Barks and woods are collected when the most active part of the vegetable are concentrated in them, which occurs in spring and in autumn; spring is preferred for resinous barks, and autumn for others, which are not resinous, but rather gummy. Barks should be taken from young trees. Among the resinous woods, the heaviest, which sink in water, are selected; the alburnum is to be rejected.
Flowers are collected in dry weather, before noon, but after the dew is off, either when they are just about to open, or immediately after they have opened; of some, the petals only are preserved, and the colorless claws are even cut away; of others, whose calyx is odorous, the whole flower is kept. Flowers which are too small to be pulled singly, are dried with part of the stalk, and are called heads, or tops. Flowers and herbs are to be dried by the gentle heat of a stove, or common fire, in such quantities at a time, that the process may be finished as quickly as possible—for by this means their powers are best preserved, the test of which is the perfect preservation of their natural color; when they lose their color and smell, they are unfit for use.
Seeds and fruits, unless when otherwise directed, are to be gathered when ripe, but before they fell spontaneously. Some pulpy fruits are freed from their core, and seeds are strung on thread, and dried artificially; they are, in general, best preserved in their natural coverings, although some, as the colacynth, are peeled, and others, as the tamarind, preserved fresh. Many of these are apt to spoil, or become rancid; and as they are then no longer fit for medical use, no very large quantity of them should be collected at a time.
The proper drying of vegetable substances, is of the greatest importance. It is often directed to be done in the shade, and slowly, that the volatile and active particles may not be dissipated by too great heat. But this is an error; for they always lose infinitely more by slow than by quick drying. When, on account of the color, they cannot be exposed to the sun, and the warmth of the atmosphere is insufficient, they should be dried by an artificial warmth, less than 100 degrees of Fahrenheit, and well exposed to a current of air. When perfectly dry and friable, they have little smell, but after being kept some time, they attract moisture from the air, and regain their proper odor.
The boxes and drawers in which vegetable matters are kept, should not impart to them any smell or taste; and more certainly to avoid this, they should be lined with paper. Such as are volatile, of a delicate texture, or subject to suffer from insects, must be kept in well-covered glasses. Fruits and oily seeds, which are apt to become rancid, must be kept in a cool and dry, and by no means in a warm or moist place. Oily seeds, odorous plants, and those containing volatile principles, should be collected fresh every year; others, whose properties are more permanent and not subject to decay, will keep for several years. Vegetables collected in a moist and rainy season are, in general, more watery, and apt to spoil; in a dry season, they contain more oily and resinous particles, and keep much better.
MISCELLANY.
TYPHOID FEVER.
THIS disease, which has prevailed extensively at the west, is treated under a variety of names—such as nervous, putrid, gastrionic, brain fever, &c.; while the people of this vicinity, designate it by the name of slow fever, which, in my opinion, is about as descriptive of the disease as any above mentioned. It is most prevalent during the winter and spring. Patients are variously affected during the first stages of the disease. Some are taken with a chill, while others are not conscious of any such sensations, but merely complain of loss of strength and appetite; others complain of pain in their head and back. I have seen some take to their beds, and declare that nothing was the matter with them, and would insist on the correctness of their absurd opinions for several days. The pulse soon becomes small and frequent, the skin hot and dry, while insufferable thirst continually torments the sufferer. Patients frequently manifest a strong propensity to sing, while laboring under it, yet they seldom complain of pain, though delirium be constantly present, and the bowels morbidly sensitive to firm pressure. I have seen patients die without complaining of pain, and yet, on making post mortem examination, satisfactory evidence was furnished that inflammation of the brain, the lungs, and the mucuous membrane of the bowels, were present. These inflammations, therefore, constitute some of the complications of this disease, while a lack of sensibility, points to an obtunded condition of the nervous system. Ordinarily, for four or five days, the disease does not assume an aggravated appearance, during which time the fever has a remitting form; but shortly after this, if the patient is not relieved, the fever becomes continued; and now begin to rise gradually all the worst symptoms of typhoid fever; the tongue, which at first was white, or of a yellowish brown color, now becomes black, dry in the centre, and cracked; the patient soon falls into a deep coma, and delirium is almost constantly present. Twitching of the muscles of the face, subsultus-tendinum, and floccillation, are symptoms which generally attend this disease.