The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-07-21
Medical Notes.


A placard in druggists window.
"Gumdrops Made of Gum would strike
most people as humorous, for what else
should they be made Of? That IL q ques-
ton about which the confectioners viii
tell you nothing, but 1t suggests pepper
made from cocoanut shells, sand and
sugar, chicory and coffee sorghum syrup
in honey, and various other methods Of
sophistication adopted more or Less
skillfuHy by manufacturers who want a
little OF good thing to go long way.
1t is as absurd as to advertise wooIlen
cloth made of wool but really that Is
not so absurd after all, for all wool goods
are sometimes half cotton and sometimes
more so.
There is a French proverb, ITO act
honestly is to make oneself conspicuous"
this proverb Will become fact substan-
tiated even by the food we eat, if, in
deed, 1t is not already a fact.
Gum arabic, as everyone knows, IS a
medicament which is very soothing to
the mucous membranes and one of the
most efficacious remedies for soothing in
famed surfaces. 1t is considered, in it's
way, as a specific in Inflammation of the
organs of respiration, but has In a&di-
ton indisputable nutritive qualities. 1t Is
not only the base Of the legendary gum
drop, but enters into the composition OF
pectoral pastes, cough syrups, calming
lotions, emulcent juleps aud potions for
the treatment of cough, and as for pills
and lozenges, in which it is used, their
Humber is legion.
In commerce there may be found, under
the name of artificial gum, or gumiline,
a product resulting from the action of
diastase upon starch or Of Tactic acid upon
-four, sage or starch. this product being
deXtrine which is evaporated to the con-
sistency of syrup and dried in an oven
By mechanical processes this may DO
made to simulate the appearance OF gum
arabic.
1t is with such fictitious gum that gum
drops are often made today and, for that
matter, many of the pastes calling for
gum arabic, but Of course this applies
only to those made for sale at cut rates
for the apothecaries' gumdrops are, OF
course, beyond suspicion. The price GER
tainly proves that.
1t Is not the kind of gum called for by
Galen, who wrote: Gum Possesses In
high degree the mollifcative, emphasize
and dessicative virtues" Perhaps this
wise doctor of Pergamos would have said
nothing about this viscous juice which
exudes from the Arabian acacia If he had
foreseen that some day starch, dexttine,
and even flour and chalk, would be mix
ed with 1T or even sold under its name
by merchants without shame
Gum drops without gum are matched by
juJube paste without jujube; marsh
mallow paste without marsh mallow, and
syrup of orgeat without barley
Savants call the thorny tree upon which
the juJube grows, rhamnus ziZyphus, but
plain people call 1t plain jujube tree It
grows in Italy, Egypt, Provence and AL
geria, The fruit, which is about the
size of alive with large stone has
=
to appreciate it's true flavor It should be
eaten from the tree. When it Is exported
it is wrinkled and dry. When 1t is fresh
1t may be considered as a. true aIiment,
and, If Pliny and Strabo are to be believ-
ed, it formed the chief If not the sole food
of an ancient African tribe, that of the
Lotophagi, Of which Tennyson writes
so beautifully. "A land where all things
seemed the same" from whence the
mild-eyed, melancholy Lotus-eaters
came"
Galen was a disbeliever in the nutri-
tive qualities of the fresh jujube, but
he has recorded his opinion in terms OF
quaint humor showing how fond his coun-
trymen were of the fruit. II caanot
speak" said he, "of the medicinal prop
critics of the jujube because the women
and children pick them all and eat them.
However. they are of slight nutritive
value and not very easily digested"
Oribases speaks in nearly identical Ian
guage. He says, "Jujubes are fruits
eaten by women and children at play,
but they have but little nutritive value
and are difficult to digest"
The urchins Of Provence, like those OF
Greece, eat hardly ripe juJubes and are
troubled with the same indigestion that
our own boys get along with green ap-
pies or surfeit of chestnuts.
Fresh jujubes are unknown in this
country, but jujube paste is a souvenir
Of youth, which has no doubt been re
called when the anna mater has called
our attention to the beauties of the Had
In which Homer speaking Of the lotus.
calls It "a delicious fruit which has the
power OF causing strangers who eat It to
lose even the memory Of their native
country"
But let US leave classic memories and
speak OF jujube as q medicine. IN its
native country tisanes, syrups and pastes
are made from 1t which arc used for
colds. For example, fifty grammes Of
ju1ubes, without the stone. when boiled
in liter of water, produce q drink which
Is very useful for people who have colds.
Ayiconna recommended Ju1ube. In