SECRET REMEDIES,
WHAT THEY COST AND
WHAT THEY CONTAIN.

BASED ON ANALYSES MADE FOR THE

BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION.

London:
BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION,
429, Strand, W.C.

1909.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PREFACE.

One of the reasons for the popularity of secret remedies is their secrecy. It is a case in which the old saying Omne ignotum pro magnifico applies. To begin with, there is for the average man or woman a certain fascination in secrecy. The quack takes advantage of this common foible of human nature to impress his customers. But secrecy has other uses in his trade; it enables him to make use of cheap new or old-fashioned drugs, and to proclaim that his product possesses virtues beyond the ken of the mere doctor; his herbs have been culled in some remote prairie in America or among the mountains of Central Africa, the secret of their virtues having been confided to him by some venerable chief; or again he would have us believe that his drug has been discovered by chemical research of alchemical profundity, and is produced by processes so costly and elaborate that it can only be sold at a very high price.

The British Medical Association considered, therefore, that it would be useful if not instructive to make analyses of some of the secret remedies, the virtues of which are so boldly advertised, especially in popular monthly magazines and weekly newspapers, and in diaries and almanacks pushed under the front door or dropped over the area railings. The results are given in the following pages; they have been classified under various heads, according to the particular kind of disorder for the cure of which the preparation is more particularly vaunted. The claims in some instances are so comprehensive that it has not always been easy to assign the nostrum its proper place, and for a few it has been necessary to institute a chapter on Cure Alls.

An inquiry of the kind is, from the analytical point of view, tedious and often difficult; for though the analytical chemist can easily and quickly identify the nature of inorganic salts in a mixture or powder, and estimate their amount, most vegetable drugs which exert any appreciable effect on the body owe their power to the presence of an alkaloid or glucoside. The active principle of opium, for instance, is morphine; that of cinchona bark, quinine; that of belladonna, atropine, and so on, and the chemist can recognise any alkaloids present in a mixture or pill. It is otherwise, however, with vegetable extracts and colouring matters, for which pharmaceutical science has not yet been able in all cases to supply easily applicable and conclusive tests, because for the most part they contain no active principle and are used in pharmacy for their agreeable odour or bitter taste, as vanilla or sorrel are used in cookery. Of the accuracy of the analytical data published there can be no question; the investigation has been carried out with great care by a skilled analytical chemist, who has controlled his results in various ways, one being that in every doubtful case the formula obtained by analysis has been tested by making it up and comparing the appearance, taste, and physical properties of the imitative mixture with those of the secret preparation sold to the public.

The articles in this volume have not been confined to a mere dry statement of the results of analysis. Care has been taken to reproduce the claims and exuberant boasts of the vendors, and the contrast between them and the list of banal ingredients which follow must strike every reader. This juxtaposition of analytical facts and advertising fancies is instructive and sometimes entertaining, the fancy is so free and the fact so simple.

It must not be assumed that the concoctors of these mixtures and powders and ointments show any particular skill in the compounding of drugs. On the contrary, they appear curiously indifferent to taste and appearance, and perhaps count on the belief, common among the poorer classes at least, that the nastier a drug the more effective it is. There is, at any rate, the excuse for this belief that the effort to subdue the repugnance to the draught produces a glow of virtue which may perhaps have a certain stimulating effect on the mind; the patient having not only spent his money but suffered some discomfort, is anxious to justify his faith by assuming himself to be the better for the double sacrifice.

It is not, however, only the poorer classes of the community who have a weakness for secret remedies and the ministration of quacks; the well-to-do and the highly-placed will often, when not very ill, take a curious pleasure in experimenting with mysterious compounds. In them it is perhaps to be traced to a hankering to break safely with orthodoxy; they scrupulously obey the law and the Church and Mrs. Grundy, but will have their fling against medicine. Usually, however, people of these classes take to some system. It used to be electricity or hypnotism or some eccentricity of diet; nowadays it is more often Christian Science.

Judging from the relative number of secret remedies advertised for different complaints, it would seem that the most attractive fields for exploitation by the “patent” medicine man are afforded by those diseases which are widely prevalent, and sufficiently serious to cause considerable suffering and incapacity, inasmuch as such disorders lend themselves to sensational descriptions of the dire consequences which will follow if the one and only real and certain cure is not purchased.

The estimates of cost given throughout the volume refer only to the ingredients, the prices of the various drugs being those quoted in an ordinary wholesale drug list, and take no account of the cost of bottles, boxes, wrappings and packages, very often a much more serious source of expenditure. The stamp duty levied by the Inland Revenue under an old Act of Parliament must also be taken into consideration, but, ostensibly at least, it is paid by the purchaser, for the full price of a nostrum is usually 1s. 1½d. or 2s. 9d. and so on, the extra 1½d. or 3d. representing the value of the stamp. “Store prices” have, however, invaded this, like most other fields of enterprise.

CHAPTER I.
CATARRH AND COLD CURES.

The analyses here given of some of the proprietary articles which the public are induced to buy for the cure of ordinary colds and catarrh furnish a good example of the absurdity of the barefaced pretensions in which nostrum mongers indulge, for minor ailments are by no means neglected by the makers of nostrums; if the price to be obtained is somewhat lower than in the case of more serious disorders the cost price can be reduced in an equal or greater proportion. Alarming accounts, too, of the evils to be expected if resort be not had to the advertised articles are not wanting. Thus, in the advertisement of one of the articles described below, it is stated that catarrh “invariably creates biliousness, constipation, pleurisy, asthma, bronchitis, catarrhal fever, and consumption”; also that “it is estimated that over 20,000 people died in the United Kingdom last year of consumption caused by catarrh.” The remedy put forward for this malignant disease is shown by analysis to consist of a solution of a pinch of common salt with a trace of carbolic acid, the actual cost of the quantity sold for a shilling being one-thirtieth part of a farthing. The probability that many people would regard a slight cold in the head as not requiring a resort to a “specialist in chronic disease in every form” such as the proprietor of this preparation, is turned to account by a disparaging reference to the medical profession. “Catarrh,” we are told, “in its chronic form (and the complaints arising from it) is a malady which has not, up to the present time, received that attention and research from the medical faculty which it deserves. Most practitioners have given it merely a passing thought, or poohed at it as a mere cold which would soon pass off, and perhaps give some light tonic to tone up the stomach.” Another of the “remedies” described well illustrates the way in which the public is deluded by such “specialists”; camphor, quinine and ipecacuanha are frequently employed as domestic remedies in the early stages of a cold in the head, and persons who believe in their usefulness can no doubt be induced to buy a “cold cure” which professes to contain them in combination with other drugs, presented in a form convenient and agreeable to be taken; but in the tablets which are represented as consisting of cascara, bromide, quinine, ipecacuanha, camphor and bryonia, analysis did not reveal any appreciable traces of cascara, bromide, quinine, ipecacuanha, or camphor. The principal ingredients actually present were cinchonine, an alkaloid found in the bark from which quinine is prepared but cheaper than quinine, and acetanilide, a chemical better known under the name antifebrin, both in very small doses.

Many proprietary medicines of varied kinds are recommended for colds among a host of other complaints for which they are stated to possess curative powers. Apart, however, from such inclusive recommendations, a considerable number are put forward expressly and primarily for cold and catarrh, and it is a selection of these which is here described.

Dr. LANE’S CATARRH CURE.

This is prepared and sold by a Company giving an address in London. The price is 1s. a bottle, containing 2½ fluid ounces.

Much printed matter is supplied with this preparation, and a few extracts are here given:

Catarrh, in its chronic form (and the complaints arising from it), is a malady which has not, up to the present time, received that attention and research from the medical faculty which it deserves. Most practitioners have given it merely a passing thought, or poohed at it as a mere cold which would soon pass off, and perhaps give some light tonic to tone up the stomach. And therein lies the fatal error, for Catarrh is a disease that cannot be trifled with, as millions can only too surely testify.

