THE OOLOGIST. vii 



R-I-P-A-N-S 



WHAT THEY ARE. 



A gentleman of a methodical habit, who had adopted the practice 

 of retaining a copy of every prescription issued by his family physician, 

 became interested as time went on to note that the same ingredients 

 were pretty certain to be prescribed at some point of the treatment of 

 every case. For a poor appetite, or a sore throat, for restlessness which 

 disturbed the baby's sleep, and for troubles which beset the aged grand- 

 parents, the favorite remedy was always turning up, although slightly 

 modified from time to time and used often in conjunction with others. 

 His family physician had ever been a successful practitioner; and when 

 another was consulted, care had always been taken to obtain the services 

 of some one eminent for skill and reputation. Still the frequent recur- 

 rence of the favorite formula was a marked circumstance. One day our 

 friend happened to observe that the formula of a certain advertised rem- 

 edy was identical with the latest prescription he had received from his 

 own physician, and in some surprise he stated the case to him. The 

 family doctor, after listening to what he had to say, replied: "The case 

 is about this way: Whenever there is a disturbance of the functions of 

 the body, no matter of what nature, it is pretty certain to be accom- 

 panied by a derangement of the digestive organs. When they are all 

 right the patient gets well. That particular formula that you bave ob- 

 served me to write more and more frequently is the result of an age of 

 careful experiment, and is pretty generally agreed upon now by all edu- 

 cated physicians \vho keep up with the times. The discovery of the 

 past few years of a rpeans of reducing every drug to a powder and com- 

 pressing the powders into little lozenges or tablets, or tabules if you 

 prefer, which will not break or spoil, or lose their good qualities from 

 age, if protected from air and light, is the explanation of how it has 

 come about that this prescription is now for sale as an advertised rem- 

 edy. It is as you say, however, and is all right. It is the medicine 

 that nine people out of ten need every time they need any, and I have 

 no doubt that making it so easy to obtain, so carefully prepared, and 

 withal so cheap, will tend to actually prolong the average of human life 

 during the present generation." 



Ripans Tabules : Sold by all druggists, or by mail if the price (50 cents abox) is 

 sent to Tlie Ripans (Jliemical Company, No. 10 Spruce St., New Vork. 



