Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 4, 1802).djvu/73

53&#93; SER the most fatal consequence. — Where this operation, howevef, cannot be performed, Dr. M. pro- poses the application of a red-hot iron,' or of alkaline salts to the wound ; because, if the venom- ous matter be not absorbed and conveyed into circulation, these cauteries will destroy or change its nature. Lastly, in order to coun- teraft the efFefts of such portion of the virus as may have been receiv- ed into tlie system, he direfts an emetic of ipecacuanha immediate- ly to be taken ; the operation of which must be assisted by the libe- ral use of oil and warm water. — The patient should now be placed in a warm bed, and a profuse Kweat be promoted by means of cordials, which will carry oft' the remaining or latent efiefts of die poison. The Abbe Fontana proposed a ligature to be expeditiously ap- plied : such bandage, indeed, if properly tied between the wound- ed part and the heart, will doubt- less prevent the poison from ope- rating fatally ; bat, as it is calculat- ed to produce gangrene, we con- ceive excision by the knife is in all respefts preferable. Beside these preventive and cu- rative measures, the use of the vo- latile ammonia has been attended with uncommon success^ both in Europe and India ; though Fon- tana found it less effeftual in his experiments on the poison of the viper. Dr. Wright, therefore, direds 40 drops of the caustic vo- latile alkali, or of Eau-de-luce, to be taken in any liquid, as soon as possible after the accident ; the dose being repeated every five mi- nutes, while the parts are conti- pually washed with the same pre- j^ation. fartlier^ calcined harts- SER [53 horn, and oil of olives, externally applied, have produced beneficial efte6ts ; as also has a liniment, con- sisting of vinegar a; d butter, both Vvhen taken by thi- mouth, and rubbed on the wounded part. SERRADILLA, or Common Bird's-foot (see vol. i. p. 206), a valuable plant, which thrives much better than saintfoin, or any other grass, on poor sandy soils : it is propagated by drilling the seed in rows, two feet asunder; but may be transplanted in the same manner as cabbages. T; is vegetable af- fords a grateful food to cattle of every description : it has not, in- deed, been hitherto extensively cul- tivated, excepting by Langfokd MiLLiNGTON, Esq. of liushfoid, Norfolk; wJiose spirited experi- ments are rccordrd in the 27th vol. ai Annals of Agriculture ; but, as it promises to be prodii6tive of the greatest benefit to agricultu- rists, on the poorest lands, we trust that it will in future be generally introduced into such situations. SERVICE-TREE, or Sorbus, E. a genus of native trees, consisting of three species, namely : 1 . The aucuparia. See Quicken- THEE. 2. The domes tica, (Pyrus domes- tica of Dr. Smith) or True Ser- vice-tree, grows in mountainous forests, principally in Cornwall, StatFordshire, and in the county of Worcester. It flowers in the month of April or May. — ^The fruit of this species being mealy ai;d austere, like that of the Medlar, is a power- ful astringent, and of considerable service in alvine fluxes, especially in dysenteries : hence we learn from Beckstein, that the soldiers in the Prussian army, who yere at- tacked w ith that epidemic in J 792, and to wlioni the rob, or even the E 3 berries.