... to let any part or organ of the system become diseased breeds the seeds of a host of other complaints, as all the organs of the body are in sympathy with each other. The cause of this is easily explained in a case of Catarrh.... It invariably creates Biliousness, Constipation, Pleurisy, Asthma, Bronchitis, Catarrhal Fever, and Consumption.

It is estimated that over 20,000 people died in the United Kingdom last year of Consumption caused by Catarrh.

The speciality of myself and Associate Physicians is chronic disease in every form. Our library was selected to this end, and the Herbal World explored for this purpose—the successful treatment of chronic disease.

We have never seen one out of five hundred of the patients whom we have cured. Most cases can be treated just as well at a distance as if we saw them in person; as our experience enables us to judge correctly from a written description the nature and extent of the disease under which the patient is labouring.

The preparation is described on the wrapper as:

The Only Reliable and Effective Preparation for the Permanent and Radical Cure of this most dangerous disease.

The directions on the label are:

For Catarrh.—Pour one-half teaspoonful in the palm of the hand, close one nostril with the finger, and inhale the liquid through the open nostril with sufficient force to carry the spray down into the throat. Inhale another half teaspoonful through the other nostril in the same way; it is not advisable to swallow the Catarrh Cure—however, it is perfectly harmless if you chance to do so. Use night and morning and in extreme cases three times a day.

Analysis showed the composition of the liquid to be:

The traces of impurities usually present in common salt were also found.

The estimated cost of the ingredients in 2½ fluid ounces is one-thirtieth of a farthing.

VAN VLECK’S CATARRH BALM.

This balm is supplied by an American Company having an address in London. The price charged is 4s. 6d. for a package containing 1⅛ oz.

In an accompanying circular it is stated that:

This preparation is perfectly harmless, readily absorbed, and through its healing, soothing action affords immediate relief and quickly cures Catarrh of the Nose and Head, Catarrhal Deafness, Hay Fever, Cold in the Head, La Grippe, Tonsillitis, Sore Throat and all inflamed, irritated conditions of the nose and throat.

The “Balm” was an ointment, contained in a collapsible tube. The directions on the label are:

First clear your head out thoroughly by blowing your nose, then squeeze out from the tube a piece of Dr. Van Vleck’s Catarrh Balm about the size of a pea, on the end of the finger, and rub it well up into each nostril, hold the other nostril and snuff it up until you can feel it all the way up through the air passages in your head. For severe Catarrh in the Head and Cold in the Head also rub thoroughly over the outside of the nose and across the forehead and on the sides of the head just below the temples. For Catarrhal Sore Throat and Tonsillitis rub thoroughly on the outside of the throat and swallow at bedtime a small piece about the size of a pea. Do not get it into the eyes. This preparation is perfectly harmless, readily absorbed, and through its healing, antiseptic, soothing action affords immediate relief.

The substance consisted of soft paraffin containing a small quantity of phenol and about 2 per cent. of a mixture of volatile oils. Oils of eucalyptus, pumilio pine, and yellow sandal-wood were recognized, and the respective proportions of these were estimated by comparing mixtures of known composition with the original. The results obtained gave the following formula

The estimated cost of the ingredients for 1⅛ oz. is ½d.

Dr. MACKENZIE’S “ONE DAY” COLD CURE.

This is supplied by a Company described as of London and New York. The price charged for a box containing 30 tablets is 1s. 1½d.

This preparation is described on the package as:

The Best Cure! For the Worst Cold!
A Speedy Cure in all Cases of Cold, Influenza, Headache,
and all Neuralgic Affections.
Nature’s Remedy.

Dose.—One tablet to be swallowed with a little water every two hours until relieved.

As a preventive, one every four hours.

Not for Children.

The tablets were coated with sugar coloured with ferric oxide (so-called chocolate coating); after removal of the coating they had an average weight of 2 grains. Analysis showed them to have the following composition:

The estimated cost of the ingredients for 30 tablets is 1¼d.

KEENE’S “ONE NIGHT” COLD CURE.

This also is supplied by a Company giving its address as New York and London. The price charged is 1s. 1½d. a box, containing 30 tablets.

This is recommended in the circular enclosed in the box in the following terms:

Keene’s One Night Cold Cure will break up any cold overnight; or money refunded! Influenza cured in three days. Guarantee Label around every Box. If Keene’s One Night Cold Cure fails to Cure your Cold, your money will be cheerfully returned on presentation of Guarantee Label.

Keene’s One Night Cold Cure is in Tablet form and contains nothing injurious, being chiefly composed of Quinine, Cascara, Camphor, and other Ingredients adopted by the Leading Medical Authorities for Colds in the Head, Throat, and Lungs.

The “guarantee label” is worded as follows:

Guarantee.

If Keene’s “One Night” Cold Cure fails to effectually break up any ordinary cold, return this Guarantee with box to your Chemist and he will refund price paid.

Cascara—Bromide—Quinine—Ipecac—
Camphor—Bryonia—tablets. 7½d. per box.
The Keene Co.
Irving A. Keene, Treasurer.

The tablets were coated with sugar, coloured with ferric oxide (so-called chocolate coating). After removal of the coating they had an average weight of 2·07 grains. Analysis showed that they contained no bromide, no quinine, except the minute trace occurring as an impurity in the cinchonine found, and no camphor in sufficient quantity to be detected; there was no evidence of any extract or other preparation of cascara, and if any were present, the quantity did not exceed a small trace; the alkaloid found did not give the slightest indication of ipecacuanha alkaloid; extract of bryonia may have been present, as it has no distinctive characters serving for identification. The ingredients found were:

The extractive and excipient possessed no characters indicating the substance from which it was derived; it contained a small proportion of alkali in organic combination, equivalent to 1·2 per cent. of dried sodium carbonate in the tablet, and the mineral constituents usually present in vegetable extracts. The estimated cost of the ingredients for 30 tablets is ¼d.

MUNYON’S CATARRH TABLETS AND
SPECIAL CATARRH CURE.

These two preparations, which have been at one time or another very extensively advertised, are supplied by a Homœopathic Company. They are stated to be manufactured in U.S. of America. The price charged for the tablets is 1s. a package, containing 17 tablets.

This preparation is recommended in the circular which accompanies it in the following terms:

Catarrh Positively Cured.—Are you a sufferer with catarrh? Have you taken all sorts of drugs and patent nostrums? Are you tired of paying big doctor bills without being cured? Are you willing to spend two shillings for a cure that permanently cures catarrh by removing the cause of the disease? If so, ask your chemist for a shilling bottle of Munyon’s Catarrh Cure and a shilling bottle of Catarrh Tablets. The Catarrh Cure will eradicate the disease from the system and the Tablets will cleanse and heal the afflicted parts and restore them to a natural and healthful condition.

On the package it is stated that:

When used in conjunction with the Catarrh Cure, they cure discharges from the head and throat, dryness, soreness and scabs in the nose, pains in the head, and all symptoms of Catarrh.

The directions are:

Dissolve one Tablet in 20 teaspoonfuls of warm water and use this solution for thorough cleansing of the nose and throat, night and morning. Inject through the nostrils with Munyon’s Atomizer or by snuffing.

The tablets had an average weight of 6 grains. Analysis showed the composition to be:

in one tablet. The amount of borax was equivalent to 2·58 grains of the fully hydrated salt.

The estimated cost of the ingredients for 17 tablets is one-twentieth of a penny.

Besides the “Catarrh Cure” referred to in the above as intended for use with the tablets, there is a “Special Catarrh Cure” which costs 4s. a package containing 460 pilules.

