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1kTedicine.   21

Snake-bites.-Tie a string tight above the part, suck the wound, and caustic it as soon as you can. Or, for want of caustic, explode gunpowder in the wound; or else do what Mr. Mansfield Parkyns well suggests, i. e., cut away with a knife, and afterwards burn out with the end of your iron ramrod, heated as near a white heat as you can readily get it. The arteries lie deep, and as much flesh may, without much danger, be cut or burnt into, as the fingers can pinch up. The next step is to use the utmost energy, and even cruelty, to prevent the patient's giving way to that lethargy and drowsiness which is the usual effect of snake-poison, and too often ends in death.

Wasp and Scorpion-stings.-The oil scraped out of a tobaccopipe is a good application ; should the scorpion be large, his sting must be treated like a snake-bite.

Broken Bones.-It is extremely improbable that a man should die, in consequence of a broken leg or arm, if the skin be uninjured; but, if the broken end forces its way through the flesh, the injury is a very serious one. Abscesses form, the parts mortify, and the severest consequences often follow. Hence, when a man breaks a bone, do not convert a simple injury into a severe one, by carrying him carelessly. If possible, move the encampment to the injured man, and not vice versa. Mr. Druitt says:-" When a man has broken his leg, lay him on the other side, put the broken limb exactly on the sound one, with a little straw between, and tie the two legs together with handkerchiefs. Thus the two legs will move as one, and the broken bone will not hurt the flesh so much, nor yet come through the skin."

Drowning.-A half-drowned man must be put to bed in dry, heated clothes, hot stones, &c., placed against his feet, and his head must be raised moderately. Human warmth is excellent, such as that of two big men made to lie close up against him, one on each side. All rough treatment is not only ridiculous but full of harm ; such as the fashion -which still exists in some places-of hanging up the body by the feet, that the swallowed water may drain out of the mouth.