How many lives have been sacrificed by the practice of bleeding in feverish and inflammatory cases, from the nonadoption of wet sheet packing, which causes no loss of strength, and leaves behind none of the debility and consequent long convalescence, which bleeding and strong medicines necessarily occasion; it is to us indeed inexplicable how so insane a process as bleeding can still be resorted to in this 19th century, a process which deprives nature of her vital fluid, and lets flow the stream on which our very existence depends.* How can this cutting of the strings of life be defended when an expedi ent for lowering inflammation without reducing the strength, presents itself for adoption by the physician, one which by its action purifies the blood, reducing fever by the abstraction of heat and by the removal of the serum or watery constituent of the blood, which contains all its impurities. Will the public any longer place confidence in the physician who when invited to cure them, would weaken them by bleeding, and assist the operations of nature by depriving her of that vital stream on the existence of which her self-restoring properties depend? will they prefer a system which ensures a long convalescence to the patient, to that in which he recovers from his disease without any sensible diminution of his strength, or injury to his constitution? The system of wet sheet packing is so extraor dinary, and satisfactory in its results, that he who refuses to make use of it must lag behind, whilst success will attend the efforts of him who judiciously applies it in the cases to which it is suited.

The compress and hot stupe, next demand our attention; both are usually applied to the stomach; the latter consisting of a vulcanized India-rubber bag filled with hot water which is laid over a towel, the under folds of which are moistened and placed next the body, a most efficient and convenient form of fomentation; these remedies are applied in the treatment of nearly all chronic diseases, where there is morbid action of the stomach, liver, or kidneys; this form of stupe, Dr. Wilson calls the "ne plus ultra of poulticing, soothing and derivation being by it most perfectly obtained, and in the greatest degree. Each operation has on deep seated chronic

* The late melancholy case of Mr. Stafford O'Brien is an instance of this injurious practice; that gentleman was copiously bled, doubtless that he might be the better enabled, in his so enfeebled condition, to resist the action of a powerful poison (opium) afterwards administered with deadly effect.

irritation, as one of its qualities, the advantageous effect of a mild blister or mustard plaister, without any of its drawbacks, and in acute inflaminations, in all nervous or neuralgic pains, in the sufferings of colic, biliousness, or sickness of the stomach, or other digestive derangements from dietetic errors, and in the malaise ushering in fevers and inflammations, in sore throat, &c., or affections of the lungs and air tubes, it is then found to be the most agreeable and potent anodyne and equalizer of the circulation." It in effect accomplishes the most salutary operations of opiates, without any risk of congesting the liver, or producing that sickness and atony of the stomach, and all but paralysis of the lower bowels which result from the use of narcotic drugs. "No nervous irritations," says Dr. Wilson, "no visceral congestions, especially if of recent formation, but are soon relieved by this powerful revulsive rubefacient and anodyne. With the dissipation of those interior congestions comes the solution of pains and spasms, or flatulence which may have risen to a severe state of suffering, the release of bilious and nervous headaches, neuralgic pains, asthmatic fits, &c. These have all their origin near or remote in visceral obstructions, congestions, &c. In most cases where for a longer or shorter time any organic action has been embarrassed, sleep banished or disquieted, and the patient irritated and exhausted to the last degree; by aid of the fomentations, in a brief time. organic calm takes the place of organic tumult, ease succeeds to agitation, and the whole apparatus feels to work normally and with renewed alacrity. What I have just described, you may frequently hear repeated and descanted upon in the same strain by my patients."

The effect of hot-stupe in the removal of irritation from the viscera, the immediate cause of dysentery, &c., is very remarkable, and from our knowledge of its effects, we have often regretted, that so simple and rational an expedient was not resorted to, in the treatment of those diseases by which our noble army was more than decimated in the late Crimean Campaign. On this subject Dr. Wilson, remarks, "so strong was my conviction, that I wrote to my good friend Lord Rokeby, requesting him to offer my service through Mr. Sidney Herbert. I offered to go and remain there (at Scutari,) entirely at my own expense, not as a "water doctor," but as an ordinary medical practitioner, willing to lend a hand, and make himself generally useful. I stated that I had almost lived in hospitals

for seven years, had afterwards witnessed the practice of nearly every great hospital in Europe, and could undertake simple operations, and any amputations with little preparation: had been twenty-five years in practice. After some weeks I received a polite letter thanking me, but fearing it could not be done, not being quite the custom. About this time there was an outcry for medical men, those at the hospitals were too few for the work, they were worn ont with fatigue."-Further on he adds "I have had a great many patients suffering under Chronic diseases from climate, exposure, and want of care, &c., patients from India, Ceylon, and the Antipodes, with long continued diarrhoea, dysentery, and intractable fever of an intermittent character. From the success of this simple treatment in those cases, I have not ceased to regret that I did not go to Scutari on my own account without permit or introduction. I might have introduced the practice gradually, being sure that it only required a trial to have been adopted by the medical staff with great satisfaction."

We join Dr. Wilson, heartily in this regret, as it would have led to the introduction of this remedy if proved efficient, and silenced its advocates if it proved a failure. Nowhere could the two systems have been more severely and satisfactorily tested, and we should all have benefitted by the result; the relative merits of the two systems would have been decided, and the public no longer left to hang in doubt between them.

