170 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Jun 
THE MIcROSCOPE AND THE PHARMACEUTICAL CHEMIST. 
—To the busy medical practitioner, reference to the mi- 
croscope for diagnostic purposes is a matter of every-day 
occurrence. Those who have not the time or disposition 
to do the work themselves, have at their disposal associ- 
ations and laboratories which cater to their special needs. 
In addition to these facilities, it is becoming usual for 
pharmaceutical chemists to make themselves acquainted 
with the wants of medical men in these respects, and to 
be prepared to make the examinations, and to provide 
themselves with the necessary modern apparatus for so 
doing. 
The microscope is becoming increasingly important in 
the curriculum of the pharmaceutical student, and itis in 
no small degree due to this profession that so many of 
our food and drugs that once were adulterated, are now 
purer and of better quality. Powdered drugs and spices 
were frequently mixed with starches, flour, etc., but the 
microscope quickly discloses such foreign materials. The 
knowledge of active constituents and other cell contents 
of medicinal plants, and their distribution in different tis- 
sues and organs is becoming increasingly comprehensive 
and accurate, and experiments aided by the use of special 
micro-chemical reagents are in progress to identify the veg- 
etable alkaloids and related substances microscopically. 
It is satisfaction to know that work of so thorough a 
nature is in progress, and it is a guarantee that with in- 
creased and more general expert knowledge, our food, 
drugs, and other commodities will be purer and finer than 
they have been. ! 
THE WorkKsHopPs OF HE. LEITz, WETZLAR.—A corres- 
pondent sends a description of his visit to the microscope 
factory of this noted optician. The following is a short 
resumé:— | 
The output of this house is 5,000 microscopes perannum, 
eading one almost breathlessly toask “What becomes of 
