Hahnemann
has stated that the most striking medicinal analogue of Gold as to its
curative effects is Platinum, which is " to the female sex what Gold is
to the male."
As we have told in our Kitchen Physic, "
The pulp of tamarinds possesses naturally traces of Gold in its
composition." This small quantity, though scarcely appreciable by
chemical testing, may nevertheless exercise a very positive beneficial
effect against those diseases in which, as we have seen, the metal
administered in material doses acts specifically.
A
century ago our grandsires quaffed " lemon-punch,"—in various
forms,—copiously. One such form was that of " quack punch" (much of a
favourite) made with gin, and flavoured with black currant whisky,
whilst having two pods of sweet tamarinds added to each bowl. Again,
likewise the cockle (Cochlea, a shell-fish), or " poor man's
oyster," is supposed to possess Gold, though infinitesimally, in its
composition, as derived from sea-water. It may therefore be taken as
an acceptable esculent towards helping to cure the same aforesaid
diseases for which tamarinds are to be commended. " These cockles,"
writes Yorke-Davies, (no mean authority), " are in their nature the
most delicious, and the most digestible bivalve that the sea produces.
Properly dressed, the cockle has only to be tasted to be appreciated.
Like the oyster, if it is boiled it is spoiled. The proper way to cook
a cockle is to put it in a saucepan without any water, except the water
contained within the cockleshell itself. It should come almost to the
boil, and then the steam cooks the cockle thoroughly. As soon as the
shell is open the cockle inside is fit to eat; and
