The Project Gutenberg eBook of Secret remedies
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States,
you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located
before using this eBook.
Title: Secret remedies
What they cost and what they contain
Author: British Medical Association
Release date: January 21, 2025 [eBook #75168]
Language: English
Original publication: London: British Medical Association, 1909
Credits: MWS and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SECRET REMEDIES ***
Transcriber’s Notes:
Underscores “_” before and after a word or phrase indicate _italics_
in the original text.
Small capitals have been converted to SOLID capitals.
Old spellings have been preserved.
Typographical and punctuation errors have been silently corrected.
SECRET REMEDIES,
WHAT THEY COST AND WHAT THEY CONTAIN.
BASED ON ANALYSES MADE FOR THE
BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION.
LONDON:
BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION,
429, STRAND, W.C.
1909.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
I.—Catarrh and Cold Cures 1
II.—Cough Medicines 9
III.—Consumption Cures 20
IV.—Headache Powders 37
V.—Blood Purifiers 42
VI.—Remedies for Gout, Rheumatism and Neuralgia 50
VII.—Kidney Medicines 66
VIII.—Diabetes 76
IX.—Obesity Cures 83
X.—Skin Diseases 105
XI.—Medicines for Baldness 114
XII.—Cancer Remedies 117
XIII.—Remedies for Epilepsy 124
XIV.—Soothing, Teething and Cooling Powders for Infants 130
XV.—Remedies for Ear Disease and Deafness 134
XVI.— ” Eye Diseases 142
XVII.— ” Piles 147
XVIII.—Preparations for Rupture 158
XIX.—Cures for Inebriety 162
XX.—Cure Alls 170
APPENDIX 182
INDEX 185
PREFACE.
One of the reasons for the popularity of secret remedies is their
secrecy. It is a case in which the old saying _Omne ignotum pro
magnifico_ applies. To begin with, there is for the average man or
woman a certain fascination in secrecy. The quack takes advantage
of this common foible of human nature to impress his customers. But
secrecy has other uses in his trade; it enables him to make use of
cheap new or old-fashioned drugs, and to proclaim that his product
possesses virtues beyond the ken of the mere doctor; his herbs have
been culled in some remote prairie in America or among the mountains
of Central Africa, the secret of their virtues having been confided to
him by some venerable chief; or again he would have us believe that his
drug has been discovered by chemical research of alchemical profundity,
and is produced by processes so costly and elaborate that it can only
be sold at a very high price.
The British Medical Association considered, therefore, that it would
be useful if not instructive to make analyses of some of the secret
remedies, the virtues of which are so boldly advertised, especially
in popular monthly magazines and weekly newspapers, and in diaries
and almanacks pushed under the front door or dropped over the area
railings. The results are given in the following pages; they have been
classified under various heads, according to the particular kind of
disorder for the cure of which the preparation is more particularly
vaunted. The claims in some instances are so comprehensive that it has
not always been easy to assign the nostrum its proper place, and for a
few it has been necessary to institute a chapter on Cure Alls.
An inquiry of the kind is, from the analytical point of view, tedious
and often difficult; for though the analytical chemist can easily and
quickly identify the nature of inorganic salts in a mixture or powder,
and estimate their amount, most vegetable drugs which exert any
appreciable effect on the body owe their power to the presence of an
alkaloid or glucoside. The active principle of opium, for instance, is
morphine; that of cinchona bark, quinine; that of belladonna, atropine,
and so on, and the chemist can recognise any alkaloids present in a
mixture or pill. It is otherwise, however, with vegetable extracts and
colouring matters, for which pharmaceutical science has not yet been
able in all cases to supply easily applicable and conclusive tests,
because for the most part they contain no active principle and are
used in pharmacy for their agreeable odour or bitter taste, as vanilla
or sorrel are used in cookery. Of the accuracy of the analytical data
published there can be no question; the investigation has been carried
out with great care by a skilled analytical chemist, who has controlled
his results in various ways, one being that in every doubtful case
the formula obtained by analysis has been tested by making it up
and comparing the appearance, taste, and physical properties of the
imitative mixture with those of the secret preparation sold to the
public.
The articles in this volume have not been confined to a mere dry
statement of the results of analysis. Care has been taken to reproduce
the claims and exuberant boasts of the vendors, and the contrast
between them and the list of banal ingredients which follow must strike
every reader. This juxtaposition of analytical facts and advertising
fancies is instructive and sometimes entertaining, the fancy is so free
and the fact so simple.
It must not be assumed that the concoctors of these mixtures and
powders and ointments show any particular skill in the compounding of
drugs. On the contrary, they appear curiously indifferent to taste and
appearance, and perhaps count on the belief, common among the poorer
classes at least, that the nastier a drug the more effective it is.
There is, at any rate, the excuse for this belief that the effort to
subdue the repugnance to the draught produces a glow of virtue which
may perhaps have a certain stimulating effect on the mind; the patient
having not only spent his money but suffered some discomfort, is
anxious to justify his faith by assuming himself to be the better for
the double sacrifice.
It is not, however, only the poorer classes of the community who have
a weakness for secret remedies and the ministration of quacks; the
well-to-do and the highly-placed will often, when not very ill, take a
curious pleasure in experimenting with mysterious compounds. In them it
is perhaps to be traced to a hankering to break safely with orthodoxy;
they scrupulously obey the law and the Church and Mrs. Grundy, but will
have their fling against medicine. Usually, however, people of these
classes take to some system. It used to be electricity or hypnotism or
some eccentricity of diet; nowadays it is more often Christian Science.
Judging from the relative number of secret remedies advertised for
different complaints, it would seem that the most attractive fields
for exploitation by the “patent” medicine man are afforded by those
diseases which are widely prevalent, and sufficiently serious to cause
considerable suffering and incapacity, inasmuch as such disorders lend
themselves to sensational descriptions of the dire consequences which
will follow if the one and only real and certain cure is not purchased.
The estimates of cost given throughout the volume refer only to the
ingredients, the prices of the various drugs being those quoted in
an ordinary wholesale drug list, and take no account of the cost of
bottles, boxes, wrappings and packages, very often a much more serious
source of expenditure. The stamp duty levied by the Inland Revenue
under an old Act of Parliament must also be taken into consideration,
but, ostensibly at least, it is paid by the purchaser, for the full
price of a nostrum is usually 1s. 1½d. or 2s. 9d. and so on, the extra
1½d. or 3d. representing the value of the stamp. “Store prices” have,
however, invaded this, like most other fields of enterprise.
CHAPTER I.
CATARRH AND COLD CURES.
The analyses here given of some of the proprietary articles which the
public are induced to buy for the cure of ordinary colds and catarrh
furnish a good example of the absurdity of the barefaced pretensions
in which nostrum mongers indulge, for minor ailments are by no means
neglected by the makers of nostrums; if the price to be obtained is
somewhat lower than in the case of more serious disorders the cost
price can be reduced in an equal or greater proportion. Alarming
accounts, too, of the evils to be expected if resort be not had to the
advertised articles are not wanting. Thus, in the advertisement of one
of the articles described below, it is stated that catarrh “invariably
creates biliousness, constipation, pleurisy, asthma, bronchitis,
catarrhal fever, and consumption”; also that “it is estimated that
over 20,000 people died in the United Kingdom last year of consumption
caused by catarrh.” The remedy put forward for this malignant disease
is shown by analysis to consist of a solution of a pinch of common salt
with a trace of carbolic acid, the actual cost of the quantity sold for
a shilling being one-thirtieth part of a farthing. The probability that
many people would regard a slight cold in the head as not requiring a
resort to a “specialist in chronic disease in every form” such as the
proprietor of this preparation, is turned to account by a disparaging
reference to the medical profession. “Catarrh,” we are told, “in its
chronic form (and the complaints arising from it) is a malady which has
not, up to the present time, received that attention and research from
the medical faculty which it deserves. Most practitioners have given
it merely a passing thought, or poohed at it as a mere cold which
would soon pass off, and perhaps give some light tonic to tone up the
stomach.” Another of the “remedies” described well illustrates the way
in which the public is deluded by such “specialists”; camphor, quinine
and ipecacuanha are frequently employed as domestic remedies in the
early stages of a cold in the head, and persons who believe in their
usefulness can no doubt be induced to buy a “cold cure” which professes
to contain them in combination with other drugs, presented in a form
convenient and agreeable to be taken; but in the tablets which are
represented as consisting of cascara, bromide, quinine, ipecacuanha,
camphor and bryonia, analysis did not reveal any appreciable traces
of cascara, bromide, quinine, ipecacuanha, or camphor. The principal
ingredients actually present were cinchonine, an alkaloid found in
the bark from which quinine is prepared but cheaper than quinine, and
acetanilide, a chemical better known under the name antifebrin, both in
very small doses.
Many proprietary medicines of varied kinds are recommended for colds
among a host of other complaints for which they are stated to possess
curative powers. Apart, however, from such inclusive recommendations,
a considerable number are put forward expressly and primarily for cold
and catarrh, and it is a selection of these which is here described.
DR. LANE’S CATARRH CURE.
This is prepared and sold by a Company giving an address in London. The
price is 1s. a bottle, containing 2½ fluid ounces.
Much printed matter is supplied with this preparation, and a few
extracts are here given:
Catarrh, in its chronic form (and the complaints
arising from it), is a malady which has not, up to the
present time, received that attention and research
from the medical faculty which it deserves. Most
practitioners have given it merely a passing thought,
or poohed at it as a mere cold which would soon pass
off, and perhaps give some light tonic to tone up the
stomach. And therein lies the fatal error, for Catarrh
is a disease that cannot be trifled with, as millions
can only too surely testify.
... to let any part or organ of the system become
diseased breeds the seeds of a host of other
complaints, as all the organs of the body are in
sympathy with each other. The cause of this is easily
explained in a case of Catarrh.... It invariably
creates Biliousness, Constipation, Pleurisy, Asthma,
Bronchitis, Catarrhal Fever, and Consumption.
It is estimated that over 20,000 people died in the
United Kingdom last year of Consumption caused by
Catarrh.
The speciality of myself and Associate Physicians is
chronic disease in every form. Our library was selected
to this end, and the Herbal World explored for this
purpose—the successful treatment of chronic disease.
We have never seen one out of five hundred of the
patients whom we have cured. Most cases can be treated
just as well at a distance as if we saw them in person;
as our experience enables us to judge correctly from
a written description the nature and extent of the
disease under which the patient is labouring.
The preparation is described on the wrapper as:
The _Only Reliable_ and Effective Preparation for
the Permanent and _Radical Cure_ of this most
dangerous disease.
The directions on the label are:
For Catarrh.—Pour one-half teaspoonful in the palm of
the hand, close one nostril with the finger, and inhale
the liquid through the open nostril with sufficient
force to carry the spray down into the throat. Inhale
another half teaspoonful through the other nostril
in the same way; it is not advisable to swallow the
Catarrh Cure—however, it is perfectly harmless if you
chance to do so. Use night and morning and in extreme
cases three times a day.
Analysis showed the composition of the liquid to be:
Phenol (carbolic acid) 0·4 part.
Sodium chloride (common salt) 3.3 parts.
Water to 100 fluid parts.
The traces of impurities usually present in common salt were also found.
The estimated cost of the ingredients in 2½ fluid ounces is
one-thirtieth of a farthing.
VAN VLECK’S CATARRH BALM.
This balm is supplied by an American Company having an address in
London. The price charged is 4s. 6d. for a package containing 1⅛ oz.
In an accompanying circular it is stated that:
This preparation is perfectly harmless, readily
absorbed, and through its healing, soothing action
affords immediate relief and quickly cures Catarrh of
the Nose and Head, Catarrhal Deafness, Hay Fever, Cold
in the Head, La Grippe, Tonsillitis, Sore Throat and
all inflamed, irritated conditions of the nose and
throat.
The “Balm” was an ointment, contained in a collapsible tube. The
directions on the label are:
First clear your head out thoroughly by blowing your
nose, then squeeze out from the tube a piece of Dr.
Van Vleck’s Catarrh Balm about the size of a pea, on
the end of the finger, and rub it well up into each
nostril, hold the other nostril and snuff it up until
you can feel it all the way up through the air passages
in your head. For severe Catarrh in the Head and Cold
in the Head also rub thoroughly over the outside of
the nose and across the forehead and on the sides of
the head just below the temples. For Catarrhal Sore
Throat and Tonsillitis rub thoroughly on the outside of
the throat and swallow at bedtime a small piece about
the size of a pea. Do not get it into the eyes. This
preparation is perfectly harmless, readily absorbed,
and through its healing, antiseptic, soothing action
affords immediate relief.
The substance consisted of soft paraffin containing a small quantity
of phenol and about 2 per cent. of a mixture of volatile oils. Oils
of eucalyptus, pumilio pine, and yellow sandal-wood were recognized,
and the respective proportions of these were estimated by comparing
mixtures of known composition with the original. The results obtained
gave the following formula
Phenol 0·6 part.
Sandal-wood oil 0·5 ”
Oil of pumilio pine 0·7 ”
” eucalyptus 1.2 parts.
Soft paraffin to 100
The estimated cost of the ingredients for 1⅛ oz. is ½d.
DR. MACKENZIE’S “ONE DAY” COLD CURE.
This is supplied by a Company described as of London and New York. The
price charged for a box containing 30 tablets is 1s. 1½d.
This preparation is described on the package as:
The Best Cure! For the Worst Cold!
A Speedy Cure in all Cases of Cold, Influenza, Headache,
and all Neuralgic Affections.
Nature’s Remedy.
Dose.—One tablet to be swallowed with a little water
every two hours until relieved.
As a preventive, one every four hours.
Not for Children.
The tablets were coated with sugar coloured with ferric oxide
(so-called chocolate coating); after removal of the coating they had an
average weight of 2 grains. Analysis showed them to have the following
composition:
Cinchonidine sulphate 0·83 grain.
Acetanilide 0·71 ”
Camphor 0·10 ”
Talc 0·21 ”
Water 0·15 ”
The estimated cost of the ingredients for 30 tablets is 1¼d.
KEENE’S “ONE NIGHT” COLD CURE.
This also is supplied by a Company giving its address as New York and
London. The price charged is 1s. 1½d. a box, containing 30 tablets.
This is recommended in the circular enclosed in the box in the
following terms:
Keene’s One Night Cold Cure will break up any cold
overnight; or money refunded! Influenza cured in three
days. Guarantee Label around every Box. If Keene’s
One Night Cold Cure fails to Cure your Cold, your
money will be cheerfully returned on presentation of
Guarantee Label.
Keene’s One Night Cold Cure is in Tablet form and
contains nothing injurious, being chiefly composed
of Quinine, Cascara, Camphor, and other Ingredients
adopted by the Leading Medical Authorities for Colds in
the Head, Throat, and Lungs.
The “guarantee label” is worded as follows:
GUARANTEE.
If Keene’s “One Night” Cold Cure fails to effectually
break up any ordinary cold, return this Guarantee with
box to your Chemist and he will refund price paid.
Cascara—Bromide—Quinine—Ipecac—
Camphor—Bryonia—tablets. 7½d. per box.
The Keene Co.
Irving A. Keene, Treasurer.
The tablets were coated with sugar, coloured with ferric oxide
(so-called chocolate coating). After removal of the coating they had an
average weight of 2·07 grains. Analysis showed that they contained no
bromide, no quinine, except the minute trace occurring as an impurity
in the cinchonine found, and no camphor in sufficient quantity to be
detected; there was no evidence of any extract or other preparation
of cascara, and if any were present, the quantity did not exceed a
small trace; the alkaloid found did not give the slightest indication
of ipecacuanha alkaloid; extract of bryonia may have been present,
as it has no distinctive characters serving for identification. The
ingredients found were:
Cinchonine sulphate 0·21 grain. (approx.).
Acetanilide 0·32 ” ”
Calcium carbonate 0·25 ” ”
Starch 0·34 ” ”
Extractive and excipient 0·87 ” ”
In one tablet.
The extractive and excipient possessed no characters indicating the
substance from which it was derived; it contained a small proportion
of alkali in organic combination, equivalent to 1·2 per cent. of dried
sodium carbonate in the tablet, and the mineral constituents usually
present in vegetable extracts. The estimated cost of the ingredients
for 30 tablets is ¼d.
MUNYON’S CATARRH TABLETS AND SPECIAL CATARRH CURE.
These two preparations, which have been at one time or another very
extensively advertised, are supplied by a Homœopathic Company. They are
stated to be manufactured in U.S. of America. The price charged for the
tablets is 1s. a package, containing 17 tablets.
This preparation is recommended in the circular which accompanies it in
the following terms:
CATARRH POSITIVELY CURED.—Are you a sufferer
with catarrh? Have you taken all sorts of drugs and
patent nostrums? Are you tired of paying big doctor
bills without being cured? Are you willing to spend two
shillings for a cure that permanently cures catarrh
by removing the cause of the disease? If so, ask your
chemist for a shilling bottle of Munyon’s Catarrh Cure
and a shilling bottle of Catarrh Tablets. The
Catarrh Cure will eradicate the disease from the system
and the Tablets will cleanse and heal the afflicted
parts and restore them to a natural and healthful
condition.
On the package it is stated that:
When used in conjunction with the CATARRH
CURE, they cure discharges from the head and
throat, dryness, soreness and scabs in the nose,
pains in the head, and all symptoms of Catarrh.
The directions are:
Dissolve one Tablet in 20 teaspoonfuls of warm water
and use this solution for thorough cleansing of the
nose and throat, night and morning. Inject through the
nostrils with Munyon’s Atomizer or by snuffing.
The tablets had an average weight of 6 grains. Analysis showed the
composition to be:
Sodium bicarbonate 1·87 grains.
” chloride 1·81 ”
Borax, partly dehydrated 2·20 ”
Phenol (carbolic acid) trace.
Gum 0·12 grain.
in one tablet. The amount of borax was equivalent to
2·58 grains of the fully hydrated salt.
The estimated cost of the ingredients for 17 tablets is one-twentieth
of a penny.
Besides the “Catarrh Cure” referred to in the above as intended for use
with the tablets, there is a “Special Catarrh Cure” which costs 4s. a
package containing 460 pilules.
On the package it is stated that:
It cures the most aggravated cases of hawking and
spitting of mucus, stuffy or oppressed feeling in
the head, dryness or scabs in the nose, gloomy, dull
spirits, difficulty of breathing, dropping of mucus
from the head into the throat, and liability to take
cold easily.
The directions are:
Take four pellets every hour. Half quantity for children.
The average weight of the pilules was ½ grain. On first opening the
bottle containing them a slight smell of alcohol was noticeable, but
the loss of weight on drying was only 0·08 per cent. No medicament of
any kind could be detected, nor any substance but sugar; determination
of the amount of the latter showed 100 per cent. to be present.
From the odour of alcohol observed it is not unlikely that the pilules
had been “medicated” by treatment with some dilute tincture, but if so,
the amount of medicament so imparted was infinitesimal.
The estimated cost of 460 pilules is one-tenth of a penny.
BIRLEY’S ANTI-CATARRH.
The price charged for this fluid, sold by a London Company, is 1s. 1½d.
a bottle, containing nearly 3 fluid ounces.
The bottle was accompanied by four pages of printed matter headed “The
Birley Monthly Report,” in which the “Anti-Catarrh” was included in
a “List and Prices of Dr. Birley’s Compounds of Free (or Unoxidised)
Phosphorus,” and described as “Special Remedy for Catarrh and
Influenza.” The following extracts are from the same circular, under
the heading “The Wonders of Phosphorus.”
Free (or unoxidised) Phosphorus, whose chief seat or
situation is in the brain, is one of the most important
elements contained in our bodies. Without Free
Phosphorus there can be no thought, and very probably
no life....
One thing is proved beyond doubt, that the degree of
intellectual thought depends upon the amount of Free
Phosphorus in the brain, and just as the Phosphorus is
unduly wasted, so does the brain power weaken....
Free Phosphorus, it is thus shown, must be the saving
agent—no other means is possible. This one element
must be replaced.
The directions are:
For an ordinary cold take one teaspoonful every two
hours until better, then every third and fourth hour,
and finally night and morning.
For severe attacks, commence by taking a dose every
hour until better, then gradually increase the period
between each dose as attack abates. For Children, give
half doses.
Analysis showed the presence of:
Sugar (partly as “invert sugar”) 74 parts.
Tartaric acid 1·15 parts.
Phosphoric acid 0·07 part.
Alcohol trace.
Water to 100 fluid parts.
No free phosphorus could be detected, but the odour when the bottle was
first opened suggested the presence of a trace. From the presence of
a trace of alcohol it appears probable that an alcoholic solution of
phosphorus had been added, and that the phosphoric acid had been formed
by its oxidation. If the phosphorus found were in the free state each
fluid drachm would contain about ¹/₈₀ grain. The liquid was of a light
straw colour, probably produced by addition of a trace of colouring
matter.
The estimated cost of the ingredients for 3 fluid ounces is ½d.
CHAPTER II.
COUGH MEDICINES
There are probably few, if any, ailments more frequently treated by
the sufferer or his friends, without recourse to medical advice, than
coughs and colds. The remedies employed in such domestic practice
include preparations like “linseed tea” and others made at home,
but these no doubt are supplemented in very many instances by some
proprietary preparation, either one of those so largely advertised, or
the speciality of some local compounder. It might be contended that
here, if anywhere, is a legitimate field for the maker of nostrums, and
it is therefore of some interest to ascertain what is being supplied
in such nostrums. The particulars as to composition and claims made
which are given below show that they well illustrate the evils which
inevitably creep into the dealing in secret remedies, and the downward
steps which lead to purely swindling nostrums. One of the articles
now described bears on the label the unusual recommendation, “For
serious cases seek medical aid”; this preparation is recommended as a
“valuable aid” in various complaints, and the fact that it contains
morphine is stated clearly on the label, but information is not given
as to the amount of morphine present. Less modest claims are made
for competing articles, until we eventually reach such statements as
“all that is necessary is to take one dose of the lung tonic in warm
water on retiring to rest, and the cold will have disappeared in the
morning ... cure is quite certain,” and “If it fails no other medicine
will ever succeed.” Again, while the presence of morphine in one of
the medicines is plainly declared, as we have stated, this is not so
in other instances. In one of those in which on analysis morphine
was found to be present the advertisement begins with a “guarantee”
that the medicinal remedies contained in the lozenges cannot injure
the most delicate constitution, and includes the statement that they
may be safely administered to very young children; in another case
the specific declaration is made that “the cough pills do not contain
opium,” which would certainly be regarded by most people as meaning
that they do not contain the active principle of opium—morphine; and
yet this was found to be present. The uncertainty as to what the
composition of a secret medicine may be at any particular time is
illustrated by another of the articles described, which has in past
years been the subject of legal proceedings in the course of which the
presence of morphine was proved, but which is now found not to contain
any.
The number of advertised proprietary medicines for the cure of coughs
is very large, and the number of those but little advertised and having
principally a local sale is still larger; the latter, as a rule, have a
good deal of resemblance to the advertised preparations. A selected few
of the most widely advertised of this class have been examined.
The information which chemical analysis can give as to the composition
of proprietary medicines is necessarily limited to the recognition
of those ingredients which possess more or less definite chemical
properties. The makers, of course, can make use of any one or more
of a long series of vegetable extracts which very much resemble each
other, and of various sweetening and flavouring materials sold for
the purpose. In the case of many secret preparations analysis can
afford complete and positive information as to their composition; but
this is not so in every case, owing to many preparations commonly
used in pharmacy being devoid of definite active principles that can
be identified, and possessing no characters distinguishing them from
others of the same class. Many such preparations are likely to be
employed in cough mixtures; and, as these medicines usually contain a
large proportion of treacle, honey, extract of liquorice, decoction of
linseed, or some other old-fashioned complex preparations as basis,
the identification of small proportions of many substances which are
likely to be present becomes practically impossible. Many of the drugs
in recognised use for coughs, such as senega, Virginian prune, etc., as
well as domestic remedies like horehound and coltsfoot, are practically
safe from certain identification by chemical analysis for such reasons,
and in some of the preparations described below such substances may
perhaps be present in addition to the ingredients named. The receipts
given are not put forward as necessarily representing the whole of the
ingredients in the articles in question, but they probably include all
those which are of any importance or possess any known curative action.
The chief interest in the composition of such medicines, however,
centres in the presence or absence of more potent remedies, such as
preparations of opium, ipecacuanha, etc.; and here the analyst is
on surer ground. The extraction of minute quantities of alkaloids
from complex mixtures containing large quantities of saccharine and
“extractive” matters is, however, a matter of much difficulty, and
their identification is complicated by the great similarity in the
behaviour of morphine and the alkaloids of ipecacuanha towards the
various reagents used in their recognition. In this connection it may
be pointed out that one or two of the nostrums here dealt with have
been the subject of fairly frequent legal proceedings in consequence
of their having been sold without proper observance of the poisons
regulations, and the evidence given in such cases has shown wide
differences in the results obtained by different analysts of high
standing, both as to the quantity of morphine present, and even as
to the fact of its presence or absence. In making the analyses here
recorded, great pains have been taken to obtain accurate results, and
they have been confirmed by the employment of alternative methods,
etc.; but the results can only be given subject to the caution just
expressed.
KAY’S LINSEED COMPOUND.
This compound is sold by an English provincial company in bottles,
price, 9½d., 1s. 1½d., 2s. 9d., 4s. 6d., and 11s. per bottle; the 2s.
9d. size contained a little over 5½ fluid ounces.
This preparation is described on the label, wrapper, and in circulars,
both as “Linseed Compound,” which is given as the registered trade
mark, and as “Kay’s Compound Essence of Linseed, Aniseed, Senega,
Squill, Tolu, etc.” On the label it is also stated that it
contains a preparation of chloroform and morphine, and
it is, therefore, labelled Poison. It is Demulcent,
Expectorant, Tonic, and Soothing for Colds, Coughs,
Asthma, Hoarseness, Difficulty of Breathing,
Consumption, and Simple Ailments of the Chest, Throat,
and Lungs.
In a pamphlet enclosed in the package, this preparation is recommended
to be taken for Cold, Influenza, Sore Throat and Quinsey, Pulmonary
Catarrh, Bronchitis, Asthma, Consumption of the Lungs, Whooping Cough
and Croup. In most of these, however, it is recommended as a “valuable
aid” rather than a positive cure; other articles, such as ipecacuanha
wine, muriate of ammonia, cod liver oil, and chemical food, as well
as “Kay’s Linum Catharticum Pills,” are also recommended; while under
Bronchitis we read:
In an acute attack, _i.e._, when the symptoms
are inflammatory with much fever, etc., _the family
doctor should at once be called in_.
The directions on the label are as follows:
Scale of Doses { To be modified according to the
{ age or debility of the Patient.
For over 21 years, a teaspoonful in water, at bedtime.
” 12 ” half a teaspoonful ” ”
” 6 ” 15 drops ” ”
” 4 ” 10 ” ” ”
” 2 ” 5 ” ” ”
Half Doses may be taken three or four times a day.
It is not intended for Infants.
For serious cases seek medical aid.
Analysis showed that 100 parts by measure contained 1·07 parts of
chloroform and 4·3 parts of alcohol, both by measure, and 67 parts of
solids; about 48 parts of the latter consisted of sugar, partly in the
form of invert sugar, and the remaining 19 parts consisted principally
of the mucilage of decoction of linseed; oil of aniseed was present,
and evidence was obtained of small quantities of preparations of tolu
and squill. Tho ipecacuanha alkaloids extracted amounted to 0·007 per
cent., and the morphine to 0·021 per cent. If the ipecacuanha were
present in the form of wine of the official strength, this represents:
Ipecacuanha wine 42 minims.
Morphine ¹/₇ grain.
Chloroform 5 minims.
in each fluid ounce.
OWBRIDGE’S LUNG TONIC.
This is sold by another English provincial company, price, 1s. 1½d.,
2s. 9d., 4s. 6d., and 11s. a bottle; the 2s. 9d. size contained a
little over 6½ fluid ounces.
It is stated on the wrapper that this:
Cures Coughs, Colds, Asthma, Bronchitis, Influenza, and
all Affections of the Chest, Throat, and Lungs.
Also,
This Preparation does not contain any Opium, Laudanum,
or Morphine, therefore does not require a Poison Label.
A pamphlet was enclosed in the package, from which the following is an
extract:
Having once contracted a cold, however slight, it
is of the first importance to have it thoroughly
and radically removed. To do this it is worse than
useless to rely upon a few lozenges, or any of the
simple expedients to which many have recourse. Avoid
linseed poultices, which are excessively weakening,
and highly calculated to make the patient liable to a
second, and, perhaps, more severe cold than the first.
All that is necessary is to take one dose of the lung
tonic in warm water on retiring to rest, and the cold
will have disappeared in the morning. The lungs and
bronchial tubes will be fortified and invigorated
to an extraordinary degree. Should the cough not be
quite removed by the first dose, continue according to
directions. Cure is quite certain.
The directions on the label were:
Scale of Doses.
Above 14 years one teaspoonful.
6 to 14 years half a teaspoonful.
3 ” 6 ” fifteen drops.
1 ” 3 ” five to seven drops.
6 months to 1 year three to five drops.
Not to be given to a child under Six Months old.
To be repeated 3 or 4 times a day, if necessary.
The doses given during the day should be mixed
with a little cold water, the one at bedtime in a
tablespoonful of warm water.
Analysis showed that 100 parts by measure contained 0·3 part of
chloroform and 2 parts of alcohol, both by measure, and 89 parts of
solids; about 73 parts of the latter consisted of sugar, rather more
than half of which was in the form of invert sugar; it is probable that
this had been added in the form of honey, and that the remainder of the
solids consisted largely of the non-saccharine portion of the honey.
Oils of aniseed and peppermint were present, and evidence was obtained
of a very small quantity of a preparation of capsicum. The alkaloids of
ipecacuanha were found to the amount of 0·002 per cent.; if these were
present in the form of wine of the official strength, this represents:
Ipecacuanha wine 15 minims.
Chloroform 2 ”
in each fluid ounce.
POWELL’S BALSAM OF ANISEED.
This fluid, prepared by a London maker, is sold in bottles, price, 1s.
1½d., 2s. 3d., 4s. 6d., and 11s. per bottle; the 2s. 3d. size contained
a little over 3 fluid ounces.
In a circular enclosed with the bottle it was stated that:
This old and invaluable Medicine has the extraordinary
property of immediately relieving Coughs, Colds,
Bronchitis, Hoarseness, Difficulty of Breathing, and
Huskiness in the Throat. It operates by dissolving
the congealed Phlegm, and thus promotes free
expectoration....
In Asthma, Chronic Cough, Influenza, Difficulty of
Breathing, etc., no pen can describe the wonders
that have been wrought by this deservedly popular
preparation.
The directions for use were:
For a Grown Person a teaspoonful two or three times a
day. For a child about 8 years old, 20 drops; and 12
years, 40 drops.
N.B.—Grown persons as well as children should take it
in a little gruel or warm water; or saturate a lump of
sugar with the above quantities is a pleasant way of
taking it.
Analysis showed that 100 parts by measure contained 1·8 parts of
benzoic acid, about 4·2 parts of extract of liquorice, and 2 parts of
sugar, 40 parts by volume of alcohol, and enough oil of aniseed to
give a strong aniseed flavour; a very small quantity of an aromatic
resin, apparently benzoin, was also found, and 0·012 per cent. of
alkaloid. This alkaloid resembled morphine in its behaviour to
solvents, by which all the commoner alkaloids were excluded; but other
tests showed that it was not morphine, and it is possible that it was a
morphine derivative, such as dionine or peronine, but it was not found
practicable to establish its exact identity owing to the smallness
of the amount. Powell’s Balsam of Aniseed has, in the past, been the
subject of legal proceedings on several occasions, and evidence has
been brought in those proceedings proving that it contained morphine;
so that it would seem that its composition has been changed since then.
DR. KILMER’S INDIAN COUGH CURE.
This preparation, stated to be made in U.S.A., is advertised from an
address in London. The price is 1s. 1½d. a bottle, containing 3 fluid
ounces.
It was stated on the outside of the package that:
This wonderful preparation contains no opium, morphine,
chloral, or other hurtful drugs, and therefore does
not dry up a cough. Every ingredient is from Vegetable
products which grow within sight of almost every
sufferer. It will not only help but cure the most
Chronic and Complicated cases.
The directions were:
Dose: ½, 1, or 2 teaspoonfuls every ½, 1, 2, 3, or 4
hours as the case may require. Children—less according
to age.
Analysis showed that 100 parts contained 63 parts of solids, of which
practically the whole was sugar; there was also present about 2 per
cent. of alcohol and about 0·5 per cent. of oil of pumilio pine, with
rather less than 0·1 per cent. of a resinous substance agreeing well
with the resins from compound tincture of benzoin; a small resinous
deposit also remained adhering to the inside of the bottle. A trace of
a bitter yellowish substance was present, which may have been the aloes
contained in the compound tincture, but did not agree perfectly with it
in character; the quantity was too minute for exact identification. No
alkaloid was present.
CROSBY’S BALSAMIC COUGH ELIXIR.
This elixir, sold from a provincial English town, and wholesale through
a company in London, costs 1s. 1½d., 2s. 9d., and 4s. 6d. per bottle;
the 2s. 9d. size contained nearly 4¾ ounces.
It was described on the label as:
A safe, speedy, and effectual remedy for Coughs, Colds,
Hoarseness, Difficulty of Breathing, Wheezing and
Irritation of the Throat, Hooping Cough, Asthma, and
Incipient Consumption.
In circulars enclosed with the bottle, its use in these various
complaints was more fully described; and it was stated further that:—
It contains no opiates, and is absolutely
non-poisonous, and may therefore be taken with safety
by the young and aged alike.
The directions given on the label were:
For Children, one month to one year, 5 to 10 drops
in a little water. From one to five years, 10 to 20
drops. From five to ten years, 20 to 30 drops. From ten
to fifteen years, 30 drops to one teaspoonful. From
fifteen years and upwards, one teaspoonful, gradually
increased to three teaspoonfuls, in a wineglassful of
water.
Analysis showed that 100 parts by measure contained 65 parts of solid
matter, about 58 parts of which consisted of invert sugar, 10·6 parts
by volume of alcohol, a trace of chloroform, 1·35 parts of sulphuric
acid, and 0·3 part of acetic acid; a trace of an aromatic substance
probably derived from tolu was present, and a minute trace of alkaloid
(much less than 0·001 per cent.); the remainder appeared to consist
of extractive and colouring matter, and may have contained the
non-saccharine portion of honey if the invert sugar were added in that
form. A trace of acetic ether could be detected, and it is probable
that the acetic acid found represented acetic ether originally added,
which had undergone hydrolysis; in that case the amount of acetic ether
originally present would be 2¼ minims in 1 fluid ounce. The sulphuric
acid found corresponds to 44 minims of the official dilute sulphuric
acid in 1 fluid ounce.
VENO’S LIGHTNING COUGH CURE.
This is prepared by a company in an English manufacturing town. The
price charged is 1s. 1½d. a bottle, containing 2¾ fluid ounces.
On the label it was stated that:
If it fails no other medicine will ever succeed.
It should be used in all cases of Coughs, Colds,
Bronchitis, Pleurisy, Sore Throat, Hoarseness, Asthma,
Croup, Whooping Cough, Influenza, and Catarrh.
In most cases it should be used with Veno’s Lightning Fluid.
Dose.—For an Adult, one teaspoonful; for a Child under
ten, half teaspoonful; for an Infant, five or ten drops
every two or three hours, during the day only.
Analysis showed that 100 parts by measure contained 7·6 parts of
glycerine, 1·6 parts by volume of alcohol, a trace of chloroform, 0·23
part of a resin, 0·2 part of alkaline ash, and 1·1 parts of extractive
and colouring matter. No alkaloid was present. The resin was not
aromatic, and possessed no well-marked characters, but showed some
resemblance to the resin of _Grindelia robusta_; the fluid extract of
this drug is prepared with the aid of alkali, and the strongly alkaline
nature of the ash found would agree with the presence of fluid extract
of grindelia, but positive proof of the presence of the latter could
not be obtained; the amount of resin found corresponds to about 7
minims of the fluid extract in 1 fluid ounce.
KEATING’S COUGH LOZENGES.
These lozenges are sold from an address in London in boxes, price, 1s.
1½d., 2s. 9d., 4s. 6d., and 11s. per box; the 1s. 1½d. size contained
50 lozenges.
A circular enclosed in the package was headed:
Notice—Guarantee.
The medicinal remedies contained in these lozenges
cannot injure the most delicate constitution.
Another extract from the circular stated:
Very many also of the Nobility and Clergy, and of the
public generally use them _under the recommendation
of some of the most eminent of the Faculty_. Such
medical testimony must be convincing of their efficacy
as well as conveying the satisfactory assurance of
their freedom from any medicine in the slightest degree
injurious to the constitution, Medical Men being well
aware of the deleterious effects of many preparations,
which in Pulmonary Affections do but mask the symptoms
for a time, and afford only temporary relief, while
perhaps the constitutional disease is aggravated, or
at least unsubdued. They may be safely administered to
females of the most delicate frame, and to very young
children, for they not only allay Cough and Nervous
Irritation, but they sustain the constitution, by
promoting a healthy state of the Digestive Organs.
They have immediate influence over the following
cases:—_Asthmatic and Consumptive Complaints,
Coughs, Shortness of Breath, Hoarseness, etc., etc._
Directions for Use. One or two, taken at bedtime, will
allay the irritation in the Throat, and prevent the
Cough from disturbing the patient during the night,
_and one also eight or ten times in the day_, when
the Cough is troublesome, will afford great relief.
The average weight of the lozenges was 16½ grains; analysis showed
that they contained morphine, alkaloids of ipecacuanha, extract of
liquorice, sugar (partly as invert sugar), and gum; some evidence
was also obtained of the presence of extract of squill and tolu,
but positive proof of the identity of these was not obtainable. The
proportions of the various ingredients found corresponded to:
Morphine 0·007 grain.
Ipecacuanha 0·07 ”
Extract of liquorice 2·1 grains.
Sugars 13 ”
in one lozenge.
BEECHAM’S COUGH PILLS.
These cough pills, sold from a town in Lancashire, cost 1s. 1½d. per
box, containing 56 pills.
The following extracts are from a circular enclosed with the box:
Persons suffering from Cough and kindred troubles
should relieve their minds of the idea that nothing
will benefit them unless it be in the form of a
lozenge, or taken as liquid. Let them try _Beecham’s
Cough Pills_, and they will never regret it.
The _Cough Pills_ do not contain opium; they do
not constipate; they do not upset the stomach. On the
first symptoms of a Cold or Chill, a timely dose of
Beecham’s Cough Pills will invariably ward off all
dangerous features. For years many families have used
no other Winter Medicine. Householders and travellers
should avail themselves of this good, safe, and simple
remedy for Coughs in general, Asthma, Bronchial
Affections, Hoarseness, Shortness of Breath, Tightness
and Oppression of the Chest, Wheezing, etc.
The doses may be from three to six pills morning, noon,
and night.
The pills had an average weight of 1·4 grains. In spite of the
statement that they “do not contain opium,” analysis showed morphine to
be present, together with powdered squill, powdered aniseed, extract
of liquorice, and a resinous substance agreeing in character with the
resin of ammoniacum. Approximate determination of the proportions
of the ingredients is alone possible in such a mixture; the results
obtained pointed to the following formula:
Morphine 0·0035 grain.
Powdered squill 0·1 ”
Powdered aniseed 0·3 ”
Ammoniacum 0·3 ”
Extract of liquorice 0·4 ”
in one pill.
SOME GERMAN NOSTRUMS.
Dr. F. Zernik, assistant in the Pharmaceutical
Institute of the University of Berlin, undertook a
short time ago, at the invitation of the Editor of the
_Deutsche Medicinische Wochenschrift_, to report
on some of the secret remedies which are thrown on the
market in such numbers in Germany as well as England.
It would appear that for the most part the remedies
advertised in Germany are not the same as those most
advertised in this country, but it is proposed in this
and subsequent chapters to give some abstracts from
the articles in which Dr. Zernik has from time to time
reported the results of his examinations.
DR. LAUSER’S COUGH DROPS.
Dr. Zernik found on analysis that these Cough Drops
did not contain the ingredients alleged; there was
for instance only 3·35 per cent. of alcohol, although
the advertiser speaks of tinctures of 50 per cent.
In addition to this small proportion of alcohol the
mixture appeared to consist of a watery solution of
liquorice, an infusion of senna root, some ammoniated
solution of aniseed and small quantities of ammonium
chloride.
REICHEL’S COUGH DROPS.
Reichel’s Cough Drops cost 1 mark for a bottle
containing 65 ccm., about 2¼ fluid ounces. The
purchaser is supposed to take 15 or 20 drops on
sugar or in water four or five times a day. It is
an alcoholic fluid, smelling and tasting of arnica,
pimpinella, and anise.
TUSSOTHYM.
Tussothym, in spite of the wonderful qualities claimed
for it by the firm producing it, proved to be a weak
alcoholic distillate of thyme, diluted with water but
probably containing another indifferent drug. It is
advertised as good for all diseases of the respiratory
organs, and especially for whooping cough.
DR. B. ASSMANN’S WHOOPING COUGH REMEDY.
This Whooping Cough Remedy is, according to the vendor,
so complicated that it is only made by himself, and
cannot be obtained elsewhere. The packet contains forty
powders, twenty of which are marked No. 1, and twenty
No. 2. The chemical analysis showed that each powder,
weighing 2 grams, consisted of milk sugar (lactose). No
other constituent was detected.
CHAPTER III.
CONSUMPTION CURES.
Nostrums and quack medicines vary greatly in the extent to which
they constitute deliberate fraud. In the case of some of them, it is
easy to believe that the makers themselves have a certain faith in
their preparations, and recommend them in cases for which they are
unsuited with that bona fides which arises from ignorance, assisted,
unconsciously perhaps, by an appreciation of the profitable nature of
the business. Such preparations frequently contain some one or more
of the drugs in common use for the complaints for which the nostrum
is offered, and are even, occasionally, combinations compounded in
the first place from a medical prescription which may have been found
useful in certain appropriate cases. The injury to the public in such
instances arises from the excessive nature of the claims made, the
excessive price usually charged, and the probability of the advertised
medicine being taken in cases for which it is quite unsuitable, when it
may do harm positively by its effects or negatively by preventing the
sufferer from seeking proper advice.
But with other proprietary medicines it is quite clear that the
makers cannot in the slightest degree believe in the claims they
make; the “remedy” in these cases is some substance or mixture
devoid of medicinal activity, or possessing some slight therapeutic
property having no relation to the disease for which the nostrum is
put forward as a cure. It is often, indeed, for inert preparations
that the most extravagant and emphatic claims are made; the makers,
and the advertisement-writers whom they employ, are untrammelled by
any necessity of squaring their statements with the real properties
of the thing to be recommended, and having set out consciously and
deliberately to deceive, they are able to give their whole attention to
telling the most effective stories in the most plausible manner, and
reaping the maximum of payment for the minimum of expenditure. People
who are ill or suffering are to be frightened with impressive pictures
of the aggravated suffering and premature death that await them unless
they take the “only cure” in question, therefore let them be frightened
thoroughly. Careful suggestion will induce people who are not ill
to believe that they or some of those dear to them are in the early
stages of some disease; therefore let everything possible in the way
of striking advertisements, personal letters, and repeated assertions
be utilised to produce the result. It is the victim’s money that is
wanted; therefore let the price be fixed high, and the advertisements
be written up to it. If it should be discovered by correspondence that
so much cannot be cajoled or frightened out of an individual sufferer,
the price can be reduced gradually as “special concessions,” in return
for which testimonials may be extracted.
Of quack medicines the sale of which is conducted more or less on these
fines, two examples are described in this chapter, and other examples
will be enumerated later.
One of the two now dealt with is “Tuberculozyne,” largely advertised
in Great Britain but apparently of American origin; it affords an
instructive example of the methods of the Transatlantic nostrum monger.
The two liquids sold under this name consist of little more than
coloured, flavoured water, but the modest price demanded is £2 10s. for
a month’s, supply. No effort is spared to induce the victim to continue
the “treatment” month by month, in spite of the evident absence of any
benefit, which is unblushingly accounted for by the seriousness of the
particular case, while the necessity of getting the system thoroughly
permeated with the remedy is insisted on. The sale of another
preparation advertised as a cure for consumption, Stevens’ Consumption
Cure, is conducted in a very similar way, but this time the herbs
are said to be African, and the odd names they bear certainly have
a Kaffir flavour. The vendor considerately warns the public against
American quacks and impostors and against the preposterous and wicked
swindles of Polish or German Jews. Although Stevens is so engagingly
candid about his rivals he follows the plan of sending one letter after
another to any sufferer whose name he may have obtained, a system which
seems to have been invented in America; it is certainly cheaper than
bold advertisement in newspapers, and is apparently found even more
satisfactory, as it enables the vendor to give individual attention
to the depth of his correspondent’s pocket if not to the severity of
his disease. But Stevens has somewhat bettered his instruction, and
his letters and circulars have a character of their own due to the
effrontery of his attitude toward the medical profession. Persons who
respond to the advertisement receive a list of questions to be answered
by the doctor who has attended them, and are advised to continue under
the observation of their medical man in order that the latter may be
impressed by the marvellous effects of the remedy. Not long ago a
circular letter was sent out to medical practitioners, asking them to
treat consumptive cases “which defy all the ordinary remedies” with
this secret preparation. The circular continues: “The great drawback to
my cure, so far as the medical profession is concerned, has always been
the fact that I would not reveal its formula. This is now done away
with; its formula is 80 grains of umckaloabo root and 13⅓ grains of
chijitse to every ounce, prepared according to _British Pharmacopœia_
methods.” The farce of revealing a formula by the employment of such
fancy names as these is one of the oldest dodges of the quack medicine
man, and no such names as “umckaloabo” and “chijitse” appear in any
available work of reference on pharmacy. Enquiries made in various
parts of South Africa have been negative, experts in native matters
being unable to ascertain that the names were known. Further, the
Native Affairs Department of Cape Colony has caused enquiries to be
made in the Transkeian territories into the question whether the native
tribes there resident had any knowledge of “umckaloabo” and “chijitse,”
or of their reputed medicinal properties. The result of the inquiry
was entirely negative. Nothing was known of any such plants, nor was it
even possible to identify their names. Smith’s _South African Materia
Medica_ contains no record of any such names as “umckaloabo” and
“chijitse.”
