Extract of Two Uncommon Cases of Tumours of the Abdomen, from a Latin Tract Publish'd at Strasburgh, Anno 1728, and Entituled, Joannis Boecleri, M. D. &c. ad Exteros Medicos Epistola; by W. Rutty, M. D. R. S. Secr.

To confirm the Use of this Sea-Gage, shewn before to the Society, I made another Experiment in the following Manner. Having pour'd some Quick-silver into the Bottle of the Gage, I pour'd on upon it Treacle to the Depth of half an Inch, then screw'd on the Brass Cap of the Bottle to which the Glass Gage-Tube was cemented; by which Means the open End of the Tube was brought under the Surface of the Mercury, the sealed End being upwards. The Machine, thus fitted, was immers'd in a cylindrick Vessel of Water, which with a Plate at Top was press'd between two Pillars, in such Manner that Air might be condens'd over the Water without escaping. Then having forc'd in so much Air with a Syringe, as to lay on a Pressure equal to what would be in a Depth of 40 Foot of Water, I open'd the Cock of the upper Plate, let out the Air, and, upon taking out the Machine, it appear'd how high the Quick-silver had risen in the Gage-Tube, by the greasy Mark which the Treacle left within. VII. Extract of Two uncommon Cases of Tumours of the Abdomen, from a Latin Tract publish'd at Strasburgh, Anno 1728, and entituled, Joannis Boecleri, M. D. &c. ad Exteros Medicos Epistola; by W. Rutty, M. D. R. S. Secr. The first is concerning a Woman, an Inhabitant of Strasburgh, of Thirty-two Years of Age, whose Belly, after an immature and hasty Labour, grew gradually for Ten Years together. During the whole whole Time of Gestation, she complain'd of scarcely any other Symptom than the Weight and Heaviness of her Belly; only now and then of a tense Pain and a Difficulty in Respiration: She said nevertheless, that Flatuses would sometimes be discharged from the Pudenda, and the more they were so, the less Uneasiness she perceived. The Menstrua were regular as to Time; but as to Quantity she did not explain herself: But in the latter Months, towards her Death, she grew plainly cachectick. Her Countenance was cadaverous; her Breast and upper Limbs perfectly emaciated; her Feet oedematous, and the Belly much more turgid and prominent than before; so that at length she breathed with the utmost Difficulty, and upon taking any Nourishment, complained of a great Straitness in her Chest. Upon opening the Abdomen, two Days after her Death, some Water flow'd out, of a wheyish Colour, tho' in what Quantity was not taken Notice of; but upon dividing the Uterus, a plentiful Quantity of a bloody Liquor issued from it, together with seventy-two Molæ of different Figures and Solidity, and chiefly of a black Colour. One only, the 76th, was fix'd to the lower Part of the right Side of the Uterus, contiguous to its internal Orifice. These solid Substances weighed 64 Ounces; as the Liquor also filled 15 antient Alsace Measures, so that taken together, the Whole weighed 80 Pounds Apothecaries Weight. The Skin of the Abdomen was very thin, and almost transparent; the Navel perfectly obliterated; the Fat almost entirely consumed; the Muscles pale, flaccid, and very thin also; and the Peritoneum in some Places so strongly attach'd to the Uterus, that it could not, without the utmost Difficulty, be torn from it. The Body of the Uterus, which is naturally thick, was extenuated to the same Degree of Rarity and Transparency with that of the Cutis of the Abdomen, and of a surprising Capacity. The Liver appear'd pale, and so flaccid that it might be easily rubb'd to Pieces. The Height of the Belly from the Vertebrae of the Loins to the Navel measured 1½ Foot; its Length from the Cartilago ensiformis to the Pudenda, 2½ Feet; and its Circumference at the Waist, 4 Fecet 2½ Inches, tho' the Woman was naturally of a small Size and Stature. The Second is of a Maid-servant in the same City, of twenty-three Years of Age, whose Belly, from a Suppression of the Menstrua, grew slowly for three Years, without any other notable Disorder; till upon an accidental Fall, it encreased so much in six Days, as to obliterate the Navel; and not being capable of a farther Distension, Part of the Matter which caused the Tumefaction, flowed down to the Legs and swelled them likewise; which brought on a Difficulty of Breathing, a small, frequent, and uneasy Pulse, with a total Loss of Appetite. But what was more remarkable, the Systole and Diastole of the Heart were plainly felt under the left Clavicle, the Heart being, upon Dissection, found thrust up to that Part of the Thorax. The 14th Day from the Fall, a Diarrhoea came on, which kill'd her in a few Days. Upon making a small Incision in the right Hypochondrium, there gushed out from the Cavity a Liquor, in Colour, Consistence, and Froth resembling well boiled Beer; which upon enlarging the Incision, was followed by a foetid purulent Matter, with entire Portions of the putrified Caul; which Matter filled 56 Strasburgh Pints. Upon this the Belly subsided; but a large solid Substance still remained mained under the containing Parts of the Abdomen. Opening therefore the whole Cavity, there was found under the left Groin a considerable Tumour, nourished by its proper Vessels, and every where fixed to the circumjacent Membranes; which being freed from, it weighed 6 Pounds common Weight. This Tumour proved a Congeries of incystated Abscesses (wrapt up in one common Covering) of different Sizes; the largest as big as a Man's two Fists, the smallest the Size of an Egg; and each of a different Sort of Substance: Besides which was a great Number of Hydatides. The Peritoneum was as thick as the Cutis; the Caul almost entirely destroyed; the Stomach natural, but perfectly empty; the Guts livid, very much thickened and vastly inflated, and moreover connected preternaturally to each other by peculiar Membranes. The Liver strongly adhered to the right Hypochondrium, and its Coat parted from its Parenchyma almost spontaneously. The left Kidney very near equal'd the Spleen in Bulk, and the Pancreas was as hard as a Cartilage; but the Uterus and Bladder were found in statu sano. The Cavity of the Thorax was much smaller than usual, from the Contents of the Abdomen pressing up the Diaphragm into it; in which Cavity also was found the same Sort of bloody putrid Liquor, as likewise in the Pericardium. The right Ventricle of the Heart was preternaturally soft and flaccid, and being opened, was lined with Hydatides. The upper Parts of the Body were emaciated; the lower much tumefied by the Water contained within them. The Author, after this, cites three other Cases of extraordinary preternatural Tumours of the Abdomen, communicated to him by Dr. Valentine Scheide, the present present chief Physician of Strasburgh, all which occur'd in his own Practice; as the foregoing are recorded in the Register of that University. These likewise are very remarkable: But as they are not altogether so uncommon, a particular Account need not be given of them. VIII. An Account of the Culture and Management of Saffron in England, by James Douglas, M. D. Med. Regin. Extr. &c. S. R. S. As Saffron grows at present most plentifully in Cambridge-shire, and has grown formerly in several other Counties of England, the Method of Culture does not, I believe, vary much in any of them, and therefore I have judged it sufficient to set down here the Observations which I employed proper Persons, in different Seasons, to make in the Years 1723, 24, 25, and 28, up and down all that large Tract of Ground that lies between Saffron-Walden and Cambridge, in a Circle of about ten Miles Diameter. In that Country Saffron has been longest cultivated, and therefore it may reasonably be expected that the Inhabitants thereof are more thoroughly acquainted with it than they are anywhere else. I shall begin with the Choice and Preparation of the Ground. The greatest Part of the Tract already mention'd is an open level Country with few Inclosures; and the Custom there is, as in most other Places, to crop two Years, and let the Land lie fallow the third. Saffron