Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 1, 1802).djvu/356

324&#93; 324] BRA order. Thus, the power of ima- gination, or fancy, is sometimes so much increased, that the pa- tient is either in part, or entirely, deprived of the faculty of judgment. Such, for instance, is the case in delirious persons, who are then only called maniacs, when a total privation of their reasoning faculty is evident. In ideots, or stupid people, however, the mental dis- ease arises chiefly from their in- capacity of comprehending and pro- perly arranging ideas. The causes of these humiliating derangements of the human mind, though various, may be reduced to the following heads : namely, in- ordinate passions, especially diose which are attended with a great dissipation of strength ; debauchery of every kind ; an irregular mode of life ; excessive eating and drink- ing; intense, as well as long-con- tinued application to study ; and likewise, a sudden change of cli- mate, air, and aliment. It deserves to be pointed out as a vulgar error, that abscesses of the brain discharge themselves through the mouth and ears ; and that snuff is liable to enter into the brain; neither of these is capable of passing through that bone, which has the form of a sieve ; nor is any matter, or fluid, secreted in a com- mon cold, evacuated by Uiat ca- nal, though discharged through the nostrils. The seat of this disease is, indeed, not in the brain, but in the cavities of the nose ; and if im- post humes take place in the ear, they suppurate and empty them- selves externally. Inflammation of the Brain, is a disease more common in hot than in temperate climates : in the lat- ter, however, it may also take place from external violence, or in con- BRA sequence of severe falls, blows, and bruises upon the head ; night- watching ; hard-drinking; strong passions, especially those of grief, anger, and anxietv ; exposure to the heat of the sun during sleep, with the head uncovered, &c. The principal symptoms of this danger- ous midady are, pain of the head, redness of the eyes, want of sleep, and slight dropping of blood from the nose : these are attended with costiveness and a retention of urine. As the disease, when neglected, is otten fatal in a few days, medical advice should be called in without delay. Meanwhile, the patient ought to be kept as quiet as possi- ble, and free from the access of strong light ; his body must be kept open by clysters ; the legs bathed in warm water ; the bleed- ing of the nose promoted by warm fomentations to the part ; and the head, after being shaved, should be frequently rubbed with vinegar and water ; or cloths dipped in the following solution may be applied, and repeated every hour, or half hour, with the best eifect. Take two ounces of nitre, and one ounce of sal ammoniac, dissolve them in five pints of water and half a pint of strong vinegar. Of this mixture the patient may also drink a table spoonful every hour, or oftener. BRAKE is a large and weighty harrow, used to reduce a stubborn soil. It consists of four square bulls, each side Ave inches thick, and six feet and a half in length. The teeth are seventeen inches long, and bend forward like a coulter ; tour of these are inserted in each bull, fixed above, with a screw nut, having twelve inches free below, with a heel close to the under part of the bull, to prevent its being pushed back by stones. This instrument requires