A similar system of repeated letters sent in series to the sufferer or
his friends appears to be followed by the Weidhaas Hygienic Institute,
Ltd., which carries on a home in the south of England but also treats
patients by correspondence. The proprietors, who would seem to hail
from Germany, issue a pamphlet with the title _Dum spiro spero_, which
is made up mainly of the usual testimonials, but contains also a sort
of outline of the physiology of various organs, taken from medical
works. The pamphlet does not differ from the ordinary productions of
advertising quacks; the terms are said to be very moderate, the more
so as it is the rule to make one charge only for the whole treatment,
the proprietors taking the risk of its being of long duration. It would
seem, however, that this arrangement is not always followed, for in a
“Diet Table” headed “Direction for Weidhaas Home Treatment” we find the
following:
It is absolutely necessary that all patients, while
under my treatment, shall take the “Star Tonic”
regularly.
On Rising.—Take one cup of “Star Tonic.” (This must be
always taken in sips only.)
For Breakfast.—Take the delicately flavoured Nutritive
Salts Cocoa, boiled in milk (which, being specially
prepared for invalids, on account of the great
percentage of nutritive salts which no other cocoa
contains, is most suitable in your case....)
Between Breakfast and Lunch take one or two tumblers of
milk. If possible this should always be taken in the
form of Kefyr, one of the easiest digestible nourishing
and strengthening tonics. (Full particulars of this are
enclosed herewith.)...
Half an hour before mid-day meal.—(From 1 to 2
o’clock.) Sip one cup of Star Tonic.
For Mid-day Meal.—_Make it a strict rule to take
regularly green vegetables of some kind, such as
spinach, cabbage, lettuce, etc. A fair amount of these
should be taken daily._ To these may be added a
few potatoes, very little meat or fish, and now and
then, in the place of the latter, some pulses, such as
lentils (German are best)....
At Tea Time.—If absolutely necessary, take a cup of
weak ordinary tea or health coffee; better still, take
a cup of Star Tonic, some _cold_ toast....
For Supper.—(Let this meal be not later than
two-and-a-half, or, better still, three hours before
going to bed.) Take either Cocoa or Kefyr....
Before going to bed.—Always make a point of taking one
glass of Kefyr or cup of Star Tonic.
When in bed always have some cold “Star Tonic” near at
hand, and sip some when troubled with cough or acute
symptoms.
At the bottom of the diet table is a notice to the following effect:
“The above specially recommended articles can be had
from the Sales’ Department of the Weidhaas Hygienic
Institute, Ltd.”
In the circular, referred to above as enclosed, Kefyr ferment is
offered for sale.
In one case which was enquired into of a young man who had been induced
to obtain the treatment, his mother wrote to the institute complaining
that the treatment appeared to have done her son more harm than good.
The reply, after insisting that the remedy supplied was the very best
cure for his complaint, continued: “As to it lowering his vitality, let
me say that it is not unusual for patients to feel apparently worse in
the beginning, but it only shows that the treatment is disturbing the
cause of the trouble. Now, this is just what I want it to do. I want to
disturb it and thus drive it out of the system. I hope then you will
allow your son to proceed under my directions. Give the treatment a
fair trial and it will do all that is claimed for it.” The patient was
at the time in an advanced stage of pulmonary phthisis, and died of
hæmoptysis, of which he had had two previous attacks, seven weeks after
the letter quoted above was written. A month after his death a letter
was addressed to him by the director of the institute in the course of
which it was stated that: “Many patients do not gain immediate relief,
or even partial improvement during the early stages of the treatment,
but Perseverance and a faithful adherence to all my instructions will
invariably bring about the desired result.”
Among the papers sent to an enquirer was a printed form which seems
worthy of reproduction, since it illustrates a method of getting
into touch with possible patients, which appears to be followed with
variations by other companies that appeal to the sick:
R. B.
_HAVE YOU FRIENDS WHO NEED OUR TREATMENT?_
If you know of anyone whom you think might derive benefit from the use
of our Home Treatment, you will do them and us a great favour by noting
hereon their names, addresses, and the trouble you believe them to be
afflicted with. Upon receipt of the names we will send them information
concerning our method of treatment, _but will not mention your name
unless you desire it_.
-------------------+---------------------------+-------------------
Name. | Address. | Ailment.
-------------------+---------------------------+-------------------
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
-------------------+---------------------------+-------------------
Please return to The Weidhaas Hygienic Institute.
Some time ago a firm of pharmaceutical chemists in a provincial town
received a postcard from a company which offered 5s. for the name of
any patient suffering from diabetes, pointing out that “it is money
easily earned.” The pharmaceutical chemists expressed indignation at
the attempt to bribe them to commit a breach of confidence, but such
a request might not be so regarded by a patient, more especially if
the advertiser lays great stress upon his benevolent motives, and his
anxiety to benefit as many persons as possible.
But although this letter-writing system with its paraphernalia of
biographies of the discoverer, typewritten personal letters, free
coupons and guarantee bonds is much in vogue, there are other nostrums
advertised in the old-fashioned way and sold at the familiar price of
1s. 1½d. for a small bottle. Among these are some old preparations for
coughs, for which more emphatic claims as remedies for consumption have
been made of late years. The result of the analysis of two of these
will first be given.
CONGREVE’S BALSAMIC ELIXIR.
This preparation, advertised from an address in London, is sold in
bottles, price 1s. 1½d., 2s. 9d., 4s. 6d., 11s., and 22s. The 2s. 9d.
bottle contained 1⅖ fluid ounces, the 4s. 6d. bottle contained 4 fluid
ounces.
On the outer package was to be read:
Congreve’s Balsamic Elixir. Has had a World-wide
Reputation for 80 years as the Best Remedy for
Consumption, also for Asthma, Chronic Bronchitis,
Coughs, Colds, and Whooping cough. Safe and Effective.
Free from any poison.
The following extracts are from a circular enclosed with the bottle:
In the most obstinate attacks of Asthma, which have
threatened speedy suffocation, when the sufferer,
harassed by excessive coughing, has laboured dreadfully
for breath, with an acuteness of agony not to be
described, this Balsam has restored the patient to
health, after the medical practitioner had abandoned
the usual means in despair.
In Pulmonary Consumption, the best remedy is this
Balsamic Elixir, as most unquestionable Testimonials
prove. It has been successfully prescribed in
Consumptive cases regarded as hopeless by the first
physicians.
Correspondence. Advice by letter from time to time
will be given to any patient whilst continuing Mr.
Congreve’s Treatment, provided that the 22s. or 11s.
bottles of Elixir are _obtained direct from_ [the
address given by the vendor in his advertisements]
during the period of correspondence.
The directions were:
_For adults._—Take a teaspoonful, alone or mixed
with honey or lump sugar, three or four times a day, as
the urgency of the case requires. Children from 8 to 15
years may take two-thirds of a teaspoonful; from 5 to
8 years, half a teaspoonful; from 2 to 5 years, twenty
drops; at six months, ten drops; younger infants from
four to six drops.
The “elixir” was a bright red liquid; analysis showed it to contain
28·5 per cent. by volume of alcohol, and 2·6 per cent. of total
solids; the latter consisted of resinous constituents (about 0·5 per
cent.), sugar (about 1 per cent.), a little tannin, colouring matter
(apparently cochineal), and extractive. Alkaloid was present only to
the extent of a trace, under 0·001 per cent.; the extractive showed
no characters by which its source could be determined; the resinous
material was of an aromatic nature similar to the resins of benzoin,
storax, tolu, or balsam of Peru, and appeared to be derived from a
mixture of two or more of these. No other active ingredients were found
to be present.
THE BROMPTON CONSUMPTION AND COUGH SPECIFIC.
The “Sole proprietor” gives an address in a part of London remote
from Brompton, but it is perhaps hoped that the name may suggest some
connection with the well-known Brompton Consumption Hospital. The price
charged is 1s. 1½d., 2s. 9d., 4s. 6d., and 11s. per bottle; the 2s. 9d.
bottle contained 3⅔ fluid ounces.
The origin of the preparation is thus described:
This Specific is prepared from the Prescription of an
eminent Physician, who practised nearly forty years
in Madeira, he was celebrated for his success in the
treatment of Consumption and diseases of the Chest.
Upon a visit to this country some years since, he gave
the Prescription to a late Physician, who tried it upon
five hundred out-patients; its effect was wonderful;
it acted like magic upon their Coughs, and prevented
that great waste of strength and flesh peculiar to
this disease. It will save the lives of thousands and
prevent Consumption, by administering it upon the first
symptoms of Cough, which will be immediately cured by a
few doses.
In a circular enclosed with the bottle it was stated:
A Cough is the forerunner of Consumption. In England
alone 50,000 people die of it thus constituting
one-fourth of the nation’s death rate annually. It
has destroyed more human beings than War, Pestilence,
and Famine combined; it neither spares the old nor
young, “and there is no family in which this rapacious
destroyer of the human race has not had its victim.” It
is a well-known fact that people with diseased lungs
can live for years, and follow their usual avocations
in life, provided they are relieved of the principal
feature of the disease—the Cough—which shakes and
destroys the very elements of the blood, upon which
life is supported. How very valuable and important to
all, then, must a medicine be which will arrest and
cure so fearful a malady!
The directions were:
_Dose._—One teaspoonful three times a day and at
bedtime. It may be repeated at night, or at any time
when the Cough is troublesome.—Children over five
years of age, one-third of a teaspoonful.
The following appeared on the outside wrapper:
In conformity with the Sale of Poisons Act, 1868, this
preparation, containing a minute quantity of Laudanum
and Chloroform, must be labelled Poison, but its
composition remains unaltered.
The preparation was a syrupy liquid of pleasant odour and taste,
resembling diluted treacle. Analysis showed it to contain in 100 fluid
parts, 61·4 parts of total solids; of this, 35·5 parts were glucose
and 9·9 parts cane sugar, and 2·6 parts ash, consisting principally
of calcium sulphate. Chloroform, referred to on the wrapper, was not
present in sufficient traces to be detected; alkaloid was present
to the extent of 0·025 part in 100 fluid parts, of which 0·015 part
appeared to consist of the alkaloids of ipecacuanha, and approximately
0·01 part was morphine. The difference between the sugars found and the
total solids would be fully accounted for by the non-saccharine portion
of treacle; extractive contained in the preparations of ipecacuanha and
opium used would also be included in this. Small proportions of other
drugs having no well-marked characters might possibly also be present;
there was no evidence of any further ingredients, but in the presence
of so large a proportion of treacle small quantities of indifferent
substances it would not be possible to detect.
About 1 per cent. by volume of alcohol was present; assuming liquid
extract of ipecacuanha and tincture of opium to have been the
preparations of these drugs used, the formula is approximately:
Liquid extract of ipecacuanha 0·75 part.
Tincture of opium 1·3 parts.
Treacle 75 parts.
Water to 100 fluid parts.
Estimated cost of ingredients for 3⅔ fluid ounces, ¾d.
STEVENS’ CONSUMPTION CURE.
This is advertised as manufactured only by C. H. Stevens. The price is
5s. per bottle, containing 2¼ fluid ounces.
This preparation does not appear now to go under any other name than
that of “Stevens’ Consumption Cure”; as regards its past history, the
following extract from _Truth_ Cautionary List for 1908 is of interest:
Stevens, C. H.—The proprietor of a remedy for
consumption which has been put on the market in South
Africa and England under the name of Sacco, and later
in South Africa as Lungsava, the recipe for which is
stated to have been long in use amongst the Kaffirs and
Zulus. In connection with the advertising of Sacco in
England, an article which appeared in _Truth_ was
circulated in a mutilated form, omitting a condemnation
of its sale as an absolute remedy for consumption.
Stevens has acquired a number of testimonials from
medical men, who must now regret their precipitate
action. He is now in England on a new campaign.
The claims made for this preparation were put forward in printed
circulars, and in letters, apparently printed in imitation of
typewriting, sent at intervals to an applicant for particulars of the
cure. Extracts from these are here given:
It has been admitted the world over that there is
no remedy known to the Medical Fraternity to really
cure Consumption, so it is preposterous to claim the
ordinary drugs that are known to every Chemist even, to
cure this disease, just because they are given a fancy
name, and advertised by a Polish or a German Jew; it is
not only preposterous but a wicked swindle.
There is no other treatment, drug, or medicine
advertised in Great Britain to-day to cure Consumption,
the ingredients of which are not known to every doctor
and chemist in the world, and if you cannot obtain
relief from these under the care of your own Medical
Adviser, how can you be cured by using them on the
advice of an American Quack.
Your own doctor will bear out what I say. Most of these
American Impostors come to England after the U.S.A.
Post Office Authorities have refused to convey their
letters.
I do not say in my advertisements “Consumption can be
cured,” “Consumption is curable,” or any such evasive
remarks, but I say “_I will guarantee to cure you_
if you are consumptive, or _return your money_ in
full,” and that my terms are “No Cure, No Pay.”
The African herbs which my Cure is prepared from have
never been used by any white Doctor or Chemist before
I introduced same to civilization a few years ago.
These herbs are original and have defied our cleverest
Analysts to discover the active principals they
contain....
I only returned to England a few weeks ago to prove my
Cure to the satisfaction of the British Government,
having been absent for many years....
It does not matter whether a Doctor is attending
patients or not whilst they are under my treatment,
although I always prefer a Doctor to be in attendance
to see the cure being effected because I particularly
wish to convince the Medical fraternity of the
genuineness of my cure.
From the first letter:
Usually two or three weeks’ treatment is quite
sufficient to make a substantial improvement, and a
three months’ course, in most cases, is sufficient to
effect a cure.
From the second letter:
Let me send you a two weeks’ treatment, which is more
than sufficient to completely stop the progress of the
disease.
From a later letter:
In spite of the mountains of prejudice to be overcome,
I intend to prove that at last something has been
discovered that will destroy the Tubercle Bacillus
without being detrimental in any way to the human
system; in fact, besides destroying this germ, it
is a strong tonic, and will invigorate a healthy
body as well as bring back to its normal condition a
Consumptive one....
Now you must know that throughout the world our
clever Scientists and most Prominent Specialists on
Consumption have for ages past spent their lives trying
to find something which will destroy the Tubercle
Bacillus without injuring the human system. They have
had everything at their command; the most up-to-date
Sanatoria, the cleverest Nurses, and the pick of
climates, yet they have failed, though every drug and
remedy known, including every ingredient contained in
any proprietary medicine or cough mixture ever heard of
has been exhaustively tested in every shape and form.
My treatment differs in this one great respect, that
none of the ingredients have ever been used before by
any Chemist or Doctor, and are an entirely original
discovery....
I will give any Doctor its formula who requests it, and
will supply him free of charge with all the treatment
he needs for experimental purposes, and you must see
that I can gain nothing by doing all this unless my
treatment positively cures Consumption, as I claim it
to do.
On the back of the printed letter quoted above appeared the following:
GUARANTEE BONDS.
The following are specimens of my guarantee Bonds.
No. 1, I give to any sufferer who is considered by
his Doctor to have at least six months to live in the
ordinary course of matters. Terms of No. 2 Bond have to
be mutually arranged. I do not accept any money under
this Bond until all the conditions are fulfilled.
NO. 1 GUARANTEE BOND.
To Mr. In consideration of you having paid me £2 12s.
6d. for a three months’ course of my treatment for
consumption, I hereby guarantee that your health has,
at the end of the three months, considerably improved
to the satisfaction of yourself and also of your Doctor
(who must be a practitioner registered in the British
Isles) under a penalty of refunding the whole of the
amount paid, viz., £2 12s. 6d.
(Signed) C. H. STEVENS.
Broadway, Wimbledon.
NO. 2 GUARANTEE BOND.
I hereby guarantee that it will be impossible to find
any trace of the Tubercle Bacillus in your system and
that you will be completely cured of Tuberculosis
(consumption) to the satisfaction of your own
Doctor and the Government Laboratory on or before,
______________ 19___.
The only condition being that the sum of £_______, is
paid to me when this guarantee is fulfilled.
(Signed) C. H. STEVENS.
Broadway, Wimbledon.
These are “specimens” of guarantee Bonds. Another document, however,
which appeared to be the guarantee bond actually given, differed in
containing a clause by which the patient:
hereby agrees to take same [_i.e._, Stevens’
Consumption Cure] according to the directions sent out
with the medicine, for three calendar months from date
hereof, and to follow as far as possible the advice
given regarding habits of life, diet, etc., and to fill
in the form on counterfoil attached, correctly.
The “form on counterfoil attached” contained a number of questions
to be answered by the patient, and also a portion “to be filled in
by a Medical Practitioner after the above has been filled in by the
Patient,” including such questions as:
How long have you attended to this Patient?
Do you consider this a mild, severe, or hopeless case?
Do you consider this Patient has a fair chance of
recovery providing Stevens’ Consumption Cure is all it
is claimed to be?
and on the back the following appeared:
This Guarantee must not be given by a chemist or any
one else until it is signed by a registered Medical
Practitioner to the effect that he considers the
Patient to have at least six calendar months to live.
Thus the appearance was maintained of guaranteeing benefit or cure,
and refunding the money if the undertaking were not fulfilled; but the
conditions to be complied with were such that it appears unlikely that
Mr. Stevens is ever troubled with applications for return of money
under one of his “Bonds.”
A “detailed direction sheet” was supplied, from which the following is
taken:
One teaspoonful in a wineglass of water (as hot as
can be conveniently taken for preference) one hour
before breakfast and two hours after the last meal
in the evening, unless the patient be in the habit
of waking between 12 midnight and 3 a.m., in which
case an extra dose may be taken then. After the first
week’s treatment half-an-hour before breakfast is quite
sufficient.
It appears that the use of this wonderful substance is not limited to
consumption cases.
Stevens’ Consumption Cure is a vegetable germicide,
fatal to all disease germ growths, but acts as a strong
tonic; is a blood purifier, stomach cleanser, and a
nerve stimulator; one will readily understand that
it must be all these to cure Consumption and build
up a broken-down system entirely by itself. Stevens’
Consumption Cure can safely be advantageously given
wherever a germ disease exists or is suspected.
One of the most recent circulars sent out by Mr. Stevens is addressed
to medical practitioners, asking them to use his remedy in severe cases
of pulmonary tuberculosis which defy all the ordinary remedies, and
professing to give the formula of the preparation as follows:
Its formula is 80 grains of Umckaloabo root and 13 and
one-third grains of Chijitse to every ounce, prepared
according to British Pharmacopœia methods.
The medicine was a clear red liquid, and analysis showed it to
contain in 100 fluid parts, 21·3 fluid parts of alcohol, 1·8 parts
of glycerine, and 4 parts of solid substance; this solid substance
contained about 1 part of a tannin and 0·2 part of ash, the remainder
being extractive. No alkaloid was present and no other active substance
could be detected. The solid substance agreed in all respects with the
solids of decoction of krameria, or a mixture of this decoction with a
little tincture of kino. The formula thus appears to be approximately:
Rectified spirit of wine 23·7 parts by measure.
Glycerine 1·8 parts.
Decoction of krameria (1 in 3) to 100 parts by measure.
or it may be made with tincture of krameria.
Estimated cost of ingredients for 2¼ fluid ounces, 1½d.
TUBERCULOZYNE.
The Derk P. Yonkerman Company, Ltd., an American company with an agency
in London, charges £2 10s. 0d. for a month’s treatment and supplies
two bottles, labelled respectively No. 1 and No. 2 Tuberculozyne, and
containing in each between 11 and 12 fluid ounces of liquid.
The advertisement offered a book on “Consumption and how it may be
quickly cured,” and a trial of the cure itself, to be sent free.
Application for the book and sample brought bottles of “No. 1
Tuberculozyne” and “No. 2 Tuberculozyne,” holding about ½ ounce each,
and a book of 48 pages dealing with the remedy. A few extracts from the
book will sufficiently indicate the nature of its contents.
There have been found cures for small-pox, and safe
precautions, such as vaccination, prevent the spread
of the disease; the horror of yellow fever has been
dispelled by a remedy that amounts practically to a
cure, and one could always flee to a northern clime and
escape it. The dread diphtheria also has yielded up its
dark secret, and now is no more a stalking spectre;
while yet dangerous it can be handled.
But through all these discoveries, consumption remained
as mysterious and deadly as ever. It invaded the homes
of the rich and the poor. It hunted out its victims
among the inhabitants of the far northland of ice and
snow, and it was just as persistent in the temperate
zone and at the equator.
Climate, temper, condition of health or purse made no
difference. One day the health and strength of the
athlete, and the next day the fever of the consumptive;
in a short time the frail skeleton would be laid
away—another victim. That was the oft-repeated story
of the “great white plague.”
But this horrible, awful consumption, that has gone
stalking through the land, should never again strike
the same terror to the souls of brave men and women,
and fill our hearts with such a helpless despair—for
consumption can now be cured. Tuberculozyne
(Yonkerman), the most wonderful and marvellous medical
discovery of the age, cures consumption....
After researches lasting for nearly twenty years, the
persistent efforts of Dr. Derk P. Yonkerman have been
crowned with success, for his Tuberculozyne treatment
has already been proved in hundreds of cases to be
a specific of almost miraculous curative power. Its
healing virtues have been demonstrated in not only the
early stages of consumption, but in far advanced and
seemingly hopeless cases as well....
Tuberculozyne (Yonkerman) was such a marvellous remedy
that when its discoverer first announced he could
cure consumption there were few ready to believe. He
had, however, discovered certain salts of copper of
remarkable therapeutic value, and his production was
immediately subjected to the most elaborate and rigid
demonstrative tests....
The consumption germs (tubercle bacilli) cannot live
in the presence of copper, and as the Tuberculozyne
treatment introduces copper into the blood, the
consumption germs cannot live....
Intra-Venous Injection, after thorough tests under
the most favourable conditions, proved absolutely
ineffective. Trachael (_sic_) Injection has
also been tried with equally unsatisfactory results.
Inoculation with lymph from tuberculous animals not
only utterly failed, but frequently hastened the
patient’s death. Antimony, prussic acid, emetics,
blisters, mercury, iron, digitalis, clover, and
numerous other drugs, have all proved useless, for
they failed to have any action upon the cause of the
disease, and only gave the patient temporary relief, if
they produced any beneficial effects at all.
In treating consumption in the past, physicians making
Tuberculosis a speciality have been accustomed to
recommend creosote and its product guaiacol, while
later arsenic has found a certain amount of favour.
These physicians have undoubtedly been honest and
conscientious in prescribing such treatment, for
they were upheld by the practice of years, and the
indorsement of the greatest specialists in each
generation for a hundred years. Yet they were wrong;
just as wrong and just as ignorant of the true remedy
for consumption as the ancients were of geography
before the new world was discovered.
Against the use of creosote or guaiacol, Dr. Yonkerman
speaks positively and emphatically, and his opinions
have now the support of all present-day physicians
making Tuberculosis their special study.
A “Life History of Dr. Derk P. Yonkerman” was also given, from which it
appeared that the home of Tuberculozyne is in Michigan, U.S.A.
The book was accompanied by a long letter, and this was followed at
intervals by others; these were all printed to appear as typewritten,
and dealt chiefly with the terrors of consumption if neglected, the
importance of taking Tuberculozyne at once, and, after a supply had
been sent, with the necessity of continuing its use even if no apparent
benefit results. A few extracts are here given:
You need not be discouraged or believe your case
incurable, even if you have tried all the usual
remedies and found no relief, for hundreds of our cured
patients have had the same experience; after all other
remedies had failed to even stop the progress of their
disease, they tried Tuberculozyne and were quickly
cured.
From the third letter:
We realize that since you were taken ill your expenses
must have been burdensome, and if you feel that
at the moment the cost of a complete treatment of
Tuberculozyne is more than you can readily meet, we
will send you the full month’s supply upon receipt of
but 40s.; the remaining 10s. you may pay at your own
convenience when you are fully satisfied that your cure
is complete and permanent.
From the fifth:
It is therefore with a genuine desire to help you that
we write enclosing a Special Voucher Coupon issued in
your name, which will help you materially if the cost
of our remarkable specific has been more than you could
really meet.... This Special Voucher Coupon which we
have issued to you is good for £1 Sterling when sent
with your order for Tuberculozyne. You have only to
post the coupon together with 30s., and immediately we
will forward to you the complete treatment and full
instructions for its use.
From later letters:
Even if her improvement is not at once pronounced, do
not be discouraged; for in some cases the patients
at first even seemed to be losing ground, but they
persevered and finally were cured. It would be much
better to take the treatment a few weeks too long than
to stop too soon....
Just at this time, when the patient has been taking
our treatment for some weeks and it is beginning to
permeate her system through and through, courage is
needed, for great improvement may not yet be apparent
though her cure be assured.
Every letter was accompanied with one lithographed copy, or more, of
testimonials.
The directions were:
After each meal, put thirty drops of the medicine from
each bottle into a tumbler of milk; stir well and drink
immediately.
If milk is distasteful, the medicine may be taken in
water which has been boiled.
For patients between the ages of seven and fifteen
years, give one-half of the above dose; for those under
seven years, give five (5) drops only, from each bottle.
No. 1 was a bright red liquid; analysis showed it to contain in 100
fluid parts, 3·4 parts of potassium bromide, 12 parts of glycerine,
a trace of a pungent substance, sufficient oil of cinnamon (or oil
of cassia) to give a flavour, a very small quantity of alcohol, and
cochineal colouring matter darkened with a trace of alkali; no copper
was present. The following formula gave an exactly similar liquid:
Potassium bromide 3·4 parts.
Glycerine 12·0 ”
Oil of cassia 0·1 part.
Tincture of capsicum 0·17 ”
Cochineal colouring q.s.
Caustic soda 0·06 part.
Water to 100 fluid parts.
No. 2 was a brown liquid, one specimen being bright and another
containing a little sediment. Analysis showed it to contain in 100
fluid parts, 18 parts of glycerine, sufficient essential oil of almonds
to give a flavour, and a colouring matter which appeared to be burnt
sugar. No copper was found in the small free sample, but the larger
bottle of No. 2 contained 0·01 per cent. of copper, and a trace of
sulphate: this quantity of copper is equivalent to ¹/₄₈ grain of
crystallised copper sulphate in each fluid drachm. As regards the other
ingredients the following formula gave an exactly similar liquid:
Glycerine 18 parts.
Essential oil of almond 0·1 part.
Burnt sugar q.s.
Water to 100 fluid parts.
The estimated cost of ingredients for No. 1 and No. 2 together is 2½d.
The following notes on some German nostrums for
Consumption are derived from Dr. Zernik’s articles in
the _Deutsche Medicinische Wochenschrift_.
KÖRBER’S CURE FOR CONSUMPTION.
The advertisements of this preparation are described
as particularly flagrant. Treatment for a fortnight
costs about 12s., and the medicine contains butter fat,
honey, catechu and tar-water.
BACILLENTOD.
Bacillentod or “death to bacilli” also described as a
“family tea,” is advertised as a miraculous preparation
which cures all diseases of the respiratory tract.
In the prospectus the word “phthisis” is misspelt.
One packet costs 1s., and consists of 85 grams of
galeopsidis, the dog, flowering, or hemp nettle, a herb
which is now quite obsolete but was an ingredient of
“Lieber’s tea for consumption,” which used to have an
extended sale.
HONEY COD LIVER OIL.
Pastor Felke’s Honey Cod Liver Oil is recommended in
preference to the ordinary forms of cod liver oil, on
account of its pleasant taste and of the absence of
any disturbing effect on the digestion. It is said to
contain “fat extracted cod liver oil,” whatever that
may mean, but proved on examination to be nothing more
than a mixture of 0·05 per cent. of cod liver oil with
oil of peppermint and raspberry syrup.
CHAPTER IV.
HEADACHE POWDERS.
Headache is so common a disorder that it was to be expected that secret
remedies asserted to be certain and safe cures would be extensively
advertised, and the sale, especially to women, of headache powders, in
most cases as proprietary articles, is at the present day undoubtedly
enormous. Persons who may be disposed to resort to their use should,
however, bear two facts in mind; the first is that headache is not
a disease but a symptom, and that the only rational treatment is to
ascertain and remove the cause, whether it be error in diet, want of
exercise, local irritation of some nerve as by an unhealthy tooth,
eyestrain, or some serious chronic nervous disease. The second is that
fatal results have been known to follow self-treatment with antifebrin
(acetanilide), which figures largely in most of them.
The powders analysed were in all cases obtained from ordinary dealers
in unopened packages; the composition of each is given in such a way
as to show the dose of each article in one powder of average weight.
Since the separation of the ingredients depends largely on their
different solubilities in various liquids, it is not possible to obtain
quantitative results having quite the same degree of accuracy as in
some other kinds of analytical work; but the results of analysis have
been checked by preparing mixtures of the composition calculated and
submitting them to the same analytical process; the possible error in
the proportions given below does not in any instance exceed a very
small fraction.
DAISY POWDERS.
The English Company which sells this remedy charges 7½d. for 10
powders; the average weight of one powder was 6 grains, but the weight
of individual powders in a packet was found to vary from 5·7 to 6·4
grains.
The medicament consisted of acetanilide alone. Being an unmixed drug
it was not liable to stamp duty, and the package was accordingly
unstamped. The dose was stated to be one powder, repeated in two hours
if necessary; half a powder for children of 12 years; not adapted for
children under 12 years.
Two “certificates” were printed on each wrapper from individuals who
are notorious for giving testimonials in the guise of certificates
of analysis. The only fact certified was that the powders were “free
from any injurious substance,” in which medical opinion will scarcely
support the writers.
The estimated cost of the drug (60 grains) in a packet is one-eighth of
a penny.
The same Company also supplies “Head powders prepared by Daisy, Ltd.,”
the wrappers being printed in such a way that careful inspection was
required to distinguish these from the powders sold as “Daisy powders.”
The “head powders” were found to consist of phenacetin only.
CURIC WAFERS.
These so-called wafers, also put up by an English Company, are
recommended as a “safe and certain cure for headache, toothache, and
neuralgia”; stated to be prepared “from the Prescription of an Eminent
West-End Physician.”
The “wafers” consisted of ordinary cachets, with the name of the
article embossed on one face. They contained the medicaments in the
form of powder. The package contained 12 wafers for 1s. 1½d. The
average weight of the contents of one wafer was 8·2 grains, but that of
the contents of individual wafers in a package varied from 7·3 to 9·3
grains. Analysis showed the composition of the powder to be:
Acetanilide 3·28 grains
Phenacetin 3·28 ”
Caffeine citrate 1·64 ”
Directions for taking the wafers were given, but it was not stated
whether the dose is one or more.
The estimated cost of the drugs (98·4 grains) in a packet is
nine-tenths of a penny.
STEARNS’S HEADACHE CURE.
This remedy, advertised by an American Company with agents in London,
is recommended as “A Speedy, Certain, and Safe Cure for Headaches of
all Origins, whether Sick, Bilious, Nervous, or Hysterical.”
Like the foregoing it was put up in cachets described as wafers. The
package contained 12 wafers for 1s. The average weight of the powder
contained in one wafer was 9·8 grains; but the weight of individual
wafers in a package varied from 9·3 to 10·2 grains.
Analysis showed the composition of the powder to be:
Acetanilide 3·92 grains.
Caffeine 0·98 grain.
Sugar of milk 4·90 grains.
The dose was one wafer. “If relief is not obtained, repeat in an hour,
but more than two wafers should not be taken.”
The estimated cost of the drugs (118 grains) in a packet is a little
under ½d.
BELL’S FAIRY CURE.
This Fairy Cure, which is put up by an English Company, is stated to
give relief instantly in all cases of neuralgia, headache, etc. A
handbill enclosed in the package made further claims, from which the
following extracts are taken, “guaranteed to be an instant and absolute
cure” for “neuralgia, headache, brain fag, nerve pains.” “Nothing else
is like it. Nothing else is so good. Don’t compare it with ordinary
‘cures’ or ‘powders.’ Fairy Cure stands absolutely alone.”
Ten powders were sold for 7d. The average weight of a powder was 2·7
grains, but individual powders in a package varied from 2·0 to 3·7
grains.
Analysis showed the composition of the powder to be:
Acetanilide 1·16 grains.
Phenacetin 1·16 ”
Caffeine 0·38 grain.
The directions were to take one powder, “repeat in an hour if
necessary, then every two or three hours until a cure is effected.” Yet
it is guaranteed to be an instant cure! There was a notice that it was
not to be given to children below 12 years of age.
In this case also an “analyst’s report” was given on the wrapper; it
stated that the powder “is composed of several organo-therapeutic
agents well-known in medicine”; probably the “analyst” did not mean
quite what he said in the following: “In my opinion, the preparation
is well calculated to fulfil the purpose for which it is intended,
namely—neurotic affections.”
The estimated cost of the drugs (27 grains) in a package is ¼d.
KAPUTINE.
This preparation, put up by an English Company, is stated to cure in
ten minutes headache, neuralgia, and all nerve pains. In view of the
similarity in composition of these articles, the claims to uniqueness
are amusing. In this case the wrapper bore the words “Nothing as good.
Nothing similar,” while on the circular enclosed in the package it was
stated that “Kaputine is composed of several approved ingredients.
That is, unlike the white headache powders, which consist solely of
one crude drug, and which have frequently been condemned as dangerous
by the Medical Press—Kaputine is most carefully prepared from several
ingredients which have the absolute confidence of the Medical
Profession.”
The price of 18 powders is 1s. 1½d. The average weight of one powder
was 6·6 grains; the weight of individual powders in a package varied
from 5·7 to 7·5 grains.
Analysis showed the composition of the powder to be:
Acetanilide 6·30 grains.
Ferric oxide 0·05 ”
Sugar 0·21 ”
That is, the acetanilide was tinted pink with what is practically the
saccharated carbonate of iron of the _British Pharmacopœia_.
The dose was given as one powder: “If not completely cured in two
hours, the dose may be repeated. Half a powder for children under 12.”
The estimated cost of the drugs (119 grains) in a packet is just over
¼d.
HOFFMAN’S HARMLESS HEADACHE POWDERS.
These powders are prepared by a New York Drug Company, but the package
also bears the name of another company, presumably the English agents.
The powders are described as “a simple and effective cure for all
headaches.”
Ten powders were sold for 1s. 1½d. The average weight of one powder was
10·5 grains; nine out of ten weighed from 9·3 to 10·5 grains, the tenth
weighing 15·3 grains.
Analysis showed the composition of the powder to be:
Acetanilide 5·02 grains.
Cocoa 4·02 ”
Sodium bicarbonate 1·01 ”
The dose was given as one powder, to be repeated in half an hour if not
relieved.
Estimated cost of drugs (105 grains), one-third of a penny.
WHOLESALE AND RETAIL SPECIALITIES.
In addition to the above proprietary articles, large numbers of
headache powders are supplied singly by retailers, and are commonly
bought for this purpose ready packed from a wholesale house. It was,
therefore, thought worth while to examine a sample of such powders;
the one taken for the purpose is known as the “Good as Gold” headache
powder; three dozen were attached to a card for exhibition, and the
powders are retailed at 1d. each. The average weight was found to be
2·8 grains, six individual powders ranging from 2·7 to 2·9 grains. The
powders consisted of acetanilide only.
The estimated cost of the drug for three dozen powders is ¼d.
There is reason to believe that practically all the others sold in this
way are of the same composition.
CHAPTER V.
BLOOD PURIFIERS.
Although, as a rule, the makers of any kind of quack medicine find no
difficulty in showing that almost any disease that can be named takes
its rise in the organs or part of the system which their own particular
nostrum professes to benefit, it is, of course, particularly easy to
connect a great variety of diseases with the condition of the blood.
The claims made for some of the following “blood purifiers” do not fail
in comprehensiveness, for ringworm and itch, among other complaints,
appear to be regarded as disorders of the blood.
CLARKE’S WORLD-FAMED BLOOD MIXTURE.
This is advertised and sold by an English Drug Company, price 2s. 9d. a
bottle, containing 8¼ fluid ounces.
The following passages are quoted from a pamphlet enclosed with the
bottle:
No matter what the symptoms may be, the real cause of a
large proportion of all diseases is bad blood. Clarke’s
World-famed Blood Mixture is not recommended to cure
every disease; on the contrary, there are many that
it will not cure; but it is a guaranteed cure for all
blood diseases.... It never fails to cure Scrofula,
Scurvy, Scrofulous Sores, Glandular Swellings and
Sores, Cancerous Ulcers, Bad Legs, Secondary Symptoms,
Syphilis, Piles, Rheumatism, Gout, Dropsy, Blackheads
or Pimples on the Face, Sore Eyes, Eruptions of the
Skin and Blood, and Skin Diseases of every description.
On the label it was stated:
The Mixture is pleasant to the taste, and warranted
free from anything injurious to the most delicate
constitution of either sex, which all Pills and most
Medicines sold for the above diseases contain.
Directions: The mixture must be taken about
half-an-hour after meals, in the following doses:—
_For Adult Males._—One tablespoonful four times a day.
” _Adult Females._—One tablespoonful three times a day.
” _Children under 12 years of age._—Two teaspoonfuls
three times a day.
” _Under 12 years._—From half to one teaspoonful, according
to age, mixed with a little water and sugar.
Analysis showed the mixture to contain 1·5 per cent. of potassium
iodide, 1·2 per cent. of sugar (partly inverted), 1·6 per cent. by
volume of alcohol, and traces of chloroform and ammonia, a brown colour
being given by a small quantity of what was evidently burnt sugar. The
composition of 8 ounces is thus:
Potassium iodide 52·5 grains.
Spirit of sal volatile 10 minims.
Spirit of chloroform 67 ”
Simple syrup 50 ”
Burnt sugar q.s.
Water to 8 fluid ounces.
The estimated cost of the ingredients is 1⅓d.
OLD DR. JACOB TOWNSEND’S AMERICAN SARSAPARILLA.
This is sold by a Company having offices in London. A bottle, holding a
little under 9 fluid ounces, costs 2s. 6d.
On the wrapper it was stated:
This Sarsaparilla is the great purifier of the blood
and general juices of the system, it effects the most
salutary changes in disease; cures scrofula, salt
rheum, all scorbutic disorders, chronic sore eyes,
rheumatism, piles, liver complaints, erysipelas, all
blotches and eruptions of the skin; in short, it
removes every impurity of the blood, and all humours
and morbid collections of the body.
The directions given on the label were:
Take half a wineglassful three or four times a day,
an hour before or after meals. Persons very weak and
debilitated may begin with a tablespoonful and increase
the dose as the patient recovers health and strength.
It is better to take it without the addition of water.
Analysis showed 100 fluid parts of the liquid to contain 18·2 parts
of solids, of which 5·5 parts were sugar (partly inverted) and 2·5
ash, the remainder being of the nature of a vegetable extract. The
mineral constituents were only those common to the ash of most drugs,
and no metallic salts were found in medicinal doses; nothing of
alkaloidal nature was present. The mixture contained 8·1 per cent.
by volume of alcohol. In the case of a vegetable preparation of this
kind, containing no definite active principle that can be identified
chemically, it is not possible to state with certainty the various
drugs from which it may have been prepared; a study of its general
properties, and a series of careful comparisons, pointed to the
present mixture being of similar nature to the compound concentrated
solution of sarsaparilla (liquor sarsae compositus concentratus) of the
_British Pharmacopœia_, with the omission of the liquorice, and with
the addition of sugar: the drugs in the official preparation (besides
liquorice) are sarsaparilla, sassafras, guaiacum wood, and mezereon. A
liquor prepared in this manner, with the alcohol reduced to the amount
found in the mixture under examination and the aroma slightly increased
by adding a little additional oil of sassafras, agreed fairly well both
in general properties and the results of chemical examination with the
medicine under consideration.
MUNYON’S BLOOD CURE.
Munyon’s Homœopathic Home Remedy Company has an office in London,
but the label on the bottle bears the words “Manufactured in U.S. of
America.” On the outer package it was stated:
It eradicates all Impurities from the Blood, and
cures Scrofulitic Eruptions, Rash on the Scalp, Scald
Head, Itching and Burning, and any form of Unhealthy,
Blotchy, Pimply, or Scaly Skin;
and similar claims were put forward on the label and in a circular
enclosed with the bottle.
The bottle cost 1s. and contained about 200 pellets or pilules, of the
average weight of ½ grain. They consisted of sugar; careful search was
made for small quantities of medicament, but no other ingredient could
be detected. Quantitative determination of the sugar showed just 100
per cent.
The estimated cost of the pilules is one-thirtieth of a penny.
HARVEY’S BLOOD PILLS.
These pills are sold by a Company giving an address in Wales. A bottle,
containing 20 pills, costs 1s. 1½d.
The label and the enclosed circular bear the picture of a man’s head,
with the words, “Harvey. Discoverer of the circulation of the blood,”
with the possible implication that the Harvey who discovered the
circulation of the blood also discovered or invented these blood pills.
The modest claims made in the circular included the following:
Harvey’s Blood Pills for Skin Diseases. An Unfailing
Remedy for Scurvy Sores! Harvey’s Blood Pills for
Scrofulous Sores. A Certain Remedy for Ulcerated
Legs! Harvey’s Blood Pills for Sluggish Liver. The
Surest Remedy for Ringworm! Harvey’s Blood Pills for
Erysipelas. The Quickest Remedy for Itch! Harvey’s
Blood Pills for Boils. An Effective Remedy for
Eruptions! Harvey’s Blood Pills for Rheumatism. The
Safest Remedy for Piles!
Harvey’s Blood Pills are purely Vegetable, and contain
the best properties of Sarsaparilla, Dandelion,
Burdock, and Quinine. They are Warranted Free from
Mercury.
Harvey’s Blood Pills fortify the feeble, restore the
invalid to health, and do good in all cases. All
sufferers should immediately have recourse to these
celebrated Pills.
Harvey’s Blood Pills are “specially” suitable for
Females. They remove all impurities.
Somewhat lengthy directions were given for diet, etc., as well as for
taking the pills, in various cases; from which it appeared that the
usual dose is:
For a male adult, one Pill three times a day; a female
adult, one Pill twice a day; children one Pill at
bedtime.
The pills were coated with French chalk, coloured red externally;
when deprived of their coating, the average weight was 2·76 grains.
Analysis showed them to contain quinine equivalent to 17·3 per cent.
of the crystalline sulphate, 21·7 per cent. of potassium iodide, small
proportions of powdered rhubarb and liquorice, and vegetable extract
or extracts. A mass prepared from the following formula agreed closely
with the pills in general properties and in results on analysis in
various ways:
Quinine sulphate 17 grains.
Potassium iodide 22 ”
Powdered rhubarb 16 ”
” liquorice 8 ”
Extract of sarsaparilla 12 ”
” burdock 12 ”
” taraxacum 12 ”
Divided into 36 pills.
The estimated cost of the ingredients for 20 pills is ¾d.
PROFESSOR O. PHELPS BROWN’S BLOOD PURIFIER.
Professor O. Phelps Brown advertises in this country from an address in
London; the bottle sold for 2s. 9d. contained 6 fluid ounces.
The following paragraph appeared on the label:
This medicine is a concentrated preparation of Rock
Rose and Stillingia, combined with other plants,
well-known for their specified action on the blood,
which makes a compound medicine, that has never been
equalled, and will be hard to surpass in the scientific
future. It is impossible to give a full account of its
virtues and cleansing capacities on this label, and the
Prof. must, therefore, be content with briefly stating
that it is an infallible remedy for All Diseases of
the Blood, be they Constitutional, Hereditary, or of
Recent Contraction. Nearly every ailment known to
the medical faculty is in a greater or lessor degree
dependent for its appearance and its virulence upon a
_Disease of the Blood_. Ulcers, Tumours, Scrofula
Bunches, Fistula, Piles, Painful Eruptions, indeed
all afflictions manifested upon the outer surface of
the body are the consequences of diseased blood. Many
terrible maladies, which take the shape of Internal
Inflammation, Sores, etc., and appear in the form of
Fevers, Aches, Swellings, Glandular Disturbances,
Mental Derangement, and General Debility, also proceed
from the same cause. It is an admitted fact that, with
Pure Blood and Regular Bowels, no individual ever can
be permanently, seriously, or dangerously ill, if ill
at all.
Dose.—For Adults, one tablespoonful three times a day
before eating. For Children, the dose must be reduced
to a teaspoonful.
Analysis showed 100 fluid parts of the liquid to contain 19·7 parts
of solids, of which 15·5 parts were sugar (partly inverted); a good
deal of mucilage was present, but no alkaloid and no mineral substance
except the small quantity of ash always present in vegetable extracts;
alcohol was present to the extent of 23 per cent. by volume. Evidence
was obtained of the _probable_ presence of a preparation of stillingia,
but this drug does not contain any active principle by which it can be
certainly identified. Rock rose (_Cistus canadensis_) has been used
to some slight extent medicinally, but no particular virtues appear
to have been assigned to it; it is, however, described as bitter and
astringent. The 3 or 4 per cent. of extractive matter present in the
mixture under consideration showed neither bitterness nor astringency,
nor any property by which it could be identified, or which would
indicate any medicinal properties.
HOOD’S COMPOUND EXTRACT OF SARSAPARILLA.
This is an American preparation, but the Company which makes it has
offices in London. A bottle, costing 1s. 1½d., contains 2¼ fluid
ounces.
The following paragraph appeared on the covering of the bottle:
A trial bottle will convince the most skeptical of the
real merit of Hood’s Sarsaparilla, and will enable
everybody to test its wonderful power in restoring
and invigorating the whole system, in renovating and
enriching the blood, in giving an appetite and a tone
to the stomach, in eradicating and curing Scrofula,
Scrofulous Humors, Scald Head, Syphilitic Affections,
Cancerous Humors, Ringworms, Salt Rheum, Boils,
Pimples and Humors on the Face, Catarrh, Headache,
Dizziness, Faintness at the Stomach, Constipation,
Pains in the Back, Female Weakness, General Debility,
Costiveness, Biliousness, and all diseases arising
from an impure state or low condition of the blood.
Hood’s Sarsaparilla is designed to act upon the
blood, and through that upon all the organs and
tissues of the body. It has a specific action also
upon the _secretions_ and _excretions_, and
assists nature to expel from the system all humors,
_impure particles and effete matter_ through
the lungs, the liver, the kidneys, and the skin. It
effectually aids _weak, impaired, and debilitated
organs_, invigorates the _nervous system_,
tones and strengthens the _digestive organs_,
and imparts new life and energy to all the functions
of the body. The peculiar point of this medicine is
that it strengthens and builds up the system while it
eradicates disease.
In a pamphlet enclosed with the bottle it was stated:
It is carefully prepared from Sarsaparilla, Dandelion,
Mandrake, Dock, Pipsissewa, Juniper Berries, and other
valuable vegetable remedies, in such a peculiar manner
as to retain the full curative value of each ingredient
used.
The dose was given as:
Adult, ½ to 2 teaspoonfuls; usual dose 1 teaspoonful
three times a day; children, less, according to age.
