Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1885-05-07
A Druggists Observations.

Remarked Wabasha street drug
gist: II have seen it stated in an east
ern newspaper that licoric chewing has
become favorite custom among the
ladies'; that they are in the habit OF
buying it by the So package, and that
the champions among the female
chewers eat up one of these big bundles
in about two weeks. Now, if there is
any such craze as that, it hasn't struck
this section of the country yet, and I've
seen nothing to indicate that we are
threatened with licorice craze. AS
to So packages, there are none. The
licorice root comes in bundles of ten
pounds each, and the wholesale price
is 81 20. We never sold whole pack
age to anybody. No, sir, my experience
is that that sort of a thing is on the de-
crease instead of ON the increase.
School-children chew licorice and slip
perry elm because those things are
sweet, and they vary the monotony of
their mastication with chewing gum.
1t is rarely you will see a woman chew
ing, although soae of them do take to
licorice occasionally.
As a matter of fact, however, we
have had no run on such things for ten
years, and suppose the reason there is
less demand for licorice root, slippery
elm, and gum now than there was then
is that nearly all the druggists have
added candies to their stock in trade.
People come in and instead of buying
something to chew on get candy. They
think they obtain better quality at a
drugstore than they could get at an
ordinary candy-shop. Although l am
| in the business myself, l am free to
state that that is a mistaken one. We
sell the best candies, but the best can
dies are obtainable at any tirst-class
candy-shop. Speaking of things to
chew, I've known people to masticate
tolu gum. Now that's hard stuff to
chew, because it sticks TO the jaws, and
once in the mouth is difficult to get out
again. 1t gives person sort of a
lock-jaw. We tell people about that
when they call for the gum; but some
OF them, if they happen to be little
pig-headed, won't believe us, and insist
on having the gum. The next we hear
from them is that they come around
and give us good blowing up for sell
ing them the article, claiming it was
not of the right kind. But tolu is now
made up into kind of taffy by mixing
it with other things, and in that form
can be chewed, and is pleasant to the
the taste.
'.We sell some taffy tolu, but down
south there is rage for it. A gentle.
man from Louisville told me that in
that city every other person one meets
on the street is chewing the gum. II
is sold by all sorts of dealers, and even
the newsboys and bootblacks do a
thriving business peddling it out. Well,
there's no craze for licorice root, but
down there there seems to be one fol
tolu. As we are speaking of crazes,
! let me tell you of very amusing craze
that developed right here in st. Paul
in 1869. Nearly all the druggists keeE
little gum benzoin on hand. At the
store where was then employed we
had about ten pounds. There was or
dinarily very little call for the article
but all of sudden there sprang up 8
great demand for gum benzoin. Ladies
1dlElJ pouIeo lAIo tho esolo' o"eh W v.
der one ounce of gum benzoin and hal
a pint of whisky. Druggists in various
parts of the city sent around to us fol
supplies. We didn't know what tt
make of it. The ten pounds soon gav'
: out, and we had to telegraph east To-
more, Inside OF month, presume
at least five hundred pounds of gun
benzoin were sold to the ladies of thi
city. Then the craze let up nearly q
suddenly as it came on. When we 60
at the bottom facts in the matter w
, found that there had been a womal
here from the east, lecturing tofemale
only, and she had recommended mix
ture Of gum benzoin, whisky, and wa
ter for the complexion. st Pau
Pioneer Press.