The sitz bath and foot bath next claim our attention, the former acting with marked effect in cases of congestion of the liver and other internal organs; by abstracting heat from the surface of the body submitted to its influence, a transference of fluids takes place from the centre to the exterior, and the congested organs are relieved from their excess of blood by its being thus determined to the surface; this effect, at first temporary becomes permanent, when the use of the bath has been persevered in for some time. Let us now compare the effects of this bath, in the cases of congestion of the liver, with the treatment usually pursued by the orthodox physicians; their remedies consist in dosing with Calomel, or Taraxicum, or in the application of leeches to the affected region; the two former stimulate the action of the liver, in spite of the congested blood which oppresses it, but they do not attempt to deal with the causes of this congestion, the result of which is that the liver being weakened by its unnatural exertions consequent on the unnatural stimulants which have been administered to it, sinks

after the effect of the unnatural stimulus has worn away,-into a more enfeebled and exhausted state, and the original cause of the congestion remaining unremoved, matters become worse than at first; in the case of leeching the topical bleeding relieves the affection for a time, but this is a remedy which cannot be REPEATED in consequence of the weakness it engenders, and when the bleeding is given up, how do matters stand?-the disease remains in statu quo; not so, however, the constitution, for this has been weakened by the bleeding, and nature being consequently less able to cure herself chronic disease of the liver results. On the other hand the hydropathic treatment necessary to determine the blood from the congested organ to the surface, and so remove the disease, can be repeated as often as desirable, with renewed effect, until permanent relief is afforded by a perseverance in the treatment, and the patient improves in general health, pari passu, with the cure of his particular disease. The effects of the sitz bath, are it appears either tonic or relaxing according to the length of time during which it is administered; if a tonic effect is desired, a period varying from 10 to 15 minutes is prescribed-if a relaxing or derivative effect is to be produced, the period is extended to half an hour or 45 minutes.

As regards the use of the foot bath, we may observe that the theory of its administration subverts all our preconceived ideas as to the proper mode of treating those affections for which it is usually prescribed; for instance the old mode of proceeding in affections of blood to the head, or in cases of cold feet, was to apply cold to the head and warmth to the feet in the shape of hot flannels, hot bricks, and stupes; now the modern mode of proceeding is the very reverse of this, viz. to bathe the head in tepid, and place the feet in cold water to about the depth of three inches, up to the ancles: friction of the feet should accompany their immersion, the whole being continued for about ten minutes. Let any person suffering from cold feet try this remedy, and they will satisfy themselves of the truth of the practice which enjoins it: its rationale is as follows. The application of warm water to the head of the same temperature as the body, does not increase the flow of blood to it, whilst the subsequent evaporation from the moist and warm surface of the head cools it gradually, and so diminishes the flow of blood to it, whilst the cold application to the feet, has "for a secondary result the attraction and retention in those parts of great quantity of blood, and consequently of increased temperature there. In fact," continues Dr.

Gully, "a cold foot bath of 12 or 15 minutes followed by a walk of half-an-hour, is the most certain way to warm the feet that can be devised; just as per contra, the most certain way to ensure cold feet, is to soak them in hot water. The same applies to the hands. When the patient is in a condition to take it, a walk is necessary to obtain the circulating reaction. alluded to:" he adds, "the warmth remains for several hours. Very frequently I have heard persons say that they have not known cold feet since they began to take cold foot baths."

We would next make some observations on the different modes of treating that fatal and mysterious disease, which has so long baffled the curative efforts of the most eminent physi cians of their day, we mean pulmonary consumption, and it is gratifying to find that a great step towards a rational and successful mode of treatment based on sound physiological princi ples haslately obtained in the case of this disease, which mode of treatment we hope soon to see generally adopted by the medical profession. The unsuccessful treatment of this disease has hitherto cast a slur on medical science, and it is not to be wondered at, that little success should have attended on the old mode of treatment, since recent observation, and matured experience have shown, on physiological principles, that no worse mode could have been devised for curing it, nor a surer one adopted for producing an aggravation of its symptoms. This new view of the matter is very ably set forth in Dr. Lane's work, which we heartily recommend to the perusal of our readers, as a sensible and modest statement of the benefits resulting from Hydropathie treatment in cases of this description. Dr. Lane looks upon consumption as essentially a blood disease, in which opinion he is confirmed by the first physiologists of the day, and by those physicians who have had most experience in the treat ment of that particular disease, Sir James Clarke, Professor Bennett, Dr. Balbyrnie, and others. These physicians all agree in stating that indigestion or derangement of the stomach and digestive organs is a universal forerunner of pulmonary consumption, and without this derangement, consumption cannot exist; consequent on this diseased state of the digestive organs, imperfect blood is assimilated, defi

We do not pretend to assert, that consumption is curable when ORGANIC disease of the lungs has actually been established, but we maintain that the disease is perfectly curable in its incipient stages, though not by drugs, nor banishment to a foreign clime. The latter may somewhat prolong the disease, but will not cure it unless by accident, when of a very mild form.