536       Patent  Medicines  and  Private  Formulas,  {^ec.^'m^1*^ 
The  fact  that  some  of  these  preparations  possess  superior  excellence^ 
cannot  be  doubted,  but  a  majority  of  these  make  no  secret  of  their 
formula.    (?  Editor.) 
That  the  profession  are  prejudiced  against  them  is  true ;  but  only 
for  two  reasons.  One  is,  they  do  not  know  what  they  contain,  and 
consequently  would  be  guilty  of  criminality  in  either  recommending 
them  or  prescribing  them  ;  the  other  is,  they  cannot  be  expected  to* 
acknowledge  that  any  one  man  is  sufficiently  endowed  with  presci- 
ence or  omniscience,  so  as  to  know  more  than  the  careful  trained* 
hard  read  and  faithful  school  of  medicine. 
The  rage  for  private  formulas  is  increasing,  we  might  say,  daily,  and 
has  reached  even  the  public.  It  was  only  the  other  day  a  man  came 
to  our  counter,  and  informed  us  he  had  a  private  receipt  for  curing: 
gonorrhoea,  for  which  he  had  paid  twenty-five  dollars,  and  which  he 
wished  to  have  filled.    For  the  benefit  of  the  public  we  give  it : 
Balsam  Copaiva,  .  .  10  cents  worth. 
Sweet  Spts.  Nitre,  .  .  .10  cents  worth. 
Tinct.  Cubebs,  .  .  15  cents  worth. 
Tinct.  Cantharides,  .  .  .5  cents  worth. 
M.    S.,  one  teaspoonful  three  times  a  day  before  meals. 
We  kindly  explained  to  him  the  difference  of  prices  current,  the- 
utter  absence  of  quantities,  etc.,  and  he  went  away  minus  his  ten  and 
and  ten  and  fifteen  and  five  cents  worth  of  sovereign  cure  for  gon- 
orrhoea. 
We  will  close  this  by  a  few  formulas  we  have  filled,  which  we  are 
confident  have  merit  in  them.    One  is  much  used  in  the  lumber  camps, 
of  Michigan,  among  the  lumbermen,  for  private  diseases. 
3* 
Balsam  Copaiva,     .  .  .  fl.  ^  ss. 
Sweet  Spts.  Nitre,        .  .  .  fl.  I  ss. 
Gum  Acacia,  .  .  .  Z  ss. 
Pulv.  Cubebs,  .  .  .  3  ss. 
Venice  Turpentine,  .  .  fl.  3  ss. 
Pulv.  Podophyllum,       .  .  .  ^  ss. 
Gin,  q.  s.  ft.  .  .  .  .     fl.  I  xii. 
M.    Sig.,  teaspoonful  three  times  a  day. 
The  following  is  an  excellent  wash  for  cleaning  dandruff  from  the 
hair,  and  cleaning  the  scalp. 
* 
