HUGHES’S BLOOD PILLS.

These pills, made in Wales, are sold in boxes, price 1s. 1½d., containing 30 pills.

They were described on the label as “For all Blood, Skin, and Nerve Diseases.” In a circular enclosed with the box there was a dissertation on the functions and composition of the blood, from which the following extracts, with all their capital letters, are taken:

The Blood being therefore the Life of the living Body, it stands to reason that if it is poisoned, you poison the whole system, and eventually destroy the life of the man. When the blood is chilled, or distempered through breathing impure air, unhealthy food, etc., it at once gets disturbed, and breeds disease in some form or other. This is the cause of Blast, Scurvy, Piles, Boils, King’s Evil, Swollen Glands, Inflammation of the Eyes and Lids, Pains in the Sides, Back, and Kidneys, Cough, Bronchitis, Pleurisy, Rheumatism, Wounds in the Legs and Different Parts of the Body, all Scorbutic Affections, Cancer, Pimples on the Face, Neck, etc., and all Skin Eruptions, Chilliness, Headache, Indigestion, Fullness after Meals, Dyspepsia, Vomiting, Loss of Appetite, Consumption, Toothache, Neuralgia, Fits, St. Vitus’s Dance, all Liver Complaints, Costiveness, Yellow Jaundice, Depression of Spirits, Stitches in the Sides, Fevers, Epidemics, Plagues, Gout, Nerve Diseases, Lumbago, Erysipelas, all kinds of Inflammation, and most Chest Diseases.

The noted Pills, “Hughes’s Blood Pills,” act directly upon the Blood and Juices of all parts of the system, which they Strengthen and Purify. By so doing the Liver, Kidneys, Heart, Lungs, Stomach, Bowels, Brain and Nerves are renewed and toned to such a degree that their functions are perfectly performed, securing to the man healthy days.

Very lengthy directions were given for taking the pills for a variety of complaints, from which it appeared that the usual dose was one or two pills at night, or one three times a day.

The pills had a thin loose coating of French chalk; after removing this the average weight was 2 grains. Analysis showed the presence of no inorganic salts, except the usual small quantities of phosphate, sulphate, etc., found in the ash of most vegetable drugs. The pill contained a trace of oil of cloves and consisted of powdered drugs to the extent of about half its weight; ginger and cinchona were identified in this portion; a trace of alkaloid was extracted, showing the properties of the alkaloids of cinchona. A portion of the tissue, which appeared to be derived chiefly from a seed, could not be recognized, and a lengthy series of comparisons failed to identify it. The remainder of the pill was separated into two substances, which appeared to be aloes and jalap resin, but in each a mixture as this pill presented, the identity of these substances cannot be established with complete certainty. The proportions of the ingredients, also, can only be ascertained approximately; the following formula was indicated:

Aloes	0·7	grain.
Jalap resin	0·2	”
Powdered cinchona bark	0·3	”
”ginger	0·2	”
Oil of cloves	Trace.
In one pill.

CHAPTER VI.
REMEDIES FOR GOUT,
RHEUMATISM, AND NEURALGIA.

The medicines here described vary considerably in their nature, and to some extent in the complaints for which they are recommended, but no definite line can be drawn between them. Some are primarily for gout, but are recommended also for rheumatism; others are mainly for rheumatism, but are also recommended for gout and neuralgia; while others, again, are chiefly advertised for neuralgia and headache.

BLAIR’S GOUT AND
RHEUMATIC PILLS.

These pills, which are a British product, are sold in boxes, price 1s. 1½d., and containing 14 pills.

They were described in a circular accompanying the box as:

The great and universal remedy for the immediate relief and cure of Acute and Chronic Gout, Rheumatism, Suppressed Gout, Rheumatic Gout, Gouty Skin Diseases, Bronchitis and Asthma, Sciatica, Lumbago, and Neuralgia, and as a preventive or prophylactic where the disease has a tendency to recur, or attacking any vital part, as the Stomach, Brain, or Heart.

Other extracts from this circular are:

In all cases of Gout, no matter of what length of standing, they not only give relief from the almost intolerable pain, but where the patient has kept his bed for months, One Box will frequently carry off the attack in two or three days—in many cases of extreme torture relief has been obtained in two or three hours ... in those gouty skin affections, Psoriasis and Eczema, these Pills have no equal.

Blair’s Gout and Rheumatic Pills are not only efficacious in curing Gout, but in all those diseases allied to it.

They never fail. They always cure.

Directions and Doses.

For Gout and Rheumatic Gout.—Take two Pills three times a day, just after meals, and when it is very severe, take two during the night, and they should be persisted in until the swelling and stiffness have disappeared.

