"Another heroic plan," says Dr. Aiken, "peculiar, perhaps, to this country, which was practiced when the inefficiency of medicines was generally admitted, was an injection of a solution of half an ounce of muriate of soda, and four scruples of sesquicarbonate of soda in ten pints of water, of a temperature varying from 105 to 120 Fah., into the veins of the suffering patient. The solution was injected slowly; half an hour being spent in the gradual introduction of the ten pints, and the immediate effects of this treatment were very striking. The good effects were rapid in proportion to the heat of the solution, but a higher temperature than what is stated could not be borne. After the introduction of a few ounces, the pulse, which had ceased to be felt at the wrist, became perceptible, and the heat of the body returned. By the time three or four pints had been injected the pulse was good, the cramps had ceased, the body, that could not be heated, had become warm, and instead of cold exudation on the surface, there was a general moisture; the voice, before hoarse and almost extinct, was now natural, the hollowness of the eye, the shrunken state of the features, the leaden hue of the face and body had disappeared, the expression had become animated, the mind cheerful, the restlessness and uneasy feelings had vanished, the vertigo and noises of the ear, the sense of oppression at the precordia had given way to comfortable feelings; the thirst, however urgent before the operation, was assuaged, and the secretion of urine restored, though by no means constantly so. But these promising appearances were not lasting; the vomiting continued, the evacuations became more profuse, and the patient soon relapsed into his former state, from which he might again be aroused by a repetition of the injections; but the amendment was transient, and the fatal period not long deferred. Of 156 patients thus treated at Drummond Street Hospital, Edinburgh, under the direction of Dr. Macintosh, only 25 recovered; a lamentably small proportion; and, small as it is, it seems doubtful if the recoveries were final or complete."

But let us turn to another page, whose beauty is especially marred by unreasonable expedients: "The warm bath," says the writer, "was at first tried, but discontinued from the uncontrollable nature of the vomiting and purging, and the oppressive sensation of heat it produced on the patient's feelings. Mr. Dalton's vapor bath and Turkish baths in the Hospital at Scutari have been used, but without benefit, and to the disappointment of the hopes which had been entertained of them."

"Other methods of restoring warmth were had recourse to, such as frictions with the hand or by the flesh-brush, or rubbing the body with some strong stimulant embrocation, compounded of garlic, capsicum, camphor, cantharides, or other powerful irritants. Mustard poultices also were often applied to the feet and abdomen, blisters with or without an addition of oil of turpentine, the part having been previously rubbed with hot sand; and in cases supposed to be urgent, the mineral acids, and even boiling water, were employed for the purpose of producing instant vesication."

"And, again, we read of those who tried to stimulate the waning powers of life by galvanism, acupuncture of the heart, issues, setons, moxas, actual cautery along the spine, and, lastly, by small pieces of linen dipped in alcohol distributed over the body and then set fire to!!!" Such are some of the means which have been used in the treatment and cure of cholera.

"The failure of such powerful means at length caused most practitioners to confine themselves to checking the diarrhœa, which so frequently precedes cholera, and subsequently, to obviating symptoms as they arose," and for this purpose, returned to and adopted a very simple stimulating mixture, recommended by the Board of Health:

℞.Pulveris Aromat.,ʒ iij.
Tinc. Catechu," x.
Tinc. Cardamom, C.," vj.
Tinc. Opii," j.
Mixt. Cretæ Preparat.,℥ xx.
M.——S., j ℥, as necessary.

Tinc. Kino, or the decoctum Hæmatoxyli, were sometimes added.

These remedies, it is said, frequently arrested the attack altogether. If, however, the disease proceeded and the cold stage of cholera formed, the same remedies were prescribed in an effervescing draught. "To promote reaction in cholera and diarrhœa, the following formula has met with most universal approval in this country and in India. So highly is it valued, indeed, that it is ordered to be always in store, and in readiness in the Medical Field Companion of the army when on the march:

℞.Ol. Anisi, āā. ʒ ss.
Ol. Cajeput,
Ol. Juniper,
Æther, ℥ ss.
Liquor Acid. Haleri,[I]ʒ ss.
Tinc. Cinnam.,℥ ij.