REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1921. 101 
of consideration. According to this theory, the hay-fever victim 
has the faculty of decomposing pollen into its poisonous and non- 
poisonous constituents, and the poisonous part causes the troublesome 
irritation to the mucous membranes of the eyes and nose. Extracts 
made from pollen are employed for the purpose of immunization and 
creating a tolerance to pollen proteins. The public has manifested 
great interest in the exhibit illustrating the curative and preventive 
methods of treating this disease. Charts show some of the plants 
which cause the disease; enlarged illustrations of the pollen; how the 
medicine is administered; the effects of diagnostic tests on patients 
to ascertain whether their trouble is caused by plants maturing in the 
spring or autumn; and filled syringes of the pollen extracts contain- 
ing the protein nitrogen from the pollen of rye, timothy, orchard 
grass, sweet vernal grass, and redtop grass dissolved in physiological 
saline solution for treatment of spring hay fever, and extracts from 
the pollen of ragweed, golden rod, and corn for fall hay fever. 
The accession is made up of 15 charts, upon which 175 photo- 
graphs, specimens, etc., have been mounted. Several interesting 
additions will be made to this series. 
The arrangement of medicines by therapeutic effect is the most 
useful to physicians, but standard works (Pharmacopoeias and Dis- 
pensatories) contain an alphabetical arrangement of the articles of 
materia medica, because a physiological classification is a delusive 
guide, due to the fact that some medicines could be properly placed 
in several different classes on account of the variation of their action 
depending on the dose, combination, mode of administration, etc. 
The study collections of the division, which until recently were the 
exhibition series, are arranged botanically, and the therapeutic action 
is usually described on the label by group names, such as emetic, 
expectorant, sialagogue, etc. These descriptive therapeutic terms 
appear on many of the specimens of the exhibition series without 
conveying anything to a person not versed in medicine. So, with a 
view to making the.meaning of these terms clear and to point out 
some of the most used representatives of some of the well-known 
classes, an exhibit has been arranged comprising 26 groups. Three 
official medicines have been selected to represent each class depending 
upon the predominant virtue which they manifest and on account of 
which they are most frequently prescribed. The therapeutic groups 
shown with appropriate descriptions and examples are, alteratives, 
antispasmodics, laxatives, carminatives, diaphoretics, emetics, vesi- 
cants, caustics, demulcents, narcotics, cardiac stimulants, cardiac de- 
pressants, diuretics, anodynes, digestants, antiseptics, vermicides, 
astringents, sialagogues, febrifuges, styptics, expectorants, antacids, 
anaesthetics, local anaesthetics, and disinfectants. The Museum is 
