AmAugr;Sarm"}         Fanciful  Animal  Remedies.  41$ 
Edible  birds'  nests  are,  of  course,  in  high  repute  as  aphrodisiacs,  but 
they  are  more  food  articles  than  medicines. 
The  shells  of  the  mollusca  are  used  medicinally,  thus  clam  shells  are  cathartic; 
oyster  shells  administered  for  deafness.  Fossilized  shells  are  used  as  a  powder 
in  ophthalmia  and  in  scabies  ;  internally  in  fever  and  in  syphilis.  Coral  is 
also  applied  in  powder  to  opacities  of  the  cornea,  and  as  an  astringent  for 
epitaxis. 
Seed  Pearls  are  prescribed  in  affections  of  the  heart  and  liver  ;  in  the  form 
of  a  powder  to  ulcers,  and  opacities  in  the  cornea  ;  in  deafness  it  is  put  into  the 
interior  of  the  ear,  and  is  applied  to  pustules  of  small-pox.  This  remedy  is,; 
however,  dear,  being  quoted  at  $160  the  catty  or  pound. 
Petrified  crabs  are  applied  to  boils  and  sores,  etc.  Fragments  of  these  fossil 
crabs  crushed,  powdered  and  finely  levigated  are  used  in  opacities  and  other 
affections  of  the  eyes,  and  sell  at  from  $30  to  $ 300  a  picul  in  different  localities. 
If  we  pass  to  the  lower  order  of  insects,  we  find  the  skins  of  the  dung- 
beetle  fetch  £3  the  cwt.,  for  medicine.  The  flesh  flies  (Musca  carnivora)  col- 
lected on  putrid  carcases  are  torrefied  and  employed  as  drugs.  Maggots  are 
prescribed  in  the  delirium  of  fever  and  dysentery.  Silk-worms  in  cystitis  ; 
after  being  burnt  the  ash  is  mixed  with  wine  and  drunk,  in  order  to  cause  the 
bursting  of  abscesses. 
The  larva  of  the  grasshopper,  torrefied  and  pulverized,  made  into  pills,  are 
considered  anthelmintic  and  given  to  children  in  fevers. 
Wood  bugs  {Cimex)  are  also  torrefied  and  given  as  medicine.  The  bodies  of 
Cicada  sanguinolinta,  with  the  wings  and  feet  taken  off,  are  considered  a  cure 
in  hydrophobia. 
Caterpillars  are  considered  good  for  bronchial  complaints  ;  are  given  as  a 
purgative  and  antispasmodic,  and  are  apparently  cheap,  selling  at  $6  the  picul. 
The  cocoons  of  a  caterpillar  are  applied  in  inflammation  of  the  eyes. 
A  decoction  of  centipedes  is  used  in  gonorrhoea;  powdered  they  are  applied 
externally  to  venereal  sores,  but  it  costs  $150  a  picul. 
Cantharides  are  used  in  hydrophobia. 
Cuttle-fish  bone,  mixed  with  native  wine,  is  given  for  cancer. 
A  species  of  green  mantis  and  its  nests  are  used  in  cases  of  incontinence  of 
urine  and  spermatorrhoea.  The  cricket  forms  the  basis  of  a  medicine  to  throw 
out  splinters  which  have  entered  into  the  skin.  It  is  considered  anti- 
hydropic.  Three  or  four  such  crickets  are  administered  in  a  wineglassful  of 
Chinese  rice  wine.  The  drone  or  wasp  is  used  in  cases  of  bites  by  spiders, 
ulcers  and  leucorrhcea.    It  is  said  also  to  cure  toothache. 
But  while  we  may  smile  at  most  of  these  Chinese  remedies,  it  should  be 
borne  in  mind  that  as  great  ignorance  prevailed,  and  as  much  prejudice 
existed  among  ourselves  in  times  not  long  passed,  before  chemical  knowledge 
and  scientific  discoveries  had  made  such  rapid  strides.  • 
Take  for  instance  the  following  asserted  facts  : 
Had  one  of  our  ancestors  a  distressing  toothache,  there  were  ready  at  hand 
the  weevil  and  Wit  lady-bird,  either  of  which  would  be  crushed  and  applied  to 
the  afflicted  part.  Nay,  did  he  wish  to  get  rid  of  the  offending  organ  alto- 
gether, he  had  but  to  touch  it  with  the  ashes  of  burnt  "  emmets  or  pismires," 
and  straightway  the  tooth  would  drop  from  the  gum.  Had  he  the  misfortune 
to  sprain  his  leg  or  bruise  his  foot  ?    Two  at  least  of  the  beetles  which  dwell  in 
