Yet the teachers of this science, as
well as the students, have often to deprecate the unnecessary change in
names which has been made by many writers, though., in many cases, no
more reason appears for it than there generally would be to change
Christian and surnames of persons.
In the following section, I shall enumerate and describe those plants
which are contained in the lists of the three colleges; and afterwards a
separate list of those which, although they have been expunged, are
still sometimes used by medical men.
I shall also endeavour to give such descriptions as are concise, at the
same time sufficient for general knowledge, and for which reason I have
taken Lewis's Materia Medica for my text, unless where improvements have
been made in certain subjects I have consulted more modern authorities.
It should be observed, that writers on medical plants, with few
exceptions, have copied from one another: or with a little alteration as
to words only.
And as some vegetables, from their affinitiy, may be confounded with
others, whereby those possessing medical qualities may be substituted
for others having none, or even poisonous ones, I shall in some
instances enumerate a list of similar plants, which, with attention to
their botanical characters, it is hoped will prevent those dangerous
errors we have lately witnessed.
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