Analysis showed it to contain, in 100 parts by measure, potassium
iodide 1·7 parts (7½ grains in 1 fluid ounce), and sugars (partly
inverted) 9·1 parts; the total solids amounted to 12·8 parts, thus
leaving 2·0 parts of vegetable extract per 100 fluid parts. The
concentrated compound solution of sarsaparilla in the _British
Pharmacopœia_ contains about 21 parts of solids in 100 fluid parts, so
that it may be concluded that the amounts of extracts of “Sarsaparilla,
Dandelion, Mandrake, Dock, Pipsissewa, Juniper Berries, and other
valuable vegetable remedies” in this mixture were not large. The liquid
had a somewhat aromatic odour and taste, in which oil of juniper could
not be detected, nor was it recognizable on distillation; none of the
other ingredients mentioned is capable of being identified in such a
mixture. No alkaloid was present, and careful search for other likely
ingredients gave only negative results. The mixture contained 19·6 per
cent. by volume of alcohol.
HUGHES’S BLOOD PILLS.
These pills, made in Wales, are sold in boxes, price 1s. 1½d.,
containing 30 pills.
They were described on the label as “For all Blood, Skin, and Nerve
Diseases.” In a circular enclosed with the box there was a dissertation
on the functions and composition of the blood, from which the following
extracts, with all their capital letters, are taken:
The Blood being therefore the Life of the living Body,
it stands to reason that if it is poisoned, you poison
the whole system, and eventually destroy the life of
the man. When the blood is chilled, or distempered
through breathing impure air, unhealthy food, etc., it
at once gets disturbed, and breeds disease in some form
or other. This is the cause of Blast, Scurvy, Piles,
Boils, King’s Evil, Swollen Glands, Inflammation of the
Eyes and Lids, Pains in the Sides, Back, and Kidneys,
Cough, Bronchitis, Pleurisy, Rheumatism, Wounds in the
Legs and Different Parts of the Body, all Scorbutic
Affections, Cancer, Pimples on the Face, Neck,
etc., and all Skin Eruptions, Chilliness, Headache,
Indigestion, Fullness after Meals, Dyspepsia, Vomiting,
Loss of Appetite, Consumption, Toothache, Neuralgia,
Fits, St. Vitus’s Dance, all Liver Complaints,
Costiveness, Yellow Jaundice, Depression of Spirits,
Stitches in the Sides, Fevers, Epidemics, Plagues,
Gout, Nerve Diseases, Lumbago, Erysipelas, all kinds of
Inflammation, and most Chest Diseases.
The noted Pills, “Hughes’s Blood Pills,” act directly
upon the Blood and Juices of all parts of the system,
which they Strengthen and Purify. By so doing the
Liver, Kidneys, Heart, Lungs, Stomach, Bowels, Brain
and Nerves are renewed and toned to such a degree that
their functions are perfectly performed, securing to
the man healthy days.
Very lengthy directions were given for taking the pills for a variety
of complaints, from which it appeared that the usual dose was one or
two pills at night, or one three times a day.
The pills had a thin loose coating of French chalk; after removing
this the average weight was 2 grains. Analysis showed the presence of
no inorganic salts, except the usual small quantities of phosphate,
sulphate, etc., found in the ash of most vegetable drugs. The pill
contained a trace of oil of cloves and consisted of powdered drugs
to the extent of about half its weight; ginger and cinchona were
identified in this portion; a trace of alkaloid was extracted,
showing the properties of the alkaloids of cinchona. A portion of the
tissue, which appeared to be derived chiefly from a seed, could not
be recognized, and a lengthy series of comparisons failed to identify
it. The remainder of the pill was separated into two substances, which
appeared to be aloes and jalap resin, but in each a mixture as this
pill presented, the identity of these substances cannot be established
with complete certainty. The proportions of the ingredients, also, can
only be ascertained approximately; the following formula was indicated:
Aloes 0·7 grain.
Jalap resin 0·2 ”
Powdered cinchona bark 0·3 ”
” ginger 0·2 ”
Oil of cloves Trace.
In one pill.
CHAPTER VI.
REMEDIES FOR GOUT, RHEUMATISM, AND NEURALGIA.
The medicines here described vary considerably in their nature, and
to some extent in the complaints for which they are recommended, but
no definite line can be drawn between them. Some are primarily for
gout, but are recommended also for rheumatism; others are mainly for
rheumatism, but are also recommended for gout and neuralgia; while
others, again, are chiefly advertised for neuralgia and headache.
BLAIR’S GOUT AND RHEUMATIC PILLS.
These pills, which are a British product, are sold in boxes, price 1s.
1½d., and containing 14 pills.
They were described in a circular accompanying the box as:
The great and universal remedy for the immediate
relief and cure of Acute and Chronic Gout, Rheumatism,
Suppressed Gout, Rheumatic Gout, Gouty Skin Diseases,
Bronchitis and Asthma, Sciatica, Lumbago, and
Neuralgia, and as a preventive or prophylactic where
the disease has a tendency to recur, or attacking any
vital part, as the Stomach, Brain, or Heart.
Other extracts from this circular are:
In all cases of Gout, no matter of what length of
standing, they not only give relief from the almost
intolerable pain, but where the patient has kept his
bed for months, _One Box will frequently carry off
the attack_ in two or three days—in many cases
of extreme torture relief has been obtained in two
or three hours ... in those gouty skin affections,
Psoriasis and Eczema, these Pills have no equal.
Blair’s Gout and Rheumatic Pills are not only
efficacious in curing Gout, but in all those diseases
allied to it.
They never fail. They always cure.
Directions and Doses.
For Gout and Rheumatic Gout.—Take two Pills three
times a day, just after meals, and when it is very
severe, take two during the night, and they should be
persisted in until the swelling and stiffness have
disappeared.
In cases of long standing, where the tendency of the
disease is to recur, it is advisable to take a short
course of the Pills as a preventive. Dose.—Two twice a
day for a fortnight.
For Suppressed Gout, including Gouty Asthma,
Bronchitis, Dyspepsia Rheumatism, Rheumatic Headaches,
Lumbago, Sciatica, Tic Doloreux, Pains in the Head,
Face, etc., they must also be taken, two Pills three
times a day, just after meals, that quantity being
generally sufficient, but in some cases a longer
continuance of them is necessary, particularly in
Rheumatism of long standing, but that will also be
eradicated by perseverance in the use of these Pills.
_They should be taken from time to time also as a
preventive._
Spring and Autumn. In these treacherous Gout and
Rheumatic Seasons, to prevent a recurrence, sufferers
are earnestly advised to take a short alterative course
of this famous medicine.
It is requested, in case this medicine should
considerably open the bowels, that it may be laid
aside until that effect has ceased, when it may be
resumed, beginning with a smaller dose. Patients are
also informed that it is unnecessary for any aperient
medicine to be taken during its use, unless they have
been costive for some days.
The pills had an average weight of 2·9 grains. Analysis showed them to
contain powdered colchicum corm, exsiccated alum, and an excipient. The
quantities found indicated the following formula:
Powdered colchicum corm 2·1 grains.
Burnt alum 0·35 grain.
in one pill.
The estimated cost of the ingredients for 14 pills is one-seventh of a
penny.
HAMM’S RHEUMATIC, GOUT, AND SCIATICA CURE.
The Originator and Proprietor of this cure, who hails from the north of
England, charges 2s. 9d. for a bottle containing 8 fluid ounces. It was
described on the outside package as “The Greatest Remedy in the World.
It has no equal for the cure of Rheumatism, Gout, and Sciatica.” In a
circular enclosed with the bottle it was stated that:
It never fails to Cure those distressing and torturing
Complaints, and in most cases has given relief from
the excruciating pains by taking a few doses. This
Standard Remedy has time and again succeeded after all
other internal remedies have failed. Purify the Blood
by driving the Uric Acid from the system and you will
remove the cause of all Rheumatism, etc. Hamm’s Famous
Rheumatism Cure has Never Failed to do it.
The dose was given on the label as “One Tablespoonful three times a
day, after meals.”
The preparation was a brown, slightly turbid liquid. Analysis showed
it to contain potassium iodide, sodium salicylate, a little vegetable
extractive, and a trace of alcohol. The extractive was moderately
bitter, but possessed no characters indicating the drug from which it
was derived; it contained no alkaloid. Quantitative determination of
the ingredients showed the formula to be:
Potassium iodide 15 grains.
Sodium salicylate 66 ”
Extractive 28 ”
Alcohol Trace.
Water to 8 fluid ounces.
Assuming the extractive to be of the same price as extract of gentian,
the estimated cost of the ingredients of 8 fluid ounces is ½d.
GLORIA TREATMENT FOR RHEUMATISM.
This “treatment” is advertised as follows:
Cure yourself of Rheumatism. I will tell you how and
send you the remedy Free. My combination treatment
cures, not merely relieves but actually cures, cases
of Rheumatism, Gout, and Sciatica.... The numerous
so-called remedies offered to the public, through the
medium of the newspapers, have absolutely killed all
confidence; therefore, in order to make my genuine
remedy more generally known, I have decided to give
away a large quantity so that everybody can test for
themselves the truth of my statements. My combination
treatment consists of: 1. Gloria Balm, which Instantly
Relieves Pain. 2. Gloria Pills which Purify the Blood
and Invigorate the Whole System. 3. Gloria Tonic
Tablets which Effect a Complete and Permanent Cure....
I earnestly ask every Rheumatic Sufferer to obtain a
free supply of this medicine at once. Simply send a
postcard request, and a supply will reach you in less
than 24 hours.
Application to the address given brought sample boxes of the pills and
tablets only, accompanied by a booklet entitled “Rheumatism and Gout,
Causes and Cure,” and a letter of the usual type, as indicated by the
following extracts:
I was very pleased to receive your communication this
morning, as having suffered from the terrible disease
with which you are afflicted myself it naturally
affords me a great deal of gratification to be able to
place in the hands of every sufferer a genuine remedy
for it—a remedy which cured me and has cured many
thousands of others besides....
It is, as I have often heard it described by persons
bubbling over with gratitude for their relief from
the above distressing ailments, Nature’s very own
cure for Rheumatism and Gout. The danger of allowing
the poisonous acids which cause these diseases to
continue their work day by day in the body cannot be
exaggerated....
Before closing this letter I once more beg to impress
upon you the danger of delay in commencing the
treatment, especially as applied to your particular
case.
Since “Gloria Balsam” was apparently not thought sufficiently important
for a sample to be sent, supplies were obtained of the tablets and
pills only for examination.
_Gloria Tonic_, price 4s. 6d. a box, containing 50 tablets, was
described on the box as “a scientific preparation for the cure of all
uric acid ailments, including Rheumatism and Gout, Lumbago, Sciatica,
Scrofula, and all other diseases resulting from Impurities of the
Blood.” This rather wide claim was somewhat at variance with statements
made in the booklet, from which a few extracts may be given:
It was with the object of curing all rheumatism that
I introduced “Gloria Tonic” to the public, and I
believe that it is a task worthy of the cause. I do not
propose to make the attempt with a remedy similar to
the many thousands of cure-alls with which the market
is overloaded, but with a true and reliable rheumatism
specific—“Gloria Tonic.”
I am not offering you a remedy of that kind, but one
which is solely compounded for the cure of rheumatism,
one that has been tested in Hospitals and Sanatoriums,
one that has the endorsement of physicians and
University professors, and, above all, one which has
already enabled many hundreds of persons to abandon
crutch and cane. Do not wonder if this can be true. The
foregoing statement is an absolute fact....
I could easily get many times 4s. 6d. for a box of
“Gloria Tonic,” but it is my purpose not so much to
accumulate wealth as to benefit suffering mankind....
“Gloria Tonic” is to-day the only remedy on the market
that cures all forms of rheumatism effectively, and
without destroying the delicate tissues of the Heart,
Stomach, Liver, and Kidneys....
The merit of this remedy is unapproachable. I have
no object in telling you this aside from having your
interests at heart, and wish to protect you against
the many harmful drugs. You need not have any fear in
taking “Gloria Tonic” as directed, while the smallest
dose of other rheumatic remedies might harm you.
The directions were:
For adults: From one-half to one tablet is a dose, and
four doses should be taken daily as follows: Half to
one tablet before the morning, noon, and evening meal,
and on retiring.... Dose for children from 10 to 15
years, one half-tablet. From 5 to 10 years, one-quarter
of a tablet. Below these years, the medicine should not
be given.
The average weight of the tablets was 11·2 grains; among 12 weighed
separately the weights varied from 10·5 to 12·5 grains. Analysis showed
the presence of potassium iodide, guaiacum resin, extract of liquorice,
powdered liquorice, starch, mineral matter—apparently a mixture of talc
and kaolin—a resinoid substance, and a trace of alkaloid. The alkaloid
amounted to 0·016 per cent.; it did not agree in properties with any
of the common alkaloids, but agreed, so far as it was practicable
to examine it, with the alkaloid of phytolacca (the American weed,
poke-root, or pokeberry); the resinoid also agreed in its properties
with the resinoid phytolaccin, but there are no distinctive tests by
which its identity could be certainly established. The quantities of
the various ingredients were estimated as accurately as possible, and
the following formula was indicated:
Potassium iodide 1·8 grains.
Guaiacum resin 0·8 grain.
Extract of liquorice 1·0 ”
Resinoid (phytolaccin?) 0·9 ”
Powdered liquorice 1·7 grains.
Rice starch 2·0 ”
Talc and kaolin 2·1 ”
In one tablet.
In the formula the most expensive ingredient is the phytolaccin, which
is also the least certain, both as to identity and quantity. Taking
the formula here given, the estimated cost of the ingredients for 50
tablets is 8d.
_Gloria Pills_, price 1s. 1½d. per box, containing 40 pills, in
addition to being supplied as part of the “treatment” for rheumatism,
were recommended as a general laxative. It was stated in the circular
enclosed with them that “Gloria Laxative Pills will cure Constipation,
Torpid Liver, Piles, Headache, Dizziness, Sour Eructation, Heartburn,
Bloating, Flatulence, Nausea, Sleeplessness, Mental Depression,
Palpitation of the Heart, Nervousness, Kidney Trouble, and all other
conditions resulting from Dyspepsia and Indigestion.”
The pills were coated with talc, coloured to a chocolate colour with
oxide of iron. After removal of the coating, the average weight was
1·1 grains. Analysis showed the constituents to be chiefly extracts
and resins. The two samples of pills examined—namely, the gratis
sample of eight pills first supplied, and the full box afterwards
obtained—differed materially in composition; the former contained
about 25 per cent. of powdered liquorice, 6 or 8 per cent. of powdered
rhubarb, and 6 or 8 per cent. of wheat flour, while the latter
contained neither liquorice nor rhubarb, and proportionately more of
the soluble constituents, which appeared to consist in both cases of
extracts of aloes and cascara sagrada with jalap resin. The various
constituents were estimated quantitatively, but in such a mixture exact
results are of course unattainable, and even the qualitative results
must be given with a certain reservation. The formula indicated for the
pills in the 1s. 1½d. box was:
Extract of cascara sagrada 0·3 grain.
” Socotrine aloes 0·5 ”
Jalap resin 0·07 ”
Flour } q.s.
Excipient }
in one pill.
Estimated cost of ingredients for 40 pills, ½d.
BARING GOULD’S ANTI-RHEUMATIC PEARLS.
This article is introduced to the public by an advertisement headed:
“Rheumatism speedily cured.” The advertisement states
that Mr. Baring Gould, of an address at a provincial
watering place, “very strongly recommends Marvellous
Cheap Remedy for Chronic Rheumatism, Gout, etc. Free
Information for addressed envelope.”
Application for information with regard to the remedy brought a box of
the “Pearls” with an intimation that the price was 5s., or 3s. 9d. for
prompt cash. In the enclosed circulars the proprietor was described as
“W. Baring Gould, Rheumatic Specialist and Scientist in Chemistry,” and
the “Pearls” were referred to in the following terms:
Baring Gould’s Anti-Rheumatic “Pearls” (Patent and
Trade Mark Registered). The Most Wonderful and Most
Effectual “Anti-Rheumatic” Ever Known....
Mr. Baring Gould desires to say that from a recent
careful examination of his records, he finds that he
relieves or cures (mostly by his wonderful “Pearls”) at
least eighty people in every hundred who come under his
care.
There is nothing to approach the “Pearls” in Curative
value for all kinds of Rheumatism, Sciatica, and Gout.
They are entirely free from every kind of injurious
substance, and may be taken with absolute safety and
benefit by the most delicate bedridden sufferers.
DOSE.—Take 2 Pearls twice a day. Being
flexible and tasteless they are easily swallowed, or
the gelatine casing may be removed and the contents
placed in half a wineglass of water (hot or cold) and
taken in that way. The flavour of the medicaments is
agreeable to the palate and to the stomach also.
The “Pearls” consisted of gelatine capsules, of the flattened form
known commercially as “perles,” containing a white powder. The average
weight of the contents was 5·9 grains, the contents of single capsules
varying from 5·0 to 6·5 grains. It should be said that aspirin, a drug
in very common use for rheumatism, is acetyl-salicylic acid. Analysis
showed the powder to consist of:
Acetyl-salicylic acid 85 per cent.
Sugar of milk 15 ”
The estimated cost of ingredients for 40 capsules is 1½d.
GOWER’S GREEN PILLS.
These pills, which cost 1s. 1½d. per box, containing 44 pills, were
described in the advertisement as:
A real remedy for rheumatism, backache, muscular
rheumatism, sciatica, gout, lumbago, cramps, stiffness
of joints, kidney disorders, dropsical swellings, etc.
These Pills act directly on the organic and muscular
parts of the body, and bring instant relief to tired,
aching, and painful muscles and joints.
In the circular enclosed with the pills it was stated that:
The ingredients ... are known only to the proprietors.
They are not to be found either in the _British
Pharmacopœia_ or in any surgery in the land. It was
not your doctor’s fault that he did not cure you, it
was his misfortune—he did not know how. He had not
these remedies in his possession. We offer you the
opportunity of using them and recovering your health.
Gower’s Green Pills, though an eminently scientific
pill, do not act like magic. The days of miracles have
gone by. They act surely, but sometimes slowly in cases
of Rheumatism of long standing.
In taking these pills we would like it to be thoroughly
known that if your disease is one of long standing you
cannot be completely cured with one or two boxes. A
rheumatic sufferer who has tried most remedies and has
been tortured with pain for five years cannot expect
to be a new man in five weeks. If it takes as many as
a dozen 2s. 9d. boxes to cure a case like this, the
sufferer cannot but consider it the best investment
that he ever made in his life.
The directions were:
One dose to be taken three times a day, before or after
meals. Three Pills are one dose.
The pills were coated with talc, with a small quantity of a green
colouring matter. After removal of the coating the pills had an average
weight of 1·2 grains. Analysis showed them to contain soap (about 36
per cent.), an alkaline salicylate (about 37 per cent.), extractive,
and vegetable tissue. No alkaloid was present; the extractive was dark
in colour, without bitterness or other characteristic taste, and showed
no properties by which its source could be identified; microscopic
examination of the tissue showed the presence of two powders, one of
which agreed well in its characters with powdered cimicifuga root,
while the other bore much resemblance to jalap, but not enough to
warrant the statement that it was jalap. The total amount of vegetable
powder was about 20 per cent., of which about one-third appeared to be
cimicifuga; 11 per cent. of silicious ash was also present.
DR. COLLIE’S OINTMENT.
This ointment, supplied by a Scottish Company at the price of 1s. 9d.
for a box containing 1¾ ounces, is advertised in the following terms:
Try Dr. Collie for Rheumatism. His ointment positively
cures while you sleep. You don’t rub it in, but apply
just like a poultice. It draws out the cause of your
trouble, and a speedy cure ensues. Try Dr. Collie’s
Ointment—Instant relief for Sciatica, Lumbago, and
swollen joints.
It appeared, however, from a booklet sent with the ointment that
rheumatism was only one among a large number of complaints for which
the ointment was recommended; it was described on the label as:
A certain cure for Sprains, Bruises, Cuts, Burns,
Chapped Hands, Eczema, Blood Poisoning, Whitlows, Sea
Water Boils, Abscesses, Piles, Rheumatism, Sciatica,
Lumbago, Pains in the Back and Loins, and all Sores and
Ulcers of every description.
The directions for its use in rheumatism were:
First wash the part to be treated with warm water and
soda, then thoroughly dry—(a quantity of the ointment
may then be well rubbed in). Now get a piece of thick
cotton cloth (old sheeting answers very well) or better
still, chamois leather, spread the ointment thickly and
apply like a poultice. When the dressing begins to get
dry, take it off, and after scraping the cloth replace
it with fresh ointment. The part may, after a dressing
or two, begin to itch, and the skin, being stimulated,
may come out in a humour. If so, do not be alarmed but
persevere. This is a sure sign that the Ointment is
doing its work, drawing out the deleterious matter,
viz., Uric Acid Poison, from the body through the most
natural of all channels, the pores of the skin.
Analysis showed the presence of colophony resin, petroleum jelly, a
little beeswax, and a fatty base. The colophony was accompanied by
a small proportion of another substance of resinous nature, which
appeared to be the altered resin to be found in the variety of
colophony known commercially as “black resin”; a dark substance was
also present which appeared to consist of the natural impurities of
crude petroleum; the fatty basis showed generally the properties of a
mixture of lard and tallow. A similar ointment was obtained by using
the following formula:
Black resin 12 per cent.
Beeswax 2 ”
Crude petroleum jelly 26 ”
Tallow 20 ”
Lard 40 ”
Estimated cost of ingredients for 1¾ ounces, 1d.
ZOX.
Zox is a powder made by a Company with an address in London and the
price charged is 1s. for a box containing eight powders. It was
described on the wrapper as:
The most marvellous pain reliever. Instantly cures
Toothache, Neuralgia, Headache, Sciatica, and all
Nerve Pains. Pure, Harmless, not Aperient.
In a circular enclosed with the box directions were given for taking
the powders for neuralgia, toothache, headache, sciatica, rheumatic and
gouty pains, and influenza. For neuralgia the directions were:
Ono Powder should be taken when in pain, and should the
enemy return, continue the Powders every four hours,
for a few days. If very weak from continual pain, take
a few doses of Zox Tonic; this will give you speedy
relief.
For rheumatic and gout pains:
Take one Zox Powder two or three times a day while pain
is acute; avoid beer and spirits of all kinds.
The average weight of the powders was 4½ grains, single powders in a
box varying in weight from 4 to 6 grains. Analysis showed the powder to
consist of acetanilide only.
The estimated cost of the drug for eight powders is one-tenth of a
penny.
OQUIT.
The vendors, a Company with a London address, sell tubes of 20 tablets
for 1s. 1½d.
This is advertised as follows:
Neuralgia. Within 10 minutes of taking “Oquit” that
frightful nerve-racking pain will be cured. One dose
will convince you. Try it.
A pamphlet was enclosed with the package, headed “Oquit for Headaches
and Nerve Pains, Headache, Neuralgia, Gout, Sciatica, Rheumatism,
Lumbago, Influenza, Feverish Colds, Sea Sickness.” A few extracts are
here given:
Oquit ... is made in strict accordance with a medical
prescription from drugs which are daily prescribed by
the most eminent physicians for the relief of nerve
pains. There is nothing experimental about “Oquit.” The
drugs of which “Oquit” is composed are perfectly well
known, and their claim to be regarded as unrivalled for
the purpose has been rigidly tested and endorsed by the
leading exponents of modern medicine. What is really
unique about “Oquit” is the scientific proportion in
which the constituent drugs are combined. It is a
remarkable fact, and one which is attested by every
medical man, that the action of a drug may be made
effective or ineffective according to the manner in
which it is prescribed. There are certain subordinate
drugs which prepare the way, as it were, for the action
of a principal drug, and the proportion between the
ingredients of a prescription is of vital importance
in relation to the effect produced. It is to this
scientifically adjusted proportion that the remarkably
beneficial results of “Oquit” are due....
In the cure of Neuralgia, “Oquit” has proved eminently
successful when taken in the same way as recommended
for headache, with the addition that a third and
further doses should be repeated, if found necessary,
at intervals of three hours....
In Rheumatism, whether the acute or chronic forms,
“Oquit” is extremely beneficial, expelling from the
system the inflammatory agents which give rise to the
frequently excruciating pains in the joints and muscles
involved, and confers a most welcome relief....
In Gout, Sciatica, and Lumbago the eliminating power of
“Oquit” is of the greatest possible value. In all these
cases, adults should take three “Oquits” every three
hours at the commencement of an attack, reducing the
dose to two, and then to one, as the pain decreases.
The average weight of the tablet was 5·1 grains. Analysis showed them
to contain:
Acetyl-salicylic acid 66·2 per cent.
Starch, chiefly maize 20·0 ”
Talc 4·2 ”
Gum 1·5 ”
Extractive 3·1 ”
Moisture 5·0 ”
Alkaloid a trace.
As stated above aspirin is acetyl-salicylic acid, and so it may be
added is xaxa.
The alkaloid did not show well-marked characters by which it could be
identified, but agreed fairly well in its reactions with the total
alkaloid of gelsemium; the general nature of the extractive was
consistent with its being a preparation of this drug.
The estimated cost of ingredients for 20 tablets is ¾d.
GENOFORM TABLETS.
A substance was described under the name Genoform in the
_Pharmaceutische Post_ in 1905, as being the methylene-glycol ester of
salicylic acid; but as the present preparation is advertised to the
public, and supplied under a patent medicine stamp, it must be regarded
as a secret remedy. The proprietor, it is stated, resides in Leipzig
but there is a London agency, and the remedy is sold in tubes price 1s.
1½d., containing 10 tablets.
An advertisement of this preparation was headed: “Gout, Rheumatism,
Sciatica, and Neuralgia Cured. A Miracle in Rheumatism.” Then followed
a testimonial describing the “miracle.” On the package of the tablets
it was stated that:
Genoform cures gout, rheumatism, sciatica, neuralgia,
etc. Genoform gives instant relief and effects a
permanent cure.
A circular enclosed in the package stated:
Genoform is a certain cure, and you need not suffer
another day. No matter where the pain is, or how severe
it is, or how long you have had it, Genoform Tablets
will rid you of it. They give relief in many cases
immediately, and produce a permanent cure.
Take them to-day and feel well. Genoform eases pain
with a rapidity which is remarkable, at the same time
doing away with the cause. Remember that.
It is no mere relief. It stamps out the cause of Gout,
Rheumatism, Sciatica, and Neuralgia. It is absolutely
harmless. No remedy equals it in its quick and certain
effects.
Patients afflicted for years and unable to walk or use
their limbs have been made sound and free from pain in
a very little time....
Absolutely crippled rheumatic persons, unable to dress
or undress themselves, have entirely recovered with
only a few doses of this preparation.
The directions were as follows:
The Tablets must never be taken on an empty stomach,
but either during or after meals (from 3 to 9 tablets
daily). Taking the Tablet is facilitated by letting it
soak first in a spoonful of water and drinking a little
water afterwards. Any oppression of the stomach is soon
relieved by 5 or 6 drops of dilute Hydrochloric acid
taken in half a glassful of water.
As Genoform contains Salicylic Acid and that well-known
drug for Rheumatism sometimes causes a little buzzing
in the ears, if such buzzing ever occurs it is well to
discontinue Genoform for 24 hours and afterwards take
only a small dose for a day or so. It must be clearly
understood that there is no possible harm or danger
in such buzzing and few persons are so affected, but
we think it wise to advise you lest you should think
Genoform does not agree with you and discontinue its
use.
The tablets had an average weight of 7·7 grains. They contained no
free salicylic acid, but on hydrolysis with alkali they yielded 91·0
per cent. of that substance. Starch was present to the extent of
4·1 per cent., so that the material other than starch yielded 94·9
per cent. of its weight of salicylic acid. Salicyl-methylene-glycol
ester CH₂(C₇H₅O₃)₂ would yield 95·6 per cent.; investigation of the
other products of hydrolysis showed that this ester was the substance
present; no other ingredient was found. On examination the substance
proved to be hydrolyzed at once by alkali in the cold, but not by cold
dilute acid; hot water caused slight decomposition, and on boiling it
in water it readily yielded salicylic acid. The formula of the tablets
is thus:
Salicyl-methylene-glycol ester 95 per cent.
Starch (and moisture) 5 ”
POST’S C. B. Q. TABLETS FOR RHEUMATISM.
Two specimens of the proprietary article sold under the name of C.
B. Q. have been examined at an interval of nine years. The earlier
analysis showed that the tablets contained potassium iodide, quinine
and colchicine in small quantities, a salicylate and extract of
liquorice, used no doubt to bind the powder together. The analysis
made in 1908 showed that of the tablets then examined each contained
about 1½ grains of potassium iodide, a small quantity of salicylate,
a vegetable extract, and magnesia. The extract was hygroscopic and
the magnesia was no doubt employed to bring the mixture into a form
suitable for tablet making. The extract was slightly bitter and the
tablets contained a small amount of alkaloid, which was not certainly
identified.
GOUT VARALETTES.
Analysis of Bishop’s Gout Varalettes showed the presence of lithium
citrate and a small quantity of what appeared to be piperazine,
together with the usual effervescing basis consisting of sodium
bicarbonate and tartaric acid.
PISTOIA GOUT POWDERS.
There was a powder for gout known to an earlier generation under the
name of the “Portland Gout Powder;” according to the prescription given
by Jourdan in the _Pharmacopée Universelle_ (1828); it consisted of:
Gentian root, round birthwort root (_Aristolochia rotunda_), ground
pine root (_Teucrium chamaepitys_), the tops of germander (_Teucrium
chamaedrys_), and of the lesser centaury (_Erithroea centaurium_), of
each equal parts to be ground separately to a fine powder and mixed;
dose, half a teaspoonful. He gives of this three variants, in one of
which the gentian is replaced by guaiacum.
For some years past a good deal has been heard about the Pistoia
gout powders. A pamphlet entitled _The antigouty powders of the R.R.
Benedictine Mothers of Pistoia for the treatment of a gouty source_
(Rome, 1904) presents a curious resemblance to the advertising
pamphlets issued by ordinary nostrum dealers. There is a short
disquisition on gout written in very odd English, this is followed by
a translation of a large number of testimonials to the virtues of the
powder, and this again by the following “Warning to our Customers”:
Having known that in some towns of Italy, and even in
Pistoia, some antigouty drug circulates under the name
of “Vegetal Antigouty Powders of the Cloister” or under
other names alike, making every body trust that they
come from our Monastery, we think ourselves, in duty
bound, to remember to our Customers that no deposit of
our Antigouty Powders is to be found neither in Pistoia
nor in other towns or places in Italy or abroad,
and that we have accorded to nobody the faculty of
preparing or selling them.
Consequently every antigouty remedy which in any way
should be made known as coming from this Monastery,
must be considered as a product of vulgar falsification
and adulteration.
The label on some boxes of the powder states that it is based on
gentian, and on Indian wood, which is one of the synonyms of guaiacum.
The pamphlet, which has already been quoted, states that the powders
do not contain colchicum, belladonna, or any other poisonous
substance, but
are a composition of medicinal grasses, none of which
can ever have a pernicious effect upon the health,
whatever may be the state of the person who uses it.
It is asserted that “often many miraculous cures are obtained,” but it
appears that the treatment must be a prolonged one, for the pamphlet
further states that:
When it is question of a first affection or of a light
gouty attack, the treatment of a whole year without
interruption can in general be sufficient; because it
is necessary for the blood to stay under the action
essentially depurative of the drug during four seasons.
But when the illness is old, a year of treatment
cannot of course be enough to extirpate entirely the
distemper, and the use of the drug must be protracted
till necessary.
The sample of Pistoia gout powder examined was of a greenish ginger
colour and had a bitter taste. MM. Guignard, Collin, Chastaing, and
Barillot give the following formula for the Pistoia gout powder:
Colchicum corm 10 parts
Bryony root 10 ”
Betony (root, stem, and leaves) 50 ”
Gentian root 10 ”
Camomile (chiefly stem, leaves, a little root, and flowers) 10 ”
M. Collin is one of the leading authorities on the microscopic
characters of powdered vegetable drugs, and a microscopical examination
of the specimen revealed characters consistent with this formula; such
small differences as were observed were only such as might be expected
between specimens grown under different conditions of soil, climate,
etc.
Another formula which has been published for the powders is as follows,
but the sample examined agreed more nearly with No. 1:
II.
Colchicum corm 20 parts.
Bryony root 10 ”
Betony root 40 ”
Gentian root 10 ”
Camomile 10 ”
LAVILLE’S ANTIGOUT REMEDIES.
According to Zernik, the chief constituents of the Liqueur du Dr.
Laville, an antigout remedy, very popular in France, in spite of its
high price and secret composition, are colchicin (about 0·08 per cent.)
and quinine in alcoholic solution. The pilules du Dr. Laville are
sold as preventive remedies against gout. They were found to contain
extract of winter cherry, Physalis alkekengi, one of the Solanaceae
(? capsicum), guaiacum resin, powdered leaves and root of the marsh
mallow, and sodium silicate. Each bottle contains 75 grams, about 2½
fluid ounces, and costs 8s.
SOME GERMAN NOSTRUMS.
The following notes upon a few German remedies are quoted from Dr.
Zernik’s reports in the _Deutsche Medicinische Wochenschrift_.
URICEDIN.
This is a Berlin product vaunted as a remedy for the
gouty diathesis, but its composition is very simple;
it contains 2½ per cent. sodium chlorate, and 66·5 per
cent. dry sodium sulphate, the remainder being sodium
citrate and sodium tartrate.
RHEUMACID.
The prospectus asserts that this material, the result
of years of careful and earnest study, revolutionizes
all medical knowledge, and cures rheumatism, colds,
neuralgia, sciatica, gout, bladder, kidney, and skin
affections, etc. The price demanded for 50 grams
(about 1½ ounces) is 17s. 6d., while a sample costs
1s. The sample is supposed to contain ten doses of
1 gram each, but was actually found to contain only
half that quantity. There appeared to be three sorts
of rheumacid, marked A, B, and C respectively, but
the analysis revealed that the constituents were
practically the same and included aspirin, salol, and
at times salpyrin, with a little citric acid. This
seems rather like making a revolution with rosewater.
ANTIGOUT SOAP.
Lazarus Gout and Rheumatic Soap is prepared in Dresden.
It is a piece of medium-quality sodium soap, containing
a very small quantity of an ethereal oil. The cake
weighs 70 grams (about 2 oz.), and costs 1 mark.
PINE PREPARATIONS.
Electricum, described as “aethereal Tyrolese fir and
pine wood oil,” and recommended by the vendors as an
external remedy for rheumatism, gout, pains in the
limbs, paralysis, sciatica, lumbago, and backache,
neuralgia, tumours, etc., seems to consist merely of
pine oil.
Weigand’s Rheumatic and Gout Spirit which it is stated
relieves the pain within a few hours and cures after
a short time, consists of 55 parts of turpentine oil,
55 parts of spirits of camphor, and 5 grams of Venice
soap. A bottle containing 115 grams, less than 4
ounces, costs 2s. 6d.
RHEUMA TABAKOLIN.
This is a Berlin preparation; a box containing about
100 grams (about 3½ oz.) costs 5s., but the quantity
for neglected and obstinate cases cost 15s. It is
asserted to be a newly discovered remedy for rheumatism
and gout obtained from tobacco. The directions are to
extract the material with about 24 ounces of 50 per
cent. alcohol, and to use this extract as a liquid
application to the painful areas. Analysis showed that
the substance consisted of waste and powdered tobacco
perfumed with lemon oil. In Germany waste broken
tobacco can be bought at about 5d. or 6d. a pound.
CHAPTER VII.
KIDNEY MEDICINES.
This group of nostrums consists of those which are put forward for the
cure of kidney troubles, or conditions of ill-health commonly, but
as a rule erroneously, attributed by the public to kidney disease.
Several of these are in the form of pills, while others are liquids.
The two principal drugs employed are oil of juniper and potassium
nitrate (nitre or saltpetre), separately or together; in some cases
aperients are added. Altogether extravagant claims are made for some
of the articles, as is usual, of course, with proprietary medicines;
this point is dealt with more fully in the descriptions of individual
preparations.
In analysing complex mixtures, such as some of these nostrums are,
it is, of course, not possible to attain the same precision as when
dealing with medicines which consist chiefly of inorganic salts, as in
the case of nostrums for epilepsy, dealt with in another chapter. A
vegetable extract containing no definite active principle, such as, for
instance, extract of taraxacum (dandelion), cannot be identified by any
direct test; if such an extract is mixed with another, with a powdered
drug, or an essential oil, its identification with perfect certainty
may become almost impossible. The large variations, again, which may
occur in the proportion of solid matter in a tincture or infusion, as
well as the variations in the relative proportion of the different
constituents of drugs, prevent the results of analysis being translated
with certainty into the formula from which the mixture was compounded.
These considerations apply to several of the articles described in
this chapter. While the principal ingredient or ingredients in each
case can be ascertained with little or no possibility of error, the
subsidiary ingredients in some cases cannot be determined with the
same confidence; we have endeavoured to indicate in each case the
possibility of such minor errors. Full use has been made of check
methods, by compounding mixtures according to the formulæ obtained by
analysis and comparing them with the originals.
DOAN’S BACKACHE KIDNEY PILLS.
These pills, of American origin, which have been very extensively
advertised for some years, are sold in boxes price 2s. 9d., containing
40 “kidney pills” and 4 “dinner pills.”
They were described on the wrapper of the package as a
Specific for kidney complaints and all diseases
arising from disorder of the kidneys and bladder. Cure
Backache, Weak Back, Rheumatism, Diabetes, Congestion
of the Kidneys, Inflammation of the bladder, Gravel,
Bright’s Disease, Scalding Urine, and all Urinary
troubles.
A circular was enclosed with the box, in which a dissertation on
“Diseases of the Kidneys and Bladder” was given, together with
directions for taking the pills for various complaints. The following
extracts are taken from the circular:
Doan’s Backache Kidney Pills are composed of rare and
valuable medicinal agents in a combination best adapted
to the speedy relief and cure of Kidney Disease,
urinary and bladder affections, and all diseases
resulting therefrom. They are purely vegetable,
containing no ingredients of a deleterious nature, and
may be taken by the most delicate person, with every
confidence of their giving quick and permanent relief,
without any after ill effects ... they are the only
medicine known that quickly relieves and permanently
cures.
This medicine has restored to health thousands of
women. As a means of healing the kidneys, and as a
tonic to the whole female constitution it is unequalled.
The last sentence of the next extract shows some ingenuity:
Chronic cases of long standing. These frequently come
under our notice and we hear that the patient, after
trying every known remedy and failed (_sic_) has
despaired of ever getting relief. Now in all stages of
Kidney Disease this is where Doan’s Backache Kidney
Pills are the most needed, and, indeed, are the only
remedy possible to give permanent relief. But it takes
time. One cannot expect to be cured in a few weeks....
In some cases three or four boxes of Doan’s Backache
Kidney Pills are sufficient; but in these cases of
long standing, 8, 10, and even 20 or 30, are required
to effect a cure. But they will cure in the end if the
patient perseveres. We are emphatic on this point,
because in kidney disease patients are so easily
discouraged. It is one of the symptoms of the disease.
The directions were to take from two to four of the dinner pills at
night before commencing to take the kidney pills; then to begin with
one kidney pill after each meal and one at bedtime, increasing the dose
to two or three, after a short time. For children under 8, the dose was
given as half a pill after each meal and at bedtime.
The “kidney pills” were ovoid in shape, and of a brown-grey colour
externally, with sugar-coating beneath the thin, coloured layer; after
removing the coating, the average weight of the pills was about 2
grains. Analysis showed them to contain oil of juniper and (in spite
of their “purely vegetable” nature) potassium nitrate, together with
a considerable proportion of a resinous substance, and of powdered
fenugreek seeds and wheat and maize starches. Examination of the resin
showed it to be derived from a coniferous source, and on comparison
with various coniferous resins it agreed in characters with that of
_Abies canadensis_ (_Pinus canadensis_), known as hemlock pitch. The
proportions of the different ingredients were determined by analysis;
but oil of juniper, in such small quantity, can only be approximately
determined, and the amount found was confirmed by comparison of a pill
containing this quantity with the pill under examination. The following
formula gives a similar pill:
Oil of juniper 1 drop.
Hemlock pitch 10 grains.
Potassium nitrate 5 ”
Powdered fenugreek 17 ”
Wheat flour 4 ”
Maize starch 2 ”
In twenty pills.
The estimated cost of the materials of the 40 kidney pills and 4 dinner
pills, ½d.
The dinner pills, of which four were included in the box of kidney
pills, are also supplied separately in boxes of 50 for 1s. 1½d. The
label stated that:
Doan’s Dinner Pills Cure Constipation, Sick Headache,
Biliousness, Dizziness, and all deranged conditions of
Stomach, Liver, and Bowels.
The directions were:
For adults, 1 to 3 Pills; for children, ½ to 1 Pill.
These statements and directions were amplified in a handbill enclosed
in the package.
The pills were ovoid and enclosed in white sugar-coating; the average
weight of one, without coating, was about ¾ gr. Analysis showed the
presence of podophyllin, aloin, oil of peppermint, a resin that
appeared to be jalap resin, cayenne, liquorice, gum, maize starch, and
a small quantity of an extract that resembled extract of henbane; as
the extract last named had no sufficiently well-marked characters to
enable a small quantity of it to be distinguished perfectly when mixed
with larger quantities of the other drugs named, the identity of this
ingredient could not be completely established. The following formula
gives a similar pill:
Oil of peppermint 1 drop.
Podophyllin 3·8 grains.
Aloin 6·9 ”
Jalap resin 0·8 grain.
Powdered capsicum 0·5 ”
” liquorice 0·6 ”
Maize starch 0·5 ”
Acacia gum 1·5 grains.
Extract of henbane 1·5 ”
In twenty pills.
Estimated cost of materials of 50 pills, 1d.
DODD’S KIDNEY PILLS.
These pills, made by an American Company advertising from a London
address, are sold in boxes containing 35, price 2s. 9d.
The label round the box stated:
A positive cure for all kidney diseases: cures
rheumatism, Bright’s disease, diabetes, backache;
cures female weakness, purifies the blood, cleanses the
system.
The following extracts are from a circular enclosed with the pills:
Experience has proved that Dodd’s Kidney Pills are the
only cure for kidney diseases.
Dodd’s Kidney Pills is the only remedy that has cured
Bright’s Disease.
Diabetes—Dodd’s Kidney Pills will cure this disease.
Dropsy—The first object in treating dropsy is to
restore the kidneys to their normal condition. This is
what Dodd’s Kidney Pills do and hence their peculiar
efficacy for this disease.
Dodd’s Kidney Pills will cure any form of heart disease.
What is known as the “change of life,” is a period of
great importance to woman. At such a time, no remedy
could be more effective than Dodd’s Kidney Pills.
These pills ... consist of the active principles of
vegetable substances, which have been carefully studied
by the discoverer of the remedy, both as to their
nature and effect, and finally given to the world
in the form of a sugar-coated pill, which to-day is
universally acknowledged to be the best kidney remedy
obtainable.
The directions are:
Take one to three pills morning, noon, and night,
before or after meals. In the majority of cases one
pill is a dose.
The pills were ovoid in shape, coated and coloured red on the outside.
The colouring matter formed a strongly fluorescent yellow solution,
showing it to be fluorescein or an allied substance; the coating was of
sugar on the outside, with an inner layer consisting of chalk. In spite
of the statement quoted above, that the pills consist of the active
principles of vegetable substances, it was no surprise to find that the
principal ingredient was potassium nitrate, of which each contained
about 1 gr.; the other constituents were sodium bicarbonate, soap,
hard paraffin, wheat flour, powdered turmeric, two resins respectively
soluble and insoluble in ether, a small quantity of a bitter substance,
and a little extractive. Examination of the resins showed that they
agreed in their characters with the two constituents of jalap resin;
the bitter substance was not alkaloidal, and after careful comparison
with a large number of bitter principles was found to agree with that
of cascarilla. The following formula gives a pill which is practically
identical with the one under examination:
Extract of cascarilla (alcoholic) 0·15 grain.
Jalap resin 0·3 ”
Hard soap 1·0 ”
Potassium nitrate 1·0 ”
Sodium bicarbonate 0·85 ”
Hard paraffin 0·5 ”
Turmeric 0·3 ”
Wheat flour 0·8 ”
In one pill.
The estimated cost of the materials of 35 pills is 1d.
DR. VAR’S AMERICAN KIDNEY PILLS.
On the outside of the package these pills, which are advertised from
an address in a town in the south of England, and sold in boxes of 14
costing 1s. 1½d., are stated to “correct the stomach and stimulate
the liver and kidneys.” In a circular enclosed with the box they are
referred to as “Certain Corrective! Positive Cure!” while the obscurity
of the following is perhaps intended to make the warning conveyed more
effective:
Do not let slight or severe Kidney Disorders develop
into Cancerous Decay, Twin Complaints—Kidney Liver
Diseases. Cure them! Put both in strong active order.
There is not a safer, surer, speedier remedy in
existence. Myriads of people thank Providence for Dr.
Var’s Kidney Pills. _Should be taken for Natural Weak
Kidneys._
The directions are:
One to be taken three times a day after meals.
The “pills” were in reality flexible capsules, each containing about 5½
grains of a soft mass in which oils of juniper and peppermint could be
recognized in small quantity; examination also showed the presence of
potassium nitrate, of small quantities of iron and magnesium compounds,
and of lycopodium,[1] together with powdered squill, wheat starch, and
a “green” extract, containing a trace of alkaloid, which appeared from
its characters to be a mixture of extracts of henbane and taraxacum.
The iron was perhaps an accidental impurity, and the magnesia and
lycopodium were probably added to assist in making up the mass and not
for therapeutic effect. The following formula gives a similar mass:
Oil of peppermint 1 drop.
” juniper 8 drops.
Potassium nitrate 8 grains.
Powdered squill 3 ”
Wheat flour 6 ”
Extract of henbane 7 ”
” taraxacum 21 ”
In 10 capsules.
The estimated cost of the materials of 14 capsules is under ¾d.
[1] Lycopodium is a fine powder consisting of plant-spores sometimes
used by pharmacists for enveloping pills which easily take up moisture.
FITCH’S KIDNEY AND LIVER COOLER.
A bottle of this preparation containing rather less than 4 fluid ounces
is sold for 2s. The directions are:
Take two teaspoonfuls mixed in water every morning.
The label and package appear to have been devised for the purpose of
suggesting, without explicitly stating, that it is a cure for the
complaints named. On one side appears the following (divided into
sections by use of different type):
Oh my back, how it aches! Why? Fitch’s Kidney and
Liver Cooler. Trade Mark. Sluggish liver. Inactive
kidneys. Over-heated blood. Bad urine. Acts chemically
by absorption.
and on the other:
Oh my back, how it aches! Why? Because your Kidneys and
Liver are Sluggish, and a deposit has formed in the
urine which will contaminate the whole system unless
dissolved chemically. Try this; you won’t regret. It’s
a grand conception.
