446  The  War  and  Pharmacy.         { A^tX"rP?9™" 
correspondent  of  the  "  Chemist  and  Druggist,"  March  10,  191 7,  as 
follows:  "Must  such  preparations  (referring  to  syrups)  be  ever 
thus  presented?  Would  not  a  sour  or  bitter  form  suit  just  as  well? 
There  are  more  desirable  flavours  than  sweet,  though  these  are  most 
pleasing  to  infants.  But  sour  preparations  would  suit  even  better 
in  many  cases,  and  fermentation  would  be  prevented.  Would  not 
a  bitter  suit  the  beer-drinker  better?  Would  not  an  acid  prepara- 
tion suit  the  tart  old  maid  or  the  still  younger  'tart'?  If  sugar 
be  wanting,  and  it  is,  it  becomes  more  than  your  duty,  your  privi- 
lege, to  lead  the  way  in  demonstrating  the  fact  that  sugar  as  an 
adjunct  to  drugs  can  and  will  be  superseded  by  — .  It  might  be 
announced  thus :  '  Owing  to  national  scarcity  of  sugar,  we  beg  to 
inform  our  clients  that  what  were  syrups  in  the  sweet  and  piping 
times  of  peace  have  now  become  war  sours  and  bitters !  They  have 
the  same  therapeutic  medicinal  value,  the  only  difference  being  the 
exchange  of  a  sour  or  bitter  flavouring  in  place  of  the  sugar  or 
sweet.'  " 
The  B.  P.  does  not  stand  in  the  way  of  such  necessary  innova- 
tions. No  syrups  or  sugar  coating  during  the  war,  then  none  will 
be  wanted  after ! 
An  interesting  proposal  is  the  use  of  malt  extract  in  place  of 
sugar.  It  was  found  after  considerable  experimentation  that  1 
gram  of  malt  extract  generally  produces  about  1  gram  of  sugar  in 
a  porridge  or  rice  and  milk  pudding. 
And  now,  in  the  light  of  war  conditions  abroad,  what  is  likely  to 
result  here  in  the  event  of  a  prolonged  war  ?  In  my  opinion  we  will 
have  to  face  the  following : 
1.  The  supply  of  assistants  will  be  still  shorter  and  less  satis- 
factory than  it  is  now.  Many  of  our  young  pharmacists  have 
already  enlisted,  more  of  them  will  be  drafted.  A  considerable 
number  of  those  not  in  the  service  will  probably  seek  and  find  em- 
ployment in  other  business  ventures  which  are  now  more  profitable 
than  pharmacy. 
2.  The  prices  of  certain  chemicals  and  drugs  will  rise  to  higher 
levels  than  they  are  even  now.  Some  chemicals,  no  doubt,  will  dis- 
appear almost  entirely  from  the  pharmaceutical  market.  Glycerin 
will  probably  be  the  first  common  substance  to  become  scarce.  Su- 
gar, fats  and  oils  will,  no  doubt,  follow. 
3.  The  volume  of  business  done  by  the  average  pharmacist  will 
probably  increase,  but  the  net  income  will  not  keep  step  with  this 
