EDITORIAL. 411 



generally used renders it ijossible for the carbon dioxide of the air to 

 enter the interior parts of the massive masonry and so to hasten the 

 equilibrium of the hardening reaction. 



Alvin J. Cox. 



PROPRIETARY MEDICINES IN THE ORIENT. 



The drugs inspection under the Philippine "Food and Drugs Act 

 of May 18. 1907" is revealing many illegalities and peculiarities in the 

 proprietary medicines of the Orient. 



The Chinese medicines offered at the various jjorts for entry into the 

 Philippine Islands are for the most part composed of pastes and powder 

 manufactured from the herbs and animal products. Sea horses are 

 caiight in large number, dried, powdered, and comjjounded into inedi- 

 cines. The most abundant species is Gasterotokeus biaculeatus (Bloch) ; 

 others are Hippocampus kuda Bleeker and H. aterrim.us Jordan and 

 Snyder. Other medicines are supposed to be manufactured from various 

 parts of tortoises and stags. 



The advertising literature, in Chinese, accompanying an invoice of 

 pills states, "These pills are prepared from the best ginseng and deer's 

 horn obtainable in this country," and recommends their use for all 

 pains having neuralgic origin, rheumatism, liver and intestinal diseases, 

 nervous exhaustion, overstudy and sleeplessness. Another variety of 

 pills was labeled with the modest statement, "These pills are used as a 

 tonic in the treatment of all diseases occurring among both sexes and all 

 ages. For the healthy they are especially useful as a preventive in con- 

 tracting disease." Then follows an enumeration of the ailments for 

 which the pills are especially adapted, among which may be mentioned, 

 general debility from overwork, alcohol, sleeplessness, rheumatic pains, 

 toothache, headache, pain in the lumbar regions, heartburn, nausea, 

 vomiting, loss of appetite, swelling of glands, and oedema of legs, face or 

 abdomen. Many Chinese "medicinal beverages" are offered for entry at 

 this port. One, labeled as a cure for rheumatism and dropsy and a 

 tonic for lungs and liver, owed its effect to an alcoholic content of 50 

 per cent. 



The usual varieties of Chinese pills containing morphine and opium 

 are constantly met masquerading under various names and false state- 

 ments as to their character and composition. One shipment of small, 

 black pills, advertised and labeled as a cure for the opium haliit was 

 found to contain a large percentage of morphine. 



While a large proportion of the Chinese medicines are of the proprie- 

 tary class the patent medicine business of the Orient is by no means 



