APIS MELLIFICA;
OR,
THE POISON OF THE HONEY-BEE,
Considered as a Therapeutic Agent.
BY C. W. WOLF, M.D.,
Ex-District Physician in Berlin.
PUBLISHED AND FOR SALE BY
WILLIAM RADDE, 635 ARCH STREET.
1858.
PREFACE.
Every physician who has spent years of anactive life in prescribing for large numbers ofpatients, is morally bound to publish his experienceto the world, provided he is satisfied,in his interior conscience, that such a publicationmight be useful to the general interestsof humanity.
In offering the following essay to my readers,I simply desire to fulfil an obligation recognisedas valid by the inner sense. This essaycontains every thing that an experienceof forty years in the conscientious andphilanthropic exercise of my profession hassanctioned and confirmed as truth. Nor haveI adopted a single fact, suggested by my ownobservation, as correct, without contrasting itwith the most approved records of medicine.To every true friend of man, and moreparticularly to every physician who considersthe business of healing disease as the highest[4]office of medical art, I offer this essay forfurther trial and examination. May thestatements expressed in it either be confirmedor else corrected and improved bythose who excel in more thorough knowledgeand ability.
Berlin, Oct., 1857.
APIS MELLIFICA.
"The bee helps to heal all thy internal and external maladies,and is the best little friend whom man possesses in this world."—Morein Cotton's Book of the Bee, p. 138.
Since Hahnemann's successful attempt to developthe medicinal nature of Aconite, no otherdiscovery has been made in the domain of practicalmedicine, as comprehensive and universally usefulas the discovery of the medicinal virtues of thepoison of the bee. It is of the utmost importanceto the interests of humanity to become as intimatelyacquainted with the efficacy of this poison as possible.It is the object of these papers to contributemy mite to this work.
As soon as Dr. Hering had published the provingsof the bee poison, in his "American Provings," Iat once submitted them to the test of experience inan extensive practice. I prepared the drug whichI used for this purpose, by pouring half an ounceof alcohol on five living bees, and shaking themduring the space of eight days, three times a-day,with one hundred vigorous strokes of the arm.From this preparation, which I used as the mother-tincture,I obtained attenuations up to the thirtiescentesimal scale. So far, the effects which I have[6]obtained with this preparation, have been uniformlysatisfactory. It has seemed to me that the lowerpotencies lose in power as they are kept for alonger period; hence, I consider it safer to preparethem fresh every year. As a general rule, I havefound either the third or the thirtieth potency,sufficient.
Day after day I have obtained more satisfactoryresults, and now I look upon Apis mellifica as thegreatest polychrest, next to Aconite, which wepossess.
The introduction of this poison to the medicalprofession, will be looked upon as th