On the package it is stated that:

It cures the most aggravated cases of hawking and spitting of mucus, stuffy or oppressed feeling in the head, dryness or scabs in the nose, gloomy, dull spirits, difficulty of breathing, dropping of mucus from the head into the throat, and liability to take cold easily.

The directions are:

Take four pellets every hour. Half quantity for children.

The average weight of the pilules was ½ grain. On first opening the bottle containing them a slight smell of alcohol was noticeable, but the loss of weight on drying was only 0·08 per cent. No medicament of any kind could be detected, nor any substance but sugar; determination of the amount of the latter showed 100 per cent. to be present.

From the odour of alcohol observed it is not unlikely that the pilules had been “medicated” by treatment with some dilute tincture, but if so, the amount of medicament so imparted was infinitesimal.

The estimated cost of 460 pilules is one-tenth of a penny.

BIRLEY’S ANTI-CATARRH.

The price charged for this fluid, sold by a London Company, is 1s. 1½d. a bottle, containing nearly 3 fluid ounces.

The bottle was accompanied by four pages of printed matter headed “The Birley Monthly Report,” in which the “Anti-Catarrh” was included in a “List and Prices of Dr. Birley’s Compounds of Free (or Unoxidised) Phosphorus,” and described as “Special Remedy for Catarrh and Influenza.” The following extracts are from the same circular, under the heading “The Wonders of Phosphorus.”

Free (or unoxidised) Phosphorus, whose chief seat or situation is in the brain, is one of the most important elements contained in our bodies. Without Free Phosphorus there can be no thought, and very probably no life....

One thing is proved beyond doubt, that the degree of intellectual thought depends upon the amount of Free Phosphorus in the brain, and just as the Phosphorus is unduly wasted, so does the brain power weaken....

Free Phosphorus, it is thus shown, must be the saving agent—no other means is possible. This one element must be replaced.

The directions are:

For an ordinary cold take one teaspoonful every two hours until better, then every third and fourth hour, and finally night and morning.

For severe attacks, commence by taking a dose every hour until better, then gradually increase the period between each dose as attack abates. For Children, give half doses.

Analysis showed the presence of:

No free phosphorus could be detected, but the odour when the bottle was first opened suggested the presence of a trace. From the presence of a trace of alcohol it appears probable that an alcoholic solution of phosphorus had been added, and that the phosphoric acid had been formed by its oxidation. If the phosphorus found were in the free state each fluid drachm would contain about ¹/₈₀ grain. The liquid was of a light straw colour, probably produced by addition of a trace of colouring matter.

The estimated cost of the ingredients for 3 fluid ounces is ½d.

CHAPTER II.
COUGH MEDICINES

There are probably few, if any, ailments more frequently treated by the sufferer or his friends, without recourse to medical advice, than coughs and colds. The remedies employed in such domestic practice include preparations like “linseed tea” and others made at home, but these no doubt are supplemented in very many instances by some proprietary preparation, either one of those so largely advertised, or the speciality of some local compounder. It might be contended that here, if anywhere, is a legitimate field for the maker of nostrums, and it is therefore of some interest to ascertain what is being supplied in such nostrums. The particulars as to composition and claims made which are given below show that they well illustrate the evils which inevitably creep into the dealing in secret remedies, and the downward steps which lead to purely swindling nostrums. One of the articles now described bears on the label the unusual recommendation, “For serious cases seek medical aid”; this preparation is recommended as a “valuable aid” in various complaints, and the fact that it contains morphine is stated clearly on the label, but information is not given as to the amount of morphine present. Less modest claims are made for competing articles, until we eventually reach such statements as “all that is necessary is to take one dose of the lung tonic in warm water on retiring to rest, and the cold will have disappeared in the morning ... cure is quite certain,” and “If it fails no other medicine will ever succeed.” Again, while the presence of morphine in one of the medicines is plainly declared, as we have stated, this is not so in other instances. In one of those in which on analysis morphine was found to be present the advertisement begins with a “guarantee” that the medicinal remedies contained in the lozenges cannot injure the most delicate constitution, and includes the statement that they may be safely administered to very young children; in another case the specific declaration is made that “the cough pills do not contain opium,” which would certainly be regarded by most people as meaning that they do not contain the active principle of opium—morphine; and yet this was found to be present. The uncertainty as to what the composition of a secret medicine may be at any particular time is illustrated by another of the articles described, which has in past years been the subject of legal proceedings in the course of which the presence of morphine was proved, but which is now found not to contain any.

The number of advertised proprietary medicines for the cure of coughs is very large, and the number of those but little advertised and having principally a local sale is still larger; the latter, as a rule, have a good deal of resemblance to the advertised preparations. A selected few of the most widely advertised of this class have been examined.

The information which chemical analysis can give as to the composition of proprietary medicines is necessarily limited to the recognition of those ingredients which possess more or less definite chemical properties. The makers, of course, can make use of any one or more of a long series of vegetable extracts which very much resemble each other, and of various sweetening and flavouring materials sold for the purpose. In the case of many secret preparations analysis can afford complete and positive information as to their composition; but this is not so in every case, owing to many preparations commonly used in pharmacy being devoid of definite active principles that can be identified, and possessing no characters distinguishing them from others of the same class. Many such preparations are likely to be employed in cough mixtures; and, as these medicines usually contain a large proportion of treacle, honey, extract of liquorice, decoction of linseed, or some other old-fashioned complex preparations as basis, the identification of small proportions of many substances which are likely to be present becomes practically impossible. Many of the drugs in recognised use for coughs, such as senega, Virginian prune, etc., as well as domestic remedies like horehound and coltsfoot, are practically safe from certain identification by chemical analysis for such reasons, and in some of the preparations described below such substances may perhaps be present in addition to the ingredients named. The receipts given are not put forward as necessarily representing the whole of the ingredients in the articles in question, but they probably include all those which are of any importance or possess any known curative action.

The chief interest in the composition of such medicines, however, centres in the presence or absence of more potent remedies, such as preparations of opium, ipecacuanha, etc.; and here the analyst is on surer ground. The extraction of minute quantities of alkaloids from complex mixtures containing large quantities of saccharine and “extractive” matters is, however, a matter of much difficulty, and their identification is complicated by the great similarity in the behaviour of morphine and the alkaloids of ipecacuanha towards the various reagents used in their recognition. In this connection it may be pointed out that one or two of the nostrums here dealt with have been the subject of fairly frequent legal proceedings in consequence of their having been sold without proper observance of the poisons regulations, and the evidence given in such cases has shown wide differences in the results obtained by different analysts of high standing, both as to the quantity of morphine present, and even as to the fact of its presence or absence. In making the analyses here recorded, great pains have been taken to obtain accurate results, and they have been confirmed by the employment of alternative methods, etc.; but the results can only be given subject to the caution just expressed.

KAY’S LINSEED COMPOUND.

This compound is sold by an English provincial company in bottles, price, 9½d., 1s. 1½d., 2s. 9d., 4s. 6d., and 11s. per bottle; the 2s. 9d. size contained a little over 5½ fluid ounces.

This preparation is described on the label, wrapper, and in circulars, both as “Linseed Compound,” which is given as the registered trade mark, and as “Kay’s Compound Essence of Linseed, Aniseed, Senega, Squill, Tolu, etc.” On the label it is also stated that it

contains a preparation of chloroform and morphine, and it is, therefore, labelled Poison. It is Demulcent, Expectorant, Tonic, and Soothing for Colds, Coughs, Asthma, Hoarseness, Difficulty of Breathing, Consumption, and Simple Ailments of the Chest, Throat, and Lungs.