In cases of long standing, where the tendency of the disease is to recur, it is advisable to take a short course of the Pills as a preventive. Dose.—Two twice a day for a fortnight.

For Suppressed Gout, including Gouty Asthma, Bronchitis, Dyspepsia Rheumatism, Rheumatic Headaches, Lumbago, Sciatica, Tic Doloreux, Pains in the Head, Face, etc., they must also be taken, two Pills three times a day, just after meals, that quantity being generally sufficient, but in some cases a longer continuance of them is necessary, particularly in Rheumatism of long standing, but that will also be eradicated by perseverance in the use of these Pills. They should be taken from time to time also as a preventive.

Spring and Autumn. In these treacherous Gout and Rheumatic Seasons, to prevent a recurrence, sufferers are earnestly advised to take a short alterative course of this famous medicine.

It is requested, in case this medicine should considerably open the bowels, that it may be laid aside until that effect has ceased, when it may be resumed, beginning with a smaller dose. Patients are also informed that it is unnecessary for any aperient medicine to be taken during its use, unless they have been costive for some days.

The pills had an average weight of 2·9 grains. Analysis showed them to contain powdered colchicum corm, exsiccated alum, and an excipient. The quantities found indicated the following formula:

Powdered colchicum corm	2·1	grains.
Burnt alum	0·35	grain.

in one pill.

The estimated cost of the ingredients for 14 pills is one-seventh of a penny.

HAMM’S RHEUMATIC, GOUT,
AND SCIATICA CURE.

The Originator and Proprietor of this cure, who hails from the north of England, charges 2s. 9d. for a bottle containing 8 fluid ounces. It was described on the outside package as “The Greatest Remedy in the World. It has no equal for the cure of Rheumatism, Gout, and Sciatica.” In a circular enclosed with the bottle it was stated that:

It never fails to Cure those distressing and torturing Complaints, and in most cases has given relief from the excruciating pains by taking a few doses. This Standard Remedy has time and again succeeded after all other internal remedies have failed. Purify the Blood by driving the Uric Acid from the system and you will remove the cause of all Rheumatism, etc. Hamm’s Famous Rheumatism Cure has Never Failed to do it.

The dose was given on the label as “One Tablespoonful three times a day, after meals.”

The preparation was a brown, slightly turbid liquid. Analysis showed it to contain potassium iodide, sodium salicylate, a little vegetable extractive, and a trace of alcohol. The extractive was moderately bitter, but possessed no characters indicating the drug from which it was derived; it contained no alkaloid. Quantitative determination of the ingredients showed the formula to be:

Potassium iodide	15	grains.
Sodium salicylate	66	”
Extractive	28	”
Alcohol	Trace.
Water to	8	fluid ounces.

Assuming the extractive to be of the same price as extract of gentian, the estimated cost of the ingredients of 8 fluid ounces is ½d.

GLORIA TREATMENT FOR
RHEUMATISM.

This “treatment” is advertised as follows:

Cure yourself of Rheumatism. I will tell you how and send you the remedy Free. My combination treatment cures, not merely relieves but actually cures, cases of Rheumatism, Gout, and Sciatica.... The numerous so-called remedies offered to the public, through the medium of the newspapers, have absolutely killed all confidence; therefore, in order to make my genuine remedy more generally known, I have decided to give away a large quantity so that everybody can test for themselves the truth of my statements. My combination treatment consists of: 1. Gloria Balm, which Instantly Relieves Pain. 2. Gloria Pills which Purify the Blood and Invigorate the Whole System. 3. Gloria Tonic Tablets which Effect a Complete and Permanent Cure.... I earnestly ask every Rheumatic Sufferer to obtain a free supply of this medicine at once. Simply send a postcard request, and a supply will reach you in less than 24 hours.

Application to the address given brought sample boxes of the pills and tablets only, accompanied by a booklet entitled “Rheumatism and Gout, Causes and Cure,” and a letter of the usual type, as indicated by the following extracts:

I was very pleased to receive your communication this morning, as having suffered from the terrible disease with which you are afflicted myself it naturally affords me a great deal of gratification to be able to place in the hands of every sufferer a genuine remedy for it—a remedy which cured me and has cured many thousands of others besides....

It is, as I have often heard it described by persons bubbling over with gratitude for their relief from the above distressing ailments, Nature’s very own cure for Rheumatism and Gout. The danger of allowing the poisonous acids which cause these diseases to continue their work day by day in the body cannot be exaggerated....

Before closing this letter I once more beg to impress upon you the danger of delay in commencing the treatment, especially as applied to your particular case.

Since “Gloria Balsam” was apparently not thought sufficiently important for a sample to be sent, supplies were obtained of the tablets and pills only for examination.

