4 S 2 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. [December 17,1870. 
perfectly good any length of time, and it would 
always be known that a sound preparation was being 
dispensed. 
No general remarks of any importance were made 
after this until Mr. Barnes again introduced the sub¬ 
ject at the November Evening Meeting of this year.* 
His paper is valuable, inasmuch as he gives, I think, 
very good reasons for assuming that the time now 
occupied in making infusions might very safely be 
lessened. Like all honest men having the direction 
of a dispensing establishment, he is most anxious 
that all medicines compounded under his care should 
possess them proper medicinal value. He, however, 
doubtless sometimes finds much inconvenience arising 
from the length of time now occupied in preparing 
fresh infusions, and suggests the propriety of shorten¬ 
ing the time for standing. His reasons are at once 
apparent, for he finds most of them when so made 
contain the same amount of extractive matter, and 
appear, in every respect, equal to those made accord¬ 
ing to the instructions of the Pharmacopoeia. In 
many cases the time was reduced to one-half, and in 
some to a quarter of that officially ordered. The re¬ 
sults, I am aware, are not sufficiently conclusive to 
satisfy all minds upon the subject, but has not suf¬ 
ficient been done to stimulate further inquiry ? It is 
a matter in which we can all lend a helping hand, 
and I trust, as opportunities occur, we shall do so. 
Let all roots, barks and leaves be reduced to a state 
of comminution that will allow them to pass 
through a sieve having eight meshes to the linear 
inch; be careful always to have the infusion-jug hot, 
and make the infusions in quantities of not less than 
a pint; then examine the results, and it would not 
surprise me if it should be found that the time for 
standing can, in some cases, be reduced to a few 
minutes, and that not more than one or two need 
exceed half an hour. 
Dr. Redwood naturally defends the Pharmacopoeia 
instructions; but the fact chosen as an illustration 
of their soundness appears to me an unfortunate one, 
and might fairly be claimed by Mr. Barnes in sup¬ 
port of his views. Surely if men of such vast expe¬ 
rience as tea-tasters find that all the essential ele¬ 
ments can be obtained from tea by a seven minutes’ 
maceration, it is time for us to consider the propriety 
of altering our notions respecting our medicinal in¬ 
fusions. 
BRISTOL PHARMACOLOGY. 
BY W. W. STODDART, E.C.S., F.G.S. 
Twas on one of those glorious days of the month of 
August, when sunshine and fine weather were doing 
their utmost to tempt the sedentary, that the author 
succumbed to their influence, and wished for a dose 
of fresh air, with the exhilarating pleasure of a long 
walk in the beautiful environs of the good old city of 
Bristol. People were from home, some enjoying the 
sea-breezes of Weston or Clevedon, others the rocky 
cliffs of Ilfracombe or Tenby. Physic and its acces¬ 
sories were at a discount, and little remained to 
strengthen the resolve, and carry out the wish, for a 
day s holiday and relief from the cserulean thoughts 
that are said sometimes to haunt the too zealous 
attendant at the shrine of business. 
But where should he go ? Should it be the con¬ 
stitutional mile or two, that horridly mechanical 
... T- »«■ r. ■ - _ 
* Phakm. Journal, 3rd Series, Vol. I. p. 368. 
remedy for ennui and excuse for exercise? That 
thought was no sooner born than killed. What then 
was to be done ? The idea was suggested that a 
most interesting line of study might be afforded by 
an examination of the locality for what portion of 
the materia medica could be found in a natural state. 
So interesting and profitable did this investigation 
become, that the author was induced to narrate what 
he observed and collected, so that others might ex¬ 
perience the same pleasure in various parts of our 
highly favoured country. 
Bristol, be it remembered, is a veritable epitome 
of all that is good in opportunities for the study of 
natural history, geology, mineralogy, or archaeology. 
Few, if any, spots in the world can be found to excel 
it. Fine downs, magnificent cliffs, contrasting with 
low marsh-lands; fine woods, abounding in ferns and 
masses, lichens and algae; ditches of fresh or brackish 
water teeming with Diatomacea, Desmidece and 
other endless work for the microscopist,—all these 
offer their treasures with liberal hand. 
The mineralogist would be enchanted with choice 
specimens of rocks and ores, some of great rarity. 
The brilliant pyrites or galena, the sober calamine, 
the chaste alabaster, the sparkling Gotliite and the 
delicate celestine, all combine to form a striking col¬ 
lection for the cabinet. 
In short it is the neighbourhood in which such 
names as Bentley, Berkeley, Phillips, Buckman, 
Broome, Stephens and Tliwaites have revelled and 
laboriously acted out the idea of an old poet, though 
in a better sense:— 
“Nec tantum segetes alimcntaque debita dives 
Pascebantur humus: sic itum est in viscera terroe: 
Quasque recondiderat, Stygiisque admoverat umbris, 
Effodiuntur opes.” 
For the antiquarian, also, there cannot be a more 
interesting spot. Here may be seen the enormously 
thick walls of an ancient fortified city with the gate¬ 
way still extant, although built in the reign of 
William Rufus. Camps of the old Romans and ex¬ 
tensive monasteries are everywhere indicated. Even 
the remains of old Bristol castle are still visible, re¬ 
calling to the memory the actual building in which 
Stephen was kept a prisoner, and Henry II. received 
part of his education. 
The richness of the locality in plants and mine¬ 
rals is due to the variety of the geological forma¬ 
tions, seven of winch can be examined and easily 
studied within the radius of a very few miles. 
It is well known that plants occur relatively to 
the strata on which they grow. Thus Arabis stricta, 
Hutchinsia petrcea and others of the Crucifer a and 
Crassulaceee choose the carboniferous limestone; Epi- 
lobium lanceolatum , Campanula latifolia and C. pa- 
tula prefer the Pennant; Digitalis purpurea and Hel- 
leborus fcetidus select the sandstone; the marsli-land 
favours the Caltha palustris, Thalictrum minus and 
Nasturtium palustre. 
Some of the land is actually below the mean sea 
level, while the high table-lands and hills rise to an 
altitude of 700 feet. With such extreme contrasts 
in physical configuration, there is a corresponding 
variety of scenery. 
Westward the delighted observer meets with the 
magnificent gorge of Clifton, rich in geological trea¬ 
sures, or the Nightingale valley with its sylvan re¬ 
cesses. To the east the Cotteswold Hills, with the 
coast-line of an ancient sea plainly defined, speak 
most forcibly of prehistoric times. On the south the 
