(In 1895 Dr. Thomas L. Shearer contributed the following concerning the remedy to the Homœopathic Eye, Ear and Throat Journal):
Lemna minor where the crusts and the muco-purulent discharge are very abundant with fetor (in rhinitis atrophics). Its action is wonderful, but it must not be administered in too low a dilution, as it then produces a sensation of intense dryness in the pharynx and the larynx. Possibly if it were exhibited in a much higher dilution it would be applicable to cases which have only a slight amount of discharge. It seems best to stop the remedy as soon as its action upon the secretions is marked, and then to wait a while before returning to its further employment. Dr. Cooper, of London, was, I believe, the first to investigate the action of Lemna minor upon the upper air passages, but I do not think that he had tried it in cases of atrophic rhinitis. There is a great future for this new addition to our therapeutic resources, and it certainly deserves further investigation. It modifies the secretions to such an extent that we can more readily improve the condition of the nasal chambers with the aid of local measures. Whether it has the power to prevent or even retard the actual process of atrophy remains to be seen.
LEVICO.
Preparation.—Dilutions made from the mineral water or triturations from the residue obtained by evaporation of the water.
(Dr. Burnett has called the attention of the profession to this water in his books. The following concerning its constituents is from The Therapist, a London journal):
Of all mineral waters those of Levico are distinguished, not only by their contents of these three elements, arsenic, iron and copper, but they are remarkable for the state of combination in which they occur. Situated in South Tyrol, on the confines of Italy, Levico has for many years been a favorite sanitorium of the Italian medical profession for their nervous and skin patients. Of late years Levico water has also been increasingly recognized by the German and Austrian faculty, among whom Bamberger, Billroth, Hebra, Nussbaum, and others testify to the extraordinary remedial activity of the waters, favoring assimilation, increasing nutrition, and in chronic and dyscratic skin diseases functioning as antiseptic or astringent.
Merely as an internal medication Levico water has, however, proved so satisfactory that it is a recognized member of the pharmacopœia in many German and Austrian hospitals and clinics. Thus Professor Nussbaum, of Munich, writes that 'Levico water is given in my orthopædic institute in doses of two or three ounces to scrofulous and anæmic children. The water is well tolerated, and in spite of the smallness of the dose the result is, in many cases, very evident.' Professor Eulenberg, of Berlin, finds Levico water especially satisfactory in chorea minor in children and at the age of puberty, as well as for hysterical neuralgia and spasms. A very copious testimony of like nature has been borne respecting Levico water.
LATHYRUS SATIVUS.
Nat. Ord., Leguminosæ.
Common Names, Wild Vetch. Chick pea.
Preparation.—Trituration of the dried pea.
(Dr. W. A. Dewey contributed the following paper concerning this remedy to the Medical Century, 1899):