A NEW METHOD OF TREATING AND CURING OF RUP- TURES
Year: 1802

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
DE OLIVEIRA BARRETO, late of Lisbon, but now of Old Burlington Street, in
the County of Middlesex, Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present Majesty King George the Third, by His Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster,
the Thirtieth day of August, in the forty-second year of His reign, reciting that
I, the said Joseph de Oliveira Barreto and Mary de Lima Barreto, my wife,
by our Petition, humbly represented unto His Majesty, had, by great study,
invented and discovered "A NEW METHOD OF TREATING AND CURING OF RUP-
TURES," which would greatly benefit mankind, and be of general public utility
and advantage, and which had not been used or practised by any other person
or persons, to the knowledge or belief of either of us, the said Petitioners, and
praying His Majesty to grant to me, the said Joseph de Oliveira Barreto,
my exors, admors, and assigns, His Letters Patent for the sold use and exer-
cise of our discovery, as aforesaid, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, for the term of fourteen years from the date of the
said Letters Patent, he was graciously pleased to condescend to our request;
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that if I, the said Joseph
de Oliviera Barreto, should not particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of our said Invention, and method of healing and curing of ruptures, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, and cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's Court
of Chancery within one calender month next and immediately after the date

page_text: of the said Letters Patent, that then the said Letters Patent, and all liberties
and advantages whatsoever thereby granted should utterly cease, determine,
and become void, as in and by the said Letters Patent, relation being thereunto
had, may and will more fully appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph de Oliveira Barreto, in com-
pliance with the said proviso, do hereby describe the nature of our said
discovery, the Method of the Treating and Curing of Ruptures, to be as
follows (that is to say):-
That our said Invention and discovery doth consist of an ointment or salve,
composed of the several drugs, and mixed and compounded in the proportion
following, namely: one pound of incense, pulverised, 1 lb. of almecago, 1 lb. of
turpentine, 1 lb. of balsam of capivi, and one pound and a quarter of white
or virgin wax, and in the same proportion for a greater or less quantity,
always adding one fourth more of white or virgin wax. I likewise further
declare that the best method of making this ointment is by first pounding the
incense and almecaga till it is reduced to a fine powder, then mix it with the
turpentine and capivi, repeatedly stirring it, for the space of three days, in a
strong bason or bowl of earthenware, then melt the wax to an oily substance,
and when so melted all the other ingredients are then to be thrown in, when
the whole is to be put on the fire and stirred for a quarter of an hour; then leave
it for eight days, and after the expiration of those eight days it must be put
on the fire again, and be well stirred for a quarter of an hour, and when cold
it will be fit for use. And, lastly, I declare that the best method of using
and applying the same, and the rules and regimen to be observed and attended
to by the patients are as follows:-Cut a piece of leather the size of the
rupture, or rather larger, and spread the ointment over it, then warm it a little,
and apply it exactly upon the rupture. The patient, however, must first lye
on his back, and if the intestines are down they must be returned, and when
they are restored to their proper place and position, then the plaster must be
immediately applied to the part, and then secured or fastened, by means of a
truss, as tight as possible, and remain so for fifteen days, after which time the
plaster is taken off, and a fresh one put on for the space of fifteen days more,
making altogether thirty days; but it must be perfectly understood that after
the application, namely, on the first day, the patient must go to bed, and
remain there for twenty-four hours, and during the whole thirty days he must
be extremely cautious not to ride on horseback, nor walk fast, or any distance,
that he should avoid going up and down stairs as much as possible, and should
not lift any weight, or use any exertion, so as to extend the muscles. That he
must also be very particular in his diet during the thirty days, and avoid

page_text: cating butter, oil, and all similar substances, and also be extremely moderate in
drinking, as well as in every other respect during all the before-mentioned
period limited for the cure of the complaint in question.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Sixth
day of September, in the year of our Lord Christ- One thousand
eight hundred and two.
JOSEPH DE OLIV (L.s.) EIRA BARRETO.