The seven that were free from pimples took the decoction of broom six weeks and recovered."
The same author informs us that "M. Marochetti, during his residence at Ukraine, in the year 1813, attended fifteen persons who had been bitten by a mad dog. While he was making preparations for cauterizing the wounds, some old men requested him to treat the unfortunate people according to the directions of a peasant in the neighborhood, who had obtained great reputation for the cure of hydrophobia. The peasant gave to fourteen persons, placed under his care, a strong decoction of the yellow broom; he examined, twice a day, the under part of the tongue, where he had generally discovered little pimples, containing, as he supposed, the hydrophobic poison. These pimples at length appeared, and were observed by M. Marochetti himself. As they formed, the peasant opened them, and cauterized the parts with a red-hot needle; after which the patients gargled with the same decoction. The result of this treatment was, that the fourteen patients returned cured, having drank the decoction six weeks." The following case will prove the value of the plantain, (_plantago major_.) We were called upon, October 25, 1850, to see a dog, the property of Messrs. Stewart & Forbes, of Boston. From the symptoms, we were led to suppose that the animal was in the incipient stage of canine madness. We directed him to be securely fastened, kept on a light diet, &c. The next day, a young Newfoundland pup was placed in the cellar with the patient, who seized the little fellow, and crushed his face and nose in a most shocking manner, both eyes being almost obliterated. The poor pup lingered in excruciating torment until the owner, considering it an act of charity, had it killed. This act of ferocity on the part of the patient confirmed our suspicions as to the nature of the malady. We commenced the treatment by giving him tea-spoonful doses of powdered plantain, (_plantago major_,) night and morning, in the food, and in the course of a fortnight, the eye (which, during the early stage of the malady, had an unhealthy appearance) a.s.sumed its natural state, and the appet.i.te returned; in short, the dog got rapidly well. We feel confident that, if this case had been neglected, it might have terminated in canine madness.
We are satisfied that the plantain possesses valuable antiseptic and detergent properties. Dr. Beach tells us that "a negro at the south obtained his freedom by disclosing a nostrum for the bites of snakes, the basis of which was the plantain." A writer states that a toad, in fighting with a spider, as often as it was bitten, retired a few steps, ate of the plantain, and then renewed the attack. The person deprived it of the plant, and it soon died.
_Treatment._--Let the suspected dog be confined by himself, so that he cannot do injury. Then take two ounces of lobelia, and one ounce of sulphur, place them in a common wash tub, and add several gallons of boiling water. As soon as it is sufficiently cool, plunge the dog into it, and let him remain in it several minutes. Then give an infusion of either of the following articles: yellow broom, plantain, or Greek valerian, one ounce of the herb to a pint of water. An occasional tea-spoonful of the powdered plantain may be allowed with the food, which must be entirely vegetable. If the dog has been bitten, wash the part with a strong infusion of lobelia, and bind some of the herb on the part. The treatment should be continued for several days, or until the animal recovers, and all danger is past.
(For information on the causes of madness, the reader is referred to my work on the Horse, p. 108.)
FOOTNOTE:
[27] They probably only allude to cauterization, cutting out the bitten part, and the use of poisons. It cannot be expected that such processes and agents should ever cure the disease. Let them try our agents before they p.r.o.nounce "all remedies fallacious." Let them try the _alisma plantago_, (plantain,) yellow broom tops, _scutellaria_, (skullcap,) lobelia, Greek valerian, &c.
MALIGNANT MILK SICKNESS OF THE WESTERN STATES, OR CONTAGIOUS TYPHUS.
This name applies to a disease said to be very fatal in the Western States, attacking certain kinds of live stock, and also persons who make use of the meat and dairy products of such cattle.
The cause, nature, and treatment of this disease is so little understood among medical men, and such an alarming mortality attends their practice, that many of the inhabitants of the west and south-west depend entirely on their domestic remedies. "It is in that country emphatically one of the _opprobria medicorum_." Nor are the mineralites any more successful in the treatment of other diseases incidental to the Great West. Their Peruvian bark, _quinine_, and calomel, immense quant.i.ties of which are used without any definite knowledge of their _modus operandi_, fail in a great majority of cases. If they were only to subst.i.tute powdered charcoal and sulphur for calomel, both in view of prevention and cure, aided by good nursing, then the mortality would be materially diminished. The success attending the treatment of upwards of sixty cases of yellow fever, by Mrs. Shall, the proprietress of the City Hotel, New Orleans, only one of which proved fatal, is attributed to good nursing. She knew nothing of blood-letting, calomelizing, narcotizing. The same success attended the practice of Dr. A. Hunn, of Kentucky, in the treatment of typhus fever, (which resembles milk sickness,) who cured every case by plunging his patients immediately into a hot bath.
