Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-04-12
A Druggists Observations.

Remarked Wabasha street drug
gist: Il 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 S. 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 S. 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 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 woman chew
ing. although some of them do take to
licorice occasionally.
As q 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 am
in the business myself, l am free to
state that that is 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, beeauseit sticks TO the jaws, and
once in the mouth is difficult to get out
again. 1t gives person sort of
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.
I'VE 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 tho street is chewing the gum. 1t
is sold by all sorts of dealers. and even
the newsboys and bootblacks do
thriving business peddling it out. Well,
there's no craze for licorice root, but
down there there seems to be one for
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 keep
little gum benzoin on hand. At the
store where l 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
great demand for gum benzOin. Ladies
fairly poured into the store, each to or
der one ounce of gum benzoin and half
pint of whisky. Druggists in various
parts Of the city sent around to US for