to give a medicine in small doses, and at interva than to load the stomach with it in large quantit at once." If they thus spoke and acted in the da when remedies were mild, and had but little influer on the patient; if they then said-Salvia cum faciunt tibi pocula tuta, how much more should th golden rule be observed by us, now that the progre of chymistry has unfolded the powers of those simp remedies. I have no great opinion of the so-called nostrum but, as we are recommended to "prove all things, a hold fast that which is good," I tried some of the out of curiosity. The celebrated Morrison's and al Holloway's pills, I found, as I expected, violent pu gatives, which may, however, be employed with a vantage (?) by a judicious physician. I need scarcel observe, that they do not deserve the name of pan cea; neither can I advise any one, to take either them in the beginning of a violent fever, having wi nessed bad consequences from so doing. I have a ministered the above-mentioned pills, in small doses; als Warburg's fever drops, which are reputed good; an the reader may find a description of their effects and composition in the second volume. I was pleased t see in a Report in the Bengal Pharmacopoeia (1844 p. 147) that arsenic in very minute doses, recommended as a diuretic, which is driven off with the urine, may be again easily detected in it. It is highly probable. that if we were as well acquainted with the re-agents of other medicines as we are with those of arsenic, and if we knew where to look for their action, i.e. whether in the blood-vessels or in the nerves, in the lymphatic system or in the cellular tissue, in the gall or in the bladder, in the spleen, in the liver, in the kidneys, in the stomach, or even in the intestinal canal, we might then be able to detect their modus operandi also. In the Bengal Dispensatory, p. 162, it is said of Ranunculeæ-"They are extremely acrid and corrosive; and so unmanageable, as to be excluded from medical use by all modern practitioners." It would, indeed, be much better to desist from using such strong medicaments altogether, when they are employed in undiluted doses only. It is really pitiable when all other arts and sciences have made such important progress, that medicine alone should continue stationary; that its professors, from an unwillingness to investigate the nature, virtue, or proper use of medicinal substances, should fancy themselves bound to condemn simple yet efficacious plants to oblivion, as things which providence has created for the delight of our eyes only, and which are sure to injure us, should we attempt to use them! Almost all the plants which were employed formerly, have met with this fate. Where are the Salvia, the Ruta, Euphrasia, Imperatoria? As for the deadly poisons, Calomel and Opium! these glitter as fatally brilliant in the East Indian medicinal horizon, as they do among English physicians. How beautiful and true are the lines of Shakespeare O, mickle is the powerful grace, that lies In plants, herbs, stones, and their true qualities: If the bee can suck nectar from poisonous plant why should not man discover their properties, and d rive benefit by employing them as remedies for ills "In formica non modo sensus, sed etiam mens, rati et memoria." What vast medicinal treasures do th varied productions of the Himalaya Mountains offer t the inhabitants of India! Could they be made to ap preciate their value, how readily would they emplo them. As the efficacy of a medicine depends upon its being properly prepared, I advise physicians in India to keep such plants as the Ranunculaceae (which grow abun dantly in the Himalaya Mountains and in the valley of Cashmere, and which contain volatile substances in well-closed vessels. They ought to be prepared on the spot, either as an essence, or, as a conserve, and kept in a temperate place, secure from the decomposing rays of the sun. The supply should also be renewed once a year, at least. Such precautions are absolutely necessary, if we really desire to attain our object. Dried herbs, from the apothecary or druggist, are often ineffectual, from being old and spoiled. It must not, however, be inferred, that the volatile parts alone are valuable; brewers, from long experience, consider old hops more powerful than new; and asarabacca acts in its fresh state as an emetic, and when old as a purgative. Much depends upon the as also on the climate. locorum genera medicinae." 66 soil in which plants grow, Differe quoque pro natura Thus, Cannabis Indica grows higher, stronger, and more luxuriantly in Cashmere than in the plains of India, and has been monopolized by the Cashmerean government. The churrus is prepared from it, and sold in India, where it is mixed with tomakoo (tobacco), and used for the purpose of producing intoxication, principally by the faqueers, who smoke it through the hooka. Besides the hemp-plant, two other valuable productions of the country, saffron (Crocus sat.) and the putchuk-root (Costis nigr. Cashm.) have also been monopolized by the government. Notwithstanding this fact, and the proximity of the country, it is stated in the Bengal Dispensatory, p. 692, "Putchuk-root is brought from Lahore, where it is called koot, it is of unknown origin; it is chiefly exported to China, where it is used as incense," &c. (!) Twenty years ago, when I was still ignorant of what drugs were to be obtained in the Bazaar at Lahore, I sent to an apothecary in Calcutta, for Strychnos faba St. Ignatii, and succus sepiæ; instead of the first, I rereceived Strychnos nux vomica, which belongs to the family of the Strychnos! and instead of the latter (the tint of the cuttle-fish) I received cuttle-fish shells, although, as the reader may be aware, the latter have a different color and a different effect. All these species of Strychnos and ossa sepia can, however, be procured in any quantity at the Lahore Bazaar. My long residence in "the land of the five rivers afforded me the opportunity of becoming well acquainted not only with the country and its productions, but, also with its endemical and epidemical diseases; its medicinal substances, and the vernacular names both of diseases and medicaments; all of which are less known to English physicians than those of the lower provinces, that part of Hindostan being a newly-con quered country. In order to render the work mor acceptable to the English faculty, I have introduce these particulars in the second volume, where, beside a description of the new method of treatment I adopted may be found (as already stated) the Flora Cashme reana, which, though not perfect, contains many o the principal qualities and hitherto unknown effects o those plants, which, by experiment, I discovered. The illustrative plates have been drawn with accuracy My object is, to place the work within the reach of every one whose health is dear to him, and to rende it useful to all. It will be found more especially valuable to those, who, living in the interior of the country, are shut out from immediate medical assistance; also to travellers, who are much exposed to noxious influences and who may not have a physician near them. With the aid of this work, and a family medicine-chest (which can be prepared, at a trifling expense, at any pharmacopolist's, where the purity of the articles and the exactness of their preparation may be depended upon) my advice can be followed, as easily and certainly, as if I were consulted personally. Every rational being ought to possess at least some slight acquaintance with the structure of the human body, and also of its functions; and should acquire a knowledge of so much of the healing-art as may be necessary to maintain a healthy action under ordinary circumstances. The celebrated Delphic inscription гvædi seautòv, i. e. Know Thyself, which sentence of the Oracle greeted every one who entered the Temple of Wisdom, teaches us, plainly, that the sages of antiquity |