Preface to the first edition.
The present volume is, in a slight degree, a revision of a work written by the author in 1879, entitled "Organic Materia Medica and Pharmacal Botany." This work has been out of print a number of years, and until recently the author has had no time to rewrite it in such a manner as seemed necessary to bring it up to the present standard; it has also been deemed advisable to change completely the model of the former work. The task now accomplished presents not so much a revision, as a new treatise.
Two methods of classification of drugs are here brought into use—a classification according to physical characteristics, and a classification according to botanical relationships—both of which are, though, occupying separate divisions of the book, so brought together by a system of numbering that the place of the drug in each of the classes is at once apparent. The author would here suggest that those who make use of the work in connection with a cabinet of specimens, should have the containers in the cabinet numbered to accord with numbers in the book, in order that students may readily find specimens for identification and study.
It is perhaps needless to state that the nomenclature and general character of the text is made to conform with the present standard—The United States Pharmacopoeia; but the capitalization of specific names derived from proper nouns has been discarded, in accordance with present botanical practice. The descriptive heading of each of the official drugs has been in most cases given in the pharmacopoeial language. The unofficial drugs are distinguished in the text by the use of a different type and by a different setting of the article from that which treats of the official drugs. In this connection the author desires to give credit to Mr. George S. Davis, who has aided in the work by placing at the author's disposal most excellent material regarding rare unofficial drugs, and the use of material from his publication, credited under Bibliography.
The scope of the work, it will be seen, embraces not only the official drugs of the vegetable and animal kingdoms, but a vast variety of unofficial drugs, some of which are of rare occurrence in the market. These have been included because of the greater field this inclusion gives for pharmacal and botanical study; the greater variety of forms presented to the student of pharmacognosy, the wider will be his range of observation. It is hoped that in the 624 drugs mentioned, the student or instructor will be able to make a selection which will be ample to supply material to illustrate the principles of the subject under consideration. In a work of this size an exhaustive treatment of this number of drugs could not be given, but by a brief mention of them material for study is indicated. It may be mentioned in this connection that wherever metric measurements are given, these are stated in millimeters; this has been deemed advisable for the purpose of comparison.
The illustrations included in Part I are taken mainly from Bentley's "Manual of Botany," to the author of which our thanks are due. An exception, however, is found in the drawings of the starches, which were prepared from original specimens. The remaining illustrations, with the exception of those in the Chapter on Animal Drugs, have been prepared under the direction of C. E. McClung, Ph. G., a graduate of the Kansas State University School of Pharmacy, class of '92. All the drawings of the cross-sections are drawn directly from sections prepared by him, the cell contents being first removed by the method described in Appendix C. It has been our aim to present the elements of each drug in their true proportions.. As often as possible, the cells in their exact shape and relative size have been drawn, and in no case has meaningless shading been employed. For some of the drawings of the medicinal plants credit is given below in the Bibliography. The illustrator has kindly furnished a Chapter on Pharmacal Microscopy, which will be found in Appendix C.
The author is much indebted to Professor Vernon Kellogg for information concerning animal drugs used in pharmacy; also for Appendix B, in which he treats of insects attacking drugs. The drawings to illustrate the material furnished by Professor Kellogg are hereby credited to Miss Mary Wellman, artist.
For aid in the preparation of, the text in Part I our thanks are due to Mr. A. O. Garrett, who, in his university course, has made botany a special study.
Appendix B, upon the synthetic remedies, is the work of Mr. F. B. Dains, who has made a specialty of organic chemistry and was instructor in this subject in the University of Kansas during the year 1894. In this section the new spelling of chemicals has been adopted only in a few cases.
To Dr. S. W. Williston, Professor of Physiology and Anatomy, who has aided in the condensed description of therapeutic action; to Mr. O. H. Parker and Mr. William Clark, members of the Senior Class of '94, who assisted in the study of characteristics from crude specimens of drugs in the open market; to Mr. W. O. Strother, of the same class, who supplied a few drawings of cross-sections; and to Mr. W. F. Newton, of the junior Class, who materially aided not only in the study of drug characteristics, but also in arranging the material, our thanks are due.
L. E. S.
