192 
Drugs  and  Food  Products, 
/Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\       April,  1902, 
training  in  the  pharmaceutical  college  and  in  the  drug  store  should 
enable  him  to  recognize  the  grosser  forms  of  adulterations  and 
impurities  and  put  him  on  his  guard  against  the  imposition  of  dis- 
honest dealers.  The  statement  is  frequently  made  that  the  special 
training  which  the  druggist  is  compelled  to  acquire  is  far  above  the 
requirements  of  his  profession ;  in  other  words,  it  is  useless.  This 
is  far  from  being  the  case.  Unless  the  profession  of  the  druggist  is 
understood  to  be  merely  that  of  a  tradesman,  the  training  he 
receives  is  barely  sufficient  to  meet  the  requirements.  Every  drug- 
gist should  be  able  to  assay  his  own  drugs  and  detect  adulterations 
and  impurities.  This  is  not  hard  to  do  if  one  follows  the  directions 
of  the  Pharmacopoeia.  "  But,"  I  will  be  asked,  "  of  what  use  is  this 
when  the  physicians  dispense  their  own  tablets,  and  all  the  druggist 
is  called  upon  to  do  is  to  pour  out  So-and-So's  elixir,  cordial,  or 
other  preparation  from  a  pint  into  a  three-ounce  bottle  and  label  it 
according  to  the  physician's  directions?  This  is  unfortunately  true, 
but  it  is  only  the  druggist's  fault.  The  manufacturers  usurped  the 
prescription  trade  by  first  catching  the  eye  and  ear  of  the  physician 
and  then  sending  the  druggist  on  a  fool's  errand  to  help  them  gain 
a  firm  footing  in  the  physician's  office.  If  the  druggists  spent  one- 
tenth  as  much  time,  money  and  energy  as  the  manufacturer,  there 
would  not  be  a  single  pill  or  tablet  in  the  physician's  office,  and  the 
old  custom  of  dispensing  freshly  prepared  remedies  would  again  be 
in  vogue  to  the  great  benefit  of  both  physician  and  patient.  Why 
not  acquaint  the  doctors  of  your  neighborhood  that  capsules  freshly 
made  from  the  dry  powder  are  superior  to  pills  ;  that  powders  are 
more  certain  in  their  action  than  tablets,  and  solutions  more  reliable 
than  either  pills  or  tablets  ?  Why  not  make  use  of  the  information 
concerning  the  deterioration  of  drugs,  especially  alkaloids,  when 
dried  and  incorporated  with  an  excipient  ?  Why  not  send  a  neatly 
printed  circular  to  the  physicians  of  your  neighborhood,  advising 
them,  for  instance,  of  the  fact  that  the  New  York  State  Board  of 
Health  found  quinine  pills  to  be  deficient  in  alkaloidal  strength  and 
that,  therefore,  with  their  permission,  you  will  dispense  capsules  which 
are  sure  to  contain  a  definite  amount  of  the  fresh  drug  ?  Why  not 
send  to  the  doctors  samples  of  the  various  officinal  elixirs  which 
you  prepared,  showing  that  you  can  make  as  elegant  preparations  as 
the  manufacturers?  Why  not  experiment  with  the  various  drugs, 
the  taste  or  smell  of  which  is  objectionable,  with  a  view  of  render- 
