A

DISSERTATION

ON THE

NATURAL HISTORY

AND

MEDICINAL EFFECTS

OF THE

SECALE COENUTDM, OR ERGOT.

BY OLIVER PRESCOTT, A. M.FELLOW OF THE MASSACHUSETTS MEDICAL SOCIETY.

Read at the annual meeting of the Massachusetts MedicalSociety , June 2

, 1813.

BOSTON:PUBLISHED BY CUMMINGS AND HILLIARD NO. i, CORNHILL.

Andover Printed by Flagg Gould.

1813.

A

DISSERTATION

ON THE

NATURAL HISTORY AND MEDICINAL EFFECTS

OF THE

BEG ALE CORNUTUM, OR ERGOT.

The attention of physicians, which has been laud-ably excited to the investigation of the properties ofour native productions, has been recently followedby many valuable discoveries; and these happyresults, while highly useful to the public, are apowerful incentive to further exertions. The bosomof our country contains very many plants, not hith-erto drawn from their native obscurity; some arealready known to be endued with very active pow-ers, and we are encouraged to hope, that, when theirqualities shall be completely developed, and themedical purposes to which they may be applied,more fully ascertained, no small number will heentitled to a high consideration in therapeutics, while

4 DISSERTATION ON

some may be found possessed of energies, compe-tent to remove maladies which have hitherto beenconsidered incurable.

Among the useful and important articles withwhich the materia medica of our country has latelybeen enriched, one has claimed an extraordinarydegree of attention, from its being endued with sin-gular and valuable properties, such as are denied toevery other medicine with which we are acquainted:—that of operating exclusively upon the uterus.

The recency of its introduction to medicinal use,will, I presume, render what little information I cangive respecting it, not unacceptable to the society.Permit me, therefore, on this occasion, to attemptgiving a brief detail of what lias been discoveredrelative to its origin, its generic form and character;and at the same time consider, as far as the occasionwill allow, the deleterious effects that have beenascribed to it, and the medicinal purposes it is calcu-lated to subserve.

This production is generated by a peculiar dis-ease, which occasionally affects the grains of rye,and is one of the four diseases of plants enumeratedby Linnaeus, and by him denominated clavus; somenaturalists call it clavus secalinus, or mater secalis,others secale cornutum, and secale luxurious. TheFrench term this production hied cornu, seigle ergote.or ergot. This disease very often attacks the ryein France. In the province of Salonia, more espe-cially, it is very predominant; and in such seasons

SECALE CORNUTUM. 5

as are very moist, is occasionally seen in Great Bri-tain and other parts of Europe. The rye in thiscountry also, is so liable to the same disease, that,in our new settlements, there is always, I believe,more or less of it to he found in this grain; hut ismore rarely to he discovered on fields that have beenkept in a state of constant cultivation, for a conside-rable number of years; as those in the vicinity ofBoston, and other towns on the sea-hoard.

The earliest account of this diseased rye is pro-baly that of M. Bodart in 1676; the latest I haveseen is a memoir of L’abbe Tessier, read before theRoyal Medical Society at Paris in 1776. To thislast I am principally indebted for the following factsrelative to its natural history, most of which accordwith my own observations.

This diseased grain, which I shall call ergot, isfound in the ear of the rye, in greater or less quan-tity, according to the season, and its situation. Itsform is ordinarily crooked and long; it projectsmuch from the glume; is larger in the middle thanat the extremities, which are sometimes blunt, andsometimes pointed. It is seldom round in its wholelength, there being generally three angles, and cer-tain longitudinal lines, extending from one end tothe other. In many grains, particularly the largest,there are small cavities, supposed by some to beoccasioned by insects, by others, by the sun. Itsexternal colour is violet of different degrees of inten-sity, which encloses a dull white substance of a firm

6 DISSERTATION ON

consistence, from which the external coat does notseparate itself even after long boiling.

A grain of ergot breaks short, like a dry almond,and has nothing disagreeable either in its odour ortaste; the grains are of different size, and vary intheir length. Some are less than the grains of ryethemselves, while others, are eighteen or nineteenlines in length, and two or three in thickness ; hutthe length is more usually ten or twelve lines. Some-times they are short, and at the same time large;but these are not of an ordinary form.

When the ergot is large, there are generally butfew upon an ear, and the grains of rye, on the same

ear, are fine and healthy, and the whole plant vigo-rous ; on the contrary, when the grains of ergot aresmall, there are many on an ear, and the stalk is lessstrong and thrifty. There arc commonly found fouror five of these grains upon one ear, frequently tenor twelve, and sometimes, even twenty. The grainsofrye in those ears which have many ergots arenever good, but are shrunk, and covered at theirsuperior extremity, with a black powder.

This production, if exposed to the air, dies rea-dily, and becomes less in size, and very light. Ameasure of it, that holds fourteen pounds of rye,will weigh but nine pounds.

It is occasionally found on wheat, but on the earsof this grain, it is always short, though thick andwell nourished; the quantity, however, produced bythis plant, is very inconsiderable.

SECALE CORNUTUM. 7On many ears of rye, there arc to be found grains

composed of rye and ergot, the portion ergottedmakes sometimes one half, and sometimes only onethird of the grain, and is that part within the husk,while that part which is rye is most distant fromthe ear. These grains, if planted, will not vege-tate, the germ being destroyed. Winter and springrye are, as far as has been observed, equally liableto this disease.

Much time and attention have been devoted bydifferent naturalists, to ascertain the cause of thisproduction in rye. Some, from the circumstancethat there is more produced in rainy seasons, and inwet grounds, have attributed its formation to themoisture of the air and the earth; others believe itto proceed from the grains having been pierced byinsects; while others have regarded it as a mole,

occasioned by a faulty fecundation. This last opin-ion is more probably correct, for nothing has beenfound to contribute so much to its production, if thesoil be moist, as a storm of rain falling upon thegrain when in bloom.

There will always be more of it found on theborders of fields, than in other parts, where the soilis less beaten and more mellow. The humidity beingequal, those fields are most infested with it, whichhave been newly turned up.

The soil and climate of Sologne are so peculiarlyadapted to the growth ofthis substance, that it is saidto produce more of it, than all France beside; for,

8 DISSERTATION ON

in some years, not less than one fourth of all thegrain, raised in that province, is ergotted. In thisdistrict and its vicinity, there has, at different pe-riods, prevailed among the peasants, a very malignantand mortal disease, which is characterized by a drygangrene in some one of the extremities, sometimesin all of theVn, which has been generally ascribed totheir living upon bread, made of the ergotted rye.*This bread, M. Dodart informs us, does not differ, inregard to taste, from ordinary bread; is more parti-cularly pernicious when new ; but its effects are notobserved until it has been eaten a considerable time.According to the observations of M. Noel, the ergotloses its deleterious qualities altogether, after havingbeen kept a few months in sheaf: and writers allagree in this, that the disease it is supposed to induceis prevalent only at the conclusion of harvest, andceases entirely before the commencement of winter.

Besides this spontaneous gangrene of the limbs,Hoffman and other writers have attributed also toits use, another species of disease, which prevailedat different periods, in various parts of Europe, at-tended by convulsions and spasmodic affections.But these are now generally considered as originatingfrom other causes.

In France, many experiments have been madeon animals, to prove its malignant effects, and nu-merous communications have been published, shew-

* For a particular account of this disease, and the methodadopted for its cure, yid. Duncan’s Med. Com. Yol. ix. p. TB,

9SECALE CORNUTUM.

ing its noxious properties; but I believe it has neverbeen considered, by any of these writers, as capableof subserving any medicinal or other useful purpose.

Some few empirics, however, it is said, have longknown that the ergotwould expedite lingering labour.Hut these ignorant pretenders bestow upon their nos-trums so extravagant encomiums, and their impositionsupon the credulity of the public are so numerous andfrequent, that no credit whatever can be attached totheirrecommendations. Most of their mighty secrets,when disclosed, prove altogether inert; or at bestvery incompetent to effect the purposes for whichthey are intended. Their powder, to promote de-livery, was consequently derided, and was thoughtby the faculty to be unworthy of serious attention orregard.

The first information the public received, from asource entitled to credence, that this production was,in reality, endued with such an unexampled proper-ty, was through the medium of the New York Me-dical Repository,* by a letter from Dr. J. Stearnsto Dr. Akerly. In this communication, Dr. Stearnsdesignates it by the appellation of pulvis jmvturiens.

Very soon after this publication, I procured asufficient quantity for experiment, and have sincefrequently used it. With very few exceptions, itsuniform effect is to stimulate the uterus to increasedaction, when administered in parturition. But Icannot say with Dr. Stearns, (( I have never beendisappointed in my expectations of its effectsfor

* Yol. ii. p. 308.

10 DISSERTATION ON

I met this disappointment in the very iirst case inwhich I prescribed it. In that case, a neighbouringphysician was attending the patient, the travail hadprogressed slowly, but in a regular manner, until thehead of the foetus was detruded so low in the pelvis,that the ear was perceptible to the touch, when thepains subsided, and had entirely ceased, some hoursbefore I was summoned. One drachm was admin-istered, in the form of decoction, at three separatedoses, but without producing any effect, when thedelivery was accomplished by the aid of theforceps.

Two similar cases have since occurred, in whichthe pains had totally ceased, toward the terminationof labour, and in which parturient efforts could notbe revived, by any quantity I thought prudent toadminister. In one of these last, the patient tookthe decoction of more than two drachms in divideddoses.

In four other patients, I had reason to doubtwhether the pains were increased by its use, eitherin frequency or strength; but one dose only wasgiven to either of them, for the irritable state of thestomach prevented its being repeated.

In every other instance, without exception, theeffects of this prescription have been such as fully todemonstrate its powers “ ad partum accelerandum.’*The pains produced by it, when a full dose is given,are very peculiarly forcing, and the contractile effortof the uterus continues to that degree, that the foetusis not suffered toretreat, but remains firmly retained

SECALE CORNUTUM. 11

where the last exacerbation of pain left it, until it re-curs again. This incessant action will continue, ifthe delivery is not effected, for an hour or more, andwhen it subsides, the medicine, again given, willreproduce the same effects.

The frequency and violence of the uterine efforts,induced by the ergot, are not more extraordinary,than is its almost instantaneous operation. In twentycases, I carefully noticed the precise time it required,to produce its customary effects. In two of them,the increased strength of the pains, and the continuedaction commenced in seven minutes from the timethe decoction was taken; in one case it was eightminutes, in seven it was ten, in three, eleven, and inthree others it was fifteen minutes. In the fourremaining cases, there was no apparent operationuntil twenty minutes had expired. In other eases,the time was not particularly noticed, but as thetwenty I have given were nearly in succession, it isprobable they will shew the proportion, as accu-rately, as if the time in all had been precisely ascer-tained.

From this account of the manner in which theergot usually operates, it will be readily conceived,by those who have not witnessed its effects, that it isa powerful agent, which requires prudent direction,but when properly applied, will be highly useful,many times, to shorten a process, which, unaided,would prove extremely tedious and troublesome.

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Before I had acquired sufficient experience ofits effects, I imprudently used it once or twice whenthe pains were tardy and feeble, even in first labour,before the orifice of the uterus w as much relaxed ordilated; it having been recommended to te produceall the beneficial effects of bleeding without inducingthe debility.” But it does not usually prove relax-ing to the rigid fibre; its operation, therefore, sub-jected the patients to much unnecessary suffering.In one instance, no perceptible progress was made,by the continuance of forcible uterine efforts, duringthe space of an hour.

It is therefore important, even if the pains are fee-ble and unfrequent, to delay giving this stimulatingdrug, until considerable dilatation has taken place;to leave the business in its early stages to the slowand regular process of nature; and by the respitethus gained by the intervals from pain, preserve thestrength and resolution of the patient for later andmore painful efforts.

But if the labour should be long protracted, fromthe irregular action of the uterus, or the rigidity ofthe muscular fibres, these obstacles should be firstremoved by venesection: after which the ergot maybe usefully employed, and its operation will befound mild and efficacious. But whenever recourseis had to venesection, the depletion should be copi-ous, and the blood suddenly draw n from a large or-

ifice, for no possible advantage will be gained bythis operation, upon a plethoric subject, if the quan-

SECALE CORNUTUM. 13

tity taken be less than twenty ounces; and I haverepeatedly taken thirty, before the necessary endcould be accomplished.

I have never administered ergot in substance,hut always in the form of decoction, in the proportionof half a drachm to four ounces of water, of whichone third is taken at a time; if the pains are notsufficiently augmented in twenty minutes, then halfthe remainder is given; hut a second dose is rarelyrequired.

It will probably be found more beneficial inmany cases to diminish the quantity to one largetable spoonful, which, taken every ten minutes, willhave the effect to increase the vigour of the pains,without producing such excessive and constant ac-tion, as is usual when the full dose is administered.I have lately directed it in this manner, and havebeen so much gratified with its more temperate,though efficient action, that I shall hereafter preferthe smaller to the larger quantity.

It has been suggested, by a writer in the NewEngland Journal of Medicine and Surgery, that thedeath of the infant is a more frequent occurrence, incases in which the ergot has been employed, thanwhere its agency has not been used. If this is in-deed the case, it forms at once an insuperable objec-tion to its use, except in cases where its safety iswell defined; and the subject certainly demandsdeliberate attention and serious inquiry. For my-self, it is, I conceive, rather questionable, whether

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more injury would result to the child “ from unceas-ing pressure for several minutes, and occasionallyfor half an hour or more ” than for a much more te-dious process, in which the the pressure is reiterat-ed, and the head permitted to retreat after each suc-cessive effort. But, in a matter of such importance,we ought not to be governed by conjecture; butshould adopt or reject it, as its beneficial or destruc-tive operation is tested by experiment. My ownexperience has been such, as to persuade me, thatthe above suggestion is unfounded. It is true that intwenty two cases of first labour, in which this medi-cine had any effect, I lost four children, and in thir-ty five where itwas given to women, who had beenpreviously delivered, I have lost one. But all thesedeaths were attended with such circumstances, asfully to exculpate the ergot from any agency in theevent. And when it is recollected that this med-icine is not used, except in cases that are long pro-tracted, or are likely to prove tedious and trouble-some, it will not be thought, I conclude, that thisunfortunate event happened more frequently, or ingreater proportion to the whole number of cases,than might reasonably have been expected, had thismedicine not been prescribed.—But exclusive of anyinjurious effects, which may result to the infant, theergot requires much more eaution with respect to itsuse, in cases of first labour, than in others : for ow-ing to the usual tension and rigidity of the parts, theprotruding progress will not be accelerated, in any

reasonable proportion to the additional pain and suf-fering it produces. It is also too active and pow-erful an agent, to be safely directed by an ignorantor unexperienced accoucheur; and before dismiss-ing the subject, I most cordially join in cautioningthose, who have not been in the practice of using it,and witnessing its operations, to be wary how theyemploy its agency, until the muscular fibre is prop-erly relaxed, and the os uteri considerably dilated.This caution is also more especially necessary, ifthey are not positively certain that the presentationis natural, as well as 66 that there are no preternatu-ral obstructions, to prevent delivery ; as the violentpain, and almost incessant action, which it frequent-ly induces, in the uterus, precludes the possibility ofturning” the foetus.

Dr. Beekman is said to have succeeded in acase ofamenorrhoea, by giving one drachm of the er-got in decoction. In consequence of this recom-mendation, I tried its effects in one case of partialobstruction, by giving it, first in a dose of onedrachm; at the next period the same patient tooktwo drachms, but without the desired effect. Andfrom analogy, I should conclude, that it was una-dapted to this complaint. The tendency of its ope-ration is, I conceive, to constringe the uterine fibres,and lessen the caliber of its blood vessels ; for whengiven to parturient patients, there has been no in-stance, within my knowledge, of undue hemorrhageafter delivery, although several, who have taken it,

15SECALE CORNUTUM.

DISSERTATION ON

had been previously accustomed to profuse discharg-es. The lochia also, have occasionally been so muchdiminished, after its use, as to excite apprehensionfor the event. In two cases, this discharge entirelyceased, on the second or third day after delivery,and did not reappear during the month; but no pu-erperal complaint was induced, nor was their recov-ery delayed by this incident.

The uniform operation of the ergot to restrainuterine hemorrhage, has been noticed by other physi-cians. It has in consequence, frequently been pre-scribed, a little previous to the birth of the child, orimmediately after, to patients that have been accus-tomed to flow immoderately, at such times, and it hasalways proved an effectual preventive.

This singular property of the ergot, to diminishthe enlarged cavity of the uterus, is never more strik-ingly exemplified, than when its agency is employedto restrain those floodings, which sometimes appear,in the early months of pregnancy, when the action ofgestation has ceased, and abortion must follow. Insuch cases, it speedily excites, in the uterus, suchenergetic action, that its contents are soon expelled,and the hemorrhage ceases.

In order to determine what operation it mighthave, on a healthy male subject, the decoction of onedrachm has been taken at a dose; but it producedneither nausea nor other perceptible effect. After afew days, the same person took a like quantity, whichproved equally inert: neither did the larger quantj-

SECALE CORNUTUM. 17ty of two drachms, at a few doses, but all within thespace of two hours, occasion nausea, vomiting, orpain in the female, to whom it was prescribed, fordeficient catamenia.

Its operative powers, therefore, appear whollyconfined to the uterine fibres, when lengthened froman enlargement of that viscus. In such case it speed-ily excites, in them, strong contractile action, and solong as the stimulating effect of the medicine lasts,this action is unceasing. The uterus is thus made tocompress closely, upon any substance whateverwithin its cavity, and this resistance to its furthercollapsing, will cause violent pain in that organ; butif it find no such resistance, the contractile actionprogresses without any uneasy sensations. Thehealthy, unimpregnated uterus, having nothing with-in its cavity, will therefore not be affected by theergot; neither is it calculated to restrain menorrha-gia, proceeding from increased arterial action; asthe size of the uterus, in such cases, is nearly at itsminimum.

Until we clearly understand the reason, whysome medicines possess a greater affinity to one partof the system, or to one organ, than to another, it willbe difficult to explain the modus operandi of theergot. It is, as has been already observed, but ashort time, since it first attracted the notice of physi-cians, as being subservient to any useful purpose inmedicine; and I have not yet discovered that it pos-sesses any other properties, than such as I have men-

DISSERTATION, &C,18

tioned. Like all other active and valuable medi-cines, when first made known tothe public, it requiresa long series of judicious and attentive experiment,fully to develope its character, its qualities, and theprecise manner in which it may affect different partsof the human system. Like them, while its use isbeneficial, its abuse is destructive. A cautious di-rection of its powers cannot, therefore, be too stronglyrecommended. If properly administered, it mustbe esteemed an important and valuable acquisition toour materia medica, and is unquestionably destinedto hold a high rank, among the means, which kindnature has provided, for relieving the sufferings ofher children.

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE.

Fig. 1. An ear of rye, which contains a great number ofergots.

A. A middle sized ergot detached.B. A small ergot detached.

Fig. 2. An ear which contains grains composed of rye andergot.

C. A grain composed ofrye and ergot.Fig. 3. An ear of stout rye, which contains only one large

ergot.D. A great ergot detached.E. A great ergot broken transversely.

Fig. 4. An ear of wheat which bears one ergot.F. An ergot of wheat out of the ear.G. G. Ergots irregularly shaped.

Fig. 4.Fi*. 2.<D77 • nno\ b.oFir. 1.o