Page images
PDF
EPUB

A CHAIN of

PHILOSOPHICAL REFLEXIONS

AND

INQUIRIES

Concerning the VIRTUES of

TAR WATER,

And divers other SUBJECTS connected together
and arifing one from another.

BY THE

Right Rev. Dr. GEORGE BERKELEY,
Lord Bishop of CLOYNE,

And Author of The Minute Philofopher.

As we have opportunity, let us do good unto all men. Gal. vi. 10.
Hoc opus, hoc ftudium, parvi properemus et ampli.

Hor.

A NEW EDITION,
With ADDITIONS and EMENDATIONS.

DUBLIN Printed,
LONDON Re-printed,

For W. INNYS, and C. HITCH, in Pater-nofter row,
and C. DAVIS in Holbourn. MDCCXLVII.
[Price Two Shillings.]

A Letter to T. P. Efq. from the Author of SIRIS.

A

MONG the great numbers who drink Tar-water in

Dublin, your letter informs me there are feveral, that make it too weak or too ftrong, or use it in an undue manner. To obviate these inconveniences, and render this water as generally useful as poffible, you defire I would draw up fome rules and remarks, in a small compafs; which accordingly I here fend you.

Norwegian tar being the most liquid, mixeth beft with water. Put a gallon of cold water to a quart of this tar, ftir and work them very strongly together, with a flat stick, for about four minutes. Let the veffel ftand covered forty eight hours, that the tar may fubfide. Then pour off the clear water, and keep it close covered, or rather bottled, and well stopped, for use. This may do for a general rule; but as ftomachs and conftitutions are so various, for particular perfons, their own experience is the best rule. The ftronger the better; provided the ftomach can bear it. Lefs water or more stirring makes it stronger; as more water, and less stirring makes it weaker. The fame tar will not do quite fo well a fecond time, but may serve for common uses.

Tar-watar, when right, is not higher than French, nor deeper coloured, than Spanish white wine. If there be not a spirit very fenfibly perceived on drinking, you may conclude, the tar water is not good. If you would have it good, fee it made yourself. Those who begin with it, little and weak, may, by habit, come to drink more and ftronger. According to the feason of the year, or the humour of the patient, it may be taken, cold or warm.

As to the quantity, in chronical cafes, one pint of tar-water a day may fuffice, taken on an empty stomach, at two, or four times; to wit, night and morning; and about two hours after dinner and breakfast. Alteratives, in general, taken little and often, mix beft with the blood. How oft, or how ftrong, each ftomach can bear, experience will fhew: nor is there any danger in making the experiment. Those who labour under old habitual illneffes, must have great patience and perfeverance in the use of this, as well as in all other medicines; which, if fure and safe, muft yet be flow in chronical diforders; which, if grievous or inveterate, may require a full quart every day to be taken, at fix dofes, one third of a pint in each, with a regular diet. In acute cafes, as fevers, of all kinds, it must be drank warm in bed, and in great quantity; perhaps a pint every hour, till the patient be relieved; which I have known to work furprizing cures.

My experiments have indeed been made within a narrow compafs; but as this water is now grown into publick ufe (though it feems not without that oppofition which is wont to attend novelty) I make no doubt, its virtues will be more fully difcovered. Mean while, I must own myself perfuaded, from what I have already feen and tryed, that tar water may be drank with great fafety and fuccefs, in the cure or relief of most if not all diseases, in ulcers, eruptions, and all foul cafes; fcurvies of all kinds, diforders of the lungs, ftomach, and bowels; in nervous cafes, in all inflammatory diftempers; in decays, and other maladies: Nor is it of ufe only in the cure of fickness; it is. alfo used to preferve health, and a guard against infection and old age; as ic gives lafting fpirts, and invigorates the blood. I am even induced, by the nature and analogy of things, and its wonderful fuccefs in all kinds of fevers, to think, that tar water may be very useful in the plague, both as a cure and prefervative.

But, I doubt no medicine can withstand that execrable plague of diftilled fpirits, which operate as a flow poifon, preying on the vitals, and wafting the health and strength of the body and foul; which peft of human kind, is, I am told, by the attempts of our * Whisky patriots, gaining ground in this wretched country, already too thin of inhabitants. I am, &c. *Whisky is a fpirit diftilled from malt, the making of which poifon, cheap and plenty, as being of our growth, is unlucky patriots, a benefit to their country.