Analysis showed the liquid to consist simply of a solution of potassium
nitrate in water, the strength being 56 grains in a fluid ounce—that
is, 14 grains in a dose.
The estimated cost of the contents of the bottle is one-eighth of a
penny.
WARNER’S “SAFE” CURE.
Warner’s Safe Cure is a liquid sold in a bottle holding about 8 fluid
ounces at the price of 2s. 9d.
The label bore the words, “For Kidney and Liver and Bright’s disease
and jaundice, gravel, stone”—and a long list of other complaints. “Dose
for adults, one tablespoonful 5 or 6 times a day.”
A “medical pamphlet” of 34 pages accompanied the bottle, from which the
following extracts are taken:
Warner’s “Safe” Cure is a purely vegetable compound,
and contains no narcotic or harmful drugs; it is free
from sediment and is pleasant to take; it is a most
valuable and effective tonic; it stimulates digestion,
awakens the torpid liver, and puts the entire system in
the very best receptive state for the work of restoring
the kidneys. It does its work with absolute method,
preparing the tissues, soothing and stimulating the
enfeebled organs, healing at the same time. It builds
up the body, gives it strength, and restores the
energy which is or has been wasting under the baneful
suffering of kidney disease. Warner’s “Safe” Cure was
discovered about thirty years ago by one of the most
eminent specialists in diseases of the kidneys, who had
made a life-study of kidney and kindred diseases.
How to test your kidneys. Put some morning urine in a
glass or bottle; let it stand for twenty-four hours; if
there is a reddish sediment in the bottom of the glass,
or if the urine is cloudy or milky, or if you see
particles or germs floating about in it, your kidneys
are diseased and you should lose no time but get a
bottle of Warner’s “Safe” Cure, as it is dangerous
to neglect your kidneys for even one day. Bright’s
disease, gravel, liver complaint, pains in the back,
rheumatism, rheumatic gout, inflammation of bladder,
stone in the bladder, uric acid poison, dropsy, eczema,
scrofula, blood disease, offensive odour from sweating,
so-called ‘female weakness,’ painful periods, too
frequent desire to urinate, and painful passing of
urine are all caused by diseased kidneys, and can be
speedily cured by Warner’s “Safe” Cure, which has been
prescribed for twenty-five years.”
Of Bright’s disease it is remarked:
It is one of the harassing complaints which physicians
in family practice seldom have the patience to
investigate and manage with sufficient care.
The assumed predilection of the public for vegetable remedies is
no doubt answerable for potassium nitrate being classed as “purely
vegetable” in so many of these medicines. In the present case analysis
showed the presence of potassium nitrate, alcohol, glycerine, a trace
of oil of wintergreen, and vegetable extractive; there was no alkaloid
or similar active principle, and the extract had little distinctive
taste or character; all its properties pointed to its consisting
largely of extract of taraxacum, with some other extract containing a
small quantity of tannin; a careful series of comparisons with all the
drugs in ordinary use which were not excluded by various tests did not
identify it with any of them, and it is probable that it is obtained
from some non-medicinal plant.
The following formula gives an almost identical mixture:
Potassium nitrate 50 grains.
Oil of gaultheria ⅓ minim.
Rectified spirit 5 fluid drams.
Liquid extract of taraxacum 10 ”
Glycerine 4 ”
Water to 8 fluid ounces.
This contains about 10 per cent. of pure alcohol, which is the
proportion found in Warner’s Cure; in a mixture of which a
tablespoonful was to be taken five or six—or, according to the handbill
with it, six to eight—times a day, this proportion of alcohol is by no
means negligible.
In such a mixture there is no means of determining exactly the amount
of liquid extract of taraxacum, especially as it is liable to vary
considerably in colour and in amount of solid residue; this is by far
the most expensive ingredient in the above formula, and it is probable
that the amount is here over-estimated. Taking the quantity here given,
the estimated cost of the drugs for one bottle of the mixture is 5¼d.
VENO’S SEAWEED TONIC.
The Company in Manchester which advertises Veno’s Seaweed Tonic sells
it at the price of 1s. 1½d. a bottle, holding 2¾ to 3 fluid ounces.
The label states:
Contains in a pleasant and agreeable form the active
principles of seaweed. First introduced into the
medical world by Mr. Veno, and now admitted to be a
most efficient and valuable medicine. Veno’s seaweed
tonic is prepared on an entirely new principle, and
is free from poisonous or mineral drugs. It cures
all ailments arising from a diseased condition of
the Stomach, Liver, Kidneys, and Blood, which, when
diseased, cause nearly all sickness. Dose.—For an
adult, one teaspoonful twice or three times daily.
The following extracts are taken from a pamphlet enclosed with the
bottle:
Veno’s Seaweed Tonic is a specific remedy; money cannot
make it better. If it fails, no other medicine will
ever succeed; but sufferers must have patience.
Kidney Diseases, Weak Back, Backache or Lumbago,
Incipient Bright’s Disease. If you suffer from a weak
back, with pain, soreness, or stiffness; if there is
a dragging weakness in the limbs and lack of muscular
energy; or if your urine is very clear or high
coloured, showing a sediment of white flakes through
it, it indicates a weakness or disease of the kidneys.
Veno’s Seaweed Tonic should be taken for at least two
or three months, in teaspoonful doses twice or three
times daily, after meals.
The mixture contained a small proportion of undissolved sediment,
which, when collected and examined, agreed in all respects with the
insoluble portion of leptandrin. Glycerine, a little phosphate,
alcohol, and a trace of chloroform were present, and vegetable
extractive. Careful examination of the latter gave evidence of the
presence of the constituents of cascara sagrada, senna, and rhubarb.
Such a mixture as this could not, of course, be quantitatively resolved
into its components, and the proportions given below were arrived at
by comparisons of the properties of various trial mixtures with the
properties of the original; no indication was obtained of any substance
derived from seaweed. The following formula gives a practically
identical mixture:
Leptandrin 10 grains.
Sodium phosphate, crystals 33 ”
Liquid extract of cascara sagrada 45 minims.
Concentrated infusion of rhubarb (1-7) 1 fluid dram.
” ” senna (1-7) 2½ fluid drams.
Glycerine 2 ”
Chloroform water 1 fluid ounce.
Water to 3 fluid ounces.
The estimated cost of the ingredients is 1½d.
MUNYON’S KIDNEY CURE.
This is sold by Munyon’s Homœopathic Home Remedy Company from an
address in London, but is stated to be “Manufactured in U.S. of
America.” The price is 1s. a bottle, containing 132 pilules.
The directions are: “Four pellets every hour,” which must at least keep
the patient amused.
The label bears the words:
Cures Bright’s disease, gravel, all urinary troubles,
and pain in the back or groins from kidney diseases.
The following extracts are from a circular enclosed with the bottle:
Munyon’s Improved Homœopathic Remedies are radically
different from those used by the regular school of
homœopathy or any other system of medicine. We have the
true cure for the most obstinate as well as the most
intricate of diseases. The whole secret of Munyon’s
Remedies is the science of combining and harmonizing
all drugs that are known to cure certain diseases, so
that by our special combinations we cover every phase
of the case, no matter what the complaint. There is no
experimenting, no guesswork, but an absolutely fixed
law of cure.
Munyon’s Kidney Cure has no equal. It cures pain in the
back, loins, or groins, from kidney disease, puffy and
flabby face, dropsy of the feet and limbs, frequent
desire to pass water, scanty urine, dark-coloured and
turbid urine sediment in the urine, gravel in the
bladder, and too-great a flow of urine.
The pilules were found to vary much in size, the average weight being
0·6 grain. Analysis showed them to consist of ordinary white sugar; no
trace could be detected of any alkaloid or other active principle, or
of any medication. The sugar was determined quantitatively, and found
to be just 100·0 per cent. of the weight of the pilules.
Estimated cost of contents of bottle, one thirty-fifth of a penny.
CHAPTER VIII.
DIABETES.
Diabetes, being a disease which runs on the whole a steady course
unaffected by anything but diet, does not afford a promising field for
the use of drugs; but as drowning men catch at straws, patients who
have been told that they are incurable are naturally disposed to try
any remedy that holds out a prospect of cure or relief. Although there
are a good many proprietary remedies for diabetes, few seem to have a
large sale, but such as exist are pushed by the usual pretensions set
forth in advertisements and circulars. Every one must admit that few
things can be more cruel than to trade upon the hopes and fears of sick
people or to sell them worthless remedies with the positive assurance
of cure. Yet this is what is done by the sellers of quack remedies, and
the Inland Revenue pockets the patent medicine duty without a blush.
Some account is here given of two much advertised preparations—Vin
Urané Pesqui and Dill’s Diabetic Mixture. It may be objected that
Pesqui’s Uranium Wine is not a secret remedy because it is said to
contain uranium nitrate, pepsin, and “other appropriate elements”
added to “old Bordeaux wine”; but uranium nitrate is a drug well-known
to the medical profession, and whatever may be its properties it is
not a cure for diabetes. There is no trustworthy evidence that it has
ever cured a single case, and the most that can be honestly said of
it is that patients have improved in general health while taking it,
although it has not influenced the amount of sugar. Yet we are told
in this advertisement that Pesqui’s Uranium Wine “positively cures
sugared diabetes provided it is resorted to at an early stage and used
during a sufficient length of time.” Dill’s Diabetic Mixture appears
to consist mainly of extract of hydrastis, a well-known drug, which
amongst the many virtues claimed for it has never been shown to possess
any influence over diabetes; yet the advertisement says that Dill’s
Diabetic Mixture is the “only known remedy for this deadly disease”!
There is another triple nostrum for diabetes which, on examination,
was found to consist of tablets of aspirin, unsweetened lime-juice,
and a pink powder composed of sodium sulphate flavoured with oil of
peppermint and tinted with phenolphthalein. These simple remedies were
solemnly vouched for by the vendors in the following words: “We have
satisfied ourselves that the treatment is an absolute and permanent
cure”! Apparently the law cannot reach those who publish deliberately
untruthful statements with the object of selling their goods. The words
of the judgment of the Lord Justice Clerk in a case with reference
to Bile Beans, heard on appeal in the Court of Session at Edinburgh,
should have aroused the Government to a sense of its duty to provide
protection to the public. The Lord Justice Clerk exposed in plain
language the procedure by which the vendors of this nostrum had worked
up their business and palmed off their medicine on the public, yet the
number of their advertisements does not appear to have diminished.
VIN URANÉ PESQUI.
This medicated wine is made in Bordeaux but is sold in this country
from a depôt in London. The price charged for a bottle holding 24 fluid
ounces is 8s.
A small booklet, entitled _Diabetes and its Cure by the Vin Urané
Pesqui_, was enclosed with the bottle; a few extracts from this are
here given:
It has been shown by medical statistics that there are
in France every year 10,000 deaths or more, due to
diabetes through a deficient treatment, whilst they
could have been cured by taking the Vin Urané Pesqui....
Organic sugar enters the blood together with the
alimentary sugar, the former being destroyed by the
molecular changes that it undergoes for the nutrition
of the different organs. If not sufficiently destroyed,
it is productive of glycohemia, and as it passes into
the urine it brings forth glycosuria; this pathological
state determines, in course of time, particularly among
persons suffering from obesity, some of the following
diseases: polydipsy (excessive thirst), oedema in the
legs, the enfeeblement of the physical and intellectual
faculties, visionary troubles, amblyopia, cataract or
gutta-opaca, headaches and anaemia, followed by dryness
of the skin, successive furuncles, gatherings or boils,
eczemas, itching on the skin provoking an irresistible
desire to scratch one self, anthrax, urinary gravel,
lumbago, sciatica, albuminuria, polyuria (insipid
diabetes, without sugar, excessive emission of urine),
rheumatism, dropsy, bulimia (insatiable appetite)
or polyphagia, azoturia (large quantity of urine
with a heavy percentage of uric acid), then fearful
complications; pneumonia, prurience, either vulvar or
prepucial; diabetic phimosis, gangrene in different
parts of the body, particularly in the toes, the nails
of which become black; consumption, etc. Great mental
worries are also productive of glycosuria....
Pesqui’s Urané Wine positively cures sugared diabetes,
provided it is resorted to at an early stage and used
during a sufficient length of time.
As soon as the patient has made use of this wine, his
thirst is allayed almost instantaneously; his strength
reappears; all his functions are gradually restored;
his breathing, which the absence of feculents had
rendered difficult, becomes easier; he is no longer
put out of breath, nor does he feel any lassitude; he
can now walk about without undergoing any fatigue; his
look improves and his temper assumes a more pleasant
character....
The Vin Urané (Uranated Wine) prepared by Mr. Pesqui,
of Bordeaux, has been qualitatively analysed at the
Barral chemistry laboratory. The result of this
analysis points to this medicine being a compound of
old Bordeaux wine, in accordance with Bouchardat’s
prescriptions, to which the following elements have
been added: azotate of uranium, pepsine, and other
appropriate elements.
The dose was given on the label as:
Three small sherry-glassfuls per day, with or without
water, 5 minutes before, or immediately after meals,
and at night before bedtime.
Analysis of the wine showed it to contain, in 100 parts by measure
Alcohol 8·75 parts.
Glycerine 3·55 ”
Total solids 2·92 ”
Fixed acid, reckoned as tartaric 0·43 part.
Volatile acid, reckoned as acetic 0·21 ”
Reducing sugar 0·28 ”
Cane sugar doubtful trace.
Ash 0·30 part.
Uranium, equivalent to crystalline uranium nitrate 0·02 ”
No digestive power whatever on egg-albumen could be detected,
indicating the absence of unchanged pepsin. The amount of uranium found
corresponds to one-twelfth of a grain of the nitrate in 1 fluid ounce,
or half a grain in the daily dose, a sherry glass usually holding about
2 ounces.
The cost of the preparation depends, of course, on the cost of the
original wine, and is scarcely affected by the added ingredients.
DILL’S DIABETIC MIXTURE.
This mixture is sold by a firm in Manchester at the price of 8s. 3d.
for three bottles (not supplied singly), holding 2 fluid ounces each.
It was advertised in the following terms:
DIABETES.
Dill’s Diabetic Mixture is the only known remedy for
this deadly disease. No dieting necessary. It also
cures Yellow Jaundice, Gall Stones, Hepatic Asthma, and
all Liver Complaints. It is also the very best remedy
we know for Kidney Diseases.
In a leaflet enclosed in the package it is stated:
In Diabetes the Government returns of health show
that 100 per cent. die of the disease—that is, all
of them—66 out of every 100 die of Coma, and 34 of
Pneumonia, so that in ordinary medicine there is no
cure. But after 15 years’ experiment I discovered this
remedy, by means of which hundreds have been restored
to health and strength, the world and their families.
It is the only known remedy for this deadly disease....
... all Liver complaints and Kidney complaints are
cured by this remedy. And it is natural that it should
be so, for when we know that the Liver is the workshop
of the body; that it makes the Blood, and the Bile,
and the Urine, and the Sugar which the kidneys only
filter out, I say, when we know this, we may be quite
sure that any remedy that cures the liver benefits the
whole body. The nerves, the flesh, the skin, the blood,
and tissues; even the special senses such as sight,
hearing, and smell, with the sense of touch are all
improved and benefited by it.
The Remedy, it is needless to say, will have to be
persevered with. These are deadly diseases and must
have time.
The dose was given on the label as:
One teaspoonful every four hours in a tablespoonful of
water.
The mixture contained a considerable amount of sediment, partly of
a heavy nature and partly very light; this caused some difficulty
in dividing the contents of a bottle without altering the relative
proportions of the ingredients, and increased the possible error in
the quantitative results. Alcohol was present to the extent of 35 per
cent.; the heavier sediment consisted of sodium bicarbonate, which is
very little soluble in such a liquid; this constituent formed 7·4 per
cent. of the mixture. Two alkaloids were present in approximately equal
proportions, the total amounting to 0·25 per cent.; these proved to be
hydrastine and berberine, and the general nature of the extractive,
etc., present showed that they had been added in the form of extract,
fluid extract, or tincture of hydrastis; there is no official standard
for the alkaloidal strength of these, but, taking the usual proportion,
the alkaloid found would represent 1·5 per cent. of extract of
hydrastis. This left a portion of the total solids to be accounted
for; a small amount of a resin was found which resembled scammony
resin in its properties, and a larger proportion of a resinoid having
general resemblance to caulophyllin (obtained from the blue cohosh or
squaw-root), but the identity of the resin and resinoid could not be
established owing to the absence of characteristic properties. The
formula was thus found to be:
Sodium bicarbonate 7·4 parts.
Extract of hydrastis 1·5 ”
Resin, resinoid, and other extractive 2·2 ”
Alcohol 35 ”
Water to 100 ”
On the rather liberal assumption that the whole of the unidentified
portion costs as much as caulophyllin, the estimated cost of the
ingredients for 6 fluid ounces is 11d.
LANCASHIRE NOSTRUM
A treatment for diabetes was, and perhaps is still advertised by a firm
of manufacturing chemists in Manchester. In a letter addressed to an
enquirer the manufacturers wrote:
The treatment was recently discovered by a Lancashire
doctor who had himself suffered from diabetes for a
great number of years, and used all the recognized
medical treatments without effect. His own discovery
cured him entirely. The formulas have been entrusted
to us, and we are manufacturing and offering the
preparation to the suffering public. We have satisfied
ourselves that the treatment is an absolute and
permanent cure.... We have, therefore, every confidence
in recommending it to you.
These statements are supported by a batch of testimonials which are
not so strong as is usual in such cases. For example, one is headed in
black type, “Completely cured a gentleman and his two friends,” and
runs as follows:
Dear Sir,—I received the treatment yesterday. A friend
of mine, a London gentleman, has told me your treatment
and the Gluten Bread has (_sic_) completely cured
him and two friends of his of sugar diabetes.
The medicines supplied consisted of (1) tablets, of which four were
to be taken each morning, and (2) a mixture. A month’s supply was
forwarded for 10s. 6d., from two to four months’ treatment being
said to be sufficient. A booklet was also sent giving the usual
directions for a diet free from carbohydrates, and enjoining the use
of warm clothing, with occasional hot or Turkish baths. The tablets
(1) contained 5 grains of aspirin; the mixture (2) was composed
of unsweetened lime-juice containing 6 per cent. of free citric
acid. A pink powder, described as an aperient, consisted of dried
sodium sulphate, flavoured with oil of peppermint, and tinted with
phenolphthalein. These remedies are not new, nor has their use been
attended with any particular success in the treatment of diabetes. It
is difficult to see why they should give better results when supplied
as a nostrum than when ordered in the usual way by medical men, unless
we attribute something to the suggestive power of bold assertions and
public advertisement.
NOTE ON DIABETIC FOODS.
In the treatment of diabetes it is the rule, in order to diminish the
amount of sugar passed, to decrease or altogether exclude starchy foods
from the dietary, and to replace them by various substitutes, of which
the most important are gluten bread and biscuits. Some of the so-called
gluten flour and special foods sold as suitable for diabetic patients
are impositions, inasmuch as they are found to contain either as much
or nearly as much starch as ordinary flour. In one instance brought
to notice at the end of 1905, a so-called gluten flour and special
diabetic foods obtained from Messrs. H. H. Warner and Co., Ltd., who
are also the vendors of Warner’s Safe Cure, but who in this instance
acted as agents, it was found that the flour was practically ordinary
wheaten flour. This is indicated in the following table, in which the
result of the analysis of the special articles is placed side by side
with the figures of the official analysis of wheaten flour published by
the United States Department of Agriculture:
--------------------------+-------------------+--------------------
| Department of | The Special
|Agriculture, U.S.A.| Materials.
+---------+---------+---------+----------
| Spring | Winter | Gluten | Special
| Wheat. | Wheat. | Flour. | Diabetic
| | | | Food.
+---------+---------+---------+----------
Water | 10·4 | 10·5 | 12·65 | 11·06
Proteid | 12·5 | 11·8 | 10·60 | 12·40
Fat | 2·2 | 2·1 | — | 3·00
Convertible carbohydrates | 71·2 | 72·0 | 70·30 | 71·06
Mineral matter | 1·9 | 1·8 | 0·44 | 1·52
Fibre | 1·8 | 1·8 | — | —
--------------------------+---------+---------+---------+----------
It will be seen that the amount of starch and other convertible
carbohydrates in spring wheat is 71·2, and in the so-called gluten
flour 70·30.
CHAPTER IX.
OBESITY CURES.
The claims made for nostrums advertised for the reduction of corpulence
are, as a rule, rather less extravagant than usual. A reason for this
is not far to seek; it is important that the consumer of the medicine
shall be encouraged to persist in its use for a considerable time, and
statements as to rapid cure might very soon be found to be at variance
with the facts and would probably only lead to discontinuance of the
medicine, and therefore defeat the maker’s object. Nevertheless, the
emphatic and confident statements, backed by testimonials, so important
a weapon of the nostrum vendor, are by no means abandoned, as some
of the quotations below will show. The prices named for the various
articles described refer, as a rule, to the smallest size of package;
in most cases larger packages, containing sufficient for several weeks’
or months’ consumption, are supplied at proportionally lower rates, and
purchasers are urged to obtain these larger packages.
While certain of these preparations present no particular difficulty
to the analyst, the majority not only contain vegetable preparations
devoid of well-marked characters, but since the most important of
these, extract and fluid extract of _Fucus vesiculosus_, are not
prepared according to any official formula, and are naturally therefore
liable to great variation, it is not possible to arrive with perfect
certainty at the precise composition of such articles by analysis;
and when, as in the case of any nostrum, the maker can draw on all
unofficial and even non-medicinal substances for his ingredients, it
is inevitable that some shall remain not certainly identified. It may
fairly be assumed, however, that such unknown substances, possessing no
well-defined chemical characters, will not be likely to have much, if
any, therapeutic importance.
The belief that sucking lemons will make one thin is widespread, and
gave origin a few years ago to a passing fashion, so that it was
impossible to go anywhere, in private house or club, without meeting
some gouty man or too stout lady who asserted that a sure cure and
preventive for either condition was some drink made with a fresh lemon.
It was not surprising, therefore, to find that the chief ingredient in
two of the secret remedies first analysed was citric acid.
Bladderwrack (_Fucus vesiculosus_) is a common seaweed which has
earned, it is not quite easy to understand on what grounds, a
reputation for reducing corpulency. It contains sodium salts in rather
large quantities, and a small proportion of iodine, much less than many
other sea-weeds. In Ireland it was once thought to be good for pigs,
making them fat, and if it has an opposite effect on human beings, that
effect must be very slight and uncertain.
Still, if people like to pay an absurdly high price for citric acid
or extract of bladderwrack under other names, it would, perhaps,
be churlish to object, but the case is rather different with the
extract or other preparation of the thyroid gland found to be present
in two of the nostrums most recently analysed. Medical men are not
infrequently asked by patients for information or for their opinion
with regard to some substance that has been praised in a family
newspaper or other easily inspired or corrupted medium to which some
authority is ascribed, and the detection of thyroid gland in two of the
preparations analysed justifies a note of warning. The administration
of thyroid requires to be carefully regulated, and its employment
in self-medication cannot be regarded as a safe proceeding. Under
these circumstances it can hardly be necessary to say that postal
communication with the vendors of the medicines in question, even
when accompanied by the patient’s answers to printed questions and
description of his symptoms, is not only of no value, but may be a
source of danger by giving a false sense of security.
It is curious indeed to note that one of these secret preparations,
Marmola, does not appear to be advertised to the public as a
proprietary article at all, but is named as one ingredient among others
in a prescription which is recommended in a paragraph apparently
dictated solely by pity for suffering fat people; the chemist to whom
the prescription will be taken to be compounded, however, is the
recipient of advertising matter urging him to lay in a stock of the
article to be in readiness for the demand. It is to be hoped that no
chemist would dispense such a “prescription” without making it clear
to his customer that what is supplied is a proprietary article, about
the usefulness or innocuousness of which he knows nothing; otherwise
the customer, who finds it named along with preparations bearing the
letters “B.P.,” is likely to suppose that it is a known substance,
and that the dispensing of the prescription by a chemist indicates
that the mixture is a proper and safe one to take. Two of the other
preparations described are evidently usually or always supplied to the
public without the agency of any retailer, the vendor thus securing the
whole profit, which, it will be seen, is considerable. In both these
cases the attempt is clearly made to get the customer to pay at once
for as large a quantity as possible, presumably because he will be less
likely to do so after giving the medicines a trial. The most alluring
prospects are, of course, held out in the advertisements, but when the
customer has been drawn into correspondence, and especially after he
has begun to send his money, a process of “hedging” begins, as will be
seen from the extracts quoted from letters sent by the vendors.
Phenolphthalein—a chemical body sold sometimes under the trade names
purgen, laxoin, laxatol, laxen, etc.—appears as an ingredient in two of
the nostrums, and formamine (hexamethylene-tetramine)—which goes also
by many names, urotropine, cystamin, cystogen, metramine, and vesalvine
among others—in one, the preparation containing the latter is said to
have been devised as the result of an accident in the laboratory, in
which a piece of fat became changed into oil without the rupture of the
fat cells, a statement which suggests that the advertiser thinks that
fat in the human body is solid like tallow or lard.
ANTIPON.
This preparation is sold by a Company with offices in London. The
bottle in which it is sent out holds a little over 6½ fluid ounces and
costs 2s. 6d. It bears no label, but has the word “Antipon” blown in
the glass. A circular enclosed with the bottle gives a number of rules
on the subject of dietary, together with statements as to the merits of
the article, from which the following extracts are taken:
As a really permanent cure for corpulence, combining
remarkable fat-reducing properties with tonic
principles of the highest quality, “Antipon” is justly
regarded by the most competent authorities as one of
the most valuable discoveries in modern therapeutics,
solving once and for all the vexed question of the
radical cure of obesity without harmful after-effects.
“Antipon” absolutely and definitely replaces all the
weakening and frequently dangerous processes, systems
and medicines which have hitherto done duty as remedies
for the disease of obesity. It provides the medical
practitioner and the public with a powerful and
entirely harmless specific not hitherto within their
reach.
Within a day and a night of taking the first dose
there will be a reduction of weight varying from 8 oz.
to 3lb., in extreme cases even more. The subsequent
daily decrease will be persistent until normal weight
and dimensions are attained, when the doses may be
discontinued.
Directions for Use.—Take two dessertspoonfuls in half
a wineglassful of water, immediately after meals.
N.B.—After taking dose, cork the bottle securely.
Analysis showed the liquid to be a solution of citric acid in water,
of the strength of 39·3 grains in a fluid ounce; a red colouring
substance was also present, and O·4 per cent. of alcohol, the latter
being doubtless introduced with the colouring. The red colour could be
perfectly matched with cochineal, but the behaviour towards alkalies
and other reagents showed differences; cochineal, with the addition
of a little methyl orange, however, showed in most respects a similar
behaviour.
The estimated cost of ingredients for 6½ fluid ounces is 1⅓d.
RUSSELL’S ANTI-CORPULENT PREPARATION.
This preparation is sold from an address in London and like the
previous one, was in a bottle bearing no label; the letters “F.C.R.”
were blown in the glass, and the bottle, which held 12½ fluid ounces
and cost 6s., was enclosed in a perfectly plain case, with no printed
matter accompanying it. A pamphlet on the subject of the medicine was
posted separately to the person ordering it; in this it was explained
that:
Acting upon the many suggestions received, principally
from ladies, the bottles are packed quite plainly,
and without the ordinary trade labels usually found
upon medicines, etc. The box is quite devoid of
advertisements or anything whatever likely to denote
its contents. The servants and others attached to the
household may therefore be safely entrusted to open the
box; inquisitiveness, if present, will not be rewarded.
In this pamphlet very detailed directions were also given for taking
the medicine, and for diet and exercise. It was stated that:
In a very short space of time, say twenty-four hours,
a considerable quantity of the most unhealthy fat will
have been removed from that part of the system most in
need of relief from the adipose matter oppressing it
(the quantity varies from 8 oz. to 2 lb., or even more).
The dose is one tablespoonful in a half-wineglassful of
water, within, say, ten minutes after each meal.
Analysis showed the liquid to consist of a solution of citric acid in
water, containing 37 grains in a fluid ounce. The orange colour was
found to be due to iron, which was present to the extent of 0·012 per
cent.; and 0·4 per cent. of alcohol was also found. Addition of this
proportion of iron in the form of the ammonio-citrate was found to give
a practically identical colour, and the formula is approximately:
Citric acid 37 grains.
Iron and ammonium citrate ¼ grain.
Rectified spirit 2 minims.
Water To 1 fluid ounce.
The estimated cost of the ingredients for 12½ fluid ounces is 2·1d.
ABSORBIT REDUCING PASTE AND J. Z. OBESITY TABLETS.
These two preparations are sold by a “Hygienic Skin Specialist.” The
paste, or, perhaps, both preparations, appear to be also known under
the name of “Zobeide,” as the paste was supplied in response to an
order for “Zobeida,” and the jar bore a label giving a so-called
“analysis” (which it is needless to say was no analysis) beginning,
“We have carefully examined the Zobeide Tissue Absorbers and Paste.”
The price of the paste was 3s. 6d., and the jar contained just over 2
ounces. The directions on the label were:
Rub in a circular direction, at night, where needed,
for five minutes or more; firm, even movements, and
only use as much as the skin will absorb.
The paste was a pink ointment, containing 93 per cent. of a fatty
basis, 4·8 per cent. of a substance which agreed in its characters with
dried bile, and was evidently ordinary “purified ox-bile,” and a little
carmine, the remainder being moisture. Further examination of the fatty
basis showed a considerable proportion of beeswax, and the analytical
results obtained agreed with a mixture of:
Beeswax 23 parts.
Lard 46 ”
Rapeseed (colza) oil 31 ”
It is not possible, however, to assign an exact formula to a mixture
of fatty substances like this. The composition of the paste was
approximately:
Purified ox-bile 5 per cent.
Beeswax 22 ”
Lard 44 ”
Oil 29 ”
Carmine q.s.
A trace of perfume was also present.
The estimated cost of ingredients (2 ounces) is 3d.
The tablets are sold in boxes, containing 25, price, 2s.
The directions were:
Two at night dissolved in the mouth as an ordinary
lozenge.
The tablets were flat oval lozenges weighing 19 grains each. Analysis
showed their composition to be as follows:—
Sulphur 24 per cent.
Ginger, about 4 ”
Sugar 61 ”
Acacia gum 8 ”
Moisture 3 ”
The estimated cost of the ingredients for 25 lozenges is ½d.
XL REDUCING PILLS AND REDUCING LOTION.
Hughes & Hughes’s XL Reducing Pills and Ointment are advertised from
an address in a seaside town. The pills are sold in boxes containing
28, price 2s. 9d. a box. The preparation was described, in a circular
enclosed with the box, as:
A remedy at once safe, speedy, and efficacious, and
of marked value from the health point of view, as it
combats the special ills to which the corpulent have
a liability. It is very easy to take, the pills being
tasteless, and does not necessarily oblige any special
course of diet.
The directions were:
2 pills, twice a day, after principal meals.
The pills were coated with French chalk, and coloured pink on the
outside. After removal of the coating they had an average weight of 3
grains. Analysis showed them to contain a vegetable extract, powdered
ginger, powdered liquorice, iron, potassium, phosphate, and iodide; in
addition to the mineral constituents just named, the ash showed all
the constituents of the ash of extract of bladderwrack; various other
tests applied to the pills indicated this extract to be present, and
failed to show any other ingredients. The quantities of the respective
substances were determined as accurately as possible, and the formula
found to be approximately:
Potassium iodide 0·15 grain.
Iron phosphate 0·35 ”
Powdered ginger 0·2 ”
” liquorice 0·1 ”
Extract of _Fucus vesiculosus_ 2·2 grains.
In one pill.
The estimated cost of the ingredients for 28 pills is 1¼d.
The Reducing Lotion for external use only with the XL reducing Pills is
sold at 4s. 6d. a bottle, containing 2¼ fluid ounces.
Directions for Use.—To a little of the lotion add
three or four times the amount of water (to a spoonful,
three or four spoonfuls of water). The lotion is in
a highly concentrated form, and equals a bottle four
times the size. The lotion should be applied night and
morning, gently, without rubbing, by means of the hand,
or a piece of rag, to the part desired. Any part that
is abnormally enlarged can be so treated, except the
face, to which it should not be applied. The XL lotion
will not irritate the most delicate skin, but it should
not be used when there is any scratch or abrasion.
Analysis showed the presence of chloride, bromide, and iodide of
potassium, glycerine, and a small quantity of a resinous substance in
combination with alkali. The amount of the last constituent was very
small, the resinous substance only amounting to 0·08 per cent.; it
was somewhat bitter, with little colour, and showed no characteristic
reactions or properties by which it could be identified. The
proportions of the other ingredients were found to be:
Potassium iodide 9·7 grains.
” bromide 13·5 ”
” chloride 6·9 ”
Glycerine 105 minims.
Water To 1 fluid ounce.
The estimated cost of the ingredients (2¼ fluid ounces) is about ¾d.
TRILENE TABLETS.
These tablets are advertised from an address in London, in boxes price
2s. 6d., containing 66 tablets.
Enclosed with the package was a little book containing testimonials,
directions, etc., and also a small circular giving instructions as to
diet, with the addition:
We desire to say that such precautions are not
indispensable by any means, but we formulate the above
for the guidance of those in whom any peculiarity of
Constitution may render such care salutary, and to
promote rapidity of cure.
The directions were:
Three of the tablets three times a day 10 minutes
before meals, either dissolved on the tongue or taken
as pills. (_No change of diet being essential._)
It was also added:
The present supply lasts one week, in which time
the weight begins to lessen, but a marked change in
appearance naturally occupies _several weeks_ to
effect.
Two separate packages of the tablets were obtained for analysis at an
interval of several weeks; in the first supply the tablets were of a
dirty white colour and contained no dye, but in the second they were
bright yellow, and contained a yellow dye, which appeared to be one
of the coal-tar colours; the other ingredients were the same as those
found on the first occasion. The average weight of one tablet was 0·9
grain, and they were found to contain 87 per cent. of sugar, 2·4 per
cent. of moisture, and O·5 per cent. of ash; about three-quarters
of the remainder was starch, principally potato starch, but with a
little maize. The residual 2 or 3 per cent. was a gelatinous substance
which showed no marked reactions or characters, and exhibited only
traces of cell tissue when examined microscopically. Analysis of the
ash showed it to contain sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium
chloride, sulphate, and phosphate; these are the constant constituents
of the ash of extract of _Fucus vesiculosus_; an aqueous extract of the
tablets contained a small quantity of mucilage similar to that yielded
by the same drug. By taking some _Fucus vesiculosus_ in the wet state,
pounding it to a pulp and boiling it, a material was obtained agreeing
with the gelatinous substance from the tablets, and there appeared no
ground for doubting the identity of the two. Careful search was made
for alkaloids and other substances in small quantity, but without any
being found. The formula thus became:
_Fucus vesiculosus_, in pulp 3 per cent. (dry weight).
Starch 7 ”
Sugar 87 ”
Water 3 ”
Yellow dye q.s.
The estimated cost of the ingredients (66 tablets) is one-fortieth of a
penny.
HARGREAVE’S REDUCING WAFERS.
This preparation is supplied from an address in London in boxes price
1s. 1½d., containing 21.
The following extracts are taken from a circular enclosed with the box;
the circular contained also a number of testimonials, with directions,
etc.
Purely vegetable. Contain nothing harmful. Can be
taken at any time with perfect safety. Dose: Three
wafers daily. One after Breakfast, Dinner and Supper.
If Supper is not taken, one after Tea instead. May be
dissolved on the tongue or taken as pills. No change in
diet necessary.
The supply sent herewith lasts one week, in which time
the Fat commences to get less. In most cases, however,
to complete a cure takes about seven weeks, therefore
clients should now send for the further six weeks’
treatment.
The “wafers” were really compressed tablets of the ordinary shape,
coated with French chalk, and coloured pink externally with eosin.
After removing the coating the average weight of the tablets was
2·4 grains; they consisted of substances of “extract” nature, with
about 10 per cent. of powdered liquorice. Analysis of the ash showed
all the constituents of the ash of extract of _Fucus vesiculosus_
(bladderwrack), and other tests indicated that this extract formed
about one-half of the tablet; the other constituent (or constituents)
also of “extract” nature, showed no reactions or properties by which it
could be identified, and it was probably present merely as excipient.
ALLAN’S ANTI-FAT.
This substance is supplied by an American “Botanic Medicine Company”
from a London office, in bottles containing 6½ fluid ounces, price 6s.
6d.
On the wrapper appeared the words:
Purely vegetable. Perfectly harmless. Always
efficacious.
We call special attention to the efficacy of
our Anti-Fat in the cure of that distressing
complaint—indigestion or dyspepsia. It acts solely
upon the food in the stomach, regulating and putting
the liver and discharging organs in good working order.
A circular was enclosed with the bottle, entitled, “How to get lean
without starvation,” from which the following extracts are taken:
A very extensive observation has convinced us, since
our first circular treatise was issued, that in the
majority of cases the Anti-Fat must be taken for
from two to three, and, in rare cases, even four
weeks before the patient will begin to notice much
reduction of flesh, after which the loss goes on
rapidly—generally from three to five pounds a week. In
some cases the diminution in weight commences from the
first two or three days’ use of it.
The treatment of obesity has hitherto rested on no sure
basis.
Through the study of physiological chemistry, a
_specific_ has at length been discovered, which,
from the name of the discoverer, has been called
Allan’s Anti-Fat.
Directions: Take two teaspoonfuls of the Anti-Fat in a
wineglass full of water or sweet milk before each meal.
A small slip was also enclosed headed “CAUTION!!” which stated:
The color, as well as the flavor, of the Anti-Fat,
varies somewhat with age and exposure to light,
but neither in the least impairs its virtues. The
temperature of the weather at the time of the
manufacture of this remedy has also much to do with its
clearness, or transparency, but does not affect its
properties.
Analysis showed the presence of alcohol, glycerine, potassium iodide,
salicylic acid, and a vegetable extract which from its properties and
the analysis of the ash was evidently a purified extract of _Fucus
vesiculosus_. The proportion of the latter drug represented could not,
of course, be determined with certainty for the reasons already given,
but the amounts of the other ingredients were ascertained by analysis,
and the formula was approximately as follows:
Potassium iodide 0·3 grain.
Salicylic acid 1·0 ”
Glycerine 40 minims.
Fluid extract of _Fucus vesiculosus_ 70 ”
Water To 1 fluid ounce.
The estimated cost of the ingredients (6½ fluid ounces) is 3d.
MARMOLA.
This preparation is supplied by another American Company, which also
has a depôt in London. It is sold in packages, containing ½ ounce,
price 2s. 6d.
This preparation, which has been largely advertised in daily and
weekly newspapers, is not represented as a proprietary article, but
is mentioned as one ingredient of a prescription to be made up at a
chemist’s. The following advertisement is a sample:
Is Fatness a Social Offence?
“The female form, being capable of expressing a supreme
degree of grace, should be an inspiration in our daily
lives and lead up to higher ideals of beauty,” said
an art lecturer lately. Therefore the fat woman is an
enemy to the artistic uplift, for she is entirely too
heavy for any wings of fancy to raise.
Why should any woman remain fat when it is so easy
to reduce one’s flesh? A woman may take but little
exercise and enjoy the best of food, and still
preserve a beautiful figure. She has at hand a simple
fat-reducer that takes the place of starving and
gymnastics. It consists of a dessertspoonful after
meals and at bedtime of this simple mixture: One
half-ounce of Marmola, one ounce of fluid extract of
Glycyrrhiza B.P., one ounce of pure Glycerine B.P.,
and Peppermint Water to make six ounces in all. Every
over-fat person should try it. It’s quite harmless, and
will take off as much as a pound of fat a day. With a
chemist’s handy, anyone can have a good figure at a
reasonable cost.
A dessertspoonful of the mixture prescribed would contain about 9 or 10
grains of Marmola. The prescription and directions were reproduced on
the label of the package, and it was added:
If faithfully taken as directed for 60 or 90 days,
satisfactory results should be obtained.
which is a decidedly milder statement than that in the advertisement
that it “will take off as much as a pound of fat a day.”
The box contained a light brown powder, and analysis showed the
presence of (1) a large proportion of a powdered seaweed, agreeing well
in characters with the powder of _Fucus vesiculosus_, its identity
being further indicated by the composition of the ash; (2) a substance
of proteid nature, agreeing well in characters with the powder of
dried thyroid gland, its identity being further indicated by the
presence of iodine in organic combination; (3) phenolphthalein; (4)
sodium chloride (common salt); and (5) extractive. The last showed no
well-marked characters by which it could be identified, and differed
both in quantity and some minor properties from the extracts obtained
from a specimen of powdered fucus which was used for comparison. This
difference might quite well be due to differences in the drug or in
the treatment it had received, or the extract may represent some other
ingredient possessed of no distinctive characters; a trace of oil of
peppermint was also present.
Although it was easy to ascertain the nature of the ingredients the
determination of the proportions in which they were present in such a
mixture offered no little difficulty. It is not necessary to detail
here the methods employed, but it will suffice to say that while every
care was taken to make the results as accurate as possible, they cannot
in the nature of the case be more than approximate. The formula arrived
at was:
In one Dose.
Dried thyroid gland 14 per cent. 1·4 grain.
Phenolphthalein 4 ” 0·4 ”
Sodium chloride 7 ” 0·7 ”
Powdered _Fucus vesiculosus_ 50 ” 5·0 grains.
Extractive 25 ” 2·5 ”
Oil of peppermint trace trace.
Taking the “extractive” at the price of some of the commoner medicinal
extracts, the estimated cost of the ingredients for half an ounce is
about 4d.
FIGUROIDS.
The tablets sold under the name of Figuroids are or were recently
supplied by a London Company, price 2s. 9d. per bottle, containing 12
large and 12 small tablets.
They were described in a pamphlet enclosed in the package as
A Scientific Obesity Cure discovered through an
accident while making Scientific Investigations in the
Laboratory.
Other extracts from the pamphlet are as follows:
In looking through quantities of anti-fat literature
one finds all kinds of crude, ignorant explanations,
such as, for example, that the remedy absorbs the fat.
Now, a sponge absorbs water, or any dry thing will
absorb a liquid, but common sense will tell you that
a liquid taken into the body will not absorb fat; you
can clearly understand that point without further
explanation. Another remedy, it is claimed, simply
destroys the fat. This explanation is, as you can see,
equally preposterous. In Nature nothing is destroyed.
When a piece of coal is burned it is not destroyed, it
is only changed into gases and smoke, and fat is not
destroyed by any remedy.
Now here is the true and scientific explanation. When
Figuroids are taken, and the fat passes out of those
cells into the circulation, it is oxidized. This
produces chiefly water and carbonic acid gas. This
oxidation takes place while it is being carried along
in the circulating blood. This carbonic acid gas and
water vapour are eliminated from the system as already
explained.
When you take Figuroids, therefore, your extra fat
simply passes from the adipose cells through their
unbroken walls into the blood, and is there changed to
water and Carbon Dioxide, and thus leaves the body.
This is the scientific, simple, natural explanation,
and Figuroids is the only remedy which has the
effect....
If then you are exceedingly stout and suffering from
all the unpleasant symptoms resulting from that
condition, if you find your weight excessive, if you
suffer from heart palpitation, if you have redness
of the face with annoying perspiration and shiny
appearance of the nose and face, if the throat and
bosom are altogether too stout, and if the lines of the
figure have been lost, or if the abdomen has become
too prominent, if Gout and Rheumatism make themselves
manifest occasionally, and all the disagreeable and
often dangerous symptoms of Obesity are apparent, you
will know that in Figuroids you have a perfectly safe
remedy, while if you suffer but slightly from Obesity
and all the symptoms are less marked, you will also
know that Figuroids furnish you with an effective,
agreeable, and perfectly Safe cure....
When taking Figuroids it is not necessary to unduly
restrict yourself in the matter of diet. You may eat
and drink what you desire in reason. It would of
course, be foolish to drink or eat excessively of fat
or fattening foods.
In another enclosed circular the Company stated that:
They have decided to originate a No Cure No Payment
system, and will refund the purchase money to any
patient whose weight is not reduced by from two to six
pounds per month whilst taking Figuroids.... This offer
to refund purchase money is made on the understanding
that the Figuroid Company’s instructions are faithfully
observed and the conditions of their offer complied
with.
The directions on the label were as follows:
Each bottle contains an equal number of full doses
(large tablet) and half doses (small tablet).
Take regularly one full dose (large tablet) dissolved
in plain or soda water within 30 minutes after each of
the first three meals on the first day. Next day take
one half dose (small tablet) dissolved in plain or
soda water within 30 minutes after each of the three
meals. Third day take full doses again; and so continue
alternating.
Although it is here clearly conveyed, without directly making the
statement, that the large and small tablets only differ in being full
doses and half doses respectively, examination showed their composition
to be different, and it was necessary to analyse them separately.
_Large Tablets._
The large tablets had an average weight of 58 grains; analysis showed
them to contain an effervescing mixture of sodium bicarbonate and
tartaric acid, in which the former was in excess, so that the resulting
product was alkaline, together with sodium chloride (common salt),
phenolphthalein, formamine (hexamethylene-tetramine), talc, and gum.
The quantity of each of the ingredients was determined as accurately
as possible, with the results given below; it will be noted that these
quantities add up to 101·4 instead of 100, the reason being that the
whole of the soda is for convenience represented as bicarbonate,
whereas a portion of it had become converted to carbonate by loss of
carbon dioxide.
In One Tablet.
Sodium bicarbonate 62·0 per cent. 38·9 grains.
Tartaric acid 22·6 ” 13·1 ”
Sodium chloride 6·5 ” 3·8 ”
Phenolphthalein 2·0 ” 1·2 ”
Formamine 3·5 ” 2·0 ”
Talc 2·8 ”
Gum about 2·0 ”
Hexamethylene-tetramine or formamine, is perhaps better known by its
trade names—urotropine, cystamin, urisol, etc.; it does not appear to
have been described as of value for obesity.
_Small Tablets._
The small tablets had an average weight of 34·3 grains. Analysis showed
them to contain sodium bicarbonate and tartaric acid, but in this case
the latter was in excess and the product acid; the other ingredients
were sodium chloride, phenolphthalein, and talc. The results of
quantitative determinations indicated the following formula (more
carbon dioxide had been lost in this case; the figures add up to 108·5,
the reason being that given above):
In One Tablet.
Sodium bicarbonate 34·8 per cent. 11·9 grains.
Tartaric acid 46·3 ” 15·9 ”
Sodium chloride 22·8 ” 7·6 ”
Phenolphthalein 1·6 ” 0·5 grain.
Talc 3·0 ”
The estimated cost of the ingredients of the contents of a 2s. 9d.
bottle is 1¾d.
