THE MISSION OF PHARMACOGNOSY. 7 
or piperidine play an important part in modern medicine, 
although the former constituted for centuries the most important 
of all spices, and still maintains, as a condiment, a prominent po- 
sition in the world’s commerce. Pharmacognosy would not 
completely fulfil its mission if such circumstances were not taken 
into consideration; and a similar statement might be made 
regarding cacao, tea, coffee, coca, cola, guarana, and mate. 
Important medicinal substances become more clearly intelli- 
gible when they are compared with others which may in them- 
selves be insignificant; and herein also lies both a demand and a 
justification for pharmacognosy to occasionally extend its do- 
main in an apparently unnecessary manner. ‘Thus the so-called 
spurious Cinchona barks for a long time presented only subordi- 
nate interest, but the consideration of their structure was 
admirably adapted for the demonstration of the varying peculi- 
arities of those barks which alone furnished quinine and the 
allied alkaloids until the Cinchona cuprea appeared in the mar- 
ket (since 1880), and proved that these bases are by no means 
confined to the true Cinchona barks. 
Hence there are various considerations which are liable to 
extend the compass of pharmacognosy. On the other hand, there 
are cases where substances which apparently belong here may be 
permitted to remain unconsidered. This may occur in such 
cases, for instance, where chemistry alone is capable of affording 
an exhaustive characterization. In the fats, wax, volatile oils, 
and the several varieties of sugar, the purely chemical properties 
are of such eminent importance that pharmacognosy can only in 
exceptional cases find motives to complete their characteristics in — 
other directions. This task must be relegated to those depart- 
ments which concern themselves with the chemico-technical or 
commercial knowledge of such products, for even the latter has — 
for some years past likewise experienced the most substantial 
advancement.’ The latter has been materially aided by the 
1 See Wiesner, ‘‘ Die Rohstoffe des Pflanzenreiches,” Leipzig, 1873, andl aes 
the collective work begun in 1882 by Benedikt and eight associates, oS 
_ * Allgemeine Waaren- und Rohstofflehre,” Cassel and Berlin, Fischer. _ 
The fifth volume —— “Die iiasalae und saconmoanenians aus dem : 
