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ELEMENTS Ol' MATKKIA MEUICA.

a. A General Statement of the Imports and Exports of the principal Articles

of Merchandize belween the United Kingdom and the several ForeignCountries and British Possessions Abroad, in the year 1827.

b. A Statement of the Imports and Exports of the United Kingdom for the year

1830, ending bth January, 1831.

c. A Statement of the Imports and Exports qfthe United King dorn for the year

1831, ending 5th January, 1832.

Indigenous vegetable substances are usually collected by the herbalist. Mostof the plants grown in this country, and for which there is a large consumption,are cultivated at Mitcham, and other places.

In this country we have no recent works expressly devoted to Pharmacognosy. The hon.don and Edinburgh Dispensatories, and Lcwis's Materia Medica, contain a good deal ofvalu-able Information on this subject.

The following are the best Continental works on the subject:—

N. J. B. Guibourt's Histoire Abregte des Drogues Simples, 3 me ed. Paris, 1836.

T. W. C. Martius's Orundriss der Pharmakognosie des Pflanzenreiches. Erlangen, 1832.

T. W. C. Martius's Lehrbuch der pharmaceulische Zoologie. Stuttgart, 1838.

F. Goebel and G. Kunze's Pharmaceulische Waarenkunde. Eisenach, 1827-29.

2. PHARMACO-GHEMIA SEU PHARMACIA,—PHARMACEUTICAL CHEMISTRY OR PHARMACY,

(Chemische Arzneimittellehre, Pfajf; Pharmacotechnie, Cottereau.)

Pharmacy (from cpm^cacov, a mediane) is that department of Pharmacologywhich treats of the preparation, compounding, preservation, and dispensing ofmedicines {medicamenta prseparatu et composita.)

I must ref'er my readers to the following works for an account of the principles and Opera-tions of Pharmacy : —

R. J. Kane's Elements of Practical Pharmacy. Dublin, 1831.

N. E. Henry and G. Guibourt's Traue de Pharmacie pratique et theorique. 3 me ed. par

N. J. B. G. Guibourt. Paris, 1841.E. Soubeiran's Nouvequ Traue de Pharmacie theorique et pratique. 2 ndo ed. Paris, 1840.J. A. Buchner's Einleitung in die Pharmacie. 3" e Aufl. Nürnberg. 1827.

3. PHARMACO-DYNAMICA.—PHARMACODYNAMICS,

(Dynamische Arzneimittellehre, Pfaff; Fharmacodynamie, Cottereau.)

Pharmacodynamics (from <pxpft.ax.cv, a mediane; and S'vvup.ts; power*) is thatdepartment of Pharmacology which treats of the effects and uses of medicines.

CHAPTER I.— ON THE MEANS OF ASCERTAINING THE EFFECTS OF MEDI-

C1NES.

Formetiy the virtues of medicines were inferred from resemblances (fancied orreal) in form, colour, &c. between these substances and parts of our organism.These marks or indications of medicinal powers were called Signatures, and weresupposed to arise from Astral infiuences. 1

Thus, Poppyiieads were inferred to act on the head,— Elder-pith on the spinal marrow,—Euphra'sia, or Eye-bright, on the eye,—Pulmonaria, or Lungwort, on the lungs,—Citrons m

the heart,__Sow-bread on the stomach,—Cassia fistula on the bowels,—AristoloeMa on the

Uterus,—and Orchis on the testicle,—because these substances resembled, respectively, theparts on which they were supposed to operate.—Again, Saffron was used in jaundicc,—Litfio-spermuin, or Gromwell, in calculous affections,—and Serophularia in piles,—on account of therepresentation of the disease which each of these substances was fancied to bear.

There are four principal methods which, in modern times, liave been resortedto for the purpose of determining the effects of medicines. These are founded,respectively, on—

1. The Sensible qualities of medicines.

2. The Natural-Hislorital properlies.

3. The Chemical propeities.

4. The Dynamical propertics.

i See Sprengel, IHsloirc de la Medecine, t. iii. p. 33J.pensatcrij, by Rowland. Lond. 1669.

Paris, lälo —Also, Schroder's Compleat Chymical Diu-