Homœopathy, allopathy, and "young physic" / By John Forbes.

  • Forbes, John, Sir, 1787-1861.
Date:
1846
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Homœopathy, allopathy, and "young physic" / By John Forbes. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    24/70 (page 18)
    IS If the medicament to be prepared is solid, one grain, if liquid, one drop, is added to one of the parts of sugar of milk in an unglazed porcelain mortar: the two substances are mixed together for a moment, by means of a horn or bone spatula, and are then rubbed (with a middling degree of force—mit einiger Kraft) with the pestle, also unglazed, for six minutes : the mass is then scraped [by the bone or horn spatula we presume] from the bottom of the mortar and the pestle, during the space of four minutes more : it is then rubbed as before six minutes : four minutes are again con- sumed in scraping the mass together. The second portion of sugar of milk is then added, the two are stirred with the spatula for an instant, and are then subjected for six minutes to similar trituration. The powder being again scraped toge- ther during the space of four minutes, is once more triturated for six minutes, and this time more forcibly (kraftig gerieben.) Being again scraped for four minutes, the third and last por- tion of the sugar of milk is added ; the whole is mixed by the spatula, and then forcibly triturated for six minutes; again scraped four minutes and again triturated six. The powder is then carefully removed from the mortar and pestle and deposited in a stoppered phial. This is the First degree of attenuation, or the hundredth degree of power. To raise the medicament to the Second degree of attenua- tion, or the 10,000th power, one grain of the powder thus prepared is mixed with one-third of ninety-nine (thirty-three) grains of sugar of milk ; these being well stirred with the spatula, are forcibly triturated for six minutes and scraped for four; and the same operations are performed on adding the second and third portions of the sugar of milk respec- tively. The powder is then preserved as before in stoppered phials. It thus appears that each attenuation is effected by means of six triturations of six minutes each, and six scrapings of four minutes each; the whole period or preparation occupy- ing exactly the space of one hour. To obtain the Third attenuation (the millionth) a grain of the second attenuation is taken and treated precisely in the same manner. The higher attenuations are obtained from this third-power powder, by means of solutions in alcohol and water, and are thus effected. In the first place, one hundred drops of strong alcohol and one hundred drops of distilled water, both of low tempera-ture, (keller-temperatur, cellar- temperature,) are mixed together by means of ten shakes of