1 XIV
2 If the bee can suck nectar from poisonous plants,
3 why should not man discover their properties, and de-
4 rive benefit by employing them as remedies for ills ?
5 “ In formica non modo sensus, sed etiam mens , ratio ,
6 et memorial ’ What vast medicinal treasures do the
7 varied productions of the Himalaya Mountains offer to
8 the inhabitants of India ! Could they be made to ap-
9 preciate their value, how readily would they employ
10 them.
11 As the efficacy of a medicine depends upon its being
12 properly prepared, I advise physicians in India to keep
13 such plants as the Ranunculaceae (which grow abun-
14 dantly in the Himalaya Mountains and in the valley
15 of Cashmere, and which contain volatile substances)
16 in well-closed vessels. They ought to be prepared on
17 the spot, either as an essence, or, as a conserve, and
18 kept in a temperate place, secure from the decompos-
19 ing rays of the sun. The supply should also be re-
20 newed once a year, at least. Such precautions are ab-
21 solutely necessary, if we really desire to attain our
22 object. Dried herbs, from the apothecary or druggist,
23 are often ineffectual, from being old and spoiled. It
24 must not, however, be inferred, that the volatile parts
25 alone are valuable ; brewers, from long experience, con-
26 sider old hops more powerful than new ; and asara-
27 hacca acts in its fresh state as an emetic, and when old
28 as a purgative.
29 Much depends upon the soil in which plants grow,
30 as also on the climate. “ Differe quoqne pro natura
31 locorum genera medicinaeT Celsus Med . Libr. Prcefat.
32 Thus, Cannabis Indica grows higher, stronger, and
33 more luxuriantly in Cashmere than in the plains of