15G THE ALUMNI JOURNAL 



Agricuture issued, in 1907, under title of American Root Drugs, 

 Bulletin 107, consisting of eighty pages of descriptive matter with 

 fifty-three illustrations, which is admirable in itseli, but not couched 

 in the simple language necessary for the use of plant collectors, 

 but from it and doubtless later pamphlets issued by the department 

 simple directions and illustrations could be prepared and issued 

 for popular distribution by all wholesale buyers of drugs to the 

 country stores from which they purchase supplies, and through 

 them to the collectors themselves, and this alone would in a short 

 time materially improve the character of the drugs found for sale 

 in the market, and it is hoped that the Department of Agriculture 

 will undertake this work. With all the improvements possible, 

 however, the varying quality of the drugs from year to year must 

 be carefully considered and formulas for preparations must be 

 based on the average character of the crop rather than on selected 

 samples of exceptional quality, of which a sufficient quantity can- 

 not be obtained to meet the demands of the trade. 



DISCRIPTIONS AND TESTS 



The legal character of the United States Pharmacopoeia demands 

 the most rigid scrutiny of the language used to describe the quality 

 standards and tests which should consist of simple definite state- 

 ments that will not admit the shadow of a doubt as to the meaning 

 while the most careful consideration and verification of the tests 

 proposed is absolutely necessary. 



COMPENSATION FOR EXPORT WORK. 



Heretofore the work of members of the final Committee on Re- 

 vision of the United States Pharmocopoeia has been largely a labor 

 of love, as the compensation of honorarium received by them has 

 been ridiculously inadequate to the importance of the work. 



In a former report our committee advocated the establishment 

 of a pharmacopoeial research laboratory, and letters were written 

 to the trustees of the United States Pharmacopoeial Convention in 

 relation to same, but the suggestion was not favored, partly on the 

 ground of expense and partly because such a laboratory would be 

 crowded with work at the time of the decennial convention and 

 comparatively idle for much of the intervening time. 



In the revision about to be undertaken, however, it is absolutely 

 necessary that the value of each test should be accurately deter- 