FELL REDUCING TREATMENT.
In pushing this “treatment,” advertised by an Association giving an
address in London, the system of letters in series is resorted to, but
a small package, containing 112 tablets, can be purchased for 6s. 6d.
An advertisement ran as follows:
FAT PEOPLE GIVEN FREE TREATMENT.
We have such marvellous records of reductions effected
in hundreds of cases with the Fell Reducing Treatment,
that we have decided, for a limited period only, to
give free trial treatments.
7 LB. PER WEEK REDUCTION IS GUARANTEED,
without dieting. Perfectly harmless, pleasant; easy and
quick results. Send no money. Simply address the Fell
Formula Association, 340, Century House, 205, Regent
Street, London, W., enclosing stamp to pay postage,
when a free supply in plain wrapper will be immediately
forwarded.
A free supply was sent on application, accompanied by a letter and
sundry circulars; other letters followed at intervals, and extracts
from some of these will be given. They were printed in imitation of
typewriting, with the name and address typed in, so as to give the
appearance of being personal letters. It will be noted that when a
customer has been attracted by the advertisement that “7 lb. per week
reduction is guaranteed, without dieting,” very much smaller claims are
gradually substituted.
Esteemed Friend,
Your favour of recent date has received our careful
attention, and we take pleasure in sending you a three
days’ trial of the Fell Reducing Treatment. Before
taking it, weigh yourself, and then again in three
days, on the same scales and in the same clothes, you
will find you have lost some 3 lb. in weight.
An abnormal condition like corpulency requires that the
antidote directly reaches the seat of the complaint,
and by these Reducers the blood will be purified, and
all the organs of the body restored to natural healthy
action, while the germs of the disease will be entirely
eradicated from the system, so that the superfluous
fat, which will be removed will not return....
At the present stage of the disease in your case, we
can positively assure you that under our treatment a
marked improvement will begin at once, and continue
steadily until a complete reduction in weight, with all
the benefits to general health, is effected. Unlike
most other methods of treatment, the action begins
immediately and the sufferer feels better almost from
the beginning, and it is with confidence that we advise
you to begin a course of treatment with our Reducing
Preparation at once.
Our regular terms and prices are 26s. for a case
containing three 11s. boxes, whereby a saving of 7s. is
effected.
If you take up the treatment in this manner you can be
sure of having sufficient of the Tablets to take you
through to a quick reduction. Single boxes of Tablets,
however, are supplied at 11s. and smaller sizes at 6s.
6d. The 6s. 6d. box covers a ten days’ treatment, while
the 11s. boxes contain three times the quantity of the
6s. 6d.
This letter was not answered, but before long another was received
which contained the following passages:
In sending you the sample of the “Fell” Preparation,
we did so more to show the thorough nature of our
treatment than from the expectation that material
benefit would be realized from same. As you require to
bring about a certain reduction you must necessarily
undergo a certain course of treatment. A pound a day
reduction results in many cases, and there is every
reason to expect that such reduction can be effected in
yours. A serious affliction such as obesity is not to
be removed by any temporary remedy or with a few days’
treatment....
Remember, a 26s. case contains sufficient treatment to
reduce materially the most stubborn and long standing
case, while an 11s. box contains three times the
quantity of the 6s. 6d. box....
A supply was sent for and was accompanied by the following letter:
Dear Sir,
I have despatched to you the Tablets together with
directions and instructions. I ask you to carefully
observe same, and am confident if you do so, you will
very soon see most beneficial results....
I am confident that you will be highly delighted with
the splendid effects of the Tablets at the end of a few
weeks if you follow carefully my instructions and are
prompt and regular in taking the Tablets. I am sending
you herewith printed instructions and rules for diet.
You will note that our suggestion as to what you should
eat, if strictly followed, will not work any hardship,
and that you will never go hungry....
This letter, signed “________ ‘Adviser, Fell Formula Association,’”
was accompanied by a printed circular giving rules as to diet, etc.,
and by a “symptom blank,” to be filled up by the patient in order to
obtain particulars of “the Fell System of Simple Muscular Movements
for Reducing the Weight and Increasing the Strength, in combination
with the ‘Fell’ Reducing Treatment”; it appears from the latter that
particulars of these exercises are only supplied when the 26s. case is
sent for.
A fourth letter dealt with generalities and recommended taking the
reducing treatment in increased quantities, but after an interval a
fifth was received, enclosing a booklet advocating the use of “the
Century Thermal Bath Cabinet,” from which the following are extracts:
... We have strongly recommended the Home Turkish Bath
that it may be used at least once a week as an adjunct
to the Reducing Treatment; hence our affiliation to
the “Century Thermal” Bath Cabinet, Ltd., whose home
cabinet is built on such lines as to render it the best
device extant for taking Hot Air or Vapour Baths.
... in any event, it were better to spend the required
amount, for were the cost as much as £10 in all (it has
but rarely exceeded that) the expense is out of all
proportion to the ultimate benefit.
... with the Fell treatment no case of obesity, in
either sex, can fail to be reduced if assisted with the
regular use of the Hot Air Bath.
Booklets entitled _Corpulence or Obesity. Its causes, results, and
successful treatment: The Treatment of Obesity by the “Fell” Reducing
Treatment_: and _Make Muscle of your Fat_, were also sent at different
times. The following extracts from two of these scarcely appear
consistent:
A Guarantee to Reduce Weight.
It is not our purpose to indulge in empty talk only, or
in unconsequential boasts. We are prepared to, and do,
give a positive guarantee that the Fell Treatment, used
in conjunction with the Muscular System, will reduce
the fat of any person—provided our instructions are
adhered to—in the space of a very few weeks.
Do We Guarantee?
We are frequently asked this question personally and by
letter, and reply emphatically—No, we do not. To say
Yes—would be illogical and certainly demoralising.
A guarantee that any medical remedy or curative
will absolutely effect its stated purpose is
misleading, deceptive, delusive, and is a trap to
ensnare, not intelligent individuals, but the unwary,
the unsophisticated, and those utterly unable to
discriminate as to the merits or demerits of any
so-called specific.
The dose was stated to be:
Nine tablets daily. Three taken three times a day
before meals. They may be taken as pills or dissolved
on the tongue.
The tablets had an average weight of 1 grain. Analysis showed them to
contain 90·8 per cent. of milk sugar, 2·4 per cent. of greasy matter,
which appeared to be a mixture of stearic acid and paraffin, evidently
employed as a lubricant in making the tablets, and 6·8 per cent. of
an extract which agreed well in its characters with extract of _Fucus
vesiculosus_; its identity was further indicated by analysis of the
ash. Each tablet would thus contain:
Extract of bladderwrack 0·07 grain.
Milk sugar 0·91 ”
The estimated cost of the ingredients for 112 tablets is ¼d.
NELSON LLOYD SAFE REDUCING TREATMENT.
In this instance the bait of free trial for a fortnight is held out in
the advertisements issued from an address in London; the following are
extracts from one advertisement:
I myself am a member of a family many of whom died
prematurely after much mental and physical suffering,
arising from corpulence. While studying medicine for
my degree, I saw the signs of the family complaint
in myself. I naturally sought to avert what I for
some time feared as being my hereditary fate. It was
when I had almost given up hope that I discovered a
cure for my condition, which all the time grew worse,
in spite of my hopeful trials of all advertised and
unadvertised remedies for stoutness. I at last gave up
expecting a cure from other people. I experimented with
my own thought-out remedies, and, happily, at last my
perseverance—or, rather, my desperation—succeeded....
The result of several years’ study and experience
has only served to make my treatment more and more
successful....
I specially invite those who have tried other remedies
for reducing weight without success to write me for:
I. A copy of my book, “The Scientific Treatment of
Obesity” (just published, price 6d.), thoroughly deals
with the subject in a popular, readable style....
II. Two photos of the lady referred to above, with her
letter giving full particulars of her cure.
III. Everything required for a complete fourteen days’
free trial treatment.
I make no charge for all the above, but ask you to
enclose sixpence (by postal order), just to cover the
expenses of carriage, packing, and dispatch of parcel.
Application for the “Treatment” brought a box containing 42 tablets,
a copy of the booklet mentioned above, and a letter and form for
particulars. A few extracts will suffice to show what was claimed and
the methods adopted.
From the booklet:
Different cases vary so much that the same treatment is
never exactly suited to any two cases. Moreover, the
treatment has to be modified as the patient progresses,
the condition of the individual being periodically
allowed for.... I wish to make it perfectly clear that
not only do I offer every client the full benefit
of practically a life-study of the whole subject of
corpulence, but that I _guarantee_ to effect a
cure of every case I take up.
There are no “ifs” and “buts” about my promises to my
patients. I undertake to reduce corpulence by rational
individual treatment in each and every case entrusted
to me, and I undertake to promise (_sic_) that my
treatment is in no way weakening, that it is permanent,
and also that it has absolutely no ill effects.
From the first letter:
One of the Tablets should be taken after each of the
three chief meals of the day for the next fortnight. I
suggest that if convenient you weigh yourself before
beginning the course, and again in fourteen days’ time,
with the same scales and in the same clothes. You will
find you have lost weight, while improving in your
general condition.... My course of Treatment lasts a
month except in unusual cases. The tablets I have sent
you for the first fortnight will at once put a stop
to the fat-forming habit of the body; these tablets
are taken during the first fortnight in all cases,
and while excellent results follow even in this brief
period, they need to be followed up from the fifteenth
day by additional and different remedies, adapted to
each individual case.
In order to prepare this part of your Treatment I
shall need to have before me full particulars of your
case, which you can easily give me by filling up the
Consultation Form enclosed herewith....
My fee for a month’s course of Treatment is one guinea,
but you will see that I have given you credit for the
first fortnight’s Treatment sent you herewith, because
this is free in accordance with my offer through the
Press. This means that by sending at once you can
have one month’s complete treatment for half cost. To
secure this concession you must, however, send me the
Consultation Form filled up, and remittance for 10s.
6d. in time to continue your Treatment on the fifteenth
day, and I must have at least three clear days in
which to consider your case and prepare and post your
Treatment to reach you in time.
The “Consultation Form” contained questions as to age, height, weight,
chest and abdomen measurements, details of bodily condition, habits,
and diet; this was filled up so as to represent an ordinary case of
moderate obesity, and returned with 10s. 6d. In the next letter it was
stated:
I am preparing your second fortnight’s treatment, and
it will be forwarded in due course, but I feel I should
like to take this opportunity of pointing out to you that
there are special features about your case which, while
not preventing the accomplishment of the improvement
you desire, will, however, entail a little longer
course of treatment than one month.
In my opinion your case requires a two months’ course
of my treatment, at the end of which time the results
will be all that you can desire. I thought it only
right you should know this, and I would like you to
tell me if you will take the full course my experience
leads me to advise you.
My fee for the two months’ course is two guineas, but
you have already standing to your credit the sum of
one guinea, being one half-guinea allowed for first
fortnight’s free trial, and the other half-guinea you
have just sent me.
I should like you to take the full course my experience
tells me is necessary for you, and if you now send me
the one guinea balance, I will at once arrange for the
supply of all the necessary remedies to you at the
proper intervals.
The second fortnight’s treatment consisted of “special tablets” and a
liquid; these were accompanied by a further letter, a diet table, and a
report form, to be filled in and returned after 10 days.
The three kinds of medicine were examined with results as follows:
_The preliminary tablets._—There were 42 in the box, and the directions
were to take one three times a day after meals.
They were sugar-coated and coloured red externally; after removal of
the coating, they had an average weight of 4·7 grains. Analysis showed
them to consist principally of substances of extract nature, together
with an amount of liquorice fibre representing about 20 per cent. of
powdered liquorice; iodine was present in organic combination, and
a nitrogenous substance; the amount of nitrogen was 0·51 per cent.,
representing 3·2 per cent. of proteid; no tissue of thyroid gland
was present, and the nitrogenous material was probably contained in
an extract of this substance. The remainder possessed the general
characters of extract of _Fucus vesiculosus_, and its identity was also
indicated by analysis of the ash; some gum was also present, and some
indication was obtained of another substance also, which, however,
possessed no important characters, and was probably also of the nature
of excipient. The formula indicated by the results was thus:
Extract of bladderwrack 2·5 grains.
Proteid of thyroid gland 0·15 grain.
Powdered liquorice 0·9 ”
Excipient and moisture, etc. q.s.
In one tablet.
_The “special” tablets._—There were 33 of these in a box; the
directions were to take one after the mid-day and one after the evening
meal. They were sugar-coated but not coloured. After removal of the
coating, they had an average weight of 4·6 grains. Analysis showed
their composition to agree qualitatively with that of the preliminary
tablets, but the nitrogenous material and the liquorice were present
in somewhat larger amounts. The following formula was indicated by the
results:
Extract of bladderwrack 2·5 grains.
Proteid of thyroid gland 0·19 grain.
Powdered liquorice 1·4 ”
Excipient and moisture, etc. q.s.
In one tablet.
_The liquid._—Two fluid ounces were supplied, the directions being to
take 30 drops in a wineglassful of cold water the last thing at night
before retiring and on rising in the morning. Analysis showed this to
contain alcohol, glycerine, nitrogenous matter, a little iodine in
organic combination, and substances of extract nature; the character of
the extract and the composition of the ash again pointed to its being
derived from _Fucus vesiculosus_; the amount of nitrogen was determined
and the equivalent amount of proteid matter calculated; the alcohol and
glycerine were also determined quantitatively: the amount of extract
of bladderwrack could only be arrived at by difference, supported by
the probability that the alcohol was all, or nearly all, added in the
form of the fluid extract of this drug, and the figure can therefore
only be given with reservation; there were also indications of some
small amount of flavouring and colouring matter having been added. The
approximate formula appeared to be:
Proteid of thyroid gland 0·3 part.
Liquid extract of bladderwrack 32 fluid parts.
Glycerine 12 ”
In 100 fluid parts.
The amount of thyroid actually represented by the nitrogenous matter
found in these three preparations was too uncertain for an estimate of
the cost price to be of value.
CORPULIN, AND DALLOFF’S TEA “CONTRE L’OBESITÉ” GRAZIANA ZEHRKUR.
Of the German preparations examined by Dr. Zernik two
contain bladderwrack. One called Corpulin contains also
tamarind and cascara sagrada. The other, Dalloff’s Tea
“Contre l’Obesité,” as to which the advertisers assert
that “regular use leads to the removal of superfluous
adipose tissue and the person becomes healthy and
attains old age” was found to consist of a mixture
of the leaves of senna, bearberry (_Uvœ ursi_)
and lavender, and anthylla flowers. Any action it may
have depends probably on the senna leaves. It is sold
in boxes costing 7s. 6d. or 4s. 6d.; the smaller box
contains 80 grammes, or nearly 3 ounces of the powder.
Graziana Reducing Treatment (Zehrkur) is sent out
in parcels costing 3s. Each contains a packet of a
greyish-brown powder, a box of 40 starch capsules,
each containing 0·2 gramme of a light brown
finely-divided powder, and a box of 86 pills, each
weighing 0·22 gramme. The chief ingredient of each of
the preparations is powdered _Fucus_. The pills
contain some substance yielding emodin, the purgative
principle, or one of the purgative principles, of
aloes, rhubarb, buckthorn, and senna, and also some
sulphates and chlorides.
CHAPTER X.
SKIN DISEASES.
Proprietary articles for the cure of eczema and other skin affections
include several which are as widely advertised as any nostrums of
any kind. Some of them are at first offered at the comparatively low
price of 1s. 1½d.; but in almost every case the further information
supplied on application shows that what is really recommended is a
“treatment,” including an ointment or other application, a special
soap, and a medicine to be taken internally, and often also a dusting
powder, and occasionally other articles. The importance of persisting
in the treatment is strongly emphasised, with the result that anyone
who once lays out 1s. 1½d. is likely to be drawn into spending quite a
considerable sum. Only a few out of the long list which might be made
of these articles have been analysed, but the results throw sufficient
light on the general nature of the whole class. The most striking point
about them is perhaps the extremely commonplace nature of the drugs
selected, although the vendors in some instances would have the buyer
believe that the preparation sold is the result of years of patient
experiment.
ANTEXEMA.
A Company with an address in London advertises for sale a bottle, price
1s. 1½d., containing a little less than 1½ ounces, but the “Antexema
Treatment” includes Antexema, Antexema Soap, and Antexema Granules (to
be taken internally). On a handbill enclosed with the bottle it was
stated that:
In most cases “Antexema” will by itself effect a cure,
but the permanence of this is assured by the continued
use of a suitable soap, and the cleansing and purifying
action of “Antexema Granules” on the blood.
A booklet on “Skin Troubles” was also enclosed, containing some
“before” and “after” illustrations, but they could hardly be expected
to convince anyone; directions were given in this for the course to be
pursued in a variety of disorders, including such “skin troubles” as
in-growing toenails, lupus, piles, ulcers, etc. Incidentally, twelve
other preparations made by the same Company, in addition to the three
named above, were recommended.
On the outer package it was stated that:
“Antexema” is the most efficacious remedy known for
the relief of all inflamed conditions of the skin. Its
beneficial effects are not confined to the curing of
Eczema, Psoriasis, Nettlerash, Erysipelas, Boils, and
other serious troubles, but it is also by far the best
remedy for Cuts, Burns, Sores, Bruises, Chilblains,
Blisters, Insect bites, and every variety of trouble to
which the skin is liable.
Only “Antexema” itself was analysed. It consisted of an emulsion, with
more or less of a watery layer below it. The directions for use were:
Shake the bottle well, and, if necessary, stir up
the contents until a milky substance is formed. Then
gently rub “Antexema” into the parts affected until
dry, and if the case is a severe one it should be
applied as often as possible. “Antexema” is odourless,
non-poisonous, and invisible when rubbed on the skin,
and it instantly allays irritation. Do not wash any
weeping or inflamed surface until healed, and, if
possible, avoid dressings and coverings.
Analysis showed it to consist of:
Soft paraffin 35·4 per cent.
Boric acid 1·5 ”
Gummy matter 12·4 ”
Water 50·7 ”
The gum resembled in some respects a mixture of acacia and tragacanth,
but could not be exactly identified.
The estimated cost of the ingredients of 1½ ounces is two-thirds of a
penny.
PACIDERMA PREPARATIONS.
These preparations are advertised as follows from an address in London:
New Cure for Eczema.—A victim who was cured after
5 years’ intense suffering will gladly send to all
readers of the _Christian Herald_ full particulars
(free) of an inexpensive guaranteed cure for Eczema,
Bad Legs, Sore Hands and all Skin Eruptions, on receipt
of stamped addressed envelope.—Write to A. Paciderma.
An application to the address given brought a typed letter apparently
produced on a multiple copy machine, from “Paciderma. Manageress, Mrs.
E. Avice,” from which the following extracts are taken:
“Paciderma” ... consists of three preparations (in one
package), one for internal use and two for external
use. Both internal and external Remedies are absolutely
necessary to eradicate the disease.... The price is
most moderate, namely 6s. and postage 3d. for the
package containing the three preparations for thirty
days’ full treatment. In conclusion I would point out
to you that these Remedies have met with a world-wide
success, even in the worst forms of these terrible
complaints, and are in fact so wonderfully successful
that they are
GUARANTEED EFFICACIOUS IN EVERY CASE
no matter what has previously been tried and failed....
Be sure to fill up the Order Form which I am enclosing
you as carefully and accurately as you can so that I
may be able to give your case my fullest attention and
consideration.
This letter was accompanied by a booklet entitled “Eczema and how to
Cure it,” and by an order form with spaces for name, address, date, and
the following further particulars:
Age; sex; occupation; how long been suffering? where
the complaint is located; are the spots or wounds
dry? is there any sticky discharge? are your bowels
constipated? do you suffer from piles? do you suffer
from indigestion? do you suffer from rheumatism or
gout? Do you suffer from any other complaint?
This form, filled up with the details of an imaginary case, was sent
with a postal order for the requisite amount. A case of “Paciderma”
preparations was at once received, and needless to say there was no
evidence of their having been modified in any way in consequence of
the “fullest attention and consideration” given to the particulars
supplied. The preparations were accompanied by a further letter, typed
like the first, from which the following is extracted:
One case of the remedies is generally sufficient to
effect a cure, and I trust that it may be so in your
case, but if the disease has been in the system for
years it has got a firm hold, and naturally takes
longer to eradicate; therefore, if this case of
remedies should not cure you, you must lose no time
in writing for a further supply so that no time may
be lost between. You must avoid anything likely to
irritate the skin, and be especially careful as to the
soap you use, as many soaps are most injurious, being
quite sufficient in themselves to cause an eruption. I
should recommend you to use “Paciderma Skin Soap” to
wash yourself with, as it is absolutely pure, and will
keep your skin smooth and healthy.
After an interval a further letter was received, which ran as follows:
Dear Sir,—I have been expecting to hear from you as to
how the treatment I sent you some time ago has affected
you. I sincerely trust that you have derived benefit
from it. As I think I told you before, some cases are
naturally much more difficult to cure than others, and
take longer time, as in most cases the disease has
been for years getting a firm hold on the system, and
cannot, therefore, be eradicated in a few days.
I assure you I should be the last to induce you to
spend money, unless I honestly thought and believed
that the treatment would benefit you. I have been a
fellow sufferer myself, and know what it did for me
by persevering after everything else had failed. If,
therefore, you are not yet cured, I think it is only
my duty to strongly urge you to persevere with the
treatment, and if you hesitate to do so owing to the
money being a consideration to you, I am willing to
meet you as far as I possibly can, and will send you
the complete 6s. 3d. case for 4s. 6d. post free, which
is just cost price, or I will send you the Blood Wafers
for 2s. 2d. per box post free instead of 2s. 10d., or
the Crème for 2s. 2d. post free instead of 2s. 10d., or
the Powder for 7d. instead of 9d. post free.
I am offering you this very great reduction in price
as I am most anxious that you should be cured, as I
am quite certain that you will be if you persevere
steadily.
Do not be afraid of troubling me by writing me fully as
to how the treatment has affected you, as I can assure
you that I am quite as anxious to cure you as you
yourself are to be cured, and I take a special interest
in your case.
Trusting soon to hear from you.
Yours truly,
E. AVICE.
The booklet already referred to contained a sworn statement by Mrs.
Avice detailing her own sufferings and cure, the latter being due to
“a dear old friend, an M.D.” Further paragraphs, not in the sworn
statement, were as follows:
It remained for my old friend, the Doctor, to whose
discoveries I owe my cure, to find the only certain
remedy for this dread complaint. For years he studied
and searched to find a cure for that curse of hot
climates, the “prickly heat,” a very distressing
form of Eczema which is very prevalent in warm
countries, and which few Europeans escape. At last his
perseverance was rewarded, and the long sought for
Remedy found and used with the greatest success both
abroad and after his return to England. Since his death
I have still further improved on and perfected his
ideas, and have evolved my now well-known “Paciderma,”
which has met with the most startling success in every
case in which it has been tried....
Paciderma cures all skin troubles without exception,
all pimples, blotches, sores and eruptions of every
kind, in sufferers of every age, from the infant at
the breast to the old and infirm man or woman who has
reached or passed the allotted span of three score
years and ten.
It is absolutely the only cure for Eczema.
The following are the results of the examination of the remedies
evolved after so much study and research and perfected and improved:
_Paciderma Crème._—Price 2s. 9d. per box, holding nearly 4 ounces.
Directions for use:
Apply the Crème to the parts affected with the finger,
or spread on lint or soft linen, and bandage.
The Crème consisted of a fairly stiff ointment, which on analysis gave
results corresponding to the following formula:
Zinc oxide 25·6 per cent.
Calcium carbonate 2·7 ”
” sulphate 15·8 ”
Boric acid 15·9 ”
Basis 58·7 ”
The basis consisted of soft paraffin, apparently with a small
proportion of a saponifiable oil, such as olive oil.
The estimated cost of the ingredients for 4 ounces is 1½d.
_Paciderma Powder._—Price 9d. per box, containing about 3 ounces. The
directions ran:
Allays all itching and irritation, and should be
applied freely and frequently to the affected parts, in
fact whenever they itch or irritate.
Analysis showed the composition to be:
Maize starch 54 per cent.
Boric acid 14 ”
Insoluble mineral matter 19 ”
Moisture 13 ”
The insoluble mineral matter contained alumina, magnesia, and silica,
corresponding to a mixture of talc and kaolin; this composition also
agreed with all its other properties.
The estimated cost of ingredients for 3 ounces is ¾d.
_Paciderma Blood Wafers._—Price 2s. 9d. per box of thirty.
Directions. One to be taken every night at bedtime.
The “wafers” consisted of cachets, each containing about 8½ grains of a
powder, the composition of which was indicated by analysis to be:
Sodium bicarbonate 59 per cent.
Precipitated sulphur 37 ”
Powdered ginger 3 ”
Aloin 1 ”
The ginger and aloin could only be estimated approximately.
The estimated cost of the ingredients for 30 wafers is one-fifth of a
penny.
CUTICURA REMEDIES.
The remedies are stated to be prepared by a Drug and Chemical
Corporation in the U.S.A.
The “system,” which has been very widely advertised, consists of
Cuticura (Ointment), Cuticura Soap, and Cuticura Resolvent (liquid or
pills); the ointment and the resolvent liquid were taken for analysis.
A booklet was enclosed in each package, containing, with other matter,
directions for the use of the remedies in fourteen languages; from it
the following extracts are taken:
In the treatment of torturing, disfiguring, itching,
scaly, crusted, pimply, blotchy, and scrofulous
humours of the skin, scalp, and blood, with loss of
hair, the Cuticura Remedies have been wonderfully
successful. Even the most obstinate of constitutional
humours, such as bad blood, scrofula, inherited and
contagious humours, with loss of hair, glandular
swellings, ulcerous patches in the throat and mouth,
sore eyes, copper-coloured blotches, as well as boils,
carbuncles, sties, ulcers, scrofulous rheumatism, and
most humours arising from an impure or impoverished
condition of the blood, yield to the CUTICURA
SYSTEM OF TREATMENT in the majority of cases, when
the usual remedies fail.... Parents are assured that
these Remedies are composed of the purest and sweetest
ingredients known to modern pharmacy, and may be used
on the youngest infants with complete satisfaction.
_Cuticura Ointment._—Price 2s. 6d. per box, containing 1¾ ounces.
Directions.... Cuticura Ointment may be applied to any
part of the surface of the body by direct application
with the finger, the palm of the hand, or spread on
cotton, linen, or absorbent cotton, and covered with
a light bandage, or by any means by which a remedy of
this consistence would be used.
... in rare instances of individual tendency to acute
eczema, acne, acne rosacea, erysipelas, and other
highly inflammatory conditions, especially those
affecting the face, it may act as an irritant, and
hence those using it must observe what has been said
in the foregoing directions in order that they may
exercise judgment as to whether to continue it or not,
should any unfavourable symptom present itself.
Examination of the ointment showed the absence of all metallic
compounds, also of alkaloids or other active principles, and of
saponifiable fat. It consisted of a mixture of hard and soft paraffins,
slightly perfumed with rose, and coloured green. The chief green
colouring matter present appeared to be an aniline dye, and a mixture
of paraffins, coloured with a trace of malachite green and a little
chlorophyll, agreed very closely with it in its properties. No other
ingredient could be discovered.
The estimated cost of the ingredients of 1¾ ounces is ¾d.
_Cuticura Resolvent._—Price 2s. 6d. per bottle, containing 6½ fluid
ounces.
In the pamphlet quoted above it is stated:
Cuticura Resolvent is alterative, antiseptic, tonic,
digestive, and aperient, and is confidently believed
to be superior to other preparations for purifying the
system of humours of the skin, scalp, and blood, with
loss of hair. CUTICURA RESOLVENT is prepared
in accordance with the most advanced pharmaceutical
and therapeutical knowledge from medicinal agents
of ascertained purity and potency, and while in the
highest degree effective, commends itself to delicate,
sensitive, and refined people, especially women,
because of its pure, sweet, and gentle action....
It is believed to be one of the most successful of
blood-purifying and strengthening medicines for
children in all conditions which point to inherited
impurities and weaknesses, and may be taken on the
first appearance of glandular swellings, ulcers, sores,
especially on the neck, pallor, weakness, and delicate,
frail conditions, with every hope of success.
DIRECTIONS.—Adult dose, two teaspoonfuls
three times a day; for children over ten years of
age and delicate females, one teaspoonful; for
children from five to ten years of age, one half of a
teaspoonful; for children two to five years of age, 15
drops; from one to two years, 10 drops. To be taken
three times a day, immediately after each meal.
Analysis showed the composition of the mixture to be:
Potassium iodide 17 grains.
Sugar and glucose 486 ”
Extractive 8 ”
Alcohol 10 fluid drachms.
Water to 6½ fluid ounces.
No alkaloidal substance was present; the extractive gave a slight
indication of the presence of a preparation of rhubarb; all other drugs
with well-marked characters were absent.
ZAM-BUK.
This ointment is sold by a London Company in a box, containing
three-fifths of an ounce, price 1s. 1½d.; a Zam-Buk soap is also
recommended for use as part of the treatment. In a circular enclosed in
the package it was related how:
Certain medicinal plants were taken, and from them
were extracted gums and juices possessing considerable
healing and curative power. Costly experiments at last
secured the right blending of these juices; and to
the final product, a preparation virtually capable of
growing new and healthy skin, the name of Zam-Buk was
given....
Zam-Buk practically contains those substances which
Nature has intended for the use of man ever since she
bequeathed to him the instinct to rub a place that
hurts....
Zam-Buk has proved itself to be unequalled for Cuts,
Bruises, Burns, Scalds, Abrasions, Festering Sores,
Poisoned Wounds, Lacerated Wounds, Old Wounds, Sprains,
Strains, Swellings, Dog Bites, Cat Scratches, Obstinate
Sores, Chafings, Itch (Scabies), Stings from Hornets,
Bees, Wasps, Centipedes, and Spiders; Running Sores,
Ulcers, Ringworm, Eczema (acute or chronic form),
Psoriasis (tetter), Pimples, Acne, Abscesses, Boils,
Carbuncles, Scrofula, Cramp, Barber’s Itch, Heat
Rashes, Sunburn, Freckles, Blotches, Blackheads, Scalp
Irritations Scurf or Dandruff, and other Scalp Sores;
Colds, Chills, Raw Chapped Hands, Sore Lips, Raw
Chin after Shaving; Inflamed Patches, Sore Nipples,
Glandular Swellings, Swollen Knees, Bad Legs, Blind
and Bleeding Piles, Cold-Sores, Sore Backs, Diseased
or Weak Ankles, Sore and Aching Feet, Perspiring Feet,
Chilblains, Soft Corns, Saltwater Sores. Rubbed well
into the part affected, Zam-Buk gives great relief from
Rheumatism, Lumbago, Neuralgia, Sciatica, Toothache,
and allays all kinds of Inflammation, Itching, and
Irritation.
The directions on the box were:
For Bruises, Cuts, Sores, Sprains, Open Wounds, Sore
Breasts, Inflamed Patches, Ulcers, Eczema and Piles;
first cleanse the parts with pure water and then apply
Zam-Buk direct or on a piece of clean lint. For Burns,
Scalds, etc., rub Zam-Buk lightly over the injured
part and cover same as soon as possible in order to
exclude the air. To use Zam-Buk as an Embrocation rub
it in well, both into the muscles and tendons, when the
healing, stimulating and strengthening ingredients in
Zam-Buk will be absorbed into the system.
Analysis showed its composition to be:
Oil of eucalyptus 14 per cent. (approximately).
Pale resin (colophony) 20 ” ”
Soft paraffin 55 ” ”
Hard paraffin 11 ” ”
Green colouring matter a trace.
An ointment prepared in accordance with this formula and tinted with
chlorophyll agreed in all respects with the original.
The estimated cost of the ingredients for three-fifths of an ounce is
¼d.
ZIP OINTMENT.
This is supplied by a Company giving an address in a London suburb in
box containing rather less than an ounce (0·85 ounce) at the price of
1s. 1½d.
On a circular enclosed with the box this ointment was described as a
“cure for Eczema, Ringworm, Psoriasis.” It was also stated that:
Zip is the product of many years’ experience and
trials, and will be found the best and most reliable
remedy for the above troublesome complaints.
The directions given on the box were:
Wash well the parts with the Zip Skin Soap, and apply
Zip night and morning.
Analysis showed the composition of the ointment to be:
Calomel 2·1 parts.
Lead acetate 1·0 part.
” oleate 2·5 parts.
Oil (probably olive) 2 ”
Glycerine 5 ”
Creosote A trace.
Oil of lemon grass Sufficient to perfume.
Paraffin ointment To 100 parts.
The estimated cost of the ingredients for 0·85 ounce is ½d.
The following are quoted from Dr. Zernik’s notes on some of the skin
remedies most advertised in Germany.
CRÈME EKZEMIN.
Crème Ekzemin, advertised as a cure for almost all
diseases of the skin, including psoriasis, is a mixture
of precipitated sulphur and a semi-fluid fatty mass,
coloured red. The tube contains 75 grammes, and costs
5s. 2½d.
PHEUN SKIN PASTE.
Pheun Skin Paste, according to the vendors, possesses
marvellous properties, and when applied to the skin
it not only removes all the dirt but kills all the
bacteria, even when situated in the deeper layers,
and it is recommended as a cure for all forms of skin
diseases. Zernik, on analysis, found it to contain 31
per cent. of soft paraffin, 5 per cent. of water, 2
per cent. of soap, and 10 per cent. of a dry substance
yielding slimy material.
JUNIPER BEAUTY CREAM AND JUNIPER BEAUTY SOAP.
It may be worth while to add that Zernik says of a
certain “Juniper Beauty Cream,” sold in Berlin, that it
is a water-containing ointment, perfumed with oil of
bergamot, containing 5 per cent. of white precipitate
(ammoniated mercury) and 11 per cent. of salicylic
acid. It seems to be intended for the face, but looking
to the large proportion of salicylic acid it contains,
it might, perhaps, be more appropriate for use as a
corn plaster.
RINO CURATIVE OINTMENT.
Rino Curative Ointment, advertised as containing
naphthalan, Peru balsam, chrysarobin, etc., was found
by Zernik to consist of turpentine, oil of cade, 1 per
cent. of boric acid, 6 or 7 per cent. of yolk of egg
and an indifferent vehicle,
CHAPTER XI.
MEDICINES FOR BALDNESS.
During recent years the number of preparations put forward for the cure
of baldness has been increased by a new class, those, namely, which are
not applied locally but taken internally. The principal ingredient in
all seems to be the dried colouring matter of the blood of warm-blooded
animals—haemoglobin. The most widely advertised of them is sold under
the name of “Capsuloids.”
CAPSULOIDS.
The price was 2s. 3d. for a box containing 36 capsuloids.
On the outer package it was stated that:
Our special process used in making Capsuloids is never
used and never has been used outside our Laboratory. It
is known only to the Capsuloid Company, Ltd., and has
never at any time been communicated to any other person
or firm. This material is then enclosed in little
pear-shaped gelatine capsules which are made of the
finest and purest gelatine. As a result of our special
process, Capsuloids have that particular and remarkable
effect upon the hair through the medium of the blood
which is so well and widely known. There is no other
preparation which possesses anything like the same
effect.
Capsuloids not only cause the death of those harmful
germs which we have proved to be the cause of falling
out and prematurely grey hair, but they also restore
the injured growing cells of the hair roots, and
nourish them, and cause them to multiply so that
the roots become firm and grow rapidly, producing
thick and luxuriant hair, and where there has been
premature greyness, it is also cured. Recent scientific
investigation has definitely proved this, and has
demonstrated that hair cannot be made to grow by using
external preparations.
Directions. To stop falling out of the hair and to
restore the colour to prematurely grey hair, adults
should take two, or in very severe cases three,
capsuloids before eating or with the first part of each
meal, three times daily. The doses for younger persons
is one or two with each meal. Capsuloids never cause
constipation or indigestion, nor do they in any way
upset the stomach, or any part of the system.
A booklet of 20 pages was enclosed in the package, in which the above
statements were repeated and further elaborated with the aid of a
diagram of the root of a hair, with blood-vessels, oil gland, “growing
cells containing harmful germs,” etc.
The capsuloids were elongated gelatine capsules containing a dark
material, the average contents of one weighing 3·4 grains. The material
yielded 32 per cent. to a solvent suitable for extracting fats, and
this portion proved to be a mixture of about equal parts of a neutral
oil and a fatty acid, agreeing in their characters with olive oil and
oleic acid, respectively. Extraction of the residue with alcohol then
removed 10 per cent. of an aromatic balsamic substance, generally
resembling Peruvian balsam, but lighter in colour; a mixture of
equal parts of Peruvian balsam and purified storax gave a substance
practically identical. The residue, insoluble in both solvents, was
a red-brown powder, which was found by its characters to be dried
haemoglobin. Careful search was made for arsenic, alkaloids, and other
ingredients, but nothing else was detected. The results indicated the
following formula for the contents of the capsules:
Haemoglobin 1·97 grain.
Olive oil }
Oleic acid } of each 0·54 ”
Balsam of Peru }
Purified storax } of each 0·17 ”
In one capsule.
The estimated cost of materials for the contents of 36 capsules is 1d.
Other dealers have paid the company the sincere compliment of
imitation, and various similar articles appear to be largely sold. The
following particulars are taken from price lists and advertisements
intended for retail chemists; as haemoglobin is referred to as the
principal constituent in each case, they were not submitted to analysis.
CAPSULATED HAEMOGLOBIN OVALS FOR THE HAIR.
“Capsulated Haemoglobin Ovals for the Hair. Contain 2½
grains of Pure Haemoglobin.”
They were supplied by a firm in a south country seaside town, labelled
with name and address of the retailer. The wholesale price quoted was
for tubes of 25, 4s. per dozen.
HAEMOGLOBIN HAIR CAPSULES.
“Capsules for the Hair. When falling out or turning
prematurely grey, these capsules by enriching the blood
make the hair glossy, luxuriant, and full of vitality.”
These were not described on the package as containing haemoglobin, but
were quoted in the price list as “Haemoglobin Hair Capsules.” They
were supplied by a company in a seaside town. “Store price, 1s. 6d.”
Wholesale price, 7s. per dozen packages.
SOLUBLE CAPSULES OF HAEMOGLOBIN.
“Soluble Capsules of Haemoglobin. A natural hair food.
Produces Healthy, Strong, and Luxuriant Hair.”
The wholesale price of these, supplied by a London firm, was for boxes
of 36, 5s. 9d. per dozen.
CHAPTER XII.
CANCER REMEDIES.
A very slight acquaintance with the advertisements of quack medicines
is enough to show that a knowledge of the causes of the disease for
which a cure is promised is in no wise necessary for the composition of
either the medicine or the advertisement, in fact, it is impossible to
believe that the extravagant claims and absurd statements made could be
put forward by persons having any knowledge of disease. It is no matter
for surprise, therefore, that in the case of the least understood and
least successfully combated of diseases many proprietary “remedies” are
put forward. A considerable number of these articles have been received
and the alleged claims tested at the laboratories of the Imperial
Cancer Research Fund; specimens of a few of these were obtained and
submitted to analysis, and some notes on their composition cannot
fail to be of interest to members of the medical profession, who will
probably from time to time have to treat sufferers from cancer who have
been induced to buy one or other of these preparations.
As was to be expected, the articles examined have little or nothing
in common. In the case of diseases for which the ordinary treatment
involves the use of certain specific drugs, proprietary medicines
are usually merely varying compounds of those drugs; thus, of the
advertised cures for epilepsy, analyses of which are given in the
next chapter, the essential ingredient in all but one is an alkaline
bromide. But in cancer the would-be maker of a proprietary “cure” has
no such accepted treatment to guide him, or to restrict the free range
of his fancy in selection of ingredients; it is probable that some of
the “remedies” here described were inspired by the fact that some
apparent improvement followed their fortuitous use in some cases,
_post hoc_ having been assumed to mean _propter hoc_; the first to be
described, however, can hardly rest even on this basis.
It is a colourless liquid, containing a trace of sediment; the
odour is that of alcohol, though very slightly vinous. Fractional
distillation showed the presence of about 40 per cent. of alcohol;
on complete evaporation, a trace (0·02 per cent.) of dry residue was
left. This residue was free from any alkaloid, and its behaviour with
reagents gave no indication of any other active principle; it agreed
in character with the “extractive” found in spirit that has been kept
in a wine-cask. After removing the alcohol, the liquid was perfectly
tasteless. This “remedy” is thus very simple in nature, consisting
merely of diluted and slightly impure alcohol. Its composition brings
to mind the analysis published some years ago of a so-called electric
fluid, or “electricity,” for the cure of cancer, which was taken up by
a certain well-known journalist and boomed by him in the pages of the
review which he edited; many marvellous cures were ascribed to it, but
examination showed that although it was sold at several shillings per
fluid ounce, it consisted of plain water. Notwithstanding the exposure,
the article is at present quoted in wholesale lists, and is therefore
presumably still in demand. The cost of the “medicine” we are now
dealing with is of course considerably greater than the cost of plain
water, but this fact will be but small consolation to the victim who
derives as little benefit from the one as from the other.
The next article analysed was a blue fluid containing a considerable
blue sediment, and smelling fairly strongly of terebene. The chief
ingredient was found to be a blue dye stuff of the oxazine or thiazine
group, much resembling methylene blue (which is the only member of
these groups ordinarily used in medicine), but differing from it in
solubility and in its behaviour with certain reagents. This constituted
the greater part of the sediment, and a portion of the dye was also in
solution. The liquid further contained a dissolved gum and a trace
of terebene; these, with a little magnesium carbonate, were all the
ingredients present. No trace of any alkaloid was found, and the
solvent was water. The gum showed no difference from ordinary acacia
gum, and was probably added to suspend the undissolved dye stuff. Water
dissolves very little terebene, and no more of the latter was present
than could be dissolved by the water; it was probably employed to give
an aromatic taste and smell, and the magnesia was doubtless used to
subdivide the terebene in the manner commonly followed by pharmacists
when dissolving essential oils in water. It thus appears that the
essential ingredient of this medicine is the blue dye stuff; it is
possible that this has been used as methylene blue, since the articles
sent out under the same name by different dye manufacturers often
differ in composition; but, as already stated, it is not identical with
the methylene blue usually met with. The total solids in the mixture,
after shaking up the sediment, amounted to 13·2 per cent., of which the
dye stuff constituted something like one-half.
A third preparation was a brown liquid of syrupy consistence found
to consist of wood tar. It was a much purer product than ordinary
Stockholm tar, and its peculiar odour indicated that it was derived,
at least in great part, from the birch; no other ingredient could
be found. This article came from Sphakia, Crete; the label bore no
directions for its use, leaving it uncertain whether it was intended
for internal or external use, but the latter appears the more probable.
The remaining articles are clearly intended for external application;
the first of these consisted of a plaster mass, in the half-pound
sticks in which such masses are usually supplied. Analysis showed the
principal ingredient to be lead oleate, with a little stearate, and
small quantities of resin and soap. These are the ingredients of the
resin and the soap plasters of the _British Pharmacopœia_, and the
proportion of soap present showed the specimen under examination to be
emplastrum resinae.
The next preparation was an ointment of Dutch origin. It contained
large quantities of ammonium alum and zinc sulphate, with a little
sodium sulphate, made up into a stiff ointment with a basis consisting
of beeswax, soft paraffin, oil, and resin. The quantities of the salts
were approximately:
Alum 27 per cent.
Zinc sulphate 37 ”
Sodium sulphate 8 ”
The presence of so large a proportion of mineral salts, of course,
leaves very little tenacity in the ointment; particles of the white
salts were easily visible to the eye, and the effect of applying the
preparation must be practically the same as if the dry salts were
rubbed on the skin except that the basis would, of course, act as a
lubricant in the rubbing.
The last of these preparations was another ointment; the mineral
ingredients in this case, however, were in organic combination. This
ointment contained copper oleate and aluminium oleate with a basis of
lard and a little resin. The proportions of the active ingredients were
approximately:
Copper oleate 15 per cent.
Aluminium oleate 35 ”
No alkaloid or other active principle was found.
A bottle of lotion for cancer and other affections, obtained in the
ordinary way through a dealer, was examined. The label commences with
the statement that the lotion “cures cancerous or malignant sores”;
then follows a list of other diseases, with the addition, “even cases
that have been under the treatment of doctors and at infirmaries
for years.” Analysis showed the composition of the lotion to be
substantially as follows:—
Zinc sulphate 92 grains
Carbolic acid (pure phenol) 1·2 oz.
Glycerine 1·8 fl. oz.
Cochineal solution sufficient to give a
deep red colour.
Water to 3·3 fl. oz.
This quantity is contained in a bottle costing 4s. 6d.; the directions
are to add the whole contents to 1½ pints of water, which is to be
applied to the diseased parts for about five minutes two or three times
a day.
Another pretended “cure” for this disease was supplied from an address
in Croydon, by a person who described himself as a retired Government
analytical chemist. The bottle did not bear an Inland Revenue stamp.
The vendor seems to prefer to see and examine the patients. In one
such case he was paid 3 guineas, and asked for more, as it was, he
said, a complicated case. The directions given were “two tablespoonfuls
should be taken three times a day.” Analysis of this liquid showed
the presence of ferric chloride, and traces of hydrochloric acid and
alcohol, and nothing else except water; the alcohol indicates that the
tincture of perchloride of iron, and not the liquor, was employed;
determination of the amounts of iron and chlorine present showed that 6
fluid ounces of the mixture contained 5·7 fluid drachms of the tincture.
A few years ago a good deal was heard of the wonderful cures said to
be achieved by two persons who resided at Cardigan. A great deal of
secrecy was observed, but it was known that a fluid was applied to the
surface of the cancerous tumour. The treatment, it was stated, began
with prayer, and exhortations to the patient to trust in the Almighty;
the lotion or oil, which was said to be made entirely from herbs and to
contain no mineral caustic, was then painted on with a brush. Unlike
other empirics who profess to remove the “roots” which the knife leaves
behind, these Welsh practitioners asserted that their remedy made
the “roots” shrink into the original growth which then fell off like
a ripe apple from a tree. The practice seemed to be to require the
patient to attend daily to have the local application made for periods
extending over several months. Eventually, in some cases, a mass of
dried, heaped-up crusts formed, and when this became detached it was
put into a bottle and given to the patient who was told that it was
the cancer extracted by the treatment. In one case which was enquired
into, this bottle cancer was submitted to microscopical examination;
it was found to consist of crusts formed of sloughing parts of the
skin and inflammatory exudation, the whole being such a mass as might
be produced by the use of an escharotic. The crusts when submitted to
chemical analysis were found to contain zinc chloride in considerable
amount, together with a very appreciable quantity of an insoluble
compound of lead. A healing oil was also supplied to help the cancer
falling off, and this when chemically examined was found to contain 27
per cent. of oil of turpentine, the remainder consisting principally
of an ordinary saponifiable oil, probably cotton-seed or olive oil. In
addition there was a considerable amount of deposit which proved to
consist almost wholly of barium sulphate, a very insoluble salt, used,
under the name of permanent white, by watercolour artists. It would
seem, therefore, that the statement that the applications contained no
mineral caustic was inaccurate. In other patients the effect of this
Cardigan treatment was more destructive. In the case of one woman who
had been informed that the cancer had been cured and that she only
required some tonic medicine to complete the cure, the surgeon who was
called to her when she was _in extremis_ has said that he never beheld
anything like it in his life; the whole breast was a necrosing mass,
black and stinking, the ulcers extending up to the collar-bone and down
to the margin of the ribs and across the middle line; the hand could
have been inserted under the margin of the dead part all round. Some
unfortunate patients persevered with the treatment although suffering
pain described as excruciating.
