The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-03-18
DOCTORS OF EARLY DAYS.
The Quaint Remedies and Absurd
Ideas of N Century Ago.

C'rom the New York SUM
At the last meeting of the New York
Historical Society DR.. Sidney H. Carney.
jr. read paper on "The New York Medi-
cal Profession in 1900" The better TO put
his hearers into the proper mental atti-
tude for what he had to say to them DR..
Carney reminded them that at the time
Of which he was speaking. plum and pear
trees fiourished in Madison Square, aud
Bablyonian naples and sycamore trees
waved their branches as they had done for
generations in City Hail Park. SleighridO
parties to neighboring taverns were pOpu-
lar diversions with the physicians as with
the laity One doctor records that al one
Of these Publications he 'partook O. pan
cakes and gin. which waged such war
within my carcass as taught me lesson.
There were ninety physicians in
New York in 1900 They all used" DR..
Carney said. that staff Of medical proprie-
~. gold-headed cane" These canes
formerly had within the heads aromatic
vinegar. which had its uses Small
clat hes" said Dr. Carney. were rapidly
disappearing. and pantalo0ns were covering
a multitude of shins." There were I'VE
medical schools in the United States in
1900 AT Columbia College at Philadelphia,
Cambridge Dartmouth. and Lexington,
XIV The chair OF chemistry included STUDY
of the natural bodies. scientific medicine,
rational and experimental agriculture and
other things No doubt the rational aud
experimental agriculture instruction was
duly appreciated by young medical men
going TO practice in the country said tina
doctor In 1928 sixteen doctors here had
lost their lives trying TO mitigate the SUI
feriugs caused by the plague. The pay OF
doctors an Bellevue was then twenty shill-
ings a day. The hospital was three miles
out Of town.
The propagation OF disease by specific
germs was not then a fact accept by all
The yellow fever was brought here from
the West Indies then as now. and condi-
tions here favored its spread. Yet Phila-
delphia doctor writing TO one Of his New
York brothers said: yellow fever, SO long
as the laws OF nature endure, cannot be
imported, but is the outgrowth Of existing
conditions
There has been some speculation among
the curious as to the prevalence Of gripes
al bedtime among New Workers Of q hun
dFed years ago The remedy for this COM
plant prescribed by the physicians was
nutmeg and brandy and the yoIk Ct an egg
to be taken before going to bed For
apopleXy salt and cold water were to te
used. whereupon the patient was 'lmmc-
diately to come to himself toothaeha
remedy efilcdGluNS always Win one tAttb-
ton IN the practice OF one physician was
to crush a ladybug between the thumb
ana furednger and then rub the finger
on the gum and tooth. Freshly crushed
bugs were recommended For the bite OF
a mad dog the prescription was an ounce
Of the jawbone Of the dog, some colt $
tongue. and a scruple OF verdigris, that
taken from the coppers Of George ! and
George II being preferred. Of which COM
pound teaspoouful day was to De taken.
If that failed TO cure $50 grains Of verdi
gris aud half an ounce CT calomel were to
be given in one dose by a physician 10 per
son. Il this still failed four ounces OF
pure opium were TO be given to the pa
tient. This last was a secret remedy so
successful that early in the century the
state Legislature bought the secret for
ST. 600.
For a visit the fee was ST. for visit and
dose Sl.25 Pills were y cents. Doc
tors got 81 a mile for going out OF town.
Il cost s. TO get one to Brooklyn and $40
to hove one visit Staten Island. For bleed
ing a charge OF from 81 to s. was made.
Tadpoles figured in the regimen OF that
DAY to such an extent that il Is said the
people OF Vermont in a season Of scarcity
almost fattened on them. And one Of New
Yorks famous physicians spent a part Of
his time in the study Of the alimentary
qualities of these tid-b bits.