"The whole indication of cure in this disease is to bring on reaction, to recall the poison which is mixed with the blood and thrown to the centre, which can only be done by inducing a copious perspiration in the most prompt and energetic manner. If I mistake not, where sweating was produced in this complaint, recovery invariably followed, while bleeding, mercury, &c., only aggravated it."
From such facts as these, as well as from numerous others, we may learn, that disease is not under the control of the boasted science of medicine, as practised by our allopathic brethren. Many millions of animals, as well as members of the human family, have died from a misapplication of medicine, and officious meddling.
The destruction that in former years attended milk sickness may be learned from the fact, that in the western settlements, its prevalence often served as a cause to disband a community, and compel the inhabitants to seek a location which enjoyed immunity from its occurrence. The legislatures of several of the Western States have offered rewards for the discovery of the origin of the milk sickness. No one that we know of has ever yet claimed the reward. In view of the great lack of information on this subject, we freely contribute our mite, which may serve, in some degree, to dispel the impenetrable mystery by which it is surrounded.
We shall first show that it is not produced by the atmosphere alone, which by some is supposed to be the cause.
"It is often found to occupy an isolated spot, comprehending an area of one hundred acres, whilst for a considerable distance around it is not produced."
If the disease had its sole origin in the atmosphere, it would not be thus confirmed to a certain location; for every one knows, that the gentlest zephyr would waft the enemy into the surrounding localities, and there the work of destruction would commence. The reader is probably aware that bodies whose specific gravity exceeds that of air, such as gra.s.s, seeds, &c., are conveyed through that medium from one field to another. The miasma of epidemics is said to be conveyed from one district to another "on the wings of the wind." Hence, if milk sickness was of atmospheric or even epidemic origin, it would prevail in adjoining states. This is not the case; for we are told that "this fatal disease seldom, if ever, prevails westward of the Alleghany Mountains or in the bordering states."
The atmosphere which surrounds this globe was intended by the divine Artist for the purpose of respiration, and it is well adapted to that purpose: it cannot be considered a pathological agent, or a cause of disease. In crowded a.s.semblies, and in close barns and stables, it may hold in solution noxious gases, which, as we have already stated in different parts of this work, are injurious to the lungs; but as regards the atmosphere itself, in an uncontaminated state, it is a physiological agent. It always preserves its ident.i.ty, and is always represented by the same equivalents of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbonic acid gas. Liebig says, "One hundred volumes of air have been found, at every period and in every climate, to contain twenty-one volumes of oxygen."
Thus oxygen and nitrogen unite in certain equivalents: the result is atmospheric air; and they cannot be made to unite in any other proportions. Suppose the oxygen to be in excess, what would be the result? A universal conflagration would commence; the hardest rocks, and even the diamond, (considered almost indestructible,) would melt with "fervent heat." If, on the other hand, nitrogen was in excess, then every living thing, including both animal and vegetable, would instantly die. Hence we infer that the atmosphere cannot be considered as the cause of this disease.
_Causes._--A creeping vine has been supposed to occasion the disease.
This cannot be the case, for it occurs very frequently when the ground is covered with snow. We are satisfied, although we may not succeed in satisfying the reader, that no one cause alone can produce the disease: there must be a diminution of vital energy, and this diminution may result, first, from poor diet. Dr. Graff tells us that the general appearance of these infected districts is somewhat peculiar. The quality of the soil is, in general, of an inferior description. The growth of timber is not observed to be so luxuriant as in situations otherwise similar, but is scrubby, and stunted in its perfect development, in many instances simulating what in the west is denominated "_barrens_." We can easily conceive that these barrens do not furnish the proper amount of carbon (in the form of food) for the metamorphosis of the tissues; and if we take into consideration that the animal receives, during the day, while in search of this food, a large supply of oxygen, and at the same time the waste of the body is increased by the extra labor required to select sufficient nutriment,--it being scanty in such situations,--then it follows that this disproportion between the quant.i.ty of carbon in the food, and that of oxygen absorbed by the skin and lungs, must induce a diseased or abnormal condition. The animal is sometimes fat, at others lean. Some of the cows attacked with this disease were fat, and in apparent health, and nothing peculiar was observed until immediately preceding the outbreak of the fatal symptoms. The presence of fat is generally proof positive of an abnormal state; and in such cases the liver is often diseased; the blood then becomes loaded with fat and oil, and is finally deposited in the cellular tissues. The reader will now understand how an animal acc.u.mulates fat, notwithstanding it be furnished with insufficient diet. All that we wish to contend for is, that in such cases vital resistance is compromised. We have observed that, in the situation alluded to, vegetation was stunted, &c., and knowing that vegetables are composed of nearly the same materials which const.i.tute animal organization,--the carbon or fat of the former being deposited in the seeds and fruits, and that of the latter in the cellular structure,--then we can arrive at but one conclusion, viz., that any location unfavorable to vegetation is likewise ill adapted to preserve the integrity of animal life.
