioners  here  pre- 
tend to  have  cured  hydrocephalus,  by  means  of  mercury,  af- 
ter double  vision,  and  even  blindness,  had  taken  place ;  but 
for  this  they  have  no  credit.  I  have  seen  many,  but  all 
proved  fatal,  notwithstanding  the  use  of  mercury,  digitalis, 
and  other  remedies.11 

Dr  Wright  devoted  the  last  slimmer  of  the  cen- 
tury to  a  tour  in  the  north  of  Scotland,  spending  a 
considerable  part  of  his  time  among  his  friends  in  the 
counties  of  Perth   and  Aberdeen.     From  the   neigh- 


130  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT, 

bourhood  of  Callendar,  iu  Menteith,  he  writes  to  his 
friend  Dr  Garthshore,  that  he  had  been  detained, 
on  his  return  to  Edinburgh.,  by  the  illness  of  a  lady  of 
his  acquaintance  with  fever  and  sore  throat,  followed 
by  lienteria  ;  the  last  of  which  he  removed  by  his  spe- 
cific of  salt  and  vinegar.  In  a  subsequent  letter  he 
says  to  Dr  Garthshore  : 

••  The  lady  I  formerly  mentioned  to  you  had  that  species 
of  sore  throat,  with  white  specks  and  sloughs,  small  clear  ul- 
cer-, and  scarlet  efflorescence.  It  is  well  described  by  Pen- 
rose, in  a  work  published  thirty  years  ago.  Before  my  ar- 
rival, as  much  wine  and  bark  had  been  poured  in  as  she 
could  swallow.  She  was  hourly  getting  worse.  I  gave  a  fa- 
vourable turn  to  the  disorder,  by  the  exhibition  of  three 
grains  of  antimonial  powder  and  one  grain  of  calomel,  every 
three  hours.  The  second  day  brought  on  a  kindly  perspira- 
tion ;  the  patient  had  immediate  relief;  but  went  on  with 
three  more  of  the  powders,  to  secure  what  she  had  got.  The 
gargle  was  vinegar,  water  and  honey,  very  gently  used. 

"  In  the  remitting  fever  of  children,"  he  proceeds.  "  at- 
tended with  debility,  irritability,  and  intestinal  disorder, 
when  the  discharge  by  stool  is  lienteric,  of  a  dark  green  co- 
lour, or  thin  and  white,  and  very  fcetid.  vinegar  saturated 
with  marine  salt  will  never  deceive  you.  It  will  do  every- 
thing. To  young  infants,  say  of  three  months,  a  tea-spoon- 
ful to  a  table-spoonful  of  water,  well  sweetened,  will  suffice: 
to  a  chiki  a  year  old  double  the  quantity,  every  three  hours. 

"  Have  the  goodness  to  say  to  Sir  Joseph,  that  a  book, 
with  the  following  title,  is  at  his  service,  "  Leonardos  The- 
•UEissuBtfs,  Descriptio  Plantarum.  Ratisboinv.  cici^lxxvi." 

On  the  84th  of  August  1800,  Dr  Currie  writes  to 
Dr  Wright  as  follows ; 


MEMOIR  01  I   >1 

"•  H        _ 
ine  _  .id  the  g  • 

.     • 
in  ».:  - 

knc     .    _     o  ^jagenx: 

-       -n   the   proofs  n^  .    the  pu; 

which  I  had  in   >        _ 

por- 
tion te  upon. 

-  _ 
notice  to  pc\  sh  I  was  not 

consequence  of  former  unfounded  noti- 
-ame  kind.      B  a  since  h 

that  the  whole  edition  dt  2lXX  -  gone,  and  have  been 

oblu  uuch  amende 

oiniedia:.  zll 

ant:  an- 

.and  the  the 

mo: 
mo:  f  print- 

••  I  ban  e    I  _  communications  troui  Lon- 

don, See.  on  :  cation;  _  -  jk!  and 

.ble  from 
anv  friend   "  anv   where   nort: 

_:norant  :        _  the 

[  wish 

_         vial- 
to  know  ;  for  it  too  late 

to  make  correct] 

\  aiprude:  ..:  :-..    I  shall 

-- 

concept: 
wh:.  _■  d  in  their  birth. 

- 


132  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

in  a  new  volume.  I  have  also  something  to  say  on  the  gout ; 
and  on  insanity,  hydrophobia,  and  diabetes :  but  these  two' 
last  subjects  may  be  discussed  in  some  periodical  work  ;  the 
two  former  will  require  a  separate  publication.  When  I  have 
done  all  this,  I  will  rest.  I  shall  have  performed  my  part. 
I  mention  these  intentions  to  you,  that,  should  any  thing  oc- 
cur, you  may  suggest  it.  For,  notwithstanding  my  omis- 
sions, the  cause  of  which  is  removed,  I  have  the  confidence 
to  hope  for  a  continuation  of  your  friendship.11 

It  is  deeply  to  be  regretted,  that,  in  the  subsequent 
years  of  Dr  Currie's  valuable  life,  he  did  not  enjoy 
the  necessary  health  or  leisure  for  executing  the  im- 
portant tasks  which  he  had  thus  assigned  to  himself. 
With  his  enlarged  and  enlightened  views,  and  with  a 
mind  so  free  from  prejudice  or  bias,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  of  the  great  accession  he  would  have  brought  to 
the  knowledge  of  any  subject  which  he  had  chosen  for 
investigation.  The  topics,  indeed,  were  such  as  re- 
quired the  firm  grasp  of  a  master  mind ;  and  such  was 
that  of  Dr  Currie.  For  many  years  after  his  death, 
when  a  case  of  difficulty  or  danger  occurred,  in  such 
cases  of  gout,  insanity,  or  fever,  as  fell  within  the  range 
of  Dr  Currie's  projected  publications,  Dr  Wright 
was  often  heard  to  lament  the  loss  which  the  world 
had  sustained,  by  the  death  of  his  friend  in  the  midst 
of  his  career.  Dr  Wright's  next  letter  to  Dr  Cur- 
rie, contains  the  following  passages. 

"  I  shall  rejoice  to  see  any  thing  of  yours  on  gout  and  in- 
sanity. 

"  In  cases  of  tradesmen,  who  had  no  time  to  be  sick;  afflict- 
ed with  gout  in  the  feet  and  ancles,  accompanied  by  febrile 


MEMOIR  OF  D»  WRIGHT.  _^    188 

•symptoms,  I  have  prescribed  pulvis  Jacob),  or  pulvis  antimo- 

nialis,  two  grains,  and  one  grain  of  calomel,  every  three  hours, 
till  a  perspiration  came  on  ;  which  I  kept  up  for  several 
hours.  By  this  means  the  tit  was  warded  off;  the  fever  and 
inflammation  disappeared;  and  in  a  few  days  they  followed 
their  occupations. 

"  A  gentleman  in  the  West  Indies  had  cephalalgia  arthri- 
tica  to  such  a  height,  that  I  was  apprehensive  of  frenzy  or 
hydrencephalus.  I  gave  him  five  grains  of  calomel  twice  a- 
day  for  two  successive  days,  which  produced  a  sudden  saliva- 
tion, and  my  patient  was  relieved  of  headach,  and  continued 
free  of  it  for  two  years.  The  theory  of  the  day  is,  that  both 
mercury  and  camphor  dispose  nature  to  reabsorb  the  mor- 
bid and  inflammatory  affections. 

"  I  have  lately  had  a  case  of  mania  furiosa.  It  was  the 
lady  of  one  of  the  professors.  She  is  upwards  of  50  years  of 
age,  tall  and  well  made.  She  had  seemingly  a  good  state  of 
health,  and  the  catamenia  about  leaving  her. 

"  About  the  middle  of  December,  she  was  suddenly  seized 
with  frenzy.  I  accompanied  Dr  Monro  to  her  residence  in 
the  country.  We  found  her  so  high  and  ungovernable  as  to 
induce  the  necessity  of  coercion.  She  had  fever  and  flushing, 
with  constipation,  talking  loudly  and  incessantly.  Topical 
bleedings  were  adopted,  and  a  blister  was  applied  to  the  head 
Neither  vomiting  nor  perspiration  could  be  brought  on  by 
large  doses  of  emetic  tartar,  and  costiveness  was  with  difficulty 
removed  by  drastic  purgatives,  and  stimulating  injections. 
Dr  Monro  recommended  small  doses  of  tartar  emetic,  three 
times  a-day,  which  were  given  for  three  weeks  without  effect,  A  t 
last,  I  determined  on  giving  her  camphor,  viz.  camphoric  3i, 
sp.  vim"  3i,  magnesia  5i,  aquae  comm.  ^xii,  sacch.  alb.  y  M. 
A  common  wine  glassful  three  times  a-day.  The  first  dose 
was  administered  forcibly  through  a  silver  funnel,  on  the 
5th  of  January.      The  second  dose  she  took  with   good  will  , 


134  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

and  on  the  same  day  she  requested  that  a  third  might,  be 
ffiven  to  her.  She  was  now  calm,  cool  and  collected.  It  was 
continued  twice  a-day  for  a  week ;  since  which  she  continues 
well.  This  I  think  is  the  fourth  case  I  have  cured  by  cam- 
phor ;  at  least  I  have  been  so  fortunate  as  to  have  them  re- 
cover at  the  time  it  was  administered. 

"  Of  diabetes  I  know  a  little  ;  and  several  cases,  of  no  long 
standing,  I  treated  with  success,  by  a  method  peculiar  to  my- 
self. It  was  no  other  than  the  citric  acid  saturated  with  ma- 
rine salt.  The  diabetic  cases  were  recent,  attending  remittent 
fever,  or  its  consequences,  or  took  place  in  children  with  re- 
mitting fever,  and  great  intestinal  irritation,  occasioning  loose- 
ness and  lienteria.  Such  bowel  complaints  as  cholera,  diar- 
rhoea, lienteria,  and  dysentery,  yield  to  this  simple  remedy  ; 
and  with  it  I  have  cured  a  great  number  of  all  ages  and  con- 
ditions. Two  physicians  in  America,  Drs  Perkins  and 
B.  Lynde  Oliver,  have  published  an  8vo  volume  on  Dysen- 
tery, &c.  cured  by  '  Dr  Wright's  medicine,1  and  say  it  will 
supersede  the  use  of  all  others  in  the  cure  of  fluxes.  I  am 
not  quite  so  sanguine :  I  often  find  that  obstinate  dysentery 
will  only  yield  to  calomel.-" 

Dr  Wright,  in  the  regular  course  of  rotation,  should 
have  assumed  the  Presidency  of  the  Royal  College  of 
Physicians  in  the  year  1800,  as  successor  to  his  friend 
Dr  Gregory  ;  but,  in  consequence  of  the  somewhat 
animated  discussion  which  was  at  this  time  in  progress 
between  the  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  Edinburgh, 
Dr  Gregory  and  Mr  Bell,  being  the  champions  of 
the  two  parties,  Dr  Wright  thought  it  best  to  post- 
pone his  pretensions,  in  favour  of  Dr  Gregory,  who 
had  occupied  the  chair  for  the  two  previous  years.  On 
the  3d  of  December  1800  he  writes  to  his   brother  s 


MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT.  135- 

"  The  election  of  office-bearers  in  the  College  of  Phy- 
sicians, took  place  this  morning.  I  am  of  the  Coun- 
cil, and  might  have  been  President ;  but  as  Dr  Gre- 
gory has  kicked  up  such  a  dust  with  the  Surgeons,  I 
thought  it  best  that  he  should  continue  in  office,  and 
fight  his  own  battle.  Johnny  Bell  has  answered 
or  rather  criticised  the  Memorial  of  Dr  Gregory, 
who  is  now  preparing  his  reply.  I  shall  take  an  early 
opportunity  of  sending  you  the  whole  of  the  papers." 

Throughout  the  long  life  of  Dr  Wright,  and  more 
especially  during  his  residence  in  Edinburgh,  in  the 
evening  of  his  days,  there  is,  perhaps,  no  feature  of  his 
character  more  strongly  marked,  than  the  deep  and 
pervading  interest  he  evinced,  and  the  substantial  as- 
sistance he  afforded,  to  the  rising  generation.  He  re- 
membered the  difficulties  and  perplexities  with  which 
he  had  occasion  to  struggle  in  his  own  outset  in  life ; 
but  it  was  not  in  passive  sympathy  for  similar  strug- 
gles that  he  allowed  his  kindness  to  be  exhausted. 
With  an  active  spirit  of  beneficence,  he  sought  for 
modest  merit,  and  persevered  in  rescuing  the  objects 
of  his  patronage  from  undeserved  obscurity.  He  ap- 
peared, indeed,  to  enjoy  a  singular  facility  in  detect- 
ing the  first  germs  of  genius,  and  calling  them  early 
into  action  ;  an  observation  which  is  fully  warranted 
by  the  rank  and  station  to  which  many  of  his  eleves 
and  proteges  have  since  raised  themselves  in  society. 
The  medical  profession,  from  the  nature  of  his  own 
pursuits,  and  the  corresponding  circle  of  his  friends, 
afforded  him  a  field  of  usefulness  which  he  neither  al- 
lowed to  remain  uncultivated  nor  unfruitful. 


136  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

The  amiable  and  respectable  feelings  which  prompt-* 
ed  these  exertions,  induced  him    to  place   a  higher 
value  on  the  efforts  of  the  youthful  mind  than  is  com- 
monly ascribed  to  them  ;  not  so   much,  perhaps,  from 
their  intrinsic  merit,  as  from  the  indications  they  af- 
forded of  future  excellence.      The  inaugural  disser- 
tations which  it  is  necessary  to  prepare  and  defend 
with  a  view  to  graduation,  do  not  always,  it  is  true, 
present  a  satisfactory  or  even  sometimes  an  authentic 
criterion  of  the  talents  of  the  ostensible  authors  ;  and, 
with  some  little  modification,  their  merit  may  perhaps 
be  said  to  be  as  variable  as  the  minds  of  the  graduates 
themselves.      Among  the  brightest  ornaments  of  the 
healing  art,  there  are  few  who  have  combined,  like 
Dr  Gregory,  the  highest  professional  attainments 
with  the  purest  Latinity.     And  now  that  graduation 
is  accomplished  at  so  early  a  period  of  life,  the  proba- 
ble number  is  proportionally  diminished  of  those  who 
rely  exclusively  on  their  own  resources  for  preparing 
for  this  ordeal.    There  was  no  one,  however,  who  could 
better  judge  than  Dr  Wright  of  the  necessity  or  ex- 
tent of  such  foreign  assistance.     Although   the  the- 
sis itself  may  not  be  a  sufficient  test  of  individual  me- 
rit, it  is  chiefly  because  these  juvenile  productions  are 
supposed  to  be  above  the  reach  or  experience  of  an 
unpractised  student ;  but,  if  taken  in  the  aggregate,  it 
is  clear  that  their  average  merit  affords  a  satisfactory 
ground  on  which  a  comparison  may  be  instituted  be- 
tween   one    school    of    medicine    and    another.       Dr 
WRIGHT   was   probably  actuated   by  some  considera- 
tion of  this  kind,  in   collecting  the  medical  theses  of 


MEMOIR  OF  Dl!   WKH.iri  .  .  .  iSl 

the  University  of  Edinburgh,  from  the  earliest  period 
of  her  history,  arranging  them  in  chronological  order, 
preparing  an  index  raisonne  of  their  contents,  and  put- 
ting it  to  press ;  which  he  accomplished,  at  the  close 
of  the  year  1800. 

In  the  course  of  this  year,  an  application  of  a  \w\ 
flattering  nature  was  made   to   Dr   WEIGHT  by  liis 
former  friend  and  commander  Sir  Ralph  ABEECEOM- 
BIE,  to  accompany  the  celchrated  expedition  to  Egypt, 
in  quality  of  Physician  to  the  Army.    Sir  Rat. mi  was 
an  older  man  than  Dr  Weight,  and,  with  the  privi- 
lege arising  from  former  intimacy,  he  urged  that  cir- 
cumstance with  earnestness   as   an   inducement  to  ac- 
cede to  the  proposal ;  hut,  after  giving  it  the  delibe- 
rate consideration  which   was  due  to   any  suggestion 
from   such  a  source,  Dr  Wright  resolved  to  remain 
in  his  retirement ;  remembering  the  scene   of  dcatli 
and  desolation  which  the  physician,  more  vividly  than 
the  general,  had  witnessed   in  the  West    Indies ;   re- 
collecting  the  painful   want   he  had  experienced   of 
congenial  society;  and  feeling  that,  since  that  period, 
his  affections  had  taken    deeper  root  in  his   native 
soil. 

In  consequence  of  a  communication  from  Dr  CuE- 
rie  on  the  subject  of  a  Botanic  Garden  about  to  be 
established  at  Liverpool,  requesting  such  advice  and 
information  from  Dr  Weight  as  lie  might  be  able  to 
afford,  and  detailing  the  extent  and  situation  of  the 
ground  which  had  been  acquired  for  the  purpose, 
Dr  Wright,  with  his  accustomed  alacrity,  made  im- 
mediate application  to  such  of  his  numerous  corres- 


138  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

pondents,  as  he  believed  to  be  most  capable  or  most 
disposed  to  promote  the  progress  of  the  infant  institu- 
tion. In  answer  to  a  letter  from  Dr  Wright,  an- 
nouncing his  readiness  to  lend  his  aid  on  the  occasion, 
as  well  directly  as  through  the  medium  of  his  friends, 
Dr  Currie,  after  treating  of  other  matters,  in  a  let- 
ter of  the  10th  of  October  1801,  makes  his  acknow- 
ledgments as  follows  : 

"  What  shall  I  say  to  you  of  the  very  great  debt  I  owe 
you — in  which,  indeed,  my  best  friend  Roscok  takes  his 
share — for  the  interest  you  take  in  our  new  institution  for 
natural  science  ?  We  feel  your  kindness,  and  the  value  of 
your  friendship,  in  the  most  sensible  manner.  I  communi- 
cated your  letter  to  him  ;  and  we  have  certainly  felt  properly 
on  the  occasion,  though  we  have  not  acted  as  we  ought  to  do, 
in  being  so  slow  to  express  our  acknowledgments.  Your  vast 
knowledge  and  your  extensive  correspondence,  render  your 
friendship  of  the  greatest  importance;  but  really  I  do  not  know 
how  we  can  accept  your  kindness,  without  the  means  of  re- 
munerating you  for  all  your  exertions,  and  very  valuable 
specimens.  Our  garden  is  now  advancing.  The  ground  is 
levelled,  and  the  walls  building.  They  include  a  space  of 
23,000  square  yards,  so  that  the  ground  is  very  ample.  The 
house  of  the  gardener  is  also  building,  and  the  green-house. 
We  shall  have  an  engraved  plan  soon,  of  which  you  shall 
liave  a  copy.1,1 

Soon  afterwards  Dr  Wright  makes  the  following 
communication  to  Dr  Currie. 

"  Dr  Roxburgh,  at  Calcutta,  has  sent  home  a  very  large 
collection  of  dried  specimens,  of  which  I  am  to  have  a  share. 
They  arc  to  be  divided  with  Sir  Jose  pit  Ranks,  and  Mr  A. 
R.  Lamih'ht,  Vice-President  of  the  Linnean  Society;  but  I 


MEMOIR  OF   1)H   WHKiHT.  139' 

do  not  expect  mv  proportion  until  the  spring.  I  have  com- 
plete specimens  of  all  those  which  Dr  Roxburgh  formerly 
sent  to  our  Society,  at  your  service.  Do  not  speak  of  remu- 
neration. Your  kind  acceptance  and  friendship  will  be  my 
best  reward.  Have  you  yet  determined  in  what  style  the 
specimens  are  to  be  put  up  ;  the  size  of  paper ;  and  whe- 
ther they  are  to  be  bound  in  books,  or  to  lie  loose  in  fascicu- 
li ?  When  you  state  all  these  particulars,  I  shall  then  pro- 
ceed. 

"  We  have  lost,11  he  continues,  "  our  valuable  friend  Dr 
Pulteney  at  Bland  ford.  He  has  left  few  in  this  country 
equal  to  him  in  Natural  History,  and  particularly  in  Botany. 
His  life  of  Linn.eus,  and  the  lives  of  British  Botanists,  are  in 
every  body^  hands.  Dr  Gakthsiioke  is,  no  doubt,  left  exe- 
cutor, and  will  have  the  disposal  of  his  books  and  collections. 
It  would  be  an  object  well  deserving  the  attention  of  the  Di- 
rectors of  your  institution,  as  you  could  better  afford  to  make 
the  purchase  than  most  individuals. 

"  I  have  been  more  perplexed,11  he  proceeds,  "  in  the  ma- 
nagement of  patients  in  a  convalescent  state;  after  dysentery, 
than  during  the  active  state  of  the  disease  ;  and  many  fell 
victims,  in  spite  of  all  the  means  I  tried.  A  milk  diet  in  ge- 
neral did  service.  I  varied  the  preparation  from  rice-milk  to 
rice-gruel,  and  light  rice  pudding.  My  specific  was  only  of 
use  in  the  first  stages,  where  there  was  morbific  matter  in 
prima?  viae  to  be  corrected.  I  had  some  success  in  allaying 
the  irritation  of  the  stomach  and  bowels  by  a  slight  infusion 
of  quassia,  and  a  paring  of  lemon  peel,  made  cordial  by  a 
small  quantity  of  spirits,  or  some  aromatic  spiritous  water. 
At  other  times  I  gave  the  disorder  a  happy  turn,  by  the  mix- 
ture of  camphor  and  magnesia. 

"  But  in  acute  dysenteries,  if  any  of  the  symptoms  con- 
tinue, the  smaller  intestines  are  sometimes  affected  with  topi- 
cal inflammation,  and  consequent  sphacelus.  If  so,  our  best 
efforts  may  be  applied  in  vain.     In  sound  constitutions,  there 


140  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

may,  however,  be  a  chance ;  and  the  Quassia  aniara  appears 
to  me  to  be  the  safest  and  best  antiseptic.',, 

About  this  period  he  writes  to  Dr  Garthshore  : 

"  A  fever  has  been  raging  here,  and  students  of  medicine 
have  been  the  principal  suffei'ers.  Several  of  them  have  died 
of  it,  and  others  are  dangerously  ill.  It  is  said  they  caught 
the  contagion  in  the  Infirmary  ;  and  if  so,  it  must  be  ascribed 
to  a  want  of  cleanliness  and  ventilation.  Students  are  gene- 
rally attended  by  pr6fessors  ;  and  I  am  not  acquainted  with 
the  particular  treatment  they  pursue.  Dr  Gregory  makes 
use  of  the  cold  affusion  with  success  ;  but  there  are  cases  of 
fever  where  that  alone  will  not  suffice,  such  as  a  tendency  to,  or 
actual  inflammation  of  the  viscera,  or  congestion  in  the  brain. 
In  such  cases,  I  make  very  free  with  mercurials,  and  with  the 
most  marked  success ;  at  the  same  time,  I  keep  my  patient 
cool  and  airy,  and  if  need  be,  apply  the  cold  water  generally, 
or  partially,  should  the  feverish  heat  run  high.  Of  late,  seve- 
ral bad  cases  of  fever  were  thus  treated,  and  the  symptoms 
were  removed  in  a  few  days.  Indeed,  I  have  never  seen  a 
relapse  of  fever  where  calomel  was  duly  used.,,> 

Iii  a  subsequent  letter  to  Dr  Garthshore,  he  says, 

"  I  have  a  good  opinion  of  antimonials  in  all  febrile  cases, 
especially  in  colds  attended  with  fever  and  plethora.  In  ty- 
phus, I  sometimes  employ  small  doses  of  pulvis  antimonialis, 
conjoined  with  calomel  ;  but  more  frequently  the  calomel 
alone ;  and,  as  I  told  you  before,  patients  so  treated  have  no 
relapse!''' 

In  1801,  Dr  Wright  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Royal  Medical  Society ;  and,  at  the  close  of  the  year, 
he  was  called  to  the  chair  of  the  Royal  College  of 
Physicians. 


MEMOIB  OF   DB   WRIGHT.  141 

The  exertions  of  Dr  Wright  on  behalf  of  the 
Botanic  Garden  at  Liverpool,  produced  a  vote  of  thanks 
from  the  committee,  which  was  communicated  in  very 
eloquent  terms  by  their  Vice-President,  Mr  Roscoe, 
the  celebrated  biographer  of  Lorenzo  de  Medici, 
and  the  intimate  friend  of  Dr  Currie.  Mr  Roscoe 
had  also  delivered  a  discourse  on  the  occasion  of  the 
opening  of  the  garden,  in  which  he  noticed  the  assist- 
ance which  Dr  Wright  had  afforded,  in  very  flatter- 
ing terms.  A  printed  copy  of  this  discourse  was 
transmitted  by  Dr  Currie  to  Dr  Wright  ;  and  on 
the  27th  of  September  1802,  he  acknowledges  the 
compliment  as  follows  : — 

"  Your  kind  letter  of  the  23d  of  May,  together  with  the 
two  pamphlets,  came  safely  to  hand.  My  warmest  thanks 
are  due  to  Mr  Roscoe,  and  to  you,  for  the  notice  he  has  been 
pleased  to  take  of  me  in  the  address.  I  shall  study  to  merit 
his  good  opinion,  and  to  cultivate  his  friendship. 

"  I  have  just  returned  from  a  summer  tour  in  Aberdeen- 
shire, Strath  Tay,  and  Callendar  Menteith  ;  in  the  course  of 
which,  I  have  seen  and  conversed  with  many  of  the  best  prac- 
titioners, and  have  been  glad  to  find  so  great  a  number  con- 
curring in  our  views  on  the  subject  of  fever,  and  in  the  bene- 
fits resulting  from  external  cold.  Happy  had  I  been,  indeed, 
to  have  found  the  box-bed  excluded  from  the  wretched  habi- 
tations of  the  lower  orders.  1 1  has  been,  and  still  continues, 
to  be  a  great  scourge.  Like  a  jail,  it  engenders  contagion, 
converts  a  common  catarrh  into  typhus,  and  infects  all  who 
come  within  the  range  of  its  influence 

"  I  have  made  some  progress  with  the  specimens,  and  hope 
I  shall  now  meet  with  no  farther  interruption.  I  look  for  a 
large  collection  soon  from  Trinidad  and  Guiana ;  but  that 


142  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

shall  not  prevent  me  from  sending  you  such  in  the  mean  time- 
as  I  can  spare." 

In  a  subsequent  letter  he  says, — 

"  I  shall  again  carefully  examine  the  second  edition  of 
your  Reports,  and  make  such  remarks  as  occur  to  me.  Dr 
"Gkegoiiy  has  used  the  cold  dash  or  affusion  in  a  few  cases, 
with  success.  Drs  Hope  and  Home  have  also  succeeded,  and 
all  of  them  recommend  the  practice  in  their  academical  lec- 
tures. 

"  At  Glasgow,"  he  adds,  "  they  are  bolder.  The  influ- 
enza has  been  rife  here,"  he  continues,  "  and  fatal  to  many. 
The  interference  of  the  physician,  and  still  more,  that  of  the 
surgeon  and  apothecary,  has,  I  suspect,  helped  many  out  of 
the  world,  in  a  very  summary  way,  by  treating  the  patients  as 
for  a  common  cold.  Like  other  contagious  disorders,  I  con- 
ceive the  reigning  distemper  to  be  a.  fever  of  debility,  which 
does  not  require  the  lancet  or  other  profuse  evacuation. 

"  I  keep  my  patients,  when  in  bed,  very  lightly  covered  : 
I  recommend  them  to  get  up  during  the  day;  and,  unless  very 
ill,  to  walk  about  in  moderate  weather,  in  the  open  air  :  On 
any  heat  or  flushing  taking  place,  I  desire  the  hands,  face  and 
neck  to  be  washed  suddenly  in  cold  water.  I  allow  the  pa- 
tient such  diet  as  he  likes  best,  and  to  the  opulent  I  order  a 
liberal  allowance  of  wine ;  to  others  strong  ale,  porter,  or  dilu- 
ted spiritous  liquors  after  meals.  I  have  never  lost  a  patient 
by  this  treatment. 

"  The  cold  dash,  well  timed,  will  not  only  cure  all  febrile  ex- 
acerbations, but  prevent  their  taking  place.  Of  this  I  am  con- 
vinced from  daily  observation.  When  any  one  is  threatened 
with  fever,  I  direct  washing  the  face,  and  especially  the  fore- 
head, with  the  coldest  water,  three  or  four  times  a-day  ;  and 
I  give  Dr  Faulkner  credit  for  thinking,  that  the  cold  affu- 
sion will  prevent  the  plague  itself. 

l 


MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT.  143 

On  the  5th  of  November  1803,  he  again  writes  to 
Dr  Currie, — 

"  I  am  happy  to  introduce  to  you  my  excellent  friend  Mi- 
James  Macgrigor,  surgeon  of  the  88th  Regiment,  who  had 
the  medical  direction  of  the  Indian  army  when  in  Egypt. 
He  has  every  thing  to  recommend  him  as  a  gentleman,  a  phi- 
losopher, and  a  physician.  He  has  a  vast  number  of  medical 
communications  and  observations  on  the  plague  and  other 
fevers  of  Egypt  and  of  India.  His  extreme  modesty,  I  fear, 
may  prevent  him  from  arranging  and  publishing  his  materials .; 
but  I  shall  continue  to  urge  his  doing  so,  because  I  know  they 
will  be  extremely  useful.'" 

On  the  19th  of  June  1804,  Dr  Currie  writes  as 
follows  to  Dr  Wright  : — 

"  Knowing  you  will  be  interested  in  the  publication  be- 
yond any  body,  I  transmit  by  the  coach  of  this  evening,  a 
copy,  the  first  that  is  made  up  of  my  third  edition,  in  two 
volumes,  making  in  all  between  seven  and  eight  hundred 
pages.  I  intended  to  have  comprised  it  in  one  volume,  as 
you  will  see  from  the  paging,  but  found  my  materials,  with 
every  care,  could  not  be  compressed  sufficiently ;  and  since  it 
has  gone  to  two  volumes,  I  am  sorry  I  did  not  give  some 
of  my  communications  more  at  large.  You  will  see  I  have 
had  frequent  occasion  to  introduce  your  name ;  and  that  I 
conclude  as  I  began  with  you.  I  flatter  myself  that  you  will 
find  nothing  in  what  I  have  said  to  displease  you  ;  and  I  have 
no  doubt  you  will  find,  that  what  human  evidence  can  do,  is 
done,  towards  the  establishment  of  our  practice.  Within 
these  few  days  I  have  rcceiyed  forty  cases  from  the  house  of 
recovery  at  Cork,  which  came  too  late.  It  is  not  a  little  in- 
teresting and  singular  to  find  experience  so  uniform  on  this 
important  subject. 

f*  I  have  executed   this  third  edition  under  constant  bad 


144  MEMOIR  OF  Dlt  WRIGHT. 

health,  and  oppressive  engagements.  It  is  on  that  account 
far  less  perfect  than  I  could  wish ;  and  the  table  of  errata  is 
shamefully  large, — but  it  was  impossible  it  should  be  other- 
wise. From  the  month  of  October  till  May,  I  lost,  by  vene- 
section, 200  ounces  of  blood,  and  took  at  least  eleven  ounces 
of  the  tincture  of  digitalis  !  I  could  not  otherwise  have  lived. 
But  my  languor  and  oppression  are  not  to  be  told.  Finding 
some  relaxation  essential,  I  broke  away  from  Liverpool  on 
the  9th  ultimo,  and  penetrated  into  Scotland  as  far  as  Moffat. 
Thence  I  crossed  into  Northumberland,  and  travelled  round 
the  north-east  coast  of  England,  returning  to  Liverpool  by 
Harrowgate,  Leeds,  and  Manchester.  I  reached  home,  after 
an  absence  of  twenty-two  days,  in  the  course  of  which  I 
travelled  650  miles,  on  the  2d  instant.  I  was  much  improv- 
ed by  my  journey,  and  am  now  much  better,  though  not 
quite  confirmed.  I  have  been  able  to  give  up  bleeding  and 
digitalis,  and  have  an  excellent  appetite  for  milk  and  vege- 
tables, which  constitute  all  my  food.  Depend  on  it,  I  was 
much  mortified  to  be  so  near  you  and  my  other  friends  in 
Edinburgh,  without  seeing  you ; — but  at  the  time  I  had  no 
spirits  for  the  meeting,  and  no  breath  for  your  long  stairs. 
I  kept  out  of  all  great  towns,  travelling  about  thirty  miles  a- 
day,  and  living  cool  and  quiet. 

"  The  third  edition  will  not  be  published  under  three 
weeks  or  a  month.  I  wish,  therefore,  that  you  should  keep 
this  copy  to  yourself." 

Before  this  letter  had  reached  its  destination,  Dr 
Wright  had  left  Edinburgh  on  a  tour  to  the  High- 
lands ;  and,  in  consequence  of  the  delay  in  acknowledg- 
ing the  early  copy  of  the  Reports,  Dr  Currie  had 
again  addressed  two  short  letters  to  Dr  Wright,  ex- 
pressing his  anxiety  lest  Dr  Wright  should  have 
been  dissatisfied  with  his  second  volume.     On  the  ar- 


MEMOIR  OF  DTC  WRIGHT.  _^     145 

rival  of  Dr  Wright  in  Edinburgh,  in  the  month  of 
September  1804,  he  immediately  wrote  to  Dr  Currie, 
acknowledging  receipt  of  the  three  letters,  with  the 
copy  of  the  Reports  ;  and  adding, 

"  I  blushed  to  read  the  many  kind  things  you  say  of  me, 
in  many  parts  of  that  excellent  work.  I  am  happy  to  tell 
you,  that,  in  the  most  remote  parts  of  the  Highlands,  the 
country  practitioners  are  adopting  your  tenets,  not  only  in 
typhoid  cases,  but  in  scarlatina,  with  every  success. 

"  I  had  several  objects,1''  he  continues,  "  besides  recreation 
in  view,  in  my  late  tour.  Dr  John  Stuart,  minister  at 
Luss,  in  Dumbartonshire,  is  married  to  a  relation  of  mine, 
and  has  long  been  my  intimate  friend.  When  a  very  young 
man  he  travelled  with  Pennant  and  Lightfoot,  and  had  a 
principal  hand  in  compiling  the  Flora  Scotica.  With  him 
and  his  family  I  was  quite  at  home.  His  garden  is  stored 
with  every  rare  European  plant,  and  his  collection  afford- 
ed me  much  amusement  and  instruction.  From  Loch  Lo- 
mond I  crossed  the  country,  through  several  wild  glens,  and 
over  bad  roads,  to  Killin,  Kenmore,  Strath  Tay,  and  various 
parts  of  Perthshire,  and  returned,  after  an  absence  of  seven 
weeks,  much  pleased  with  my  journey." 

This  interesting  correspondence  was  interrupted  by 
the  continued  indisposition  of  Dr  Cureie,  and  his 
consequent  removal  to  Bath  ;  and  on  his  part,  indeed, 
it  was  never  afterwards  resumed.  On  the  25th  of 
August  180.5,  Dr  Wright  again  addressed  him  as 
follows : 

"  I  have  been  too  long  in  writing  to  my  best  friend.  The 
delay  has  been  owing  to  the  unsettled  state  of  your  health, 
and  to  my  anxiety  for  better  tidings.  Of  late  I  have  been 
relieved  by  the  accounts  of  various  friends  who  have  seen 

K 


146  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

you.  The  repeated  and  copious  bloodlettings  which  you 
judged  necessary,  may  have  given  you  a  temporary  relief, 
but  such  a  drain  of  the  latex  vitalis  could  not  fail  to  produce 
debility,  relaxation,  and  prostration  of  strength.  Of  the  long- 
continued  use  of  digitalis,  I  can  say  little  from  my  own  ex- 
perience. I  had  a  poor  man  some  time  ago  with  hydrotho- 
rax  and  ascites.  I  ordered  him  the  tincture  of  digitalis  daily, 
and  a  grain  of  calomel  every  night.  In  about  three  weeks 
the  hydropic  disorder  disappeared.  From  his  pulse  continu- 
ing irregular,  and  from  his  extreme  distress  at  times  in  breath- 
ing,  as  well  as  from  the  strong  palpitations  of  the  heart,  on 
the  least  motion  or  exertion,  I  am  of  opinion  there  must  have 
been  an  organic  affection  either  in  the  great  bloodvessels,  or 
of  the  tricuspidal  valves.  Our  hospital  physicians  will  not 
receive  him.  He  sometimes  takes  the  calomel,  and  sometimes 
the  drops,  which  he  thinks  keeps  the  disorder  from  getting 
worse." 

In  another  letter  of  the  same  date,  he  adds  : 

"  In  June  and  July  I  made  my  annual  tour  through  the 
north-west  Highlands,  and  again  passed  some  weeks  with  my 
friend  Dr  Stuart  of  Luss.  He  has  the  finest  private  gar- 
den, and  is  himself  the  best  botanist,  in  Scotland.  We  ascend- 
ed Ben  Lomond  (3150  feet  perpendicular),  but  near  the  sum- 
mit were  enveloped  in  a  watery  cloud,  so  that  we  could  not 
see  ten  yards  about  us.  We,  however,  attained  our  object, 
which  was  rare  alpine  plants,  lichens,  and  mosses.  Dr  Stu- 
art and  family  accompanied  me  to  Inverary,  and  from  thence 
to  Glenorchy,  where  we  made  some  stay  with  the  clergyman, 
who  is  a  relation  of  mine,  a  worthy  and  learned  divine,  cele- 
brated in  several  books  of  travels  for  his  attention  and  hospi- 
tality to  strangers.  I  then  proceeded  to  Tyndrum,  where 
there  is  a  rich  lead  mine,  and  slept  at  Killin.  From  thence 
I  journeyed  to  Lochearnhead,  and  passed  along  the  north  side 
of  thai  beautiful  lake,  through  the  romantic  grounds  of  Lord 


MEMOIR  OF  DR  WEIGHT;  147 

Melville  at  Dunira,  to  Crieff,  in  Strathearn,  where  I  remain- 
ed sixteen  days.  My  route  hither  was  by  Dunblane,  Stir- 
ling, Falkirk,  and  Linlithgow,  and  after  a  six  weeks'1  tour,  I 
reached  home  in  excellent  health  and  spirits. 

"  The  whole  journey  had  much  of  a  medical  character. 
Apprized  of  my  motions,  the  sick  of  all  descriptions  were 
brought  to  me,  where  I  was  to  stay.  1  was  always  fully  em- 
ployed with  poor  patients,  or  with  the  practitioners,  in  these 
remote  parts.  Our  treatment  of  typhus  is  begun  to  be  known 
and  practised  ;  and  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  your  two 
volumes  in  the  hands  of  practitioners  in  Argyleshire,  and  at 
Crieff.  It  was  at  this  last  place  that  the  Scarlatina  anginosa 
was  so  prevalent  and  fatal,  of  which  I  have  given  you  some 
account. 

"  I  hear  the  fourth  edition  of  your  Reports  is  in  forward- 
ness, and  you  have  no  doubt  had  numerous  communications 
on  the  subject  from  all  parts.  The  physicians  of  London,  I 
believe,  are  the  most  backward  in  the  use  of  the  cold-dash. 
I  can  only  account  for  this,  by  suppoing  them  afraid  of  the 
prejudices  of  their  patients,  or  of  the  apothecaries,  or  that 
the  ratio  medendi  is  so  contrary  to  the  doctrines  which  some 
of  them  have  taught  for  half  a  century.  In  this  view,  they 
are  more  the  objects  of  pity  than  contempt.'" 

These  letters  were  addressed  to  Dr  Currie's  resi- 
dence at  Bath,  but  they  never  reached  the  hands  of  him 
for  whom  they  were  intended.  The  increasing  illness  of 
this  excellent  man  had  induced  his  removal  to  Sid- 
mouth,  in  Devonshire,  where  he  soon  afterwards  breath- 
ed his  last.  His  death  is  communicated  to  Dr  Wright 
in  a  letter  from  Sid  mouth,  on  the  2d  of  September 
1805.     The  following  is  an  extract : 

"  It  will,  I  know,  gratify  you  to  find,  that,  even  in  the 
midst  of  pain  and  suffering,  my  father  thought  of  his  friends 

K  2 


148  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

with  tenderness  and  affection.  To  you  he  desired  me  to  con- 
vey his  last  kind  affectionate  remembrances.  You  will,  I  am 
sure,  value  them. 

"  A  fourth  edition  of  the  work  on  fever  is  just  finished  ; 
happily  he  lived  to  complete  it.  The  publication  will  take 
place  in  a  very  short  time.  The  last  chapter  of  the  second 
volume  is  new  and  highly  interesting  ;  it  relates  to  the  late 
fever  at  Gibraltar,  and  is,  I  think,  most  beautiful.  The  theory 
of  non-contagion  is  deprecated  in  the  strongest  terms  ! 

"  Adieu,  my  dear  Doctor;  continue  to  me  the  friendship 
you  ever  had  for  my  father.  We  return  to  Bath  after  the 
interment,  which  takes  place  here.  Liverpool  will  again,  in  a 
few  months,  be  our  ultimate  residence.  Accept,  my  dear  Sir, 
the  sincere  and  affectionate  wishes  of  yours  very  truly, 

"  W.  Wallace  Curihe." 

"  P.  S. — In  reading  your  letter,  I  was  forcibly  struck  with 
the  similarity  of  the  case  of  the  poor  man  you  mention,  and 
that  of  my  father."" 

Some  time  before  this  period,  Dr  Wright  had  been 
warmly  importuned  by  his  friend  Dr  Garthshore  to 
break  up  his  establishment  in  Edinburgh,  and  devote 
himself  to  the  performance  of  a  duty,  of  a  very  deli- 
cate and  distressing  nature. 

Mr  W.  Garthshore,  M.  P.,  one  of  the  Lords  of 
the  Admiralty,  and  the  son  of  Dr  Wright's  friend, 
had  married  a  lady  of  large  fortune,  who  died  in  giving 
birth  to  twin  sons.  The  infants  did  not  long  survive 
their  mother,  and  through  them  Mr  Garthshore 
succeeded  to  his  wife's  fortune.  His  mind  was  unable 
to  sustain  so  heavy  a  bereavement,  and  a  permanent 
aberration  of  intellect  was  the  consequence.  While 
there  was  yet  a  hope  of  returning  reason,  Dr  Garth- 


MEMOIR  OF  Dll  WRIGHT.  _^~     T49 

shore  was  naturally  solicitous  that  his  son  should  have 
the  assistance  of  a  skilful  and  devoted  friend  like  Dr 
Wright,  under  this  most  grievous  of  all  human  cala- 
mities ;  and  it  is  highly  probable,  from  the  generous 
and  disinterested  disposition  of  Dr  Wright,  that,  if 
the  son  of  his  friend  had  been  less  amply  endowed 
with  the  means  of  securing  the  best  medical  assistance, 
he  would  readily  have  surrendered  his  own  personal 
comfort  and  convenience  to  relieve  the  anxiety  of  Dr 
Garthshore.     As  matters  stood,  however,  he  felt 
himself  justified  in  declining  so  painful  a  task ;  and 
in  doing  so,  he  recommended  a  physician  who  had 
been  originally  made  known  to  him  by  Dr  Garth- 
shore  himself.    The  recommendation  of  Dr  Wright 
was  adopted,  but  the  consequences  of  the  appointment 
assumed  in  the  sequel  a  very  serious  aspect.     It  be- 
came necessary  for  Dr  Garthshore  to  call  the  medi- 
cal attendant  of  his  son  to  account  in  Chancery  re- 
garding Mr  Garthshore's  pecuniary  concerns,  for 
the   purpose  of  restraining  him   from  farther  inter- 
ference.    The  result  was  a  Chancery  law-suit,  with  all 
its   proverbial   delays   and   inconveniences.       In    the 
month  of  April  1807,  Dr  Wright  was  called  to  Lon- 
don to  give  his  evidence  on  the  subject  before  the  ar- 
bitrators ;  and  his  feelings  appear  to  have  been  deeply 
interested  in  the  issue,  from  the  involuntary  share  he 
had  had  in  forming  the  connection   from  which  the 
proceedings  had  originated. 

It  had  long  been  the  habit  of  Dr  Garthshore's 
mind  to  lean  with  confidence  on  the  firmer  intellect  of 
Dr  Wright,  for  advice  and  direction  in  the  manage- 


150  MEMOIR  OF  DK  WRIGHT. 

ment  of  his  affairs.  The  period  of  the  General  Elec- 
tion arrived  before  Dr  Wright  was  disengaged  from 
the  arbitrators ;  so  that,  by  the  avocations  of  counsel 
and  otherwise,  the  proceedings  were  greatly  interrupt- 
ed, and  he  was  detained  much  longer  in  town  than 
he  intended.  The  intervals  of  leisure  which  thus 
arose,  gave  occasion  to  a  great  deal  of  confidential  in- 
tercourse between  the  two  friends.  Dr  Wright,  on 
this  occasion,  gave  the  same  advice  to  Dr  Garth- 
shore  which  he  would  himself  have  adopted  under 
similar  circumstances.  He  counselled  him  so  to  settle 
his  affairs,  as  to  leave  no  ground  on  which  a  dispute 
could  be  raised  regarding  the  succession  to  his  proper- 
ty. But  Dr  Garthshore,  from  an  infirmity  of  pur- 
pose, which  seems  in  some  minds  to  be  constitutional, 
found  a  reason  for  procrastination,  in  the  unsettled 
state  of  the  law-suit  which  had  brought  Dr  Wright 
to  London.  At  the  same  time  he  was  fully  persuaded 
of  the  soundness  of  the  advice  he  had  received,  and 
exacted  from  his  friend  a  solemn  promise  of  personal 
assistance,  whenever  he  should  find  himself  prepared 
for  the  performance  of  this  important  duty. 

Dr  Wright  arrived  in  Edinburgh  by  one  of  the 
Leith  packets  on  the  1st  of  June  1807,  and  soon  af- 
terwards proceeded  on  his  annual  tour  to  the  High- 
lands, spending  some  weeks  with  his  brother's  family 
in  Strathearn,  and  with  his  friend  Dr  Stuart  on 
the  banks  of  Lochlomond.  From  Luss,  he  writes  to 
his  brother,  on  the  24th  of  August :  "  It  has  rained 
here  constantly  ever  since  we  left  you,  but  the  worthy 
Doctor  and  I  are  alwavs  in  the  field?."' 


MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT.  -*~      "151 

The  visit  of  Dr  Wright  to  London  in  1807,  ap- 
pears to  have  recalled  the  attention  of  many  of  his 
friends  to  the  subject  of  his  public  services,  which,  in 
their  opinion,  had  never  been  adequately  rewarded  ; 
and,  in  the  following  year,  he  was  induced  to  return 
to  London,  with  a  view  to  the  promotion  of  this  ob- 
ject. Writing  to  one  of  his  nieces,  he  says  :  "  I  have 
no  desire  to  accumulate  but  for  your  sakes  who  sur- 
vive me.  Make  your  father  and  his  friends  as  happy 
as  I  wish  them.  Let  me  beg  of  you  to  want  for  no- 
thing that  is  necessary  or  proper."  Inclosing  a  hand- 
some remittance,  he  adds,  "  The  Almighty  has  blessed 
me  with  abundance,  and  with  a  heart  to  give  away." 
Although  the  chief  purpose  of  his  journey  was  not  at- 
tended with  success,  Dr  Wright  experienced  the 
truest  satisfaction  from  the  opportunity  which  it  af- 
forded him  of  feeling  how  many  valuable  friends  he 
possessed,  and  of  witnessing  their  active  exertions  on 
his  behalf.  He  returned  to  Edinburgh  in  the  month 
of  July  1808,  by  way  of  Chesterfield  and  Harrowgate, 
paying  visits  in  passing  to  his  friends  Dr  Stokes  and 
Dr  Murray,  with  each  of  whom  he  staid  several 
days. 

In  so  far  as  theoretical  views  in  philosophy  are  op- 
posed to  the  results  of  investigation  and  the  evidence 
of  facts,  they  found  in  Dr  Wright  a  steady  and  de- 
termined opponent.  He  was  rather  a  Neptunist  in 
geology,  and  had  but  little  faith  in  the  Plutonic  theory 
of  Hutton  and  his  disciples.  He  was  too  much  ha- 
bituated to  think  on  all  subjects  for  himself,  to  sub- 
scribe implicitly  to  the   doctrines  of  any  particular 


152  MEM  OIK  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

school ;  and,  on  the  establishment  of  a  society  in  Edin- 
burgh in  the  year  1808,  for  the  encouragement  of  na- 
tural science  on  the  general  principles  which  he  had 
long  espoused,  he  took  an  active  interest  in  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  institution,  and  was  accordingly  one 
of  the  original  members,  and  a  Vice-President,  of  the 
Wernerian  Natural  History  Society  *. 

On  the  11th  of  October  1809,  he  thus  writes  to 
Dr  Garthshore  : 

"  What  was  the  name  of  the  lethargic  boy  relieved  by 
tincture  of  cantharides  ?  With  this  same  medicine  I  cured  a 
lady  of  a  convulsive  cough,  similar  to  that  of  Miss  M.  In 
hooping-cough  I  use  nothing  else. 

"  A  woman  in  the  fifth  month  of  pregnancy  had  hiccup 
for  five  days,  even  when  she  slumbered.  She  was  imme- 
diately relieved  by  the  application  of  a  blister  to  the  breast. 
This  I  conceive  was  brought  about  by  the  cantharides  excit- 
ing an  action  in  the  system  stronger  than  that  of  the  morbid 
action. 

"  Mr  William  Jackson  Hooker  of  Norwich  arrived 
here  lately  from  Iceland,  where  he  had  remained  during  the 
summer,  exploring  the  island  for  natural  productions.  He  is 
a  man  of  fortune,  one  of  the  best  draughtsmen  in  England, 
and  a  complete  botanist.     He  had  made  a  large  collection  in 

*  The  original  constituent  members,  as  stated  in  the  minute-book  of  the 
Society  12th  January  1808,  were,  "  Robert  Jameson,  Esq.  E.  R.  S.  E., 
Professor  of  Natural  History ;  William  Wright,  M.  D.,  E.  R.  S. ;  Rev. 
Thomas  Macknight,  F.  R.  S.  E. ;  John  Barclay,  M.  D.,  F.  R.  S.  E. ; 
Thomas  Thomson,  M.  D.,  P.  It.  S. ;  Colonel  Stewart  Murray  Eul- 
larton  ;  Charles  Anderson,  Esq.  ;  Sir  Patrick  Walker;  and  Pa- 
trick Neill,  A.  M.,  F.  R.  S.  E."  The  sederunt  appears  to  have  been 
taken  down  by  Mr  Neill,  who,  as  well  as  all  the  other"  gentlemen  pre- 
sent, with  the  exception  perhaps  of  Colonel  Eullarton;  are  believed  to 
have  been  personal  friends  of  Dr  Wright. 


MKMOIK  OF  DR  WRIGHT.  ^_    153 

all  the  branches  of  natural  history,  and  had  kept  a  journal,  in 
which  he  delineated  plants  as  well  as  animals.  He  embarked 
in  a  ship  bound  to  London,  on  board  of  which  there  were  some 
Danish  prisoners.  They  had  not  proceeded  far  on  their  voyage 
when  they  discovered  the  vessel  to  be  in  flames,  and  burning 
with  such  rapidity  that  all  must  have  perished,  but  for  the 
providential  appearance  of  the  Talbot  man-of-war,  which  came 
up  just  in  time  to  save  the  lives  of  those  on  board.  Mr 
Hooker  lost  his  collections,  and  the  one-half  of  his  drawings 
and  journals. 

'•'  You  are  aware  that  my  late  nephew  visited  Iceland  with 
Mr  Stanley.  His  mineralogical collection  was  left  with  me; 
and  I  have  given  Mr  Hookek  specimens  of  the  greater  part 
of  it.  Of  some,  indeed,  I  have  not  retained  any  duplicate.  I 
I  have  offered  to  send  him  an  Icelandic  Herbarium,  collected 
at  the  same  time.  This  will  only  partially  supply  the  loss, 
which  must  be  regarded  as  a  public  misfortune.  Mr  Hooker 
is  intimately  acquainted  with  our  friend  Sir  Joseph  Banks, 
and  that  would  of  itself  have  been  sufficient  to  ensure  my  best 
offices." 

Mr  Hooker  was  not  unmindful  of  the  attentions 
he  received  on  this  occasion.  In  his  "  Recollections 
of  a  Tour  in  Iceland  in  1809,"  he  makes  his  public 
acknowledgments  in  the  following  terms : 

"  Neither  can  I  suffer  to  pass  in  silence  the  civility  of  Sir 
George  Mackenzie,  in  collecting  plants  for  me  in  his  late 
excursion  to  Iceland ;  nor  the  attention  shewn  me  by  Dr 
Wright  of  Edinburgh.  Though  a  stranger  to  him  till  my 
arrival  at  that  city  on  my  return  from  Iceland,  he  participat- 
ed feelingly  in  my  misfortune,  and  begged  me  to  make  any 
use  I  pleased  of  the  subjects  of  natural  history  in  his  posses- 
sion which  had  been  collected  in  Iceland  by  his  nephew,  the 
late  Mr  Wright,  an  amiable  young  man,  who  accompanied 


154  MEMOIll  OF  DH   WRIGHT. 

Sir  John  Stanley  on  his  voyage  to  that  country.  This  of- 
fer was  succeeded  by  the  present  of  a  considerable  collection 
of  Icelandic  minerals,  and  a  scarce  and  curious  work,  entitled 
'  Rymbegla,  sive  Rudhnentum  Computi  Ecclesiastici  Vete- 
rum  Islandcrum." 

On  the  6th  of  November  1809,  Dr  Wiught  thus 
writes  to  Dr  Gartshhore  : 

"  The  fever  at  Walcheren,  so  fatal  to  our  troops,  is  no 
other  than  the  endemic  fever  of  marshy  countries,  and  is  well 
described  by  Sir  John  Puixgle  and  Dr  Grainger.  The 
winter  will  put  a  stop  to  it,  as  there  will  be  no  evaporation 
from  the  stagnant  and  putrid  water  in  the  canals  and  ditches. 

In  a  subsequent  letter,  with  reference  to  the  case  of 
a  common  friend  who  had  been  endeavouring  to  get 
himself  placed  on  the  Medical  Staff  of  the  Army,  Dr 
Wright  observes  to  Dr  Gaihhshore  : 

"  The  truth  is,  the  half  pay  list  is  burthened  with  young 
physicians  who  have  served  a  campaign  or  two,  and  have  then 
made  interest  to  retire,  without  being  again  liable  to  be  called 
on  to  serve.  Very  different,1'  he  adds,  "  is  the  case  of  a  navy 
surgeon,  who  is  obliged  to  serve  while  life  or  health  continues, 
under  the  penalty  of  forfeiting  his  half  pay." 

Soon  afterwards  he  writes  to  his  brother : 

"  Sir  P.  Murray  has  been  so  polite  as  to  propose  that  I 
should  become  an  honorary  member  of  the  Agricultural  So- 
ciety of  Strathearn.  Of  the  rural  economy  of  this  country  I 
know  but  little,  although  in  that  of  the  West  Indies  I  am 
quite  at  home.  I  formerly  prepared  a  paper  on  the  subject 
of  the  potato,  for  the  Board  of  Agriculture,  including  the  his- 
tory of  the  plant,  its  introduction,  culture,  and  various  uses. 
If  the  hints  were  followed  which  I  have  there  suggested,  you 


MEMOIU  Ol    Dil  wuight  _^     155 

might  eat  bread  of  excellent  quality  one-third  cheaper  than  at 
present  *.  When  I  know  that  your  Society  is  formed,  I 
shall  present  them  with  some  books  on  agricultural  subjects."1 

During  the  summers  of  1810  and  1811,  Dr  Wright 
enjoyed  his  accustomed  relaxation  of  a  Highland  tour ; 
and,  in  proof  of  the  continued  vigour  of  his  constitu- 
tion, it  may  he  mentioned,  that,  after  travelling  post 
from  Edinburgh  to  Inver,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Dunkeld,  in  the  month  of  August  1811,  he  proceeded, 
on  foot,  from  thence  to  Kinnaird,  the  residence  of  his 
friend  Sir  Izett,  a  distance  of  six  or  seven  miles.  In 
the  course  of  this  summer,  Dr  Whight  had  the  plea- 
sure of  receiving  a  second  visit  from  Sir  Frederick, 
the  son  of  his  old  friend  Sir  George  Baker,  and  of 
introducing  him  to  Dr  Stuart  of  Luss,  and  his 
other  friends  in  the  Highlands.     The  young  baronet 

*  This  paper  was  prepared  at  the  instance  of  Sir  John  Sinclair,  to 
whom  the  agriculture  and  statistics  of  the  country  are  so  much  indebted 
for  the  facts  he  has  accumulated  and  digested  on  these  important  subjects. 
The  thanks  of  the  editor  are  due  to  the  Right  Honourable  Baronet  for  the 
trouble  he  has  taken  in  tracing  several  of  Dr  Wright's  papers,  as  well 
as  for  the  communication  of  a  letter  addressed  to  him  by  M.  Desmazi. 
EREsof  Lille,  acknowledging  the  arrival  of  a  collection  of  plants  which  had 
been  prepared  for  him  by  Dr  Wright  shortly  [before  his  death,  and  which 
had  been  transmitted  some  time  afterwards  by  the  attention  of  Sir  John 
Sinclair.     The  letter  of  acknowledgment  is  in  the  following  terms  : 

"  Monsieur  le  Chevalier, 

•'  Je  crois  utile  de  vous  apprendre  que  je  viens  de  recevoir  le  paquet 
de  plantes  qui  vous  avez  cu  la  bonte  de  m'adresser,  et  pour  lequel  j'avois 
deja  des  inquietudes. 

"  Je  partage  votre  douleur  M.  le  Chevalier.  La  perte  du  Docteur 
Wright  doit  etre  sensible  aux  amis  des  sciences ;  il  etoit  du  nombre  des 
seavans  dont  l'Angleterre  peut  s'honorer,  et  sa  memoire  sera  toujour* 
chere  a.  ceux  qui  comrae  moi  out  pu  apprecier  ses  rares  quality." 


156  MEMOIR   OF  DR.  WRIGHT. 

had  been  so  much  pleased  with  a  former  visit  to  Edin- 
burgh, in  1809,  that  he  engaged  to  return  to  Scotland 
for  the  purpose  of  completing  his  northern  tour ;  and 
he  appears,  from  Dr  Wright's  correspondence,  to 
have  been  greatly  delighted  with  the  reception  he  had 
met  with. 

On  the  14th  of  June  1811,  Dr  Wright  observes  to 
l)r  Garthshore  : 

"  I  have  a  kind  letter  of  thanks  from  our  good  friend  Sir 
Joseph,  for  a  book  I  lately  sent  to  him.  It  was  Alston's 
own  copy  of  the  Tirocinium  Botanicum,  and  contained  several 
pages  of  MS.  notes  in  the  author's  handwriting,  prepared  ap- 
parently with  a  view  to  a  second  edition.  Dr  Alston  was 
Professor  of  Botany  in  your  time,  a  man  of  character,  an 
excellent  botanist,  and  the  keenest  adversary  of  the  Linncan 
doctrine.  I  am  proud  of  Sir  Joseph's  acceptance  of  this  cu- 
rious relic,  as  it  will  be  extant  for  many  ages  to  come. 

"  We  have  had  a  large  crop  of  doctors,"  he  adds,  "  this 
graduation,  no  less  than  26.  The  authors  on  Tetanus  and 
De  Usu  Aquas  Frigida  externo  have  done  me  great  justice. 
You  will  shew  the  paragraphs  to  Sir  Joseph,  whose  liberal 
mind  will  rejoice." 

He  again  writes  to  Dr  Garthshore,  on  the  6th  of 
July  1811. 

"  I  have  sent  a  paper  which  I  lately  prepared  on  the  ab- 
sorption of  morbid  poisons,  to  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  and  have 
begged  of  him  to  shew  it  to  you  and  Dr  Blagden,  and  to 
Messrs  Home,  Heaviside,  and  Abernethy.  One  of  the 
cases  is  that  of  a  whitlow,  of  an  ill-disposed  nature,  similar  to 
that,  perhaps,  which  occasioned  the  loss  of  your  finger. 
Should  the  subject  be  thought  new  or  important,  it  may  be 
given  to  the  public  through  some  respectable  channel." 


MEMOIR  OF  DK  WEIGHT.  1<57 

111  a  subsequent  letter  from  Dr  Garthshore,  he 
mentions  having  received  this  paper  from  Sir  Charles 
Blagden,  to  whom  it  had  been  communicated  by  Sir 
Joseph  Banks  ;  and  that  he  had  delivered  it  to  Dr 
Yellowley,  for  publication  in  a  forthcoming  volume 
of  what  he  calls  "  The  Verulam  Transactions ;"  but, 
after  a  good  deal  of  inquiry,  it  has  been  found  impossi- 
ble to  trace  either  Dr  Wright's  paper,  or  the  work  in 
which  it  was  to'  have  appeared.  The  name  may  pos- 
sibly be  a  soubriquet  familiar  to  the  two  friends ;  or 
the  paper  may  have  shared  the  fate  of  much  that  is 
valuable,  though  fugitive,  in  the  walks  of  science,  as  in 
the  lighter  paths  of  literature. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1811,  Dr  Wright  was 
called  upon  by  his  friend  Dr  Garthshore,  to  redeem 
the  pledge  he  had  obtained  in  the  year  1807,  of  Dr 
Wright's  personal  assistance  in  the  final  adjustment 
of  his  temporal  concerns.  The  promise  he  had  made 
to  Dr  Garthshore  was  always  regarded  by  Dr 
Wright  as  a  sacred  obligation  ;  and  he  prepared  for 
its  performance  at  a  very  unseasonable  period  of  the 
year,  with  the  utmost  readiness  and  equanimity ;  be- 
lieving, as  he  said  himself,  before  his  departure  from 
Edinburgh,  that  it  would  not  only  contribute  to  his 
friend's  peace  of  mind,  but,  in  all  human  probability, 
add  some  years  to  his  life.  The  resolution  at  which 
Dr  Garthshore  had  at  length  arrived,  would  have 
been  held  by  Dr  Wright,  under  any  circumstances, 
to  be  an  indispensable  duty  ;  but  he  believed  it  to  be 
peculiarly  incumbent  on  his  friend,  from  the  extraor- 
dinary channel  through  which  the  greater  part  of  his 


158  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

fortune  had  been  acquired.  The  ordinary  laws  of  na- 
ture appeared,  in  the  case  of  Dr  Garthshore,  to 
have  been  completely  inverted.  He  had  survived  all 
his  descendants,  and  through  them  had  succeeded  to  a 
princely  inheritance.  It  was  a  case,  therefore,  which 
required  a  deviation  from  the  legal  order  of  succession ; 
and  Dr  Garthshore  appears  to  have  acted  under  a 
becoming  sense  of  moral  duty,  in  causing  a  part  of  the 
golden  tide  to  revert  to  the  source  from  which  it  had 
originally  flowed.  It  was  a  case,  too,  in  which  no  one 
could  be  said  to  have  been  injured,  if  Dr  Wright 
had  permitted  his  friend  to  insert  a  legacy  in  his  own 
favour  ;  but,  under  the  peculiar  circumstances  in  which 
he  found  himself  placed,  as  the  original  proposer  of  the 
measure,  he  felt  that,  by  compliance  with  the  wishes  of 
Dr  Garthshore,  he  might  subject  his  own  high  cha- 
racter to  misconstruction  ;  so  that  he  thought  himself 
called  upon- to  use  his  influence  with  his  friend,  to  ex- 
punge his  own  name,  with  a  bequest  of  L.  5000,  from 
the  instructions  which  Dr  Garthshore  had  prepared 
for  the  use  of  his  solicitor  in  framing  his  testamentary 
disposition. 

Dr  Garthshore  appears  to  have  postponed  the  exe- 
cution of  his  purpose  until  he  saw  that  it  would  be  fi- 
nally defeated  by  longer  delay.  His  mind  and  that  of 
his  friend  were  very  differently  constituted  ;  and  it  is 
probable  that,  in  place  of  lengthening  his  life,  as, 
judging  from  his  own  feelings,  Dr  Wright  had  pre- 
dicted, the  discharge  of  this  last  duty  had  relaxed  the 
tension  of  the  cords  which  supported  his  existence,  and 
he  felt  that  to  live  longer  would  be  but  to  survive  his 


MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT.  ^15$ 

usefulness.  Whatever  truth  there  may  be  in  this  hypo- 
thesis, it  is  certain  that  the  strength  of  Dr  Garth- 
shore  vry  speedily  gave  way  after  the  execution  of 
the  necessary  legal  formalities  ;  and  Dr  Wright  had 
the  satisfaction  to  receive  his  dying  assurance  that  his 
mind  had  been  relieved  from  an  unspeakable  load  of 
care  and  anxiety,  by  the  execution  of  a  task  which  was 
equally  due  to  his  present  peace  of  mind,  and  his  fu- 
ture good  name ;  and  which  he  felt  that  he  could  not 
have  accomplished  without  the  guidance  and  support  of 
a  tried  friend  like  Dr  Wright.  After  the  last  duties 
were  paid  to  his  remains,  Dr  Wright  prepared  for 
his  return  to  Scotland,  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  that 
consciousness  of  mental  rectitude  which  was  not,  in  his 
estimation,  to  be  compared  in  value  with  the  whole 
fortune  of  Dr  Garthshore.  The  sense  of  delicacy 
and  disinterestedness  by  which  he  was  directed  is  in- 
deed well  worthy  of  commemoration.  He  had  an- 
swered the  call  of  his  friend  with  promptitude,  in  so 
far  as  the  performance  of  an  abstract  duty  was  con- 
cerned ;  but  the  importunity  of  the  same  friend,  when 
directed  to  his  acceptance  of  a  moderate  portion  of  an 
estate  which  was  destined  for  distribution  among  com- 
parative strangers,  was  resisted  with  equal  firmness  and 
magnanimity,  not  because  his  compliance  would  have 
inferred  any  moral  wrong,  but  from  a  jealous  regard 
for  the  "  immediate  jewel  of  his  soul,"  his  own  fair 
fame. 

The  noiseless  and  unvaried  tenor  of  Dr  Wright  s 
existence,  in  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  affords  very 
slender  materials  for  biographical  remark.     He  had 


160  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

survived  almost  all  his  early  connections,  and  found 
himself  too  far  advanced  in  life  to  form  new  friend- 
ships, or  engage  in  ne\%  undertakings.  He  had  the 
happiness,  however,  to  he  surrounded  by  affectionate 
relatives,  who  with  kindred  sentiments  of  disinterest- 
edness and  self  devotion,  were  emulous  in  the  antici- 
pation of  all  his  wants  ;  nor  did  he  ever  lose  the  re- 
lish for  that  general  society,  which  the  native  playful- 
ness of  his  humour,  and  his  happy  talent  for  conver- 
sation, so  eminently  qualified  him  at  once  to  embel- 
lish and  enjoy.  The  name,  indeed,  of  a  single  friend, 
with  whom,  till  the  close  of  his  career,  he  continued 
to  maintain  the  closest  habits  of  intimacy,  will  evince 
more  strongly  than  a  thousand  epithets,  the  posses- 
sion not  of  powers  of  pleasing  merely,  but  a  power- 
ful and  masculine  turn  of  thought  and  expression, 
when  among  his  daily  associates,  is  found  that  ulti- 
mus  Bomanorum  the  late  Dr  Gregory. 

The  lasting  intimacy  which  existed  between  Dr 
Wright  and  Dr  Gregory,  could  not  be  said  to 
have  arisen  from  any  thing  like  a  constant  coincidence 
between  their  views,  on  scientific  or  professional  sub- 
jects. Even,  indeed,  when  they  differed  in  their  doc- 
trines, and  still  more  when  they  happened  to  concur, 
Dr  Gregory  was  accustomed,  in  his  academical  lec- 
tures, to  mention  the  name  of  his  friend  Dr  Wright, 
and  the  opinions  which  he  supported  on  the  subjects 
under  discussion,  in  terms  of  the  highest  respect. 
About  a  year  before  the  death  of  Dr. Wright,  an  in- 
stance occurred  of  a  striking  and  memorable  nature, 
in  which  the  sentiments  of  the  two  friends  were  at  va- 
1 


MEMOIR   Or    I) It    WRIGHT.  _..      161 

riance  on  a  point  of  practice.  By  the  accidental  over- 
turn of  his  carriage  at  some  distance  from  Edinburgh, 
Dr  Gregory  suffered  the  misfortune  of  a  broken 
arm  ;  but  although  the  accident  was  not  announced 
to  Dr  Wright,  he  was  in  daily  attendance  at  the 
door  of  his  friend's  house,  to  make  his  personal  inqui- 
ries as  to  the  progress  of  his  recovery.  When  they 
next  met,  Dr  Gregory  reproached  Dr  Wright  for 
the  ceremonious  distance  he  had  observed  in  his  visits, 
and  the  unwonted  recurrence  to  a  form  of  etiquette  in 
leavi.ig  his  daily  ticket  at  his  door,— so  inconsist- 
ent with  their  long  habits  of  intimacy  and  friendship. 
Dr  Wright,  in  his  turn,  took  his  friend  to  task,  for 
not  acquainting  him  with  the  accident  as  soon  as  it 
occurred.  To  this  Dr  Gregory  replied,  that  he  was 
resolved  at  all  hazards  to  be  bled,  and  that  he  knew 
Dr  Wright  would  have  strenuously  resisted  the  ope- 
ration. He  added,  that  he  had  in  feet  sustained  a 
copious  evacuation,  and  in  proof  of  the  efficacy  of  the 
practice,  he  called  upon  his  friend  to  witness  the  ra- 
pid progress  of  his  recovery.  This  practical  defence 
of  venesection  brought  to  the  mind  of  Dr  Wright 
no  conviction  of  its  propriety  in  the  case  of  his  friend, 
to  whom  he  remarked,  that  he  might  think  himself 
fortunate  if  he  escaped  the  more  serious  evils  of  water 
in  the  chest,  after  doing  so  much  violence  to  the 
course  of  nature.  Before  the  death  of  Dr  Wright, 
Dr  Gregory  began  to  experience  the  symptoms  of 
hydrothorax.  He  complained  of  breathlessness  and 
fatigue  after  climbing  Dr  Wright's  stairs,  and  was 

i, 


16*2  MEMOIR  OF   DR   WRIGHT* 

often  heard  to  express  the  apprehension  he  began 
to  entertain  of  the  truth  of  his  friend's  prediction  ; 
observing  with  an  action,  and  an  emphasis  correspond- 
ing to  the  words,  "  There  is  certainly  something  here 
which  I  should  be  much  better  without." 

The  desire  of  posthumous  distinction  appears  to 
have  been  early  implanted  in  the  mind  of  Dr 
Wright.  It  was  indeed  his  ruling  passion,  and  may 
be  said  without  a  figure,  to  have  been  strong  even  in 
death.  The  occasions  were  probably  few  on  which  he 
had  reason  to  complain  of  injustice  from  his  contem- 
poraries, and  it  was  still  more  seldom  that  he  chose  to 
notice  the  plagiarisms  to  which  an  original  thinker, 
who  expresses  his  ideas  in  unpretending  language,  is 
peculiarly  liable.  The  love  of  fame,  in  the  mind  of 
Dr  Wright,  so  far  from  tending  to  any  querulous  or 
misanthropical  feeling,  partook  rather  of  the  generous 
and  social  sentiments  with  which  it  was  associated. 
Such,  accordingly,  was  the  regard  which  he  bore  to  his 
friend  Dr  Currie,  as  to  lead  him  to  disclaim  the  en- 
comiums which  that  high-minded  individual  has  with 
equal  justice  and  liberality  applied  to  his  name.  Far 
from  disputing  with  Dr  Currie,  as  to  the  priority  of 
his  pretensions,  or  the  ratio  of  their  respective  claims 
to  the  gratitude  of  posterity,  he  was  contented,  he  was 
accustomed  to  say,  to  be  handed  down  to  future  ages 
by  his  friend,  or  with  his  friend,  as  a  benefactor  of 
mankind.  To  a  man  who  cherished  such  sentiments 
as  these,  it  was  natural  that  some  revulsion  of  feeling 
should  take  place  when  he  found  the  biographers  of 
his  deceased  friend,  disregarding  the  positive,  and  in- 


MEMOIR  OF   DR   WUKJHT,  -•—      1  b'.'i 

controvertible  evidence  which  had  been  recorded  by 
Dr  Cuerie  himself,  not  in  the  narrow  language  of  a 
too  learned  profession,  Imt  in  a  work  which  is  destin- 
ed for  the  use  and  enjoyment,  as  well  as  the  benefit, 
of  mankind.  Large  allowance  should  no  doubt  be 
made  for  the  partiality  of  private  friendship,  in  fram- 
ing the  funeral  eulogium  of  departed  worth,  and  it  is 
probable  that  the  mere  suppression,  in  such  ephemeral 
notices,  of  his  own  connection,  with  the  basis  of  disco- 
very on  which  Dr  Currie  had  reared  the  pillar  of  his 
fame,  would  have  excited  no  feeling  of  surprise  or 
uneasiness  in  the  mind  of  Dr  Wright,  But  the 
case  was  materially  different,  when  he  found,  in  a  me- 
moir of  Dr  Curri;:,  prepared  with  becoming  care  and 
attention,  many  years  after  his  death,  sanctioned,  too, 
by  the  name  of  a  respectable  divine,  and  destined  for. 
preservation  in  the  pages  of  a  scientific  and  popular 
work,  like  the  Edinburgh  Encyclopaadia,  that  his  own 
name  was  not  only  in  a  great  measure  suppressed,  but 
that  his  undoubted  priority  in  the  path  of  discovery 
was  brought  into  question  by  the  detail  of  a  youthful 
adventure,  which  is  said  to  have  occurred  to  Dr  Cur- 
rie in  the  year  1778,  as  illustrating  the  pernicious  ef- 
fects of  an  over  indulgence  in  the  cold  bath,  and  which 
is  introduced  with  the  exordium,  that  "  it  is  curious 
to  observe,  to  what  apparently  trivial  occurrences  we 
are  indebted  for  some  of  the  most  important  discove- 
ries in  science  and  art." 

Dr  Wright  was  more  sensitive  to  this  inroad  on 
his  dearest  possession,  when  he  found  it  sanctioned  bv 
the  name  of  a  gentleman,  who  was  not  only  personal- 

L  2 


16*4  MEMOIR  OF   DR  WRIGHT. 

ly  known  to  him,  but  who  stands  deservedly  high  in 
the  sacred  profession  to  which  he  belongs,  as  well  as  in 
the  current  literature  of  the  day. 

Even  in  the  vigour  of  manhood,  Dr  Wright  had 
never  engaged  in  any  thing  like  controversy ;  and,  at 
his  advanced  age,  while  his  feelings  on  the  subject  ap- 
peared to  acquire  additional  intensity,  he  preferred  a 
friendly  remonstrance  with  Dr  Currie's  biographer, 
to  a  more  public  assertion  of  his  claims.    The  draft  of 
a  letter  has  been  found  among  his  papers,  dated  soon 
after  the  appearance  of  the  memoir,  and  addressed  to 
the  Reverend  Henry   Duncan  of  Ruthwell.      It 
seems  to  have  been  originally  dated  on  the  27th  of 
May  1815,  during  the  sitting  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  the  Church  ;   but  from  the  date  of  the  answer, 
it  does  not  appear  to  have  reached  its  destination  for 
four  years  afterwards,  owing  probably  to  the  anxiety 
of  Dr  Wright,  to  soften  at  a  personal  interview  any 
unfriendly  feeling  which  might  arise  between  the  par- 
ties.   The  original  letter  of  Dr  Wright,  and  the  an- 
swer of  Dr  Thomas  Tudor  Duncan,  are  conceived 
in  the  following  terms  : 

"  51  Hanover  Street, 
(-  Edinburgh,  Tith  May  1815. 

"  My  Dear  Sir, 

"  Hearing  you  are  in  town,  I  wish  you  to  favour  me  with 
a  call,  any  day  before  twelve-  o'clock.  Should  this  be  incon- 
venient, I  beg  you  to  indulge  me  with  an  explicit  answer  in 
writing  to  the  following  queries  : 

"  1st,  From  what  source  have  you  derived  your  informa- 
tion   respecting    the    medical    writings  of    our    late  excellent 


MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT.  165 

friend  Dr  Currie,  for  the  memoir  you  have  published  in  the 
Edinburgh  Encyclopaedia  ? 

"  9.d,  As  you  seem  to  think  that  Dr  Currie  practised  the 
cold  affusion  in  the  cure  of  fever  and  tetanus,  before  the 
appearance  of  my  paper  on  the  subject,  and  of  course  that 
he  was  the  author  of  the  discovery,  will  you  allow  me  to 
ask,  Whether  you  have  taken  this  upon  trust?  or,  Whether 
you  have  given  Dr  Currie's  Reports  an  attentive  perusal  ? 

"  Dr  Currie  was  one  of  the  most  enlightened  and  liberal 
men  of  his  time.  I  am  satisfied  with  what  he  says  of  me  in 
many  parts  of  his  work  ;  and  you  and  my  other  friends  would 
blame  me  if  I  accepted  a  less  share  of  credit  than  Dr  Cur- 
rie has  assigned  to  me,  while  I  rely  with  confidence  on  the 
justice  of  posterity.  Believe  me,  my  friend,  I  harbour  no 
resentment  against  you.  At  the  same  time,  I  trust  you  will 
be  able  to  explain  your  conduct,  in  drawing  up  the  article  of 
which  I  have  so  much  reason  to  complain.  I  am,  with  the 
greatest  esteem,  my  dear  Sir,  your  faithful  friend, 

"  Will*.  Wright.11 

"  Dumfries;  June  3.  1819. 
"  My  Dear  Sir, 

"  Your  letter  to  my  brother  Henry,  of  the  20th  May, 
ought  to  have  been  addressed  to  me,  for  although  his  initials 
are  appended  to  the  paper  to  which  you  refer,  I  am  in  point 
of  fact  the  writer  of  that  particular  passage  which  has  un- 
happily incurred  your  displeasure.  Me,  me,  adsum  qui  feci, 
in  me  convertite  ferrum. 

"  During  a  momentary  interview  which  I  had  with  my 
brother  the  night  before  last,  as  he  passed  through  Dumfries, 
on  his  return  home  from  the  Assembly,  he  left  your  letter  in 
my  hand,  requesting  me  to  address  my  sentiments  upon  it  to 
himself,  as  he  did  not  think  it  necessary  for  my  name  to  ap- 
pear in  the  business.  To  this  proposition,  however,  I  can- 
not accede,  for  as  my  MS.  was  not  submitted  to  his  revisal. 


160  MEM  OIK  OF  J)K   WHIGHT. 

I  alone  am  responsible  for  the  statements  which  it  contains. 
I  have,  therefore,  unknown  to  him,  adopted  the  less  circui- 
tous and  more  open  measure  of  corresponding  directly  with 
yourself. 

"  Your  communication,  my  dear  Sir,  has  grieved  me  be- 
yond expression.  To  give  unnecessary  pain,  even  to  an  ene- 
my, would  be  revolting  to  my  principles  ;  but  to  find  that  a 
revered  friend  and  benefactor  considered  himself  as  grossly 
injured  by  any  thing  that  had  dropped  from  my  pen,  could 
not  fail  most  distressingly  to  agitate  my  mind. 

"  Five  years  have  elapsed  since  the  paper  in  question  was 
committed  to  the  press.  I  could  not,  without  inspecting  it, 
recollect  in  what  terms  I  had  expressed  myself  with  regard 
to  you.  Yet  I  was  comforted  by  the  certainty,  that  it  must 
have  been  impossible  for  me  to  defraud  you  of  the  credit 
which  you  had  so  honourably  earned.  I  felt  that  my  un- 
feigned affection  for  you,  must,  even  independently  of  a 
higher  principle,  have  excluded  every  such  intention  from  my 
mind  ;  and  I  could  not  but  know  that  the  attempt,  had  it 
been  made,  must  have  failed,  and  must  have  exposed  me 
to  the  ridicule  and  indignation  of  the  medical  world.  Nor 
could  any  genuine  friend  of  Dr  Currie  have  wished  to  ex- 
alt such  a  character  as  his  at  the  expence  of  another's  reputa- 
tion. Under  these  impressions,  I  turned  up  the  passage  to 
which  your  letter  relates,  and  I  do  think,  on  reper using  it, 
that  it  will  be  no  difficult  matter  to  convince  you  that  you 
have  taken  a  very  erroneous  view  of  my  statement. 

"  It  is  true  I  have  referred  the  origin  of  Dr  Currie,s 
work  on  the  effects  of  water  in  fevers,  to  the  fact  of  his  at- 
tention having  been  attracted  to  the  subject  of  the  operation 
of  cold  on  the  living  body,  so  early  as  1778,  when  he  was  a 
student  of  medicine  ;  and  I  am  of  opinion,  that,  had  it  not 
been  for  this  circumstance,  your  valuable  paper  in  the  Lon- 
don Medical  Journal  might  not  have  struck  him  more  forci- 
bly than  it  did  other  able  physicians,  who  read  and  admired 


MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT.  -*-       167 

it,  without  putting  your  system  to  the  test  of  experiment. 
Jiut  I  have  no  where  insinuated,  nor  wished  it  to  be  suppos- 
ed, that  Dr  Corbie's  practice  was  not  founded  on  yours; 
on  the  contrary,  you  will  find,  on  examination,  that  I  have 
more  than  insinuated,  I  have  distinctly  intimated,  this  fact, 
by  saying  that  he  determined  to  adopt  the  system  which  it 
(viz.  your  paper)  recommended,  because  he  had  already 
learnt  how  to  appreciate  your  discrimination  and  judgment."1 

Dr  Duncan  proceeds  at  considerable  length,  and 
in  the  best  possible  spirit,  to  endeavour  to  convince 
Dr  Wright  that  he  had  misconceived  the  fair  im- 
port of  the  paper  in  the  Encyclopaedia  ;  and  he  con- 
cludes with  the  assurance  of  his  readiness  to  make  any 
farther  concession  or  explanation  which  their  mutual 
friends  might  require,  and  which  he  could  honestly 
grant,  authorizing  Dr  Wright,  in  a  postscript,  to 
make  of  the  present  letter  what  use  he  pleased.  Dr 
Wright,  however,  made  no  use  of  it  whatever.  When 
he  dispatched  his  remonstrance  to  the  supposed  au- 
thor of  Dr  Currie's  memoir,  he  appeared  to  feel  that 
he  had  discharged  a  duty  which  he  owed  to  his  own 
memory  ;  and  from  thenceforth  he  seemed  to  have 
made  an  effort  to  dismiss  the  subject  for  ever  from  his 
mind. 

The  idea  of  the  present  volume,  as  was  noticed  at 
the  outset,  originated  in  a  desire  to  collect  the  scatter- 
ed papers  of  Dr  Wright,  and  so  accomplish  a  pur- 
pose which  he  had  not  himself  abandoned  until  with- 
in a  few  months  of  his  death.  It  was  afterwards 
thought  desirable  to  accompany  the  collected  papers 
with  some  account  of  a  life  which  could  not  fail  to  be 


168  MEMOIR  OF  DIt   WRIGHT. 

highly  instructive  ;  and  the  grateful  task  of  doing- 
justice  to  the  memory  of  Dr  Wright  would  have 
been  left  imperfect,  if,  by  any  omission  on  the  part 
of  him  who  has  been  entrusted  with  its  execution,  it 
could  have  been  supposed  that  this  good  and  vene- 
rable man  had  ever  ceased  to  cherish  that  purest  of 
all  earthly  passions,  the  desire  of  posthumous  dis- 
tinction. But  although  always  impressed  with  a  be- 
coming sense  of  what  was  due  to  his  own  reputation, 
he  was  never  known  to  trench,  in  the  slightest  degree, 
on  the  rights  or  privileges  of  others. 

The  kind  and  even  anxious  interest  which  he 
continued  to  take  in  the  prosperity  and  comfort  of 
his  friends,  was  perhaps  as  perfectly  social  in  its 
nature,  and  as  free  from  any  reference  to  self,  as 
it  is  given  to  mortals  to  enjoy.  The  last  letter 
which  he  ever  penned,  affords  indeed  a  double  source 
of  interest.  It  was  dated  on  the  3d  of  Septem- 
ber 1819,  within  a  few  days  of  his  death,  and 
bears  internal  evidence  of  the  calmness  and  compo- 
sure with  which  he  contemplated  his  approaching  dis- 
solution. But  it  is  chiefly  remarkable  for  the  proof 
which  it  affords  of  the  unimpaired  possession  of  all  his 
faculties,  and  for  the  undiminished  ardour  with  which, 
till  the  latest  period  of  his  life,  he  continued  to  apply 
the  energies  of  his  mind,  and  the  influence  of  his 
name  and  character,  to  the  advancement  of  the  im- 
mediate interests  of  his  neighbours  and  his  friends. 
The  letter  is  addressed  to  a  Member  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, connected  by  ties  of  friendship  with  the  head  of 
the  Government ;   and  its  object  was,  to  bespeak  the 


MEJMOIK  Or  1)K    WRIGHT.  1  #9 

good  offices  of  his  correspondent,  in  behalf  of  a  friend, 
who  was  desirous  of  obtaining  a  seat  as  a  Commis- 
sioner at  one  of  the  Scottish  Boards  of  Revenue. 
After  detailing  the  grounds  on  which  the  application 
was  to  be  supported,  in  terms  the  most  perspicuous 
and  concise,  he  thus  closes  the  subject : 

"  Now,  my  dear  friend,'"  he  says,  "  will  you  take  this  ex- 
cellent man  under  your  protection  ?  It  will  be  truly  pleasing 
to  me  to  hear  from  you  that  you  are  making  progress  in  the 
matter,  and  still  more  so,  that  your  exertions  are  likely  to  be 
crowned  with  success.11 

He  then  mentions  the  particulars  of  his  own  illness  in 
the  following  terms  :  "  I  have  been  confined  to  my  room 
for  the  last  six  months.  An  influenza  or  catarrhal  fe- 
ver left  n.e  with  swelled  feet,  chiefly  at  the  ancles,  and 
small  of  the  legs  ;  with  burning  fiery  eruptions,  resembling 
nettle-rush,  which  resisted  every  medical  application.  These, 
it  is  true,  have  abated  ;  but  I  am  never  free  from  severe 
chills,  and  burning  heats  in  the  small  of  the  legs,  which  de- 
prive me  of  sleep  and  ease.  For  several  months  my  general 
health  was  little  affected  ;  but  now  I  find  it  has  suffered,  and 
that  my  strength  is  much  and  daily  impaired.  My  medical 
men  are  of  the  first  rank  *,  and  my  nurses,  being  of  my  own 
family,  are  of  a  sort  which  does  not  always  fall  to  the  lot 
of  princes. 

"  I  dare  say,11  he  continues,  "  you  may  by  this  time  have 
received  the  three  volumes  of  correspondence  betwixt  our  late 
venerable  friend  Dr  Garthshoke  and  myself.  It  is  the  last 
proof  I  can  offer  of  my  friendship  to  you.  For  myself  I 
have  nothing  to  ask,  but  a  continuance  of  your  good  opi- 
nion. 

*  Dr  Gregory  and  Dr  Thomson. 


