St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1888-09-22
OIL or PEPPERMINT.


Medical Journal Aseribss % Il Wos'
dsrfal Curative Properties.
In addition to being, from It's potency
and other advantages, the best Of sur
gical antiseptics. it Is possible that
there lies in oil Of peppermint a power
for good and q field Of therapeutic
utility vaster in extent and Importance
than any vet known or suspected.
Some cases Of phthisis. in which have
employed il rs an inhalafi01, lead mo
to hope that We may find In it a rene
dy against the scourge to which we pay
annually . tribute Of ten thousand
lives.
In diphthcia. tho greatest of all
desiderata has always been such an
antiseptic as this-one which may be
fearlessly applied in the greatest
quantity and the greatest frequency;
which Is innocuous. whether it be
swallowed during its application. or be
respired into the air-passagcs. and
which. by its absorption into the blood
and its ready volatility. is enabled u
penetrate to every recess. and De car
ried through all the tissues. Two
cases Of typical diphtheria in male
adults. part of small epidemic. some
among the victims OF which died with
its worst features. have been treated
solely BY applications Of oil of pepper
mint.
These cases afford ground for believ.
ing. therefore. that this drug may be
also . potent weapon in diphtheria-
Recovering 80 completely and 90
speedily as they did. their progress re-
sembles neither that Of ''Ordinary"
liberated pharyngitis. treated or not
By the usual means. nor Of adiphtheria
- It has progressed in cases have
seen treated by the inefficient local
antiseptics in vogue
OIL Of peppermint has been in use as
. carminative from time immemOrial.
DR.. Lauder BruntOn's experiments
show how remarkable is its power OF
causing the absorption OF hatus; they
leave unexplained. however. its mode
Of action. Possibly some of it is due
20 its preventing Torment changes set
up by bacteria, which it kills. DIR.
Brunton notes that the aromatic oils TO
which peppermint belongs have more
marked effects on life the lower down
In the scale it is placed. Thus. II
kills leeches with commissions, and.
while DR.. Brunton states that it
has no effect on beetles. !
have found that cockroaches and
other insects are readily destroyed by
the vap0r-about one part in one hum
drcd thousand killing them in an hour
with commissions, ending in paralysis
Of first. the last and then the anterior
limbs and appendages.
In neither DIR. Neale's Digest" nor
DIR. Warnings '.Bibliotheca Therapeutic
Gu" is there any account Of the use Of
peppermint as an antiseptic; but, in
common with other essential oils. this
use has probably been made of its Writ
ues long since The ''herbs- of such
great curative value when applied to
the wounds Of medieval knights were
those containing '.aromatick" oils, no
doubt. and were very useful as anti
septics after wound had been '.rum-
maged," as by Sir Baudewin. OF Flan-
ders, in Mort d'Arthur.' From men.
tiOn Of ''clOvc water" in Mr.. Lawson
Tait's interesting little book On Dis
eases of Women" it would seem that
he. too. uses something OF this kind,
whether ON aesthetic or scientific
grounds one can only surmise. The
piny OdOrs Of AmachOn and Bourne
mouth, and other phthisical resorts.
would appear to owe their virtues to
aromatic oils. The Chinese,
am told, repOse great faith in pepper.
mint, and it seems not to be misplaced.
knew its value in collie,
and recommended it for thrush. Ac-
cording to Laurin, it would cure near
" every disorder. CELSIUS mentions it in
cholera and in worms. These are all
bows drawn Mt q venture, nut we may
quote as curious, in connection with
the last. and as important in itself. the
of Babes. who says Of the
.ls of mustard and Of pepper.
mint: ''One drop placed under a bell.
lar covering q cultivation Of cholera
bacill will kill both bacill and spores
In forty eight hours. London Lancet