Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-10-11

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check to the complaint mentioned. Cock
roach powder 10 also employed Is vermifuge.
Crabs eyes are employed to some extent as .
remedy for acid stomachs. They are not sctn-
ally the eyes Of the crab, but simply small
connections OF lime found in the stonachs OF
crayhsh at the time when they are about to
cast their she'll and make new onea II 10 sup
posed that these connections are designed by
nature to provide material for the new shells.
At all events, having been deposited originally
by animals they are more readily absorbed
into the human system. Before being ad-
ministered medicine they are pulverized.
Oyster shells are used in precisely the same
way and for the same purpose. being prepared
preliminary by washing and pulverizing. The
pulverized shells are placed in solution in
water, the heavier and coarser particles falling
to the bottom. By pouring of the solution
thus obtained and permitting it to precipltate
such fine PARTICLES of lime as il still retains
exceedingly refined deposit 10 at length Sc
cured. Cutie fish bones, from the sepis fish
OF commerce-the same that are used for
canary birds-are ground up and utilized in the
same fashion and to serve q like medical use
fulness.
The cochineal insect is mostly known for its
use as a dye, but it has also an additional value
for relieving neuralgia pains and for checking
the spasms OF whooping cough: Another tree
mirably rs an astringent in cases of dysentery.
BLOOD SUCKERS AND BLISTER BUGS
In speaking of the contribution Of things
animal to the pharmacopeia one should not
omit mention of the leech, 90 valuable by rea-
son Of its addiction to and capacity for blood
sucking. II you want to know why leech
is able to hold SO much blood you have only to
dissect him and you will find that his body 10
almost entirely composed Of stomach as to its
interior. From mouth to tail the inside OF the
leech is q series of hollow, connected sacs,
which may be filed with blood, 80 that the
animal is able to hold nearly Its own bulk
in the vital fluid it swallows. Leeches are
caught for market in swampy places, mostly
with rakes, though sometimes animals are
driven into shallow waters infested by them in
order that they may be fastened upon by
leeches and bring them out by the quantity.
green insect called the Spanish fly" has
achieved reputation in medicine. Reduced
to powder, 1t is applied most effectively as a
blister, ip1aming the skin through the opera
ton Of an active principle which the powder
contains, called ''cantharidin." Precious few
people are aware, however, that ordinary po-
tato bugs. dried and powdered, have an equal
virtue of the same description. Furthermore,
there are ever SO many other insects which
supply this csntharidin. For example, there
are fifteen known species Of ''bister beetles"
in this country which serve the same purpose.
One often hears OF q thing called ''isinglass,"
but not one person out Of q thousand can tell
what it really is. As matter Of fact, 1t is
| simply the swimming bladders Of fishes, by the
| expansion and contraction Of which they
change their specific gravity and rise or sink at
| will. In preparing these bladders for market
| they are simply split aud dried, the best quail
ity, having the interior membrane, taken out
They are readily dissolved and are most valua-
BILE - . Commitment Of many preparations use
full TO invaIids.
AMMONIA Is NOT ''HARrsHoRY."
When "hartshorn" isspoken Of people usually
| identify II with ammonia Ammonia was origi-
nsly called by that name in England and in
this country because it was derived from the
| horns Of young stays or harris. Subsequently
it was learned that it could be obtained very
oheaply and in great quantities from manure,
from which source 1t Is now made CONNER
cially. It was first produced in large amounts
from camels' dung Of which there were i'm
| mense deposits in Arabia in the neighborhood
! of . celebrated statue of Jupiter Ammon-
| hence the name it has since borne. Real
hartshorn, made from stays horn, is q medici-
| nal article now, being made into shavings for
! market. boiled to a jelly, and prescribed by
physicians for ricketts,.
Every one il acquainted with the use of the
digestive fluid Of the pig, known as '.pepsin, !"
for indigestion or dyspepsia. For the same
purpose the fluid is scraped from the inside Of
| the gizzards Of barn yard fowls and sold.
Musk, derived from two little sacs on the
belly of the musk deer, is regarded as . most
| important remedy for nervous troubles. 1t
costly. In old times, though belief In the
remedy 10 no longer entertained, red ants were
| thought to be q powerful cure for bruises and
pains in the limbs Of all sorts. Sometimes they
were boiled by the quantity in q muslin bag
and applied to the parts affected; at other times
foot or hand afflicted was thrust into the
ants hole and the insects were permitted to
chew upon the member in order that they
might take away the trouble.
QUEER VEGETABLE RRMEpIEA
Some Of the vegetable remedies used in medi-
cine are exceedingly curious. Doubtless you
have observed what are called gals" upon
trees. They occur on all trees and upon many
other plants Of every sort, being caused by in
sects, which bore into the bark and build
around themselves secure places for hiding and
laying their eggs In due time they bore their
way out, appearing in the shape Of full-fedged
flies, and leave their empty houses behind
them. The oak is most particularly chosen by
these insects, and in Asia Minor q large busi-
ness 10 made Of collecting the empty gals for
market It Ia from that part Of the world that
most Of the supply comes Their chief use in
medicine is As an astringent in diarrh1a. Oak
gals contain something like 20 per cent Of tan
mic soid, and it il from them that tanners OBJ
tain their most important material for the
preparation Of leather. However, gals from
all sorts Of plants have very much the same
pr operties and constitution.
People who advertise patent medicines are
very fond Of saying that their preparations are
of purely vegetable nature, contding in the
popular ignorance Of the fact that the most
deadly poisons in the world are vegetable
poisons. For example, there is the ''woorari''
plant from South America, which is used by
the savage natives for poisoning their arrows
Introduced into the circulation, the juice OF
this vegetable Immediately paralyzes the mus
cular system and soon produces death. Physi-
clans experimenting in vivisection employ this
poison to paralyze the muscles Of frogs and
other animals, in order that the subject treated
may not move under the knife. 1t should be
mentioned that the ARROWS envenomed with
this powerful agent of destruction are pro-
astonishing accuracy Of aim, birds and other
game being captured in this way. Strychnine
il Q vegetable product obtained from the nux
vomics plant Of India. The seeds Supply this
active principle, which d used in medicine to
oct upon the nervous system . tonic. Too
m uch of 1t il . deadly poison, paralyzing the
n erve centers and occasioning convulsions that
soon end in death
CURIOUS oHINKsH nRDIcINEA
The medicines Of Caucasian civilization are
derived from many . curious origin, but, IL
you want 10 And funny things utilized a. RENE
dies for disease, you viii discover them in the
Ch1neee pharmacop1iA
Medical science in that country has been
somewhat impsded BY the respect which the
Chinese Day 70 dead body. Worshiping their
ancestors - they do, their physicians would
never think Of cutting up . corpse. Conse-
quently they know nothing Of anatomy. Such
knowledge on the subject - they pretend 70
pooseoo e derived according to their own 90