Page:A History of Hindu Chemistry Vol 1.djvu/189

Rh should be used according to the state of the disease. In weak persons, the alkaline water without the addition of other caustic ingredients, should be applied to strengthen the parts."

On this subject there are the following verses:

"Good alkaline caustics should be neither too strong nor too weak. They should be white in colour, smooth and soapy to the touch, should not spread beyond where they are applied, and act rapidly and successfully. These are the eight good properties of caustics. Their bad qualities consist in their being too weak or cool, too strong or hot, too slippery and spreading, too thick or too under-boiled, or they may be deficient in ingredients.

"In applying caustic to a patient suffering from a disease curable by this remedy, he should be made to sit in a spacious place, protected from wind and sun. The physician should then procure the instruments or necessary articles according to the rules laid down in the fifth chapter. He should then examine the diseased part, rub, scarify or scratch it, and then apply the caustic by means of a probe, and