just enough to wish that we knew more. A thorough proving, 1 firmly believe, would greatly aid us in extending its sphere of usefulness. A precise understanding of its pathogenetic effects would also enable us to use the compounds which it forms, especially with Picric acid and Bromine, to good advantage. Will not this Society or the College of New York take hold of this matter and give us a reliable, definite pathogenesis?

AMYL NITRITE-HOMARUS.

BY A. M. CUSHING, M. D.,

SPRINGFIELD, MASS.

I wish to call your attention to two remedies. I have been using Amyl nitrite first decimal in cases of labor. It has stopped vomiting; it does not diminish the pains, yet the patients say it gives wonderful relief. I have used it in instrumental labor with apparent good results. I wish you would try it.

I have been making a proving of Homarus, or the poison of the lobster. I know our most potent remedies in diphtheria are animal poisons. I know a large majority of the people are afraid to eat lobsters, yet many of them do eat them. I know many persons are made very sick by eating them, and some die in three or four hours after the meal. In these cases what they ate was cooked. I obtained a live lobster and secured the digesting fluid from a sack just back of the mouth; a thick, reddish, offensive liquid. In a three-pound lobster I got nearly a teaspoonful. Two of us smelled of it and had a headache almost immediately. I saturated sugar of milk with it, then made decimal triturations up to the fifth. I began by taking five grains of the fifth trituration from three to five times a day for four days, then ten grains at a dose till I had taken three hundred grains. Then I took the fourth in same way, then the third, then the second, all in the same way, about 300 grains each, and began on the first but took only a few doses, four or five 10-grain doses, before I decided to take no more at present. I had taken the remedy just five weeks. I began January 1st, and on the fourth day, soon after taking, had tingling in throat. Soon after, a day or two later, had watery discharge from left nostril. The throat continued to grow worse till there was a network of large

blood vessels, looked like arteries, all over the throat. On the back side there was the appearance of a grayish deposit a sort of granulated look. Five doctors said it was a curious looking throat. One said I would have diphtheria in two days. The throat burned and was painful, pain extending up on left side into the head, all around the ear, but the ear did not ache, except the lower lobe of external ear was very painful one day. Before I stopped taking the medicine I had to hold the side of my head with my hand one day nearly all the time. There was an inclination to cough, but breathing with the mouth open in the very cold air would relieve throat and cough at once. There was occasional sharp sudden pain in the eyes--sometimes one, then the other. The left eye is quite painful and sore to touch; sight not affected. Light does not aggravate. Accumulation of mucus on eyelids. Pain in both lungs; a hard, not very sharp pain through center of lungs to the scapula; hard near scapula. Burning all over chest, apparently in the pleura. Heart unaffected. There was a dull, aching distress in stomach, lasting much of the time, commencing several days after beginning the proving. The pain seemed to be worse near the spine. There was much pain in the liver; at times sharp, cutting; worse in lower portion, apparently below the gall-bladder. Frequent pains in the spleen. Pain in back, apparently above the kidneys, at one time so sudden and sharp on right side I had to go and sit down. Frequent pains in spleen. Bowels loose, then costive; large, long, tenacious stool; alternate once in three or four days. Legs painful; also arms. Knees weak, so that when walking I staggered, not from dizziness. For a number of days feet very cold, then hot and burning as long as I took the medicine. Urine not affected. For a week or more I awoke about four or five, two hours earlier than usual, and could not go to sleep; then I would go to sleep on retiring and sleep from one to ten minutes and awoke and could not go to sleep for one or two hours; then after two weeks it changed to the morning hour again. Frequently in middle of the night had hard distress in stomach. Had frequent biting itching on body and legs; worse nights. One night I got up and lighted the gas to see if bugs were not biting me. There was much severe headache, worse over eyes, extending to occiput, more on left side. Have taken no medicine for a week, but intend to continue it soon.

1. Mental states; hallucinations, insanity, sleep and dreams.

2. Diseases of the nervous system and centers.

3. Febrile movement; fevers, eruptive and symptomatic.

4. Eyes and ears.

5. Respiratory and circulatory systems.

6.

Throat and tonsils, their inflammations and exudations. 7. Digestive system, liver and spleen.

*Semi-Annual Meeting.

8. Urinary system and male sexual system.

9. Female sexual system and functions.

10. Skin and tissue systems.

11. Physiological action of Belladonna.

12. Botany of Belladonna.

13. Sources of Belladonna symptomatology.

For the guidance of the various papers and to preserve a uniformity of treatment the following printed schedule was sent to each contrib

utor.

At the first meeting papers were received in time to be read on the following topics, viz: Nos. 3, 4, 11, 12 and 13. Papers on 5, 7 and 8 came too late to be read. No. 11 was presented and subsequently withdrawn to be presented later.

The printed scheme was as follows:

BELLADONNA.

BUREAU OF MATERIA MEDICA. N. Y. S. HOM. SOC.

1. What are the symptoms laid down in the materia medica with reference to your topic, which you have proven from clinical experience to be reliable?

2. What are the concomitant symptoms that lead you to prefer Bell. to any other remedy?

3. In what potency do you usually employ Bell. ?

4. What difference, if any, do you make in the use of potencies ?

5. Do you usually give Bell, alone or in alternation?

6.

With what remedies do you find it alternates well?

8. Do you rely alone upon it for a cure in any diseases; if so, what?

9. Is Bell. a frequent remedy in your practice; if so, how frequent?

10. Please give comparisons and differentiations of closely allied drugs, in your topic, and in question 2.

Also a scheme for showing cures with Belladonna.

THE SOURCES OF BELLADONNA SYMPTOM

ATOLOGY.

BY M. W. VAN DENBURG, M. D.,

FORT EDWARD, N. Y.

The present available sources of Belladonna provings, accessible to the general student and practitioner were greatly improved and enlarged over ten years ago.

The first, and most available, is Hahnemann's Materia Medica Pura, translated from the 3rd and last edition of the author, which bore the date of 1833, and contained in all 1440 symptoms.*

Each of these symptoms has been carefully verified, in the original sources, as far as possible, by Richard Hughes, one of the greatest living promoters of homoeopathy. This translation with its annotations. is all that can be expected by way of literary and scientific merit, in the line in which the attempt was made. It is invaluable to the careful student of symptomatology at the present stage of our materia medica. The many glaring faults of the Hahnemannian arrangement, are partially neutralized by the full notes and citations of authorities.

The second source of Belladonna symptoms is the Cyclopedia of Drug Pathogenesy by Dr. J. P. Dake of Nashville, Tenn., and Dr. Richard Hughes of England, above mentioned. Belladonna is given in Part III, date 1886. Here the symptoms are given in narrative form, as far as possible, "stating the symptoms in the order of their occurrence, with such condensation as completeness allows."+ Concomitance and sequence are not destroyed, as in the Hahnemannian arrangement, and the relation of symptom to dose is clearly shown.

The symptoms of Materia Medica Pura are not included in the Cyclopedia of Drug Path., the reason assigned being that it would interfere with the sale of the former publication and would be practically plagarizing its contents. This seems to be the substance of the reasoning for omission. The student must therefore possess both publications as they mutually supplement each other.

* Mat. Med. Pura of Samuel Hahnemann, translated by R. E. Dudgeon & Co., Hahnemann Pub. Co., Liverpool, Eng. 1880.

+ See published rules and instructions, in each part.