VI 



PREFACE. 



which belong to the Pharmacopoeia of India : the appearance of this 

 volume seemed to present a favourable opportunity for givino- some 



more 



Supplementary to these two groups must be placed a few substances 

 which possess little more than historical interest, and have been intro- 



com 



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 dis- 

 cussed, 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 consul- 

 tation of many works of general literature. The exact titles of these 

 works have been scrupubusly 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 acknow- 

 ledge the assistance kindly given them by Professors Heyd^ of Stuttgart, 

 Winkelmann of Heidelberg, Monier Williams of Oxford, Diimichen 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 last- 

 named section, as the subject deserves to be treated in a special work, 

 and to be illustrated by engravings. Written descriptions of micro- 



iThe admirable -work of this ^uthov-O eschichte des Lccankhandeh im Mittdalter, 2 

 vols. Stuttgart, 1879-appeare(l when the second edition of our Pl.annaco<rraphia was 

 already xa. the press. 



