[AV] The so-called amorphous phosphorus is in reality a crystalline body and is more correctly called red phosphorus to distinguish it from the ordinary or yellow phosphorus. It is the ordinary or yellow phosphorus which is official as “Phosphorus.”
[1] This matter appears in “Nostrums and Quackery,” a 700-page book, and also in various pamphlets. Write for the descriptive price-list of publications dealing with the nostrum evil.
[2] From the circular accompanying a package bought over a year ago, we find the powder recommended for the following conditions: “For Leucorrhea, Gonorrhea, Vaginitis, Pruritus, Ulcerated conditions of the mucus membrane.... Scrofulous, Syphilitic and Varicose Ulcers ... for Spraying the Nose and Throat,... for immediate deodorizing and disinfecting ... for prickly heat, poison oak, squamous eczema and other conditions of similar nature.... As a deodorant and prophylactic in dental work,... for disinfecting offensive cavities ... for profuse and offensive perspiration, swelling, soreness and burning of the body and feet.... As a delightful toilet preparation after the bath and shaving.”
[3] Last January the national Food and Drugs Act went into effect; one of its provisions is that the label must not lie. This is not the exact verbiage, but it means the same thing. So, instead of repeating the old false statements, the new label of Tyree’s antiseptic powder contains nothing whatever about the composition; the law does not require that it should—unless the preparation contains certain specified drugs. Why is the formula omitted?
[4] Of Chionanthus Virginica or fringe-tree, the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry in its 1912 report on “Some Unimportant Drugs” said: “The drug is much used by eclectics and homeopathists, especially as a depurant in hepatic and syphilitic disorders.... The claims for this remedy are not supported by experimental evidence and clinical reports of its use fail to show indications of discriminating critical observation. It is not noticed by most pharmacologic authorities.”
[5] The Journal A. M. A., July 9, 1887, p. 55.
[6] The Journal A. M. A., April 21, 1906, p. 1220.
[7] The Journal A. M. A., April 21, 1906, p. 1220.
[8] New York Med. Jour., 1891, liii, 681–683.
[9] Bull. gén. de thérap., 1891, cxxi, 343–349.