In connection with this, it must be remembered that during the night the soil emits excrement.i.tious vapors which are taken into the animal system by the process of respiration. In the act of rumination, vapor is also enclosed in the globules of saliva, and thus reach the stomach. Many plants which during the day may be eaten with impunity by cattle, actually become poisonous during the night! This, we are aware, will meet with some opposition; to meet which we quote from Liebig:--
"How powerful, indeed, must the resistance appear which the vital force supplies to leaves charged with oil of turpentine or tannic acid, when we consider the affinity of oxygen for these compounds!
"This intensity of action, or of resistance, the plant obtains by means of the sun"s light; the effect of which in chemical actions may be, and is, compared to that of a very high temperature, (moderate red heat.)
"During the night, an opposite process goes on in the plant; we see then that the const.i.tuents of the leaves and green parts combine with the oxygen of the air--a property which in daylight they did not possess.
"From these facts we can draw no other conclusion but this: that the intensity of the vital force diminishes with the abstraction of light; that, with the approach of night, a state of equilibrium is established; and that, in complete darkness, all those const.i.tuents of plants which, during the day, possessed the power of separating oxygen from chemical combinations, and of resisting its action, lose their power completely.
"A precisely similar phenomenon is observed in animals.
"The living animal body exhibits its peculiar manifestations of vitality only at certain temperatures. When exposed to a certain degree of cold, these vital phenomena entirely cease.
"The abstraction of heat must, therefore, be viewed as quite equivalent to a diminution of the vital energy; the resistance opposed by the vital force to external causes of disturbance must diminish, in certain temperatures, in the same ratio in which the tendency of the elements of the body to combine with the oxygen of the air increases."
_Secondly._ In the situations alluded to, we generally find poisonous and noxious plants, with an abundance of decayed vegetable matter. An English writer has said, "The farmers of England might advantageously employ a million at least of additional laborers in clearing their wide domains of noxious plants,[28] which would amply repay them in the superior quality of their produce. They would then feel the truth of that axiom in philosophy, "that he who can contrive to make two blades of gra.s.s, or wholesome grain, grow where one poisonous plant grew before, is a greater benefactor to the human race than all the conquerors or heroes who have ever lived." The noxious plants found in such abundance in the Western States are among the princ.i.p.al causes, either directly or indirectly, of the great mortality among men, horses, cattle, and sheep. The hay would be just as destructive as when in its green state, were it not that, in the process of drying, the volatile and poisonous properties of the b.u.t.tercup, dandelion, poppy, and hundreds of similar destructive plants found in the hay, evaporate. It is evident that if animals have partaken of such plants, although death in all cases do not immediately follow, there must be a deficiency of vital resistance, or loss of equilibrium, and the animal is in a negative state. It is consequently obvious that when in such a state it is more liable to receive impressions from external agents--in short, is more subject to disease, and this disease may a.s.sume a definite form, regulated by location.
_Thirdly._ A loss of vital resistance may result from drinking impure water. (See _Watering_, p. 15.) Dr. Graff tells us that "another peculiar appearance, which serves to distinguish these infected spots, is the breaking forth of numerous feeble springs, called oozes, furnishing but a trifling supply of water." Such water is generally considered unwholesome, and will, of course, deprive the system of its vital resistance, if partaken of.
_Fourthly._ A loss of vital resistance may result from exposure; for it is well known that cattle which have been regularly housed every night have escaped the attacks of this malady, and that when suffered to remain at large, they were frequently seized with it.
_Lastly._ The indirect causes of milk fever exist in any thing that can for a time prevent the free and full play of any part of the animal functions. The direct causes of death are chemical action, resulting from decomposition, which overcomes the vital principle.
Professor Liebig tells us, that "chemical action is opposed by the vital principle. The results produced depend upon the strength of their respective actions; either an equilibrium of both powers is attained, or the acting body yields to the superior force. If chemical action obtains the ascendency, it acts as a poison."
_Remarks._--Let us suppose that one, or a combination of the preceding causes, has operated so as to produce an abnormal state in the system of a cow. She is then suffered to remain in the unhealthy district during the night: while there, exposed to the emanations from the soil, she requires the whole force of her vital energies to ward off chemical decompositions, and prevent encroachment on the various functions. A contest commences between the vital force and chemical action, and, after a hard conflict in their incessant endeavors to overcome each other, the chemical agency obtains the ascendency, and disease of a putrid type (milk fever) is the result. The disease may not immediately be recognized, for the process of decomposition may be insidious; yet the milk and flesh of such an animal may communicate the disease to man and other animals. It is well known that almost any part of animal bodies in a state of putrefaction, such as milk, cheese, muscle, pus, &c., communicate their own state of decomposition to other bodies. Many eminent medical men have lost their lives while dissecting, simply by putrefactive matter coming in contact with a slight wound or puncture.
