THE ALUMNI JOURNAL 121 



It is said that it is impossible to remain stationary ; if this is true 

 no manufacturer can stop when he has accomplished what has 

 been outlined above; he must strive to advance. Many of the 

 analytical methods used in this work leave much to be desired 

 and a constant effort must, be made to improve them. Manu- 

 facturing processes must be improved in order to produce better 

 products and, to make them more economically ; new processes and 

 new products must also be devised. 



With the enactment of food and drug laws the inspection of 

 drug products became a very important division of pharmaceutical 

 work. Extremely valuable results have already been achieved 

 bv workers in this field and by conservative work much more 

 will be accomplished. The sensational methods and arbitrarv rul- 

 ings which have, in a few instances, been resorted to, are, how- 

 ever, to be greatly deplored. 



Having discussed our subject in a general way it may be of 

 interest to give some definite idea of the number of substances 

 with which the pharmaceutical chamist has to deal. A certain 

 manufacturing house lists about four thousand products, in the 

 preparation of which about seven hundred different materials, 

 which must be examined chemically, are used. 



Pharmaceutical chemistry presents an inviting field of work 

 to the young chemist. Comparatively little is known concerning 

 the composition of many of the hundreds of vegetable drugs in 

 use. Even in case of some of the most important drugs our knowl- 

 edge is very defective. Ergot may be cited as an example, the 

 most important contributions to our knowledge of its composi- 

 tion having been made within the last few years, although it? 

 study has been undertaken by many eminent chemists during a 

 period extending over many years. The composition of the veg- 

 etable drugs alone offers an interesting and important fiefd of 

 work for the pharmaceutical chemists for generations to come. 

 The effect of cultivation upon the chemical composition of medic- 

 inal plants has been almost entirely neglected, although the remark- 

 able increase in the quinine content of cinchona bark through 

 cultivation has long been known. The relation of chemical con- 

 stitution to physiological action, and the study of the enzymes 

 and hormones which may be used medicinally are merely sug- 

 gestive of the broad fields which await the pharmaceutical chem- 

 ist of the future. 