In a pamphlet enclosed in the package, this preparation is recommended to be taken for Cold, Influenza, Sore Throat and Quinsey, Pulmonary Catarrh, Bronchitis, Asthma, Consumption of the Lungs, Whooping Cough and Croup. In most of these, however, it is recommended as a “valuable aid” rather than a positive cure; other articles, such as ipecacuanha wine, muriate of ammonia, cod liver oil, and chemical food, as well as “Kay’s Linum Catharticum Pills,” are also recommended; while under Bronchitis we read:

In an acute attack, i.e., when the symptoms are inflammatory with much fever, etc., the family doctor should at once be called in.

The directions on the label are as follows:

Scale of Doses			To be modified according to the
			age or debility of the Patient.
For over	21	years,	a teaspoonful in	water,	at bedtime.
”	12	”	half a teaspoonful	”	”
”	6	”	15 drops	”	”
”	4	”	10 ”	”	”
”	2	”	5 ”	”	”
Half Doses may be taken three or four times a day.
It is not intended for Infants.
For serious cases seek medical aid.

Analysis showed that 100 parts by measure contained 1·07 parts of chloroform and 4·3 parts of alcohol, both by measure, and 67 parts of solids; about 48 parts of the latter consisted of sugar, partly in the form of invert sugar, and the remaining 19 parts consisted principally of the mucilage of decoction of linseed; oil of aniseed was present, and evidence was obtained of small quantities of preparations of tolu and squill. Tho ipecacuanha alkaloids extracted amounted to 0·007 per cent., and the morphine to 0·021 per cent. If the ipecacuanha were present in the form of wine of the official strength, this represents:

in each fluid ounce.

OWBRIDGE’S LUNG TONIC.

This is sold by another English provincial company, price, 1s. 1½d., 2s. 9d., 4s. 6d., and 11s. a bottle; the 2s. 9d. size contained a little over 6½ fluid ounces.

It is stated on the wrapper that this:

Cures Coughs, Colds, Asthma, Bronchitis, Influenza, and all Affections of the Chest, Throat, and Lungs.

Also,

This Preparation does not contain any Opium, Laudanum, or Morphine, therefore does not require a Poison Label.

A pamphlet was enclosed in the package, from which the following is an extract:

Having once contracted a cold, however slight, it is of the first importance to have it thoroughly and radically removed. To do this it is worse than useless to rely upon a few lozenges, or any of the simple expedients to which many have recourse. Avoid linseed poultices, which are excessively weakening, and highly calculated to make the patient liable to a second, and, perhaps, more severe cold than the first. All that is necessary is to take one dose of the lung tonic in warm water on retiring to rest, and the cold will have disappeared in the morning. The lungs and bronchial tubes will be fortified and invigorated to an extraordinary degree. Should the cough not be quite removed by the first dose, continue according to directions. Cure is quite certain.

The directions on the label were:

To be repeated 3 or 4 times a day, if necessary. The doses given during the day should be mixed with a little cold water, the one at bedtime in a tablespoonful of warm water.

Analysis showed that 100 parts by measure contained 0·3 part of chloroform and 2 parts of alcohol, both by measure, and 89 parts of solids; about 73 parts of the latter consisted of sugar, rather more than half of which was in the form of invert sugar; it is probable that this had been added in the form of honey, and that the remainder of the solids consisted largely of the non-saccharine portion of the honey. Oils of aniseed and peppermint were present, and evidence was obtained of a very small quantity of a preparation of capsicum. The alkaloids of ipecacuanha were found to the amount of 0·002 per cent.; if these were present in the form of wine of the official strength, this represents:

in each fluid ounce.

POWELL’S BALSAM OF ANISEED.

This fluid, prepared by a London maker, is sold in bottles, price, 1s. 1½d., 2s. 3d., 4s. 6d., and 11s. per bottle; the 2s. 3d. size contained a little over 3 fluid ounces.

In a circular enclosed with the bottle it was stated that:

This old and invaluable Medicine has the extraordinary property of immediately relieving Coughs, Colds, Bronchitis, Hoarseness, Difficulty of Breathing, and Huskiness in the Throat. It operates by dissolving the congealed Phlegm, and thus promotes free expectoration....

In Asthma, Chronic Cough, Influenza, Difficulty of Breathing, etc., no pen can describe the wonders that have been wrought by this deservedly popular preparation.

The directions for use were:

For a Grown Person a teaspoonful two or three times a day. For a child about 8 years old, 20 drops; and 12 years, 40 drops.

N.B.—Grown persons as well as children should take it in a little gruel or warm water; or saturate a lump of sugar with the above quantities is a pleasant way of taking it.

Analysis showed that 100 parts by measure contained 1·8 parts of benzoic acid, about 4·2 parts of extract of liquorice, and 2 parts of sugar, 40 parts by volume of alcohol, and enough oil of aniseed to give a strong aniseed flavour; a very small quantity of an aromatic resin, apparently benzoin, was also found, and 0·012 per cent. of alkaloid. This alkaloid resembled morphine in its behaviour to solvents, by which all the commoner alkaloids were excluded; but other tests showed that it was not morphine, and it is possible that it was a morphine derivative, such as dionine or peronine, but it was not found practicable to establish its exact identity owing to the smallness of the amount. Powell’s Balsam of Aniseed has, in the past, been the subject of legal proceedings on several occasions, and evidence has been brought in those proceedings proving that it contained morphine; so that it would seem that its composition has been changed since then.

Dr. KILMER’S INDIAN COUGH CURE.

This preparation, stated to be made in U.S.A., is advertised from an address in London. The price is 1s. 1½d. a bottle, containing 3 fluid ounces.

It was stated on the outside of the package that:

This wonderful preparation contains no opium, morphine, chloral, or other hurtful drugs, and therefore does not dry up a cough. Every ingredient is from Vegetable products which grow within sight of almost every sufferer. It will not only help but cure the most Chronic and Complicated cases.

The directions were:

Dose: ½, 1, or 2 teaspoonfuls every ½, 1, 2, 3, or 4 hours as the case may require. Children—less according to age.

Analysis showed that 100 parts contained 63 parts of solids, of which practically the whole was sugar; there was also present about 2 per cent. of alcohol and about 0·5 per cent. of oil of pumilio pine, with rather less than 0·1 per cent. of a resinous substance agreeing well with the resins from compound tincture of benzoin; a small resinous deposit also remained adhering to the inside of the bottle. A trace of a bitter yellowish substance was present, which may have been the aloes contained in the compound tincture, but did not agree perfectly with it in character; the quantity was too minute for exact identification. No alkaloid was present.

CROSBY’S BALSAMIC COUGH ELIXIR.

This elixir, sold from a provincial English town, and wholesale through a company in London, costs 1s. 1½d., 2s. 9d., and 4s. 6d. per bottle; the 2s. 9d. size contained nearly 4¾ ounces.

It was described on the label as:

A safe, speedy, and effectual remedy for Coughs, Colds, Hoarseness, Difficulty of Breathing, Wheezing and Irritation of the Throat, Hooping Cough, Asthma, and Incipient Consumption.

In circulars enclosed with the bottle, its use in these various complaints was more fully described; and it was stated further that:—

It contains no opiates, and is absolutely non-poisonous, and may therefore be taken with safety by the young and aged alike.

The directions given on the label were:

For Children, one month to one year, 5 to 10 drops in a little water. From one to five years, 10 to 20 drops. From five to ten years, 20 to 30 drops. From ten to fifteen years, 30 drops to one teaspoonful. From fifteen years and upwards, one teaspoonful, gradually increased to three teaspoonfuls, in a wineglassful of water.

Analysis showed that 100 parts by measure contained 65 parts of solid matter, about 58 parts of which consisted of invert sugar, 10·6 parts by volume of alcohol, a trace of chloroform, 1·35 parts of sulphuric acid, and 0·3 part of acetic acid; a trace of an aromatic substance probably derived from tolu was present, and a minute trace of alkaloid (much less than 0·001 per cent.); the remainder appeared to consist of extractive and colouring matter, and may have contained the non-saccharine portion of honey if the invert sugar were added in that form. A trace of acetic ether could be detected, and it is probable that the acetic acid found represented acetic ether originally added, which had undergone hydrolysis; in that case the amount of acetic ether originally present would be 2¼ minims in 1 fluid ounce. The sulphuric acid found corresponds to 44 minims of the official dilute sulphuric acid in 1 fluid ounce.

