PRESCRIPTIONS.

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years past, in the manner of shives, and from a sin-gle stool find it increase in two years to a bunchenough for several portions of physic. This caneasily be procured from its spontaneous growth inthe southern states. The green roots are to bemade use of, as the dry will not purge. A pugil ofthe roots made into a decoction, and given at twodraughts at 15 minutes distance, may be given as acommon purge for a grown person.

Its operation is tolerably quick, always safe, andif it fails working, it does no hurt.

This little native of the woods was shown to meby old Dr. Wilkey, of South Carolina, who highlycommended it; saying that he had known moresudden and effectual reliefs from it, than from anyother medicine.* This I have abundantly used for33 years, without regretting that I had made use ofit in a single instance. From my own observationsof it as a purge, the idea is impressed upon me, thatthe waters drained off by it take with them thatviscid quality which is the cause of inflammationand pain. Poisons, errors of corrosive sublimate,inflammatory cases, &c. such as pleurisy, are spee-dily relieved by it; and cases of the contrary dia-thesis, such as costiveness, cholics, cramps, pains

* I remember that Dr. Wilkey related to me the fol-lowing fact: said he—"I was one morning very earlycalled to visit a woman who had taken a dose of corro-sive sublimate (in mistake, thinking it was tartar emetic)when I came to her, her tongue was so swelled that shecould not speak a word. I thought it was over withher, but I would try my little root (meaning the scurvygrass root) I prepared a decoction as soon as possible,and tho it was supposed she could not swallow, yet wetried one spoonful after another, and found it made

way for itself.-----And what was surprising, she was so

soon relieved, that on that very morning the womanfried pan-cakes for my breakfast."

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