Ginger (Zingiber Officinale). The root is the part used. This is a grateful stimulant and carminative. Dose—Of the powder, ten to twenty grains; of the infusion, one teaspoonful in a gill of water; of the tincture, twenty to thirty drops; of the essence, ten to fifteen drops; of the syrup, one teaspoonful.
Wintergreen (Gaultheria Procumbens). The leaves are used. This plant possesses stimulant, aromatic, and astringent properties. The essence of Wintergreen is carminative, and is used in colics. Dose—Of the essence, one-half to one teaspoonful in sweetened water; of the oil, three to five drops on sugar.
Peppermint (Mentha Piperita). Peppermint is a powerful stimulant, carminative, and antispasmodic. It is used in the treatment of spasms, colic, and hysteria. Dose—The infusion may be used freely. The essence may be taken in doses of fifteen to thirty drops in sweetened warm water; of the oil, one to five drops on sugar.
Spearmint (Mentha Viridis). The carminative properties of spearmint are inferior to those of peppermint, and its chief employment is for its diuretic and febrifuge virtues. Dose—Same as that of peppermint.
Compound Extract of Smart-weed. Dr. Pierce's Extract of Smart-weed is a valuable carminative and aromatic stimulant, and has been employed with marked success in all diseases in which this class of remedies is required.
CATHARTICS.
Cathartics, or Purgatives are medicines which act upon the bowels and increase the secretions and evacuations. In many parts of the country, these agents are known as purges, or physics. They have been variously divided and subdivided, usually with reference to the energy of their operations or the character of the evacuations produced.
Laxatives, or Aperients, are mild cathartics. Purgatives act with more energy and produce several discharges which are of a more liquid character and more copious than the former.
Drastics are those cathartics which produce numerous evacuations accompanied by more or less intestinal irritation.
Hydragogues are those purgatives which produce copious, watery discharges.