grouping; but confine myfelf chiefly to explain the detached group; the principle of which I apply univerfally to landscape, hiftory, cattle, and every part of picturefque compofition. On this principle little or no ftrefs has been laid, fo far as I know, in any book of painting.'

+++ Mr. Peake requests to know who thofe Authors are that have opposed the opinions defended in his Effay.' This requifition is in confequence of our criticism on his Review of Foot's Obfervations. See Rev. for March laft, p. 256. We approved the zeal of Mr. Hunter's pupils, but, at the fame time, expreffed our regret, that they should attempt to support doctrines which are founded on points that have been controverted by our ablest Authors.' We do not say that Authors have opposed thefe doctrines because they are new, but we say, they are founded on controverted points. Mr. Peake mut recollect the difputes concerning pus and mucus; and Mr. Hunter's opinion, that the gonorrhea will cure itfelf, is not universally acknowleged. That the gonorrhea left to itself frequently terminates in a confirmed lues venerea, is the opinion of Aftruc, Boerhaave, Van Swieten, Sauvages, and others; and is conformable to daily experience.

We beg leave to close all altercation, and to part in Chriftian peace, with our Stamford Correfpondent, P. C. becaufe, while we plead the right of private judgment, as Proteftants, and he, in the defence of Catholic doctrines, can declare, that he detefts the act of forcing any perfon to embrace a peculiarity of religious profeffion, either through corporal fear, or other worldly motives;' we fee no object of conteft remaining between us. If civil and ecclefiaftical governors were to unite in these fentiments, the most falutary they could ever meet upon, religious diftinctions would foon wear out, and true piety would appear, divefted of that forbidding austerity which human policy combines with it.

Itt A Letter figned Amicus Juvenis is received, but too late for any farther notice this month.

sts Curiofa inquires concerning" An Ode to the Holy Moun tains," which fhe fays was inferted in our Review, a few years ago. In answer to this, we have only to fay that we do not recollect any fuch ode, nor have we been able to gain any information concerning it, by means of our Tables of Contents, &c.

** Clericus, who dates from Bradford, in Yorkshire, informs us, that Mr. John Welley has, very lately, in the church of that town, predicted the end of the world, and fixed the year to 1836.-If Clericus had figned his real name, the admonition which he has tacked to the above intelligence, would perhaps have come with the greater weight: but we fufpect this Correfpondent to be a wag.

§*§ Mr. de Lolme's Letter arrived too late.

ERRATUM in our Review for December laft.

P. 428. (in the account of Walker's Hiftory of the Irish Bards) par. 5, 1. 12, for infenfibly,' r. irresistibly.

THE

MONTHLY REVIEW,

For JUNE, 1788.

ART. I. PHARMACOPOEIA Collegii Regalis Medicorum LONDI NENSIS. 4to. 9s. Boards. Johnfon. 1788.

HE prefent advanced state of chemistry, and the numerous

into the practice of phyfic, have rendered the reformation of our College Pharmacopoeia abfolutely neceffary.

The firft difpenfatory, which was published after the great revolution in chemiftry, about twelve years ago, and made conformably to the principles deduced from later difcoveries, was that of Sweden; in compiling it, the College of Physicians at Stockholm made confiderable ufe of the light which thofe great luminaries in chemistry, BERGMAN and SCHEELE, at that time afforded them. Other European countries foon followed the laudable example; and England hath at length produced her new pharmacopoeia, under the authority of Government.

In this country, where chemistry has, for many years, been highly cultivated, it may be reasonable to expect that all the branches of this fcience would, by this time, be laden with valuable fruit. The produce of the pharmaceutical branch is now before us, by which it appears that the College had earneftly wished to improve the practice of phyfic, by expunging prescriptions that are inconfiftent with the principles of chemistry, by introducing others which are the refult of modern improvement and later experience, and by reforming the nomenclature of the fhops. We are fully aware of the difficulty of executing fo great a defign. The members of the College acknowlege this difficulty, and are fenfible of the obftacles which must be removed, before a pharmacopoeia can be prefented to the public, completely finished and abfolutely perfect; they congratulate themselves with hoping that their labours, devoted to the prefervation of the public health, may render the practice of phyfic more concife, by affording a collection of elegant and efficacious remedies.

