* 1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



853 



health and happiness in our homes. If, by the 

 reading of this little letter, hut a faint appre- 

 ciation be gained b.v only a few, of the b(niefi- 

 cial effects that would follow, the many heart- 

 aches that would be spared, and the good that 

 would come to humanity, by a moi'e general 

 study of and adoption of the laws of health, 

 I shonld feel amply repaid for the writing. 

 The scope of such a letter is limited, however, 

 and it takes long to convince; therefore, friend 

 Root (foi- we are friends in one cause — the good 

 of humanity), may I suggest the establishing 

 of a health column in your already valuable 

 .lonrnal. Avhere such subjects can be discussed 

 by your readers'? Then will your illness be- 

 come as an angel's visit, a message from God. 

 prompting you to the spreading of the gospel of 

 health. The work will be a good one, and the 

 reward ample in the blessings of many thank- 

 ful hearts. In justitication of what I have 

 said with regard to doctors and di'ugs. I add a 

 few quotations from men who have made the 

 profession their life study, and may thei-efore 

 be regarded as authoritative in the matter. 



Prof. Alex. H. Stevens, of the New York Col- 

 lege of Physicians and Surgeons, says: "The 

 older physicians grow, the more skeptical they 

 become of the virtues of medicine, and the more 

 they are disposed to trust to the powei's of Na- 

 ture;" and: " Notwithstanding all oui' boasted 

 improvements, patients suffer as much as they 

 did forty years ago;"' and again: "The reason 

 why medicine has advanced so slowly is be- 

 cause physicians have studied the writings of 

 their predecessors instead of Nature." 



Prof. Jos. Smith, M. D., of the same school, 

 says: " All medicines which enter the circula- 

 tion poison the blood in the same manner as do 

 the poisons that produce disease;" and: 

 "Drugs do not cure disease; disease is always 

 cured by the ris inedicdtrix natiirce;" and 

 again: '" Digitalis has hurried thousands to the 

 grave." 



Prof. Alouzo Clarke, M. D., of the same 

 school, says, with many other condemnations 

 of the methods of his school: " All of our cura- 

 tive agents are poisons; and, as a consequence, 

 every dose diminishes the vitality." 



John Mason Good, M. D., F. R. S., has to say 

 on the subject, "The science of medicine is a 

 barbarous jargon, and the effects of our medi- 

 cines upon the human system in the highest 

 degree uncertain, except, indeed, that they 

 have destroyed more lives than war, pestilence, 

 and famine combined." 



James Johnson. M. D.. F. R. S., also says: " 1 

 declare, as my conscientious conviction, found- 

 ed on long experience and reflection, that, if there 

 were not a single iihjixichni, surgeon, nutii-mid- 

 wife. chemist, aiioihccary. druggist, nor drag 

 on the face of the earth, there would be less 

 sickness and less mort<(U,ty than now |)revail." 



Such extracts as these might be prolonged to 

 till a very respectable xolumi': but those I chose 

 I think are sutlicient to answer the purpose; 

 and those who are interested in finding more 

 can without difficulty do so. 



Droit et Avant. 



[My good friend. \ rather expected such let- 

 ters as this when I decided to defend the aver- 

 age family physiciaiis of our land; and I thank 

 you for the many good points you make in your 

 letter; but you are certainly too severe in your 

 criticism of our physicians, and you are putting 

 the matter too strongly. Permit me to take up, 

 good-natui'edly, the other side a little. 



You speak of the " natural means which Na- 

 ture has provided to keep us in good health." 

 Now, I should be very glad indeed if Nature 

 has provided for all emergencies; but, my dear 

 sir, what does Nature do for us when failing 



sight comes on from old age? Did she ever 

 give us any thing like a pair of spectacles, or 

 even suggest such unnatural means of assist- 

 ing waning vision ? Spectacles are not drugs, 

 it is true; but I do believe that medicine often 

 gives us as marked relief as a pair of spectacles 

 gives a man wlio has lost his own and can i 

 go on with his work. Some years ago, through 

 catching cold I had a coughing -spell every 

 night. It not only kept me awake, but my 

 wife and the i-est oif the family. I knev/, with- 

 out being told, that such a severe cough would 

 result in real harm if not checked. In one 

 sense the cough was simply Nature's means o 

 removing the obstacle, or," if you choose. Na- 

 ture's protest. I finally went to the doctor. 

 He compounded a cough syrup that stopped the 

 cough instantly. I did not cough once more, 

 and I did not feel like coughing. In fact, I 

 have never had such a cough since, that I can 

 remember. Again, while at Dr. Miller's I was 

 taken with sickness at my stomach, and vomit- 

 ing. For two days the good friends did every 

 thing in their power to assist me. The mar- 

 kets were ransacked for something I could eat 

 without throwing it up. I finally decided to 

 take the train, even though I was unfit, to meet 

 an appointment. While at the station the 

 sickness returned, and I was in a real dilemma. 

 Finally my good friend Dr. Miller said, " Look 

 here, Mr. Root; I shouldn't wonder if extract 

 of Jamaica ginger would stop this constantly 

 recurring tendency." As soon as he mentioned 

 it I called myself stupid for not having thought 

 of it before. We went into a drugstore, and I 

 feared I should vomit before the druggist could 

 pour some into a little water for me to drink. 

 It removed the difficulty at once; and only 

 once during the afternoon did it recur while I 

 was traveling. A few drops of the ginger in 

 water relieved me again; and by supper-time I 

 was ready to eat a tolerably decent meal. Now, 

 my stomach had got into that fashion of throw- 

 ing up every thing, just exactly as I liad got 

 into the/r(.s7i(07i of coughing. The thing had 

 "got a going" in the wrong direction, and I 

 am not sui'e but that one might cough himself 

 to death, or vomit himself to death, if some 

 remedy were not provided. I am sure our 

 readers recollect many personal experiences of 

 their own, similar to the ones I have mentioned. 

 Now. I feel that these remedies are as natural 

 and as harmless as the spectacles that help the 

 man to go on with his work. I believe, also, 

 that bromide of potassium relieved me in the 

 same way, and helped Nature to go ahead with 

 her building-uj), instead of hindering her. 

 Why, how could one build up when his unhing- 

 ed nerves would not ]^permit him to have a mo- 

 ment of sleep? 



I was very much interested in this matter, 

 for I was pi'ejudiced against every kind of 

 quii'ting-powders. In fact, I was prepai'ed to 

 insist that then^ must be some objectionable 

 thing about a drug that could do such wonders. 

 The doctor gave me a full dose right in the day 

 time, to convince me that it did not produce 

 sleep, but only made sleep possible by quieting 

 the nervous dislurbanc(s and in discontinuing 

 the use of it, as I have explained to vou, I felt 

 no inconvenience whatever. 



Another thing, my good fiiend, your com- 

 munication is full of positive assertions. You 

 say, " Ry the use of poisons. Nature can be di- 

 verted from her own wise work of dispelling 

 disease." Now, if you call extract of ginger 

 and the cough medicine " poisons," why not 

 call the spectacles poison also? The latter is 

 certainly as unnatural as the others. The doc- 

 tor declared the bromide to be a harmless and 

 innocent medicine; and I hope you will excuse 

 me for saving that I have as much faith in /i(S 