VENO’S LIGHTNING COUGH CURE.

This is prepared by a company in an English manufacturing town. The price charged is 1s. 1½d. a bottle, containing 2¾ fluid ounces.

On the label it was stated that:

If it fails no other medicine will ever succeed. It should be used in all cases of Coughs, Colds, Bronchitis, Pleurisy, Sore Throat, Hoarseness, Asthma, Croup, Whooping Cough, Influenza, and Catarrh. In most cases it should be used with Veno’s Lightning Fluid.

Dose.—For an Adult, one teaspoonful; for a Child under ten, half teaspoonful; for an Infant, five or ten drops every two or three hours, during the day only.

Analysis showed that 100 parts by measure contained 7·6 parts of glycerine, 1·6 parts by volume of alcohol, a trace of chloroform, 0·23 part of a resin, 0·2 part of alkaline ash, and 1·1 parts of extractive and colouring matter. No alkaloid was present. The resin was not aromatic, and possessed no well-marked characters, but showed some resemblance to the resin of Grindelia robusta; the fluid extract of this drug is prepared with the aid of alkali, and the strongly alkaline nature of the ash found would agree with the presence of fluid extract of grindelia, but positive proof of the presence of the latter could not be obtained; the amount of resin found corresponds to about 7 minims of the fluid extract in 1 fluid ounce.

KEATING’S COUGH LOZENGES.

These lozenges are sold from an address in London in boxes, price, 1s. 1½d., 2s. 9d., 4s. 6d., and 11s. per box; the 1s. 1½d. size contained 50 lozenges.

A circular enclosed in the package was headed:

Notice—Guarantee.

The medicinal remedies contained in these lozenges cannot injure the most delicate constitution.

Another extract from the circular stated:

Very many also of the Nobility and Clergy, and of the public generally use them under the recommendation of some of the most eminent of the Faculty. Such medical testimony must be convincing of their efficacy as well as conveying the satisfactory assurance of their freedom from any medicine in the slightest degree injurious to the constitution, Medical Men being well aware of the deleterious effects of many preparations, which in Pulmonary Affections do but mask the symptoms for a time, and afford only temporary relief, while perhaps the constitutional disease is aggravated, or at least unsubdued. They may be safely administered to females of the most delicate frame, and to very young children, for they not only allay Cough and Nervous Irritation, but they sustain the constitution, by promoting a healthy state of the Digestive Organs. They have immediate influence over the following cases:—Asthmatic and Consumptive Complaints, Coughs, Shortness of Breath, Hoarseness, etc., etc.

Directions for Use. One or two, taken at bedtime, will allay the irritation in the Throat, and prevent the Cough from disturbing the patient during the night, and one also eight or ten times in the day, when the Cough is troublesome, will afford great relief.

The average weight of the lozenges was 16½ grains; analysis showed that they contained morphine, alkaloids of ipecacuanha, extract of liquorice, sugar (partly as invert sugar), and gum; some evidence was also obtained of the presence of extract of squill and tolu, but positive proof of the identity of these was not obtainable. The proportions of the various ingredients found corresponded to:

in one lozenge.

BEECHAM’S COUGH PILLS.

These cough pills, sold from a town in Lancashire, cost 1s. 1½d. per box, containing 56 pills.

The following extracts are from a circular enclosed with the box:

Persons suffering from Cough and kindred troubles should relieve their minds of the idea that nothing will benefit them unless it be in the form of a lozenge, or taken as liquid. Let them try Beecham’s Cough Pills, and they will never regret it.

The Cough Pills do not contain opium; they do not constipate; they do not upset the stomach. On the first symptoms of a Cold or Chill, a timely dose of Beecham’s Cough Pills will invariably ward off all dangerous features. For years many families have used no other Winter Medicine. Householders and travellers should avail themselves of this good, safe, and simple remedy for Coughs in general, Asthma, Bronchial Affections, Hoarseness, Shortness of Breath, Tightness and Oppression of the Chest, Wheezing, etc.

The doses may be from three to six pills morning, noon, and night.

The pills had an average weight of 1·4 grains. In spite of the statement that they “do not contain opium,” analysis showed morphine to be present, together with powdered squill, powdered aniseed, extract of liquorice, and a resinous substance agreeing in character with the resin of ammoniacum. Approximate determination of the proportions of the ingredients is alone possible in such a mixture; the results obtained pointed to the following formula:

in one pill.

SOME GERMAN NOSTRUMS.

Dr. F. Zernik, assistant in the Pharmaceutical Institute of the University of Berlin, undertook a short time ago, at the invitation of the Editor of the Deutsche Medicinische Wochenschrift, to report on some of the secret remedies which are thrown on the market in such numbers in Germany as well as England. It would appear that for the most part the remedies advertised in Germany are not the same as those most advertised in this country, but it is proposed in this and subsequent chapters to give some abstracts from the articles in which Dr. Zernik has from time to time reported the results of his examinations.

Dr. LAUSER’S COUGH DROPS.

Dr. Zernik found on analysis that these Cough Drops did not contain the ingredients alleged; there was for instance only 3·35 per cent. of alcohol, although the advertiser speaks of tinctures of 50 per cent. In addition to this small proportion of alcohol the mixture appeared to consist of a watery solution of liquorice, an infusion of senna root, some ammoniated solution of aniseed and small quantities of ammonium chloride.

REICHEL’S COUGH DROPS.

Reichel’s Cough Drops cost 1 mark for a bottle containing 65 ccm., about 2¼ fluid ounces. The purchaser is supposed to take 15 or 20 drops on sugar or in water four or five times a day. It is an alcoholic fluid, smelling and tasting of arnica, pimpinella, and anise.

TUSSOTHYM.

Tussothym, in spite of the wonderful qualities claimed for it by the firm producing it, proved to be a weak alcoholic distillate of thyme, diluted with water but probably containing another indifferent drug. It is advertised as good for all diseases of the respiratory organs, and especially for whooping cough.

Dr. B. ASSMANN’S
WHOOPING COUGH REMEDY.

This Whooping Cough Remedy is, according to the vendor, so complicated that it is only made by himself, and cannot be obtained elsewhere. The packet contains forty powders, twenty of which are marked No. 1, and twenty No. 2. The chemical analysis showed that each powder, weighing 2 grams, consisted of milk sugar (lactose). No other constituent was detected.

CHAPTER III.
CONSUMPTION CURES.

Nostrums and quack medicines vary greatly in the extent to which they constitute deliberate fraud. In the case of some of them, it is easy to believe that the makers themselves have a certain faith in their preparations, and recommend them in cases for which they are unsuited with that bona fides which arises from ignorance, assisted, unconsciously perhaps, by an appreciation of the profitable nature of the business. Such preparations frequently contain some one or more of the drugs in common use for the complaints for which the nostrum is offered, and are even, occasionally, combinations compounded in the first place from a medical prescription which may have been found useful in certain appropriate cases. The injury to the public in such instances arises from the excessive nature of the claims made, the excessive price usually charged, and the probability of the advertised medicine being taken in cases for which it is quite unsuitable, when it may do harm positively by its effects or negatively by preventing the sufferer from seeking proper advice.