The Preface, which is written in elegant Latin, declares, in general terms, the defign of the undertaking, the methods Vol. LXXXVIII,

Ii

that

that have been used in its execution, and the principal inducements by which the College were led to refcind what was fuperfluous, correct what was faulty, and fupply what was deficient, in their laft pharmacopoeia.

The weights and measures are next defcribed; and a few general directions concerning pharmaceutical veffels are added. We are told alfo, in this chapter, that the College ufes Fahrenheit's thermometer; that Calor fervens is between 200 and 212 degrees, and that Calor lenis is between 90 and 100 of the fame thermometer. Other degrees of heat are not defined. At page 59, in making the calcined mercury, the apothecary is directed to use 600 degrees of heat; we fuppofe it is not intended that the thermometer fhould be kept in the mercury, and much less in the fand in which the veffel is placed, for in this fituation it would be in continual danger of burfting from an accidental increase of heat; but that the mercury is to be kept juft at the point of boiling, which is commonly expreffed by 600 degrees.

The Materia Medica hath undergone confiderable alteration; many redundancies however ftill remain, but, what is of much more importance, many valuable fimples are refcinded which might, in our opinion, have been retained, as fome of them, viz. Artemefia, Lacca, Hyffopus, &c. are efficacious medicines. The names of the animals and vegetables which furnish the respective articles are generally taken, when they are inferted, from the writings of Linné. Those which have no fynonyms affixed are Ammoniacum, Canella alba, Cafcarilla, Caftoreum, Cera, Coccinella, Colomba, Cornu Cervi, Galla, Gambogia, Jalapium, Ichthyocolla, Ipecacuanha, Manna, Mel, Mofchus, Myrrha, Opium, Pix, Sagapenum, Saccharum, Sanguis Dracanis, Terebinthina, and Thus. The plants and animals whence most of thefe fubftances are taken, are well known: why then fhould they have been omitted?

Befide thefe omiffions, we think the Filix is the Polypodium vulgare of Linné and not the Filix mas; Mentha fativa is the Mentha fativa of Linné; the fpicata of Hudfon appears to be only a variety of the fativa.

In the fimple preparations nothing material occurs. In the direction for extracting the pulp of fruits, indeed, we find the following: Fructus pulpofos, fi immaturi fint, vel maturi et ficci, fepone in loco humido ut mollefcant. We prefer the old way of gently boiling, or macerating in warm water, the hard, dry, and unripe fruits. Levigated powders are directed to be dried on chalk: a cake of plafter-of-Paris abforbs the moisture much quicker. They may be obtained, of an extreme fineness, by fhaking them with water; and after the groffer parts fubfide, which foon happens, the turbid mixture may be poured

off,

off, and fet to depofit the more fubtile parts, which will, by this process, be a fine impalpable powder, entirely free from gritty matter.

ge

The preparation of conferves follows in order. In the neral direction, Folia e pediculis decerpe occurs. The Linnéan technical term petiolis would have been more scientific than pediculis, especially as three other Linnéan terms, viz. petala, calyces, and ungues, occur in the fame fentence. Notwithstanding the general direction of placing dried fruits in a moift place, previous to the extraction of their pulp, in the recipe for conferve of prunes, the pulp is ordered to bé extracted after previous maceration or gently boiling.

Among the Juices we have Succus Cochlearia compofitus. This is a new name for Succi Scorbutici. It is an unhappy expreffion; but the old one was to be difcarded, according to the rule laid down in the Preface, that the names of the medicines should have no reference to their qualities or fuppofed uses. A fimilar name, Extractum Colocynthidis compofitum, occurs for Extractum catharticum.

