~ oie a 
~~ ae ee 
perietice on its effects in powder, spirituous, 
or watery extract; but I strongly suspect it 
‘will be found much less efficacious and more 
‘uncertain in these last forms, exclusive of 
‘their being, more expensive than the decoc- 
tion.” 
It is to be observed, that the salix is 
‘simply astringent, and scarcely if at all 
bitter : the author endeavours to shew the 
superiority of the astringent or tanning 
principle in the cure of fever over that 
of bitterness; he gives a few compara- 
tive experiments,on the antiseptic power 
of the salix in the manner of Pringle, 
compared with the cinchona and some 
other substances, and endeavours to as- 
‘certain the quantity of tannin in this 
fesseur aux Ecoles Centrales de Pari:, 
pp- 439. 
WHILST other countries in Europe, 
Gn which medicine is the most cultivated, 
produce their own pharmacopezias every 
ten or twenty years, it is rather singular 
that in France a reform, confessedly so 
’much wanted, is sotardy. The last edi- 
tion of the Paris Codex Was printed in 
1758, and a great proportion of it, to 
- judge by the nature of its contents, ap- 
_ pears at least two centuries older. 
The author, one of the most enlight- 
ened cultivators of pharmacy in Paris, 
has here attempted a plan of reform in 
some essential particulars, though en- 
eumbered with a heap of antiquated 
rubbish which he knows not how to get 
off his shoulders. His preface is mo- 
dest, and remarkably conciliating to the 
practitioners in medicine, who in Paris are 
totally distinct from the pharmacians: 
_© It is well known,” he says, “ that 
Many prescriptions are antiquated, that 
mew ones have been adopted, and that 
many which are retained are encumbered 
with useless substances. But who will 
_ pretend from his own authority to sub- 
tract an iota cut of the articles of a 
compound? Has any one been yet able 
to apply any theory exactly suited to the 
Action of a great number of prepara- 
tions? Does any one know what is the 
result of the enormous mixture of sub« 
stances which compose the. Theriac, for 
example? Let us therefore respect them 
as long as they are retained in practice, 
and whilst we daily see the success with 
which they are attended.” P 
_ However, as other. nations have ven- 
- tured to lay hands on these reliques- of 
LA GRANGE’S MANUEL DU PHARMACIEN. 797 
bark by the stire test of animal jelly. In| 
this last respect the willow stands very 
high in power, as indeed had"before beep 
proved by Mr. Biggins, in his experi- 
ments at Woburn, published about two 
years ago. It is evident, however, that 
bitterness is a most important auxiliary 
to astringency in the cure of diseases, which 
appears to have very little in common 
with the power of preserving dead ani- 
mal fibre, and the salix is really defec- 
tive, as a medicine, in not possessing any 
sensible bitterness.. It is, however, easily 
remedied, by adding quassia or gentian, 
and this new formula deserves a place 
in every pharmacopeia pauperum. 
Art. LVI. Manuel du Pharmacien, par E. J. B. Bourton La Grance, Pro- 
=) 
& 
c—> 
Jel 
au College de Pharmacie, &Fe. Se. 
Svo. 
antiquity, and have actually reformed 
their pharmacopeias, the author, rather 
than acknowledge that his countrymen 
are a little behind-hand in this salutary 
work, explains it by saying that the fo- 
reign practice must needs differ from the 
French, as neither the climate nor con- 
stitution of his countrymen will admit 
the drastics of Germany, nor the over- 
active remedies of the English. 
The work before us, though bulky, 
contains in fact but a small portion of 
original matter, full five-sixths of it 
being a transcript of Beaumé,-and the 
recipes of the Paris Codex. The most 
original part is (as may be supposed 
,from the fashion of the times, and the 
well-known labours of M. La Grange) 
that which describes the pharmaceutico- 
chemical processes, and these are mostly 
very good and accurate, Jn faé&, they 
are not original in this place, being taken 
from thé most valuable (French) che- 
mical works, and the former publications 
of the author. We shall, therefore, 
slightly run over the contents. : 
The first part of the volume is a 
pretty full materia medica, which re- 
quires no description. 
The preparations themselves are nert 
described in a useful order, taking first 
the simple substances, acids, alkalies, 
and those of the mineral king-lom ; .the 
vegetable kingdom follows,and engrosses 
the greater part of the work, for under 
decoctions are given all the individual pre- 
scriptions in Beaumé for ptisans and 
drinks of this kind; under alcohaly “are 
given all the tinctures, spirituous wa- 
