Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
July,  1902. 
Cheap  Drugs. 
319 
as  Bengal  ganjah.  Holmes  has  therefore  suggested  that  the  latter 
be  made  official.  This  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  an  inferior 
drug  is  more  likely  to  be  used,  because  it  is  not  so  readily  detected. 
More  than  ten  years  ago  a  patent  was  taken  out  to  grind  the 
chips  and  sawings  produced  in  cutting  rhubarb  root,  and  after  mixing 
the  powder  with  some  adhesive  substance,  as  gum  arabic,  the  mass 
was  then  pressed  or  molded  into  the  desired  shape.  While  the  medic, 
inal  quality  of  the  drug  in  this  form  may  not  be  impaired  and  is 
supposed  to  form  a  more  stable  product,  still  the  method  invites 
admixture  of  other  substances. 
While  it  may  be  disputed  that  commercial  drugs  are  at  present 
inferior  to  those  formerly  sold,  it  is  a  lamentable  fact  that  the 
retail  pharmacist  does  not,  as  formerly,  go  over  his  drugs  and  select 
the  portions  fit  for  use,  rejecting  the  inert  and  damaged  material.  It 
is  claimed  that  he  has  not  the  time  for  garbling  of  drugs,  and  we  may 
well  ask,  "  Who  has  the  time  ?  "  Most  pharmacists  are  purchasing 
their  drugs  in  a  broken  or  powdered  condition,  and  while  it  cannot 
be  denied  that  the  latter  may  be  obtained  of  a  first-rate  quality  from 
some  quarters,  still  it  is  admitted  that  drugs  in  this  condition  are 
more  likely  to  be  adulterated  and  of  inferior  quality ;  hence  the 
necessity  for  a  more  intimate  knowledge  of  this  subject. 
Modern  methods  of  commerce  require  the  progressive  pharmacist 
to  equip  himself  in  order  that  the  integrity  of  the  profession  be 
maintained  and  benefit  accrue  to  humanity  at  large.  While  there 
are  unusual  opportunities  for  deception  there  have  never  been  bet- 
ter facilities  for  its  detection. 
(4)  The  Pharmacopoeia  not  only  considers  the  subject  of  the  col- 
lection of  drugs,  how  they  shall  be  dried  and  what  portions  shall  be 
removed,  as  in  aspidium  and  scilla,  but  also  states  how  they  shall  be 
preserved  and  limits  their  time  of  keeping. 
While  it  is  generally  considered  that  most  drugs  deteriorate  on 
keeping,  still  this  depends  largely  upon  the  manner  of  their  preser- 
vation. Thus  the  Pharmacopoeia  limits  the  time  of  keeping  of  ergot 
and  states  how  it  shall  be  preserved;  still  a  number  of  writers  call 
attention  to  the  fact  that,  if  properly  prepared  and  preserved,  the  time 
of  keeping  may  be  very  much  extended.  In  order  to  preserve  ergot, 
Grover  proposed  the  removal  of  the  oil,  and  Moss  found  the  drug 
thus  treated  to  retain  its  therapeutic  value  for  six  and  a  half  years. 
Zanon  suggests  placing  the  drug  in  alternate  layers  with  sand  and 
