584 
Advances  in  Pharmacy. 
/Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
December,  191 7. 
at  the  present  price  which  ranges  from  $5.00  to  $10.00  per  pound 
with  practically  no  offerings.  Under  normal  conditions  liquid  storax 
will  average  about  $0.20  per  lb.,  but  even  then  it  is  the  worst  adul- 
terated material  ever  examined  in  our  laboratory,  being  adulterated 
with  Burgundy  pitch,  colophony,  castor  oil  and  extracted  storax. 
At  $0.20  per  pound  American  storax  cannot  compete,  unless  some 
cheap  method  of  production  can  be  worked  out ;  the  Forest  Service 
is  now  busy  on  this  problem.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  this  ma- 
terial can  be  obtained  for  $0.50  to  $1.00  per  pound  and  that  after  a 
market  is  found  the  supply  may  warrant  a  material  reduction. 
Conclusion. 
It  would  seem  that  "  sweet  gum  "  may  be  used  in  the  place  of 
liquid  storax  with  good  results ;  that  it  carries  more  cinnamic  acid 
than  commercial  storax;  that  the  odor  and  fixative  properties  of 
"  sweet  gum  "  are  superior  to  the  commercial  variety  of  storax  im- 
ported into  the  United  States ;  that  the  southern  portion  of  the 
United  States  should  furnish  all  the  storax  required ;  that  the  old 
hardened  balsam  may  be  used  in  the  manufacture  of  chewing  gum. 
Chemical  Department,  American  Tobacco  Company, 
60  Franklin  Avenue,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
QUARTERLY  REVIEW  ON  THE  ADVANCES  IN 
PHARMACY. 
By  John  K.  Thum,  Ph.M., 
Lankenau  Hospital,  Philadelphia. 
Use  of  Saccharine  in  France. — At  a  recent  meeting  of  the 
Therapeutic  Society  a  discussion  on  the  use  of  saccharine  brought 
forth  some  interesting  conclusions.  The  consensus  of  opinion  was 
that  in  the  present  state  of  the  sugar  supply  the  employment  of  a 
mixture  of  one  part  of  saccharine  to  one  thousand  parts  of  glucose 
should  be  allowed  as  a  substitute  for  sugar.  But  its  use  in  any  other 
form  such  as  in  chocolates,  jam,  and  other  dietetic  articles  should 
be  absolutely  prohibited.  It  was  also  decided  that  its  use  in  any 
product  destined  for  infants,  invalids  and  convalescents  should 
also  be  absolutely  forbidden.  It  was  also  deemed  of  great  impor- 
tance to  rigorously  insist  that  the  presence  of  saccharine  should 
