8  The  American  Materia  Medic  a.       { AjanJu°ary  Pi9iom' 
Comes  then  the  question  as  to  what  should  be  a  part  of  the 
materia  medica,  concerning  which  .the  doctor  asks  a  question  as 
pertinent  now  as  it  was  then,  to  wit, 
How  are  we  to  know  what  plants  are  most  proper  for  the  purposes  of 
medicine,  until  we  shall  have  examined  the  properties  of  a  great  body  of 
vegetables  ? 
Then  comes  a  plea  for  toleration  by  his  professional  brethren : 
I  wish  to  turn  the  attention  of  our  physicians  to  an  investigation  of 
the  properties  of  their  native  productions.  When  it  is  considered  how  little 
has  hitherto  been  done  in  this  way,  every  attempt  (mine  is  an  humble  one) 
should  be  candidly  received. 
Next,  in  a  cautious  criticism,  he  applies  himself  directly  to 
physicians,  informing  them  that  little  had  been  done  in  the  direction 
of  the  investigation  of  the  American  materia  medica. 
Skim  now  the  substances  suggested  by  Barton  as  being  worthy 
of  examination  and  their  sources.  Note  that  he  credits  alike  Indian, 
pioneer,  traveller,  botanist,  farmer,  attorney,  and  statesman,  mention- 
ing Thomas  Jefferson,  then  President  of  the  United  States,  as  com- 
mending a  treatment  to  overcome  a  disease  then  prevalent  in  Vir- 
ginia. But  seldom  does  he  credit  a  member  of  the  medical  profes- 
sion as  having  done  anything  whatever !  Note  more  specifically  the 
importance  given  to  energetic  drugs,  both  those  experimented  with 
and  those  that  were  promising  by  reason  of  their  relationship,  botani- 
cally,  to  poisonous  remedies  in  use.  A  few  are  kindly  in  their 
action,  as,  for  example,  cornus  florida,  boneset,  and  uva  ursi,  the 
majority,  however,  being  possessed  either  of  exceedingly  disagree- 
able qualities  or  of  very  energetic  natures,  such  as  emetics,  cathartics, 
anthelmintics,  vesicants,  or  bitter  tonics.  Thus  Barton  indicates 
his  self-satisfaction  with,  or  at  least  his  subjection  to  the  heroic 
theory.  In  a  lengthy  article  on  phytolacca  he  commends  its  investi- 
gation because  "  it  is  certainly  a  plant  of  great  activity."  The  fact 
that  Rhus  radicans  produces  such  a  terrible  eruption  as  is  the  case 
with  some  people  is  most  clearly  stated  by  the  doctor,  after  which 
he  indicates  where  and  how  the  decoction  or  the  plant  in  substance 
can  be  used  safely,  with  benefit  in  disease.  As  previously  indicated, 
the  trend  of  thought  in  those  days  in  the  medical  profession  was  to 
discover  substances  that  in  action  would  parallel  European  energetic 
drugs.    Senega  is  thus  hopefully  mentioned  by  Barton,  as  follows : 