But with other proprietary medicines it is quite clear that the makers cannot in the slightest degree believe in the claims they make; the “remedy” in these cases is some substance or mixture devoid of medicinal activity, or possessing some slight therapeutic property having no relation to the disease for which the nostrum is put forward as a cure. It is often, indeed, for inert preparations that the most extravagant and emphatic claims are made; the makers, and the advertisement-writers whom they employ, are untrammelled by any necessity of squaring their statements with the real properties of the thing to be recommended, and having set out consciously and deliberately to deceive, they are able to give their whole attention to telling the most effective stories in the most plausible manner, and reaping the maximum of payment for the minimum of expenditure. People who are ill or suffering are to be frightened with impressive pictures of the aggravated suffering and premature death that await them unless they take the “only cure” in question, therefore let them be frightened thoroughly. Careful suggestion will induce people who are not ill to believe that they or some of those dear to them are in the early stages of some disease; therefore let everything possible in the way of striking advertisements, personal letters, and repeated assertions be utilised to produce the result. It is the victim’s money that is wanted; therefore let the price be fixed high, and the advertisements be written up to it. If it should be discovered by correspondence that so much cannot be cajoled or frightened out of an individual sufferer, the price can be reduced gradually as “special concessions,” in return for which testimonials may be extracted.

Of quack medicines the sale of which is conducted more or less on these fines, two examples are described in this chapter, and other examples will be enumerated later.

One of the two now dealt with is “Tuberculozyne,” largely advertised in Great Britain but apparently of American origin; it affords an instructive example of the methods of the Transatlantic nostrum monger. The two liquids sold under this name consist of little more than coloured, flavoured water, but the modest price demanded is £2 10s. for a month’s, supply. No effort is spared to induce the victim to continue the “treatment” month by month, in spite of the evident absence of any benefit, which is unblushingly accounted for by the seriousness of the particular case, while the necessity of getting the system thoroughly permeated with the remedy is insisted on. The sale of another preparation advertised as a cure for consumption, Stevens’ Consumption Cure, is conducted in a very similar way, but this time the herbs are said to be African, and the odd names they bear certainly have a Kaffir flavour. The vendor considerately warns the public against American quacks and impostors and against the preposterous and wicked swindles of Polish or German Jews. Although Stevens is so engagingly candid about his rivals he follows the plan of sending one letter after another to any sufferer whose name he may have obtained, a system which seems to have been invented in America; it is certainly cheaper than bold advertisement in newspapers, and is apparently found even more satisfactory, as it enables the vendor to give individual attention to the depth of his correspondent’s pocket if not to the severity of his disease. But Stevens has somewhat bettered his instruction, and his letters and circulars have a character of their own due to the effrontery of his attitude toward the medical profession. Persons who respond to the advertisement receive a list of questions to be answered by the doctor who has attended them, and are advised to continue under the observation of their medical man in order that the latter may be impressed by the marvellous effects of the remedy. Not long ago a circular letter was sent out to medical practitioners, asking them to treat consumptive cases “which defy all the ordinary remedies” with this secret preparation. The circular continues: “The great drawback to my cure, so far as the medical profession is concerned, has always been the fact that I would not reveal its formula. This is now done away with; its formula is 80 grains of umckaloabo root and 13⅓ grains of chijitse to every ounce, prepared according to British Pharmacopœia methods.” The farce of revealing a formula by the employment of such fancy names as these is one of the oldest dodges of the quack medicine man, and no such names as “umckaloabo” and “chijitse” appear in any available work of reference on pharmacy. Enquiries made in various parts of South Africa have been negative, experts in native matters being unable to ascertain that the names were known. Further, the Native Affairs Department of Cape Colony has caused enquiries to be made in the Transkeian territories into the question whether the native tribes there resident had any knowledge of “umckaloabo” and “chijitse,” or of their reputed medicinal properties. The result of the inquiry was entirely negative. Nothing was known of any such plants, nor was it even possible to identify their names. Smith’s South African Materia Medica contains no record of any such names as “umckaloabo” and “chijitse.”

A similar system of repeated letters sent in series to the sufferer or his friends appears to be followed by the Weidhaas Hygienic Institute, Ltd., which carries on a home in the south of England but also treats patients by correspondence. The proprietors, who would seem to hail from Germany, issue a pamphlet with the title Dum spiro spero, which is made up mainly of the usual testimonials, but contains also a sort of outline of the physiology of various organs, taken from medical works. The pamphlet does not differ from the ordinary productions of advertising quacks; the terms are said to be very moderate, the more so as it is the rule to make one charge only for the whole treatment, the proprietors taking the risk of its being of long duration. It would seem, however, that this arrangement is not always followed, for in a “Diet Table” headed “Direction for Weidhaas Home Treatment” we find the following:

It is absolutely necessary that all patients, while under my treatment, shall take the “Star Tonic” regularly.

On Rising.—Take one cup of “Star Tonic.” (This must be always taken in sips only.)

For Breakfast.—Take the delicately flavoured Nutritive Salts Cocoa, boiled in milk (which, being specially prepared for invalids, on account of the great percentage of nutritive salts which no other cocoa contains, is most suitable in your case....)

Between Breakfast and Lunch take one or two tumblers of milk. If possible this should always be taken in the form of Kefyr, one of the easiest digestible nourishing and strengthening tonics. (Full particulars of this are enclosed herewith.)...

Half an hour before mid-day meal.—(From 1 to 2 o’clock.) Sip one cup of Star Tonic.

For Mid-day Meal.—Make it a strict rule to take regularly green vegetables of some kind, such as spinach, cabbage, lettuce, etc. A fair amount of these should be taken daily. To these may be added a few potatoes, very little meat or fish, and now and then, in the place of the latter, some pulses, such as lentils (German are best)....

At Tea Time.—If absolutely necessary, take a cup of weak ordinary tea or health coffee; better still, take a cup of Star Tonic, some cold toast....

For Supper.—(Let this meal be not later than two-and-a-half, or, better still, three hours before going to bed.) Take either Cocoa or Kefyr....

Before going to bed.—Always make a point of taking one glass of Kefyr or cup of Star Tonic.

When in bed always have some cold “Star Tonic” near at hand, and sip some when troubled with cough or acute symptoms.

At the bottom of the diet table is a notice to the following effect:

“The above specially recommended articles can be had from the Sales’ Department of the Weidhaas Hygienic Institute, Ltd.”

In the circular, referred to above as enclosed, Kefyr ferment is offered for sale.

In one case which was enquired into of a young man who had been induced to obtain the treatment, his mother wrote to the institute complaining that the treatment appeared to have done her son more harm than good. The reply, after insisting that the remedy supplied was the very best cure for his complaint, continued: “As to it lowering his vitality, let me say that it is not unusual for patients to feel apparently worse in the beginning, but it only shows that the treatment is disturbing the cause of the trouble. Now, this is just what I want it to do. I want to disturb it and thus drive it out of the system. I hope then you will allow your son to proceed under my directions. Give the treatment a fair trial and it will do all that is claimed for it.” The patient was at the time in an advanced stage of pulmonary phthisis, and died of hæmoptysis, of which he had had two previous attacks, seven weeks after the letter quoted above was written. A month after his death a letter was addressed to him by the director of the institute in the course of which it was stated that: “Many patients do not gain immediate relief, or even partial improvement during the early stages of the treatment, but Perseverance and a faithful adherence to all my instructions will invariably bring about the desired result.”

Among the papers sent to an enquirer was a printed form which seems worthy of reproduction, since it illustrates a method of getting into touch with possible patients, which appears to be followed with variations by other companies that appeal to the sick:

R. B.

Have you Friends who need our Treatment?

If you know of anyone whom you think might derive benefit from the use of our Home Treatment, you will do them and us a great favour by noting hereon their names, addresses, and the trouble you believe them to be afflicted with. Upon receipt of the names we will send them information concerning our method of treatment, but will not mention your name unless you desire it.

Please return to The Weidhaas Hygienic Institute.