170  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

"  Farewell,""  he  concludes,  "  my  dear  and  excellent  friend, 
may  you  and  your  amiable  family  live  long  and  happily  to- 
gether ;  and  when  time  shall  be  no  more,  may  we  all  meet  in 
another  and  a  better  world.     God  bless  you.-0 

Thus  preserving  and  cherishing,  to  the  close  of  his 
career,  the  same  generous  sentiments  which  had  mark- 
ed his  whole  life,  and  the  noblest  disregard  of  per- 
sonal comfort,  when  any  exertion  of  his  could  promote 
the  advantage  of  others,  it  is  truly  a  gratifying  spec- 
tacle to  observe  the  course  in  which  this  expiring  ef- 
fort was  directed,  and  to  witness  the  deliberate  ear- 
nestness with  which,  as  a  dying  man,  he  pleads 
the  cause  of  his  friend.  But  although  his  hand,  on 
this  occasion,  retained  its  accustomed  steadiness  ;  al- 
though his  diction  followed  the  traces  of  his  pen  with 
its  wonted  fluency  ;  and  although  the  characters  as- 
sumed the  same  round  and  print-like  regularity  of 
form,  for  which  his  autograph  was  so  peculiar,  yet 
the  effort  had  been  too  great  for  his  enfeebled  frame, 
and  exhausted  nature  sunk  under  the  exertion. 

From  this  period  his  remaining  strength  abated  by 
daily  and  more  perceptible  gradations,  until,  on  the 
19th  of  September  1819,  in  the  85th  year  of  his  age, 
he  calmly  breathed  his  last. 

No  painful  struggle  disturbed  the  serenity  and  com- 
posure of  his  dying  moments.  Like  a  well-construct- 
ed piece  of  mechanism,  his  frame  performed  its  ap- 
pointed functions  until  the  perishable  materials  of 
mortality  could  no  longer  detain  the  etherial  spirit 
which  gave  it  life  and  motion.  One  of  his  last  obser- 
vations to  his  friend  Dr  Gregory,  was  to  direct  his 


MEMOIR  OF   Dlt  WEIGHT.  ^^     tl\ 

attention  to  the  entire  immunity  from  sickness  which 
he  had  always  enjoyed,  remarking,  that,  even  then,  in 
the  immediate  prospect  of  death,  he  was  perfectly 
heart-whole.  On  this  occasion  Dr  Gregory,  with  all 
his  characteristic  openness  of  disposition,  began  to  feel 
his  own  firmness  giving  way,  and  made  an  effort  to 
lead  the  thoughts  of  his  dying  friend  into  another 
channel,  observing,  at  the  same  time,  that  he  was  con- 
vinced of  his  perfect  self-possession,  and  that  he  was 
sure  he  would  meet  his  last  adversary  like  a  man  ;  to 
which  the  other  rejoined,  "  And  like  a  Christian  !" 

Thus  ended  a  life  of  activity  and  usefulness,  the 
particulars  of  which,  if  they  had  had  the  fortune  to  be 
recorded  by  a  writer  of  adequate  attainments  and  ex- 
perience, would  doubtless  have  presented  a  lesson  of 
a  more  instructive  nature  than  the  brilliant  annals  of 
war  or  diplomacy  can  boast. 

With  a  view  to  fix  the  attention  of  the  reader  as 
constantly  as  possible  on  the  subject  of  the  memoir, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  diminish  the  numerous  defi- 
ciencies in  its  execution,  an  attempt  has  been  made, 
by  extracting  such  passages  from  Dr  Wright's  cor- 
respondence as  could  be  conveniently  embodied  in  the 
narrative,  to  enable  him,  in  some  measure,  to  tell  his 
own  story ;  and  so  to  give  to  the  work,  as  far  as  the 
materials  admitted  of  it,  a  portion  of  that  peculiar  in- 
terest which  attaches  to  a  piece  of  auto-biography. 
This,  indeed,  was  felt  to  be  the  more  necessary,  from 
the  very  limited  opportunities  which  the  writer  enjoyed 
of  personally  observing  the  nicer  shades  of  a  character, 


172  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

the  whole  of  which  he  has  been  taught  to  esteem  and 
to  venerate  :  The  great  disparity  of  age  between  the 
parties  made  these  narrow  opportunities  even  less 
available  than  otherwise  they  might  have  been,  to 
the  delineation  of  a  faithful  and  highly  finished 
portraiture :  Yet  he  cannot  acquit  himself  of  a  task, 
in  which,  during  the  few  leisure  hours  which  he  has 
been  enabled  to  devote  to  it,  he  has  found  a  fund  at 
once  of  useful  information,  and  a  subject  of  satisfac- 
tory reflection,  without  attempting  an  estimate  of  the 
result,  however  summary  and  imperfect. 

As  a  physician,  Dr  Wright  was  chiefly  remark- 
able for  his  total  immunity  from  the  prejudices  of  sys- 
tem. He  never  involved  himself  in  the  trammels  of 
any  particular  school.  His  mind  was  at  all  times  ac- 
cessible to  truth  ;  and  he  had  the  courage  to  declare 
his  conviction,  although,  in  doing  so,  he  should  stand 
alone.  His  opinions,  at  the  same  time,  were  never  ta- 
ken up  in  haste,  to  be,  perhaps,  as  hastily  rejected.  He 
was  a  close  observer  of  nature,  prying  with  curious  eye 
into  her  most  secret  recesses,  and  questioning  her  ora- 
cles with  unwearied  importunity  *.     Neither  did  he 

*  A  singular  fact  is  stated  by  Dr  Wright,  in  one  of  the  vo- 
lumes of  his  Herbary.  When  suffered  to  go  at  large  in  the  thickets 
of  a  West  India  plantation,  the  hog  digs  up  the  roots  of  the  bitter 
cassada,  and,  eating  them  covered  with  mould,  thrives  and  fattens 
rapidly  in  places  where  the  plant  is  plentiful.  But  when  the  same 
root  is  washed,  or  otherwise  freed  of  earthy  matter,  and  given  to 
the  hog,  it  operates  as  an  active  and  deadly  poison.  Another  plant 
of  the  same  genus,  the  common  cassada,  is  regularly  used  by  the 
Negroes  of  Jamaica  as  an  article  of  food;  and  when  at  any  time  the 
bitter  cassada  had   been  eaten  by  mistake,  Dr  Wright,  adopting 


MEM01B  OF   DB   WIIUJHT.  __   IT  '■> 

deliver  the  responses  he  received  with  an  air  of  dogma- 
tism or  self-sufficiency.  On  the  contrary,  with  a  be- 
coming sense  of  what  was  due  to  his  own  character 
and  station,  he  had  to  contend  through  life  against  an 
innate  diffidence  of  manner  and  address,  which,  while 
it  retarded  his  own  immediate  advancement,  has  con- 
tributed, in  some  degree,  to  curtail  the  credit  which  is 
due  to  him  as  an  original  thinker,  a  bold  and  success- 
ful experimentalist,  and  an  accurate  expositor  of  the 
laws  of  nature.  His  practice  partook  of  the  simplicity 
which  characterises  the  great  school  in  which  he  stu- 
died. His  remedies  were  few,  but  efficacious.  A  de- 
termined enemy  to  every  species  of  quackery,  he  la- 
the suggestion  of  nature,  prescribed  large  draughts  of  warm  muddy 
water,  winch,  either  operating  as  an  emetic,  assisted  in  carrying  off 
the  offensive  matter,  or,  mixing  with  it  in  the  stomach,  corrected  its 
pernicious  effects.  It  is  also  remarkable,  that  the  meal  obtained  by- 
grinding  the  roots  of  the  bitter  cassada,  may  be  rendered  perfectly 
safe,  and  even  salubrious,  by  repeatedly  washing  it  in  fresh  supplies 
of  water,  so  as  to  separate  the  meal  or  solid  part  of  the  root  from 
the  natural  juices  of  the  plant.  And  indeed  it  appears  that  the  Ne- 
groes of  St  Domingo  make  the  meal  thus  purified  into  bread,  and 
use  it  as  an  ordinary  article  of  food. 

Following  the  course  of  nature,  Dr  Wright  made  it  a  rule  not 
to  eat  of  plants  avoided  by  the  lower  animals;  and,  on  the  same 
principle,  when  he  observed  a  plant  reputed  to  be  poisonous  to  be 
eaten  freely  by  any  family  of  the  brute  creation,  lie  concluded,  a 
priori,  that  the  common  prejudice  was  not  well  founded.  The 
fruit  of  the  bead  or  hoop  tree  is  rejected  as  poisonous  by  the  Ne- 
groes of  Jamaica  ;  but  observing  it  to  be  eaten  greedily  by  the  horse, 
Dr  Wright  ascertained  that  it  was  equally  safe  for  mankind ;  a 
singular  illustration  this  of  the  relative  value  of  brute  instinct  and 
human  reason. 


174  MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

boured,  in  many  cases,  to  inculcate  the  doctrine,  that 
nature  was  fully  adequate  to  the  performance  of  the 
cure,  if  left  to  her  own  free  agency.  In  fever,  while 
he  reprobated  the  practical  introduction  of  the  theory 
of  non-contagion,  he  was  foremost  in  recurring  to  that 
cool  mode  of  treatment,  which  happily  since  his  time  has 
been  generally  adopted  as  a  rule  of  practice.  There  are 
few  indeed  so  hardy,  at  the  present  day,  as  to  dispute 
the  advantages  of  an  airy  and  well  ventilated  apart- 
ment, in  preference  to  the  hot,  close  room  in  which  it 
was  formerly  the  hard  lot  of  a  patient  to  be  "  cabin'd, 
cribbed,  confined."  But  it  is  to  be  feared,  that,  prac- 
tically speaking,  sufficient  attention  has  not  even  yet 
been  paid  to  the  subject ;  and  that  the  use  of  the 
bath,  for  the  prevention  or  the  cure  of  fever,  is  still  too 
much  neglected. 

The  intrepidity  of  Dr  Wright's  practice  overcame 
another  professional  prejudice  regarding  the  use  of  ca- 
lomel, and  other  mercurial  preparations.  In  place  of 
beino:  deterred  from  the  exhibition  of  these  active 
agents,  while  he  was  employing  the  cold  affusion,  he 
found  this  powerful  mineral  more  subject  to  controul, 
and,  when  administered  in  less  than  ordinary  propor- 
tions, even  more  effective  and  more  safe,  under  the  use 
of  the  cold  bath,  than  without  it ;  by  the  greater  cer- 
tainty of  its  operation  on  the  extreme  arteries  and  ex- 
cretories  during  the  abatement  of  the  symptoms,  oc- 
casioned by  the  abstraction  of  morbid  heat.  Conges- 
tions in  the  viscera,  and  the  consequent  idea  of  in- 
flammation, were  thus  obviated  or  removed,  and  the 
free  use  of  the  lancet,  a  practice  which  he  deeply  de- 


MEMOIB  OF   DM   WKKJHT.  L75 

precated,  was,  with  its  attendant  train  of  evils,  ren- 
dered at  the  same  time  in  a  great  measure  unneces- 
sary. 

From  the  period  of  Dr  Wright's  return  to  his  na- 
tive country,  he  ceased  to  practise  the  art  of  medicine 
professionally,  yet  he  had  always  a  considerable  list  of 
poor  patients,  for  whose  use  he  maintained,  in  his  own 
house,  a  sort  of  private  dispensary,  the  value  of  which 
must  have  been  deeply  felt,  when  public  institutions 
for  the  gratuitous  supply  of  medicines  to  the  poor 
were  unknown  in  Edinburgh.  Among  the  Professors 
in  the  University,  and  other  respectable  families,  who, 
by  the  courtesy  of  the  profession,  are  not  permitted  to 
pay  a  physician's  fee,  Dr  Wright  had  also  a  nume- 
rous list  of  patients.  By  this  gratuitous  course  of 
practice,  he  never  allowed  his  knowledge  of  an  art 
which  he  loved,  to  fall  below  the  highest  standard  of 
his  contemporaries  ;  appropriating,  at  the  same  time,  a 
better  title  than  others  to  the  noble  eulogy  of  Tul- 
ly  : — Nulla  in  re  propius  accedunt  homines  ad  Deos, 
quam  salutem  hominibus  dan  do. 

In  the  various  departments  of  natural  history,  Dr 
Wright  had  extended  his  researches  with  an  assi- 
duity and  success  in  some  degree  proportionate  to 
their  usefulness.  Once  engaged,  indeed,  in  this  at- 
tractive and  fascinating  study,  it  calls  for  no  ordinary 
stoicism  to  stem  the  tide  of  inquiry,  and  to  refuse  to 
allay  the  thirst  for  knowledge,  because  all  its  channels 
are  not  equally  fraught  with  obvious  and  immediate 
advantages.  The  rare  and  curious  in  nature  possessed 
attractions  for  an  inquiring  mind,  like   that   of  Dr 


176  MEMOin  OF  Dll  WKIGHT. 

Wright,  which  could  not  have  been  satisfied  with 
its  own  exertions,  while  any  corner  of  the  field  remain- 
ed  to  be  explored.  In  that  interesting  kingdom  which 
extends  "  from  the  cedar  of  Lebanon  to  the  hyssop  on 
the  wall,"  he  found  a  peculiar  source  of  delight,  from 
the  devotion  with  which  he  applied  himself  to  the  im- 
provement of  the  healing  art.  It  was  indeed  by  this 
happy  combination  of  professional  skill  with  botanical 
inquiry,  that  he  made  those  discoveries  in  science 
which  raised  him  to  the  highest  literary  distinctions, 
and  brought  him  to  be  favourably  known  in  that  se- 
lect circle  of  science,  where  Banks,  Solander  and 
Fothergill,  Smith,Lind  and  Pulteney,  Black, 
Hope  and  Rutherford,  Hutton,  Homi.  and  the 
two  Hunters,  were  the  burning  and  the  shining 
lights. 

The  footing  which  he  thus  acquired  by  his  profes- 
sional and  scientific  attainments,  he  gradually  secured 
by  the  simplicity  of  his  manners,  and  the  endearing 
qualities  of  his  heart.  It  is  indeed  in  the  ordinary  re- 
lations of  society,  and  amid  the  amenities  of  domestic 
life,  that  the  character  of  Dr  Wright  is  to  be  view- 
ed in  its  most  amiable  light  *.  Ever  ready  to  defer  the 
gratification  of  his  own  wishes,  he  thought  no  sacri- 
fice too  great,  when  it  served  to  promote  the  interests 
or  advancement  of  a  friend.      If  he  never  knew  what 

*  Temperate  in  all  his  appetites,  he  was  ahstemious  almost  to  sin- 
gularity in  his  indulgence  in  the  pleasures  of  the  tahle. — For  the 
last  twenty-five  years  of  his  life,  he  never,  in  any  form,  made  use  of 
ardent  spirits,  and  a  third  glass  of  wine  was  the  greatest  excess 
which,  during  that  long  period,  he  ever  committed. 


MEMOIR  OF   Dlt  WKKillT.  ^_    177 

it  was  to  be  a  lmsband  or  a  father,  it  was  not  because 
he  wanted  the  sentiments  of  tenderness  which  give  to 
these  endearing  relations  their  intrinsic  value.  The 
family  of  his  brother  were  to  him  as  so  many  adopted 
children ;  and  on  them  he  lavished  all  a  parent's  fond- 
ness. He  survived  his  brother  only  a  very  few  months, 
and  to  the  last  maintained  for  him  that  strong  affec- 
tion which  is  so  strikingly  evinced  throughout  their 
long  and  interesting  correspondence. 

Among  the  peculiar  objects  of  his  care,  was  the 
pale  student,  struggling  for  the  acquisition  of  know- 
ledge, against  the  depressing  influence  of  penury 
and  neglect ;  toiling  perhaps  for  mere  subsistence, 
during  the  course  of  academical  learning,  which 
his  meritorious  ambition  had  prompted  him  to  pur- 
sue ;  until  he  has  at  length  been  enabled  to  sur- 
mount the  numerous  obstacles  which  beset  his  path, 
to  emancipate  himself  from  the  unlettered  and  de- 
graded caste  to  which  he  originally  belonged,  and 
to  rise  to  some  distinguished  station  in  a  learned 
and  honourable  profession.  Such  successful  strug- 
gles are  not  uncommon  in  the  Scottish  Universi- 
ties ;  and  Dr  Wright,  though  slow  at  the  outset  to 
encourage  so  hazardous  an  undertaking,  was  never 
backward  with  his  purse,  his  counsel,  or  his  influence, 
to  promote  its  accomplishment,  when  he  found  a  fit 
occasion  for  the  exercise  of  his  benevolence. 

"  Open  as  day  to  melting  charity,"  his  hand  was  ever 
ready  to  second  the  impulse  of  his  heart,  for  the  succour 
of  the  aged  and  the  needy,  the  widow  and  the  orphan. 
In  Crieff,  his  native  village,  as  well  as  in  Edinburgh, 

M 


178  .     MEMOIR  OF  DR  WRIGHT. 

he  had  a  regular  list  of  pensioners,  who  would  have 
had  serious  cause  to  lament  his  death,  had  not  the 
successors  to  his  fortune  been  also  the  inheritors  of 
many  of  his  virtues.  Endowed  with  all  the  amiable 
qualities  of  his  species,  yet  ready  to  acknowledge  how 
far  his  purest  purposes  fell  short  of  perfection,  the 
words  from  his  lips  would  have  been  singularly  appro- 
priate as  a  short  but  comprehensive  summary  of  his 
character  : 

"  Homo  sum,  humani  nihil,  a  me  alienum  puto" 

About  a  year  before  his  death,  Dr  Wright  pur- 
chased a  place  of  interment  in  the  Grey  Friars'  Church- 
yard, which  now  bears  the  following  inscription  : 


(     179     ) 


GULIELMO  WRIGHT,  M.  D. 

SOCIET.  REG.  LOND.   ET  EDIN.  COLL.  REG.  MED.  EDIN.  SOCIO, 
EXERCITUS  IN  INDIA  OCCIDENTALI    MED.  EMER. 

§c.  fyc.  Sfc 

VIRO  IMPRIMIS  BENIGNO  ET  INGENUO, 

IN  HISTORIA  NATURALI 

ET  SCIENTIA  OMNIGENA  AD  REM  MEDICAM  PERTINENTS, 

PERITISSIMO  ; 

MEDICO  SOLERTISSIMO,  CELEBERRIMO, 
DE    HUMANO    GENERE    OPT1ME    MERITO; 

QUI 

INGENIO  QUAM  MAXIME  PR.EDITUS,  ET  VIRTUTE 

ARTEM  MEDENDI  TLURIMUM  AUXIT,  ORNAVIT,  EMENDAVIT  ; 

CRIFjE  IN  AGRO  PERTHENSI  NATO 

MDCCXXXV, 

EDINBURGI  MORTUO 

MDCCCXIX, 

HOC  MONUMENTUM, 

ANIMO  PIO,  FRATRIS  FILLE 

POSUERUNT. 


M  2 


PAPERS, 


CHIEFLY    ON 


BOTANICAL  AND  MEDICAL  SUBJECTS, 


BY    THE    LATE 


WILLIAM  WRIGHT,  M.  D. 

F.  R.  SS.  L.  &  E.,  &c. 


The  following  papers  have  in  part  been  selected  from  the  MSS. 
of  Dr  Wright,  but  the  greater  proportion  of  them  have  already  ap- 
peared in  the  Philosophical  Transactions  of  London,  Edinburgh,  and 
Philadelphia,  and  in  other  publications. 


(     183     ) 


AN  ACCOUNT 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  GROWING  IN  JAMAICA. 

[This  paper  appeared  originally  in  the  8th  volume  of  the  London 
Medical  Journal.  The  additions  inclosed  in  brackets  have  been 
extracted  from  Dr  Wright's  Herbaria,  begun  in  the  year  1773, 
and  completed  in  1813. — Ed.] 

To  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  Bart.  P.  R.  S. 

Sib, 
At  the  request  of  the  late  Dr  Fothergill  and  Dr  So- 
lander,  I  drew  up  an  account  of  the  officinal  plants  grow- 
ing in  Jamaica,  for  the  Medical  Society  of  London  ;  but  the 
death  of  those  valuable  friends,  and  the  dissolution  of  that 
society,  have  occasioned  it  to  remain  unpublished.  Having 
now  revised  this  paper,  and  added  thereto  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  observations  and  facts,  I  take  the  liberty,  Sir,  of  pre- 
senting it  to  you  as  a  testimony  of  my  respect ;  and,  if  it  meets 
with  your  approbation,  I  request  the  favour  of  you  to  trans- 
mit it  to  Dr  Simmons,  to  be  inserted  in  the  London  Medical 
Journal. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be,  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient  and  very  humble  servant, 

William  Wright. 

Edinburgh,  \ 
May  27.  1787.  J 


184  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA 

INTRODUCTION. 

I  beg  leave  to  observe  that  the  following  descriptions  of 
plants  were  made  on  the  spot,  and  that  the  medical  remarks 
are  the  result  of  careful  observation  and  experience  in  the 
practice  of  physic,  for  many  years  in  Jamaica. 

I  flatter  myself  that  I  shall  be  found  to  have  made  disco- 
veries, new  and  important,  which  have  escaped  the  notice  of 
Sloane,  Jacquin,  and  Bkowne,  and  that  what  I  have  writ- 
ten will  throw  some  light  on  the  history  of  the  Materia  Medica. 

If  men  of  abilities  and  observation  would  contribute  thus 
to  the  public  stock,  we  might,  hope  that  the  history  of  foreign 
drugs  would  soon  be  made  more  perfect. 

1.    Aeoe  pkrfoliata. — Hepatic  Alues. — Cabaline  Aloes. — Bar- 
bados Aloes. 

This  is  a  common  plant  in  all  the  West  India  Islands.  It 
is  known  by  the  name  of  Semper vivum,  and  is  cultivated  par- 
ticularly in  Barbadoes. 

This  plant  flowers  in  June,  but  bears  no  seed  ;  the  young 
shoots  from  the  roots  serve  to  propagate  it. 

Hepatic  aloes  is  obtained  in  the  following  manner : — The 
plant  is  pulled  up  by  the  roots,  and  carefully  cleansed  from 
the  earth,  or  other  impurities.  It  is  then  sliced  and  cut  in 
pieces,  into  small  hand-baskets  or  nets.  These  nets  or  bas- 
kets are  put  into  large  iron  boilers  with  water,  and  boiled  for 
ten  minutes,  when  they  are  taken  out,  and  fresh  parcels  sup- 
plied, till  the  liquor  is  strong  and  black. 

At  this  period  the  liquor  is  thrown  through  a  strainer  into  a 
deep  vat,  narrow  at  bottom,  to  cool,  and  to  deposit  its  feculent 
parts.  Next  day  the  clear  liquor  is  drawn  off  by  a  cock,  and 
again  committed  to  the  large  iron  vessel.  At  first  it  is  boiled 
briskly,  but  towards  the  end  the  evaporation  is  slow,  and  re- 
quires constantly  stirring  to  prevent  burning.  When  it  be- 
comes of  the  consistence  of  honey,  it  is  poured  into  gourds, 
or  calabashes,  for  sale.     This  hardens  by  age. 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.    -*-    185 

2.   Aloe  spicata. — Succotrine  Aloes. 

About  twelve  years  ago,  Dr  Fothergill  sent  this  plant 
to  Jamaica,  for  the  Botanic  Garden  there  ;  but,  by  the  remo- 
val of  the  garden  to  a  distant  part  of  the  country,  this  and 
several  other  valuable  plants  were  lost.  Had  it  been  pro- 
pagated, it  would  have  proved  a  valuable  acquisition  to  the 
island.     The  gum  may  be  prepared  as  above. 

3.  Amomum  Zinziber. —  Ginger. 

There  are  two  sorts  of  ginger  cultivated  in  Jamaica,  viz. 
the  white  and  the  black. 

The  roots  are  perennial  and  digitated.  Every  spring  they 
put  forth  tender  shoots,  of  which  are  made  the  finest  pre- 
serves. 

Black  ginger  has  the  most  numerous  and  largest  roots,  and 
only  requires  to  be  scalded  and  dried.  The  white  ginger 
must  be  scalded  in  water,  and  the  skin  scraped  off;  then  care- 
fully dried.      This  last  bears  the  best  price. 

Ginger  is  reckoned  to  impoverish  lands  greatly.  This, 
with  the  trouble  and  fluctuating  state  of  the  markets,  makes 
only  a  few  people  plant  it  in  the  mountains. 

The  virtues  and  uses  of  ginger  are  well  known.  In  medi- 
cine it  enters  into  many  compositions,  and  merits  still  farther 
to  be  employed,  as  an  useful  succedaneum  to  the  more  costly 
spices.  In  Jamaica  the  common  people  employ  it  in  baths 
and  fomentations,  with  good  success,  in  complaints  of  the  vis- 
cera, in  pleurisies,  and  in  obstinate  and  continued  fevers. 

Besides  the  officinal  ginger,  there  are  several  other  species 
of  ginger  growing  wild,  differing  in  size,  flowers,  solidity  and 
pungency  of  the  roots,  &c.  viz. 

1.  Amomum  Zerumbet. —  Wild  Ginger. 

2.  Costus  arabicus. — Great  Wild  Ginger. 

8.  Alpinia  racemosa. — Mountain  Wild  Ginger. 


186  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  .JAMAICA. 

The  roots  of  these  are  whiter,  less  pungent,  and  softer  than 
ginger,  and  arc  often  made  into  sweetmeats. 

4.  Amyris  balsamifkra. — Rose  Wood. 

This  is  found  on  gravelly  hills,  and  rises  to  a  considerable 
height.  The  trunks  are  remarkable  for  having  large  protu- 
berances on  them. 

The  leaves  are  laurel-shaped.  The  small  blue  flowers  are 
on  a  branched  spike.     The  berries  are  small  and  black. 

Rose  wood  is  an  excellent  timber :  it  is  replete  with  a  fra- 
grant balsam  or  oil,  and  retains  its  flavour  and  solidity,  though 
exposed  to  the  weather  many  years. 

Perhaps,  by  subjecting  this  wood  to  distillation,  a  perfume, 
equal  to  the  Oleum  Rhodii,  may  be  obtained. 

5.  Anacardium  occidentals. — Cashew  Tree. 

This  beautiful  and  shady  tree  grows  to  twenty  or  twenty- 
five  feet  high.  It  blossoms  early  in  the  spring,  and  continues 
to  flower  for  several  months.  The  flowers  grow  on  a  branched 
spike :  they  are  small,  red,  and  fragrant. 

It  is  somewhat  singular  that  the  nut  or  seed  is  first  produ- 
ced. It  is  of  a  kidney  shape,  and  soon  comes  to  its  natural 
size ;  which,  so  soon  as  it  does,  the  cashew-apple  fills  up  in  a 
few  days,  being  attached  to  the  cashew-nut. 

Cashew-apples  are  red  or  white ;  when  ripe  they  are  soft, 
and  their  taste  is  agreeably  rough  and  sweet.  Stewed  in  sy- 
rup, they  may  be  kept  many  months  ;  and  when  eaten  with 
milk,  are  highly  restorative.  When  the  apple  is  roasted 
gently  and  pressed,  the  juice,  with  that  of  lemons  or  limes, 
is  made  into  punch. 

Betwixt  the  external  covering  and  the  kernel  there  is  a  thick 
brown  caustic  oil.  This  is  by  some  used  to  take  off  freckles ; 
but  it  inflames  so  much,  that  the  remedy  is  worse  than  the 
disease.  It  appears  to  be  also  volatile  in  its  effects ;  for,  if 
cashew-nuts  arc  roasted  in  a  close  place,  the  operator's  face 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.       -—  187 

will  be  swelled,  inflamed,  and  eovered  with  a  rash  or  erysi- 
pelas. 

Roasted  cashew-nuts  are  better  than  chesnuts  ;  and  when 
blanched  in  water,  and  freed  from  their  covering,  are  as  sweet 
as  almonds,  and  are  used  like  them  for  emulsions. 

This  tree  is  of  speedy  growth,  as  in  one  year  from  the  sow- 
ing it  blossoms  and  bears  fruit.  The  tree  lasts  many  years, 
and  when  old,  yields  a  great  quantity  of  transparent  gum,  in 
no  way  inferior  to  gum-arabic. 

(This  tree  is  not  found  wild  in  Jamaica,  except  where  the 
seeds  have  first  been  planted  by  the  human  race.  It  grows 
to  a  middle  size,  and  the  trunk  sends  off  many  branches. 
The  leaves  are  broad,  smooth,  and  shining.  The  blossoms 
are  numerous,  but  many  of  them  are  abortive.  The  white 
cashew-apple  is  the  sweetest.  When  in  bloom  the  whole  tree 
is  very  beautiful.) 

6.    ANDROPOGON  LITORALE. 

I  saw  this  grass  only  on  the  sea-shore,  near  St  Ann's  Bay, 
Jamaica.  It  was  five  feet  high,  and  had  jointed  stalks  and 
roots,  like  the  dog-grass  of  Britain. 

A  strong  decoction  of  the  roots  has  been  successfully  em- 
ployed in  visceral  obstructions,  given  at  the  rate  of  three  pints 
a-day  :  but  in  liver  complaints  it  succeeds  better,  if  accom- 
panied by  calomel  in  small  doses. 

7-  Annona  muricata. — Sour  Sop. 

squamosa. — Sweet  Sop. 

reticulata. — ( 'usturd  Apple. 

palustris. —  Jl  (tier  or  Alligator  Apple. 

All  these  grow  wild  in  Jamaica,  or  are  cultivated  on  ac- 
count of  their  fruit. 

The  sour  sop  is  a  large  fruit,  of  a  heart-shape,  pointed,  and 


188  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

beset  with  spines.  When  pulled  off  before  maturity,  and 
boiled,  it  is  served  at  table  the  same  as  pompions ;  and  if 
roasted  or  baked,  is  similar  to  yams.  When  ripe  it  is  soft, 
sweet  and  detersive  :  hence  good  in  fevers  where  the  mouth 
is  furred. 

The  sweet  sop  is  an  agreeable  fruit ;  but  the  custard  apple 
is  eaten  only  by  a  few. 

The  alligator  apple  grows  in  rivulets.  The  root  is  spon- 
gy, and  as  light  as  cork  :  It  makes  excellent  strops  for  ra- 
zors. 

The  leaves  of  all  smell  strongly  like  savine,  and  both  they 
and  the  fruits  are  anthelminthic. 

(The  sour  sop  grows  as  tall  as  an  apple  tree.  The  leaves 
are  shining ;  the  fruit  large,  crooked,  prickly  and  pointed ; 
the  blossoms  thick  and  fleshy.  The  fruit  has  a  green  skin  ; 
when  ripe,  it  is  soft  and  white,  tastes  sweet  and  slightly  acid, 
and  is  relished  by  many  people.  It  has  many  seeds.  In 
times  of  scarcity,  the  apples  pulled  green,  and  roasted  or 
boiled,  are  used  as  an  article  of  food.  The  wild  sour  sop 
tree  grows  to  a  good  size,  and  differs  very  little  from  this  in 
leaves,  flowers,  or  fruit.  Sour  sop  leaves  are  used  in  decoc- 
tions to  kill  worms.  The  smell  is  similar  to  that  of  the  sa- 
vine. 

The  sweet  sop  tree  seldom  exceeds  fifteen  feet  in  height, 
and  is  well  shaded  with  leaves.  On  the  ends  of  the  branches 
<rrow  small  fleshy  blossoms,  which  cannot  be  well  laid  down 
in  a  collection  of  specimens.  The  fruit  is  round,  and  of  an 
unequal  surface.  It  has  a  sweet  subacid  taste,  and  contains 
a  great  many  seeds,  of  the  size  of  kidney  beans. 

The  leaves  of  the  custard  apple  are  larger  than  those  of 
the  sour  sop  ;  the  blossom  of  the  same  figure,  but  smaller  ; 
the  fruit  is  round.  When  ripe  it  is  yellow  and  soft  like  cus- 
tard. Some  are  fond  of  it,  but  I  am  not  singular  when  I 
pronounce  it  the  worst  of  our  fruits.) 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.  189 


8.  Arachis  Hypogea. — Ground  Nut. 

This  is  cultivated  in  gardens,  and  spreads  on  the  ground. 
It  has  a  yellow  pea-blossom,  and  the  pods  are  under  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth,  containing  two  oblong  seeds. 

The  toasted  nuts  are  preferable  to  chesnuts.  They  yield, 
by  expression,  an  oil  as  good  as  almonds ;  and,  when  beaten 
in  a  wooden  or  marble  mortar,  and  mixed  with  water,  form 
an  excellent  emulsion,  not  inferior  to  that  of  almonds,  ca- 
shews, or  any  other. 

9.  Argemone  mexicana. — Yellow  Thistle. 

This  is  a  common  and  troublesome  weed.  The  flowers  are 
yellow  ;  the  leaves  and  stems  prickly  ;  and,  when  wounded,  a 
yellow  juice  runs  out,  like  a  solution  of  gum  gamboge.  The 
pods  are  prickly,  and  contain  a  number  of  small  black  seeds ; 
a  woman's  thimbleful  of  which  are  emetic ;  in  a  lesser  dose 
they  are  purgative.  They  are  used  in  diarrhoeas  and  dysen- 
teries. 

(The  gamboge  thistle,  or  prickly  poppy,  rises  to  the  height 
of  three  feet.  The  stem  is  herbaceous  and  hollow ;  the  leaves 
are  of  a  bluish  green  colour  ;  the  blossoms  are  pretty  large, 
and  of  a  deep  yellow  ;  the  pods  are  shaped  like  those  of  the 
datura,  and  finely  carved  with  cross  spiral  lines.  I  tried  to 
evaporate  the  yellow  juice,  but  it  became  an  unsightly  green. 

The  leaves  have  the  virtues  of  the  Carduus  benedictus, 
and,  if  beaten  into  a  pulp  and  mixed  with  lime  juice,  they 
make  an  excellent  detergent  in  foul  ulcers.  The  roots  arc 
said  to  be  emetic.) 

10.  Aristolochia  triloba. 

odoratissima. 

Both  of  these  are  called  contrayerva,  and  the  latter  is  in 


190  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

common  use.  It  grows  amongst  the  bushes  :  its  flowers  are 
large  and  mottled,  and  cannot  fail  to  attract  the  notice  of  the 
most  inattentive  traveller. 

The  roots  of  this  second  species  are  long,  equal,  and  as 
thick  as  a  man's  little  finger :  they  have  a  strong  scent,  like 
the  Radix  contrayerva  of  the  shops. 

The  natives  of  Jamaica  use  a  tea  or  decoction  of  these 
plants  in  colds  and  other  febrile  complaints  ;  but  as  the  whole 
genus  is  acrid  and  stimulating,  this  often  does  mischief;  es- 
pecially where  there  is  an  inflammatory  diathesis,  or  where 
proper  evacuations  have  not  been  made. 

11.  Arum  colocasia. — White  Cocoes. 

SAGiTTiEFOMUM. — Black  Cocoes. 

(Eddoes  or  Toyos.J 

These  two  are  cultivated  as  articles  of  food.  The  tap 
root  is  very  large,  and  sends  out  shoots  or  fingers,  which, 
when  boiled  or  roasted,  serve  instead  of  bread.  The  parent 
root  is  boiled  to  feed  swine.  The  roots  yield  a  great  deal  of 
starch. 

12.  Arum  Macrorhizon. — Cubeso  Wyth. 

This  is  a  climber,  and  has  large  round  leaves  and  long 
wythie  roots,  from  which,  when  cut,  a  white  milky  resinous 
liquor  runs  out,  of  a  strong  turpentine  smell. 

13.  Arum  divaricatum. — Parasitical  Cocoes. 

This  grows  in  the  boughs  of  the  tallest  trees ;  the  leaves 
are  like  those  of  the  cocoes. 

The  roots  both  of  this  and  the  last  species  are  used  in  de- 
coction, as  sarsaparilla. 

14.  Arum  arborescens. — Dumb  Cane. 
This  grows  in  moist  and  swampy  land*,  and  rises  to  six  or 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.  191 

eight  feet.  Every  part  of  it  is  acrid.  The  juice  rubbed  on 
the  skin  causes  an  intolerable  itching.  If  eaten  through  iff- 
norance  or  design,  it  irritates,  and  even  inflames,  the  moutli 
and  fauces,  and  renders  the  person  speechless  :  hence  the 
name. 

A  physician,  in  the  reign  of  Charles  the  Second,  wrote 
a  treatise  on  the  virtues  of  the  dumb  cane  in  dropsy.  I  have 
tried  it  in  that  disease,  but  could  not  get  down  a  sufficient  quan- 
tity to  produce  the  proper  effect,  on  account  of  its  acrimony. 

A  Negro  woman,  who  had  been  long  ailing,  in  a  fit  of  de- 
spair, ate  a  good  deal  of  the  dumb  cane,  with  a  view  to  destroy 
herself.  It  excoriated  her  mouth  and  throat  much,  and  she 
voided  many  worms,  but  recovered  her  health  soon  after. 

(The  juice,  boiled  in  hog's  lard,  makes  a  stimulating  oint- 
ment for  rubbing  oedematous  swellings,  to  which  Negroes  are 
often  subject.) 

15.  Asclepias  Curassavica. — Bastard  Ipecacuanha. —  Tin- 
Red  Head. 

This  is  a  pretty  plant,  which  grows  wild  in  pastures.  It 
rises  to  three  feet ;  has  green  stems  and  lanceolated  leaves. 
The  flowers  stand  at  top  in  a  kind  of  umbel ;  they  are  red 
and  yellow,  and  very  beautiful. 

This  plant  is  milky,  but  not  dangerous,  like  some  others 
of  this  genus.  The  juice  of  the  leaves  is  often  given  to  per- 
sons afflicted  with  worms,  from  a  tea-spoonful  to  an  ounce 
for  a  dose  on  an  empty  stomach.  In  this  way  I  can  vouch 
for  its  powerful  and  salutary  effect.  When  given  in  larger 
doses  it  acts  as  a  mild  emetic  or  purgative  ;  and  in  worm  fe- 
vers also  as  a  diaphoretic  and  diuretic.  Thus,  whilst  it  ex- 
pels worms,  it  brings  about  a  crisis. 

The  roots  are  white  and  woody.  When  given  in  powder, 
as  a  vomit,  they  act  as  an  emetic ;  but  this  is  a  dangerous 
practice. 


192  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

16.  Bixa  Orellana. — Arnotta  Bush,  or  Roucou  of' the  Indians. 

This  is  planted  about  inclosures,  and  sometimes  rises  to 
twenty  feet.  The  trunks  are  brown  and  smooth.  The  bark 
is  tough,  and,  by  maceration,  may  be  made  into  a  strong 
hemp  or  flax. 

The  flowers  are  pale  red,  and  very  like  those  of  the  dog- 
rose.  The  pods  are  oval,  pointed,  and  prickly,  containing  a 
number  of  scarlet  seeds. 

When  the  pods  are  ripe  they  are  gathered  in  baskets ;  and, 
when  opened,  the  seeds  are  thrown  into  a  tub  of  clean  water. 
The  water  and  seeds  are  well  stirred,  and  the  red  adhering 
substance  washed  off  the  seeds ;  which  last  are  thrown  away. 
The  turbid  liquor  is  passed  through  a  hair  sieve,  and  evapo- 
rated in  a  pot  over  a  slow  fire  to  an  extract,  then  made  into 
rolls  of  a  pound  weight,  which  are  dried  in  the  shade,  and 
then  put  up  for  use. 

Arnotta  sells  at  a  high  price  :  from  fifteen  to  twenty  shil- 
lings per  pound.  It  is  used  as  a  dye  ;  and  in  chocolate,  to 
which  it  communicates  a  rich  and  agreeable  flavour  and  taste 
as  well  as  colour. 

It  has  been  found  an  useful  medicine  in  nephritic  and  cal- 
culous cases.  Half  a  drachm  may  be  taken  in  a  cup  of  cho- 
colate twice  or  three  times  a  day. 

The  Indians  in  Spanish  America  paint  their  bodies  with 
arnotta. 

(The  arnotta  bush  is  well  shaded  with  green  leaves.  The 
blossoms  are  put  forth  in  May.  The  pods  are  an  inch  and  a 
half  long,  an  inch  broad,  of  a  brown  colour,  and  well  defend- 
ed from  insects  by  numerous  prickles.  The  plant  is  a  native 
of  Spanish  America,  and  is  cultivated  in  Jamaica  for  the  ver- 
milion-like powder  contained  in  the  pods. 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.  1-93 

As  a  medicine  it  is  a  gentle  diaphoretic  and  diuretic ;  and, 
with  this  view,  it  is  given  in  coughs,  in  gravel,  strangury, 
rheumatism,  and  gout,  and  to  hinder  cutaneous  eruptions 
from  striking  in.) 

17-  Bromelia  Ananas. — Pine  Apple. 
Pinguin. — Pinguins. 

Pine  apples  are  cultivated  in  all  the  West  India  islands, 
and  are  raised  in  every  hothouse  in  Britain.  There  ate  se- 
veral varieties,  but  the  sugar-loaf  pine  is  the  best. 

Ripe  pine  apples  are  amongst  the  finest  of  our  fruits  in  the 
West  Indies,  and  are  relished  by  all  ranks  of  people,  espe- 
cially people  sick  of  acute  diseases,  dysenteries,  &c.  They 
have  a  detersive  quality,  and  are  better  fitted  to  cleanse  the 
mouth  and  gums  than  any  gargle  whatever. 

Besides  being  eaten  raw,  they  are  often  candied  with  su- 
gar, and  sent  home  as  presents.  Pine  apples  are  also  made 
into  tarts  and  pickles. 

Pinguins  are  planted  as  fences.  The  fruit  is  as  big  as  a 
plum.  The  juice  is  exceedingly  detersive,  and  is  often  em- 
ployed to  clean  the  mouth.  Thin  slices  with  sugar  are  fre- 
quently given  to  children  for  worms ;  but  much  of  it  exco- 
riates the  mouth  and  passages. 

18.  Bursera  gummifera. — Jamaica  Birch. 

This  is  frequent  in  woods,  and  grows  speedily  to  a  treat 
height  and  thickness.  The  bark  is  brown,  and  very  like  the 
birch  of  Britain.  The  wood  is  soft  and  useless,  except  when 
pieces  of  the  limbs  are  put  into  the  ground  as  fences,  when  it 
grows  readily,  and  becomes  a  durable  barrier.  It  has  yellow 
flowers  ;  male  and  female  on  different  trees.  The  fruit  is  a 
triangular  capsule,  which,  when  cut,  discharges  a  clear  bal- 
sam or  turpentine. 

On  wounding  the  bark,  a  thick    milky  liquor  is   obtained, 

N 


194  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

which  soon  concretes  into  a  resin,  no  way  different  from  the 
gum  elemi  of  the  shops. 

Dr  Browne,  and  after  him  Linnjeus,  has  mistaken  the 
bark  of  the  roots  for  the  simarouba ;   of  which  hereafter. 

(This  turpentine  tree  delights  in  sandy  situations.  The 
leaves  are  of  a  light  green  colour,  and  grow  in  pairs ;  the 
blossoms  branched,  small,  white,  and  brittle.  The  berries 
are  brown,  of  the  size  of  a  hazel  nut.  When  bruised,  are 
very  gummy,  and  smell  like  turpentine.) 

19.  Camocladia  pubescens. —  Yellow  Mastic. 

This  is  a  fine  tall  timber  tree,  frequent  in  woodlands.  The 
wood  is  yellow,  hard,  and  takes  a  fine  polish. 

The  whole  of  this  genus  is  warm  or  peppery.  The  bark 
of  the  yellow  mastic  has  an  extraordinary  taste,  somewhat 
like  ardent  spirits,  but  more  permanent,  as,  on  chewing  the 
smallest  bit,  one  cannot  get  the  taste  out  of  the  mouth  for 
some  hours. 

The  bark  retains  its  pungency  when  dried,  and,  perhaps, 
may  be  found  an  useful  medicine  in  lethargic  and  paralytic 
diseases,  where  stimulants  are  indicated. 

20.  Canella  alba. —  Wild  Cinnamon. 

This  is  a  common  tree  in  Jamaica,  and  grows  to  a  great 
heio-ht.  The  leaves  are  oval,  smooth,  and  shining  :  the  flow- 
ers are  small,  red,  and  fragrant ;  they  stand  in  form  of  an 
umbel,  and  are  succeeded  by  black  succulent  berries,  of  the 
size  of  black  currants.  When  ripe,  they  are  sweet  and  aro- 
matic :  when  gathered  green,  and  dried,  they  are  like  black 
pepper,  but  hotter. 

The  bark  is  the  canella  of  the  shops.  It  enters  into  va- 
rious officinal  compositions,  and  is  a  warm,  cordial,  and  aro- 
matic medicine, 


MEDICINAL  VLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.  195 

The  habit  and  foliage  of  this  tree  are  very  like  those  of  the 
true  Winter's  bark.  Their  sensible  qualities,  too,  are  nearly 
the  same ;  and  they  appear  to  me  to  be  species  of  the  same 
genus. 

(The  leaves  are  the  malabathrum  of  the  shops.  The 
bark  is  grey  on  the  outside  ;  the  inner  bark  is  of  a  cinnamon 
colour.  The  taste  is  very  hot  and  peppery,  and  might  be  a 
useful  substitute  for  some  of  the  oriental  spices  ;  but,  by  ob- 
taining it  in  Jamaica  without  expence,  it  is  lessened  in  our 
esteem.  Distilled  with  water,  it  yields  little  of  its  smell  or 
taste,  but  gives  them  out  perfectly  with  spiritous  liquors. 

In  fevers  and  pleurisies,  as  well  as  in  dropsical  disorders, 
the  Negroes  boil  this  bark  for  a  fomentation,  and  afterwards 
rub  on  some  of  the  bark  in  powder.  I  have  observed  it  com- 
monly produce  a  lasting  diaphoresis,  and  the  aromatic  fotus 
is  of  great  service  in  the  leucophlegmatia  and  ascites.) 

21.  Capparis  cynophallophora — The  Bottle  Cod  Root. 

This  shrub  is  found  in  copses,  and  is  disposed  to  run  on 
bushes.  It  is  remarkable  for  having  large  white  flowers, 
whose  stamina  are  of  an  extraordinary  length.  The  pods  tire 
a  foot  long,  and  unequal.  When  ripe  they  open  gradually, 
and  shew  the  seeds  in  a  sort  of  crimson  bedding. 

The  root  is  large,  yellow,  and  fleshy,  and  tastes  strongly 
like  horse  raddish. 

Dr  Canvane  recommends  it  as  a  specific  in  dropsy.  He 
orders  a  decoction  of  it ;  but  an  infusion  is  preferable,  be- 
cause boiling  dissipates  its  virtues. 

There  are  several  other  species  of  Capparis  in  Jamaica, 
whose  sensible  qualities  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  mustard 
tribe. 

(This  plant  is  also  called  the  Egyptian  Bean  or  Water  Lily. 

N  2 


196  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

It  grows  in  waste  lands  by  the  road  side,  into  a  shrubby  tree. 
The  white  beans  do  not  fall,  being  fastened  by  a  crimson 
pulp.) 

22.  Capsicum. 

Capsicum  annuum. —  Coekspur  Pepper. 

baccatum. —  Cherry  Pepper. 

grossum Gourd  Pepper. 

frutescens. — Bird  Pepper. 

(varietas.) — Hen  Pepper. 

galericulum. — Bonnet  Pepper. 


These,  and  some  other  varieties,  are  called  Negro  Peppers. 
The  bird  and  hen  peppers  are  indigenous  ;  the  others  are  cul- 
tivated in  gardens ;  and  all  of  them  have  the  same  sensible 
qualities,  differing  only  in  degrees  of  pungency.  The  bird 
pepper  is  the  smallest,  but  hotter  than  any  of  the  others. 

All  the  capsicums  may  be  preserved  in  vinegar,  and  form 
the  best  of  pickles. 

When  nearly  ripe  they  become  red ;  and  if  gathered  at 
this  time,  dried,  and  powdered,  make  Cayenne  pepper.  Some 
mix  common  salt ;  but  this  is  improper,  as  it  disposes  the 
whole  to  deliquesce,  and  darkens  the  colour. 

Capsicum  has  a  warm  and  kindly  effect  on  the  stomach. 
It  has  all  the  virtues  of  the  oriental  spices,  without  producing 
those  complaints  of  the  head  which  they  often  occasion.  In 
food  it  prevents  flatulency  from  vegetables ;  but  the  abuse  of 
it  occasions  visceral  obstructions,  especially  of  the  liver. 

In  dropsical  complaints,  or  others  where  chalybeates  are 
indicated,  a  minute  portion  of  powdered  capsicum  is  an  ex- 
cellent addition. 

In  lethargic  affections  this  warm  and  active  stimulant 
might  be  of  service.  In  tropical  fevers  a  coma  and  delirium 
are  common  attendants ;  and,  in  such  cases,  cataplasms  of 
capsicum  have  a  speedy  and  happy  effect.  They  redden  the 
parts,  but  seldom  blister,  unless  kept  on  too  long. 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.   -*~   197 

In  ophthalmias,  from  relaxation  of  the  membranes  and 
coats  of  the  eyes,  the  diluted  juice  of  capsicum  is  a  sovereign 
remedy ;  and  I  have  often  witnessed  its  virtue  in  many  obsti- 
nate cases  of  this  sort. 

In  some  parts  of  South  America,  the  Indians  prick  the 
loins  and  bellies  of  hectic  patients  with  thorns  dipped  in  the 
juice  of  capsicum. 

It  has  been  alleged,  that  capsicum,  applied  to  the  loins, 
would  occasion  gonorrhoea.  This  is  contrary  to  experience, 
and  too  ridiculous  an  opinion  to  combat  seriously. 

23.  Cassia  occidentalis. — Piss-a-bed- 

This  common  weed  has  a  disagreeable  smell,  like  the  leaves 
of  all  green  cassias.  The  flowers  are  yellow ;  the  roots  fleshy, 
and  used  in  aperient  and  diuretic  decoctions. 

24.  Cassia  fistula. — Cassia  Tree. 

This  tree  is  cultivated  in  gardens  and  about  settlements. 
It  rises  to  about  thirty  feet,  and  has  long  flower  spikes,  with 
yellow  papilionaceous  blossoms.  The  pods  are  about  two 
feet  long,  and  as  thick  as  a  man's  finger :  they  are  black, 
smooth,  and  shining.  This  is  the  cassia  fistularis  of  the  shops, 
and  the  same  as  that  brought  from  the  East  Indies.  The 
pods  of  the  Cassia  Javanica,  or  horse  cassia,  are  very  large, 
and  the  pulp  inferior  to  the  former,  which  enters  into  some 
officinal  compositions. 

25.  Cassia  Senna  Italica. — The  round-leaved  Senna. 

This  grows  on  sand  banks  near  the  sea,  particularly  on  the 
palisadoes,  near  Port  Royal  in  Jamaica. 

It  rises  by  herbaceous  stems  to  two  feet  in  height.  From 
the  axilla?  at  the  top  are  sent  forth  slender  spikes,  with   yeL 


198  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

low  blossoms.  The  pods  and  seeds  are  the  same  as  those  of 
the  senna  of  the  shops.  I  have  dried  the  leaves,  and  used 
them  in  purging  ptisans  in  the  same  proportion  as  those  of 
the  Alexandrian  senna. 

Specimens  of  this  senna  were  presented  to  the  Society  of 
Arts;  and  although  I  received  no  marks  of  their  approbation, 
it  is  with  pleasure  I  observe  they  have  offered  a  premium 
lately  for  raising  the  Alexandrian  senna  in  the  West  Indies. 

26.  Cassia  alata. — Ringworm  Bush. 

This  plant  is  annual.  The  stem  is  woody,  and  rises  to 
five  or  six  feet.  The  leaves  are  winged,  and  look  like  those 
of  walnuts.  The  flower  spikes  are  simple ;  the  blossoms 
large,  yellow,  and  placed  so  closely  as  to  form  a  cone.  The 
pod  is  triangular,  and  four  inches  long :  the  seeds  are  nume- 
rous, and  heart  shaped. 

Tetters  or  ringworms  are  frequent  amongst  the  black  people 
in  Jamaica,  and  amongst  the  Spaniards  in  America  very  in- 
veterate. I  have  seen  this  complaint  so  universal,  that  the 
habit  was  tainted  ;  the  skin  looked  leprous,  and  the  unhappy 
patient  had  not  a.  moment's  ease  from  the  intolerable  itching 
or  painful  ulcers. 

In  the  beginning,  a  poultice  of  the  flowers  of  this  bush  is 
of  service;  as  are  also  sulphureous  applications.  But,  in 
more  advanced  stages  of  the  disease,  mercurials  externally, 
and  the  decoction  of  woods,  give  the  only  chance  of  a  cure. 

(Dr  Hill  seems  at  a  loss  to  describe  this  plant ;  and  after 
all  is  mistaken  in  the  number  of  the  stamina.  It  sometimes 
grows  to  ten  feet  high,  and,  when  in  blossom,  looks  very  well.) 

27.  Cassia  cham^ecrista. — Cane  Piece,— ^Sensitive  Plant. 

This  is  frequently  met  with  in  cane-piece  intervals.  It  is 
about  three  feet  in  height,  and  has  a  few  branches,  with  1111- 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.      ~+~  199 

merous  small  pinnated  leaves,  which  collapse  immediately  on 
being  touched.  The  blossoms  are  yellow.  The  capsule  is  a 
flat  pod,  about  an  inch  long,  black,  jointed,  and  somewhat 
hairy.     The  roots  are  woody,  with  many  fibres. 

In  Guinea,  and  in  the  West  Indies,  the  negroes  are  dex- 
terous poisoners.  The  plants  they  employ  for  this  purpose 
are  chiefly  the  lactescent  ones,  of  the  order  Contort^  viz. 
Echites  suberecta,  Cameraria,  Plumeria,  and  Nerium.  An 
antidote  against  these  deleterious  substances  cannot  be  too 
much  valued  ;  and  such  an  one  is  a  decoction  of  the  roots  of 
this  plant. 

A  handful  of  the  washed  roots  being  boiled  in  water  from 
three  pints  to  two,  may  be  strained,  sweetened,  and  used  for 
common  drink,  at  the  rate  of  three  quarts  in  twenty-four 
hours. 

28.  Cinchona  CaribjEA. — Jesuit's  Bark  of  Jamaica. 

Having  given  an  account  of  this  tree  in  the  Philosophical 
Transactions,  (vol.  lxvii.  p.  504.)  with  a  figure,  the  reader  is 
referred  to  that  work.  I  may,  however,  add,  that  I  have 
found  trees  in  the  parish  of  St  James's,  in  Jamaica,  fifty  feet 
high,  and  proportionally  thick.  The  wood  is  hard,  clouded, 
and  takes  a  fine  polish.  The  bark  of  the  large  trunks  is 
rough;  the  cuticle  thick  and  inert;  the  inner  bark  thinner 
than  that  of  the  young  trees,  but  more  fibrous. 

I  have  made  use  of  this  bark  in  all  cases  where  the  Peru, 
vian  bark  was  indicated,  and  with  the  greatest  success. 

Half  an  ounce  infused  in  a  bottle  of  white  wine  or  spirits, 
affords  an  elegant  and  grateful  bitter.  In  beginning  Typhus 
I  remove  the  sick  into  airy  chambers,  wash  their  hands  and 
face  often  in  cold  water,  and  direct  them  to  chew  a  little  of 
this  bark  with  very  happy  effects. 


200  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 


29.  Cinchona  triplora. —  The  Bath  Bark. 

This  species  of  cinchona  was  discovered  by  Mr  Roberts, 
a  clergyman  in  Jamaica.  The  leaves  are  very  like  those  of 
the  Caribaea.  At  the  axillae  come  out  three  scarlet  flowers. 
The  pods  are  somewhat  longer  than  those  of  the  last  men- 
tioned species.  The  bark  is  of  the  colour  of  Peruvian  bark. 
This  tree  grows  only  in  the  parish  of  Manchioneel,  by  rivers, 

30.  Cinchona  brachycarpa. 

Mr  Lindsay,  surgeon,  and  an  expert  botanist,  discovered 
this  species  in  the  parish  of  Westmoreland,  Jamaica,  in  1785. 
It  has  much  the  appearance  of  the  following,  but  very  few 
flowers.     It  grew  on  the  side  of  a  steep  hill. 

Much  has  been  said  and  written  of  late  years  on  the  Je- 
suit's bark.  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  many  years  ago,  had  an 
elegant  plate  engraven  of  the  Cinchona  officinalis,  which  he 
distributed  to  his  friends.  It  was  by  this  figure  that  I  was 
enabled  to  ascertain  and  settle  the  Jesuit's  bark  of  Jamaica, 
as  well  as  the  other  species  I  have  mentioned. 

Of  these  species,  the  Cinchona  Caribaea  is  the  nearest  to 
the  officinal  bark  in  virtue  :  it  abates  vomiting,  and  sits  well 
on  the  stomach ;  whereas  the  other  two  species,  like  the  St. 
Lucia  bark,  prove  emetic  in  a  small  dose.  They  all,  how- 
ever, cure  intermittents. 

All  these  different  species  are  in  the  possession  of  Sir  Jo- 
seph Banks. 

31.  Cissampelos  pareira. — Pareira  brava. 

This  is  a  slip  which  runs  amongst  the  bushes  and  on  fen- 
ces. The  leaves  are  round,  soft,  and  downy,  on  which  ac- 
count it  is  railed  the  velvet  leaf 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.    ^    201 

It  bears  its  flowers  on  a  slender  pendulous  spike  :  they  arc 
yellow  and  very  small,  and  the  male  and  female  are  on  diffe- 
rent vines.  The  fruit  is  a  soft,  flat  berry  :  it  is  of  a  red  co- 
lour, and  contains  one  flat  seed  curiously  notched  like  the 
wheel  of  a  watch. 

The  roots  are  black,  stringy,  and  as  thick  as  sarsaparilla, 
running  superficially  under  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

This  root  is  agreeably  aromatic  and  bitter,  and  is  recom- 
mended by  Geoffroy  in  nephritic  disorders,  in  ulcers  of  the 
kidneys  and  bladder,  in  humoral  asthmas,  and  in  some  spe- 
cies of  jaundice. 

The  common  people  in  Jamaica  use  a  decoction  of  the 
roots  for  pains  and  weakness  of  the  stomach,  proceeding  from 
relaxation. 

32.  Citrus  Medica. — Limes. 
Limonum. — Lemons. 

The  whole  of  the  genus  citrus  are  natives  of  Asia,  and  the 
southern  parts  of  Europe,  from  whence  they  have  been  car- 
ried to  and  planted  in  the  warmer  parts  of  America  and  the 
Sugar  Islands.  At  present  they  are  so  common  as  to  be 
formed  into  hedges. 

The  juice  of  lemons  and  of  limes  is  nearly  alike,  and  their 
uses  in  medicine  and  drink  well  known.  About  fourteen 
years  ago  I  wrote  a  paper  on  the  effects  of  lime  juice,  combin- 
ed with  sea-salt  in  various  diseases  in  the  torrid  zone  *.  It 
is  proper  to  observe,  that  in  all  the  disorders  there  mentioned, 
a  remitting  fever  either  occasioned  or  accompanied  them. 

In  that  paper  I  have  slightly  mentioned  diabetes ;  but 
later  experience  enables  me  to  assert,  that  in  this  medicine  I 
have  found  a  specific  for  diabetes  as  well  as  for  lienteria,  both 

*  Vide  American  Transactions,  Vol.  ii-   and  London  Medical  Jour- 
nal, vol.  viii.  p.  100. 


202  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

which  diseases  have  often  heretofore  baffled   the  most  skilful 
physicians. 

(The  figure  of  the  leaves,  and  structure  of  the  flowers,  are 
so  much  alike  in  the  whole  genus,  that,  with  the  exception  of 
the  lime,  we  cannot,  with  certainty,  pronounce  whether  the 
young  tree  will  bear  an  orange,  shaddock,  or  forbidden  fruit. 

The  lime  tree  is  of  smaller  growth  than  the  orange  or 
shaddock,  and  the  leaves  are  one-third  less,  and  of  a  dark 
green  colour.  They  blossom  twice  a  year,  and  bear  abun- 
dance of  fruit,  of  a  most  delicious  fragrance,  yellow,  smoother 
than  a  lemon,  and  large  as  a  golden  pippin.  The  juice  is 
highly  acid,  and  it  is  preferred  to  lemon  juice. 

The  whole  genus  of  citrus  are  pretty  trees,  especially  when 
in  bloom,  or  when  the  fruit  is  ripe.  The  author  of  The  Su- 
gar Cane  finely  observes : 

"  Amid  their  verdant  umbrage  countless  glow, 
With  fragrant  fruit  of  vegetable  gold." 

The  antiseptic  virtues  of  native  vegetable  acids  are  well 
known.  In  ardent  fevers  nature  points  out  their  use,  and 
they  should  never  be  denied  to  the  suffering  patient.  In  bi- 
lious fevers,  by  uniting  with  the  bile,  they  form  a  vegetable 
ammoniac,  which,  like  other  neutrals,  is  purgative,  and  car- 
ries the  disorder  off  by  stool.  I  prefer  a  beverage  of  the  Se- 
ville orange  iuice  to  that  of  the  rest. 

Weak  punch  is  the  most  common  drink  in  the  West  In- 
dies, and  by  far  the  best  suited  to  the  constitutions  of  the 
inhabitants.  Those  who  use  grog  or  rum,  have  sallow  com- 
plexions, pains  in  their  stomachs,  frequent  belly-  aches,  jaun- 
dice, dropsies,  rheumatism,  &c.  After  a  residence  of  many 
years  in  these  climates,  I  never  knew  any  one  who  made  a 
liberal  use  of  acids,  afflicted  with  any  of  the  above  disorders  ; 
but  such,  on  the  contrary,  had  clear  complexions,  and  en- 
joyed good  health.) 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. ^    203 

33.   Citrus  aurantium  dulcis. — Sweet  Oranges. 
amara. — Seville  Oranges. 

Both  these  are  cultivated  in  all  the  West  India  Islands,  as 
well  as  in  Spain  and  Portugal.  These  ascescent  fruits  have 
long  been  esteemed  in  medicine,  and  need  not  here  be  insisted 
on.  In  the  warm  countries  ulcers  soon  become  very  foul  and 
offensive.  I  have  long  been  of  opinion  that  the  habit  has  no- 
thing to  do  in  many  such  cases,  but  that  both  the  ulcer  and 
the  fomes  of  it  are  merely  local.  I  have  applied  the  pulp  of 
roasted  oranges  to  the  sores  as  a  poultice,  and  observed  al- 
ways, that,  in  twenty-four  hours,  the  foetor  of  such  ulcers  was 
corrected  and  removed,  and  that  the  ulcers  soon  were  dis- 
posed to  heal.  The  same  application  was  continued  till  a 
cure  was  completed. 

34.  Citrus  decujiana. — Shaddock. 

This  fruit  was  so  called  from  a  Captain  Shaddock,  who 
first  brought  it  from  the  East  Indies  to  Barbadoes. 

Shaddocks  are  a  most  beautiful  fruit,  about  five  times  as 
large  as  oranges,  and  shaped  like  a  pear.  They  have  a  most 
agreeably  sweet  and  bitter  taste,  and  are  much  esteemed  in 
warm  countries. 

35.  Citrus  decumana,  (varietas). —  The  Forbidden  Fruit. 

This  is  smaller  than  the  shaddock,  and  of  a  round  figure. 
However  beautiful  to  the  eye,  they  are  in  general  so  bitter 
and  sour  as  seldom  to  be  eatable. 

30.  Citrus  bergamot. 

This  is  frequent  in  orchards  :  it  is  less  than  an  orange,  and 
has  a  fine  smell. 

37'  Citrus  citrullus. — Citron. 
This  fruit  is  about  double  the  size  of  a  lemon,  but  nearly 


204  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

of  the  same  shape.  The  juice  is  acid;  the  skin  remarkably 
thick. 

All  the  species  of  citron  agree  in  some  particulars.  The 
leaves  and  flowers  are  nearly  alike,  and  on  their  surface  all  of 
them  have  a  volatile  fluid,  or  oil,  lodged  in  small  round  cells, 
visible  to  the  naked  eye.  This  essential  oil  is  easily  obtained 
by  distillation. 

The  juice  of  limes,  lemons,  and  oranges,  is  used  in  shrub, 
orangeat,  and  punch,  and  enters  into  many  compositions  in 
pharmacy  and  confectionry. 

The  rinds  or  skins  of  citrons,  limes,  and  oranges,  make  ele- 
gant preserves,  either  in  syrup,  or  candied  with  sugar. 

38.  Clinopodium  rugosum. —  Wild  Bachelor's  Button. 

This  plant  is  annual,  herbaceous,  and  rises  to  three  or  four 
feet.  The  leaves  are  large,  rough,  and  serrated  ;  the  flowers 
small,  and  the  seed-vessels  connected  in  a  globular  or  button- 
like form. 

The  leaves  of  this,  beaten  and  applied  to  old  and  obstinate 
ulcers,  have  a  very  good  effect.  The  buttons,  when  rubbed 
betwixt  the  fingers,  emit  a  most  agreeable  fragrance,  some- 
what like  a  mixture  of  the  oils  of  rosemary,  lavender,  rho- 
dium, and  ambergris.  As  the  plant  is  so  common  in  all  waste 
lands,  large  quantities  might  easily  be  gathered,  and  this 
valuable  perfume,  or  oil,  obtained  by  distillation.  The  dried 
pods  retain  their  flavour  a  considerable  time,  and  might  be 
sent  home  in  tin-canisters  or  lead-cases  to  the  mother  country. 

39.  Copfea  arabica. — Coffee  Tree. 

It  is  about  sixty  years  since  coffee  was  introduced  into  Ja- 
maica from  the  Levant.  It  is  now  in  general  cultivation 
amongst  even  the  meanest  of  the  people.  It  flowers  twice  a 
year.  The  blossoms  are  white  and  sweet,  like  jasmine,  and 
last  a  considerable  time.     These  flowers,  with  the  green  fruit, 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.  ^_      205 

and  red  ripe  berries  on  the  same  twigs,  make  a  pleasing  and 
beautiful  contrast. 

The  fruit  is  a  berry  of  the  size  and  exact  figure  of  the  red 
cherry.  The  pulp  is  soft  and  sweet,  and  no  doubt  might  be 
converted  to  wine  ;  or,  by  distillation,  to  brandy.  The  beans 
are  two  in  each  berry,  which  are  well  known. 

Coffee  is  an  article  of  diet,  and  seldom  prescribed  in  medi- 
cine ;  but  I  have  known  it  have  good  effects  in  the  moist  or 
humoral  asthma,  and  to  give  speedy  relief  in  headachs,  from 
gout  and  other  nervous  affections.  It  is  said  to  prevent 
sleep ;  but  this  happens  from  any  tepid  liquors  drank  late  in 
the  evening  or  at  night. 

Coffee,  with  a  good  deal  of  milk,  is  used  twice  a  day  by 
most  families  in  Jamaica. 

40.  Convolvulus  brasiliensis. — Seaside  Scammony. 

This  plant  grows  near  the  sea  shore.  The  leaves  are  broad 
and  shining ;  the  flowers  large  and  pale  red. 

The  roots  are  thicker  than  a  quill,  and  run  many  yards 
superficially  in  sandy  places.  The  whole  plant  is  milky  ;  and 
if  this  milk  was  collected,  a  resin,  like  scammony,  might  be 
obtained.  At  present  this  root  is  employed  as  a  drastic  purge, 
in  dropsy,  by  the  common  people. 

The  Aleppo  scammony  might  easily  be  cultivated  in  Ja- 
maica, and  become  an  useful  and  profitable  article.  It  is 
growing  luxuriantly  in  his  Majesty's  garden  at  Kew,  and  in 
several  other  gardens  about  London. 

41.  Convolvulus  battatas. — Sweet  Potatoes. 

This  slip  is  planted  for  food,  and  grows  so  fast  as  to  be 
fit  to  dig  up  in  six  weeks  or  two  months.  For  this  reason, 
new  settlers  generally  plant  this  as  the  readiest  provision. 

The  roots  have  much  the  appearance  of  the  common  pota- 
to, but  are  much  larger.  These,  roasted  or  boiled,  are  sweet, 
but  not  so  farinaceous  as  the  other  potato,  nor  do  they  yield 


206  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

so  much  starch  by  one  half:  however,  the  sweet  potato  is 
good  substantial  food,  and  serves  instead  of  bread,  which 
cannot  always  be  had. 

There  is  a  vulgar  opinion  in  Jamaica,  that  the  common  or 
English  potato  becomes  sweet,  and  degenerates  into  this  slip. 
The  first  is  totally  a  mistake ;   the  latter  impossible. 

42.  Crescentia  cujete. — Calabash. 

This  useful  tree  is  planted  about  settlements.  The  flowers 
and  fruit  grow  from  the  body  or  large  limbs  of  the  tree. 
The  fruit,  or  calabash,  is  large  and  oblong.  Some,  when 
hollowed,  will  contain  a  gallon  of  water.  The  shell  serves 
for  utensils  for  the  Negroes,  as  bowls,  cups,  and  spoons. 

The  contents  are  white,  pretty  firm,  and  contain  a  number 
of  seeds.  The  juice  of  calabash,  in  the  quantity  of  four  oun- 
ces, is  given  as  a  purge  in  all  cases  where  the  patient  has  re- 
ceived a  bruise  about  the  trunk  ;  and  a  syrup  of  the  same, 
with  the  addition  of  lime-juice,  a  little  nitre,  and  paregoric 
elixir,  is  by  some  highly  extolled  in  coughs  and  consump- 
tions. 

Small  calabashes  roasted,  and  the  pulp  spread  on  cloth, 
make  a  good  poultice  for  bruises  and  inflammations. 

A  smaller  calabash  grows  wild,  but  is  only  a  mere  variety 
of  the  other. 

(The  calabash  has  many  branches  from  one  root,  seldom 
higher  than  twenty  feet,  and  not  thicker  than  eight  inches. 
The  wood  is  very  tough  and  useful  for  ox-bows  and  cart-wheels. 
The  leaves  on  the  spreading  branches  are  numerous,  and  of 
a  deep  green  colour. 

Dr  Canvane  observes,  that,  in  consumptions,  nothing 
can  be  more  beneficial  than  the  juice  of  the  calabash.  It  is 
also  a  smart  purge,  and  often  administered  in  female  obstruc- 
tions.) g 


MKDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.  2jl)7 

43.  Croton  elkutheiua  *. 

This  tree  is  common  near  the  sea  shore,  and  rises  to  about 
twenty  feet.  The  leaves  are  from  two  to  three  inches  long, 
and  of  a  proportional  breadth.  On  the  upper  side  they  are 
waved,  and  of  a  rusty  colour  ;  on  the  under  side  they  are 
ribbed,  ai>d  have  a  fine  glossy  or  silvery  appearance. 

From  the  axillae  they  have  numerous  small  spikes,  with  a 
great  quantity  of  white,  small,  and  fragrant  flowers.  The 
capsule  is  tricoccous,  like  other  crotons. 

The  bark  is  the  same  as  the  cascarilla  and  eleutheria  of  the 
shops.  Medical  writers  have  supposed  these  to  be  distinct 
barks,  and  they  are  sold  in  the  shops  as  different  productions ; 
but,  when  strictly  examined,  they  prove  to  be  one  and  the 
same  bark. 

Linn^eus's  Croton  cascarilla  is  the  wild  rosemary  shrub  of 
Jamaica,  the  bark  of  which  has  none  of  the  sensible  qualities 
of  cascarilla. 

44.  Daphne  lagetto. — Alligator  Bark,  or  Lace-Bark  Tree. 

Sir  Hans  Sloane  has  figured  a  sprig  of  this  tree,  but  did 
not  see  the  flowers  or  seeds.  Dr  Bkowne,  in  his  Natural 
History  of  Jamaica,  is  equally  at  a  loss  with  respect  to  it ; 
and  botanists  were  unacquainted  with  this  plant  till  the  year 
1777,  when  I  brought  complete  specimens  of  it  from  Jamaica, 
and  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  Dr  Solan uer,  and  myself,  settled 
it  as  a  species  of  Daphne. 

The  tree  grows  on  the  high  rocky  hills  to  twenty  feet  high. 
The  trunks  are  straight ;  the  wood  is  soft ;  the  bark  is  thick, 
and  may  be  separated  into  twenty  or  thirty  lamina,  white  and 
fine,  like  gauze.  Of  this,  caps,  ruffles,  and  even  whole  suits 
of  ladies1  clothes,  have  been  made. 

It  has  the  sensible  qualities  of  mezereon,  but  in  a  greatej 

*   Gluiia  E/utcria,  Linn 


208  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

decree.  A  drachm  of  it  to  two  pounds  of  sarsaparilla  de- 
coction is  useful  in  confirmed  lues,  chronic  rheumatisms,  and 
pains  of  the  bones  from  lues  or  the  yaws. 

45.  Dioscorea  alata. — Negro  Yam. 

bulbifera. —  White  Yam. 

sativa. —  Wild  Yam. 

triphylla. —  Yampee. 


The  two  first  species  are  cultivated  in  provision-grounds  ; 
the  slips  are  climbers,  and  furnished  with  poles,  like  hops. 
They  are  planted  in  the  spring,  and  are  ripe  about  Christ- 
mas. The  roots  are  very  large  ;  some  from  thirty  to  forty 
pounds  weight.  They  will  keep  for  several  months,  and  are 
in  daily  use  as  food.  Yams,  roasted  or  boiled,  eat  like  pota- 
toes, but  are  rather  of  a  coarser  texture.  They  are  dressed 
in  various  forms,  being  boiled  in  soups  or  broth,  &c.  made 
into  pudding,  or  roasted  in  the  fire.  They  yield  also  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  starch. 

The  wild  yam  is  a  native  of  the  woods  in  Jamaica.  The 
stem  is  angulated,  and  finely  serrated.  If  any  one  lays  hold 
of  this  vine,  it  cuts  the  hand  like  a  knife.  The  roots  are  flat, 
digitated,  and  large ;  they  are  yellow  coloured,  and  very  bit- 
ter: they  purge  people  unaccustomed  to  eat  them;  but  are 
the  chief  support  of  the  runaway  Negroes  who  abscond  from 
the  plantations. 

The  yampee,  till  of  late  years,  was  little  known  to  the  white 
inhabitants.  The  leaf  is  different  from  the  others ;  the  roots 
are  about  six  inches  long,  and  two  inches  in  diameter  :  there 
are  about  twelve  of  such  to  one  slip  or  vine.  The  Maroons, 
or  mountain  Negroes,  plant  them,  and  bring  them  down  to 
the  low  lands.  They  keep  a  few  weeks.  The  yampee,  boil- 
ed or  roasted,  is  a  most  delicious  root,  and  far  preferable  to 
potatoes. 

(The  leaves  and  stem  of  the  Negro  yam  are  of  a  thicker 
texture  than  the  white  yam.     The  skin  is  black,  and  the  roots 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.         ^20\) 

of  a  coarser  texture  than  the  white  yam.  No  yam  ought  to 
be  eaten  before  the  vine  withers,  otherwise  dysentery  and  diar- 
rhoeas may  ensue,  as  happened  in  1771,  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Orangehill,  Jamaica.  These  were  of  the  putrid 
kind,  producing  cold  sweats,  with  prostration  of  strength. 
Few  were  lost  in  my  practice,  provided  they  had  proper 
nourishment. 

The  white  yam  is  planted  in  December,  and  is  dug  up  in 
the  following  April.  The  Negro  yam  is  planted  in  May,  and 
is  ripe  about  Christmas. 

The  leaves  of  the  Negro  yam  are  smooth,  shining,  and  of 
a  deep  green  colour.  They  are  furnished  with  a  tendril,  to 
lay  hold  of  any  bush  or  tree  they  may  chance  to  meet  with- 
The  flowers  are  yellow.  The  roots  are  very  large,  some 
weighing  twenty  pounds.  They  are  of  an  irregular  figure, 
smooth,  with  a  greyish  skin  ;  and  when  boiled  or  roasted, 
taste  a  good  deal  like  the  potato.  Negroes  of  any  reflection 
have  a  sufficient  stock  of  yams,  lest  a  hurricane  should  deprive 
them  of  their  ordinary  food. 

The  wild  or  wood  yam  is  found  growing  spontaneously  in 
the  woods.  The  stem  is  prickly.  The  leaves  are  of  a  light 
green,  and  pretty  broad  They  grow  in  pairs  and  feel  rough. 
The  roots  are  large,  flat,  and  broad  ;  but,  when  boiled  or 
roasted,  taste  bitter.      Some  Negroes  eat  them  by  choice. 

The  yampee  grows  in  the  lowland  settlements  of  Jamaica. 
The  leaf  is  like  that  of  the  wood-yam.  The  root  is  of  a  finer 
grain  than  other  yams,  and  approaches  nearer  than  any  thing 
in  Jamaica  to  English  potatoes.  They  are  cut  for  planting- 
like  potatoes.  To  each  piece  an  eye  must  be  left ;  and  one 
or  two  of  these  pieces  may  be  put  into  a  little  hill  of  mould.) 

46.  DOLICHOS  PRURIENS. CoWltck. 

This  slip  runs  wild  amongst  the  bushes  in  many  parts  of 
Jamaica,  and  now  and  then  is  cultivated  in  gardens. 

O 


210  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

It  is  a  climber,  has  slender  stalks,  the  leaves  trifoliated,  the 
flowers  small  and  papilionaceous.  The  pods  are  about  four 
inches  long,  round,  and  as  thick  as  a  man's  finger,  containing 
a  few  hard  oblong  seeds. 

The  outside  of  the  pods  is  thickly  set  with  stiff  brown  hairs 
or  bristles,  which,  when  applied  to  the  skin,  occasion  a  most 
intolerable  itching. 

The  ripe  pods,  when  dipped  in  syrup,  are  scraped  with  a 
knife,  and  then  thrown  away.  When  the  syrup,  with  these 
seta?,  becomes  as  thick  as  honey,  it  is  fit  to  use.  It  acts  me- 
chanically as  an  anthelminthic ;  occasions  no  uneasiness  in 
the  first  passages,  which  are  defended  by  mucus ;  and  may 
be  taken  safely  from  a  tea-spoonful  to  a  table-spoonful  once 
a-day. 

47.  Epidendrum  Vanilla. 

This  plant  is  carefully  cultivated  in  the  Spanish  West  In- 
dies, where  it  is  a  native.  It  also  grows  wild  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Jamaica.  Dr  Swartz,  a  learned  Swedish  botanist, 
found  it  there  about  three  years  ago. 

The  pod  is  a  valuable  perfume,  and  fetches  a  great 
price.  It  merits,  therefore,  the  attention  of  the  people,  and 
their  representatives  in  assembly,  that  it  may  be  cultivated 
and  sent  home  as  an  article  of  commerce. 

48.  Epidendrum  claviculatum. — Green  Wythe. 

This  plant  is  found  on  gravelly  and  rocky  lands.  It  runs 
or  creeps  on  the  ground,  taking  root  here  and  there  in  its 
progress.  The  stem  is  as  thick  as  a  man's  finger,  round, 
green,  and  succulent :  it  is  jointed  at  every  twelve  or  fourteen 
inches,  and  is  several  yards  long,  without  leaves.  The  flow- 
ers are  large  and  yellow  ;  the  pods  two  inches  long. 

On  viewing  the  expressed  juice  with  a  glass,  or  the  naked 
eye,  we  find  it  full  of  long  spiculae  or  hairs.  Dr  Drummond, 
a  learned  and  ingenious  physician  and  botanist  in  Westmore- 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.     ^    211 

land,  Jamaica,  who  first  shewed  me  this  plant,  assured  me 
that  he  had  often  given  a  table-spoonful  of  the  juice  as  a  safe 
and  effectual  vermifuge  ;  and  that  in  some  species  of  dropsy 
it  promotes  a  flow  of  urine,  and  cures  the  disease.  The  juice 
is  in  great  esteem  amongst  the  Negroes,  for  the  cure  of  go- 
norrhoea and  lues  venerea. 

49.  Eupatorium  Dalea. 

This  is  frequent  in  the  mountains  of  Jamaica.  It  is  woody 
and  perennial,  and  about  four  feet  high.  The  flowers  are 
yellow  ;   the  seeds  downy. 

The  withered  ears  or  leaves,  just  dried,  have  a  most  sweet 
smell,  nearly  equal  to  the  vanilla ;  and  we  find  them  often 
amongst  the  Spanish  cigaroes,  as  a  perfume,  instead  of  va- 
nilla. 

50.  Fevillea  scandens. — Cacoons. 

This  is  common  in  all  waste  lands  and  by  the  skirts  of  the 
woods.  It  is  a  climbing  vine,  which  runs  on  trees  and  bushes 
for  a  great  way,  covering  them  like  ivy. 

It  has  its  male  flowers  on  one  vine,  and  the  female  on  an- 
other. The  blossoms  are  small  and  yellow.  The  fruit  is  a 
round  calabash,  containing  about  twelve  large  flat  seeds  or 
nuts.  When  the  fruit  is  ripe,  the  seeds  fall  out  at  the  bottom, 
from  a  round  circular  ring  or  trap-door. 

The  cacoon  tastes  very  bitter,  and  is  oily.  The  common 
people  employ  them  as  antidotes  against  vegetable  and  fish 
poison,  as  well  as  in  pains  and  weakness  of  the  stomach. 

(I  am  so  far  from  agreeing  in  this  opinion,  that  I  find  the 
disorder  rapidly  advances  under  its  use,  and  that  the  patient 
gets  into  a  dropsy  and  dies. 

Pain  in  the  stomach  is  a  very  prevalent  disease  in  Jamaica, 
and  very  little  understood.     Its  seat  is  generally  in  the  liver, 

o2 


212  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

and  if  not  speedily  remedied,  a  suppuration  ensues,  a  dropsy 
follows,  or  a  hectic  fever,  which  too  often  proves  fatal.  In 
the  beginning  of  this  disorder  I  give  small  doses  of  calomel,  a 
grain  at  a  time  ;  a  little  opium  is  necessary  to  prevent  it  run- 
ning off  by  stool  ;  and  after  six  doses,  a  laxative  dose  is  given  ; 
after  a  few  days  six  doses  more,  and  another  purge,  seldom 
fail  to  effect  a  radical  cure.  But  after  suppuration  has  taken 
place,  calomel  is  very  improper  and  often  pernicious.  Change 
of  climate,  milk  diet,  fruits  and  vegetables,  would  give  the 
best  chance  of  a  recovery.) 

The  seeds,  when  beaten  in  a  wooden  mortar,  and  boiled 
long  with  water,  yield  an  oil  or  fat,  as  white  and  hard  as  tal- 
low ;  and  they  are  frequently  used  for  this  purpose  at  the 
Musquito  Shore  and  Honduras,  where  candles  are  made  of 
them. 

51.  GeoffRjEA  inermis. — Cabbage-Bark  Tree. 

In  the  sixty-seventh  volume  of  the  Philosophical  Transac- 
tions, I  have  given  a  botanical  and  medical  account  of  this 
tree,  to  which  the  Royal  Society  have  added  an  elegant  en- 
graving. 

The  anthelminthic  properties  of  this  bark  are  pretty  gene- 
rally known  ;  and  it  is  an  article  of  materia  medica  in  the 
Edinburgh  Dispensatory,  as  well  as  in  some  foreign  Dispen- 
satories. 

Let  me  in  this  place  remark,  that  physicians  expect  too 
much  from  anthelminthics.  The  common  symptoms  of 
worms  are  often  delusory,  for  the  same  symptoms  attend 
many  fevers.  When,  therefore,  the  case  is  doubtful,  I  al- 
ways join  the  Cinchona  officinalis  or  caribaea  with  the  cabbage 
bark. 

Worms  expelled  in  the  end  of  acute  diseases,  are  in  gene- 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.  21-3 

ral  a  fatal  symptom  ;  and  no  worm  medicine  should  then  be 
given,  unless  the  bark  is  given  at  the  same  time. 

52.  Abrus  precatorius. — The  Bead  Vine. 

This  beautiful  plant  runs  on  bushes  or  fences.  It  has  nu- 
merous small  and  pinnated  leaves.  The  flowers  are  papilio- 
naceous, and  pale  red  ;  the  pods  short  and  rounded,  contain- 
ing three  or  four  red  shining  small  peas,  with  a  black  speck 
at  the  end. 

The  leaves  and  stalks  are  sweet,  and  often  made  into  teas 
or  decoctions,  to  which  is  added  a  little  lime  juice.  This  drink 
is  useful  in  coughs,  colds,  and  pleurisies,  &c. 

The  seeds  are  exceedingly  hard,  and  are  emetic  ;  they  are 
never  eaten  or  prescribed.  They  are  common  in  shell  shops 
and  shell  works,  and  are  worn  as  beads  bv  the  Negroes  in  Ja- 
maica. 

(This  beautiful  plant,  otherwise  called  wild  liquorice,  grows 
in  pimento  walks,  and  runs  on  trees  and  bushes.  It  will  al- 
so grow  in  gardens,  and  might  with  proper  supporters  be 
formed  into  beautiful  arbours.  The  leaves  are  of  a  lively 
green  colour,  and  have  a  very  sweet  taste  like  liquorice. 
They  are  made  into  tea  for  coughs,  pleurisies,  and  peripneu- 
monies. 

This  year  we  had  an  epidemic  peripneumony,  which  was 
very  fatal,  especially  among  the  Negroes.  It  raged  for  three 
months.  Early  and  repeated  bleedings,  antimonials,  diluted 
drinks  of  liquorice,  pear  leaf  and  nitre,  with  blisters  to  the 
sides,  were  attended  with  great  success ;  but  if  these  had 
been  neglected,  or  sparingly  administered,  calomel,  with  gentle 
opiates,  acted  like  a  charm  in  resolving  the  disease ;  and  a  sper- 
maceti mixture  with  salt  of  hartshorn  eompleted  the  cure. 
By  this  mode  of  treatment,  I  lost  no  patients,  although  I  had 
many  under  my  care.  The  epidemic  was  prevalent  in  March, 
April,  and  May.) 


214  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 


53.  Gouania  Domingensis — Chaw  Stick. 

This  vine  runs  wild  in  fences  and  in  copses.  The  stalks 
are  woody,  flexible,  and  of  the  size  of  one's  finger;  they  run 
to  a  considerable  length,  and  continue  of  the  same  thickness. 
The  leaves  are  oval,  and  serrated ;  the  flowers  small  and 
white;   the  capsules  small,  flat,  and  white. 

Pieces  of  chaw  stick  are  made  into  tooth  brushes,  and, 
while  they  serve  to  clean  the  teeth,  are  antiseptic  by  their  bit- 
terness. 

This  wythe  is  chewed,  and  the  juice  swallowed  as  an  agree- 
able stomachic ;  and  is  useful  for  promoting  an  appetite,  or 
removing  pains  in  the  stomach  from  relaxation  of  that  viscus. 

What  is  often  called  a  pain  in  the  stomach  is  an  affection 
of  the  liver,  which  should  carefully  be  distinguished,  as  in 
this  case  all  tonics  or  bitters  do  mischief.  If  the  liver  is  dis- 
eased, we  have  a  sovereign  remedy  in  calomel.  One  grain 
for  six  nights  running  is  generally  sufficient. 

(This  plant  is  often  also  used  with  propriety  in  decoctions 
for  fevers  of  the  bilious  remitting  or  intermitting  kind.  The 
putrid  matter  in  the  intestines  is  thus  corrected,  and  the  sto- 
mach made  strong  enough  to  retain  the  Peruvian  bark.) 

54.  Guaiacum  officinale. — Lignum  Vitas. 

This  is  a  native  of  the  West  Indies,  and  grows  slowly  to  a 
middling  size  and  thickness.  Its  shady  ever-green  foliage,  its 
numerous  azure  flowers,  and  flat  yellow  pods,  make  a  pleas- 
ing contrast. 

