There is still another remark which I am desirous of offering, in this place, on the subject of Diet; _viz._—that in all cases of feeble or imperfect digestion, _the Valetudinarian ought never to take his principal meal in a state of fatigue_—and yet let me ask, whether there is a habit more generally pursued, or more tenaciously defended? Aye, and defended too upon _principle_—the invalid merchant, the banker, the attorney, the government clerk, are all impressed with the same belief, that after the sedentary occupations of the day, to walk several miles to their villas, or to fatigue themselves with exercise before their dinner, or rather early supper, will sharpen their tardy stomachs, and invigorate their feeble organs of digestion. The consequence is obvious,—instead of curing, such a practice is calculated to perpetuate, and even to aggravate the malady under which they suffer; by calling upon the powers of digestion at a period, when the body is in a state of exhaustion from fatigue. Often have I, in the course of my practice in this town, cured the Dyspeptic invalid, by merely inducing him to abandon so mischievous a habit. II. TO CORRECT THE OPERATION OF THE BASIS, BY OBVIATING ANY UNPLEASANT EFFECTS IT MIGHT BE LIKELY TO OCCASION, AND WHICH WOULD PERVERT ITS INTENDED ACTION, AND DEFEAT THE OBJECTS OF ITS EXHIBITION. A. _By_ MECHANICALLY _separating, or_ CHEMICALLY _neutralizing, the offending Ingredient_. The scientific physician, from his knowledge of the chemical composition of a medicine, and of the principles upon which its different qualities depend, is enabled to remove or render inert the element which imparts to it a deleterious operation; thus it has been found that the peculiar principle in the _Spanish Fly_, which so frequently irritates the urinary organs, is soluble in boiling water; ebullition in water therefore offers the means of depriving it of the power of thus acting upon the kidneys, while it does not effect any alteration in its vesicatory properties. It is upon the same principle that many vegetable substances of a very acrid nature, become harmless by boiling, or by chemical manipulation, and some of them might even in times of scarcity and want, be introduced as wholesome and nutritious articles of diet. The experiments of _Westring_ shew that the bitterness of the _Lichen Islandicus_ may be entirely removed by maceration in an alkaline ley, and a tasteless, but highly nutritious fecula be thus obtained; in the same manner the _Æsculus Hippocastanum_ (Horse Chesnut) may be deprived of its bitterness, leaving a residuum which will afford a kind of bread; and according to _Parmentier_ (_Recherches sur les vegetaux nourissans_,) excellent starch may be also made from it. _Dr. Darwin_ observes, that if the roots of _White Bryony_ be rasped into cold water, and agitated with it, the acrid juice of the root along with the