2^: 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



albumen of eggs, spermaceti, ambergris, cod-livers 

 (for oil), fish-sounds (isinglass), toads, frogs, lizards 

 and snakes dried, the prepared shells of turtles, and 

 many others. 



One jar from China contains dried toads, said to be 

 "tonic and sudorific." This is only the survival of 

 their use not long ago in Europe and America. " An 

 ointment of toad's fat was supposed to give immense 

 muscular strength, if applied to the body at the 

 moment of conjunction of certain favourable planets. 

 A cubic inch of dried toad worn round the neck on a 

 string was an infallible antidote against many diseases 

 of the body and mind ; and a powdered toad, 

 swallowed in spoonfuls, formed a love philter." 

 ("Longman's Magazine," 18S3.) "These animals, 

 baked and beat to powder, are taken with orrica root 

 to cure the tympany and many disorders." (Brickell's 

 "Nat. Hist, of North Carolina.") Josslyn, the early 

 New England chronicler, says the fat of the common 

 pond-frog " is excellent for burns and scaldings . . . 

 and also very good to take away inflammation." In 

 Western Africa the women bind living toads on their 

 temples to cure headache. 



In China the under shells of tortoises enter into 

 various medicinal preparations in the form of jelly- 

 powders or pills, " reported to be cordial, astringent, 

 arthritic, and useful in diseases of the kidneys ; the 

 ashes are given to parturient women and dusted upon 

 wounds and ulcers. Agues, fevers, rheumatism, and 

 other weaknesses are treated by it " (Smith, " Chinese 

 Medicines "). Similar uses were favoured in Europe 

 two centuries ago. Brickell says of the American 

 hawksbill turtle, " Useful in several disorders, such 

 as the gout, hecticks, epilepsy, sore eyes, and is said 

 to be an antidote against poison." 



Dried lizards and snakes are among Chinese 

 medicines, and their labels tell their virtues in [the 

 estimation of that people. In Africa the oil of 

 alligators is supposed to have certain properties. 

 Brickell, in his quaint book, tells how valuable the 

 head of a certain lizard " outwardly applied," may be 

 in reducing swellings and other disorders. Serpents 

 have always been highly esteemed as adjuncts to the 

 pharmacopoeia. The essential principle in the poison 

 of venomous reptiles, such as the cobra, viper, and 

 rattlesnake, is still considered valuable in certain 

 compounds. In Europe (particularly England) the 

 common people retain much of their ancient trust in 

 the curative power of parts and preparations of the 

 viper ; while America is by no means rid of the many 

 superstitions once prevalent in regard to the healing 

 efficacy of the rattlesnake. 



Materials entering into medicines derived from the 

 inferior half of the animal kingdom are numerous. 

 The list includes preparations of various insects, such 

 as "wood-galls" of several species; beeswax and 

 honey, cochineal ; cocoons of Chinese moths ; the 

 earth of the nests of the termite enclosing the dead 

 while ants ; the familiar cantharides and many others. 



Of mollusks, snails, pearls, and calcined shells are 

 present ; while the crustaceans contribute crabs' 

 claws and crabs' "eyes;" and worms give the 

 familiar leech and even the despised earthworm. 



From the earliest times in Europe, snails have been 

 in high repute as medicine, particularly in pulmonary 

 complaints. The old books abound in quaint pre- 

 scriptions for their application. (See, for instance, 

 Lovell, " Edible British Mollusks.") In France and 

 Spain physicians directed their use until the middle 

 of the present century, and in rural districts may still 

 do so. "In olden times it was supposed that the 

 small grite of sand found in the horns of snails 

 introduced into hollow teeth removed the pain 

 instantaneously, and that the ashes of empty snail 

 shells mixed with myrrh were good for the gums." 

 This is taught by Pliny, and is paralleled by the use 

 of pearls, and a powder of calcined oyster shells in 

 certain preparations. 



In a similar way I might point out many curiosities 

 of pharmacy made from minerals and plants, in 

 addition to the long list of really beneficent prepara- 

 tions these two sources still yield to the druggist. 



No more curious reading in mediaeval pharmacy is 

 to be found than that which treats of the mandrake 

 (Atrofia mandragora). This plant was credited with 

 marvellous virtues. It was celebrated as an ingredient 

 in philtres, or love potions ; when torn from the 

 ground it was supposed to shriek, and the person who 

 plucked it was expected to die of madness. It was 

 also believed that, growing under gibbets, the de- 

 composing remains of the unfortunate culprit gave it 

 the male or female form, according to the sex of the 

 criminal suspended above it. The last idea came 

 from its irregular, often bifurcating root, which was 

 often assisted by a little carving into human similitude 

 and thus imposed upon the credulous as something 

 supernatural. Many quaint figures of it exist in the 

 herbals of the Middle Ages, exhibiting this resem- 

 blance, which was considered a divine indication of 

 the utility it was intended to serve. 



There has been collected in the Museum Library a 

 set of the pharmacopoeias of all nations, furnishing a 

 complete list for the whole world " of these substances 

 of materia medica whose value as medicinal agents 

 has been established by a large experience, and also 

 those preparations and compounds which, from the 

 frequency or convenience of their use, demand that 

 authoritative titles be given them, and such methods 

 of preparation be established as will ensure uniformity 

 of strength and composition in all cases." From 

 these a Universal Pharmacopoeia is to be compiled. 

 An herbarium of medicinal plants will soon be 

 obtained, the more important of which will be 

 exhibited along with coloured drawings. 



A most gratifying foundation for this was furnished 

 in the gift from the University of Tokio of the 

 collection of words (chiefly medicinal) which adorns 

 the walls of this room, and a catalogue of which was 



