Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-04-18

uOciateu Tor example,,
rain atparticular seasons oftheyear is believed in
that country to have medicinal properties That
which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month,
when the dragon-boat festival occurs, is called
holy water" and is used for sedative Rain
water falling during the night is deemed e1-
cellent for worms. If rain water be collected
in the spring and drunk out Of one cup by man
and wife they will have many children. Storm
water is good for fevers snow water is q vermi-
fuge and hail water is inclined to be poisonous.
Bats, very common in China, are believed to
convey their extreme longevity and excep-
tional sight to those persons who consume the
disgusting preparations made from various
parts OF their bodies. One interesting remedy
for eve troubles is the excrement Of bats, in
which the doctors pretend to detect the eyes Of
the mosquitoes on which the creatures feed. A
favorite tonic is a reddish glue, known COM
mercially as asses glue" though il 10 in reality
obtained by boiling down the water Of a cele-
brated well, which contains a gelatinous prin-
ciple.
USES or ARSENIC.
If prescription for arsenic kills the patient
both the seller of the drug and the buyer are
decapitated. Chinese firecrackers containing
portion ofsublimate Of arsenic are said to be
louder. A considerable portion of arsenic is
contained in an alloy Of copper. of which
much OF the women's jewelry is
1A'aNS. dHu IhNOIlte mOu6 OF COM
uniting suicide adopted by females in China is to
swallow their head ornaments. The horns Of a
KIND OF deer which is said to hang itself up in
trees by its horns at nigh: are recommended
Tor !.s apG ?R y: There is plant called the
soldiers to promote bravery, and its reputation
Is SO great among them that it sells for 50 an
ounce. Amber is given as a nervine pieces
containing insects being held at high value.
A certain perennial water plant is said to
and 20
upon water. One kind of fungus resembling
the trrffie is thought to have the power both to
destroy worms and to cast out devils. Licorice
root Is deemed to have the property Of renew
Ing youth. Ink is recommended as a diuretic
ana gunpowder Is put down as O vermifuge.
Round concretions of iron peroxide are used
IN powder for fevers. A legend connects them
with the great god Yu and they are alleged to
be crumbs from his table.
MEDICINAL PROPERTIES OF THE COW.
The COW is recommended in the Chinese
pharmacopeia in the shape Of beef tea. This
animal has distinct name for each year of its
growth up to the seventh. 1t is said to be deaf
In Its ears, but to hear in its nose. Bones of
the tiger. which is accounted the king of
beasts. are highly valued for ague and general
debility. In fact every part of the animal is
cataiogued as having medicinal properties.
Facts known about it are that its victims be-
come devils after being digested, but the flesh
OF dog makes the creature intoxicated. Bad
smells, such as burnt horn. scare it away and
the hedgehog can get the better of it. The
tiger turns gray at the close Of the first 500
years of its life.
The wood Of the box tree is supposed to ease
the pains of labor and for this purpose women
often chop up their toilet combs, which are COM
monty made of the material. Benzoin is sup
posed to be good for stomach ache. /. is much
adulterated, but there is a sure test II real its
nf fhasr hn1n
wheaton bread is much prescribed for various
complaints and bread pills are an old remedy
with Chinese doctors.
CINNABAR AND COSMETIC POWDER.
Cinnabar, an ore of mercury, is placed at the
head of all minerals and metals, being capable
OF transforming itself, in equal periods of two
hundred years, into each of the five principal
metals successfully, finally becoming gold.
Worn in bags by children it warns of wicked
spirits and st. Vitus dance. Verdigris from old
copper coins is thought irst-rate for skin trou-
bles. For cosmetic powders used by the women
OF the fowery kingdom the shells Of various
mollusks are scraped, burned and refined,
seeming ingredients being added. Fossil crabs,
powdered, are used to neutralize all kinds of
poisons. Pieces of fossil ivory are also sold in
stamped packages. to be prepared and given in
cases OF fever. Ambergris is declared excellent
for its healing properties; 1t is coughed up by
dragons. Fossil teeth of extinct mastodons
are of great service for their action on the
liver.
VARIOUS REMEDIES.
fungus which grows out of caterpillar as
disease Of the insect and transforms it into
plant is good for jaundce. The excrement of
the common sparrow, of the magpie and of the
wild pigeon is prescribed for various COM
plants. Extract of dandelion renews the
youth, hair and teeth Of old men. Plasters of
elephants hide are sold for wounds that heal
with difficulty. There is an injurious fungus
that is said to cause irrepressible laughter. the
patient who has eaten of it being unable to re-
strain the cacchinatory muscles.
GOLD FOR SUICIDE.
Gold leaf is much used, by swallowing, for
suicidal purposes, the metal producing irrita-
ton and death; solid gold is employed similarly
hot gold needle is thrust into the gums to
relieve toothache. The most common and con-
venient poison used in China is opium. drug
always at hand. Mandarins of high rank
usually wear on their persons a small bead
filled with what is called peacocks blood.
This they are said to take when they desire to
destroy themselves suddenly. Every part of
the pig is believed to have some special medici-
ployed in the treatment of very many diseases
and seed pearls likewise.
WATER As A MEDICINE
Water among the &lestials stands in the fore
front of all medicinal agents. It is the first of
the sixteen great classes Of all known sub
stances and is divided into the heavenly and
the terrestrial descriptions: of the former there
are thirteen sorts and Of the latter thirty. The
hydropathic system is very ancient in that
country. Water in which the five precious
metals"-gold. silver, copper. iron and tin
have been boiled is popular remedy for do
nestle emergencies, such as faintness and ac-
cidents of any kind. Personal ornaments and
medley of articles generally make up the re-
quired combination of materials.
There is a certain kind Of anteater, about
two feet long, whose body is covered with
movable scales 1t lives on insects by catching
them upon its tongue, but sometimes il lies
down as if dead, and as the flies collect upon
its body it closes its scales suddenly upon
them and entering the water feasts upon the
prey which floats drowned to the surface. The
triangular scales of this animal were formerly
prescribed for every imaginable disease. but
their principal use at present is to scratch
itching surfaces, for which purpose thew are
fixed upon o length Of bamboo a. q kind of
currycomb.
PAPER AND PAPER MAKING
Ashes Of paper are given as an astring-
ent, and the paper Of an old book, after
the printed characters held in such veneration
have been cut out, is q remedy for barrenness
Paper is used in various other ways for pur-
poses medicinal Nowhere in the world In this
important fabric SO extensively EMPLOYED "a
in China Anciently bamboo leaves scorched