The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-07-16

Remarkable Things 70 Be Seen in 4
PiltSburg Shop.
Dried Worms Used as Medicine Gin
namon Bark So Valuable That It's
Sawdust is Carefully Saved-A
TRAVELLING Doctor For Pittsburg.

From the PittshurE Dispatch
/ Pittsbur- like all largo cities, has
Within its limits many interesting hooks
+ ana corners, the most interesting of which
are those teuantcd by the sons of the
. f0werY kingdom Chinese are not all Oc-
Cupied ia washing the Mclean mans"
I soiied linen. There are merchants and
learned men, who are an honor 10 any
/ land, and whose acquaintance is worth
/ cultivaJing And of these the chief pro
prietOr OF the Chinese drug store of
/ QuOug WO Sung u Co, on Second avenue,
/ Plttsburg, IS among the first, and his lit
tie shop is certainly one Of the most in
teresting Of al the various places in the
( two cities.
The windows Of the store are Just now
filed with a l0t of genuine Chinese fire
! works. ana from the descriptions Of one
/ Of the attendants the effect of some of
| these fireworks must be rather startling
| They" seem mainly to have been cOu-
| structcd for producing as much noise as
| possible. Some, shaped like a miniature
duck are to float on water while burning,
producing very pretty effect. Entering
the door rather oyerpowering OdOrs greet
us, and drugstore is suggested by jugs,
bottles and drawers everywhere. Hav-
ing been introduced to the proprietor, a
large, portly man of very pronounced
type, | made the purpose of my visit
the most friendly manner possible to show
me few OF the many substances that
make up his stock in trade. In fact, moth
ing can surpass his politeness and pa
thence.
SOME QUEER ARTICLES OF FOOD.
We first looked into row of large
earthenware covered Jars that stood on
the floor in front of the counter and
which contained some of the food pro
ducts of the Chinese. The first was
filed nearly to the top with dried cutie
fish, pressed fiat and really in a remarka-
bly, line state of preservation The next
jar contained dried mushrooms, while
another held a lot of small peas, as small
as grains of pepper. There were two
long freshyams, the substitute for pota
toes in the far east. On the shelves were
q number of smaller jars, packages and
bottles. Some of these contained Ameri-
can preparations, but the most Of them
enclosed various mysterious foodstuffs
and medicines from China, all of them
with very hard names. l was shown
dried shrmps and dried sea urchins, and
began to wonder how they must all taste
when prepared III true Oriental style by d
native cook.
From the fluid part of the meal one
could have some of the rice wine or bran
dy in the straW-cOVered bottles on the
next shelf To the right behind the
counter, were a series of drawers and
cases, the latter with glazed doors. In
these l found kept innumerable drugs
that would take a day to examine proper
lV and too much time even to enumerate
They were principally roots and banks,
whole and sliced, many of them very
, odOrous and pungent and no doubt very
effective in their way.
TIE DRUGS ARE CAREFULLY KEPT
The most remarkable thing about these
drugs was their clean and delicate APP
pcarance in most cases and their freedom
from dust and debris, quite different
from so many of the dusty specimens of
roots, herbs and banks that disgrace
American drug stores. Some of the roots
were sliced in a most delicate and pains
taking way, speaking volumes for the pa
thence and ingenuity of John. Many of
these slices were as thin as waters and 5
inches long by broad others were even
z inches long. The best of these were
sliced in China, carefully packed and i'm
ported, while the smaller and COarser are
J sliced here from the imported fresh roots
with the aid of what looks like a carpen-
ter's plane, or with a curiOusly-shaped
broad chopper AS may be imagined. the
prices vary also, some of the slices selling
Tor 40 cents an ounce, while others run
from 10 to s. an ounce.
A fine and small sliced root, called
chumbOi, is said to be a remedy for bad
colds, another is good for pain in the
chest, and SO on through the many varie-
ties. L was shown small and neatly-tied
bundles of roots, looking all the world
like dried worms, and retailing for $l3
an ounce. 1t must cost something for
Chnaman to fall sick in this country.
SILK wOR MS AND BIRDS NESTS.
Qu0ng brought out as further remedies
such delicious things as dried silk worms
and birds nests, and several equally in
Wiling animal substances. On the other
hand there Were two kinds of cinnamon
bark, one quite reasonable in price and
like our ordinary kind; the other held at
$50 an ounce, being very thick and of
highly aromatic odor and taste. When
some Of the latter is to be sold, as much
as is necessary is sawed off from the
large piece of bark with a very fine saw,
even the dust being saved
There were two kinds of camphor the
! ordinary Japan CamphOr and the BorneO
camphOr, which latter seems to be but
slightly different from the other, but to
which the Chinese ascribe extraordinary
medical virtues and which they will take
| in exchange for more than fifty times its
weight OF Japan camphor. But the most
Isimportant of the Chinese drugs is the
ginseng root, of which several varieties
are in use, ranging in price from SO to
over 500 pound in price. The virtues
supposed to dwell in this root are many
and various and bordOr on the miraculous.
A great deal of it is collected in America,
but the best is said to be found in Corea,
which country has practically a monopo-
ly of the higher-pricod kinds.
NO OPIUM TO BE SEEN.
Opium is either conspicuous by its alb
sence in this store, or else was kept per-
sistently in the background. It was also
noticeable that this drug store was IN
reality a drug store, iuasmuch as it dealt
only in drugs, and was not handicapped
by the hundred and one side issues, such
as patent medicines, toilet articles and
soda water that cannot but help to divert
the mind Of the American pharmacist
from his more immediate business-that
of dispensing drugs
Upon inquiry as TO who did the pre-
scribing for ali these various rem edies,
pleasant and otherwise, [ learned that
while there had been formerly resident
Chinese doctor in Pittsburg, he had PROV
ed himself incompetent and had finally
been driven out of the city. At present
the Chinese doctor for this district is a
| small dark-haired man who travels in a
circuit including Washington, d. c.,
| Philadelphia, Baltimore, Harrisburg and
Pittsburg How often he comes around
| I di9 NOT Inarr and what hapouas of