Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
March,  1914.  / 
Applied  Pharmacognosy. 
117 
patibility  or  means  for  controlling  any  one  or  all  of  these  properties 
of  each  and  every  ingredient  in  the  preparation.  And  last  but  not 
least  the  color  and  flavor  must  be  pleasing  to  the  eye  and  taste. 
It  is  these  characteristics,  the  last  two  in  particular,  that  have 
built  up  the  pharmaceutical  manufacturer's  business  at  the  expense 
of  the  druggist,  and  the  physician's  ability  as  a  prescription  writer. 
You  might  think  the  manufacturer  has  his  formulas  all  highly 
perfected  and  there  is  nothing  more  to  be  done.  This  is  not  always 
the  case.  Purer  chemicals  are  produced,  solubilities  and  incom- 
patibilities may  be  changed  or  some  new  procedure  of  manipulation 
is  learned.  We  therefore  have  before  us  a  continual  line  of  sub- 
stances and  preparations  for  research. 
If  a  new  or  modified  formula  is  to  be  made  up  it  is  always  ad- 
visable to  make  up  a  small  quantity,  taking  note  of  each  step  and 
carefully  observing  just  what  reactions  take  place.  Possibly  a 
number  of  combinations  are  indicated  and  about  the  only  way  to 
prove  their  value  is  to  make  up  the  combinations  and  test  them 
out  under  all  conditions.  Each  lot  may  be  divided  into  portions 
and  one  of  each  placed  in  the  sunlight,  a  hot  closet,  an  ice  box, 
humid  atmosphere  and  a  control  under  normal  conditions. 
When  the  satisfactory  combination  is  decided  upon,  the  manipu- 
lation and  apparatus  for  handling  large  quantities  is  to  be  con- 
sidered. 
Means  for  weighing  and  measuring,  mixing,  mechanical  appa- 
ratus, kettles  for  heating,  filtering,  storage,  bottling  or  filling  pack- 
ages are  problems  always  to  be  solved.  Since  the  difference  between 
raw  material  and  finished  product  is  labor,  practical  apparatus  and 
economical  manipulation  stand  between  profit  and  loss. 
After  the  preparation  is  finished  and  ofttimes  during  the  opera- 
tion various  assays  are  made  to  check  up  the  process,  also  for 
standardized  preparations  which  are  usually  made  overstrength 
and  adjusted  by  assay.  Fluidextracts,  elixirs,  syrups,  etc.,  are 
assayed  for  alcohol,  alkaloids,  extractive,  specific  gravity ;  tablets 
and  pills  for  weight  and  ingredients  ;  ointments  for  grittiness,  also 
powders ;  emulsions  for  efficiency  of  emulsification,  etc. 
As  the  majority  of  men  seeking  employment  in  a  pharmaceutical 
laboratory  prefer  to  get  into  the  analytical  department  I  want  to 
say  a  few  words  about  the  work.  I  don't  mean  to  be  sarcastic  or 
to  ridicule  any  one,  but  I  want  to  point  out  to  you  the  problems  by 
telling  you  how  they  should  not  be  done. 