Caustics are, in fact, the weapon of the quack, and although they may
have a legitimate sphere in surgery, it is very limited; zinc chloride,
for instance, has occasionally been used in a strong solution or paste
as a caustic under special circumstances. Although portions of a tumour
may be removed by caustic application, it is impossible to eradicate
the whole in this way, as the cancerous process is extending into
adjacent parts. The formula of the quack—“cancer treated without the
knife”—appeals with great force to the public who do not know the
terrible long-drawn-out agony which those treated with caustics have
to undergo. Of this a vivid description was given by a well-known
naturalist, the father of a distinguished man of letters, in a little
book in which he related the suffering of his own wife; she was treated
by an American cancer-curer by caustics. The process of “cure” lasted
several months, and the result may be summed up in the statement that
“suffering never ceased from the beginning of the operation till her
spirit was freed from the worn-out body.”
CHAPTER XIII.
REMEDIES FOR EPILEPSY.
The nostrums which appear to be most advertised at the present time
for the treatment of epilepsy afford a good example of the fact which
has been previously pointed out that in some instances the vendors of
secret preparations make use of drugs in common use by the medical
profession for the treatment of some particular disorder; this is, of
course, only possible when the symptoms are well-marked and easily
recognised. As will be seen from the analyses given below of a number
of nostrums advertised as remedies for epilepsy it was found that all,
with one exception, contained bromide salts, that is to say, a drug
the effect of which is described and discussed in every medical work
dealing with the disease; nevertheless, the advertisers endeavour to
lead the purchaser to believe that the preparations possess peculiar
virtues unknown to the medical profession. The exceptional preparation
contains vervain (_Verbena officinalis_) which held a place in the
old pharmacopœias and herbals, chiefly as an astringent application
to wounds or as a lotion for sore mouth. Dodoens (1572) says it is
good for headache applied as a plaster, while Gerarde (1633) mentions
its use as a garland round the head for the same condition, but he
disapproves of the many old wives’ tales told regarding it which
tend to sorcery, and are such as honest ears abhor to hear; indeed,
he hints that some assert that the “divell did reveal it as a secret
and divine medicine.” According to Pliny, vervain was gathered by the
Druids of Gaul and Britain at the rising of the Dog Star, when neither
sun nor moon shone, with the left hand only, and after libations of
honey. When thus obtained it was said to vanquish fevers and other
distempers, to be an antidote to the bite of serpents, and a charm
to conciliate friendship. Paris speaks of it as in his own time the
subject of a work on scrofula by a Mr. Morley, which was written for
the sole purpose of restoring the much injured character and use of
vervain, so that it is evidently a herb which has suffered much from
detraction. Mr. Morley directed the root of the plant to be tied, with
a yard of white satin ribbon, round the neck where it was to remain
until the patient was cured. The modern vendor does not indulge in
these refinements.
In submitting the following analyses it should be stated that a mixture
or powder, dispensed according to the prescription obtained by the
analysis, produced in each case a preparation closely resembling in
appearance and taste that sold by the secret medicine vendor; further,
the mixtures possessed the same specific gravity as the originals.
OZERINE.
“Ozerine,” prepared by a chemist in Ireland, is described as an
unfailing remedy for epilepsy, fits, or falling sickness. The bottle
examined had no medicine stamp affixed.
The formula ascertained by analysis is as follows:
Potassium bromide 120 grains.
Ammonium carbonate 16 ”
Burnt sugar q.s. to colour.
Chloroform water to 1 fluid ounce.
Potassium bromide (111 grains) and potassium chloride (9⅓ grains) were
found by analysis, but as some potassium bromide containing a large
percentage of chloride had recently been in the market the latter was
not regarded as an intentional addition.
_Dose._—One teaspoonful before breakfast and dinner, and two at bedtime.
The price charged for a bottle containing 8 fluid ounces was 4s. 6d.;
the estimated cost of contents was under 4d.
W. AND J. TAYLOR’S CELEBRATED ANTI-EPILEPTIC MEDICINE.
This preparation, sold in this country through an export agent in
London, is said to be “simple, efficacious, harmless, and cheap.” The
effrontery of the following paragraph, extracted from a circular which
was wrapped round the bottle, is amusing in view of the analytical
results:
The principal drug is to be found in nearly every
surgery, and yet not one doctor in a hundred would
think of using it in Epilepsy, simply because he has no
precedent to act upon—he is not directed by any of the
great medical writers to prescribe or administer it in
this disease; he knows not of its being so used, and he
has not tried it himself, and thus he remains unaware
of the one grand means of curing Epilepsy, even with
the very drugs necessary at his elbow.
The formula ascertained by analysis was:
Tincture of iodine ¾ minim.
Potassium bromide 13 grains.
Ammonium bromide 4 ”
Water to 1 fluid ounce.
The mixture contained the proportion of iodine indicated in the above
formula; but as it also contained traces of iodide, it was probable
that tincture of iodine was used in its preparation. It may, however,
have been prepared from an aqueous solution of iodine and potassium
iodide.
_Dose._—One teaspoonful three times a day.
The price of a bottle holding 12 fluid ounces was 2s. 9d.; the
estimated cost of the contents is about 1d.
OSBORNE’S MIXTURE FOR EPILEPSY.
This mixture is stated to be prepared in a small town in England.
The following is an extract from a circular accompanying the bottle:
It scarcely ever fails to prevent the fits, loss of
consciousness, convulsions, nervous twitchings, &c.,
of epilepsy, while at the same time it acts as a most
valuable tonic; it allays irritation of the nervous
system, purifies the blood, strengthens the frame,
improves the general health, and helps to check the
progress of disease on the intellectual faculties, and
may be taken by the most delicate.
The formula ascertained by analysis was:
Potassium bromide 166 grains.
Sugar 48 ” (= syrup Ʒj).
Burnt sugar q.s. to colour.
Peppermint water to 1 fluid ounce.
Traces of fixed ammonia were also present.
_Dose._—One large teaspoonful morning and night.
The price charged for a bottle holding 5 fluid ounces was 2s. 9d.; the
estimated cost of the contents is about 3d.
“PROFESSOR” O. PHELPS BROWN’S VERVAIN RESTORATIVE ASSIMILANT.
This preparation is recommended by the vendor—
“for the positive and speedy cure of epilepsy or fits,
dyspepsia, indigestion, all derangements of the stomach
and bowels, and for every form of debility, no matter
from what source it may arise. An unequalled tonic and
nervine.”
The formula ascertained by analysis was:
Decoction of Vervain (2 oz. to a pint) 4 fluid drachms.
Port wine 1 ” ”
Rectified spirit 2 ” ”
Water to 1 fluid ounce.
The dose was stated to be one dessertspoonful three times a day before
eating.
The mixture contained 25·75 per cent. of absolute alcohol by volume,
and reacted towards lead acetate and lead sub-acetate exactly like a
specimen prepared according to the above formula. It also contained the
same amount of extractive, and had the same specific gravity.
The price is 2s. 9d. for a 6-oz. bottle. The estimated cost of the
contents is about 5d.
TRENCH’S REMEDY FOR EPILEPSY AND FITS.
This is, or was, made by a company giving an address in Ireland. The
package examined had no medicine stamp affixed.
_Liquid Preparation._—The following formula refers to the liquid
preparation supplied for use in the United Kingdom.
The formula ascertained by analysis was:
Potassium bromide 70 grains.
Ammonium bromide 10 ”
Sugar 72 ” (= syrup Ʒjss).
Fuchsia q.s. to colour.
Water to 1 fluid ounce.
The dose was stated to be one teaspoonful in the morning and two at
night; the price for a 3-oz. bottle is 3s.; the estimated cost of the
contents was about 1d.
“_Concentrated Form._”—This was supplied for export to the colonies,
was a moist coarse brown crystalline powder in hermetically-sealed
tins, with directions enclosed for dissolving in water. A quarter
package (the smallest supplied) contained 11¼ ounces, and was directed
to be dissolved in one pint of warm water. The resulting mixture was
found to measure 25 fluid ounces. From the formula given below it will
be seen that the mixture thus prepared differed from the one issued for
home consumption in two important particulars: (_a_) ammonium bromide
was absent, (_b_) the dose of potassium bromide was considerably larger
than that of the total bromides in the latter. Is this a form of
colonial preference? or is it that our brothers beyond the sea are more
robust and hence proof against the depressing influence of potassium
salts? The formula of the powder ascertained by analysis was:
Potassium bromide 61 parts.
Moist brown sugar 39 ”
The calculated composition of the finished mixture was:
Potassium bromide 120 grains.
Moist brown sugar 77 ”
Water to 1 fluid ounce.
The dose of the mixture directed to be taken was one teaspoonful in the
morning and two at night.
The price charged for a quarter package was 15s., but the estimated
cost of the contents is about 8d.
Such then are these secret remedies for epilepsy; with one exception
they are weak preparations of well-known drugs supplied at considerably
more than the usual cost, and administered without that careful
adjustment of dose to the needs of the particular patient which
is, after all, the most essential part in the treatment of epilepsy
by bromide salts. The exception contains an old-fashioned herb once
praised by the superstitious but abandoned time and again even by them;
it has never been shown to possess any definite therapeutic properties
and was long ago discarded by the medical profession because it was
found useless.
SOME GERMAN NOSTRUMS.
Of five nostrums sold for the cure of epilepsy in Germany, examined
by Dr. Zernik, three were found to contain bromide salts as chief
constituents: _Lamma powder_ consisted of equal parts of bromide of
sodium and bromide of ammonium; _Antiépileptique_ (Uten) was a solution
of potassium bromide (16 per cent.), coloured green, and containing 1
per cent. of an indifferent bitter tincture, while _Berendorf’s powder
for epilepsy_ contained potassium bromide 53·3 per cent., borax 40·3
per cent., and zinc oxide 4 per cent., the remainder being water. Borax
is a remedy occasionally used to correct some undesired effect of
bromides and has sometimes been prescribed for patients who could not
tolerate the bromides. Zinc oxide has, or at one time had, a certain
reputation as a nerve sedative. Of the two German remedies which did
not contain bromide one consisted largely of formaldehyde which is used
as an antiseptic and preservative for food, and the other consisted of
pills containing nothing beyond inactive powdered leaves and roots.
CHAPTER XIV.
SOOTHING, TEETHING AND COOLING POWDERS FOR INFANTS.
The number of proprietary infants’ powders that can be said to be at
all widely advertised is small, but some of them are sold in very
large numbers. In addition, powders for the same purpose are very
largely supplied by retailers, put up by themselves; they are usually
of similar composition to one or other of those here described, but
there is, of course, great scope for variations in the quantity and
proportion, as well as in the nature of the drugs employed. It may,
perhaps, be hoped that the efforts now being made by the employment of
health visitors in many towns will, by the spread of instruction as
to the common-sense management of infants, gradually lead to a great
diminution in the custom so prevalent among the poorer classes of
dosing infants whenever the curious foods, still so commonly given,
cause indigestion.
STEDMAN’S TEETHING POWDERS.
The powders “with one e” are sold from an address in the north of
London in boxes, price 1s. 1½., 2s. 9d., 4s. 6d., and 11s. The 4s. 6d.
box contained 60 powders, and the 11s. box contained 216; the other
sizes are stated to contain respectively 9 and 30 powders.
In a circular enclosed in the package it is stated that:
The returns of the Registrar-General tell us that the
period of Dentition is one of more than ordinary peril
to the child. It is a time of most active development,
a time of passing from one mode of being to another,
and we may fairly congratulate ourselves when this time
of Teething be passed. To pass this time safely, and
with the least risk to the child, one of “Stedman’s
Teething Powders” should be given about twice a week,
during the whole time of Dentition, according to the
directions below....
When the bowels are moved regularly and the motions
of a natural yellow colour, the Powders had better
be omitted for a time, unless great irritability be
present, accompanied with restlessness, then a dose had
better be given. Diarrhœa will generally be checked by
giving a dose at the commencement of the attack.
The directions are:
When the Child is under three months of age, the Third
of a Powder only is to be given; from three to six
months Half a Powder may be used; when above six months
a Whole Powder may be taken.
The average weight of one powder was 2·4 grains; twelve powders weighed
singly had weights varying from 2·25 to 2·6 grains. Analysis showed the
powder to be composed of:
Calomel 29 per cent.
Sugar of milk 71 ” ”
A trace of alkaloid was present also, and when extracted from the
material of a large number of powders, was found to amount to only
0·016 per cent., or ¹/₂₅₀₀ grain in one powder. This trace of alkaloid
did not show the behaviour of morphine, and did not give any reactions
characteristic of any of the ordinary alkaloids, so far as it was
possible to test for them on the minute amount available.
The estimated cost of the materials for the powders in a 4s. 6d. box is
one-third of a penny.
STEEDMAN’S SOOTHING POWDERS.
The powders, “with two e’s,” are stated to be prepared in the south of
London, and are sold in packets, price 1s. 1½d. and 2s. 9d. per packet;
the 2s. 9d. packet contained twenty-four powders.
In a circular enclosed in the packet it is stated that:
The good effects of these Powders during the period of
Teething have now had _Fifty Years’ Experience_,
during which time _Thousands of children have been
relieved annually_ from all those distressing
symptoms which children suffer while cutting their
teeth—viz., Feverish Heats, Fits, Convulsions,
Sickness of Stomach and Debility, accompanied with
Relaxation of the Bowels, and pale and green motions,
or Inflammation of the Gums.
... the striking superiority both in the health and
strength of those children who have taken the soothing
Powders during the period of Teething has induced the
Proprietor to make this MUCH-VALUED MEDICINE more
generally known by this advertisement.
The directions are:
Dose.—From one to three months, the third of a Powder;
from three to six months, half of a Powder; from six
months and above that age, one Powder only and no more;
...
The average weight of one powder was 2·8 grains; twelve powders weighed
singly had weights varying from 1·9 to 4·5 grains. Analysis showed the
powder to consist of:
Calomel 27 per cent.
Sugar 22 ”
Maize starch 50·5 ”
Ash 0·5 ”
A minute trace of alkaloid appeared to be present; the quantity was
considerably less than in the Stedman’s powders described above, and so
small, in fact, as hardly to give positive evidence of its alkaloidal
nature.
The estimated cost of the ingredients of Steedman’s powders in a 2s.
9d. packet is one-eighth of a penny.
PRITCHARD’S TEETHING AND FEVER POWDERS.
The proprietors of these powders give an address in a large provincial
city. The price charged is 1s. 1½d. for a box containing sixteen
powders.
In a circular enclosed in the package it is stated:
The constantly increasing sale of these justly
esteemed Powders proves them to be the most effectual
Medicine that can be given to young children during
the troublesome and anxious period of teething. By
their gentle action on the Bowels, and valuable cooling
properties, they allay all irritation and Feverishness,
prevent Fits, Convulsions, &c., ensure refreshing and
natural sleep for the child, and therefore peaceful
nights for the parents.
The directions are:
From one to three months, a third of a Powder; from
three to six months, half a Powder; from six months
and above that age, one Powder (not to be given if the
child is relaxed).
The average weight of the powders was 2·1 grains; twelve powders
weighed singly had weights varying from 1·9 to 2·3 grains. Analysis
showed the powder to consist of:
Calomel 47 per cent.
Antimony oxide 0·7 ”
Calcium phosphate 1·4 ”
Sugar of milk 50·9 ”
No trace of alkaloid was present.
The estimated cost of the ingredients of the powders in a 1s. 1½d. box
is one-ninth of a penny.
FENNING’S CHILDREN’S COOLING POWDERS.
The proprietor gives an address in the south of England, and the prices
charged are 1s. 1½d. and 2s. 9d. a box; the 2s. 9d. box contained 48
powders.
They were described in a circular enclosed with the box as:
The best medicine for infants cutting their teeth,
preventing convulsions, thrush, disordered bowels, and
for all the feverish diseases of infants and children.
The following directions are given:
For an Infant under _three_ years of age, give
_one_ of Fenning’s Cooling Powders mixed with a
little water, or it could be thrown dry as it is into
the opened mouth of the baby, and gently holding back
the head for half a minute it would be swallowed.
Whenever an Infant is restless or feverishly hot from
Teething, when it is griped or sick from improper food,
or over-feeding; has acidity, or a disordered stomach,
_one_ of these Powders should be immediately given
and, if necessary, repeated every day....
When a Child is attacked with Thrush, Measles, Hooping
Cough, or Fever of any sort, always keep the feverish
blood cool by giving a dose of _Fenning’s Cooling
Powders_ every or every other day.
The powders had an average weight of 3·4 grains; twelve powders weighed
singly had weights varying from 3·2 to 3·8 grains. Analysis showed the
powder to consist of:
Potassium chlorate 70 per cent.
Powdered liquorice 30 ”
The estimated cost of the ingredients of the powders in a 2s. 9d. box
is one-sixth of a penny.
CHAPTER XV.
REMEDIES FOR EAR DISEASE AND DEAFNESS.
Some of the advertisements most frequently seen headed “Deafness
cured,” “Eyes and Ears,” “Eye Diseases cured,” etc., do not refer to
nostrums obtainable in the usual way through patent medicine dealers.
The reader of the announcement is invited to write to the address
given for particulars of special remedies, or an “interesting and
convincing book post free,” dealing with the cure of diseases without
operation, etc. Application for particulars brings much printed matter
recommending the advertiser’s method, accompanied by a set of questions
to be answered by the sufferer. If these answers are supplied and the
fee demanded paid, medicine of some sort is sent. Medicines sold in
this way, of which many other instances have been given in previous
chapters, form a special class of “secret remedies,” and might be said,
perhaps, to come rather under the head of prescribing at a distance,
but it is, to say the least, very doubtful whether the composition of
the medicines supplied is modified according to the answers given to
the questions, and the two kinds of quackery are not sharply separated.
In the case of the preparations now to be described, one or two belong
more nearly to the class just referred to than to that of ordinary
“patent medicines.”
We meet again the benevolent gentleman who having cured himself
offers “to send particulars of remedy free,” but eventually sells his
treatment at a price which would seem to represent no bad profit on the
outlay for materials.
We also meet the dealer who to encourage the possible buyer sends a
reduced price coupon only asking in return for the names and addresses
of two or three friends who suffer in like manner.
ALFRED CROMPTON’S SPECIFIC FOR DEAFNESS.
This so-called specific, prepared in a town in the north of England, is
sold in a bottle containing half a fluid ounce, and costing 1s. 1½d.
The label on the outside of the package was headed:
Deafness Cured!
and continues:
Alfred Crompton’s Specific for Deafness, Noises in the
Ears, &c., is decidedly the best remedy out for this
most annoying complaint. A single Bottle has in most
instances effected a speedy and permanent cure.
The directions were:
Warm the Specific and Shake the Bottle. Two or three
drops to be dropped in the Ear, night and morning, and
rub behind and under the Ear with the Specific.
Analysis showed the following composition:
Soap 3·6 per cent.
Glycerine 45·0 ”
Oil 21·7 ”
Water 29·5 ”
Alcohol a trace.
Oil of rosemary ”
There was a slight indication of a trace of camphor; probably this with
the alcohol and oil of rosemary and part of the soap were added in the
form of soap liniment. The oil gave analytical figures corresponding to
a mixture of almond and colza oils in about equal proportions.
The estimated cost of ingredients, for ½-oz., is one farthing.
DELLAR’S ESSENCE FOR DEAFNESS.
This so-called essence, prepared it is stated by a company giving an
address in London, and sold at the price of 1s. 1½d. for a bottle,
containing two-fifths of a fluid ounce, is described on the label as
“An old-established and valuable remedy.”
Directions for Use.—A small piece of wool, well
moistened with the Essence, to be pushed into the
cavity of the Ear every night at bedtime, and removed
in the morning.
Analysis showed the composition to be;
Oil of turpentine 16 per cent.
Fixed oil 84 ”
The properties of the fixed oil and the figures which it gave on
further analysis corresponded to those of almond oil.
The estimated cost of the ingredients, for two-fifths of an ounce, is
one halfpenny.
HERBERT CLIFTON’S TREATMENT FOR DEAFNESS.
This is brought to the notice of the public by an advertisement in the
following terms:
A new cure for deafness. A Gentleman who cured himself
after 14 years’ suffering will send particulars of
remedy free.
Here followed the gentleman’s address, and an application brought
a letter and a pamphlet entitled “Deafness and Noises in the Head,
with Instructions how they may be Absolutely Cured,” which was marked
“40th edition.” It professed to give an account of the writer’s own
experiences. A few extracts will suffice to give an idea of it:
Those only who have suffered from the terrible calamity
of deafness can understand the misery it brings into
one’s life; and only those who have had occasion
to seek the assistance of men who profess to cure
this awful affliction can appreciate how utterly its
treatment is misunderstood by the various advertising
empirics who profess to cure it, whether by electrical,
galvanic, or any of the other methods which are so
alluringly set forth as perfectly infallible by
people who never suffered themselves, who can have no
sympathy, therefore, with those whom they profess to
assist, and whose only object is to extract as large
a sum as they possibly can from the pockets of those
whom they have been able to attract to their spider’s
parlour. The writer, however, of the present pamphlet
is in a different position.... As a lad I began to
suffer from noises in the head, which as time went on
increased to such an alarming degree that I was taken
to an Aural Surgeon.... The usual result followed. I
became worse and worse, and, of course, weaker through
his treatment.... Another doctor was consulted.... But
the treatment failed, my affliction increased, and MY
LIFE BECAME A BURDEN.... There seemed no hope for me.
Nearly a dozen eminent surgeons had seen me, examined
me, said different things about me, and indifferently
treated me; but all to no purpose.... As a last
resource I tried the various quack remedies which have
allured so many to their bitter cost, and many a pound
was wasted on mechanical, electrical, magnetic, and
other useless appliances, and upon ear-trumpets, drums,
tubes, &c., with no result.... Then the wild, yet
happy, thought flashed across me: “Why not try and cure
yourself?” I pondered and pondered over the idea, and
at last, rather than submit to my fate, determined to
study physiology and medicine and endeavour to discover
the cause of my deafness, with the distant hope that
I might alight upon the method of its cure.... The
conclusion I came to was that what I really required
was a medicine which should reach the minute muscles of
the inner ear, as upon their proper action the sense
of hearing almost entirely depends ... after a time I
had succeeded in discovering a preparation which would
do the required work.... My disease was of so long
standing, that I had found it had caused the drums of
my ears to become weak and shrunken ... and I soon
devised a small appliance to fit inside each ear—the
appliance which I now term the “Invisible Drum Support”
... in my gratitude to the Almighty for my merciful
deliverance I vowed that I would publish to the world
the method by which I had struggled out of the dark
past into the brilliant light of the present.
A postscript to the letter stated that “No charge whatever is made for
advice, so you need not hesitate to avail yourself of the benefit of my
_opinion_,” but no information was vouchsafed as to the price charged
for the “treatment,” except that it would be found extremely moderate.
Paragraphs, of the usual inspired kind, were quoted from the _Family
Doctor_, _Christian Union_, _Family Churchman_, _Health_, and local
newspapers of varying degrees of obscurity.
The letter and pamphlet were followed after an interval by another
letter, as follows:
Dear Friend,
Referring to your application for my Pamphlet some
time back, I shall be glad to know whether you wish me
to proceed further in the matter. As I have received
no letter from you, I presume that you imagine the
cost of treatment will be too high. I will, therefore,
make you a Special Offer, that is, for the sum of 10s.
(which may be paid in two monthly instalments of 5s.
each, if more convenient) I will forward you the full
Treatment and Directions. Should you avail yourself of
this offer, kindly detach the form at the bottom of
this letter and return to me. The Treatment is, without
doubt, the most effectual ever placed before the
Public, as will be found by the numerous testimonials
received.
I am daily in receipt of letters similar to those
enclosed herewith, and I feel confident that, should
you give the treatment a trial, you will also be able
to report quite as good results.
Kindly let me know your decision as soon as possible.
If you will take my advice you will not further delay.
May I draw your attention to the letters on the other
side?
I am, yours faithfully,
HERBERT CLIFTON.
The “treatment form” was filled up and sent in with 10s., and, as was
to be expected, “my candid opinion as to whether my system of treatment
is calculated to efficiently meet the requirement,” was apparently in
favour of treating the case, as a pair of “drum-supports” and a bottle
of fluid were received, together with a letter asking the recipient to
follow out the directions given very carefully and not be disheartened
“because you find no improvement immediately, you must give the Cure a
fair trial. I shall be glad,” the letter concluded, “to hear from you
in about three weeks’ time with a general report on your case.”
The “drum-supports” consisted of half-inch lengths of narrow
india-rubber tubing, as used for the valves of bicycle tyres, with an
inner tube of “gum-elastic,” the india-rubber being expanded at one
end into a funnel ¼ in. long, and attached at the other to a small
oval disc of sheet india-rubber. The prime cost of the pair would
probably not exceed 3d. The bottle was labelled “No. 1. Price 3s.,” and
contained 1 fluid ounce of liquid; analysis showed this to have the
following composition:
Glycerine 10 per cent. approx.
Oil 28 ” ”
Ether 2 ” ”
Water to 100
A trace (about 0·01 per cent.) of an alkaline substance
was present, which appeared to be borax. The oil showed
the characters of almond oil.
The estimated cost of the ingredients, for 1 oz., is one halfpenny.
OHRSORB COMPOUND.
The following advertisement is taken from _Cassell’s Saturday Journal_:
DOCTOR MAKES DEAF HEAR.
A medical book just published describes a German
doctor’s wonderfully simple cure for deafness and head
noises (a real home cure). A limited number of those
books have been secured for readers of _Cassell’s
Saturday Journal_, and will be sent free by post by
the publisher, M. Franckel.
Application to the London address given brought a pamphlet of sixteen
pages, from which a few extracts are here given:
For years it has been known to Medical Men that the
minute vessels or channels of the lymphatic system
underlying the skin, covering the bone behind the ear,
were intimately connected with those supplying vital
nourishment to the middle and internal ear, where we
find the common seat of deafness and head noises.
If, then, we could medicate through the skin, this
important current of lymphatic fluid, controlling the
health of the essential parts of the organ of hearing,
our medications could be made to flow inward to reach
and to cure a disease so deeply hidden within the
ear as to be otherwise regarded as incurable. It is
the province of this little work to explain why the
prescriptions of so many aurists have failed in years
past, and to present a new chemical compound which is
of the utmost value to deaf people.
Applications behind the ear are recommended in the
writings of our greatest ear surgeons. Gruber,
Politzer, Delstanche, Grünfeld, and numerous others
have given us prescriptions of this kind, and,
although their combinations of drugs have failed to
produce any remarkable results, they have pointed
out the remedies that would cure if combined with a
substance which could penetrate the skin freely....
Until lately we possessed no basis for our ointments,
embrocations, or plasters, which could freely penetrate
the skin.... Happily there is a new basis lately
brought to the notice of the medical profession,
which has the remarkable property of uniting with the
watery secretions of the body in such a way that it
(_sic_) absorbed by the skin, and taken up by the
lymphatic circulation (described on p. 1), together
with any drugs that are combined with it in the form of
an ointment.... To this new basis has been given the
name “Ohrsorb.”
Quotations purporting to be from the writings of medical men are
given, but no references are provided by which they can be checked;
and, indeed, the extracts only refer to a “new preparation” and a “new
treatment,” without any indication that the advertised article is
the one intended. Another quotation is then given “From the Private
Clinical Memoranda of Dr. Kupfinn,” described as an “Hon. Auris
Chirurgis,” in which “Ohrsorb” is referred to in a laudatory manner;
this is followed by an account of some “typical cases,” but it does not
appear that this is part of the quotation, although it is so put that
it might easily be taken to be. The pamphlet continues:
It should be clearly understood that Ohrsorb by
itself is only a basis used solely for the purpose of
providing the _active portion_ of the Author’s
Absorption Treatment, and that the cure depends on the
medicinal action of the drugs compounded with it in
any special prescription. It is for this reason that
certain particulars as to each patient’s case are asked
for on the enclosed coupon, namely, that the individual
form of deafness, head noises, or ear trouble may be
treated by an “Ohrsorb” compound specially adapted to
it.
The pamphlet proceeds to give reasons for supplementing the treatment
by the use of other articles, of which the following are recommended:
“Ohraseptic,” “Nazaseptic,” “Specially Prepared Catarrh Tonic,” a nasal
irrigator, and a safety ear syringe. It was accompanied by a leaflet
headed, “Medical Report on the ‘Ohrsorb’ Treatment,” in which many
testimonials are given, but not one from a medical source or anything
of the nature of a medical report; also by a “reduced price coupon,”
offering a 2s. 9d. tube for 1s. 6d. or a 4s. 6d. tube for 3s., provided
the applicant undertook to use it as directed and report the result,
and a list of about fifty questions to be answered in connexion with
deafness, &c., and catarrh of the nose and throat, concluding with the
following paragraph:
As a little return for supplying the tube of “Ohrsorb”
compound at the reduced price, and for the very special
attention that will be given to your case, the author
will be grateful if you favour him with the names and
addresses of two or three of your friends who suffer
from deafness, head noises, or catarrh of the nose or
throat. This is entirely confidential, and your name
will not be mentioned.
In order to test the importance attached to the answers to the
questions, a supply of “Ohrsorb Compound for Deafness” was sent for,
without giving any particulars of the supposed case for which it was
required. The compound was at once sent, together with a multiple-typed
letter of the usual kind, as shown by the following extracts:
“I hope you will not neglect to write me about your
progress with my treatment”; “of course you will
appreciate that in obstinate cases Ohrsorb must be
persisted with for some time before the improvement can
begin to show itself.”
and offering for future supplies three 4s. 6d. tubes for 10s. 6d.
The “Special Ohrsorb Compound” is supplied in collapsible tubes, and
the 2s. 9d. size contained just over ½ oz. of ointment. The directions
were to rub the ointment once, twice, or thrice a day over the skin
close behind the ear, and also from just beneath the ear around to the
front of the throat, for three to five minutes.
The ointment, nearly black in colour, contained about 70 per cent. of
vaseline, and about 4 per cent. of beeswax, a little soap, and a little
saponifiable fat; sulphur and ammonia were present in combination,
and the dark constituent appeared to be of the class represented by
thiol, tumenol, and petrosulfol, artificial compounds intended to
take the place of ichthyol, and like it containing much sulphur in
combination but free from its disagreeable odour. The total sulphur
found in “Ohrsorb Compound” was 0·8 per cent., which corresponds to
about 8 per cent. of one of these substances. An ointment made up with
tumenol, soft paraffin, wax, and a little ammonia soap resembled
“Ohrsorb Compound” very closely, though the correspondence was not
quite complete. It was not considered worth while to isolate the
dark constituent in a state of purity permitting of more precise
identification than is here indicated; to determine the detailed
characterization of such a substance a large quantity would be
necessary.
CHAPTER XVI.
REMEDIES FOR EYE DISEASES.
The proprietary articles advertised for the cure of diseases of the
eyes, though perhaps not so numerous as some other classes of nostrums,
vary a good deal in nature, but the claims made for most of them are
equally comprehensive. The results of analysis of a few are here given
and it will be seen that two of them, including one called “botanic,”
are mercurial ointments. Another advertiser seems to think or pretends
to think that cataract can be cured by bathing the eyes with soda alum
dissolved in coloured water, while we come across also an “Ophthalmic
Institution” selling for external application an anti-cataract mixture
consisting of glycerine with a little potassium iodide and starch.
SINGLETON’S EYE OINTMENT.
This is stated to be prepared, by a person whose name is not Singleton,
at an address in London. The price charged is 2s. for a pot containing
about 55 grains.
The ointment is described on the outer package as
“An Absolute Specific for all Eye Troubles and Diseases.”
On a circular enclosed in the package it was stated:
“It cures Weak Sight, Inflamed Eyes, and all disorders
of the Eyelids from whatever cause arising....
Singleton’s Eye Ointment requires great skill in
making, and is composed of costly ingredients. One pot
will cure you.... The Ointment also cures Piles and
Scorbutic Eruptions.”
A book dealing with the ointment was also supplied, in which it is
stated that
“Singleton’s Eye Ointment will cure all affections of the eye.”
Analysis showed the principal ingredient to be red mercuric oxide, of
which 7·4 per cent. was present. The fatty basis contained about 4
per cent. of beeswax, and the remainder was a practically neutral and
colourless substance which agreed in properties and analytical figures
with a mixture of lard, Japan wax, and purified cocoanut oil. It is,
of course, impossible to determine with certainty the composition of a
mixture of fats, unless a large quantity is available for analysis; but
the exact nature of the fatty basis is immaterial, and no indication
was obtained of any other medicinal ingredient.
The assertion that such an ointment “requires great skill in making” is
absurd, and as to the costliness of the ingredients, the 55 grains in
the pot are estimated to be worth one-ninth of a penny.
BOSTOCK’S EYE OINTMENT.
This ointment, stated to be manufactured by a limited company with
an address in London, is sold in a pot containing half an ounce, and
costing 1s. 1½d. It is described on the label as “An invaluable remedy
for every Disease to which the Eye is subject.” In a circular wrapped
round the pot it is called “Bostock’s Botanic Eye Ointment,” which
is strongly recommended as a valuable Restorative
and Preserver of the Sight, removing Inflammation,
Bloodshots, Scorbutic Humours, Shooting Pains, Dimness,
Swelling in the Eyelids, and numerous other diseases to
which the Eye is subject; it also preserves the Sight
against the injuries arising from extreme Heat and Cold.
Analysis showed the presence of small quantities of ammoniated mercury
(commonly known as white precipitate) and an insoluble compound of lead
which appeared to be the oxide; a little glycerine was present, and
a bitter, light-coloured substance of the nature of an extract; this
contained no alkaloid, and gave no characteristic reactions indicating
the drug or plant from which it was derived; a trace of a vegetable
powder was also found, the quantity being so very small that it was
probably only an accidental contamination of the extract; when examined
microscopically it appeared to consist chiefly of the tissue of a seed.
The basis of the ointment contained soft paraffin and spermaceti, and a
third constituent agreeing in its characters with lard. Determination
of the amounts of the respective ingredients indicated the following
approximate formula:
Ammoniated mercury 0·88 per cent.
Lead oxide (litharge) 0·15 ”
Glycerine 2·25 ”
Extractive 3·32 ”
Spermaceti 31·0 ”
Soft paraffin 31·0 ”
Lard 31·4 ”
Neglecting the extractive, the estimated cost of the ingredients for
half an ounce is under one halfpenny.
A NEW AND MARVELLOUS REMEDY FOR THE EYES.
This substance, sold from an address in Wisbech at the price of 2s. 9d.
for a packet containing 135 grains, was enclosed in a small envelope,
on which was written, “Remedy for Eyes only”; there was no printed
label except the revenue stamp. In the accompanying circular it was
described in the following terms:
A Cure for Cataracts, Films, White Specks, &c. without
Operation. The Remedy Cures and Improves the Sight when
every other remedy and human skill fails. The Remedy
within Twelve Months has proved itself to have no equal
for removing Cataracts, Films, White Specks, &c., and
is guaranteed the greatest and most marvellous Remedy
in the world for such, and for all Eye Sufferers.
Directions for use were given in another circular, as follows, and seem
worth quoting as an illustration of pretensions so preposterous that
they seem calculated to defeat their own object even when addressed to
the most credulous:
Divide the packet of powder into four parts; into an
ordinary six ounce medicine bottle put one part out
of the four, then fill up the bottle with pure water.
Filter or strain the water before so doing, then let
the Lotion stand all night after it is made, it is then
ready for use. Keep the remainder of the powder in a
dry place until required for use.
Shake up the bottle well before using, and in case
of Blindness or very bad eyesight, for deep-seated
Inflammation, Cataracts, White Specks, &c., pour some
of the Lotion into an earthen cup or basin, and bathe
the eyes three times a day, about two minutes at a
time, and let the Lotion go well into the eyes by
winking them whilst bathing them—the Lotion will do no
harm by going well into them, for good results can only
be obtained in such cases by the remedy going well into the eyes.
After bathing the eyes cover up the Lotion with a saucer or plate to
keep dust, etc., out, until required for use again. Use a piece of
linen rag for bathing the eyes.
N.B.—For Painful, Bloodshot, Weak, Dim, and Misty Eyes, or Floating
Black Specks, or for Eye Strain, Etc., and for Strengthening the
Optic Nerve, Etc., and for Inflammation, Short Sight, Etc.—Simply
bathe the eyes twice a day, morning and night, just before going to
bed, about two minutes at a time, letting a little of the Lotion go
into the eyes, and should the Remedy make the eyes smart too much,
and too long, or make the eyes inflamed or water, etc., too much,
make the Remedy a little weaker by adding a little more water to
same quantity of Powder, or by not putting quite so much powder to
same quantity of water.
This circular concludes with the following notice:
Please Note the Remedy can only be had direct from
the Proprietor himself, as no other human being in
existence sells it.
The package was accompanied by a written paper as follows:
Please note. Since instructions have been printed I
find it necessary for a slight alteration for the
benefit of those suffering from Cataracts, Films, and
white specks. In such cases when first commencing to
use the remedy divide the packet of powder into 4 parts
make one bottle out of one part and use according to
instructions. After the use of first bottle divide the
rest of the powder into 2 parts you will then have
sufficient for 2 bottles and will therefore have remedy
much stronger of which is needed in case of Cataracts,
etc. And when more remedy is required always divide the
packet into 3 parts sufficient to make 3 bottles and
follow instructions.
(P.S.) I may say for the benefit of those suffering
from Cataracts, Films, and white specks the best and
quickest results have been obtained by using one bottle
per week.
The packet contained a coarse pink powder, with many white particles.
Analysis showed it to contain:
Basic aluminium sulphate 48·2 per cent.
Sodium sulphate (anhydrous) 18·3 ”
Colouring matter a trace.
the remainder being water. The double sulphate of aluminium and sodium,
or soda alum, contains 48·8 per cent. of aluminium sulphate and 20·3
per cent. of sodium sulphate, and the substance under examination thus
practically consisted of this salt, somewhat deficient in sulphuric
acid. The colouring matter did not quite agree in its behaviour with
any of the common pink colours, though it was very similar to acid
magenta.
The estimated cost of 135 grains is one-twentieth of a penny.
POMIES’ ANTI-CATARACT MIXTURE.
This application is sold from a place called an Ophthalmic Institution
in London at the price of 2s. 6d. for a pot containing 162 grains.
It is one of a series of preparations sold under the name “Pomies,”
including anti-cataract oil, anti-inflammation eye lotions Nos. 1 and
2, sedative collyrium, and others. The package itself was singularly
free from printed matter; the directions on the label were as follows:
“Take some of the Mixture on a camelhair brush and
introduce it into the eye in wiping the brush between
the lids two or three times, twice a day.”
Analysis showed the composition of the substance to be:
Potassium iodide 5·6 per cent.
Glycerine 56·5 ”
Starch 6·4 ”
Water 31·5 ”
The estimated cost of the ingredients, for 162 grains, is one-third of
a penny.
SOME GERMAN NOSTRUMS.
The eye preparations analysed by Dr. Zernik are not very interesting.
One called _Okterin_ is a sulphate water, colourless, odourless, acid,
and astringent, apparently pumped out of a mine containing ochre.
Another sold under the name _Opthalmol_, and described as a natural
remedy for all kinds of eye disease is supposed to be made from the
glands of a fish. It yielded analytical data which appeared to prove
that it was rancid olive oil, with 6 or 7 per cent. of a mineral oil
like paraffin. A third wonder-working application, _Augenwol_, said to
be made from various plants obtained from many countries proved to be
a coloured and perfumed solution of common salt containing a little
glycerine and some extractive substances.
CHAPTER XVII.
REMEDIES FOR PILES.
The series of analyses of secret remedies for hæmorrhoids, and the
extracts from the advertisements by which these nostrums are commended
to the public, make it evident that the prevalence of this complaint,
which is always disagreeable and painful, and sometimes incapacitating,
provides a happy hunting ground for the nostrum monger. An additional
attraction is, perhaps, to be found in the fact that considerable
variety is possible in the method of treatment. Local applications,
represented by suppositories and ointments, appear to be most in
favour, but there is an obvious opportunity for the man who wishes
to sell a medicine to be taken internally to declare that local
applications “only afford temporary ease, and do not tend to remove
the cause. Only internal treatment can cure.” The further possibility
of extracting double or threefold payments from sufferers by insisting
on the necessity of both local and internal remedies has by no means
been neglected; in some cases one preparation only is advertised, and
after obtaining this the sufferer learns that something further must be
bought if the promised cure is to be effected. In another case, where
the remedy is a “threefold treatment, because there are three avenues
of approach to the seat of the ailment,” it is advertised to be sent
without payment, the money to be paid after a week’s trial if benefit
has been received; any one availing himself of this offer necessarily
supplies the vendors with his name and address, and will then, it
seems, become the recipient of numerous letters, emphasizing the
dangers of neglect, and offering “our full-size guinea treatment” on
special terms. It has been shown in previous chapters that this method
of doing business directly with the persons taking quack remedies is
in great, and apparently growing, favour with makers of such things.
The letters with which the sufferer is inundated are, as a rule at any
rate, printed in imitation of typewritten letters or reproduced by
some manifolding process, and the recipient, unless he be something of
an expert, is likely to suppose that he is receiving letters composed
for his personal benefit, an illusion that is sedulously maintained by
a profession of “special interest in your case,” or some equivalent
fiction. The majority of the preparations described in this chapter
contain substances commonly employed for the relief of piles, such as
hamamelis (witch hazel), lead acetate, zinc oxide, calomel, or others,
if possible, still more old-fashioned; some, like the “Muco-Food Cones,
containing concentrated glutinous nourishment,” consist of flour and
cocoa butter, and are innocent of medicinal ingredients. Advertisers,
of course, indulge in the usual impudent reflexions on the work of the
medical profession; one, for instance, hazards the statement that “for
centuries piles have been treated in a careless, listless, manner by
physicians, who, through ignorance or indifference, were unfit to be
entrusted with such cases.” These same advertisers remark: “The people
do not like to be humbugged”—a statement, perhaps, as far from the
truth as some other assertions in the advertisements and letters. One
company—two of whose “cures” have been shown in previous chapters to
consist of sugar only, and whose ointment for piles is about equally
active—invites those who are not cured by it to detail their symptoms
to “our medical correspondence department”; it is easy to believe
that “you will receive the same thorough attention from our medical
staff as if you were examined personally,” but how much attention
that would be is wisely not stated. The majority of the articles are
of American origin, some of them being marked “Made in U.S.A.,” and
others being now prepared in this country, but having originally come
from across the Atlantic. Whether English or foreign, however, the
usual disproportion is to be found between the prime cost and the price
charged. If in the present series the highest price is charged—and the
greatest pertinacity in extracting the sufferer’s money is shown—by a
transatlantic concern, in other chapters English quacks have been shown
well to the fore as regards both price and methods.
BUER’S PILES CURE.
On purchasing from an address in one of the Home Counties Buer’s “Piles
Cure” for 1s. 1½d., it proved to consist of a box of Buer’s Mul’la, and
a single sample powder of Buer’s Pile Powders, which cost a further 1s.
1½d. for a box. Several circulars were enclosed in the package. The
trade mark was a picture of a donkey; a few extracts will suffice as
specimens of the statements made:
Is it money (1s. 1½d.) or your life? Buer, the founder,
the proprietor is the seventh son, not trading on his
birthright but on his cure, testified by hundreds.
Warrants it will cure you. If you suffer, will you try
it?
The pains experienced range all the way from the
slightest itch to the most terrible sufferings, which
appear like tearing the body asunder, and unless
the piles are cured with Buer’s Mul’la there is no
relief....
They cause you to be despondent, caring little to live;
no go in you; quarrelsome in yourself; weakening to the
constitution; until something gives way and hastens
your death. It is therefore money or your life; no
hesitation.
But one thing—not for the sake of selling the
Powders—keep a box of Buer’s Pile Powders in house—12
for 1s. 1½d. ain’t dear—and take one as directed
whenever you feel any irritation.
The box of ointment contained two-fifths of an ounce. The directions
were:
Apply this Mul’la to parts affected.
Analysis showed the ointment to contain:
Lanoline (anhydrous) 66·5 per cent.
Beeswax 1·5 ”
Water 32·0 ”
Hamamelis ointment is usually made from the liquid extract which
contains rectified spirit, but no alcohol was present in this
oddly-named preparation; it may have been made with liquor hamamelidis
prepared without the use of alcohol; a minute trace of water-soluble
substance contained in the ointment suggested by its behaviour with
reagents that such was the case. The estimated cost of ingredients is
three farthings.
Twelve of the powders are supplied in the 1s. 1½d. box. The directions
are:
To be taken at bedtime in a glass of milk or water.
Analysis showed the composition to be:
Precipitated sulphur 14·9 grains.
Calcined magnesia (partly carbonated) 23·6 ”
in one powder of average weight. Single powders in one box varied from
28 to 48 grains. The estimated cost of the ingredients for twelve
powders is 1¼d.
MUNYON’S PILE OINTMENT.
This ointment is supplied by the same Homœopathic Home Remedy Company
as has been encountered in earlier chapters. The price charged was 1s.
a package, containing a collapsible tube holding 1 oz. of ointment and
a metal tube for introducing it.
On the outside of the package it was stated that the ointment
permanently cures all forms of Piles or Hemorrhoids,
and immediately relieves pain, burning, itching, and
distress at the outlet of the bowels.
In the circular enclosed in the package, in which thirty of this
company’s preparations for different complaints were advertised, it was
stated that the ointment
cures piles, blind or bleeding, protruding or internal,
stops itching instantly, allays inflammation, and
gives ease at once to the sore parts, heals fissures,
ulcerations, cracks, and all anal troubles.”
A label on the tube of ointment asked the purchaser
if this remedy fails to cure him, to write to the
proprietor stating fully all your symptoms. He
will have your case carefully diagnosed, and, you
will receive the same thorough attention from our
medical staff as if you were examined personally.
