306 
FERRATED  ELIXIR  OF  GENTIAN. 
herb  of  Lobelia  inflata  does  not  include  the  root ;  and  when 
Epigoea  repens  is  wanted,  notwithstanding  it  is  not  officinal,  the 
astringent  leaves  only  are  intended,  and  not  likewise  the  creep- 
ing woody  stems,  which  are  destitute  of  astringency. 
Nor  is  this  all ;  occasionally  plants  or  parts  of  plants  are 
brought  into  the  market  under  entirely  wrong  names.  Most 
readers  are  undoubtedly  familiar  with  the  interesting  discussion 
on  saffron  at  the  meeting  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Asso- 
ciation in  Boston,  in  1865,  when  safflower  (carthamus)  was  ex- 
hibited under  the  name  of  saffron.  I  have  lately  repeatedly  seen 
what  was  announced  as  marigold,  Calendula  officinalis,  and 
proved  to  be  Tagetes  erecta,  the  so-called  African  marigold. 
The  florets  of  calendula  are  used  chiefly  on  account  of  their 
bright  yellow  color,  and  it  is  not  improbable  but  the  florets  of 
Tagetes  may  be  used  for  the  same  purpose ;  but  then  they  alone 
ought  to  be  collected,  without  the  involucre,  receptacle  and  fruit, 
and,  more  than  that,  they  ought  to  be  sold  under  their  proper 
name. 
Our  indigenous  materia  medica  is  undoubtedly  scarcely  ex- 
plored ;  there  may  be  many  plants  which  are  hardly  known  as 
remedial  agents,  and  the  future  will  necessarily  bring  to  light 
many  which  as  yet  have  attracted  no  attention.  To  create  and 
keep  up  confidence  in  these  drugs,  it  is  indispensably  necessary 
that  sufficient  care  should  be  bestowed  upon  their  collection  and 
preparation  for  the  market.  To  point  out  some  of  the  faults  in 
the  drug  gathering  of  our  country,  with  the  view  of  correcting 
the  same,  has  been  the  object  of  this  paper  ;  and  the  writer  feels 
assured  that  every  conscientious  pharmacist  will  agree  with  him 
that,  even  at  the  risk  of  increasing  their  price,  it  is  far  better 
that  they  should  be  collected  and  prepared  correctly  at  once, 
than  that  he  should  devote  so  much  of  his  valuable  time  to  gar- 
bling them  so  as  to  fit  them  for  their  medicinal  uses. 
FEERATED  ELIXIR  OF  GENTIAN. 
By  William  B.  Thompson. 
A  new  tonic,  under  the  above  title,,  is  being  considerably  pre- 
scribed at  present.    It  is  claimed  that  more  decided  effect  is  de- 
