Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1908-03-11
CHINESE MEDICINES.
some Astonishing Thing. which Ar.

Some Astonishing Things which Are
Used as Cures for Diseases.
Wondrous are the remedies used by
the Chinese in their pharmacop0ia.
The sovereign Of all medicines is the
maJoon, composed Of pearls and other
precious stones ground to a powder.
Next to majOOn comes spotted rhInocer-
Os horn. 1t appears that the ordinary
variety Is Of little value, but the spot
ted horn Is wonderful cure for intes-
final troubles. This horn, or the ami
NAL to which 1t pertains, Is found
chiefly In the Philippine Islands, and
at Singapore a single specimen will
bring as high as $50. Horns of many
kinds are held in great esteem by the
Chinese. Deer horns In the velvet are
used in extreme cases, but they must be
of an exact shade Of color, and when
Of that shade will bring from $3.50 to
5000 a pair In the wholesale market.
Old deer horns are boiled down to
make the medicinal glue which binds
the forty or sixty ingredients compOs-
Ing the average Chinese pill.
Equal in medicinal efficacy to the
above are three high-grade tiger rene
dies-the eyeball, liver and blood. AS
may be imagined, tiger eyeball, /. e.
the genuine article, can be prescribed
for only the exceedingly wealthy Chi
nese, their Morgans, AstOrs and Van
derbilts Similarly the liver when dried
and reduced to a powder Is worth its
weight In gold all over the Orient.
Tiger blood when evapOrated to q sed-
iment at a temperature Of 10 degrees
and taken in the form of powder is be-
lieved by all Asatics to make a re-
doubtable warrior out Of the most cray
en- hearted.
Of recent years the United States
has come to supply the Chinese with
great part of one Of their most highly
priced medicines, ginseng root. Ordi-
nary cultivated ginseng may be pur-
chased for Sc an ounce, but the wild
root may run up to a thousand times
It's weight In silver, or somewhere IN
the neighborhood of $500 an ounce. The
latter variety wrapped in silk and en-
cased In several metal-lined boxes to
protect 1t from moisture, is often ex-
changed among wealthy Chinese as a
present Such specimens of ginseng
must not be handled or even breathed
upon for fear Of detracting from their
virtue
AS liniments the Chinese physicians
pin their faith briefly to the fats and
oils Of serpents. Apparently the more
deadly the serpent the greater is the
benefit to be derived from It's extract.
Thus in cases of chronic rheumatism
the Chinese doctor can do no better
than recommend cobra tail oil imported
from India.
In connection with Chinese medicine
1t may occur to many people that they
have never seen a Chinaman bereft Of
an arm, leg or other member Of his
body The reason for this is that all
Orientals maintain a profound objec
ton to surgical operations. Indeed,
they much prefer to die rather than to
be deprived of a member, because as it
Is undeniable that they came into the
world with two arms, two legs, eight
fingers, two thumbs, ETC., they must
of necessity go out of 1t with the same
number. Otherwise once on the other
side they might be sent to hunt for a
missing member and spend the greater
part of eternity in finding it. Perhaps
the nearest approach to internal sur
gery that a Chinese doctor will attempt
Is to stand on the patients body and
with his bare feet move about on the
part afflicted. In dentistry the Chinese
have reached the discovery that the
nerve is a worm, and the best method
to treat an aching tooth is to loosen it
by driving In wedges in order that the
worm may escape.