380  Drug  Trade  in  Japan  and  the  Orient,  {^ulustjm111" 
stances  have  received  their  education  by  working  in  foreign  stores 
or  by  college  education,  and  they  carry  very  large  and  complete 
stocks.  They  are  very  straightforward  and  honorable  men  in  their 
dealings,  and  they  enjoy  the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  foreigners 
in  the  settlements  where  they  reside. 
The  Chinese  are  a  very  superstitious  race,  and  as  a  consequence 
venders  of  patent  nostrums  prey  on  their  susceptibilities  in  this  di- 
rection by  selling  medicines  put  up  in  a  very  peculiar  and  attractive 
manner,  to  which  wonderful  curative  properties  are  applied.  Wealthy 
mandarins  will  often  pay  fabulous  sums  for  a  medicine  claimed  to 
possess  the  virtue  of  giving  vigor  of  youth,  and  I  have  known  of 
an  instance  where  a  pill  about  the  size  of  a  hickory  nut  encased  in 
wax  was  sold  at  a  price  of  $10.00,  this  on  the  strength  of  the  won- 
derful  restorative  properties  guaranteed  for  it.  Upon  examination, 
this  pill  was  found  to  be  nothing  more  or  less  than  an  extract  of 
ginseng  and  licorice  powder.  The  great  masses  in  China,  however, 
are  on  a  par  with  the  Japanese,  in  that  they  expect  a  great  deal  of 
medicine  for  a  very  little  money,  and  the  medicines  usually  sold 
bring  prices  ranging  from  five  to  ten  cents. 
There  are  now  in  operation  two  very  up-to-date  pharmaceutical 
schools  in  China,  erected  for  the  education  of  native  Chinese,  and 
there  is  an  impetus  given  to  the  cause  by  the  introduction  of  foreign 
teachers.  There  are  medical  colleges  also  to  be  found  on  the  same 
lines. 
Hong  Kong,  an  English  colony,  built  on  an  island,  oftentimes 
called  the  Gibraltar  of  the  East,  is  frequently  referred  to  as  part  of 
China.  The  English  influence  here,  of  course,  is  paramount  to  all 
others,  and  the  business  in  Hong  Kong  is  practically  controlled  by 
the  renowned  house  of  A.  S.  Watson  &  Co.,  Ltd.  This  company 
has  branches  in  many  of  the  principal  cities  of  China  as  well  as  in 
the  Philippines.  They  carry  enormous  stocks  and  operate  thor- 
oughly modern  and  up-to-date  stores. 
In  the  Straits  Settlements  and  Siam  the  conditions  do  not  change 
materially.  English  influences  dominate  there,  as  the  Settlements 
are  practically  an  English  colony. 
In  India  the  same  characteristics  present  themselves  as  in  China 
and  Japan,  but  the  foreign  stores,  which  are  in  the  main  operated 
by  English  companies,  are  the  largest  of  their  kind  in  the  East.  It 
would  require  too  extensive  a  report  to  go  into  details  on  the  sub- 
ject of  pharmacy  applied  to  India. 