All communications are kept strictly confidential,
and replies are sent in plain envelopes. Our Medical
Correspondence Department is having great success in
curing old obstinate cases. Remember we sweep away
all fees for medical advice, we put special medical
attention at your service absolutely free. We want you
to feel at liberty to write us whenever you need any
medical advice, and to fully understand that there will
be no charge of any kind for our service.
Analysis showed the ointment, which was directed to be applied three
times a day, to consist of soft paraffin, with a trace of ichthyol
sufficient to give a slight odour, but not enough to affect the
appearance of the ointment. Experiments showed that 0·2 per cent. or
over of ichthyol appreciably darkens the colour of soft paraffin, and
it appears therefore that less than this proportion was present. The
estimated cost of one ounce of the ointment is one farthing.
DOAN’S OINTMENT.
This is sold by a company giving an address in London; the price is 2s.
9d. a tin, containing 1⅔ oz.
On the package it was stated that
Doan’s Ointment cures Piles, Salt Rheum, Chilblains,
Eczema. Cures Black-headed Pimples, Hives and any
itching disease.
In the enclosed circular it was referred to as:
The “Thorough” Cure for Piles, Eczema, Shingles, and
Itching Diseases of the Skin.
And the statement was made that:
Bleeding and torturing itching piles are quickly and
thoroughly cured by Doan’s Ointment, relief being
usually obtained from the first application. A cure
will follow—a “thorough” cure.
A “Pile Pipe” was supplied at 6d. for applying the ointment to internal
piles; for external piles it was directed to be applied with the finger
or a piece of clean soft rag. Analysis showed the composition of the
ointment to be:
Calomel 36·0 per cent.
Zinc oxide 11·2 ”
Phenol 1·3 ”
Beeswax 2·3 ”
Soft paraffin 49·2 ”
The estimated cost of the ingredients is 2d.
OXIEN MEDI-CONE PILE TREATMENT.
The sole proprietors of this treatment are stated to be “The Giant
Oxie Co.,” of a town in the U.S.A., but having a British depôt in
London. The price charged for a box was 2s. 3d.; it contained twelve
suppositories, described on the label as:
Warranted to cure Blind, Bleeding, or Itching
Hemorrhoids, and all other Diseases of the Lower Bowel
and Rectum.
The following extracts are quoted from the enclosed circulars:
Just so far as an electric light is ahead of a tallow
candle, is the Oxien Medi-Cone Pile Treatment in
advance of and superior to all other remedies for
Rectal Diseases.
The people do not like to be humbugged. Modern Men
and Women demand modern methods of treatment. With
this in view we have after careful painstaking study
and experimenting organized a radically new method
for the positive cure of Bleeding or Itching Piles or
Hemorrhoids, Rectal Ulcers, Fissure, Polypi, Fistula,
and all ailments of the Rectum and Lower Bowel....
If you are a sufferer from this terrible malady which
has scourged people of all classes of society, in every
clime since Bible times, do not now give up. You can
be cured. For centuries Piles have been treated in a
careless, listless manner, by physicians who through
ignorance or indifference were unfit to be entrusted
with such cases, or by quacks who by questionable
methods and high-titled nostrums extracted dollar after
dollar from patient sufferers. During the past few
years, however, a great awakening has taken place. The
people demanded a suitable and satisfactory treatment
and students have been at work, and the subject and
its cures have had the most careful and scientific
attention.
The result of the careful and scientific attention of the students is
these suppositories, which were found on analysis to have the following
composition:
Lead acetate 5·6 per cent.
Creasote, about 2·0 ”
A resinoid substance 3·0 ”
Vegetable tissue 1·0 ”
Hard paraffin 7·0 ”
Oil of theobroma (cocoa butter) 81·4 ”
The resinoid substance showed the presence of tannin; it could not
be identified with any certainty, but may have been “hamamelin,” an
extract of hamamelis (witch hazel) for which there is no official
standard or method of preparation, but it did not agree closely in
character with the hamamelin ordinarily supplied in this country. The
vegetable tissue appeared to be that of a young leaf, and from the
peculiar nature of the hairs was probably hamamelis leaf; the mature
leaves as imported into Great Britain, however, possess characters
which were absent. The suppositories were of the average weight of 19
grains, and the estimated prime cost of the ingredients for twelve is
1¼d.
HEMOTORA.
The fluid to which this name is given is stated to be manufactured for
a company by a chemist in Cheshire. A bottle containing nearly 4 fluid
ounces, costs 2s. In the accompanying circular the company’s views as
to the cause of piles are expounded as follows:
Hemotora is a Concentrated Extract of Herbs which has
been tested and proved beyond doubt to be a “Certain
Specific for Piles.” A short explanation will clearly
show the action of Hemotora. Should any hindrance occur
to the flow of blood through the hæmorrhoidal veins,
they naturally become congested and distended; this
further brings about a thickening of the vein walls,
eventually developing painful tumours called “Piles,”
or technically, “Hæmorrhoids.” The many and various
conditions that eventually produce Piles can always
be traced to this accumulation of blood, and it is
in this direction, the very basis of the complaint,
that the active principles of Hemotora display their
wonderful efficiency by removing the obstruction to
the natural flow of blood; the parts will then return
to their original condition and functions. Relief may
be obtained from the external use of Ointments, Creams
and Suppositories, but these preparations only afford
temporary ease, and do not tend to remove the Cause.
Only internal treatment can cure. Results show that
External, Internal, and Bleeding Piles alike soon yield
to this remedy; after a few doses the pain is greatly
alleviated, accompanied by a sense of relief from the
sickly feeling of lassitude and depression. The tonic
properties of Hemotora quickly restore the general
health.
From another circular it appears that
The “Hemotora Salve” for Itching Piles is sold in small
1s. Jars, large size, 2s. 6d.
Analysis of “Hemotora” showed it to be an aqueous liquid containing
about O·09 per cent. of a bitter amorphous alkaloid and 2·7 per cent.
of vegetable extractive, including a little of a substance of the
nature of a tannin, but not medicinal tannic acid. The liquid appeared
to be produced by aqueous extraction, infusion or decoction, of some
bitter vegetable substance.
ROLLO’S REMEDY FOR PILES.
This ointment, made by a Scottish company, is sold in tins, price 1s.
1½d., containing rather under 1 oz. It is described in an accompanying
circular as a remedy for a good many disorders besides Piles:
Rollo’s Remedy for Piles, Eczema, Rheumatic Pains,
Burns and Scalds, Chilblains, Soreness or Roughness of
the Skin, Itching.
Rollo’s Remedy is a Vegetable Extract in the Highest
Possible State of Purity, without any addition
whatever. It is obtained from a little known part of
Africa, and has been brought to its present perfection
after a long series of scientific experiments. It
does not contain any Poisons, Drugs, Chemicals, or
Impurities of any kind, and although intended for
external use only, it is so pure that even if eaten it
would be quite harmless.
Analysis showed the ointment to contain over 99 per cent. of fatty
basis, with a very small quantity of a dark substance which appeared to
be vegetable extractive. It contained no alkaloid and no tannin, and
possessed no characters indicative of the drug or plant from which it
was derived. The basis showed the characters of a mixture of fats in
which oil of theobroma (cocoa butter) predominated, with about 15 per
cent. of lanoline (anhydrous).
DR. VAN VLECK’S COMPLETE ABSORPTIVE PILE TREATMENT.
The preparations sold under this name are, or were, very widely
advertised by a company giving an address in London. They are offered
without previous payment, as indicated by the following extracts from
an advertisement:
To every person who sends us the coupon below at once,
we will send—Free to try—our complete new threefold
absorption cure for Piles, Ulcer, Fissure, Prolapse,
Tumours, Constipation, and all rectal troubles. If you
are fully satisfied with the benefits received, send
us 4s. 6d. If not, we take your word, and it costs you
nothing; you decide after a thorough trial.
Our valuable new Pile Book (in colours) comes free with
the approval treatment all in plain package. Send no
money—just the coupon—to Dr. Van Vleck Co.
The “new Pile Book,” a pamphlet of 40 pages, entitled “The Rational
Treatment of Rectal Diseases,” included a description of the rectum,
with eleven illustrations—several of them coloured—with descriptions of
various kinds of piles and treatments, and of the Van Vleck remedies. A
few extracts only can be given:
Unless you are beyond every chance of recovery, this
wonderful threefold Absorption treatment will cure
you....
The Absorption Cure is Threefold because there are
three avenues of approach to the seat of the ailment.
To neglect one of these avenues means to leave an open
gateway for the return of the malady. Dr. Van Vleck
struck at the well spring of the disease, as well as at
the visible effect of it. Once cured by our treatment
the disease is cured to stay cured. There is no pain,
no confinement, no heavy doctor’s or surgeon’s bill,
no operation. The cost is placed within the reach of
all, and the treatment is accompanied by a positive
guarantee of cure. The treatment embraces:
1. Dr. Van Vleck’s Absorptive Plasma.
2. Dr. Van Vleck’s Muco-food Cones.
3. Dr. Van Vleck’s Pile Pills (and System Regulator).
The “positive guarantee” is given inside the back cover of the
pamphlet, as follows:
GUARANTEE.
The Dr. Van Vleck Co.... Hereby positively agrees that
Dr. Van Vleck’s Absorption Cure for Piles, when taken
and used in accordance with our simple instructions and
directions, will cure any case of Piles, and in the
event of its failure to cure,
AGREES TO REFUND
The entire amount paid immediately upon required
statement that benefit has not been received.
The Dr. Van Vleck Co.
It will be observed that this purported to be a guarantee to cure, and
would be read by most as a promise to refund the amount paid if the
treatment did not cure; whereas it was only a promise to refund if a
“required” statement were made that benefit (that is, any benefit) had
not been received, a statement most uncured persons might hesitate to
make.
On application for the 4s. 6d. treatment, 5 suppositories, 10 pills,
and about 65 grains of “plasma” in a collapsible tube were sent, with a
long circular letter of the usual type, offering the:
Large special treatment, including our new Rectal
Applicator, made from pure Stannum,[2] for 21s., or for
16s. 6d. in addition to the 4s. 6d. to be sent for what
was supplied.
[2] _Stannum_: tin. _Latin Dictionary._
The labels of the preparations were stamped “made in U.S.A.”
Letters subsequently received urging continued use of the treatment
and pressing for particulars of the case, were much like those from
other nostrum dealers which have been printed in earlier chapters, and
included such statements as:
We have made a special study of your case, and we are
convinced that if this, our final offer to _you_,
is accepted, a permanent cure will be assured.
No “case” had been even mentioned in sending for the preparations. The
“final offer” was:
On receipt of 12s. 6d. we will forward you our Full
Size Guinea Treatment, post free. We are perfectly
willing to trust to you to remit us the balance of 4s.
on completion of the cure. Remember you are absolutely
protected by our guarantee (see last page of booklet).
Other papers sent were a “Patient’s Special Symptom Form,” to be
filled up after using the “treatment,” and including such questions as
“Are your Piles better?” “Please state in what way your condition has
changed since you commenced taking our treatment,” and a form for names
and addresses of other persons suffering from piles.
Analysis of the “plasma” showed it to be a paraffin ointment containing
about 6 per cent. of powdered galls and a small quantity of menthol
(approximately 1 per cent.); the basis consisted principally of soft
paraffin, with a dark substance which appeared to be the natural
impurities of crude petroleum. The formula is thus approximately:
Powdered galls 6 parts.
Menthol 1 ”
Crude petroleum jelly to 100 ”
The “Muco-food Cones” had an average weight of 21 grains; analysis
showed them to consist of:
Wheat flour 28 per cent.
Oil of theobroma (cocoa butter) 68 ”
Water 4 ”
Careful search failed to show any other ingredient.
The pills were coated with a mixture of talc and sugar, tinted an
orange colour; after removing the coating they had an average weight of
1·1 grain. Analysis showed them to contain small quantities of powdered
capsicum, powdered liquorice, and maize starch; 23 per cent. of ash,
about half of which consisted of silicious matter and was apparently
talc that had got into the pill from the coating; the remainder of the
ash showed the usual constituents of the ash of vegetable drugs and
extracts, together with a small quantity of zinc, which was present in
the pill in the metallic state and was presumably derived from some
vessel used in the preparation; a bitter extract, agreeing in its
properties with extract of cascara sagrada, constituting the major
portion of the pill; and a resinoid substance which resembled iridin.
As a definite formula cannot be given for such a pill, the cost of
ingredients can only be estimated somewhat roughly. After making
liberal allowance for the unknown resinoid, the estimated cost of the
ingredients of the quantities of the three preparations supplied for
4s. 6d. is three-farthings.
CHAPTER XVIII.
PREPARATIONS FOR RUPTURE.
Advertisements of means of curing rupture without operation are very
common, but in most cases the advertiser has for sale a special form
of truss or other appliance. The disorder is so well-known to be of a
mechanical or structural nature, that it might have been thought that
it would hardly have been worth anybody’s while to advertise drugs for
its cure. Nevertheless there are, at least, two instances in which
medicine for internal or external use is supplied; the results of
examination of these are here given.
RICE’S TREATMENT FOR RUPTURE.
The following is a specimen of the wording of the advertisement of
this “treatment” which used to be, and perhaps still is, very commonly
illustrated by a picture of a bricklayer filling up a hole in a wall:
RUPTURE CURED.
Do You See this Bricklayer Closing up the Opening in
that Wall. That is the way to cure _Rupture_,
by filling in the opening with _new_ and
_stronger_ tissue.
A rupture is simply a break in a wall—the wall of
_muscle_ that protects the bowels and other
internal organs.
It is just as easy to cure a wound or break in
_this_ muscle as one in the arm or hand.
Now this break may be no larger than the tip of your
finger. But it is large _enough_ to allow part of
the intestines to crowd through. Of course, this cannot
_heal_ unless nature is _assisted_. That is
just what this Method does. It enables you to retain
the protrusion inside the wall in its proper place.
Then we give you a Developing Lymphol to apply on
the rupture opening. This penetrates _through_
the skin to the edges of the opening and removes the
_hard ring_ which has formed around the break.
Then the _healing_ process begins. Nature, no
longer handicapped by the protruding bowel and hardened
ring at the opening, and stimulated by the action of
the Lymphol, throws out _her_ supply of lymph, and
the opening is again filled with _new muscle_.
Isn’t this simple? Isn’t it _reasonable_?...
Simply _write_ us and we will post you a _free
sample treatment of_ the Developing Lymphol and
a finely illustrated book on The Nature and Cure of
Rupture. Do _not_ send any money. Just your
_name_ and _address_ on this Coupon.
Application for particulars of the method of cure brought a book of
40 pages, entitled “The Nature and Cure of Rupture,” with a letter,
directions for measurement, and other papers. It would seem that if
the applicant does not at once become a customer, other letters and
booklets are sent at intervals. The titles of some of these booklets
which are before us are: “First Aid to the Ruptured,” “The Value
of a Cure,” “A Fireside Reverie,” “Facts and Faces,” “The Story of
Christopher Columbus,” and “The Man Who Wondered Why.” However much the
matter varies, it always leads to the subject of the cure of rupture
by Rice’s Treatment. The treatment consists of the wearing of an
“Appliance” (occasionally referred to as “my perfect truss”) and the
application of “Developing Lymphol.” The respective parts stated to be
played by these are indicated by the following extracts from some of
the pamphlets referred to:
To be cured of rupture it is necessary to apply my
Lymphol Developing Treatment regularly as directed, for
it is the Lymphol, not the Appliance, that performs the
cure.
The Appliance is simply a means of support to retain
the rupture, and prevent the protrusion from tearing
down the new particles of tissue with which the opening
is being filled under the vitalizing and healing
influence of the Lymphol.
The appliance is supplied in two grades or qualities. The price of the
Appliance and Lymphol together ranged from 21s. for a child’s single
appliance of the cheaper grade to £4 10s. for an “Abdominal Supporter
and Navel Appliance Combined,” of the higher grade. It was stated
in the price list that the lymphol and appliance were not supplied
separately; but in another list sent with the goods the lymphol alone
was priced at 16s. 6d. The bottle sent held just over four fluid ounces.
The directions were:
Lie on your back, remove appliance, unscrew stopper,
and sprinkle a few drops of the Lymphol on to the point
where the rapture leaves the cavity of the abdomen.
Apply night and morning, rubbing in thoroughly with
fingers. If irritation is produced, use less Lymphol,
or discontinue its use for a few days. The Lymphol may
be reduced in strength by adding Spiritus Rectificatus
which can be obtained from any chemist.
The “appliance” consisted of an elastic band to go round the body,
fitted with an adjustable pad and an understrap. Analysis showed the
“lymphol” to be an alcoholic solution containing essential oils and
capsicum resin, and a trace of red colouring matter. Oils of origanum
(thyme), peppermint, and spearmint were recognized; the proportion of
capsicum was estimated by determining the total solid matter, and by
comparing the pungency of dilutions of the lymphol with dilutions of
the solutions prepared in imitation; the red colouring matter was not
cochineal, or one of the common vegetable colours, but appeared to be
one of the artificial dyes. Careful comparisons indicated the following
formula:
Tincture of capsicum (_B.P._ strength but
prepared with strong alcohol) 60 parts by measure.
Oil of origanum 6 ” ”
Oil of peppermint 1 ” ”
Oil of spearmint 0·3 ” ”
Red dye q.s. ” ”
Rectified spirit to 100 ” ”
The estimated cost of the ingredients for 4 fluid ounces is 9d.
HEALINE TREATMENT.
This is advertised from a town in the south of England as follows:
Rupture cured
speedily and permanently, with inexpensive home
treatment. A certain remedy for Man, Woman, and Child.
Full particulars on receipt of two stamps.
Application to the address given brought a booklet of 28 pages, headed:
The following is a description of
Rupture,
Its causes, Symptoms,
Treatment, and Cure.
An extract from this booklet is here given:
The only possible way to effect a permanent cure is
by taking a remedy that will fortify and strengthen
the weakened vessels, and so enable them to bear an
ordinary strain without injuring them. HEALINE
TREATMENT No. 1 has been found by experience
to perform this operation after all other so-called
treatments have failed. External treatment cannot cure
you, for the cause is internal; therefore to effect a
cure the cause must be removed. By taking this remedy
as directed, a cure may be expected from two to four
months, according to description of complaint and
length of time affected. From six to nine bottles of
this preparation is generally sufficient to effect a
cure, or the same quantity of pills. I do not guarantee
to completely cure every case, but it will do as much
good as nature will allow, and prevent strangulation in
every case. I find, after a few years’ experience with
this remedy, that it is able to absolutely cure ninety
out of every hundred cases of rapture, where nine to a
dozen bottles have been taken.
Other sections of the pamphlet are devoted to varicocele and varicose
veins, for which it appears that “Healine No. 2” and “Healine No. 3”
respectively are recommended.
The prices of the preparations (post free) were thus given:
Liquid Form.—3s. per bottle; Three for 8s. 9d.; or Six
prepared bottles for 15s.
Pill Form (recommended).—2s. 9d. per box; Three for
8s.; or Six for 13s. 9d.
Healine Lotion (same price as Internal Healine) is
always necessary for bad Ulcerated Legs and open or
deep-seated Wounds, and never fails to cure when used
as directed.
Consultation by appointment only, for which a fee of
2s. 6d. will be charged.
An application for a bottle of liquid “Healine No. 1,” with a
remittance of 3s., brought in return a box of the pills, with an
intimation that these were recommended in preference. The box contained
60 pills, two to be taken three times a day.
The pills were coated with talc, after removal of which they had
an average weight of 4 grains. No metallic salts were present, and
no alkaloid; about 1 per cent. of an oily liquid of acid nature,
apparently oleic acid, was found; small quantities of a tannin, gum,
and phlobaphene, a decomposition product of tannin, were present,
and a bitter substance which showed no characters by which it could
be identified; aloin and extract of cascara sagrada were absent,
and all resinous substances, unless in minute quantity; the pill
consisted chiefly of indefinite extractive, with about 20 per cent. of
a vegetable powder, one ingredient of which was liquorice, a second
appearing to be gentian, but it was not identified with certainty;
a considerable portion of the vegetable powder had no identifiable
properties.
CHAPTER XIX.
CURES FOR INEBRIETY.
For a good many years past cures for inebriety have been freely
advertised in various ways, some of them commonplace and others
showing a good deal of ingenuity. Some are advertised and sold in the
same way as ordinary secret remedies, that is to say, the purchaser
sends so much money and receives a box or bottle with directions
for administering the contents. In other instances the inebriate is
required to submit himself to inspection, and in certain cases must
enter a home maintained by the proprietor or his agents. Between these
two extremes there are intermediate plans, the methods followed shading
off on the one hand into those of the ordinary nostrum seller, and on
the other into the more elaborate system of the “treatments” with which
transatlantic enterprise has made us familiar. The last of the remedies
described by name below approximates very closely to this class.
COZA POWDER.
This powder is supplied by the Coza Institute, 76, Wardour Street,
London, W., formerly 62, Chancery Lane, London, W.C. The price charged
for a box, containing 30 powders was 10s.
The preparation was advertised with an offer of a free sample. An
application for a sample brought a single powder together with a 10s.
box to be paid for or returned, a book of 130 pages (which is referred
to below), and a letter, from which the following is an extract:
Coza Powder has the marvellous effect of producing a
repugnance to intoxicating drink of any kind, and may
be administered in coffee, tea, milk, water, beer,
whisky, brandy, or solid food without the partaker’s
knowledge.
Coza Powder does its work so silently and surely that
any person interested in the intemperate can administer
it to him or her without his or her knowledge and
without him or her learning what has effected the
reformation.
Coza Powder has reconciled thousands of families,
saved from shame and dishonour thousands of men and
transformed them into sturdy citizens and capable
business men. It has led many a young man along the
direct road to good fortune, and has prolonged by
several years the lives of many individuals.
We particularly wish to draw your attention to the fact
that we guarantee Coza Powder to be absolutely harmless.
The book which was sent, entitled _No more Drunkenness_, opens with the
statements that—
Coza Powder is one of the greatest discoveries of the
day. There is nothing in the whole world to compare
with it. It is the only powder to cure the craving for
drink and drug habits.
The first few pages are devoted to a disquisition on drunkenness; then
follow further claims for Coza Powder, such as—
Coza is the name of a marvellous powder which possesses
the quality of occasioning in him who takes it a
dislike for alcoholic liquors and all intoxicating
drinks. The drinker finds alcohol so detestable
that even on the most tempting occasions it will be
impossible for him to take a single drop.
A large part of the book is given up to what are called testimonials,
with portraits stated to represent the writers; the large majority of
these are dated from Continental countries. Those to which English
names and addresses are appended are for the most part expressions of
hopefulness, or records of slight variations in drinking which are
believed to be due to the powders; for instance:
My friend has been taking “Coza” this last two days,
and he has had no desire for drink.
Enclosed you will find P.O. for which send me another
box. I think the powders are doing my friend good. Send
at once.
The last pages of the book are devoted to advertisements of Canexia
Hair Elixir, Canexia-Brilliantine, and Canexia-Shampoo Powder, supplied
from the Canexia Chemical Works, 61, Chancery Lane; and Anticelta
Tablets for Obesity, and Brixa Tablets for Thin People, supplied from
62, Chancery Lane.
A visit to the address showed that the Canexia Chemical Works, the Coza
Institute, and the offices of Anticelta and Brixa Tablets were all at
that time accommodated in three rooms on the second floor at 61 and
62, Chancery Lane, the double number representing the one entrance of
a large block of buildings containing hundreds of different offices. A
photograph of the entire block, inscribed “Coza Institute,” is given in
the book just referred to. The address has since been changed to that
given above.
The powders had an average weight of 1½ grains, the weights of single
ones varying from ⅓ grain to 3 grains. Analysis showed them to contain
90·5 per cent. of sodium bicarbonate, the remainder being a vegetable
powder; microscopic examination of this powder showed that it agreed in
all its characters with a mixture of equal parts of cummin fruit and
cinnamon. No alkaloid was present, and no other ingredient of any kind
could be detected. The formula is thus:
Sodium bicarbonate 90 parts.
Powdered cinnamon 5 ”
Powdered cummin 5 ”
Cummin fruit (seeds) have a bitter aromatic taste and a peculiar strong
heavy odour. Owing to its disagreeable taste and odour cummin is seldom
used in medicine, any medicinal properties it possesses being the same
as those of other aromatic and less nauseous umbelliferous fruits.
The estimated cost of the ingredients for 30 powders was one-thirtieth
of a penny.
DIPSOCURE.
This nostrum is prepared by a “Chemical Co.,” giving an address in
Birmingham. The price charged for a box, containing 50 powders, 25
being white and 25 tinted reddish-buff, was 9s.
This article, like the preceding, is advertised with an offer of a free
sample. Application for a sample brought also a stream of letters at
short intervals, with abundant printed matter. A few extracts from the
letters are here given:
Eminent medical men have over and over again declared
that if a cure for drunkenness could be discovered
both TASTELESS AND ODOURLESS, and placed in the
hands of a devoted woman to administer SECRETLY, the
greatest difficulty in effecting cures would have been
overcome. “Dipsocure” IS TASTELESS and ODOURLESS, and
CAN BE administered SECRETLY; so that it has been our
privilege and good fortune to have solved the problem.
Whilst counteracting and freeing the alcoholic-laden
system of the poison, it is soothing to the nerves
and restores the health, and is harmless to the most
delicate person.
... when a cure has been effected we ask you kindly
to acquaint us of the fact, and perhaps you will then
consider our agency proposal, showing how a good income
can be made by introducing the cure to others. To show
you the ease with which it can be sold, if you remit us
10s. three packages will be sent, two of which you can
readily dispose of to other sufferers at 9s. each, thus
making 8s. profit and obtaining one packet quite free.
The directions for use were:
Give one powder three times a day, before meals,
dissolved in half a tea-cup of Hot Coffee, Tea, Whisky,
Milk, Gin, &c.
Use either the brown or white powder, as the colour of
the liquid may require.
The powders had an average weight of 4·2 grains, single powders varying
from 2·9 to 6·0 grains. The composition of both kinds was found to be
the same except for the trace of colouring matter contained in the
tinted powder. Analysis showed the composition to be—
Acetanilide 6 parts.
Potassium bromide 35 ”
Sugar of milk 59 ”
The estimated cost of the ingredients for 50 powders was one-third of a
penny.
ANTIDIPSO.
This is supplied by another “Chemical Company,” giving an address in
London. The price of a box, containing 48 powders, 24 being white, and
24 tinted pinkish-buff, was 10s.
The statements made about this article, in circulars and letters, were
very similar to those made about the preceding one. A few extracts will
suffice:
You will not forget that to insure an absolute complete
and permanent cure for the craving, two boxes are
invariably required. We have had data of cures effected
with one box, but to make absolutely sure you will
do well to immediately send us remittance, to the
same value as the last, and get the second box of the
specific. Antidipso may be administered with or without
the knowledge of the patient.... We enclose you a
booklet showing our agency terms. Kindly give it your
attention, as we are confident you will be so surprised
and satisfied at the cure which will be effected that
you will either yourself want to take up agency with
us, or get some one in your district to do so.
The directions were:
Give one powder, dissolved in half a tea-cup of hot
coffee, whisky, milk, gin, &c. (using either Brown or
White Powder as colour of liquid may require) 3 times a
day before meals.
The powders had an average weight of 5·3 grains, single powders ranging
from 3·7 to 9·9 grains. The white and tinted powders were made of the
same constituents, with a trace of colouring matter added in the latter
case, but in different proportions. Analysis showed the composition to
be:
WHITE POWDERS.
Potassium bromide 24·5 parts.
Sugar of milk 75·5 ”
COLOURED POWDERS.
Potassium bromide 35 parts.
Sugar of milk 65 ”
The estimated cost of the ingredients for 48 powders was one-third of a
penny.
THE TEETOLIA TREATMENT.
The following is an extract from an advertisement of a “Teetolia
Treatment Association,” giving an address in London:
After years of Drink and Drug taking—
Cured in 4 days.
... The Teetolia treatment acts so rapidly and so
efficiently that within four days from the commencement
of administration the insistent craving for drink is
absolutely destroyed—so much so, that even the thought
of alcohol becomes nauseating.... Thousands have been
cured by this treatment, and we guarantee to cure you.
If you write to-day, you will receive by return of post
a private consultation sheet, together with a valuable
book on this subject, post free in plain envelope, and
you will be a free man within a week.
On application being made for further particulars, a booklet of twenty
pages, entitled _The Teetolia Treatment for Alcoholic Excess, Drug
Habits, and Resultant Nervous Diseases_, was sent, together with a
letter and a form to be filled up with particulars of the case to be
treated. The following are extracts from the booklet:
The discovery of the Teetolia method and treatment
for the permanent eradication of the crave for drink
and drugs marks an era in medical science. It is the
outcome of a life’s study of the subject by one of our
best known West-End physicians.
You can, whilst undergoing the treatment, pursue your
ordinary methods of living. You continue to take your
daily modicum of alcohol; but somehow about the third
or fourth day of treatment, without having made any
physical or mental effort, you feel that you no longer
want a drink; it holds out no attractions to you; its
magnetic influence has gone....
We are willing to supply you with sufficient medicine
for eight days’ treatment free of all charge. This
will enable you to determine whether the treatment is
acting successfully, for at the end of the fourth day
an obvious and perceptible effect should be
experienced. We impose no condition; we rely on your
candour, honesty, and gratitude that at the end of the
eight days’ treatment, if you are convinced of the
value of the Teetolia Treatment, you will forward to us
the ordinary fee—£1 1_s._—for same, but if you
have derived no benefit from the treatment at the end
of the same period, then you are under no obligation
whatever to pay us one single penny.
The letters were on headed paper, at the top of which was printed,
“All communications strictly confidential,” and “Consultations with
Physician by appointment.” The first letter concluded as follows:
Please therefore fill in and return without delay the
special statement sheet and upon our receiving it the
Physician will go carefully into the case and will
prescribe special medicine, which will reach you with
expert advice in the course of two or three days in a
perfectly plain sealed package.
The “expert advice,” in a letter purporting to be from “The Medical
Superintendent,” sent with the medicine, contained these passages:
I want, if possible, the patient to use his own
endeavours to try and keep off alcohol during the first
few days of treatment; if this cannot be done, then the
treatment must be commenced when the patient is not
drinking, in order to give the medicine a better hold
on the system. The dislike for alcohol, which we claim,
does not come on all at once.
The eight days’ treatment is enough to show you that
it will do good, but not sufficient in this case to
effect a permanent cure. I would advise the patient to
continue for at least a month to six weeks.
This is somewhat widely at variance with the statements quoted above.
“You continue to take your daily modicum of alcohol” and “you will be a
free man within a week.”
The one guinea “treatment” consisted of 2⅙ fluid ounces of a liquid of
the nature of a vegetable fluid extract.
The directions were:
Half a teaspoonful to be taken in a little water every
four hours during the day at 10, 2, 6, and 10 o’c.
Analysis showed this to contain 29·3 per cent. by volume of alcohol
and 2·3 per cent. of alkaloid, which consisted principally of quinine.
The liquid agreed generally with a diluted liquid extract of cinchona;
the amount of alkaloid was just under half what is contained in the
official liquid extract of cinchona. Treatment with suitable solvents
extracted a trace of a non-alkaloidal bitter substance resembling the
bitter substances obtainable from quassia, chiretta, &c.; a preparation
of chiretta appeared to be the more probable. No strychnine was
present, and no evidence was obtained of any other ingredient.
SOME OTHER DRUG CURES FOR INEBRIETY.
A somewhat frequent constituent of preparations for the treatment of
inebriety is atropine, while other preparations contain one or more
of the alkaloids belonging to the same group, usually known as the
solanaceous alkaloids from the fact that they are all derived from
plants of the nat. ord. _Solanaceae_. These alkaloids closely resemble
each other in their chemical nature and in their pharmacological
properties; the principal members of the group are:
Atropine, C₁₇H₂₃NO₃; obtained chiefly from _Atropa
belladonna_ (deadly nightshade) and _Scopola
carniolica_.
Hyoscyamine, C₁₇H₂₃NO₃, obtained chiefly from
_Hyoscyamus niger_ (henbane) and _Scopola_
species.
Hyoscine, or scopolamine, C₁₇H₂₁NO₄, obtained chiefly
from _Scopola_ species, _Hyoscyamus niger_,
and _Datura alba_.
The two following were originally described as separate substances, but
have more recently been shown to consist of mixtures:
Duboisine, obtained from _Duboisia myoporoides_,
consists chiefly of hyoscyamine and hyoscine.
Daturine, from _Datura stramonium_ (thornapple)
consists chiefly of hyoscyamine, with a variable
proportion of atropine.
A certain preparation for inebriety is said to contain “stramonine”; as
no alkaloid has been described and characterized under this name, it is
probably only a variant of daturine, which, as has been said, consists
of a natural mixture of hyoscyamine and atropine.
To the above may be added the artificial alkaloid homatropine
(C₁₀H₂₁NO₃), which has not been found in a plant, but is prepared
synthetically; in chemical constitution it is mandelyl-tropeine,
atropine being tropyltropeine.
The differences in the action of the four principal solanaceous
alkaloids are briefly as follows:
_Atropine_ has a stimulant action on the central nervous system
especially on the motor area; it depresses and in large doses paralyses
the nerve endings of secretory glands, plain muscle, and the heart.
_Hyoscyamine_ is intermediate in its action between atropine and
hyoscine; causes less stimulation of the central nervous system than
atropine, and is a weaker sedative and hypnotic than hyoscine. It has
the same action peripherally as atropine but is twice as powerful.
_Hyoscine_ resembles atropine in its paralysing effect upon peripheral
nerve endings, the action being quicker, more powerful, and less
lasting. It does not possess the stimulating effect of atropine upon
the brain; depression of the motor area is marked from the first.
_Homatropine_ resembles atropine in its action but is less powerful.
CHAPTER XX.
CURE ALLS.
The greater number of the proprietary medicines described in these
pages are advertised as cures for a wide range of ailments, but
usually there is some one disease for the treatment of which they are
particularly recommended, so that it has been possible to classify
them according to their alleged purposes. In very many other cases,
however, the claims made are so wide that the article is put forward
as a sort of cure-all. Thus one of the articles described is stated to
cure such different disorders as constipation, rheumatism, St. Vitus’s
dance, heart disease, rickets, sleeplessness, kidney complaints, and
women’s special ailments, among many others, and is said to be “a
real elixir of life in solid form”; the facts as to its composition,
ascertained by analysis, show what the possibility of its being a
“cure”—for heart disease, for instance—is. As to “Pink Pills,” another
of the nostrums analysed, which probably owes its popularity partly
to bold advertisement and partly to its alliterative name, the method
followed appears to be to recommend them for different diseases in
different advertisements; personal testimony, or what is put forward
as such, from sufferers who have been cured, is made the basis of
most of these, and illustrations are employed to catch the eye of the
casual reader. Analysis showed that these pills were practically the
ordinary iron-carbonate pills commonly called Blaud’s pill, which ought
to be freshly made. The Pink Pills are of lower strength than usually
prescribed, and to judge by the proportion of iron that was found to
be in the higher state of oxidation, very carelessly prepared. They
differ vastly, however, from other Blaud’s pills in the price charged
for them. Thus the proprietary Pink Pills are sold at a little over a
penny each, while coated Blaud’s pills can be bought retail at a few
pence a gross, and wholesale in large quantities at a little over a
penny a gross. The analyses of other proprietary preparations show a
similar disparity between the market price of the drug supplied and
the price charged to the person who is beguiled into purchasing; thus
thirteen-pence-halfpenny, two shillings and sixpence, and two shillings
and ninepence are the selling prices of nostrums, the ingredients of
which are estimated to cost respectively one-eighth, one-third, and
one-tenth of a penny.
Preparations of this class are not in all cases very clearly marked
off from those recommended for some special disease, such as have been
dealt with in previous chapters, for many of them are recommended
for some one disease, of which nearly all others are asserted to be
variations.
DR. MARTIN’S MIRACLETTS.
These wonders are supplied by a Medicine Co., from an address in
London. The prices are 1s. 1½d., 2s. 9d., 4s. 6d., and 11s. per bottle.
A 2s. 9d. bottle contained sixty tablets.
They are described on the package as:
A real Elixir of Life in solid form. The world’s
greatest remedy.
Cures Constipation, Indigestion, Headache, Neuralgia,
Anæmia, Nervous Disorders, Liver Troubles, Rheumatism,
Sciatica, Gout, St. Vitus’ Dance, Hysteria, Rickets,
Heart Disease, Kidney Complaints.
Cures Melancholia, Loss of Appetite, Sleeplessness,
Lassitude, Mental Depression, Brain Fag, Palpitation,
Stomach Disorders, Women’s Special Ailments and
Irregularity of Health, etc., etc.
A little book, entitled “A Fortune for All,” enclosed in the package,
contained the following statements:
Whatever you may be suffering from do not worry or
fear, as Dr. MARTEN’S MIRACLETTS will be
certain to cure you!
Dr. Martin’s Miracletts make the weak and sickly become
strong and healthy, and the aged become youthful and
full of energy; the tired worn-out look being replaced
by an appearance of cheerfulness and vivid health. The
pale and wrinkled face with bad complexion gives way
to rosy cheeks and a clear skin; the thin gain flesh,
and the stout lose superfluous fat; indigestion quickly
disappears, the appetite returns, and a _new life_
is open to all.
A separate small slip enclosed in the package was worded as follows:
GUARANTEE.
Dr. Martin’s Medicine Company being absolutely
confident of the marvellous curative properties of
their Miracletts, will willingly refund the money
to any purchaser who has taken eighteen Miracletts
according to directions, and is not satisfied with the
results.
Much less conspicuously, on another slip chiefly devoted to the
relative quantities in the packages of different size, it was stated:
Those whose ailments have been of long standing must
not expect immediate perceptible results, but with
a little patience and perseverance the result is
SURE.
The “Miracletts” consisted of sugar-coated tablets, the coating being
coloured brown with ferric oxide (so-called chocolate coating). After
removal of the coating they had an average weight of 4·3 grains;
this included the weight of a strong coating of varnish, which was
not removed with the sugar-coating. Analysis showed them to contain
valerianates of quinine and zinc, iron oxide, menthol, kaolin in
considerable quantity, and a little talc. A substance of extract nature
was also present to the extent of about 5 per cent.; it possessed no
characteristic taste or other property by which it could be identified;
a resinous substance, which was found in small quantity, appeared to be
merely the varnish with which the tablets were covered. The quantities
of the different ingredients were determined as nearly as possible, and
the results indicated the following amounts:
Quinine valerianate 0·4 grain.
Zinc valerianate 0·1 ”
Ferric oxide 0·3 ”
Menthol 0·03 ”
Kaolin and talc 2·3 grains
In one tablet.
The estimated cost of the ingredients of the tablets is 4d. a hundred.
THERAPION.
Another “medicine company,” also with an address in London, advertises
three preparations which it calls Therapion. Therapion No. 1 was
described as “the most efficacious remedy” for “all discharges”;
Therapion No. 2 as “the great remedy for impurity of the blood, scurvy,
pimples, spots, blotches, pains and swellings of the joints, gout,”
and so on; and No. 3 as a new French remedy, by the use of which the
shattered health will be restored.
The Expiring Lamp of Life Lighted Up Afresh,
and a new existence imparted in place of what had
so lately seemed worn, “used up,” and valueless.
This wonderful medicine is suitable for all ages,
constitutions, and conditions, in either sex, and it is
difficult to imagine a case of disease or derangement,
whose main features are those of debility, that will
not be speedily and permanently benefited by this
never-failing recuperative essence, which is destined
to cast into oblivion everything that had preceded
it, for this widespread and numerous class of human
ailments.
The claims for No. 3 being so inclusive, it was deemed sufficient to
analyse it only. The dose of all three was stated to be the same—a
piece about the size of a small marble three or four times a day; as
the package, costing 2s. 9d., contained 1⅓ oz., and as it was referred
to as providing twenty ordinary doses, a single dose would be about
30 grains. The substance consisted of a dark stiff paste smelling
strongly of camphor. Analysis showed it to contain, in addition to
camphor, glycerine, powdered liquorice, a bitter extract agreeing in
all respects with extract of gentian, calcium glycerophosphate, and a
trace of alkaloid; there also appeared to be a second extract present.
The alkaloid, which amounted to 0·06 per cent. only, could not be
identified with any of the ordinary medicinal alkaloids. There was some
evidence that the second extract was that of damiana, and a paste made
up with this and the other ingredients agreed well with the original;
but extract of damiana possesses no distinctive characters by which it
can be identified in a mixture. Quantitative determinations were made
of those ingredients capable of it, and the proportions of the others
estimated by comparison. The results indicated the following formula:
Camphor 2·5 parts.
Glycerine 24 ”
Powdered liquorice 40 ”
Calcium glycerophosphate 1·8 ”
Extract of gentian 5·0 ”
Extract of damiana (?) 8 ”
Alkaloid 0·06 ”
Water to 100 ”
In addition, there appeared to be present a slight trace of the oil of
one of the umbelliferous fruits, probably anise or fennel. Disregarding
the trace of alkaloid, the estimated cost of the ingredients for 1⅓ oz.
is 2d.
PINK PILLS FOR PALE PEOPLE.
These pills, sold by the Dr. Williams Medicine Company, from an address
in London, are stated to be manufactured in the United States of
America. The price is 2s. 9d. a box, containing 30 pills.
The pills are advertised for a great variety of diseases, prominence
being usually given to one disease in each advertisement; thus four
long advertisements appearing simultaneously in different papers were
respectively headed:
Afraid of being touched. So sore with Rheumatism. A
once-crippled victim tells how Dr. Williams’ Pink Pills
cleansed his system of Rheumatism.
Eczema expelled. Mr. John Chamberlain tells how
his sufferings from Skin Disease were cured by Dr.
Williams’ Pink Pills.
Sciatica’s Swift Pains rendered this Lady helpless. Her
case had defied treatment, but Dr. Williams’ Pink Pills
succeeded by curing the cause of Sciatica.
The Dark Days of Dyspepsia.... Dr. Williams’ Pink Pills
go to the very cause of the mischief.
Each advertisement included a long description of a “case,” and as a
rule a picture was introduced. The following is from the concluding
paragraph of the first of these advertisements, and the others ended in
a similar way.
THE DR. WILLIAMS’ WAY.
When the muscles and nerves are tortured by poisons
in the Blood, be the result Rheumatism, Sciatica,
or Lumbago, the only way to a cure is to Enrich
and Purify the Blood. Dr. Williams’ Pink Pills, in
this way alone, have cured not only Rheumatism, but
Anæmia, Indigestion, Palpitations, Influenza’s
After-Effects, Eczema, Sciatica, St. Vitus’ Dance,
Spinal Weakness, the many forms of Nervous Disorders
dreaded by men; also the special ailments of women.
The pills were ovoid in shape and coated with sugar, coloured pink;
after removal of the coating they had an average weight of 3 grains.
Analysis showed them to contain ferrous sulphate, potassium carbonate
(these two having reacted more or less completely, and about one-third
of the iron having become oxidized to the ferric state), magnesia,
powdered liquorice, and sugar. Since it has been stated that these
pills contain arsenic, careful search was made for it, but it was not
found, The pill is thus merely one of the many variations of Blaud’s
pill. The quantities of the different ingredients found indicated the
following formula:
Exsiccated sulphate of iron 0·75 grain.
Potassium carbonate, anhydrous 0·66 ”
Magnesia 0·09 ”
Powdered liquorice 1·4 ”
Sugar 0·2 ”
In one pill.
The estimated cost of the ingredients for 30 pills is one-tenth of a
penny.
BEECHAM’S PILLS.
A box of these pills, advertised to be worth a guinea, is sold for 1s.
1½d., and the prime cost of the ingredients of the 56 pills it contains
is about half a farthing.
In a circular wrapped round the box it is stated that “these renowned
pills are composed entirely of Medicinal Herbs,” and cure Constipation,
Headache, Dizziness or Swimming in the Head, Wind, Pain, and Spasms at
the Stomach, Pains in the Back, Restlessness, Insomnia, Indigestion,
Want of Appetite, Fullness after Meals, Vomitings, Sickness of the
Stomach, Bilious or Liver Complaints, Sick Headaches, Cold Chills,
Flushings of Heat, Lowness of Spirits, and all Nervous Affections,
Scurvy and Scorbutic Affections, Pimples and Blotches on the Skin, Bad
Legs, Ulcers, Wounds, Maladies of Indiscretion, Kidney and Urinary
Disorders, and Menstrual Derangements.
The pills had an average weight of 1¼ grains, and analysis showed them
to consist of aloes, ginger, and soap; no other medicinal ingredient
was found. The quantities were approximately as follows:
Aloes 0·5 grain.
Powdered ginger 0·55 ”
Powdered soap 0·18 ”
In one pill.
NERVLETTES.
Of these pills, which are sold in a bottle, price 1s. 1½d., containing
27 pills, a circular enclosed in the package said
Coleman’s Nervlettes or Nerve Pills generate brain and nerve-force.
The pills were coated with talc; after removal of the coating they had
an average weight of about 1½ grains. Analysis showed them to contain
free phosphorus, quinine sulphate, a little powdered liquorice, and
about 20 per cent. of a powdered vegetable tissue, which could not be
identified; the remainder of the pill appeared to be of the nature of
excipient only. The amounts of phosphorus and quinine were determined,
and indicated the following formula:
Phosphorus 0·005 grain.
Quinine sulphate 0·07 ”
Vegetable powder 0·3 ”
In one pill.
MOTHER SEIGEL’S CURATIVE SYRUP.
The price of a bottle of Mother Seigel’s Syrup containing 3 fluid
ounces is 2s. 6d.
Although this was described on the wrapper as “for dyspepsia” so
many disorders were stated to be due to this cause, and amenable to
treatment with this preparation, that it may fairly be included in
this chapter. On the other side of the wrapper it was called “A cure
for impurities of the blood,” and “A cure for dyspepsia and liver
complaints.” In a circular enclosed with the bottle it was stated:
The symptoms mentioned above are the smoke of the fire
of indigestion—a fire that will eat out your very
vitals and sap your strength and vitality. For it can’t
be too often repeated that indigestion is the root
of a great deal of evil; the origin of a great many
disorders which no man quite understands how he came
by. And why this is can easily be explained. Disease
is poison; its symptoms are the manifestation of the
poison. Indigestion creates many dangerous poisons, and
is therefore the cause of many diseases.
So let us get rid of the smoke by putting out the fire,
and purify our blood and system with Mother Seigel’s
Syrup, which will sweep away the poisons and make us
healthy and strong.
Mother Seigel’s Syrup is a highly concentrated, purely
vegetable compound, having a specific action on the
stomach, liver, and kidneys.