Some time ago a firm of pharmaceutical chemists in a provincial town received a postcard from a company which offered 5s. for the name of any patient suffering from diabetes, pointing out that “it is money easily earned.” The pharmaceutical chemists expressed indignation at the attempt to bribe them to commit a breach of confidence, but such a request might not be so regarded by a patient, more especially if the advertiser lays great stress upon his benevolent motives, and his anxiety to benefit as many persons as possible.

But although this letter-writing system with its paraphernalia of biographies of the discoverer, typewritten personal letters, free coupons and guarantee bonds is much in vogue, there are other nostrums advertised in the old-fashioned way and sold at the familiar price of 1s. 1½d. for a small bottle. Among these are some old preparations for coughs, for which more emphatic claims as remedies for consumption have been made of late years. The result of the analysis of two of these will first be given.

CONGREVE’S BALSAMIC ELIXIR.

This preparation, advertised from an address in London, is sold in bottles, price 1s. 1½d., 2s. 9d., 4s. 6d., 11s., and 22s. The 2s. 9d. bottle contained 1⅖ fluid ounces, the 4s. 6d. bottle contained 4 fluid ounces.

On the outer package was to be read:

Congreve’s Balsamic Elixir. Has had a World-wide Reputation for 80 years as the Best Remedy for Consumption, also for Asthma, Chronic Bronchitis, Coughs, Colds, and Whooping cough. Safe and Effective. Free from any poison.

The following extracts are from a circular enclosed with the bottle:

In the most obstinate attacks of Asthma, which have threatened speedy suffocation, when the sufferer, harassed by excessive coughing, has laboured dreadfully for breath, with an acuteness of agony not to be described, this Balsam has restored the patient to health, after the medical practitioner had abandoned the usual means in despair.

In Pulmonary Consumption, the best remedy is this Balsamic Elixir, as most unquestionable Testimonials prove. It has been successfully prescribed in Consumptive cases regarded as hopeless by the first physicians.

Correspondence. Advice by letter from time to time will be given to any patient whilst continuing Mr. Congreve’s Treatment, provided that the 22s. or 11s. bottles of Elixir are obtained direct from [the address given by the vendor in his advertisements] during the period of correspondence.

The directions were:

For adults.—Take a teaspoonful, alone or mixed with honey or lump sugar, three or four times a day, as the urgency of the case requires. Children from 8 to 15 years may take two-thirds of a teaspoonful; from 5 to 8 years, half a teaspoonful; from 2 to 5 years, twenty drops; at six months, ten drops; younger infants from four to six drops.

The “elixir” was a bright red liquid; analysis showed it to contain 28·5 per cent. by volume of alcohol, and 2·6 per cent. of total solids; the latter consisted of resinous constituents (about 0·5 per cent.), sugar (about 1 per cent.), a little tannin, colouring matter (apparently cochineal), and extractive. Alkaloid was present only to the extent of a trace, under 0·001 per cent.; the extractive showed no characters by which its source could be determined; the resinous material was of an aromatic nature similar to the resins of benzoin, storax, tolu, or balsam of Peru, and appeared to be derived from a mixture of two or more of these. No other active ingredients were found to be present.

THE BROMPTON CONSUMPTION
AND COUGH SPECIFIC.

The “Sole proprietor” gives an address in a part of London remote from Brompton, but it is perhaps hoped that the name may suggest some connection with the well-known Brompton Consumption Hospital. The price charged is 1s. 1½d., 2s. 9d., 4s. 6d., and 11s. per bottle; the 2s. 9d. bottle contained 3⅔ fluid ounces.

The origin of the preparation is thus described:

This Specific is prepared from the Prescription of an eminent Physician, who practised nearly forty years in Madeira, he was celebrated for his success in the treatment of Consumption and diseases of the Chest. Upon a visit to this country some years since, he gave the Prescription to a late Physician, who tried it upon five hundred out-patients; its effect was wonderful; it acted like magic upon their Coughs, and prevented that great waste of strength and flesh peculiar to this disease. It will save the lives of thousands and prevent Consumption, by administering it upon the first symptoms of Cough, which will be immediately cured by a few doses.

In a circular enclosed with the bottle it was stated:

A Cough is the forerunner of Consumption. In England alone 50,000 people die of it thus constituting one-fourth of the nation’s death rate annually. It has destroyed more human beings than War, Pestilence, and Famine combined; it neither spares the old nor young, “and there is no family in which this rapacious destroyer of the human race has not had its victim.” It is a well-known fact that people with diseased lungs can live for years, and follow their usual avocations in life, provided they are relieved of the principal feature of the disease—the Cough—which shakes and destroys the very elements of the blood, upon which life is supported. How very valuable and important to all, then, must a medicine be which will arrest and cure so fearful a malady!

The directions were:

Dose.—One teaspoonful three times a day and at bedtime. It may be repeated at night, or at any time when the Cough is troublesome.—Children over five years of age, one-third of a teaspoonful.

The following appeared on the outside wrapper:

In conformity with the Sale of Poisons Act, 1868, this preparation, containing a minute quantity of Laudanum and Chloroform, must be labelled Poison, but its composition remains unaltered.

The preparation was a syrupy liquid of pleasant odour and taste, resembling diluted treacle. Analysis showed it to contain in 100 fluid parts, 61·4 parts of total solids; of this, 35·5 parts were glucose and 9·9 parts cane sugar, and 2·6 parts ash, consisting principally of calcium sulphate. Chloroform, referred to on the wrapper, was not present in sufficient traces to be detected; alkaloid was present to the extent of 0·025 part in 100 fluid parts, of which 0·015 part appeared to consist of the alkaloids of ipecacuanha, and approximately 0·01 part was morphine. The difference between the sugars found and the total solids would be fully accounted for by the non-saccharine portion of treacle; extractive contained in the preparations of ipecacuanha and opium used would also be included in this. Small proportions of other drugs having no well-marked characters might possibly also be present; there was no evidence of any further ingredients, but in the presence of so large a proportion of treacle small quantities of indifferent substances it would not be possible to detect.

About 1 per cent. by volume of alcohol was present; assuming liquid extract of ipecacuanha and tincture of opium to have been the preparations of these drugs used, the formula is approximately:

Estimated cost of ingredients for 3⅔ fluid ounces, ¾d.

STEVENS’ CONSUMPTION CURE.

This is advertised as manufactured only by C. H. Stevens. The price is 5s. per bottle, containing 2¼ fluid ounces.

This preparation does not appear now to go under any other name than that of “Stevens’ Consumption Cure”; as regards its past history, the following extract from Truth Cautionary List for 1908 is of interest:

Stevens, C. H.—The proprietor of a remedy for consumption which has been put on the market in South Africa and England under the name of Sacco, and later in South Africa as Lungsava, the recipe for which is stated to have been long in use amongst the Kaffirs and Zulus. In connection with the advertising of Sacco in England, an article which appeared in Truth was circulated in a mutilated form, omitting a condemnation of its sale as an absolute remedy for consumption. Stevens has acquired a number of testimonials from medical men, who must now regret their precipitate action. He is now in England on a new campaign.

The claims made for this preparation were put forward in printed circulars, and in letters, apparently printed in imitation of typewriting, sent at intervals to an applicant for particulars of the cure. Extracts from these are here given:

It has been admitted the world over that there is no remedy known to the Medical Fraternity to really cure Consumption, so it is preposterous to claim the ordinary drugs that are known to every Chemist even, to cure this disease, just because they are given a fancy name, and advertised by a Polish or a German Jew; it is not only preposterous but a wicked swindle.

There is no other treatment, drug, or medicine advertised in Great Britain to-day to cure Consumption, the ingredients of which are not known to every doctor and chemist in the world, and if you cannot obtain relief from these under the care of your own Medical Adviser, how can you be cured by using them on the advice of an American Quack.