Dr. Graff made numerous experiments on dogs with the flesh, &c., of animals having died of milk sickness. He says, "My trials with the poisoned flesh were, for the most part, made on dogs, which I confined; and I often watched the effect of the poison when administered at regular intervals. In the s.p.a.ce of forty-eight hours from the commencement of the administration of either the b.u.t.ter, cheese, or flesh, I have observed unequivocal appearances of their peculiar action, while the appet.i.te remains unimpaired until the expiration of the fourth or fifth day." From the foregoing remarks, the reader will agree with us, that the disease is of a putrid type, and has a definite character.
What is the reason of this definite character? All diseases are under the control of the immutable laws of nature. They preserve their ident.i.ty in the same manner that races of men preserve theirs. Milk sickness of the malignant type luxuriates in the locations referred to, for the same reasons that yellow fever is peculiar to warm climates, and consumption to cold ones; and that different localities have distinct diseases; for example, ship fever, jail fever, &c.
Before disease can attack, and develop itself in the bodies of men or animals, the existing equilibrium of the vital powers must be disturbed; and the most common causes of this disturbance we have already alluded to. In reference to the milk, b.u.t.ter, cheese, &c., of infected animals, and their adaptation to develop disease in man, and in other locations than those referred to, we observe, that when a quant.i.ty, however small, of contagious matter is introduced into the stomach, if its antiseptic properties are the least deranged, the original disease (milk sickness) is produced, just as a small quant.i.ty of yeast will ferment a whole loaf. The transformation takes place through the medium of the blood, and produces a body identical with, or similar to, the exciting or contagious matter. The quant.i.ty of the latter must constantly augment; for the state of change or decomposition which affects one particle of the blood is imparted to others. The time necessary to accomplish it, however, depends on the amount of vital resistance, and of course varies in different animals. In process of time, the whole body becomes affected, and in like manner it is communicated to other individuals; and this may take place by simply respiring the carbonic acid gas, or morbific materials from the lungs, of diseased animals in the infected districts.
We are told that the latent condition of the disease may be discovered by subjecting the suspected animal to a violent degree of exercise. This is a precaution practised by butchers before slaughtering animals in any wise suspected of the poisonous contamination;[29] for according to the intensity of the existing cause, or its dominion over the vital power, it will be seized with tremors, spasms, convulsions, or even death. The reader is, probably, aware that an excess of motion will sometimes cause instant death; for both men and animals, supposed to be in excellent health, are known to die suddenly from excessive labor. In some cases of excess of muscular exertion, the active force in living parts may be entirely destroyed in producing these violent mechanical results: hence we have a loss of equilibrium between voluntary and involuntary motion, and there is not sufficient vitality left to carry on the latter. Professor Liebig says, "A stag may be hunted to death.
The condition of metamorphosis into which it has been brought by an enormous consumption both of force and of oxygen continues when all phenomena of motion have ceased, and the flesh becomes uneatable." A perfect equilibrium, therefore, between the consumption of vital force for the supply of waste, protecting the system from encroachments, and for mechanical effects, must exist; the animal is then in health: the contrary is obvious.
_Treatment._--The greatest care must be taken to secure the patient good nutritious food, pure air, and water. The food should consist of a mixture of two or more of the following articles, which must be cooked: linseed, parsnips, shorts, carrots, meal, apples, barley, oats, turnips, slippery elm, oil cake, &c. We again remind the reader that no single or compound medicine can be procured that will be suitable for every stage of the disease; it must be treated according to its indications. Yet the following compound, aided by warmth, moisture, and friction, externally, will be found better than any medicine yet known. It consists of
Powdered charcoal, 8 ounces.
" sulphur, 2 ounces.
Fine salt, 3 ounces.
Oatmeal, 2 pounds.
Mandrake, (_podophyllum peltatum_,) 1 ounce.
After the ingredients are well mixed, divide the ma.s.s into fourteen parts, and give one night and morning.
_Special Treatment with reference to the Symptoms._--Suppose the animal to be "off her feed," and the bowels are constipated; then give an aperient composed of
Extract of b.u.t.ternut, 2 drachms.
Powdered capsic.u.m, one third of a tea-spoonful.
Thoroughwort tea, 2 quarts.
To be given at a dose, taking care to pour it down the throat in a gradual manner; for, if poured down too quick, it will fall into the paunch. If the r.e.c.t.u.m is suspected to be loaded with excrement, make use of the common soap-suds injection.
If the animal appears to walk about without any apparent object in view, there is reason to suppose that the brain is congested. This may be verified if the _sclerotica_ (white of the eye) is of a deep red color.
The following will be indicated:--
Mandrake, (_podophyllum peltatum_,) 1 table-spoonful.