Syrupus Corydalis Compositus.—Compound Syrup of Turkey-Corn.
Related entry: Corydalis.—Turkey-Corn
Preparation.—Take of the root of turkey-corn, coarsely bruised, 32 troy ounces; the leaves of twin-leaf, blue flag root, each, 16 troy ounces; sheep-laurel leaves, 8 troy ounces. Mix the articles together, and prepare a syrup after the manner of making Compound Syrup of Aralia, using the same proportion of sugar to the finished product. It may also be flavored with some agreeable aromatic essence, as sassafras, wintergreen, prickly ash berries, etc.
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—This is a valuable alterative syrup, and is used with much success in syphilis, scrofula, liver affections, and rheumatism. Iodide of potassium may be added to it, in the same manner as usually pursued with the compound syrup of stillingia, to which this is by no means second. The dose is 1 fluid drachm, 3 or 4 times a day, in ½ gill of water (J. King).
Related Syrup.—Some sixty years since, a half-breed Indian called Ben Smith, in the state of New York, made a syrup, which gained considerable reputation as a remedy in syphilitic diseases, and which sold rapidly for $3.00 per bottle; the following is the formula for its preparation: Take of Indian hemp (Apocyn. cann.), Virginia sarsaparilla, inner bark of white pine, each, 1 pound; mezereon, 4 ounces; sheep-laurel, ½ pound; water, 4 gallons; sugar, 8 pounds. Place the plants in the water, boil for a few minutes, and then gradually evaporate, until about 2 gallons of decoction are left, then strain, and add the sugar. To each quart bottle of this syrup he added 40 drops of nitric acid, and 20 grains of tartar emetic dissolved in a sufficient quantity of spirits. The dose was a wineglassful 3 times a day. I have never been able to ascertain the true botanical character of the Virginia sarsaparilla. This syrup has been found as efficient in syphilis, when prepared without the tartar emetic (J. King).
