64 



POPULAR SCIEl^OE NEWS. 



[April, 1888. 



it, that from the inception of that war men have 

 placed action in the vanguard, and meditation in 

 the rear, of the army of progress. Lecturing to- 

 day is a thing of the past, unless accomplished by 

 men of fire and experience. Men who can say 

 much in little, and say it well, who know when to 

 speak, how long to talk, and when to cease, are the 

 men desired and sought for. He who has learned 

 to put fire in his speech, and a superfluity of notes 

 in the fire, whose brows project beyond his eyes, 

 who has a retreating forehead, is the one who 

 occupies the rostrum, the pulpit, and the bench. 



PATENT MEDICINES. 

 Pkofessor Chandler says : "These firms of 

 manufacturers of proprietary medicines, nine out of 

 ten, live solely by the newspapers, and sometimes 

 are admirably managed. I know some establish- 

 ments in which there is a regular staff employed ; 

 I know something about them, because they try to 

 bribe me to certify to the value of their concoc- 

 tions. As I say, there is a regular staff. There 

 is the literary man, who writes the letters, giving 

 marvellous accounts of marvellous cures ; there is 

 the artist, who shows the patient before and after 

 taking twenty-two bottles of the medicine ; there 

 is the poet, who composes poems upon the subject; 

 there is the liar, who swears to what he knows 

 isn't true, and the forger, who produces testimo- 

 nials from his own imagination. Without exagger- 

 ation, I should say that nine out of ten of these 

 proprietary medicines are frauds, pure and simple; 

 the real business is advertising for dupes. The 

 medical part of it is but a side issue. I am pretty 

 sure, if 1 were to pound up brickbats, and spend 

 a hundred thousand dollars in offering it at a dollar 

 an ounce, as a sure cure for some disease which 

 cannot be cured, I should get back at least a hun- 

 dred and ten thousand dollars, thus giving me 

 ten thousand doUai's for my trouble. Nine-tenths 

 of the medicines sent out in this fashion have no 

 more curative properties than brickbat dust." — 

 Medical Record. 



MEDICAL MEMORANDA. 



How TO Abort a Felon. — Dr. John T. 

 Metcalf writes to the Boston Medical and Surgical 

 Journal: " In 1839 I learned that a felon could, if 

 seen early enough, be made to abort by wrapping 

 the finger-end with narrow strips of adhesive plas- 

 ter. When pus has been formed, I learned twenty 

 years ago, from a country doctor, that immediate 

 relief and speedy cure would follow the gentle, 

 slow separation of the nail from its envelope by 

 means of a penknife blade, not too sharp, at the 

 point nearest the seat of greatest pain. Very soon 

 a drop of pus shows itself, and relief comes. I am 

 aware that the plan described is known to many 

 medical men. It was not known to me at the time 

 referred to, when the country doctor showed me 

 how to treat a paronychious patient whose finger 

 I was about to lay open by the ' free incision down 

 to the bone,' taught in the lessons of my great 

 masters." 



Internal Use of Glycerine. — Dr. Tisne 

 asserts that glycerine taken internally exerts a 

 beneficial effect upon nutrition, increasing the 

 weight, and palliating many of the distressing 

 symptoms of phthisis, such as loss of appetite, 

 diarrhoea, night sweats, and insomnia. Its action 

 on the liver is manifested by an increase in the 

 size of the organ, and a more abundant flow of 

 bile. It has a diuretic effect, and increases the 

 excretion of urea, the chlorides, and phosphates. 

 The alkalinity of the urine is diminished; and if 

 any pus be present in this, it is greatly lessened in 

 amount. 



The " Cannon-Ball " Cure. — In the treat- 

 ment of chronic constipation, the light ammunition 

 heretofore in use in the form of pills will be re- 

 placed by cannon-balls. Dr. Sahli highly recom- 

 mends them in that affection, the ball to be rolled 

 about over the abdomen every day for five or ten 

 minutes at a time. The ball should weigh from 

 four to five pounds. 



An Elegant Seidlitz- Powder Solution: 

 Solution No. 1. 



B. Sodii bicarbonatis 3ij. 



Potassii et sodii tart 3ij. 



Syr. aurantii cort. recent 3 vi. 



Aq. gaultberias ad 3 ij. 



M. ft. sol. 

 SiG. — Pour in a goblet half full of cracked ice. 



Solution No. 2. 



R Acid tartarlci gr. xxxv. 



Syr. aurant cort. recent 3s8. 



Aq. gaultberise ad 3j. 



M. ft. sol. 

 SiG. — Add to No. 1, and drink while effervescing. 