The  trunks  are  commonly  crooked  ;  the  bark  is  furrowed, 
and  tears  of  the  gum  exude.  All  the  parts  of  this  tree  are 
acrid  and  disagreeable  to  the  taste  ;  and  as  they  contain  more 
or  less  resin,  are  purgative,  diaphoretic,  or  diuretic. 

Besides  the  tears  found  on  the  trunk,  a  gum  is  obtained  in 
fhe  following  manner: — The  trunk  and  larger  limbs  being 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.  215 

sawn  into  billets  of  about  three  feet  long,  an  auger  hole  is 
bored  lengthways  in  each,  and  one  end  of  the  billet  so  placed 
on  a  fire,  that  a  calabash  may  receive  the  melted  resin  which 
runs  through  the  hole  as  the  wood  burns. 

Gum  guaiacum  may  be  obtained  in  small  quantities  by  boil- 
ing chips,  or  sawings,  of  the  wood  in  water  and  common  salt. 
The  resin  swims  at  the  top,  and  may  be  skimmed  off". 

It  may  also  be  got  by  means  of  ardent  spirits,  in  the  way 
Jalap  and  Peruvian  bark  are  treated  ;  but  this  mode  is  expen- 
sive and  tedious. 

The  venereal  disease  makes  terrible  havock  amongst  the 
Negroes  in  Jamaica,  and  shews  itself  in  all  its  hideous 
forms.  This  is  owing  to  their  ignorance  or  neglect.  Amongst 
this  class  of  mankind  it  is  too  common  to  stop  virulent 
gonorrhoeas  with  astringent  gums,  resins,  or  barks,  so  that 
the  master  or  overseer  knows  nothing;  of  their  situation  till  the 
spongy  bones  of  the  nose,  the  palate,  or  the  throat,  are  great- 
ly affected ;  or  their  limbs  distorted  by  nocturnal  pains,  pains 
of  the  bones,  nodes,  and  carious  ulcers. 

The  yaws,  though  a  very  different  disease  from  the  lues 
venerea,  often  produces  the  same  direful  effects  in  the  limbs, 
nose,  and  throat :  happily,  however,  these  are  curable  by  mer- 
curial alteratives  and  diaphoretic  decoctions. 

Of  all  the  preparations  of  mercury,  the  corrosive  sublimate 
appears  to  me  to  be  the  best  for  curing  such  inveterate  dis- 
orders, especially  when  accompanied  with  such  medicines  as 
promote  its  natural  tendency  to  the  skin.  Of  this  sort  is  guai- 
acum and  sarsaparilla.  I  have  found  the  following  formula 
the  best : 

(ium  yuaiacum,  ten  drachms. 

Virginia  snake  root,  three  drachms. 

Pimento,  two  drachms. 

Opium,  one  drachm. 

Corrosive  sublimate,  half  a  drachm. 

Proof  spirits,  two  pounds. 


216  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

To  be  mixed  and  digested  for  three  days,  and  then  strained. 
Two  tea-spoonfuls  of  this  tincture  given  in  half  a  pint  of  sar- 
saparilla  decoction  twice  a  day,  will,  in  general,  remove  every 
symptom  of  lues  or  yaws  in  four  or  five  weeks. 

(Decoctions  of  the  wood  are  often  used  for  ordinary  drink  ; 
and  a  fermented  liquor,  under  the  name  of  mably,  is  sold  to  the 
sailors  about  Port  Royal,  which  is  a  mixture  of  a  little  ginger 
and  muscovado  sugar,  with  the  decoction.) 

55.     HiEMATOXYLUM  CAMPECHIANUM. Log/VOod. 

JDr  Bahham  introduced  the  seeds  into  Jamaica  from  Hon- 
duras about  the  year  1715.  It  is  at  this  time  too  common,  as 
it  has  overrun  large  tracts  of  land,  and  is  very  difficult  to  root 
out. 

This  is  generally  planted  for  hedges,  and  it  makes  a  beau- 
tiful and  strong  fence  against  cattle  or  stock.  If  pruned  from 
the  lower  branches,  it  grows  to  a  sizeable  tree,  and,  when  old, 
the  wood  is  as  good  as  that  from  Honduras. 

The  trunks  and  branches  have  long,  sharp  spines;  the  leaves 
are  heart-shaped  ;  the  flowers,  on  a  spike,  are  yellow,  tipped 
with  crimson,  smell  sweet,  and  are  exceedingly  beautiful. 
The  pod  is  flat,  and  contains  two  or  three  smooth  long  seeds. 

Logwood  trees  are  cut  up  into  billets  or  junks,  the  bark 
and  white  sap  of  which  are  chipped  off,  and  the  red  part,  or 
heart,  sent  to  England  for  sale. 

As  a  dye  and  a  medicine,  it  is  well  known. 

(A  person  just  arrived  from  Britain  would  be  apt  to  call 
this  a  white  thorn  ;  and  indeed  it  has  a  great  resemblance  to 
it  in  its  leaves  and  branches,  but  when  in  blossom  their  ap- 
pearance is  very  different.  It  may  perhaps  have  been  origi- 
nally brought  from  Honduras,  but  it  grows  so  luxuriantly  in 
Jamaica  that  it  maty  be  regarded  as  a  native  plant.      It  serve 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.  217 

better  for  the  protection  of  the  sugar  cane  than  the  penguin, 
which  harbours  rats  ;  and  better  also  than  lime  bushes,  which 
are  liable  to  mildew,  and  afterwards  to  communicate  the  dis- 
ease to  the  canes. 

Logwood  trees  seldom  grow  thicker  than  a  man's  thigh.  A 
clear  amber  coloured  gum  is  found  on  the  trunks,  which  is  in- 
sipid to  the  taste,  and  may,  I  believe,  have  similar  virtues  with 
the  gum-arabic.) 

56.  Hibiscus  esculentus. — Okra. 

This  is  cultivated  in  gardens  and  inclosures  as  an  article  of 
food.  It  rises  to  five  or  six  feet ;  has  broad  leaves,  and  yellow 
large  flowers.  The  pod  or  okra  is  from  two  to  six  inches  long, 
and  one  inch  diameter.  When  ripe,  it  opens  longitudinally  in 
five  different  places,  and  discharges  a  number  of  heart-shaped 
seeds. 

The  whole  of  this  plant,  like  others  of  the  columnifera,  is 
mucilaginous,  especially  the  pods.  These  are  gathered  green, 
cut  into  pieces,  dried,  and  sent  home  as  presents,  or  are  boiled 
in  broths  or  soups  for  food.  It  is  the  chief  ingredient  in  the 
celebrated  pepper-pot  of  the  West  Indies,  which  is  no  other 
than  a  rich  olla :  the  other  articles  are  either  flesh  meat  or 
dried  fish  and  capsicum.  This  dish  is  very  palatable  and 
nourishing. 

As  a  medicine  okra  is  employed  in  all  cases  where  emol- 
lients and  lubricants  are  indicated. 

(The  trunk  of  the  okra  is  thicker  than  a  walking-stick,  and 
it  sometimes  grows  ten  or  twelve  feet  high.  The  trunk  is 
woody,  and  has  a  large  pith  in  the  middle.  The  leaves  are 
broad,  of  a  deep  green  colour.  The  pods  are  long  and  fur- 
rowed ;  and  when  ripe  they  open  at  the  grooves  and  discharge 
their  black  seeds.  All  ranks  are  fond  of  this  vegetable,  and 
it  is  justly  reckoned  nourishing  and  restorative. 


218  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA, 

The  fresh  green  sticks  put  in  water  for  a  week  yield  a 
white  strong  hemp,  and  that  in  no  small  quantity.) 

57.  Jatropha  Janipha — Sweet  Cassada. 
Manihot. — Bitter  Cassada. 

Both  these  are  cultivated  as  articles  of  food.  It  is  difficult 
to  distinguish  the  bitter  from  the  sweet  cassada  by  the  roots ; 
but  it  will  be  best  to  avoid  those  of  the  cassada  that  bears 
flowers,  as  it  is  the  bitter  which  is  poisonous  when  raw. 

The  root  of  bitter  cassada  has  no  fibrous  or  woody  filaments 
in  the  heart  of  the  root,  and  neither  boils  nor  roasts  soft.  The 
sweet  cassada  has  all  the  opposite  qualities,  and  is  daily  served 
up  at  table  as  bread. 

Cassada  bread  is  made  of  both  the  bitter  and  sweet,  thus  : 
— The  roots  are  washed  and  scraped  clean  ;  then  grated  into 
a  tub  or  trough ;  after  this  put  into  a  hair  bag,  and  strongly 
pressed,  and  the  meal  or  farina  dried  in  a  hot  stone-basin 
over  the  fire  :  lastly,  made  into  cakes.  These  make  most  ex- 
cellent puddings,  equal  to  millet. 

The  scrapings  of  fresh  bitter  cassada  are  successfully  ap- 
plied to  ill-disposed  ulcers. 

Cassada  roots  yield  a  great  quantity  of  starch,  which  the 
Brazilians  export  in  little  lumps,  under  the  name  of  Tapioca. 

(Sweet  cassada  grows  three  or  four  feet  high.  The  stem 
is  as  thick  as  a  walking  stick,  knotted  and  jointed.  The  leaves 
are  like  those  of  the  cotton  tree  or  ceiba,  and  of  a  dark  green 
colour.  This  sort  of  cassada  seldom  or  never  blossoms.  The 
plant  is  propagated  from  the  stem,  by  laying  a  few  joints  in 
the  earth.  The  roots  are  large,  and  grow  spreading  like  a 
bird's  foot.  These  roots  roasted  or  boiled,  are  very  good  to 
eat. 

The  bitter  cassada  grows  ranker  than  the  sweet ;  and  tin 
trunks  and  roots  are  much  thicker.     The  plant  is  generally 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.  619 

cultivated  in  the  French  islands,  and  by  many  also  in  Jamaica. 
The  roots  in  their  natural  state  are  a  very  virulent  poison,  and 
without  speedy  relief  death  soon  ensues.  It  has  long  been  ob- 
served, and  the  fact  is  curious,  that  hogs  rooting  up  this  plant, 
and  eating  it  with  the  mud  about  it,  suffer  no  injury  ;  but  if 
the  roots  are  washed  and  given  to  them,  it  presently  kills  them. 

As  soon  as  it  is  known  that  bitter  cassada  has  been  eaten, 
the  poison  must  be  expelled  by  vomit  and  stool,  and  either 
may  be  promoted  by  repeated  draughts  of  warm  muddy  water. 

The  bitter  cassada,  although  it  proves  so  destructive  in  a 
recent  state,  yet,  by  a  little  art,  it  becomes  a  wholesome  food- 
It  is  the  juice  of  the  roots  alone  that  is  poisonous.  The  fresh 
washed  roots  are  grated  over  a  tub  of  water  ;  and  are  after- 
wards repeatedly  washed  in  fresh  supplies  of  water.  The 
meal  is  then  dried  in  the  sun,  or  in  a  stone  basin  over  the  fire, 
and  made  into  broad  thin  cakes.  This  bread  tastes  like  oat- 
cakes ;  and,  when  toasted  and  buttered,  forms  an  excellent 
tea-bread. 

The  water  employed  in  washing  the  grated  roots  is  not  to 
be  thrown  away,  but  suffered  to  settle.  The  sediment  makes 
a  fine  clear  starch.) 

58.  Jatropha  gossypifolia. — Belly-ache  Bush. 

Curcas. — English  Physic  Nut. 

multifid'a. — French  Physic  Nut. 


The  first  grows  wild  ;  the  second  is  planted  around  Negro 
gardens  ;  and  the  third  is  cultivated  as  an  ornamental  shrub. 

A  decoction  of  the  leaves  of  the  two  first  is  often  used  with 
advantage  in  spasmodic  belly-ache,  attended  with  vomiting. 
It  sits  easier  on  the  stomach  than  any  thing  else,  and  seldom 
fails  to  bring  about  a  discharge  by  stool. 

The  seeds  of  all  of  them  are  drastic  purgatives  and  emetics. 
They  yield,  by  decoction,  an  oil  of  the  same  uses  and  virtue- 
as  the  Oleum  ricini  ;  of  which  hereafter. 


220  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

(The  belly-ache  bush  is  low  and  jointed.  The  stem  is  her- 
baceous, and  it  sends  off  several  branches,  which  spread  along 
the  earth.  The  small  blossoms  are  red  ;  the  pods  as  large  as 
nutmegs,  containing  three  grey  seeds.  The  leaves  are  succu- 
lent, and  of  a  deep  green.  The  common  people  boil  them, 
and  give  them  with  butter  for  the  cure  of  belly-ache. 

The  English  physic  nut  is  of  speedy  growth.  It  grows  to 
the  height  of  from  five  to  ten  feet.  The  trunk  is  grey  and 
knotted ;  the  leaves  of  a  lively  green.  The  yellow  blossoms 
are  small,  and  grow  in  clusters.  The  nuts  are  as  large  as  wal- 
nuts, and  of  a  yellowish  cast.  When  ripe  they  contain  three 
kernels.  The  drastic  and  emetic  qualities  of  the  nut  are  said 
to  be  owing  to  a  thin  membrane  which  divides  the  kernels 
and  that  it  may  safely  be  eaten  when  the  membrane  is  removed. 

The  French  physic  nut,  or  castor-oil  nut-tree,  is  a  beauti- 
ful plant,  and  grows  in  the  gardens  of  the  curious  to  the  height 
of  three  feet.  The  trunks  are  knotted.  The  leaves  are  deep 
green,  and  finely  compounded.  The  cluster  of  red  flowers  is 
terminal.  The  fruit  is  of  the  bulk  of  a  walnut,  and  contains 
three  seeds.     These  nuts  are  sweet  and  purgative.) 

59.  Laeti a  apetala.— Gm?w-  Wood. 

This  tree  is  common  in  woodlands  and  copses ;  it  rises  to  a 
considerable  height  and  thickness.  The  trunks  are  smooth 
and  white ;  the  leaves  are  three  inches  long,  a  little  serrated, 
and  somewhat  hairy.  The  stamina  are  yellow,  without  petals ; 
the  fruit  is  as  large  as  a  plum,  and,  when  ripe,  opens  and  shews 
a  number  of  small  seeds  in  a  reddish  pulp. 

Pieces  of  the  trunk,  or  branches,  suspended  in  the  heat  of 
the  sun,  discharge  a  clear  turpentine,  or  balsam,  which  con_ 
cretes  into  a  white  resin,  and  which  seems  to  be  the  same  as 
gum  sandarach. 

Of  this  we  make  pounce ;  and  it  appears  to  me  that  this 
turpentine  or  gum  might  be  useful  in  medicine,  like  others  of 
the  same  nature. 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.    -—    221 

CO.  Lantana  camara.        )    *»,.,,* 

>    n  ltd  Sage. 
aculkata.  j  ° 

involucrata. — Sea-side  Sage. 

The  first  grows  wild  amongst  the  bushes,  and  is  remarkable 
for  the  beauty  of  its  flowers,  which  are  yellow,  tinged  with 
red. 

The  second  has  small  white  flowers,  and  dark-coloured 
rough  leaves  ;  it  also  grows  wild. 

The  third  species  is  found  near  the  sea.  It  is  a  low  plant ; 
has  small  ash-coloured  leaves,  and  a  most  agreeable  smell. 

The  leaves  of  all  these  lantanas,  and  particularly  of  the  sea- 
side sage,  are  used  by  the  black  people  in  teas,  for  colds, 
rheums,  and  weakness  of  the  stomach.  They  are  also  used 
with  alum  in  gargles. 

61.   Laurus  Cinnamomum — Cinnamon  Tree  of  Ceylon. 

This  Noble  plant,  with  other  valuable  ones,  was  taken  in  a 
French  ship,  and  Admiral  Rodney,  ever  attentive  to  the  pros- 
perity of  Jamaica,  presented  them  to  the  assembly  of  that 
island. 

One  of  the  trees  was  planted  in  the  botanic  garden  in  St  Tho- 
mas in  the  East ;  the  other  by  Hinton  East,  Esq.  in  his  noble 
garden  at  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Mountains.  From  these  parent 
trees  some  hundreds  of  young  trees  are  already  produced 
from  layers  and  cuttings,  and  dispersed  to  different  parts  of 
the  country,  in  all  which  it  thrives  luxuriantly,  with  little 
trouble  ;  we  may  therefore  hope  it  will  soon  be  a  valuable 
addition  to  our  commerce. 

The  smallest  bit  of  the  bark  is  quite  a  cordial.  The  cin- 
namon we  have  from  Holland  is  often  inert,  and  gives  room 
to  suspect  that  it  has  been  subjected  to  a  slight  process  in  dis- 
tillation. 


222  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

62.  Laurus  camphora. 

This  tree  is  another  of  the  captured  plants  given  to  the  in- 
habitants of  Jamaica.  It  is  common  enough  in  greenhouses 
in  Britain. 

If  cultivated  with  care,  it  will  also  be  an  acquisition.  Cam- 
phor, though  solid,  is  the  essential  oil  of  this  tree,  and  is  ob- 
tained by  distillation  in  the  East  Indies. 

63.  Laurus  Sassafras. 

This  is  .a  native  of  North  America,  and  grows  luxuriantly 
in  Mr  East's  garden.  When  propagated,  it  will  also  be  an 
article  of  trade  from  Jamaica. 

The  roots,  and  their  bark,  are  used  in  medicine,  and  the 
flowers  are  made  into  tea,  in  America,  as  the  rasping  of  the 
wood  is  with  us.  The  sassafras  roots  and  bark  are  an  excel- 
lent ingredient  in  the  decoction  of  woods. 

64.  Laurus  Persea. — Alligator  Pear. 

This  tree  has  neither  the  habit  nor  sensible  qualities  of  the 
genus  Laurus :  the  flowers,  however,  have  all  the  generic 
characters  of  it. 

The  alligator  pear-tree  is  cultivated  universally  by  all  ranks 
of  people.  It  runs  speedily  to  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  in 
height.  The  leaves  are  long,  oval,  and  pointed  ;  the  flowers 
yellow  and  small.  The  fruit  is  pear-shaped,  and  from  one 
to  two  pounds  in  weight. 

On  removing  a  green  skin  or  covering,  we  come  to  a  yel- 
low, butyraceous  substance,  and  in  the  heart  find  a  large 
round  seed  or  stone.  It  is  unequal  in  the  surface,  and  ex- 
ceedingly hard  and  woody. 

This  fruit  is  ripe  in  August  and  September,  and  consti- 
tutes one  of  the  most  agreeable  articles  of  diet,  for  six  or 
eight  weeks,  to  the  Negroes.     These  pears,  with  a  little  salt 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.     ^    2$3 

and  a  plantain  or  two,  afford  a  hearty  meal.  They  are  also 
served  up  at  the  tables  of  white  people  as  a  choice  fruit. 
When  the  pear  is  ripe,  the  yellow  or  eatable  substance  is 
firmer  than  butter,  and  tastes  somewhat  like  butter  or  mar- 
row :  hence  it  is  called  by  some  the  vegetable  marrow.  But, 
however  excellent  this  fruit  is  when  ripe,  it  is  very  dangerous 
when  pulled  and  eaten  before  maturity.  I  have  repeatedly 
known  it  to  produce  fever  and  dysentery,  which  were  removed 
with  difficulty. 

The  leaves  of  this  tree,  and  those  of  the  bead-vine  or  wild 
liquorice  *  are  made  into  pectoral  decoctions  by  the  common 
people. 

The  large  stone  is  used  for  marking  linen.  The  cloth  is 
tied  or  held  over  the  stone,  and  the  letters  pricked  out  by  a 
needle  through  the  cloth  and  into  the  seed.  The  stain  is  a 
reddish-brown,  which  never  washes  out. 

(The  trunk  is  covered  with  a  grey  bark.  The  leaves  are 
shining,  numerous,  and  of  a  lively  green  colour.  What  is 
uncommon,  the  flowers  are  proliferous,  for,  after  the  first 
blossoms  appear,  young  leaves  shoot  out  from  the  middle  of 
the  flowers.  The  fruit  is  of  two  kinds,  the  green  and  the 
red.  The  former  is  preferred.  It  is  eaten  with  bread,  salt, 
and  pepper.  Its  taste  is  like  that  of  butter  or  marrow,  but 
is  considerably  more  palatable.  Europeans  at  first  do  not 
generally  like  it ;  but  they  soon  acquire  a  relish  for  it.  It 
constitutes  a  principal  part  of  the  food  of  all  classes ;  and  it 
is  eaten  greedily  by  the  lower  animals,  from  horses,  cattle, 
and  poultry,  to  lizards  and  insects.) 

65.  Malvaceje  (Ordo  naturalis.) 

Under  this   title  we  may  comprehend   the  whole  tribe  of 
plants  in  the  sixteenth  class  of  Linnaeus,  and  the  natural  or- 
*  Abrus  precatorius. 


224  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

der  Columnijerce.  All  of  them  are  mucilaginous,  sapona- 
ceous, and  emollient,  and  may  safely  be  employed  where  mu- 
cilaginous and  emollient  medicines  are  indicated. 

A  decoction  of  the  common  broomweed  *  in  the  West  In- 
dies, or  of  the  various  species  of  Sida,  may  properly  be  sub- 
stituted in  the  room  of  marshmallow  roots. 

Many  of  them  yield  gums,  which  are  of  a  similar  nature 
to  that  of  the  cashew.  Some  are  used  as  food,  and  are  highly 
restorative.  We  spoke  of  this  above,  under  the  name  of  Hi- 
biscus esculentus,  Okra. 

66.  Maranta  arundinacra. — Indian  Arrow  Root. —  The  Starch 

Plant. 

This  is  cultivated  in  gardens  and  in  provision-grounds.  It 
rises  to  two  feet,  has  broad  pointed  leaves,  small  white  flowers, 
and  one  seed. 

The  roots,  when  a  year  old,  are  dug  up,  well  washed  in 
water,  and  then  beaten  in  large  deep  wooden  mortars  to  a 
pulp.  This  is  thrown  into  a  large  tub  of  clean  water.  The 
whole  is  then  well  stirred,  and  the  fibrous  part  wrung  out  by 
the  hands,  and  thrown  away.  The  milky  liquor  being  pas- 
sed through  a  hair-sieve,  or  coarse  cloth,  is  suffered  to  settle, 
and  the  clear  water  is  drained  off.  At  the  bottom  of  the  ves- 
sel is  a  white  mass,  which  is  again  mixed  with  clean  water, 
and  drained  :  lastly,  the  mass  is  dried  on  sheets  in  the  sun, 
and  is  pure  starch.  (The  starch  or  flower  is  often  baked  into 
cakes,  with  eggs  and  butter,  or  boiled  into  pap  or  gruel.) 

A  decoction  of  the  fresh  roots  makes  an  excellent  ptisan  in 
acute  diseases. 

(The  leaves  are  broad,  smooth,  pointed,  and  of  a  lively 
green  colour.  The  flowers  are  small  and  white.  The  roots 
are  white,  and  jointed  like  the  arrows  of  the  Indians.     The 

"  Sirla  alnifolia  and  rhombifolia. 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.  ^     225 

plant  is  propagated  by  dividing  the  roots,  and  is  fit  to  be  dug 
up  in  nine  or  ten  months  from  the  time  of  planting.  The 
roots  send  out  numerous  branches,  and  are  thicker  than  a 
man's  thumb.) 

67-  Mimosa  tortuosa. — Poponax  Bush. 

NlLOTICA.  ) 

V  {jUHi-ambic  1  rees. 

SENEGAL,    j 

The  first  of  these  has  probably  been  imported,  and  at  pre- 
sent grows  too  abundantly,  as  it  is  a  thorny  troublesome 
bush. 

The  others  have  been  lately  introduced  from  Guinea. 
They  are  trees  of  about  twenty  feet  high.  I  saw  them  in  the 
garden  of  Dr  Paterson,  at  Green  Island,  Jamaica.  The  Ni- 
lotica,  on  being  cut  a  little,  yielded  a  good  deal  of  transpa- 
rent gum. 

These  several  species  have  small  pinnated  leaves,  which 
are  nearly  as  sensible,  on  being  touched,  as  those  of  the  Mi- 
mosa pudica.  The  flowers  are  yellow  buttons,  which,  when 
rubbed,  are  very  fragrant.  All  of  them  afford  gum-arabic 
in  lesser  or  greater  quantities,  and  more  or  less  transparent. 

68.  Mirabilis  Jalapa. — Four  o  Clocks. 

This  is  frequently  met  with  in  the  gardens  of  the  curious 
in  Great  Britain.  It  grows  wild  in  Jamaica,  and  is  a  trouble- 
some weed.  Some  have  red  flowers,  some  yellow,  and  others 
flowers  finely  variegated. 

It  has  a  large  tap-root,  which,  when  cut  across,  is  not  un- 
like that  of  jalap ;  but  when  dried,  is  white,  light,  and 
spongy.  It  requires  to  be  given  in  a  great  quantity  to  ope- 
rate as  a  purge,  and  is  probably  the  mechoacanna  of  the  an- 
cients, but  not  the  jalap,  which  belongs  to  the  genus  Convol- 
vulus. 


c226  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 


69.  Musa  paradisiaca. — Plantain  Tree. 

Sapientu.m. — Banana. 

troglodytarum. —  Wild  Plantain. 

The  plantain  tree  is  cultivated  on  a  very  extensive  scale  in 
Jamaica.     The  fruit  is  the  chief  support  of  the  inhabitants. 

The  leaves  are  six  or  eight  feet  long,  and  from  two  to  three 
feet  broad.  The  flowers  are  from  a  spatha,  and  are  covered 
with  purple  deciduous  calyces.  The  fruit  or  plantains  are 
about  a  foot  long,  round,  and  a  little  bent.  When  ripe,  they 
grow  yellow,  soft,  and  sweet.  The  seeds  are  larger  than 
mustard,  dark  coloured,  and  numerous  ;  they  never  vegetate ; 
the  tree  is  propagated  by  shoots. 

Plantains  are  cut  when  full  grown,  but  before  they  are 
ripe.  The  green  skin  is  pulled  off,  and  the  heart  is  roasted 
in  a  clear  fire  for  a  few  minutes,  and  frequently  turned  :  it  is 
ihen  scraped,  and  served  up  as  bread.  Boiled  plantains  are 
not  so  palatable. 

The  banana-tree  bears  a  smaller  fruit  than  the  plantain. 
It  is  never  eaten  green  ;  but  when  ripe  it  is  very  agreeable, 
either  eaten  raw,  or  fried  in  slices  as  fritters. 

Plantains  and  bananas  are  eaten  by  all  ranks  of  people  in 
Jamaica ;  and  but  for  plantains  the  island  would  scarcely  be 
habitable,  as  no  species  of  provision  could  supply  their  place. 
Even  flour,  or  bread  itself,  would  be  less  agreeable,  and  less 
able  to  support  the  laborious  Negro,  so  as  to  enable  him  to 
do  his  business,  or  to  keep  in  health. 

Plantains  also  fatten  horses,  cattle,  swine,  dogs,  fowls,  and 
other  domestic  animals. 

The  wild  plantain  has  no  fruit  eatable.  The  leaves  of  all 
the  species  are  nearly  alike ;  and  as  they  are  smooth  and 
soft,  they  are  employed  as  dressings  after  blisters. 

The  water  from  the  soft  trunk  is  astringent,  and  employed 
by  some  to  check  diarrhoeas. 


MEDICINAL   PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.  ^27 

Every  other  part  of  the  tree  is  useful  in  different  part-  of 
rural  economy. 

(Towards  the  base  of  the  trunk,  its  diameter  is  about  ten 
inches.  It  tapers  to  the  height  of  ten  or  fifteen  feet,  where 
it  sends  off'  leaves.  The  young  leaves  are  rolled  up  in  a  cu- 
rious cylindrical  manner.  They  are  very  soft,  and  seem  to 
be  intended  by  nature  as  a  cooling  dressing  in  scalds,  and  af- 
ter blisters.  The  tree  is  truly  foliaceous.  On  pulling  a  leaf, 
you  may  strip  the  tree  from  top  to  bottom.  The  blossoms 
are  in  rows,  covered  by  a  thick  purple  spatha.  Jtipe  plan- 
tains sliced  and  fried,  resemble  pancakes. 

On  stripping  the  shreds  of  plantain-bark,  we  get  a  fine  fila- 
mentous substance  like  silk,  which  has  been  found  to  be  ca- 
pable of  being  wrought  into  various  stuff's.  On  cutting  the 
pith,  a  portion  of  this  cotton  adheres  to  the  knife.) 

70.   Myrtus  Pimknto. — Allspice,  Jamaica  Pepper,  or  Pimento 

Tree. 

This  is  a  native  of  Jamaica,  and  grows  in  all  the  wood- 
lands on  the  north  side. 

Pimento-walks  are  upon  a  large  scale,  since  they  contain 
at  times  some  hundred  acres  of  ground.  This  is  one  of  the 
staple  articles  of  Jamaica. 

This  tree  has  bay-leaves  ;  the  flower  resembles  that  of  the 
elder.  The  fruit  is  a  black  berry,  as  big  as  a  black  currant 
when  ripe,  and  contains  two  grey  smooth  seeds. 

As  soon  as  the  berries  are  of  the  proper  size,  and  just  before 
they  begin  to  be  ripe,  a  number  of  hands  are  employed  to 
gather  them.  They  are  then  dried  on  platforms  or  sheets, 
and  afterwards  put  up  in  bags  of  one  hundred  weight,  for  the 
European  market. 

Pimento  possesses  the  flavour  and  qualities  of  all  the  eastern 

P  2 


228  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

spices :  it  enters  into  many  of  the  officinal  preparations,  and 
is  the  chief  ingredient  in  the  marischal  hair-powder. 

71.  Passiflora  HEXANGULARis. — Granadilla. 

maliformis — Water  Lemon. 

Laurifolia. — Sweet  Calabash. 

All  these  species  are  cultivated  in  Jamaica.  They  are  all 
eatable  ;  but  the  pulp  of  the  ripe  granadilla  is  very  delicious. 
Their  taste  is  sweet  and  subacid,  and  relished  by  almost  every 
body,  particularly  by  the  sick  in  acute  continued  fevers. 

The  thick  rind  of  unripe  granadilla  is  often  made  into 
pickles,  or  preserved  with  sugar  as  sweetmeats. 

72.  Passiflora  rubra. —  The  Dutchman's  Laudanum. 

This  is  a  strong  woody  vine  that  mounts  the  tallest  trees, 
and  sends  forth  vast  numbers  of  crimson  flowers.  The  fruit 
is  black,  and  of  the  size  of  a  cherry. 

A  Dutch  physician,  who  lived  in  Hanover  Parish,  per- 
formed some  remarkable  cures  in  fevers,  by  the  use  of  the 
flowers  and  berries ;  but  opium  has  superior  virtues ;  and 
the  other  is  now  laid  aside  as  an  anodyne  of  less  advantage. 

(When  the  berries  are  ripe,  they  split  open  like  a  star,  and 
discharge  a  sweet  pulp,  with  many  small  seeds. 

On  breaking  the  stalks,  a  white  milky  juice  runs  out.  The 
slip,  when  eaten  with  other  plants,  is  poison  to  hogs. 

By  some  persons  this  vine  is  held  in  great  esteem,  as  a 
mild  and  safe  opiate  in  fevers,  where  opium  would  be  unsafe. 
Twenty-four  of  the  blossoms  infused  in  hot  water,  and  drank 
at  twice,  is  a  dose  ;  or  twelve  of  the  berries  eaten  are  said  to 
have  the  same  effect.  Great  caution,  however,  is  required  in 
its  use,  as  it  proves  so  pernicious  when  eaten  by  the  brute 
creation. 

Gentlemen  of  the  faculty  who  reside  in  warm  climates,  are 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.      ^  229 

greatly  obliged  to  our  countryman  Dr  Lind,  for  his  essay  on 
the  disorders  incident  to  strangers  in  warm  climates.  Lau- 
danum is  recommended  to  remove  the  hot  fits  of  intermittents, 
and  to  promote  sleep  and  perspiration.  Fresh  air  in  all  dis- 
orders is  insisted  on  ;  and  this  method  is  attended  with  amaz- 
ing success.  Thousands  of  lives  will  annually  be  saved  by 
these  salutary  admonitions.) 

73.  Picrania  amara  *. — Bitter  Wood. 

This  is  a  tall  and  beautiful  timber  tree,  which  is  common 
in  the  woods  in  Jamaica.  Sir  Joseph  Banks  had  sprigs  of 
the  flowers  and  seeds  in  spirits,  from  me,  and  we  found  it  a 
new  genus,  belonging  to  the  Pentandria  Monogynia  of  Lin- 
naeus.    The  name  is  expressive  of  its  sensible  qualities. 

Every  part  of  this  tree  is  intensely  bitter  ;  and  even  after 
the  tree  has  been  laid  for  floors  many  years,  whoever  rubs  or 
scrapes  the  wood,  feels  a  great  degree  of  bitterness  in  their 
mouths  or  throats.  Cabinet  work  made  of  this  wood  is  very 
useful,  as  no  insect  will  live  near  it. 

This  tree  has  a  great  affinity  to  the  Quassia  amara  of  Lin- 
naeus ;  in  lieu  of  which  it  is  used  as  an  antiseptic  in  putrid 
fevers.  When  used,  less  of  it  will  do  than  of  the  Quassia 
amara  of  Surinam. 

74.  Piper  Amalago. — Black  Pepper  of  Jamaica. 
in^quale. — Long  Pepper  of  Ditto. 

These,  and  some  other  species,  are  indigenous,  and  known 
by  the  names  of  Joint  Wood,  or  Peppery  Elders. 

The  first  bears  a  small  spike,  on  which  are  attached  a 
number  of  small  seeds  of  the  size  of  mustard.  The  whole 
of  the  plant  has  the  exact  taste  of  the  East  India  black  pep- 
per. 

The  long  pepper-bush  grows  taller  than  the  amalago.     The 

*  Quassia  excelsa. 


230  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

leaves  are  broad,  smooth,  and  shining.  The  fruit  is  similar 
to  the  long  pepper  of  the  shops,  but  smaller. 

The  common  people  in  Jamaica  season  their  messes  with 
the  black  pepper. 

To  preserve  both,  the  fruit  may  be  slightly  scalded  when 
green,  then  dried,  and  wrapped  in  paper.  Perhaps  hereafter 
they  may  be  deemed  worthy  of  attention. 

(The  Piper  amalago  must  be  gathered  before  it  is  quite 
ripe,  and  dried  in  the  sun  like  pimento. 

The  blossoms  of  the  Piper  inaequale  are  disposed  on  a 
spike  of  two  inches,  beset  with  small  and  almost  imperceptible 
florets,  of  a  duskish  white  hue.  The  fruit  is  of  the  size,  and 
every  way  like,  the  long  pepper  brought  from  the  East  Indies. 
When  green  it  is  very  hot,  but  loses  its  pungency  on  drying. 
We  have  not  the  method  of  curing  it  properly  ;  for,  when 
dried  ever  so  often,  it  again  grows  moist.) 

75.    PoRTLANDIA  GRANDIFLORA. 

Dr  Browne  has  described  this  plant,  and  given  a  good 
figure  of  it.  It  has  frequently  flowered  in  the  King's  garden 
at  Kew,  and  in  Dr  Pitcajrn's  at  Islington. 

The  external  bark  is  remarkably  rough,  furrowed,  and 
thick  :  it  has  no  taste.  The  inner  bark  is  very  thin,  and  of  a 
dark  brown  colour.  Its  taste  is  bitter  and  astringent,  and  its 
virtues  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  Jesuit's  bark.  Infused 
in  spirits,  or  wine,  with  a  little  orange  peel,  it  makes  an  ex- 
cellent stomachic  tincture. 

76.  Ricinus  communis. — Palma  Chrlsfi. — Castor-oil  Nt/t 
Tree. 

This  tree  is  of  speedy  growth,  as  in  one  year  it  arrives  at 
its  full  height,  which  seldom  exceeds  twenty  feet.  The  trunk 
is  subligneous  ;    the  pith  is  large ;   the  leaves  broad  and  pal- 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.  23.1 

mated  ;  the  flower  spike  is  simple,  and  thickly  set  with  yel- 
low blossoms,  in  the  shape  of  a  cone  ;  the  capsules  are  tri- 
angular and  prickly,  containing  three  smooth  grey  mottled 
seeds. 

When  the  bunches  begin  to  turn  black,  they  are  gathered, 
dried  in  the  sun,  and  the  seeds  picked  out.  They  are  af- 
terwards put  up  for  use  as  wanted,  or  for  exportation. 

Castor  oil  is  obtained  either  by  expression  or  by  decoctiom 
The  first  method  is  practised  in  England  ;  the  latter  in  Ja- 
maica. It  is  common  first  to  parch  the  nuts  or  seeds  in  an 
iron  pot  over  the  fire  ;  but  this  gives  the  oil  an  empyreumatic 
taste,  smell  and  colour  ;  and  it  is  best  prepared  in  this  man- 
ner : — 

A  large  iron  pot  or  boiler  is  first  prepared,  and  half  filled 
with  water.  The  nuts  are  then  beaten  in  parcels,  in  deep 
wooden  mortars,  and,  after  a  quantity  is  beaten,  it  is  thrown 
into  the  iron  vessel.  The  fire  is  then  lighted,  and  the  liquor 
is  gently  boiled  for  two  hours,  and  kept  constantly  stirred. 
About  this  time  the  oil  begins  to  separate,  and  swims  on 
the  top,  mixed  with  a  white  froth,  and  is  skimmed  off  till  no 
more  rises.  The  skimmings  are  heated  in  a  small  iron  pot, 
and  strained  through  a  cloth.  When  cold,  it  is  put  up  in 
jars  or  bottles  for  use. 

Castor  oil,  thus  made,  is  clear  and  well  flavoured,  and,  if 
put  into  proper  bottles,  will  keep  sweet  for  years. 

The  expressed  castor  oil  soon  turns  rancid,  because  the 
mucilaginous  and  acrid  parts  of  the  nut  are  squeezed  out  with 
the  oil.  On  this  account  I  give  the  preference  to  well  prepared 
oil  by  decoction. 

An  English  gallon  of  the  seeds  yields  about  two  pounds  of 
oil,  which  is  a  great  proportion. 

Before  the  disturbances  in  America,  the  planters  imported 

train  oil  for  lamps  and  other  purposes,  about  sugar  works. 

2 


232  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

It  is  now  found  that  the  castor  oil  can  be  procured  as  cheap 
as  the  fish  oil  of  America  :  it  burns  clearer,  and  has  not  any 
offensive  smell.  This  oil,  too,  is  fit  for  all  the  purposes  of 
the  painter,  or  for  the  apothecary  in  ointments  and  plasters. 

As  a  medicine,  it  purges  without  stimulus,  and  is  so  mild 
as  to  be  given  to  infants  soon  after  birth,  to  purge  off  the 
meconium.  All  oils  are  noxious  to  insects,  but  the  castor  oil 
kills  and  expels  them.  It  is  generally  given  as  a  purge  af- 
ter using  the  cabbage-bark  some  days. 

In  constipation  and  belly-ache  this  oil  is  used  with  remark- 
able success.  It  sits  well  on  the  stomach,  allays  the  spasm, 
and  brings  about  a  plentiful  evacuation  by  stool,  especially  if 
at  the  same  time  fomentations,  or  the  warm  bath,  are  used. 

Belly-ache  is  at  present  less  frequent  in  Jamaica  than  for- 
merly, owing  to  several  causes.  The  inhabitants,  in  general, 
live  better,  and  drink  better  liquors  ;  but  the  excessive  drink- 
ing of  new  rum  still  makes  it  frequent  amongst  soldiers,  sail- 
ors, and  the  lower  order  of  white  people.  I  have  known  it 
happen  too,  from  visceral  obstructions  after  intermittents,  or 
marsh  fevers,  in  Jamaica. 

(There  are  three  kinds  of  the  Palma  Christi,  which  can 
only  be  distinguished  by  the  fruit.  1st,  The  rough,  large 
and  prickly  skinned  oil- nut.  M,  The  small  prickly  oil-nut ; 
and,  3d,  The  smooth  skinned  oil-nut.  The  two  first-are  the 
best ;  the  last  being  often  useless. 

The  castor-oil  nut-tree  grows  wild  in  the  West  Indies.  It 
is  cultivated  in  the  gardens  of  the  curious  in  Europe.  In 
Jamaica  it  is  triennial.  The  leaves  are  broad,  shining,  and  of 
a  deep  green  colour.  The  berries  when  dry,  open  in  three 
compartments,  and  contain  three  rounded  seeds,  of  the  size, 
shape  and  colour  of  a  tick  ;  hence  its  Latin  name. 

On  exposure  to  the  sun,   the  pericarpium  splits  open,  and 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.  233 

the  seeds  [i\y  out.  The  oil  is  best  obtained  by  expression, 
although  the  method  by  decoction  is  more  in  use.  If  the 
pounded  nuts  are  boiled  in  salt  water,  they  will  yield  more 
oil,  and  more  speedily,  than  in  fresh. 

A  medicine  of  this  sort  was  long  wanted.  Without  heating 
or  stimulating  the  intestines,  it  sheaths  them,  while  it  evacu- 
ates their  contents. 

I  give  two  spoonfuls  every  two  hours  in  belly-aches  or  con- 
stipation of  the  bowels.  In  diarrhoeas  and  dysenteries  at- 
tended with  pains,  bloody  stools  and  tenesmus,  this  medicine 
commonly  gives  relief.  It  may  also  be  given  with  safety  in 
bilious  and  inflammatory  disorders.) 

77-  Saccharum  officinale. — Sugar  Cane. 

This  is  a  native  of  Africa,  the  East  Indies,  and  of  Brazil  ; 
from  whence  it  was  introduced  into  our  West  India  islands 
soon  after  they  were  settled. 

The  sugar  cane  is  the  glory  and  the  pride  of  those  islands. 
It  amply  rewards  the  industrious  planter,  enriches  the  British 
merchant,  gives  bread  to  thousands  of  manufacturers  and  sea- 
men, and  brings  an  immense  revenue  to  the  crown. 

It  is  not  meant  here  to  say  any  thing  of  the  process  for 
making  sugar.  This  has  been  done  by  several  hands,  and 
particularly  by  Colonel  Martin,  of  Antigua,  and  by  Dr 
Grainger,  late  of  St  Christopher's,  in  his  elegant  poem  of 
the  Sugar  Cane. 

(It  is  sufficient  here  to  observe,  that  in  twelve  months 
from  the  time  of  planting,  the  yellow  ripe  canes  are  sent  to 
the  mill.  The  juice  squeezed  out  runs  in  gutterings  to  the 
boiling  house,  mixed  with  a  due  quantity  of  the  ley  of  white 
lime  and  ashes.  Boiled,  skimmed,  and  shifted  from  one  cop- 
per to  another,  till  at  last,-  being  of  a  thick  consistence,  it  is 


234  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

cast  into  broad  flat  troughs  to  cool.  The  sugar  next  day  is 
put  into  conical  pots  to  drain,  and  afterwards  into  hogsheads 
for  the  European  market. 

The  skimmings  from  the  coppers  and  drainings  from  the 
pots  and  hogsheads  run  in  gutterings  to  the  still-house,  where, 
after  being  fermented  in  cisterns,  they  are  distilled  into  rum. 

Nor  is  any  part  of  this  plant  useless.  The  tops  are  fine 
food  for  cattle,  or,  when  dry,  an  excellent  thatch  for  houses. 
Even  the  refuse  from  the  mill  is  dried,  and  makes  good  fuel 
for  boiling  sugar.  The  ashes  taste  very  strong,  and  with 
little  trouble  might  produce  a  great  deal  of  fixed  salt.) 

Sugar,  formerly  a  luxury,  is  now  become  one  of  the  neces- 
saries of  life.  In  crop  time  every  Negro  on  the  plantations, 
and  every  animal,  even  the  dogs,  grow  fat.  This  sufficiently 
points  out  the  nourishing  and  healthy  qualities  of  sugar.  It 
has  been  alleged  that  the  eating  of  sugar  spoils  the  colour  of, 
and  corrupts,  the  teeth  :  this,  however,  proves  to  be  a  mistake, 
for  no  people  on  the  earth  have  finer  teeth  than  the  Negroes 
in  Jamaica. 

Dr  Alston,  formerly  professor  of  botany  and  materia 
medica  at  Edinburgh,  endeavoured  to  obviate  this  vulgar 
opinion :  he  had  a  fine  set  of  teeth,  which  he  ascribed  solely 
to  his  eating  great  quantities  of  sugar. 

In  medicine  I  need  say  little  of  the  use  of  sugar.  Ex- 
ternally it  is  often  useful :  mixed  with  the  pulp  of  roasted 
oranges  *,  and  applied  to  putrid  or  ill-disposed  ulcers,  it 
proves  a  powerful  corrector. 

(The  culm  or  stalk  is  of  the  gramineous  kind,  and  from 
fifteen  to  sixteen  feet  high  ;  the  joints  are  two  or  three  inches 
apart,  and  the  trunk  is  thicker  than  a  walking  stick. 

•  Vide  Citrus. 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.  235 

The  leaves  are  long,  feel  rough,  and  are  of  a  fine  green 
colour.  Sometimes  a  tall,  spiry,  and  grass-like  panicle  of 
flowers  appears,  known  by  the  name  of  arrows.  The  seeds 
never  come  to  perfection.  The  plant  is  propagated  by  lay- 
ing a  few  joints  of  the  cane  in  the  earth.) 

78.  Sesamum  indicum. — Vanglo. 

The  oil  seed,  or  vanglo  plant,  was  first  introduced  into 
Jamaica  by  the  Jews  as  an  article  of  food.  It  is  cultivated 
in  gardens  and  provision  grounds. 

The  plant  is  annual  and  herbaceous,  rising  to  about  three 
feet.  The  flowers  are  numerous,  white,  and  belono-  to  the 
class  Didynamia  of  Linn.*us.  The  pods  are  about  the 
thickness  of  one's  little  finger,  and  contain  a  great  number  of 
small  white  seeds. 

In  diet  the  Negroes  boil  this  in  soups  and  broths,  instead 
of  flesh  meat.  The  Jews,  besides  this,  make  cakes  of  it  to 
eat  as  bread.  The  expressed  oil  is  as  clear  and  sweet  as  oil 
of  almonds,  and  keeps  better.  The  Behen's  oil,  so  useful  for 
the  finest  varnish  in  coach  painting,  is  probably  no  other  than 
that  of  the  vanglo.  The  proportion  of  oil  in  this  seed  is 
great,  nine  pounds  yielding  two  pounds  of  oil. 

79.  Smilax  Sarsaparilla — Sarsaparilla  Root. 

Several  species  of  smilax  have  roots  nearly  similar  :  but 
that  from  Honduras  and  Campechy  is  the  best. 

This  species  has  stems  of  the  thickness  of  a  man's  finder: 
they  are  jointed,  triangular,  and  beset  with  crooked  spines. 
The  leaves  are  alternate  ;  smooth  and  shining  on  the  upper 
side  ;  on  the  other  side  are  three  nerves  or  costse,  with  sundry 
small  crooked  spines.  The  flower  is  yellow,  mixed  with  red. 
The  fruit  is  a  black  berry,  containing  several  brown  seeds. 

Sarsaparilla  delights  in  low,  moist  grounds,  and  near  the 
banks  of  rivers.     The  roots  run  superficially  under  the  sur- 


236  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

face  of  the  ground.  The  gatherers  have  only  to  loosen  the 
soil  a  little,  and  to  draw  out  the  long  fibres  with  a  wooden  hook. 
In  this  manner  they  proceed  till  the  whole  root  is  got  out.  It  is 
then  cleared  of  the  mud,  dried,  and  made  into  bundles.  The 
sensible  qualities  of  sarsaparilla  are  mucilaginous  and  farina- 
ceous, with  a  slight  degree  of  acrimony.  The  latter,  however, 
is  so  slight  as  not  to  be  perceived  by  many ;  and  I  am  apt  to 
believe  that  its  medicinal  powers  may  fairly  be  ascribed  to  its 
demulcent  and  farinaceous  qualities. 

Since  the  publication  of  Sir  William  Fordyce's  paper  on 
sarsaparilla  in  the  Medical  Observations  and  Inquiries,  vol.  i. 
sarsaparilla  has  been  in  more  general  use  than  formerly. 

The  planters  in  Jamaica  supply  their  estates  with  great 
quantities  of  it ;  and  its  exhibition  has  been  attended  with 
very  happy  consequences  in  the  yaws  and  in  venereal  affec- 
tions, as  nodes,  tophi,  and  exostosis,  pains  of  the  bones,  and 
carious  or  cancerous  ulcers. 

Sir  William  Fordyce  seems  to  think  sarsaparilla  a  speci- 
fic in  all  stages  of  lues  ;  but  from  an  attentive  and  careful  ob- 
servation of  its  effects  in  some  thousands  of  cases,  I  must  de- 
clare I  could  place  no  dependence  on  sarsaparilla  alone.  But 
if  mercury  had  formerly  been  tried,  or  was  used  along  with 
sarsaparilla,  a  speedy  cure  was  soon  effected.  Where  the 
patients  had  been  reduced  by  pain,  disorder,  and  mercury, 
I  prescribed  a  decoction  of  sarsaparilla,  and  a  table  spoonful  of 
the  powder  of  the  same,  twice  a  day,  with  the  greatest  success 
in  the  most  deplorable  cases  of  lues,  ill  cured  yaws,  and  cari- 
ous or  ill  disposed  sores,  or  cancers. 

There  are  only  a  few  sarsaparilla  plants  in  Jamaica ;  but 
it  might  be  cultivated  there,  and  save  the  planter  an  immense 
expence. 

We  have  also  the  China  root  growing  wild  in  Jamaica  ;  but 
it  is  seldom  used  in  practice. 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.  -**     237 

80.  Spigelia  anthelminthica — Worm-Grass. 

Worm-grass  grows  wild  in  some  parts  of  Jamaica,  but  is 
commonly  planted  in  gardens.  It  grows  sometimes  to  two 
feet  in  height.  Dr  Browne  gives  a  very  just  figure  of  this 
plant. 

The  flowers  are  small  and  white  ;  the  capsules  are  round, 
and  contain  a  great  quantity  of  small  seeds. 

Worm-grass  has  long  been  in  repute  as  a  vermifuge,  and 
is  in  daily  use  as  such  in  Jamaica.  Its  action  is  similar  to 
that  of  the  Spigelia  marilandica.  Most  vegetable  anthelminthics 
have  less  or  more  of  a  narcotic  effect  ;  and  this  genus,  in  a 
full  dose,  brightens  the  coats  of  the  eyes,  and  distends  their 
vessels  :  it  also  occasions  sleep,  and  hence  is  useful  in  worm 
fever.  After  its  use  for  some  days,  a  dose  of  castor  oil  is  gene- 
rally ordered.  Let  me  here  again  be  permitted  to  repeat  the 
uncertainty  of  the  signs  of  worms,  especially  in  fever,  and  to 
caution  the  public  against  depending  on  anthelminthics  alone  in 
their  cure.  The  Jesuit's  bark  should  be  given  in  all  doubtful 
cases,  or  where  worm  medicines  fail  in  their  effects. 

81.  Swietenia  Mahagoni. —  The  Mahogany  Tree  of  Jamaica. 

This  tree  grows  to  a  most  majestic  size  and  height.  It  is  of 
slow  growth,  and  great  hardness.  The  wood  is  well  known 
in  Britain. 

Mahogany  was  formerly  very  plentiful  in  Jamaica,  but  is 
now  only  in  the  high  hills,  and  difficult  of  access. 

The  trunk  is  generally  straight ;  the  bark  rough,  scaly,  and 
brown ;  that  on  the  boughs  and  twigs  is  grey  and  smoother. 
The  bark  of  the  boughs  and  twigs,  when  dried,  is  very  like 
the  Peruvian  bark  in  colour,  as  well  as  in  taste,  but  has  more 
bitterness,  and  none  of  its  virtues. 

Mahogany  bark,  infused  in  wine  or  spirits,  makes  an  ele- 
gant tincture,  which  resembles  the  tincture  of  the  best  Jesuit's 


238  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

bark,  for  which  it  is  often  substituted  ;  and  I  have  seen  the 
powder  administered  in  intermittents  with  success,  when  the 
Peruvian  bark  could  not  be  had. 

(Towards  the  top  it  sends  off  long  spreading  branches,  hav- 
ing; light  coloured  and  sometimes  red  or  withered  like  leaves. 
The  blossoms  are  numerous,  small  and  yellow.  The  fruit 
is  an  oval  pod,  about  the  size  of  a  goose's  egg  ;  when  ripe  the 
hard  pericarpium  splits  open  on  the  tree,  and  the  seeds  fall  to 
the  ground. 

The  quality  of  the  wood  varies  according  to  the  soil  and 
situation.  That  which  grows  on  mountainous  or  rocky  places 
is  generally  of  a  closer  texture  than  what  is  found  on  low  sa- 
vannahs and  swamps.  This  may  account  for  the  Spanish  ma- 
hogany being  of  coarser  grain,  and  therefore  of  less  value,  than 
the  Jamaica  wood.  The  people  who  go  from  Jamaica  to  Cuba 
cut  their  mahogany  near  the  sea,  and  bring  it  away  by  stealth. 
No  doubt  the  hilly  inland  places  produce  as  good  timber  as 
ours.) 

82.  Tamarindus  Indica — The  Tamarind  Tree. 

This  beautiful,  shady,  and  useful  tree,  is  cultivated  all  over 
the  West  Indies.  It  rises  to  thirty  or  forty  feet  high.  The 
trunk  is  brown,  scaly,  and  of  a  good  size.  The  wood  is 
brown,  very  hard,  and  takes  a  fine  polish. 

The  branches  are  spreading :  the  leaves  small,  numerous, 
and  pinnated.  The  flowers  yellow,  and  beautifully  streaked 
with  crimson  ;  they  continue  during  the  whole  of  June  and 
July,  and  then  drop  off. 

The  fruit  is  a  broad,  ash-coloured  pod.  The  external  cover- 
ing is  thin  and  brittle.  This  being  removed,  we  find  several 
hard  seeds,  like  beans,  enveloped  in  a  soft  brown  pulp,  which 
is  secured  by  sundry  longitudinal  woody  fibres.  This  fruit 
is  ripe  about  Easter,  when  it  is  picked  off  the  trees,  and  put 
up  for  use. 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.    «—  C2W 

Tamarinds  are  prepared  or  cured  two  ways.  The  com- 
mon way  is  to  throw  hot  sugar  from  the  boilers  on  the  ripe 
pulp  :  but  a  better  method  is  to  put  alternate  layers  of  tama- 
rinds and  powdered  sugar  in  a  stone  jar.  By  this  means 
the  tamarinds  preserve  their  colour,  and  taste  more  agreeably. 
The  seeds,  too,  of  tamarinds,  thus  prepared,  will  vegetate 
easily  ;  and  this  method  conveys  a  hint  for  sending  succu- 
lent berries  and  seeds  in  tamarinds  from  abroad. 

Preserved  tamarinds  are  kept  in  most  houses  in  Jamaica, 
either  as  a  sweetmeat,  or  for  occasional  use  as  a  medicine. 
They  are  cooling,  laxative,  and  antiseptic  ;  hence  useful  in 
acute  and  putrid  diseases. 

Dr  Zimmerman  prescribes  tamarinds  in  putrid  dysentery. 
I  commonly  add  a  portion  of  Epsom  salts,  till  stools  are  pro- 
cured ;  afterwards,  tamarinds  alone  till  the  disorder  is  cured. 

In  obstinate  dysenteries  I  have  found  five  grains  of  calo- 
mel act  like  a  charm,  whether  the  disorder  was  kept  up  by 
bilious  obstructions  or  worms. 

(The  Tamarind  tree  does  not  seem  to  be  a  native  of  the 
West  Indies,  since  it  is  only  found  where  settlements  have  been 
made.     It  continues  to  thrive  above  an  hundred  years.) 

83.  Theobroma  Cacao. — Chocolate  Tree. 
In  all  the  French  and  Spanish  islands  and  settlements,  in  the 
warmer  parts  of  America,  the  chocolate  tree  is  carefully  cul- 
tivated. This  was  formerly  the  case  also  in  Jamaica  ;  but 
at  present  we  have  only  a  few  straggling  trees  left  as  monu- 
ments of  our  indolence  and  bad  policy.  This  tree  delights 
in  shady  places  and  deep  valleys.  It  is  seldom  above  twenty 
feet  high.  The  leaves  are  oblong,  large,  and  pointed.  The 
flowers  spring  from  the  trunk  and  large  branches  :  they  are 
small  and  pale  red.  The  pods  are  oval  and  pointed.  The 
seeds  or  nuts  are  numerous,  and  curiously  stowed  in  a  white 
pithy  substance. 


240  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

The  cocoa  nuts  beinggently  parched  in  an  iron  pot  over  afire, 
the  external  covering  separates  easily.  The  kernel  is  levigated 
on  a  smooth  stone  ;  a  little  arnotto  is  added,  and,  with  a  few 
drops  of  water,  is  reduced  to  amass,  and  formed  into  rolls  of 
one  pound  each.  This  simple  preparation  is  the  most  natu- 
ral, and  the  best.  It  is  in  daily  use  in  most  families  in 
Jamaica,  and  seems  well  adapted  for  rearing  of  children. 

84.     Verbena  Jamaicensis. — Vervain. 

This  is  a  common  weed  about  all  cultivated  places.  The 
leaves  are  serrated  and  pretty  broad  ;  the  flowers  blue. 

A  tea  or  a  strong  decoction  of  vervain  is  in  frequent  use  as 
a  cooling  laxative  ;  and  a  tea-cupful  of  the  expressed  juice  of 
bruised  vervain  leaves  is  a  smart  purge. 

85.    Zanthoxylum  clava  Herculis. 

TRIFOL"     iUM. 

The  first  of  these  is  the  prickly  yellow  wood,  and  is  a  lofty 
and  good  timber  tree.  The  second  is  called  the  tooth-ache 
tree.     It  is  frequent  in  gravelly  places  near  the  sea. 

The  berries  of  both  are  somewhat  peppery,  and  a  bit  of 
the  bark  from  the  roots  is  a  powerful  sialogogue,  and  gives 
that  sort  of  sensation  as  if  the  mouth  was  full  of  blood  ;  hence 
it  is  so  serviceable  in  tooth-ache. 

(The  leaves  of  the  toothache  tree  are  of  a  lively  green.  The 
flowers  grow  in  clusters ;  the  berries  are  small,  and  the  ker- 
nel is  very  hard. 

From  an  incision  in  the  tree  flows  a  clear  amber-coloured 
gum,  which  does  not  dissolve  in  water  or  spirits. 

The  trunk  is  grey,  and  beset  with  prickles  two  inches  long, 
and  at  the  base  one  inch  in  diameter.  The  prickles  are  easily 
broken  off.) 

l 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OP  JAMAICA.      ^2*1 


}{(!.  ZBA  Maiz.—  Indian  Coin  or  Maise. 

Indian  corn,  or  maise,  is  cultivated  in  America  as  an  article 
of  food  ;  as  it  is  also  in  Jamaica.  The  maise  of  North  Ame- 
rica is  white,  flat,  spongy,  and  of  the  si/e  of  a  dried  Turkey 
bean.  The  maise  of  Jamaica  is  much  smaller,  reddish,  and 
compact.  The  grains  are  fastened  to  a  light  spongy  substance, 
called  the  husk,  or  corn  stick,  in  longitudinal  rows,  about 
twelve  in  number,  round,  and  containing  thirty  grains  in  each. 
For  the  most  part,  there  are  two  or  three  such  heads  on  every 
stalk.      The  increase  is  prodigious. 

Guinea  corn,  or  Indian  millet,  is  also  cultivated  to  a  great 
extent  in  Jamaica.  These  corns  do  not  constitute  a  great 
part  of  the  support  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jamaica ;  but  are 
chiefly  used  to  rear  poultry,  to  feed  horses,  and  to  fatten  pigs, 
goats,  or  sheep. 

(The  stalks  grow  from  four  to  ten  feet  high  ;  are  jointed 
like  wheat,  at  each  of  which  joints  grows  a  long  flag  leaf.  On 
the  top  is  a  cluster  of  blossoms  like  rye,  the  farina  of  which 
falling,  impregnates  the  pistilla  towards  the  middle  and  foot 
of  the  stalk. 

The  stigmata  shoot  out  in  a  bearded  form,  are  red,  four 
inches  long,  and  are  so  many  tubes  to  convey  the  farina  or  pol- 
len to  the  germen. 

In  five  months  after  sowing  this  corn,  the  ears  will  be  dry 
enough  to  be  gathered  in.  They  are  a  span  long,  of  a  coni- 
cal shape,  and  have  from  eight  to  ten  rows  of  yellow  grains, 
each  of  which  rows  contains  from  fifteen  to  thirty.  I  have  seen 
four  such  ears  on  one  stalk. 

Indian  corn  ought  to  be  planted  four  feet  asunder,  careful- 
ly weeded  and  moulded  round  the  roots.  When  the  farina 
ripens,  the  tops  and  blades  may  be  cut  off  as  food  for  horses 
and  cattle. 

Q 


242  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

The  maise  in  Jamaica  is  smaller  than  that  brought  from 
North  America,  but  it  is  a  great  deal  better,  and  sells  for 
double  the  price. 

Indian  corn  ground  into  meal  makes  a  coarse  bread,  and, 
if  boiled  in  milk,  makes  a  gruel  called  Jwmine.  The  Negroes 
boil  this  corn,  and  eat  it  with  salt  fish  or  salt.  In  this  way  it 
proves  a  very  wholesome  food  ;  but,  if  roasted  and  eaten  in 
any  considerable  quantity,  it  occasions  constipations  of  the 
bowels,  and  pains  in  the  stomach. 

The  chief  use  of  this  corn  is  in  feeding  horses,  hogs,  and 
poultry.) 

PALM.E. 

Of  this  natural  order  we  have  several  in  Jamaica  ;  some  of 
which  are  indigenous,  others  have  been  introduced. 

87-  Cocos  Nucifera. — Cocoa  Nut. 
guineensis. — Prickly  Pole. 

The  cocoa-nut  tree  was  originally  brought  from  the  Spanish 
main  to  Jamaica,  and  is  now  planted  about  settlements  as  an 
useful  and  ornamental  tree.  It  bears  fruit  about  ten  or  twelve 
years  after  it  is  planted.  The  fruit  is  large,  triangular,  about 
twelve  inches  long,  and  nine  inches  in  diameter.  After  re- 
moving the  external  covering,  and  a  fibrous  substance,  we  find 
a  large,  round,  hard  nut,  in  which  is  contained  about  eight 
ounces  of  sweetish  water,  surrounded  by  a  white  and  firm 
kernel. 

The  rib  of  the  leaves  or  pinnae  is  smooth  and  flexible,  and 
is  used  in  the  heart  of  bougies.  The  leaves  and  their  stems 
are  useful  for  thatching  houses,  or  making  baskets.  The  cu- 
rious reticular  cloth,  which  covers  the  tender  foot-stalks, 
serves  for  strainers.  A  liquor  drawn  from  the  trunk,  ferment- 
ed with  rice,  makes  arrack.  The  fibrous  substance  covering 
the  nut,  spun  and  twisted,  makes  strong  and  durable  ropes. 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.        "  243 

The  shell  is  converted  into  drinking  cups,  sugar  dishes,  &c. 
The  water  is  pleasant,  and  used  to  quench  thirst.  Before  the 
fruit  is  quite  ripe,  the  nut  is  soft,  and  may  be  eaten  with  a 
spoon  ;  but  when  ripe  it  is  hard.  Like  other  nuts,  it  is  apt 
to  give  a  pain  in  the  stomach.  A  sort  of  tarts,  or  cheesecakes, 
is  made  from  the  dry  nut-kernels,  rasped  or  pared  down. 
This  may  also  be  used  for  emulsions,  instead  of  almonds  ;  and, 
by  expression  or  decoction,  these  kernels  yield  a  considerable 
quantity  of  oil. 

The  prickly  pole  is  a  native  of  low  and  upland  valleys ;  it 
rises  to  about  thirty  feet.  The  trunk  and  leaves  are  beset 
with  spines,  in  form  of  needles  The  fruit  is  of  the  size  of  hic- 
cory  nuts,  and  very  hard.  The  black  people  boil  the  nuts  in 
their  messes  ;  and,  if  boiled  in  water,  a  yellow  thick  oil,  or 
butter,  is  obtained. 

88.  Cocos  Butvracea. — The  Mackaw  Tree. 

This  was  originally  brought  from  Guinea  by  the  Negroes. 
The  trunk  is  straight,  and  guarded  by  numerous  long  spines, 
or  needles.  The  fruit  is  triangular,  yellow,  and  as  big  as  a 
plum.  The  nut,  or  kernel,  by  decoction  yields  the  oleum 
palmse  of  the  shops. 

The  fruit  of  this  and  the  former  serve  to  feed  swine,  and 
are  greedily  eaten  by  the  wild  hog,  of  which  there  are  still 
many  in  the  interior  parts  of  the  island. 

89.  Areca  Oleracea.     Cabbage- Tree. 

This  is  a  native  of  the  woods.  The  trunk  is  straight,  and 
marked  with  rings  at  the  vestigioe  of  the  footstalks  of  the 
leaves.  These  leaves  spread  out  at  the  summit  in  form  of  an 
umbrella,  and  are  about  three  yards  in  length,  and  pinnated. 
The  footstalks  at  the  bottom  are  broad,  and  form  a  green 
trunk  above  the  woody  or  true  summit.  As  the  lower  leaves 
drop,  the  broad  part  of  the  footstalks  forms  a  hollow  trough. 

Q  2 


244  MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA. 

or  cradle  for  Negro  children  ;  and,  when  cut  up,  makes  excel- 
lent splints  for  fractures.  On  the  inner  side  of  every  tender  foot- 
stalk are  tender  pellicles,  which,  when  dried,  make  a  writing 
paper.  The  heart  is  made  into  pickles,  or,  when  boiled,  is 
served  up  at  table.  The  trunks  serve  as  gutterings ;  the  pith 
makes  a  sort  of  sago  ;  and  the  nuts  yield  oil  by  decoction. 

Of  all  trees  in  the  universe,  riiis  is  the  most  beautiful,  and 
perhaps  the  tallest.  I  have  seen  one  an  hundred  and  seventy 
feet  high,  and  have  heard  of  others  still  taller. 

(We  have  many  kinds  of  palm  trees  in  Jamaica,  but  none 
so  beautiful  as  the  cabbage-tree.  It  often  grows  120  feet 
high  ;  the  trunk  smooth,  and  surprisingly  straight.  The 
wood  of  the  cabbage-tree  is  very  hard,  but  so  thin  that  it  is 
only  fit  for  walking  sticks,  or  gun  ram-rods.  In  the  middle 
is  a  woody  fibrous  pith,  which  resembles  sago. 

At  the  top  of  the  trunk  it  puts  forth  long  green  spathas> 
which  open  when  full  grown.  They  contain  finely  branched 
panicles,  with  innumerable  blue  flowers,  which  have  eight 
stamina.  The  berry  is  oblong,  containing  a  hard  woody 
kernel. 

The  leaves  are  long,  spreading,  pinnated,  and  very  strong 
Their  petioles  unite  with  a  green  trunk,  about  six  feet  in 
length,  from  whence  the  blossoms  spring ;  so  that  this  part  is 
foliaceous.  When  the  leaves  are  old  they  strip  off,  and  the 
part  that  envelopes  this  green  trunk  appears  woody  like  deal. 
AVhen  the  leaves  are  stripped  off  green,  we  strip  off  the  inside 
skin  of  each,  which,  when  dry,  looks  like  vellum  ;  this  bears 
ink  very  well  on  one  side,  on  the  other  it  seems  greasy.  From 
one  trunk  we  can  procure  twenty  large  sheets.  This  seems 
to  be  one  of  the  papyri  of  the  ancients. 

In  the  middle  of  the  green  trunk  is  a  tender  white  heart, 
which,  when  boiled,  is  eaten  like  cabbage  or  turnips.^) 

90.  The  Sago  Palm. 
This  valuable  palm-tree  was  presented   to  the  island  by 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS  OF  JAMAICA.      -fc*2l5 

Admiral  Rodney,  with  many  other  valuable  plants,  captured 
in  a  French  ship  by  Captain  Marshall. 

This  plant  was  but  young  when  I  saw  it ;  but,  as  it  was 
healthy,  and  carefully  attended  to  in  Mr  East's  garden,  it  is 
hoped  it  will  thrive,  and  in  time  be  propagated  by  the  seeds. 

In  Amboyna,  and  several  other  parts  of  the  East  Indies, 
sago  is  made  from  this  tree. 

The  pith  is  beaten  into  a  stiff  paste ;  then  granulated 
through  a  sieve,  ino  the  same  manner  as  the  grains  of  gun- 
powder are  formed. 

The  sago  powder  sold  in  the  shops  is  merely  the  starch  of 
potatoes ;  and  the  tapioca  of  the  Brazils  is  the  starch  of  cas- 
sada. 

See  the.  articles  Jatropha  and  Maranta. 

91.  Phoenix  dactylifera Date  Tree. 

This  tree  is  not  indigenous,  but  was  introduced  soon  after 
the  conquest  of  the  island  by  the  Spaniards.  There  are,  how- 
ever, but  few  of  them  in  Jamaica  at  this  time.  The  fruit  is 
served  up  as  a  desert ;  and  the  kernels  yield  an  oil,  or  but- 
ter, similar  to  the  palm  oil  from  Guinea. 

There  are  several  other  palms  growing  wild  in  Jamaica, 
viz.  the  mountain  thatch,  the  palmeto  thatch,  the  palmeto 
royal,  &c.  The  fruit  is  either  a  drupa,  or  a  berry,  and  all 
of  them  have  one  or  more  nuts,  which  contain  a  kernel  that 
yields  oil.  This  circumstance,  with  the  great  resemblance  in 
their  habit,  makes  them  truly  a  natural  class,  or  family. 


(     246     ) 


EXTRACTS 


FROM 


Dr  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA 


[The  following  Extracts  are  taken  from  the  herbaries  prepared  by 
Dr  Wright,  during  his  residence  in  Jamaica.  The  whole  work 
extends  to  five  volumes  quarto,  and  from  a  notice  in  Dr  Wright's 
handwriting,  dated  Edinburgh,  1st  June  1813,  it  appears  to  have 
been  carefully  revised  by  him  after  his  return  to  Great  Britain. 
Such  articles  have  been  extracted  only  as  could  be  made  intelli- 
gible without  the  aid  of  engravings,  or  of  the  dried  plants  them- 
selves, which  have  all  been  laid  down  by  Dr  Wright,  with  the 
greatest  care.] 


MONANDRIA  MONOGYNIA. 

1.  Boerhaavia  erecta,  et  diffusa. — Hog-weed  of  the  Ameri- 
cans. 

This  plant  is  met  with  in  newly  cultivated  grounds, 
and  is  from  one  to  two  feet  high.  The  leaves  are  few,  and 
of  a  dull  green  cast.  The  flowers  are  small,  numerous,  and 
of  a  purple  colour. 

A  decoction  of  the  leaves  and  stalks  is  used  in  diuretic 
ptisans  and  glysters.  The  whole  plant  is  given  for  food  to 
hogs. 


DR  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA.  —  24? 

DIANDRIA  MONOGYNIA. 

2.  Salvia  occidentals,  Sav. — American  Field  Basil. 

This  basil  grows  wild  in  our  savannahs,  and  has  numerous 
small  pale  red  flowers.  The  plant  smells  agreeably.  The 
juice  is  often  used  in  ophthalmias,  but  the  plant  is  more  fre- 
quently used  in  fomentations. 

DIANDRIA  TRIGYNIA. 

3.  Piper  nitidum,  Sw. — Lesser  Long  Pepper, 

The  leaves  are  of  a  dark  green  colour,  and  very  smooth 
and  shining,  the  fruit  is  smaller,  but  rather  more  aromatic 
than  that  of  the  great  long  pepper. 

The  virtues  of  this  are  similar  to  those  of  the  oriental  long 
pepper.  It  is  frequently  used  by  the  Negroes  in  Jamaica,  to 
season  their  soups.  The  leaves,  beaten  and  mixed  with  rum, 
become  an  excellent  detergent  in  ulcers. 

4.  Piper  aduncum,  L — Crooked  Long  Pepper. 

This  species  of  pepper  is  taller  and  thicker  in  the  trunk 
than  any  of  the  others.  The  bark  and  fruit  not  near  so  hot, 
and  the  leaves  small  and  furrowed. 

TRIANDRIA  DIGYN1A. 

5.  Holcus  bicolor,  L.—  Guinea  Wheat. 

This  beautiful  gramineous  plant  is  cultivated  for  the 
same  purposes  as  the  Guinea  corn ;  but  does  not  grow  so  tall. 
The  Guinea  grass  has  its  blossoms  and  seeds  erect ;  here  they 
are  pendulous. 

The  grains  in  some  are  smooth,  ponderous  and  brown  ;  in 
others  white. 


248  EXTRACTS  FR03I 

6.  Panicum  amiliaceum,  L. —  Wild  Wheat. 

This  grass  is  found  in  woods  and  thickets.  Its  seeds  are 
black,  shining,  and  ponderous.  Horses  and  cattle  eat  it  greedi- 
ly, and  it  would  seem  that  the  seeds  might  be  useful  in  rais- 
ing poultry. 

7-    PHARUS  LATIF0L1US,  L. —  Wild  Odl.s. 

A  plant,  known  by  the  name  of  Wild  Oats,  grows  plentifully 
in  the  woodlands  of  Jamaica.  The  leaves  are  broad,  ribbed, 
and  of  a  shining  green.  The  blossoms  are  small  and  green. 
The  seeds  are  long,  small  and  bearded,  and  stick  to  a  person's 
clothes,  when  walking  in  the  woods. 

8.  Panicum  polygamuji,  Sav. —  Guinea  Grass. 

Guinea  grass  was  introduced  into  Jamaica,  by  mere  acci- 
dent, about  forty  years  ago.  A  gentleman  got  some  birds 
from  the  captain  of  a  Guinea  ship,  and  with  them  some  seeds 
for  their  support.  The  birds  soon  afterwards  dying,  the 
seeds  were  cast  out.  In  a  short  time  a  fine  luxuriant  grass 
sprung  up,  which  was  greedily  eaten,  by  horses  and  cattle. 
Since  that  time  it  has  been  cultivated  for  cattle  and  horses 
food,  and  is  in  general  use. 

A  small  root,  superficially  planted,  produces  a  large  stalk 
or  tuft  of  grass,  which  in  two  months  runs  into  seeds.  They 
ought  to  be  planted  four  feet  asunder,  and  carefully  kept 
clean  from  weeds  or  slips. 

When  the  seeds  are  ripe,  cattle  and  horses  are  suffered  to 
eat  it  down.  The  stalks  are  then  cut  close  to  the  earth,  or 
entirely  dug  out,  and  when  dry  burned  off.  In  a  short  time 
the  seeds  spring  up  into  a  thick  sward  of  grass,  so  that  in 
future  little  care  is  necessary  ;  the  weeds  have  little  room  to 
grow. 


DR  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA.  ^  249 

We  have  pastures  of  two  and  three  hundred  acres  extent 
in  this  fine  grass :  these  arc  divided  into  ten  or  twelve  acre 
pastures,  and,  when  one  is  eaten  down,  the  stock  are  shifted 
into  the  other. 


9.  Cynosurus  in'dicus,  L Dutch  Grass. 

This  is  a  low  grass,  seen  only  in  the  summer  months.  The 
stalks  are  numerous  from  one  root,  and  the  leaves  of  a  very 
dark  green  colour.  It  is  thought  to  be  a  more  hearty  food 
for  stock  than  Guinea  grass ;  when  made  into  hay,  it  smells 
very  fine,  and  is  used  in  the  keeping  of  race  horses. 


10.  Schoenus  secans,  N. — Cutting  Grass. 

Cutting  grass  is  frequent  in  woods  and  thickets;  the  stalks 
are  triangular,  and  serrated  like  a  file,  which  will  cut  not 
only  the  hands  and  legs  of  the  unwary  traveller,  but  even  his 
clothes,  as  if  done  with  a  knife. 

The  seeds  are  round,  shining,   ponderous  and  farinaceous 
and  are  like  those  of  millet  grass. 


TRIANDRIA  TRIGYNIA. 
11.  Holcus  saccharatus,  L. — African  Millet. — Guinea  Com. 

This  is  cultivated  as  food  for  man  and  beast.  It  mav  be 
sown  at  any  time  of  the  year,  and  repeatedly  cut  down  till 
August,  when  it  is  suffered  to  grow  up,  and  is  ripe  by  Christ- 
mas. 

The  stalks  are  as  thick  as  a  walking  cane,  the  leaves  of  the 
gramineous  kind,  and  the  whole  plant  is  sometimes  twenty 
feet  high.  The  blossoms  are  numerous,  small,  and  grow  on 
a  spike.     There  are  several  bunches  on  one  stalk  ;  the  seeds 


250  EXTRACTS  FROM 

are  round,  larger  than  corianders,  farinaceous,  and  heavy ; 
and  their  increase  may  be  as  five  thousand  to  one  seed. 

Guinea  corn  is  cooked  into  several  dishes  by  the  poorer 
white  people,  but  particularly  by  the  Negroes,  who  are  re- 
markably fond  of  it.  It  is  also  very  useful  in  raising  of 
poultry. 

The  leaves  are  excellent  fodder  for  horses  and  cattle. 


TETRANDRIA  MONOGYNIA. 

12.  Rivina  humilis,  L. — Guinea  Weed. 

The  Solatium  lignosum,  or  Dulcamara,  grows  too  plenti- 
fully in  shady  places,  has  white  small  tetrapetalous  flowers, 
and  shining  red  berries,  smaller  than  currants.  The  stalks 
are  brown  and  woody,  the  leaves  of  a  lively  green  colour. 

Many  fatal  accidents  have  happened  to  new  and  ignorant 
Negroes,  who,  mistaking  this  plant  for  guma,  have,  on  eating 
it,  suddenly  died,  or  fallen  into  disorders,  with  a  train  of  dread- 
ful symptoms,  which,  after  some  weeks  or  months,  put  an  end 
to  their  misery  by  death. 

13.  Cissus  sicyoides,  L. — Snake  Leaf. 

This  troublesome  climber  grows  in  all  fences,  and  runs  on 
fruit  trees,  and,  when  suffered  once  to  get  a  footing,  is  hard  to 
be  rooted  out.  The  stem  is  often  an  inch  or  more  in  diame- 
ter, of  a  green  colour,  slender,  and  jointed.  The  leaves  are 
numerous,  and  of  a  dark  green  hue.  The  florets  yellow  and 
tetrapetalous.  They  contain  much  honey,  and  are  generally 
crowded  with  bees.  The  berries  are  of  the  size  of  cur- 
rants, black,  smooth,  and  shining.  The  juice  of  the  berry 
is  sweet,  and  of  a  fine  purple,  but  no  duration. 

The  leaves,  coiled  over  the  fire,  are  applied  to  evil  disposed 
ulcers,  and  in  the  beginning  of  the  yaws. 


Dli  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA.  ^  251 

This  wythe,  dried  and  beaten,  is  very  fibrous,  somewhat  like 
horse-hair,  and  is  probably  the  Old  Man's  Beard  of  the  com- 
mon people. 

The  Banana  bird  builds  its  nest  of  some  fibrous  substance 
like  this,  and  hangs  it  curiously  like  a  sailor's  hammock,  by 
the  ends. 


14.  Cissus  trifoliata. — Snake-leaf  Withered  Flowers. 

This  beautiful  climbing  plant  runs  in  fences,  and  has  nu- 
merous small  florets  of  a  crimson  colour. 


15.  Sperm acoce  verticillata,  L.—Wild  Scabious. 

This  is  common  in  moist  places,  and  is  used  in   fomenta- 
tions by  the  Negroes  for  the  cure  of  the  itch. 


16.  Spermacoce  tenuior,  L. — Small-leaved  Scabious. 

In  cane-piece  intervals,  we  find  this,  which,  like  others  of 
the  same  genus,  is  made  use  of  as  the  above. 

17-   Spermacoe  hirta,  L. — Common  Scabious. 

In  open  pastures  and  dry  savannahs,  this  species  of  scabi- 
ous grows  spontaneously.  The  stem  is  woody,  the  plant  is 
bushy,  and  the  clusters  of  flowers  pretty  large.  We  only  use 
it  in  the  cure  of  the  itch,  by  way  of  bath,  as  the  preceding. 

18.  Spermacoce  radicans,  Aubl. 

This  is  a  branched  kind,  which  grows  in  moist  places,  and 
the  stems  run  a  great  way,  sending  off  fibres  at  every  joint. 
It  is  used  with  the  same  intention  as  the  above  mentioned. 


252  EXTRACTS  FROM 

PENTANDRIA  MONOGYNIA. 

19.  Solanum  torvum,  Sw — Macaw  Bush. 

This  troublesome  plant  is  of  speedy  growth,  as,  in  twelve 
months,  it  is  ten  or  twelve  feet  high,  and  chokes  up  every  other 
plant.  The  trunk,  branches  and  leaves,  are  beset  with  short, 
thick  prickles  ;  the  flowers  are  numerous,  white,  and  5-lobed. 
The  berries,  when  ripe,  are  of  the  size  of  a  cherry,  yellow, 
hard,  and  containing  many  flat  seeds. 

No  use  is  made  of  this  plant.  It  does  not  appear  to  be 
poisonous,  as  horses  and  cattle,  when  hungry,  eat  it  with 
impunity. 

20.  Solanum  tomentosum,  L. —  Turkey  Berries. 

The  Turkey-berry  bush  grows  low;  the  stems  onlyare  beset 
with  short  crooked  prickles,  the  blossoms  are  small  and  white ; 
the  berries  are  red,  soft,  and  less  than  a  cherry,  containing 
many  seeds. 

Cattle  or  horses  cannot  eat  this  plant,  on  account  of  the 
prickles,  but  turkeys  and  other  fowls  are  very  fond  of  the 
berries. 

21.  Solanum  mammosum,  L. — Cock-roach  Poison. 

This  bush  looks  like  the  foregoing ;  the  prickles  on  the 
stems  and  leaves  are  long  and  straight.  The  flowers  are  a 
bluish  white.  The  fruit  is  of  the  size  and  shape  of  a  pear, 
of  a  bright  yellow  colour,  and  contains  many  seeds. 

This  seems  to  be' a  species  of  the  vegetable  egg.  No  other 
use  is  made  of  it  in  Jamaica,  than  by  boiling  it  up  with  sugar 
to  poison  cockroaches.  Whether  it  has  this  effect  is  un- 
certain, as  these  filthy  insects  are  so  plentiful. 


DR  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA.  253 

22.  Datura  stramonium,  L. — Thorn  Apple. — Fire-Weed. 

The  fire-weed  grows  on  dunghills,  and  near  dwelling-houses, 
to  about  two  feet  high  :  it  is  an  annual  plant,  and  I  believe 
is  cultivated  in  the  gardens  in  Europe. 

The  stem  is  herbaceous,  the  leaves  are  broad,  and  of  a  dark 
green  colour  ;  the  flowers  are  white,  long,  and  funnel-shaped. 
The  pods,  large  as  those  of  a  walnut  tree,  are  beset  with 
prickles,  and  contain  many  carved  black  seeds. 

The  leaves  have  a  strong  narcotic  quality,  and  are  applied 
to  burns  and  scalds  to  benumb  the  parts.  With  the  same  view 
it  is  applied  in  headach,  but,  if  too  long  kept  on,  will  cause 
a  temporary  madness.  If  the  seeds  should  lie  on  grass,  and 
be  eaten  by  stock,  it  will  cause  madness  and  death. 

23-  Cleome  pentaphylla,  W.  W. — Cayo-caloloo. 

Cayo  is  an  African  name  for  a  plant,  growing  in  newly 
cultivated  grounds  and  gardens.  The  stem  is  herbaceous, 
the  leaves  of  a  dark  green  colour ;  the  petals  of  the  flowers 
white,  the  anthers  and  style  red.  These  are  succeeded  by 
long  pods,  which  contain  many  seeds. 

When  boiled  it  is  used  as  greens,  and  deemed  equal  to  spi- 
nach. 

24.    SOLANUM  NIGRUM,  L. Glima. 

This  is  another  Guinea  name,  for  a  plant  found  in  cane-piece 
intervals  and  gardens.  Like  the  preceding,  the  stems  are 
herbaceous.  It  has  dark  green  leaves,  small,  white  pentapeta- 
lous  blossoms,  and  black  shining  berries  of  the  size  of  a  cur- 
rant. 

Our  slaves  gather  and  boil  it  with  their  soups,  broths,  and 
pepper  pots. 


254  EXTRACTS  FROM 


25.  Solanum  verbascifolium,  L. — Bermudas  Balsam. —  Wild 
Tobacco. 

Bermudas  balsam  is  of  speedy  growth,  and  triennial;  the  stem 
is  woody,  grey  coloured,  and  has  a  large  pith  in  the  middle ; 
the  leaves  are  large,  soft,  and  of  the  colour  of  sage.  The 
flowers  are  numerous,  white  and  pentapetalous.  The  fruit  is 
a  berry  of  the  size  and  shape  of  a  cherry,  is  yellow,  and  con- 
tains several  seeds. 

The  leaves  are  used  in  fomentations,  or  beaten  into  a  poul- 
tice, to  deterge  foul  ulcers.  In  this  country  unctuous  appli- 
cations do  not  seem  to  succeed,  and  the  vegetable  dressings 
are  with  propriety  substituted  in  their  room. 

26.  Cordia  Gerascanthus,  L. — Spanish  Elm. 

This  is  a  tree  of  a  middle  size ;  the  bark  is  grey  and  furrow- 
ed.    The  timber  is  white,  hard,  and  useful  in  building. 

In  April,  the  whole  tree  is  clothed  with  white,  beautiful 
pentapetalous  flowers,  which  in  a  few  days  wither,  but  do  not 
drop,  till  the  fruit  is  ripe,  when  both  fall  oft'  at  the  same 
time. 

27-  Plumeria  rubra,  L. — Milk  Shrub. 

This  is  called  here  Spanish  Jessamine,  and  is  cultivated  in 
gardens  on  account  of  its  flowers.  The  tree  grows  as  tall  as 
a  cherry  tree,  and  sends  off  several  branches,  which  terminate 
abruptly. 

It  has  no  leaves  from  January  till  May,  when  they  are 
put  forth,  and  are  of  a  shining  green  colour.  The  leaves  and 
blossoms  grow  from  the  summits  of  the  thick  branches.  These 
flowers  are  red  and  white,  and  of  a  luscious  sweet  smell. 


DR  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA.  255 

It  seldom  bears  fruit,  which  is  a  thick  round  pod,  contain- 
ing many  seeds. 

Near  the  sea  is  found  another  species  of  this  tree  ;  it  grows 
very  tall,  and  generally  bears  plenty  of  pods. 

It  is  said  that  a  very  small  quantity  of  the  inner  bark  of 
the  roots  of  this  plant  is  a  most  virulent  poison.  On  wound- 
ing the  tree,  a  great  quantity  of  milky  juice  runs  out,  which 
tastes  very  acrid,  and  is  probably  one  of  the  poisons  used  by 
the  Indians  on  their  arrows. 

28.  Ccenocarpus  erecta,  L Button-Tree. 

In  sandy  places  near  the  sea,  we  find  the  button-tree, 
growing  to  a  middle  size.  The  bark  is  rough,  and  furrowed. 
The  branches  are  long  and  spreading,  and  well  shaded  with 
deep  green  leaves.  The  blossoms  are  button-like  and  white, 
the  berries,  oval  and  of  unequal  surface.  The  tree  makes  a 
good  building  timber. 

