1 10 
Synthetic  Chemicals. 
/Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\      March,  1900. 
and  chemical  attraction.  The  court  upheld  the  technical  construc- 
tion of  the  law,  and  decided  the  articles  in  question  to  be  exempt 
from  tax.  The  decision  (published  as  Treasury  Decision  No.  20634  \ 
91  Fed.  Rep.,  608)  is  quite  a  clear  and  comprehensive  discussion  of 
the  disputed  points,  and  marks  out,  with  a  considerable  degree  of 
exactness,  the  distinction,  between  a  compounded  and  uncompounded 
chemical,  basing  it  entirely  upon  the  question  whether  the  substance 
in  question  is  or  is  not  a  distinct  chemical  species  unmixed  with  any 
other  substance.  It  is  worthy  of  note,  however,  as  an  indication  of 
the  difficulty  experienced  by  a  layman  in  dealing  with  the  extensive 
field  of  substances  used  in  medicine,  that  Justice  Brown,  in  his  de- 
cision, classes  opium  with  quinine  as  a  chemical  compound,  while  he 
puts  alkaloids  along  with  tinctures,  extracts,  etc.,  in  the  category  of 
pharmaceutical  compounds.  Little  light  is  thrown  upon  the  more 
difficult  question  of  the  definition  of  an  uncompounded  drug  as  dis- 
tinguished from  an  uncompounded  chemical. 
The  decision  was  accepted  by  the  Commissioner  of  Internal  Reve- 
nue, and  regulations  issued  in  accordance  therewith,  providing  for 
the  submission,  in  the  case  of  an  article  claiming  exemption,  of  a 
sample  for  chemical  analysis  or  examination,  the  result  to  govern 
the  action  of  the  office  in  the  premises. 
These  samples  have  occupied  a  large  share  of  the  time  of  the 
Chemical  Division  of  the  Internal  Revenue  Office  during  the  past 
year,  the  analytical  work  having  been  performed  chiefly  by  Mr. 
Simons.  A  complete  ultimate  analysis  was  not  found  necessary  in 
any  case,  the  estimation  of  the  nitrogen  in  bodies  containing  it,  ot 
halides  or  metallic  bases  in  others,  together  with  the  determination 
of  melting  points,  solubilities  and  other  characteristics,  usually  serv- 
ing to  establish  the  identity  and  individuality  of  a  chemical,  although 
it  will  be  seen  that  each  sample  required  a  separate  investigation 
and  study,  in  some  cases  constituting  quite  a  puzzle,  as  chemical 
literature  is  very  scant  concerning  them.  The  work  has  been  inter- 
esting in  many  ways,  however,  more  particularly  on  account  of  the 
interest  attaching  to  the  preparations  as  representing  the  products 
of  the  skill  of  the  synthetic  chemist. 
It  would  be  highly  interesting,  no  doubt,  to  make  a  study  of  the 
class  from  any  one  of  three  different  points  of  view,  of  the  chemist, 
the  pharmacist  or  the  physician,  but  such  a  presentation  of  the 
subject  would  be  entirely  outside  the  limits  of  our  time,  and  we  aim 
