OCR Text |
Show 666 LEMON. LEMON. 667 extract recommended so warmly by Dr. Lind, has been found by of the acid concentrated in this manner; for, when prepared as captain Cookandothersof little or no effect. it ought to be, it will keep for ages. The juice of lemonsand limes has been often récommended by someof the oldest writers to be used externally to the swellings, rigid limbs, and ulcers of scorbutic patients.+ A surgeonin lord Rodney’s fleet last war, we are informed by Dr. Blane, found much benefit from it, applied to sores in the form of a poultice. Lemon juice also counteracts the powers of opium. It could scarcely, indeed, be expected that any preparation of this kind couldre. tain the virtues of the recent fruit. It is not only the water that evaporates, but theacid is carried off with it, andthe taste of the remaining juice has manifestly less acidity than when it was squeezed from the lemon; its powers were not, therefore, concentrated by that process. A much better methodis to bottle up the juice immediately as it is squeezed and strained. Byict. ting it standto clear, it is said that the mucilage maybe separated, which is the cause of its acquiring a mouldiness anddis. agreeable taste: but what we gain in one waybythese means welose in another; for during the depuration andprecipitation of the mucilage, a fermentation begins, which very materially alters the acidity of the juice, and destrroys its antiscorbutic qualities. If, therefore, the lemonsarefresh, as they oughtto be, with their rind hard and full of aroma, the liquor maybe corked Letter from General Sir George Brathwaite Boughton, Bart., to Dr. Beddoes Poston Hall, July 24, 1795. Sir, Having for a considerable time been troubled with rheu- matic pains, it was recommended to me to take a mild opiate every night on going to bed, and in the event of that dose not proving sufficiently soporific, [ was to add to it a few drops of landanum, for hich purpose [I had procured a three-ounce up instant y, to preserve it in perfection. phial of landanum. Thebest method of giving the lemon or orange juice, is to allowthe patient to suck it from thefruit. Withlittle trouble myself to the use of opium, I geecient postponed taking the opiate till extreme pain and want of sleep renderedit absolutely necessary. In one of these moments, about four o’clockin the morning, I reached out myhandto the table, on which, by mistake, my servant had placed the phial containing the laudanum; and believing this to be my usual night draught, I poured out the contents into a tambler glass, and drankit off. I soon perceived my mistake by the taste of the laudanum ; but from my immediate relief from pain, accompanied bya certain pleasing the entire lemo may be preserved for the longest cruizeintight casks ; andthis is, ofall others, the surest w ay ofsecuring the virtues of the citric acid. But other methods of concentrating and preserving the citric acid have beenlately practised bydifferent chemists. The following process for concentrating the acid juice of citrons, and rendering it unalterable, was published some time ago by Mr. Georgius, in the Actsofthe Academyof Stockholm. Hedirects the juice to be kept for some timein thecellar (1 suppose where it may be cool, and not liableto fermentation) in inverted bottles, in orderto seyparate from it a part of the mucilage, and then to exposeit to a cold from 21° to 23° of Fahrenheit’s ther- mometer. The aqueous part freezes, carrying with it, as it would appear, a portion of the mucilaginous matter: care must be taken, as the ice forms, to separate the liquid fromit, and the congelation must be carried on till the ice becomes acid. The acid thus concentrated is reduced to about one-eighth part of its Original bulk. This preparation has not yet been tried in practicefor the cure of scurvy, but there can be no doubt of its good effects. It is much to be wished that government shouldpatronize a trial Nevertheles s, being unwilling to accustom languor, it was sometime before I could rouse myself so as to call assistance. Being, however, perfectly convinced that I must soon beat a quick march to the other world, unless my stomach Was eased of the poison it contained, I rang thebell, and ordered some warm water. It was sometimebefore this could be gotready. Assoonas it was brought, I drank large quantities, but without any effect. The apothecary was then sent for, who save me three several doses of vitriolated zinc +, when at last they succeeded so well, that I brought up a considerable quanReiman a * This is published in “ Observations on the Medicinal Useof Factitious Airs, and their Production;”’ by Dr. Beddoes. This metal, like thereest, has no power until it be combined with oxYgen, |