In tho spring of 1853, while an officer of the Philadelphia City Dispensary, in Fifth Street, I was called one day to attend a German manufacturer of fancy soaps, in the neighborhood, who had been severely burnt over the face, one arm, and the side, by the blazing up of a quantity of alcohol. I visited him for several days, using from the outset the " carrón oil," or mixture of linseed oil and lime water, as I had been taught. But this failed to allay his pain, even with the aid of anodynes

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... n internally; and becoming dissatisfied, he dismissed me, and procured the services of an old friend of his, formerly a surgeon in tho Austrian army. On my seeing him a short time afterwards, he told mo that his friend had given him immediate relief by the application of fresh lard ; and the appearance of the injured parts was indeed surprisingly favorable. Bearing this case in mind, I made trial of the plan suggested as soon as an opportunity offered itself, and was so well satisfied with the result that I continued its use. Since that time there have come under my care a great many cases of bums and scalds of all degrees of extent and severity ; but none in which the simple dressing above mentioned has not answered well. It has repeatedly, I do not know how often, occurred to me to see patients who have had other dressings applied, but whose sufferings continued unrelieved until the lard was put on. Some of these instances have impressed mo very forcibly. One was that of a child about three years of age, to whom I was accidentally called. He had pulled a kettle of boiling water off a table upon himself, and was badly scalded over the face, upper part of the chest, and arms. His mother had applied linseed oil and limewater, but to no good purpose ; ho was screaming and crying violently with pain. Some fresh lard having been brought, I dressed his injuries with it, when he immediately ceased crying, and in a few minutes fell into a sound sleep. His recovery was very rapid. Another case occurred to me a week or two since. A child four years old was reaching for some plaything on a mantel piece over a grate, when his clothes (he was in petticoats) swung out against the fire, and he was instantly in flames. Before the fire could be put out ho was burned over both thighs, both arms, the body, tho back of the head, and slightly over the face. When I saw him, about two hours afterwards, he was suffering severe pain, and very restless, although dressed with carrón oil. As soon, however, as tho entire burnt surface was covered with fresh lard, he became easy, and remained so until his death, which took place in about eighteen hours from the time of the accident. As has been already stated, these cases are among very many oth-The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal as published by The New England Journal of Medicine. Downloaded from nejm.org at SAN DIEGO (UCSD) on June 24, 2016. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. From the NEJM Archive.