child has been affiicted for several days with a strong fever, accompanied with great evacuation, is very reftlefs and uneasy, has a hiccough, and the tongue of a fiery red, with an inability of retaining what it fucks.

• Those children are most subject to aphthæ, who fuck old milk, or too thick, or too acrid; or by having their mouths unclean: thofe alfo who fall to fleep on fucking, as generally then fome milk being left in the mouth, which grows acid and acrid: as alfo those who having been affected with fevers, accompanied with loofenefs. But the thrush generally appears in the time of dentition. The thrush in the mouth is the most common kind, and may generally be prevented by the nurse taking care to keep the child's mouth clean, which should be examined every day. The best thing to effect this is, with a few fage leaves well washed, and boiled in water alone, or mixed with a little white claret and clarified honey, and afterwards filtrated. A piece of linen may be dipped into this and wrapped round the finger, fo that the child's mouth may be dabbed all over gently, especially where any white spot is to be feen.

But when this has been omitted, and the child has already got the thrush, we must then give the nurse, 1. Some of the abovementioned powder for nurfes four or five times a day, and order her to drink more than customary: 2. Prepare a juice of rob. diamor. dianuc. and honey of rofes, half a dram each, to which add as many drops of fpiritus vitrioli, as are fufficient to give it a flightly fourish tafte. With this juice we dabb those places five or fix times a-day where the thrush appears, and a little after each time of touching them, before the child is permitted to fuck, its mouth ought to be washed with a decoction of fage, as before-mentioned; or with a folution of a few grains of white vitriol in warm water used in the fame manner. fully convinced the thrush may be cured in a few days time, if the above prescriptions are rightly followed. If the gripes accompany this disorder, they may be relieved by the remedies recommended for them: but above all, magnefia alba, either with or without a little rhubarb; because if any acidity or flime is in the ftomach and inteftines, it ought to be immediately corrected

and carried off.

I am

• When we find the thrush becomes very painful by the violent fhrieking of the child, we give the nurse a little fyrup of white poppies (fyr. è mecon. Ph. Lond.) once or twice a-day. When the fuckles the child, after her having taken this, it will find immediate relief, provided her breafts were empty when she took it. The dose is then only two drachms; but if her breasts were full when he is going to take this remedy, we may give her three or four drachms at once: or fhould we rather chufe.to adminifter any remedy to the child itself, we may fafely give it once or twice a day, one or two drops, according to its age, of Dr. Jones's panacea. Dr. Riverius gave a whole grain of lau

danum

danum with fuccefs to his own child. The worthy Mr. Boyle's remedy for the thrush, is from experience found efficacious. The compofition of it is as follows: take two ounces of the juice expreffed from fempervivum majus, mixed with an equal quantity of honey; after boiling it, add to it as much alum as will give it a flightly auftere tafte. Touch the aphthæ every hour with this. Some make ufe of the excrements of hens diffolved in white claret, (vin. alb. Gallic.) and filtred, and this is also a very good remedy, if ufed as the former one. When the efchars have fallen off, and excoriations left in the mouth, they should be touched with the mucilage of quince feeds alone, or mixed with an equal portion of fyrupus fempervivi majoris.

We may

The thrush being internal, defcending to the ftomach and inteftines, we give the child as often as poffible a tea spoonful of a juice expreffed from turneps baked, and mixed with an equal portion of mel rofarum; or mix a decoction of carrots with a little mel rofarum, and ufe it as the former. prepare another remedy from half an ounce of flax-feeds beat, and boiled with a pint of water, to nearly the confiftence of a fyrup; ftrain it, and add thereto two ounces of mel rofarum, and give it in the fame manner as the others. The nurfe ought all this time to use the before-mentioned powder, and drink as before obferved, that her milk may be diluted. When the fcabs or crufts begin to fall off, it is then neceffary to give the child a gentle laxative, which strengthens the inteftines. Syrup of rhubarb is the best remedy for this purpose, given either alone or mixed with a few grains of pure rhubarb in powder. The fafeft way of giving it, is by fmall quantities every three hours, until it operates. This precaution is very neceffary, becaufe, as we have before obferved, when the crufts fall off, the bowels are very fenfible, so that a fmall dofe operates more at that than any other time. Should the child now have the leaft fign of a dyfentery, we must give it to drink freely of emulfio Arabica, (emulfion of gum Arabic) or a foup boiled of millet, water, and milk.'

