258] V A L case demands more professional sagacity and judgment than tiie true typhus. Consistently with our promise ^vol. ii. p. 269), we shall only add, from our own recent experi- ence, that the internal use of this acid, when large doses of it are re- quired, is liable to many serious objedtions, which must ever pre- vent its general adoption. But we are nevertheless convinced that it may, in all cases, be safely applied in the form of liuiments, fomenta- tions, and baths : thus, a very large, and much larger proportion than VAN by swallowing it, may be daily, nay, hourly, introduced into -the system, especially in the earlier stages of Uie disorder, before the patient's strength is too much ex- hausted. Farther, we are of opi- nion, that in desperate cases, where a valuable life is at stake, the mu- riatic acid, sufficiently diluted, may be introduced into the stomach, by means of the tube contrived for that purpose by Mr. Savicny. — Such attempts, however, can be justitied only by the most pressing cireurastances, and should never be made without medical assistance. U. V. VALERIAN, or Valeriana, L. a genus of plants, comprehending 22 species ; 4 being indigenous, and of which the following are the most remarkable : 1. The locusta, or Lettucb Valebi.w. See Corn Salad. 2. The officinalis, or Great Wild Valerian, is perennial; grows in hedges, woods, and marshes ; where it flowers in die month of June. The leaves of this vegetable are eaten by ccas, but are not relished by sheep : its roots are very grateful to cats, and parti- cularly to rats ; on which account they are frequently employed by rat-catchers, for enticing those Ver- min. And, though the roots of this plant have a strong, disagreeable smell, and a bitterish, sub-acrid taste, yet they arc successfully given in hysterical cases, either in the form of an infusion, or in pow- der j and have also occasiunally proved beneficial in obstinate epi- lepsies. —Bergius recommends them as diuretic, sudorific, and vfcrmifuge, — Dr. Withering re- marks, that they are an excellent medicine in cases of habitual cos- tiveness, having afforded relief, where stronger purgatives were in- effeftual. llie dose varies from 1 to 2 drams, in the form of an infu- sion ; or from 1 scruple to a dram of the powder to adults. Valetudinarians. SeeCnRo- NiCAL Diseases j Debility 3 Health, &c. VANILLA, or Epidendron nec- tarium, v. Vanilla, L. is an exotic parasitical plant^growing in Mexi- co, whence its long slender pods, containing numerous black grains, are imported into Spain, and thelice into England. — l'hes6 seeds are warm and aromatic ; possessing ah oily taste, and a fragrant odour, similar to that of the Peruvian balsam :