In the lift of effential oils, thofe of cinnamon and cloves are omitted; but they are enumerated in the Materia Medica. Thefe are generally imported from Holland; they may, therefore, poffibly be adulterated, especially the former, which is extremely dear. For diftilling effential oils the general direction fays, Ad præcavendum autem empyreuma, materiæ addenda eft aqua, in qua maceranda eft illa ante diftillationem. It is well known by the chemical analysis of vegetables, that the effential oil, feparable from the distilled water, is only fuch oil as is fuperabundant to the faturation of the water; if, therefore, the diftilled water of the plant, which is fully faturated with oil, be used in the place of common water to avoid an empyreuma, a greater quantity of oil will be produced. The waters which come over with the oils are ordered to be kept for ufe: notwithstanding this direction, page 34, feparate prefcriptions are given for the fame fimple diftilled waters, as Aq. menth. pip. fativ. & puleg. p. 68 & 69.

The preparation of æther and oleum vini is one of the most inftructive operations in chemistry, and has been amply defcribed by Macquer and others. We fhall not repeat the procefs, because it is inferted in the 19th volume of our Review, pag. 362.

The College have made great confufion with this preparation; they have given a recipe for the Oleum Vini, among the diftilled oils, p. 36, another for Ether, among the diftilled fpirits, p. 72, another for Spiritus Etheris, p. 71, and another for Spiritus Etheris vitriolici compofitus among the mixtures, p. 107, when one might have ferved for all. Befide, admitting the propriety

of feparate prefcriptions, the directions for making the Ol. Vini are not fufficiently explicit. The alkohol and vitriolic acid are ordered in equal quantities. They are to be gradually mixed and diftilled, taking care that the black foams do not pafs into the recipient. The oily part of the diftilled liquor is to be feparated from the volatile vitriolic acid. To the oily part as much foap leys must be added as is fufficient to correct the fulphureous fmell; then with a gentle heat the æther is to be diftilled. The oil of wine will remain, fwimnting on the watery liquor, in the retort.

In the firft diftillation, no mention is made of the heat, which ought to be fuch as to make the mixture boil foon, and to keep it boiling the ley can do no harm by being in too great a quantity, but will defeat the procefs if too fmall; therefore its quantity ought to have been specified: and laftly, no directions are given for afcertaining when, in the fecond diftillation, all the æther has paffed over.

The next chapter is on falts. Here three new names occur, which require attention; viz. Kali for vegetable fixed alkali, Natron for the mineral, and Ammonia for the volatile.

In altering the names, (a measure which we cannot approve) we are forry to obferve that the committee have been particularly unhappy in the choice of their new denominations in general, but especially of thofe of the alkalies, both in point of propriety and tafte. No reafon appears for the change of the names of the three alkalies, excepting to avoid the repetition of the word alkali. The found we would have facrificed on this occafion, because mischief, which could not poffibly have arifen as the names formerly ftood, may enfue from the alteration. Thus, Kali being the accepted name of a plant, which by incineration yields foffil alkali, it may happen that apothecaries may fell this plant, or the alkali it affords, for the vegetable alkali. It is only a conjecture among critics, not a certainty, that the Natron or Natrum of the ancients denoted the foffil alkali of the moderns; and Natron fo nearly refembles in letters Nitron or Nitrum, that the one may eafily be miftaken for the other, to the great difappointment of the phyfician, and, what is of the utmost importance, the detriment of the patient. Ammonia, the new name for the volatile alkali, is fo like Ammoniacum the gum, and Ammoniacum the neutral falt, that these fubftances may be confounded.

If new names were to have been invented, for which in the cafe of the alkalies we fee no neceffity, would it not have been better to have chofen words, which did not in the least resemble thofe in ufe, to fignify any other fubftance whatever? The Committee declare that they have impofed these names pro noftro arbitrio.' It is true that the College are legally invefted