"Vegetables, soon after they are gathered, except those which are to be used in the recent state, are to be lightly spread out, and dried as quickly as possible, with a heat so gentle that their colour will not be altered; and then preserved in proper situations or vessels, where the light and moisture are excluded." When plants cannot be dried immediately on being gathered, they should be revived by immersing their stalks in water for twelve hours. When the leaves are the parts intended to be employed, these are then to be carefully freed from the stalks, and laid in thin layers in baskets of willow stripped of its bark, in a drying room kept quite dark. They should then be exposed to a temperature of 140° Fahr.

1 Vide Biggin's Table, Phil. Trans. 1799.

for six or eight hours. When the leaves begin to shrivel, they should be turned, and the same temperature continued until they crumble readily in the hand. When the process has been well conducted, the leaves should retain their preen colour and their medicinal properties. The vessels best adapted for preserving them are oil jars made perfectly clean and dry, closely covered and kept in a dry, warm situation. It is better to preserve those leaves, the virtues of which are particularly connected with their colour, namely hemlock and foxglove, in this state, than in the form of powder, a small portion only being occasionally powdered for current use.1

"Roots., which are required to be preserved fresh, should be buried in dry sand. The Squill bulb, before it is dried, is to be denuded of the arid coats, and cut transversely into thin slices. The cormus of colchicum, dug up in July or August, should be cut into thin transverse slices, dried without heat, or in a very gentle heat, and preserved in well-stopped bottles.

"Pulpy fruits, if they be unripe, or ripe and dried, are to be placed in a damp situation, until they become soft: then the pulp is to be pressed out through a hair sieve; afterwards boiled with a gentle heat, frequently stirring; and, finally, the water evaporated in a water bath, until the pulp acquire a proper consistence.

"Over the bruised pods of Cassia, pour boiling water, so as to wash out the pulp, which is to be first pressed through a sieve with large holes, and afterwards through a hair sieve; then dissipate the water in a water bath, until the pulp acquire a proper consistence.

"Press through a sieve the pulp or juice of ripe and fresh fruits without boiling them."

Vegetabilium Exsiccatio. The drying of Herbs and Flowers

"Herbs and flowers are to be dried by the gentle heat of a stove or a common fire, in such a quantity at once as will admit of the operation being very quickly finished: for by this means their powers are better preserved; the indication of which is the perfect preservation of their natural colour.

"The leaves of Hemlock (Conium maculatum), and of other plants containing a subtile, volatile matter, are, when dried, to be immediately reduced to powder, and preserved in well-stopped glass vessels.

1 The above is the method adopted by Mr. Battley, of Fore Street, whose attempts to improve this part of Pharmacy deserve the thanks of the profession.

"The root (bulb) of the Sea-squill (Scilla maritima), freed from its external coat, is to be cut transversely into thin slices. The indication of its being properly dried is the retention of its bitterness and acrimony after it has become friable." The directions of the Dublin College are similar. (See Pulvis Scillae among the powders.) After the squill has been properly dried, in which operation it loses seven eighths of its weight, it must be kept in a dry place, as it is apt to retain its moisture in some degree, and become mouldy. It cannot, however, be long preserved in the state of powder without becoming almost inert.

Herbarum Exsiccatio. The drying of Herbs

"Put the fresh leaves of the herb, gathered when it is in flower, into paper bags, and expose them to a low heat for an hour; then strew them lightly upon a sieve, and dry them as quickly as possible, taking care that their green colour be not injured by too much heat; but if the herbs are to be used under the form of powder, let them be immediately powdered, and the powder preserved in well-closed opaque phials.

"Herbs and flowers from which oils and distilled waters are to be obtained should be dried as soon as they are collected."

Pulparum Extractio. Extraction of Pulps

"Fruits which afford a pulp, if unripe, or if ripe and dry, are to be boiled in a small portion of water, till they become soft; then the pulp is to be pressed through a hair sieve, and afterwards boiled in an earthen vessel with a gentle heat, stirring frequently to prevent it from burning, until it acquire the consistence of honey.

"In like manner the pulp of Cassia fistula is to be boiled out from the bruised pod, and then brought to a proper consistence by evaporating the water.

"The pulps of recent and ripe fruits are to be pressed through a sieve without being previously boiled."