xiv INTRODUCTORY 



that they grew upon certain seaweeds in the Pacific ocean, especially 

 in the vicinity of the Japan Sea. This led to the discovery that 

 agar-agar, now a common commercial article, had been employed in 

 the making of the jelly. 



Aim of Pharmacognosy. The ultimate aim of the science of 

 pharmacognosy is to obtain a knowledge of the chemical nature and 

 the properties of all commercial products, from their origin in nature 

 to the final changes produced in their manufacture. To attain this 

 object requires that the student in pharmacognosy should be well- 

 trained in chemistry. 



The term pharmacognosy was introduced by Seydler in 1815, 

 and is formed from two Greek words, $ap/xa/cov, medicine, and 

 Yvoiois, knowledge; and literally means the science or sum of knowl- 

 edge of drugs. 1 The most comprehensive idea of the scope of phar- 

 macognosy has been given to us by Fliickiger, who states that it 

 " is the simultaneous application of various scientific disciplines with 

 the object of acquiring the knowledge of drugs from every point of 

 view." The subject was unusually well expounded by Martius, 

 who, in 1825, published a work entitled " Grundriss der Pharmakog- 

 nosie des Pflanzenreiches," and may be regarded as a great pioneer 

 in pharmacognosy. 



Historical. Tschirch has well said that pharmacognosy dates 

 back further than any of the departments of pharmacy. He rightly 

 states that the old herbalists (rhizotomists) were really the first 

 pharmacognocists, and he considers that Dioscorides, by reason of 

 his writings on medicinal plants, was the first teacher in pharmacog- 

 nosy. One is sometimes tempted to draw a narrow line and say 

 that the history of the subject begins with the work of Martius. 



While it is true that Martius appreciated the significance of the 

 word " pharmacognosy," we must not forget that prior to the last 

 century and even much later it was usual for people to get their 

 drugs directly from the living plants. Up until comparatively 

 recently the identification of drugs was based on a study of living 

 plants, and it was necessary, therefore, not so much to distinguish 

 between the substances which were brought to market as it was for 

 those who gathered medicinal plants to identify them in the field. 



The work of the herbalists and systematists of earlier times 

 gradually merges with that of the morphologists of more recent 

 years. There has been a growing tendency to study not only the 



1 Henry Kraemer, " The Rise and Development of Pharmacognosy," Pharm. 

 Era, Oct., Nov. and Dec., 1912. In this article there occurs citation of the impor- 

 tant literature of the subject. 



