Tussothym, in spite of the wonderful qualities claimed for it by the firm producing it, proved to be a weak alcoholic distillate of thyme, diluted with water but probably containing another indifferent drug. It is advertised as good for all diseases of the respiratory organs, and especially for whooping cough. DR. B. ASSMANN’S WHOOPING COUGH REMEDY. This Whooping Cough Remedy is, according to the vendor, so complicated that it is only made by himself, and cannot be obtained elsewhere. The packet contains forty powders, twenty of which are marked No. 1, and twenty No. 2. The chemical analysis showed that each powder, weighing 2 grams, consisted of milk sugar (lactose). No other constituent was detected. CHAPTER III. CONSUMPTION CURES. Nostrums and quack medicines vary greatly in the extent to which they constitute deliberate fraud. In the case of some of them, it is easy to believe that the makers themselves have a certain faith in their preparations, and recommend them in cases for which they are unsuited with that bona fides which arises from ignorance, assisted, unconsciously perhaps, by an appreciation of the profitable nature of the business. Such preparations frequently contain some one or more of the drugs in common use for the complaints for which the nostrum is offered, and are even, occasionally, combinations compounded in the first place from a medical prescription which may have been found useful in certain appropriate cases. The injury to the public in such instances arises from the excessive nature of the claims made, the excessive price usually charged, and the probability of the advertised medicine being taken in cases for which it is quite unsuitable, when it may do harm positively by its effects or negatively by preventing the sufferer from seeking proper advice.