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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colour of the skin which it acquires and the thickening and condensation of what is called sole leather. On the living animal skin it cannot penetrate farther than the epidermis and acts only by its impression on the surface. Dr More of London says they have not the power of causing contraction of the living fibres and from one of his experiments it appears that the quantity of perspirable matter was increased by application of astringent matter, into a strong Decoction of oak bark he immersed one hand and the other in water of the same temperature and then covered both with a glass vessel, upon examination he found the quantity of perspirable matter discharged and contained in the vessel greater from the hand emersed in the astringent decoction, but it is evident they do not produce a contraction and condensation of muscular fibers when applied externally thus when a piece of allum is applied to the tip of the tongue this effect is very obvious. Dr Darwin supposes the allum stimulates the absorbents of the tongue by which the more fluid parts are taken up some authors suppose astringent to act beyond the

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part to which they are immediately applied this was the opinion of the celebrated Dr Heberden but his observations were not correct, some of his class extend their influence to the most remote parts of the body how else shall we account for their stopping hemorrhage in distant parts when taken internally. I have seen epistaxis and uterine hemorrhage suddenly stopped after the exhibition of the acetate of Lead. Dr Cullen supposed them to act on the nerves alimentary canal and that showing their effects so soon after being taken they could not go farther we have proof of their being sometimes taken into the system, for when madder which is an astringent is used as a diet it colors the bones and all the secretions, nevertheless it can only be a verry small portion and we cannot account for its effects on the supposition of absorption. Dr Mores experiments would seem to prove that the perspirable vessels were dilated by the application of astringents, he concludes no remedy acts by its astringency, but by imparting tone to the stomach. I shall hereafter attempt to show the fallacy of his experiments, in the process of tanning there seems to take place an attraction

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an attraction between the particles of the skin, and the astringent principle which in some manner produce condensation, but reasoning on the operation of medicine from what takes place on dead matter is extremely fallacious, corrugation and increased absorption would seem to have taken place in the following instance. A physician injected into the stomach of a dog two ℥ [ounces] of a strong astringent decoction, two days after he opened the dog and found the stomach contracted. Its cavity nearly obliterated, and its pylorus closed. I have seen the most obstinate costiveness induced by eating a few tamarinds. The power of astringents are communicated verry rapidly to distant parts, we need not be surprised at this, since stimulants and tonics act with equal rapidity. I onc attended a Lady labouring under quotidian fever which had resisted the common remidies. I gave her arsenic pills, composed each of one sixteenth of a grain, one to be taken night and morning, they had the effect of checking the paroxisms in twenty four hours. Astringents also act on vegitables. I cut three slips of a branch in a horisontal direction, to the one was applied sulfate of allum in solution, to an other