ORGANIC MATERIA MEDIC A. 
4S7 
the preparation of Sulphate of Quinia. There is some inconsistency here between 
the Materia Medica and the part treating of the Preparations and Compounds. 
Rosa canina.— “The ripe fruit of indigenous plants, deprived of the hairy 
seeds (achenes),” is ordered in the British Pharmacopoeia. We have to remark 
here that the term achenes is wrongly applied to seeds, as an achenium is a kind 
of fruit,—that is, a pericarp with an enclosed seed ; moreover, the parts here 
called seeds are really fruits, and hence, if the authors of the Pharmacopoeia had 
said the ripe fruit of indigenous plants, deprived of the hairy carpels (achenes), 
no exception could have been taken. 
Rosa centifolia.—Rosa gallica. —The fresh petals of the former, fully 
expanded, from plants cultivated in Britain ; and the fresh and dried unex¬ 
panded petals of the latter, also, from plants cultivated in Britain, are officinal. 
Those of the former are properly termed Cabbage-Rose petals, and petals of the 
hundred-leaved Rose ; and those of the latter, Red-Rose petals. We notice these 
roses because mistakes have often occurred from the Rosa gallica being called 
at Mitcham and elsewhere, where it is cultivated, the Damask Rose, and the 
petals are frequently ordered and sold under that name ; but, properly speaking, 
the Damask Rose is the Rosa centifolia , or, at least, a nearly allied species or 
variety of that plant. To avoid any confusion, it is to be desired that the 
names by which the two roses are alluded to in the British Pharmacopoeia should 
be alone employed. 
Sabadilla. —Cevadilla is new as a distinct article of the Materia Medica to 
the present British Pharmacopoeia as compared with the last published London 
Pharmacopoeia, although it was formerly officinal in the London Pharmacopoeia 
of 1836. It was also officinal in the last Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, but not in 
that of the Dublin College. The officinal part is the dried fruit; which is said 
to be imported from Yera Cruz and Mexico. In the former London Pharmaco¬ 
poeia of 1836 the seeds were alone officinal; but as the Cevadilla of commerce 
always consists of the mixed fruits, pericarps, and seeds, and as the separation of 
the latter is a tedious process, the authors of the Pharmacopoeia have now made 
the fruit, that is the pericarp with the enclosed seeds, officinal. Cevadilla has 
been placed in the Pharmacopoeia solely for the purpose of being employed in 
the preparation of Yeratria. As Yeratria is only found in the seeds, it would 
be desirable to endeavour to get them alone imported, and they could then be 
made officinal. 
Some differences of opinion have arisen amongst botanists and pharmacolo¬ 
gists as to the source of Cevadilla. In the last Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia it 
was referred to Veratrum Sabadilla , Retzius, Helonias officinalis , Don, and 
probably other Melanthaceae ; in the recently-issued United States Pharmaco¬ 
poeia it has also been referred to the Veratrum Sabadilla , Retz. ; while in our 
present British Pharmacopoeia the Ascigrcea officinalis , Lind., is given as its 
source. Pereira states that he had never met with the fruit and seeds of Vera¬ 
trum Sabadilla , Retz., in England. So far as our experience goes, also, we find 
Cevadilla tolerably uniform in its characters, which accord with those presented 
by the fruits and seeds of Asacjrcea officinalis; and hence we regard the latter 
plant, as stated in the British Pharmacopoeia, to be the one from which it is 
derived. 
Sambucus. —Fresh Elder-flowers, obtained from indigenous plants, are alone 
officinal. The characters given of them in the British Pharmacopoeia are:— 
“ Flowers small, white, fragrant, crowded in large cymes.” In commerce the 
flowers are never seen in cymes as stated in the Pharmacopoeia, but separated 
from the stalks, and hence the cymose character would then be valueless. 
The other characters which are given are also entirely useless by themselves as 
distinctive peculiarities of Elder-flowers, as they might with equal propriety be 
applied to numerous other common flowers. 
It was evidently the intention of the authors of the Pharmacopoeia that Elder- 
