patterns of peoples now extinct or whose cultures have 
been absorbed or destroyed by civilization. In other in- 
stances, they might serve to point out species which have 
not been used by man but which, on the basis of field 
observations, lead one to believe that they could be de- 
veloped as economic plants. It was felt that the accelerat- 
ing expansion of urbanization and forced constriction of 
natural areas make it urgent to gather and study all 
possibly useful species before living representatives in 
nature inadvertently are extinguished. 
Out of the entire body of notes extracted from the 
herbarium search, about 100 notes fall within the class 
of ethnogynecology as defined above. These 100 or so 
notes represent as many field collections and nearly as 
many species. It is likely that many additional species 
from our notes are employed for the same purposes but 
are unrecognizable as such on the basis of the field notes 
alone. For example, in the newly completed index to 
our notes, there are over 400 species described only as 
‘‘medicinal plants’’. There are almost 200 species which 
are reputed analgesics. Some 85 species are used for 
stomach disorders. Increasingly fewer numbers are em- 
ployed as astringents; against abdominal spasms; as 
aphrodisiacs; for treating anemia; in baths; and as 
anti-convulsants. 
Of the roughly 100 notes which are the concern of this 
paper, 389 have to do with the period after labor known 
as the puerperium. ‘Twenty-one per cent relate to treat- 
ment of venereal disease, not always indicating, it must 
be acknowledged, whether for males or females. Eleven 
per cent deal with menstruation. Nine per cent refer to 
‘‘female disorders’’. Eight per cent have to do with 
labor or childbirth. Another 8% relate directly to birth 
control. The remainder concerns galactagogues and 
plants used during the course of pregnancy. Needless 
