The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-06-04 00:00:00

the " Transactions of the Provincial Medical and Sur4i-
cal Association" in 1843, together with the pressing in-
treaty of those who have the sale of the article, and the
results of further experience of the utility of the plant,
not only in cases of haemorrhage, both externally and in-
ternally, but also in other diseases, where the usual reme-
dies have failed, " must be his apology for further tres-
passing upon the public." We think our author had no
need even to hint at an apology, for the work is one not
only of great interest to the profession, but to the public
generally. He further states in the course of some pre-
fatory remarks, that the manner of using the Matico, and
the form prescribed, is of much importance, and that the
simple washing of the bleeding vessels with a strong de-
coction has with him proved successful, when the leaf, the
powder, and the tincture have failed, though aided by well
directed mechanical pressure. lie furnishes an extraor-
dinary instance, of spontaneous bleeding from the inner
parts of the mouth, to such an extent as to endanger the
life of the patient, which was stopped by holding the de-
coction in the mouth. We have, in this edition, besides
the information formerly published, many valuable ad-
ditional remarks, together with a number of letters from
medical men of eminence in this and other towns, bearing
testimony to the efficacy of the plant in staunching every
kind of bleeding, both external and internal—also direc-
tions for its use. It appears that the Matico has now
become a regular article of import, but care should be
taken that the genuine article is procured, as not only a
spurious herb, but an inferior sort is sometimes offered.
It is known by the Spaniards and South Americans as
`'Yerba Soldado," or " Soldiers Herb." The following
is the account of its discovery given to our author by a
mercantile friend who brought some of it from Peru :
" A soldier, wounded in the field of battle, was left
bleeding so profusely as to afford little or no hope of his
surviving, The occurrence of syncope so far checked the
haemorrhage as to revive him, and enabled him to perceive
his threatened danger. He immediately exerted what
little strength he possessed to fill the wound with grass,
and the leaves of a plant accidentally within his reach,*
and the effects were so speedy and complete as to enable
him to rise from the place where he fell ; and he survived
to record the means which he supposed had saved his
life."

* The latter, upon examination, was found to be Matico.

The Library of Travel.

We have received Part 11. of this cheap and interesting
work, and we find in it no relaxation in the zeal and in-
dustry of the editor, Mr. Walter K. Kelly, to accomplish
the object with which he commenced his labours,—viz.,
" to collect from the writings of travellers in all European
languages, the interesting matter now dispersed through
a wilderness of volumes, and to methodise this matter,
and recast it into such a form as shall make it available
for readers of limited means and leisure." He appears,
in fact, nut only to select the works of the best writers
and travellers, but to possess a peculiar aptitude for
spreading before his readers the concentrated " honey of
their deep research." The present number contains the
continuation of " Syria and the Holy Land," and is re-
plete with interesting descriptive details of, and adven-
tures in, those highly interesting countries. We have
here the " Route to Tripoli, and the Cedars" ; " Route
from Tripoli to Latakiah" ; " Journey along the Heights
of the Lebanon" ; " The Druses " ; " The Palace of
Bteddin" ; " Route from Beyroot to Damascus," &e. ;
the whole interspersed with neat illustrative wood engra-
vings. We shall probably give a few extracts in our next
publication.