Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1885-03-05
QUEER AND COSTLY DRuGs.
White Powder Worth 5000 al onnoe
--IsatflesnaIe Virus as an opate.

a white Powder worth $500 an Ounce
--Isattlesnaise Virus as oplate.
A doctor from one Of the westarn
cities, who has wide practice as an
oculist and aurist, entered 4 drno
store the other day and purchased !
small bottle OF cocaine, the new ana,S-
thetic used with such success IN eve
operations. lie said he had prescribed
1t for diseased ear, The tiny bottle
half full Of whitish powder cost him As.
Provincial physicians IN this conn
Try are very enterprising. said the
druggist when the doctor had zone ont
"Ihey have begun the.use Of cocaine
in all sections of the country, and it =
to many druggists profitable drug,
because they can charge a fancy price
for it. quote it at over $500 an ounce.
"A wcll-stocked drug store must be
supplied with a great variety Of meti-
cincs now II lis proprietor fills pre-
scrlptions OF all schools, continued
the druggist Zone day we lad call
from homeopathic physician for rat
tlesnake virus. The doctor Ind been
called in to SEQ patient who was soon
todle OF cancer and who had taken or
binary 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 that twenty minutes after TAX
ing very low dilntion OF the virus the
sufferer sank into sweet sleep. The
olden days, when all sorts of insects
and animals were used III medicine.
were fruitful of some beneficial dis
coyeries. The poison of bee, when
applied externally by bee, Is not par-
iicuIarly btneiicali but | know doc
tor who claims wonders for it in cases
OF scarlet fever.
The beaver furnishes remedy
known rs castor, used TO gu ct spasms,
and the musk-ox provides musk. Ii
comes in the form Of black powder.
and the best of it is quoted at about
$40 IN ounce. We sell considerable
quantities OF it to the Chinese, who are
said TO use it for burns. It IS believed
that the Chinese have knowledge Of
many valuable remedies which Would
oeneilt science, but. although we have
been able TO purchase some Of their
misunderstanding drugs as curiosities.
they have refused TO impart the secret
OF their properties. Some idea of their
notions with respect to medicine can
be gained when il is Known. that they
regard the wild gin-scng-root as sacred
to the healing of royalty, and as a
spiritual body, capable Of yoition and
of concealing Itself TO escape capture.
Its guardians are Tho tiger, wolf, Loop
ri ,ai-
royal family falls sick. as did the en-
Press some time ago, a party Of heroic
men go in search of the root, whose
presence is linally revealed at night bg
halo over the spot of concealment.
which is marked. the root being duo
on the following day. The cultivated
ginseng, or ien shen, is not believed by
the natives to be endowed with the
properties of the wild, but is used free
ly by the subjects. 1t is believed that
its chief value lies in its wonderful re-
cuperatlng power prolonging lie
when patient has begun to sink into
his last sleep, and in giving him time to
arrange his affairs,
Among the expensive drugs IS ergo
in, which retails at the rate of about
$40 an ounce. Ii is a fungus growth
found on rye in Normandy. A similar
growth on rye in America contains
very little ergotin, less, indeed, than
the smut on Indian corn. As there are
several growths which yield ergotin in
greater or less degree, so there are
several South American plants that
produce jgborandi, the drug now used
sometimes to produce sweating.
In the list OF expensive drugs the
products OF the Calabar bean may be
mentioned Physostigmine, which is
rated by many as the best remedy in
spasmodic affections, retails at over
$500 al ounce. Apomorphine, While not
10 be compared with the drugs that
| have mentioned. is expensive. 1t was
discovered by Il man named Wright,
who subjected morphine to treat
ment that entirely changed its ehemi-
cal qualities, so that instead OF being
an opiate it is one Of The most powerful
emetics known, and is given only in
extreme cases. like poisoning. As
said at the outset, IN enterprising
druggist has TO Keep an extensive va
riety OF medicines, the cheapest as well
as the most expensive, Pumpkin seeds
are frequently sold rs remedy for
tapeworm, and with the male fern as a
yermifuge. A doctor came in here the
other day and called for some cYerlast-
ing life. Singular thing for a doctor
to prescribe, WASH it? In medicine it
is 4 North American plant. Bob's
tears is another queer remedy. ! -Neao
YORK star.