This forms an agreeable aud effective aperient, 

 devoid of any saline taste, effervescing slowly, and 

 contains the virtue of one sedlitz powder, United 

 States Pharmacopeia, 1880. 



This may be prescribed in quantity, as it will 

 keep indefinitely. 



The taste is as agreeable as soda-water. Aro- 

 matic sirup may be used if it is desired. — H. S. 

 Brookes, in St. Louis Courier of Medicine. 



Then and Now. — The following figures are 

 taken from an old price-book of one of the leading 

 drug-stores in this city, and show the great de- 

 crease in price of many medicines in recent 

 years: Acid hydrocyanic, 25 cents a drachm; acid 

 succinic, $300 an ounce; alcohol, 25 cents a pint; 

 brucine, $50 an ounce; delphine, $80 an ounce; 

 emetine, $36 an ounce; linium usitatissinium, 17 

 cents a pound; morphine, $50 an ounce; narcotine, 

 $100 an ounce; sulphas cinchonse, $10 an ounce; 

 sulphas quininfe, $1.50 a drachm; hatcase (oiled 

 silk), $1.50 a yard; Prussian blue, 25 cents an 

 ounce. Tinctures were 6 or 12 cents an ounce; 

 ointments, 12 cents an ounce; and sirups, 6 cents 

 an ounce by weight, or 8 cents by measure. 



— ♦-:— 



HUMORS. 



A Littb Boy fell in convulsions on the street 

 one day, and the doctor was hastily summoned. 

 " Has he kicked the bucket, doctor? " asked one 

 of the crowd. "No," returned the doctor: "he 

 has only turned a little pale." 



Hydrophobia. — In an up-town horse-car a 

 day or two ago, a passenger was groaning and 

 twisting about on his seat. 



" Are you suffering, sir?" asked a sympathetic 

 neighbor. 



"Suffering? I should say so. I've been bit- 

 ten by a mad dog," said the man with energy, 

 " and am on my way to the doctor." 



Sudden silence fell upon the passengers; and 

 before the next crossing was reached, the suffering 

 gentleman had the car all to himself. 



One Dose. — Doctor (to convalescent patient): 

 " I have taken the liberty, sir, of making out my 

 bill." 



Patient (looking at bill): " Great heavens, doc- 

 tor! you don't expect' me to take all this in one 

 dose? " 



About toChange his Profession. — "Tramp- 

 in's played out," said a sad-looking specimen of 

 his tribe, as he hugged the red-hot stove in the 

 station; " trampiu's no good any more, an' I'm 

 goin' to change my perfeshun." 



" What are you going into? " 



" I'm goin' to be a mind-cure doctor." 



CI)e ^ojjulac Science l^ctu^. 



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The latest use of paper is for making chimneys. 

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— « — 



Dr. H. R. Walton, Annapolis, Md., writes: 

 " Colden's Liquid Beef Tonic is a most excellent 

 preparation. It is par excellence. Superior to cod- 

 liver oil or any thing I have ever used in wasted or 

 impaired constitutions." 



Do you intend to paint, this spring 7 If so, send to 

 the TJ. S. GuTTA Percha Paint Company, 131 to 135 

 Matthewson Street, Providence, R.I., for a valuable 

 pamphlet on decorative and preservative paint. Men- 

 tion the Science News. 



J. Leonard Corning, M.D., writesconcerningcoca: 

 " It has the soothing effects of the bromides, but 

 without their characteristic depressing influence. The 

 preparation of coca known as Mariani's Coca Wine 

 is, so far as I know, the best in the market. It pos- 

 sesses tlie decided advantage of being manufactured 

 from the fresh leaves, which is an indispensable req- 

 uisite." 



—t — 



Dr. W. S. Leonard, Hinsdale, N.H., says: "Ihave 

 used Horsford's Acid Phosphate in my practice 

 for tlie past eight or ten years, and have been much 

 gratified with the results obtained from its use. In 

 various forms of dyspepsia it reaches a class of cases 

 that no other medicine seems to touch, and I have 

 repeatedly seen patients, where opiates were contra- 

 indicated, obtain refreshing sleep and rest at night from 

 a single dose at bed-time." 



— • — 



Chicago, Dec. 28, 1887. 



Dear Sir, — It gives me pleasure to state that your 

 refrigerating machinery used by us has met with our 

 hearty approval, doing more work than expected, and 

 always reliable. One 50-ton machine has been at work 

 six years, and the other 50-ton machine five years. 



Your late improvements add greatly to the efficiency, 

 economy, and ease of handling the machine. We 

 believe your machine fully equal to any made. 

 Yours truly, 

 F. E. VooAL, Sec'y Fairbank Canning Co. 



