THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY 
APRIL,  igoo. 
IN  .LANDS  WHERE  DRUGS  GROW. 
By  F.  B.  Kilmer. 
Of  the  several  papers  which  I  have  had  the  honor  to  read  before 
this  body,  the  present  might  be  considered  as  the  third  in  a  series 
of  observations  taken  in  the  lands  which  furnish  market  supplies  of 
certain  drugs. 
On  examining  a  pharmaceutical  map,  we  observe  that  in  nearly 
every  region  of  the  earth,  whether  habitable  or  waste,  medicinal 
plants  are  found  growing.  While  the  vision  of  a  Hanbury,  a 
Fliickiger,  or  a  Maisch  may  sweep  around  the  entire  globe,  the 
horizon  of  the  ordinary  worker  extends  but  a  little  way. 
Much  work  has  been  done  by  very  able  workers  upon  a  few  of 
the  more  prominent  drugs.  We  possess  the  Pharmacographia  of 
Fliickiger  and  Hanbury,  but  with  reference  to  the  production  and 
cultivation  of,  and  the  commerce  in,  drugs,  the  authors  have 
admitted  that  their  information  is  but  fragmentary  and  of  uncertain 
value.  In  these  and  similar  works  we  find  statements  repeated  and 
perpetuated  for  a  generation  with  no  attempt  at  correction,  verifi- 
cation or  addition.  Often  we  find  the  text-books  greatly  at  variance 
with  the  bills  of  lading  as  to  the  habitat  of  drugs. 
In  commerce  it  often  occurs  that  the  name  of  a  country  or  prov- 
ince is  attached  to  a  drug,  not  so  much  to  indicate  the  source  as 
the  variety.  In  respect  to  most  drugs  the  real  field  of  origin  is  a 
trade  secret.  For  example:  The  entire  result  of  a  recent  attempt 
to  investigate  the  source  of  a  certain  vegetable  drug  was  the  infor- 
mation that  it  came  from  South  America.    Taken  literally  this 
(i55) 