29.  Chrysophyllum  cainito. — Star  Apple. 

The  star  apple-tree  is  of  themiddle  size,  and  sends  forth  many 
spreading  branches.  The  leaves  on  the  upper  side  are  green, 
on  the  under  side  of  a  reddish  brown  colour,  and  glisten  like 
silk. 

The  blossoms  are  numerous,  small  and  yellow ;  they  appear 
in  July,  and  the  fruit  is  ripe  in  March  following. 

Star  apples  are  larger  than  European  apples  ;  some  are 
green,  others  red;  when  ripe,  they  are  soft,  but  do  not  drop  off 
the  tree  like  other  fruit,  for  they  dry  up  and  wither. 

This  is  reckoned  amongst  our  best  fruits.  Its  jelly  is  rich, 
and  tastes  very  pleasant.  The  seeds  are  flat,  black,  smooth, 
and  shining. 

The  bark  of  the  tree  is  furrowed  longitudinally,  and 
cracked  across  like  the  Peruvian  bark  ;  but  has  not  its  taste 


c256  EXTRACTS  FROM 

or   virtues.       On  tapping  the  tree,  a   thick  milky  astringent 
liquor  runs  out. 

30.  Vitis  cauibbjea,  Dec. —  The  Water- Wythe  or  Wild  Grape. 

The  trunk  of  this  vine  is  of  a  whitish  colour,  and  often  as 
thick  as  a  man's  thigh  ;  it  runs  up  to  the  top  of  the  tallest 
trees,  and  sends  off  but  few  branches.  The  leaves  are  broad, 
of  a  light  green  on  the  upper  side,  but  white  underneath. 
The  blossoms  are  like  those  of  the  common  grape.  The 
berries  are  larger,  and  contain  an  austere  rough  juice.  How 
far  culture  would  improve  them,  can  only  be  determined  by 
experience  ;  but  it  is  certain  that  the  wild  grapes  that  run  on 
fences,  and,  consequently,  have  the  fruit  exposed  more  to  the 
sun,  are  much  sweeter  than  those  that  are  shaded.  It  is 
therefore  probable,  that,  if  this  were  planted  and  supported 
as  the  common  grape,  and  the  leaves  pulled  off,  as  soon  as 
the  berries  are  half  grown,  so  that  the  rays  of  the  sun 
might  have  their  full  force,  this  native  grape  might  !:e  great- 
ly improved  in  size  and  flavour.  By  proper  management 
and  with  little  expence,  a  generous  rough  wine  might  be  made 
from  it,  for  the  consumption  of  the  colony,  and  it  might  even 
be  added  to  our  articles  of  exportation. 

From  the  vast  variety  of  climbing  plants  here,  nature  seems 
to  have  intended  this  country  as  a  nursery  for  the  vine ; 
what  we  planted  came  to  great  perfection.  But  we  are  so 
engaged  with  other  known  staple  commodities,  that  we  can 
think  of  no  new  improvement  in  any  thing  else. 

About  three  feet  of  the  thick  fresh  trunk  will  yield  a  pint 
of  wholesome  water  in  the  driest  seasons.  It  is  thus  well 
known  to  our  thirsty  hog  hunters,  or  parties  in  quest  of  rebel- 
lious Negroes. 


DR  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA.  2517 


31.  Oestrum  vbspbrtinuMj  L. —  lilne  Poison  Hern/. 

This  shrub  grows  wild  in  the  woodlands,  to  fifteen  Q* 
twenty  feet  high.  The  blossoms  are  smaller  than  the  com- 
mon coffee,  and  the  berries  are  small  and  black. 

The  juice  of  the  berry  is  a  fine  blue,  and  if  it  could  be  fix- 
ed, would  be  useful  as  a  dye. 

32.  Erythroxylon  areolatum,  L. — Iron-Wood. 

This  tall  and  stately  tree  is  very  frequent  in  our  woods.  The 
trunk  is  straight;  the  bark  grey  and  furrowed,  longitudinal- 
ly and  across.  The  wood  is  hard,  red  coloured,  and  pon- 
derous, and  is  justly  esteemed  as  one  of  the  most  useful  tim- 
bers for  building,  but,  exposed  to  the  weather,  it  soon  decays. 

The  flowers  are  small  and  white  ;  the  berries  black  and  nu- 
merous, containing  several  seeds. 

33.  Achyranthes  ALTissuiA,  Sw. — Basket  Withe. 

Chamissoa  aetissima,  Humb.  and  Bonp.  Nov.  Gen.  et  Sp. 

This  is  found  in  woods  and  thickets,  running  up  trees. 
The  trunk,  seldom  more  than  two  inches  in  diameter,  is  of  a 
whitish-brown  colour.  The  leaves  are  of  a  lively  green  ;  the 
blossoms  are  small,  numerous,  and  green  ;  and  the  seeds  are 
white. 

The  trunk  is  sometimes  split  for  hoops  and  baskets.  The 
young  tops  are  boiled  for  greens. 

34.  Peumeria  alba,  L. — Spanish  Jessamine  Tree. 

This  tree  is  cultivated  in  gardens,  on  account  of  the  num- 
ber of  its  white,  sweet,  but  luscious  scented  flowers.  The 
branches  are  thick,  but  terminate  very  abruptly  ;    the  leaves 


258  EXTRACTS  FROM 

are  broad,  fleshy,  and  of  a  lively  green  colour,  falling  off  in 
January,  and  again  putting  forth  in  June. 

It  is  rarely  that  these  trees  have  fruit.  The  pods  are  as  thick 
as  a  man's  thumb,  round,  smooth,  and  four  inches  in  length, 
and  containing  four  or  five  seeds. 

On  wounding  the  grey  trunk,  a  thick  milky  juice  runs  out, 
of  an  acrid  taste,  and  caustic  effect. 

The  inner  bark  of  the  roots  is  said  to  be  in  use  as  a  poison 
among  the  Africans. 

A  tall  tree  of  this  kind  grows  by  the  sea  side,  bearing 
abundance  of  white  flowers,  and  many  pods. 

35.  Convolvulus  pentaphyllus,  L. — Cowilch  Vine. 

This  small  climber  runs  among  bushes,  has  many  dark 
green  narrow  leaves,  white  flowers,  round  capsule,  with  sun- 
dry seeds. 

The  stem  of  this  vine  is  thickly  set  with  down,  which  stings 
like  the  nettle. 

36.  Echites  umbellata,  L. —  White  Ipecacuanha. 

This  is  a  climber,  and  sends  forth  many  beautiful  white, 
contorted  blossoms,  which  are  soon  followed  by  pods,  jointed 
in  the  middle,  which,  besides  a  silken  down,  contain  many 
seeds. 

Some  gentlemen  acquaint  me  that  the  roots,  when  dried,  are 
by  some  used  for  ipecacuanha,  but  with  such  an  effect  that 
the  most  thinking  part  of  them  will  never  try  it  again,  for  it 
brought  on  stupor,  delirium,  and  a  train  of  alarming  symp- 
toms. 


DR  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA.  259 

.'^7-  Cynanchum  hirtuMj  L. — Large  Yellow  Swallow  Wbrt,  or 
Nightshade. 

This  plant  is  met  with  in  shady  places,  climbing  on  the 
neighbouring  bushes.  The  stem  is  woody  ;  the  leaves  are 
opposite,  shining,  and  of  a  lively  green.  The  blossoms  are 
yellow  and  funnel  shaped,  and  the  pods  contain  many  seeds 
imbedded  in  a  silky  down. 

This  is  universally  said  to  be  a  very  destructive  poison, 
and  to  be  used  as  such  by  the  merciless  slaves  here.  Hap- 
pily for  us  we  have  a  powerful  antidote  in  .the  bastard  sen- 
sitive plant. 

38.  Echites  suberecta,  L. — Lesser  Yellow  Swallow  Wort,  or 
Nightshade. 

The  lesser  yellow  swallow  wort,  or  nightshade,  has  woody 
stalks,  and  small  yellow  contorted  flowers.  It  twists  round 
bushes  and  trees,  principallv  the  logwood.  The  leaves  are 
small  and  opposite ;  on  plucking  them  off"  or  breaking  them, 
a  milky  juice  oozes  out.  The  pod  is  small  and  long,  contain- 
ing a  few  seeds,  with  a  small  quantity  of  a  silken  down. 

39.   Echites  torulosa,  L. — Small  Yellow  Nightshade,  or 
Srvallow  Wort. 

This  delights  in  waste  lands,  or  waste  places,  and  climbs 
on  the  adjacent  bushes ;  it  flowers  in  May,  and  its  long  pods 
are  ripe  in  August.  Like  others  of  its  genus,  it  is  looked  on 
as  deleterious,  and  it  is  carefully  avoided  by  every  animal. 

40.  Solanum  pseudo-capsicum,  L. — Blue  Nightshade,  with 
While  Flowers. 

This  poisonous  plant  grows  in  copses,  by  road-sides  and 

r  2 


260  EXTRACTS  FROM 

through  woods.  It  will  mount  up  on  tall  trees ;  and  in  March 
looks  very  pretty,  having  numerous  white  flowers  with  yellow 
antherae.  The  berries  are  like  red  cherries,  and  contain  many 
seeds  in  a  soft  sweet  pulp. 

This  plant  is  deemed  destructive,  and  supposed  to  be 
amongst  the  most  powerful  of  the  Negro  poisons.  The  bas- 
tard sensitive  plant  (Cassia  Chamcecrista,  L.)  is  a  noble  anti- 
dote against  this  as  well  as  many  others. 

41.  Solanum  Lycopersicum,  L. — Love-Apple,  or  Tomato. 

This  is  cultivated  in  gardens  and  provision  grounds,  for 
culinary  purposes.  The  plant  is  slender,  and  rises  to  no 
height,  unless  supported  by  other  plants.  The  blossoms  are 
yellow,  and  five-cleft.  The  fruit  is  as  large  as  a  plum, 
round,  soft,  smooth,  and  shining.  It  contains  a  gelatinous 
soft,  pulp,  and  many  small  flattened  seeds. 

Tomatoes  are  boiled  in  soups  and  broths,  to  which  they  im- 
part a  rich  agreeable  taste  and  flavour. 

42.  Phvsalis  pruinosa,  L. — Pop-Berry. 

This  low  plant  grows  about  settlements,  and  in  rich  soils, 
to  about  two  feet  high.  The  stem  is  herbaceous  ;  the  leaves 
of  a  light  green  colour ;  the  blossoms  yellow  ;  and  the  berries 
the  size  of  a  small  cherry,  are  inclosed  in  an  inflated  calyx. 

Children  eat  this  berry  with  impunity,  though  there  is  an- 
other species  less  common,  that  is  poisonous. 

43.  Chrysophyllum  oliviforme,  L. — Wild  Silver  Star-apple. 

This  tree  is  frequent  in  woods.  It  is  of  the  size  of  the 
Chrysophyllum  cainito,  No.  29.  The  leaves  are  broader,  and 
of  a  darker  green  colour  on  the  upper  side.     The  under  side 


DR  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA.  261 

of  the  leaves  is  silvery  and  shining.  The  blossoms  are  simi- 
lar to  the  Cainito,  and  of  the  same  size. 

The  fruit  is  an  oblong  berry,  less  than  a  plum,  black, 
smooth,  and  shining,  containing  one  stone,  in  which  is  a  pretty 
large  kernel. 

The  fruit  is  sweet  and  agreeable. 


PENTANDRIA  TRIGYNIA. 

44.    TuRNERA  ULMIF0LIA,  L. 

The  Turnera  ulmifolia  is  frequent  in  waste  lands,  and  pi- 
mento walks.  It  grows  three  feet  high,  has  herbaceous  stems, 
and  light  green  leaves,  which  grow  in  pairs.  The  flowers  are 
large,  yellow,  pentapetalous,  and  only  open  in  the  day-time. 
The  pods  contain  sundry  seeds. 

Whether  this  be  poisonous  or  not  is  unknown,  but  no  in- 
sect eats  the  leaves ;  so  that  it  is  a  very  suspicious  plant,  and 
it  is  deemed  by  the  natives  to  be  of  the  fatal  tribe. 

PENTANDRIA  PENTAGYNIA. 

45.  Tournefortia  hirsutissima,  L. — Chigre  Busk. 

This  perennial  plant  grows  in  thickets,  and  twists  round 
the  trunks  and  branches  of  trees.  The  flowers  grow  erect, 
and  are  small,  white,  and  numerous.  The  berries  are  white, 
sweet,  and  as  big  as  currants.  They  are  eaten  by  children  ; 
but  I  am  unacquainted  with  their  medicinal  virtues. 

46.  Heliotropium  gnaphaloides. — Sea-side  Lavender. 

This  grows  plentifully  by  the  sea-side,  to  about  five  or  six 
feet  high.  It  is  thick  and  bushy  ;  has  yellow  flowers,  followed 
by  pods,  which  contain  many  round  seeds. 


262  EXTRACTS  FROM 

It  has  a  very  sweet  smell,  which,  however,  does  not  rise  in 
distillation.     Its  medicinal  powers  are  not  known  here. 
It  is  a  shrub. 


HEXANDRIA  MONOGYNIA. 

47.  Tillandsije  species. —  Wild  Pine. 

We  have  a  great  variety  of  plants  under  the  denomination 
of  Wild  Pine.  They  adhere  to  the  thick  branches,  or  grow  in 
crutches  of  the  largest  trees.  In  a  collection  of  dried  speci- 
mens, it  is  impossible  to  convey  any  just  idea  of  them,  on  ac- 
count of  their  bulk,  and  the  beauty  of  their  flowers ;  we 
must  be  contented  with  the  smallest,  Tillandsia  utriculata,  L. 

This  grows  on  trees ;  has  short  fleshy  leaves,  and  beautiful 
white  and  red  blossoms ;  these  are  followed  by  pods,  which 
contain  many  seeds. 

48.  Petiveiua  alliacea,  L. — Guinea  Hen-weed. 

Guinea  hen-weed  is  found  in  plantain  walks,  and  other 
shady  places ;  it  is  commonly  a  foot  high.  The  stalks  are  her- 
baceous ;  the  leaves  are  of  a  lively  green ;  and  the  numerous 
small  flowers  are  white. 

The  seeds  are  very  small,  and  are  supposed  to  be  some- 
times swallowed  by  our  common  wasps  here  *.     The  seeds 

*  Wasps  swarm  in  all  parts  of  the  West  India  Islands,  particularly 
in  the  roofs  of  old  houses,  where  no  smoke  is  made,  and  often  on  fruit- 
trees,  near  settlements.  Their  nests  are  in  general  circular,  and  their 
cells,  which  are  regular  to  mathematical  exactness,  are  suspended  by  a 
small  neck  of  hard  bituminous  matter. 

These  wasps  are  armed  with  a  sting,  and  when  any  way  disturbed  will 
attack  men  or  beasts.  Their  sting  is  immediately  attended  with  violent 
pain,   inflammation,  and  fever  for  twenty -four  hours.     Laudanum  often 


DR  WRIGHTS  HARBARIA.  26# 

swelling,  are  supposed  to  kill  the  wasps,  when  a  leaf  springs 
from  their  bodies  similar  to  that  of  the  Guinea  hen-weed. 
Others,  with  some  plausibility,  think  that  the  seeds  of  the 
misletoe  adhering  to  the  wasp  kill  it,  and  afterwards  vege- 
tate, and  occasion  this  odd  phenomenon. 

On  bruising  the  petiveria,  it  smells  disagreeably  pungent, 
and  volatile.  It  is  probable  that  this  weed  is  possessed  of 
diuretic  and  stimulating  powers,  though  at  present  we  know 
nothing  certain  of  its  effects. 

49.  Bromelia  Pinguin,  L. —  Wild  Pinguin. 

The  pinguin  is  planted  for  fences,  on  account  of  the  strong 
hooked  prickles  with  which  its  leaves  are  furnished  on  the 
«dges.  In  appearance  it  resembles  the  pine  ;  it  is  propagated 
from  the  shoots,  and  there  seems  no  other  objection  to  a  fence 
of  this  sort,  than  that  it  spreads  too  wide,  and  shelters  rats. 

About  the  middle  of  April,  a  beautiful  stem  rises  from  the 
middle  to  the  height  of  a  foot,  from  the  sides  of  which  spring 
many  beautiful  pale  red  blossoms,  mixed  with  white.  The 
larger  humming-bird  chiefly  feeds  on  these. 

The  fruit  is  of  the  bigness  of  a  plum,  the  skin  is  yellow, 
like  a  ripe  lime,  and  the  contents  are  an  acid  pulp,  and  many 
seeds,  &c.  The  pulp,  eaten  with  sugar,  is  an  excellent  ver- 
mifuge, but  apt  to  excoriate  the  mouth,  and  even  the  rec- 
tum, if  too  many  are  made  use  of  at  a  time.  Mixed  with 
water,  it  makes  an  agreeable  and  effectual  gargle  in  fevers, 
where  the  mouth  and  tongue  are  furred. 

gives  relief,  when  rubbed  on  the  part,  and  the  application  of  indigo  is  said 
to  be  a  powerful  antidote. 


264  EXTRACTS  FROM 

50.  Agave  Americana,  L. — American  Aloe. 

The  American  aloe  grows  spontaneously  by  the  sea  in 
rocky  places. 

If  the  thick  leaves  are  pressed  in  the  mill,  and  the  juice  in- 
spissated in  balneo  mariae,  till  it  acquires  the  consistence 
of  plaster,  it  becomes  a  vegetable  soap  :  for  the  discovery  of 
this  a  person  had  one  hundred  pistoles  from  the  Assembly. 
But  if  clothes  are  not  speedily  rinsed  in  fresh  water,  they  will 
be  rotted  by  the  soap ;  and  on  this  account  it  is  laid  aside. 

If  the  leaves  are  well  bruised,  and  the  pulp  washed  and 
cleaned  by  water,  a  strong  filamentous  substance  like  silk-grass 
is  obtained,  which  might  be  applied  to  several  uses. 

This  plant  is  of  so  enormous  a  size,  that  no  part  of  it  could 
be  laid  down  as  a  specimen. 

HEPTANDRIA  MONOGYNIA. 

51.  Pisonia  aculeata,  L. — Fingrigo  Bush. 

This  shrub  grows  in  thickets,  and  has  many  small  trunks 
from  the  same  root.  In  appearance  and  prickles  it  resembles 
the  black  thorn.  The  leaves  are  small  and  numerous ;  the 
blossoms  white  and  globular.  The  fruit  is  a  small  bur,  of 
an  oval  shape,  which  sticks  to  the  mouths  of  cattle,  and  is 
disengaged  with  difficulty. 

It  would  seem  that  it  might  be  made  into  fences.  If  it  has 
any  medicinal  virtues  we  are  entirely  ignorant  of  them. 

OCTANDRIA  MONOGYNIA. 
52.  Guabea  trichilioides,  L — Musk-Wood. 

This  tree  is  frequently  met  with  in  most  of  our  woodlands. 
It  grows  to  a  middle  size ;  the  outer  bark  is  rough  and  grey ; 


DR  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA.  _^    2i$5 

the  inner  bark  and  wood  are  red,  and  smell  something  like 
musk.  The  wood  is  soft,  splits  easily,  and  is  used  for  wat- 
tling houses. 

This  is  a  shady  tree ;  the  leaves  are  broad,  and  of  a  lively 
green,  and  the  flowers  are  white.  The  berry  is  brown,  hard, 
and  large  as  a  nutmeg.     The  seeds  are  red. 

Decoctions  of  the  bark  are  sometimes  given  in  gravelly 
complaints. 

53.  Coccoloba  uvifeka,  L. — Sea-side  Grape. 

This  grape-tree  is  of  the  middle  size,  and  grows  by  the  sea- 
side. The  trunk  is  grey  ;  the  leaves  broad,  round,  and  of  a 
light  green  colour.  The  blossoms  are  white  and  pendulous. 
The  fruit  is  a  berry  of  a  black  or  purple  colour,  tasting  sweet 
and  subacid,  and  having  a  stone  in  the  middle,  in  which  is 
contained  a  single  seed. 

The  fruit  is  sometimes  served  up  as  a  repast,  and  the  bark 
is  reckoned  an  excellent  astringent  in  watery  purgings  and  in 
dysenteries,  after  the  inflammatory  symptoms  have  been  abat- 
ed by  bleeding,  purges,  and  diluents. 

54.  Rivina  octandra,  L — Cooper --Withe. 

Cooper-withe  grows  in  fences,  and  in  lands  suffered  to  grow 
up  in  weeds  and  bushes.  The  trunk  and  branches  are  woody, 
slender,  and  covered  with  a  brown  coloured  bark.  The  leaves 
are  of  a  light  green  colour.  Many  white  fragrant  blossoms 
grow  in  a  spike,  which  are  followed  by  numerous  black, 
smooth,  shining  berries,  of  the  size  of  currants,  containing 
many  small  seeds.  The  berries  are  sweet,  and  have  a  rich 
purple  juice. 

About  the  time  of  flowering  may  be  seen  many  remarkable 
excrescences,  out  of  which  grow  leaves  and  blossoms. 


9,66  EXTRACTS  FROM 


55.  Daphne  Lagetto,  W.  W. — Alligator  Bark.  Tree. 

This  tree  grows  on  rocky  hills  and  places  almost  inaccessible, 
to  a  middle  size.  The  trunk  is  grey,  the  leaves  green  and 
shining,  the  blossoms  small  and  numerous. 

The  bark  of  this  tree  was  long  known  to  the  rebellious 
Negroes,  under  Colonel  Cudjoe,  before  their  capitulation  in 
1739 ;  it  is  still  procured,  and  sold  to  the  white  people. 

A  straight  piece  of  the  trunk  being  cut  to  a  proper  length, 
is  beaten  with  a  smooth  stick  till  round ;  the  bark  is  then 
pulled  off,  the  outer  grey  skin  is  separated  as  useless,  and  the 
rest  is  put  into  a  pail  of  clean  water,  where  it  is  soaked  a 
few  hours,  and  rinsed  with  fresh  supplies  of  water. 

Before  it  is  quite  dry,  begin  to  separate  the  laminae.  They 
consist  of  about  twenty  or  more ;  these,  when  dry,  are  like  fine 
clear  gauze. 

Thus  has  dame  Nature  furnished  a  cloth  ready  woven  and 
bleached  ;  our  ladies  make  it  into  caps,  ruffles,  and  even  en- 
tire dresses.  If  carefully  managed,  it  will  bear  to  be  several 
times  washed  with  soap  and  water. 

I  am  of  opinion  that  this  bark  might  easily  be  made  into 
paper,  as  it  seems  to  become  a  homogeneous  mass  when  mace- 
rated in  water  *. 

56.  Ximenia  Americana,  L. — Indian  Date  Plum. 

Though  this  tree  is  seldom  more  than  four  feet,  yet  I  have 
seen  it  ten  or  fifteen  feet  high.  The  trunk  and  branches  are 
grey  and  prickly,  the  blossoms  small  and  numerous,  the  fruit 
like  a  small  plum,  oval-shaped  and  black. 

•  Dr  Wright  was  the  first  botanist  who  discovered  this  tree  [to  be  a 
species  of  Daphne.  He  brought  home  the  flowers,  capsules,  and  seeds  ; 
and  it  has  been  since  received  into  the  Linnean  system. 


DB   WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA.  _  26? 

OCTANDRIA  TRIGYNIA. 

57.  Sapindus  saponaria,  L. — Soap-Berry  Tree. 

In  low  moist  savannahs  we  commonly  meet  with  the  soap- 
berry tree.  It  grows  to  a  considerable  height.  The  trunk 
is  straight  and  grey,  the  heart  of  the  wood  firm  and  useful  in 
small  buildings.  The  leaves  are  of  a  particular  form ;  the 
flowers  are  very  small  and  white,  and  the  berries  are  larger 
than  a  cherry,  and  yellow,  containing  a  soft  pulp,  which  is 
useful  in  washing  clothes.  It  has  a  smooth  shining  black 
round  nut,  in  which  is  contained  a  sweet  kernel. 

58.  Paullinia  pinnata,  L. — Supple-jack  Wit  he. 

This  delights  in  rocky  woodlands,  and  runs  upon  trees. 
The  external  bark  is  grey,  and  a  little  red.  The  wood  is 
white,  and  knotted,  the  fibres  being  variously  contorted  ;  it  is 
very  flexible,  and  is  generally  cut  for  walking-sticks  or 
switches.  The  leaf  is  compounded  very  prettily  ;  the  blos- 
soms are  white,  small,  and  numerous ;  the  berries  are  red,  and 
of  the  size  of  currants,  having  a  scarlet  pulp,  and  one  black 
seed. 

Supple-jacks  are  cut  to  the  length  wanted  ;  being  heated  in 
hot  ashes,  the  bark  easily  separates,  and,  if  rubbed  with 
lime-juice,  become  a  little  red. 

DECANDRIA  MONOGYNIA. 

59.  Parkinsonia  aculeata.  L. — Jerusalem  Thorn. 

The  seeds  of  this  beautiful  tree  are  said  to  have  been  ori- 
ginally brought  from  Smyrna.     It  grows  to  a  middle  size 


268  DR  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA. 

has  long  small  compounded  leaves,  of  a  lively  green  colour. 
The  flowers  are  yellow.  The  pods  are  long  and  round,  con- 
taining several  oblong  seeds.  The  tree  is  planted  for  fences, 
as  it  is  prickly.     It  has  no  medicinal  virtues. 

60.    Melastoma  velutina,  Willd. —  Velvet  Leaf. 

This  plant  is  about  four  feet  high,  and  the  leaves  appear 
and  feel  like  Manchester  velvet.  The  blossoms  grow  in  clus- 
ters, are  white,  pentapetalous,  and  have  declined  stamina. 
The  fruit  is  a  berry,  black,  hairy,  and  oblong ;  hence  I  sup- 
pose it  to  be  the  American  gooseberry.  The  berry  tastes 
sweet,  and  contains  many  small  seeds. 

61.  Phytolacca  icosandra,  L. — Mountain  Caliloo.    Pock-Weed. 

This  plant  is  of  speedy  growth.  The  stem  is  herbaceous. 
The  leaves  are  of  a  deep  green  colour.  The  flowers,  growing 
in  a  spike,  are  white.  The  berries  are  red,  and  of  the  size 
of  a  currant;  on  being  broken,  they  are  found  to  contain 
many  seeds,  and  a  fine  rich  purple  juice,  which  stains  cloth 
or  paper  red  ;  but  the  colour  soon  decays.  Many  attempts 
have  been  made  to  fix  the  dye,  but  in  vain.  The  leaves  of 
the  very  young  plants,  boiled,  are  excellent  greens,  and  are 
used  as  such  by  the  Negroes  in  their  diet. 

62.  Iresine  celosioides,  L — Bitter  Weed. 

This  plant  delights  in  shady  places.  The  leaves  are  of  a 
dull  green  colour,  and  the  numerous  florets  are  white.  The 
seeds  are  very  small,  and,  when  ripe,  are  surrounded  by  a 
down  which  serves  to  waft  them  with  the  breeze. 

The  leaves  are  very  bitter,  and  are  used  by  some  for  the 
cure  of  that  stage  of  gonorrhoea  called  Gonorrhaea  virulentis, 
and  sanguinolenta. 


DR  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA.  ^2$) 


63.   Guilandina  BONDUC,  L. — Xicar  Tree. 

This  prickly  bush  grows  chiefly  by  the  sea-side.  It  is  low, 
and  has  many  spreading  branches.  The  leaves  are  numerous, 
shining,  and  of  a  light  green.  The  flowers  are  yellow.  The 
pods  are  large,  brown,  and  prickly,  each  containing  a  round 
hard  nut,  like  the  marbles  used  by  children.  The  kernels  of 
nicars  are  deemed  by  some  astringent,  by  others  diuretic. 

64.  Vaccinium  iueridionale,  S?v. — Jamaica  Bilberry. 

This  is  frequent  in  savannahs.  The  leaves  are  broad  and 
shining ;  the  blossoms  red  and  white.  The  berries,  of  the 
bulk  of  a  black  currant,  are  first  red,  then  black,  and  of  an 
agreeable  taste,  and  are  sometimes  served  as  a  dessert. 

65.  GffiSALPiNiA  vesicaria,  L. — Bruziletto  Wood. 

The  Braziletto  tree  grows  on  rocky  lands,  rising  to  a  mid- 
dle size ;  the  trunk  is  scaly  and  dark-brown,  the  leaves 
green  and  numerous ;  the  spike  of  yellow  blossoms  is  very 
pretty,  and  the  brown  pods  contain  several  seeds. 

The  wood  is  hard,  elastic,  and  fitted  for  several  uses  in 
plantation  utensils.  Its  colour  is  a  fine  red,  but  very  little  of 
it  is  exported  to  Britain. 

66.  Melia  sempervirens,  Sw. — Hoop-Tree,  or  Bead-Tree. 

It  is  believed  that  this  tree  was  imported  from  America, 
as  its  wood  was  supposed  to  be  well  suited  for  making  hoops ; 
but  it  is  either  too  cheap,  or  not  found  to  answer  the  inten- 
tion, as  it  is  seldom  or  never  made  use  of  by  the  planters. 


270  EXTRACTS  FROM 

The  leaves  are  of  a  lively  green  colour,  the  blossoms  are  a 
pale  red ;  the  stamina  purple  ;  and,  as  it  is  always  in  bloom,  it 
is  reckoned  one  of  the  prettiest  shrubs  we  have.  The  berries 
are  round,  and  contain  hard  seeds. 

Some  people  here  think  this  plant  poisonous,  but  I  cannot 
think  so,  as  horses  eat  the  berries  without  injury,  and  even 
fatten  on  them.  This,  by  the  bye,  is  a  good  mark  to  judge 
of  plants  or  fruits,  and  I  have  made  it  a  rule  never  to  taste 
any  leaf  or  fruit  which  is  avoided  by  cattle  or  insects. 

67.   Melastoma  prasina,  Sw. —  Wild  Currants. 

There  are  several  varieties  of  this  which  differ  but  little. 
The  leaves  are  of  a  dull  green  hue  ;  the  blossoms  are  white, 
and  have  declined  stamina  ;  the  berries  are  less  than  currants, 
taste  sweet,  and  contain  sundry  seeds. 

This  plant  is  frequent  in  moist  savannahs,  and  is  four  or 
five  feet  in  height. 

68.  Poinciana  pulcherrima,  L. — Flower  Fence,  or  Spanish 
Carnation. 

This  shewy  shrub  grows  wild  in  sandy  places,  and,  on  ac- 
count of  its  great  beauty,  is  planted  in  gardens.  Its  height 
is  ten  feet,  or  upwards. 

The  leaves  have  a  disagreeable  smell,  and  are  said  to  be 
emenagogue,  and  cathartic.  Some  people  make  use  of  them 
as  such,  but  they  are  not  admitted  in  the  practice  of  the  phy- 
sician. 

69.  Cassia  emarginata,  L. — Antigua  Senna. 

This  woody  plant  is  perennial,  and  grows  eight  or  ten  feet 
high.     It  puts  us  in  mind  of  the  blossoms  of  broom  or  furze. 


DR  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA.  ^     ^71 

The  pods  are  about  three  inches  long,  and  contain  many 
seeds,  surrounded  with  a  sweet  pulp. 

A  double  quantity  of  the  dried  leaves,  infused  in  boiling 
water,  smells  like  the  Alexandrian  senna,  and  produces  simi- 
lar effects. 

70.   Banisteria  l,aurifolia,  L. — Dragon  Withe,  or  White 
Withe. 

This  withe  twists  round  the  trunk  and  branches  of  trees, 
and  is  called  the  White  Withe.  Pretty  switches  or  walking- 
sticks  are  made  of  it. 

In  May  it  has  many  yellow  blossoms,  very  like  the  mal- 
pighia  in  structure  and  height. 

71.  Cassia  mimosioides,  L. — Bastard  Sensitive  Plant. 

This  small  sensitive  plant  is  found  in  cane-piece  intervals ; 
it  is  seldom  above  a  foot  high ;  the  stalks  are  red  and  prick- 
ly ;  the  leaves  are  small,  the  blossoms  small  and  yellow,  the 
pods  flat,  and  the  seeds  small. 

DECANDRIA  TRIGYNIA. 

72.  Malpighia  punicifolia,  L. — Barbadoes  Cherry. 

This  appears  to  be  a  native  of  the  West  India  Islands. 
The  trunk  is  black  and  thorny  ;  sending  off  many  branches, 
furnished  with  dark  green  leaves.  The  blossoms  are  small, 
numerous,  and  pale  red.  The  berries,  in  size  and  colour,  are 
like  a  cherry.  They  have  a  fine  sweet  and  subacid  taste,  and 
contain  three  seeds. 

The  tree  may  be  propagated  from  the  seeds,  but  best  from 
cuttings  of  the  branches,  which,  in  two  years,  will  bear  frui^ 


272  EXTRACTS  FROM 

73.  Malpighia  crassifolia,  L. — Locust-Tree. 

The  locust-tree,  so  called,  is  a  native  of  this  island,  and  grows 
wild  in  the  woods,  to  a  considerable  height ;  yet  the  trees  will 
bear  fruit  when  only  four  or  five  feet  high. 

The  trunks  are  grey  and  knotty.  The  leaves  are  pretty 
broad,  smooth,  and  shining.  The  blossoms  grow  in  a  cluster, 
are  yellow,  and  very  numerous. 

The  fruit  is  yellow,  round,  and  as  large  as  a  cherry ;  when 
ripe,  it  is  soft,  and  tastes  very  agreeably. 


DECANDRIA  PENTAGYNIA. 

74.  Spondias  myrobalanus,  L. — Hog-Plum. 

This  is  a  large  tree,  growing  spontaneously.  The  trunk  is 
grey  and  furrowed.  At  certain  times  of  the  year,  if  chopped, 
a  clear  insipid  gum  may  be  obtained,  similar  to  gum-arabic. 

The  leaves  are  pretty  broad,  and  of  a  light  green.  The 
blossoms  are  disposed  in  racemes,  and  are  small,  of  a  whitish 
yellow  colour,  and  a  fragrant  smell.  The  fruit  is  of  a  yellow 
colour. 

The  bark  is  astringent. 

The  wild  hog  feeds  on  these,  and  on  many  other  ripe  fruits 
and  roots,  with  which  our  forests  abound.  This  may  account 
for  the  firmness  and  delicacy  of  its  flesh,  which  is  greatly 
preferred  by  the  knights  of  the  trencher  to  any  thing  in  the 
country,  turtle  excepted. 

75.  Spondias  Mombin,  L. — Brasilian  Plum,  or  Spanish  Plum. 

Spanish  Plum  does  not  seem  to  be  a  native  of  this  island, 
as  it  is  only  found  about  settlements.  It  grows  to  a  middle 
size.     The  bark  is  smooth  and  brown  ;  the  wood  soft,  and  of 


DR  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA.  273 

no  use.  It  sheds  its  numerous  shining  leaves  in  January  ;  in 
April  a  vast  number  of  beautiful  small  florets  bud  forth  on 
the  trunks  and  small  twigs,  then  follow  the  leaves,  and  lastly 
a  smooth  shining  purple  plum,  of  an  agreeable  taste  and 
smell,  containing  a  hard  stone,  whose  surface  seems  woven  in 
a  net-like  manner  with  cross  fibres. 

These  plums,  when  full  grown,  are  stewed  with  sugar 
into  a  kind  of  marmalade,  and,  if  eaten  with  milk,  make  an 
agreeable  repast. 

The  specimen  of  florets  which  I  examined  had  only  four 
styles,  but  it  was  not  worth  while  to  rank  it  differently  on  that 
account. 

76.  Rhizophora  mangle,  L. — Mangrove  Tree. 

The  mangrove  tree  grows  nowhere  else  but  in  salt  marshes 
by  the  sea-side.  Its  height  is  often  fifty  feet.  The  trunk  sel- 
dom exceeds  eighteen  inches  in  diameter.  The  wood  is  hard, 
and  useful  in  building  houses,  especially  if  made  into  posts  to 
be  sunk  in  the  earth,  which  will  last  many  years. 

The  bark  of  this  tree  might  be  useful  in  tanning  leather. 

Mangrove  leaves  are  of  a  shining  green  colour.  The  blos- 
soms are  yellow ;  the  fruit  long  and  pointed.  Some  of  the 
branches  point  directly  down  into  the  water,  and  taking  root  in 
the  earth,  rise  again  into  another  tree  ;  so  that  arcades  from  ten 
to  fifteen  feet  high  are  formed,  and  in  this  manner  the  body 
of  the  tree  is  supported. 

77-  Crate va  gynandra,  L. —  Garlic  Pear. 

This  tree  is  of  the  size  of  a  cherry-tree.     The  leaves  are 
numerous,  and  of  a  light  green  colour.     In  March  and  April 

S 


274  EXTRACTS  FROM 

the  flowers  appear.  The  petals  are  white,  the  stamina  long 
and  red.  The  fruit  ripens  in  June  ;  they  are  of  the  bulk  of  a 
crab-apple,  and  relished  by  some  people. 

The  leaves,  beaten  up  into  a  mass,  are  useful  as  stimulating 
cataplasms,  in  fevers,  with  stupor  and  delirium. 


78.  Triumfetta  rhombeafolia,  Sw. — Paroquet  Bur. 

This  delights  in  sunny  situations  by  the  road-side,  and  in 
open  pastures.  It  grows  to  five  or  six  feet  high.  The  leaves 
are  broad,  soft,  and  of  a  lively  green  colour.  The  trunk  and 
branches  are  brown  ;  the  blossoms  small,  yellow,  and  nume- 
rous, are  succeeded  by  many  red  burs,  which,  when  ripe, 
stick  to  one's  clothes,  and  mat  the  manes  of  horses. 

The  bark,  soaked  for  eight  or  ten  days  in  fair  water, 
then  washed  and  dried,  makes  a  white  strong  hemp.  Some 
time  or  other  this  may  be  one  of  the  staple  articles  of  this 
and  other  West  India  settlements. 

This  hemp  might  be  manufactured  at  a  small  expence,  es- 
pecially where  rivers  are  near,  and  would  amply  repay  the 
manufacturer  for  his  care  and  ingenuity. 


79-  Triumfetta. — Paroquet  Bur,  with  Small  Leaves. 

The  leaves  of  this  species  are  very  small  and  numerous.  The 
trunk  is  grey,  smooth  and  straight,  but  does  not  rise  so  high 
as  the  preceding.  In  other  respects  the  flowers,  bur  and 
hemp,  differ  little  or  nothing. 

The  green  paroquet  feeds  on  the  ripe  burs  of  this  and  the 
other  two  species  of  the  plant. 


DB   WlilGIIT's  HEKBARIA.  275 


80.  Triumfktta  Laimtla,  L. — (uiiiitti- Pa rtiqUet  Bur. 

This  plant  does  not  rise  so  high  as  the  rhombeafblia ;  its 
trunk  is  more  branched  and  knotty.  The  leaves  are  darker, 
and  of  a  different  shape.  The  Mowers  and  burs  are  similar 
to  the  preceding.  But  it  yields  a  hemp  of  an  inferior  qua- 
lity, on  account  of  the  knots  and  branches. 

DODECANDRIA  TKIGYNIA. 

81.  Euphorbia  parviflora,  L. —  Wart-Weed. 

This  may  be  seen  in  cane-piece  intervals;  it  is  a  foot  high, 
and  has  smooth  bluish  leaves.  The  florets  are  small,  and  grow 
together,  in  a  capitulum  or  button-like  manner.  On  break- 
ing the  stalks,  a  milky  juice  is  emitted,  which  is  applied  for 
the  cure  of  warts  and  ring-worms. 

82.  Euphorbia  thymifolia,  L. —  Wart-Weed. 

The  smallest  of  the  above  grows  in  very  barren  lands,  and 
creeps  close  to  the  ground,  the  stalks  are  red,  as  are  also  the 
leaves,  inclinable  to  green. 

The  stalks  and  leaves,  beaten  up  into  a  mass,  and  mixed 
with  rum,  are  excellent  and  safe  in  the  cure  of  ring-worms. 

83.  Euphorbia  hypericifolia,  L. —  Wart-Weed,  or  Spurge. 

I  am  of  opinion  that  the  sundry  plants  of  this  denomina- 
tion all  belong  to  the  genus  Euphorbia.  This  sort  grows  in 
every  ground  lately  dug  up.  It  is  used  to  cat  down  warts. 
and  is  applied  to  ringworms. 

Ringworms  are  very  troublesome,  being  easily  got  from 
contact,  or  by  lying  in  foul  beds,  but   they   are  of  difficult 

s2 


276  EXT  It  ACTS  FROM 

cure  when  of  any  standing,  as  they  occasion  ulcers  of  an  ill 
kind,  nay,  often  caries  of  the  bone,  scarce  curable  by  art.  In 
some  parts  of  Spanish  America,  ringworms  are  epidemic  and 
incurable,  as  they  know  not  the  proper  applications  at  first. 

In  the  beginning  the  spurge  may  be  bruised  and  applied  to 
the  part  affected,  and  it  will  put  the  ringworms  away.  I 
have  often  cured  them  by  a  small  bit  of  mercurial  ointment, 
but  more  frequently  and  radically  by  the  application  of  sul- 
phur, either  in  an  ointment,  or  plaster.  This  last  seems  to 
be  the  most  effectual  in  old  and  inveterate  ringworms. 


POLYADELPHIA  PENTANDRIA. 

84.  Theobroma  cacao. — Chocolate  Tree,  or  Cocoa. 

In  former  days  this  tree  was  carefully  and  abundantly  cul- 
tivated in  this  island ;  and  we  have  at  present  a  few  scattered 
remains,  as  monuments  of  our  indolence  and  want  of  thought. 

The  chocolate  tree  seldom  rises  higher  than  twenty  feet, 
and  is  so  shady  that  the  trunk  cannot  be  seen  at  a  distance. 
The  leaves  are  broad  and  shining ;  the  blossoms  grow  from 
the  trunk  and  larger  branches ;  they  are  small,  and  pale  red. 
The  pods  are  four  inches  long,  and  two  in  diameter,  furrowed 
on  the  outside,  and  of  a  yellowish  red  colour ;  they  contain 
about  twenty  seeds,  of  the  size  of  almonds,  imbedded  in  a 
sweet  pulp. 

The  ripe  cocoa  is  gathered  and  put  into  close  casks,  to 
sweat,  so  that  the  pulp  round  the  seeds  may  be  rolled  out. 
The  nuts  are  then  dried  on  sheets,  and  put  in  bags,  for  use 
or  sale. 

The  natives  are  very  fond  of  chocolate,  and  great  quanti- 
ties are  yearly  imported  from  our  Spanish  neighbours ;  this 
is  often  rancid :  what  grows  here  is  much  better. 


DR  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA.  277 

The  manner  of  preparing  the  nuts,  is  by  gently  toasting 
and  grinding  them  betwixt  two  smooth  stones,  when  it  be- 
comes a  mass  of  the  consistence  of  dough.  The  whole  is 
made  into  rolls,  and,  when  dried  in  the  shade,  put  up  for 
use. 


ICOSANDRIA  MONOGYNIA. 

85.   Chhysobalanus  Jkaco,  L. — Cocoa  Plum. 

This  bush  often  grows  fifteen  feet  high,  but  will  bear  fruit 
when  very  low.  The  leaves  are  of  a  dark-green  colour.  The 
flowers  are  white,  small  and  numerous. 

Cocoa  plums  are  oval-shaped,  and  are  as  large  as  the  Or- 
leans plum.  They  taste  sweet,  and  have  a  stone  the  size  of 
a  hazel  nut,  in  which  is  a  white  kernel,  which  tastes  like  the 
almond. 

86.  Comocladia  integrifolia,  L. — Maiden  Plum. 

The  trunk  of  this  tree  is  commonly  small,  and  of  a  con- 
siderable height.  It  grows  wild  in  woods  and  unfrequented 
places,  and  sends  off  its  branches  towards  the  top,  in  form  of 
an  umbrella. 

The  flowers  spring  from  amongst  the  branches  ;  they  arc 
numerous,  small,  and  red.  The  fruit  is  a  berry  of  the  size 
and  colour  of  the  cherry  ;  they  taste  sweet,  and  are  eaten  by 
the  children. 

The  wood  is  hard,  red,  and  ponderous ;  it  will  take  a  fine 
polish,  but  is  too  small  for  the  use  of  the  cabinet  maker. 


278  l.XTKAC    IS   FROM 

87-    PsiDIUJVX   PYRIFERUM,    L. GlldVCl  Bltsh. 

The  guava  tree  or  bush  grows  spontaneously,  especially 
about  settlements.  The  trunks  of  the  oldest  trees  are  sel- 
dom more  than  eight  inches  in  diameter,  so  that  although  the 
wood  is  hard,  it  can  be  of  little  use  to  the  carpenter.  On  the 
outside  the  bark  is  smooth  and  white,  on  the  inside  red  and 
astringent ;  hence  it  is  often  made  into  decoctions  to  stop 
watery  pui'gings,  as  also  to  tan  leather. 

The  blossoms  are  white,  and  have  very  little  smell.  The  fruit 
is,  when  ripe,  round,  yellow,  and  of  the  size  of  a  golden  pippin, 
containing  a  red  or  yellow  pulp,  with  many  hard  seeds.  This 
pulp  tastes  pleasant  enough,  but  often  contains  worms. 

An  excellent  marmalade  is  made  of  the  fruit. 

88.  Psidium  Wrightii,  *  Herb.  Lamb. — Mountain  Guava. 

This  is  a  large,  tall,  and  straight  tree,  very  frequent  in 
woodlands.  The  trunk  is  smooth  and  white.  The  inner 
bark  is  red,  and  tastes  astringent.  The  leaves  are  smooth, 
shining,  and  of  a  light-green  colour.  The  flowers  are  small- 
er than  those  of  the  guava  bush.  The  fruit  is  rather  less, 
falls  off  green  from  the  trees,  is  of  the  same  figure,  smells 
agreeably,  and  by  some  is  imagined  to  be  more  delicate. 

Mountain  guava  trees  make  excellent  inside  timber  for 
houses,  but  it  does  not  last  long  when  exposed  to  the  weather. 

POLYANDRIA  MONOGYNIA. 

89.  Achras  Sapota,  L. — Naseberry  Tree. 
This  middle-sized  tree  seems  to  be  a  native  of  the  West 
Indies.  The  bark  is  furrowed  lengthways,  and  cracked  acros, 

*  By  a  communication  from  Mr  David  Don,  it  appears  that  this  is 
regarded  as  a  new  species  of  Psidium,  and  is  entered  in  the  Lambertian 
Herbarium  under  the  name  here  given. 


I)li    WKKillLS    IIKUIiAlMA.  ^79 

like  Peruvian  bark  ;  the  tree  is  shady,  and  the  leaves  of  a 
shining  deep  green.  The  flowers  are  small  and  white.  The 
fruit  is  round,  of  the  size  and  colour  of  a  pear.  W heft-ripe, 
they  are  remarkably  sweet,  and  reckoned  one  of  our  best 
fruits.  They  contain  a  few  black  shining  seeds.  The  tree 
has  a  remarkable  smell,  even  at  a  distance. 

A  very  large  tree  in  the  woods  differs  from  this  in  size, 
and  the  bulk  of  the  fruit,  which  is  small,  but  of  the  same 
figure  and  quality.  The  barks  of  both  these  trees  were  for- 
merly in  great  vogue  amongst  the  vulgar  for  the  cure  of  inter- 
mittent fevers,  but  are  now  laid  aside  as  at  best  uncertain:  For, 
either  by  neglect  or  unsuccessful  treatment,  there  is  great 
danger  of  intermittents  continuing  long,  as  they  too  often 
degenerate  into  continual,  putrid  or  remitting  fevers,  which 
elude  the  skill  of  the  physician  ;  or  if  the  patient  escapes 
these,  the  intermittent  will  form  obstructions  of  the  viscera, 
(and  particularly  in  the  liver),  producing  consequences  very 
difficult  to  remove. 

In  all  inte'rmitting  fevers,  I  have  constantly  found  the  state 
of  the  blood  very  viscid,  and  sometimes  buffy,  and  I  never 
attempt  a  cure  before  an  evacuation  is  made  by  bleeding.  An 
antimonial  vomit  is  next  administered,  and  the  cure  completed 
by  the  peruvian  bark.  But  if  the  disorder  is  of  some  stand- 
ing, and  by  the  patient's  having  a  sallow  complexion  and 
a  fixed  pain  at  the  pit  of  the  stomach,  it  appears  that  ob- 
structions of  the  viscera  are  already  formed,  then  a  few  mild 
mereurials  will  not  only  remove  the  obstructions,  but  the  in- 
termittent at  the  same  time. 

If  the  intermittent  has  turned  to  a  continual  or  remitting 
fever,  the  patient  being  kept  cool,  I  give  the  bark  immediate- 
ly;  nor  did  I  ever  observe  it  prejudicial  where  it  lies  on  the 
patient's  stomach  ;  on  the  contrary,  a  fair  intermission  is  soon 
brought  about,  and  the  sick  person  is  speedily  restored  to  per- 
fect health. 

2 


280  EXTRACTS  FROM 


90.  Mammea  Americana,  L. — Mammee  Tree. 

Mammee  trees  grow  in  most  woodlands,  to  a  great  thick- 
ness and  height.  The  outer  bark  is  rough  and  brown  :  the 
leaves  are  many,  broad,  smooth,  shining,  and  of  a  deep-green 
colour.  In  June  and  July  the  tree  puts  forth  blossoms,  whose 
petals  are  white,  the  antherae  are  yellow,  and  are  divided  in- 
to four  equal  parts  ;  when  these  drop,  they  leave  one  style 
on  the  germen. 

The  fruit  called  the  Mammee  Apple,  is  as  large  as  a  man's 
head  ;  the  external  covering  is  rough,  and  of  the  colour  of  a 
winter  pear.  The  rind  is  two  inches  thick,  of  the  colour,  and 
not  unlike  the  taste,  of  the  carrot ;  some  people  are  fond  of 
eating  this  fruit,  which  contains  two  rough  brown  woody  nuts. 
The  wild  hogs  of  this  country  greedily  eat  of  it. 

It  is  dangerous  to  suffer  this  tree  to  grow  near  settlements, 
or  by  the  road-side,  for  should  its  heavy  fruit  fall  on  man 
or  beast,  it  would  assuredly  break  their  bones,  or  kill  them 
on  the  spot. 

On  chopping  the  tree,  a  thick  yellow  gum  or  balsam  oozes 
out.  This  being  melted  with  fat  cures  the  itch>  and  prevents 
the  chigres  in  Negroes'  feet.  A  decoction  of  the  bark  is  equal- 
ly efficacious  in  the  cure  of  the  itch,  but  it  is  said  to  tan  the 
skin  of  white  people,  and  is  therefore  only  in  use  amongst  the 
Negroes. 

Mammee  gum  tastes  hot  and  acrid,  and  is  said  to  be  pos- 
sessed of  strong  attenuating  powers  ;  but  this  seems  to  be 
doubtful,  as  the  decoction  of  the  bark  is  a  dangerous  poison; 
and  a  gentleman  who  washed  a  flock  of  mangy  sheep  with  it 
blinded  every  one  of  them  instantly. 


Dll  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA.  281 

91.  Corchorus  siliquosus,  L. — Pea,  or  Broomtveed. 

This  rises  to  five  or  six  feet ;  has  smooth  \vooc!y  stems, 
many  tea-like  leaves,  small  yellow  blossoms,  and  small,  long, 
black  pods,  full  of  many  indigo-coloured  seeds. 

92.  Bignonia  PENTAFHY1.LA. — Bastard  Cedar. 

This  kind  of  cedar  grows  in  marshes  by  the  sea-side :  the 
trunk  is  brown,  and  rough  ;  the  leaves  are  withered-like,  and 
the  branches  are  often  beset  with  the  conjugate  mistletoe, 
which  destroys  many  of  this  species. 

In  July,  nothing  can  surpass  the  beauty  of  the  bastard 
cedar ;  the  flowers  are  large,  numerous,  funnel-shaped,  and 
of  a  pale-red' colour :  they  last  but  a  short  time,  and  are  fol- 
lowed by  long  pods  with  many  seeds. 

The  blossoms  are  said  to  be  an  antidote  against  the  man- 
chioneel  poison-apple. 

93.  Crescentia  cucurbitina,  L. — Marsh  Calabash. 

Near  the  sea,  and  in  brackish  marshy  places,  we  find  this 
middle-sized  tree.  The  leaves  are  of  a  shining  green :  the 
blossoms  grow  on  the  branches.  The  calabash  is  pointed,  and 
six  or  seven  inches  long. 

Some  think  this  to  be  the  Indian  dye,  but  by  some  experi- 
ence I  find  it  not  to  be  so. 

94.  Verbena  nodiflora,  L. — Ipecacuanha  of  Father  Labat,  or 
Velvet  Bur. 

This  plant  grows  in  cultivated  lands,  and  in  cane-piece  in- 
tervals. The  leaves  feel  rough,  and  are  covered  with  a  kind  of 
down.     The  blossoms  arc  disposed  in  globose  heads,  and  arc 


282  EXTRACTS  FKOM 

small  and  white.      These  are  succeeded  by  a  smooth  fiat  bur, 
containing  many  hard  capsules,  of  a  chocolate  colour. 

The  stems  of  this  plant  are  quadrangular,  and  jointed  ; 
the  fresh  roots  are  very  like  the  true  ipecacuanha,  but  lose 
their  wrinkled  appearance  when  dry,  nor  have  they  any 
emetic  quality.  Decoctions  of  the  plant  are  said  to  be  astrin- 
gent, and  are  given  in  female  complaints  and  dysenteries,  with 
good  effect.  For  this  last  purpose,  however,  we  are  acquaint- 
ed with  more  powerful  medicines. 


DIDYNAMIA  ANGIOSPERMIA. 

95.  Brunsfblsia  Americana,  L. —  The  Cup  Berry-Bush. 

This  is  a  low  shrub ;  it  has  long,  narrow  pointed  leaves, 
of  a  shining  green  colour,  growing  thick  on  the  branches. 
The  flowers  are  funnel-shaped,  long  and  white.  The  berry 
is  yellow,  soft,  and  agreeable  to  the  taste,  containing  many 
seeds. 

96.  Ruellia  Blechum,  L. — John's  Bush. 

The  stem  of  this  plant  is  herbaceous,  square,  and  jointed ; 
from  each  joint  grow  four  leaves;  the  flowers  are  bell-shaped 
and  blue ;  the  seeds  naked  and  black. 

The  juice  of  the  leaves,  mixed  with  tincture  of  gum  guaia- 
cum,  is  used  in  erosions  of  the  palate  in  venereal  disorders, 
and  in  yaws. 

We  have  many  deplorable  instances  of  the  dreadful  effects 
of  these  American  maladies.  The  loss  of  the  palate  is  com- 
mon, and  I  have  made  cures  where  several  spongy  bones 
have  been  separated,  and  where  the  nasal  bones  have  dropped 
out. 

These  disorders  in  an  advanced  state,  will  yield  to  a  simi- 
lar method  of  cure,  viz.  mild  mercurials,  mixed  with   dia- 


1)11  WRIGHTS  lllvltlJAltlA.  283 

phoretic  ingredients,  so  as  to  give  the  mercury  a  tendency  to- 
wards the  skin  ;  and  a  constant  diet-drink  of  sarsaparilla,  lig- 
num-vita?,  sassafras,  and  the  like. 

TETIl ADYNAMIA  S1L1CULOSA. 
97-  Lepibium  virginicum,  L. — Pepper  Grass. 

Pepper-grass  grows  wild  in  most  places  of  Jamaica. 

It  is  a  very  pretty  plant,  and  its  taste  is  nearly  similar  to 
that  of  the  garden-cress,  for  which  it  is  often  substituted  in 
sallads. 

TETRADYNAMIA  SILIQUOSA. 

98.  Cleome  triphylla,  L. — Indian  Cress. 

Indian  cresses  grow  in  lands  lately  hoed,  or  dug  into  cane- 
holes.  The  plant  is  annual,  herbaceous,  and  two  feet  in 
height.  The  flowers  are  white,  pods  round,  and  two  inches 
long,  having  many  seeds.  The  leaves  are  of  a  deep  green 
colour.     They  taste  very  like  the  garden-cress. 

MONADELPHIA  PENTANDRIA. 

99.  Passifi.ora  quadrangularis,  L. — Granadilla. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  passion-flower,  or  Granadilla  vine, 
cultivated  in  Jamaica ;  the  leaves  are  broad,  shining,  and 
green  ;  the  flowers  are  most  beautifully  variegated,  blue  and 
white.  One  has  a  fruit  as  large  as  a  water-melon ;  that  of  the 
other  is  much  smaller,  and  the  smaller  sort  is  by  far  the  best. 

Ripe  granadillas  have  a  pleasant  acid  taste,  and  are  ranked 
with  our  best  fruits.  In  ardent  fevers,  these  and  other  acid 
fruits  are  extremely  grateful  and  salutary. 


284  EXTRACTS  FROM 

100.  Passiflora  suberosa,  L. 

The  passiflora  suberosa  is  a  creeping  small  slip,  growing  in 
fences ;  the  leaves  are  shining,  and  of  a  deep  green  colour ; 
the  blossoms  yellow,  and  small ;  the  berries  oblong,  black, 
and  shining  ;  the  juice  is  sweet,  and  stains  linen  black. 

The  seeds  are  small  and  numerous.  The  use  of  the  plant 
is  unknown. 

101.  Passiflora  perfoliata. 

This  p  ant  is  found  in  logwood-thickets ;  the  leaves  are 
shining ;  the  flowers  beautifully  purple,  tubular,  and  an  inch 
long ;  the  fruit  is  of  the  size  of  a  gooseberry,  has  a  sweet 
purple  juice,  and  many  small  seeds. 

We  know  nothing  of  its  use. 

102.  Bombax  pentandruMj  L. — Silk  Cotton-Tree. 

The  cotton-tree  grows  quickly  to  a  great  height  and  thick- 
ness ;  like  your  stately  oak  it  has  branches  large  and  spreading. 
The  trunk  is  straight,  smooth,  and  grey.  The  wood  is  soft, 
and  is  hollowed  into  canoes. 

The  gum  is  of  an  amber  colour,  but  indissoluble. 

Cotton-trees  are  amongst  the  few  trees  that  shew  the  ap- 
proach of  winter,  in  these  latitudes,  by  shedding  their  leaves 
in  November  and  December.  In  February,  there  appear  an 
immense  quantity  of  flowers,  of  a  reddish-white  colour.  The 
petals  are  five,  and  are  covered  with  a  shining  silken  down. 
The  stamina  are  five,  and  the  stile  is  pretty  large.  The  pods 
are  larger  than  a  pear,  containing  a  kind  of  fur,  and  many 
seeds.  They  dry  and  split  on  the  tree,  the  down  expands, 
and  each  seed  flies  off  with  the  breeze,  with  a  portion  of 
down  in  a  globular  form. 


DIt  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA.  285 

This  cottony  substance  seems  to  be  rather  short  for  making 
hats,  but  is  commonly  gathered  to  fill  beds  instead  of  feathers. 
When  the  fruit  is  full  grown,  the  tree  is  cut  4pwn,*as 
then  the  greatest  quantity  can  easily  be  picked.  Beds  of 
this  kind  must  often  be  exposed  to  the  sun,  else  the  cotton 
will  get  into  clots. 

The  young  leaves  are  again  put  forth,  when  the  fruit  is 
almost  ripe.  They  are  often  boiled  as  greens,  and  used  as 
tea  in  fevers,  &c. 

103.  Melochia  tomentosa,  L. — Bastard  Hemp- Agrimony. 

By  the  road-side,  in  fences  and  waste  lands,  we  meet  with 
this  perennial  plant.  From  one  root  spring  many  long, 
smooth,  and  flexible  stems,  whose  bark  is  brown.  The  leaves 
are  of  a  light  colour,  furrowed  and  serrated,  and  the  white 
blossoms  grow  in  clusters,  from  a  foot  or  more  towards  the 
summit,  and  very  thick. 

The  seeds  are  numerous. 

The  stems  laid  in  water,  afford  a  kind  of  hemp. 

104.  Ochroma  lagopus. — The  Down  Tree. 

It  has  before  been  remarked  that  authors  confound  this 
tree  with  the  ceiba ;  as  they  are  very  different  plants,  I  have 
arranged  each  in  its  proper  place. 

The  down  tree  grows  speedily  to  a  good  height,  but  no 
great  thickness.  The  trunks  are  straight  and  grey.  The 
leaves  broad,  and  of  a  light  green  colour.  The  blossoms  are 
the  largest  of  the  monadelphise  that  I  have  yet  seen,  and  there- 
fore not  easily  laid  down  in  a  dried  collection.  The  fruit  is  long, 
round,  and  furrowed ;  when  ripe,  the  outer  husk  falls  off,  and 
the  down,  which  is  of  a  silken  appearance,  expands,  and  looks 
somewhat  like  a  hare's  foot.     The  seeds  are  numerous. 

The  wood  of  this  tree  is  soft,  spongy,  and  so  light,  that 


226  EXTRACTS  FROIVI 

fishermen  use  it  instead  of  cork-wood  to  suspend  their  nets. 
The  leaves  and  blossoms  are  emollient,  and  used  in  fomen- 
tations and  cataplasms. 

The  bark  makes  a  hemp  of  a  reticular  form,  but  of  little 
strength. 

MONADELPHIA  DODECANDRIA. 

105.  Theobroma  guazuma,  L. — Bastard  Cedar. 

Bastard  'Cedar  grows  wild  in  woods,  particularly  near  the 
sea.  The  tree  is  middle  sized.  The  bark  is  grey  and  fur- 
rowed ;  the  wood  soft  and  useless ;  the  branches  long 
and  spreading.  The  leaves  are  of  a  light  green  colour.  The 
flowers  are  small,  numerous,  and  yellow.  The  fruit  is  black, 
round,  and  of  unequal  surface,  and  tastes  sweet. 


MONADELPHIA  POLYANDRIA. 
106.  Urena  sinnata,  Lr — French  Barley  Bur.    ' 

This  plant  delights  in  shady  places,  by  the  road-side ;  and 
has  been  known  to  rise  ten  or  fifteen  feet  high.  The  trunk  is 
grey^  and  seldom  exceeds  one  inch  in  diameter.  The  leaves 
are  broad,  smooth,  and  shining.  It  puts  forth  white  blos- 
soms in  autumn,  and  continues  flowering  several  months. 
The  petals  are  five,  and  lapped  over  each  other,  agreeable  to 
the  motion  of  the  sun. 

The  ripe  burs  resemble  linseed  bows,  and  contain  four 
seeds  similar  to  barley,  hence  the  name.  They  are  farina- 
ceous, and  are  eaten  by  rats. 

The  plant  is  mucilaginous,  and  consequently  emollient ;  I 
discovered  that  it,  and  every  other  of  this  class,  make  hemp, 
when  steeped  for  some  time  in   water,  as  shall  afterwards 


DR    wniiillTS  HERBARIUM  287 

be  shewn.  They  require  longer  or  shorter  immersion,  ac- 
cording to  the  age  of  the  plant  :  and  the  hemp  or  flax  dif- 
fers in  quality  and  strength,  according  to  its  nature.;  and, 
in  point  of  colour,  as  it  may  happen  to  be  soaked  in  run- 
ning water,  clear  ponds,  or  muddy  holes.  These  simple  hints 
may  induce  some  fit  person  to  make  experiments  with  the 
plants  of  this  class  in  Britain,  whose  strength  depends  so 
much  on  her  naval  force,  and  whose  treasures  are  yearly 
expended  in  purchasing  hemp  and  flax  from  foreign  nations, 
when  she  might  at  less  expence  be  supplied  at  home,  or  in 
her  extensive  colonies. 

This  species  requires  that  the  bark  be  stripped,  and  soaked 
for  four  days.     The  flax  or  hemp  is  very  strong. 

107"^  Urena  Amkricana,  L.  var. — Bur-Mallows  with    deep 
indented  Leaves. 

This  grows  in  moist  places,  by  the  highway ;  having  many 
green  stalks  springing  from  one  root,  long,  smooth,  and  slen- 
der. The  leaves  are  very  pretty.  The  blossoms  appear  in 
June,  and  the  bur,  which  is  ripe  in  August,  is  prickly, 
and  opens  in  five  parts,  when  ripe,  to  discharge  as  many  heart- 
shaped  seeds,  of  a  chocolate  colour. 

The  stalks  require  about  eight  days'  soaking,  when  they 
yield  a  hemp  of  tolerable  strength. 

108.  Pavonia  spinifex,  L.var. — Jamaica  Mallow,  or  Spur-Bur. 

This  grows  wild  in  shady  places,  and  in  fences,  having 
many  long,  smooth,  slender  stalks,  springing  from  one  root 
These  have  a  few  furrowed  leaves,  and  pretty  large  blossoms, 
whose  petals  are  lapped  over,  contrary  to  the  motion  of  the 
sun. 

The  fruit  is  a  bur,  which  sends  off  from  each  side  long 
prickles,  and  resembles  a  spur— hence  the  name. 


288  EXTRACTS  FROM 

The  stalks  macerated  in  water,  yield  a  pretty  strong  hemp, 
and  the  plant,  like  other  mallows,  is  emollient. 

109.  Malachra  capitata,  L. — Pond  Mallows. 

This  prickly  plant  is  frequent  about  ponds,  and  grows  to 
two  feet  high.  The  stem  is  as  thick  as  one's  finger,  and  fur- 
nished with  a  vast  number  of  downy  prickles,  as  likewise  are 
the  leaves.  The  blossoms  grow  on  the  top  of  the  plant,  are 
small,  numerous,  and  pale  red  ;  the  seeds  are  heart-shaped. 
This  plant  is  very  mucilaginous,  and  no  doubt  possessed  of 
the  virtues  of  the  mallow  tribe. 

A  kind  of  flax  is  obtained  from  the  bark. 

110.  Hibiscus  elatus,  Sw. — Mahoe  Tree. 

The  Mahoe  tree  delights  in  moist  soils,  where  it  rises  to  a 
great  height,  and  considerable  thickness,  sending  off  many 
branches,  well  shaded  with  broad  leaves,  of  a  lively  green 
colour. 

The  blossoms  are  large,  and  their  petals  lap  over  each 
other,  agreeably  to  the  motion  of  the  sun.  Some  of  these  are 
red,  others  yellow  or  mixed. 

The  pods  are  of  the  size  of  a  walnut ;  when  ripe,  they 
split  open,  like  a  star,  and  drop  many  black  heart-shaped 
seeds. 

The  timber  is  only  used  in  staves  and  heading  for  sugar 
hogsheads,  being  soft,  porous,  and  of  a  green  colour,  besides 
smelling  strongly  of  balsam  Capivi. 

The  inner  bark  of  the  young  trees  and  shoots  is  stripped 
off,  and  twisted  into  ropes  for  plantation  use.  If  these  are 
macerated  in  water,  a  shining  hemp  is  obtained  of  consider- 
able strength. 


])lt  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA.  ^89 


J 11.  Achania  malvaviscus,  Sw. — Hal  Mahoe- 

This  shrub  grows,  in  copses  and  shady  places,  to  nine  or 
ten  feet  high,  sometimes  more.  The  trunk  is  brown  in  the 
young  trees,  and  grey  in  the  old ;  it  is  seldom  more  than  two 
inches  in  diameter.  The  leaves  are  broad,  and  of  a  lively 
green  colour.  The  blossoms  are  of  a  beautiful  crimson,  and 
the  five  petals  lap  over  each  other,  agreeable  to  the  mo- 
tion of  the  sun.  These  petals  never  expand,  but  are  con- 
tracted round  the  stamina,  which  project  a  good  way  above. 

The  berry  is  red,  and  of  the  bulk  of  a  small  cherry;  ^when 
dry,  it  opens  in  sundry  compartments,  and  contains  many 
heartshaped  seeds. 

The  bark  of  the  young  trees  makes  a  fine,  white,  and  very- 
strong  hemp. 

112.  Hibiscus  mutabilis,  L. — Changeable  Rose. 

This  shrub  is  cultivated  in  gardens.  The  trunk  is  woody 
and  knotty  ;  the  leaves  broad,  and  of  a  light-green  colour. 
The  blossoms  are  large  like  a  rose  ;  and,  what  is  remarkable, 
these  flowers  change  from  white  to  red,  and  from  red  to  white, 
two  or  three  times  in  twenty-four  hours.  The  plant  after- 
wards bears  a  round  hairy  pod,  full  of  small  seeds. 

The  bark  of  this,  like  others  of  the  same  class,  yields  hemp 
or  flax,  but  the  knots  of  the  bark  make  it  good  for  nothing. 

113.  Hibiscus  mosciieutos,  L. — Musk-Seed,  or  Wild-Okra. 

This  grows  wild^in  fields  and  copses.  The  stem  is  some- 
times four  feet  high,  and  is  thick  set  with  hairy  prickles ;  so 
are  also  the  dark  green  leaves,  which  resemble  okra. 

The  pods  are  full  of  black  seeds,  which,  when  rubbed  in 


290  EXTRACTS  FEOM 

the  hand,  emit  a  strong  smell  like  musk,  and  would  seem  to 
claim  a  place  amongst  the  cordial  medicines. 

Some  Negroes  boil  and  eat  the  young  pods  as  okra.  The 
bark  being  put  eight  or  ten  days  in  water,  makes  a  hemp, 
but  of  no  great  strength. 

114.  Hibiscus  sabdariffa.  L. — Red  Sorrel. 

We  plant  this  in  gardens  and  inclosures.  It  rises  to  four 
or  five  feet  high.  The  stems  are  herbaceous,  and  red;  the 
leaves  of  a  reddish  green;  and  the  blossoms  of  a  pale  red  colour. 
The  pods  are  round,  unequal,  and  pointed ;  they  open  like 
okra,  and  discharge  many  heart-shaped  seeds. 

The  red  pods,  before  they  are  quite  ripe,  are  cut  and 
sliced  ;  gently  boiled  with  water ;  sweetened  with  sugar ;  then 
bottled  up,  and  in  a  few  days  make  a  sparkling  and  pleasant 
acid  liquor,  called  "  cool  drink,"  which,  however,  does  not  keep 
but  for  a  short  time. 

The  fruit  also  make  a  good  ingredient  in  tarts. 

1 15.  Gossipiu3i. — Cottun-Busli. 

We  have  three  sorts  of  cotton  cultivated  in  this  country, 
viz.  the  common  (G.  arboreum)-,  bearded  (  G.  hirsiitum), 
and  the  French  cotton  (G.  barbadense).  The  two  former 
are  never  suffered  to  grow  above  four  or  five  feet  high,  for,  by 
lopping  the  main  stem,  a  great  many  branches  are  sent  off, 
and,  of  course,  many  broad  leaves,  and  large  yellow  flowers, 
whose  petals  are  lapped  agreeably  to  the  suiVs  motion.  The 
pods  are  of  the  bulk  of  a  pigeon's  egg,  and  of  a  conical  fi- 
gure ;  at  first  they  are  green,  then  brovdL  and  at  last  black  ; 
when,  if  not  gathered,  they  split  in  -llwRlivisions,  and  the 
cotton  expands.  The  seeds  of  the  common  cotton  are  smooth  ; 
those  of  the  bearded  have  a  little  tuft  of  cotton  fastened  to 
the  apex ;  both  are   black,   and  heart-shaped,  and,   as  they 


Dll  W Kit; JITs  HERBARIA.  291 

easily  separate,  arc  in  common  usr.  Their  staple  is  not  so 
fine,  nor  have  they  that  glossy  silken  hue,  that  appears  in  the 
French  cotton. 

The  French  cotton  bush  grows  taller,  and  more  luxuriant, 
than  any  of  the  others,  and  bears  abundance  of  pods,  which 
contain  a  fine  cotton,  as  before  observed.  But  this  adheres 
so  close  to  the  seeds,  that  they  can  hardly  be  separated,  un- 
less picked  by  hand. 

Cotton-pods  ought  to  be  gathered  before  they  split,  dried 
in  the  sun  on  sheets;  picked  from  the  husks ;  beat  with  small 
rods  to  separate  the  seeds  ;  then  ground,  by  passing  betwixt 
two  small  grooved  rollers,  turned  by  wheels;  then  firmly 
packed  into  bags,  and  sent  home  for  use.  Cotton  should  be 
planted  in  June,  and  it  will  be  ripe  in  March.  It  is  a  very 
unprofitable  plant.     The  bark  makes  a  shining  soft  flax. 

116.    SlDA  RHOMBIFOLIA,  L. CommOh   Br001)l-WCC(l. 

Dr  Grainger  calls  this  species  of  plants  the  American 
clock,  as  they  expand  their  petals  at  eleven,  and  again  shut 
them  by  two  in  the  afternoon.  This  does  not  hold  true  in 
all  the  plants  of  this  denomination,  and  seems  to  depend  on 
the  weather  as  well  as  the  time  of  the  day. 

There  are  many  of  the  mallow  kind  called  broom-weed, 
from  the  similitude  of  their  flowers  ;  from  their  being  cut  and 
tied  for  broom  ;  and  from  their  being  in  use  for  scouring  houses 
and  washing  Negroes1  clothes.  Pounded  and  squeezed,  they 
yielda  mucilaginous  juice,  which,  on  mixing  with  any  greasy 
substance  in  clothes,  &c.  answers  all  the  purposes  of  soap. 

117'  Malva  spicata.,  L. —  White  Broom-meed. 

This  grows  in  pastures,  fences,  and  waste  grounds,  rising 
sometimes  four  feet  high.     The  leaves  are  of  a  light  green  co- 
1  x2 


29^  EXTRACTS  FROM 

lour  ;  the  small  yellow  blossoms  grow  thickly  in  a  spike ;  the 
pods  are  small,  and  the  seeds  resemble  in  form  others  of  this- 
genus.  I  suppose  it  to  have  similar  virtues  with  other  mal- 
vaceous  plants. 

The  bark  makes  strong  white  hemp. 


DIADELPHIA  DECANDRIA. 

118.  Erythrina  corallodendron,  L. — Bean  Tree, 

The  bean-tree  is  cultivated  in  gardens,  and  is  as  tall  as  a 
cherry-tree :  as  it  is  shady,  and  of  quick  growth,  it  is  likewise 
planted  around  ponds,  to  prevent  the  evaporation  of  the  water 
by  the  rays  of  the  sun ;  the  trunk  and  branches  are  knotty  and 
prickly ;  the  leaves  are  broad,  and  of  a  lively  green.  In 
May  and  June  the  tree  is  full  of  beautiful  red  blossoms ;  the 
pods  and  seeds  very  small. 

Bean-trees  are  of  speedy  growth,  and  chiefly  planted  for 
ornament.     We  are  strangers  to  their  medicinal  virtues. 

119.  Hedysarum  canescen9,  L. — Fever  Weed. 

We  find  this  plant  in  fences  or  thickets,  either  creeping  on 
the  ground,  or  supported  by  bushes.  The  leaves  are  of  a 
light  green  colour  ;  the  blossoms  are  pale  red,  and  grow  in  a 
spike :  the  pods  are  jointed,  and  feel  rough ;  they  stick  to 
people's  clothes :  the  seeds  are  flat. 

A  tea  made  of  the  leaves  is  said  to  be  diaphoretic,  and  su- 
dorific ;  it  is  given  in  colds  and  slight  fevers  by  the  lower 
sort  of  people  here. 


DR  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA.  293 


120.  Cyti6us  cajan. — Pigeon  Pen. 

In  Jamaica  arc  found  as  great  a  variety  of  the  bean  and 
pea  tribe  as  in  any  part  of  the  world.  As  there  is  nothing- 
very  remarkable  in  these,  we  shall  pass  them  over  ;  and  in  this 
place  only  take  notice  of  the  Pigeon  Pea  tree  or  bush,  grow- 
ing to  ten  or  twelve  feet  high.  It  has  woody  trunks  and 
branches,  with  pretty  leaves,  of  a  light  green  colour:  the  flowers 
are  numerous,  pretty  large,  and  of  a  bright  yellow ;  the  plant, 
for  the  most  part,  is  continually  in  bloom.  The  pods  gene- 
rally contain  four  peas,  of  the  size  of  garden  peas;  when 
green,  they  are  very  fine ;  and  when  ripe,  make  good  soup. 

A  decoction  of  the  leaves  is  deemed  vulnerary  and  restrin- 
gent,  and  serviceable  in  uterine  hemorrhage  and  weaknesses ; 
outwardly,  it  is  often  of  use  in  ophthalmic  cases. 

121.  Abrus  pkbcatokiuSj  var.  melanosperma,  L. — Black 
Liquorice  Vetch. 

This  grows  in  copses,  and  the  leaves  and  blossoms  are 
so  like  the  bead-vine,  that  the  one  cannot  be  distinguished 
from  the  other  till  the  seeds  are  ripe. 

These  vetches  are  of  a  shining  black  colour,  with  yellow 
eyes. 

122.  Indigofera  tinctoria,  L. — Indigo  Plant. 

The  indigo  plant  grows  wild  in  many  parts  of  this  island. 
It  rises  from  four  to  six  feet  high.  The  stalks  are  woody, 
the  leaves  are  of  a  bluish  green  colour  ;  the  blossoms  grow  in 
a  spike,  and  are  pale  red,  small,  numerous,  and  beautiful : 
the  pods  are  small,  black,  and  curved,  containing  small  seeds, 
like  the  grains  of  gunpowder. 

In  former  days,  the  indigo  planters  here  got  soon  rich  ; 


294  EXTRACTS  FROM 

but  a  piece  of  bad  policy  took  place  :  a  heavy  duty  was  laid  ou 
this  commodity,  and  the  consequence  was,  that  the  manufac- 
turer found  that  the  indigo  was  by  no  means  worth  his  while. 
The  duty  is  now  taken  off,  and  a  few  adventurers  have  be- 
gun again  to  make  this  article,  which  we  were  of  late  years 
obliged  to  buy  from  other  nations. 

There  seems  to  be  no  great  art  in  making  indigo.  The 
plant  at  three  months  old  being  cut,  is  put  into  a  clean  vat, 
with  as  much  water  as  will  cover  it  for  a  night,  or  less,  if  the 
weather  is  hot.  The  green  water  is  strained  off  into  a  clean 
vessel,  and  beaten  two  hours  with  a  churn-staff,  adding  by 
degrees  one-sixth  part  of  clean  lime-water.  The  blue  liquor 
is  allowed  to  settle  ;  the  clear  liquor  being  drained  off  by  a 
plug,  and  thrown  away.  The  thick  blue  mass  is  put  into  Os- 
naburgh  bags  to  drain ;  it  is  then  spread  on  flat  vessels  to  dry 
in  the  shade,  and  is  afterwards  formed  into  shining  round 
cakes. 

This  plant  ferments  surprisingly  soon,  and  becomes  offen- 
sive. No  wonder  the  labourers  are  unhealthy,  since,  by  the 
old  method,  it  was  steeped  three  days. 

123.  Hedysarum  canescens,  L. — French.  Honeysuckle,  or  Fever 

Weed. 

This  plant  has  woody  stems  of  a  brown  colour,  ternate 
leaves,  and  pale  red  blossoms  growing  on  a  spike.  The  pods 
are  rough  and  jointed,  each  joint  containing  a  flat  seed. 

The  country  people  make  an  infusion  by  way  of  tea,  of 
the  leaves  of  this  plant,  and  use  it  for  a  sweat  in  colds,  and  in 
the  beginning  of  inflammatory  fevers  ;  but  I  am  afraid  to  no 
good  purpose,  since  commonly  in  these  disorders  the  blood  is 
huffy,  and  the  patient  requires  large  bleeding,  evacuations, 
and  dilutions. 

It  is  a  vulgar  error,  and  to  it  I  believe  the  destruction  of 
many  a  patient  i*  owing,  that  the  blood  of  people  within  tl>< 


Dli  WRIGHTS  HERBARIA.  295 

tropics  is  thin  and  dissolved.  From  many  years1  residence  in 
the  West  Indies,  I  can  aver,  that  buff'y  blood  is  just  as  fre- 
quent here  as  in  any  other  climate  whatsoever  ;  and  requires 
bleeding  freely  and  repeatedly,  to  conquer  the  viscidity. 

124.  Cassia  Cham/ecrista,  L. — Bastard  Sensitive  Plant. 

The  larger  bastard  sensitive  plant  grows  in  low  moist 
grounds,  and  in  low,  level,  cane-piece  intervals,  rising  to  two 
feet.  The  stem  is  herbaceous,  and  without  prickles;  the 
leaves  like  those  of  the  tamarinds,  contract  on  being  touch- 
ed ;  the  flowers  arc  yellow,  and  irregularly  pentapetalous ; 
the  cods  arc  brown,  flat,  and  contain  three  or  four  veniform 
black  seeds. 

Dr  Isaiah  Burgess,  who  practised  many  years  in  the 
West  Indies,  discovered  this  plant  to  be  a  powerful  antidote 
against  vegetable  and  fish  poisons. 

It  will  hardly  be  credited,  nor  do  I  affirm  it  for  an  entirely 
established  fact,  that  every  part  of  this  plant  above  ground 
is  poisonous,  and  that  all  below  the  earth  is  a  powerful  anti- 
dote against  all  vegetable  and  fish  poisons,  as  well  as  against 
the  poison  of  the  leaves  and  stems  of  the  same  plant.  I  have 
had,  however,  frequent  opportunities  of  experiencing  its  power- 
ful effects  in  cases  where  vegetable  poison  had  been  given. 

The  symptoms  of  vegetable  poison,  arc  a  loss  of  appetite 
and  colour,  weariness,  universal  pains,  soreness  in  the  breast, 
difficulty  of  breathing,  burning  at  the  pit  of  the  stomach, 
voiding  of  blood  up  and  down  and  vomiting  of  green  pora- 
cious  bile :  followed  sometimes  by  a  sudden,  but  often  by  a 
languishing,  death.  Some  of  our  dexterous  Africans  are  said 
to  dose  out  their  baneful  secrets,  so  as  to  poison  in  a  few 
days,  months,  or  years  ;  and  this  they  practise  not  on  their 
owners  only,  but  on  each  other,  of  which  too  many  melancholy 
instances  have  happened  of  late  years.  Whenever  I  suspect 
poison,  I  prepare  a  decoction  of  a  handful  of  the  washed  roots 


296  EXTRACTS  FROM 

of  this  plant,  boiled  from  three  to  two  quarts  of  water,  and 
give  a  large  wine-glassful  of  it,  warm,  every  hour,  if  urgent 
symptoms  appear,  or  as  often  as  may  be  thought  necessary,  to 
complete  a  cure.  Several  cases  have  occurred  where  poison 
had  certainly  been  given  ;  and  I  have  had  the  satisfaction  to 
observe,  that  the  first  glass  gave  immediate  relief;  a  few  more 
obviated  every  dangerous  symptom,  and  the  patient  was  re- 
stored to  perfect  health.  If  former  poison  is  suspected,  this 
pleasant  decoction  may  be  used  for  common  drink. 


SYNGENES1A  POLYGAMIA  SUPERFLUA. 

125.  Artemisia  similis,  Ambrosia  elatior,  L. 
Wild  Wormwood. 

This  grows  in  pasture  grounds,  from  four  to  six  feet  high  ; 
it  has  woody  stems,  many  branches,  finely  compounded  leaves, 
and  many  small  blossoms  and  seeds. 

It  resembles  common  wormwood  ;  has  a  pleasant  smell,  but 
no  bitter  taste :   we  only  use  it  in  fomentations  and  poultices. 

126.  Partheniuim  hysterophorum,  L. —  Wild  Parsley. 

This  is  a  common  weed  in  gardens,  and  other  cultivated 
grounds;  it  is  two  feet  high,  has  compound  light  coloured 
leaves,  many  small  button-like  flowers,  and  small  black  seeds. 
It  is  used  in  fomentations,  or  beaten  up  with  lime-juice,  to 
deterge  foul  ulcers. 

127.  Convsa  odqrata,  L. —  Wild  Tobacco. 

The  fox-leaf,  or  wild  tobacco,  grows  by  the  road-side,  or 
in  bushy  pastures,  to  ten  or  twelve  feet  high :  the  stalks  are 
woody ;   the  leaves  are  broad,  rough,  and  of  the  colour  of 


DR  WMGHT's  HERBARIA.  297 

saae,  with  somewhat  of  its  smell ;  the  blossoms  are  red,  and 
the  ripe  seeds  are  wafted  by  their  down  with  the  wind. 

The  fox-leaf  is  used  in  fomentations,  and  applied  otftward- 
ly  in  sore  throats. 

The  putrid  sore  throat  is  at  this  time  (July)  epidemic,  and 
has  proved  fatal  to  many,  particularly  to  children.  I  find 
my  neighbouring  practitioners  treat  the  disorder,  by  frequent 
bleedings,  purges,  blisters,  and  the  bark  :  these,  instead  of 
relieving,  generally  hurry  the  patient  off'  the  stage.  I  am 
happy  in  being  successful  by  a  small  single  bleeding,  very 
gentle  laxatives  or  glysters,  a  constant  use  of  antimonial  wine, 
gargles  of  infusion  of  roses  and  lime-juice  with  common  salt; 
I  suffer  no  nurse  either  to  use  the  finger,  or  a  stick  with  a  rag, 
to  wash  their  tender  throats :  in  a  few  days  the  white  slough 
separates,  and  the  cure  is  finished  by  the  bark. 


SYNGENESIA  POLYGAMIA  NECESSARIA. 

128.  Coreopsis  bidens,  L. — Spanish-Necdhweed. 

This  plant  has  herbaceous  stems,  compound  dark-green 
leaves ;  flowers  very  like  camomile,  and  numerous  needle-like 
seeds.  It  grows  in  fences,  and  shady  places ;  has  a  strong 
turpentine  smell,  and  is  used  by  the  common  people  in  ptisans 
and  glysters  for  nephritic  disorders,  and  in  bellyachs  attended 
with  strangury. 

MONCECIA  MONANDRIA. 

129.  Cynomorium  Jamaicense,  Sn: 

This  plant  is  found  in  woodlands,  in  the  months  of  April 


298  EXTRACTS  FROM 

and  May  only.  It  is  four  inches  high,  solid,  thicker  than  a 
man's  thumb,  and  of  a  blood-red  colour. 

In  a  recent  state,  several  pentapetalous  florets  may  be  ob- 
served growing  on  the  sides. 

The  fungus  melitensis  has  long  been  recommended  as  a  mild 
and  safe  astringent.  I  have  seen  its  good  effects  in  checking 
watery  purgings  and  dysenteries,  when  the  inflammatory 
symptoms  have  first  been  taken  off.  A  dose  in  powder,  or 
in  decoction,  from  one  to  two  drachms  is  sufficient.  Infused 
in  wine  or  spirits,  it  makes  a  rough  tincture,  which,  when  add- 
ed to  tincture  of  Peruvian  bark,  becomes  a  noble  medicine 
in  weaknesses  of  the  stomach  and  bowels. 


MONCECIA  PENTANDRIA. 

130-  Amaiianthus  sanguinkus,  L. — Bleeding  Hearts. 

Spanish  caliloo,  or  my  love-lies-bleedings  is  cultivated  in 
gardens  and  in  provision  grounds.  The  plant  is  four  feet 
high,  has  herbaceous  stems,  red  leaves,  and  beautiful  purple 
blossoms;  the  seeds  are  small,  black,  and  shining,  like  the 
grains  of  gunpowder  glazed. 

When  the  plant  is  cut  young  it  makes  excellent  greens, 
and  the  young  stems  are  as  good  as  asparagus. 