In the course of this volume, the Swedish phyfician delivers few precepts or obfervations on his own direct authority; fo carefully has he avoided every imputation of arrogance; but his account of difeafes, and of their method of cure, is conformable to the most successful established practice, to which the concurrence of fo experienced a practitioner must give additional weight and recommendation.-Dr. Sparrman appears to have translated the work with care and fidelity.

VIII. An

VIII. An Account of fome German Volcanos, and their Productions. By R. E. Rafpe, 8vo. 35. 6d. in boards. L. Davis.

THE

HE author of this Effay fets out with giving a description of the valley of Caffel, refpecting not only its external appearance, but likewife what is contained under the furface. He informs us that the calcareous hills, efpecially the Wineberg and Krazenberg, on which the city of Caffel is fituated, together with the Monkberg, which runs from the city to Upper-Vilmar, confift of parallel ftrata; that they dip in different inclinations to the fouth, run in a north-weft direction, and shew at a certain depth a hard marble-like limeftone, which is broken into many vertical fiffures, and filled with some scarce petrifications, or rather nuclei of marine bodies, for the most part unknown; among which are the cornua ammonis, entrochi, and the like fpecies of plants and animals that are found in the deepest feas. The author is therefore of opinion that thefe calcareous ftrata have anciently been the bottom of a fea; but when, or for how many centuries, cannot poffibly be determined; and that they have probably been fhaken and split by earthquakes, which have raised them to their prefent inclinations to the horizon.

Mr. Rafpe afterwards defcribes the Habichwald, and other mountains of the fame nature, which are fuperincumbent on calcareous ground; and he produces arguments for fupporting the opinion that they have been accumulated by fubterraneous fire.

It is fact, fays he, that fubterraneous fire, and its many fucceffive eruptions, have raised or heaped together the ftill burning Mount Etna and Vefuvius on the limeftone ftrata in Sicily and Italy, accumulating both thefe mountains to an elevation, and to an extent, which even furpafs that of the Habichwald. It till continues to work in the volcanos in Iceland; and there is no good reafon to deny the poffibility of other European volcanos, fituated between Iceland and Etna, and burning in former times. There have been found of late many extin& volcanos in Italy, ftampt with vifible marks of ancient burning, though never spoken of in history. Why fhould not Germany then, as well as Italy, afford phænomena of the fame nature? The fea, which covered thefe parts, and many others in the continent, will not, I hope, be alledged againit this fuppofition, and thrown upon it to quench the German volcanos; fince the ftill-burning volcanos are generally fituated in the midst of the fea, in iflands, or near the fea coaft, and even feem to want feawater to raife, and to fupport their very flames. It would be unfair to conclude, or to cavil any thing against their former exiftence, from the filence of hiftory; because ten thousand things VOL. XLI. May, 1776.

Cc

may

may really happen every day, and pafs unnoticed; and German history, in refpect to the long feries of former forgotten ages, begins but from yesterday-from Cæfar, Drufus, and Germanicus, our generous conquerors, or from S. Bonifacius and Charles the Great, our ungenerous apoftles. In this light I certainly am allowed to venture that hypothefis, which not only is a poffible, but even feems to be a neceffary fuppofition, fince, befides the above mentioned infufficient natural caufes of fuperincumbent mountains, there have been to this time no others known at all.

This fuppofition, like many others, might be poffible, and feem neceffary; and nevertheless be improbable, nay prove en tirely falfe. But it has rather every quality of hiftorical demonftration, as standing upon firm unfhaken foundations, and good authorities.'

