A lecture by Prof. W. Saunders, before the Western University at London, Ontario, is full of interesting matter connected with the history of plants in their medical relationships. It is curious to look back over the beliefs of the ancients, and compare them with opinions now. The following is an extract from Mr. Saunders' lecture, and it illustrates the general scope of his remarks :

"The list of vegetable medicines in use at that time was large. In 1671 appeared 'Salmon's English Herbal,' a ponderous quarto of over 1,300 pages, profusely illustrated, in which there are described 752 herbs of English growth, including almost every variety of wild and cultivated plant and shrub then growing in Britain, and to most of them are ascribed virtues of an astonishing character. As a specimen, take the common garden sage. This is said to be 'hot and dry in the third degree, astringent, anodyne, carminative, digestive, discussive, diuretick and traumatick, cephalick, neurotick, stomachick, hysterick, arthritick, em-menagogick, sudorifick, alexipharmick and ana-leptick.' It is said to be good against a vertigo, lethargy, headache from a cold cause, palsie, convulsions, spitting blood, weakness of the nerves, poison, the bitings of serpents and other venomous creatures, the plague and other malarial and pestilential diseases, catarrhs, rheumatisms, etc." Some idea may be formed as to what is embraced in the et cetera by reading the succeeding pages, where details of the various preparations of this herb are given and their wonderful properties dwelt on.

The preparations are, 1st, the green leaves; 2d, the juice; 3d, the essence; 4th, an infusion in wine or water; 5th, a powder of the leaves; 6th, an oil or ointment; 7th, a cataplasm; 8th, pills; 9th, a gargarism; 10th, a distilled water; nth, a spirituous tincture; 12th, an acid tincture; 13th, an oily tincture; 14th, a spirit; 15th, a distilled oil; 16th, the potestates or powers; 17th, an elixir: and 18th, a conserve of the flowers".