Gloria Tonic, price 4s. 6d. a box, containing 50 tablets, was described on the box as “a scientific preparation for the cure of all uric acid ailments, including Rheumatism and Gout, Lumbago, Sciatica, Scrofula, and all other diseases resulting from Impurities of the Blood.” This rather wide claim was somewhat at variance with statements made in the booklet, from which a few extracts may be given:

It was with the object of curing all rheumatism that I introduced “Gloria Tonic” to the public, and I believe that it is a task worthy of the cause. I do not propose to make the attempt with a remedy similar to the many thousands of cure-alls with which the market is overloaded, but with a true and reliable rheumatism specific—“Gloria Tonic.”

I am not offering you a remedy of that kind, but one which is solely compounded for the cure of rheumatism, one that has been tested in Hospitals and Sanatoriums, one that has the endorsement of physicians and University professors, and, above all, one which has already enabled many hundreds of persons to abandon crutch and cane. Do not wonder if this can be true. The foregoing statement is an absolute fact....

I could easily get many times 4s. 6d. for a box of “Gloria Tonic,” but it is my purpose not so much to accumulate wealth as to benefit suffering mankind....

“Gloria Tonic” is to-day the only remedy on the market that cures all forms of rheumatism effectively, and without destroying the delicate tissues of the Heart, Stomach, Liver, and Kidneys....

The merit of this remedy is unapproachable. I have no object in telling you this aside from having your interests at heart, and wish to protect you against the many harmful drugs. You need not have any fear in taking “Gloria Tonic” as directed, while the smallest dose of other rheumatic remedies might harm you.

The directions were:

For adults: From one-half to one tablet is a dose, and four doses should be taken daily as follows: Half to one tablet before the morning, noon, and evening meal, and on retiring.... Dose for children from 10 to 15 years, one half-tablet. From 5 to 10 years, one-quarter of a tablet. Below these years, the medicine should not be given.

The average weight of the tablets was 11·2 grains; among 12 weighed separately the weights varied from 10·5 to 12·5 grains. Analysis showed the presence of potassium iodide, guaiacum resin, extract of liquorice, powdered liquorice, starch, mineral matter—apparently a mixture of talc and kaolin—a resinoid substance, and a trace of alkaloid. The alkaloid amounted to 0·016 per cent.; it did not agree in properties with any of the common alkaloids, but agreed, so far as it was practicable to examine it, with the alkaloid of phytolacca (the American weed, poke-root, or pokeberry); the resinoid also agreed in its properties with the resinoid phytolaccin, but there are no distinctive tests by which its identity could be certainly established. The quantities of the various ingredients were estimated as accurately as possible, and the following formula was indicated:

Potassium iodide	1·8	grains.
Guaiacum resin	0·8	grain.
Extract of liquorice	1·0	”
Resinoid (phytolaccin?)	0·9	”
Powdered liquorice	1·7	grains.
Rice starch	2·0	”
Talc and kaolin	2·1	”
In one tablet.

In the formula the most expensive ingredient is the phytolaccin, which is also the least certain, both as to identity and quantity. Taking the formula here given, the estimated cost of the ingredients for 50 tablets is 8d.

Gloria Pills, price 1s. 1½d. per box, containing 40 pills, in addition to being supplied as part of the “treatment” for rheumatism, were recommended as a general laxative. It was stated in the circular enclosed with them that “Gloria Laxative Pills will cure Constipation, Torpid Liver, Piles, Headache, Dizziness, Sour Eructation, Heartburn, Bloating, Flatulence, Nausea, Sleeplessness, Mental Depression, Palpitation of the Heart, Nervousness, Kidney Trouble, and all other conditions resulting from Dyspepsia and Indigestion.”

The pills were coated with talc, coloured to a chocolate colour with oxide of iron. After removal of the coating, the average weight was 1·1 grains. Analysis showed the constituents to be chiefly extracts and resins. The two samples of pills examined—namely, the gratis sample of eight pills first supplied, and the full box afterwards obtained—differed materially in composition; the former contained about 25 per cent. of powdered liquorice, 6 or 8 per cent. of powdered rhubarb, and 6 or 8 per cent. of wheat flour, while the latter contained neither liquorice nor rhubarb, and proportionately more of the soluble constituents, which appeared to consist in both cases of extracts of aloes and cascara sagrada with jalap resin. The various constituents were estimated quantitatively, but in such a mixture exact results are of course unattainable, and even the qualitative results must be given with a certain reservation. The formula indicated for the pills in the 1s. 1½d. box was:

Extract of	cascara sagrada	0·3	grain.
”	Socotrine aloes	0·5	”
Jalap resin		0·07	”
Flour		q.s.
Excipient		q.s.

in one pill.

Estimated cost of ingredients for 40 pills, ½d.