Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-03-02
USEFUL CRAWLERS.
MEDICINES WHICH ARE MANuFAc'
TuRED FROM VARIOUS BUGS.

rAs List Includes Cockroachss, Spiders,
Snakes and Bses-AM Said to be Efnoa-
oieus and Possess Many virtuss-Homso-
paths Favor the Use OF Beetles.
Many people win be surprised to
learn that a use has been found for
our friend the cockroach. For years
he has been branded as pest, and we
have dosed him with borax, plaster OF
paris and insect powder. Now the ia
bles are turned, and the insect physics
us. American doctors say that tincture
Of cockroach is good for asthma, and
the preparation has been used lately IN
England. Anyone wishing to try the
remedy can make it by soaking four
large cockroaches in an ounce OF spirit
OF wine for few days. Twenty drops
Of this liquid on lump Of sugar ought
to charm away the worst attack. or
course, patients might object to the
word cockroach, but the Latin name,
Llatta Orientailis, Is sufficient to allay
the fears of the most particular. Cock
roach tea is a favorite domestic medi-
cine with the working classes in Rus
STA. II cockroaches will cure US, there
is no reason why spiders should not be
tried also. AS a matter OF fact, they
have been used by the monographs for
years. Solomon told US we could find
spiders even in kings palaces, but now
adays we can trace them in innocent
looking tinctures and sugar pills. Tar
antula pilules is title that should be
worth fortune If we'll advertised, and
tincture prepared from the mygale-
the great bird-eating spider Of Mexico
ought certainly to possess equal viz
tues. Our choice, however, is not con-
fined to giant spiders.
The garden spider, with the gold or
silver body, 80 common in the sum
mer, will yield useful preparation
II we may trust to the homoeopa-
THO pharmacopeia. A few OF these
insects rubbed down in mortar with
a little spirit, will make a moth
er tincture," from which countless
dilutions can be prepared. II this will
not suffice, the black curacao spider,
from West Indian orange groves, or
the gray spider of Kentucky, may be
used, according to taste. The homoeo-
paths are fond of beetles, and they
treat ladybirds in the same way as
spiders. They also get an essence from
the Colorado beetle-the insect which
ruined the potato crops a few years
back. It is one thing to rob the bees
wholesale and secure their wax and
honey, but 1t Is rather hard lines on
poor apis mellifica, to turn her into
medicine as we'll. But she has to go in
with the rest, and yield her life in the
cause of science. OF course, anyone
who has felt bees sting knows what
a powerful drug its poison must be.
It's rather dangerous work robbing a
hive of bees Of their stings and poison.
The method recommended In books Is
simple, but exciting. The bees are to
be caught in a bottle as they leave their
home in the morning. They are then
deprived of their poison bags and
stings by means Of scissors, and the
severed portions are soaked in spirit
to make tincture.
Besides insects, other queer things
are used in medicine at the present
time. To give only two examples, rem
edies are prepared from the starf1sh
and the crayflsh. Snake venom-no-
tably that of the cobra, the rattlesnake
and the adder-is sometimes used.
Nowadays great many drugs Of ami
NAL origin are being experimental
with, and some people prophesy that
they will eventually Dust all the rest.