242 
INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 
variety of objects are brought before the mind, the history 
of which connects them with almost every country and peo- 
ple, whilst their qualities are often so striking and curious, as 
to invite examination. It was such circumstances and ob- 
jects, aided by the mysterious workings of the chemical laws, 
that prepared the foundation of that love and search for 
scientific truth in the apothecary's boys of Penzeance and 
Gottenberg, which resulted in a Davy and a Scheele. 
The natural history of the Materia Medica is intimately 
interwoven with that of the kingdoms of nature and the 
Naturalist has largely contributed to extend its borders. 
The arid deserts, the luxuriant deltas, and sombre forests of 
the tropics, the moss covered and icy rocks of the extreme 
North, the highest mountains and the deepest oceans, all 
yield their tribute to the healing art; and the pharmaceutist 
finds collected around him, through the agency of com- 
merce, these diversified productions of every clime. 
To understand their characters and derivation tie has to 
familiarize himself with Botany, Zoology and Mineralogy, 
which alone are able to determine them with correctness ; 
whilst in the laws of chemistry and physics, he obtains an 
exhaustless power to combine and fashion them into the 
numerous compounds and conditions which constitute and 
characterize the catalogue of medicines. 
The pursuit of those sciences, for themselves, presents a 
broad field for the intellectual powers, and the apothecary, 
occupying a point toward which they converge in lend- 
ing their aid in the cause of humanity, enjoys a position 
which enables him, when disposed,to choose from them which- 
ever most accords with his tastes; and often without neglect- 
ing his daily duties, he may not only contribute to his own 
gratification, but by the accuracy of his observations may 
materially advance the cause of scientific truth. In his oc- 
cupation, he is constantly interrogating nature, and eliciting 
facts favorable to its object ; and where the performance of 
these labours is accompanied with research and reflection, 
