Pharmacographia : A history of the principal drugs of vegetable origin, met with in Great Britain and British India / by Friedrich A. Flückiger and Daniel Hanbury.

  • Flückiger, Friedrich A. (Friedrich August), 1828-1894.
Date:
1879
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Pharmacographia : A history of the principal drugs of vegetable origin, met with in Great Britain and British India / by Friedrich A. Flückiger and Daniel Hanbury. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    which belong to the Pharmacopoeia of India: the appearance of this volume seemed to present a favourable opportunity for giving some more copious notice of the latter than has hitherto been attempted. Supplementary to these two groups must be placed a few substances which possess little more than historical interest, and have been intro- duced rather in obedience to custom, and for the sake of completeness, than on account of their intrinsic value. Each drug is headed by the Latin name, followed by such few synonyms as may suffice for perfect identification, together in most cases with the English, French, and German designation. In the next section, the Botanical Origin of the substance is dis- cussed, and the area of its growth, or locality of its production is stated. Except in a few instances, no attempt has been made to furnish botanical descriptions of the plants to which reference is made. Such information may readily be obtained from original and special sources, of which we have quoted some of the most important. Under the head of History, the authors have endeavoured to trace the introduction of each substance into mBdicine, and to bring forward other points in connection therewith, which have not hitherto been much noticed in any recent work. This has involved researches which have been carried on for several years, and has necessitated the consul- tation of many works of general literature. The exact titles of these works have been scrupulously preserved, in order to enable the reader to verify the statements made, and to prosecute further historical inquiries. In this portion of their task, the authors have to acknow- ledge the assistance kindly given them by Professors Heyd^ of Stuttgart, Winkelmann of Heidelberg, Monier Williams of Oxford, Diimicheu of Strassburg; and on subjects connected with China, by Mr. A. Wylie and Dr. Bretschneider. The co-operation in various directions of many other friends has been acknowledged in the text itself. In some instances the Formation, Secretion, or Method of Collection of a drug, has been next detailed: in others, the section History has been immediately followed by the Description, succeeded by one in which the more salient features of Microscopic Structure have been set forth. The authors have not thought it desirable to amplify the last- named section, as the subject deserves to be treated in a special work, and to be illustrated by engravings. Written descriptions of micro- iThe admirable work of this author—Geschichte des Levantehandels im MittelaUer, 2 vols., Stuttgart, 1879—appeared when the second edition of our Pbarmacograijhia was already in the press.