The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1885-03-20
COSTLY DRUGS.
A WHITE POWDER WORTH THREE
HUNDRED DOLLARS AN OUNCE.
Rsttiesnake Virus az an Ops Mediclus
Crom the eesver- Ginseng, Pumpkin
Seeds, Jobs Tears. Life EverIast-
ing and Other Remedies.
Nov York sun

AMI purchased small bottle Of cocaine. ths
new an@sthetic used with such success in evs
operations, He said he had prescribed it far
a diseased ear. The tiny bottle half full O,
whitish powder cost him IS
Provincial physicians in this country ara
very enterprisjng, said the druggist when
the doctor had gone out, They have al
ready begun tbs use Of cocaine in all sac.
lions OF the country, and it il to many drug
giSt' profitable drug, because they can
charge a fancy price for it. quote it at
over $500 an ounce"
"a woll-stocked drug store must he SIM.
piled with great variety of medicines now
If its proprietor fills prescriptions for all
schools, continued the druggist Cone dav
we had call from HOMEOPATHIC physician
for rattlesnake virus The doctor had been
called in TO see patient who was soon to
die of cancer and who had taken ordinary
opiates until they seemed to have but little
effect. We did not have the medicine. but
the next time | saw the doctor he said that
he had obtained it, and twenty minutes
after taking very low dilution Of the virus
the sufferer sank into a sweet sleep. The
alden days when all sorts Of insects and ami
mails were used N medicine, were fruitful Of
some leneiicial discoveries. The poison of q
bee, whom applied externally bE a bee, is not
particularly beneficial; but know a doctor
who claim, wonders for it in cases of scarlet
fever.
The beaver furnishes remedy known as
castor, used to quiet spasms, and the musk
OK provides musk. 1t comes in the form OF
a coarse biacl, powder, and the best Of it is
quoted ut about $40 an ounce We sell con
siderable quantities Of it to the Chinese, who
are said to uio it for burns. II is believed
that the Chiua-o have a knowledge Of many
valuable remedies which would benefit
science, but although we have been abla to
purchase SOME OF their MISUNDERSTANDING
drugs as cUriosities, they have refused to
!mpart the secret Of their properties. Some
idea Of their notions with respect to nedi-
cine can be gained when it is known thaJ
they regard the wild ginseng-root as sacred
70 the healing of royalty, and as a spiritual
body, capable of v0lition and OF Concealinz
itself to escape capture Ms guardians are
the tiger, Wolf leopard, and snake. When
a member OK the royal family falls
sick, rs did the empress some time ago, a
party Oh heroic men go in search Of the root,
whose presence Is finally revealed
at night by a halo over tie spot Of conceal
meut which is marked, the root being dug
out on the following day. This cultivated
ginseng, or jen shen, Is not believed BY the
natives 10 lie endowed with tie properties
OF the wild, hut is used freely by the sub.
iects. 1t is believed chat its chief value lies
in its wonderful recuperatinE power, pro
longing lie when patient has begun to sink
into his last sleep, ana in giving him time to
arrange his affairs.
Among the expensive drugs is ergotiH,
which retails at tie rate of about so al
ounce. 1t is fungus growth found on rye
| in Normandy. A similar growth on rye IL
America contains very itl,o crgot!n, less
indeed, than the smut on LaI.au corn. As
there are several growths which yield
ergotin in q greater OF less degree, SO Their,
are several SOUTH american plants that pro,
| duee jIhorGaU, the drug now used some
t,mCs 10 produce sveating
In tho list OF expensive drugs the product,
! If the r9labar bean may DO mentioned
| Pdys1stigmino which is rated by many a
tic best remedy in spasmo1ic affections, re-
| tails at over 500 an ounce. Apom0rphne
while not to DO compared with the drug,
that l have mentioned, is expensive. It wa
| discovered by nan named Wright, who
| subjected morphine to a treatment tina
entirely changed it, Chemical qualities, g.
that instead Of being an opiato it is one of
the most powerful cmsics known, and !,
| given only in extreme cases, like poisoning
! As ] said at the outset, an enterprisia
| druggist has To keep an extensive variety o.
medicines, tbs cheapest as well as the mas
| exucusivc Pumpkin seel are fre1uarti,