Remarks on Dr. Marshall Hall's Theory of the Relation of Laryngismus to Epilepsy: And on its Treatment by Nitrate of Silver applied in Solution to the Glottis.

Abstract

There is at present some difficulty in obtaining the genuine neat'sfoot oiL From the butchers, it is obtained too much mixed with impurities; from many druggists, mixed with so-called nut-oil; from some, too refined, having had almost all its stearine removed. In this so-styled vey pure form, I find it disagrees with the stomach. In this, as in the cod-liver oil, and, probably, all other mal oils, a large proportion of stearine promotes the digestibility of the oil. The suitable kind of neat's-foot oil is that which is merely freed from foreign particles, yellowish brown in colour, and opaque and thick with stearine, like honey not over clear.' I am indebted to Mr. Walker, formerly of Bloomsbury Square, for suggesting the use of neat's-foot oil, in a case where the cod-liver oil could not be made to agree with the patient. It is, however, by no means an entirely new remedy. I learn from a lady, who is said to have had all the symptoms of consumption thirty years ago, that one Samuel Braunston, of Shuckborough, Warwick-shire, was noted for professing to cure all sorts of diseases with neat's-foot oil. He wished to administer his remedy to my informant, but she declined. To ensure a fair trial, I would suggest that care should be taken that the oil is genuine, but not what the druggists call " exceedingly pure"; that the dose to begin witlh be small-a teaspoonful twice a day-and increased by degrees to any quantity that may be desirable, and always taken when there is food in the stomach. Torquay, April 15, 1852.