New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-02-14
BY WILLIS FLETCHER JOHNSON.

Dred Toad for Fever. One toad
gives immediate relief. Inree toaoS
assure complete cure
How would that impress you. for an
iypetizing and inspiring medical adVer-
tisement? Or thus:
"Desiccated Fox Lung: Sure remedy
'or coughs, colds, and consumption.
These nigh, not be quite as entlclng
A. some Of the modern announcements
q cure-alls. but they would be good
deal more honest, and preferable IN
various WAYS For there are seyera!
marked differences between the wltch
nostrums OF long ago and the patent
medicines o. our time. One Is that the
former were really patent, while the
latter are not, but are secret, when Is
the exact reverse of patent. Another
is that the authors and promoters Of
IN, former honestly believed them to
be beneficial. PERHAPS they were lgno-
unt and .uDcrstltIous. But they really
cid believe that q horse chestnut car
red IN the pocket was & sure cure for
rheumatism A third difference Is that
he old nostrums, II they did no good,
EtTe al least harmless, or at worst
merely rauseJgs; and not positively
and actively injurious. A bit OF a
urwhal's horn might be Of not the
slightest value 20 q sufferer, but IL
vas certainly preferable 10 swilling bad
whissey into tuberculOus lungs or IN
famed kidneys In the fourth place,
those old prescriptions were given free
70 all. and were not sordidly exploited
GE thousand ner cent profit. Finally,
Il may be sGded that. outlandish and
futile as many Of them were, they had
their originals modern patent medl-
t.nts do rot-in some half-consclous
tdumbratioD Of great therapeutic
principle For Paracelsus in his doc
trine Of SIGNATURES" was groplng
toward the great world-light which
Ptsieur and his followers caused 20
dawn upon US. We may smile at the
thought the leaves Of the cyc!amen,
Just because they were ear-shaped,
we're sure cure for aural ailments, or
hat the dried and powdered lungs OF
q fox would heal the diseased lungs OF
eonsumptIye man; yet IN such Dehels
Esre the blind rudiments of many OF
cur greatest medical achievements.
Considerations Of space, and also
some solc.lous regard for the stability
q the readers stomach, forbid the
Publication OF on extensive pharmaeo-
pnia Of the o'deu time. some OF the
Hens IN which would rival the contents
q the witches cauldron in Macbeth.
u have already referred 10 the horse
saestnut, for which a raw potato might
es substituted; TO the foI's lungs; 20
ne unieoru's or narwhals horn; and TO
ne mummifed toad-which last was
happily for external use only, 20 be
Paced IN the armpit Of the fever pa
uent The common carthworm was
another important member of the ma
vera mecica; sometimes made into
syrup or broth for internal administrs-
aoh. and sometimes made into an ONT
Eent or cmbrocation for external use.
well remember an oldest inhabit-
ants" prescription for the cure OF q
Sand and arm which had been para
9ted from the bite Of water snake.
quart wine bottle was TO be hlled
sith sngleworms, tightly corked, and
seued IN the ground for three weeks;
then its contents would be found to be
eiAeorated into q liDiment or ointment
q infallible powers. The thing was
eene. ] helped TO dig the worms