VEGETABLE POWDERS 179 



rights and privileges under the same law. These are matters which 

 must be left to a competent and experienced instructor for fuller 

 explanation and discussion. 



In entering upon the special study of powdered vegetable drugs and 

 spices, the student should be supplied with liberal samples of the pure 

 article "reduced to suitable fineness, usually No. 80. The necessary 

 chemicals and reagents must be at hand; also a drug mill and a nest 

 of sieves. The question is frequently asked, how many samples can a 

 student examine in the time usually allotted to the laboratory course 

 in the microanalysis of vegetable powders? The student who has 

 the university entrance requirement (namely, graduation from an 

 accredited high school or its educational equivalent) to the college of 

 pharmacy, and who has had one year of botany in the college of 

 pharmacy, plus the laboratory course in pharmacognosy, can readily 

 examine from four to five powders during a laboratory period of two 

 hours each; or, from fifty to seventy-five powders during the semester. 

 The diligent student can, however, examine a far greater number of 

 powders, though not all of them with the same degree of care or the 

 same detail. He may examine, from fifty to seventy-five carefully, 

 including the making of drawings of the more important histological 

 elements, and perhaps an equal additional number merely as to the 

 microscopical characteristics, without making drawings. 



The descriptions are given in alphabetical sequence for convenience 

 of study and cross reference. The drugs marked "U. S." are official 

 in the pharmacopoeia of 1910 (made official September 1st, 1916). 

 Upon comparing the U. S. P. IX with earlier editions, it will be found 

 that many comparatively unimportant drugs have been dropped and 

 the weeding out process will no doubt be continued for the good of all 

 concerned. 



Most of the drawings were made to scale by means of the Abbe 

 camera lucida. The more characteristic tissue elements are figured 

 but no attempt has been made to indicate the relative abundance of the 

 different tissues or cell contents figured. The following is the plan of 

 the sequence of the special description of each powder; official name, 

 common names, indication whether official or not, usual fineness of the 

 powder, botanical origin and part used, color, odor, taste, histological 

 characteristics, ash content, and more common adulterants. 



