Robinia pseudacacia

Volume I — Special Symptomatology

(False Locust.)

Botanical Description. — This tree is also known as Black Locust and Yellow Locust, found in several parts of the United States, principally west of the mountains, being seldom found north of Pennsylvania, or in the Atlantic Southern States; blossoming in May. It grows from fifty to eighty feet high, and from one to four feet thick; the bark is rough and dark. The numerous branches are smooth and armed with prickles. The leaves are unequally pinnate, the leaflets are from eight to twelve pairs, ovate and oblong-ovate, thin, nearly sessile, and very smooth; stipules minute, bristle-form, partial. Flowers white, fragrant, showy, in numerous, axilary, pendulous racemes. Calyx fine, cleft, short, slightly twolipped; standard large and rounded, turned back, scarcely longer than the wings and keel; stamens, diadelphous; style, bearded inside; legume, or •pod, linear, compressed, two to four inches in length, and about six lines wide, margined on the seed bearing edge; seeds, several, small, brown, reniform. When young, the tree is armed with thorns, which disappear in its maturity.

Officinal Preparations. — Tincture of the bark and flowers; dilutions.

Analogues. — Calcarea carb., Iris ver., Pulsatilla, Magnesia carb., Rheum.

[The fragmentary proving of Burt, may be considered reliable, and a few of the symptoms from Houatt. The pathogenesis of the latter, however, is too extensive, too tragic, and too much like his other provings to be true.]

Mind.

Low-spirited, with great irritability. {Burt.)

Head.

Dull, frontal headache, much aggravated by motion, with

neuralgic pains in the temples. 0 Sick headache with acidity of the stomach and some eructateous vomiting. {Burt.)

Stomach. Excessive acidity of the stomach.

Vomiting of intensely sour fluid, setting the teeth on edge.

Frequent eructations of sour fluid. {Burt.)

Great distension of the stomach and bowels, with flatulence;

the intestines distended almost to the point of rupturing with severe colic. Dull, heavy, squeezing pains in the stomach, especially after every meal.

Water, taken before eating, at night, returned in the morning, green and sour.

° Dyspepsia, " I have seen it helpful in dyspepsia manifesting itself at night and preventing sleep." {Massy.)

° Heartburn, and acidity of the stomach, at night on lying down. (Solanum has "heartburn at night.")

Sour regurgitations of infants.

Sour vomiting of infants; the whole child smells sour. Desire for stool, but only flatulence passes o:fF; finally constipated stools.

0 Sour stools of infants, with sour smell from the body. {Bv/rt.)

(See Houatt's Pathogenesis, N. A. Jour, of Horn. )

Volume II — Special Therapeutics

The fragmentary proving of Dr. Burt may be considered reliable, and a few of the symptoms from Houatt. The pathogenesis of the latter, however, is too extensive, too tragic, and too much like his other provings, to be true.

It seems to be an analogue of Calc, carb., Iris vers., Pulsatilla, Magnesia carb., and Rheum. It produces pre-eminently an acid condition of the secretions.

It has been found curative in sick headache with acidity of the stomach , sour eructations, and vomiting. In dyspepsia, manifesting itself at night and preventing sleep. In heartburn and acidity of the stomach at night on lying down, also in the sour stools of infants, with sour smell from the body, and the vomiting of sour milk.

I think I have somewhere seen it recommended in some varieties of typhoid fever, cholera infantum, and cholera morbus.