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.