78 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



from the skin of birds or small animals" so writes Mr. Paul 

 Beckwith. 



Once more, certain plants and roots are endowed with, magical 

 virtues, chiefly in the way of charms. Like the Homeric Greeks, 

 semi-cultured people believe that " certain roots ward off the evil 

 influences of spirits." Mr. Theall well puts it, when he says 

 that " charms and medicines are classed together by the Kaffirs." 

 Among the ancients the art of medicine was little more than a 

 trade in charms, philters, and amulets. In his history of folk 

 medicine, Mr. Black mentions many of these curious remedies. 

 Let it, therefore, be enough to say that all folk nostrums are 

 believed to work like charms ; otherwise they would not be pre- 

 scribed. 



The patent-medicine man can put anything he likes in his 

 preparation, because his patients have unquestioning faith in 

 nostrums mysteriously compounded. Thus, when the Chinese 

 physician is out of drugs, he writes the prescription on a piece of 

 paper, rolls it into pills, and the sick man swallows it. The whole 

 theory of early patent medicine is based on analogy or on the 

 association of ideas : for example, it makes no difference whether 

 you swallow the name of the remedy or whether you take the 

 remedy itself. 



This theory was fully worked out in the mind cures and faith 

 cures of the middle ages. Study the origin and history of plant 

 names. Scan the list, and what do you find ? 



Some plants have animal prefixes, as dog-elder, dog-rose, cat's- 

 tail, cow-bane, etc. Other plants derive their names from religious 

 sources. Thus they are associated with the Virgin Mary, Saint 

 John the Baptist, Saint James. Likewise, the Latter-day Saints 

 have particular plants dedicated to their memory. Most of the 

 plants with mystic names were supposed to have magical virtues, 

 and so they were largely used in folk medicine. The weird asso- 

 ciations clustering around many roots and herbs were enough to 

 invest them with great repute. According to Mr. Dyer, "the 

 plants which formed the witches' pharmacopoeia were generally 

 selected either from legendary associations or by reason of their 

 poisonous and soporific qualities." In folk medicine, herbs are 

 used not so much for their inherent medical properties as for 

 their reputed magical virtues. 



Another stage in the evolution of patent medicine is typified 

 in the therapeutics of mediaeval mystics and alchemists. The 

 great plant in their pharmacopoeia was the mandrake. Why ? 

 Simply because the roots of this plant were shaped like the hu- 

 man body. A preparation of mummy was also widely used. Why ? 

 On the magical reasoning that flesh thus embalmed would pre- 

 serve the body impregnated with it. Then the alchemists be- 



