valuable as the latter. So unreliable are a majority of the fluid
extracts, tinctures, and concentrated, active principles found in the
drug-stores, that we long since found it necessary to have prepared in
our laboratory, most of those which we employ. To the reliability of the
preparations which we secure in this way we largely attribute our great
success in the treatment of disease. Tinctures and fluid extracts are
often prepared from old and worthless roots, barks, and herbs which have
wholly lost their medicinal properties. Yet they are sold at just as
high prices as those which are good. We manufacture our tinctures, fluid
extracts, and concentrated, active principles from roots, barks, and
herbs which are fresh, and selected with the greatest care. Many of the
crude roots, barks, and herbs found in the market are inactive because
they have been gathered at the wrong season. These, together with those
that have been kept on hand so long as to have lost all medicinal value,
are often sold in large quantities, and at reduced prices, to be
manufactured into fluid extracts and tinctures. Of course, the
preparations made from such materials are worthless. Whenever the dose
of fluid extracts, tinctures, and concentrated, active principles, is
mentioned in this chapter, the quantity advised is based upon our
experience in the use of these preparations, as they are made in our
laboratory, and the smallest quantity which will produce the desired
effect is always given. When using most of the preparations found in the
drug-stores, the doses have to be somewhat increased, and even then they
will not always produce the desired effect, for reasons already given.

THE LIST OF MEDICINES which we shall introduce in this chapter will be
quite limited, as we cannot hope, by making it extensive, that the
non-professional reader would be able to prescribe with good judgment
any other than the simpler remedies. Hence, we prefer, since we have not
space in this volume to waste, to mention only a few of the most common