xlviii INTRODUCTION. 



significance are invented by villagers to satisfy the curiosity of 

 enquiring botanists. These names are of no use. Such being 

 the case, a knowledge of botany to critically examine a plant is 

 absolutely necessary. 



Besides botanical description and vernacular nomenclature, 

 illustrations of plants prove a great help in identifying them. 

 Though illustrations of several thousands of Indian plants 

 are scattered in the works of Rheede, Roxburgh, Royle, Wight, 

 Wallich, Beddome, Brandis, and Griffith and in the journals of 

 the Linnan and other learned societies, yet a very large number 

 of medicinal plants of this country remains to be illustrated.* 

 The sooner illustrations of these plants are made the better for 

 the cause of the study of indigenous drugs. 



After proper means have been taken to identify the medicin- 

 al plants, so that we are quite sure that we all mean the same 

 thing by the same name, we should turn our attention to the 

 study of their properties and uses. We may commence such 

 study with advantage, and it will be, moreover, of historical 

 importance, if we first of all take into consideration the uses to 

 which these plants were put in ancient 'times by the Hindus. 

 With this view, we should consult the medical works of the 

 Hindus, e. g., Charaka, Sushruta, Nighantu, &c. 



Nor should we despise the experience and observation of the 

 Greco-Arabic School ol practitioners regarding the uses of the 

 indigenous drugs. Thus the Taleef Sheriff (which has been 

 translated into English), is an excellent work on therapeutics, 

 and gives within a narrow compass the uses of some of the most 

 important medicinal plants of this country. 



We should also take into consideration those drugs which 

 are in much use amongst rustics and villagers, and of which 

 no account is to be met with in the works of either the Hindu 

 or Greco-Arabic school of practitioners. It is a pity that no 

 attempt has yet been made to collect information from the villa- 

 gers regarding the medicinal virtues of plants that grow around 



* Most of the above mentioned works, however, are out of print, and being 

 rare, are hardly w r ithin the reach of the most of the members of medical pro- 

 fession. 



