Introduction to the scanned version.

Specific Medication and Specific Medicines

by John M. Scudder, M.D.,

Professor of the Principles and Practice of Medicine in the Eclectic Medical Institute; Author of "The Principles of Medicine," "The Eclectic Practice of Medicine," "The Eclectic Materia Medica and Therapeutics," "A Practical Treatise on the Diseases of Women," etc.

Cincinnati: Wilstach, Baldwin & Co., Printers.

1870.

Scanned version copyright © 1999-2014 Henriette Kress.

This edition of the book was written back in 1870. Physiology / medicine / chemistry has gone forward a bit, so do take the suggestions with a grain of salt.

John M. Scudder generally thought that most tinctures and/or dried herbs found in commerce were crap, and that in order to get good raw materials you had to know your herbs. 129 years later that is still the case.

This is not King's Dispensatory. These are, at best, sketches. So why did I scan this and not the Dispensatory? Because this one only contains about 240 small pages... and it's frequently referenced. (I'd like a newer edition to put online. I think that something closer to 1900 would be far better.)

Some of the plants mentioned in this work are toxic even in small doses. That means that you have to know your plants before you use any of the information in this work.

-- Henriette

On measurements:

Scudder, on page 134 of this book:

I might say in this connection, that when I specify the strength of Alcohol by degrees, I have no reference to an imaginary standard of proof, but the figures represent the number of parts in one hundred.

How to read the numbers:

Oj. = 1 pint
℥viij. = 8 troy ounces
ʒss. = ½ drachm
gtts. ij. = 2 drops
grs. x. = 10 grains

Weight and volume tables from the U.S. Dispensatory, 1876, here: dispensatory.html, with the difference between Troy and Avoirdupois ounces, drachms etc., and some Imperial measurements thrown in to add to the confusion. I've added a conversion table for metric weights and volumes.

Specific Medication and Specific Medicines, 1870, was written by John M. Scudder, M.D.