108 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [MAR. 21, 



Previous to the fifth century the knowledge of chemical processes 

 appears to be very scantily recorded, and what records Ave have are 

 so confused and mixed up with mythological and cabalistic ideas 

 that their true meaning- is very difficult to make out. 



But this process of distillation that I have spoken of — this subjec- 

 tion of substances to the effect of heat — led to a great many inter- 

 esting results, especially in the preparation of various remedies for 

 the alleviation of suffering in man. It was in the service of phar- 

 macy and medicine that the earliest discoveries were made that led 

 to the building up of the magnificent structure of modern organic 

 chemistry. 



Among the earliest workers in the preparation of medicines was 

 Galen, an apothecary, who lived in Rome about the year 150 A. D., 

 and his processes are the first that we know of for the preparation 

 of the distilled volatile principles of plants. Certain herbs and 

 plnnts were steeped in water and then subjected to the process of 

 distillation, the volatile principles passing over with the steam and 

 giving what we now know as distilled waters, such as peppermint- 

 water, cinnamon-water, and similar products. 



This process was not original with Galen, as it was probably 

 known to the Egyptians, and was obtained from them by the Ara- 

 bians, by whom it was also practised. 



This idea of getting the essence or soul of substances out of sub- 

 stances by distillation led to some strange products. Every imagi- 

 nable material was submitted to the process — snakes, toads, wolf's 

 tongues, and even human brains. 



Such crude processes continued to be used until about the seven- 

 teenth century. A change was then brought about in the methods 

 of preparing medicines by Paracelsus. This man was a curious 

 mixture of humbug and learning, but he was one of the first to 

 make extracts, tinctures, and certain metallic salts for use in medi- 

 cine. 



After the death of Paracelsus the apothecaries or makers of drugs 

 of that time became divided into two sects or codes of procedure : 

 those who followed Galen and prepared drugs from vegetable sub- 

 stances, and the disciples of Paracelsus, who used both vegetable 

 and mineral substances as they esteemed best for the particular case 

 under treatment. 



As in modern times, these sects of apothecaries had their disputes, 

 and the Galenites of Paris had an edict passed prohibiting the use 

 of any metallic remedies, thus seeking to crush the followers of 

 Paracelsus. But this kind of warfai*e was destined to be of no avail, 

 and the disciples of Paracelsus were ultimately successful in main- 

 taining the use of mineral compounds, and chemistry entered the 

 drug-store to remain until the present day. 



The first book on the preparation of medicines was written by 

 Oswald Croll, in the year 1(108. He was a physician to the Prince 

 of Anhalt, in Germany ; and it was the first intelligent treatise 

 pu1)lished on this subject. Later, Nicholas L^mery, a druggist of 



