Chronicles of Pharmacy, Vol. 2 (of 2)

by A. C. Wootton

Root of Florentine iris, licorice, of each, 12 oz.; of Arabian costus, Pontic rhubarb, cinquefoil, of each 6 oz.; of Ligusticum meum, rhubarb, gentian, of each, 4 oz.; of birthwort, 2 oz.; herb of scordium, 12 oz.; of lemon grass, horehound, dittany of Crete, calamint, of each, 6 oz.; of pennyroyal, ground pine, germander, of each, 4 oz.; leaves of laurus cassia, 4 oz.; flowers of red roses, 12 oz.; of lavender, 6 oz.; of St. John’s wort, 4 oz.; of lesser centaury, 2 oz.; saffron, 6 oz.; fruit of amyris opobalsamum, 4 oz.; cinnamon, 12 oz.; cassia lignea, spikenard, of each, 6 oz.; Celtic nard, 4 oz.; long pepper, 24 oz.; black pepper, ginger, of each 6 oz.; cardamoms, 4 oz.; rape seeds, agaric, of each 12 oz.; seeds of Macedonian parsley, 6 oz.; of anise, fennel, cress, seseli, thlaspi, amomum, sandwort, of each 4 oz.; of carrot, 2 oz.; opium, 24 oz.; opobalsamum, 12 oz.; myrrh, olibanum, turpentine, of each 6 oz.; storax, gum Arabic, sagapenum, of each 4 oz.; asphaltum, opoponax, galbanum, of each 2 oz.; juice of acacia, and of hypocist, of each, 4 oz.; castor, 2 oz.; Lemnian bole, calcined vitriol, of each, 4 oz.; trochiscs of squill, 48 oz.; of vipers, of sweet flag, of each 24 oz.

Triturate the balsams, resins, and gums in a sufficient quantity of wine, to form a thin paste, and incorporate the whole with 960 oz. of honey.

Appended are the formulas for these two confections as given in the P.L. 1746. The drugs named in parentheses are those which the College officially authorised as substitutes.

Confectio Damocratis (Mithridatium).

Cinnamon, 14 drachms, myrrh, 11 drachms; agaric, spikenard, ginger, saffron, thlaspi seeds, frankincense, Chio turpentine, of each, 10 drachms.

Camel’s hay, Arabian costus (zedoary), Indian leaf (mace), French lavender, long pepper, hartwort seeds, juice of rape of cistus, strained storax, opoponax, strained galbanum, balm of Gilead (expressed oil of nutmeg), Russian castor, of each, 1 oz.

Poley mountain, water germander, fruit of balsam tree (cubebs), white pepper, Cretan carrot seeds, strained bdellium, of each 7 drachms.

Celtic nard, gentian root, Cretan dittany leaves, red roses, Macedonian parsley seeds, lesser cardamum seeds, sweet fennel seeds, gum Arabic, strained opium, of each 5 drachms.

Sweet flag root, wild valerian root, aniseed, strained sagapenum, of each 3 drachms.

Spignel, St. John’s wort, juice of acacia (catechu), bellies of seines, of each 2½ drachms.