Science. HOMCEOPATHY. UNKNOWN. The progrcss of homeopathy for the last

Waikato Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1577, 12 August 1882, Page 6

Science. HOMCEOPATHY. UNKNOWN. The progress of homeopathy for the last

quarter of a, century h.is been very lapid, aud con.sidoniblc interest in tho science is excited, owing to the dispute that aiose in the cases of Loid Beacon-field mid President Gciifield hs to wlw ther allopaths should consult with homojopath.s. In America ifc has been virtually agreed that the two should consult, and this is a great step in advance for the homtupatha. In Australia tho science has also mdde great piogies&, and a recent step taken will placo tho homoeopaths on a level with their allopathic biethren. Hospitals are to medical men a first necessity, because it is in them that students can thoroughly master thoir pjofest-iou by practice aud cxpeiiment. The homcupathic body aro now building a hospital in Melbourne at an expense of £GOOO, and this will form the great .school of the colonies, from which studentb will graduate, and bo sent to all parts, thoroughly fitted for the work ; and with an education that could not othorwibo be obtained. JOironcous ideas exist about homeopathy as about a;sthetici&m or anything else. The humoiists arc to blame for much of this. They lead us to think that hoiiHL'pathy is a system of millionth dos.es and the like. It is nothing of the kind : it is a .system of curing by drug.* on a defined and scientific piinciple ; aud, after nil, the homca'pathio doctor and the allopath havo much in common, though working on diffoient principles The allopath often adopts the homoepaths method, without, perhaps, being willing to admit it, aud the reverse occms. Homajpathy is built up on the piinciple that like is cured by like, but thi-* expression is somewhat misleading if not proieily explained. The hom<up<ithists teach th.it the symptoms which arise in connection with a disease aro not the disease itself ; they are rather signs of tho methods by which nature seeks to exterminate the disease, and to icstoie the balance of the system. Having observed the symptoms, the physician soeits for an agent that will call into existence the s.ime class of vital functions that nature is employing, that will create symptoms similar to thoso that arise from the effoi ts of nature. In fact, the homtupath cays that, having found out what nature wishes to effect, he calls in drugs to help her. But now comes the great doctrine of the school. They maintain that theie is a certain correspondence between tho two powers posseted by each substance —the pow er of producing disease in the human body when administered in laige doses, ami the power of removing diseases, the symptoms of which aro the same as will bepioduced by these large doses, when given in small doses. Demonstration of this point seems easy enough, for a small dose oi arsenic will invigorate the system, a large one kill. This school claims that it finds out by practical experience the dmg that will cure the special disease, the drug that will only affect the paiticulik' part diseased, so that it Avill not interfere with any other pait, and thus the natural economy Mill not be weakened, an impoitant matter to enable iu tm e to hold up while the cure is being effected. In the olden times, a physician gave a number he medicines together, in hope that 'he would hit the one that would cure, disiegarding the fact that the otheis might be too powerful, and kill the patient before the drug had a fair show; indeed, he acted like the gourmand ; who, on being repioaohed for having eaten a miscellaneous) icpast, said, " It don't matter ; let 'cm light it out amour; themselves.'' In fact, the hoiwuopaths claim to use only the drug that will cure, and the exact quantity that will cure — not infinitesimal doses as the humorists would have us believe. inch are the principles of houvepatliy briefly described. In Austialia, as I have said homreopathy has made great strides, and the great homoeopathic establishment of Martin and Co. in Collins-street east, Melbourne, is the centre of a vast trade in homoeopathic medicines and appliances. In 1850 tho homoeopathic School was hardly repi evented in tho colonies. Old colonists will remember the little shop started by Mr Kidncr in Collins-street in 18<35. This little business passed to Mr Gould, of Gould and Sons, London, and from him to Martin and Co., who kept near the old spot, 90 Collins -street cast; but the circumstances are iudeed very different. The litfclc cabin of 1855, with one dispenser, has given place to a wpllappointed business establishment, employing over twenty hands in the manufaoture of homoeopathic medicines, and with agencies iv over 500 towns in Australasia. On a survey of the busines-f, one is struck at once with the very different condition." under which we now live, and tho enormous advantages Australians in 18S2, havo over those in 1855, owing to the improved communication. No matter where a man is, at Port Darwin or Freemantle, he has but to telegraph, wiite, or give an order to the local chemist or stoiekeeper, aud he receives back from Messrs Martin and Co., the required medicine In the old times this was not possible. And thus the man living in the back blocks, or the far distant settlements, is placed on the sama footing as the person in Collinsstreet, within cooey of tho establishment, and can gat drugs of special preparation, which none except a great firm with a large trade and perfected machinery, , which only a large business can warrant, could manufacture. I learned, on a re«. cent visit to , this establishment,'- that^ this system of order haa been perfected, and that the firm supply the most" distant 1 parts of Australasia ' aiid_ India, any 'as to 4he , exten'fcVof - the

residing miles away from medical help, especially where there is a family of children cannot be estimated. I took great interest in two matters, about which I obtained considerable information. One of them is moat interesting to our farmers and gardeners, and the importance of the experience of Martin and Co. cannot be over-estimated. All the medicines are made on the premises, it being their experience that many imported homoeopathic medicines are destroyed by tho voyage out, and Martin and Co. have experimented extensively on Australian p-rown plants, native and exotic. They have found that medicines can be made from native plants with comparative success, and their experimental chemist is devoting great attention to this branch. But the greatest discovery is that they have found that many exotic plants when grown on Australian soil have their properties increased, and are better than tho like in Europe. The experimental chemist pointed out the immense probabilities this makes possible for Australian agriculturalists in the growth of medicinal and fragrant plants, the cultivation of which makes whole provinces wealthy in Kurope, and I strongly commend the subject to attention. The other matter related to new remedies discovered, about which I was curious. Homoeopaths never use a drag until practicably tested and found eih'cacioub. Among the many introduced by tho firm is the one per cent, preparation of mtro-glycerine. The great remedy, however, which the firm state they have inttoduced, and which is now used by nil medical men, is Gchvmwum, •>emp"r vtrein> an extract of a new plant, used in neuralgic and nervous affections, and of remarkable efficacy. I often wondeied what homoeopathic cocoa meant, and for the first time had it explaiued. The firm have imported an extensive plant to make it in the colonies, and aio already one of the largest manufacturers Cocoa nibs contain a large quantity of fat or butter, and it this is not thoroughly extracted, the liquor will disagiee with weak stomachs. In fact, I have always detested cocoa since it used to bo forced on mo when a lad. It reminded mo of the tea wo got when the cows ran day, butter being used instead of milk. Tho manufacturers press out the fat entirely, and the result is a delicato drink that will step on the most delicate stomach. Great trouble has to bo taken, and the nibs ground fine and subjected to very high pressure. I saw a cake of " cocoa butter" expressed from tho nibs, which was just tho same as ordinary butter, only for the f nigranco. Such weie tho facts I gleaned from a few visits 1 paid to this great homeopathic establishment, and I must say I was greatly enlightened upon many matters, and many mistaken ideas I had formed removed, and Iti ust I have been able to intoiest and iusti uot the leader on a very important aspect of the medical science. D. F. B.