EXPERIMENT IX.

Distilled water faturated with fixed air formed a white cloud and precipitation, upon being mixed with a folution of faccharum faturni. I found likewife, that fixed air, after paffing through the tube filled with alkaline falt, upon being let into a phial containing a folution of the metallic falt in diftilled water, caufed a perfect feparation of the lead, in the form of a white powder; for the water, after this precipitation, fhewed no cloudiness upon a fresh mixture of the fub ftances which had before rendered it opaque.

NUMBER II.

A Letter from Mr. HEY to Dr. PRIESTLEY, concerning the Effects of fixed Air applied by way of Clyfter.

Reverend Sir,

Leeds, Feb. 15th, 1772.

Having lately experienced the good effects of fixed air in a putrid fever, applied in a manner, I believe, not heretofore made ufe of, I thought it proper to inform you of the agreeable event, as the method of applying this powerful corrector of putrefaction took its rife principally from your obfervations and experiments on factitious air; and now, at your request, I fend the particulars of the cafe I mentioned to you, as far as concerns the administration of this remedy.

January 8, 1772, Mr. Lightbowne, a young gentleman who lives with me, was feized with a fever, which after continuing about ten days, began to be attended with those symptoms that indicate a putrefcent state of the fluids.

18th, His tongue was black in the morning when I first visited him, but the black nefs went off in the day time upon drinking: He had begun to doze much the preceding day, and now he took little notice of thofe that were about him: His belly was loofe, and had been so for fome days; his pulse beat rio ftrokes in a minute, and was rather low: He was ordered to take twenty-five grains of Peruvian bark with five of

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tormentil-root in powder every four hours, and to use red wine and water cold as his common drink.

19th, I was called to vifit him early in the morn ing, on account of a bleeding at the nofe which had come on: he lost about eight ounces of blood, which was of a loose texture: the hæmorrhage was fuppressed, though not without fome difficulty, by means of tents made of soft lint dipped in cold wa◄ ter ftrongly impregnated with tincture of iron, which were introduced within the noftrils quite through to their pofterior apertures; a method which has never yet failed me in like cafes. His tongue was now covered with a thick black pellicle, which was not diminished by drinking: his teeth were furred with the fame kind of fordid matter, and even the roof of his mouth and fauces were not free from it: his loosenefs and ftupor continued, and he was aloft inceffantly muttering to himself: he took this day a fcru ple of the Peruvian bark with ten grains of tormentil every two or three hours: a starch clyfter, containing a drachm of the compound powder of bole, without opium was given morning and evening: a window was set open in his room, though it was a fevere froft, and the floor was frequently fprinkled with vinegar.

20th, He continued nearly in the fame ftate: when roufed from his dozing, he generally gave a sensible anfwer to the queftions afked him; but he immedi ately relapsed, and repeated his muttering. His kin was dry, and harsh, but without petechie. He sometimes voided his urine and faces into the bed, but ge nerally had sense enough to ask for the bed-pan: as he

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now naufeated the bark in substance, it was exchanged for Huxham's tincture, of which he took a table spoonevery two hours in a cup full of cold water: he drank fometimes a little of the tincture of roses, but his common liquors were red wine and water, or ricewater and brandy acidulated with elixir of ⚫vitriol: before drinking, he was commonly requested to rinse his mouth with water to which a little honey and vinegar had been added. His loofeness rather increased, and the ftools were watery, black, and fœtid: It was judged neceffary to moderate this difcharge, which feemed to fink him, by mixing a drachm of the theriaca Andromachi with each clyfter.

21ft. The fame putrid fymptoms remained, and a fubfultus tendinum came on: his ftools were more foetid, and so hot, that the nurse affured me fhe could not apply her hand to the bed-pan, immediately after they were discharged, without feeling pain on this account: The medicine and clyfters were repeated.

Reflecting upon the difagreeable neceffity we feemed to lie under of confining this putrid matter in the inteftines, left the evacuation should deftroy the vis vita before there was time to correct its bad quality, and overcome its bad effects, by the means we were using ; I confidered, that, if this putrid ferment could be more immediately corrected, a ftop would probably be put to the flux, which feemed to arise from, or at least to be encreased by it; and the fomes of the difeafe would likewise be in a great measure removed. thought nothing was fo likely to effect this, as the introduction of fixed air into the alimentary canal, which, from the experiments of Dr. Macbride, and

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those you have made fince his publication, appears to be the most powerful corrector of putrefaction hitherto known. I recollected what had recommended to you me as deferving to be tried in putrid diseases, I mean the injection of this kind of air by way of clyfter, and judged that in the prefent case such a method was clearly indicated.

The next morning I mentioned my reflections to Dr. Hird and Dr. Crowther, who kindly attended this young gentleman at my requeft, and proposed the following method of treatment, which, with their approbation, was immediately entered upon. We firft gave him five grains of ipecacuanha, to evacuate in the most easy manner part of the putrid colluvies: he was then allowed to drink freely of brifk orangewine, which contained a good deal of fixed air, yet had not loft its sweetness. The tincture of bark was continued as before; and the water which he drank along with it, was impregnated with fixed air from the atmosphere of a large vat of fermenting wort, in the manner I had learned from you. Inftead of the aftringent clyfter, air alone was injected, collected from a fermenting mixture of chalk and oil of vitriol: he drank a bottle of orange-wine in the courfe of this day, but refused any other liquor except water and his medicine: two bladders full of air were thrown up in the afternoon.

23d. His ftools were less frequent; their heat likewife and peculiar fator were confiderably diminished; his muttering was much abated, and the fubfultus tendinum had left him. Finding that part of the air was rejected when given with a bladder in the usual way, U 4 I con