Stct. v.] ' Materia Medlca, S 



this branch of the materia medica by Chomel and 

 Geoffroy, of France- by Vogel, of Germany; by 

 Linnaeus> and his pupil Bergius, of Sweden ; and by 

 Alston, Withering, AVoodville, and others, of Great 

 Britain, are generally known. All these writers 

 have treated of plants with a special reference to 

 their medical uses, and the greater number of them 

 have delivered formal systems. But beside what 

 was effected by their inquiries, our knowledge of 

 the subject has perhaps been still more increased 

 by many of the other illustrious botanists mention- 

 ed in the preceding chapter. For while the latter 

 have laboured to distinguish plants from one ano- 

 ther, and to present them in a convenient method, 

 few of them have failed to pay some attention to 

 their medicinal virtues, and in man}^ instances to 

 make very interesting experiments of their effects 

 on the human body. 



The improvements in Minei^ilogy, during the pe- 

 riod under review, huve also furnished many new 

 articles, and extended our knowledge of others in 

 the materia medica. The eminent services ren- 

 dered to medicine in this wa}% by Scheele, Berg- 

 man, Klaproth, Vauquelin, and a large number of 

 other distinguished mineralogists, are so generally 

 known, that it is unnecessary to enlarge on the 

 subject. 



While the progress of natural history has con- 

 tributed greatly to the enlargement and correction 

 of the materia medica, the discoveries and improve- 

 ments in Chemist?'!/ have served still more eminently 

 to promote the same end. When the employment 

 of chemical remedies first became an object of much 

 attention, in the hands of Paracelsus and hi-' ibllow- 



B 2 



