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:—