422  The  Leech  Hirndo  or  Sanguisuga.     { ^eVem^Tgoi"' 
be  undertaken.  There  are  at  present  in  the  West  and  other  parts 
of  the  country  a  number  of  plants  widely  used  for  local  difficulties 
which  seem  to  promise  great  usefulness.  The  investigation  of  a 
limited  number  of  such  cases  may  be  undertaken. 
The  primary  aim  of  this  work  will  be  to  render  the  United  States 
self-supporting  in  the  matter  of  those  crude  drugs  which  can  with 
profit  be  grown  here.  This  is,  of  course,  a  very  far-reaching  prob- 
lem, and  will  require  for  its  solution  a  long  time,  patience,  and  very 
careful  study,  both  in  the  laboratory  and  in  the  field.  Since  this 
work  is  essentially  pioneer  work,  it  is  hardly  probable  that  immedi- 
ate results  will  be  obtained. 
In  addition  to  the  work  above  planned,  the  establishment  of  a 
laboratory  for  the  study  of  drug  alteration  in  the  Bureau  of  Chem- 
istry will  contribute  another  source  of  valuable  information  on 
drugs. 
Bureau  of  Plant  Industry, 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 
THE  LEECH  HIRUDO  OR  SANGUISUGA— HOW  TO  CARE 
FOR  AND  KEEP  IN  GOOD  CONDITION.1 
By  J.  L.  Lemberger. 
Some  pharmacists  sell  leeches,  and  where  there  is  a  large  demand 
there  is  no  trouble  to  keep  them  without  serious  loss,  as  they  are 
usually  so  well  packed  in  native  peat  that  they  can  be  well  kept  and 
remain  healthy  for  several  months.  But  when  the  demand  is  only 
occasional,  then  a  difficulty  comes  in  the  way — that  of  preserva- 
tion ;  they  become  diseased  and  die,  very  soon  affecting  the  entire 
stock. 
It  will  be  interesting  knowledge  to  some  of  us,  that  as  far  back 
'as  1837  an  enterprising  doctor,  who  went  from  New  York  City  to 
Detroit,  and  who  had  been  a  leech  doctor  in  New  York  (by  leech 
doctor  I  mean  one  who  had  used  them  in  his  practice  very  freely 
and  successlully),  experienced  great  difficulty  in  procuring  them  in 
his  new  field  of  practice  (the  transportation  then  was  not  so  rapid 
as  it  is  now,  and  by  the  time  he  got  his  leeches  from  New  York 
1  Read  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Pennsylvania  Pharmaceutical  Associa- 
tion, June,  1902. 
