The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-01-09

regarded as universal remedy, and
has for its object the quickening of the
vital spirits" 1t is practiced by
twisting or driving a needle inserted
into the body and in the first case is
called nedschibari; in the last udschi-
bari. BY this operation free passage
is supposed to be made for the winds. /"
Besides this, Chinese surgery includes
application of moxes, cupping, innocu-
lation, paracenteris of the eye and
bleeding. Surgical operations are
chiefly confined to removing a tooth,
prlcking sores and humOrs with needles,
or trying to reduce dislocations and
reunite fractures by pressure or BAN
daging. Sometimes they successfully
execute more difficult cases, as the
operation for a harelip and insertion
of false teeth. Under ordinary circum-
stances they make shift with poultices
in this, live cats liver is specially
popular-while fractures are treated by
extension. Poultices made OF many
strange or disgusting substances are
applied to injured parts. In one case
man who, having injured his iris by
fall, was ordered by his physician TO
cut chicken in halves, laying d ooI-
ton on the eye as cataplasm, and
eating the other as an internal cure
Vivisection is rarely attempted. but
leeches and cupping are employed to
remove the blood from particular
spot Kneading of the muscles (mas-
sage), which is said to have been in use
1900 years before Christ, is likewise
practiced. The Chinese also claim to
have been able for thousands of years
to produce anaethesia by means of the
preparation, mage.
SPOTTED LIZARDS AND RHI-
NOCEROS TEETH.
The Chinese despise our science, and
prefer to swallow down mighty mix
lures, fearfully and wonderfully
brewed, which for ever so many hun
dred years have been mentioned as In
fallible remedies. The Chinese pharma-
cology consists of 40 octave volumes,
and contains remedies from the veg
etable and animal kingdoms almost
exclusively, and is very copious 1t
includes $50 different kinds of leaves,
about $50 vegetable. medicines, so min
eral and rs animal. The use of acids
and reagents is unknown, for they i'm
ply more knowledge of chemistry than
the Chinese possess Their medicines
are arranged under six heads-tonics,
astringents, resolvents, purgatives, al
terativeS of poisonous humors and of
the blood. Among many herbal medi-
cines, which undoubtedly are more or
less tonics, we find that the same quail
ties are aScribed to Stalactite fresh
tops of stag horns, dried red spotted
lizards, silkworm moths, black and
white lead, tortoise shell and. dogs
meat.
by the same stretch of the magma
ton the bones and teeth of dragons,
oyster shells, loadstone, tale and gold
and silver leaf are regarded as astrin-
gents. while verdigris,. calcareOus
spar, catechu pearls, bears gall,
shavingS OF rhineocerOs horns and
turtle shell are used as purgatives
Elephants skin, and, with GER
tain consistency, ivory shavings, are
considered to be antidotes TO poison.
The genuine ginseng root and the edible
nests OF the swallow are considered
Veritable Danaceas, and are especially
priced by the Chinese as aphrodisiacs.
In fact, ginseng, which used to be sold
for eight times it's weight in silver,
stands at the head of all remedies. Tea,
N various modes of preparation, is
much valued as a medicine; and differ
ent parts of rare animals are included
in the list with the reputation of prop
critics as multifariouS and inconsistent
as the pills of a quack Almost every
animal supplies a distinct specific par
tlcularly its blood and it's liver. In de-
bility the extract of tigers blood is pre-
scribed. Among the agents employed
are many strange and repulsive sub
stances, as snakes, including rattle
snakes, lizards, bears gall, dried spi-
ders, bugs, toads, claws, ears, tongues.
hearts, livers of numerous animals,
dragon bone, cotton, ivory, musk, rhu-
barb, gentian, camphor, fossil bones,
rhlnocerOS or hartShOrn shayingS silk
worm, as bestos, moths, Chinese seeds,
leaves in large doses, fungi, and innu-
merable other things. calomel, vermil-
lion, red preciDitate, minimum. arsenic,
plumbago, mercury and sulphate of
cooper are among the metallic medi-
cines used by physicians. Then, of
course, exorcism by physicians Gin cpl
denies, with dragon banners in front
burning scraps of colored paper, in
Scribed with formulate of incarnation,
firecrackers, etc.). and similar supersti-
tious observances, are not wanting.
TINCTURE OF SCORPIONS.
Among the most highly reputed drugs
and medicines are the larvae of grass
hoppers for instance, dried and roasted,
prescribed for headaches; dried fowls
gizzards for Indigestion; the inside of a
stays horn and rattlesnake tea for
rheumatism and bronchitis; a glutinous
decoction of donkey's skin has a great
reputation for pulmonary diseases,
while powder prepared from the skin
of the elephant is recommended for !
rheumatic pains. One of the stimulants
is tincture of scorpions, and for tonic /
purposes, the best, though very costly I
is the gelatinous deooction of !
tigers bones. For a general antidOte /
in many cases, the bears gall is much
admired. A number of live toads in a
jar half-filled with flour, and when |
the -four is moistened with the saliva
which these creatures emit, is dried and