parasites

Mr. Lewis's Incomparable Sheep-Drench

Although Mr Lewis admits in this ad that the causes of sheep rot were imperfectly understood, he is on the right lines when he refers to “insects in the liver.” The liver fluke, Fasciola hepatica L. was often noticed in sheep that had died of the rot, but there was a lot of controversy as to whether they were a […]

Kernick's Vegetable Worm Lozenges

S. P. Kernick had two main products – the worm lozenges advertised here and the “Vegetable Pills,” which were for headaches, bilious attacks and constipation. Although the medicines weren’t widely advertised beyond the Cardiff area, they were still going strong at the end of the 19th century. . K E R N I […]

Basil Burchell's Purging Sugar Plumbs for Worms

Here we have an early example of the grocer’s apostrophe. Basil Burchell was well-known not only for his Worm medicine (which was for getting rid of worms, not for making worms feel better, in case you were wondering) but also for the famous Anodyne Necklace, supposed to soothe teething babies. More about the necklace another time, […]

Laffere's Worm Powders

I’ve been looking forward to this one. It’s the most disgusting advert I’ve posted so far. DO NOT read it if you are eating. WORMS! WORMS! WORMS! LAFFERE’S WORM POWDERS are the best remedy for worms; they effect a certain cure, are tasteless, and at the same time are perfectly harmless. As a […]