The times., 1901-05-19
MEDICINES old And new
Formulas of a Third of a Century
Ago Now Ignored.

Here are two prescriptions put UP by
the same druggist:
Cure for chills and fever:
Peruvian bark, l ounce
Snake root, 10 grains.
Salts of tartar, 40 grains.
Port wine, / pint.
Mix; Dose one wine glassful three or
four times a day.
For chills and fever:
Quinine capsules, 8 grains.
Take one every two hours when clear
of fever
One belongs to thirty-five years ago. and
one was handed over the counter yester-
day. The first took nearly an hour to fill
The second was filled in thirty seconds
They illustrate in many ways the great
change which has come in the drug bust
ness, and in the work of the prescription
department of drug stores since 1866.
The store in which these two prescrip-
tions were filed is, in point of view of
continued business. the oldest establish
ment in the city. Last week the veteran
proprietor had the pleasure of writing on
the last prescription quoted, a number
which indicated that it was the 5O0,0o0th
filed by his house. Having filled the first
he filled the 5OO,eOOth personally, though
he has long since ceased to take an ac-
tive part in the work behind the pre-
scriDtion counter.
Methods have changed" he said, as
he wound the red string about the tiny
white package and handed it over the
counter. He turned to an enquiring Wis
itor as he spoke. There is hardly a
thing in the prescription department to-
day to remind you of the prescription de-
partment of thirty-five years ago. The
ferent The diseases are different l eX
pect or else they are the same diseases
under different names. Certainly they
are not treated with the same medicines.
Speaking generally, and judging from this
side of the prescription counter the tend
eucy in medicine giving is toward small
doses and mild medicines. You would be
surprised at the immense pills that used
to be prescribed thirty-five years ago. A
modern physician would throw up his
hands in horror. and declare that even
well person would not stand such dose
much less a sick man. / can remember
very well that twenty years ago it was
quite the common thing to make a 10
grain calomel pill. 10-grain blue mass
pill. / have even put up ten grains of
caIomel and ten grains of colocynth as a
dose How the person lived through it /
don't understand, but he did. He wanted
a dose Of physic and I imagine he got 1t.
Now. If calomel is prescribed at all
hardly a tenth of that dose is given.
There is growing prejudices against the
mercuriaI preparation-and people prefer
10 take the smaller things. Here are
some tiny little sugar-coated pellets that
are lust as ehicacious as that big mouth
fuI OF calomel and colocynth was, and
probably more so, for they are easy ana
pleasant in their action, which virtues
could hardly be said to belong to calonel
THE violent methods have gone out
leeching and cupping included Leeches
thirty-five years ago used to be regu-
lar part of the druggists stock-and after
you had secured a man out with calomel
YOU bIed him, cupped him, and then
Ieeched him. But / doubt if today you
can find a leech IN the city-certainly
there is no regular call for them.
These little pills are quite represen-
tative of the pharmaceutical methods OF
today; 10 the first place we don't make
them. They are what IS called a proprle-
tary medicine and We buy them just as
they are. Every pill that went out of
the old-time drug shop was made on the
premises and sometimes very badly made.
These pills come to US guaranteed in ev-
L.
OUT Of the very best standardized drugs,
and we know just exactly what they are
composed of. on the label is the formula
and that is what distinguishes them from
patent medicines. No one knows the for
rnula of q patent medicine, and 1 guess
no one wants TO know it. These standard
preparations put up by well known firms
ara familiar TO all practicing physicians.
They are made UP according TO certain
welI-tried prescriptions, and hence our
call is frequently just for the preparation
The physician merely indicates 'Ess. Pep.
Falrchild. Take according to directions,
and our duty is simply TO hand out the
bottle neatly wrapped UP. Fully quar-
ter Of the prescriptions Of today are filed
in that manner. and il is most economical
of time. In the olden times it used to
take hours sometimes to put up the de-
coction ordered. Take such an one as
the following:
Poplar bark. Bayberry bark. American
Nalerian, Scullcap and CTSnesblli, and
Cinnamon of each l OF. Golden Seal,
Prickly Ash berries OF each = OF. Boil
in pints water, slowly evaporating to
lie pints- When cold add y pint Of No.
made as follows: Myrrh, = OF; capsicun,
DR.; best 9Th proof brandy y pint. IN
which dissolve by gentle heat crushed su-
gar ~ pounds aVoirdupOis Strain and
add spirits camphor and peppermint cs-
sence Of each quantity sufficient TO faY-
or. .. S.-Tab ablespoOnfuI every hour un-
til relieved
1T was one commonly prescribed for
cholera, and was meant 70 be kept in the
house for the family n case the disease
should be epidemic 1t was. Of course,
most useful for minor bowel troubles II
says a good deal about slowly evaporat-
ing and dissOlving By gentle heat. 50 you
can imagine how many hours II would
take TO make It up. Many prescriptions
of the old school had to be strained and
cooled and pOttered over until il took Gays
TO get them together.
's'The distinction between old-time phar-
macy and the pharmacy Of today Is Illus
trated in the quinine capsule. In the first
place, the capsule makes one Of the most
bitter medicines easy to take which Is a
great advance. II was once necessary to
take the powder plain, and before that
they had only the Peruvian bark Some
times it was prescribed in the tincture to
be taken plain, and il was certainly a
most abominabie mess. Sometimes the pa
tient had 70 chew the bark itself which
was simply a Drolongation of his misery.
The quinlne that is in the pill is the con
centrated extract just as the ingredients
that are IN ali these proprietary medi-
cines are the concentrated extract Mod
ern pharmacy selects the active principle
and throws the inert part away. thus re-
HeviDg the body Of the extra labor in
VoiYed in dispOsing OF the useless portion
of the dose. Old medicines were given in
'draughts' and sometimes the 'draughts'
were whole pint tumblers fun Anything
beyond a Wineglass full today is unusual
in drug store, except for medicinal wa
ters. there Is now little use for any bot
tie holding more than s ounces. When
j first went into the business a man came
with a gallon jug and his prescription,
and left both overnight to be filed Now
he comes with his little piece Of paper
and goes away in a couple Of minutes al