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SCURVY.

Causes. — The scurvy is occasioned by cold moist air ; by thelong use of salted or smoke-dried provisions, or any kind of food,that is hard of digestion, and affords little nourishment. It mayalso proceed from the suppression of customary evacuations, asthe menses, the hœmorrhoidal flux, &c. It is sometimes owing toan hereditary taint, in which case a very small cause will excitethe latent disorder. Grief, fear, and other depressing passions,have a great tendency both to excite and aggravate this disease.The same observation holds with regard to neglect of cleanliness,bad clothing, the want of proper exercise, confined air, unwhole-some food, or any disease which greatly weakens the body, orvitiates the humours.

Symptoms. — This disease may be known by unusual weariness,heaviness, and difficulty of breathing, especially after motion ; rot-tenness of the gums, which are apt to bleed on the slightest touch ;a stinking breath ; frequent bleeding at the nose ; crackling of thejoints ; difficulty of walking ; sometimes a swelling, and sometimesa falling away of the legs, on which there are livid, yellow, or vio-let-coloured spots ; the face is generally of a pale or leaden colour.As the disease advances, other symptoms come on ; as rottennessof the teeth, haemorrhages, or discharges of blood from differentparts of the body, foul obstinate ulcers, pains in various parts, es-pecially about the breast, dry scaly eruptions all over the body,&c. At last a wasting or hectic fever comes on, and the miserablepatient is often carried off by a dysentery, a diarrhoea, a dropsy,the palsy, fainting fits, or a mortification of some of the bowels.

Cure. — We know no way of curing this disease but by pursuinga plan directly opposite to that which brings it on. It proceedsfrom a vitiated state of the humours, occasioned by errors in diet,air, or exercise ; and this cannot be removed but by a proper at-tention to these important articles.

If the patient has been obliged to breathe a cold, damp, or con-fined air, he should be removed, as soon as possible, to a dry, open,and moderately warm one. If there is reasfcn to believe that thedisease proceeds from a sedentary life, or depressing passions, asgrief, fear, &c, the patient must take daily as much exercise inthe open air as he can bear, and his mind should be diverted bycheerful company and other amusements. Nothing has a greatertendency either to prevent or remove this disease than constantcheerfulness and good humour. But this, alas ! is seldom the lotof persons afflicted with the scurvy ; they are generally surly,peevish, and morose.

When the scurvy has been brought on by a long use of saltedprovisions, the proper medicine is a diet consisting chiefly of freshvegetables ; as oranges, apples, lemons, limes, tamarinds, water-cresses, scurvy-grass, brook-lime, &c. The use of these, withmilk, pot-herbs, new bread, and fresh beer or cider, will seldomfail to remove the scurvy of this kind, if taken before it is too faradvanced ; but to have this effect, they must be persisted in for aconsiderable time. When fresh vegetables cannot be obtained,