131.  Amaiianthus  viitmis. — L.  While  Caliloo. 

Caliloo  is  an  Indian  name  for  the  sundry  plants  of  this  fi- 
gure. This  species  grows  wild  in  newly  cultivated  lands,  and 
cane-piece  intervals.  Its  figure  is  like  the  former,  only  the 
leaves  and  blossoms  arc  green.  It  is  used  in  the  same  way, 
and  grows  to  the  same  height. 


m;  witKiirj  s  iikkbauia  il\)\) 


132.  Amaranthus  spinosus. — L.  Cane-Piece  Cdlihot 

This  is  chiefly  met  with  in  canc-piccc  intervals ;  it  is  one 
or  two  feet  high,  has  red  prickly  stems;  leaves  lightly  green, 
and  blossoms  white  and  brown.  The  seeds  are  black  as  the 
above. 

This  is  the  most  common  and  readiest  green  in  use  here, 
and  by  some  is  preferred  to  spinach.  It  is  often  an  ingredient 
in  our  celebrated  pepper-pot. 


MONCECIA  POLYANDRIA. 

133.  Arum  grandifolium,  Jacq.—  Wild  Sarsaparilla,  m 
Cubeso  Withe. 

Jamaica  sarsaparilla,  or  Cubeso  withe,  grows  in  swampy 
woodlands ;  it  runs  up  trees,  and  clings  round  them  by  small 
lateral  fibres ;  the  leaves  are  broad,  shining,  and  of  a  light 
green  colour ;  the  blossoms,  a  spadix  growing  out  of  a  spa- 
tha,  and  resembling  those  of  the  eddoes  and  dumb-cane  \  the 
seeds  are  numerous,  and  of  an  irregular  figure. 

The  trunk  is  grey,  jointed,  and  two  inches  in  diameter ; 
when  cut,  a  thick  white  balsam  runs  out,  which  smells  like 
turpentine.  From  the  lower  extremity  of  this  trunk  issue 
many  brown  roots,  which  reach  from  the  tops  of  the  highest 
trees  to  the  ground ;  by  these  the  plant  is  partly  nourished, 
and  partly  by  the  earth  about  its  trunk,  accumulated  by  the 
rotten  leaves,  ants,  &c. 

If  it  is  allowed  that  sarsaparilla  decoction  has  any  other  vir- 
tue, besides  being  a  diluent,  tepid  and  farinaceous  drink,  to 
accompany  the  use  of  mercurial  alterative  medicines, — then 
it  will  readily  be  allowed  that  this  plant  possesses  those  qua- 
lities in  a  more  eminent  degree,  on  account  of  its  strong  smell 


300  EXTRACTS  FROM 

and  taste.     In  fact,  we  find  it  so,  and  are  at  no  expence  in 
getting  it. 

MONCECIA  MONADELPHIA. 

134.   CUCURBITA  LAGENABIA,  L. — Gourd. 

We  have  a  great  variety  of  gourds.  They  differ  in  size, 
shape,  and  virtue. 

The  large  gourd,  when  freed  of  its  pulp  and  seeds,  will 
hold  from  six  to  ten  gallons  of  water.  The  Negroes  make  an 
instrument  of  it  somewhat  like  a  guitar,  which  they  call  a 
Banga,  and  play  many  tunes  on  it,  not  indeed  very  harmo- 
niously. 

Some  gourds  are  shaped  like  bottles  ;  some  are  cylindrical, 
and  serve  for  powder-horns.  The  small  round  gourds  are 
the  Cacumis  colocynthis,  or  bitter  gourd,  of  Linnaeus,  and 
grow  wild  in  many  parts  of  the  country.  Their  drastic  juice 
is  used  by  some  people  to  remove  obstructions  of  the  catame- 
niae.  Lewd  wenches  have  been  known  to  procure  abortion 
by  a  large  dose  of  the  juice  of  these  plants. 

135.  Cucumis  Anguria,  L. — Wild  Pompion. 

The  fruit,, when  ripe,  is  yellow,  feels  soft,  and  has  an  un- 
common smell,  resembling  spirit  of  nitre,  but  not  so  agree- 
able, for  when  held  up  to  the  mouth  or  nose,  it  is  apt  to  excite 
nausea  and  vomiting. 

The  vines  of  the  wild  pompion  wither  so  soon  as  the  fruit 
is  ripe. 

The  birds  and  ants  eat  the  pulp  before  the  fruit  falls. 


DR  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA.  301 


13(5.  Hura  crepitans,  L.— Sand-Box  Tree. 

The  sand-box  tree  grows  to  the  size  of  a  cherry-tree.  The 
leaves  are  of  a  lively  green.  The  blossoms,  both  male  and 
female,  grow  on  one  tree,  and  often  on  the  same  twig.  The 
fruit  is  round  and  flat,  and  its  pericarpium  is  divided  into 
many  regular  compartments,  each  containing  a  flat  seed  or 
kernel,  which  tastes  like  an  almond,  but  it  is  said  to  be  emetic. 
The  pericarpium  is  often  converted  into  sand-boxes. 

137.  Momordica  charantia,  L — Sarasee  Vine. 

This  vine  is  planted  by,  and  runs  in,  fences  and  bushes. 
The  leaves  are  numerous,  and  of  a  light-green  colour ;  the 
blossoms  yellow  ;  the  fruit  shaped  like  a  cucumber,  but  rough 
and  prickly.  When  ripe,  it  is  soft  and  yellow,  and  has  many 
red  smooth  seeds. 

The  fruit  is  sweet,  and  anthelminthic,  as  are  also  the  leaves 
boiled  in  broth. 

DICECIA  MONANDRIA. 
138.  Brosimum  Alicastrum,  Sw. — Bread-Nut  Tree. 

This  tall,  shady,  and  beautiful  tree  grows  on  rocky  lands, 
principally  on  the  north  side  of  Jamaica.  The  trunk  is  straight, 
grey,  and  scaly ;  the  leaves  smooth,  shining,  and  of  a  deep 
green ;  the  blossoms  pale  yellow,  and  like  a  button.  The 
fruit  is  yellow,  and  of  the  size  of  a  plum  ;  besides  a  thin 
layer  or  sweet  pulp,  it  contains  a  round  nut  seemingly  divided 
in  the  middle. 

Of  late  we  had  three  successive  years  of  dry  weather  ;  per- 
haps  a  greater  drought  was  never  experienced  in  this  or  any 
other  country.    The  canes  were  withered  and  dried  up,  so  that 

3 


302  EXTRACTS  FROM 

in  several  parishes  hardly  any  sugar  was  made.  Our  ground 
provisions,  as  plantains,  yams,  cocoes,  cassada,  ike.  failed,  and 
a  famine  would,  in  all  probability,  have  ensued,  had  we  not 
been  seasonably  relieved  each  year  by  the  falling  of  the  bread- 
nuts,  which  were  carefully  gathered,  dried,  and  put  up  for 
use.  These  nuts  being  boiled  and  skinned,  taste  somewhat 
intermediate  between  a  potato  and  a  bean,  and  eaten  with 
fish  or  salt,  prove  a  very  nourishing  food. 

The  dry  weather  also  burnt  up  our  pastures ;  not  a  pile  of 
grass  was  to  be  seen,  except  under  the  shade  of  trees  and 
bushes.  Our  cattle  and  stock  died  in  large  numbers  and 
tainted  the  air  with  noxious  exhalations.  In  short  nothing 
seemed  to  prosper  but  dogs,  the  carrion  crow,  and  the  vulture 
of  Brazil. 

Bread-nut  leaves  are  excellent  food  for  horses  and  cattle  ; 
but  in  dry  seasons  they  are  bitter  and  gummy,  and  do  not  seem 
to  answer  without  a  mixture  of  other  food. 

The  heart- wood  of  the  bread-nut  tree  is  often  hollow.  The 
rest  is  red  like  mahogany;  is  very  solid  and  ponderous,  and  will 
take  a  fine  polish  ;  it  has  lately  come  into  great  repute  for  ca- 
binet work. 

DICECIA  DIANDRIA. 

139.  Ckcropia  peltata,  L. —  The  Trumpet  Tree,  or  Snakc-ivood. 

In  loose  lands,  which  have  been  in  culture,  this  tree  is  very 
common  ;  it  grows  as  high  as  fifty  feet.  The  trunk  is  grey, 
and  adorned  with  annular  circles,  at  every  six  or  eight  inches, 
which  correspond  with  so  many  woody  divisions  in  the  hollow 
middle  part. 

The  leaves  are  broad,  and  white  underneath,  but  green  on 
their  upper  part.  The  young  buds  are  sometimes  used  as 
greens. 


DJ{   wkKJHT'k  HERBARIA  SU2 

The  fruit  is  a  long  fleshy  calkin,  not  unlike  long'  pepper, 
and  disposed  in  clusters  of  from  four  to  fifteen.  The  llorets 
are  invisible  to  the  naked  eye.  The  seeds  are  numerous,  and 
exactly  like  long  pepper.  The  fruit  is  eaten  by  some  people, 
and  by  most  birds. 

The  bark  is  tough,  and  is  twisted  into  cordage,  for  planta- 
tion use ;  but  it  soon  rots  with  water. 

140.   Viscum  verticillatum,  L. — Black  Berried  Mistletoe. 

This  species  of  mistletoe  is  generally  found  on  the  alligator 
pear  tree,  which  in  time  it  destroys  by  its  weight. 

The  leaves  are  of  a  light- green  colour  ;  the  flowers  small 
and  red  ;  the  berries  oval  shaped,  small,  black,  and  shining. 

Mistletoe  is  supposed  to  be  a  specific  in  the  epilepsy.  Dr 
Hillary  recommends  that  which  grows  on  the  lime-tree  as  an 
excellent  astringent  in  fluxes. 

141.  Viscum  opuntioides,  L. — Mistletoe. 

This  is  found  on  the  highest  trees,  and  particularly  on  the 
bastard  cedar.  It  has  narrow  conjugated  branches,  with 
blossoms  and  berries  as  the  above. 


DIGECIA  TET  RANDRIA. 
142.  Morus  tinctokia,  L. — Fustick  Tree- 

Fu stick  trees  are  sometimes  of  a  great  size,  and  arc  very 
shady  ;  the  external  bark  is  grey  and  rough  ;  and,  on  wound- 
ing the  tree,  a  bitter  yellow  juice  runs  out. 

The  male  flowers  are  small  and  green,  in  long  crooked 
catkins.  Those  of  the  female  are  round.  Fustick  berries  arc 
round,  and  of  the  size  of  a  rasp-berry  ;  they  are  soft,  green, 
and  have  a  cloying  sweet  taste. 


304  EXTRACTS  FROM 

The  wood  has  long  been  known  as  a  dye,  and  it  is  a  very 
useful  timber  for  mill-rollers,  naves  for  wheels,  &c. 

The  leaves  of  this  mulberry  are  of  a  deep-green;  they  might 
be  used  for  feeding  silk-worms,  and,  were  skilful  people  em- 
ployed, would  turn  to  good  account.  At  present  we  are  in_ 
tent  on  making  sugar,  rum,  and  the  other  staple  articles  al- 
ready known,  nor  do  we  care  to  go  beyond  our  depth. 


DKECIA  PENTANDRIA. 

143.  Antidesjia  Alexiteria,  L — Murjo,  or  Billet  Bush. 

The  murjo  or  bitter  bush  is  frequent  in  pastures  and  sa- 
vannahs, and  grows  to  ten  or  twelve  feet  high.  The  bark  is 
of  a  grey  colour,  the  wood  is  soft,  and  of  little  use.  The  leaves 
are  numerous,  smooth,  shining,  and  of  a  rusty  colour.  The 
blossoms  are  very  small,  and  grow  in  a  pendulous  raceme. 
The  berries  are  at  first  red,  afterwards  black,  growing  in  clus- 
ters, and  having  a  very  good  appearance.  Their  taste  is  ex- 
ceedingly bitter,  as  is  that  of  the  leaves.  Of  these  a  decoction 
is  given  internally  in  bad  habits  for  the  cure  of  external  ul- 
cers. They  are  no  doubt  antiseptic  ;  and,  by  strengthening 
the  stomach,  good  juices  will  be  sent  into  the  blood.  They 
are  likewise  applied  by  way  of  fomentation  and  poultice  to 
foul  and  ill  disposed  ulcers,  with  very  good  effect. 


DICECIA  HEXANDRIA. 
144.  Smilax  Pseudo-China,  L. — China  Root. 

China  root  grows  in  moist  woodlands.  The  stem  is  green, 
strong,  flexible,  and  jointed  every  eight  or  ten  inches.  Theleaves 
are  of  a  shining  green  colour.     The  root  is  well  known  in  the 


mi  w  right's  herbaria.  305 

shops,  and  might  here  be  employed  in  alterative  decoctions, 
did  we  not  come  at  it  on  such  moderate  term-. 


DKECIA  DEC  ANURIA. 
145.  Cahica  Pm'.u  \,  L. — Fopani  Tree. 

This  tree  is  of  speedy  growth,  bearing  fruit  in  less  than 
a  year,  and  being  often  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  high. 

The  trunk  is  grey,  has  a  large  pith  in  the  middle,  and 
when  dry  the  wood  is  of  a  reticular  form,  and  good  for  no- 
thing. Towards  the  top  it  sends  off  long  spreading  leaves, 
in  form  of  an  umbrella.  The  blossoms  grow  amongst  the 
leaves  ;  those  of  the  male  are  long  and  branching,  those  of  the 
female  short  and  fleshy. 

The  popaw  fruit  is  as  large,  and  of  the  same  shape,  colour, 
and  taste,  as  a  musk  melon.  The  seeds  are  enveloped  in  a 
jelly,  and,  on  being  disengaged  from  it,  look  like  the  grains 
of  black  pepper.     They  taste  like  the  garden  cress. 

However  salutary  when  taken  into  the  stomach,  the  juice  of 
the  fruit,  or  that  from  the  body  of  the  tree,  when  inoculated 
into  the  blood,  produces  palsy,  with  obstructions  of  the  liver., 
and  of  the  other  viscera,  which  are  very  difficult  to  cure. 

If  a  piece  of  tough  meat  be  washed  with  water  in  which 
the  popaw  has  been  infused,  it  makes  it  very  tender  and  deli- 
cate. 

POL  YG  AMI  A  MONGECIA. 

146.  Mimosa  scanuens,  L. — The  Cacoon,  or  Mafouloo  JVithet 

This  climber  arises  from  a  brown  spongy  trunk,  as  thick 
as  a  man's  thigh.  It  runs  up,  and  covers  the  highest  trees, 
and  running  from  one  to  another,  extends  over  some  acres  of 

u 


306  EXTRACTS  FROM 

woodlands.      The  leaves  are   numerous,    and  of  a  shining 
green.     The  blossoms  are  yellow,  and  grow  in  spikes. 

The  pods  are  very  large,  a  yard  in  length,  and  four  inches 
broad,  containing  sundry  large  beans,  of  a  hard  texture,  and 
a  smooth  brown  surface. 

The  beans  are  sometimes  used  by  the  Negroes  ;  they  break 
the  hard  shell,  roast  the  woody  kernel,  then  soak  it  some  days 
in  water ;  and,  lastly,  boil  it  in  a  pot,  beat  it  into  paste,  and 
use  it  as  food. 

The  bean  or  nut  is  supposed  to  be  an  antidote  against 
poison,  and  pain  of  the  stomach.  We  have  before  observed 
how  little  credit  is  due  to  such  assertions. 

147-  Mimosa. —  Wild  Tamarinds. 

There  is  no  tree  more  common  in  our  woods  than  the  ta- 
marind tree,  and  few  or  none  so  beautiful  in  its  foliage. 
The  height  and  thickness  is  considerable ;  the  outer  bark  is 
tough  and  grey ;  the  wood  is  hard  and  solid,  it  takes  a  good 
polish,  and  is  one  of  the  best  building  timbers  we  have  in  this 
country  ;  the  blossoms  are  white  and  globular ;  the  pods 
long,  crooked,  and  of  a  scarlet  colour,  containing  five  or 
six,  black,  soft,  and  shining  beans. 

148.  Mimosa. —  Wild  Tamarind,  or  Shag  Bark. 

This  differs  very  little  from  the  preceding,  except  in  its 
feaves,  which  are  a  little  broader,  and  its  wood  whiter. 
It  is  a  fine  timber  for  building. 


])lt  WRIGHT'S  HERBARIA.  307 

CRYPTOGAMIA  FILICES. 

149.    CVATHEA  AIIBOREA,  8w. 

The  tribe  of  ferns  is  very  numerous  here;  none  seems  to 
merit  so  much  attention  as  the  fern  tire.  It  is  found  in 
woody  shaded  places,  and  is  twenty  feel  high.  The  trunk  is 
rough,  jointed,  and  hard,  and  has  a  large  pulp  in  the  middle. 
Towards  the  top,  it  sends  oft'  beautiful  long  leaves,  and  looks 
like  an  umbrella. 


(     308     ) 


BOTANICAL  AND  MEDICAL  ACCOUNT 


OF  THE 


QUASSIA  SIMARUBA, 

OR  TREE  WHICH  PRODUCES  THE  CORTEX  SIMARUBA. 

[This  paper  was  originally  read  before  the  Philosophical  Society  of 
Edinburgh,  August  6.  1778.  It  was  afterwards  printed  in  the 
second  volume  of  the  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society  of 
Edinburgh,  Part  II.  page  73.] 

An  Historical  Account  of  the  Simaruba  Bark. 

Xhe  first  knowledge  we  had  of  the  Cortex  simaruba,  was  in 
the  year  1713.  Some  of  it  was  sent  to  France  to  M.  i.e 
Compte  de  Porchartrafn,  the  Secretary  of  State,  as  the 
bark  of  a  tree,  called  by  the  natives  Simarouba,  which  they 
employed  with  good  success  in  dysentery. 

In  1741,  M.  Geoffroy,  in  speaking  of  this  bark,  says, 
"  Est  cortex  radicis  arboris  ignotae  in  Guiana  nascentis,  et  ab 
incolis  Simaruba  nuncupatae:  colons  est  ex  albo-flavescentis, 
nullo  odore  preditus,  saporis  subamari,  lentiscentibus  fibris 
constans,  candido,  levissimo,  insipidoque,  radicum,  stipitum, 
truncique  ligno  haerens,  a  quo  facile  separatur.'" 

In  1753  and  1760,  Linn.eus  makes  the  simaruba  to  be  a 
species  of  pistacia,  or  the  Terebinthinus  major,  betulse  corticey 
fructu  triangulari,  of  Sloan.     Jam.  289-  t.  99. 


OF  THE  QUASSIA  SIMAIiUBA.  309 

In  1756,  Dr  Patrick  Browne  published  his  Civil  and 
Natural  History  of  Jamaica.  At  page  345,  he  describes  the 
terebinthinus,  or  birch  and  turpentine  tree.  The  barkt>f  the 
roots  (says  he)  is  thought  to  be  the  simarouba  of  the  shops. 

In  1763,  Linn  eus  makes  the  simaruba  to  be  the  Burscra 
gummifera,  and  refers  to  the  pistacia  of  former  editions  of  the 
Species  Plantarum,  and  to  Browne  and  Sloan,  as  above 
cited.  In  the  Appendix,  a  reference  is  made  to  the  terebin- 
thinus Americana  polyphylla.  Commelin,  Hort.  i.  p.  149, 
and  to  Catesby's  gum  elemi  tree. 

M.  Jacquin  visited  all  the  West  India  Islands,  and  made 
many  discoveries  of  new  plants.  He  examined  the  roots  of  the 
Burscra  gummifera,  and  found  their  bark  very  different  from 
the  simaruba  bark. 

In  1772,  I  employed  all  my  spare  hours  in  examining  the 
plants  of  Jamaica.  In  this  delightful  walk  of  science,  I  dis- 
covered and  ascertained  many  hundreds  of  new  plants  which 
had  escaped  the  diligence  of  former  botanists, — amongst 
others,  the  tree  which  produces  the  simaruba  bark. 

In  1773,  specimens  of  the  fructification  were  sent  in  spirits, 
accompanied  with  a  botanical  account  of  the  tree,  to  my  late 
worthy  friend  Dr  Hope,  Professor  of  Botany  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Edinburgh  ;  also  some  dried  bark  from  the  roots. 
The  following  year  specimens,  with  similar  descriptions,  were 
transmitted  to  my  late  learned  and  valuable  friend  Dr  John 
Fothergill,  of  London,  who  sent  them  to  the  celebrated 
LiNN.KUs,  at  Upsal,  as  appears  by  Professor  Murray's  Ap- 
paratus Medicaminum,  vol.  hi.  p.  458*,  article  Simaruba. 
Dr  Fothergill  caused  elegant  drawings  to  be  made  of  this 

*  Qualis  vera  ejusdem  arbor  sit,  jamjam  Aubletii  iiulagine  cognosci- 
raus,  ut  tamen  ct  mihi  monerc  incumbat,  CI.  Linx.i.um  equitem,  litteris 
jam  anno  1770  ineunte,  mihi  datis,  antequam  Aubletii  elegantissimum 
opus  illi  innotesceret,  signifieasse,  simarubam  quassia-  species  a  se  haberi. 
llle  autem  simaruba?  cortex  quo  CI.  WaiGHT,  arborem  in  Jamaica,  vrul- 
garem  vestitam  esse  innuit;  pariter  in  alvi  profluviis  efficaci,  &c. 


310  BOTANICAL  AND  MEDICAL  ACCOUNT 

plant ;  and  these  drawings  I  now  have  the  honour  of  present- 
ing to  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh. 

It  is  here  proper  to  remark,  that  this  paper  was  read  be- 
fore the  Philosophical  Society  of  this  place,  and  committed 
for  publication  in  1778.  At  the  time  when  that  Society  ob- 
tained the  Royal  Charter,  I  chanced  to  be  abroad.  On  my 
return  to  Edinburgh,  I  withdrew  the  communication  to  cor- 
rect, and  add  to  my  account  of  this  important  article  of  ma- 
teria medica. 

Description  of  the  Tree. 

The  tree  now  to  be  described  is  common  in  all  the  wood- 
lands in  Jamaica.  It  grows  to  a  great  height  and  considerable 
thickness.  The  trunks  of  the  old  trees  are  black  and  a  little 
furrowed.  Those  of  the  young  trees  smooth  and  grey,  with 
here  and  there  a  broad  yellow  spot, 

The  inside  bark  of  the  trunk  and  branches  is  white,  fibrous, 
and  tough.  It  tastes  slightly  bitter.  On  cutting  or  stripping 
off  this  bark,  no  milky  juice  issues,  as  has  been  mentioned  by 
various  authors. 

The  wood  is  hard  and  useful  for  buildings.  It  splits  free- 
ly, and  makes  excellent  staves  for  sugar  hogsheads.  It  has 
no  sensible  bitter  taste. 

The  branches  are  alternate  and  spreading. 

The  leaves  are  numerous  and  alternate.  On  the  upper 
side  they  are  smooth,  shining,  and  of  a  deep  green  colour. 
On  the  under  side  they  are  white. 

The  flowers  appear  about  the  beginning  of  April :  they  arc 
of  a  yellow  colour,  and  placed  on  spikes  beautifully  branched. 

The  fruit  is  of  that  kind  called  a  Drupa,  and  is  ripe  towards 
the  end  of  May.  It  is  of  an  oval  shape,  is  black,  smooth, 
and  shining.  The  pulp  is  fleshy  and  soft ;  the  taste  a  nau- 
seous sweet.  The  nut  is  flattened,  and  on  one  side  winged. 
The  kernel  is  small,  flat,  and  tastes  sweet. 


OF  THE  QUASSIA  SIMARUBA.  311 

The  natural  number  of  these  drupae  is  five  on  each  com- 
mon receptacle  ;  but,  for  the  most  part,  there  are  only  two  or 
three ;  the  rest  abort  by  various  accidents. 

The  roots  are  thick,  and  run  superficially  under  the  surface 
of  the  ground  to  a  considerable  distance.  The  bark  is  rough, 
scaly,  and  warted.  The  inside,  when  fresh,  is  a  full  yellow, 
but  when  dry  paler.  It  has  but  little  smell.  The  taste  is 
bitter,  but  not  very  disagreeable.  This  is  the  true  Cortex 
simarubec  of  the  shops. 

This  tree  is  known  in  Jamaica  by  the  names  of  Mountain 
Damson,  Bitter  Damson,  and  Stave  Wood.  The  shops  are 
supplied  with  this  bark  from  Guiana ;  but  now  we  may  have 
it  from  our  own  islands  at  a  moderate  expence. 

On  examining  the  fructification,  I  found  this  tree  to  be  a 
species  of  Quassia.  Under  that  name  I  sent  it  to  Europe, 
and  Linn.eus  adopted  it  into  his  system. 

There  are  male  flowers  on  one  tree  and  female  flowers  on 
another  ;  and  this  is  invariably  the  case  in  Jamaica. 

Sensible  Qualities  of  Cortex  Simarubae. 

I  can  discover  no  astringency  in  the  Cortex  simaruba?,  ei- 
ther by  the  taste  or  by  the  various  tests  to  which  I  subjected 
it.  Nor  is  there  any  mucilaginous  quality  to  be  perceived  in 
the  recent  bark,  or  in  the  decoction  of  that  which  has  been 
dried. 

Its  Medicinal  Virtues  in  General. 

Most  authors  who  have  written  on  the  Simaruba,  agree 
that  in  fluxes  it  restores  the  lost  tone  of  the  intestines,  allays 
their  spasmodic  motions,  promotes  the  secretions  by  urine 
and  perspiration,  removes  that  lowness  of  spirits  attending 
dysenteries,  anil  disposes  the  patient  to  sleep  ;  the  gripes  and 
tenesmus  are  taken  off,  and   the  stools  arc  changed  to  their 


312  BOTANICAL  AND  MEDICAL  ACCOUNT 

natural  colour  and  consistence.  In  a  moderate  dose,  it  oc- 
casions no  disturbance  or  uneasiness  ;  but  in  large  doses  it 
produces  sickness  at  stomach  and  vomiting.  Negroes  are  less 
affected  by  it  than  white  people. 

Preparation  of  Simaruba  Bark. 

The  simaruba  bark  yields   its   qualities  to  water,  either  in 
cold   infusion   or   in   decoction.     I  prefer  the  latter.     Physi- 
cians have  prescribed   the  bark  in  different  quantities  ;   but  it 
seems  now  agreed  that  the  following  proportion  is  the  best: 
Two   drachms   simaruba  bark,  boiled  from   twenty-four 
ounces  of  water  to  twelve  ounces,  then  strained. 

This  is  divided  into  three  equal  parts,  and  the  whole  ta- 
ken in  twenty-four  hours. 

When  the  stomach  is  reconciled  to  it,  three  drachms  may  be 
boiled  in  the  same  quantity  of  water,  and  taken  as  above 
mentioned.  Some  join  aromatics  to  the  decoction  of  this  bark, 
others  give  a  few  drops  of  laudanum  with  each  dose.  The 
decoction  is  to  be  drank  daily  till  the  disorder  is  cured,  which 
sometimes  happens  in  a  few  days,  and  at  other  times  it  may 
require  weeks  to  perfect  a  cure. 

Of  the  eff'eets^qf  Simaruba  in  particular  Diseases. 

Having  thus'treated  of  the  simaruba  in  general,  I  am  now 
to  mention  its  use  and  effects  more  particularly  in  different 
diseases,  and  first  in  the  dysentery.  In  the  years  1718  and 
1 723,  an  epidemic  flux  prevailed  in  France,  and  swept  off  a 
great  number  of  people  of  all  ages  and  of  both  sexes.  This 
disorder  not  only  resisted  all  the  medicines  given,  but  was 
aggravated  by  small  doses  of  ipecacuanha,  the  mildest  pur- 
gatives, and  all  astringents.  The  disorder  was  happily  cured 
by  the  simaruba.  3 


<>l     THE  (ilASSIA   SLMARl'liA.  313 

M.  Jussiki  used  this  bark  for  fifteen  years  in  obstinate 
dysenteries  with  great  success  :  and  continued  its  exhibition, 
although  the  eatanienia  in  women,  or  hemorrhage  frorg  .piles 
in  men,  occurred  during  the  cure. 

Modern  physicians  have  found  from  experience,  that  this 
medicine  is  only  successful  in  the  third  stage  of  dysentery, 
where  there  is  no  fever,  where,  too,  the  stomach  is  no  way 
hurt,  and  where  the  gripes  and  tenesmus  are  only  continued 
by  a  weakness  of  the  bowels.  In  such  cases,  Dr  D.  Monro 
gave  two  or  three  ounces  of  the  decoction  every  five  or  six 
hours,  with  four  or  iive  drops  of  laudanum,  and  found  it  a 
very  useful  remedy. 

The  late  Sir  John  Pringle,  Dr  Huck  Saunders,  and 
many  others,  prescribed  the  cortex  simaruba  in  old  and  ob- 
stinate dysenteries  and  diarrhoeas,  especially  those  brought 
from  warm  climates.  Fluxes  of  this  sort,  which  were  brought 
home  from  the  sieges  of  Martinico  and  the  Havannah,  were 
completely  and  speedily  cured  by  this  bark.  The  urine, 
which  in  those  cases  had  been  high  coloured  and  scanty,  was 
now  voided  in  great  abundance,  and  perspiration  restored. 
Dr  James  Lino,  at  Haslar  Hospital,  says,  that  the  sima- 
ruba produced  these  effects  sooner,  and  more  certainly,  when 
given  in  such  quantity  as  to  nauseate  the  stomach.  Dr  Huck 
Saunders  remarks,  that  if  the  simaruba  did  not  give  relief 
in  three  days,  he  expected  little  benefit  from  its  farther  use  ; 
but  others  have  found  it  efficacious  in  fluxes,  after  a  conti- 
nued use  for  several  weeks.  Authors  have  cautioned  us 
against  the  use  of  this  bark,  where  the  intestines  are  ulcerated, 
and  disposed  to  cancer  after  fluxes. 

In  diarrhoeas  from  absorption  of  pus,  the  simaruba  has 
given  relief;  the  former  discharge  from  such  ulcers  was  re- 
stored, and  the  pus  meliorated. 

Lientcria  itself,  and  even  hepatic  fluxes,  have  been  cured 
by  the  simaruba,  after  other  medicines  were  tried  without 
success.     Vide  Act.  Natur.  Curios,  torn.  ii.  p.  80-82. 


314  BOTANICAL  AND  MEDICAL  ACCOUNT 

In  putrid  fevers,  as  we  are  told,  attended  with  coldness  of 
the  extremities,  colliquative  sweats  and  stools,  and  great  de- 
jection of  spirits,  this  bark  performed  wonders,  and  many  re- 
covered by  its  use.  Vide  Roupe  de  Morbis  Navigantium, 
p.  311. 

Habitual  colics,  with  bloody  stools,  attended  with  fever  and 
delirium,  have  been  radically  cured  by  the  simaruba  bark. 

Immoderate  fluxes  of  the  menses  and  from  piles,  have  been 
happily  stopped  by  this  medicine;  and  it  would  appear,  from 
some  late  trials,  that  fluor  albus  has  been  remedied  by  the 
same  bark. 

De  Haen  found  the  simaruba  to  be  an  excellent  vermi- 
fuge, and  used  it  with  success  in  diseases  depending  on  worms, 
particularly  fluzes. 

My  own  experience,  and  that  of  many  living  friends,  are 
convincing  proofs  to  me  of  the  efficacy  of  this  medicine  ;  and 
I  hope  the  simaruba  bark  will  soon  be  in  more  general  use 


QUASSIA  SIMARUBA. 

Flos  masculus. 

Cal.  Perianthium  monophyllum,  parvum,  quinquefidum,  den- 

ticulis  ovatis,  erectis. 
Cor.  Petala  quinque,  sessilia,  sequalia,  lanceolata,  subrevoluta., 

calyce  triplo  longiora,  calyci  inserta.     Ncciarium  ex  squa- 

mis  decern  ovatis,  villosis  basi  filamentorum  interiori  in- 

sertis. 

Stam.  Filamenta  decern,  nliforniia,  eequalia,  longitudine  co- 
rollac.  Antherai  oblongae,  incumbentes ;  in  centro  floris 
corpus  carnosum,  orbiculatum,  decern  sulcatum. 

PistiUum  nullum. 


or  THE  QUASSIA  SIMAUUBA.  315 


Fl,09  FEMINEUS. 

Calyx  et  Corolla  ut  in  llore  masculo. 

Pistillum.     Gerniina   quinque   subrotunda,    introrsum    coalita. 

Stylus  cylindraceus,  erectus,  quinque  partitus  longitudine 

corollic.     Stigmata  subulata,  recurvata,  persistentia. 
Pericarpium.  Drupac  quinque  laterales,  distantes,   receptaculo 

orbiculatOj  carnoso  insertac. 
Scmina.  Nux  oblongo-ovata,  acuminata,  unilocularis.     Nucleus 

compressus. 

Inflorescentia. 

Panicula  composita.  Pedieellis  subjicitur  stipula  lanceolata 
petiolata.  Foba  alternato-pinnata.  Foliola  oblonga,  ob- 
tusa,  nitida,  integra,  basi  attcnuata,  subsessilia,  costis  la- 
teralibus  nervosis. 


(     316     ) 


ON  THE 


POTATO 


[This  paper  appeared  originally  in  the  Communications  to  the 
Board  of  Agriculture.  It  was  afterwards  reprinted,  London, 
8vo.  1795,  in  the  Report  of  the  Committee  appointed  by  the 
Board,  to  extract  information  from  the  County  Reports  con- 
cerning the  Culture  and  Use  of  Potatoes.] 

Solanum  tuberosum,  L. — Common  Potato. 

History. — The  potato  is  a  native  of  America,  and  was  well 
known  to  the  Indians,  long  before  the  conquest  of  Mexico 
and  Peru.  Gomara,  in  his  General  History  of  the  Indies, 
and  Josephus  Acosta,  are  amongst  the  early  Spanish  wri- 
ters who  have  mentioned  the  potato  by  the  Indian  names, 
Opcnanch,  pape  and  papas.  Clusius,  and  after  him  Gerakd, 
gave  figures  of  the  potato  plant.  Gerard  was  the  first  au- 
thor who  gave  it  the  name  Solanum  tuberosum,  which  Lin- 
n.eus  and  his  followers  adopted. 

In  1584,  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  so  celebrated  for  his 
worth,  his  valour,  and  his  misfortunes,  discovered  that  part 
of  America  called  Norembega,  and  by  him  named  Virginia- 
Whether  the  Admiral  was  acquainted  with  the  potato  in  his 
first  voyage,  or  whether  it  was  sent  to  him  by  Sir  Tiioma> 
Grenville,  or  Mr  Lane,  the  first  Governor  of  Virginia,  is 


ON  THE   POTATO.  'i  1 7 

uncertain.  It  is  probable  he  was  possessed  of  this  root  about 
the  year  1586.  He  is  said  to  have  given  it  to  his  gardener 
in  Ireland,  as  a  fine  fruit  from  America,  which  he  desired 
him  to  plant  in  his  kitchen-garden  in  the  spring.  In  August 
the  plant  flowered,  and  in  September  produced  a  fruit,  but 
so  different  to  the  gardener's  expectation,  that,  in  an  ill  hu- 
mour, he  carried  the  potato-apple  to  his  master,  "  Is  this1" 
(said  he),  "  the  fine  fruit  from  America  you  prized  so  high- 
ly ?"  Sir  AVai.teu  either  was  or  pretended  to  be  ignorant  of 
the  matter,  and  told  the  gardener,  since  that  was  the  case,  to 
dig  up  the  weed,  and  throw  it  away.  The  gardener  soon 
returned  with  a  good  parcel  of  potatoes. 

Gerard,  an  old  English  botanist,  received  seedling's  of 
the  potato  about  the  year  1590,  and  tells  us  that  it  grew  as 
kindly  in  his  garden  as  in  its  native  soil  Virginia.  The  plant 
was  cultivated  in  the  gardens  of  the  nobility  and  gentry,  early 
in  the  last  century,  as  a  curious  exotic,  and  towards  the  end  of 
it  (1684),  it  was  planted  out  in  the  fields,  in  small  patches, 
in  Lancashire :  from  thence  it  was  gradually  propagated  all 
over  the  kingdom,  as  well  as  in  France. 

In  1683,  Sutherland  has  the  Solanum  tuberosum  in  his 
Hortus  Medicus  Edinburgensis ;  and  it  is  probable  that  many 
others  in  Scotland  cultivated  the  potato  in  their  gardens  about 
that  time.  It  was  not,  however,  cultivated  in  open  fields  in 
Scotland  till  the  year  1728,  when  Thomas  Prentice,  a  day- 
labourer,  first  cultivated  potatoes  at  Kilsyth.  The  success 
was  such,  that  every  farmer  and  cottager  followed  his  ex- 
ample, and  for  many  years  past  it  has  become  a  staple  article, 
Thomas  Prentice,  by  his  industry,  had  saved  L.  200  Ster- 
ling, which  he  sunk  for  double  interest :  upon  this  he  sub- 
sisted for  many  years,  and  died  at  Edinburgh  in  1792,  aged 
86  years. 

Culture. — After  the  number  of  able  reports  to  the  Society 
of  Agriculture,   and   the   notices  in  many   of  the  statistical 


318  OX  THE  POTATO. 

accounts  from  the  clergy  in  Scotland,  nothing  scarcely  new 
can  be  said  on  the  subject.  I  need  only  remark,  that  this 
exotic  thrives  as  well  in  Europe  as  it  does  in  America.  In 
this  island  particularly,  it  is  quite  at  home,  and  there  is 
hardly  a  soil,  but,  with  a  little  pains,  may  be  made  to  produce 
the  potato.  In  dry  seasons,  when  the  crop  of  corn  falls  short, 
the  potato  is  most  abundant  *.  The  potato  may  be  cultivat- 
ed in  every  habitable  part  of  the  globe,  but  with  various  suc- 
cess. The  heat  of  the  West  Indies  is  too  great  for  it,  but 
in  Jamaica  and  other  mountainous  islands,  where  they  have 
all  climates,  I  have  seen  the  potato  in  great  perfection. 

Use.-— On  account  of  the  potato  being  a  species  of  Solan um 
or  Nightshade,  there  were  many  who  were  prejudiced  against 
it,  alleging  that  it  was  narcotic.  In  Burgandy,  we  find  the 
culture  and  use  of  potatoes  in  food,  interdicted  as  a  poisonous 
and  mischievous  root ;  amongst  other  effects,  it  was  accused  of 
occasioning  leprosy  and  dysentery.  Potatoes  exposed  to  the 
sun  and  weather  for  a  few  days,  acquire  a  green  colour,  a 
bitter  taste,  and  a  narcotic  quality.  In  this  state  they  are 
not  fit  for  eating.  But  there  is  not  the  smallest  foundation 
for  the  other  allegations.  Prejudice  and  ignorance  have  long 
yielded  to  experience  and  truth,  and  ail  mankind  at  this  day 
agree  that  there  is  no  food  more  wholesome,  more  easily  pro- 
cured, or  less  expensive,  than  the  potato.  It  constitutes  the 
chief  article  of  food  to  vast  numbers  of  people,  and  may  be 
converted  to  the  support  of  all  domestic  animals  and  poultry, 
whether  raw,  boiled,  or  roasted. 

Potato-Flour. — In  the  simple  analysis  of  the  potato,  we 
find  it  is  composed  of  three  distinct  and  essential  principles,  1st, 
A  mucilaginous  juice,  which  has  no  peculiar  properties.  2dly, 
A  fibrous  light  and  grey  coloured  matter,  like  that  contained 

*  Tliis  is  not  generally  the  case. 


ON  THE  VOTATO.  319 

in  the  roots  of  many  pot-herbs.     3dly,  A  dry  powder,  re- 
sembling starch  from  grain. 

To  obtain  this  powder,  the  process  is  easy.  The  fresh  po- 
tatoes must  be  washed  clean,  and  grated,  into  a  clean  vessel. 
This  pulp  is  next  put  into  a  hair-sieve,  and  mixed  with  cold 
water,  when,  by  repeated  affusions  of  water,  the  strainings 
are  no  longer  white  or  milky  ;  what  remains  in  the  seareli 
may  be  piit  to  one  side.  The  strained  liquor  is  suffered  to 
settle,  and  the  brown  coloured  water  drained  off,  and  thrown 
away.  Repeated  quantities  of  cold  water  are  poured  on  the 
white  hard  mass,  it  is  well  stirred  up  each  time,  and  when 
settled,  the  water  is  poured  off,  till  the  sediment  is  perfectly 
white.  This  matter  is  taken  out,  the  lumps  broken  down, 
and  put  upon  paper  to  dry.  If  the  potato  is  ground  by 
means  of  a  wheel-grater  or  cylinder,  shod  with  a  grater,  the 
process  will  be  shortened.  A  hopper  may  be  adapted  to  one 
side  of  the  grater,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  assist  in  rubbing 
down  the  potato,  without  putting  to  the  hand. 

This  powder  of  the  potato  is  obtained  in  different  propor- 
tions, according  to  the  goodness  of  the  potato  itself.  At  an 
average,  two  ounces  of  the  powder  may  be  got  from  one  pound 
of  potatoes. 

Potato-flour  or  powder  thus  made,  is  no  way  different  from 
starch  made  from  grain,  and  it  answers  many  purposes  in  do- 
mestic economy.  Bowens's  sago-powder  is  no  other  than 
the  starch  of  potatoes,  as  the  tapioca  from  Brazil  is  the  starch 
of  cassada.  These  articles  are  sold  in  the  shops  at  an  ad- 
vanced price ;  and  as  the  sago-powder  was  laid  in  by  Govern- 
ment for  the  sick  in  ships  of  war,  it  may  be  now  made  in 
any  quantity,  and  at  a  trifling  expence. 

Potato-flour  makes  all  sorts  of  pastry  of  a  superior  qua- 
lity to  common  wheat-flour  ;  and,  if  mixed  with  sweet-milk, 
eggs,  and  sugar,  in  due  proportions,  makes  excellent  custards 
or  puddings.  About  two  years  ago,  Lord  Duxdoxald  had 
loaf-bread  and  biscuit  baked,  from  equal  parts  of  common 


320  ON  THE  POTATO. 

Hour  and  potato-powder,  but  the  bread  was  heavy,  never  rose 
well,  soon  grew  extremely  hard,  and  was  too  expensive. 

Bread  of  Potatoes,  §c. — For  the  space  of  half  a  centuiy 
at  least,  bread  has  been  made  in  Jamaica  from  the  several 
sorts  of  yams,  eddoes,  and  cassada ;  the  two  former  by  means 
of  leaven,  the  latter  with  water,  like  oat-cakes. 

In  Great  Britain,  where  malt  is  brewed  into  ale  or  beer, 
yeast  is  preferable  to  leaven  for  baking  bread.  The  most 
mealy  potatoes  are  to  be  chosen  ;  when  boiled  and  peeled 
they  are  beaten  and  rolled  smooth  on  a  table,  with  a  rolling- 
pin,  then  kneaded  with  an  equal  quantity  of  wheat-flour,  witli 
a  sufficiency  of  yeast,  water,  and  salt.  This  bakers  call 
spunge.  The  dough  is  set  for  a  night  in  a  warm  place,  and 
by  next  morning  (if  the  yeast  is  good),  it  will  have  risen,  and 
is  ready  to  be  made  into  loaves,  rolls,  &c. 

Boiled  yams  or  eddoes  being  reduced  into  a  dough,  are 
mixed  with  an  equal  weight  of  common  flour,  a  little  pre- 
pared leaven,  and  a  sufficient  quantity  of  salt,  all  well  knead- 
ed together.  After  some  hours  standing  to  ferment,  the 
dough  is  divided  into  rolls  or  loaves,  and  baked  in  the  usual 
manner,  in  an  oven. 

This  bread  is  much  lighter  and  sweeter  than  flour-bread, 
and  keeps  moist  for  many  days.  All  will  depend  on  knead- 
ing the  dough  well,  and  keeping  it  long  enough  in  the  oven, 
till  it  is  thoroughly  baked. 

Yeast. — This  article  at  times  is  very  scarce  in  this  city. 
To  increase  its  quantity  is  an  object  of  importance  to  the 
bakers  of  bread.  Several  bakers  of  my  acquaintance  have 
taken  the  hint  from  mc,  and  now  are  no  way  at  a  loss  for 
yeast.  Potatoes  boiled  and  skimmed  are  put  into  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  water,  and  boiled  over  a  slow  fire,  till  the  whole 
becomes  smooth,  and  of  the  consistence  of  pap.  To  two 
English  gallons  of  this  an  English  quart  of  good  yeast  is 


<.\   THE  POTATO.  :J2l 

added.  The  vessel  is  set  in  a  warm  plate,  for  twelve  or  six- 
teen  hours,  when  the  whole  becomes  yeast  of  a  good  quality, 
and  fit  for  the  purposes  of  the  baker,  as  well  as  the  brewer. 

Biscuit  of  Potatoes. — To  equal  quantities  of  potato-pulp 
and  wheat-flour,  add  a  very  little  yeast,  diluted  with  hot 
water,  and  for  every  pound  a  drachm  of  CO  grains  salt. 
Knead  the  whole  into  a  firm  dough,  and  bake  into  biscuits 
of  the  usual  size.  They  must  be  long  kept  in  the  oven  till 
their  moisture  is  exhaled,  and,  after  some  days'  exposure  to 
dry,  will  keep  for  many  months. 

i\T.  B. — If  potato-powder  is  used  instead  of  common  flour, 
the  bread  is  proportionally  improved  in  quality  and  white- 
ness. k 


(     32c2     ) 


ON  THE 


ANTISEPTIC  VIRTUES  OF 

VEGETABLE  ACID  AND  MARINE  SALT 
COMBINED, 

IN  VARIOUS  DISORDERS  ACCOMPANIED  WITH  PUTRIDITY. 

[Communicated  in  a  Letter  to  John  Morgan,  M.  D.,  F.  R.  S.  and 
Professor  of  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Physic  at  Philadelphia.*] 

Having  experienced  the  virtues  of  vegetable  acid  and  marine 
salt  when  combined,  I  beg  leave  to  lay  before  you  a  few  obser- 
vations on  the  use  of  this  simple  medicine  in  several  diseases. 
It  is  my  sincere  wish  that  it  may  prove  as  beneficial  to  man- 
kind in  general,  as  it  has  been  to  many  of  my  patients  in  this 
part  of  the  country  +. 

Take  of  lime-juice  or  lemon-juice  three  ounces,  of  marine 
salt  as  much  as  the  acid  will  dissolve  ;  of  any  simple  distilled 
cordial  water  one  pint ;  and  of  loaf  sugar  a  sufficient  quantity 
to  sweeten  it.  The  dose  of  this  mixture  must  be  proportioned 
to  the  age,  sex,  and  violence  of  the  disease.  A  wine-glass- 
ful may  be  given  to  adults  every  two,  four,  or  six  hours. 

By  Geoffroy"s  table,  it  appears  that  the  fossil  alkali  has  a 
oreater  affinity  with  the  marine  than  with  the  vegetable  acid. 
However,  marine  salt  dissolves  readily  in  the  lime-juice,  throws 

"  At  the  date  of  this  communication  the  author  resided  in  the  Island  of 
Jamaica. 

•{•  This  paper  was  originally  published  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Ame- 
rican Philosophical  Society,  Philadelphia,  vol.  ii.  p.  284.  It  was  afterwards 
reprinted  in  the  Medical  Commentaries  for  the  year  178G.  Edinburgh, 
1787,  p.  189. 


ON  THE    USE  OF    VEGETABLE  ACIDS,    &C.       32/, 

up  a  white  scum  to  the  surface,  and  on  applying  the  eat  near 

the  vessel  where  the-  experiment  is  made,  a  slight  hissing  may 
be  heard,  similar  to  that  when  acids  and  alkalies  are  mixed. 
It  would  seem  probable  that  part  of  the  marine  salt  is  hereby 
decomposed. 

That  vegetable  acids  and  marine  salt  are  antiseptics,  has 
long  been  known  ;  but  their  effects,  when  mixed,  1  apprehend 
to  be  but  lately  discovered. 

Without  farther  preface,  I  shall  proceed  to  the  particular 
diseases  in  which  they  have  been  administered,  prepared  as 
above. 

Of  the  Dysentery. — The  dysentery  is  a  vfcry  frequent  disor- 
der in  this  and  other  West  India  Islands ;  and  sometimes  is 
epidemic,  particularly  in  the  rainy  seasons,  or  when  provisions 
are  scarce.  Amongst  other  causes  of  dysenteries,  I  have  of- 
ten known  the  eating  of  yams  not  arrived  at  maturity,  as  also 
unripe  alligator  pears,  produce  a  bloody  Mux. 

Dysenteries  commonly  begin  with  frequent  loose  stools  for 
a  day  or  two,  attended  with  gripings  ;  by  degrees,  the  gripes 
grow  more  severe;  nothing  is  voided  by  stool  but  a  small 
quantity  of  mucus  mixed  with  blood  ;  tenesmus  comes  on,  and 
is  exceedingly  troublesome. 

The  appetite  fails,  the  patients  are  low  spirited,  and  suffer 
a  great  prostration  of  strength.  The  mouth  and  tongue  are 
much  furred  and  slimy,  and  the  taste  is  like  that  of  rotten 
butcher's  meat.  Thedesire  of  drinkissometimes  excessive,  but 
for  the  most  part  very  moderate.  The  pulse  is  very  low,  feeble 
and  undulating,  and  rarely  rises  so  high  as  to  indicate  the 
use  of  a  lancet.  Such  was  the  dysentery  in  1771.  It  proved 
fatal  to  many  people,  both  old  and  young,  though  treated 
according  to  the  most  approved  methods  of  cure,  and  the  loss 
of  several  patients  of  mine  convinced  me  of  the  necessity  of 
using  antiseptics  early  in  this  disease. 

A  vomit   seemed  necessary  to  clearthe  stomach,  and  some 

X    2 


324      ON  THE  USE  OF  VEGETABLE  ACIDS,  &C. 

gentle  purge,  to  carry  off'  part  of  the  offending  matter  by 
stool.  But  the  action  of  these,  however  mild,  often  increas- 
ed the  prostration  of  strength,  and  rendered  the  stools  sooner 
bloody.  Nor  was  opium  of  any  real  use.  A  tea  made  of  Si- 
marouba,  and  given  to  some,  had  a  very  salutary  effect,  whilst, 
if  given  to  others,  it  would  by  no  means  lie  on  their  stomachs. 

From  a  consideration  of  the  antiseptic  quality  of  both  the  sal 
marin,  and  of  the  vegetable  acid,  I  was  induced  to  make  trial  of 
their  effects,  united  in  the  manner  above  mentioned.  It  act- 
ed like  a  charm,  and  I  find  that,  from  the  use  of  it,  the 
frequency  of  stools,  gripes  and  tenesmus,  have  soon  worn  off. 
The  stools  gradually  become  of  a  natural  consistence  and 
quantity;  the  spirits,  strength  and  appetite  returned, and  the 
patient  has  been  restored  to  perfect  health  in  a  very  few  days. 

When  the  dysentery  was  of  long  standing,  starch  clysters, 
with  a  small  portion  of  opium,  abated  the  tenesmus. 

This  medicine  was  equally  serviceable  in  diarrhoeas. 

Diabetes. — -As  I  had  succeeded  so  well  in  the  cure  of  dysen- 
teries, I  was  determined  to  try  its  effects  in  the  diabetes  :  seve- 
ral opportunities  soon  offered  ;  but  as  these  cases  were  accom- 
panied with  other  complaints,  especially  with  fevers  of  the  re- 
mitting kind,  it  will  be  proper  first  to  speak  of 

The  Remittent  Fever. 

This,  by  far  the  most  common  fever  within  the  tropics,  is 
the  least  understood,  and  consequently,  for  the  most  part, 
badly  treated.  Strangers  who  walk  much,  or  work  hard  in 
the  heat  of  the  sun,  are  more  subject  to  it  than  seasoned  Euro- 
peans or  natives  of  the  country. 

Dr  Cleghokn's  description  of  this  fever  is  accurate  and 
just — his  method  of  cure  simple  and  easy.  Every  physician 
who  would  wish  to  practise  with  success,  should  be  well  ac- 


ON  THE  USE  OF  VEGETABLE  ACIDS,  &C.        325 

quainted  with  that  valuable  performance,  as  also  with  what 
Dr  Lind  has  said  on  the  subject. 

It  is,  then,  sufficient  here  to  observe,  that  remittent^fevers 
are  often  attended  with  diarrhoeas,  the  diabetes,  and  some- 
times with  a  copious  discharge  of  saliva,  as  if  mercury  had 
been  previously  given.  In  such  circumstances,  I  never  found 
the  bark  of  service  ;  a  few  glasses  of  the  above  mixture  fully 
answered  the  intention,  not  only  by  removing  these  symp- 
toms, but  the  fever  at  the  same  time. 

The  Peruvian  bark,  afterwards,  taken  out  of  some  of  the 
same  mixture,  effectually  secured  the  patient  from  a  return 
of  this  dangerous  malady. 

The  mixture  rarely  acted  as  an  astringent  in  this  or  any 
other  disorder.  But  when  this  effect  took  place,  the  inter- 
position of  some  lenient  purge  was  deemed  necessary. 


Belly-Ache. 

The  belly-ache,  with  inflammatory  symptoms,  has  fre- 
quently occurred  in  the  course  of  my  practice.  They  yielded 
with  difficulty  to  bleeding,  small  doses  of  emetic  tartar,  a 
mercurial  pill,  repeated  doses  of  castor  oil,  diluting  drinks 
with  nitre,  fomentations  and  clysters.  A  copious  discharge 
of  foetid  excrement,  for  the  most  part,  gives  immediate  re- 
lief. 

I  have  observed,  in  many  cases,  after  most  excruciating 
belly-aches,  that  the  stools  were  liquid,  white,  small  in  quan- 
tity, and  very  foetid.  The  patients  being  worn  out  with  pain, 
grew  despondent,  did  not  care  to  speak,  fell  into  cold  clammy 
sweats,  and  were  very  restless.  They  complained  of  an  ill 
taste  in  their  mouths;  their  tongues  were  much  furred;  their 
breath  offensive,  and  they  had  a  great  propensity  to  vomit. 

Formerly  I  attempted  the  relief  of  those  threatening  symp- 


326      ON  THE  USE  OF  VEGETABLE  ACIDS,  &C. 

toms  with  the  bark,  in  various  forms,  as  well  as  claret,  and 
often  saved  my  patients ;  sometimes,  however,  I  failed  of  suc- 
cess. When  such  cases  fall  now  under  my  care,  I  have  im- 
mediate recourse  to  the  antiseptic  mixture,  nor  have  I  been 
hitherto  disappointed  ;  the  stools  becoming  less  frequent  on 
the  use  of  it,  and  of  a  better  consistence ;  the  cold  sweats 
also  disappear,  and  the  spirits  soon  return,  together  with  an 
appetite  for  food. 


The  Putrid  Sore-Throat. 

In  June  1770,  the  putrid  sore  throat  made  considerable 
havock  amongst  adults  and  children.  It  attacked  those  of  a 
lax  habit,  who  for  a  few  days  had  slight  headaches,  chilliness 
and  heats  alternately,  and  an  uneasiness  about  their  throats, 
but  not  so  much  as  to  hinder  their  swallowing. 

On  examination,  the  mouth,  tongue,  and  gums,  were  foul 
and  slimy ;  the  tonsils  and  uvula  covered  with  white  specks 
or  sloughs  ;  the  breath  was  hot  and  offensive,  the  skin  felt 
hot  and  pungent  to  the  touch  ;  the  pulse  low  and  quick ;  a 
diarrhoea  often  attended,  and  the  patients  were  in  general 
much  dejected. 

Antimonial  wine,  with  cordials  and  nourishing  diet,  suc- 
ceeded best,  till  the  sloughs  or  spots  were  removed  and  sepa- 
rated ;  then  the  bark  completed  the  cure.  When  a  diarrhoea 
accompanied  this  disorder,   I  gave  the  mixture  with  success. 

In  all  disorders  where  a  gargle  is  necessary,  I  make  use  of 
the  above  mixture  in  preference  to  any  other,  and  I  find  it 
speedily  cleanses  the  tongue,  gums,  and  fauces,  and  sweetens 
the  breath. 

Where  lemons  or  limes  cannot  be  had,  vinegar  or  cream  of 
tartar  may  be  substituted  in  their  room. 


ON  THE  USE  OF  VEGETABLE  ACIDS,  &C.      327 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  is  evident  that  the  medicine 
is  possessed  of  considerable  antiseptic  powers,  and  its  virtue 
consists  in  correcting  the  peccant  matter  in  the  stomach  .and 
intestinal  canal. 

All  the  diseases  in  which  I  have  given  it  had  a  putrid  ten- 
dency. I  shall  be  happy  to  hear  of  its  success  in  your  west- 
ern hemisphere. 

I  am,  with  esteem,  Sir, 

Your  most  humble  servant, 

William  Wright. 


Hie  foregoing  is  an  exact  reprint  of  the  original  paper,  as  it  appeared 
in  the  second  volume  of  the  Philosophical  Transactions  of  Phila- 
delphia. From  the  distance  of  Dr  Wright's  residence,  at  the 
period  of  its  publication,  and  from  the  verbal  inaccuracies  with 
which  it  is  chargeable,  he  had  probably  no  opportunity  of  revising 
it  as  it  passed  through  the  press  :  but,  as  it  has  repeatedly  appeared 
in  print,  the  Editor  is  restrained,  by  the  rule  he  has  adapted,  of 
leaving  the  papers  which  had  been  published  in  the  author's  life- 
time; entirely  untouched- 


(     328    .) 


HISTORY 


OBSTRUCTION  OF  THE  RECTUM  AT  BIRTH, 

SUCCESSFULLY  CURED  BY  OPERATION. 

[[Communicated  to  Dr  Hope,  and  first  Published  in  the  Medical  and 
Philosophical  Commentaries,  Vol.  iii-  p.  419,  London  1775.] 

On  the  18th  of  August  1773,  I  was  sent  for  to  see  a  new- 
born child  at  Bountyhall  estate,  belonging  to  John  Simpson, 
Esq.  The  child  was  a  Negro  boy,  born  the  preceding  day. 
The  midwife  had  given  it  repeated  doses  of  castor  oil,  and 
finding  that  no  meconium,  or  any  other  feculent  matter,  was 
discharged,  she  tried  to  give  it  a  clyster  ;  but,  upon  finding 
that  the  ivory  pipe  could  only  be  introduced  about  a  quarter 
of  an  inch,  she  desisted  from  the  attempt.  When  I  came  to 
examine  it,  I  found  a  firm  resistance  to  a  probe,  and  could 
plainly  discover,  with  my  finger  and  thumb,  a  hard  tumour 
of  a  round  form,  nearly  as  large  as  a  walnut.  I  concluded 
this  to  be  a  callosity  of  the  rectum  ;  and  although  I  had  never 
heard  of  the  success  of  an  operation  in  a  similar  case,  I  told 
the  Negro  parents  and  the  proprietor  that  the  child  had  no 
other  chance  for  life,  but  by  an  opening  being  made  through 
this  obstruction.  This  was  readily  agreed  to,  and  I  called  to 
my  assistance  Mr  Thomas  Steel,  an  eminent  surgeon.  He 
being  fully  satisfied  of  the  propriety  of  this  hazardous  attempt, 
we  accordingly  proceeded  to  the  operation. 

The  child  was  held  in  a  horizontal  posture,  with  his  knees 
drawn  up  towards  his  belly.  I  first  enlarged  the  external  orifice, 


ON  AN  OBSTltUGTION  <>|    THE  KI'.cmai         ,'J2f) 

by  cutting  through  the  constrictor  ani.  My  assistant  then  held 
the  tumour  fast,  and  in  the  position  in  which  it  naturally  was. 
I  introduced  a  directory  to  the  middle  and  most  prominent  part 
of  the  tumour,  and,  with  a  common  lancet,  I  made  an  incision 
quite  through  the  resistance,  in  the  direction  of  the  rectum. 
We  had  the  pleasure  of  immediately  seeing  a  large  quantity 
of  meconium  come  away,  and  there  was  at  the  same  time  a 
considerable  discharge  of  wind.  The  child's  belly,  which  be- 
fore was  very  hard,  and  much  swelled,  soon  subsided ;  the 
symptomatic  fever  abated,  and  a  subsultus  tendinum,  which 
had  accompanied  it,  entirely  disappeared.  A  clyster  of  milk 
and  sugar  was  then  thrown  up,  which  brought  away  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  meconium  and  excrement. 

From  this  operation  the  child's  most  urgent  complaints 
seemed  to  be  removed.  But  we  were  farther  informed,  that, 
from  the  time  of  its  birth,  it  had  discharged  no  urine.  Upon 
examination,  we  discovered  that  the  prepuce  was  imperforated. 
The  child  was  directly  circumcised,  and  the  urine  then  flowed 
in  abundance  We  contented  ourselves  by  dressing,  at  that 
time,  with  a  soft  roll  or  dossil  of  lint,  and  a  poultice  external- 
ly ;  and  we  directed  that  these,  with  fomentation  to  the  part, 
should  be  used  twice  a  day. 

By  the  25th  of  the  month,  the  tumour  in  the  rectum  had 
entirely  collapsed  ;  but  the  train  of  threatening  symptoms  with 
which  the  child  had  before  been  affected  again  made  their  ap- 
pearance, and  upon  examination  we  found  that  the  parts  be- 
fore divided  were  again  united.  In  this  situation  we  had  re- 
course to  the  lancet  a  second  time,  and  not  only  made  a 
thorough  perforation,  but  extended  the  incision  quite  through 
the  sides  of  the  callosity.  In  other  respects  we  proceeded  as 
at  first.  After  this,  nothing  remarkable  occurred  in  the  cure, 
which  was  completed  in  five  weeks,  and  my  patient  is  now  a 
stout  healthy  boy. 


(     330     ) 


ON  THE 

USE  OF  COLD  BATHING 

IN  THE 

LOCKED  JAW. 

[Communicated  in  a  Letter  to  John  Fothergill,  M.  D.  F.  R.  S. 
and  first  published  in  the  Medical  Observations  and  Enquiries, 
Vol.  vi.  p.  143.     London  1784.] 

Sir,  Edinburgh,  20th  January  1779- 

I  have  sent  you  several  cases  of  the  Tetanus  and  Opistho- 
tonos, which  were  successfully  treated  by  the  external  appli- 
cation of  cold  water.  Since  I  used  this  method,  I  never  fail- 
ed, in  one  instance,  to  effect  a  cure ;  and  that  in  a  shorter 
time  than  by  any  other  method  hitherto  proposed. 

I  have  stated  facts  as  they  occurred,  in  those  cases  under 
my  own  observation,  or  from  the  accounts  of  gentlemen  to 
whom  I  communicated  my  remarks.  Truth  and  honour,  in 
practitioners,  only  can  give  lustre  and  excellence  to  the  science 
of  physic. 

And  now,  having  fulfilled  my  engagements  to  you,  and 
your  worthy  friends  of  the  Medical  Society  of  London,  I 
hope,  by  your  means,  these  papers  will  be  given  to  the  pub- 
lic soon  :  and  am,  with  great  respect, 

Sir, 

Your  most  humble  servant, 

W.  Wright. 


OX  THE  I  SK  OF  (.'OLD  BATHING.  381 

Case  I. — June  7.  1776. — A  Negro  boy,  twelve  years  of  age, 
(belonging  to  John  Simpson,  Esq.  in  the  parish  of  Trelawny, 
Jamaica)  who  was  employed  in  looking  after  cattle,  had,   a£ 
eleven  o'clock  before  noon,  a  stroke  of  the  sun.  He  was  soon  af- 
terwards taken  up  speechless,  and  carried  home  to  the  estate, 
where  he  lay  insensible,  and  at   times  much  convulsed.     He 
was  bled,  and  well   rubbed   with   camphorated  spirits ;  vo- 
latiles  were  often  applied  to  his   nostrils,  and  a   stimulating- 
clyster  thrown  up.      But  as  the   boy  could  swallow  nothing, 
Mr  Patrick  Irving,  an  experienced  surgeon,  was  sent  for, 
who  declared  the  case  to  be  a  locked  jaw  ;  and  ordered  twenty 
drops  of  laudanum  to  be  given  him  every  two   hours.     His 
attendants  forced  him  to  take  the  medicine  regularly,  as  also 
some  sage  tea,  and  now  and  then  a  little  gruel.     He  had  but 
an  indifferent  night,  and   the  laudanum  was  directed  to  be 
continued  the  following  day  and   night.     But  as  no  benefit 
was  received  from  that,   or  any  other  means  made  use  of,   I 
was  desired  to  visit  him  on  the  10th  of  June,  and  the  third 
day  of  his  illness,  at  three  in  the  afternoon. 

He  was  seized  with  strong  spasms  every  quarter  of  an 
hour.  During  the  fit,  his  body  was  bent  backwards  like  a 
bow,  and  he  rested  on  his  heels  and  head  ;  at  such  times  his 
jaws  were  closely  shut. ;  but  when  the  spasm  ceased,  his  jaws 
could  be  opened  so  as  to  admit  a  spoon.  He  swallowed  li- 
quids with  difficulty  ;  and  the  attempt  generally  brought  on 
a  fit  sooner  than  it  would  otherwise  have  happened :  his  skin 
was  warm,  his  pulse  quick  and  small.  He  took  no  food,  but 
what  had  been  forced  into  him  ;  and  when  a  stool  was  sup- 
posed necessary,  it  was  procured  by  an  emollient  clyster. 

The  case  clearly  appeared  to  be  an  opisthotonos,  joined 
with  a  tetanus.  The  frequency  and  violence  of  the  spasms 
portended  danger,  and  there  seemed  to  be  a  necessity  for 
some  speedy  method  of  relief. 

My  worthy  friend  Dr  Lind,  physician  to  the  royal  hospi- 
tal at  Hazlar,  first  hinted  to  me  the  use  of  cold  water  in  spas- 


332  ON  THE   CLSE  OF   COLD  LATHING 

raodic  affections.  Here,  then,  was  a  fair  opportunity,  and 
Mr  Irving  readily  agreed  to  put  it  in  practice. 

The  boy  was  stripped  naked,  and  carried  out  into  the  open 
air :  his  body  and  limbs  were  so  stiff,  that  it  was  with  some 
difficulty  we  could  place  him  in  a  sitting  posture.  Two  large 
pails  of  cold  water  were  forcibly  thrown  on  him  at  the  same 
time.  The  shock  from  the  water  made  him  start  on  his  feet, 
he  recovered  his  senses  in  a  great  measure,  and  seemed  sur- 
prised at  what  was  done  to  him.  After  being  rubbed  with  a 
dry  cloth,  a  loose  frock  was  put  on,  and  a  kindly  glowing 
heat  succeeded.  By  the  help  of  a  person,  he  walked  about 
for  a  little  while,  and  was  then  suffered  to  lie  down.  His  jaws 
already  were  greatly  relaxed,  and  he  swallowed  some  broth. 
I  ordered  him  to  lie  in  a  cool  airy  place  ;  that  he  should  be 
covered  with  a  single  sheet,  and  that  the  cold  water  should 
be  thrown  on  him  once  in  four  hours. 

June  11. — He  slept  a  good  deal  in  the  night ;  the  spasms 
less  frequent,  and  much  weaker  than  before.  His  senses  arc 
returned  ;  he  asked  for  drink,  and  took  some  nourishment. 
He  complains  of  a  stiffness  in  his  neck  and  jaws,  and  now 
and  then  of  a  violent  pain  in  his  stomach. 

I  directed  the  cold  bath  every  three  hours,  in  the  day  time. 

June  12. — He  had  a  tolerable  good  night,  his  jaws  much 
freer.  The  pains  in  his  neck,  jaws,  and  stomach,  greatly 
abated  ;  he  takes  food  seemingly  with  an  appetite,  and  had 
a  natural  stool.  The  cold  water  was  thrown  on  him  three 
times  this  day. 

June  13. — The  spasms  entirely  gone  ;  the  uneasiness  in  his 
jaws,  &c.  so  trifling  that  my  attendance  was  no  farther  neces- 
sary. The  cold  water  was  used  twice  a-day,  and  by  the  six- 
teenth the  cure  was  completed. 

Case  II. — On  the  17th  of  March  1777, 1  was  sent  for  to  visit 
a  Negro  man,  at  Rosehall  estate  in  St  James's,  the  property 
of  the  Honourable  John  Palmek,  Esq. 


IN  THE   LOCKED    JAM'. 

The  Negro  was  named  Frank,  aged  about  22  years ;  was 
of  a  slender  make,  but  for  the  most  part  healthy.  Ten  days 
before  I  saw  him,  on  account  of  some  misdemeanour,"  his 
father  nave  him  a  severe  beating  with  a  stick,  and  particularly 
bruised  his  cheeks  and  temples.  From  that  time  he  continued 
to  be  much  indisposed  ;  a  surgeon  in  the  neighbourhood  was 
sent  for,  who,  mistaking  his  disorder  for  a  sore  throat,  made 
use  of  bleeding,  blisters,  laxatives,  and  gargles  ;  but  the  dis- 
order daily  increasing,  and  the  patient  complaining  much  of 
his  neck,  and  a  stiffness  of  his  jaws,  a  locked  jaw  at  length  was 
suspected.  Thirty  drops  of  laudanum  were  ordered  to  be  given 
him  every  four  hours  ;  he  was  directed  to  lie  in  bed,  to  be 
covered  with  blankets,  and  to  promote  sweating  by  warm  teas 
and  gruels  :  all  this,  however,  without  effect. 

The  symptoms  were  as  follows :  viz.  an  acute  pain  under 
the  sternum,  darting  through  to  the  small  of  the  back  ;  a  pain 
and  stiffness  in  the  neck  and  jaws  ;  every  fifteen  minutes  he 
was  attacked  with  a  spasm,  which  greatly  aggravated  the  pains 
and  rigidity,  and  bent  his  head  and  shoulders  backwards. 
The  fit  lasted  ten  minutes,  and  when  it  was  over  he  sweated 
profusely.  The  jaw  now  gradually  loosened  so  much  that  I 
could  see  his  tongue,  which  was  most  miserably  torn.  On  ac- 
count of  this,  and  the  difficulty  of  swallowing  for  the  last  six 
days,  he  had  taken  very  little  sustenance. 

When  he  stood  up,  his  head  was  much  retracted,  nor  could 
he  turn  it  to  either  side;  his  body  bent  a  little  backwards, 
and  the  lower  extremities  quite  rigid. 

These  appearances,  and  the  little  benefit  he  had  from  even 
method  hitherto  tried,  determined  me  to  use  the  cold  hath. 
I  therefore  got  him  out  of  bed,  and,  after  being  gradually 
cooled,  he  was  helped  out  into  the  open  air,  his  shirt  was 
taken  off,  and,  as  he  could  not  sit  down,  he  was  laid  on  the 
ground,  with  his  face  downwards.  Three  buckets  of  cold  wa- 
ter were  at  once  thrown  upon  him,  from  a  considerable  height. 
The  effect  of  this  was  a  glow  all  over  his  hotly  ;   he  felt  less 


334  ON  THE  USE  OF  COED  BATHING 

pain  and  rigidity,  he  could  open  his  mouth  more  than  before ; 
and  although  he  could  scarce  stand  or  move  before  this,  he 
now,  by  the  help  of  a  stick,  walked  several  yards  alone.  I 
directed  the  cold  water  to  be  thrown  on  him  every  three 
hours,  in  the  day  time  ;  that  his  food  and  drink  should  be 
cold,  and  when  in  bed  to  be  lightly  covered.  The  pain  in 
the  pit  of  his  stomach  was  the  most  troublesome  complaint, 
for  which  I  gave  him  two  grains  of  solid  opium  at  bedtime. 

March  8. — Rested  better  last  night  than  any  since  his  be- 
ino-  taken  ill.  His  mother  thought  it  cold  a  little  before  day, 
and  covered  him  with  bed-clothes ;  she  gave  him  also  his 
water-gruel  warm  :  by  these  means  he  had  several  smart  at- 
tacks of  the  spasms,  before  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when 
I  visited  him.  His  mother  was  convinced  of  her  error,  and 
promised  in  future  to  observe  my  directions.  The  cold  wa- 
ter was  applied  every  two  hours,  through  the  day,  and  the 
opiate  repeated  at  bedtime  as  before. 

March  9. — Slept  most  part  of  the  night ;  the  few  returns 
of  the  fits  were  slight,  and  he  extends  his  jaws  more  than  be- 
fore ;  he  has  less  difficulty  in  swallowing  food.  As  he  was 
costive,  I  ordered  an  injection  of  warm  water  and  castor-oil, — 
and  that  he  should  take  a  large  wine-glassful  of  the  follow- 
ing decoction  every  three  hours:  that  the  cold  water  should 
be  thrown  on  him  four  times  a-day,  and  that  the  opiate  should 
be  omitted. 

R  Cinchona?  Jamaieensis  *  gsai  coque  ex  aq.  f on  tan.  lib.  iij. ;  ad 
dimidium  adde  Gum  Assat'optid.  3  iij.;  f.  solutio,  et  cola. 

March  10. — Rested  well  in  the  night ;  had  only  a  slight 
attack  of  the  spasm  this  morning,  and  finds  the  stiffness  and 
pains  greatly  abated  ;  he  takes  food  every  now  and  then, 
and  had  a  stool  in  the  night.  As  some  difficulties  happened 
in  getting  people   to  throw  the  cold  water  upon  him,  he  re- 

"     Vide  Phil.  Trans,  vol.  lxvii.  p.  r>04. 


IN  THE  LOCKED  JAW,  &C.  .'i35 

quested  to  be  led  to  the  back  waterfall,  which  was  distant 
about  100  yards.  Under  this  he  sat  down  ;  after  ten  minutes 
his  mother  advised  him  to  get  up,  but  lie  felt  such  easa  from 
the  water,  that  he  staid  full  half  an  hour ;  he  then  got  up, 
and  walked  back  without  assistance.  In  the  afternoon,  he 
again  sat  under  the  fall  of  water  for  half  an  hour;  he  took 
nourishment  pretty  freely  ;  and,  as  I  found  he  had  used  but 
little  of  the  decoction,  I  ordered  a  few  glasses  of  claret. 

March  11. — No  attack  of  spasm  these  last  twenty- four 
hours  ;  he  sat  twice  this  day  under  the  waterfall  for  a  quar- 
ter of  an  hour  at  a  time ;  he  took  several  glasses  of  the  bark- 
decoction  above  mentioned,  and  also  some  claret. 

March  12. — This  morning  saw  my  patient  walking  up 
from  the  sea-side  ;  he  told  me  that  he  had  sat  down  in  the 
water  for  a  good  while,  so  as  to  let  the  surf  of  the  sea  beat 
on  his  back,  by  which  he  thought  himself  much  benefited; 
his  jaws  now  were  at  full  liberty,  he  ate  and  drank  heartily, 
and  took  the  decoction  every  four  hours. 

I  recommended  going  into  the  sea  twice  a-day,  which  com- 
pleted the  cure  by  the  15th.  I  saw  him  six  miles  distant 
from  Rosehall,  at  work,  and  in  good  health,  the  beginning 
of  May. 

Case  III. — April  4.  1777. — Having  occasion  to  be  in  the 
parish  of  Westmoreland,  my  advice  was  requested  for  a 
Negro  man,  belonging  to  Mr  George  Mowatt,  merchant 
at  Savanna-la-Mar. 

This  man,  aged  about  thirty,  was  tall,  strongly  made,  and 
till  now,  enjoyed  an  uninterrupted  state  of  good  health ;  he 
was  employed  as  a  labourer  on  a  wharf.  The  weather  at 
this  time  was  uncommonly  warm  ;  and  Unless  this  circumstance 
occasioned  his  illness,  he  could  assign  no  other  cause  what- 
ever. He  was  taken  suddenly  with  the  disorder  three  days  be- 
fore I  saw  him.  His  complaints  were  a  pain  under  the  car- 
tilago  ensiformis, — his  jaws  close  locked,  and  a  stiffness  of 


386  OX  THE  USE  OF  (OLD  BATHING 

the  extremities.  The  spasms  returned  every  ten  minutes, 
and  were  very  severe.  The  surgeon  who  attended  him,  on 
account  of  his  full  habit,  bled  him  pretty  freely,  gave  him  a 
cooling  purge,  and  caused  him  to  be  well  rubbed  with  a  vo- 
latile liniment :  he  ordered  him  to  be  kept  warm  with  flan- 
nels, and  supplied  with  plenty  of  warm  diluting  drinks. 

Several  ingenious  gentlemen  of  the  faculty  were  present, 
to  whom  I  communicated  the  success  I  had  in  the  external 
application  of  cold  water  in  similar  circumstances.  They 
agreed  to  have  it  tried  in  this  case,  every  four  hours  in  the 
day-time  ;  and  at  bedtime,  to  give  him  thirty  drops  of  lauda- 
num ;  and  that  he  should  lie  in  a  cool  airy  place,  with  little 
covering.  This  method  was  pursued  for  three  days,  which 
entirely  removed  the  disease. 

In  July,  the  surgeon  told  me  that  a  few  days  after  the 
locked  jaw  left  the  Negro,  he  was  seized  with  an  acute  rheu- 
matism, which,  however,  soon  gave  way  to  bleeding,  laxa- 
tives, and  small  doses  of  emetic  tartar. 

Case  IV.— June  10.  1777.— A  Negro  man,  aged  about 
twenty-five  years,  belonging  to  Mr  Burke  at  Rosegreen,  had 
the  misfortune  of  a  rusty  nail  running  through  the  sole  of 
his  foot.  The  nail  was  immediately  extracted,  a  fomentation 
and  poultice  was  applied  round  the  foot,  and  a  dose  of  salts 
given  him  next  morning. 

He  had  no  ailment  till  the  third  day  after  the  accident, 
when  he  complained  of  a  pain  in  the  pit  of  his  stomach,  and  a 
stiffness  of  his  jaws,  so  as  to  prevent  his  eating  any  solid  food. 
Mr  Patrick  Irvixg  was  called  to  his  assistance:  he  dilated 
the  external  wound  made  by  the  nail,  and  repeated  the  fomen- 
tation and  poultice :  attention  being  paid  to  the  state  of  his 
belly,  he  lost  no  time  in  giving  opiates,  beginning  with  one 
o-rain  of  extractum  thebaicum,  and  increasing  the  same  to 
three  grains  every  four  hours. 

Mr  Irving  had  seen  the  good  effects  of  cold   bathing  in 


IN   THE   LOCKED  .f.WW  &C.  88$ 

the  preceding  cases  ;  and,  as  no  mitigation  of  the  disorder  was 
likely  to  be  brought  about  by  the  means  already  used,  he  re-, 
solved  to  try  the  cold  water.  Mr  Irving  treated  him  in 
much  the  same  way  as  mentioned  in  the  first  case,  and  with 
such  success,  that  in  four  days  all  his  complaints  left  him. 
He  took  the  bark,  the  injured  parts  suppurated  kindly,  and 
the  man  soon  recovered. 

Case  V. — July  8.  1777. — A  Negro  woman,  aged  fifty- 
seven,  belonging  to  Rose  Hall  estate,  after  sleeping,  exposed 
to  the  cold  air  in  the  night,  was  soon  afterwards  seized  with 
symptoms  of  the  opisthotonos  and  locked  jaw.  The  woman 
of  late  years  had  been  sickly,  and  was  much  emaciated.  Mr 
Patrick  Irving  attended  her,  and  treated  this  case  by  the 
cold  bath  ;  after  which,  by  cool  free  air,  a  liberal  use  of  cla- 
ret, and  a  decoction  of  bark  and  assafoctida,  she  got  rid  of  the 
most  urgent  symptoms  in  a  week's  time,  and  soon  afterwards 
was  dismissed  cured. 

Case  VI. — On  the  14th  of  September  I  received  a  letter 
from  John  Drujumond,  Esq.  (who  practises  physic  with 
great  repute  in  Westmoreland),  dated  June  21.  1778.  He  is 
a  gentleman  with  whose  merit  I  am  well  acquainted,  and 
whose  veracity  I  can  fully  depend  upon.  I  shall,  therefore, 
give  you  the  history  in  his  own  words  : 


"  A  History  of  a  Locked  Jaw  successfully  treated  by  Messrs 
Drummond  and  Bewcastle,  in  Westmoreland,  Jamaica. 

"  A  stout  made  squat  Negro  fellow,  aged  about  forty,  had 
been  healthy  from  his  youth,  till  about  three  years  ago,  when 
he  was  attacked  with  the  coccobia,  or  joint-evil  *,  which  baf- 
fled all  the  art  of  medicine.     It  produced  its  usual  and  dire- 

•  See  Hillary  on  the  Diseases  of  Barbadoes,  p.  335. 

Y 


338  ON  THE  USE  OF  COLD  BATHING 

ful  effects  of  destroying  the  fingers  and  toes ;  and  rendered 
him  of  no  other  service  on  the  estate,  except  as  a  watchman, 
which  was  the  duty  allotted  him  for  some  years  past. 

In  February  1778,  his  disease  broke  out  with  uncommon 
violence  in  the  right  foot,  and  seized  the  metatarsus,  with 
most  excruciating  pains.  The  weather  at  this  time  was  moist 
and  foggy,  and  his  hut  was  not  in  good  repair :  it  was  also 
situated  in  a  valley,  in  the  midst  of  woods  and  plantain 
walks,  though  otherwise  in  a  dry  part  of  the  country. 

On  the  28th  of  March  we  were  called  to  his  assistance. 
He  complained  of  a  stiffness  of  his  jaws,  neck,  and  spine, 
with  an  acute  pain  striking  through  from  the  cartilago  en- 
siformis  to  the  spine,  which  at  times  threw  him  backwards 
into  violent  spasms.  These  returned  frequently,  and  great- 
ly distressed  the  poor  creature.  During  the  spasms  he 
was  incapable  of  swallowing  any  thing,  and,  at  all  times, 
expressed  a  sense  of  great  stricture  and  rigidity  in  the  mus- 
cles of  deglutition  ;  as  often  as  he  attempted  to  swallow  any 
thing,  or  to  move,  the  spasms  were  immediately  brought 
on.  He  had  been  in  this  situation  some  days  before  we 
were  sent  for. 

Speedy  assistance  {seemed  absolutely  necessary,  and  we  re- 
solved to  leave  no  method  untried,  that  might  afford  the  least 
prospect  of  relief.  The  following  course  was  therefore  or- 
dered to  be  strictly  followed,  viz. 

R  Op.  Thebaic.  5ss  divide  in  Pilul.  xij. 
Cap.  Pilul.  unam  2  quaque  hora. 

We  gave  directions  that  he  should  be  well  soused,  with 
the  coldest  water  that  could  be  procured,  every  four  hours  ; 
and  twice  a-day  to  rub  his  spine  with  mercurial  ointment, 
made  of  equal  parts  of  hogVlard  and  quicksilver :  emollient 
oily  clysters  were  at  proper  times  injected. 

March  29- — He  took  all  the  pills  as  directed,  and  received 
great  benefit  from  the  cold  water  ;  he  generally  sweated  co- 


IN  THE  LOCKED  JAW,  &C.  339 

piously  after  it,  and  slept  much  in  the  intervals.      Medicines 
and  cold  bath  to  be  continued  as  before. 

March  30. — Much  better  :  the  spasms  are  not  so  frequcut ; 
and  he  himself  remarks  not  near  so  violent  as  before.  He 
speaks  distinctly,  and  swallows  better,  but  complains  much 
of  his  neck  being  Stiff,  and  also  the  hips  and  lower  extremi- 
ties.    The  cold  bath  and  medicines  continued. 

April  2. — Free  from  all  complaints,  except  the  pain  in 
his  hip,  and  a  soreness  in  his  mouth.  He  had  in  all  ta- 
ken ninety  grains  of  solid  opium,  and  three  ounces  of  strong 
mercurial  ointment  were  rubbed  in.  The  cold  bath,  and 
every  medicine,  discontinued. 

A  gentle  spitting  came  on,  which  lasted  a  few  days  ;  he 
perfectly  recovered  of  his  late  alarming  disorder,  and  his 
foot  is  now  (June  21.)  almost  well. 

I  leave  you  to  make  your  own  observations  on  this  case  ; 
but,  if  you  attend  to  the  suddenness  of  relief  from  the 
cold  bath,  you  will  be  led  to  conclude  that  the  mercury 
had  no  share,  as  it  could  not  so  soon  act. 

I  am  of  opinion  that  opiates,  and  the  cold  bath,  will  an- 
swer every  intention  in  the  tetanus,  and  such  like  diseases; 
for,  whilst  the  opium  diminishes  the  irritability,  and  gives 
a  truce  from  the  violent  symptoms,  the  cold  bath  produces 
that  wonderful  tonic  effect,  so  observable  in  this  and  some 
other  cases.  Perhaps  the  bark  joined  with  these  would  ren- 
der the  cure  more  certain.  May  we  not,  then,  have  failed  in 
many  cases,  by  using  opiates  alone  in  large  doses ;  or  what 
probably  is  worse,  with  the  warm  bath  instead  of  the  cold  bath? 
And  have  we  not  reason  to  suspect  that  the  increased  doses 
of  opium  (that  seemed  requisite  when  the  warm  bath  was 
used),  may  have  proved  pernicious  ?" 

J.  D. 
v  2 


(      S±0      ) 


ACCOUNT 

OF  A 

CHILD  WHO  HAD  THE  SMALL-POX  IN 
THE  WOMB. 


["Communicated  to  the  Royal  Society,  in  a  Letter  addressed  to  John 
Hunter,   Esq.  F.  R.  S.     Read  21st  May  1781,  and  first  pub- 
lished in  the  Philosophical  Transactions,  Vol.  lxxi.  Part  I.  p.  372.1 

Sir, 

X  have  read  with  much  pleasure  and  information  Mrs  Ford's 
case,  which  you  published  in  the  Philosophical  Transactions,, 
vol.  lxx,  p.  128.  From  the  facts  you  have  adduced,  it  amounts 
to  a  certainty  that  her  foetus  had  received  the  variolous  infec- 
tion in  the  womb. 

This  induces  me  to  lay  before  you  a  singular  case  that  fell 
under  my  care  some  years  ago.  I  am  sorry  I  cannot  be  more 
particular,  having  unfortunately  lost  all  my  books,  and  my 
notes  of  practice  of  this  case,  and  several  others,  by  the  cap- 
ture of  the  convoy,  on  the  9th  of  last  August. 

In  1768,  the  small-pox  was  so  general  in  Jamaica,  that 
very  few  people  escaped  the  contagion.  About  the  middle  of 
June,  Mr  Peter  kin,  merchant  at  Martha  Brae,  in  the  pa- 
rish of  Trelawney,  got  about  fifty  new  Negroes  out  of  a  ship. 
Soon  after  they  landed,  several  were  taken  ill  of  a  fever,  and 
the  small-pox  appeared  ;  the  others  were  immediately  inocu- 
lated :   Amongst  the  number  of  those  who  had  the  disease  in 


CHILD  WHO  HAD  SMALL-POX  IN  THE  WOMB.    341 

the  natural  way,  was  a  woman  of  about  twenty-two  years  of 
age,  and  big  with  child.  The  eruptive  fever  was  slight^  and" 
the  small-pox  had  appeared  before  I  saw  her.  They  were 
few,  distinct,  and  large,  and  she  went  through  the  disease 
with  very  little  trouble,  till,  on  the  fourteenth  day  from  the 
eruption,  she  was  attacked  with  the  fever,  which  lasted  only 
a  few  hours.  She  was,  however,  the  same  day  taken  in  la- 
bour, and  delivered  of  a  female  child,  with  the  small-pox  on 
her  whole  body,  head,  and  extremities.  They  were  distinct 
and  very  large,  such  as  they  commonly  appear  on  the  eighth 
or  ninth  day,  in  favourable  cases.  The  child  was  small  and 
weakly ;  she  could  suck  but  little  ;  a  wet  nurse  was  procured, 
and  every  possible  care  taken  of  this  infant,  but  she  died  the 
third  day  after  she  was  born.  The  mother  recovered,  and  is 
now  the  property  of  Alexander  Peterkin,  Esq.  in  St 
James-1  parish. 

