Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-02-18

iodgment in wounds and propaga.ing their
kind In them. blood poisoning and other com
plants which killed thousands during the re-
oeihon can be enectually prevented.
STRANGE CURIOSITY.
One Of the strongest OF the curiosities shown
Is the lung Of q colored man preserved in Jar
OF alcohol II 10 a. black as the blacklist coal.
The former owner dvelt near Richmond. Va.
in log hut which was not well We Inflated Burn
ing pine wood TO keep himself warm he
breathed the smoke for years. IL is found that
the substance which has biackened the lung IL
pure carbon Another lung. likewise kept in
bottle. is black with iron rust Ii once be-
longed TO nail maker. This is particularly
trade disease Workers in steel and iron
generally are apt 10 be afflicted with it.
However these are only few Of the odd
things on exhibition at this museum. There ID
mans breastbone that has a large gap in the
middle OF it. One could feel his heart beat BY
touching his chest, nothing covering that vital
organ but a thin wall of flesh. On this account
he wore a protector Of thick leather. He died.
but not for that reason. A skull with few
vertebra attached is from - cataccmbs AZ
Rome. The remarkable point about it is that
they once belonged 10 an individual whose neck
was broken and who recovered from the in
jury. Not the most attractive Of the objects
displayed are models representing INDUSTRIOUS
births, such as those from which the ancients
got their notions originally for their figures Of
demons and other mslevoleut spirits By
piunging an egg of q chicken or other fowl into
cold water for 4 brief period during the process
OF incubation monstrous chicks with double
heads and other deformities may be srtlficially
produced. the integrity of the developing germ
being disturbed. 1t is believed that accidents
OF similar nature occurring without design in
other animals produce such freaks commonly
ind their way into the dime museums.
The frst Of waN mo1als a ranresant n
Of the human body in disease il attributed 20 a
Sicilian priest named Zambo, who lived in the
latter part OF the seventeenth century. he had
been accustomed to make such counterfeit
presentments OF diseased or deformed hands
and feet, &c, to be used as votive offerings at
the shrines Of saints. in behalf Of the persons
afflicted, who hoped for cure by supernatural
agency. The fame Of these works of art in
cuced a surgeon of repute 10 go to the priest
and employ him for the purpose OF reproducing
some pathological examples. Hence the original
collection OF this kind.
One long case at this museum is filed with
skeletons. Being suspended, hundreds of them,
as closely as possible together along the wall
they look as II they were marching by single
file in funeral procession. Although they in
clude many races-Chinese, African, Caucasian
and lndian-their bony structure betrays no
| essential differences TO the untaught eve. Attic
| ulated human skeletons are worth from S25 for
an ordinary specimen TO eco for fine one.
otAs euppAcs Ctu1allQ IOr tDem IN
Europe and America. One great establishment
in that city is largely devoted TO turning them
| out though it has department for the prepar-
alton of skeletons of beasts and birds and even
Of frogs and lizards. There il never any diff
Guilty in securing bodies for the purpose from
the hospitals and morgues. They quoted ss
a regular commercial article. The bones of
childrens skulls are too delicate TO be taken
apart BY ordinary means, and they filed
with dried pense. Water is poured in. which
makes the pease swell and force the bones apart
| in a most delicate and effectual fashion.
SINGULAR MEDICINES.
The government collection Of materials used
for medicinal purposes is not kept in the Medi-
cal Museum, but in the National Museum close
by. 1t includes a great many very odd things
For example it illustrates the contributions
which insects make to the pharmacopnia.
Cockroaches, dried and powdered. are recog-
nized nowadays as a remedy for dropsv. The
dust contains an active principle termed anti
hydropin. which stimulates the kidneys and
checks the complaint. Everybody knows that
pulverized Spanish flies are commonly utilized
for blisters. infaming the skin through the
operation of a substance called cantharidin.
But very few people are aware that ordinary
potato bugs dried and powdered possess an
equal virtue Of the same description. Ever so
many other insects supply cantharidin. There
are no fewer than fifteen known species of
blister beetles in this country. Coehineal in
sects. so valuable dye, are administered in
small doses for neuralgia and to check the
spasms Of whooping cough The ''lsc' insects.
from which shellac is made, excellent for
dysentery. The remedial value Of extracts
made from the gals which are formed on
plants by gall flee is familiar enough. Such
gals, which contain 20 per cent of tannin, are
largely gathered in Asia Minor, mostly from
oak trees.
Crabs eyes are commonly employed as
1rf Nv ~ otn Thax-
crabs eyes, but small corrections Of lime found
in the stomachs of crawfish at the time when
they are about to cast their shells and make
new ones. Lime in this form, which is doubt
less intended TO supply material for the new
shells, is particularly pure. II is prepared
| simply by pulverizing. Oyster shells are used
in the same way and for the same purpose,
being prepared by washing and powdering.
Isinglass. which is a valuable constituent of
many preparations useful TO invalds, is made
from the swimming bladders Of fishes. These
bladders, by the expansion and contraction of
which the finny creatures change their specific
gravity and rise sink at will. merely split.
dried and dissolved to form the product as il
is sold.
Considering these things it does not appear
| that the medicines included in the Chinese
pharmacopeia are so surprisingly absurd. They
use dried toads for tonic, sailed scorpions for
smallpox clam shells for a cathartic. fossil crabs
as an antidote for poisons, the excrement Of
bats for blindness, ink a diuretic and gun
powder as q vermifuge. In their belief kind
Of fungus resembling the truffle DESTROYS worms
and casts out devils, verdigris from old copper
coins is good for skin trouble. the fossil teeth of
the extinct mastodon are a cure for liver COM
plant. ashes Of paper useful astrin-
gent, rain on particular days of the year has a
medicinal value and the fungus which grows
out of a certain kind of caterpillar a disease.
transforming it into a plant. is specific for
jaundice. Gold leaf is much employed BY the
Chinese for suicidal purposes. They swallow it
and the irritation produced by il is fatal.
Some Of the medicines at present in use by
American and European physicians are enor-
mously expensive. A preparation Of the Gala
bar bean administered for lockjaw. called
"physostigmine salicylste." is worth s600 an
ounce. A preparation of hanbane, employed as
an hypnotic and called ''hyoscine hydrobro-
mate" costs $1,000 an ounce. An alkaloid
prepared from atropine, which is an active
principle of belladona is utilized by ophthalmic
surgeons to expand the pupil Of the eye. Ii
sells for o., 100 pound.