Page 4 Advertisements Column 1

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 6893, 3 February 1894, Page 4

Quack Medicines. ■♦ A skbieb of interesting papers have been published in a medical journal called Hygiene, in which accurate analyses of the leading patent or quack remedies so widely advertised are ruthlessly given. They are as follows :— The first medicine dealt with is Clarke's Blood Mixture, eight-ounce bottles of which, according to Dr. Taylor, the late eminent analyst, contain— lodide of potassium .. .. M grains Chloric ether 4 drams Solution of potash 80 minims Water (colored with burnt sugar) 74 ounces The chief ingredient in this is iodide of potassium, which ought never to be taken save under medical supervision, as on some constitutions it has specially injurious effects. The famous chlorodyne (a most useful and valuable medicine when taken at proper times and under proper supervision) was analysed by Mr. A. W. Stokes, F.C.S., F.I.C. He reports an ounce bottle of chlorodyne contains about 6 grains of morphia (hydro-chlorate) 6 drams of chloroform A small quantity Indian hemp 12 drops Scheele's prussio aoid And some treacle What you have to observe in connection with this is that whereas no chemist would dare to sell a private person six grains of morphia without a doctor's order, anybody can buy it (with chloroform and hemp thrown in) in the form of chlorodyne. Hundreds of women have, in fact, become slaves to morphia through dosing themselves constantly with chlorodyne. The wife of a well-known actor (according to " Hygiene ") spent £00 in oblorodyne in six monthß. The story came out through the chemist's bill being disputed. The advertisements of the Ravalenta Arabica, the marvellous food from the far East which boasts such wondrous curative, j restorative, and nutritive properties, are things of beauty and joys for ever. Hundreds of testimonials bear witness to the marvellous properties of Du Barry's food. It is therefore interesiiug to learn that, according to Professor Stokes, the public analyst, Ravalenta Arabica "consists solely of lentils ground up into fine powder." He adds : "1 could detect no other ingredient possessing any medicinal or other properties." On the whole, it seems unnecessary of Du Barry to go to the far East for lentils. Such things have, I fancy, been grown in Great Britain. Mr Stead has been many things in his time. Before the good man took up the Mattie remedies he loudly trumpeted the virtues of Sequah's •* Prairie Flower," a renowned preparation of " vegetable extracts and valuable Indian medicines " long in use among the Sioux, Cherokees, Comanches, and other tribes of North American Indians. Analysed by Professor Stokes two ounces of Prairie Flower showed : — Water „ 735 grains Aloes 105 grains Carbonate of soda 86 grains Tincture of myrrh A few drops Tincttue of capsicum .. .. do. Harmless this certainly is, and so is the " Wondrous Sequah Oil," which cures nearly every ailment flesh is heir to, and consists of turpentine two-thirds, fish oil one-third, scented with camphor. The analyst bought these Bealed up and stamped with the Government stamp, so they must be fairsamples of what the travelling Sequah agents Bell. Hygiene states that the fcequah travellers are, or have with them, experienced masseurs, and that it is by the aid of massage they make the temporary cures or give temporary relief often talked about. Only by failn could Prairie Flower cure rheumatism. The Holloway pills and ointment made a huge fortune for their inventor, who was the first patent medicine vendor to realise the üßes of advertisement. M. Dorvault, an eminent French chemist, analyses the pills thus : — Aloes . . 62 grains Rhubarb .. 27 „ Baflron 8 „ Glauber's Bait 8 „ Pepper 7 „ Aloes is one of the cheapest drugs in the market, and an aperient. It therefore »M»I»M»M»I»MtI»I^ > 4 THE r i i |i < GREAT > M AND > < O ONLY i < if / i't it */S** *f i f £^e * f > i **» w jf i i^rtn-.i.^j,. , j f $2 SEE THAT I ) YOU GET *f| K f K ] THE GENUINE 7L >< < K J ARTICLE (|| f