Analysis showed the presence of free hydrochloric acid, which is not
usually classified as a vegetable compound, tincture of capsicum, a
bitter substance agreeing in its properties with aloes, and sugar
(partly as invert sugar); the colouring and flavouring substances also
present indicated that the sugar had been added in the form of treacle.
Quantitative determination of those ingredients capable of it, and
estimation of the others by comparison with known mixtures, indicated
the following formula:
Dilute hydrochloric acid (_B.P._) 10 parts by measure.
Tincture of capsicum 1·7 ” ”
Aloes 2 parts.
Treacle 60 ”
Water to 100 parts by measure.
The estimated cost of the ingredients for 3 fluid ounces is one-third
of a penny.
THE ILLS OF HUMANITY.
Several examples have been encountered in previous chapters of the
system of getting into personal communication with a possible customer,
and addressing to him a series of letters warning him of the dire
consequences should he fail to purchase the advertiser’s “treatment.”
Over and beyond the chance of frightening the customer, the system,
which seems to have originated in the United States of America, has
the advantages that a profession can be made of adapting the treatment
to the individual case, that the price may be lowered if the charge
first made is considered too high and that possibly, in return for
this concession, testimonials and the names of other sufferers may be
obtained. A letter-writing system of this kind is found at work behind
the advertisement from which the following paragraphs are extracted:
Free! Free!
To the Sick and Ailing Everywhere.
The Cure for your Disease—Delivered Free—Free for the
Asking—Free to You.
To the sick—the suffering—to every man and woman
victim of organic disease—local trouble or broken
general health—Dr. Kidd’s offer of free treatments is
given in the absolute faith and sincere belief that
they can and will stop disease, cure it, and lift you
up again to health and vigour....
Rheumatism, kidney trouble, Bright’s disease, diabetes,
heart disease, partial paralysis, bladder troubles,
stomach and bowel troubles, piles, catarrh, bronchitis,
weak lungs, consumption, asthma, chronic coughs,
nervousness, all female troubles, lumbago, skin
diseases, scrofula, impure blood, general debility,
organic vital ailments, etc., are cured to remain and
continue cured....
Will you let me do this for you—will you let me prove
it—brother and sister sufferers? Are you willing to
trust a master physician, who not only MAKES this
offer, but PUBLISHES it and then sends the test and
proof of his remedies without a penny of cost to anyone
except himself?...
My home office is at Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.A., but
for the benefit of my thousands of English patients, I
have established an office in London. Please address
Dr. James W. Kidd, “Box” No. ____, E.C.
The advertisement was illustrated by the portrait of a man who, it
might be assumed, was the “master physician” in question, but that
in a book of some hundred pages, entitled “The Ills of Humanity, by
Dr. James W. Kidd, Fort Wayne, Ind.,” issued apparently by “the J. W.
Kidd Co.,” there is a portrait of Dr. James W. Kidd, which seems to
represent a totally different person.
The book is principally occupied with a series of paragraphs on
different complaints, rather over a hundred being dealt with; in the
majority of cases the description leads up to reference to Dr. Kidd’s
treatment, or medicines, etc. Dr. James William Kidd, the book states,
possesses a profound knowledge of medicine, a remarkable power over
disease, and has “among his resources remedies that enable him to treat
successfully many diseases that are generally considered incurable.”
After this the fact disclosed by analysis that his remedies seem in
reality sadly lacking in originality and novelty, must excite a mild
surprise.
It appears that persons writing to Dr. James W. Kidd, or the J. W.
Kidd Co., receive a “Self-Examination and Consultation Blank.” In one
instance in which the blank was filled up, the reply was as follows:
Diagnosis and Case Record. By Dr. James W. Kidd, Fort
Wayne, Ind.
For a complete description of your case, the probable
results and my method of treatment, see pages 46, 99,
29, 13, 9, of the pamphlet “The Ills of Humanity,” sent
you under separate cover.
I find that you are afflicted with Rheumatism,
Scrofula, Catarrh, Dyspepsia and Gastritis.
Rheumatism MEANS an excess of uric acid in the blood.
Scrofula is a constitutional disease almost synonymous
with tuberculosis.
Catarrh is an excreting inflammation of the mucous
membrane.
Dyspepsia (Indigestion) MEANS impaired secretion of
pepsin and consequent imperfect digestion.
Gastritis MEANS catarrh of the mucous membrane of the
stomach.
TAKE THE REMEDIES ACCORDING TO THE FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS:
One Tablet “A” before breakfast.
One Tablet “B” before dinner.
One Tablet No. 18 before supper.
One Tablet No. 7 after dinner and after supper.
One Tablet No. 45 on retiring.
This was accompanied by tablets marked “A,” “B,” and “18,” three of
each, four marked “45,” and five marked “7”; also by a letter which
appeared to be lithographed, and although the name and address were
in the same writing and the same ink, they showed evidence of having
been added afterwards. It seems probable, therefore, that, although
professing to be a personal letter, it was one in regular use. It
stated that Dr. James W. Kidd has “to-day selected and will forward
to your address upon receipt of your remittance of 1_l._ the complete
course of treatment,” the tablets sent being only samples. The letter
apologizes for the smallness of the samples on the ground that the
drugs “are very expensive.” The writer adds: “I have taken special
interest in your case, because I want a cured patient in your immediate
vicinity.” The tablets were analysed as completely as was possible with
the small quantities sent, with the following results:
_Tablet A_ (triangular) was coloured externally with a salmon-pink
dye; the outer coating was of sugar, and below this was a rather
thick coating of chalk, forming a very hard and resistant covering
to the tablet. The decoated tablets weighed about 3-¼ grains each;
they contained 52 per cent. of sodium bicarbonate, and the remainder
consisted principally of a bitter extract agreeing in all respects with
extract of gentian; small quantities of potato starch and a substance
of resinoid nature, which could not be identified, were also present.
No other medicinal substance could be found.
_Tablet B_ (triangular) was coloured externally with a bluish-purple
dye; the coating and the material of the tablets agreed in all respects
with Tablet A, and the two were apparently identical.
_Tablet 18_ (circular) was white; the coating was of similar
composition to that of A. The decoated tablets weighed about 3·8 grains
each; analysis showed the presence of about 1 grain of sodium benzoate
in each, together with a small quantity of a greenish, moderately
bitter resin which could not be identified, and a trace of oil of
wintergreen. Faint indications were obtained of a trace of an alkaloid,
but not enough to amount to positive evidence. No other medicinal
substance could be found; the remainder was of “extractive” nature.
_Tablet 45_ (circular) was coloured externally with a pink dye; the
coating was of similar composition to that of A. The decoated tablets
weighed about 1·1 grain each; the chief constituent was aloes, and
there was also present a very small quantity of ginger extract, and a
small quantity of a resin, which was probably jalap or scammony resin;
also a moderate trace of alkaloid, which was not the alkaloid of nux
vomica, belladonna, or hyoscyamus, but was not present in quantity
sufficient to be identified; the only other ingredient found was a
little potato starch.
_Tablet 7_ (circular) was not coated. The average weight of these was
6·5 grains each, and they consisted principally of charcoal, with some
sugar and a very little saccharin.
“These special remedies are very expensive!”
BURGESS’S LION OINTMENT.
The results of an examination of Burgess’s Lion Ointment may be given
here inasmuch as it will be seen that it is recommended for the cure of
a great number of disorders. It is supplied in boxes at 1s. 1½d., 2s.
9d., 4s. 6d., 11s., and jars at 22s.; the 1s. 1½d. box contains 1 oz.,
and the next size 3 oz.
A circular wrapped round the box was headed “Amputation avoided—the
knife superseded,” and continued:
E. Burgess’s Lion Ointment and Pills Have deservedly
become the popular remedies for curing all diseases of
the Skin, Old Wounds, Ulcers, Abscesses, (including
Tuberculous), Tumours, Polypuses, Piles, Fistulas,
Shingles, Venerea Sores, Whitlows, Broken Breasts, Bad
Legs, Boils, Scurvy, Scrofula (_King’s Evil_),
Scorbutic Eruptions, Poisoned Wounds _of all
kinds_, Stings, Venomous Bites, Scurf, Ringworm,
Itch, Corns, Chilblains, Chapped Hands, Cracked Lips,
Cuts, Burns, Scalds, Gatherings in the Ear, Toothache,
Earache, Neuralgia, Rheumatism, Gout, Sciatica,
Quinsey, Bronchitis, Asthma, Deafness, etc.; also
Ulcerous Affections of the Womb, for the treatment
of which apply to the Proprietor, personally, or by
letter, _in all cases free_. These invaluable
medicines have not been introduced as remedies for
any of the above complaints, or diseases, until
they have in each case PRACTICALLY proved
EFFECTUAL. To those who are suffering from
diseases _apparently_ rendering amputation
necessary, they are especially recommended, as they
entirely do away with the necessity for the same by
drawing all the cause of the disease from the affected
part, cleansing the blood, and restoring the system to
a sound, healthy condition.
They are vegetable preparations, and the Ointment
can be applied with perfect confidence to the most
tender skin. It is entirely free from all poisonous
ingredients, a great recommendation for the
nursery—for which it is invaluable.
In spite of the ointment being a “vegetable preparation,” analysis
showed the principal ingredient to be lead oleate (lead plaster);
this is blended with resin, wax, and fatty ingredients; vegetable
extracts and active principles were found to be absent. It is not
possible to separate the ingredients of an ointment like this sharply
one from another; and, since the ingredients are not themselves simple
bodies but mixtures liable to rather wide variations, they can only
be approximately determined, and, as regards the lard and oil, even
identification cannot be placed beyond doubt nor can small quantities
of some other fats be certainly stated to be absent. These, however,
are matters of minor importance. The composition given below has been
checked by varying the analytical methods, as well as by comparison of
various ointments prepared according to formulæ suggested by analysis.
As a result of the investigation, the following formula was arrived at,
which gives an ointment similar to the “Lion” ointment:
Lead plaster 13 parts.
Beeswax 20 ”
Resin 11 ”
Olive oil 12 ”
Water 6 ”
Lard, to 100 ”
The estimated cost of the ingredients is about 1Od. per lb. of
ointment.
APPENDIX.
STAMP DUTY ON SECRET REMEDIES.
The duty on secret medicines is regulated by the Stamp Act of 1804 as
amended by the Stamp Act Amendment Act of 1812. The Act of 1804 was
itself in part an amending Act and regulated the duties to be paid on
paper, on books, on advertisements, and imposed _ad valorem_ duties
on hats and proprietary medicines. The tax on proprietary medicines
remains, but that on advertisements through and by which they continue
to exist and flourish has gone the way of the duties on hats, and
books, and paper. The Act of 1804 contained a schedule of medicines
to the number of some 450. In the Act of 1812 this was replaced by a
new schedule in which about 550 proprietary medicines were mentioned
by name. The final clause of this Act, however, is expressed in very
general terms, for it includes “all other pills, powders, lozenges,
tinctures, potions, cordials, electuaries, plasters, unguents,
salves, ointments, drops, lotions, oils, spirits, medicated herbs and
waters, chemical and officinal preparations whatsoever, to be used
or applied externally or internally as medicines or medicaments for
the prevention, cure, or relief of any disorder or complaint incident
to or in any wise affecting the human body,” if the person making or
selling these various preparations claim to have any occult secret or
art for making them or claim to have any exclusive right or title to
make them, or prepares and sells them under the authority of letters
patent, or if by public notice or advertisement, or by papers or labels
on, or with, the enclosures, bottles, or cases in which the preparation
is sold, the maker vendor, or proprietor recommend them as “nostrums,
or as proprietary medicines, or as specifics, or as beneficial to
the prevention, cure, or relief of any distemper, malady, ailment,
disorder, or complaint incident to or in any wise affecting the human
body.”
The Inland Revenue returns show that during the last ten years the
amount received by the State from the stamp duty on patent medicines
so-called has increased from £266,403 10s. 3d. in the year ending March
31, 1899, to £334,141 19s. 2½d. in the year ending March 31st, 1908.
The net receipts are the gross receipts after deducting repayments
and allowances, but the aggregates of these deductions are small. The
following table shows the net receipts in each of the ten years, and
the average for the two quinquennial periods, 1899-1903 and 1904-1908:—
TABLE SHOWING NET RECEIPTS FROM STAMPS ON
“PATENT MEDICINES” FOR TEN YEARS, 1899-1908.
-----+------------------+---------------------
Year.| Yearly. |Quinquennial average.
-----+------------------+---------------------
| £ s. d. | £ s. d.
1899 | 266,403 10 3 |}
1900 | 288,827 8 1½ |}
1901 | 297,479 19 6 |} 298,483 18 3
1902 | 306,337 5 9 |}
1903 | 333,371 7 9 |}
| |
1904 | 323,445 14 0 |}
1905 | 331,438 17 6½ |}
1906 | 324,111 14 2 |} 328,048 16 0
1907 | 327,105 15 3½ |}
1908 | 334,141 19 2½ |}
-----+------------------+---------------------
The value of the stamp which the vendor must affix to the bottle or
package varies according to the price charged for the medicine, and the
returns show the number of articles for which the several rates are
paid. The following table gives the amount of the stamp duty on the
several prices, the number of articles stamped in the fiscal year 1908,
and the amount of the stamp. An attempt has also been made to estimate
the total amount paid by the public for the articles stamped:—
TABLE SHOWING RATES OF DUTY, NUMBER OF ARTICLES STAMPED
AND APPROXIMATE SUM PAID BY THE PUBLIC IN THE YEAR
ENDING MARCH 31ST, 1908.
----------------+----------+------------------+---------------------
Price of Article| Stamp. |Number of articles|Price paid by public.
without stamp. | | stamped. |
----------------+----------+------------------+---------------------
£ s. d. | s. d. | | £ s. d.
0 1 0 | 0 1½ | 33,037,202 | 1,858,342 12 0
0 2 6 | 0 3 | 7,565,822 | 1,040,300 10 0
0 4 0 | 0 6 | 1,002,549 | 225,573 10 6
0 10 0 | 1 0 | 122,249 | 67,236 19 0
1 0 0 | 2 0 | 18,445 | 20,289 10 0
1 10 0 | 3 0 | 11,308 | 18,658 4 0
----------------+----------+------------------+---------------------
41,757,575 | 3,230,401 5 6
-------------------+---------------------
This estimate of the total amount paid by the public must be too high.
In the first place it will be seen that the stamp duty does not rise
by regular increments _ad valorem_. An article, the nominal price of
which is 1s., must bear a stamp of 1½d., but if the nominal price be
1s. 6d., the stamp is 3d., and for an article of the nominal price of
2s. 6d. it is the same. In the second place, a large proportion of all
the articles, probably the great majority of those at 1s., are sold at
a discount, “store prices.” In the above table the maximum price for
each rate of stamp duty and the full nominal prices are assumed. If a
deduction of 25 per cent. is made to meet these sources of error, we
have a sum of £2,422,800 19s. 1½d., as an estimate of the amount spent
by the public on patent medicine in the financial year ending March 31,
1908.
At one time some of the vendors of nostrums took to inserting in their
advertisements phrases intended to suggest that the Inland Revenue
stamp upon their packages implied some sort of Government guarantee
of the efficacy of the remedy. Though the Inland Revenue authorities
do not as a rule display any anxiety with regard to the welfare of
the public in the matter of the sale of nostrums, their efforts being
confined to the collection of the duty, and the enforcement of the
provisions of the Act should any vendor show a disposition to evade
them, the stamp in recent years has borne the statement “This stamp
implies no Government guarantee.” In spite of this vendors still
sometimes contrive to convey the suggestion that the stamp conveys some
sort of government guarantee; the suggestion looks the more plausible
if the vendor has his name or autograph printed on the stamp by the
government authorities; this will be done for him if he pays the cost
of the die, and by the use of such an endorsement the incautious buyer
may be led to assume that the Inland Revenue in some way shares the
vendors’ responsibility for the genuineness of the article, that is
to say for the genuineness of its claims. It has been suggested that
the Legislature might go further and require the composition and
ingredients of any secret remedy to be stated upon the label, box,
or package, and looking to the nature of the facts disclosed by the
analyses published in this book, it may well be believed that such
publications on the labels would act to a certain extent as a warning
to the public, for it would be apparent even to the least instructed
that the claims in the vendors’ circulars were not quite consonant with
the commonplace nature of the ingredients of the mixture, powder, pill,
lotion, or ointment.
INDEX.
PAGE
Absorbit Reducing Paste, 87
Absorptive Pile Treatment, Van Vleck’s, 154
Acetanilide (antifebrin), 2, 5, 6, 37, 38, 39,
40, 41, 58, 165
Acetic acid, 16, 78
” ether, 16
Acetyl-salicylic acid, 56, 59, 60, 64, 77, 81
Act, Stamp, 182
Alcohol, 7, 8, 12, 14, 16, 17,
19, 26, 32, 44, 47, 52,
73, 74, 78, 80, 86, 87,
92, 103, 111, 118, 121,
127, 135, 160, 167
Allan’s Anti-fat, 92
Almond, oil of, 35, 135, 138
Aloes, 48, 49, 55, 104, 175,
176, 177, 180
Aloin, 69, 109, 110, 161
Alum, 51, 120
Aluminium oleate, 120
” sulphate, 145
Ammoniacum, 18
Ammoniated mercury, 113, 143, 144
Ammonium bromide, 126, 128, 129
” carbonate, 125
” chloride, 19
” citrate, 87
Aniseed, oil of, 12, 14
” powdered, 18
” Powell’s Balsam of, 14
Antexema, 105
Anthylla, 104
Anti-cataract Mixture, Pomie’s, 146
Anti-catarrh, Birley’s, 7
Anticelta Tablets 163
Anti-corpulent Preparation, Russell’s, 87
Antidipso, 165
Anti-epileptic Medicine, W. and J. Taylor’s, 126
Antiépileptique (Uten), 129
Anti-fat, Allan’s, 92
Antifebrin (_see_ Acetanilide).
Antigout soap, 64
Antimony oxide, 132
Antipon, 86
Anti-rheumatic Pearls, Baring Gould’s, 55
Appendix, 182
Aspirin (_see_ Acetyl-salicylic acid).
Assmann’s Whooping Cough Remedy, 19
Atropine, 168
Augenwol, 146
“Bacillentod” (G. Pohl’s Family Tea), 36
Baldness, Medicines for (internal), 114
Capsulated Haemoglobin Ovals, 115
Capsuloids, 114
Haemoglobin Capsules, 116
Balsam of Peru, 27, 113, 115
Balsamic Cough Mixture, Crosby’s, 15
Balsamic Elixir, Congreve’s, 26
Baring Gould’s Anti-rheumatic Pearls, 55
Barium sulphate, 122
Beans, Bile, 77
Bearberry (_Uvœ ursi_), 104
Beeoham’s Cough Pills, 18
” Pills, 175
Beeswax, 58, 88, 120, 140, 143,
149, 151, 181
Bell’s Fairy Cure, 39
Benzoate, Sodium, 180
Benzoin, compound tincture of, 15, 27
Berberine, 80
Berendorf’s Powder for Epilepsy, 129
Betony, 63
Bile Beans, 77
Birley’s Anti-catarrh, 7
Bishop’s Gout Varalettes, 62
Bladderwrack, 83, 84, 89, 91, 92, 93,
94, 100, 102, 103, 104
Blair’s Gout and Rheumatic Pills, 50
Blood Cure, Munyon’s, 44
” Mixture, Clarke’s, 42
” Pills, Harvey’s, 44
” ” Hughes’s, 48
Blood Purifiers, 42
Clarke’s World-Famed Mixture, 42
Harvey’s Pills, 44
Hood’s Compound Extract of Sarsaparilla, 46
Hughes’s Pills, 48
Munyon’s Cure, 44
Phelps Brown’s Purifier, 46
Steven’s Consumption Cure, 21, 28
Townsend’s American Sarsaparilla, 43
Blue dye, 118, 119
Borax, 7, 129, 138
Boric acid, 106, 109, 113
Bostock’s Eye Ointment, 143
Brixa Tablets, 163
Bromide, 2, 35, 124, 129
” in Tuberculozyne, 35
Brompton Consumption and Cough Specific, 27
Brown’s Vervain Restorative Assimilant, O. Phelps, 127
Bryony, 63
Buckthorn, 104
Buer’s Mul’la, 149
Buer’s Piles Cure, 149
Burdock, 45
Burgess’s Lion Ointment, 180
Caffeine, 38, 39
Calcium carbonate, 6, 109
” glycerophosphate, 173
” phosphate, 132
” sulphate, 28, 109
Calling in the doctor, 9, 12
Calomel, 113, 131, 132, 148, 151
Camomile, 63
Camphor, 2, 5, 65, 135, 173
Cancer remedies, 117
Cardigan Cancer Curers, 121
Caustics and Cancer, 122
Canexia preparations, 163
Capsicum, 14, 35, 69, 156, 160, 176, 177
Capsulated Haemoglobin Ovals, 115
Capsuloids, 114
Carbolic acid (_see_ Phenol).
Cardigan Cancer Curers, 121
Carmine, 88
Cascara, 2, 6, 55, 74, 104, 156, 161
Cascarilla, 70
Cassia, oil of, 35
Catarrh Balm, Van Vleck’s, 3
Catarrh Cures, 1
Birley’s, 7
Lane’s, 2
Munyon’s, 6
Van Vleck’s, 3
Catarrh and Cold Cures, 1
Birley’s, 7
Keene’s “One Night”, 5
Lane’s, 2
Mackenzie’s “One Day”, 4
Munyon’s, 6
Van Vleck’s, 3
Caulophyllin, 80
Caustics and cancer, 122
C.B.Q. Tablets, Post’s, 61
“Century Thermal” Bath Cabinet, 99
Charcoal, 172
“Chijitse”, 22, 32
Children’s Cooling Powders, Fenning’s, 133
Chiretta, 168
Chloroform, 12, 13, 14, 16,
17, 74, 125
” spirits of 43
Chlorophyll, 111, 112
Cimicifuga, 57
Cinchonine, 2, 5, 6, 167
Cinnamon, powdered, 164
Citric Acid, 64, 81, 84, 86, 87
Clarke’s Blood Mixture, 42
Clifton’s Treatment for Deafness, 136
Cochineal, 27, 35, 86, 120
Cocoa, 41
Cocoa butter (_see_ Theobroma, oil of).
Cod Liver Oil, Pastor Felke’s Honey, 36
Colchicin, 61, 64
Colchicum, 51, 63
Cold Cures, 1
Keene’s “One Night”, 5
Mackenzie’s “One Day”, 4
Colds in the head, 1
Coleman’s Nervlettes, 175
Collie’s Ointment, 57
Colza, 88, 135
Congreve’s Balsamic Elixir, 26
Consumption Cures, 20
“Bacillentod” (Pohl’s Family Tea), 36
Brompton specific, 27
Congreve’s Balsamic Elixir, 26
Felke’s Honey Cod Liver Oil, Pastor, 36
Kefyr Ferment, 24
Körber’s, 36
Lieber’s Tea, 36
Pohl’s Family Tea (“Bacillentod”), 36
Star Tonic, 23
Steven’s (Sacco or Lungsava), 21, 28
Tuberculozyne, 21, 32
Weidhaas Hygienic Institute, 23
Consumption, Körber’s Cure for, 36
Consumption and Cough specific, Brompton, 27
Cooling Powders for Infants, 130
Fenning’s Children’s Powders, 133
Pritchard’s Teething and Fever Powders, 132
Copper in Tuberculozyne, 35
” oleate, 120
Corpulence (_see_ Obesity Cures).
Corpulin, 104
Cough Cure, Kilmer’s Indian, 15
” ” Veno’s Lightning, 16
” Drops, Lauser’s, 19
” ” Reichel’s, 19
” Lozenges, Keating’s, 17
Cough Medicines, 9
Assmann’s Whooping Cough Remedy, 19
Beecham’s Cough Pills, 18
Crosby’s Balsamic Elixir, 15
Kay’s Linseed Compound, 12
Keating’s Lozenges, 17
Kilmer’s Indian Cure, 15
Lauser’s Drops, 19
Owbridge’s Lung Tonic, 13
Powell’s Balsam of Aniseed, 14
Reichel’s Drops, 19
Tussothym, 19
Veno’s Lightning Cure, 16
Cough Medicines, Morphine in, 9, 13, 15, 18, 28
” ” Opium in, 10, 11, 28
” Pills, Beecham’s, 18
” Specific, Brompton, 27
Coza Powder, 162
Creasote, 113, 152
Crompton’s Specific for Deafness, 135
Crosby’s Balsamic Cough Elixir, 15
Cummin, powdered, 164
Curative Syrup, Mother Seigel’s, 176
Cure Alls, 170
Beecham’s Pills, 175
Martin’s Miracletts, 163
Nervlettes, 175
Seigel’s Curative Syrup, Mother, 176
Therapion, 172
Williams’ Pink Pills for Pale People, 170, 174
Curic Wafers, 38
Cuticura remedies, 110
Cystamin (_see_ Formamine).
Cystogen (_see_ Formamine).
Daisy Powders, 38
Dalloff’s Tea, 104
Damiana, extract of, 173
Daturine, 168
Deafness, remedies for ear disease and, 134
Clifton’s Treatment, 136
Crompton’s Specific, 135
Dellar’s Essence, 135
Nazaseptic, 139
Ohraseptic, 139
Ohrsorb Compound, 138
Dellar’s Essence for Deafness, 135
Diabetes Cures, 76
A Lancashire nostrum, 80
Dill’s Mixture. 76, 77, 79
Pesqui’s Uranium Wine (Vin Urané Pesqui), 76, 77
Diabetic foods, 81
” Mixture, Dill’s, 76, 77, 79
Dill’s Diabetic Mixture, 76, 77, 79
Dipsocure, 164
Doan’s Backache Kidney Pills, 67
” Pile Ointment, 151
Dodd’s Kidney Pills, 69
Drug Cures for Inebriety, 168
Duboisine, 168
Duty on Secret Remedies, Stamp, 182
Ear disease (_see_ Deafness, Remedies for).
Ekzemin Cream, 113
Electricum, 64
Eosin, 91
Epilepsy, Remedies for, 124
Antiépileptique (Uten), 129
Berendorf’s Powder, 129
Lamma Powder, 129
Osborne’s Mixture, 126
Ozerine, 125
Phelps Brown’s Vervain Restorative Assimilant, 127
Taylor’s Anti-epileptic Medicine, W. and J., 126
Trench’s Remedy, 127
Essence for Deafness, Dellar’s, 135
Eucalyptus, 4, 112
Eye diseases, Remedies for, 142
Augenwol, 146
Bostock’s Ointment, 143
“New and Marvellous Remedy”, 144
Okterin, 146
Opthalmol, 146
Pomie’s Anti-cataract Mixture, 146
Singleton’s Ointment, 142
Wisbech Remedy, 144
Eye Ointment, Bostock’s, 143
” Singleton’s, 142
Fairy Cure, Bell’s, 39
Felke’s Honey Cod Liver Oil, Pastor, 36
Fell Reducing Treatment, 97
Fenning’s Children’s Cooling Powders, 133
Fenugreek, 68
Ferric chloride, 121
” oxide, 5, 40, 54, 172
Ferrous sulphate, 174
Fever Powders, Pritchard’s Teething and, 132
Figuroids, 94
Fitch’s Kidney and Liver Cooler, 71
Fits, Trench’s Remedy for Epilepsy and, 127
Fluorescein, 70
Formaldehyde, 129
Formamine, 85, 96
_Fucus vesiculosus_ (_see_ Bladderwrack).
Galeopsidis, 36
Gall stones, 79
Galls, powdered, 156
Gaultheria, oil of, 73
Gelsemium, 60
Genoform Tablets, 60
Gentian, 62, 63, 161, 173, 179
Germicides, 31
Ginger, 49, 88, 89, 109, 110, 175, 180
Gloria Tonic, 53
Gloria Treatment for Rheumatism, 52
Gluten flour, 81, 82
Glycerine, 17, 30, 32, 35, 73, 74,
78, 89, 90, 92, 93, 103,
113, 120, 135, 138, 142,
143, 144, 146, 173
Glycerophosphate, calcium, 173
Gout, Rheumatism, and Neuralgia, remedies for, 50
Baring Gould’s Pearls, 55
Bishop’s Varalettes, 62
Blair’s Pills, 50
Collie’s Ointment, 57
Electricum, 64
Genoform Tablets, 60
Gloria Treatment, 52
Gower’s Green Pill, 56
Hamm’s Cure, 51
Laville’s Remedies, 64
Lazarus Soap, 64
Oquit, 59
Pistoia Powders, 62
Portland Powder, 62
Post’s C.B.Q. Tablets, 61
Rheuma Tabakolin, 65
Rheumacid, 64
Uricedin, 64
Weigand’s Spirit, 65
Zox, 58
Gout and Rheumatic Pills, Blair’s, 50
Gout and Sciatica Cure, Hamm’s Rheumatic, 51
Gout Powders, Pistoia, 62
” ” Portland, 62
” Varalettes, Bishop’s, 62
Gower’s Green Pills, 56
Graziana Reducing Treatment (Zehrkur), 103
Green Pills, Gower’s, 56
_Grindelia robusta_, 17
Guaiacum, 44, 54, 62, 64
Guarantee bonds, 30
Haemoglobin, 114, 115, 116
” Capsules, 116
” Ovals, Capsulated, 115
Hæmorrhoids (_see_ Piles, Remedies for).
Hair (_see_ Baldness).
Hamamelidis, 150
Hamamelin, 152
Hamamelis (witch hazel), 148, 149, 152
Hamm’s Rheumatic, Gout, and Sciatica Cure, 51
Hargreave’s Reducing Wafers, 91
Harmless Headache Powders, Hoffman’s, 41
Harvey’s Blood Pills, 44
Headache, 37
” Cure, Stearns’s, 39
Headache Powders, 37
Bell’s Fairy Cure, 39
Curic Wafers, 38
Daisy, 38
“Good as Gold”, 41
Hoffman’s Harmless, 41
Kaputine, 40
Retailers supplying, 41
Stearns’s Cure, 39
Healine Treatment for Rupture, 160
Hemlock pitch, 68
Hemotora, 153
Henbane, 69, 71
Hexamethylene-tetramine (_see_ Formamine).
Hoffman’s Harmless Headache Powders, 41
Homatropine, 168, 169
Hood’s Compound Extract of Sarsaparilla, 46
Hughes’s Blood Pills, 48
Hydrastine, 80
Hydrastis, 77, 80
Hydrochloric acid, 121, 169, 176, 177
Hyoscine, 168, 169
Hyoscyamine, 168, 169
Icthyol, 140, 151
Ills of humanity, 177
Burgess’s Lion Ointment, 180
Kidd’s Treatment, 178
Indian Cough Cure, Kilmer’s, 15
Inebriety, cures for, 162
Antidipso, 165
Coza Powder, 162
Dipsocure, 164
Drug cures, some other, 168
Teetolia Treatment, 166
Inebriety, drug cures for, 168
Iodine, 84, 94, 102, 103, 126
” tincture, 126
Ipecacuanha, 2, 11, 12, 13,
14, 18, 28
Iridin, 157
Iron, 71, 87, 89, 121, 162
” chloride, 121
” phosphate, 89
” sulphate, 175
Jalap, 48, 49, 55, 57,
69, 70, 180
Jaundice, 72, 79
Juniper, 66, 68, 71
” preparations, 113
J.Z. Obesity Tablets, 87
Kaolin, 54, 109, 172
Kaputine, 40
Kay’s Linseed Compound, 12
” Linum Catharticum Pills, 12
Keating’s Cough Lozenges, 17
Keene’s “One Night” Cold Cure, 5
Kefyr, 23
Kidd’s Treatment, James W., 178
Kidney medicines, 66
Doan’s Pills, 67
Dodd’s Pills, 69
Fitch’s Kidney and Liver Cooler, 71
Munyon’s Cure, 75
Var’s American Pills, 70
Veno’s Seaweed Tonic, 74
Warner’s Cure, 72
Kidney Pills, Doan’s Backache, 67
Kilmer’s Indian Cough Cure, 15
Kino, 32
Körber’s Cure for Consumption, 36
Krameria, decoction of, 32
Kupfinn, “Dr.”, 139
Lactose (_see_ Milk sugar).
Lamma Powder, 129
Lancashire Nostrum, A, 80
Lane’s Catarrh Cure, 2
Lanoline, 149, 154
Lauser’s Cough Drops, 19
Lavender, 104
Laville’s Antigout remedies, 64
Laxatol (_see_ Phenolphthalein).
Laxen (_see_ Phenolphthalein).
Laxoin (_see_ Phenolphthalein).
Lazarus Gout and Rheumatic Soap, 64
Lead, 122
” acetate, 113, 127, 148, 152
” oleate, 113, 119, 181
” oxide (litharge), 143, 144
” plaster, 181
” sub-acetate, 127
Lemon, 84
” grass, 113
” oil, 65
Leptandrin, 74
Lieber’s Tea for Consumption, 36
Lime-juice, 77, 81
Linseed compound, Kay’s, 12
Lion Ointment, Burgess’s, 180
Liquorice, 11, 14, 18, 19, 45, 54, 55,
61, 69, 89, 91, 102, 103,
133, 156, 173, 174, 175, 176
Lithium citrate, 62
Liver Cooler, Fitch’s Kidney and, 71
Lloyd Reducing Treatment, Nelson, 100
Lotion, X.L. Reducing Pills and, 89
Lungsava, 28
Lung Tonic, Owbridge’s, 13
Lycopodium, 71
Lymphol, Rice’s, 158
Mackenzie’s “One Day” Cold Cure, 4
Magnesia, 61, 109, 119, 174, 175
” calcined, 150
Magnesium, 71, 91, 119
Malachite green, 111
Mandelyl-tropeine (_see_ Homatropine).
Marmola, 85, 93
Martin’s Miracletts, 171
Medicine Stamp Act, 182
Medi-cone Pile Treatment, Oxien, 151
Menthol, 156, 172
Mercuric oxide, 143
Mercury, ammoniated, 113, 143, 144
Methyl, orange, 86
Metramine (_see_ Formamine).
Milk sugar (lactose), 19, 39, 56, 100,
131, 132, 165, 166
Miracletts, Martin’s, 171
Mixture for Epilepsy, Osborne’s, 126
Mother Seigel’s Curative Syrup, 176
Muco-Food Cones (Van Vleck’s), 148, 155
Mul’la, Buer’s, 149
Munyon’s Catarrh Tablets, 6
” Catarrh Cure, 6
” Blood Cure, 44
” Kidney Cure, 75
” Pile Ointment, 150
Nazaseptic, 139
Nelson Lloyd Reducing Treatment, 100
Nerve stimulators, 31
Nervlettes, Coleman’s, 175
Nettle, 36
Neuralgia (_see_ Gout, Rheumatism and Neuralgia, remedies for).
“New and Marvellous Remedy for the Eyes”, 144
Nitre (_see_ Potassium nitrate).
“No cure no pay”, 5, 29, 95
Nostrum, A Lancashire, 80
Obesity cures, 83
Absorbit Paste and J. Z. Tablets (Zobiede), 87
Allan’s Anti-fat, 92
Anticelta Tablets, 163
Antipon, 86
Corpulin and Dalloff’s Tea, 104
Dalloff’s Tea and Corpulin, 104
Fell Treatment, 97
Figuroids, 94
Graziana Treatment (Zehrkur), 103
Hargreave’s Wafers, 91
J. Z. Tablets and Absorbit Paste, 87
Marmola, 85, 93
Nelson Lloyd Treatment, 100
Russell’s Anti-corpulent Preparation, 87
Trilene Tablets, 90
X.L. Pills and Lotion, 89
Zehrkur (Graziana Treatment), 103
Zobiede (Absorbit Paste and J. Z. Tablets), 87
Obesity Tablets, J. Z., 87
Ohraseptic, 139
Ohrsorb Compound, 138
Oil, Pastor Felke’s Honey Cod Liver, 36
Ointment, Collie’s, 57
Okterin, 146
Oleic acid, 115, 161
Opthalmol, 146
Oquit, 59
Origanum, oil of (_see_ Thyme).
Osborne’s Mixture for Epilepsy, 126
Owbridge’s Lung Tonic, 13
Ox-bile, 88
Oxien Medi-cone Pile Treatment, 151
Ozerine, 125
Paciderma Blood Wafers, 109
” cream, 109
” powder, 109
” preparations, 106
Pale People, Williams’ Pink Pills for, 170, 174
Paraffin, 4, 70, 100, 106, 109, 110,
111, 112, 113, 120, 140, 143,
144, 146, 151, 152, 156
Patients’ names, obtaining, 25
Peppermint, 14, 36, 69, 71, 77,
81, 94, 127, 160
Pepsin, 76
Pesqui’s Uranium Wine, 76, 77
Petroleum jelly, 58, 156
Phelps Brown’s Blood Purifier, 46
” ” Vervain Restorative Assimilant, 127
Phenacetin, 38, 39
Phenol (carbolic acid), 1, 3, 4, 7,
120, 151
Phenolphthalein, 77, 81, 85, 94,
96, 97
Pheun Skin Paste, 113
Phosphoric acid, 8
Phosphorus, 176
Phytolaccin, 54
Pile Ointment, Doan’s, 151
” Munyon’s, 150
Piles, remedies for, 147
Buer’s Cure, 149
” Mul’la, 149
Doan’s Ointment, 151
Hemotora, 153
Muco-food cones (Van Vleck’s), 148
Munyon’s Ointment, 150
Oxien Medi-cone Treatment, 151
Rollo’s Remedy, 153
Van Vleck’s Absorptive Treatment, 154
Pills, Kay’s Linum Catharticum, 12
Pine preparations, 64
Piperazine, 62
Pistoia Gout Powders, 62
Plasma, Van Vleck’s, 155
Podophyllin, 69
Pohl’s Family Tea (“Bacillentod”), 36
Pomies Anti-cataract Mixture, 146
Portland Gout Powder, 62
Post’s C.B.Q. Tablets, 61
Potassium bromide, 89, 90, 125, 126, 127,
128, 129, 165, 166
” carbonate, 174, 175
” chlorate, 133
” chloride, 89, 90, 125
” iodide, 43, 45, 47, 52, 54, 61,
89, 90, 92, 93, 111, 126,
142, 146
” nitrate, 66, 68, 70, 71,
72, 73
Powders, headache, 37
Daisy, 38
“Good as Gold”, 41
Hoffman’s Harmless, 41
Powell’s Balsam of Aniseed, 14
Prescriptions, secret remedies said to be made
from physicians’, 27, 38, 59, 80, 108
Pritchard’s Teething and Fever Powders, 132
Pumilio pine, 4, 15
Purgen (_see_ Phenolphthalein).
Quinine, 2, 45, 61, 64, 167
“ sulphate, 176
“ valerianate, 172
Rapeseed (_see_ Colza).
Reducing Paste, Absorbit, 87
“ Pills and Lotion, X.L., 89
“ Treatment, Fell, 97
“ “ Graziana (Zehrkur), 103
Reducing Treatment, Nelson Lloyd, 100
Reducing Wafers, Hargreave’s, 91
Reichel’s Cough Drops, 19
Resin, black, 58
“ (colophony), 58, 112
“ plasters, 119
Retailers, headache powders supplied by, 41
Rheuma Tabakolin, 65
Rheumacid, 64
Rheumatic, Gout, and Sciatica Cure, Hamm’s, 51
Rheumatic and Gout Spirit, Weigand’s, 65
Rheumatic Pills, Blair’s Gout and, 50
Rheumatism (_see_ Gout, Rheumatism, and Neuralgia, remedies for).
Rheumatism, Gloria Treatment for, 52
Rhubarb, 45, 55, 74, 104, 111
Rice’s Lymphol, 158
“ Treatment for Rupture, 158
Rino Ointment, 113
Rock Rose, 46
Rollo’s Remedy for Piles, 153
Rupture, preparations for, 158
Healine Treatment, 160
Rice’s Treatment, 158
Russell’s Anti-corpulent Preparation, 87
Saccharin, 11, 172
Sacco, 28
Salicylate, alkaline, 57
“ sodium, 52
Salicylic acid, 92, 93, 113
“ Methylene-glycol-ester of, 61
Saltpetre (_see_ Potassium nitrate).
Sal volatile, 43
Sarsaparilla, compound solution of, 44
Sarsaparilla, Hood’s Extract of, 46
“ Townsend’s American, 43
Sassafras, oil of, 44
Scammony, 80, 180
Sciatica (_see_ Gout, Rheumatism and Neuralgia, remedies for).
Sciatica Cure, Hamm’s Rheumatic, Gout, and, 51
Scopolamine, 168
Seaweed Tonic, Veno’s, 74
Seigel’s Curative Syrup, Mother, 176
Senna, 19, 74, 104
Singleton’s Eye Ointment, 142
Skin diseases, cures for, 105
Antexema, 105
Cuticura Remedies, 110
Ekzemin Cream, 113
Juniper preparations, 113
Paciderma preparations, 106
Pheun Skin Paste, 113
Rino Ointment, 113
Zam-buk, 111
Zip Ointment, 112
Skin Paste, Pheun, 113
Soap, 57, 64, 65, 70, 113,
119, 135, 140, 175
“ Antigout, 64
“ Lazarus Gout and Rheumatic, 64
Soda alum, 142, 145
Sodium benzoate (_see_ Benzoate).
Sodium bicarbonate, 7, 41, 62, 70, 80, 96,
97, 109, 164, 179
“ bromide, 129
“ chloride, 1, 3, 7, 94,
96, 97, 146
“ phosphate, 74
“ sulphate, 77, 81, 120, 145
Soothing powders for infants, 130
Steedman’s Powders, 131
Soothing, teething and cooling powders for infants, 130
Fenning’s Children’s Powders, 133
Pritchard’s Powders, 132
Stedman’s Powders, 130
Steedman’s Powders, 131
Spearmint, 160
Specific for Deafness, Crompton’s, 135
Spirit, Weigand’s Rheumatic and Gout, 65
Stamp Act, 182
“ on secret remedies, 182
Star Tonic, 23
Stearns’s Headache Cure, 39
Stedman’s Teething Powders, 130
Steedman’s Soothing Powders, 131
Steven’s Consumption Cure, 21, 28
Stillingia, 46
Storax, 27, 115
“ Stramonine“, 168
Sulphur, 88, 140
” precipitated, 109, 113, 150
Sulphuric acid, 16
Tabakolin, Rheuma, 65
Tablets, Munyon’s Catarrh, 6
” Trilene, 90
Talc, 5, 54, 57, 59, 96, 97,
109, 156, 161, 172, 176
Tannin, 27, 32, 73, 152, 153, 161
Tar, 119
Taraxacum, 45, 66, 71, 73
Tartaric acid, 8, 62, 78, 96, 97
Taylor’s anti-epileptic medicine, W. and J., 126
Tea, Dalloff’s “Contre l’Obesité”, 104
Tea, Lieber’s (for Consumption), 36
“ Pohl’s Family (“Bacillentod”), 36
Teething powders for infants, 130
Pritchard’s Teething and Fever Powders, 132
Stedman’s Powders, 130
Teetolia Treatment, 166
Terebene, 118, 119
Theobroma, oil of (cocoa butter), 148, 152, 154, 156
Therapion, 172
Thermal Bath Cabinet “Century”, 99
Thyme (oil of Origanum), 19, 160
Thyroid Extract, 84, 94, 102, 103
Tolu, 13, 16, 18, 27
Tonic, Gloria, 52
” Owbridge’s Lung, 13
” Star, 23
” Veno’s Seaweed, 74
” Zox, 58
Townsend’s American Sarsaparilla, 43
Tragacanth, 106
Trench’s Remedy for Epilepsy and Fits, 127
Trilene Tablets, 90
Tropyltropeine (_see_ Atropine).
Tuberculozyne, 21, 32
Tumenol, 140
Turmeric, 70
Turpentine, 65, 113, 122, 136
Tussothym, 19
“Umckaloabo”, 22, 32
Uranium nitrate, 76, 78, 79
” Wine, Pesqui’s, 76, 77
Uricedin, 64
Urisol (_see_ Formamine).
Urotropine (_see_ Formamine).
Valerianate, Quinine, Zinc, 172
Van Vleck’s Absorptive Pile Treatment, 154
Van Vleck’s Catarrh Balm, 3
” ” Muco-food Cones (Pile Treatment), 148
Van Vleck’s Pile Pills, 155
” ” Plasma (Pile Treatment), 155
Var’s American Kidney Pills, 70
Varalettes, Bishop’s, Gout, 62
Varicocele, 161
Varicose veins, 161
Veno’s Lightning Cough Cure, 16
” Seaweed Tonic, 74
_Verbena officinalis_ (_see_ Vervain).
Vervain Restorative Assimilant, O. Phelps Brown’s, 127
Vervain (_Verbena officinalis_), 124, 125, 127
Vesalvine (_see_ Formamine).
Vin Urané Pesqui, 76, 77
Wafers, Curic, 38
” Hargreave’s Reducing, 91
” Paciderma Blood, 109
Warner’s Cure, 72
Weidhaas Hygienic Institute, 23
Weigand’s Rheumatic and Gout Spirit, 65
White precipitate (_see_ Ammoniated mercury).
Whooping Cough Remedy, Assmann’s, 19
Williams’ Pink Pills for Pale People, 170, 174
Wine, Pesqui’s Uranium, 76, 77
” spirit of, 32
Wintergreen, oil of, 73, 180
Wisbech Remedy for the Eyes, 144
Witch hazel (_see_ Hamamelis).
Xaxa (_see_ Acetyl-salicylic acid).
X.L. Reducing Pills and Lotion, 89
Yonkerman Company (Tuberculozyne), 32
Zam-buk, 111
Zehrkur (_see_ Graziana Reducing Treatment), 103
Zinc, 156
” chloride, 122
” oxide, 109, 129, 148, 151
” sulphate, 120
” valerianate, 172
Zip Ointment, 112
Zobeida (_see_ Zobeide).
Zobeide, 87
Zox, 58
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SECRET REMEDIES ***
Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will
be renamed.
Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United
States without permission and without paying copyright
royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™
concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may
do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
license, especially commercial redistribution.
START: FULL LICENSE
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at
www.gutenberg.org/license.
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your
possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person
or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this
agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™
electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the
Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual
works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting
free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™
works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily
comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when
you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no
representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
country other than the United States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear
prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work
on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the
phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed,
performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws
of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is
derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™
trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works
posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg™ License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format
other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official
version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website
(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain
Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the
full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
provided that:
• You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has
agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation.”
• You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™
License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™
works.
• You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
receipt of the work.
• You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than
are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
cannot be read by your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right
of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
without further opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO
OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in
accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or
additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any
Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™
Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
from people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future
generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.
The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website
and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread
public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state
visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be
freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of
volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
edition.
Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
facility: www.gutenberg.org.
This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
