VARIETIES. 
565 
any  press  in  modern  times.  Dr.  Horaninoff  had  visited,  last  autumn' 
Berlin  and  London,  to  exhibit  his  Icones  Sinicce  and  his  drugs  to  the 
learned  of  both  these  cities.  Amongst  the  specimens  of  his  collection  was 
the  root  of  an  orchidean  (?)  plant,  which,  resembling  the  human  form,  is 
sold,  by  the  superstitious  Chinese,  at  the  weight  of  gold.  It  appears  that 
they  know  sublimate  and  arsenic,  but  make  no  use  of  it  in  medicine.  We 
raay  judge  from  their  preparation  of  Indian  ink,  that  they  must  be  in  pos- 
session of  most  curious  chemical  contrivances.  They  have  no  medical 
schools;  abhor  anatomy;  but  their  medical  men  must,  when  employed  by 
the  Government  or  their  towns,  undergo  an  examination  from  their  old 
medical  authors  and  text  books. 
It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  knowledge  of  about  600  sorts  of  new  drugs, 
collected  in  a  country  extending  from  the  tropic  to  the  snow  of  the  Altai, 
will  have  an  influence  on  the  condition  of  materia  medica  and  medicine  in 
general.  The  analogy  between  such  an  expanse  of  country,  and  the  strip  of 
tropical  America,  whence  we  have  derived  the  Peruvian  bark  and  balsam, 
sarsaparilla,  &c,  is  still  increased,  if  we  consider  that  in  China  the  experi- 
ence of  thousands  of  years  is  to  be  thrown  into  the  scale.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  "National  Chinese  Party,"  the  offspring  of  European  influence 
and  initiation,  are  panting  after  European  instruction  and  teachers.  Thus, 
while  the  work  of  Dr.  Horaninoff  is  in  preparation,  the  medical  men  of 
Europe,  visiting  China  under  present  emergencies,  may  know  that  they 
are  on  a  spot  where  great  sources  of  scientific  and  commercial  importance 
are  yet  to  be  discovered. — London  Chemist,  August,  1857. 
Imported  Drugs. — Extract  from  the  report  on  the  Progress  of  Pharmacy 
made  to  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association,  September  1857 : 
"  As  regards  the  state  of  the  drug  market,  the  Committee  have  not  been 
able  to  obtain  such  data  as  will  enable  them  to  report  on  the  general  con- 
dition of  the  market  at  this  time.  To  do  this  correctly,  they  should  have 
access  to  the  books  of  the  inspectors  of  drugs,  and  be  assisted  by  the  large 
druggists  and  manufacturers,  sources  of  information  as  yet  but  partially 
accessible,  as  business  men  have  a  strong  dislike  to  giving  statements  on 
paper  in  reference  to  the  drug  trade. 
The  Examiner  of  Drugs  at  the  port  of  New  York,  Dr.  Merkle,  at  the 
solicitation  of  Mr.  Dupuy,  was  so  obliging  as  to  present  the  Committee  with 
a  complete  copy  of  items  of  drugs  passed  from  day  to  day,  from  June  1st 
to  August  31st,  inclusive,  a  document  of  25  pages  foolscap.  We  have 
carefully  condensed  this  list  so  that  each  drug  or  preparation  constitutes 
but  one  item  ;  and  all  the  quantities  of  each  kind,  after  being  reduced  as  far 
as  practicable  to  the  same  standard  of  weight,  have  been  added  together.  In 
this  way  we  are  able  to  present  at  one  view  the  entire  drug  importation 
at  the  port  of  New  York  ( which  embraces  two-thirds  of  the  entire  amount 
brought  into  the  country)  during  the  period  mentioned.  We  believe  this 
catalogue,  if  kept  up,  will  be  a  valuable  appendage  to  the  annual  report 
on  the  Progress  of  Pharmacy.    It  is  as  follows  : 
