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Excerpt from On the Modern Treatment of Some Diseases of the Skin The paper from which the part on eczema is now reprinted, was read before the medico-chirurgical Society almost (outyears ago;1 indeed I authorised the late Mr. Davies to announce a reprint of it in his forthcoming list of books, but the great demand made upon my time by writing another work The Stream of Life which I have but very recently completed, entirely prevented me from giving it that care which I thought absolutely required by the nature and importance of the subject. I am sorry this delay should have occurred, as Mr. Davies more than once informed me that several members of the profession had applied for copies; but I can only express my regret, as I still consider it better that it should not have appeared than have come before the world in an imperfect form. When read before the Medico Chirurgical Society, it was too condensed to bear reprinting except as a pamphlet. The parasitic nature of some diseases of the skin could not be ignored in a work devoted to treatment. Some supporters of the vegetable theory contend that in certain of these affec tions there is no necessity for general treatment of an active kind, often for no general treatment at all, and that a speedy and lasting cure can be effected by local means alone; whereas when these means are neglected, or made merely auxiliary to constitutional measures, progress must ever be slow and success uncertain. On the other hand, such eminent writers as Wilson, Carpenter, and Erichsen, deny the vegetable nature of these diseases; Wilson even considering local remedies as of secondary importance, and, when not conjoined with means calculated to improve the health, as too often powerless. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology