[62] Cadwallader Colden. See note, page 250. _Editor._
[63] As the poke-weed, though out of place, is introduced here, we
shall translate and insert two extracts of letters from Dr. Franklin
to M. Dubourg, the French translator of his works, on the same
subject.
"LONDON, MARCH 27, 1773.
"I apprehend that our poke-weed is what the botanists term
_phytolacca_. This plant bears berries as large as peas; the skin is
black, but it contains a crimson juice. It is this juice, thickened
by evaporation in the sun, which was employed. It caused great pain,
but some persons were said to have been cured. I am not quite certain
of the facts; all that I know is, that Dr. Colden had a good opinion
of the remedy."
"LONDON, APRIL 23, 1773.
"You will see by the annexed paper by Dr. Solander, that this herb,
poke-weed, in which has been found a specific remedy for cancers, is
the most common species of phytolacca. (Phytolacca decandra L.)"
_Editor._
MR. E. KINNERSLEY, AT BOSTON, TO BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, ESQ. AT
PHILADELPHIA.
_New Experiments.--Paradoxes inferred from them.--Difference
in the Electricity of a Globe of Glass charged, and a Globe of
Sulphur.--Difficulty of ascertaining which is positive and which
negative._
_Feb. 3, 1752._