In  the  course  of  many  years1  practice  in  Jamaica,  I  have  re- 
marked that  where  pregnant  women  had  been  seized  with  the 
natural  small-pox,  or  been  by  mistake  inoculated,  that  they 
generally  miscarried  in  the  time  of,  or  soon  after,  the  eruptive 
fever ;  but  I  never  saw  any  signs  of  small-pox  on  any  of  their 
bodies,  except  on  the  child  above  mentioned.     I  am,  &c. 

SOUTHAMPTON-BCILDIKGS,  HoLBORN, 

February  27-  1781. 


(      342      ) 


ON  THE 


EXTERNAL  USE  OF  COLD  WATER  IN  THE 
CURE  OF  FEVER. 


[This  paper  was  originally  communicated  to  the  London  Medical 
Society,  through  the  medium  of  Dr  Fothergill.  It  was 
read  for  the  first  time  before  the  Society,  on  the  7th  of  March 
1779.  It  was  again  read  on  the  8th  of  March  following,  and 
ordered  to  be  printed  in  the  Society's  Transactions.  After- 
wards, in  March  1783,  and  March  1784,  it  was  read  for  the 
third  and  fourth  time,  and  on  each  of  these  occasions,  it  was 
resolved  to  postpone  the  publication  sine  die.  On  the  second 
return  of  Dr  Wright  from  Jamaica,  in  1786,  the  paper  was 
recovered  from  Dr  Thomson,  the  Secretary  to  the  Medical 
Society;  and,  as  a  communication  to  Dr  Simmons,  it  was  first 
printed  in  the  London  Medical  Journal,  Vol.  vii.  Part  2. 
p.  109.] 

From  the  time  that  physicians  have  found  fresh  air  and 
cold  watery  drinks  so  beneficial  in  the  small-pox  and  malig- 
nant fevers,  these  diseases  have  been  less  fatal  within  the  tro- 
pics than  formerly. 

Having  often  observed  how  greatly  people,  labouring  un- 
der malignant  fevers,  were  refreshed  by  washing  the  hands 
and  face  in  cold  water,  I  was  led  to  think  that  the  cold  bath 
would  answer  many  good  purposes  in  obstinate  malignant 
and  putrid  fevers  ;  but  a  practice  so  new  in  Jamaica,  and  so 
different  from  the  common  methods,  could  not  well  be  pro- 
posed ;  and,  if  it  had,  would  probably  not  have  been  submit- 
ted to  :  on  which  account,  I  kept  my  opinion  to  myself  till 


ON  THE  EXTERNAL  USE  OF  COLD  WATER.      343 

some  favourable  opportunity ;   which  did  not  happen  till   I 
was  on  my  passage  from  Jamaica  to  England. 

On  the  1st  of  August  1777,  I  embarked  in  a  ship  bound 
to  Liverpool,  and  sailed  the  same  evening  from  Montcgo  Bay. 
The  master  told  me  he  had  hired  several  sailoi*s  on  the  same 
day  we  took  our  departure ;  one  of  whom  had  been  long  at 
sick  quarters  on  shore,  and  was  now  but  in  a  convalescent 
state. 

August  23.,  we  were  in  the  latitude  of  Bermudas,  and 
had  had  a  heavy  gale  of  wind  for  three  days,  when  the  above- 
mentioned  man  relapsed,  and  had  a  fever,  with  symptoms  of 
the  greatest  malignity.  I  attended  this  person  often,  but 
could  not  prevail  with  him  to  be  removed  from  a  dark  and 
confined  situation  to  a  more  airy  and  convenient  part  of  the 
ship ;  and  as  he  refused  medicines,  and  even  food,  he  died 
on  the  eighth  day  of  his  illness. 

By  my  attention  to  the  sick  man,  I  caught  the  contagion, 
and  began  to  be  indisposed  on  the  5th  of  September,  and 
the  following  is  a  narrative  of  my  own  case,  extracted  from 
notes  daily  marked  down.  I  had  been  many  years  in  Jamaica, 
but.  except  being  somewhat  relaxed  by  the  climate  and  fa- 
tigue of  business,  I  ailed  nothing  when  I  embarked.  This 
circumstance,  however,  might  perhaps  dispose  me  more  readi- 
ly to  receive  the  infection. 

September  5th,  6th,  7th,  small  rigors  now  and  then, — a 
preternatural  heat  in  the  skin, — a  dull  pain  in  the  forehead, 
the  pulse  small  and  quick, — a  loss  of  appetite,  but  no  sick- 
ness at  stomach, — the  tongue  white  and  slimy, — little  or  no 
thirst, — the  belly  regular, — the  urine  pale  and  rather  scanty, 
— in  the  night  restless,  with  startings  and  delirium. 

September  8th,  every  symptom  aggravated,  with  pains  in 
the  loins  and  lower  limbs,  and  stiffness  in  the  thighs  and 
hams. 

I  took  a  gentle  vomit  on  the  second  day  of  this  illness, 
and  next  morning  a  decoction  of  tamarinds ;   at  bed-time,  an 


344  ON  THE  EXTERNAL  USE  OF  COLD 

opiate,  joined  with  antimonial  wine,  but  this  did  not  procure 
sleep,  or  open  the  pores  of  the  skin.  No  inflammatory  symp- 
toms being  present,  a  drachm  of  Peruvian  bark  was  taken 
every  hour  for  six  hours  successively,  and  now  and  then  a 
glass  of  port-wine,  but  with  no  apparent  benefit.  When  up- 
on deck,  my  pains  were  greatly  mitigated,  and  the  colder  the 
air  the  better.  This  circumstance,  and  the  failure  of  every 
means  I  had  tried,  encouraged  me  to  put  in  practice  on  my- 
self^  what  I  had  often  wished  to  try  on  others,  in  fevers  simi- 
lar to  my  own. 

September  9th,  having  given  the  necessary  directions,  about 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  I  stripped  off  all  my  clothes,  and 
threw  a  sea-cloak  loosely  about  me  till  I  got  upon  deck,  when 
the  cloak  also  was  laid  aside  :  three  bucketsful  of  cold  salt 
water  were  then  thrown  at  once  on  me ;  the  shock  was  great, 
but  I  felt  immediate  relief.  The  headache  and  other  pains  in- 
stantly abated,  and  a  fine  glow  and  diaphoresis  succeeded. 
Towards  evening,  however,  the  febrile  symptoms  threatened 
a  return,  and  I  had  recourse  again  to  the  same  method  as 
before,  with  the  same  good  effect.  I  now  took  food  with  an 
appetite,  and,  for  the  first  time,  had  a  sound  night's  rest. 

September  10th,  no  fever,  but  a  little  uneasiness  in  the 
hams  and  thighs, — used  the  cold  bath  twice. 

September  11th,  every  symptom  vanished,  but,  to  prevent 
a  relapse,  I  used  the  cold  bath  twice. 

Mr  Thomas  Kikk,  a  young  gentleman,  passenger  in  the 
same  ship,  fell  sick  of  a  fever  on  the  9th  of  August.  His 
symptoms  were  nearly  similar  to  mine,  and,  having  taken 
some  medicines  without  experiencing  any  relief,  he  was  de- 
sirous of  trying  the  cold  bath,  which,  with  my  approbation, 
he  did,  on  the  11th  and  12th  of  September,  and,  by  this 
method,  was  happily  restored  to  health.  He  lives  at  this 
time  near  Liverpool. 

There  are  a  number  of  testimonies,  both  ancient  and  mo- 
dern, of  the  cure  of  putrid   and  malignant  fever.*,  by  ad  mi  - 


UATI.K   IN  THE  CURE  OF   FEVER.  .'>4;"> 

nistering  cold  water  in  large  quantities,  for  common  drink, 
and  applying  cold  water  externally  to  the  surface  of  the  body. 

The  Greek  physicians  extinguish  the  intense  heat  of- ar- 
dent fevers,  at  their  height,  by  making  their  patients  drink 
large  quantities  of  cold  water,  and  sometimes  plunging  them 
into  a  cold  bath.  A  copious  and  critical  sweat  was  always 
expected  to  follow  this  practice. 

Dr  Cyrillus  *,  a  learned  and  ingenious  physician  and 
professor  at  Naples,  has  favoured  us  with  a  circumstantial 
account  of  the  good  effects  of  cold  water  given  internally  in 
malignant  fevers  at  Naples,  and  observes,  that,  in  obstinate 
cases,  powdered  snow  was  laid  on  the  breasts  of  the  sick. 
The  success  of  this  mode  was  such,  that  this  practice  was  uni- 
versally adopted  there,  and  still  continues  till  the  present 
time. 

Dr  J.  G.  de  Hahn  has  given  -f-  us  the  history  of  a  putrid 
epidemic,  which  prevailed  at  Breslaw  in  1737,  and  in  which 
every  method  of  cure  was  ineffectual,  till  cold  water  was  ap- 
plied with  sponges  to  the  whole  surface  of  the  body.  Among 
other  proofs  of  the  efficacy  of  this  mode  of  treatment,  the 
author  mentions  its  successful  use  in  his  own  case. 

Sir  John  Chardin,  when  at  Gambroon,  in  1673,  was 
seized  with  a  malignant  burning  fever,  attended  with  deli- 
rium and  many  other  bad  symptoms  ;  and  of  which,  after 
having  had  many  medicines  prescribed  without  the  desired 
effect,  he  was  speedily  cured  by  the  cold  bath. 

"  This  uncommon  and  surprising  practice"  (says  Dr 
GlasJ),  "  so  successfully  employed  in  curing  a  burning  fe- 
ver, accompanied  with  weakness,  faintness,  and  prostration  of 

*  Phil.  Trans,  vol.  xxxvi.  No.  410. 

•J-  "Vide  Acta   Physico-Medica  Acad.  Nat.  Cur.  vol.  x.  p.  3.  4to.     No- 
rimbergse,  1754. 

X  See  I)r  Glas's  first  Letter  to  Dr  Baker,  p.  37-      8vo.      London, 
1767- 


346      ON  THE  EXTERNAL  USE  OF  COLD  WATER. 

strength,  without  any  apparent  cause,  when  duly  considered, 
points  out  a  more  successful  method  of  treating  our  putrid, 
malignant  fevers  than  that  which  is  at  present  most  commonly 
used* 

In  the  West  Indies  fevers  are  less  contagious  than  in  this 
country,  because  the  same  causes  of  contagion  do,  in  general, 
not  exist  there  ;  the  sick  being  placed  in  airy  and  well-ven- 
tilated chambers  ;  but  in  jails,  in  crowded  hospitals  and  ships, 
fevers,  in  the  West  Indies,  are  as  infectious  as  in  Europe  ; 
of  which  I  have  seen  many  examples  within  these  last  four 
years.  The  cure,  in  those  cases,  was  effected  by  a  removal 
of  the  sick  to  better  air, — by  cleanliness  in  apparel  and  bed- 
clothes,— frequent  bathing  in  the  sea  for  a  short  time, — cold 
water  alone  for  drink,  or  acidulated  with  elixir  of  vitriol, — a 
moderate  use  of  wine, — and  the  bark. 

London,        ) 
January  2.  178C.  J 


(    s  tr   ) 


ON  Till. 


EXTERNAL  USE  OF  COLD  WATER  IN  THE 
SMALL-POX. 


[This  Paper,  accompanied  by  the  foregoing,  was  read  before  the 
Medical  Society  in  1779,  1783,  and  1784;  but,  as  appears 
from  the  following  Letter  to  Dr  Duncan,  was  never  published 
till  the  year  1807,  when  it  appeared  in  the  Medical  and  Surgi- 
cal Journal,  vol.  iv.  p.  123.^] 

Letter  to  A.  Duxcax  jun.  M.  D. 
Sin, 

Tins  paper,  together  with  that  on  the  external  use  of  cold 
water  in  malignant  fever,  was  written  in  1769-1770,  and 
sent  to  Dr  John  Fothergill,  for  the  Medical  Society  of 
London,  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1779-  It  was  read 
several  times ;  at  first  ordered  to  be  printed,  afterwards  post- 
poned, and  laid  amongst  their  archives. 

It  is  probable  that  they  thought  this  practice  so  rash  and 
daring,  that  they  would  not  give  their  sanction  to  it. 

The  Society  was  soon  afterwards  dissolved  by  the  death 
of  Dr  Fothergill,  Dr  Hunter,  and  Dr  Solander ;  and 
I,  with  some  difficulty,  recovered  my  papers  from  Dr  Thom- 
son, secretary  to  the  Society. 

Dr  Simmons  published  my  paper  on  fever  in  1786,  but 
this  paper  on  the  small-pox  never  saw  the  light. 

I  sent  it,  with  others,  to  Dr  Currie,  at  Liverpool ;  it  is 
the  same  he  alludes  to  in  the  second  volume  of  his  Medical 
Reports. 


348  EXTERNAL  USE  OF  COLD  WATER 

I  beg  leave  to  present  you  with  this  copy,  that,  if  you 

think  proper,  you  may  give  it  a  place  in  your  useful  Medical 

Journal. 

Edinburgh,       \ 
1  bth  September  1807-  J" 


"  In  the  year  1768,  the  small-pox  was  in  a  manner  epide- 
mic in  Jamaica ;  it  proved  fatal  to  a  number  of  people  who 
took  it  in  the  natural  way,  but  only  to  a  few  who  were  ino- 
culated and  properly  treated. 

"  This  disease  became  general  about  the  months  of  April, 
May,  and  June,  in  the  parish  of  St  James's.  Such  as  had  the 
disorder  in  the  natural  way,  had  a  load  of  pustules,  and  often 
of  the  confluent  kind.  Sydenham's  cool  method  of  treat- 
ment was  called  to  our  remembrance,  by  the  success  of  the 
Messrs  Suttons,  and  of  Dr  Dimsdale.  But  although  a  li- 
beral use  of  cold  drinks  were  allowed  the  sick,  little  benefit 
could  be  expected  from  cool  air,  in  such  a  climate  and  season 
of  the  year. 

"  It  is  well  known,  that  the  quantity  and  quality  of  small- 
pox depends  on  the  duration  and  violence  of  the  eruptive 
fever ; — any  expedient,  then,  to  mitigate  the  one,  would  of 
course  render  the  other  more  favourable. 

"  The  Maroon  Negroes  *  in  Jamaica,  and  some  nations  on 
the  coast  of  Guinea,  have  a  custom  of  plastering  the  bodies 
of  such  of  themselves  as  are  taken  ill  of  the  small- pox,  and 
especially  during  the  eruptive  fever,  with  xvet  clay,  and  with 
such  good  effects  as  determined  me  to  try  the  cold  bath. 

"  So  soon  as  a  person  was  seized  with  the  variolous  fever, 
whether  from  inoculation  or  otherwise,  I  caused  an  assistant 

•  "  Maroon  Negroes — Soon  after  the  English  settled  in  Jamaica,  a 
number  of  runaway  Negroes  assembled  in  the  mountainous  places.  They 
became  formidable,  and  committed  such  ravages  and  depredations  on  the 
white  inhabitants,  as  greatly  obstructed  the  settlement  of  the  country. 
Governor  Trelawny  obliged  them  to  capitulate  in  1739." 


IN  THE  SMALL-POX.  349 

to  throw  cold  water  on  their  naked  bodies  every  four  or  six 
hours.  The  consequence  was  a  truce  from  the  fever,  from 
the  headach,  and  pain  in  the  back  ;  a  glow  succeeded,  wjlh  a 
kindly  perspiration.  The  eruption  after  this  was  for  the  most 
part  favourable. 

"  In  other  cases,  where  the  small-pox  had  made  their  ap- 
pearance, and  by  their  quantity,  and  the  continuance  of  the 
fever,  a  confluent  pock  was  apprehended,  the  cold  bath  not 
only  abated  the  fever,  but  diminished  the  number  of  pustules, 
and  the  patients  went  through  the  disease  easier.  I  do  not 
recollect  more  than  one  person  out  of  five  hundred,  treated 
in  this  manner,  but  what  agreed  perfectly  well  with  the  cold 
affusion. 

"  So  soon  as  the  eruption  was  completed,  and  the  fever 
gone,  I  desisted  from  the  external  application  of  cold  water ; 
I  kept  my  patients  in  cool  air,  and  allowed  them  cold  water 
through  the  whole  course  of  the  disease. 

"  The  secondary  fever  was  prevented,  or  greatly  mitigat- 
ed, by  timely  purging  the  patient:  and  so  soon  as  the  pus- 
tules were  at  the  height,  by  discharging  the  contents  by  a 
needle  or  some  sharp  pointed  instrument  *,  by  the  bark,  and 
sometimes  epispastics.  But  where  the  fever  run  high,  anti- 
monial  wine,  or  James's  powder,  was  given  ;  but  in  common 
cooling  laxatives,  small  doses  of  emetic  tartar,  with  or  with- 
out opiates,  were  sufficient ;  and,  lastly,  the  bark  and  port- 
wine.'1 

Extract  of  a  Letter  from  Dr  Gairdner,  dated  St  James's, 
October  24.  1778. 

"  The  small-pox  made  their  appearance  in  this  parish,  and 
it  became  necessary  to  inoculate  the  Negroes  on  Green  Park, 
and  Castle  Wemyss  estates,  and  also  those  of  the  small 
settlements.    The  practice  was  the  same  as  Baron  Dimsdale 

*  A  practice  common  on  the  coast  of  Guinea. 


350      USE  OF  COLD  WATER  IN  THE  SMALL-POX. 

recommends,  only  during  the  eruptive  fever  we  used  the  cold- 
bath,  that  is,  we  dashed  cold  water  on  their  head  and  in 
their  faces,  which  had  a  remarkable  effect  in  giving  imme- 
diate ease ;  it  carried  off  the  fever,  and  no  doubt  lessened  the 
eruption. 

*'  At  Castle  Weemyss  estate,  when  the  Negroes  were  fever- 
ish, I  made  them  go  in  below  the  spout  of  water.  They 
were  so  much  pleased  with  its  good  effects,  that  they  often 
went  below  it  of  their  own  accord.  All  of  them  had  the 
small-pox  remarkably  easy.  One  hundred  and  twenty  of 
them  were  inoculated  without  any  preparation  ;  they  were 
kept  at  easy  work  during  the  whole  time  of  the  disease,  and 
were  all  able  to  go  to  their  usual  employment  in  fourteen 
days  after  being  inoculated. 

"  The  same  success  did  not  attend  the  Negroes  on  the  small 
settlements,  which  I  think  was  owing  chiefly  to  their  not  using 
the  cold  bath." 


(     351      ) 


AN 


ACCOUNT  OF  A  DROPSY  CURED  BY 
BLUE  VITRIOL. 


[Read  before  the  Medical  Society  the  9th  April  1781,  and  first 
published  in  the  London  Medical  Journal,  vol.  i.  p.  266.] 


Stephen  Friar,  a  native  of  the  Island  of  Madeira,  aged 
about  twenty-four  years,  was  steward  of  a  ship,  from  London 
to  Jamaica.  Soon  after  his  arrival  at  Montego  Bay,  he  was 
taken  ill  of  a  fever,  and  left  ashore  at  sick-quarters.  Captain 
Mercer  of  Liverpool  offered  him  a  passage,  and  he  was 
brought  on  board  July  30.  1777,  in  a  very  low  condition. 
The  account  he  gave  me  was  as  follows: — 

That  about  the  beginning  of  June  he  was  seized  with  a 
fever,  which,  notwithstanding  the  many  medicines  given  him, 
did  not  entirely  leave  him  till  about  ten  days  before  he  em- 
barked. He  complained  of  tightness  about  the  praecordia, 
and  of  a  difficulty  of  breathing  when  he  walked.  He  had 
pains  in  his  hips  and  limbs,  was  sometimes  much  griped,  and 
once,  in  three  or  four  days,  had  a  few  watery  stools,  which 
sensibly  diminished  his  strength.  His  appetite  was  tolerable; 
his  urine  high  coloured,  and  in  small  quantity.  I  ordered 
him  some  stomachic  bitters,  a  nourishing  diet  from  the  cabin, 
and  to  stir  about  upon  deck  in  line  weather. 


352  ON  DROPSY  CURED  BY 

August  22d,  he  complained  much  of  the  pain  in  his  sto- 
mach, and  of  a  difficulty  of  breathing  when  he  attempted  to 
walk  upon  deck.  On  a  supposition  that  he  might  have  vis- 
ceral obstructions,  I  gave  him  two  grains  of  mere,  chile,  com- 
bined with  half  a  grain  of  extract,  theb.  at  bed-time,  two  suc- 
cessive nights,  by  which  he  was  a  little  relieved,  and  returned 
to  the  use  of  the  bitters. 

August  29th,  a  heavy  gale  of  contrary  winds  came  on,  the 
vessel  shipped  much  water,  and  our  patient  being  badly 
lodged,  got  wet  in  the  night :  this  occasioned  a  fever,  with 
headach,  thirst,  &c.  which,  however,  went  off  by  the  use  of 
antimonial  wine  and  laudanum  ;  and  he  again  took  the  bitters 
as  before. 

Sept.  1st.  Although  this  man's  appetite  was  for  the  most 
part  good,  .yet,  instead  of  mending,  he  daily  felt  himself 
weaker,  the  tightness  about  the  praecordia  and  difficulty  of 
breathing  increased,  and  he  appeared  bloated  in  the  face.  I 
now  observed  his  legs  swelled  about  the  ancles,  which  retained 
the  impression  of  my  finger  for  a  considerable  time.  The 
scrotum  was  clear  and  full  of  water,  but  no  fluctuation  could 
be  felt  in  the  abdomen. 

I  was  at  a  loss  whether  to  ascribe  this  beginning  of  dropsy 
to  diseased  viscera,  or  to  a  general  debility  of  the  system. 
The  former  opinion  prevailed  :  five  grains  of  calomel,  and 
three  grains  of  extr.  theb.  were  made  into  pills,  which  being- 
divided  into  three  doses,  one  dose  was  taken  every  night, 

Sept.  5th.  The  swelling  in  the  legs  and  scrotum  rather  in- 
creased, and  there  was  now  an  evident  fluctuation  of  water  in 
the  abdomen.  On  searching  the  medicine  box,  I  at  first 
found  nothing  that  suited  my  purpose,  either  as  a  diuretic  or 
tonic. 

During  my  residence  in  Jamaica,  I  had  often  heard  of  the 
success  of  a  nostrum  in  dropsy,  used  by  a  surgeon  in  Montego 
Bay.     A  friend  procured  me  some  of  the  powder,  and  on  ex- 


BLUE  VITRIOL.  :  ~» 

amining  it  with  the  microscope,  and  tasting  it.  I  tunnel  it  to 
be  composed  chiefly  of  wild  cinnamon  and  Roman  vitriol; 
the  latter  seeming  to  be  in  no  .small  quantity  in  a  dbse.  Ne- 
cessity now  made  me  determine  to  try  this  doubtful  remedy, 

rather  than  none  at  all. 

K  Vitrioli  curulei,  Corticis  Winterani  occidentals,  utiiusque 
9j.;  f.  pulvis  subtilissiniis,  cui  adde,  Mucilaginis  G.  Aralici 
q.  s.  at  fiat  massa  pilularum  de  qua  formentur  pilulaa 
xxiv.     Capiat  j.  omni  nocte,  hora  somni. 

Sept.  6th.  He  had  been  griped  a  little  in  the  night,  and 
had  two  watery  stools  this  morning,  which  probably  would 
have  happened  whether  he  had  taken  any  medicine  or  not. 
I  gave  hiin  half  a  grain  of  extr.  theb.  with  the  pill. 

Sept.  7tH.  He  passed  more  urine,  and  found  himself  ra- 
ther easier.  He  continued  to  take  a  pill  night  and  morning, 
and  to  repeat  the  opiate  at  bed-time. 

Sept.  9th.  During  the  last  two  days  he  passed  abundance 
of  urine,  and  had  two  loose  stools  a-day.  The  size  of  the 
abdomen,  scrotum,  and  legs,  greatly  diminished.  He  walked 
upon  deck  with  greater  freedom,  and  his  keen  appetite  was 
gratified  with  whatever  the  cabin  afforded.  Since  he  began 
the  use  of  this  medicine,  he  was  directed  to  drink  as  often  as 
he  felt  himself  thirsty. 

Sept.  12th.  The  weather  being  stormy,  he  omitted  his  pill 
at  bed-time,  and  had  four  watery  stools  in  the  night,  which 
fatigued  him  a  little.  The  swellings  were  entirely  gone.  He 
had  some  mutton-broth  for  dinner,  and  several  glasses  of 
mulled  port-wine  through  the  day  ;  at  bed-time  the  pill  and 
opiate  were  repeated. 

Sept.  15th.  The  weather  continuing  bad,  he  had  no  medi- 
cine after  the  12th,  but  the  swellings  had  not  returned ;  and 
as  his  appetite  continued  to  be  good,  he  discontinued  the  use 
of  his  medicines. 


/ 


354        ON  DROPSY  CURED  BY  BLUE  VITRIOL. 

Oct.  9th.  The  ship  arrived  safely  in  Liverpool  harbour ; 
and  on  the  15th,  I  saw  the  patient  in  good  health,  employed 
as  a  waiter  in  a  tavern. 

From  the  success  of  the  above  medicine  in  this  and  other 
cases  I  have  heard  of,  I  am  of  opinion  it  will  succeed  in  all 
dropsies  that  are  not  owing  to  a  fixed  cause,  such  as  scir- 
rhosities  of  the  liver,  spleen,  mesentery,  &c,  and  which,  of 
course,  will  require  a  different  treatment. 


<      35;i      ) 


FARTHER  REMARKS 


ON   THE    EFFICACY  OF 


BLUE  VITRIOL  IN  THE  CURE  OF  DROPSY. 

[Communicated  in  a  Letter  to  Dr  Simmons,  F.  R.  S.  and  first  pub- 
lished in  the  London  Medical  Journal  for  the  Year  1789,  vol.  x. 
page  149.] 

Edinburgh,  \st  March  1789. 

Agueeably  to  my  promise,  I  now  send  you  some  farther 
remarks  on  the  cure  of  certain  species  of  dropsy  by  blue  vi- 
triol, which  I  hope  you  will  deem  worthy  of  a  place  in  the 
London  Medical  Journal. 

From  the  number  of  fatal  accidents  that  have  happened 
from  the  use  of  copper  vessels,  speculative  authors  have  set 
down  all  the  preparations  of  that  metal  as  virulent  in  their 
effects,  and  of  a  deleterious  quality  ;  but  this  depends  alto- 
gether on  the  substances  with  which  the  copper  is  combined. 
It  is  indeed  certain  that  verdigris,  however  formed,  and  taken 
into  the  stomach  in  any  considerable  quantity,  destroys  ani- 
mal life ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  cuprum  ammoniacum  * 
(Pharm.  Edinensis),  in  proper  doses,  has  been  found  efficaci- 
ous in  several  cases  of  epilepsy,  and  other  spasmodic  diseases : 
and  blue  vitriol  has  long  ago  been  found  effectual  in  remov- 
ing obstinate  agues,  and  lately  very  beneficial  in  phthisis  pul- 
monalis. 

The  last  mentioned  preparation   I  have  found   not  only  a 

*  Copper  combined  with  the  volatile  alkaU. 
2  z  2 


356  ON  THE  CURE  OF  DROPSY 

safe,  but  successful  remedy  in  certain  species  of*  dropsy,  even 
in  ascites,  where  there  was  a  fluctuation  to  be  felt  in  the  ab- 
domen, depending  perhaps  solely  on  a  relaxation  and  debility 
of  the  whole  system.  As  farther  proofs  of  its  good  effects  in 
affections  of  this  sort,  I  shall  relate  the  two  following  cases. 

Case  I. — John  Maclaurin,  aged  fourteen  years,  son  of  a 
poor  Avoman  in  the  town  of  Fcdmouth,  on  the  north  side  of 
Jamaica,  from  living  by  the  side  of  a  morass,  had  contracted 
an  intermittent,  which  lasted  from  August  1784,  till  April 
1785,  when  it  first  degenerated  into  a  remitting,  and  then  in- 
to a  continued  fever.  He  was  rescued  at  length  from  this 
dangerous  state,  by  the  skill  and  humanity  of  Dr  Brown  : 
but  after  this  fever  had  left  him,  he  neither  had  appetite  nor 
recovered  his  strength. 

When  I  visited  him  about  the  middle  of  April,  he  was 
very  weak  ;  his  face  was  pale  and  bloated ;  his  feet  swelled 
towards  bed-time ;  and  his  urine  was  scanty  and  highly  col- 
oured. 

From  the  duration  of  these  fevers,  I  was  at  first  led  to 
think  that  the  hydropic  symptoms  were  owing  to  visceral  ob- 
structions :  I  therefore  ordered  one  grain  of  calomel,  and 
twenty  drops  of  laudanum,  to  be  given  at  going  to  bed.  These 
medicines  were  taken  regularly  for  the  space  of  a  week,  but 
without  success :  for  the  anasarca  became  general  ;  the  scro- 
tum and  penis  were  greatly  distended ;  the  abdomen  was 
swelled,  and  there  was  a  fluctuation  of  water  in  it  to  be  felt. 

I  now  began  to  think  that  the  opinion  I  had  at  first  enter- 
tained of  the  cause  of  the  symptoms  might  not  be  well  found- 
ed, and  that  what  I  had  at  first  ascribed  to  visceral  obstruc- 
tions might  perhaps  be  merely  the  consequence  of  debility  : 
I  therefore  determined  to  vary  the  mode  of  treatment,  and 
to  make  trial  of  the  blue  vitriol,  according  to  the  following 
formula  : 


BY   BLUE  VITRIOL.  .\?A 

R  Vitriol.  Koman. 
Opii,  ana  gr.  bs. 

Gorticis  canellae  aromfiticsa  ur.  j. 
Mucilaginis  Gummi  Arabici  q.  s.  f*.  |>ilula. 

Ho  took  this  pill  morning  and  evening,  and,  at  the  end  of 
a  few  days,  the  dose  of  the  blue  vitriol  was  increased  to  one 
grain. 

This  medicine  gave  him  no  disturbance.  The  quantity  of 
urine  was  remarkably  increased  daily.  The  swelling  soon 
subsided  ;  his  appetite  returned  ;  and  in  the  beginning  of 
May  his  disorder  was  quite  gone. 

Case  II. — A  woman,  named  Penny,  aged  thirty  years, 
who  had  in  general  been  healthy,  had  for  some  months  an  ob- 
struction of  the  menses,  for  which  she  had  taken  a  variety  of 
medicines. 

In  May  1785,  her  abdomen  was  observed  to  swell,  and  as 
there  was  an  evident  fluctuation  of  water,  different  diuretics 
were  administered,  but  without  success  ;  so  that  Dr  Carlyle, 
who  attended  her,  saw  there  was  a  necessity  of  tapping  her, 
and  this  was  accordingly  done  in  the  beginning  of  June. 

To  prevent  the  return  of  the  dropsy,  I  recommended  the 
use  of  the  blue  vitriol  and  opium.  Dr  Carlyle  gave  her  a 
pill,  containing  at  first,  one  grain,  and  afterwards  two  grains 
of  blue  vitriol,  with  one  grain  of  opium,  every  night  at  bed- 
time. This  medicine  sat  easy  on  her  stomach,  and  excited 
no  sort  of  uneasiness  in  the  bowels.  The  quantity  of  urine 
was  soon  remarkably  increased,  and  she  found  herself  consi- 
derably mended. 

About  the  middle  of  June,  there  being  no  appearance  of 
the  ascites,  Dr  Carlyle  pronounced  his  patient  out  of  dan- 
ger, and  the  pills  were  discontinued.  The  woman  recovered 
her  wonted  health;  the  monthly  discharge  returned,  and  she 
has  since  continued  well. 


(     358      ) 


DESCRIPTION 


OF    THE 


JESUITS'  BARK  TREE 


OF 


JAMAICA  AND  THE  CARRIBBEES, 


[Communicated  by  Joseph  Banks,  Esq.  F.  R.  S.,  and  read  before 
the  Royal  Society  the  24th  of  April  1777.  Originally  pub- 
lished in  the  Philosophical  Transactions,  vol.  Ixvii.  part  2d, 
p.  504.] 

This  species  of  Jesuits"'  Bark  grows  on  stony  lands  near 
the  sea-shore,  in  the  parishes  of  St  James  and  Hanover,  on 
the  north  side  of  Jamaica  ;  and  I  found  one  small  tree,  at  a 
little  distance  from  the  fort,  at  Martha  Brae,  in  the  parish  of 
Trelawny.  The  tree  is  called  the  Sea-side  Beech,  and  rises 
only  to  twenty  feet.  The  trunk  is  not  thick  in  proportion., 
but  hard,  tough,  and  of  a  yellowish-white  colour  in  the  in- 
side. The  branches  and  leaves  are  opposite ;  the  leaves  are 
of  a  rusty-green,  and  the  young  buds  of  a  bluish-green  hue. 
It  blossoms  in  November,  and  continues  in  flower  till  Febru- 
ary, having  on  the  same  tree  or  sprig  flowers  and  ripe  pods. 
The  flowers  are  of  a  duskish-yellow  colour,  and  the  pods 
black.  When  ripe,  they  split  in  two,  and  are,  with  their  flat 
brown  seeds,  in  every  respect  similar  to  those  of  the  Cinchona 
officinalis,  as  depicted  in  a  plate  sent  out  by  Mr  Banks. 
The  bark  of  this  tree  in  general  is  smooth,  and  grey  on  the 


ON  THE  JESUITS'  BARK-TREE.  3,><) 

outside,  though  in  some  rough  and  scabrous.  When  well 
dried,  the  inside  is  of  a  dark-brown  colour.  Its  flavour  at 
first  is  sweet,  with  a  mixture  of  the  taste  of  horse-radish,  and 
of  aromalies  of  the  East ;  but  when  swallowed,  of  that  very 
bitterness  and  astringency  which  characterises  the  Peruvian 
bark.  It  yields  these  qualities  strongly  to  water,  both  when 
cold,  and  in  decoction.  Half  an  ounce  boiled,  from  two 
pounds  to  one  pound  of  water,  made  as  strong  a  decoction  as 
three  times  its  weight  of  the  Cinchona  vera.  The  colour  was 
brown,  but  not  turbid. 

I  have  had  many  opportunities  of  trying  its  effects,  espe- 
cially in  remittents,  which  are  the  most  common  and  fatal  fe- 
vers in  these  climes.  A  vomit,  or  gentle  purge,  if  necessary, 
was  first  given  ;  and  then  immediately  this  bark,  as  soon  as 
they  operated.  I  observed  that  it  strengthened  the  stomach, 
checked  retching  and  vomiting,  corrected  morbid  humours  in 
prima:  vice,  and  conquered  speedily  the  disease.  My  success 
in  such  a  dangerous  malady,  leaves  not  a  doubt  on  my  mind 
but  that  it  will  prove  equally  efficacious  in  every  other  case, 
where  a  tonic  and  antiseptic  medicine  is  indicated. 

Cinchona  .Tamaicensis  seu  Cauribbeana. — Cinchona  Carrih* 

ha'o,  Lin.  Spec.  Plant.  245. 
Fol.  ovata,  integenima,  acuta,  enervia,  opposita. 
Flor.  singulares,  axillares. 
Cal.   Periantium  monophyllum,  superum  quinquefidum,  minimum, 

persistens,  campanulatum,  obsoletissime  quinquedentatum. 
Cor.  monopetala,  infundibiliformis.       Tubus  cylindraceus,  longissi- 

mus :     Limbus    quinquepartitus,    tubo    a3qualis  :     Laciniis 

ovatis,  oblongis,  reflexis,  quandoque  pendulus. 
Stam.  Filamenta  quinque,  filiformia,  eiccta  e  medio  tubi,  longitu. 

dine   corollas.     Antheroe  longissime,  obtusa;,   erecta?   supra 

basin  exteriorem,  affix*  in  fauce  corollas. 
Caps,  bipartibilis  in  duas  partes  dissepimento  parallelo,  latere  infe- 

riore  dehiscens. 
Sem.  plurima  compressa,  marginata,  oblonga. 


(     360     ) 


DESCRIPTION  AND  USE 


CABBAGE-BARK  TREE 


OF 


JAMAICA. 

[Communicated  by  Richard  Brocklesby,  M.  D.  F.  R.  S.  and' 
read  before  the  Royal  Society,  the  1st  May  1777.  Originally 
published  in  the  Philosophical  Transactions,  Vol.  lxvii.  Part  2d, 
p.  507.] 

The  Cabbage-Bark  Tree,  or  Worm-Bark  Tree,  grows  in 
most  parts  of  Jamaica,  and  particularly  abounds  in  the  low 
savannahs  of  St  Mary  and  St  George.  It  rises  to  a  consi- 
derable height,  but  no  great  thickness,  sending  ofF  branches 
towards  the  top  of  a  straight  smooth  trunk.  The  leaves  are, 
when  young,  of  a  light  green  hue  ;  when  full  grown,  of  a 
dark-green  colour ;  and  before  they  drop  of  a  rusty  appear- 
ance. 

The  flower-spike  is  long,  and  beautifully  brancned.  The 
flowers  are  numerous ;  their  calyces  of  a  dark  purple ;  their 
petals  of  the  colour  of  the  pale  rose  ;  the  ncctaria  must  con- 
tain much  honey,  as  thousands  of  bees,  beetles  of  various 
kinds,  butterflies,  and  humming  birds,  are  continually  feeding 
thereon. 

The  pericarpium  is  a  green  hard  fruit,  of  the  size  of  the 
smaller  plum.  The  skin  is  of  the  thickness  of  a  crown- 
piece ;   and  tastes  very  austere.     The  kernel  is  covered  with 


ON  THE  CABBAGE-BARK  TREE  OF  .JAMAICA.    361 

a  brown  skin,  like  that  of  other  nuts;    it  is  very  hard,  and 
tastes  astringent. 

The  wood  is  hard,  and  takes  a  good  polish.  It  ^/how- 
ever, fit  only  for  rafters,  or  other  parts  of  small  buildings  ; 
but  this  tree  is  valued  chiefly  for  its  bark,  which  externally  is 
of  a  grey  colour,  and  the  inside  black  and  furrowed. 

Fresh  cabbage-bark  tastes  mucilaginous,  sweet  and  insipid. 
Its  smell,  however,  is  rather  disagreeable,  and  it  retains  it  in 
the  decoction  ;  hence  by  some  called  the  Bulge-water  Tree. 

Mr  Peter  Duguid,  formerly  of  this  island,  seems  to  have 
been  the  first  that  gave  any  account  of  the  virtues  of  this 
bark,  in  the  Edinburgh  Essays,  Physical  and  Literary,  vol.  ii. 
The  experiments  he  promised  have  never  yet  appeared.  It 
is  certain  it  has  powerful  effects,  and  its  anthelminthic  quality 
is  established  by  the  experience  of  several  ages.  It  is  at  pre- 
sent in  general  use  here,  and  begins  to  be  known  in  Europe. 
No  description  having  yet  appeared,  I  have  supplied  that  de- 
fect as  far  as  my  abilities  in  botany  reached.  It  remains  now 
to  proceed  to  its  exhibition,  and  the  purposes  it  is  meant  to  an- 
swer as  a  medicine. 

Cabbage-bark  may  be  given  in  different  forms,  as  in  decoc- 
tion, syrup,  powder,  and  extract.  I  have  used  them  all,  and 
shall  speak  of  them  separately. 

The  decoction.  Take  fresh  dried,  or  well  preserved  cab- 
bage-bark, one  ounce  ;  boil  it  in  a  quart  of  water,  over  a  slow 
fire,  till  the  water  is  of  an  amber  colour,  or  rather  of  deep- 
coloured  Madeira  wine  ;  strain  it  off,  sweeten  it  with  sugar, 
and  let  it  be   used  immediately,  as  it  does  not  keep  many 

days. 

Syrup  of  cabbage-bark.  To  any  quantity  of  the  above  de- 
eoction  add  a  double  portion  of  sugar,  and  make  a  syrup. 
This  will  retain  its  virtues  for  years. 

The  extract  of  cabbage-bark  is  made  by  evaporating  the 
strono-  decoction  in  balnco  maria  to  the  proper  consistence ; 


362    ON  THE  CABBAGE  BANK  TREE  OF  JAMAICA. 

it  must  be  continually  stirred,  as  otherwise  the  resinous  part 
rises  to  the  top,  and  on  this  probably  its  efficacy  depends. 

The  powder  of  well-dried  bark  is  easily  made,  and  looks 
like  jalap,  though  not  of  equal  specific  gravity. 

This  bark,  like  most  other  powerful  anthelmintics,  has  a 
narcotic  effect ;  and,  on  this  account,  it  is  always  proper  to 
begin  with  small  doses,  which  may  be  gradually  increased  till 
a  nausea  is  excited,  when  the  dose  for  that  patient  is  ascer- 
tained. But,  by  frequent  use,  we  can  in  common  determine 
the  dose,  though  we  choose  to  err  rather  on  the  safe  side. 

A  strong  healthy  grown  person  may  at  first  take  from  four 
table- spoonfuls  of  the  decoction  or  syrup,  three  grains  of  the 
extract,  or  thirty  grains  of  the  powder  for  a  dose. 

A  youth,  three  table-spoonfuls  of  the  decoction,  or  syrup, 
two  grains  of  extract,  or  twenty  grains  of  powder. 

A  person  of  ten  years  of  age  two  table-spoonfuls  of  the  de- 
coction or  syrup,  one  grain  and  a  half  of  extract,  or  fifteen 
grains  of  the  powder. 

Children  of  two  or  three  years  old,  a  table-spoonful  of  the 
decoction  or  syrup,  one  grain  of  extract,  or  ten  grains  of  the 
powder.     Children  of  a  year  old,  half  the  quantity. 

These  may  be  increased,  as  above  observed,  till  a  nausea 
is  excited,  which  will  depend  on  the  strength,  sex,  and  habit 
of  body  of  the  patient. 

Care  must  be  taken  that  cold  water  be  not  drank  during 
the  operation  of  this  medicine,  as  it  is  in  this  case  apt  to  occa- 
sion sickness,  vomiting,  fever  and  delirium.  When  this  hap- 
pens, or  when  an  over-large  dose  has  been  given,  the  stomach 
must  be  washed  with  warm-water  ;  the  patient  must  speedily 
be  purged  with  castor-oil,  and  use  plenty  of  lime-juice  beve- 
rage for  common  drink ;  vegetable  acid  being  a  powerful  an- 
tidote in  this  case,  as  well  as  in  an  over-dose  of  opium. 

The  decoction  is  what  is  mostly  given  here,  and  seldom  fails 
to  perform  every  thing  that  can  be  expected  from  an  anthel- 


ON  TIIK  CAKHAGF.-UAKK   TUFF.   OF  JAMAICA.     B&S 

minthic  medicine,  by  destroying  worms  in  tin.-  intestines,  and 
bringing  tlieni  away  in  great  quantities  l!\  !'m(iirnl  uge. 
however,  these  animals  become  familiarised,  and  we  Tind  it 
necessary  to  intermit  it,  or  have  recourse  to  others  of  inferior 
merit. 

The  writers  of  the  Edinburgh  Medical  Commentaries  take 
notice,  that  the  decoction  of  cabbage-bark  always  excites  vo- 
miting. We  find  no  such  effect  from  it  here,  and  may  ac- 
count for  it,  by  their  receiving  it  in  a  mouldy  state.  A  sy- 
rup, therefore,  is  given  there  with  better  effect.  They  ob- 
serve, also,  that  it  has  a  diuretic  virtue,  which  we  have  not 
taken  notice  of  here. 

This  bark  purges  pretty  briskly,  especially  in  powder, 
thirty  or  forty  grains  working  as  well  as  jalap  by  stool ;  but, 
in  this  way,  it  does  not  seem  to  kill  worms  so  well  as  in  de- 
coction. 

Five  grains  of  the  extract  made  a  strong  man  sick,  and 
purged  him  several  times ;  but,  by  frequent  use,  he  took  ten 
grains  to  produce  at  length  the  same  effect. 

It  must  not  be  concealed  that  fatal  accidents  have  happen- 
ed from  the  imprudent  administration  of  this  bark,  chiefly 
from  over-dosing  the  medicine.  But  this  cannot  detract  from 
the  merit  of  the  cabbage  bark,  since  the  best  medicines,  when 
abused,  become  deleterious ;  and  even  our  best  aliments,  in 
too  great  quantity,  prove  destructive.  Upon  the  whole,  the 
cabbage-bark  is  a  most  valuable  remedy,  and  I  hope  will  be- 
come an  addition  to  the  Materia  Medica. 

GEOKKRiEA  JAMAICKNSIS  TNERMIS. 

Fol.  opposita,  oblongo-ovata,  ternata,  acuminata,    superne  glabra, 

infevne  enervia,  petiolis  brevibus. 
Cal.  Perianthium  monophyllum,  cainpanulatum,  levissime  quin- 

quepartitura,  lacinii?  ovatis  brevibus . 


364    ON  THE  CABBAGE-BARK  TREE  OF  JAMAICA. 

Cor.  papilionacea :   Vexillum  subrotundum,  concavum  :  Alee  obtu- 

8se,  concavae,  longitudine  vexilli.     Carina  ovata,  patens,  in 

duabus  partitus  levissime  divisa. 
Stam.  diadelpha,  decern,   filiformia,   in   calyce  inserta,  longitudine 

alarum.     Antherce  subrotundse. 
Pist.  subulatum,   filiforme.     Stigma    nullum.     Germen  ovato-ob- 

longum,  compressum. 
Per.  Drupa  sub-ovata,  magna. 
Sem.  Nux  sub-ovata,  sub-lignea,  sulco  utrinque  longitudinal],  bival- 

vis. 

The  botanical  reader  will  see  how  nearly  this  agrees  with 
the  GeoffrcBa  spinosa  of  Linnaeus.  The  genera  of  plants  are 
sufficiently  multiplied,  and  it  was  thought  best  to  make  this 
a  species  only. 


(     :!<>.-)     ) 


AX  ACCOUNT  OF  A  REMARKABLE  FACT 

RELATIVE  TO 

THE  SMALL-POX. 

[Communicated  in  a  Letter  to  Dr  Simmons,  F.  R.  S.  ami  first  pub- 
lished in  tlie  London  Medical  Journal  for  the  Year  1786,  vol.  vii. 
p.  63.] 

Having  lately  read  an  account  of  a  curious  fact  relative  to 
inoculation,  communicated  by  Mr  Dawson,  *  surgeon  at  Sed- 
bergh,  in  Yorkshire,  to  the  College  of  Physicians  in  London, 
and  published  in  the  third  volume  of  their  transactions ;  I 
beg  leave  to  observe  to  you,  that,  in  the  course  of  a  long  and 
extensive  country  practice  in  Jamaica,  many  facts  have  oc- 
curred to  convince  me  that,  in  the  case  of  the  small-pox,  a 
person  may  have  a  local  affection  without  the  habit  in  gene- 
ral being  tainted  by  the  variolous  poison.  I  have  often  had 
occasion  to  observe  that  the  arms  of  patients  inoculated  will 
inflame  and  discharge  an  ichor  for  a  few  days,  and  then  dry 
up  without  the  infection  going  farther ;  yet  those  very  per- 
sons inoculated  afresh,  have  at  the  proper  time,  had  the  small 
pox  fever  and  eruption,  although  the  fact  related  by  Mr 
Dawson,  serves  to  prove  that  the  ichorous  discharge  from 
the  first  incision  in  those  patients  would  have  been  capable 
of  communicating  the  variolous  infection  to  other  persons. 

Nurses  who  suckle  children  ill  of  *mall-pox,  frequently 
have  a  few  pustules  on  their  breasts  and  arms  without  any 
previous  fever  ;  and  any  body  who  attends  closely  to,  and 
handles  patients  in  that  distemper,  will  be  liable  to  have  pus- 

*  The  reader  will  find  an  abstract  of  Mr  Dawson's  paper  in  next  article 


366  ON  THE  SMALL-POX. 

tiles  in  the  same  manner.  This  has  more  than  once  happen- 
ed to  myself  since  the  year  1745,  when  I  had  the  small- pox 
in  the  natural  way,  and  that  such  local  affection  is  truly  va- 
riolous, the  following  experiment  puts  beyond  a  doubt. 

In  July  1768,  six  valuable  Negroes  were  inoculated  from 
matter  taken  from  a  patient  in  the  natural  small-pox ;  but 
their  arms  dried  up  about  the  sixth  day.  As  many  Negroes 
on  the  same  estate  had  that  disorder,  there  was  danger  of 
their  catching  it  in  the  natural  way.  They  were  therefore 
sent  to  my  house  to  be  again  inoculated,  and  to  stay  till  the 
issue  was  certain.  At  that  very  time  I  had  a  large  variolous 
pustule  on  my  left  thumb,  of  seven  days"1  standing.  No  other 
infection  being  at  hand,  I  inoculated  the  six  Negro  men  from 
this  pustule.  The  infection  took  place ;  they  had  the  vari- 
olous fever  on  the  seventh  and  eighth  days,  and  the  eruption 
appeared  in  the  usual  manner.  Two  of  these  men  had  about 
five  hundred  pustules,  the  other  four  had  the  disorder  more 
mildly.  They  returned  home  quite  recovered  in  sixteen 
days  from  their  last  inoculation. 

London,  January  20  1786. 


An  account  of  a  singular  fact  in  the  practice  of  Inoculation  of  the 
Small-Pox. — By  Mr  John  Dawson,  Surgeon  at  Sedbergh  in 
Yorkshire.  Vide  Medical  Transactions  published  by  the  College 
of  Physicians  in  London,  vol.  iii.  8vo.    London  1785. 

This  is  the  fact  alluded  to  by  Dr  Wright  in  the  preced- 
ing article.  Mr  Dawson  having  inoculated  two  children  in 
one  family,  observed,  on  the  third  day,  a  slight  inflammation 
around  the  places  of  incision.  On  the  fifth  day  the  inflamma- 
tion was  considerably  increased,  and  on  the  eighth  it  extend- 
ed nearly  to  the  breadth  of  half  a  crown. 

With  matter  taken  from  the  arms  of  these  children  at  this 


ON  THE  SMALL-POX.  3®T 

period,  he  inoculated  nineteen  other  persons,  and  every  one  oi 
these  had  a  fever  and  eruption  of  pustules  at  a  proper  time  ; 
but  the  two  children  from  whom  the  matter  had  been  taken 
did  not  sicken  as  was  expected,  and,  on  the  eleventh  day,  the 
inflammation  upon  their  arms  was  considerably  abated  ;  and 
two  or  three  clays  after  this  there  remained  nothing  but  a  dry 
scab. 

In  conformity  to  an  opinion  hitherto  generally  adopted, 
our  author  now  ventured  to  assure  the  parents,  that  their 
children  were  secure  from  future  infection  of  the  small-pox  ; 
but  they  having  insisted  on  their  being  again  inoculated,  a 
second  incision  was  made  in  the  arms  of  each.  A  fresh  in- 
flammation succeeded  around  the  places  of  incision,  and  went 
on  in  the  same  manner  it  had  done  before,  till  about  the  ninth 
or  tenth  day,  when  the  patients  sickened,  and  had  a  smart 
fever,  during  three  days,  after  which  appeared  a  considerable 
number  of  variolous  pustules. 


(     368     ) 


PRACTICAL  OBSERVATIONS 


TREATMENT  OF  ACUTE  DISEASES ; 

PARTICULARLY  THOSE  OF  THE  WEST  INDIES. 

[[Communicated  by  Dr  Wright,  in  a  Letter  to  Maxwell  Garth- 
shore,  M.  D.  F.  R.  S.  Physician  in  London  ;  and  by  him  to  Dr 
Simmons.     From  Medical  Facts  and  Obs.  vol.  vii.] 


Dear  Sir, 

In  compliance  with  your  request,  I  now  com- 
municate to  you  some  observations  on  the  treatment  of  acute 
diseases,  particularly  those  of  the  West  Indies. 

I  shall  begin  with  the  Typhus,  Nervous,  Ship,  or  Jail, 
Fever,  as  it  is  differently  styled  by  different  writers. 

In  a  former  letter  I  remarked  to  you,  that  the  application 
of  cold  water  externally  had  been,  for  some  time,  practised 
by  Dr  Gregory,  Professor  of  Physic  in  this  University,  in 
cases  of  typhus,  with  remarkably  good  effect;  but  he  has 
never  carried  it  to  the  extent  I  did  in  my  own  case,  and  in 
that  of  others,  several  years  ago  *.  Instead  of  dashing  cold 
water  on  the  naked  body,  as  I  did,  Dr  Gregory  orders  the 
bodies  of  his  patients  to  be  washed  with  a  sponge,  dipped  in 
cold  water  and  vinegar,  at  least  twice  a-day.     This  operation 

•  Sec  London  Medical  Journal,  vol.  vii.  p.  lOrJ. 


TREATMENT  OF  ACUTE  DISEASES.  369 

I  shall  call  the  Lavatio  JHgida.  The  earlier  this  mode  is 
practised  the  better ;  because,  in  typhus,  the  patient  grojvs 
daily  worse;  for  in  the  second  week  there  is  a  great  increase 
of  fever,  and  a  proportionate  loss  of  strength  :  but  even  then 
Dr  Gregory  has  found  the  application  of  the  wet  sponge  act 
as  a  charm  ;  nor  have  delirium  or  petechia,'  been  considered 
by  him  as  any  bar  to  the  adoption  of  this  remedy  ;  on  the 
contrary,  where  these  have  been  present,  and  the  pulse  much 
quickened,  he  has,  by  the  lavatio  jrigida,  speedily  reduced 
the  pulsations  from  110  to  90  in  a  minute,  and  the  deli- 
rium and  other  threatening  symptoms  have  soon  after  dis- 
appeared. 

About  a  fortnight  ago,  a  student  of  physic,  who  had  been 
ill  for  some  days  before  Dr  Gregory  was  applied  to,  had, 
besides  a  great  degree  of  fever  and  delirium,  numerous  spots, 
or  petechia?,  on  his  breast,  belly,  and  extremities.  The  lava- 
tio Jng'ula  was  used  on  the  day  the  Doctor  first  visited  him, 
and  by  next  morning  the  delirium  had  ceased,  and  the  pete- 
chia? disappeared.  The  pulse,  which  on  the  preceding  day 
had  been  at  110,  was  now  at  80;  and  by  continuing  the  ap- 
plication of  the  wet  sponge  now  and  then,  the  pulse  became 
natural  on  the  fourth  day  after  the  Doctor  first  saw  him. 
Many  similar  cases  might  be  adduced  from  the  books  of  the 
clinical  ward  of  the  Royal  Infirmary. 

Successful  as  this  method  has  been  in  the  hands  of  Dr 
Gregory,  and  some  others,  besides  mine,  I  am  well  aware 
that  much  caution  and  judgment  are  necessary  in  putting  it 
in  practice.  In  all  cases  where  there  are  visceral  obstructions, 
cold  bathing  does  much  mischief;  and  in  fevers  of  this  sort, 
with  inflammatory  diathesis,  there  is  reason  to  suspect  topical 
inflammation  of  the  viscera ;  in  this  last  case,  if  cold  bathing 
were  made  use  of,  the  patient  would  run  the  risk  of  his  life, 
and  the  physician  justly  lose  his  character.  Other  methods  of 
treatment  must  therefore  be  had  recourse  to,  and  these  I  will 

a  a 


'J70  PRACTICAL  OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE 

endeavour  to  point  out,  front  a  successful  practice  in  the 
West  Indies,  as  well  as  in  this  country. 

In  fevers  where  there  are  but  slight  signs  of  inflammatory 
diathesis,  mild  antimonials,  as  James\s  powder,  the  antimonial 
powder  of  the  shops,  or  antimonial  wine,  in  small  and  re- 
peated doses,  with  occasional  opiates,  are  generally  sufficient 
to  open  the  pores  of  the  skin,  and  occasion  a  gentle  perspira- 
tion. But  where  these  or  the  like  mild  means  are  of  no  avail, 
there  is  every  probability  to  suppose  that  topical  inflammation, 
internally,  has  taken  place. 

In  cases  of  this  sort  I  have  immediate  recourse  to  calomel, 
either  by  itself,  or  joined  with  antimonials  or  opiates.  The 
quantity  of  calomel  I  employ  is  proportioned  to  the  violence 
of  the  disorder,  and  the  danger  the  patient  is  in.  In  this 
country  I  have  seldom  exceeded  five  or  six  grains  of  calomel 
a  day ;  but  in  the  West  Indies  I  have  given  twenty  grains  in 
twenty-four  hours  with  the  most  marked  success. 

In  1771,  Dr  Lysons  published  his  Essay  on  the  good  ef- 
fects of  Camphor  and  Calomel  in  continual  fevers.  In  such 
cases  I  have  found  no  occasion  for  the  first  of  these ;  and  Dr 
Ly'sous1  success  with  the  latter  must  have  been  in  cases 
where  there  was  a  morbid  and  topical  affection  of  the  viscera 
and  alimentary  canal. 

About  fourteen  years  ago,  I  communicated  my  method  of 
treating  obstinate  and  acute  diseases,  in  the  West  Indies,  to 
an  eminent  physician  who  had  the  care  of  a  large  hospital  in 
England.  He  gave  calomel,  in  large  and  frequent  doses,  in 
fevers  that  resisted  the  common  methods  of  cure,  and  found 
it  to  answer  far  beyond  his  expectations.  It  sometimes  had 
no  other  effect  than  occasioning  a  copious  stool  at  times ;  but 
for  the  most  part  it  acted  as  a  mild  diaphoretic  and  sedative : 
a  crisis,  or  favourable  turn  of  the  fever  was  soon  brought 
about,  and  the  patient  speedily  recovered. 

It  seems  hardly  necessary  to  mention  to  you,  that  in  all 
cases  of  typhus  there  can  be  but  little  hope  of  success,  unless 


TREATMENT  OF  ACUTE  DISEASES.  3?1 

the  patients  are  brought  into  spacious  and  well-aired  chambers, 
and  are  lightly  covered  with  bed-clothes. 

In  the  first  stage  of  typhus,  brisk  small  beer  may  be  given 
plentifully  for  common  drink,  or  water  slightly  impregnated 
with  vitriolic  acid.  The  strength  of  the  patients  should  be 
supported  by  giving  them  frequently  panada,  or  gruel,  with 
wine.  Attention,  too,  must  be  paid  to  the  state  of  the  belly, 
and  of  the  other  emunctories. 

Some  late  authors,  who  have  written  on  West  India  dis- 
eases, have  roundly  asserted,  that  in  tropical  countries  fevers 
are  not  contagious ;  but  whoever  has  had  the  care  of  crowded 
hospitals,  of  jails,  of  ships  of  war,  or  of  transports  full  of 
troops,  must  have  seen  numerous  and  fatal  instances  of  con- 
tagion in  the  West  Indies ;  more  especially  where  cleanliness 
and  free  ventilation  have  been  neglected. 

From  causes  of  this  sort  a  most  fatal  and  destructive  dis- 
order broke  out  in  the  West  Indies  in  1793,  and  soon  after 
in  Philadelphia,  viz.  the  yellow  fever.  Dr  Hush  has  classed 
this  disorder  with  remittents ;  but  every  one  who  has  practised 
in  the  West  Indies,  knows  for  certain,  that  the  remittent  fe- 
vers of  warm  countries  are  not  contagious.  From  Dr  Hush's 
book,  and  from  the  numerous  letters  of  my  correspondents, 
there  remains  not  a  doubt,  in  my  mind,  of  the  yellow  fever 
being  typhus,  exalted  to  a  great  degree  of  virulence  from  cli- 
mate, situation,  and  other  adventitious  circumstances. 

The  yellow  fever  has  appeared  in  America  at  different  pe- 
riods, as  we  learn  from  Dr  Lining's  paper  in  the  Edinburgh 
Essays,  Physical  and  Literary,  vol.  ii. ;  and  it  was  this  same 
disorder  that  committed  such  havock  amongst  the  troops  un- 
der Admiral  Vernon,  in  1741. 

The  commencement  of  this  fever,  in  Grenada,  is  dated 
from  May  1793,  soon  after  the  arrival  of  a  Guinea  ship  from 
Sierra  Leone,  the  crew  of  which  had  been  so  sickly,  that  most 
of  the  sailors  died  of  the  yellow  fever,  either  in  the  voyage, 
or  soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  ship.   It  suddenly  spread  over 

Aa2 


372  PRACTICAL  OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE 

the  other  Leeward  Islands,  and  from  thence  was  carried  to 
Philadelphia,  Hispaniola,  and  Jamaica. 

The  first  account  I  received  of  this  fever  was  from  Dr 
James  Ci.ark,  a  physician  of  eminence  in  Dominica;  his 
letter  to  me  is  dated  July  23,  1793,  and  runs  as  follows: — 
"  I  have  been  harassed  night  and  day,  for  a  month  past,  by 
attendance  on  people  ill  of  the  yellow  fever.  Since  its  appear- 
ance in  this  island,  it  has  already  carried  off  more  than  a 
hundred  sailors,  new  comers,  and  emigrants.  In  its  progress 
it  has  been,  and  still  is,  as  quick  and  fatal  as  the  plague ;  it 
often  finishes  its  course  in  forty-eight  hours ;  but  if  the  sick 
get  past  the  fifth  day,  they  generally  recover."'1 

All  the  letters  I  have  had  from  my  medical  friends  agree 
that  this  fever  is  highly  contagious,  and  that  new  comers  are 
most  subject  to  receive  it;  particularly  such  as  are  young,  or 
are  addicted  to  drinking  spiritous  liquors.  Next  to  these  are 
the  nurses  and  attendants  on  the  sick,  who  breathe  the  air  in 
their  chambers,  or  handle  their  bodies  or  bedclothes.  But 
such  as  avoid  infected  houses,  or  keep  at  a  distance  from 
people  convalescent,  are  no  way  subject  to  the  yellow  fever. 
It  appears,  also,  that  people  of  colour,  and  Negroes,  are  in  a 
manner  totally  exempted  from  this  disease,  except  such  as 
are  employed  as  house-servants,  and  fare  the  same  as  white 
people. 

The  Creole  white  inhabitants,  and  others  who  have  long 
resided  in  the  islands,  are,  it  seems,  seldom  attacked  with  this 
disorder,  unless  under  the  circumstances  above  mentioned. 
But  why  the  yellow  fever  should  attack  some,  and  not  other?, 
can  only  be  accounted  for  in  this  way, — that,  in  order  to  re- 
ceive or  resist  contagion,  men's  bodies  and  minds  must  be  in 
a  particular  state  ;  and  that  field  Negroes  should  not  be  liable 
to  it  is  to  me  inexplicable.  They,  however,  have  their  epide- 
mics, from  which  white  people  are  exempted. 

This  disorder  seems  to  exert  its  direful  effects  on  the  sto- 
mach, intestines,  and  other  viscera  in  general,  but  particular- 


TREATMENT  OE  ACUTE  DISEASES.  373 

lv  on  the  liver  and  gall-bladder.  Sometimes  the  lungs  arc- 
greatly  affected ;  and  extravasations  have  been  found  in  the 
brain  after  death. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  delineate  the  progress  and  symp- 
toms of  this  fever ;  it  will  be  sufficient  to  say  that  bilious 
vomitings  are  amongst  the  concomitant  and  distressing  symp- 
toms of  yellow  fever ;  and  that  what  is  called  the  Black  Vo- 
miting generally  happens  towards  the  fatal  termination  of  the 
disease. 

I  hasten  to  the  medical  treatment  as  practised  by  Dr 
James  Clark,  and  others  of  my  friends  in  the  West  Indies. 
Dr  Clark,  in  his  letters  to  me  on  this  subject,  regrets  his 
being  called  so  late  to  the  sick  in  this  fever,  twenty-four  hours 
having  often  elapsed  before  he  has  seen  them  :  but  even  at 
this  late  period,  says  he,  "  I  have  been  lucky  enough  to  save 
three  out  of  four,  or  four  out  of  five,  of  those  who  had  the 
yellow  fever.11  In  cases  where  he  has  been  called  in  on  the 
first  day  of  the  fever,  he  assures  me  he  has  seldom  lost  any 
one.  He  first  endeavours  to  purge  briskly  with  ten  grains  of 
jalap  and  ten  grains  of  calomel  every  three  hours.  If  the 
vomiting  continues,  ten  grains  of  calomel,  by  itself,  are  given, 
till  stools  are  procured ;  and  after  this  calomel,  in  doses  of 
five  grains,  with  or  without  opium,  every  third  or  fourth 
hour.  In  urgent  cases  he  has  recourse  to  mercurial  friction, 
till  the  violence  of  the  symptoms  has  abated.  "  If,11  says  he, 
"  I  can  by  any  means  introduce  a  sufficient  quantity  of  mer- 
cury into  the  habit  in  time,  so  as  to  affect  the  mouth  and 
gums,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  declaring  that  my  patient  is 
out  of  danger.11 

Dr  Clark  has  given  sixty  or  eighty  grains  of  calomel  in 
three  days ;  Dr  Drummond,  a  learned  and  eminent  physician 
in  Jamaica,  has  given  200  grains  in  the  same  space  of  time, 
besides  friction  with  strong  mercurial  ointment,  with  suc- 
cess. 


374  PRACTICAL  OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE 

With  regard  to  bleeding,  Dr  Clauk  tells  me  he  lias  now 
and  then  had  occasion  to  order  it  in  full  habits:  he  has  re- 
course to  this,  however,  but  seldom,  and  then  very  sparingly. 
In  Jamaica  the  lancet  is  now  laid  aside  in  the  treatment  of 
this  disease;  as  some  young  men,  who  were  seized  with  the 
yellow  fever,  and  blooded  on  the  day  of  the  attack,  died  in  a 
few  hours  after.  The  American  practice,  therefore,  will  not 
succeed  in  the  West  Indies. 

In  cases  where  the  strength  of  the  patient  is  much  reduced, 
the  strongest  wines,  or  even  brandy  itself,  must  be  freely  used. 
Dr  Deummokd  tells  me,  that  in  such  dangerous  stages  of  the 
the  disease,  even  when  the  black  vomiting  has  come  on,  he 
has  given  the  pepper  medicine*  with  success.  The  use  of 
this  medicine  is  continued  till  a  generous  warmth  takes  place, 
which  must  be  kept  up  so  long  as  the  delity  or  the  vomiting 
last;  but,  in  the  mean  time,  the  use  of  mercury  must  be 
pushed  vigorously,  till  the  mouth  is  affected,  and  till  there 
are  evident  appearances  of  a  resolution  of  the  disorder,  and 
an  abatement  of  the  most  violent  symptoms. 

In  such  stages  of  typhus,  where  there  were  petechias,  a 
difficulty  of  swallowing,  or  a  sense  of  choking;  or  where 
aphthae  were  present,  or  there  was  a  great  irregularity  of 
pulse,  I  have  found  the  use  of  ether  -f-  very  beneficial. 

Hitherto  the  black  vomiting  has  usually  been  considered 
as  a  fatal  symptom ;  and  a  remedy  to  obviate  it  has  long- 
been  a  desideratum  amongst  physicians  +.  To  whom  the 
happy  discovery  of  such  a  remedy,  in  the  capsicum,  is  owing 

"  This  is  composed  of  three  grains  of  powder  of  Cayenne  pepper,  made 
into  a  pill  with  mucilage,  and  may  be  given  every  two  or  three  hours ; 
but  unless  the  pill  is  well  coated  with  dough,  or  while  wafer,  it  will  be 
difficult  to  persuade  the  patient  to  swallow  a  second  dose. 

t  For  an  account  of  the  efficacy  of  the  spirit  us  vitrioli  dulcis  in  fevers, 
see  a  valuable  paper,  by  Dr  Smyth,  in  the  Medical  Communications, 
vol.  i. 

t  Dr  Bariiam  of  Jamaica,  contemporary  of  Sir  Hans  Sloan. 


TREATMENT    0¥  ACUTE  DISEASES.  .J7-> 

I   have  not  yet  learned;    hut    he   merits   the   thanks  of  his 
country,  and  of  mankind  ! 

That  a  medicine  of  so  hot  and  fiery  a  nature,  as  Cayenne 
pepper,  can  be  given  with  safety  and  efficacy  in  a  disorder  so 
evidently  inflammatory,  is  truly  surprising,  and  can  only  be 
accounted  for  in  two  ways:  first,  by  supposing  that  the  sti- 
mulus of  the  pepper  is  stronger  than  that  of  the  contagion ; 
or,  secondly,  (to  use  the  language  of  my  late  ingenious  friend 
Mr  John  Hunter),  that  it  induces  a  different  action  in  the 
stomach  and  first  passages. 

On  the  treatment  of  Intermittents  I  have  but  little  or  no- 
thing new  to  offer :  in  such  cases  I  have  found  every  advan- 
tage  from  following  the  advice  of  my  late  excellent  friend 
Dr  James  Lind  of  Haslar,  by  giving  a  large  dose  of  lauda- 
num in  the  hot  fit :  this  has  seldom  failed  to  produce  a  plen- 
tiful and  kindly  diaphoresis,  and  the  disorder,  in  general,  has 
afterwards  been  cured  by  the  Peruvian  bark. 

Where  intermittents  have  either  been  neglected  or  impro- 
perly treated,  or  where  the  bark,  so  far  from  being  of  ser- 
vice, has  served  only  to  load  the  stomach,  or  has  been  reject- 
ed, I  have  suspected  that  some  visceral  obstructions  existed. 
In  such  cases,  calomel,  in  small  doses,  has  had  the  happiest 
effect,  and  the  patients  have  generally  recovered  without  any 
other  medicine. 

Quartans  and  double  tertians,  as  well  as  simple  intermit- 
tents, are  occasioned  by  marsh  miasmata.  In  warm  coun- 
tries they  are  frequent,  and  difficult  of  cure ;  and  unless  the 
sick  are  removed  to  better  air,  the  disorder  will  baffle  the 
skill  of  the  most  experienced  physician.  Fevers  of  this 
sort,  if  even  continued  but  for  a  short  time,  occasion  obstruc- 
tions of  the  liver  and  mesenteric  glands,  which  are  too  often 
followed  by  jaundice,  dropsy,  and  death. 

In  such  cases,  after  clearing  the  stomach  and  prima  viae, 
I   order  mild  antimonials,   opiates,   and    calomel ;  by   these 


376  PRACTICAL  OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE 

means  the  disorder  is  soon  removed,  as  I  have  experienced 
in  a  great  number  of  cases,  attended  with  the  most  unfavour- 
able appearances. 

The  common  remitting  fevers  of  tropical  countries  gene- 
rally yield  to  the  methods  prescribed  by  Drs  Cleghorn  and 
Lixd,  yiz.  cleansing  the  prima?  viae,  then  giving  the  bark, 
wine,  and  nourishing  diet ;  but  if  they  are  attended  with  bi- 
lious vomiting,  and  symptoms  of  inflammatory  diathesis,  ca- 
lomel, in  small  doses  (as  two  grains  every  three  hours),  ap- 
peases the  vomiting,  opens  the  belly,  and  brings  on  a  gentle 
moisture  on  the  skin.  After  this  the  bark  may  be  tried,  but 
I  have  often  seen  the  sick  recover  sooner  without  it. 

Where  fiery  eruptions,  with  swelling  and  inflammation, 
break  out  in  the  mouth  and  lips,  at  the  decline  of  bilious  re- 
mittents, quartans,  and  other  obstinate  fevers,  Dr  Kirkland 
justly  remarks,  that  the  whole  alimentary  canal  is  affected 
with  this  sort  of  erysipelas.  To  that  author  I  am  indebted 
for  the  treatment  of  the  patient  in  this  critical  and  dangerous 
stage  of  the  disease.  Calomel,  either  by  itself,  or  joined  with 
mild  antimonials  and  opiates,  in  small  doses,  does  every  thing 
that  can  be  wished  for.  If  the  eruption  has  continued  any 
length  of  time,  and  degenerated  into  little  ill- disposed  ulcers 
and  scabs,  the  unguentura  hydrargyri  nit  rati  effectually  cures 
them  in  three  or  four  days. 

Remitting  fevers,  arising  from  marsh  miasmata,  are  fre- 
quently obstinate  and  fatal.  In  many  cases  of  this  kind  the 
tongue  is  furred  and  slimy,  and  the  vomiting  incessant,  with 
great  headach  and  prostration  of  strength.  Sometimes  I  have 
settled  the  stomach  with  a  decoction  of  camomile  flowers ;  at 
other  times  by  saline  draughts,  taken  in  an  effervescing  state ; 
but  the  most  effectual  remedy  I  have  ever  tried,  has  been  a 
slight  infusion  of  the  quassia  polygama,  or  bitter-wood*  ;  af- 

*  See  the  account  of  this  tree  bv  Mr  Lindsay,  in  the  Transactions  of 


TREATMENT  OF  ACUTE  DISEASES.  -i~7 

ter  which  the  Peruvian  bark,  or  Jesuit's  bark  of  Jamaica*, 
has  completed  the  cure. 

In  bilious  remittents  I  have  seen  a  yellow  BufltiSIon  over 
the  whole  body  occur  in  the  course  of*  the  disease  ;  sometimes 
in  the  first  stage,  but  more  frequently  towards  the  end  of  the 
fever,  which  too  often  terminated  fatally. 

In  I78"5  a  gcntleman-f-  at  Hampden  estate,  in  Jamaica,  was 
seized  with  a  bilious  remittent,  attended  with  constant  retch- 
ing and  vomiting  of  bile.  I  was  called  to  his  assistance  on 
the  fourth  day  of  his  disorder ;  his  skin  was  then  of  a  deep 
yellow  colour,  and  his  urine  tinged  linen  cloth,  as  in  jaun- 
dice:  the  whole  of  his  symptoms  indicated  extreme  danger. 
My  first  object  was  to  procure  stools  by  means  of  stimulating 
injections,  and  small  doses  of  the  compound  powder  of  jalap  ; 
but  as  the  vomiting  continued,  and  the  fever  remained  high, 
I  determined  to  give  him  two  grains  of  calomel  every  two 
hours.  On  the  following  day  he  was  better,  but  the  use  of 
the  calomel  was  continued  till  the  evening,  at  which  time  his 
stomach  was  settled.  He  had  two  copious  evacuations  by 
stool ;  the  fever  was  greatly  abated,  and  there  was  a  gentle 
moisture  on  the  skin,  which  I  encouraged  by  small  doses  of 
antimonial  wine,  and  watery  tepid  drinks.  After  this  he  re- 
covered daily,  but  the  yellowness  of  the  skin  continued  some 
weeks  before  it  wore  completely  off. 

There  are  other  acute  diseases,  in  warm  countries,  that  are 
very  destructive  in  their  nature  ;  among  these  is  the  hepatitis, 
or  inflammation  of  the  liver.  It  is  either  acute*  or  chronic. 
In  acute  hepatitis  there  are  strong  symptoms  of  phlogistic 
diathesis ;  and  these  I  endeavour  to  obviate  by  a  moderate 
bleeding,  gentle  laxatives,  and  diluting  drinks.  The  applica- 
tion of  a  blister  over  the  part  affected  is  sometimes  useful.    If 

the  Royal  Society  oi'  Edinburgh,  vol.  iii.  and  Medical  Fads  and  Observa- 
tions, vol.  v. 

*  Philosophical  Transactions,  vol.  lxvii. 

+  Mr  Alexander  TiiORTtunx.  at  present  in  Scotland. 


378  PRACTICAL  OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE 

the  fever  and  pain  continue,  I  prescribe  small  doses  of  anti- 
monial  powder  or  antimonial  wine,  to  bring  on  a  gentle  per- 
spiration ;  should  this,  however,  be  not  speedily  brought 
about,  I  lose  no  time  in  exhibiting  mercury  internally  and 
externally,  till  the  disease  is  conquered  ;  and  this  I  have 
done  with  uniform  success  for  twenty-seven  years ;  whereas 
acute  hepatitis,  treated  by  frequent  and  copious  bleeding,  too 
often  terminates  in  phthisis  pulmonalis,  or  some  other  fatal 
disorder. 

The  chronic  hepatitis  is  very  common  in  Great  Britain,  and 
is  often  mistaken  for  dyspepsia.  Small  doses  of  calomel,  (as 
a  grain  at  bed-time  every  night  for  a  fortnight)  are  in  general 
sufficient  to  remove  it. 

Pleurisies  and  acute  peripneumonies  are  common  and  fatal 
diseases  in  all  tropical  countries,  especially  amongst  the  Ne- 
groes who  live  upon  estates  in  the  hilly  and  mountainous 
parts  of  Jamaica. 

In  the  cure  of  pleurisies,  bloodletting  is  at  first  requisite ; 
but  a  repetition  of  it  requires  much  caution.  Profuse  and 
repeated  evacuations  of  this  sort  weaken  the  system  ;  and  I 
have  seen  many  instances,  where  an  improper  use  of  the  lan- 
cet in  such  cases  has  been  succeeded  by  general  debility,  pul- 
monary consumption,  and  dropsy.  In  these  diseases,  after 
one,  or  at  most  two  moderate  bleedings,  I  direct  the  belly  to 
be  opened  by  clysters,  or  some  gentle  laxative ;  give  nitre 
dissolved  in  the  patient's  common  drink,  and  advise  a  thin 
spare  diet.  A  blister  applied  to  the  side  affected  generally 
gives  great  relief.  But  if  the  fever  is  considerable,  and  the 
pain  acute,  I  order  from  three  to  six  grains  of  antimonial 
powder  every  two  hours,  till  a  plentiful  sweat  takes  place, 
which  I  encourage  by  a  liberal  use  of  warm  tea,  or  water- 
gruel.  If  small  doses  of  the  antimonial  powder  have  not  the 
desired  effect,  I  give  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  grains  for  a  dose ; 
nor  am  I  afraid  of  exciting  full  vomiting,  either  in  pleurisy  or 


TREATMENT  OF  ACUTE  DISEASES'.  :>79 

peripneUmony ;   on  the  contrary,  such  doses   have   proved 
highly  beneficial. 

When  the  disorder  has  resisted  these  menus,  I  nave  or- 
dered,  with  great  success,  calomel,   in   large  and   frequent 

doses,  as  long  as  the  violent  symptoms  continued. 

Pleurisies  and  peripneumonies  are  often  epidemic  amongst 
the  Negroes  in  Jamaica,  and  attended  with  a  remitting  fever. 
Full  vomiting  is  here  particularly  useful ;  in  the  exacerba- 
tions twenty-five  or  thirty  drops  of  laudanum  take  off  the 
spasm,  and  the  bark  secures  the  patient  from  a  return  of  the 
complaint. 

I  might  have  mentioned  splenitis,  and  other  internal  in- 
flammations, but  as  they  give  way  to  similar  management,  I 
proceed  to  treat  of  the  dysentery. 

The  dysentery  has  in  every  war  carried  off  more  of  our 
troops  in  the  West  Indies,  than  all  the  other  diseases  of  that 
climate.  It  is  a  melancholy  truth,  that  this  fatality  is  greatly 
owing  to  the  folly  and  intemperance  of  soldiers  and  sailors, 
and  not  to  the  climate,  which  has  been  blamed  for  it. 
Drinking  to  excess  of  new  and  bad  rum  destroys  the  powers 
of  the  stomach,  and  debilitates  their  strength  ;  they  are  either 
attacked  by  some  violent  inflammatory  disorder,  or  are  liable 
to  receive  infection  from  human  bodies,  or  from  marsh  mias- 
mata. 

Europeans  labouring  under  dysentery,  in  the  West  Indies, 
have  more  or  less  of  remitting  fever :  in  such  patients  bleed- 
ing, if  at  all  necessary,  ought  to  be  had  recourse  to  very  spa- 
ringly. Negroes  ill  of  dysentery,  or  other  acute  diseases,  ad- 
mit of  a  more  free  use  of  the  lancet.  In  ordinary  cases,  an 
emetic  of  ipecacuanha,  afterwards  a  dose  of  rhubarb  and  ca- 
lomel, and  an  opiate  at  bed-time,  generally  carry  off  the  dis- 
order. 

In  epidemic  dysenteries,  attended  with  great  prostration 
of  strength,  and  other  symptoms  of  putrescency,  I  am  solid- 


380  PRACTICAL  OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE 

tous  to  purge  off  the  offending  matter  in  the  alimentary  ca- 
nal, and  afterwards  to  eorrect  the  disposition  to  putrescency  : 
for  this  purpose  I  prescribe  a  strong  decoction  of  tamarinds ; 
in  two  pints  of  whieh  I  order  two  ounces  of  purging  salt  to 
be  dissolved  ;  an  ordinary  tea-cupful  of  this  is  directed  to 
be  taken  every  three  or  four  hours,  till  it  has  operated  plen- 
tifully by  stool ;  after  which,  at  bed-time,  I  give  an  opiate. 
On  the  following  day  the  decoction  of  tamarinds,  without  the 
salts,  is  given  ;  or  the  sick  are  allowed  to  eat  preserved  tama- 
rinds, as  they  think  proper. 

In  cases  where  this  method  has  failed  of  success,  I  have 
had  recourse  to  a  mixture  of  vegetable  acid  and  purified  sea- 
salt,  an  account  of  the  preparation  and  good  effects  of  which 
I  several  years  ago  communicated  to  the  American  Philoso- 
phical Society,  who  have  inserted  it  in  their  Transactions* ; 
it  is  composed  of  lemon  or  lime  juice  three  ounces;  of  sea- 
salt  purified  an  ounce,  or  as  much  as  the  acid  will  dissolve ; 
of  any  simple  distilled  cordial  water  one  pint ;  and  of  loaf- 
sugar  a  sufficient  quantity  to  sweeten  it ;  of  this  a  wine-glass 
full  may  be  given  to  adults  every  two,  four,  or  six  hours. 

A  most  respectable  author  defines  dysentery  to  be  a  fever 
of  the  intestines,  and  for  the  cure  of  it  prescribes  antimonials 
and  opiates,  which  in  slight  cases  I  have  known  to  answer. 
This  idea  of  the  disease  comes  very  near  to  my  own  ;  but 
when  dysentery  is  attended  with  phlogistic  diathesis,  the 
fever  is  rather  the  effect  than  the  cause  of  the  disorder.  Dis- 
sections of  such  as  have  died  of  dysentery,  have  evidently 
shewn,  that  inflammation,  and  consequent  gangrene,  had  ta- 
ken place  in  the  smaller  intestines,  as  well  as  in  the  colon. 

In  dysenteries  where  the  fever  has  been  considerable,  the 
tongue  dry  and  parched,  the  gripes  severe,  and  the  stools  very 
frequent,  with  scarcely  any  thing  else  than  blood  or  mucus,  I 

"  See  Transactions  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  vol.  ii.  4to. 
Philadelphia,  17r,fi ;  and  London  Medical  Journal,  vol.  viii.  p.  97.  8vo. 
London,  1787- 


TREATMENT  OF  ACUTE  DISEASES.  3S1 

have  prescribed,  with  good  edict,  calomel,  in  doses  of  five 
grains,  every  six  hours,  till  a  copious  stool  or  two  has  been 
procured;  and  afterwards  in  smaller  doses,  with  occasional 
opiates,  while  the  fever  and  gripes  have  continued. 

Autumnal  dysenteries  in  this  country  have  generally  given 
way  to  some  one  or  other  of  the  correctors  I  have  mentioned 
above  ;  but  particularly  to  an  infusion  of  quassia  polygama*, 
or  bitter-wood  ;  after  which  I  have  prescribed  the  Peruvian 
bark  to  strengthen  the  system. 

In  the  treatment  of  the  different  diseases  mentioned  in  this 
paper,  you  have  seen  the  liberal  use  I  make  of  calomel.  I 
have  contented  myself  with  candidly  relating  to  you  the  ef- 
fects I  have  experienced  from  it,  without  attempting  any 
theory  of  the  mode  in  which  these  effects  are  produced.  I 
think  it  necessary,  however,  to  observe  to  you,  that  freely  as 
I  have  administered  calomel  in  different  acute  diseases,  I  have 
seldom,  if  ever,  been  surprised  with  a  sudden  salivation.  I 
indeed  have  paid  daily  attention  to  the  state  of  the  mouth 
and  gums,  and  as  soon  as  I  have  observed  the  latter  spongy, 
and  that  the  tongue  was  beginning  to  be  moist  about  the 
edges,  I  have  desisted  from  the  farther  use  of  calomel ;  be- 
cause I  was  then  certain  that  a  resolution  of  the  disorder  was 
begun,  and  that  my  patient  was  out  of  danger. 

In  answer  to  your  question,  how  early  I  got  the  first  hint 
of  the  use  of  calomel  in  fevers  ?  I  answer,  it  was  my  good 
fortune,  for  many  years,  to  enjoy  the  friendship  and  confi- 
dence of  the  late  Dr  Lind  of  Haslar  ;  and  it  was  from  his 
conversation,  and  the  information  contained  in  his  excellent 
work  on  the  Diseases  of  Warm  Climates,  that  I  learnt  the  East 

*  There  is  no  such  thing  in  the  shops  as  Quassia  amara.  It  is  the  Bit- 
ter-wood, or  Bitter-ash,  that  is  imported,  and  answers  every  purpose,  per- 
haps better  than  the  Quassia  amara. —  Vide  Medical  Facts  and  Observa- 
tions, vol.  v. 

3 


.'382  TREATMENT  OF  ACUTE  DISEASES. 

India  practice  of  giving  mercury  in  inflammations  of  the  liver, 
and  the  success  with  which  the  late  Sir  John  Eliot  had 
treated  visceral  obstructions  by  the  same  remedy,  all  which  I 
knew  so  early  as  the  year  1760.  But  it  was  not  before  17G4 
that  I  began  to  give  calomel  in  so  free  a  manner  as  I  have 
done  ever  since,  not  only  in  hepatitis,  but  in  all  the  other 
acute  diseases  I  have  treated  of;  and  I  extended  its  use 
from  reasoning  in  my  own  mind,  and  from  analogy.  I  have 
never  had  cause  to  repent  of  the  further  trials  I  made ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  have  had  reason  to  consider  this  practice  as 
the  happy  means  of  saving  the  lives  of  a  great  number  of 
people. 

I  think  it  right  to  add,  that  Dr  Drummond  of  Westmore- 
land, in  Jamaica,  whom  I  have  already  had  occasion  to  men- 
tion more  than  once  in  the  course  of  this  letter,  began  to  ad- 
minister  calomel  in  fevers  and  pleurisies  as  early  as  I  did, 
though  without  our  having  had  any  communication  on  the 
subject  with  each  other.  I  have  since  found  that  he  learned 
the  use  of  it,  in  such  cases,  from  Dr  Smith,  a  physician  at 
Savannah  le  Mar,  who  was  in  the  habit  of  giving  it,  in  doses 
of  twenty  grains,  in  acute  diseases,  with  great  success. 

These  observations  are  extended  to  a  greater  length  than 
I  at  first  intended.  After  all,  you  must  consider  the  whole 
only  as  hints  for  the  treatment  of  acute  diseases,  and  if  you 
are  of  opinion  that  they  will  be  useful,  you  have  ray  consent 
to  make  them  public. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be, 

With  the  greatest  esteem  and  regard, 

Dear  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

William  Wright, 
Edixbuugh,       I 
December  10.  1794.    j 


I     388      ) 


REPORT 


fON'CERNING  THE 


DISEASES  MOST  COMMON  AMONG  THh 
TROOPS  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES. 

