DYSENTERY, OR BLOODY FLUX.

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or rancid on the stomach, must be abstained from. Apples boiledin milk, water-pap, and plain light pudding, with broth made ofthe gelatinous parts of animals, may constitute the principal partof the patient's food. Gelatinous broth not only answers the pur-pose of food, but likewise a medicine. I have often known dysen-teries, which were not of a putrid nature, cured by it, after pom-pous medicines had proved ineffectual.*

Another kind of food very proper in the dysentery, which maybe used by such as cannot take the broth mentioned above, is madeby boiling- a few handsful of fine flour, tied in a cloth, for six orseven hours, till it becomes as hard as starch. Two or three table-spoonsful of this may be grated down, and boiled in such a quantityof new milk and water as to be of the thickness of pap. This maybe sweetened to the patient's taste, and taken for his ordinaryfood.t

In a putrid dysentery the patient may be allowed to eat freely^ofmost kinds of good ripe fruit : as apples, grapes, gooseberries, cur-rant-berries, strawberries, »fee. These may either be eaten raw orboiled, with or without milk, as the patient chooses. The preju-dice against fruit in this disease is so great, that many believe it tobe the common cause of dysenteries. This, however, is an egre-gious mistake. Both reason and experience show, that good fruitis one of the best medicines, both for the prevention and cure ofthe dysentery. Good fruit is in every respect calculated to coun-teract that tendency to putrefaction, from whence the most danger-ous kind of dysentery proceeds. The patient in such a case ought,therefore, to be allowed to eat as much fruit as he pleases, provid-ed it be ripe.f

* The manner of making this broth is, to take a sneep s head and feet, with the skinupon them, and to burn the wool off with a hot iron; afterwards to boil them till thebroth is quite a jelly. A little cinnamon or mace may be added, to give the broth anagreeable flavour, and the patient may take a little of it warm, with toasted bread,three or four times a-day. A clyster of it may likewise be given twice a-day. Suchas cannot use broth made in this way, may have the head and feet skinned ; but wehave reason to believe that this injures the medicine. It is not our business here toreason upon the nature and qualities of medicine, otherwise this might be shown topossess virtues every way suited to the cure of a dysentery which does not proceedfrom a putrid state of the humours. One thing we know, which is preferable toail reasoning, that whole families have often been cured by it, after they had usedmany other medicines in vain. It will, however, be proper that the patient take avomit, and a dose or two of rhubarb, before he begins to use the broth. It will like-wise be necessary to continue the use of it for a considerable time, and to make it theprincipal food.

i The learned and humane Dr. Rutherford, late professor of medicine in the univer-sity of Edinburgh, used to mention this food in his public lectures with great encomi-ums. He directed it to be made by tying a pound or two of the finest flour, as tightas possible, in a linen rag, afterwards to dip it frequently in water, and to dridge theoutside with flour till a cake or crust was formed around it, which prevents the waterfrom soaking into it while boilinj. It is then to bo boiled till it becomes a hard drymass, as directed above. This, when mixed with milk and water, will not only answerthe purpose of food,but may likewise be given in clysters.

11 lately saw a young man who had been seized with a dysentery in North America.Many things had been tried there for his relief, but to no purpose, At length, tiredout with disappointments from medicine, and reduced to skin and bone, Le came overto Britain, rather with a view to die among his relations, than with any hopes of a cure.After taking sundry medicines here with no better success than abroad, I advised himto leave off the use of drugs, and to trust entirely to a diet of milk and fruits, withgentle exercise. Strawberries was the only fruit he could procure at that season.These he ate with milk twice, and sometii íes thrice a-day. The consequence was,that in a short timo his stools were reduced fro.r upwards of twenty in a-day, to tbre^

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