532 
Powdered  Vegetable  Drugs. 
( Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\     October.  1897. 
no  more  reagent  or  mounting  media  should  be  used  than  is  neces- 
sary to  hold  the  cover-glass  without  any  air  being  impinged.  The 
same  microscope  and  powers,  as  well  as  other  conditions,  must  be 
employed  to  secure  even  approximate  results,  as  this  is  all  that  can 
be  expected  at  present. 
It  would  be  useless  for  the  author  to  record  some  of  his  standards 
and  results;  but  it  no  doubt  will  be  profitable  to  give  the  records  of 
one  or  two  instances  where  a  number  have  worked  upon  the  same 
powder. 
STANDARD  OF  NUX  VOMICA. 
No. 
1.  Mean  of  10  readings  
2.  "      8       "   *  .  . 
3-  "10  "   
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
Fig.  4. 
A  sample  of  cinchona,  that  contained  75  per  cent,  of  cinchona 
and  25  per  cent,  of  wheat  starch,  was  assayed  by  the  process  given 
under  9  (b)  for  starch  and  9  (c)  for  bast  fibres,  and  gave  the  follow- 
ing results  to  nine  different  workers: 
Cinchona. 
Starch. 
No. 
Per  Cent. 
Per  Cent. 
I.  Mean  of 
20  re 
 74' 
23 
2.  " 
10 
it 
 67 
3- 
20 
 82 
25 
4. 
12 
( 1 
 77 
28 
5- 
16 
<< 
 66 
35 
6. 
12 
.  it 
 77 
27 
7. 
11 
tt 
•  •  X  69 
23 
8. 
20 
it 
 80 
30 
9- 
28 
« < 
22 
Total  " 
149 
26-66 
Conclusion. — We  need  more  effective  work  in  the  qualitative  study 
of  powdered  drugs,  and  we  have  some  recent  evidences  that  this 
will  be  done  in  this  country. 
Hairs. 
12 
.  10-9 