The authorities to which the author alludes are, the ftructure of the mountains, with the nature and quality of their stones and foffils; both which, he obferves, agree with the description of the Italian volcanos.

Mr. Rafpe further confirms his hypothefis of the original formation of thofe German mountains, by examining their black vitreous rocks, and comparing the bafaltes and lavas with those of the Italian volcanos.

In the conclufion of the Effay Mr. Rafpe explains the utility of these enquiries, and of volcanic productions in general, by fhewing that they not only improve the knowledge of phyfical geography, and the expensive art of miners, but also afford materials of remarkable advantage in building. The Ef fay is illuftrated by feveral plates, and may prove an acceptable publication to naturalists.

IX. Difcourfes on practical Subjeas. By John Moir. Small 80, 31. ferved. Cadell.

ABOUT the middle, or towards the latter part, of the laft.

century, our divines filled their difcourfes with texts of fcripture and fcraps of Latin; and branched them out into a multiplicity of tedious and trifling divifions. Their fucceffors very justly rejected thefe fcholaftic abfurdities, and addreffed their hearers in a series of plain, pradical arguments and ob. fervations: but, at the fame time, they frequently employed themselves in explaining what wanted no explanation, and in proving what no perfon of common fenfe would have dif puted. Some of the preachers of the prefent age, difrelishing this exceffive condefcenfion to the capacities of the vulgar, have attempted to embellish their difcourfes with florid de

fcriptions

feriptions and brilliant fentiments: by thefe means running into the opposite extreme, which is equally blameable. For pomp and affectation are certainly inconfiftent with the characer of a chriftian preacher, who undertakes to explain and enforce the doctrines of the gofpel to a popular audience.

Mr. Moir's difcourfes are of the fentimental and defcriptive kind.

• Heavens! what inconfiderate, filly creatures are many of the fex! how devoid of fentiment, how infenfible to true indulgence, how deaf to the voice of genuine nature! Ah! thou flave of folly and whim; how my aching heart feels and pities thy wretchednefs, glittering as thou art, and loaded with embroidery, and rings, and jewels without number. Surely, imagination needs not be on the ftretch for comfort to a mind at eafe. Starting eternally from feene to fcene, is no fign of prefent fatisfaction; and fhe who has the habit of disclofing her heart among friends, or poffeffes any degree of true self enjoyment, will not readily be caught gadding much abroad. Tell me, ye vagrant votaries of emptinefs and gaiety, who explode from your company and converfation every fober and moral idea, who affect only thofe pleasures and that prattle in which the foul has no fhare; after fatiguing your bodies, jading your spi rits, and murdering your time, tell me feriously, have you one agreeable fenfation left, to prevent reflections on the past, or preclude the pangs which otherwise must inevitably fill up your intervals of madnefs? Ah! no, the peevish voice, the vacant face, and the languid eye, are fure, but fad indications of in ternal depreffion and diforder.'

There is a warmth of imagination in this description, which is an excellent quality when properly managed; but it is extremely apt to carry a young writer beyond the bounds of propriety. In the following paragraph it has carried our author to the utmost verge.

Believe me, it is but a moment when life fhall burft like a bubble in the air, and all eternity unbolt on your whole foul, and rage around you in one wide inextinguishable flame.Yes, you may now flaunt, and fneer, and congratulate yourselves, as much as you please: but when the ky reddens above, and the earth reels beneath; when the mighty waters foam, and Sport with the laws of nature, and the aftonished univerfe fhakes to the centre; when thunders roar, that awaken the dead, and lightnings flash, that darken the fun and fet the elements on fire; when the wrath of the Almighty, like a hurricane, blows from every point of the compafs, and nature groans her laft. Speak out, O finner! fay, to what clafs of mankind would ye then belong; on which hand of the throne be placed; to what region have your lot affigned?"

The

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