RLICHE

KAISERLI

WIEN

HOFBIBL

IGLICHE

OTHER

A CHAIN of

PHILOSOPHICAL REFLEXIONS

AND

INQUIRIES, &c.

F

C.

OR INTRODUCTION to the following piece I affure the reader, that nothing could, in my prefent fituation, have induced me to be at the pains of writing it, but a firm belief that it would prove a valuable prefent to the public. What entertainment foever the reasoning or notional part may afford the mind, I will venture to fay, the other part feemeth fo furely calculated to do good to the body, that both must be gainers. For if the lute be not well tuned, the musician fails of his harmony. And in our present state, the operations of the mind, fo far depend on the right tone or good condition of it's inftrument, that any thing which greatly contributes to preserve or recover the health of the body, is well worth the attention of the mind. These confiderations have moved me to communicate to the public the falutary virtues of tar-water; to which I thought myself indifpenfably obliged, by the duty every man owes to mankind. And, as effects are linked with their caufes, my thoughts on this low, but ufeful theme, led to farther inquiries, and thofe on to others, remote perhaps, and fpeculative, but, I hope, not altogether useless or unentertaining.

A 2

1. In

[ocr errors]

N certain parts of America, tar-water is made by putting a quart of cold water to a quart of tar, and ftirring them well together in a veffel, which is left ftanding till the tar finks to the bottom. A glafs of clear water being poured off for a draught is replaced by the fame quantity of fresh water, the veffel being shaken and left to stand as before. And this is repeated for every glafs, fo long as the tar continues to impregnate the water fufficiently, which will appear by the fmell and tafte. But as this method produceth tarwater of different degrees of ftrength, I chufe to make it in the following manner: Pour a gallon of cold water on a quart of tar, and stir and mix them thoroughly with a ladle or flat ftick for the fpace of three or four minutes, after which the veffel muft ftand eight and forty hours that the tar may have time to fubfide, when the clear water is to be poured off and kept covered for use, no more being made from the fame tar, which may ftill ferve for common purposes.

2. The cold infufion of tar hath been used in fome of our colonies, as a prefervative or preparative against the small-pox, which foreign practice induced me to try it in my own neighbourhood, when the small-pox raged with great violence. And. the trial fully answered my expectation: all thofe, within my knowledge, who took the tar-water, having either efcaped that diftemper, or had it very favourably. In one family there was a remarkable inftance of feven children, who came all, very well through the fmall-pox, except one young child which could not be brought to drink tar-water as the reft had done.

3. Several were preferved from taking the fmallpox by the ufe of this liquor: others had it in the

mildeft

be

mildest manner, and others, that they might be able to take the infection, were obliged to intermit drinking the tar-water. I have found it may drunk with great fafety and fuccefs for any length of time, and this not only before, but also during the diftemper. The general rule for taking it is, about half a pint night and morning on an empty ftomach, which quantity may be varied, according to the cafe and age of the patient, provided it be always taken on an empty ftomach, and about two hours before or after a meal. For children and fqueamish perfons it may be made weaker, and given little and often. More cold water, or lefs tirring, makes it weaker; as lefs water, or more ftirring, makes it ftronger. It should not be lighter than French, nor deeper coloured than Spanish white wine. If a spirit be not very fenfibly perceiv'd on drinking, either the tar muft have been bad, or already us'd, or the tar-water carelessly made.

4. It seemed probable, that a medicine of fuch efficacy in a diftemper attended with fo many purulent ulcers, might be also useful in other foulneffes of the blood; accordingly I tried it on feveral perfons infected with cutaneous eruptions and ulcers, who were foon relieved, and foon after cured. Encouraged by thefe fucceffes I ventured to advise it in the fouleft diftempers, wherein it proved much more fuccefsful than falivations and wood-drinks had done.

5. Having tried it in a great variety of cafes, 1 found it fucceed beyond my hopes; in a tedious and painful ulceration of the bowels, in a confump-. tive cough and (as appeared by expectorated pus) an ulcer in the lungs; in a pleurify and peripeumony. And when a perfon, who for fome years had been fubject to eryfipelatous fevers, perceived the ufual fore-running fymptoms to come on, I advifed her

to

« EelmineJätka »