[Extracted  from  the  Annals  of  Medicine  for  the  Year  1797.] 

The  following  report  *  respecting  the  diseases  most  com- 
mon among  the  troops  in  the  West  Indies,  their  symptoms, 
causes,  and  best  mode  of  treatment,  drawn  up  by  Dr  Wil- 
liam Wright,  physician  to  the  army,  and  director  to  the  mi- 
litary hospitals  in  Barbadoes,  contains  so  much  useful  infor- 
mation to  the  practitioners  in  warm  climates,  that  we  have 
peculiar  pleasure  in  being  able  to  present  it  to  our  readers. 

REPORT. 

The  disorders  to  which  the  troops  in  the  West  Indies  arc 
most  liable  are  fevers  and  fluxes. 

The  fevers  are  either  intermittent,  remittent,  or  continued 
Besides  these,  there  are  typhus  or  the  jail-fever,  ship-fever, 
yellow  fever,  &c.  which  are  different  degrees  of  the  same  dis- 
order. 

Of  fluxes  there  are  cholera,  diarrhoea,  and  dysentery,  of  all 
of  which  in  order. 

*  Annals  of  Medicine  for  1797,  p-  34G. 


384       REPORT  OX  THE  DISEASES  AMONG  THE 


INTERMITTENTS,  OR  AGUES. 

Of  intermittents  we  have  common  tertians,  quotidians,  and 
quartans.  They  differ  in  no  respect  from  the  agues  in  Great 
Britain,  except  that  they  are  more  violent  in  their  symptoms, 
and  often  more  fatal  in  their  consequences,  in  the  West  Indies, 
as  they  frequently  degenerate  into  continued  fever,  or  occasion 
visceral  obstructions,  topical  inflammation  in  the  stomach,  ali- 
mentary canal,  and  other  viscera ;  hence  jaundice,  dropsy, 
dysentery,  &c. 

Causes. — Marsh  miasma,  the  universal  cause  of  all  interniit- 
tents ;  especially  when  conjoined  with  heat  and  moisture  in 
the  atmosphere. 

In  the  island  of  St  Lucia,  agues  amongst  the  troops  are  en- 
demic. The  climate  is  hot,  and  at  some  seasons  the  rains  are 
heavy  and  incessant.  The  earth  is  wet  and  soaked  in  water 
in  the  day-time,  the  exhalation  by  the  heat  of  the  sun  is  so  great 
that  the  bodies  of  men  may  be  said  to  be  in  a  vapour-bath.  At 
night  the  land-breeze  is  cold,  moist,  and  chilly.  If  camps  or 
barracks  be  placed  to  leeward  of  swamps  or  morasses,  the 
stench  is  often  intolerable,  and  never  fails  to  produce  ao-ues, 
or  other  bad  fevers,  as  well  as  dysentery. 

The  predisposing  causes  of  agues  are,  whatever  debilitates 
the  system,  as  fatigue  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  getting  wet  with 
rain,  and  sleeping  in  wet  clothes,  which  frequently  happens  to 
soldiers  in  actual  service.  We  add  to  these,  poor  living  and 
intemperance  in  drinking  spiritous  liquors,  particularly  new 
rum. 

The  Cure. — Before  a  cure  can  be  effected  with  any  degree 
of  success,  the  sick  ought,  if  possible,  to  be  removed  from  the 
neighbourhood  of  swamps  or  morasses,  to  hospitals  situated  on 
a  rising  ground,  or  dry  gravelly  soil. 

In  simple  tertians,  it  is  only  necessary  to  cleanse  the  prima? 
via?  by  gentle  emetics  and  cooling  laxatives  ;  and  immediately 


TROOPS  l\T  THE  WEST  INDIES.  :i85 

thereafter  to  give  the  Peruvian  bark  in  3ubstance,  in  full 
doses,  and  at  proper  intervals,  until  the  disorder  be  effectual- 
ly stopt. 

But  if  the  ague  has  continued  some  time,  and  the  patient 
complains  of  the  bark  loading  his  stomach,  or  if  the  bark  be 
rejected,  it  is  probable  that  topical  affections  of  the  alimentary 
canal,  and  of  the  viscera,  are  about  to  take  place  ;  and  this 
will  be  certain,  if,  at  the  same  time,  there  are  symptoms  of 
phlogistic  diathesis.  In  this  case,  small  doses  of  pulvis  anti- 
monialis,  and  saline  draughts  in  an  effervescing  state,  should 
be  given  to  open  the  pores  of  the  skin. 

When  these  failed,  one  grain  of  calomel,  given  three  times 
a-day,  either  alone  or  accompanied  with  an  opiate,  had  the  de- 
sired effect.  The  calomel  was  then  discontinued,  and  the  cure 
finished  by  the  Peruvian  bark. 

Quotidians  and  quartans  were  treated  in  the  same  manner 
as  tertians,  but  they  are  more  difficult  of  cure.  When  there 
were  signs  of  visceral  obstructions,  calomel,  in  small  doses, 
was  given  daily,  until  a  copperish  taste  was  perceived  in  the 
mouth,  and  the  gums  were  slightly  affected,  when  it  was  dis- 
continued. In  this  case  the  disorder  generally  disappears, 
without  the  farther  use  of  the  bark.  But,  should  the  ague 
recur,  it  may  be  easily  stopped  by  a  few  large  doses  of  pow- 
der of  Peruvian  bark. 

In  the  cold  fit  of  agues,  draughts  of  warm  ginger-tea,  or 
warm  water-gruel  with  wine,  were  given,  and  the  patient  was 
moderately  covered  with  bed-clothes. 

When  the  hot  fit  came  on,  and  had  continued  about  ten 
minutes,  a  large  dose  of  laudanum  was  given  with  a  happy 
effect.  The  pores  of  the  skin  were  opened,  a  gentle  diapho- 
resis came  on,  the  patient  was  disposed  to  sleep,  and  in  a  little 
time  freed  of  all  his  complaints.  The  Peruvian  bark  was 
now  given  with  safety  and  success. 

Accidental  Symptoms. — It  frequently  happens  in  long  pro- 

B  b 


386      REPORT  ON  THE  DISEASES  AMONG  THE 

tracted  agues,  or  other  fevers  in  the  West  Indies,  that  the 
patient  is  sick  at  stomach,  and  vomits  a  great  quantity  of 
green  or  porraceous  bile,  of  an  acid  taste  and  corrosive  nature ; 
this  discharge  is  sometimes  critical.  When  it  was  not,  mag- 
nesia, given  in  simple  peppermint-water,  generally  put  a  stop 
to  it,  and  gave  the  offending  matter  a  turn  downwards  by 
stool. 

A  coma  and  delirium  sometimes  happened  in  the  course  of 
obstinate  intermittents,  and  other  fevers.  It  generally  yielded 
to  blisters  on  the  ankles,  sinapisms  to  the  feet,  cordials,  the 
camphorated  emulsion,  or  the  pepper  medicine.  But  in  the 
advanced  state  of  intermittents,  where  the  powers  of  nature 
were  exhausted,  these  were  fatal  symptoms. 

Profuse  sweatings  occurred  now  and  then  after  agues  were 
checked,  and  weakened  the  patients  greatly,  disposing  them  to 
hectic  fever  and  pulmonary  complaints.  The  acidum  vitrio- 
licum  dilutum,  or  elixir  of  vitriol,  thirty  drops  three  times  a- 
day,  in  a  glass  of  water,  were  then  given.  The  sick  were  en- 
joined to  sit  up  in  bed,  as  soon  as  they  perceived  the  sweats 
coming  on,  and  to  rub  their  bodies  with  a  dry  cloth  ;  then  to 
be  anointed  with  a  little  sweet  oil,  camphorated  hog's  lard,  or 
some  other  unctuous  substance.  Port  wine,  eggs,  and  milk, 
and  a  generous  diet,  greatly  assisted  in  the  cure. 

Hcemorrhage  from  the  nose.  If  this  was  to  any  excess,  it 
was  an  alarming  and  dangerous  symptom,  as  it  weakened  the 
powers  of  life,  already  debilitated  by  disease. 

Keeping  cool  in  the  day-time,  light  covering  in  bed,  the 
elixir  vitrioli,  and  large  doses  of  nitre,  generally  checked  the 
haemorrhage  ;  afterwards,  some  preparations  of  the  bark,  with 
a  diet  of  milk,  eggs,  and  vegetables,  were  of  the  greatest  ser- 
vice. 

Hiccough  is  often  an  attendant  in  quartans,  and  other  ob- 
stinate fevers  ;  it  is  a  very  distressing,  and  often  a  dangerous 
symptom,  more  especially  if  it  happen  at  the  end  of  acute 
diseases. 


tkoops  in  Tin:  wfst  indies.  387 

It  the  tongue  be  moist,  and  the  skin  be  open,  it  may  be  re- 
moved by  simple  peppermint-water,  the  camphorated^  emul- 
sion, or  the  pepper  medicine.  (See  at  the  end  of  this  article.) 
When  there  were  signs  of  phlogistic  diathesis,  a  small  blister 
was  applied  to  the  pit  of  the  stomach,  and  two  grains  of  calo- 
mel were  given  every  three  hours,  which,  in  a  short  time, 
generally  removed  this  symptom.  Where  hiccough  was  judg- 
ed merely  spasmodic,  musk-boluses,  assafoetida  in  substance, 
opium,  ether,  and  the  capsicum,  had  the  desired  effect. 

Flatulencies  after  meals,  or  on  the  use  of  the  bark,  were 
sometimes  observed  ;  aloetics,  in  small  doses,  succeeded  in  re- 
moving them. 

The  consequences  of'  intermittents  are,  jaundice,  dropsy, 
visceral  obstructions,  and  dyspepsia.  We  have  already  men- 
tioned the  successful  treatment  of  visceral  obstructions. 

Jaundice  and  yellow  suffusion  generally  yielded  to  o-entle 
emetics,  bitter  watery  infusions,  small  and  repeated  doses  of 
aloetics,  with  calomel,  or  to  kali  acetatum,  and  a  dose  pulv. 
ipecac,  com  p.  at  bed-time. 

Dropsies  often  follow  intermittents.  If  they  be  owino-  to 
visceral  obstructions,  mild  mercurials,  and  infusions  of  quassia, 
remove  them ;  at  other  times,  weak  solutions  of  crystals  of 
tartar,  and  Dover's  powder,  at  bed-time,  will  accomplish  a 
cure. 

If  they  arise  from  debility,  bitters,  chalybeates,  aromatics, 
aloetics,  small  doses  of  tincture  of  cantharides,  and  kali  aceta- 
tum, by  turns,  with  the  use  of  the  flesh-brush,  will  cure  the 
patient.  If  with  dropsical  symptoms,  the  ague  should  recur, 
there  is  a  necessity  to  put  a  stop  to  it,  by  large  doses  of  the 
bark,  in  substance,  with  opium.  Dyspepsia,  for  the  most  part, 
gave  way  to  proper  diet,  bitter  watery  infusions  of  camomile, 
or  quassia,  with  aromatics. 

Dysentery,  attending  or  following  intermittents,  is  often  ob- 
stinate, and  always  dangerous,  of  which  hereafter. 

1jb2 


388      REPORT  OX  THE  DISEASES  AMONG  THE 


REMITTING  FEVER. 

This  fever  varies  so  much  in  its  appearance,  from  climate, 
situation,  and  the  revolution  of  seasons,  that  a  stranger  in  the 
West  Indies  would  be  at  a  loss  how  to  class  it.  Sometimes 
it  is  mild  in  its  appearance,  and  regular  in  its  form ;  at  other 
times  it  is  more  violent,  and  of  an  unfavourable  aspect. 
There  scarcely  exists  a  boundary  betwixt  a  remittent  and 
an  intermittent  fever ;  the  double  tertian  seems  to  be  one 
and  the  same  thing,  differing  only,  perhaps,  from  circum- 
stances. 

Symptoms. — At  first  the  patient  has  uneasiness,  with  lan- 
guor, and,  as  he  expresses  it,  is  neither  sick  nor  well.  He 
has,  afterwards,  alternate  heats  and  rigors,  the  heats  especial- 
ly in  the  extremities. 

Headach  and  prostration  of  strength,  nausea  and  frequent 
vomiting  supervene,  first  of  the  contents  of  the  stomach,  af- 
terwards of  bile,  of  a  yellow  or  green  colour.  The  pulse  at 
first  is  small  and  quick,  afterwards  full,  but  seldom  hard. 
For  the  most  part,  there  are  pains  in  the  back  and  loins, 
pains  in  the  limbs,  particularly  the  calves  of  the  legs,  and 
fore-arms.  Frequently  the  patient  complains  of  an  acute 
pain  at  the  top  of  the  shoulder;  others  have  universal  pains 
over  the  whole  body ;  and  most  of  the  sick  have  anxiety, 
great  restlessness,  and  frequent  sighing.  As  the  heat  in, 
creases,  the  face  is  flushed,  and  all  the  symptoms  become 
worse.  The  headach  is  greater,  and  the  patient  is  drowsy, 
or  comatose :  a  sweat  at  last  succeeds,  which  procures  a  par- 
tial abatement  of  the  disorder.  The  tongue  at  first  is  white 
and  slimy  ;  but,  in  ardent  cases,  both  the  tongue  and  fauces 
become  dry,  brown,  and  chopt. 

In  most  cases,  at  the  beginning,  there  is  little  or  no  thirst; 
but  in  the  advanced  stage  it  is  verv  great. 


TROOPS  IN  TIIK  WEST  INDIES.  389 

The  urine  is  sometimes  pale,  but  for  the  most  part  high- 
coloured. 

In  the  second  stage,  every  symptom  is  aggravated ;  the 
eyes  look  wild  and  inflamed,  a  delirium  comes  on ;  the 
tongue,  when  put  out,  is  tremulous,  and  the  voice  faulter- 
ing. 

In  severe  cases,  there  is  a  yellow  suffusion  of  the  skin,  and 
of  the  white  of  the  eyes,  sometimes  attended  with  a  tension 
of  the  abdomen,  and  sometimes  with  dysentery.  The  most 
distressing  symptom  is  a  constant  retching  to  vomit.  At  last, 
the  patient  becomes  comatose,  has  frequent  hiccough,  and  cold 
clammy  sweats,  and  sometimes  an  involuntary  discharge  of 
stools,  and  of  urine ;  the  face  becomes  hippocratic,  and  death 
closes  the  scene. 

The  causes  of  remitting  fevers  arc  the  same  as  those  of  in- 
termittcnts,  particularly  marsh  miasma,  and  fatigue  in  the 
heat  of  the  day.  This  fever  is  dangerous  at  all  times,  more 
especially  if  the  patient  continue  exposed  to  the  effluvia  of 
swamps  or  morasses. 

Cure.  The  first  step  is,  an  immediate  removal  of  the  sick 
to  better  air,  and  proper  hospitals,  where  attendants  are  at 
hand,  and  every  kind  of  provision  made  for  their  comfort  and 
support. 

In  the  beginning,  or  first  stage  of  this  fever,  there  was  no- 
thing else  to  be  done,  but  to  cleanse  the  alimentary  canal,  by 
some  mild  cathartic,  such  as  a  solution  of  manna  and  cream  of 
tartar,  or  by  small  and  repeated  doses  of  natron  vitriolatum, 
and  immediately  afterwards  to  give  the  bark  in  substance. 

In  the  advanced  stage,  where  the  heat  was  considerable, 
and  the  vomiting  frequent,  early  purging  was  practised  with 
good  effect.  This  was  sometimes  done  with  compound  pow- 
der of  jalap,  in  small  or  repeated  doses,  in  saline  draughts, 
or  simple  peppermint-water.  Ikit  if  these  were  not  retained, 
two  grains  calomel,  in  a  bolus,  were  given  every  two  hours, 
which  not  only  purged  plentifully,  but  occasioned  a  copious 


390      HEFORT  ON  THE  DISEASES  AMONG  THE 

perspiration,  and  a  remission  of  all   the  most  violent  symp- 
toms. 

Where  there  was  great  irritability  of  the  stomach,  opium 
was  joined  with  calomel,  and  with  the  best  effects.  These 
were  assisted  by  warm  fomentations,  or  the  warm  bath. 

As  soon  as  a  remission  was  brought  about,  the  bark  in  sub- 
stance was  given,  either  alone,  or  with  a  few  drops  of  lauda- 
num added  to  each  dose.  The  great  danger  in  all  fevers  is, 
from  the  patient's  falling  low ;  and  this  is  too  often  the  case, 
as  the  sick  are  not  sent  into  the  general  hospital  when  first 
taken  ill,  but  after  the  first  stage  is  past,  and  when  there  is 
every  appearance  of  danger.  In  such  cases,  blisters  were  ap- 
plied, cordials  and  stimulating  medicines  were  given  ;  such  as 
camphorated  emulsion,  with  a  plentiful  use  of  wine,  which  of- 
ten revived  the  patient  beyond  expectation.  The  decoction 
of  Peruvian  bark,  with  a  drachm  of  the  extract  to  a  pound, 
generally  sat  easy  on  the  stomach,  and  brought  on  an  agree- 
able and  natural  warmth. 

As  we  consider  this  and  other  fevers,  as  arising  from  some 
debilitating  power,  we  have  enjoined  a  nourishing  diet,  and  a 
free  use  of  wine,  as  soon  as  the  most  urgent  symptoms  have 
abated  ;  at  the  same  time,  cleanliness,  both  in  person  and  bed- 
clothes, was  strictly  attended  to. 

The  treatment  of  particular  symptoms,  occurring  in  remit- 
tent fever,  was  the  same  as  we  have  stated  under  intermit- 
tents. 

CONTINUED  FEVER. 

Intermitting  and  remitting  fevers,  if  neglected,  or  ill  treat- 
ed, very  often  degenerate  into  continued  fevers.  Dangerous 
symptoms  supervene ;  such  as  congestions  in  the  head  and  vis- 
cera, of  which  many  instances  occur  in  practice. 

In  recent  cases  of  continued  fever,  much  advantage  has 
been  gained  by  blisters  to  the  ankles,  by  a  free  use  of  cam- 
phor, and  of  the  bark. 


TROOPS  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES.  391 

If  congestions  in  the  head  were  suspected,  blisters  were  ap- 
plied to  the  head  and  back.  If  in  the  viscera,  calomel  and 
opium  were  given  with  evident  benefit.  As  soon  as  the  heat 
abated,  the  bark  and  port- wine  had  the  happiest  effects. 

TYPHUS. 

Under  this  head  we  class  the  nervous  fever,  the  ship-fever, 
the  hospital-fever,  the  jail-fever,  the  pestilential  fever,  the 
yellow  fever,  &c.  All  of  these  are  different  names  for  the 
same  disease,  and  differ  only  from  each  other  in  malignity  or 
violence,  from  local  circumstances,  the  state  of  the  atmos- 
phere, or  season  of  the  year. 

TYPHUS  NAVIUM,  SHIP-FEVER. 

In  transporting  troops  from  England  to  the  West  Indies, 
this  fever  often  breaks  out,  and  rages  with  great  violence. 

Symptoms.  The  patient  sometimes  is  indisposed  for  a  day 
or  two  before  the  disease  be  marked,  but  frequently  is  taken 
ill  at  once,  with  lassitude,  prostration  of  strength,  irregular 
chills  and  heats,  nausea,  and  sometimes  vomiting.  He  has 
a  slight  headach,  is  restless  in  bed,  has  confused  ideas,  and 
troublesome  dreams  ;  there  is  no  great  heat  of  the  skin,  it  is 
rather  moist,  cold,  and  sweating.  The  tongue  at  first  is  white, 
moist,  and  slimy  ;  afterwards  dry  and  parched.  The  coun- 
tenance is  pale  and  sunk,  the  eyes  dull  and  languid,  the  belly 
irregular,  the  urine  pale,  and  secreted  in  too  great  a  quan- 
tity. 

These  symptoms  go  on  increasing,  a  stupor  comes  on,  the 
patient  sleeps  with  his  eyes  half  open,  often  mutters  to  him- 
self, has  subsultus  tendinum,  and  keeps  tumbling  and  pick- 
ing the  bed-clothes.  The  tongue,  when  put  out,  is  tremu- 
lous ;  he  can  scarcely  articulate,  and  swallows  with  diffi- 
culty. 


392      HEPOllT  ON  THE  DISEASES  AMONG  THE 

A  hiccough  is  extremely  distressing,  cold  and  clammy 
sweats  become  universal,  the  urine  is  voided  involuntarily,  as 
are  also  colliquative  stools ;  death  is  then  at  hand,  and  soon 
closes  the  scene. 

Causes  of  Ship-Fever.  It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  hor- 
rors on  board  transports,  when  crowded  with  men,  and  ne- 
glected by  officers.  If  the  men  be  suffered  to  be  dirty  in  their 
persons,  in  their  bodies  and  bed-clothes  ;  if  they  be  permitted 
to  be  much  below,  and  come  little  upon  deck  to  breathe  the 
open  air  ;  if  they  be  not  compelled  to  sweep  and  scrape  their 
berths  every  day  ;  if  their  bedding  and  hammocks  be  not  got 
up,  and  aired  every  fair  day  ;  and,  above  all,  if  the  men  are 
not  put  watch  and  watch  upon  deck  ;  these,  or  any  of  these 
causes,  will  produce  fever;  and  we  have  seen  transports  ar- 
rive here,  who  had  lost  eighty  men  on  the  passage,  and  the 
rest  objects  for  the  hospital.  Such  officers  as  were  attentive 
to  cleanliness,  &c.  brought  their  men  in  high  health  and  spi- 
rits, and  fit  for  immediate  service. 

Cure  of  the  Ship-Fever. — The  sick,  on  being  landed,  were 
washed,  either  with  cold  sea-water,  or  water  made  milk- warm; 
they  were  completely  shifted,  and  placed  in  clean  well-aired 
wards,  with  dry  bedding.  If  the  fever  was  recent,  an  emetic 
was  given,  and  then  the  prima?  vise  cleansed  by  a  solution  of 
natron  vitriolatum,  and  manna  or  cream  of  tartar.  After  this 
the  bark  was  given,  without  loss  of  time,  and  with  such  suc- 
cess, that  in  less  than  a  week  the  men  were  in  general  dis- 
charged, quite  recovered. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  ship-fever,  the  cold  bath  had  the 
best  effects ;  and  through  the  day,  when  the  sick  were  hot, 
washing  the  hands  and  face  suddenly  in  cold  water  and  vine- 
gar, was  exceedingly  refreshing.  Light  covering  in  bed  was 
directed,  especially  where  there  was  any  preternatural  heat. 
In  the  advanced  stages  of  this  fever,  where  there  were  symp- 
toms of  inflammatory  diathesis,  we  had  recourse  to  small  doses 
of  antimonial  powder  alone,  or  mixed  with  a  few  grains  of 


TROOPS  IN  THi:  WEST   IN'DIKS.  .'JO.'j 

calomel.  Where  the  body  was  costive,  five  grains  of  calomel 
proved  to  be  the  best  laxative  or  purge. 

In  obstinate  crises,  blisters  to  the  head  and  ankles,  anil  the 
emulsio  caniphorata,  gave  great  relief,  and  paved  the  way  for 
bark,  wine,  and  nourishment. 

Our  chief  dependence  in  the  cure  of  this  fever  was  on  fresh 
air,  cold  acidulated  watery  drinks,  ami  supporting  the  patient's 
strength  by  proper  food  and  wine. 

What  has  been  said  of  ship-fever  will  equally  apply  to  the 
hospital-fever,  or  jail-fever;  and  for  other  concomitant  symp- 
toms, we  refer  to  the  treatment  mentioned  under  Intermittents. 

TYPHUS   ICTKKOIDES. YRLLOW  1-EVKIi. 

The  yellow  fever  appeared  to  be  no  other  than  the  jail-fe- 
ver, exalted  to  a  great  degree  of  malignity.  In  this  place,  we 
do  not  pretend  to  account  for  its  appearance,  or  to  determine 
from  what  state  of  the  atmosphere  it  first  had  its  rise,  or  was 
afterwards  kept  up.  It  is  sufficient  for  our  purpose  to  men- 
tion the  leading  symptoms,  and  best  means  of  relief. 

Symptoms. — This  disorder  began  at  first  with  alternate  ri- 
gors and  hot  fits,  giddiness  and  dimness  of  sight,  the  patient 
could  not  bear  the  light,  the  eyes  looked  dull,  and  half-closed 
when  asleep  ;  the  white  of  the  eyes  was  tinged  with  yellow ; 
the  eyes  themselves  seemed  sunk,  and  the  countenance  fallen. 
The  pulse  varied,  sometimes  it  was  natural,  but  in  general  it 
was  small  and  tremulous.  The  breathing  was  difficult,  at- 
tended with  sighing,  anxiety,  and  restlessness. 

The  skin  in  general  was  hot,  and  had  that  biting  feel  so 
common  in  all  malignant  fevers ;  at  other  times  the  skin  was 
cold  and  clammy. 

There  was  uniformly  a  great  prostration  of  strength,  a  loss 
of  appetite,  and  a  constant  inclination  to  vomit ;  at  first  the 
contents  of  the  stomach  were  thrown  up,  afterwards  an  abun- 
dance of  bile.     The  tongue  was  dry  and  furred,  the  thirst 


394        REPORT  ON  THE  DISEASES  AMONG  THE 

unquenchable,  the  body  costive,  the  urine  scanty,  high  co- 
loured, and  burning  or  scalding  the  urethra.  Universal  pains, 
especially  in  the  joints,  calves  of  the  legs,  and  tip  of  the 
shoulder,  often  took  place.  The  sleep  was  disturbed,  and  the 
patient  inclined  to  delirium.  The  fever  was  without  any  sen- 
sible intermission  at  first,  but  afterwards  there  were  evident 
remissions  and  exacerbations. 

The  second  stage  of  this  fever  commenced  sooner  or  later, 
in  different  cases  ;  and  instances  have  occurred  where  it  fi- 
nished its  course  in  twenty-four  or  forty-eight  hours.  Every 
symptom  rapidly  increased,  the  senses  were  more  disturbed, 
delirium  and  coma  were  constant ;  at  times  the  delirium  was 
low,  but  sometimes  furious. 

The  vomiting  of  bile  was  incessant ;  at  last,  whatever  was 
brought  up  had  the  colour  of  coffee ;  and  this  was  denominated 
the  Black  Vomit.  Haemorrhages  from  the  nose,  the  mouth, 
and  even  from  the  pores  of  the  skin,  were  frequent  and  fatal 
appearances.  The  body  now  became  yellow  or  livid,  with 
cold  and  clammy  sweats,  the  countenance  hippocratic,  the  pulse 
sunk,  and  death  put  an  end  to  the  patient's  misery. 

Cure. — The  Jirst  intention  was  directed  to  a  speedy  evacua- 
tion of  the  morbid  matter ;  the  second  intention,  to  prevent 
the  secretion  and  accumulation  of  more ;  the  third  to  relieve 
the  most  urgent  symptoms ;  and  the  fourth  to  obviate  the  mis- 
chief already  done  to  the  system. 

First,  early  and  brisk  purging  was  put  in  practice.  After 
some  trials  of  various  cathartics,  we  had  recourse  to  large 
doses  of  calomel,  repeated  at  short  intervals,  until  a  plentiful 
discharge  by  stool  was  obtained.  By  this  means  the  vomiting, 
instead  of  being  increased,  was  gradually  abated,  and  at  last 
subdued.  By  calomel,  the  pores  of  the  skin  were  opened,  a 
resolution  of  the  fever  was  brought  about,  and  the  patient 
happily  recovered. 

Where  patients  were  received  in  the  advanced  stages  of 
yellow  fever,  we  had  still  recourse  to  calomel,  and  at  the  same 


TROOPS  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES.  c3[)j 

time,  when  it  was  needful,  to  mercurial  frictions,  and  the  warm 
bath  ;  and  we  recollect  of  no  instance  where  mercury  had  been 
freely  given,  and  persevered  in  till  it  shewed  itself  in  the 
mouth,  which  was  not  attended  with  the  happiest  conse- 
quences. 

In  the  beginning-  of  the  yellow  fever,  the  cold-bath  succeed- 
ed admirably,  as  in  other  species  of  typhus,  but  in  the  ad- 
vanced stage  much  caution  was  necessary,  Some  lucky  expe- 
dients, however,  have  been  practised,  which  success  alone 
could  justify.  Thus  when  the  most  urgent  symptoms  had 
been  subdued,  the  patients  were  wrapt  up  in  a  wet  blanket,  a 
profuse  sweat  was  brought  on,  and  an  immediate  recovery  was 
the  consequence.  In  cases  of  excessive  vomiting,  effervescing 
saline  draughts  have  at  times  been  successful ;  but  calomel, 
prudently  administered,  will  in  general  have  the  desired  ef- 
fect. In  all  fevers  where  the  stomach  was  irritable,  and  bile 
was  pumped  up,  our  dependence  was  on  calomel ;  where  it 
failed,  danger  was  apprehended.  We  did  not,  however,  de- 
spair ;  we  gave  capsicum  pills,  with  the  most  marked  success; 
and  even  where  melasna,  or  the  black  vomit,  had  taken  place, 
the  capsicum  has  snatched  the  patient  from  the  most  immi- 
nent danger. 

In  all  the  cases  of  yellow  fever  which  we  have  seen,  we 
never  found  those  enormous  quantities  of  calomel  necessary 
which  are  mentioned  by  many  late  writers.  Ten-grain  doses, 
indeed,  were  given,  for  two  or  three  turns,  until  it  operated 
by  stool.  If,  after  this,  the  fever  was  obstinate,  the  dose  of 
calomel  was  reduced  to  two  grains  every  three  hours,  till 
symptoms  of  resolution  had  appeared.  It  was  then  discon- 
tinued. 

Respecting  antimonials,  the  stomach  was  in  too  irritable  a 
state  to  bear  them  in  any  form,  and  the  lancet  was  not  only 
unnecessary,  but  dangerous  in  the  extreme. 


396      LEPORT  ON  THE  DISEASES  AMONG    THE 

CHOLERA  MORBUF. 

This  may  arise  in  the  summer-solstice,  without  any  other 
evident  cause  ;  but  for  the  most  part,  it  is  owing  to  exposure 
to  the  heat  of  the  sun,  marsh  effluvia,  the  eating  immature 
fruit  or  improper  food,  or  the  drinking  too  much  wine  or 
spiritous  liquors. 

It  begins  suddenly,  with  severe  vomiting  and  purging. 
The  bile  is  secreted  in  too  great  a  quantity,  and  much  of  it 
is  puked  up,  the  rest  descends  through  the  intestines :  hence 
arise  acute  pains,  griping  and  flatulencies  in  the  bowels :  and 
hence  also  is  produced  great  thirst,  heat,  anxiety,  quickness 
and  inequality  of  the  pulse,  cramps  in  various  parts,  syncope, 
Sec. 

When  this  disease  occurred,  large  quantities  of  rice-decoc- 
tion, barley-water  or  the  like,  were  given.  These  persevered 
in,  for  the  most  part  stopped  the  vomiting.  The  medicines 
vised  were  saline  draughts,  in  an  effervescing  state,  with  a 
little  powder  of  Colombo,  simple  peppermint-water,  with  some 
drops  of  tinctura  opii,  at  times.  When  every  thing  failed, 
we  had  succeeded  with  thirty  drops  of  the  elixir  of  vitriol 
every  three  or  four  hours. 

DIARRHOEA. 

Diarrhoeas,  or  watery  fluxes,  may  have  been  occasioned 
by  cholera,  by  improper  food,  by  catching  cold,  by  living  in 
an  unhealthy  situation,  or  by  some  peculiar  state  of  the 
atmosphere.  If  diarrhoea  was  owing  to  a  surfeit,  or  improper 
food,  and  proved  violent,  the  same  means  were  used  as  in 
cholera,  viz.  water-gruel,  beef-tea,  rice-water,  or  the  like. 
Rhubarb  was  given  in  a  saline  mixture  through  the  day,  and 
an  opiate  at  bed-time,  joined  to  two  grains  of  ipecacuanha. 
When  all  the  acrid  matter  was  thus  washed  off,  cinnamon-tea, 
and  decoction  of  cascarilla,  finished  the  cure. 


TROOPS  IN  THE   WEST   INDI1  -  397 


DY9EN  i  i:n\ 


Diarrhoea,  when  continued  for  any  length  of  time,  often 
terminated  in  dysentery.  They  seemed  to  be  modifications 
of  the  same  disease ;  for,  so  soon  as  the  mucus  of  the  intestines 
is  washed  off",  or  abraded,  gripes  and  tenesmus  come  on,  the 
stools  are  small,  slimy,  and  often  bloody.  Unless  this  disease 
be  soon  remedied,  it  grows  worse  daily;  and  either  proves 
fatal,  or  gets  into  a  chronic  state.  In  unhealthy  situations, 
where  fevers  are  frequent  and  dangerous,  dysenteries  often 
prevail,  and  partake  of  the  reigning  disorder,  assuming  many 
of  their  leading  symptoms.  But  the  most  common  dysente- 
ries among  the  troops  are  occasioned  by  protracted  fevers, 
and  obstructed  viscera. 

At  first,  gentle  emetics  of  ipecacuanha  were  given  ;  then 
solutions  of  natron  vitriolatum,  of  cream  of  tartar,  or  castor 
oil,  were  employed  in  small  doses,  frequently  while  the  gripes 
and  tenesmus  continued  ;  at  bed-time  a  dose  of  pulv.  ipecac, 
comp.  to  restore  perspiration  ;  and,  lastly,  cascarilla  decoc- 
tion, with  the  Peruvian  bark.  In  obstinate  dysenteries,  we 
judged  them  to  be  owing  to  obstructed  viscera,  or  topical  in- 
flammation of  the  intestines.  In  cither  case,  some  gentle  doses 
of  calomel,  with  occasional  opiates,  speedily  removed  every 
symptom  of  the  disease. 

CONTAGION  IN  FEVERS. 

All  the  fevers  we  have  mentioned  were  probably  owing 
to  heat,  moisture,  foul  air,  or  marsh  miasma.  But  they  will, 
under  particular  circumstances,  be  more  or  less  contagious. 

This  is  a  well  known  fact  in  all  ages,  particularly  in  fevers 
of  the  typhoid  kind  when  once  formed,  and  arrived  at  a 
certain  pitch  of  malignity.  We  have  seen  how  rapidly  in- 
fection spreads  amongst  troops  in  transports,  and  in  ships  of 
war.  That  contagion,  however,  is  stationary  in  the  West 
Indies  ;  for  so  soon  as  the  men,  ill  of  fever,  are  landed,  washed, 
and  shifted,  not  a  single  instance  has  happened,  of  contagion 


398  ON  DISEASES  OF  THE  WEST  INDIES. 

in  the  general  hospital  here.  The  malignant,  or  yellow  fever, 
which  raged  in  all  the  islands  in  1792  and  1795,  was  exceed- 
ingly contagious  ;  many  of  the  attendants  on  the  sick  fell 
victims  to  it,  in  Grenada,  St  Vincents,  and  Barbadoes. 

CAMPHORATED  EMULSION. 

Take  camphor  sixty  grains  ;  rectified  spirits  of  wine 
thirty  drops ;  magnesia  twenty  grains  ;  beat  these  in  a  stone- 
mortar,  add,  gradually,  ten  ounces  of  water,  and  half  an  ounce 
of  loaf-sugar.  One  or  two  table-spoonfuls  every  three  hours, 
shaking  the  glass. 

THE  PEPPER  MEDICINE. 

Take  genuine  Cayenne  pepper  sixty  grains,  common  flour 
five  grains,  water  a  few  drops,  to  make  a  mass  of  pills,  which 
divide  into  twelve  equal  parts,  and  while  fresh,  roll  in  flour. 
A  single  pill  every  two  hours,  or  as  occasion  may  require. 


The  Medical  Staff  of  Barbadoes  having  perused  the  above 
report,  drawn  up  by  Dr  Wright,  for  the  Medical  Board  of 
London,  unanimously  approved  of  the  same  and  thereunto 
subscribed  their  names. 


(Signed)    Wil.   Wright,   M.    D.    Physician  to  his 
Majesty's  Forces. 
W-  tr.  Straghan,   Garrison  Surgeon. 
Josh.    Rocket,    Surgeon  to  the  Forces. 
Wit.    Hugo,    Apothecary  to  the  Forces. 


(    <m   ) 

DISSEllTATIO  MEDICA  INAUGURAL-IS 
J)E  FRAMBCESIA.* 

PIUKEMIUM. 

Amongst  the  various  disorders  to  which  mankind  arc  liable 
betwixt  the  Tropics,  that  of  Yaws  is  the  most  remarkable, 
whether  from  the  horrid  appearance  of  the  persons  afflicted, 
or  its  direful  effects  in  particular  cases. 

The  yaws  is  an  African  distemper,  and  the  name  is  pro- 
bably synonymous  with  the  generic  name  Frambcesia,  from 
the  resemblance  of  the  eruptions  or  funguses  on  the  skin  to 
the  strawberry. 

In  that  part  of  Africa  called  Guinea,  the  yaws  seems 
endemic,  and  attacks  people  of  all  ages,  but  chiefly  children, 
or  youth.  The  Negroes  are  predestinarians,  and  take  no 
pains  to  avoid  this  or  any  other  infectious  disorder,  but  con- 
tinue to  live  in  the  same  house  with  the  infected. 

From  Guinea  it  has  been  imported  to  all  our  West  India 
Islands,  and  America,  in  both  which  it  is  very  common,  and 
now  and  then  makes  its  appearance  in  this  country.  The 
havock  this  terrible  disorder  annually  makes  amongst  the  Ne- 
groes in  the  West  Indies  is  truly  deplorable,  and  merits  the  at- 
tention of  the  Statesman,  the  Planter,  and  Physician.  It  may 
not  be  in  our  power  to  prevent  the  spreading  of  this  disorder 
amongst  the  Negroes,  but  humanity  and  sound  policy  call 
aloud  on  us  to  alleviate  the  sufferings  and  distresses  of  this 
class  of  mankind,  when  they  are  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  in- 
fected with  this  cruel  malady. 

"  This  Thesis  was  prepared  by  Dr  Wright  for  the  use  of  a  ward  of  his 
from  the  West  Indies.  It  is  now  printed  from  the  English  draft,  in  I)1 
Wright's  handwriting,  iri  preference  to  the  Latin  version. 

3 


400  A  DISSERTATION  ON  THE  YAWS. 

Before  our  commerce  with  the  natives  of  Guinea,  Euro- 
peans seem  to  have  been  unacquainted  with  this  filthy  dis- 
order, and  we  can  discover  no  traces  of  it  in  the  writings  of 
the  ancients,  sacred  or  profane ;  unless  it  be  that  which  is 
mentioned  as  having  afflicted  Job. 

Amongst  the  moderns  few  have  treated  of  the  yaws.  The 
first  author  who  wrote  on  this  disorder  in  Britain  treats  of  it 
anonymously*,  in  the  Medical  Essays  of  Edinburgh,  Art.  7G  : 
after  him  M.  Virgile,  who  practised  as  a  surgeon  several  years 
in  the  Island  of  St  Domingo.  Dr  Hillary,  an  eminent  phy- 
sician in  Barbadoes,  has  given  an  account  of  the  nature  and 
treatment  of  this  exotic  disease.  The  next  author  in  point  of 
time,  is  also  anonymous.  His  paper  is  entitled  an  Essay  on 
the  Management  and  Diseases  of  Negroes ;  and  on  the  more 
common  diseases  in  the  West  Indies,  and  the  remedies  which 
that  country  itself  produces  -f-.  The  author  of  this  humane 
and  benevolent  essay  was  Dr  James  Grainger,  physician 
in  St  Christophers.  He  treats  of  the  yaws  at  page  55,  and  in 
this  as  well  as  other  diseases,  gives  many  excellent  hints.  The 
latest  dissertation  I  know  of  on  Frambo?sia,  is  Dr  Macpher- 
son's  Thesis  published  at  Glasgow. 

Born  in  an  island  where  this  disorder  is  exceedingly  pre- 
valent, and  deeply  interested  for  the  honour  and  welfare  of 
my  native  country,  I  have  chosen  this  disorder  as  the  subject 
of  my  Inaugural  Dissertation,  in  hopes  to  throw  some  new 
light  on  the  nature  and  treatment  of  the  yaws,  and  contri- 
bute my  mite  to the  general  stock.  The  account  given  of  this 
disease  is  in  some  measure  consonant  to  that  of  the  authors 
before  mentioned.  Where  I  happen  to  differ  from  them,  it 
is  for  the  sake  of  truth,  and  from  my  own  observation  amongst 

*  John  Hume,  M.  D.  formerly  surgeon  to  the  Naval  Hospital  in 
Jamaica,  and  late  a  Commissioner  of  Sick  and  Hurt,  is  the  author. 

■f  In  1802,  I  edited  Dr  Grainger's  essay  on  West  India  diseases,  and 
subjoined  a  few  practical  notes.        W.  W. 


DISSERTATION  ON  THE  YAWS.  401 

ihe  Negroes  in  Jamaica.  But  I  am  chiefly  indebted  to  a  va- 
luable friend,  who  for  many  years  practised  medicine  in  that 
Island  with  happy  success,  and  who  has  kindly  comiflunicat- 
cd  his  remarks  to  me  made  on  this  disorder. 

Definition. — The  late  celebrated  Dr  Culeen,  in  his  ex- 
cellent work,  Synopsis  Nosologic  Methodical,  confesses  he 
never  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  yaws.  His  definition 
of  it  is  of  course  taken  from  Sauvages,  Sag  ah,  and  the 
Medical  Essays. 

"  Fungi,  mori,  vel  rubi  ida?i  fructus  referentes,  in  variis 
cutis  partibus  enati.r' 

Dr  Cullen  places  Frambcesia  in  Class  iii.  Cachexia?,  and 
order  iii.  Impetigines,  next  to  Lepra.  Whereas  it  ought  to 
have  been  arranged  under  Exanthemata,  next  to  Variola, 
because,  like  the  small-pox,  it  has  its  accession,  height  and  de- 
cline ;  like  the  small-pox  it  is  taken  by  inoculation,  and,  when 
a  person  once  passes  safely  through  the  yaws,  he  cannot  again 
be  infected  by  any  means  whatsoever.  This  fact  is  so  well 
established,  that  a  Negro  is  valued  one-third  part  more  by 
his  having  formerly  had  the  yaws. 

History  of  the  Yaws. — It  was  formerly  mentioned  that  this 
disorder  was  originally  brought  from  the  Coast  of  Guinea  to 
the  West  Indies,  where  it  is  so  very  prevalent,  that  few  Ne- 
groes escape  it  one  time  or  other  in  their  lives,  especially  in 
childhood  or  youth.  The  reason  of  this  is  obvious  :  Negresses 
may  have  the  yaws  themselves,  or  others  of  their  family  may 
have  it,  and  persons  living  under  the  same  roof  are  more  liable 
to  catch  the  distemper  than  others ;  as  will  be  hereafter  shewn. 

It  often  happens,  that  the  owner  does  not  know  of  a 
Neo-ro  being  infected,  till  the  eruption  of  the  yaws  takes 
place  ;  at  other  times  one  may  foretel  that  this  disorder 
will  happen,  by  examining  the  patient  carefully  for  sores 
or  scratches,  which, "from  their  surface,  may   easily   be  de- 

c  c 


402  DISSERTATION  OX  THE  YAWS. 

termined.  If  with  such  suspicious  appearance  of  sores, 
the  Negro  has  frequented  the  company  of  the  infected,  and 
has  for  some  weeks  had  pains  in  his  joints  and  limbs,  resem- 
bling rheumatism,  the  eruption  of  the  yaws  will  sooner  or 
later  take  place,  according  to  the  habit  of  body.  In  some 
cases  the  eruptive  fever  is  pretty  smart,  but  in  others  scarcely 
discernible,  or  at  least  so  trifling  as  not  to  be  taken  into  ac- 
count. 

The  eruptions  are  at  first  about  the  size  of  a  pin-head,  and 
scarcely  rise  above  the  level  of  the  skin,  but  they  soon  encrease 
and  become  protuberant  like  pimples.  In  some  time  after 
this  the  cuticle  falls  off,  leaving  the  parts  covered  with  white 
sordes  or  sloughs  ;  under  which  are  small  red  fungi,  or  ex- 
crescences growing  out  of  the  skin,  and  daily  increasing  to 
different  sizes,,  some  not  larger  than  the  smallest  wood-straw- 
berry, others  as  big  as  a  mulberry.  They  appear  indifferent- 
ly on  all  parts  of  the  body,  but  mostly  on  the  face,  the  arm- 
pits, the  groin,  the  private  parts,  and  perinaeum.  The 
size  of  these  fungi,  as  well  as  their  number,  depend  on  the 
state  of  the  patient's  health,  and  habit  of  body.  A  healthy 
strong  person  will  have  few,  but  of  a  large  size  ;  whilst  those 
of  a  thin  or  reduced  habit,  will  have  a  vast  number  of  small 
eruptions,  which  scarcely  exceed  the  size  of  millet.  In 
healthy  subjects  the  disorder  will  arrive  at  its  height  in  a 
month's  time  ;  in  those  that  are  sickly,  not  sooner  than  three 
or  four  months.  At  length  the  yaws  decline,  a  yellow  scab 
is  formed,  which  falls  off  in  a  week  or  two,  and  leaves  the  skin 
smooth,  and  in  general  without  pits.  One  or  two  of  these 
fungi,  however,  increase  to  a  greater  size  ;  they  continue  some 
time  after  the  others,  and  are  called  the  master  yenv^  leaving 
a  scar  behind  them. 

In  the  mean  time  the  patient  loses  neither  his  appetite,  his 
flesh,  nor  his  strength.  He  suffers  no  pain  or  uneasiness,  ex- 
cept from  the  nastiness  of  the  disease,  and  a  little  soreness 
when  the  excrescences  arc  rubbed  or  pre 


DISSERTATION  0\  THE  YAW  s  H):i 

Dr  Hillary  and  .some  oth<  vs  have  alleged  tliat  where  the 

J  ,ius  break  out,  the  hair  of  that  part  turns  white.  But  sueh 
authors  have  either  heen  misinformed  in  this  ei re u instance,  or 
have  confounded  the  yaws  with  the  lepra,  where  actually  the 
change  of  colour  occurs. 

This  is  a  true  account  of  the  disorder  when  left  to  nature, 
and  neither  retarded  nor  forwarded  by  medicine  or  outward 
application  to  the  part  first  infected.  But  if  a  yaw  sore,  for 
example,  on  the  leg  or  foot,  is  treated  as  a  common  ulcer, 
or  the  person  continues  to  work  or  stand  as  in  health,  this 
sore  soon  becomes  an  ill-disposed  ulcer ;  the  neighbouring 
parts  are  inflamed  ;  the  edges  of  the  ulecr  are  ragged,  and 
turn  back  like  those  of  cancerous  ulcers.  The  surface  of  the 
ulcer  looks  foul,  with  white  small  specks  or  sloughs.  The  flesh 
is  corroded  and  discharged  in  large  blaek  clots,  the  discharge 
is  ichorous,  black,  and  extremely  offensive,  and  the  patient's 
strength  is  wasted  and  worn  out  with  pain  The  eruption 
of  the  yaws  is  retarded,  and  when  it  appears  is  of  long  con- 
tinuance ;  especially  if  mcreurials  have  been  given  too  early. 

When  the  yaws  are  repelled  (which  has  been  heretofore 
practised  on  board  of  Guineamen),  by  various  external  appli- 
cations, as  blue  vitriol  and  solutions  of  corrosive  sublimate, 
the  disorder,  it  is  true,  disappears  for  a  short  time,  and  the 
Negro  is  sold  as  sound,  the  purchaser  is  cheated,  and  the 
poor  Negro  runs  the  risk  of  his  life.  Abuses  of  such  a  flagi- 
tious kind  merit  the  severest  punishment  that  the  law  can  in- 
flict. This  pernicious  fraud  is  with  difficulty  perceivable  by 
the  purchaser ;  but  it  is  of  consequence  he  should  detect  it 
early,  otherwise  the  constitution  will  infallibly  be  ruined. 
When  there  is  a  glossy  smoothness  of  the  skin  in  those  parts 
where  the  yaws  commonly  break  out,  we  may  almost  be  cer- 
tain that  repellents  have  been  used.  The  sooner,  then,  that 
the  disease  is  again  thrown  on  the  surface,  the  better  chance 
the  Negro  has  to  regain  his  health.  This  is  best  done  by  sul- 
phur with   diaphoretic  drinks  and  thcriaca  ;   above  all,  by 

ccS 


404  DISSERTATION  ON  THE  YAWS. 

strengthening  diet.  But  should  the  yawy  matter  continue 
long  in  the  habit,  the  worst  consequences  follow.  The  dis- 
order recurs  with  redoubled  violence.  In  some  it  breaks  out 
into  the  extremities  with  the  most  obstinate,  cancerous,  and 
cadaverous  ulcers.  In  others,  the  body  swells,  and  becomes 
as  it  were  one  abscess.  The  whole  adipose  membrane  is  filled 
with  pus,  and  the  poor  creature  dies  tabid. 

The  benign  yaw,  if  properly  managed,  goes  completely  oft' 
in  a  few  months ;  but  if  interrupted  in  its  course,  by  me- 
dicine or  otherwise,  it  occasions  either  foul  and  carious  ul- 
cers in  different  parts,  erosions  of  the  nose  and  palate,  bone- 
ache,  or  distortions  of  the  limbs,  which  are  difficult  of  cure, 
and  sometimes  resist  every  application. 

The  yaws  break  out  also  in  the  soles  of  the  feet  and  palms 
of  the  hands.  As  those  parts  in  Negroes  are  callous  from 
walking  bare-footed,  or  from  labour,  the  parts  affected  become 
swelled,  inflamed,  and  painful,  and  unless  skilfully  treated 
continue  troublesome  for  a  number  of  years. 

Nosologists  have  divided  the  yaws  into  two  species,  viz. 
the  Guinea  and  American.  This  happens  when  the  disorder 
has  been  seen  in  different  circumstances.  Such  distinctions 
are  no  way  different,  and  only  serve  to  puzzle  the  practi- 
tioner. 

There  is  a  disorder  in  this  country  and  in  Ireland,  called 
the  Sivvens,  which  is  a  true  species  of  Framboesia,  but  the 
symptoms  are  not  alike  in  all  respects.  The  Sivvens  is  an 
Erse  word  for  raspberry,  because,  in  very  advanced  slates  of 
the  disease,  certain  spongy  excrescences  break  out  in  various 
parts.  See  an  excellent  account  of  this  disease  in  Edinburgh 
Essays,  Physical  and  Literary,  vol.  iii.  p.  155. 

As  this  disorder  was  first  brought  to  the  Highlands  of  Scot- 
land by  the  Protector's  soldiers,  I  beg  leave  to  denominate  it 
Framba?sia  Cromwel liana. 

This  dissertation  being  an  account  of  the  African  or  Guinea 
yaws,  I  shall  not  enter  minutely  into  the  history  of  the  Siv- 


DISSEK TATION   OX  THE   YAWs.  105 

vens.     It  is  sufficient  to  give  trie  leading  symptoms,  .so  as  to 

distinguish  it  from  the  African  disorder! 

Diagnosis. — The  Sivvens  at  first  seizes  the  throat  and 
nose ;  the  yaws  never  till  after  a  length  of  time  or  improper 
treatment.  The  eruptions  in  sivvens  are  watery,  of  a  dirty  hue, 
and  intolerant  stench.  Those  of  the  yaws  are  small  as  a  pin- 
head,  hard,  and  with  no  particular  odour.  In  sivvens,  lx>ils  ap- 
pear here  and  there, forming  deep  and  ill-disposed  ulcers.  These 
do  not  happen  in  the  yaws.  In  sivvens,  itchy  tetters  break 
out,  in  form  of  ring-worms,  and  either  occasion  a  deep  ulcer, 
or  a  scabby  large  spot,  with  inflammation.  The  Guinea  yaws 
have  no  such  appearances.  The  sivvens  rarely  affect  the 
bones  ;  the  yaws  always,  unless  well  managed.  In  the  yaws, 
the  excrescences  succeed  the  pimples,  as  well  on  the  face  and 
body  as  in  the  axilla?  and  privities.  In  sivvens,  the  fungi  ap- 
pear in  the  groin  and  perinaeum,  in  a  very  advanced  state  of 
the  disorder.  The  sivvens  is  highly  contagious.  The  yaws 
arc  contracted  only  by  inoculation.  The  sivvens  may  be  cured 
early  by  mercurials,  but  mercurials  in  yaws  are  pernicious. 
In  constitutions  otherwise  healthy,  the  yaws  will  go  off  in 
time  ;  but  if  speedy  and  effectual  means  are  not  used  in  the 
sivvens,  the  patient  will  infallibly  be  destroyed. 

Several  authors  have  spoken  of  the  yaws  and  syphilis  at. 
different  modifications  of  the  same  thing.  Whoever  compares 
the  account  we  have  given,  will  find  them  widely  different. 
It  is  true  that  the  yaws  affect  the  bones,  the  nose,  and  the 
palate,  like  syphilis,  and  admit  of  similar  cure  ;  but  in  syphilis 
there  are  neither  eruptions  nor  fungi,  as  in  the  yaws,  except  on 
ihe  privities,  and  then  only  in  form  of  warts.  The  yaws  at- 
tacks the  same  person  only  once  in  his  lifetime;  and  we  all 
know  that  lues  venerea  may  be  and  is  contracted  repeatedly. 
Persons  who  have  the  yaws  may  contract  gonorrhoea,  and 
even  lues  venerea.  The  former  may  be  cured  independent  of 
the  yaws,  but  the  latter  cannot  till  the  yaws  are  on  the  decline. 


406  DISSERTATION  ON  THE  YAWS. 

Prog?wsis. — When  the  yaws  are  on  a  person  of  sound  con- 
stitution, and  when  that  person  is  properly  clothed,  fed,  and 
kept  clean,  there  is  but  little  danger.  But  where  the  patient 
has  been  debilitated  by  preceding  diseases,  or  other  causes, 
the  event  is  very  doubtful,  and  often  fatal.  This  is  particu- 
larly the  case  where  the  yaws  have  been  repelled,  or  mercury 
given  in  the  early  stages  of  this  disorder. 

Remote  Causes. — Having  formerly  mentioned,  that  the 
yaws,  like  small-pox,  attacks  a  person  only  once  in  their  lives, 
I  proceed  to  the  remote  causes. 

This  disorder  being  so  prevalent  amongst  the  Negroes, 
many  people  have  entertained  an  opinion  that  the  seeds  of  the 
malady  are  lurlcing  in  their  constitution,  and  break  out  at 
some  period  without  any  exciting  cause.  This  opinion,  how- 
ever, has  no  foundation  in  truth,  as  will  be  proved  hereafter. 
Nor  is  there  any  thing  in  the  habits  of  Negroes  that  predisposes 
them  more  to  receive  the  infection  of  the  yaws  than  in  the 
habit  of  Europeans. 

It  has  been  supposed  that  white  people  in  the  West  Indies, 
and  the  Negro  servants  about  their  houses,  are  less  suscepti- 
ble of  the  yaws  than  field  Negroes,  who  live  more. on  vegeta- 
bles, grain,  and  farinaceous  roots.  This  notion  is  equally 
groundless  :  For,  if  such  were  exposed  to  the  same  causes,  the 
same  effect  would  as  readily  take  place  in  the  one  as  in  the 
other. 

Before  we  quit  this  part  of  the  subject,  I  must  contradict 
an  assertion  commonly  made,  and  credited  by  many  as  an  es- 
tablished fact,  and  that  is,  that  the  diet  of  the  Negroes,  being 
chiefly  of  vegetables  and  farinaceous  roots,  debilitates  their  bo- 
dies and  thins  their  blood. 

The  Negroes  in  Jamaica  use  very  few  vegetables  in  their 
food,  and  these  are  of  the  nutritive  and  demulcent  kind,  viz. 
Hibiscus  esculentus  (okia),  Arum  csculentum  (Indian  kale), 
Clcome  penlaphylla  (eayo  calaloo),and  various  species  of  Am  a" 


DISSERTATION  ON  THE  YAWS.  107 

ranthus  (caliloo).  These  vegetables  arc  made  into  soups  or 
broths,  with  the  addition  of  fish,  crabs,  or  pork,  and  seasoned 
with  salt  and  capsicum.  Instead  of  bread  they  have  abun- 
dance of  plantains  (Musa  sapientum),  the  roots  of  the  Arum 
colocasia  and  sagittifolium  (cocoes),  the  sweet  and  bitter  cas- 
sida  (Jatropha),  several  kinds  of  yams  (Dioscorea),  the  sweet 
p  statoes  (Convolvulus  battatas),  &c. ;  besides  many  deli- 
cious fruits  which  they  cultivate  in  their  own  gardens  and  pro- 
vision-grounds. A  simple  diet  of  this  kind  makes  them  strong, 
active,  and  able  to  perform  their  work  with  ease  in  their  na- 
tive climate,  whilst  white  people,  and  their  pampered  domes- 
tics, arc  unable  to  stand  fatigue  or  labour  in  the  heat  of  the 
sun. 

The  diseases  of  field  Negroes,  as  fevers  and  pleurisies,  are 
of  the  inflammatory  kind,  and  they  bear  repeated  bleedings. 
Those  of  white  people  mostly  partake  of  the  remitting  fever, 
in  which,  if  the  lancet  is  at  all  used,  it  ought  to  be  very  spar- 
ingly. The  blood  drawn  from  a  Negro  is  generally  firm  and 
often  buft'y ;  that  from  a  white  person,  loose,  discoloured,  and 
watery. 

Proximate  or  Exciting  Causes. — Having  spoken  fully  of 
wbat  have  been  deemed  the  remote  causes  of  the  yaws,  and  re- 
futed various  vulgar  errors,  and  having  shewn  that  no  predis- 
posing causes  can  exist,  cither  in  the  constitution,  or  from  diet 
or  climate,  I  proceed  to  the  proximate  or  exciting  causes  of 
this  disease. 

1st,  When  the  yaws  are  at  the  height,  the  fungi  have  white 
sloughs,  and  discharge  a  thin  ichor  ;  they  are  in  this  state  most 
infectious. 

2fZ/!//,  Ulcers  from  the  yaws  are  at  all  times  foul  and  offen- 
sive, and  it  is  by  them  that  the  contagion  is  commonly  propa_ 
gated. 

We  know  nothing  more  of  the  nature  of  this  contagion, 
than  of  that  of  the  small-pox  or  measles.     All  we  can  say  is, 


408  DISSERTATION  OX  THE   YAWS. 

that  it  is  a  poison  of  a  peculiar  kind,  which,  when  once  it  gets 
into  the  habit,  produces  certain  effects.  Nor  has  it  been  well 
ascertained  what  length  of  time  is  requisite  from  the  receiving 
the  contagion  to  the  appearance  of  the  yaws.  If  any  experi- 
ments have  been  made,  the  result  has  not  come  to  my  know- 
ledge. 

There  is  no  other  mode  of  communicating  the  yaws  but  by 
inoculation,  or  the  application  of  the  ichor  from  the  sores  of 
the  infected  to  the  wounds,  ulcers,  or  excoriations  of  people 
otherwise  in  health.  Some  will  resist  the  action  of  variolous 
contagion,  even  by  repeated  inoculation  ;  but  no  habit,  age, 
sex,  or  Country,  is  proof  against  the  contagion  of  the  yaws 
once  in  his  lifetime. 

There  are  several  ways  by  which  the  yaws  may  be  con- 
tracted ;  1st,  By  sleeping  in  the  same  bed,  and  the  ichor 
from  the  yaws  getting  on  wounds  or  scratches  of  the  unin- 
fected ;  %dly,  By  handling  the  infected,  and  allowing  the  virus 
to  touch  scratches  or  excoriations ;  3dly,  Let  us  suppose  (and 
in  fact  it  often  happens),  that  a  Negro  is  admitted  with  a 
sore  on  his  leg,  into  the  hot-house  or  infirmary  on  an  estate, 
for  cure,  and  the  state  of  the  ulcer  is  not  attended  to,  till 
some  time  afterwards  it  turns  out  to  be  the  yaws.  Other 
Negroes,  with  common  sores,  will  often  wash  their  sores  in 
the  same  bowl  or  basin  ;  and  if  so,  they  will  assuredly  receive 
the  contagion  ;  ithly ',  But  the  most  common  way  this  infec- 
tion is  propagated,  is  by  small  flies,  who,  gorging  themselves 
with  the  ichor  of  the  infected,  alight  on  the  ulcers,  &c.  of 
those  who  never  had  the  disease ;  and,  however  minute  the 
quantity  thus  applied,  it  will  as  effectually  occasion  the  disease, 
as  if  put  on  in  abundance. 

Ratio  Symptoniatum.— -To  account  for  the  various  phe- 
nomena in  contagious  diseases,  and  particularly  those  of 
the    eruptive    kind,    seems    difficult,    and    even    impossible 


nissr.u TATIOX  (>X    Till".  YAWS.  10f) 

Those  who  have  attempted  it  have  failed  of  Success,  or  ;it 
least  their  hypotheses  are  unsatisfactory.  For  my  part  I  shall 
he  very  brief,  as  the  nature  of  Contagion  will  probably  be 
ever  hid  from  human  sagacity. 

The  virus  of  the  vans  does  not  seem  to  he  of  an  active  na- 
ture. The  person  who  receives  the  infection  perceives  no  al- 
teration on  the  wound,  ulcer,  or  excoriation,  for  some  time, 
except  that  it  does  not  heal,  and  keeps  foul  on  the  surface. 
In  a  few  weeks  the  neighbouring  parts  arc  inflamed,  the  edges 
of  the  sore  arc  ragged  and  painful ;  from  this  we  conclude 
that  the  ichor  secreted  is  now  of  an  acrid  sort,  and  that  part 
of  it  is  constantly  absorbed,  and  passes  through  the  lymphatics 
to  the  subclavian  vein,  and  so  is  circulated  with  the  blood. 

In  the  system  it  occasions  but  little  disturbance,  as  the  in- 
fected perform  all  the  functions  of  life  as  before.  We  suppose 
that  much  of  the  contagion  is  carried  off' by  the  cmunetuarics, 
and  particularly  by  perspiration. 

The  quantity  and  quality  of  the  eruption  seems  to  depend 
on  the  state  of  the  patient's  health,  and  the  state  of  the  skin. 
I  suppose  also,  that  part  of  the  contagion,  in  passing  through 
the  skin,  adheres,  and,  by  irritation,  produces  pimples.  This 
conjecture  is  probable  ;  for  a  man  in  full  health,  and  who  per- 
spires freely,  will  have  the  yaws  large  and  few  in  number, 
whereas  a  person  in  ill  health  and  poorly  clad,  will  have  a  nu- 
merous crop  of  small  ill-disposed  yaws. 

We  do  not  pretend  to  account  for  the  phenomena  in  other 
respects  ;  as,  why  the  matter  of  yaws  occasions  bone-ache,  dis- 
tortions of  the  limbs,  and  erosions  of  the  palate,  nose,  &ic  like 
syphilis. 

We  have  seen,  when  the  yaws  are  repelled,  that  the  whole 
adipose  membrane  is  filled  with  pus.  The  poison,  in  this 
case,  seems  to  have  the  power  of  quickly  assimilating  the 
lymph  to  its  own  nature,  and  converting  it  to  pus,  without 
the  process  of  suppuration  and  abscess. 


410  DISSERTATION  ON  THE  YAWfi. 

The  blood  of  persons  with  the  jaws  seems  no  way  different 
from  that  of  people  in  health  ;  and  a  person  in  the  yaws  is  as 
subject  to  other  diseases  as  if  no  such  distemper  was  present. 

Prophylaxis. — To  avoid  all  intercourse  or  communication 
with  those  infected  with  the  yaws,  is  the  only  way  to  prevent  its 
spreading.  White  people  are  attentive  in  this  respect,  but  it 
is  generally  out  of  their  power  to  prevent  sound  Negroes  from 
visiting  and  cohabiting  with  those  in  the  yaws.  Such  Euro- 
peans as  are  owners  or  overseers  of  slaves,  and  who  must  of- 
ten be  in  company  with  Negroes  in  the  yaws,  should  be  care- 
ful of  having  any  sores  or  scratches  uncovered,  when  they  ap- 
proach the  infected.  He  ought  frequently  to  examine  the 
state  of  their  health,  and  that  they  keep  themselves  clean, 
and  properly  clothed.  He  is  the  best  planter  who  feeds  and 
clothes  his  Negroes  well,  and  keeps  his  people  in  good  spirits 
and  cheerful  minds.  If  such  people  should  be  infected,  the 
yaws  will  be  of  the  mildest  kind,  and  of  short  duration. 

Ratio  Medendi. — On  every  well  regulated  estate  in  Ja- 
maica, a  house,  for  the  reception  of  Negroes  in  the  yaws  is 
built,  in  some  cool  and  healthy  situation,  as  in  plantain 
walks,  and  near  by  a  rivulet  or  pond  of  good  water.  The 
planter  provides  a  careful  and  discreet  matron,  who  has 
herself  formerly  gone  safely  through  the  disorder.  He 
provides  them  with  plenty  of  good  food  and  raiment.  He 
takes  care  to  make  them  do  some  easy  work,  as  weeding 
and  cleaning  their  own  provision-grounds,  watching  a  cane- 
piece,  or  following  sheep  or  cattle.  This  prevents  them 
from  indulging  in  sloth  and  indolence ;  it  diverts  their  at- 
tention from  brooding  over  the  affliction  they  labour  under ; 
and  is  every  way  conducive  to  health.  Lastly,  He  is  care- 
ful that  the  Negroes  keep  their  persons  and  apparel  neat  and 
clean. 

.5 


DISSERTATION  ON  THE  SAWS,  1U 

Physicians  or  surgeons  who  are  employed  on  estates  are 
not  understood  to  have  tire  immediate  charge  of  Negroes  in 
the  yaws,  unless  some  other  acute  disease  intervene,  as  fever, 
dysentery,  pleurisy,  &c  The  risk  such  gentlemen  run  is 
very  great;  for,  should  a  medical  man  contract  this  filthy  dis- 
ease, his  fortune  and  future  prospects  are  ruined.  He  must 
be  secluded  many  months  from  society  ;  and  if  he  at  last  es- 
capes with  his  life  it  is  well.  From  hence  we  may  sec  the 
reason  that  the  yaws  is  so  little  understood,  and  often  so  ill 
treated.  Lastly,  We  may  more  readily  apologize  for  the  de- 
fects in  most  authors,  as  they  write  from  the  report  of  others, 
not  from  their  own  observation. 

On  the  coast  of  Guinea,  the  Negroes  take  no  pains  to  avoid 
the  yaws,  they  rather  seem  to  invite  it,  by  keeping  the  in- 
fected with  the  sound  in  the  same  family.  On  this  account, 
most  of  the  Guinea  Negroes  brought  to  the  West  Indies 
have  had  the  disorder  when  children  :  and,  surely  it  is  the 
best  time  of  life  to  have  it,  as  the  juices  of  children  are  more 
bland  than  those  of  adults,  and  their  mothers  can  easier  feed 
and  keep  them  clean. 

It  is  probable  that  the  natives  of  Africa  have  a  better  way 
of  treating  the  yaws  than  we  have  in  the  "West  Indies.  We 
never  see  any  new  Negroes  with  distortions  of  the  limbs,  or 
other  ill  consequences  of  the  yaws,  imported,  but  perhaps 
this  is  owing  to  the  merchants  on  the  coast  rejecting  such, 
when  offered  for  sale. 

The  indications  of  cure  of  the  yaws  are, 

1st,  To  support  the  patient's  strength. 

&%,  To  promote  a  discharge  by  the  skin. 

iidlt/,  To  correct  the  vitiated  juices.     And, 

Uhly,  To  repair  the  injuries  done  to  the  constitution. 

First,  To  support   the  patient's  strength,  a  generous  diet 
of  animal  food,  with  a  due   proportion  of  wine,   or  diluted 


412  DISSERTATION  OX  THE  YAWS. 

spirits,  good  lodging,  clean  warm  clothes  and  bedding,  bath- 
ing and  gentle  exercise,  are  necessary. 

Secondly,  To  promote  the  discharge  of  the  morbific  mat- 
ter by  perspiration,  or  upon  the  surface,  this  intention  will 
be  answered  by  what  has  been  already  pointed  out,  or  by 
small  quantities  of  Flor.  sulphur.,  tea  of  contrayerva,  de- 
coction of  China  root,  or  sassafras. 

Thirdly,  The  vitiated  juices  are  best  corrected  by  a  conti- 
nuance of  the  diet  recommended,  and  by  decoctions  of  sarsa- 
parilla,  contrayerva  root,  sassafras,  &c.  Towards  the  decline,  if 
the  disease  does  not  go  off  kindly,  mild  mercurials  may  then, 
and  not  till  then,  be  given,  with  safety  and  advantage.  They 
are  best  administered  in  small  quantities,  so  as  to  act  as 
alteratives,  and  not  to  occasion  a  ptyalism.  If  to  these,  a 
decoction  of  the  woods,  and  sarsaparilla  in  powder,  is  added, 
the  cure  will  be  more  certain. 

Fourthly,  To  repair  the  injury  done  to  the  constitution 
by  the  disease  itself,  or  by  improper  management  in  the  be- 
ginning. Ulcers  from  the  yaws  do  not  agree  with  unctuous 
dressings,  nor  with  warm  fomentations.  Washing  them  with 
cold  water,  and  dressing  them  with  vegetables,  have  a  good 
effect.  If  they  are  small,  it  will  bo  sufficient  to  cover  them 
with  a  leaf  of  the  Cissies  Cicyoides  or  snake  wyth,  commonly 
called  the  yaws  bush,  or  with  a  leaf  of  the  JatropJui  Curcas 
or  English  physic  nut.  If  the  ulcers  are  large,  a  poultice  of 
these  leaves,  beaten  and  mixed  with  a  little  sugar,  or  with 
the  pulp  of  roasted  Seville  oranges  and  sugar,  are  excellent 
antiseptics. 

Erosions  of  the  nose  and  palate,  carious  ulcers,  bonc-aches, 
&c.  are  produced  by  a  long  continued  use  of  mercurial  al- 
teratives and  decoction  of  woods.  The  mischief  done  bv 
the  too  early  use  of  mercury,  must  be  remedied  by  diet,  and 
by  a  plentiful  use  of  sarsaparilla,  both  in  decoction  and  in 
powder. 


DISSERTATION  ON  THE  YAWS.  413 

Before  we  quit  this  subject,  another  curious  circumstance 
must  be  stated,  viz. 

Persons  in  the  "yaws  arc  liable  to  other  eruptive  diseases, 
as  measles  and  small-pox.  The  latter  may  be  communicated 
by  inoculation.  This  is  best  done  after  the  yaws  are  on  the 
decline,  and  it  has  a  very  happy  effect,  by  superseding  the 
yaws,  and  carrying  them  completely  off'.  Or,  should  any  of 
the  yaws  return  to  the  surface,  they  continue  but  for  a  short 
time. 


(     414     ) 
REMARKS  AND  OBSERVATIONS 

ON 

FEBRILE  AND  SPASMODIC  DISEASES ; 

AV1TH  CASES. 
[Communicated  to  James  Currie,  M.  D.  Liverpool.] 


The  exacerbations  of  most  fevers,  so  far  as  I  have  seen, 
happen  in  the  afternoon  from  three  to  seven  o'clock.  Some 
authors  of  credit  (Dr  James  Lind  of  Windsor,  and  Dr 
Francis  Balfour)  assert,  that  the  moon,  at  full  and  change,  is 
productive  of  changes  in  the  fevers  of  Bengal ;  and  that  returns 
of  intcrmittents,  and  paroxysms  of  fever,  happen  to  sick  and 
convalescent  men  about  such  phases  of  the  moon.  I  have 
heard  that  practitioners  have  observed  the  same  in  the  fevers 
in  Demerara,  Berbice,  and  Surinam,  and  in  Dutch  Guiana, 
Avhere  there  are  many  canals,  stagnant  waters,  and  morass- 
lands,  covered  with  woods,  and  on  which  the  sun  or  wind 
have  no  influence.  Never  having  practised  much  in  marshy 
countries,  I  have  no  experience  of  such  changes. 

I  entirely  coincide  with  Dr  Currie,  at  page  17,  in  the 
rules  and  cautions  he  has  laid  down  as  to  the  proper  time 
and  manner  of  applying  cold  water  ;  and  I  wish  they  may  be 
deeply  impressed  on  the  heart  of  every  practitioner.  For  my 
part,  I  never  succeeded  better  in  the  cure  of  fever,  than  by 
making  use  of  the  coldest  water  I  could  find,   in  the  height 


ON   FEBRILE  AND  SPASMODIC    DISEASES,      415 

of  the  exacerbation.  The  hotter  the  skin  felt,  and  the  m 
the  patient  complained  of  heat,  the  greater  benefit  resulted 
from  the  sudden  dashing-  of  cold  water.  I  likewise"- man 
with  Dr  Currie,  at  page  34,  that  sea-water  is  preferable  to 
fresh.  It  ofteh,  however,  happens,  that  sea-water  cannot  be 
had;  but  water  with  sea-salt  may  he  got  in  all  situations,  and 
I  very  often  gave  this  a  preference;  as,  in  the  act  of  solution, 
it  was  colder  than  the  temperature  of  the  sea  in  the  "West 
Indies. 

The  Savages  in  North  America  have  long  practised  the 
cold  bath  for  the  cure  of  fever.  A  fire  is  made  in  their  nar- 
row huts,  where  the  sick  man  is,  and  the  external  air  shut 
out.  When  the  Indian  is  heated  to  the  greatest  degree,  he 
suddenly  plunges  into  a  cold  stream  of  water,  and  immediate- 
ly returns  to  his  hut,  where  he  falls  into  a  profuse  sweat. 

Till  of  late,  the  internal  use  of  cold  water  was  strictly  for- 
bidden in  ardent  fevers ;  I  early  saw  the  benefit  of  it  in  gra- 
tifying the  eager  recmests  of  the  sick. 

In  1772  I  was  sent  for  to  see  a  person  ill  of  fever,  at  a 
considerable  distance  from  my  house,  in  St  James's,  Jamaica. 
His  name  was  William  Jewel,  aged  about  thirty  years,  and  by 
trade  a  cooper.  He  had,  by  exposure  to  the  heat  of  the  sun, 
got  a  fever,  with  the  usual  symptoms  of  remittents,  and  had 
been  attended  by  a  person  of  no  experience.  Amongst  other 
remedies,  he  had  got  several  drastic  vomits  and  purges.  I 
found  him  in  a  hot  room,  with  all  the  windows  and  doors 
shut,  a  load  of  bed-clothes,  and  warm  drinks  by  him  ;  his 
headach  was  great,  his  thirst  intolerable,  his  skin  burning 
hot,  nor  was  it  abated  by  the  partial  sweats  from  the  warm 
drinks,  load  of  bed-clothes,  and  surrounding  curtains.  My 
first  intention  was  to  cool  the  surrounding  atmosphere;  I 
drew  aside  the  curtains,  and  gradually  removed  the  blankets  ; 
the  door  was  opened,  and  the  Venetian  lattice  in  the  w  indows 
letdown,  so  as  to  admit  the  external  air  freely,  hut  not  to 
blow  in  the  direction  of  the  bed.     The  poor  man  was  greatly 


416  REMARKS  AND  OBSERVATIONS  ON 

relieved.  "  Will  you,"  said  he,  "  indulge  me  with  a  cup  of 
cold  water  ty  "  Most  certainly,"  I  replied,  and  handed  him 
a  half-pint  tumbler  of  it ;  he  drank  it  hastily,  with  a  thousand 
thanks,  and  was  much  refreshed.  In  ten  minutes  he  request- 
ed another,  which  was  granted.  In  a  short  while  he  exclaim- 
ed, "  You  have  saved  my  life,  I  am  cool  and  comfortable." 
The  heat  of  the  skin  was  now  natural,  a  kindly  perspiration 
came  on,  and  my  patient  was  inclined  to  sleep  :  next  morn- 
ing he  was  perfectly  free  of  all  complaints ;  and  recovered 
without  the  use  of  any  other  medicine. 

The  effects  of  large  draughts  of  cold  water,  and  the  sud- 
den application  of  cold  water  to  the  surface,  when  well  timed, 
were  uniformly  to  abate  the  heat  of  fevers  immediately;  to 
lower  the  action  of  the  heart  and  arteries  ;  to  bring  on  a  ge- 
nial glow,  and  kindly  perspiration. 

I  have  seen  a  few  instances  of  the  anomalous  fever,  de- 
scribed by  Dr  Cuurie  at  page  46,  in  this  country.  He  has 
accurately  described  the  symptoms  and  general  appearances* 
I  have  marked  it  by  a  bright  white  appearance  of  the  papil- 
l;e  on  the  middle  of  the  tongue,  which  in  general  had  no 
slough  or  great  dryness.  This  fever  was  obstinate,  but  at 
length  yielded  to  calomel. 

In  other  fevers,  a  violent  headach  resisted  every  other 
means,  and  was  judged  by  some  practitioners  to  be  hydroce- 
phalus. Calomel  persevered  in  at  length  gave  relief,  with- 
out any  sensible  operation,  except  by  the  skin. 

In  regard  to  what  Dr  Curkie  says,  page  68,  as  to  the  te- 
pid bath  or  affusion,  or  sponging  the  body  with  Avarm  vinegar 
and  water,  I  have  to  remark,  that  the  first  was  generally 
practised  by  me  on  sick  men  landed  from  crowded  transports, 
when  their  skins  felt  sweaty,  and  below  the  natural  tempera- 
ture of  heat ;  and  sponging  with  warm  vinegar  and  water 
was  in  daily  use  in  the  general  hospital,  when  men  could  not 
be  lifted   out  of  bed.     At  other  times,   flannel  cloths,  wrung 


FEBRILE  AND  SPASMODIC   DISEASES.  H7 


dry  out  of  hot  water,  and  applied  of  such  a  degree  of  heal  as 
to  hf  pleasing  to  the  patient,  afforded  sensible  relief. 

Dr  Cukkik,  at  page  1G1,  says,  k;  Medical  science  lias  not 
ascertained  the  various  remote  pauses  which  may  produce  lo- 
ver.'" To  confine  the  remote  causes  of  fever  to  human  efflu- 
via or  marsh  miasma,  may  strictly  he  tine  ashore  in  the  West 
Indies;  but  it  is  well  known,  that  a  malignant  fever  may  be 
contracted  in  dark  and  confined  chambers,  and  any  other  ill- 
ventilated  places,  whether  on  shore  or  aboard  a  ship;  and  al- 
though the  experiments  of  l)r  Mitchell. of  New  York  are 
not  conclusive,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  air  in  dungeons, 
&c.  will  be  minutely  examined,  and  its  effects  on  the  human 
body  soon  ascertained  by  some  able  hand. 

I  coincide  in  what  Dr  Cukiue  says  on  the  treatment  of 
the  plague  at  page  186,  and  Appendix,  page  54.  We  have 
the  best  grounded  hopes  that  the  cold  affusion  will  prove  suc- 
cessful in  the  plague,  as  well  as  in  all  cases  of  malignant  fe- 
ver; and  this  will  be  insured  by  careful  and  effectual  friction 
with  oil  or  other  unctuous  substances.  Oily  frictions  were 
used  by  me  on  a  small  scale,  and  chiefly  to  prevent  the  inor- 
dinate waste  by  sweatings  in  fevers  ;  as  also  in  fluxes,  where  I 
suspected  that  there  were  constrictions  of  the  extreme  vessels 
and  pores  of  the  skin. 

Dr  Cuurie,  at  page  °,10,  thinks  the  cold  affusion  improper 
in  local  inflammations.  I  never  enter  the  house  of  the  mid- 
dling ranks,  or  of  the  poor,  where  I  see  small  children,  but  it 
immediately  occurs  to  me  to  caution  the  mother  against  burns 
and  scalds ;  and  if  it  should  unfortunately  happen  that 
any  of  the  children  should  be  scalded,  to  keep  pouring  the 
coldest  water  on  the  scalded  part,  for  half  an  hour  at  least, 
and  then  to  lay  a  wet  linen  rag  over  the  part,  to  be  renew- 
ed often.  By  this  means  the  blistering  of  the  part  is  effectu- 
ally prevented,  and  the  beginning  inflammations  soon  dis- 
appear. 

i)d 


418  REMARKS  AND  OBSERVATIONS  ON 

Of  Tetanies. — While  I  was  last  in  Jamaica  1784,  three 
more  cases  of  tetanus  occurred,  and  were  cured  by  the  cold 
affusion  ;  see  my  paper  on  tetanus  in  the  6th  volume  of  Lond. 
Med.  Obs. 

The  first  was  a  Negro  child,  whose  parents  were  very  young, 
and  were  belonging  to  myself.  From  the  mother  lying  in  at 
her  own  house,  and  kept  too  warm,  the  infant  began  to  be  dis- 
ordered, about  the  seventh  day  from  the  birth.  I  caused 
the  mother  and  child  to  be  removed  to  the  dwelling-house, 
and  immediately  gave  the  child  a  tea-spoonful  of  castor  oil, 
and,  so  soon  as  possible,  an  injection  with  sea-salt.  These 
had  their  due  effect.  On  the  following  day  the  child  could 
not  suck,  and  it  was  frequently  affected  with  spasms.  The 
jaws  at  times  were  close  locked,  and  the  trismus  infantum 
strongly  marked.  In  the  West  Indies  this  disease  is  fre- 
quent, and  always  fatal  to  new  born  children.  It  rarely  hap- 
pens to  infants  after  the  ninth  day. 

I  acquainted  the  mother  that  there  were  little  hopes  of 
saving  her  child,  and  delivered  the  like  opinion  to  the  mid- 
wife, a  sensible  woman  of  colour,  then  in  the  house.  In  this 
hopeless  case,  I  proposed  the  cold  affusion,  stating,  that  the 
child,  in  the  way  it  was,  must  soon  die,  and  that,  if  my  scheme 
failed,  there  was  no  other.  With  some  difficulty  I  got  the 
better  of  her  prejudices ;  the  child  was  stripped,  but  in  the 
mean  time  had  a  strong  fit  on  the  midwife's  lap.  So  soon  as 
it  was  over,  she  gave  it  to  me,  and  I  plunged  it  suddenly  in 
a  small  tub  of  cold  well-water.  Respiration  was  stopt  for  a 
minute,  the  child  was  as  stiff  as  a  board.  The  midwife  said, 
"  You  have  killed  the  child."  I  made  her  dry  the  skin  with 
a  cloth,  and  rub  the  body  briskly  with  oil.  It  began  to 
breathe,  and  the  stiffness  by  degrees  was  got  the  better  of. 
About  an  hour  afterwards  it  was  put  to  the  breast,  and  suck- 
ed heartily.  The  spasms  never  returned,  and  the  midwife 
took  all  the  merit  of  the  cure  to  herself.  The  child  lived  two 
years,  and  died  of  worm  fever. 


1'KHlMl.i:    AND  M'ASMODK     DISK  ASKS.  419 

The  second  case  happened  in  1784-.  A  young  Negro  wo 
man.  twenty  years  of  age,  was  seised  (.lul\)  With  a  paiji.  m 
her  jaws,  and  at  times  she  could  not  open  her  nioulli  to  take 
in  any  solid  food.  I  found  that  two  or  three  times  ft  day  sin: 
had  spasms  iu  her  jaw  and  neck*,  hut  to  no  great  height.  She 
had  taken  a  purge,  and  afterwards  twenty  drops  of  laudanum 
three  times  a  day.  Suspecting  the  locked  jaw,  I  asked  her 
if  she  had  suffered  any  hurt  ;  she  said  she  had  not,  hut  that 
she  had  carried  a  heavy  basket  of  her  own  provisions  to  mar- 
ket on  a  very  hot  day.  Without  loss  of  time  I  ordered  the 
cold  affusion,  and  repeated  it  three  times  a  day.  This  had 
the  desired  effect,  and  in  a  week's  time  she  was  completely 
cured,  and  is  now  the  mother  of  many  children. 

The  third  case  was  a  chronic  tetanus,  and  the  only  one  I 
saw.  A  new  Negro  boy,  about  ten  years  of  age,  belonging  to 
the  late  Dr  Ukown  at  Falmouth,  Trelawny,  Jamaica,  was 
employed  as  a  waiting-boy.  He  was  observed  to  start  fre- 
quently, and  make  faces  as  boys  do  sometimes  by  imitation. 
After  some  time  the  spasms  increased,  and  in  the  fits  his  jaws 
were  shut.  In  common  his  mouth  was  drawn  backwards; 
he  could  not  walk  or  stand  up  without  the  help  of  a  stick, 
and  looked  very  like  an  orang-outang.  I  chanced  to  be  at 
my  relation  Dr  Brown's  house,  and  pronounced  the  case  to  be 
locked  jaw.  Two  buckets  of  cold  water  were  suddenly  dash- 
ed on  his  naked  body,  when  the  fit  was  on  him.  He  was  in- 
stantly relieved.  This  was  repeated  in  the  evening.  Next 
morning  the  boy  was  missing.  He  had  walked  down  to  the 
sea,  and  threw  himself  from  the  wharf  into  the  water.  He  was 
a  good  swimmer,  was  called  out,  and  rubbed  dry  with  a  cloth, 
and  walked  briskly  home.  He  was  permitted  every  day  to 
plunge  into  the  sea,  morning  and  evening  ;  and  in  five  days 
was  perfectly  free  of  all  complaints. 

I  subjoin  a  memorandum  of  a  case  of  tetanus  cured  by  me 
by  the  cold  affusion  many  years  ago.     It  was  drawn  up  by 

Dd2 


420  REMARKS  AND  OBSERVATIONS  ON 

Mr  Peter  Reid,  an  ingenious  student  of  medicine  here, 
from  the  mouths  of  the  boy's  parents,  who  are  near  relations 
of  mine ;  the  boy  is  at  present  in  the  best  health. 

In  August  1787,  Bosweli,  Douglas,  a  boy  of  two  years 
of  age,  fell  upon  the  corner  of  a  chair,  by  which  the  back 
part  of  his  head  was  slightly  injured.  The  child,  however, 
appeared  to  suffer  no  inconvenience  from  it  the  rest  of  that 
day,  but  romped  about  as  usual.  Next  day,  when  he  was 
raised  from  bed,  he  was  observed  to  be  affected  with  violent 
sickness  and  retching,  which  his  mother  attributing  to  some 
pudding,  of  which  he  had  eaten  rather  heartily  the  preceding 
day,  gave  him  a  vomit,  which  did  not  operate,  and  the  sick- 
ness continued  unabated  for  the  rest  of  that  day.  About  two 
o'clock  next  morning,  his  father  going  to  see  how  he  was, 
found  him,  as  he  thought,  apparently  dead ;  his  whole  body 
was  in  a  state  of  the  most  violent  contraction,  his  hands 
clenched,  his  head  twisted  to  one  side,  and  his  neck  rigidly 
retracted ;  his  visage  pale,  his  eyes  dead  and  fixed,  and  his 
jaws  so  completely  locked  that  it  was  impossible  to  introduce 
any  thing  into  his  mouth  ;  and,  as  his  parents  expressed  them- 
selves, his  whole  body  so  stronglv  stiffened,  that,  when  they 
moved  him,  he  appeared  as  if  he  had  no  joints.  In  this  des- 
perate condition,  he  continued  for  two  or  three  hours,  his  pa- 
rents struggling  in  vain  to  procure  assistance,  as  it  was  the 
middle  of  the  night,  when  a  person  present,  who  had  been 
much  benefited  by  Dr  Wright,  in  different  circumstances, 
requested  that  his  advice  might  be  obtained.  He  was  accord- 
ingly sent  for,  and,  when  the  Doctor  arrived,  the  child  still 
continued  in  the  same  hopeless  state.  He  immediately  or- 
dered a  pail  of  cold  water  to  be  procured.  The  parents  at 
first  opposed  the  use  of  it,  thinking  that  it  would  accelerate 
the  fate  of  their  child.  They  were  at  last  persuaded  to  allow 
it  to  be  tried,  by  the  Doctor  assuring  them  that  it  was  the 
only  chance  the  boy  had  for  life.     The  Doctor  then   dashed 


FEBRILE  AND  SPASMODIC  DISEASES.  421 

cold  water  on  him,  and  afterwards  plunged  him  into  the  pail. 
Tile  effect  was  instantaneous,  and  almost  miraculous :  the 
child  immediately  opened  his  eyes,  the  spasms  relaxed,  and 
he  called  for  a  drink.  From  that  moment  he  continual  1.1- 
pidly  to  recover  ;  the  spasms  now  and  then  recurred,  and 
were  as  often  relieved  by  the  application  of  cold  water.  He 
got  likewise  wine  to  drink,  and  some  mixed  with  his  food. 
In  a  few  days  he  was  restored  to  his  ordinary  health. 


