ON THE MEDICINAL PROPERTIES OF THE MONARDA PUNCTATA [HORSE MINT] by E.A. ATLEE in THE AMERICAN MEDICAL RECORDER. Vol. II, No. IV. October, 1819.

American Medical Recorder, 1819., 1819.. Fair. ILLUTRATED WITH A FOLDING HAND-COLORED BOTANICAL ENGRAVING - Octavo, 9-3/8 inches high by 6 inches wide. Disbound, removed in the past from a larger collection of pamphlets. The binding is broken and several pages are detached. 108 deckle-edged pages numbered [475]-582, illustrated with a hand-colored botanical double-page folding plate depicting the "Monarda Punctata Vel Lutea / Horse Mint" engraved by C. Tiebout after a drawing by E.A. Atlee, M.D. The periodical lacks the last few pages (pp. 583-617). Several pages are darkened and the overlapping edges of a few pages are chipped.

The contents include: "A Sketch of the Improvement of Medical and Surgical Science in the United States, during the last thirty years" by the editor, John Eberle. Importantly, included is "On the Medicinal Properties of the Monarda Punctata" by E.A. Atlee, M.D. of Philadelphia, illustrated with a double-page folding plate.

The tasteful hand-colored folding botanical plate illustrates horse mint from the roots to its flowers.

The uses of the plant, Horsemint, was first brought to notice by Dr. E.F. Atlee in 1819 in this publication. He observed that it was popularly used as a diaphoretic, diuretic and carminative. A powerful irritant, its essential oil was capable of vesicating the skin. Dr. Atlee made use of the oil in either its pure form or diluted with alcohol or tincture of camphor as a liniment for chronic rheumatism and pain. He also made use of it to treat hemiplegia and other forms of paralysis and, in one case, he claims to have treated deafness and restored hearing by bathing the scalp with undiluted oil. Dr. Atlee also claimed the oil to be useful as an embrocation (a liniment or salve) to soothe the rash in the early stages of typhus and could be used as a salve applied to the abdomen in cases of cholera infantum.