96 
Composition  Powder. 
(Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\     February,  1920. 
source  and  with  no  uniform  relation  to  each  other  aside  from  the  fact 
that  they  are  all  "hot"  to  the  taste.  It  is  also  found  that  the  N.  F. 
Latin  and  English  titles  for  this  preparation  were  previously  employed 
by  the  Eclectics  in  naming  a  mixed  powder  of  somewhat  different 
character. 
Composition  Powder  originated  with  the  work  of  Dr.  Samuel 
Thomson,  who,  according  to  Gorton's  History  of  Medicine  (1910), 
was  the  founder  of  a  medical  sect  known  as  Botanic  physicians  Dr. 
Thomson  is  said  to  have  believed  in  the  maxim  that  "heat  is  life  and 
cold  is  death."  It  is  only  necessary  to  read  over  a  few  of  the  for- 
mulas employed  by  him  to  realize  that  they  were  in  keeping  with  his 
doctrine. 
The  first  mention  of  Composition  Powder  is  found  in  Thomson's 
"New  Guide  to  Health,"  published  in  Boston  in  1825.  The  Formula 
given  in  this  work  under  the  title  "Composition  or  Vegetable  Powder" 
is  as  follows:  Bayberry  Root  Bark  i  lb..  Hemlock  Bark  i  lb.,  Ginger 
I  lb.,  Cayenne  2  ozs.,  and  Cloves  2  ozs.  Why  Dr.  Thomspon  called 
this  mixture  Composition  Powder  is  not  stated.  In  his  description 
he  refers  to  the  mixture  as  "this  composition"  and  suggests  its  use 
for  acute  colds,  in  the  early  stages  of  disease  and  as  a  sudorific.  It 
is  possible  then  that  he  applied  this  title  for  the  want  of  a  better  one 
and  because  of  the  fact  that  the  preparation  is  a  putting  together  of 
composite  parts  or  medicines  to  produce  a  desired  effect. 
In  a  later  edition  of  Dr.  Thomson's  work  (1835)  this  formula  was 
changed  by  omitting  the  hemlock  bark.  It  is  of  interest  to  note  that 
this  formula  now  corresponds,  in  ingredients  and  proportions,  to  the 
one  adopted  by  the  National  Formulary.  In  his  "Materia  Medica 
and  Anatomy,"  13th  edition  (1841),  Dr.  Thomson  enlarged  upon  the 
subject  by  publishing  three  formulas  under  the  heading  "Composition 
Powder"  each  one  containing  bayberry,  ginger,  cayenne  and  cloves 
in  varying  proportions.  The  formula  given  for  the  first  of  these 
three  preparations  agrees  with  the  formula  of  1835  with  the 
formula  of  the  N.  F.  The  second  and  third  preparations,  besides 
differing  in  proportions,  contain  in  addition  some  poplar,  hemlock, 
or  red  or  white  oak  bark. 
Beach's  "Family  Practice"  (1842),  published  a  formula  for  a  com- 
pound powder  of  bayberry  using  the  title  "Cephalic  Powder."  This 
preparation  was  composed  of  equal  parts  of  bayberry  root  bark, 
bloodroot  and  snuff,  and  was  said  to  be  useful  for  catarrh  and  head- 
ache. 
