440 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
{Am,  Jour.  Pharm , 
I  September  1902. 
that  have  been  made  in  pharmacognosy,  since  the  introduction  or 
the  compound  microscope,  the  writer  gives  some  interesting  data  as 
to  the  necessity  of  including  descriptions  of  powdered  drugs  in 
modern  pharmacopoeias.  He  then  points  out  the  fact  that  the 
descriptions  of  powdered  drugs  in  the  Swedish  Pharmacopoeia  arer 
on  the  whole,  satisfactory,  and  a  marked  advance  on  those  published 
in  the  German  Pharmacopoeia.  In  a  detailed  review  ot  the  subject 
Vogl  considers  that  microscopic  characteristics  are  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  all  drugs  that  can  only  be  positively  recognized  by  means 
of  the  microscope,  either  as  to  purity  or  quality;  for  instance,  for 
such  drugs  as  only  occur  in  the  form  of  powder,  as  starch,  lycopo- 
dium  and  kamala.  The  compound  microscope  is  also  of  importance 
in  the  recognition  of  all  drugs  of  organic  origin  that  may  or  do 
occur  in  trade,  in  the  powdered  form.  These  latter  drugs  may, 
according  to  the  writer,  be  divided  into  two  classes,  the  first  having 
structural  characteristics,  such  as  leaves,  plants,  barks  and  roots. 
The  second  class  includes  all  drugs  not  having  any  structural 
characteristics  but  in  which  the  adulterant  is  likely  to  have  some 
structural  forms,  as  in  the  gums,  resins,  inspissated  juices  and  other 
drugs  of  a  like  nature. 
The  writer  lays  particular  stress  on  the  desirability  of  Pharma- 
copoeias, including  only  the  most  important  characteristics,  especially 
such  as  are  characteristic  of  the  particular  drug  under  comment  at 
the  time.  Anything  beyond  this,  the  author  thinks,  belongs  to  a 
text- book  on  Pharmacognosy  and  not  in  the  Pharmacopoeia. 
Considerable  space  has  been  devoted,  by  the  pharmaceutical  jour- 
nals of  Continental  Europe,  to  a  discussion  of  the  generally  precari- 
ous and  unsettled  condition  of  the  apothecaries  business.  As  is  welL 
known,  in  the  majority  of  countries  of  Continental  Europe  the  prac- 
tice of  pharmacy  is  hedged  in  with  a  variety  of  more  or  less  irksome 
and  oppressive  regulations.  Coupled  with  this,  European  pharmacists 
are  also  suffering  from  the  gradual  but,  nevertheless,  steady  decline 
in  prescription  business,  due  to  the  increase  in  favor  of  other  non- 
medical therapeutic  measures,  such  as  hot  or  cold  baths,  massage,, 
the  X-rays  and  other  forms  of  phototherapeutic  measures,  all  ot 
which  have  materially  decreased  the  natural  sources  of  income  to 
the  pharmacist.  Add  to  this  the  tremendous  and  still  growing  list 
of  patented  or  proprietary  preparations  and  we  can  easily  appreciate 
that  the  position  of  the  European  pharmacist  can  hardly  be  con- 
sidered to  be  any  more  desirable  than  our  own. 
