INTRODUCTION . 
lxi 
indigenous drugs oE Bengal till the publication of 0 Shaugh- 
nessy’s Bengal Dispensatory in 1842. Before the publication of 
this work, information concerning indigenous drugs was scat- 
tered in the journals and transactions of several learned societies, 
which were not easily accessible to all members of the medical 
profession. Mr. Louis DaCosta wrote in the Journal of the Ben-^ 
gal Asiatic Society for May, 1837, “ it is a desideratum to know 
how the natives have treated the subject of medicaments — what 
of good their books contain— what of error. Our medical prac- 
tice pays, perhaps, too little attention to vegetable remedies, of 
which the orientals possess an infinite variety, many inert but 
many active, and many also quite unknown to Europeans.’' The 
Bengal Dispensatory supplied a long-felt want on the subject. 
This was followed in 1844 by the Bengal Pharmacopoeia. These 
two works form important landmarks in the literature of indi- 
genous drugs. They were not free from errors. Even the 
author acknowledged that his multifarious duties prevented him 
from bestowing that amount of attention on the subject which 
its importance demanded. But considering the difficulties he 
had to contend with, the scanty materials which existed on the 
literature at his time, I think great credit is due to him for his 
works. He was one of the pioneers in this field of research. And 
it should not be forgotten that his Pharmacopoeia of Bengal 
subsequently formed the groundwork of the Pharmacopoeia of 
India. 
The next work on the “ Indigenous drugs of Bengal” is that 
of Kanay Lai Dey. That gentleman is a well-known authority 
on the subject. In 1862, for the International Exhibition held 
in London, he forw.arded indigenous drugs chiefly of Bengal. 
The catalogue of drugs exhibited by him was subsequently pub- 
lished in book-form at the request of the Inspector-General of 
Civil Hospitals of Bengal. This work was a decided improve- 
ment on O’Shaughnessy’s Pharmacopoeia and Dispensatory. 
No other work on the indigenous drugs of Bengal deserves 
any notice. Mr. T. N. Mukerji’s “ Catalogue of Amsterdam 
Exhibition” is a useful one, but it is principally compiled from 
the above sources. 
