74 



NA TURE 



[December 21, 1899 



On the other hand, in those species which have come 

 under his personal observation — and these embrace a 

 very large proportion of the whole — his descriptions are 

 admirable. We read them with the confidence that they 

 are accurate and drawn from nature ; they give us new 

 information and a graphic picture of many species which 

 have seldom or never been recorded in Europe, and it is 

 needless to say that the measurement of spores can be 

 entirely relied upon. 



To those who are within reach of the University of 

 Iowa, the fact that the species described are represented 

 by type specimens in the herbarium of that institution 

 is of the utmost value ; for, however excellent the de- 

 scription, it is to the type itself that we must fall back as 

 the last resource when so much depends on minute 

 microscopical examination. 



The physiology of the Myxomycetes does not appear 

 to have received the careful study in Iowa which we may 

 hope for in the future, considering the wealth of material 

 which the region affords. On more than one occasion 

 Prof. McBride refers to formation of spores as preceding 

 that of the capillitium. On p. io8 he says, in speaking 

 of the capillitium : 



" It is necessary to recall the fact that in the best case 

 all such structures of the fructification are but forms of 

 the residue after the formation of the spores." 



A laboratory exp eriment of no great difficulty shows, 

 by a series of stained preparations of maturing sporangia, 

 that the capillitium material, together with the calcareous 

 matter when present, is separated from the spore-plasma 

 before the karyokinetic division of the nuclei takes place 

 preparatory to the formation of the spores ; thus the 

 capillitium is formed before the spores. 



With regard to the systematic part. Prof. McBride's 

 work must take a pre-eminent position as a guide for 

 students in America, and its value will not be confined 

 to those on the other side of the Atlantic. We lay the 

 book down' with a refreshing sense that it is a trustworthy 

 history written in a pleasing manner by one who has a 

 wide grasp of his subject. 



A NEW MATERIA MEDIC A. 

 An Introduction to the Study of Materia Medica. Being 

 a short account of the more important crude drugs of 

 vegetable and animal origin. By Henry G. Greenish, ' 

 F.I.C., F.L.S. With 213 illustrations. Pp. xxi-f5ii. 

 (London : J. and A. Churchill, 1899.) 

 •T^HE position of Mr. Greenish as Professor of Materia 

 J- Medica and Pharmacy to the Pharmaceutical Society 

 of Great Britain has enabled him to produce in the book 

 before us a very useful aid to the students attending his 

 lectures, as well as a valuable handbook to the subject 

 for the use of those of riper years. In his preface the 

 author is careful to explain the meaning of the term 

 Materia Medica, and to qualify the meaning of the words 

 "crude drugs" as distinct from those that have been 

 subjected to preparation. In this connection he says : 



"The term Materia Medica literally interpreted signi- 

 fies all remedial agents of whatever kind, but it is more 

 commonly used to designate that department of medicine 

 devoted to the consideration of simple medicinal sub- 

 NO. 1573, VOL. 61] 



stances known as 'drugs.' In medicme the term i& 

 usually employed in this sense, but in pharmacy it is- 

 generally understood to include only those drugs that are 

 derived from the animal and vegetable kingdoms, and 

 have not undergone any process of elaboration whereby 

 their characters have been materially altered ; such drugs 

 are termed crude drugs. Thus the poppy capsule is a 

 crude drug, and opium, which consists of the dried latex 

 of the unripe capsule, is also classed as a crude drug ; but 

 the alkaloid morphine, which is the chief constituent of 

 opium, and can be extracted from it only by a comparatively 

 elaborate process, is not regarded as such. Similarly the 

 resins, oleo-resins, gum-resins, various dried juices, &c,,. 

 are included amongst the crude drugs. The term is also 

 extended to certain vegetable extracts imported from dis- 

 tant countries in which alone they are prepared, even if 

 they have been partially purified, as, for instance, Cutch 

 and Gambier, although similar extracts prepared in this 

 country would no longer be considered as crude drugs." 



This explanation will serve to show the nature and 

 aim of Mr. Greenish's work, which is carried through 

 with much distinctness, and each subject is treated in 

 the clearest possible manner and on the same system 

 throughout. 



The arrangement of the subjects under the headings 

 of leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, woods, barks, resins, oils, 

 and so on, is a novel one in works of this kind, so far as 

 English publications are concerned, and for students' 

 purposes it is perhaps the best that could be adopted, 

 especially with the aid of the tabular classification ac- 

 cording to the natural orders; which Mr. Greenish gives 

 at the end of the book ; but we are inclined to think that 

 this classification would have been more useful, es- 

 pecially to those with a botanical knowledge, had it been 

 arranged in scientific sequence rather than alphabetical, 

 and, further, to have separated the plant products from, 

 those of animal origin. This classification, however, 

 will be found of much use, inasmuch as one sees at a 

 glance what medicinal plants are included in any given, 

 order, together with a statement as to what part of the 

 plant is used and a reference to. the page where the 

 description is to be found. 



That the arrangement of each individual subject under 

 its special head is the best that could have been devised 

 there can be no possible doubt. Each drug appears first 

 under its English name, as, for instance. Red Rose Petals 

 in large capitals, followed by its Latin equivalent Petala 

 Rosae Gallicaej or, again. Foxglove leaves. Folia 

 digitalis. Following these are paragraphs under the 

 heads of source, &c., description, constituents, and uses, 

 and, where necessary, substitutes and adulterations. The 

 whole is written in such a clear style, and in such plain 

 language, that there is no difficulty in understanding at 

 once what is intended. Moreover, the summing up of 

 the description and the points to be observed by the 

 student are terse yet sufficient, and being printed in 

 italics at once catch the student's eye. Thus under 

 Chiretta {Swertia Chirata) the following occurs : 

 " The student should observe — 



{a) The purplish-brown colour of the stem. 

 {b) The large continuous pith. 

 {c) The intensely bitter taste. 

 {d) The opposite leaves. 

 {e) The bicarpellary, unilocular fruits." 

 The first three characters will suffice to distinguish the 

 genuine drug from other species of Swertia which some- 



