Pharmacographia

PREFACE.

PHARMACOGRAPHIA, the word which gives the title to this book, indicates the nature of the work to which it has been prefixed. The term means simply a writing about drugs; and it has been selected not without due consideration, as in itself distinctive, easily quoted, and intelligible in many languages.

Pharmacographia, in its widest sense, embodies and expresses the joint intention of the authors. It was their desire, not only to write upon the general subject, and to utilize the thoughts of others; but that the book which they decided to produce together should contain observations that no one else had written down. It is in fact a record of personal researches on the principal drugs derived from the vegetable kingdom, together with such results of an important character as have been obtained by the numerous workers on Materia Medica in Europe, India, and America.

Unlike most of their predecessors in Great Britain during this century, the authors have not included in their programme either Pharmacy or Therapeutics; nor have they attempted to give their work that diversity of scope which would render it independent of collateral publications on Botany and Chemistry.

While thus restricting the field of their inquiry, the authors have endeavoured to discuss with fuller detail many points of interest which are embraced in the special studies of the pharmacist; and at the same time have occasionally indicated the direction in which further investigations are desirable. A few remarks on the heads. under which each particular article is treated, will explain more precisely their design.

The drugs included in the present work are chiefly those which are commonly kept in store by pharmacists, or are known in the drug and spice market of London. The work likewise contains a small number

which belong to the Pharmacopoeia of India: the appearance of this volume seemed to present a favourable opportunity for giving some more copious notice of the latter than has hitherto been attempted.

Supplementary to these two groups must be placed a few substances which possess little more than historical interest, and have been introduced rather in obedience to custom, and for the sake of completeness, than on account of their intrinsic value.

Each drug is headed by the Latin name, followed by such few synonyms as may suffice for perfect identification, together in most. cases with the English, French, and German designation.

In the next section, the Botanical Origin of the substance is discussed, and the area of its growth, or locality of its production is stated. Except in a few instances, no attempt has been made to furnish botanical descriptions of the plants to which reference is made. Such information may readily be obtained from original and special sources, of which we have quoted some of the most important.

Under the head of History, the authors have endeavoured to trace the introduction of each substance into medicine, and to bring forward other points in connection therewith, which have not hitherto been much noticed in any recent work. This has involved researches which have been carried on for several years, and has necessitated the consultation of many works of general literature. The exact titles of these works have been scrupulously preserved, in order to enable the reader to verify the statements made, and to prosecute further historical inquiries. In this portion of their task, the authors have to acknowledge the assistance kindly given them by Professors Heyd1 of Stuttgart, Winkelmann of Heidelberg, Monier Williams of Oxford, Dümichen of Strassburg; and on subjects connected with China, by Mr. A. Wylie and Dr. Bretschneider. The co-operation in various directions of many other friends has been acknowledged in the text itself.

In some instances the Formation, Secretion, or Method of Collection of a drug, has been next detailed: in others, the section History has been immediately followed by the Description, succeeded by one in which the more salient features of Microscopic Structure have been set forth. The authors have not thought it desirable to amplify the lastnamed section, as the subject deserves to be treated in a special work, and to be illustrated by engravings. Written descriptions of micro

1 The admirable work of this author-Geschichte des Levantehandels im Mittelalter, 2 vols., Stuttgart, 1879-appeared when the second edition of our Pharmacographia was already in the press.

scopic structure are tedious and uninteresting, and however carefully drawn up, must often fail to convey the true meaning which would be easily made evident by the pencil. The reader who wishes for illustrations of the minute structure of drugs may consult the works named in the foot-note.1

The next division includes the important subject of Chemical Composition, in which the authors have striven to point out to the reader familiar with chemistry what are the constituents of greatest interest in each particular drug-what the characters of the less common of those constituents-and by whom and at what date the chief investigations have been made. A knowledge of the name and date provides a clue to the original memoir, which may usually be found, either in extenso or in abstract, in more than one periodical. It has been no part of the authors' plan to supersede reference to standard works on chemistry, or to describe the chemical character of substances which may be easily ascertained from those sources of information which should be within the reach of every pharmaceutical inquirer.

In the section devoted to Production and Commerce, the authors have given such statistics and other trade information as they could obtain from reliable sources; but they regret that this section is of very unequal value. Duties have been abolished, and a general and continuous simplification of tariffs and trade regulations has ensued. The details, therefore, that used to be observed regarding the commerce in drugs, exists no longer in anything like their former state of completeness: hence the fragmentary nature of much of the information recorded under this head.

The medicinal uses of each particular drug are only slightly mentioned, it being felt that the science of therapeutics lies within the province of the physician, and may be wisely relinquished to his care. At the same time it may be remarked that the authors would have rejoiced had they been able to give more definite information as to the technical or economic uses of some of the substances they have described.

1 Berg, Anatomischer Atlas zur pharmazeutischen Waarenkunde, Berlin, 1865. 4to., with 50 plates.

Flückiger, Grundlagen der pharmaceutischen Waarenkunde, Einleitung in das Studium der Pharmacognosie, Berlin, 1873.

Planchon, Traité pratique de la détermination des drogues simples d'origine végétale, Paris, 1874.

Luerssen, Medicinisch-Pharmaceutische Botanik, Leipzig (in progress).

* For further information, see Fluckiger, Pharmaceutische Chemie, Berlin, 1879.

What has been written under the head of Adulteration is chiefly the result of actual observation, or might otherwise have been much extended. The authors would rather rely on the characters laid down in preceding sections than upon empirical methods for the determination of purity. The heading of Substitutes has been adopted for certain drugs, more or less related to those described in special articles, yet not actually used by way of adulteration.

A work professing to bring together the latest researches in any subject will naturally be thought to contain needless innovations. Whilst deprecating the inconvenience of changes of nomenclature, the authors have had no alternative but to adopt the views sanctioned by the leaders of chemical and botanical science, and which the progress of knowledge has required. The common designations of drugs may indeed remain unchanged:-hellebore, aconite, colchicum, anise, and caraway, need no modernizing touch. But when we attempt to combine with these simple names, words to indicate the organ of the plant of which they are constituted, questions arise as to the strict application of such terms as root, rhizome, tuber, corm, about which a diversity of opinion may be entertained.

It has been the authors' aim to investigate anew the field of Vegetable Materia Medica, in order as far as possible to clear up doubtful points, and to remove some at least of the uncertainties by which the subject is surrounded. In furtherance of this plan they have availed themselves of the resources offered by Ancient and Modern History; nor have they hesitated to lay under contribution either the teaching of men eminent in science, or the labours of those who follow the paths of general literature. How far they have accomplished their desire remains for the public to decide.