Some of these different substances, or the infusions, decoctions, or extracts made from them, were, as is well known, formerly used by medical men in all parts of the world in the treatment of every obstinate chronic cutaneous affection. And yet, although they were so generally employed, they had not even the reputation of being remedies (in the proper sense of the term); and, to use the mildest expression, I must say that their influence on diseases of the skin is entirely imaginary.

"If these drugs failed, it was in former times the practice to have re-course to other medicines supposed to be more powerful. Such were the "crude Antimony," or Antimonii tersulphuretum; AEthiops antimoni-alis; Manganum nigrum, or Binoxide of Manganese; Graphites elutri-atus, or prepared Black Lead (Weinhold); Baryta muriatica, or Chlo-ride of Barium; Calx Antimonii sulphurata, or Sulphuret of Antimony and Calcium (Hufeland); Sulphuretum Kalii et Sodoe (Chaussier); Tar-tarized Antimony (Fages); Golden Sulphuret of Antimony, or Antino-nii pentasuIphuretum (Vogel); AEthiops Mineral, or Black Sulphuret of Mercury (Dzondi, Kopp); Mercurius proecipitatus ruber, or Nitrico-oxide of Mercury; Mercurius acetatus, or Acetate of Mercury (Hufeland); Turpethum minerale, or Yellow subsulphate of Mercury (Alibert); Nitrate of Mercury (Godard); Chloride of Sodium and Gold (Eberle, Ray-er); Liquor Cupri ammoniato-muriaticus (Kochlin); Chlorate of Potass (Chisholm); Alumen ex decocto Sarsaparilloe (Hufeland); the preparations of Iron (Rayer), and Anthracokali (Polya).

"Again, the different acids, mineral and vegetable, have been prescribed internally in this disease: hydrochloric acid by Jugler and Evers; sulphuric acid by Home; nitric acid by Chisholm and by Jos. Frank; malic acid by Gmelin; lemon-juice by Schindler and Rodschied; vinegar by Jos. Frank; hydrocyanic acid diluted with alcohol by Schneider.

"Other substances which have been vaunted as remedies at least differ widely from one another. Thus, Willan recommended Liq. Potassae, Galen the flesh of vipers, Harnius cucumbers, Marcellus a plant called Britaunica, etc., etc.

"Another medicine, sent direct from Brazil, is the Hura Braziliensis, a plant belonging to the Euphorbiaceae, which is said to have been used in that country with success in syphilis, as well as in forms of leprosy, among which psoriasis was wrongly included. I have prescribed it to about twelve patients affected with psoriasis, and to as many suffering from syphilis. In these cases I used sometimes a decoction made from the dried bark ( j. to vj.), sometimes certain preparations derived from it in the recent state. One of these preparations, which is known as Assacou (succus recens Hurae Braziliensis) is given in doses of ten grains, either alone or with the decoction. Another preparation of this drug is termed the succus Hurae alcoholicus, of which there are two forms, that known as No. 1 being a mixture of the fresh juice with an equal quantity of alcohol, while that which is termed No. 2 contains only one part of the juice to ten of alcohol. The former is given in the dose of half a drachm, the latter in that of a drachm, daily.

"This drug, whether in the form of decoction or extract, produces very violent effects; in some patients vomiting alone, in others both vomiting and severe purging. Thus, as many as twenty evacuations (in both directions), have followed the administration of the concentrated decoction with the Assacou. Hence, American physicians recommend that the decoction should be given only every fourth day, and keep the patient in bed and on low diet. Now, when the drug is prescribed in this way and continued for some time, the nutrition of the patient suffers to so great a degree, that the psoriasis disappears, just as when the nutrition is violently disturbed from any other cause. But yet the power of curing this disease cannot be said to be possessed by the Hura Braziliensis; for in every case in which a psoriasis has subsided while this medicine was being taken, the affection has always returned when the patient has recovered from the ill effects produced by it. In fairness, however, it must be added that I have never seen any permanent harm done by the drug, even when it was continued for as long as three months. All the patients to whom I administered it recovered very quickly from the injurious effects to which it had given rise.

"Another mode of treatment, analogous to that last mentioned, and adopted, not only by many of the older practitioners, but even by those of a more modern school, is that of giving purgatives Among the remedies of this kind are, for instance, the simple neutral salts (such as sulphate of soda, sulphate of magnesia, phosphate of soda, etc.), the mineral waters of Saidschutz, Pillnau, Carlsbad, Marienbad, Kissingen, and other saline springs, and certain vegetable cathartics (including jalap, aloes, colocynth, gamboge, colchicum, and croton-oil). Lastly, calomel has been greatly extolled, especially by English and French writers; among the former by Willis, among the latter by Biett and Rayer. Among these drugs, there are many which I have myself in the course of time repeatedly prescribed; and I have besides seen several patients suffering from this obstinate disease, to whom they have been given during lengthened periods, and even for years, by different medical men practising in this or in other countries. But, unfortunately, the good effects which have been ascribed to cathar-tics in the treatment of psoriasis have not occurred in my experience. Now and again, the patches may have diminished under a long-continued course of drastic purgatives; but this could always be attributed either to a spontaneous involution of the disease, or to the fact already mentioned that all modes of treatment by which the nutrition is lowered do, for the time during which they are continued, bring about a diminution or even a complete disappearance of this eruption.