re and strength of the medication depends
upon the character of the disease for which it is employed.

THE ALKALINE BATH is prepared by dissolving half a pound of carbonate of
soda in sixty gallons of water. It is useful in those diseases in which
the fluids of the body are abnormally acid, as in rheumatism.

THE ACID BATH is prepared by adding two pounds of muriatic or
hydrochloric acid to sixty gallons of water. A much smaller quantity of
the acid is sometimes used, and in some instances vinegar is
substituted.

_Scott's Acid Bath_ is composed of nitro-muriatic acid (aqua regia) and
water. It should be prepared in a wooden tub, and a sufficient quantity
of acid used to give the water a sour taste. It is extensively used in
India as a remedy for disorders of the liver.

THE IODINE BATH is composed of the following ingredients: tincture of
iodine, two drachms; iodide of potassium, four drachms; water, forty
gallons. It should be prepared in a wooden tub. It reddens the skin. For
children, a much weaker solution must be employed. Its use is generally
restricted to scrofulous and tubercular affections.

THE SULPHUR BATH is prepared by dissolving eight ounces of sulphuret of
potassium and two ounces of dilute sulphuric acid in sixty gallons of
water. The acid may be omitted.

A SULPHUR VAPOR-BATH is often employed in cities where the necessary
apparatus can be procured. It may be improvised by placing sulphur on a
shovel over hot coals. The patient should be prepared as in the spirit
vapor-bath, and burning sulphur substituted for the liquor. The patient
is then enveloped in the fumes of sulphurous oxide. Heating a mixture of
sulphur and sulphuric acid, produces the same result. If the gas is
inhaled in large quantities it causes irritation of the respiratory
passages, and suffocation. It is therefore necessary that the coverings
should be securely fastened at the neck, and that the room be one which
can be quickly filled with pure air This bath is used in cutaneous,
rheumatic, and syphilitic disorders.

FOMENTATIONS consist of the general or local application of woolen
cloths wrung out of hot water. They should not be so light as to be
ineffectual, nor so heavy as to be burdensome. They should not be wet
enough to drip, nor applied so as to expose the body to the surrounding
air. A fresh cloth should be ready for application before the first one
is removed, and the change quickly effected. Fomentations are effectua