The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-22
The Store That Made 3rd Ave.

and certain other insects who carry many times their own weight for burdens
 After a few jolts of this new 'dope' it will probably be no uncommon thing to see a fairly strong burglar pick up house and walk away with 1t to his lair, where he may plunder 1t at his leisure.
 The drug is very cheap and will be ac- cessible to all. Any enterprising young man who can earn 25 cents will be able to chew up few of these tablets and wade into Jim Jeffries. In street fight be sure and hit your man before he has a chance to eat a tablet. These somewhat gleeful remarks are merely to keep down excitement. The dis covery is really pronounced by reputable physicians to be amazing and important. It has just been announced to the world in the quarterly publication of the h. ternational Clinics. in an article by Dr. Henry Houchard, physician to the Paris hospitals. He announces the drug to be formic acid.
 pr. Houchard begins his article by stat ing that for centuries, from time imme- morial, acid extracted from red ants has been used incidentally, but has until just now been consigned to unmerted oblivion. He quotes pr. Clement of Lyons, who says of formic acids "A person making use of formic acid soon feels more strength, vigor and activity; he moves without trouble; he no longer apprehends effort or work; he no longer experiences the well known weariness on awaking; he Is better able to withstand heat or cold.
 "I maintain my affirmation, however venturesome 1t may seem, that a normal person, with normal diet, performing nor maj work, no longer feels fatigue so long as he makes use of formic acid"
 Dr. Houchard acknowledges that this sounds like pretty steep story, but states that his own experiments fully cor roborate that opinion.
 He has found that the effects are felt within twenty-four hours and continue for eight to ten days.
 He gives numerous instances of it's great effect upon persons weak from sickness. those performed upon himself and stu dent
 By the ergograph he found his muscular energy, as expressed in kilogrammeters, affected in the following ratio:
 Before. taking the formiate, 9.90 kilo- grammeters; first day after taking, ST; second day. 206: third day.. 2o.s; fourth day, 202: fifth day. 3o6.
 On ceasing the use of the drug his strength immediately diminished. The ex- periments have not been made to ascer- tain the duration of such strength
 He also states that experiments will be made soon upon persons unaware of the use of the drug. In order to eliminate the influence of auto-suggestion
 He says that formic acid probably ex- plains the strength, vIgor and endurance of certain working insects, caterpillars. and particularly ants. which are able to carry loads out of all proportion to their size. The fact becomes comprehensible when we think that ants possess and secrete formic acid In abundance, gen orator of strength
 He says that plants can be stimulated and strengthened by the use of formic acid in solution. In seeds watered with this solution. germination, beginning la ten days. as is usual in summer has been found to occur much sooner-in two or three days.
 The human system. says pr. Houchard. does not seem to become accustomed to the drug, so that 1t does not lose its effect after continued use. From using 1t 20 months on himself Dr. Clement testified that the drug was harmless.