Your own doctor will bear out what I say. Most of these American Impostors come to England after the U.S.A. Post Office Authorities have refused to convey their letters.

I do not say in my advertisements “Consumption can be cured,” “Consumption is curable,” or any such evasive remarks, but I say “I will guarantee to cure you if you are consumptive, or return your money in full,” and that my terms are “No Cure, No Pay.”

The African herbs which my Cure is prepared from have never been used by any white Doctor or Chemist before I introduced same to civilization a few years ago. These herbs are original and have defied our cleverest Analysts to discover the active principals they contain....

I only returned to England a few weeks ago to prove my Cure to the satisfaction of the British Government, having been absent for many years....

It does not matter whether a Doctor is attending patients or not whilst they are under my treatment, although I always prefer a Doctor to be in attendance to see the cure being effected because I particularly wish to convince the Medical fraternity of the genuineness of my cure.

From the first letter:

Usually two or three weeks’ treatment is quite sufficient to make a substantial improvement, and a three months’ course, in most cases, is sufficient to effect a cure.

From the second letter:

Let me send you a two weeks’ treatment, which is more than sufficient to completely stop the progress of the disease.

From a later letter:

In spite of the mountains of prejudice to be overcome, I intend to prove that at last something has been discovered that will destroy the Tubercle Bacillus without being detrimental in any way to the human system; in fact, besides destroying this germ, it is a strong tonic, and will invigorate a healthy body as well as bring back to its normal condition a Consumptive one....

Now you must know that throughout the world our clever Scientists and most Prominent Specialists on Consumption have for ages past spent their lives trying to find something which will destroy the Tubercle Bacillus without injuring the human system. They have had everything at their command; the most up-to-date Sanatoria, the cleverest Nurses, and the pick of climates, yet they have failed, though every drug and remedy known, including every ingredient contained in any proprietary medicine or cough mixture ever heard of has been exhaustively tested in every shape and form. My treatment differs in this one great respect, that none of the ingredients have ever been used before by any Chemist or Doctor, and are an entirely original discovery....

I will give any Doctor its formula who requests it, and will supply him free of charge with all the treatment he needs for experimental purposes, and you must see that I can gain nothing by doing all this unless my treatment positively cures Consumption, as I claim it to do.

On the back of the printed letter quoted above appeared the following:

GUARANTEE BONDS.

The following are specimens of my guarantee Bonds. No. 1, I give to any sufferer who is considered by his Doctor to have at least six months to live in the ordinary course of matters. Terms of No. 2 Bond have to be mutually arranged. I do not accept any money under this Bond until all the conditions are fulfilled.

No. 1 Guarantee Bond.

To Mr. In consideration of you having paid me £2 12s. 6d. for a three months’ course of my treatment for consumption, I hereby guarantee that your health has, at the end of the three months, considerably improved to the satisfaction of yourself and also of your Doctor (who must be a practitioner registered in the British Isles) under a penalty of refunding the whole of the amount paid, viz., £2 12s. 6d.

(Signed) C. H. Stevens.

Broadway, Wimbledon.

No. 2 Guarantee Bond.

I hereby guarantee that it will be impossible to find any trace of the Tubercle Bacillus in your system and that you will be completely cured of Tuberculosis (consumption) to the satisfaction of your own Doctor and the Government Laboratory on or before, ______________ 19___.

The only condition being that the sum of £_______, is paid to me when this guarantee is fulfilled.

(Signed) C. H. Stevens.

Broadway, Wimbledon.

These are “specimens” of guarantee Bonds. Another document, however, which appeared to be the guarantee bond actually given, differed in containing a clause by which the patient:

hereby agrees to take same [i.e., Stevens’ Consumption Cure] according to the directions sent out with the medicine, for three calendar months from date hereof, and to follow as far as possible the advice given regarding habits of life, diet, etc., and to fill in the form on counterfoil attached, correctly.

The “form on counterfoil attached” contained a number of questions to be answered by the patient, and also a portion “to be filled in by a Medical Practitioner after the above has been filled in by the Patient,” including such questions as:

How long have you attended to this Patient?

Do you consider this a mild, severe, or hopeless case?

Do you consider this Patient has a fair chance of recovery providing Stevens’ Consumption Cure is all it is claimed to be?

and on the back the following appeared:

This Guarantee must not be given by a chemist or any one else until it is signed by a registered Medical Practitioner to the effect that he considers the Patient to have at least six calendar months to live.

Thus the appearance was maintained of guaranteeing benefit or cure, and refunding the money if the undertaking were not fulfilled; but the conditions to be complied with were such that it appears unlikely that Mr. Stevens is ever troubled with applications for return of money under one of his “Bonds.”

A “detailed direction sheet” was supplied, from which the following is taken:

One teaspoonful in a wineglass of water (as hot as can be conveniently taken for preference) one hour before breakfast and two hours after the last meal in the evening, unless the patient be in the habit of waking between 12 midnight and 3 a.m., in which case an extra dose may be taken then. After the first week’s treatment half-an-hour before breakfast is quite sufficient.

It appears that the use of this wonderful substance is not limited to consumption cases.

Stevens’ Consumption Cure is a vegetable germicide, fatal to all disease germ growths, but acts as a strong tonic; is a blood purifier, stomach cleanser, and a nerve stimulator; one will readily understand that it must be all these to cure Consumption and build up a broken-down system entirely by itself. Stevens’ Consumption Cure can safely be advantageously given wherever a germ disease exists or is suspected.

One of the most recent circulars sent out by Mr. Stevens is addressed to medical practitioners, asking them to use his remedy in severe cases of pulmonary tuberculosis which defy all the ordinary remedies, and professing to give the formula of the preparation as follows:

Its formula is 80 grains of Umckaloabo root and 13 and one-third grains of Chijitse to every ounce, prepared according to British Pharmacopœia methods.

The medicine was a clear red liquid, and analysis showed it to contain in 100 fluid parts, 21·3 fluid parts of alcohol, 1·8 parts of glycerine, and 4 parts of solid substance; this solid substance contained about 1 part of a tannin and 0·2 part of ash, the remainder being extractive. No alkaloid was present and no other active substance could be detected. The solid substance agreed in all respects with the solids of decoction of krameria, or a mixture of this decoction with a little tincture of kino. The formula thus appears to be approximately:

or it may be made with tincture of krameria.

Estimated cost of ingredients for 2¼ fluid ounces, 1½d.

TUBERCULOZYNE.

The Derk P. Yonkerman Company, Ltd., an American company with an agency in London, charges £2 10s. 0d. for a month’s treatment and supplies two bottles, labelled respectively No. 1 and No. 2 Tuberculozyne, and containing in each between 11 and 12 fluid ounces of liquid.

The advertisement offered a book on “Consumption and how it may be quickly cured,” and a trial of the cure itself, to be sent free. Application for the book and sample brought bottles of “No. 1 Tuberculozyne” and “No. 2 Tuberculozyne,” holding about ½ ounce each, and a book of 48 pages dealing with the remedy. A few extracts from the book will sufficiently indicate the nature of its contents.

There have been found cures for small-pox, and safe precautions, such as vaccination, prevent the spread of the disease; the horror of yellow fever has been dispelled by a remedy that amounts practically to a cure, and one could always flee to a northern clime and escape it. The dread diphtheria also has yielded up its dark secret, and now is no more a stalking spectre; while yet dangerous it can be handled.

But through all these discoveries, consumption remained as mysterious and deadly as ever. It invaded the homes of the rich and the poor. It hunted out its victims among the inhabitants of the far northland of ice and snow, and it was just as persistent in the temperate zone and at the equator.

Climate, temper, condition of health or purse made no difference. One day the health and strength of the athlete, and the next day the fever of the consumptive; in a short time the frail skeleton would be laid away—another victim. That was the oft-repeated story of the “great white plague.”