?6 SECT. VII.— PLANT! USEFUL Iff MF.DICIWE.

Hpiraf.ion, render the vessels full and turgid, raise the pulse, andquicken the circulation. The effects of the full-bodied wines are muchmore durable than those of the thinner; all sweet wines/as Canary,abound with a glutinous nutritious substance; whilst the others are notnutrimeulal, or only accidentally so by strengthening the organs em-ployed in digestion : sweet wines in genera] do not pass off' freely byin ine, and heat the constitution more than an equal quantity of anyother, though containing foil as much spirit: red port, and most ofthe red wines, have an astringent quality, by which they strengthenthe tone of the stomach and intestines, and thus prove serviceable forrestraining immoderate secretions : those which are of an acid nature,as Rhenish, pass freely by the kidneys, and gently loosen the belly:it is supposed that these last exasperate, or occasion gouty and calculousdisorders, and that new wines of every kind have this effect.

The ripe fruit or grapes, of which there are several kinds, properlycured and dried, are the raisins and currants of the shops : the juice ofthese a !so, by fermentation, affords wine as well as vinegar and tartar.

The medical use of raisins is, their imparting a very pleasant flavourboth to aqueous and spirituous menstrua. The seeds or stones are sup-posed to give a disagreeable relish, and hence are generally directed tobe taken out: nevertheless I have not found that they have any dis-agreeable taste.— Lewis's Mat. Med.

2S9. ULMUS campestris. Elm. Bark. L. E. D.— The leaves havea bitterish astringent taste, and are recommended in powder, to ther,\vZ,Z\ Z'. Zl ICi-ol. t'.".'.. mams JUiiy, is ulcerations of the urinary pas-sages and catarrhus vesica;. The powder has been used with opium,the latter being gradually increased to a considerable quantity, in dia-betes, and it is said with advantage. Some use it for alleviating thedyspeptic symptoms in nephritic calculous ailments.— Lewis's Mat.Med.

290. RHODODENDRON Chrysanthemum. Yeixow-flowebbd Rho-dodendron, E. The Leaves, —This species of Rhodudendron has latelybeen introduced into Britain : it is a native of Siberia, affecting moun-tainous situations, and flowering in June and July.

Little attention was paid to this remedy till the year 1779, when itwas strongly recommended by Kcelpin as an efficacious medicine, notonly in rheumatism and gout, but even in venereal cases; and it isnow very generally employed in chronic rheumatisms in various partsof Europe. The leaves, which are the part directed for medicinal use,have a bitterish subastringent taste, and, aswell as the bark and youngbranches, manifest a degree of acrimony. Taken in large doses theyprove a narcotic poison, producing those symptoms which we have de-scribed as occasioned by many of the order SoJanaceae.

Dr. Home, who tried it unsuccessfully in some cases of acute rheu-matism, says, it appears to be one of the most powerful sedatives whichwe have, as in most of the trials it made tne pulse remarkably slow,