482 
LECTURES ON THE BRITISH PHARMACOPOEIA. 
Elemi.— We do not know any sufficient reason why this substance should have- 
been retained in the Pharmacopoeia, as it is but little employed, and varies much in 
its appearance and properties according to its botanical and geographical sources. 
At present, three kinds of Elemi are more especially known in commerce, namely, 
Manilla, Brazilian, and Mexican. In the Pharmacopoeia, Elemi is described as 
“a concrete resinous exudation, chiefly imported from Manilla.” It is also 
said that its “ botanical source is undetermined, but probably from Canarium 
commune , Linn.” Its characters are then stated, but these are certainly not those 
of Manilla Elemi, which is the only kind mentioned, although they would apply 
very well to the Brazilian Elemi; in fact, the characters of Elemi in the Bri¬ 
tish Pharmacopoeia are identical with those given by Professor Guibourt of 
Brazilian Elemi. If the authors of the Pharmacopoeia deemed it desirable to 
retain elemi, it would have been undoubtedly better to have distinctly directed 
one kind only to be employed ; and as the Manilla sort is that now generally 
imported, this should be alone made officinal. 
Eel Bovinum Purificattjm. —This is an entirely new article of the Phar¬ 
macopoeia, and as it is occasionally prescribed, although its medicinal properties 
are by no means evident, it was perhaps desirable to introduce it. It is one of 
the substances that should be placed in a Secondary List of the Materia Medica. 
Why Ox Bile was admitted and Pepsine rejected, we are at a loss to conceive. 
Ficus.—Among the characters given of this fruit, it is said to contain “ nu¬ 
merous small hard seeds.” This is botanically incorrect, as they are not seeds 
at all, but one-celled, one-seeded fruits, resembling achsenia. If the term seed¬ 
like bodies had been employed, we should scarcely have taken exception to the 
character in this particular case ; but as the fruits of Fennel, Coriander, Anise, 
Conium, etc., are properly so designated, and not termed, as in common language, 
seeds, it would have been more consistent, and unquestionably more correct, to 
have adopted a strictly botanical accuracy throughout the Materia Medica of 
the Pharmacopoeia. 
Filix. —The rhizome of this common English fern ( Aspidium Filix-mas, 
Swartz), improperly called fern root , has been used from an early period as an 
anthelmintic. It was formerly officinal in the Pharmacopoeia of the Edinburgh 
College, but not in that of the London or Dublin Colleges. It has also been 
officinal for some time in the United States Pharmacopoeia. The class of an¬ 
thelmintics appears to have found special favour with the authors of the Phar¬ 
macopoeia, for besides the present substance, three others,—namely, Kousso, 
Kamela, and Santonin, all of which are entirely new, have been introduced. 
We regard Fern rhizome as the most valuable of them all, and a very useful 
introduction to the British Pharmacopoeia. 
The British Pharmacopoeia directs u the dried rhizome ; collected in summer,” 
to be employed in the preparation of the Liquid Extract of Fern Boot , as it is 
wrongly termed. The rhizome is described as “tufted, scaly, greenish-brown, 
etc.,” but commercial fern root is never found in this state, but it consists essen¬ 
tially of portions of the thickened bases of the petioles, to which small fragments 
of the rhizome with attached rootlets, are found adhering. If the Pharmacopoeia 
directions be followed strictly, the thickened bases of the petioles or leaf-stalks, 
which constitute by far the greater portion, should be rejected ; but in practice 
this would be found absurd, and, moreover, there does not appear to be any sen¬ 
sible difference between them and the rhizome in their medicinal properties. In 
another issue of the Pharmacopoeia it would be advisable to order the thickened 
bases of the petioles together with the rhizome to be employed. 
Jalap. —The officinal part is described in the British Pharmacopoeia in accord¬ 
ance with the more general phraseology as a tuber, but strictly and properly 
speaking it is not a tuber, which is a kind of subterranean stem or branch, but a 
tuberous root or tubercule. 
