68     The  Apothecary  s  Apprentice  Fifty  Tears  Ago.  { ^"•/eZ'iss'""' 
But  enough,  I  give  these  specimens  to  show,  by  contrast  with  the 
present  time,  what  great  improvements  have  been  made  in  the  science 
of  pharmacy.  Generally,  doses  were  large  and  nauseous.  ""Child- 
ren," then,  "  did  not  cry  for  more." 
A  popular  anthelmintic,  fifty  years  ago,  was:  Rad.  spigeliae,  ^i  ; 
sem.  chenopodii,  3ii ;  sennae,  5ss  ;  infuse,  etc.  Another  was  cow- 
hage,  given  in  molasses.  Now  we  have  santonine  and  other  active 
principles,  so  combined  with  sugar  and  aromatics,  in  the  form  of  con- 
fections, as  to  make  the  remedy  a  coveted  "  Bonne  Bouche,"  and 
^'  children  do  cry  for  more." 
In  the  summer  of  1832  we  had  the  first  and  most  awful  visitation 
of  Asiatic  cholera  Philadelphia  has  ever  experienced.  Then  it  was 
that  apothecaries  had  as  much  as  they  could  well  do,  night  and  day. 
Many  of  my  readers  remember  the  camphor  bags  and  Burgundy  pitch; 
plasters  ;  the  first  worn  in  the  bosom,  suspended  by  a  string  around 
the  neck,  and  the  latter  over  the  abdomen. 
I  have  said  we  had  no  sugar-coated  pills,  or  fluid  extracts  ;  neither 
had  we  machine  spread  plasters.  Apprentices  then  did  have  some 
advantages  over  those  of  the  present  time,  their  opportunities  for  learn- 
ing the  art  of  manufacturing  were  greater. 
"  The  manufacturing  pharmaceutist  "  was  unknown.  Apothecaries 
(wholesale  dealers  alone  were  called  "druggists")  made  their  own  pre- 
parations, and  all  plasters  were  spread  by  hand,  as  wanted  (adhesive 
plaster,  on  cloth,  excepted). 
The  experience  of  1832,  therefore,  made  many  perfect  in  the 
spreading  of  plasters.  Ten  by  twelve  and  ten  by  fourteen  inches  were 
not  unusual  sizes.  Well  do  [  remember  one  nervous  old  gentleman,, 
who,  to  ward  off  an  attack  of  the  dreaded  disease,  in  addition  to  his 
camphor  pouch,  ordered  a  whole  lamb-skin  to  be  spread  with  Burgundy 
pitch,  sprinkled  with  powdered  camphor.  The  order  was  executed, 
the  large  plaster  carried  to  his  house  by  the  writer  and  duly  applied, 
covering;  well  the  stomach  and  abdomen.  The  next  morning  a  mes- 
senger came  to  say  that  Mr.  W.  could  not  arise  from  his  bed  and  dress, 
as  the  plaster  had  slipped  down,  and  he  required  help.  The  removal 
of  that  plaster  was  a  more  diflicult  task  than  had  been  its  preparation. 
It  may  be  well  to  remark  that  the  old  gentleman  escaped  an  attack  of 
cholera,  and  lived  many  years  to  proclaim  the  virtues  of  camphor  and 
Burgundy  pitch  as  a  preventive  of  Asiatic  cholera. 
