Barton, Benjamin Smith, 1766-1815. Benjamin Barton Smith notebook on materia medica circa 1796-1798. B MS b52.1, Countway Library of Medicine.

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Materia Alimentaria

Milk

that milk would be highly injurious as it must tend to increase the action by inducing plethora I do not deny it may have been of service in some cases but I must caution you against its use especially in the species or degree of Phtysis termed the florid consumption which is generally attended with hot skin, hard pulse, and florid complexion, if the object be to reduce the pulse why not confine the patient wholely to a vegitable diet a principle objection against its use is the stomach in some cases cannot digest it. I myself uniformly become feverish if I use milk and neglect exercise. Dr Cullen has committed a great error in saying that milk never induces plethora it has uniformly this effect, In a Gentleman of this City producing headache &c which exercise prevents. I shall now speak of Materia Medica by which I mean a knowledge of medicines their use and proper time of application in disease.

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Materia Medica

Astringents

Astringents. I now proceed to speak of Materia Medica properly so called, this as it is the most important is also the most difficult part of my course, I shall begin with the class Astringentia. In doing so I follow Dr Cullen, Gregory, and Speedman. In this class we shall treat of several articles that might perhaps with greater propriety be placed under some other head, as among the tonics. Indeed the imperfection of the class of astringents is so great that it has been proposed to abolish it altogether the time will come when this may be done. But we should be guarded against inovations of this kind. Dr Darwin has made a new class of medicines in which he includes astringent and which he calls sorbentia, this is a beautifull class but by no means correct astringents may be defined such substances as when applied to the living fibres produce in it contraction and condensation. Dr Cullen supposed they acted on living as on dead matter (statics). Chemically this as a general rule is not true, their action on living and on dead matter is very different. I think it probable that some portion of the astringent principle is absorbed in tanning and this is rendered probable by the

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