PHARMACOPCEIAL VEGETABLE DRUGS.

America and in Europe, being conspicuously introduced by Jeffreys(340), a physician of Liverpool, who commended it, 1839, as a styp-tic and astringent. The introduction of the drug must, however, beconsidered as empirical, through the infusion of the leaves used bythe solcher.

MATRICARIA

Matricaria chamomilla, German chamomile, is the cultivatedform of Chrysanthemum parthenium, being cultivated for domesticuse, in which it is distinguished from the Anthemis nobilis, or Romanchamomile. It has been in domestic use so long as to have made itfamiliär to all German housewives, and considerable demand has beencreated for it in sections of America where Germans have settled. Itis a home remedy of antiquity.

MEL

Honey is a saccharine substance, generally collected by the honeybee, Apis mellifera, from the nectariferous glands of flowers and de-posited in the comb by the insect when it reaches its hive. It is fa-miliär to all civilized peoples as well as to the natives of many sectionsof the world. In some parts of the tropics wild honey is an article ofimportance. Crude honey comb was observed by us as one of thearticles of export from Aden, Arabia, Coming there by caravan fromthe interior of Arabia, as well as being brought from Somali Land,Africa. The domestic record of honey is lost in antiquity, it beingmentioned in many early works, including the Bible, both New andOld Testaments, and such Oriental works as the "Arabian Nights"(88). In the making of confectionery and in domestic empiricalmedicine, honey has of course been a constant and a natural sweetener.Certain kinds of honey, such as the honey made from the Opium poppy("mad honey," 388c), or from the flowers of the wild Jasmine, possessmore or less narcotic action, which quality has never yet been inten-tionally utilized in medicine. Such Compounds as honey of rose, honeyof borax, and the like, came from the domestic use of honey; suchconfections preceded its use by licensed or orthodox physicians.' "Zar-dah (yellow rice) is a word still used in Turkey, and refers to a dishof rice dressed in honey and saffron." Burton.

MENTHA PIPERITA

Peppermint is found throughout North America as well as Eng-land and the Continent. As described by Ray (536), the clergymanbotanist, in his Historia Plantarum, 1704, it is called "Mentha palustris— Peper-Mint," and is recommended by him as a remedy for weak-ness of the stomach and for diarrhea. Its cultivation was extensivein some parts of England as early as 1750, the herb being carried toLondon for distillation and the making of the oil. Peppermint is afavorite domestic herb used in decoction as a stimulant and also as aflavor. Fresh mint is employed to flavor a populär Kentucky alcoholic

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