t thoughtful minds have accepted as a
truth, the true friend of man has still to weep over the quantities of
Sulphur which all apothecaries sell to any one at his option;
haemorrhoidal patients continue to swallow Sulphur from day to day;
almost every body, from the child up to the old man, who is affected
with catarrh, swallows the so-termed pulmonary powders which contain
Sulphur, and of which relief is expected; whole legions repair every
year to the Sulphur Springs; young and old use sulphur-baths at home;
all over the world, the itch, which is a very common disease, is removed
by means of a sulphur ointment, &c. One of the evil consequences of this
ignorance, which particularly oppresses the laboring class, is the
artificial development of panaritia; the more frequently these occur,
the more necessary it is to employ speedy and safe means for their
extermination. In such a case we can no longer depend upon Sulphur, of
which we cannot possibly know how far it has already poisoned the
organism, and to what extent it may still be able to rouse a reaction;
in which case, even those who know, may be led to make dangerous
mistakes. In all such cases Apis is of the best use to us; it is even
sufficient to arrest the disorganizing process, and to bring about a
satisfactorily progressing cure.

The curative indications contained in the "American Provings," have been
confirmed by my own experience. We read in Nos. 903-911, "the phalangeal
bones are painful; burning jerking, like a stitching, contracting
sensation, in the right numb, from without inwards; drawing pains
reaching the extremities of the fingers; distinct feeling of numbness in
the fingers, especially in the tips, around the roots of the nails, with
sensation as if the nails were loose, and as if they could be shaken
off; burning in the tips of fingers, as from fire; fine burning stinging
in the tips of the fingers; burning around a hang-nail, on the outside
of the fourth finger of the right hand, with pain internally, without
redness and without aggravation from pressure, with continual burning in
the tip; swelling of the fingers, which remained painful for several
days; 915, blister at the tip of the right index, discharging a bloody
ichor when opened, and afterwards a milky pus, with violent burning,
throbbing, and gnawing pains, continuing to spread for two days."

From all this we deduce the highly important practical rule: In a case
of whitlow, first ascer