(     422     ) 


DR  WRIGHTS  DIRECTIONS  TO  OFFICERS 
GOING  TO  THE  WEST  INDIES. 

[From  Sir  John  Sinclair's  Code  of  Health,  Appendix,  Page  7.] 


1.  Take  your  passage  in  a  packet ,  a  frigate  of  war,  or  in 
an  armed  ship  with  convoy,  and  let  your  berth  or  cabin  be 
in  a  free  and  well  ventilated  part  of  the  ship.  Transports 
are  often  crowded  with  soldiers,  and  incumbered  with  wo- 
men and  children ;  and  unless  the  most  strict  and  rigorous 
observance  of  cleanliness  is  in  the  persons  as  individuals,  and 
in  the  berths  of  the  men  between  decks,  the  ship  or  jail fever 
will  soon  break  out,  first  amongst  the  troops,  then  the  sea- 
men, and,  lastly,  among  the  officers  themselves. 

%.  If  you  have  not  before  made  a  voyage  any  where,  it  is 
probable  you  would  get  sea-sick,  which,  while  it  lasts,  is  very 
distressing.  I  advise  you  at  all  times  to  sit  in  good  air,  and 
to  be  much  upon  deck  throughout  the  day,  and  frequently  to 
bathe  the  face  in  a  basin  of  cold  salt  water.  After  each  fit 
of  vomiting,  take  a  small  basin  of  tea,  water-gruel,  or  broth. 
Take  sparingly  of  solid  animal  food,  and  abstain  from  spirits 
or  fermented  liquors  for  some  days. 

3.  Here  it  is  proper  to  take  notice,  that  salt  beef  and  pork 
are  drained  of  all  their  nutritive  juices.  Living  on  such  food 
exhausts  the  power  and  action  of  the  stomach,  and  no  proper 
supply  of  chyle  enters  the  circulation.  This,  with  lying  in 
confined  parts  of  the  ship,  never  fails  to  produce  sea-scurvy, 
with  all  its  direful  consequences. 


DIRECTIONS  TO  OFFICKKs.  423 

4.  Costiveness  must  be  prevented  by  attention  to  diet.  Eal 
moderately  of  flesh  meat,  but  with  it  plenty  of  vegetables. 
There  is  not  a  better  nor  more  wholesome  mess  at  sea  than 
pease  soup,  when  seasoned  with  onions  or  eelery-seed ;  exer- 
cise upon  deck  is  conducive  to  health  in  general ;  it  strengthens 
the  stomach  and  bowels ;  it  promotes  digestion,  and  enables 
every  organ  to  perform  its  functions.  Some  mild  laxative 
medicine  may  be  taken  now  and  then,  as  the  aloetic  pill  of 
the  shops. 

5.  While  at  sea,  make  a  hearty  breakfast  of  tea  or  coffee, 
with  plenty  of  biscuit  and  butter.  The  same  at  five  or  six 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Take  nothing  between  breakfast 
and  dinner,  nor  be  prevailed  on  to  partake  of  the  meridian 
bowl.  This  palls  the  appetite,  weakens  the  stomach,  and  oc- 
casions a  confusion  in  the  head. 

6.  Care  must  be  taken  that  the  live  stock  be  regularly  fed 
and  kept  clean,  otherwise  they  will  soon  be  in  a  diseased  state, 
and  die  ;  or,  if  killed,  not  fit  to  be  brought  to  the  table. 

7.  Dinner,  when  on  board  of  ship,  or  on  shore,  should 
consist  of  a  due  proportion  of  animal  food  and  vegetables ; 
no  rich  sauces,  or  highly  seasoned  food.  Eat  moderately, 
and  always  rise  from  the  table  with  an  a/ppetite. 

8.  During  dinner,  take  a  glass  of  water,  or  good  brisk 
small-beer.  The  absurd  practice  of  drinking  several  glasses 
of  wine,  while  eating,  should  be  abolished  :  Three  glasses  of 
wine  after  dinner  may  be  taken,  or  a  draught  of  porter  or 
ale ;  but  a  mixture  of  liquors  never  fails  to  disorder  the  sto- 
mach and  head. 

9.  Supper.  A  slice  of  cold  meat,  and  a  draught  of  porter. 
Go  to  bed  soon,  and  rise  early.  Wash  your  face  and  hands 
in  cold  salt  water. 

A  person  who  observes  temperance,  sleeps  sound,  rises  re- 
freshed, and  is  fit  for  any  exertions  of  body  and  mind  through- 
out the  day.  But  the  intemperate  and  luxurious  are  soon 
fatigued  and  debilitated  ;  they  are  unfit  for  labour  or  exer. 


424  DIRECTIONS  TO  OFFICERS 

tion  ;   they  become  peevish  and  fractious  in  their  tempers  ;  a 
burthen  to  themselves,  and  a  curse  to  all  around  them. 

10.  On  landing,  keep  out  of  the  heat  of  the  sun  ;  or,  when 
out  of  doors,  wear  an  umbrella.  For  some  time,  walk  at 
leisure,  and  use  no  violent  exercise  in  the  heat  of  the  day- 
When  a  man  is  fatigued,  sickness  is  at  hand.  In  other 
words,  he  is  liable  to  a  remitting  fever  ;  to  receive  contagion 
from  human  subjects,  or  from  marsh  miasma  of  salt  marshy 
grounds  by  the  sea. 

11.  As  forts  and  garrisons  in  the  West  Indies,  are  on  the 
low  lands  by  the  sea,  they  are  generally  unhealthy.  If  you 
have  a  choice,  take  a  house  on  a  rising  ground,  remote  from 
swamps,  and  well  clothed  with  timber  trees,  and  succulent 
plants. 

12.  Hiding  is  a  healthy  exercise,  especially  before  break- 
fast :  and  sea-bathing  is  salutary,  but  remember  never  to 
bathe  tchen  you  perspire,  or  zvhen  cold ;  and  you  ought  not 
stay  above  one  minute  in  the  water  at  a  time. 

13.  If  at  any  time  you  are  caught  in  a  shower,  keep  in 
motion  until  you  get  to  your  own  house,  or  that  of  a  friend. 
Then  get  a  complete  shift  of  clothes  to  hand  ;  alter  stripping, 
let  your  skin  be  well  wiped  with  a  dry  towel :  I  by  no  means 
approve  of  rubbing  the  body  with  rum,  as  by  it  the  pores 
are  constricted,  and  a  fever  may  be  the  consequence.  The 
best  cordial,  in  this  case,  is  a  warm  basin  of  tea,  coffee,  cho- 
colate, or  broth,  according  to  the  time  of  the  dav-  As  vou 
value  your  life,  abstain  from  warm  toddy,  punch,  or  negus, 
unless  this  last  is  very  weak. 

14.  There  are  a  number  of  excellent  fruits  in  all  the  islands  ; 
take  care  they  are  full  ripe  ;  and  eat  a  little  of  them  at  a 
time,  in  the  morning  or  afternoon. 

15.  Strangers  are  much  tormented  with  mosquitoes,  but, 
after  a  while,  pay  no  attention  to  them.  Be  sure  to  draw 
down  the  mosquito-net  close   all  around,  and  brush  well  in- 


GOING  TO  THE  WEST  INDIES.  425 

side  with  a  large  towel,  to  kill  such  mosquitoes  us  may  still 
be  there. 

J  6'.  Chigres — a  speeies  of  flea  that  burrows  into  the  feet 
and  toes ;  at  first  they  occasion  an  itching,  and  then  a  little 
red  lump,  which  becomes  painful.  A  Negro  is  the  best  hand 
to  pick   them  out ;  and  a  little   snuff'  may  be  put  into  the 

cavity. 

17.  In  a  well  regulated  regimental  mess,  no  one  sits  long 
after  dinner  ;  his  duty  will  not  admit  of  it ;  he  is  either  on 
guard,  or  at  the  evening  paivade.  An  officer  need  never  want 
amusement  or  exercise ;  in  his  quarters  he  may  have  books, 
musical  instruments,  or  employ  himself  in  drawing ;  and  if  he 
has  a  turn  for  natural  history,  so  much  the  better, — he  will 
find  ample  subjects  for  his  purpose ;  in  all  the  islands  the 
scenery  is  new  and  beautiful,  often  magnificent  and  grand  *. 

It  may  be  proper  to  add  two  receipts,  one  for  preserving 
cream  for  several  weeks  or  months,  and  the  other  for  making 
egg-tea,  both  of  which  may  be  useful  in  sea  voyages. 

Mode  of  preserving  Cream  for  several  weeks  or  numtfis,  par 
ticularly  calculated  for  Sea  Vogages. 

Take  12  ounces  of  white  sugar,  and  dissolve  it  in  some 
ounces  of  water,  over  a  moderate  fire.  After  the  sugar  is 
dissolved,  boil  it  for  about  two  minutes  in  an  earthen  vessel ; 
after  which,  add,  immediately,  12  ounces  of  fresh  cream,  and 
mix  the  whole  uniformly  over  the  fire ;  then  suffer  it  to  cool, 
pour  it  into  a  quart  bottle,  and  cork  carefully.  Keep  it  in  a 
cool  place,  and  it  will  continue  fit  for  use  for  several  weeks, 
or  even  months. 

*  Great  colds  succeeding  great  heats,  are  productive  of  diseases ;  even 
cold  nights  after  hot  days.  Many  of  the  acute  diseases  of  Europeans  in 
hot  countries,  are  occasioned  by  their  exposing  themselves  incautiously  to 
the  serene  or  nightly  dew.— A rbuthnot  on  Ah. 


426  DIRECTIONS  TO  OFFICERS. 


Mode  of  Making  Egg  Tea. 

It  is  well  known  how  difficult  it  is  to  procure  cream,  or 
even  milk,  at  sea,  for  making  tea ;  but  eggs,  which  may  be 
preserved  in  a  fresh  state,  by  being  buttered,  or  put  up  in 
salt,  form  a  most  excellent  substitute.  The  mode  of  using- 
an  egg  is  this.  Put  in  the  whole  egg,  yolk  and  all,  in  a  raw 
state,  into  a  bowl,  and  unite  the  whole  thoroughly,  by  working 
it  together  with  a  table-spoon ;  then  pour  in  the  tea  gra- 
dually from  a  tea-pot,  constantly  stirring  the  mixture,  so  as 
to  make  it  one  uniform  and  homogeneous  mass.  It  is  hardly 
possible  to  distinguish  this  mixture,  when  properly  prepared, 
from  tea  and  rich  cream.  It  is  a  very  nourishing  substance 
also,  and  may,  with  that  view,  be  recommended  to  invalids 
on  shore.  An  egg  thus  prepared,  may  likewise  answer  for 
coffee. 


(      427     ) 

INSTRUCTIONS 

I'RKPARED   BY  I)H   WRIGHT, 

FOR  A  PERSON    ABOUT  TO  SAIL  FOR  THE 
EAST  INDIES  AND  CHINA. 


1.  Mark  the  thermometer  daily  during  the  whole  voyage, 
especially  in  passing  and  repassing  the  Line,  for  at  least  15 
degrees. 

2.  Preserve  any  birds  that  may  be  shot  in  the  voyage, 
particularly  any  land-birds  that  may  come  on  board. 

3.  Preserve  flying-fish  by  drying ;  also  the  heads,  jaws 
and  teeth  of  any  large  fishes  caught  in  the  voyage. 

4.  Take  up,  by  the  bucket,  any  sea-weeds  on  the  surface 
of  the  sea.  Amongst  these  are  often  found  cancers,  asterias, 
shells,  &c.  which  should  be  carefully  preserved.  Mark  the 
latitude  and  longitude  where  found. 

5.  Mark  the  latitude  where  you  first  see  the  tropic  bird, 
the  albitross,  the  Cape  petrel,  and  other  birds  which  inhabit 
particular  tracts  of  the  ocean. 

6.  Preserve  carefully  in  spirits,  medusae,  cancers,  or  other 
sea  animals,  or  animalcula?,  that  are  luminous  in  the  dark,  and 
the  latitudes  where  found. 

7.  Wherever  the  sea  is  discoloured,  endeavour  to  ascer- 
tain the  cause  of  it,  by  examining  the  water,  and  the  animal- 
cula? found  in  it. 

8.  Preserve  whatever  plants  you  find  in  fructification.  The 
plants  in  most  request  are  those  of  the  class  Cryptogamia, 
being  also  the  easiest,  viz.  all  the  fern  tribe,  lichens,  and  mus- 


428  INSTRUCTIONS. 

ci,  whether  on  the  ground,  trees,  rocks,  or  stones,  or  in  wa- 
ter. All  kinds  of  submarine  plants,  or  corallines,  whether 
growing  in  shallow  water  beds,  on  rocks,  or  thrown  ashore  by 
the  tide. 

9.  Omit  no  opportunity  of  preserving  all  birds,  fishes,  or 
singular  quadrupeds  that  may  come  in  your  way. 

10.  Also  the  different  serpents,  lizards,  or  frogs;  toads, 
which  require  to  be  put  in  spirits ;  a  specimen  of  the  Cobro 
de  cappella,  or  hooded  snake,  wanted. 

11.  Provide  yourself  with  fly-flappers,  pins,  and  proper 
boxes  or  drawers,  for  putting  up  insects.  Preserve,  also,  as 
many  of  the  butterflies,  moths,  and  libellulas,  as  you  can,  in 
books,  which  is  the  best  way  of  preserving  them. 

12.  Take  care  to  get  ashore  at  every  place  you  touch  at ; 
collect  shells,  corals,  corallines,  sponges,  sea-weeds,  &c.  Pur- 
chase, also,  shells  or  corals  from  the  natives. 


FOSSILS. 

13.  Gather  specimens  of  all  remarkable  stones,  on  the 
shore,  and  especially  of  all  the  fixed  rocks. 

14.  Inquire  what  is  to  be  sold  in  the  lapidaries1  shops  in 
Canton  or  China,  where  you  will  find  great  varieties  of  chal- 
cedonies, cornelians,  mocho  stones,  &c. 

15.  Procure  two  specimens  of  tourmaline  from  Ceylon. 

16.  Procure  at  Canton  any  of  the  stones  or  earths  used  in 
the  manufacture  of  porcelain. 

ADDITIONS. 

17.  Procure  at  Canton  a  specimen  or  two  of  the  Phasianus 
Jrgus,  Lin.  or  Luen  Pheasant. 

18.  Wherever  you  have  access  to  springs,  take  the  heat  of 
them  accurately,  by  the  thermometer  in  the  shade. 


INSTRUCTIONS.  429 

19.  Purchase  at  Canton  such  drawings  of  plants  as  are 
clone  after  nature. 

20.  Write  as  exact  an  account  as  you  can  of  the  monsoons, 
and  of  every  thing  respecting  the  productions  of  China. 

21.  Obtain  good  samples  of  native  borax,  saltpetre,  cam- 
phor, or  gum  lac,  or  other  articles  of  materia  medica. 


(     430     ) 


DIRECTIONS 


REGARDING 


TROOPS  EMBARKED  FOR  FOREIGN  SERVICE. 


A  ton  and  three  quarters  to  each  man  is  the  least  propor- 
tion which  ought  to  be  allowed  for  a  voyage  of  a  month  ;  but 
if  longer,  and  to  a  warm  climate,  two  tons,  or  two  tons  and 
three-quarters,  ought  to  be  given. 

The  greatest  care  must  be  taken  to  keep  every  part  of  the 
ship  sweet  and  clean  below,  by  scraping,  washing  and  sweep- 
ing the  berths,  as  well  as  by  ventilators. 

The  hammocks  should  be  daily  carried  on  deck  in  dry 
weather. 

Fumigations  should  often  be  made  with  pitch,  tar,  &c. 

The  decks  should  be  washed  in  the  morning  only. 

The  troops  should  be  mustered  on  deck  three  or  four  times 
every  day  ;  and  women  and  children  should  be  kept  on  deck 
most  part  of  the  day,  that  the  air  may  sweeten  their  berths 
below. 

The  men  should  walk  much  about ;  and  amusements  should 
be  devised  for  them,  to  induce  them  to  take  exercise. 

Diet. — Fresh  meat  should  be  allowed  every  day  to  troops 
on  board  of  transports.  Beef  and  pork,  alternately,  once  or 
twice  a  week ;  other  articles  in  greater  proportion. 

As  the  ships  enter  into  a  hot  climate,  the  diet  should  be 
varied  from  animal  to  vegetable  food,  with  subacid  fruits. 


DIRECTIONS.  431 

Sobriety  ought  to  be  in  forced  by  severe  discipline. 

Barracks  serve  many  good  purposes.  The  men  ban  t>* 
more  regularly  messed,  their  diet  and  persons  more  easily  in- 
spected, and  spiritous  liquors  more  perfectly  restrained. 
They  ought  to  be  built  on  rising  grounds,  at  a  distance  from 
marshes.  The  ceilings  should  be  lofty,  and  the  rooms  well 
ventilated. 

Military  Hospitals. — The  director  should  be  a  physician, 
with  power  from  the  commander-in-chief  to  form  a  well-di- 
gested plan  for  its  management^  by  a  medical  board,  com- 
posed of  a  physician-general,  surgeon-general,  a  principal  sur- 
geon, and  purveyor. 


INDEX. 


(     4,33     ) 


INDEX 


PERSONS,  PLACES,  AND  MATTERS  REFERRED  TO. 


Abercrombie,  Sir  Ralph,  95, 90,  99, 

104-106,  108,  11!,  137- 
Abernethy,  Mr,  156. 
Acosta,  Josephus,  316. 
Aiton,  Mr,  of  Kew,  44. 
Alison,  Rev.  Archibald,  89. 
Alston,  Dr,  234. 

Aberdeen,  114. 
Africa,  399. 
Algarve,  61. 
Alresford,  66. 
Ambovna,  245. 
America,  399. 
Andalusia,  55. 
Antilles,  13,  17- 
Arcos,  55,  56,  58,  60. 

Abrus  precatorius,  213,  223,  293. 
— —  melanosperma,  293. 
Abortion,  300. 
Achania  malvaviscus,  289. 
Achras  sapota,  278,  279. 
Achyranthes  altissima,  257. 
Acids  and  salt,  115,  134,  203,  322- 

327,  380. 
Acidulated  drinks,  393. 
Acute  diseases,  368-382. 
Affusion  of  cold  water,  27,  38,  40, 

41,  109,  113,  117,  140,  166,  167- 


African  millet,  249. 

slave  trade,  14,  15,  16. 

Agave  Americana,  264. 

Agriculture,  Board  of,  154,  316. 

Ague,  355,  384,  385,  386. 

Albatross,  427. 

Alcohol,  123,  124. 

Alimentary  canal,  370,  376,  380, 

384,  389. 
Alkali,  322,  323,  355. 
Alligator  apple,  187. 

bark,  207,  266. 

pear,  222. 

Allspice,  22. 

Aloe,  American,  264. 

perfoliata,  sempervivum,  184. 

spicata,  185. 

Aloes  hepatic,  cabaline,  Barbadoes, 
184. 

succotrine,  185. 

Aloetics,  387,  423. 
Alpinia  racemosa,  185. 
Alteratives,  305,  412. 
Amalago,  229. 
Amaranthus,  406. 

sanguineus,  298. 

spinoaus,  299. 

viridis,  298. 

Ambrosia  elatior,  296. 
American  field-basil,  247. 

hog-weed,  246. 

E  e 


434 


INDEX. 


American  medical  museum,  128. 

phil.  societies,  SI,  34,  74, 

201,  322,  380. 

war,  20. 

Amomum  zerumbet,  185. 

zinziber,  185. 

Amyris  balsamifera,  186. 

Anaeardium  oceidentale,  18G. 

Analysis  of  water,  1 26. 

Anasarca,  35G. 

Andropogon  littorale,  187- 

Anecdote,  juvenile,  2. 

Ani  constrictor,  329. 

Animalcula,  427. 

Animal  food,  422,  423. 

Annals  of  medicine,  383. 

Annona  muricata,  squamosa,  reti- 
culata, palustris,  187. 

Anodynes,  228. 

Anthelminthics,  210,  212,  237,  301, 
361. 

Antidesma  alexitaria,  304. 

Antidotes,  199,  211,  259,  262,  295, 
305. 

Antigua  senna,  270. 

Antimonials,  92,  140, 273,  297,  326, 
345,  357,  370,  375-380,  385,  392, 
395. 

Antiseptics,  201,  202,  203,  214, 
229,  304,  322-327,  359,  412. 

Anxiety,  393. 
Aphthae,  374. 
Appetite,  393. 

Apple,  custard,  water  or  alligator, 
187- 

love,  260. 

mammee,  280. 

star,  255. 

thorn,  253. 

wild  silver  star,  260. 

Apprenticeship  of  I)r  Wright,  3. 
Arachis  hypogea,  189. 
Argemone  Mexicana,  189. 


Aristolochia  triloba,   odoratissima, 

con  tray  erva,  189. 
Army  medical  board,  98,  109,  112. 
Arnotta,  240. 

bush,  192. 

Aromatics,  194,  195,  247,  387. 
Arrack,  242. 
Arrowroot,  224. 
Artemisiae  similis,  296. 
Arum  arborescens.  192. 

colocasia,  sagittaefolium,  190, 

407- 

divaricatum,  190. 

esculentum,  406. 

grandifolium,  299. 

macrorhizon,  190. 

Ascites,  195,  357- 
Asclepias  curassavica,  191. 
Ash,  bitter,  381. 
Assafoetida,  334,  337,  387. 
Asterias,  427- 

Asthma,  201,  205. 

Astringents,   215,   226,   230,  265, 

269,  298,  303. 
Atmosphere,  393,  396. 
Autumnal  dysentery,  381. 

B 

Baker,  Sir  George,  87,  89,  95,  96, 

155. 
Baker,  Sir  Frederick,  155. 
Baker,  Dr,  345. 
Baird,  Sir  David,  82. 
Balfour,  Dr  Francis,  414. 

Lieut.  Col,  51,  G7. 

Banks,  Sir  Joseph,  31,  42,  43,  50, 

51,  64,  73,  77,  86,  90,  92,  94,  95, 
130,  138,  156,  157,  176,  183, 
200,  207,  229,  358. 

Barclay,  Dr  John,  152. 

Barham,  Dr,  216,  374. 

Barrere,  93. 

Baxter,  Mr,  of  Odiham,  66, 


1  N  I )  I    v 


435 


Bell,  Johrij  Esq,  '.).'>,  134,  135. 

Berry,  Dr  Andrew,  83. 

Bewcaatle,  Dr,  3:57- 

Black,  Dr,  49,  78,  80,  95,  17':- 

Blagden>  Sir  Charles,  l"»<i,  L57< 

Ulanej  106. 

Boscawen,  Admiral,  11. 

Bowens,  319. 

Braedalbane,  Earl  of,  7- 

Brocklesby,  Dr  Richard,  300. 

Brown,  Dr,  35G,  41!). 

Brown,  Robert,  Es<j.  G9. 

Brown,  Dr  Patrick,  184,  194,  207, 

230,  237,  309. 
15 nice,  Professor,  80. 
Buchan,  Earl  of,  48. 
Burgess,  Dr  Isaiah,  295. 
Burke,  Mr,  330. 
Burns,    Robert,    122,    123,     124, 

131. 
Bute,  Earl  of,  87- 
Butler,  Dr  Pierce,  10,  12,  59. 
Butler,  Miss,  59. 

Bath,  147- 

Barbadoes,  103,  104,  10G,  107, 109, 

203,  398,  400. 
Berbice,  414. 
Bermudas,  343. 
Brest,  13. 
Breslaw,  345. 
Bristol,  72. 

Bounty  Hall  Estate,  328. 
Burgundy,  308. 

Bachelor's  button,  wild,  20 t. 
Balsams,  194,  229,  254,  280. 
Banana,  220. 

bird,  251. 

Banisteria  laurifolia,  271. 
Barbadoes,  cherry,  271. 
Bark,  107,  130,  325,  337,  34G,  3(9, 
376,  389,  391,  392,  393. 


Barley,  bur,  French,  28& 

water,  39ft 

Barracks,  864,  (SI. 

Barton,  the  Bbfp,  109.        •*•  - 
Basil,  American  field,  247. 
Baskets,  212,  257- 
Basket  withe,  -.">7- 
Bastard  cedar,  281,  288. 

hemp  agrimony,  285. 

ipecacuanha,  191. 

sensitive  plant,  271,  294. 

Bath  bark,  200- 
Bathing,  330,  415,  lie. 
Bead-tree,  173,  269. 

vine.  213. 

Bean,  Egyptian;  195. 

tree,  292. 

Beds,  285,  bedding,  392. 

Beech,  sea-side,  358. 

Beef-tea,  39G. 

Beli ens  oil,  235. 

Bellyach,  202,  219,  232,  297,  325. 

bush,  219,  220. 

Bermudas  balsam,  254. 
Berths,  392,  422,  430. 
Bignonia  pentapliylla,  281. 
Bilberry,  Jamaica,  2G9. 
Bile,  377,  38G,  388,  393-390. 
Bilious  fever,  202,  214,  370,  377. 
Birch,  309,  Birch,  Jamaica,  193. 
Birth  of  Dr  Wright,  2. 
Biscuit,  321. 

Bitter-ash,  381. 

bush,  304. 

weed,  2G8. 

wood,  229,  370,  381. 

Bitters,  387- 

Bixa  "ivllana,  192. 

Black  liquorice-vetch,  29.'*. 

vomit,  373,  374,  394,  398: 

Bladder,  201. 

Bleeding,  142,  143,  1*8,  I'M.  1 71. 
213,  279,  29  1.  828,  37  1.37 7.  978, 
407.  e  e  2 


436 


INDEX. 


Bleeding  hearts,  298. 

Blisters,  226,  227,  377,  378,  38(1, 

390,  391,  393. 
Blue  mountains,  221. 

poison  berry,  257. 

vitriol,  351—357,  403. 

Board  of  Agriculture,  154,  310. 
Boerhaavia  erecta  et  diffusa,  240. 
Bombax  pentandrum,  284. 
Bonella,  the  ship,  4. 

Borax,  429. 

Botanic  Garden,  139,  141. 

Botany,  20,  29,  30,  48,  04,  05,  08, 

69,  74,  104,  114,  138,  140,  176, 

183. 
Bottle  cod-root,  195. 
Bougies,  242. 

Bourgogne,  Le,  74,  53,  54. 
Box-bed,  141. 
Brain,  373. 
Brandy,  374 
Braziletto-wood,  209. 
Brazilian  plum,  272. 
Bread,  218,  219,  224,  23G,  241, 
242,  301. 

nut-tree,  301. 

Breakfast  at  sea,  423. 
Breathing,  393. 
Bromelia  ananas,  193. 

pinguin,  193,  203. 

Broom-weed,  281. 

■ white,  common,  291. 

Brosimum  alicastrum,  301. 
Broth,  422,  424. 
Brunsfelsia  americana,  282. 
Buffy  blood,  279,  294. 
Building,  273,  278,  300. 
Bulge-water  tree,  361. 
Bull-baiting,  54. 
Bur,  Guinea  paroquet,  275. 
mallows,  287. 

paroquet,  274. 

spur,  ib. 


Bur,  velvet,  281. 

Burns  and  scalds,  253,  417. 

Bursera  gummifera,  193,  309v 

Butterflies,  428. 

Butyraceous  substances,  222,  245. 


Cadell  and  Davies,  117,  131. 
Cambrea,  Don  Andrea,  58. 
Campbell  of  Barcaldine,  7,  8. 
Campbell,  Dr  Colin,  93. 

Brig.  Gen.  70. 

Canvane,  Dr,  195,  206. 

Carlyle,  Dr,  357- 

Catesby,  309. 

Charles  Edward,  Prince,  2. 

Chardin,  Sir  John,  345. 

Clark,  Dr  James,  372,  374. 

Cleghorn,  Dr,  324,  376. 

Clusius,  316. 

Clue,  Admiral  de  la,  II. 

Collart,  Dr  William,  20. 

Commelin,  309. 

Cornwall's,  Lord,  82. 

Colman,  Mr,  100. 

Crawford,  Dr,  ib. 

Crawford,  Dr  John,  I0£. 

Crichton,  Dr,  94. 

Croix,  De  la,  124. 

Croker,  Captain,  -5>2. 

Crumpe,  123. 

Cudjoe,  Colonel,  266. 

Cullen,  Dr,  49,  401. 

Cumberland,  Duke  of,  2. 

Currie,  Dr  James,  109,  110,  115, 

117,  119, 122-130, 132,137-8,141 

-143,  145, 147,148,  1C2-IC7,  347, 

414,  4-15,  416*417. 
Currie,   W.  Wallace,    Esq.,    111. 

147,  148. 
Cyrillus,  Dr,  345. 

Cadiz,  54,  57- 


[NDEX. 


137 


Canton,  120. 
Cape  Lagos,  11. 

St  Vincent,  ■  <-■ 

Callondcr,  130. 

Campechy,  235. 

Castle  Wemyss  estate,  3VJ. 

Ceylon,  428,  429. 

Chesterfield,  151. 

China,  427,  428,  429. 

Cordova)  GG. 

Cork,  13,  143. 

Crieff,  2,  3, 3G,  46,  4-7, 147,  177,  179- 

Cuba,  238. 

Cuddalore,  81. 

Cabbage-bark  tree,  43,  300. 

tree,  243,  244. 

Cabin,  422. 

Cacao,  239. 

Cachexias,  401. 

Cacoons,  211. 

Caesalpinia  vesicaria,  209. 

Calabash,  200,  211. 

marsh,  281. 

sweet,  228. 

Caliloo,  407. 

cane-piece,  299. 

mountain,  208. 

white,  298. 

Calomel,  92,  100,  105,  100,  130, 
133, 134,  140,  140, 174,  212,  214, 
239,  350,  370,  373,  375-0-7,  379, 
381-2,  385,  389,  390-397,  410. 

Camararia,  199. 

Camocladia  pubescens,  194. 

Camomile,  370,  387- 

Camphor,  133,  222,  370.  386-7, 
390,  393,  398,  4*9. 

Camps,  384. 

Cancer,  230. 

Careers,  426. 

randies,  212. 

Cane,  dumb,  190. 


Canella  alba,  l!)4. 

Canella?  aroniaticae  cortex,  357 

Cane-piece,  198. 

Canoes,  284. 

Cantharidea,  152,  387. 

Cape-  petrel,  427- 

Capparia  cynophallophora,  195. 

Capsicum,  374,  387,  395. 

annuum,  baccatum,£ios- 

sum,  frulescens,  galericulum,  190. 
Capture  of  a  fleet  of  merchantmen. 

53. 
Carduus  benedictus,  189. 
Carica  papaya,  305. 
Carnation,  Spanish,  270. 
Cartel  with  Spain,  60. 
Cartilago  ensiformis,  335,  338. 
Cascarilla,  396-7- 
Cascarilhe  cortex,  90,  207. 
Cashew  tree,  180,  224. 
Cassada,  bitter,  172-3,  218. 

sweet,    172-3,    218,    2 15. 

407. 

Cassia  alata,  198. 

chama.'crista,  198,  200,  295. 

emarginata,  270. 

mimosioides,  271. 

occidentalis,    fistula,     senna, 

italica,  fistularis,  javanica,  horse- 
cassia,  cassia  tree,  197- 

Castor  oil,  230—3,  325,  362,  418. 

nut  tree,  219,  220,  230 

-233,  397- 

Cataplasms,  196,  274. 

Catarrhal  fever,  129,  169. 

Cathartics,  270,  389,  394. 

Caustics,  258. 

Cayenne,  374-5,  398. 

Cayo  caliloo,  253.  40(J. 

Cecropia  peltata,  302. 

Cedar,  bastard,  281,  &8$i 

Ceiba,  218. 

Celery  seed,  423. 


438 


INDEX. 


Cephalalgia  arthritica,  133. 
Cestrum  vespertinum,  257- 
Chalcedony,  428. 
Chalybeates,  387- 
Chamissoa  altissima,  257- 
Changeable  rose,  289. 
Channel  service,  10,  99. 
Character    of   Dr    Wright,    172, 

174-178. 
Chawstick,  214. 
Cherry,  Barbadoes,  271. 
Chigre  bush,  261. 
Chigres,  425. 
Chills,  391. 

China  root,  236,  304,  412. 
Chocolate,  424. 

tree,  239,  210,  276. 

Cholera,  383,  396. 
Chronic  dysentery,  397. 
Chrysobalanus  jeacc,  277. 
Chrysophyllum  cainito,  255. 

oliviforme,  260. 

Chyle,  422. 
Cigars,  211. 
Cinchona  brachycarpa,  90,  200. 

caribboea,  199,  359. 

carribbeana,  359. 

Jamaicensis,  334,  359. 

officinalis,  358. 

Cinnamon  tree  of  Ceylon,  221. 

tea,  396. 

wild,  191,  353. 

Cissauipelos  pareira,  200. 
Cissus  cicyoides,  250,  412. 

trifoliata,  251. 

Citron,  203. 

Citrus  medica,  limonum,  201. 

aurantium  dulcis,  aurantiuin 

amara,    decumana,    bergainotte, 

citrullus,  203. 
Cleanliness,    346,    371,    390,   392, 

422,  430. 
Cleome  pentaphylla,  253,  406. 


Cleome  triphylla,  283. 
Clinopodium  rugosum,  204. 
Cloth,  266. 
Clutia  eluteria,  207. 
Clysters,  246,  378. 
Cobro  de  capella,  428. 
Coccoloba  uvifera,  265. 
Cockroach  poison,  252. 
Cocoa,  276. 

plum,  277. 

nut,  242. 

Cocoes,  parasitical,  190. 

white,  black,  190,  407. 

Cocos  nucifera,  Guineensis,  242,  243 

butyracea,  243. 

Ccenocarpus  erecta,  255. 
Coffea  Arabica,  204. 
Coffee,  424. 

tree,  204. 

Cold  bath,  330,  392,  395,  416,  422. 

Colic,  314. 

Colombo  powder,  396. 

Colon,  380. 

Colours  of  bis  regiment  preserved 

by  Dr  Wright,  53. 
Columnifera,  217,  224. 
Coma,  386,  391. 
Common  broom-weed,  291. 
Complexion,  202. 
Comocladia  integrifolia,  277. 
Conessi  bark,  94. 
Congestions  in  the  head,  391. 
Const  ipation,  232,  242. 
Consumption,  206,  3/8. 
Contagion,  128,   148,  17 1,  371-2, 

397-8,  424. 
Contorts,  199. 
Con  tray  erva,  412 


radix,  190. 


Convolvulus,  225. 

battalas,  205,  407. 

—  Braziliensis,  205. 

pentapliylhs,  2'8. 


INDEX. 


Convoy,  422. 
Convulsive  diseases,  112. 
Conyza  odorata,  296. 
Cool  drink,  290. 

■  treatment  in  lever,  112,  174, 

199. 
Cooper  withe,  2G5. 
Copper,  355. 
Corals,  428. 
Corallines,  428. 
Corchorus  siliquosus,  281. 
Cordage,  303. 
Cordia  gerascanthus.  254 
Cordials,  194,  221,  326,  386,  390. 
Cornelians,  428. 
Corn,  Guinea,  249. 
Coreopsis  bidens,  297. 
Corrosive  sublimate,  215. 
Costiveness,  393,  423. 
Costus  Arabicus,  185. 
Cotton-bush,  common,  bearded., 
French,  290-1. 

tree,  218. 

silk,  284. 

Coughs,  193,  206,  213. 
Countenance,  39 1. 
Cow  itch,  209. 

vine,  258. 

Cramp,  396. 

Crateva  gynandra,  273. 

Cream,  425. 

Cream   of  tartar,  326,   389,  392, 

397- 
Creoles,  372. 
Crescentia  cucurbitina,  281. 

. .-  cujete,  206. 

Cress,  Indian,  283. 
Crisis  of  acute  diseases,  370. 
Cromwelliana  frambeesia,  404. 
Croton  eleutheria,  94,  207. 
Cryptogamia,  307,  427- 
Cubeso  withe,  190. 

amis  angaria;  colocyhthiS)  30ft 


Cucurbits  Lagenaria,  300. 
Culloden,  the,  1  5. 
Currants,  wild,  27<>. 
Cuprum  ammoniaeum,  9Wt 
Cup-berry  bush,  282. 
Custard  Apple,  187. 
Custards,  :5l!». 
Cutaneous  eruptions,  L93. 

C'valiiea  arboiva,  'M)l- 
Cynanchum  hhlum  2.V.). 
Cynomorium  JamaJcense,  291 
Cynosurus  indicus,  247. 
Cytisus  cajan,  -':).'*. 

1) 
Darwin,  L)r,  124. 
Dawson,  Mr,  365. 
Dennistoun.  Mr  George,  ■-• 
Desmazieres,  M.  155. 
Dimsdale,  Dr,  348. 
Don,  David,  Esq.  270. 
Douglas,  BoswelL,  420. 
Douglas,  Sir  James,  15. 
Drununond,   Dr,    210,   337-   :<7:(. 

374,  :S82. 
Mr,   afterwards  Lord 

Perth,  80,  81. 
Duguid,  Peter,  361. 
Duncan,  Dr,  87- 

Dr  Andrew,  jim.  347- 

Rev.  Henry,  164,  165. 

Rev.  Dr,  164-167- 

Dundas,  Mr,  afterwards  Lord  .M<  I 

ville,  80,  81. 
Dundonald,  Earl  of.  319. 
Duthie,  Captain,  21. 

Demerara,  414. 
Downs,  the,  21. 
Domingo,  St,  103,  173. 
Dominico,  372. 
Dumfries,  122,  131,  )'>.. 
Dunblane,  J  17- 


440 


INDEX. 


Dunira,  147. 
Dunkeld,  155. 

Danae  Frigate,  12,  13. 

Daphne  lagetto,  207,  26G. 

Datura  stramonium,  253. 

Date  plum,  Indian,  266. 

—  tree,  245. 

Death  of  Dr  Wright,  170,  171. 

Definition  of  the  yaws,  401. 

Delirium,  386,  394. 

Detergents,    189,    193,   247,   254, 

296. 
Diabetes,   34,  35,   114,   120,   132, 

134,  201,  324. 
Diagnosis  of  yaws,  405. 
Diaphoretics,   191,   193,  195,  214, 

282,  292,  370,  375,  403. 
Diarrhoea,  189,  209,  226,  233,  313, 

324,  383,  396,  397- 
Diathesis,  369,  370,  376,  377,  380, 

385,  387,  392. 
Diet,  376,  386,  390,  404,  406,  407, 

412,  423,  430. 
Digestion,  423. 
Digitalis,  143,  146. 
Diluents,  299,  325,  377- 
Dimness  of  sight,  393. 
Dinner  at  sea,  423. 
Dioscorea,  407- 

alata,  208. 

bulbifera,  208. 

, sativa  208. 

triphylla,  208. 

Directions  for  officers  going  to  the 

West  Indies,  422-426. 
Discipline,  431. 
Diuretics,  191,  193,  197,  214,  240, 

269,  311,  363. 
Dolichos  pruriens,  209. 
Double  tertians,  375,  388. 
Dover's  powder,  387. 
Down  tree,  285, 


Drawings  of  plants,  429. 

Dreams,  391. 

Dressings,  226,  412. 

Dropsy,    195,  202,  211,  212,  851, 

355,  356,  357,  275,  384,  387- 
Dublin  Frigate,  15. 
Dulcamara,  250. 
Dumb  cane,  190. 
Dutch  grass,  249. 
Dutchman's  laudanum.  228. 
Dyes,  192,  216,  257,  294,  303. 
Dysentery,  134,  139,  189,  209,  223, 

233,    239,    265,    308,    311-313, 

323,   379,   380,   383,   384,  387, 

389,  397- 
Dyspepsia,  378,  3P>7- 

E 

Eason,  Dr  George,  10,  12. 
East,  Hinton,  Esq.  221,  245. 
Edes,  Peter,  127. 
Eliott,  Sir  John,  382. 
Estaign,  Admiral  d',  51. 

East  Indies,  427. 

Edinburgh  University,  3,  25,  26. 

Egypt,  137,  143. 

England,  391, 

East  India  Company's  service.  79, 
Echites  suberecta,  199,  259. 

torulosa,  259. 

umbellata,  258. 

Eddoes,  190,  191. 
Edinburgh  Encyclopaedia,  163, 166, 
167. 

Essays,  361,  371,  400. 

Medical    Commenta- 
ries, 363. 
Education,  views  on,  67. 
Effluvia,  417. 
Eggs,  386. 
Egg  tea,  425,  426 


INDEX. 


1  II 


Egyptian  bean,  195. 
Elder,  peppery,  229. 
Eleutheria,  Croton,  94,  207. 
Elixir  of  vitriol,  386,  8)96. 
Elm,  Spanish,  251. 
Embarkation  at  Leitli,  5. 
Emetics,  189,  219,  220,  32.'»,  349, 

359,  379,  384,  387,  392,  397,  420. 
Emollients,  217,  224. 
Emulsions,  187,  189,  243,  386,  393. 
English  physic  nut,  219,  220,  412. 
Entomology,  26. 
Epilepsy,  303,  355. 
Epidemics,  27,  372,  379. 
Epidendrum  claviculatum,  210. 

vanilla,  210. 

Epitaph,  179. 

Epsom  salts,  239. 

Erysipelas,  376. 

Erythrina  corallodendron,  292. 

Erythroxylon  areolatum,  257. 

Essential  oils,  222. 

Ether,  374,  387. 

Etymology  of  the  term  Yaws,  397. 

Euphorbia   parviflora,   thymifolia, 

hypericifolia,  275. 
Eupatorium  dalea,  211. 
Exacerbations  of  fever,  379,  394, 

414. 
Examinations  at  Surgeons'  Hall, 

4,  6,  12. 
Examination  before  a  Committee 

of  the  House  of  Commons,  15, 

89. 
Exanthemata,  401. 
Exercise,  423,  430. 
Expulsion  from  the  Spanish  terri- 
tory, 61. 


Falconer,  Dr,  LIS,  142. 
Fothergill,   Dr,  43,   64.   115.   W6, 
183,  185,  309,  330,  34?.  317. 


Forbes,  Sir  William,  - 
Fordyce,  Sir  William,  288. 

Franklin,  Dr,  7  5.  ^  „ 

Friar,  Stephen t  351. 

Falkirk,  3,  147. 
Falmouth*  62. 

Jamaica,  356. 

Fort  Royal,  15. 

St  George,  82,  83. 

France,  317. 
Francois,  Cape,  68. 

Farinaceous  substances,  236,  249, 

286,  299. 
Fauces,  388. 

Fences,  263,  264,  265,  268. 
Fermented  liquors ,  422. 
Ferns,  307,  427. 
Fever,  140,   141,    174,   202,   223, 

274,  279,    283,    351,   370,  382, 
383,    391,   407. 

Fever  and  ague,  107, 

continued,  356,  384,  390. 

hospital,  125,  391,  393. 

of  debility,  142. 

weed,  292,  294. 

Fevillea  scandcns,  211, 
Field  Basil,  American,  247. 
— _  sports  in  Spain,  56. 
Filamentous  substances,  261,  374, 

275,  285,  286,  288-292. 
Fingrigo  bush,  264. 
Fire-weed,  253. 
Flatulency,  387. 

Flax,  192. 

Fleet,  mode  of  living  on  board,  10. 

Flora  Scotica,  145. 

Flower-fence,  270. 

Fluor  albus,  314. 

Fluxes,   103,   129,  908,  311,  312, 

323,  383.  386,  117. 
Fly  flapper  •  1  >• 


442 


INDEX. 


Flying  fish,  lit. 

Fomentations,  247,  296,  297,  304, 

390,  412. 
Food,  217,  218,  222,  223,  224,226, 

235,241,  249,  253,  301,  305,  316 

-321,  396. 
Forbidden  fruit,  203. 
Forts,  West  India,  424. 
Foul  air,  397. 
Four  o'clocks,  225- 
Fossil  alkali,  322. 
Fossils,  428. 
Fox  leaf,  296. 

Framboesia,  Thesis  de,  399. 
French  barley  bur,  286. 

honeysuckle,  294. 

physic  nut,  219,  220. 

Revolution,  93. 

Friction,  373,395,  417,  418. 

Fritters,  226. 

Frogs,  428. 

F.  R.  S.  43. 

F.  R.  S.  £.  77. 

Fruit,  396,  424,  431. 

Fuci,  125. 

Fuel,  234. 

Fumigation,  430. 

Fungus  melitensis,  298. 

Fustick  tree,  303. 

G 

Gairdner,  Dr,  347- 

Garthshore,  Dr,  14,  35,  42,  64,  73. 
80,  86,  87,  89,  92,  91,  95,  100, 
101,  105,  10G,  114,115,  124,  130, 
139,  140, 148, 149,  150, 152, 154, 
156-159,  169,  368. 

Garthshore,  W.  Esq.,  M.  P.,  148, 
149. 

Geoffroy,  M.,  201,  322. 

Gerard,  316,  M7- 

Glas,  Dr,  345. 

Gomara,  316. 


Graham,  Gen.,  105. 

Grainger,  Dr,  154,  233,  400. 

Gray,  Dr,  22. 

Grasse,  Admiral  de,  67. 

Gregory,  Dr,  86,  87,  89,  116,  134, 

135,  136, 140, 160,  161,  162,  169, 

170,  171,368,369. 
Grenville,  Sir  Thomas,  316. 

Gambroon,  345. 
George,  Fort  St,  82, 83. 
Geyzer  springs,  78. 
Gibraltar,  12,  59. 
Glasgow,  142. 
Glenorchy,  146. 
Greenland,  4. 
Greenpark  estate,  349. 
Grenada,  14,  56,  107,  371,  398. 
Guadalete,  55,  56. 
Guadiana,  62. 
Guiana,  141,  414. 
Guinea,  371,  399,  400,  401. 

Gall-bladder,  373. 

Gangrene,  380. 

Gargles,  221,  263,  326. 

Garlic  pear,  273. 

Garrisons,  424. 

Geoffraea  inermis,  69,  212,  363. 

■  spinosa,  364. 

Geology,  151. 

Giddiness,  393. 

Ginger,  216. 

wild,  great  wild,  mountain 

wild,  185,  186. 

tea,  385. 

Glysters,  297,  321. 
Gonorrhoea,  211,  268. 
Gossipium,     arboreum,   lursulum. 

barbadense,  290. 
Gouania  domingensis,  214. 
Gourd,  bitter  gourd,  300. 
(J. nit,  132,  193,  295. 


INDEX. 


I  115 


Granadilla,  288,  283. 
Grape,  seaside,  265. 
Grape,  wild,  256. 
Grass,  Dutch,  cutting,  249. 

Guinea,  218. 

Gratuitous  practice,  175. 
Gravel,  193,  265. 
Greek  physicians,  345. 
Greens,  298. 
Gripes,  397. 
Grog,  202. 
Ground  nut,  189. 
Gruel,  371,  385,  396,  422. 
Guaiacum  officinale,  214. 
Guarea  trichilioides,  264. 
Guava  bush,  278. 
Guilandina  bonduc,  209. 
Guinea  corn,  249. 

grass,  247,  248. 

—  paroquet  bur,  275. 

weed,  250. 

wheat,  247. 

Guma,  253, 

Gum  arabic,  217,  353,  357. 

tree,  225. 

Gum  elemi,  194,  309. 

guaiacum,  2 1 5. 

lac,  429. 

Gums,  224-,  280,  28 1. 
Gum  sandarach,  220. 
wood,  220. 

H 

Haen,  M.  de,  314,  345. 
Hawke,  Sir  Edward,  11,  12. 
Heaviside,  Mr,  156. 
Heberden,  Dr,  127- 
Hill,  (Art  of  Gardening),  9ft 

Br,  198. 

Hillary,  Dr,  303,  400,  403. 
Home,  Dr,  142. 

Sir  Evetard,  89,  156,  1;';- 

Hooker,  W,  J.  Esq.  152,  153. 


Hope-.  I).    26,  33,  71.  M-'.  176  806 

:;.'■: 
Hugo,  Walter,  398 

II nine,  Dr,  I'M). 
Hunter,  Mr,  89,  317. 

John,  Esq.  U  1.  178,  880, 

375. 

Rev.  Dr,  129. 

William,  Esq.  176. 

Hutton,  Dr,  176. 

Hampden  estate,  23,  25. 
Hampshire,  66,  73,  99. 
Hanover  parish,  Jamaica,  358. 
Harrowgate,  144,  151. 
Hillsea  Barracks,  52. 
Hispaniola,  67,  372. 
Honduras,  212,  216,  235. 

Hsematoxylum  campechianum,  216 
Haemorrhage,  31 3,  386,  394. 
Hammocks,  392,  430. 
Hampden  packet,  62. 
Hartshorn,  213. 
Headach,  205,  388,  391,  416. 
Heats,  391,  393,  397. 
Hedges,  216. 

Hedysarum  canescens,  292,  294. 
Heliotropium  gnaphaloides,  261. 
Hemp,  192,  218,  271,  275,  285,  286, 
288-202. 

agrimony,  bastard,  285. 

Henweed,  Guinea,  262. 
Hepatitis,  100,  377,  378,  382. 
Herbaria  of  Dr  Wright,  29,  68,  69. 

183,  246-307. 
Herbarium,  Lambertian,  2?s 
Hibiscus  status,  288. 

esculentus,  217,  221,  #80. 

mutabilis,  289. 

moscheutos,  2s" 

sabdaritfa,  290. 

Hiccough,  386,  387,  392. 


-144 


INDEX. 


Hog-plum,  272. 
Hogsheads,  288. 
Hog-weed,  246. 
Holcus  bicolor,  247. 

saccharatus,  249. 

Homine,  242. 
Hooded  snake,  429. 
Hooping  cough,  1 29. 
Hoop  Tree,  173,  269. 
Honeysuckle,  French,  294. 
Hospital  mates,  102. 
Hospitals,  371,  389,  398,  431. 
Hospital  ship  Rub}',  9. 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  79. 
Hura  crepitans,  301. 
Hurricane,  209. 
Husbandry  of  Andalusia,  56. 
Huttonian  Theory,  151. 
Hydrargyri  nitrati  unguentum,  37G. 
Hydrencephalus,  133. 
Hydrocephalus,  129,  132,  416. 
Hydrothorax,  146,  101. 


Innes,  Rev.  Mr,  93. 

Irving,  Patrick,  Esq.  331,  332, 336, 

337. 
Izett,  Mr,  155. 

Iceland,  77,  85,  152. 
India,  143,  203. 
Inver,  155. 
Inverary,  146. 
Islington,  230. 

Impetigines,  401. 
Imprisonment  in  Spain,  54. 
Indian  arrow  root,  224. 

corn,  241. 

cress,  283. 

.  date-plum,  266. 

kale,  406. 

Indigofera  tinctoria,  293. 


Indigo  plant,  293,  294. 
Inflexible,  the,  52. 
Intrepid,  the,  7,  9,  11. 
Influenza,  113,  142,  169. 
Injections,  377,  418. 
Inoculation  of  the  Yaws,  401,  408. 

variolous,  366. 

Insanity,  132. 

Insects,  428. 

Intermittent  fever,  28,   200,  214, 

229,  238,  2/9,  356,  375,383,384, 

387,  393,  414. 
Ipecacuanha,  379,  3G7,  396,  397. 

_  bastard,  191. 

of  Father  Labat,  281. 

white,  258. 

Iresine  celosioides,  268. 
Irish  Hospitality,  13. 
Iron-wood,  257. 
Itch,  251. 


Jacquin,  M.  184,  309. 

Jewel,  William,  415. 

Jussieu,  M.  313. 

Jamaica,  17,  21,  22,  23,  33,  30,  50. 

66-69,  87,  90,  91,  173,  309,  372, 

373,  418. 
James's  St,  23,  27. 

Jail-fever,  9,  104,  368,  383,  391, 

393,  422. 
Jails,  371. 

Jalap,  225,  373,  377,  389. 
Jamaica  bilberry,  269. 

birch,  193. 

mallow,  287. 

pepper,  227. 

Regiment,  or  99th,  51,  71, 

72. 
•  Tumes's  powders  133,  370. 
Jatropha  curcas,  2J!».  407.  H?. 
gossypifolia,  21!). 
0 


IMil    \ 


14. 


Jatropha  ju'nipha,  -218. 

manihot,  218. 

' multilida,  219- 

Jaundice,  201,  202,  375,  377,  :kst, 

'Mil. 
Jan-falling  of  Infants,  90,  91- 
JerusaLun  Thorn,  207. 
Jessamine,  Spanish,  254,  257. 
Jesuits  Bark,  3t,  199,  237,  377- 

Tree,  358. 

John's-bush,  232. 
Joint-wood,  229. 
Journals  of  Practice,  10. 
Journeys  to  London,  70,  90,  113, 

it:),  151 ,  io7- 

K 

Keith,  Sir  Basil,  33. 

Kenyon,  Lord,  97,  116,  125,  127. 

Kirk,  Thomas,  40,  341. 

Kirkland,  Dr,  376. 

Kirwan,  Mr,  95. 

Kenmore,  145. 

Kew  Gardens,  31,  44,  73,  205,  230. 

Killin,  145,  146. 

Kilsyth,  317. 

Kingston,  Jamaica,  22. 

Kinnaird,  155. 

Kale,  Indian,  406. 
Kali  acetatum,  387. 
Kidneys,  201. 


Lat>at,  Father,  281. 

Lambert,  A.  B.  Esq.  138. 

Lane,  Mr,  317. 

Latham,  Dr,  125. 

Lightfoot,  145. 

Lind,  Dr,  41,   100,  106,  128,   176, 

229,    313,    32:».    331,    375,   376, 

381,  414. 


Lindsay,  Mr,*  89  90    500    ISF6 
Lining,  Dr,  371. 

Linnseus,  189,  194,  308,  309,  M\ 
Lysoas,  Dr,  S7ft 

Ligos,  Cape,  1 1  • 

Lancashire,  317. 

Leeds,  1 14. 

Leeward  Islands,  37-- 

Leith,  5,  60. 

Lisbon,  61. 

Liverpool,  37,  42,  109,   113,   Itf 

126,  137,  li*,  343,  354. 
Lochearnhead,  140- 
Loch  Lomond,  145,  150. 
London,  6,  17,  20,  51,  63,  06. 
Lucia,  St,  14,  103,  107. 
Luss,  150. 

Lace-bark,  2J7- 
Loetia  apetala,  220. 
Lambertian  herbarium,  2  Jo- 
Lantana  aculeata,  gamara,  invotu- 

crata,  221. 
Lapidaries,  428. 
Lassitude,  391. 
Latitude,  427. 

Laudanum,   352,  356,    375,   279, 
390,  419. 

Dutchman's  228. 

Laurus  eamphora,  222. 

cinnamomum,  221. 

persea,  222,  223. 

sassafras,  222. 

Lavatio  tiigida,  369. 
Lavender,  sea-side,  261, 
Laxatives,  377,  378,381,392,  39.i, 

423. 
Lemons.  201. 
Lemon-juice,  322. 
Lepidium  virginicum,  233. 
Lepra,  401. 
Leucophlegmatia,  195. 


446 


1XDEX. 


Levant  frigate.  15,  17,  20. 
I.ibellukv.  488. 
Lichens,  427. 

Lignum  vita?,  214,  233. 
Limes,  201. 
Lime-juice,  105,  322. 
Liquorice  vetch,  black,  293. 

wild.  213. 

Liver,  187,  214,  373, 375,  377, 382. 

scirrhous,  354. 

Live  stock  at  sea,  423. 

Lizards,  428. 

Local  inflammation,  407. 

injury,  420. 

Locked  jaw,  41,  90,  91,  120.  330- 

339,  419. 
Locust  tree,  272. 
Logwood,  216. 

London  College  of  Physicians,  96, 
113,  116,  118,365. 

medical  board,  398. 

medical  journal,   41,   201, 

351,  355,  368,  380. 

—  medical  society,  41,  44,  45 

330,  342,  347,  351. 
Longitude,  42". 
Love  apple,  260. 
Lubricants,  217. 
Luen  pheasant,  428. 
Lues,  208,  211,  215,  236,  282. 
Lungs,  373. 
Lying-in  ward,  91. 
Lymphatics,  409. 

M 

Mackenzie,  Sir  George,  153. 
Macgregor,  Sir  James,  112,  143. 
Macknight,  Rev.  Thomas,  152. 
Maclaurin,  John,  356. 
Macneill,  Dr,  112. 
Macpherson,  Dr,  400. 
Aracvean,  F.ff'y,  25. 
Malone,  Mr.  54,  61. 


Marshall,  Captain,  245. 

Marien,  M.  54,  69. 

Martin,  Sir  Henry,  12,  22,  93. 

Col.  233. 

Melville,  Lord  Viscount,  147. 
Meiningen,  Prince,  11. 
Mercer,  Thomas,  37,  351. 
Mitchell,  Dr  John,  115,  417- 
Milman,  106. 
Monboddo,  Lord,  122. 
Monkton,  Gen.  52. 
Monro,  Dr  George,  14,  49,  86,  87, 
90,  133. 

Dr  D.  313. 

Morgan,  Dr  John,  322. 
Mowat,  George,  355. 
Murray,  Sir  Patrick,  154. 
Dr,  151,  309. 

Madeira,  21,  62,  351. 
Madras,  79. 
Manchester,  113,  144. 
Manchioneel,  parish,  200. 
Maria,  Santa,  54. 
Martha  Brae,  340,  35^. 
Martinique,  13,  14,  105. 
Mediterranean,  11. 
Moffat,  144. 
Montego  Bay,  37,  343. 
Mably,  216. 
Mackaw  bush,  252. 

tree,  243. 

Mafootoo  withe,  305. 
Magnesia,  3S6,  3C8. 
Mahoe  red,  289! 

tree,  288. 

Mahogany,  237. 
Maiden  plum.  27  7. 
Maise,  241. 
Malabathrum,  195. 
Malachra  capitata.  288. 
Malignant  fever.  38.  342;  393.  398. 
417. 


INDEX. 


i  \: 


Mallow  bur,  88 

Jamaica,  287. 

. pond,  986; 

Malpigfaia  cxassifblia,  '212. 

punicifblia,  871. 

Malvaceae,  883. 
Malva  spic-ta  881, 
Maun nea  Americana,  280. 
Mammee  apple  tree,  '^^(»- 
Mangrove  troe,  273. 
Mania  ruriosa,  133. 
Manna,  388,  8*8. 
Maranta  arundinacea,  824. 
Marine  salt,  388-387. 
Marmalade,  873,  878. 
Maroon    or    Mountain     N> 

808,  848. 
Marsh  calabash,  281. 

mallow,  88 I. 

miasmata,  375,   3J6,    339, 

384,  396,  397,  417,  424 
Marshes,  431. 

Master  yaw,  402. 
Mastic,  yellow,  191. 
Materia  medico,  429. 
Measles,  413. 
Mechoacanna,  885. 

Meconium,  328. 

Medendi,  ratio,  of  yaws,  410. 

Medical  commentaries,  322,  328. 

communications,  374. 

facts     and     observations, 

368,  381. 

journal,  41,  183. 

observations  and  inquiries, 

330. 

practice  in  America,  128. 

_____ Jamaica,    23, 

25,  32,  33. 

___ Spain,  57,  67. 


pn  ship-board,  103. 

reports,  lit,  112,  117, 
118,  119,  148,  143.  145, 
it:.  14& 


Medi<  nut.    IAS. 

Mciliciii.il  plant,  "i  Jamaica,  18_— 

« 
Medut  e,  k_1 
Melaena,  !  0 
Me_ -toma  prasioa,  27ft 

velutino.  II 

Molia  Bempervij 
Melochia  bomentosa^  ■_'.•;•'». 
Mercurials,  107,  lid,  LT4, 10f 

875,  138,390,  874*318, 

387,  385,  412. 
Mesenteric  glands,  375. 
Mesentery,  sciirhous,  :>.M. 
Mezercon,  207. 
Milk  diet,  L39,  ill-.  386. 

shrub.  854. 

Millet,  818. 

African,  249. 

Mimosa,  306. 

scandens,  303. 

tortuosa,  nilotica,  Senegal, 

piulica.  225. 
Mirabilis  jalapa,  225. 
Mitchell's  theory  of  contagion,  188 
Misletoe,  303. 

black-berried,  3(13. 

Mixture  of  liquors,  423. 

Mocho  stones,  128. 

Moisture,  397. 

Momordica  charantia,  301. 

Monsoons,  429. 

Moon,  changes  of,  414. 

Morant  transport,  52,  53,  i>9. 

Morasses,  381. 

Mortality  in  the  West  Indies.  107 

IDS. 
Morus  tinctoria,  303. 
Mosquitoes,  42 l. 
Mosquito  shore,  212. 
Mountain  caliloo,  268. 
Mudlaginous  subatnni 

286.  319.  361. 


448 


INDEX. 


Mulberry,  30*. 

Murjo,  304.. 

Musa  paradisiaca,  220. 

sapient  urn,  220,  I07. 

troglodytarum,  220. 

Musci,  427. 

Museum,  Edinburgh,  26. 

Musk,  387. 

seed  289. 

wood,  264. 

Muster,  430. 
Myrtus  pimento,  226. 

N 
Naples,  345. 
New  York,  417. 
Norembega,  310. 

Narcotics,  253,  302. 

Narrative  of  an    experiment  in 
fever,  38-40. 

Naseberry  tree,  278,  279. 

Natron  vitriolatum,  389,  392,  397. 

Natural  History,  26,  49,  104,  114, 
153,  175,  170. 

Society,  77. 

Nausea,  388,  391. 
Navium,  typhus,  391. 
Navy,  9-19. 

Surgeons,  154. 

Needle-weed,  Spanish,  297. 
Negroes,   14-16,  23,  24,  29,  172, 

173. 
Negro  peppers,  196. 
Negus,  424. 
Nerium,  199. 

antidysentericum,  94. 

(Wrightia),  zeylanicum, 

oleander,  70. 
Nervous  affections,  205. 

fever,  308,  391. 

Nets,  280. 
Nettle-rush,  169. 


Nicar-tree,  269. 

Nightshade,  318. 

large,   lesser,   small, 

blue,  259. 
Nilotica,  225. 
Nitre,  378. 

Nitrosum  acetum,  105. 
Nodes,  215. 

North  British  Staff',  95. 
Nosologic    Methodicae    synopsis, 

411. 
Nunneries  of  Arcos,  60. 
Nurses,  372. 


O 
Oliver,  Dr  B.  Lynde,  134. 

Odiham,  06. 

Orangehill,  Trelawny,  29, 68,  209. 

Oats,  wild,  248. 

Obstructions,  female,  206,  300. 

of  the  rectum,  328. 

Ochroma  lagopus,  285. 

Oedematous  swellings,  191. 

Officers,  422. 

Oils,  243,  245. 
essential,  222. 

Oil-seed  plant,  235. 
Okra,  217,  224,  406. 

wild,  289. 

Olive-oil  manufacture,  56. 
Olla,  217. 
Onions,  423. 
Openanch,  310. 
Operation  on  the  rectum,  328 
Opiates,  213,  228-9,  237, 311, 338  9, 
349,  370,  375-6,  379,  380,  385, 
396-7. 
Opium,  107, 122, 124,  212,  357,373, 

387,  390-1,  396. 
Opisthotonos,  330. 


IN!)  E  X . 


I  W 


Ophthalmia,  197,  847, 

Orangeate,  804 

Oranges,  sweet.    Seville,    208-8, 

412. 
Ornithology,   '•■ 

P 

Palmer,  Honourable  John,  :i:*2. 

Patterson,  Dr.  225. 

Pattison  (on  sea-scurvy),  105, 

Pearson,  Dr.  86,  126, 

Pennant,  1 1">. 

Penrose,  130. 

Penny,  357. 

Pepys,  Sir  Lucas,  98,  116,  125. 

Perkins,  Dr.  134. 

Peterkin,  Mr.  340. 

Alexander,  34 1 . 

Pitcairn,  Dr  W.  43,  230. 
Porchartrain,  M.  de,  308. 
Pratten,  Captain,  10,  11. 
Prentice,  Thomas,  317. 
Pringle,  Sir  John,  43,  154,  313. 
Pulteney,  Dr.  90,  139,  176. 

Passado,  54. 

Perth  Academy,  64. 

Philadelphia,  34,  371-2. 

Plymouth,  9,  14. 

Pbndicherry,  84. 

Portsmouth,  7,  9,  11,  51-2,  67,  !)9. 

Port  Royal,  14,  72 

Portugal,  61. 

Packet,  422. 

Palma  Christi,  230-3. 

Palmse,  242. 

oleum,  243. 

Pancakes,  227. 

Panicum  amiliaceum,  polygamum, 

248. 
Papas,  Pape,  316. 
Papaw  tree,  305. 


Paper,  844,  846. 
Papillae  of  the  tongue    IW 
Papyrus,  2 1 1. 
Pareira  brava,  800, 
Parkinaonia  aculeata,  867 
Parole,  effect  of. 
Paroquet  bur.  27  i. 

Guinea, 

Paroxysms  of  fever,  114. 
Parsley,  wild,  896. 
Parthenium  bysterophorum,  29t>. 
Partnership  with   Dr  Steel,  22-3. 

37- 
Passiflora   hexangularis,   malifor- 

mis,  Iaurifolia,  rubra.  22s. 

quadrangularis,  2s3. 

suberosa,  perfoliata,  884. 

Passing  the  Line,  427. 
Paulinia  pinnata,  267. 
Pavonia  spmifex,  2«7. 
Pea,  281   . 
Peace  of  Paris,  17. 
Pear,  Alligator,  222. 

garlic,  273. 

Pease  soup,  423. 

Pepper,  black  and  long,  229,  230. 

cockspur,   cherry,   gourd, 

bird,  hen,  bonnet,  196. 
,_   grass,  283. 

Jamaica,  227. 

■  lesser,  long,  crooked  long, 

247. 

medicine,   374,  386,  387, 

398. 

pot,  217. 

Peppermint,  386-389,  396. 
Peppery  elders,  229. 
Perfumes,  210,  211. 
Peripneumony,  213,  378,  379. 
Peruvian  bark.  199,  214,  375,  3.7, 

381,  385,  397. 
Pestilential  fever,  391- 
Petechia',  374. 

Ff 


450 


INDEX. 


Petiveria  alliacea,  262. 
Pharmacopseia  Edinensis,  i',5.  I?4, 
Pharus  latifolius,  218. 
Phasianus  argus,  428. 
Phases  of  the  moon,  414. 
Philosophical  magazine,  128. 

— transactions,  43,  358, 

360. 

society,  49,  310. 

Phthisis  pulmonalis,  355,  378. 
Phoenix  dactylifera,  245. 
Phvsalis  pruinosa,  260. 
Physician -General  of  Jamaica,  71. 
Physicians,  Royal  College  of,  48. 
Physic  nut,  English,  French,  219, 

220. 
Phytolacca  icosandra,  268. 
Pickles,  228,  244. 
Pierania  amara,  90,  229. 
Pigeon  pea,  293. 
Pimento  tree,  227- 
Pine  apple,  193. 

wild,  262. 

Pinguins,  193,  217. 

wild,  263. 

Piper  amalago,  insequale,  230. 

_—  aduncum,  nitidum,  247. 

Pisonia  aculeata,  264. 

Pissahed,  197. 

Plague,  the,  113,372,  417- 

Plantains,  407. 

Plantain  tree,  wild  plantains,  226. 

Pleurisy,  213,  378,  379,  382,  407. 

Plum  cocoa,  Harden,  277. 

Plumeria,  199. 

alba,  257- 

rubra,  254. 

Pock-weed,  268. 
Poinciana  pulcherrima,  270. 
Poison  berry,  blue,  257. 
Poisons  animal,  211,  262,  295. 
vegetable,    172,   173,    199. 

211,  218,  219,  228,  250,  251,  258, 

270,  280,  295. 


Political  opinions  of  Dr  Wright 
88. 

Poor  patients,  175. 

Pop-berry,  260. 

Poponax  bush,  225. 

Porcelain,  428. 

Portlandia  grandiflora,  230. 

Potato,  154,  316-321. 

sweet,  205,  407. 

Poultices,  203,  254,  296,  304.  41 2. 

Pounce,  220. 

Praecordia,  351. 

Predestination,  399. 

Prickly  yellow  wood,  240. 

pole,  242. 

Prisoner  in  Spain,  54. 

Professorship  of  Botany,  74. 

Natural  History,  4'» 

Prognosis  of  yaws,  406. 

Prophylaxis  of  yaws,  410. 

Proximate  causes  of  yaws,  407. 

Psidium  Wrightii,  278. 

pyriferum,  2?8. 

Ptisans,  198,  224,  246. 

Ptyalism,  412. 

Puerperal  fever,  91. 

Pulse,  388,  393.  394,  396. 

Pulvis  antimonialis,  86,  130,  133. 

Purgatives,  189,  191,  198,  202,  206, 
212,  214,  219,  220,  225,  230, 
231-233,  240,  271,  324,  359,  363, 
372,  380,  389,  392-394,  419. 

Putrid  fever,  314,  342. 

Q 

Quartans,  375,  376,  384-386. 
Quassia,  387. 

amara,  90,  229,  381. 

excelsa,  90,  2*9. 

pohgama,  89-376,  381. 

simaruba,  308. 

Quassia?  lignum,  115. 
Quotidians,  384,  385. 


I N  D  ] 


1£] 


Rainsford,  Gen.,  51,  03. 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  310. 

Ramsay,  Professor,  26,  49. 

Keid,  Mr  Peter,  420. 

Roberts,  Rev.  Mr,  200. 

Robertson,  Dr,  112.  124. 

Rocket,  Josh.,  398. 

Rodney,  Admiral,  14,  67,  221,  245. 

Roseoe,  W.  Esq.,  138,  141. 

Roupe,  Mr,  314. 

Roxburgh,  Dr,  94,  134,  138.  139. 

Rulandi,  116. 

Rush,  Dr,  116,  371. 

Rutherford,  Dr,  86,  90,  95,  176. 

Rhe,  Isle  of,  11. 
Rosehall  estate.  332,  337. 
Rosegreen,  336. 
Rykum  springs,  78. 
Raisonnable,  le,  11. 
Ramillies,  the,  52. 

Rectum,  obstruction  of  the,  328. 
Red  head,  191. 

mahoe,  289. 

sorrel,  290. 

Regimental  mess,  425. 

— _ surgeon,  51. 

Remittent    fever,    103,    105,    130, 

214s  279,  324,  356,  371,  376,  377, 

379,  383,  36S.  407,  415. 
Remote  causes  of  yaws,  406. 
Report  on  the  diseases  among  the 

troops  in  the  West  Indies,  383. 
Resins,  220, 
Restlessness,  393. 
Retching,  389. 
Rheumatism,   193,   202.  208,   881, 

336. 
Rhizophora  mangle,  273. 
Rhodii  oleum,  186. 
Rhubarb,  379,  396. 


Rice  decoction,    • 
Ricini  oleum,  219. 
Ricinus  communis.  230,-233. 
Ruling,  424 
Rigors.  3:»3. 
Ringworm  bush,  L9& 
Ringworms,  19S,  27.3. 
Rivina  humilis,  25(t. 

octandra,  265. 

Ropes,  242. 
Rose,  changeable.  .- 
Rosemary,  wild.  207. 
Rosewood,  186. 
Roucou,  192. 

Royal  college  of  physicians,  140. 
■         infirmary,  36'J. 

medical  society.  140. 

physical  society,  7  7. 

society.  43.  50. 

of   Edinburgh,    4°. 

308,  310. 
Ruellia  blechum.  882 
Rum,  202.  234. 
Rymbegla,  154. 


Sagar,  401. 

Saunders,  Dr,  14,  S6,  313. 

Sauvages,  401. 

Schmissar,  M.,  94. 

Seton,  Mr,  92. 

Simmons,  Dr,   41.    1S3,  342,   347. 

355,  365,  368> 
Sinclair,  Sir  John,  1  ">.>.  183. 
Sloane,  Sir   Hans,    184,  2C 

37o. 
Smith,  Dr,  388. 

Sir  James  Edward,  170 

Smytli,  Dv.  ST  I. 

Solander,  Dr,  42,  176 

Spallansani,  114. 

Stanley,  Sir  John.  17,  78,  151. 


452 


INDEX. 


Steel,  Dr  Thomas,  9,  22,  23, 28,  29, 

37,  42,  68,  72,  328. 
Stirling,  James,  Esq.  23,  24. 
Stirling,  Patrick,  Esq.  23. 
Stokes,  Dr  Jonathan,  31,  151. 
Strachan,  W.  G.,  398. 
Stuart,  Dr  John,   145,   146,    150, 

155. 
Sutherland,  317. 
Swartz,  Mr.  G9,  90,  94,  210. 
Syme,  Mr,  122. 

Salamanca,  57. 

Savanna  le  Mer,  22,  335. 

Sedbergh,  365,  366. 

Seringapatam,  82. 

Seville,  57. 

Sheerness,  17. 

Sidmouth,  147. 

Sierra  Leone,  371. 

Southampton,  101. 

Spain,  54. 

Spithead,  100. 

St  Domingo,  103,  400. 

St  George's,  Jamaica,  36. 

St  Helen's  Roads,  99. 

St  James's,  Jamaica,  23,  27,  358. 

St  Lucia,  14,  103,  107,  384. 

St  Mary's,  Jamaica,  360. 

St  Pierre,  15. 

St  Thomas  in  the  east,  221. 

St  Vincents,  14,  398. 

Surinam,  229,  414. 

Saccharum  officinale,  233,  234,  235. 
Sage,  wild,  Seaside,  221. 
Sago,  244,  319. 

palm,  244,  245. 

Saline   draughts,    376,   385,    389, 

395,  396. 
Salivation,  381. 
Salt  and  acids,  115,  134,  201,  322,-. 

327,  380. 


Salt  beef,  pork,  422,  430. 
— —  petre,  429. 
Salts,  epsom,  239. 
Salvia  occidentalis,  247- 
Sandarach  gum,  220. 
Sandbox  tree,  301. 
Sapindus  saponarius,  90,  267- 
Saponaceous  substances,  224,  2G4, 

267- 
Sarasee  vine,  301. 
Sarsaparilla,    21G,    235,   236,  283, 
412. 

wild,  299. 

Sassafras,  222,  283,  412. 
Scabious  wild,  small-leaved,  com- 

mon,  251. 
Scammony  Aleppo,  20G. 

sea-side,  205. 

Scarlet  fever,  145,  147- 
Scirrhosities  of  the  liver,  spleen, 

mesentery,  &c.  354. 
Scottish  Register,  83. 
Sea-bathing,  424. 
Seamen,  422. 
Sea  scurvy,  422. 
—  sickness,  422. 

side  beech,  358. 

gi*ape,  265. 

lavender,  261. 

weeds,  427,  428. 

Sedatives,  370. 

Senna  Alexandrian,  198. 

Antigua,  270. 

Italica,  197- 

Sensitive  plant,  198,  271. 

bastard,  291. 

Serpents,  428. 

Sesamum  Indicum,  235. 

Shaddock,  203. 

Shells,  427,  428. 

Shi])  fever,  104,  368,  383,  391,  393, 

422. 
Ships  of  war,  371,  397- 


INI)  E  X 


1,53 


Shoulder,  388. 

Showers,  42 1. 

Shrub,  204. 

Sida    ulmifolia,    rliombiliilia,    224, 

291. 
Sighing,  393. 
Silk  cotton-tree,  284 

worm,  304. 

Silver  star-apple,  wild,  260; 

Simarubse  cortex,  308. 

Sinapisms,  380. 

Sivvens,  404,  405. 

Skin,  391. 

Small  beer,  371,  423. 

pox,  340-341,  342,  347, 

365-367,  413. 
Smilax  pseudo-China,  304. 

sarsaparilla,  235,  230. 

Snake-leaf,  250. 

root,  215. 

withe,  412. 

Soap-berry  tree,  267- 

Sobriety,  431. 

Solatium  pseudo-capsicum,  259. 

lignosutn,  250. 

iycopcrsicum,  200. 

mammosum,    tomento- 

sum,  torvum,  252. 

— —  nigrum,  253. 

— —  tuberosum,  316. 

— — —  verbascifolium,  254. 
Sop,  sour,  sweet,  187. 
Sore-throat,  130,  326. 
Sorrel,  red,  290. 
Southampton  frigate,  52. 
Spanish  carnation,  270. 

elm,  254. 

jessamine,  254,  257. 

needle-weed,  297- 

plum,  272. 

Spasmodic  diseases,  355    114,  118, 

419,  421. 
Spermaceti.  213. 


Bpermacoce   hirta,    radicana,    u- 

nuior,  verticillato,  16] 
Spii  i  s,  227« 
Spigelia  anthelminthica,   marllan- 

dica,  287- 

Spiritous  liquors,  :'.:»'i 

Spirits,  215,   122. 

Spirits  of  vine,  398 

Splenitis,  100,  37!). 

Spondias  utombin,  myvbbalantM, 

272. 
Sponges,  428. 
Sponging,  41C. 
Springs,  heat  of,  428. 
Spurge,  275. 
Star-apple,  255. 
Starch,  218,  219,  845. 

plant,  224 

Stimulants,  191,184  198,  274374, 

377,  390. 
Stomach,  372,  304. 
Stomachics,  214,  230,  351. 
Strangury,  193,  297. 
Stratliearn    Agricultural    Society. 

154. 
Strength,  393. 
Stroke  of  the  sun,  331. 
Stupor,  391. 
Subclavian  vein,  409. 
Submarine  plants,  428. 
Subsultus  tendinum,  391. 
Sudorifics,    229,    292,   311,    378. 

397. 
Sugar,  210,  398. 
— — —  boiling,  114. 

cane,  233,  234,  235. 

Sulphur,  27C,  403,  412. 
Summer  solstice,  396. 
Supper  at  sea,  423. 
Supple-jack  wythe.  267- 
Surfeit,  396. 
Swamps,  384,  424. 
Sweet  calabash,  228. 


45 


INDEX. 


,22  239 

potato,  203.  407- 

Swietenia  Mahagoni,  237,  238. 
Symptomatum.  ratio,  of  yaw?.  408. 
Syncope,  396 
Syphilis,  405. 


Tallien.  93. 

Thomson,  Professor,  29. 

Dr  Thomas,  152. 

Dr  John.  109. 

Dr  John,  of  London.  342. 

347. 
Themeissurus,  130. 
Thorhurn,  Mr  Alex.  377. 
Thorot,  Admiral,  13. 
Tippoo  Sultan,  82. 
Toulmain,  .Oliver.  14. 
Trotter,  Dr,  106,  123. 
Trelawny,  Sir  William,  23,  33. 
Tytler,  Frazer,  Esq.  131. 

Tagus,  the,  62. 

Taro,  62. 

Trelawny  parish,  23,  27,  63,  358, 

419. 
Trinidad,  108,  141. 
Tvndrum,  146. 
Talbot,  the,  153. 
Tamarinds,  388. 
Tamarind  tree,  238,  239. 

wild,  306. 

Tamarindus  Indica,  238,  239. 

Tanning,  273. 

Tapioca,  218,  245. 

Tapping,  357. 

Tartar,  387. 

—  emetic,  133. 

Tarts,  290. 

Tea,  422,  424. 

Temperance  at  sea,  423. 

—  of  Dr  Wright,  176. 


Tenesmus.  233.  324.  : 
Tepid  bath.  416. 
Tc-rebinthina?  oleum,  105,  378. 
Terebinthinus    Americana,     poly- 
phylla,  309. 

major,  308. 

Tertians,  375.  334,  385. 
Testamentary  settlement,  72. 
-us,  41,  90.  91,  120,  156, 
330-339,  418,  419. 
— — — —  chionic.  419. 

tens,  198. 
Thatch,  234. 

mountain,  palmeta.  24.">. 

Theobroma  cacao,  239.  24".  276. 

Guazuma,  286. 

Theriaca,  403. 
Thermometer,  427,  428. 
Theses  of  Edinburgh,  136. 
Thetis  frigate,  52. 
Thirst,  388,  393,  396. 
Thistle,  yellow,  gamboge,  189. 
Thomas  Hall,  the,  37. 
Thorn  apple,  253. 

— Jerusalem,  267- 

Tigre,  le,  109. 

Tillandsiae  species,  262. 

Toads,  428. 

Tobacco,  wild,  254,  296. 

Toddy,  424. 

Tomato,  260. 

Tongue,  376,  387,  388,  391,  393. 

Tonics,  359. 

Tonnage,  430. 

Toothache  tree,  240. 

Topical    inflammation,    370,   384, 

397. 
Tourmaline,  428. 
Tournefortia  hirsutissinia,  261. 
Toyos,  190. 

Transports,  371,  397,  422. 
Trismus  infantum.  90.  118 
Triumfetta.  2/4 


I  \  I  ) !    \ 


rriumfetta  rhombeafolia   -7  I 

lappula.  'J7.'.. 

Troops,  SJfJ,  :t;;:(.  i _>_*.  i:m. 
Tropical  diseases,  105,  :>7o. 
Tropic  bird,  IJ7. 
Tropics.  :i'.l!). 
Trumpet  tree,  302. 
Turfcej  berries,  252. 
Turpentine  tree,  '■'•w>- 
Turners  ulmifolia,  261. 
Typhus  fever,  1  10,  1  17-  199,  368, 
370,  371,  383,  395. 
icteroides,  393. 

U 

Ulcers,    204,    215,   218,  234,    247, 

250,  254,  296,  304,  412. 
Unctuous  substances,  386,  1 1 7. 
University  of  Edinburgh,    :;.    25 
26,  I!),  87,  136. 

of  Salamanca,  ">7- 

of  Seville,  "»7- 

Urena  Americana,  287- 
— — —  sinuata,  286. 
Urethra,  3!) 4. 

V 
Vaughan,  Col,  13. 
Veght,  M.  94. 
Vernon,  Admiral,  371. 
Virgile,  M.  400. 
Vincents,  Island  of,  St.  11. 

Cape,  St.  52. 

Virginia,  316. 

Vaccinium  meridionale,  26!). 
Vanglo,  235. 
Vanilla,  210,  211. 
Variolous  poison,  365,  401. 
Vegetable  acid,  322-327. 

diet,  144,  423,  430. 

marrow,  223. 

Velvet-bur,  281. 


V     b,  I    I,.,! 

Ventilation,   '•.  1    11  i    1  10,  I'M 
Verb  111  Jamaicensis,  ;l»    . 

nodiflora    S8l  " 

Verdigris,  ! 

Vermifuges,    I**.    191.    L93 

863. 
Verulam  Transactions,  1  '•'< 

Vervain,  840. 
Vetch,  black  liquorice 
Vise  primae,  :i7.-J,  376,  384, 
Vinegar,  386,  368,  392,  116. 
Visceral  obstructions,  100,  10?,  171, 

187,  239,  279,  305,  352,  356 

375,  381,  387,  397. 
Viscid  blood,  279,  294. 
Viscum  opuntioides,  '.UK\. 

— —  verticillatum,  303. 
Vitis  caribbaea,  256. 
Vitriol  blue,  351-357,  103 

Roman,  353,  :$:>7. 

Vitriolic  acid,  371. 
Vitrioli  dukis  spiritus,  37 1 
Volatile*,  336,  355. 
Vomit,  Mack,  373,  374,  394. 
Vomiting,  391. 
Voyages,  425-427. 
Vulneraries,  293. 

W 

Watt,  Robert,  93. 
Wattenbach,  M.  94. 
Wells,  Dr,  97,  116,  118,  li 

127. 
Weir,  Mr,  115. 
Whvtt,  Professor,  :i. 
Whvtt,  Douglas,  105,  106. 
Whittingham,  125. 
William  Henry,  Prim  1 
Woodville,  Dr,  90,  94. 
Wright,  .Mr  James,  Benior,  . 

10,  24,  25,  28,  46,  47,  49,  50,  64., 

67,  71,  72,  81,  99,  120,  121,  134. 

177. 


456 


INDEX. 


Wright  Mr  James,  junior,  47,  49, 
50,  64,  65,  67,  72,  73,  75,  77,  79, 
80-85,  100,  153. 

Walcheren,  154. 

Warwick,  51. 

Western  Islands,  13. 

West  Indies,  13,  14,  17,  37,51,  97, 

107,  108,370,371,386,391,397-9. 
Westmoreland    parish,    200,   235, 

237. 
Wight,  Isle  of/67. 


Wine,  34G,  349,  353,  3/1,  374,  37<?, 
385,  380,  390,  391,  393, 396,  421T 
423. 

Winterani  occidentalis  cortex,  353. 

Womb,  small-pox  in,  340. 

Worm-bark  tree,  360. 

grass,  237. 

Worms,  212,  239. 

Wormwood,  wild,  296. 

Wrightia,  70. 

Wrightii  psidium,  278. 

"  Wright's  Medicine,"  129,  134. 


War,  American,  20. 

Seven  Years,  11-17- 

Warm-bath,  390,  395. 

climate,  diseases  of,  381. 

Wart-weed,  275. 

Wasps,  2G2. 

Water,  uses  of,  27,  38,  40,  45,  109, 

110,  117,  15G,  1G3,  165,  174,  342, 

349,  368,  392,  414-421. 

analysis  of,  126. 

apple,  187- 

_____  in  the  chest,  161. 

lemon,  228. 

lily,  195. 

withe,  256. 

Weed,  Guinea,  250. 
Wernerian  Society,  152. 
White  broom-weed,  291. 

caliloo,  298. 

ipecacuanha,  258. 

Whitlow,  156. 

Wild  parsley,  296. 

sarsaparilla,  299. 

tobacco,  296. 

-  wormwood,  296. 


Xeres  de  la  Frontera,  54. 
Ximenia  Americana,  266. 

Y 

Yellowley,  Dr,  157. 

Yam,  407. 

Negro,  white,  wild,  208. 

Yampee,  208. 

Yaws,  208,  215,  236,  250,  282,  399- 

413. 
Yaws-bush,  412. 
Yellow  fever,  104,  112,  371,-374, 

383,  391,  393,  395.  398. 

mastic,  194. 

swallow- wort,  larger,  lesser, 

small,  259. 

thistle,  189. 

Z 

Zimmerman,  Dr,  239. 
Zanthoxylum  clava  herculis,  240. 
Zea  maiz,  241. 
Zoonomia,  124. 


P.  NEI1L,  PRINTER. 


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