Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1889-12-26
IN A DRUG HOUSE.
All Nations Of the World are Under Con-
tributisn,

USxlanS IOI 6xqulslto IorIumoTi0s anu
Rare Cosmstics-Msdical Roots and
Herbs from Distant Chimes. s..
A wholesale drug house 10 fllsd
from top to bottom with contributions
from every land beneath the sun. For
instance, one finds himself in a para
disc OF sponges. The whole great
stock 10 divided Into Two Glasses -
Mediterranean and West Indian goods.
! The latter arc taken in water varying
from twenty to forty feet in depth, by
divers, who plunge into the sea from
little rowboats. carrying heavy stones
IN their hands to hasten the descent to
the bottom. In the Grecian Archi-
pelago the water is deeper and the
sponges, consequently, finer, for the
action Of waves lessen the beauty OF
the sponges Prices of this product
vary from 10 cents sponge TO $15 a
pound sponges bringing The latter
price being OF a small and EXTREMELY
rare variety:
From Greece TO Egypt seems easy
sailing, and the contribution furnished
by the realm once ruled by Cleopatra
is SIENNA. The essential quality OF the
leaf, which is gathered from low bush
es in Egypt is used very extensively
in the preparation OF medicine, and in
such general demand that many OF the
drug houses in the country would sus-
pend tomorrow were the supply TO be
exhausted to- might. From South AT.
RIGA comes buchu, the mercantile form
also being IN leaves stripped from the
small trees; on which they grow in
grelt abundance: Hbttentots are the
first handlers of the drug. The heart
Of Africa yields also acacia, u gum
that enters into the composition OF
every mucilage made, as we'll as into
the preparation of various medicines;
aud with these few mentioned come
host Of other agents OF help and heal
ing from the dark continent to those
bathed in welcome light. Near the
shelves whereon these drugs are ar
rayed is u section given up TO opium,
the product chiefly OF northern India.
1t is harmless looking substance as
it lies in packages in wholesale drug
house, but 1t hides more demons than
the realms Of darkness ever knew.
Cinnamon OF the northern provinces
hunt the musk deer on the plains Of
| Thibet and Tartary, claiminga monOp-
oily OF this, the basis OF most perfumes.
And this groundwork of sweet scents
being obtained. the careful compound
er of drugs has learned to increase 1t
largely by commingling with it the
product Of ambergris, a curious gray
substance found floating on the sea in
those northern, colder chimes where
sperm whales and lceourgs are met
with.
But the rarest OF all perfumes, the
altar Of roses, claims the explorer OF
drug houses with its wonderful power.
The sunny sides of the Balkan Mount
aims seem especially designed for the
propagation OF roses, and the gather
ing OF the flowers, the distilling OF the
oil and its sale to jewellers in lands
less favored forms the chief revenue
of the people. Altar Of roses comes TO
the Wholesale trade In vessels exactly
the size and shape OF an army can
teen, but covered with q soft, woolly
shield, and the contents of one Of these
vessels is valued at Sl25. By retail the
rich oil sells for 5 cents drop.
Cinchona in various stages Of prep
aratiOn, from the bark to the prepared
drug, fills another section of the stock
room. This is South American pro-
duct with a pan-American sale. The
tree which produces the bark is felled
by the natives OF Peru, and the wood
from the ground to the uttermost end
OF the branches Is denuded of bark.
even the covering OF the roots being
sometimes taken and sold. Another
American product, the class of which
is yet unsettled, is quicksilver 1t is
heavy enough to be sold in hard ware
stores and costly enough for jewelry
establishments. but as it is precious
whether mineral or liquid-drug stores
use it in the compromising of medicines
and as adjunct OF the fine arts. 1t is
found in Spain, but in better quality
and larger quantity in California. 1t
stands about in seventy-tive pound iron
TASKS that look like dumbbells; but
ambitious athletes never try to lift
them more than once.
Stored in great vaults are bundles
of sweet smelling vanilla beans from
Mexico and Central America; essential
oils and perfumes from Cuba, Italy
and far Siberia; Valencia saffron from
! Spain, and caustic soda from England;
cans of beautiful analine colors from
Germany and France, and cutie bones
from the Mediterranean sea; cocoa
from the Andes, and cloves, mace and
| pepDers from Java. sulphur from