The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1907-10-05
"FENUGREEK NOT A CURE"
Physicians Here Say FattenIng Weed
Nav Prevent Consumption.

Physicians Here Say Fattenin9 weed
May Prevent Consumption.
According to physicians here who
talked yesterday on the recent ex'
periments by the Department of Agrl-
culture with a weediike plant, known
as fenugreek, as a consumption cure.
there is little likelihood that the dis.
ease will be cured by it. Some said
tuberculosis in its first stages might
be cured by it, but others scoffed at
even this idea. All seemed OF the
opinion, however, that the life of d
victim might he prolonged by Its use.
The weed, according to the depart
ment, has been in existence for several
thousand years, and is extensively
grown in the northern parts of Africa
ana Eastern Asia. 1t has been used
by the natives as great flesh pro-
Queer. The government even after
experimenting with fenugreek, Will
not express an opinion as to its quail
ties, leaving it to the medical experts
to conduct further experiments.
According to several physicians who
talked of the weed yesterday, it has
been used very little in this city. 1t
is generally used in this country as
the chief ingredient of cattle powder.
For medicinal purposes it is very
seldom used
Dr. Waiter G. Crump, professor OF
gynecology in the New York Homoe-
pathic College, said that fenugreek
had never been scientifically inyesti'
gated by the medical profession in this
city. 1t had the same effect. he said
to build up the system as phytolacca
becandra, or the pokeberry, which red.
ems the flesh and hardens the muscles.
But in the case of both of them said
the physician, the medical qualities
had no direct effect upon the tuber.
GUAR germ. 1t might build UP per-
son suffering from the disease In the
first stages, he said, and overcome it.,
but such cases were rare.
Dr. William H. Guilfcy, Of the
Health Department, said he had heard
CT the experiment. but knew of no
one being entirely cured by it. Every
little while, he said, some one an
nounced that a new medicine had been
found to cure consumption. These
usually lasted about two months, he
said, and then were never heard Of
again. Any medicine to be success
must go directly to the germ and kill
it, he said, or the patient had small
chance of living.
There had been cases, he said, but
they were very few, where consump-
ton had been cured in the first stage.
but If the disease went beyond that a
patient would die from it.
Fenugreek is leguminous herb,
similar in habitat and in most of its
characteristics to the species of the
genus medicago. The leaves are form
ed of three obovate leaflets, the mid
die one of which is stalked; the flow
ers are solitary or in clusters of two
or three, and have campanulate,
five-cleft calyx, and the pods are many
seeded, cylindrical or fiattened, and
straight or slightly curved.
The fenugreeks or trigonels are
widely diffused over the south of Eur
ope, west and central Asia and the
north of Africa, and are represented
also by several species in Australia.
Common fenugreek, so called from the
name given to it by the ancients, who
used it as fodder for cattle, is indi-
genous to the Mediterranean region,
and is cultivated to some extent in
Thuringia, Moravia and other parts of
Europe; in Morocco, and largely in
Egypt and in India. 1t bears a sickle
shaped pod. containing from ten to
twenty seeds, from which fetid, fatty
and bitter oil can be distracted by
ether. In India the fresh plant is EN-.
ployed as an esculent. The seed is an
ingredient in cattle powders and is
used for flavcring cattle food.-New
York Tribune.
A Suit Over Is Cents.