Am.  jour.  Pharm.  |      77^  Laboratory  in  War  Time.  12c 
February,  1918.  }  J  ±zO 
to  the  seed,  type  of  soil,  influence  of  fertilizers,  and  cultivation  must 
be  answered.  There  must  be  developed  methods  of  harvesting, 
curing  and  packing.  The  selection  and  breeding  of  medicinal  plants 
affords  a  field  for  the  widest  scientific  activity  and  gives  some  promise 
of  being  of  great  practical  and  economical  importance. 
Many  other  problems  for  the  laboratory  to  solve  have  arisen 
out  of  the  war.  The  cutting  off  of  European  supplies  created  a 
demand  for  new  and  unusual  forms  of  products.  These  had  to  be 
met  so  far  as  possible.  Then  there  arose  embargoes  against  the 
exportation  from  the  United  States  of  goods  containing  specified 
drugs  or  chemicals,  necessitating  the  formulation  of  products  with- 
out the  prohibited  ingredients,  shipments  of  which  were  made  only 
to  be  sunk  by  sea-raiders  or  submarines. 
Beginning  with  the  onset  of  the  European  war  and  intensified  by 
the  introduction  of  the  United  States  into  the  conflict,  manufacturers 
were  embarrassed  by  druggists  who  were  overstocking,  creating 
in  many  instances  an  unnecessary  shortage  of  material.  Many  lines 
of  goods  which  were  supplied  before  the  war  in  quantities  sufficient 
to  meet  all  needs  have  been  entirely  abandoned,  and  it  is  a  question 
whether  some  of  them  will  ever  be  revived.  It  is  undoubtedly  true 
that  in  many  medicinal  supplies  we  have  had  an  unnecessary  duplica- 
tion with  many  superfluous  commodities  and  preparations. 
With  the  entrance  of  the  United  States  into  the  war  came  the 
extraordinary  demands  from  the  government.  By  cooperation  of 
the  manufacturers,  the  government  was  induced  to  so  change  its 
specifications  that  manufacturers  could  meet  its  requirements  with 
the  facilities  already  in  hand.  The  Council  of  National  Defense 
rightly  imposed  upon  manufacturers  the  duty  of  making  war  needs 
paramount,  and  the  manufacturers  met  this  with  a  spirit  never  before 
equalled  in  the  history  of  the  world,  assuming  the  burden  of  at- 
tempting to  produce  millions  where  heretofore  they  had  produced 
thousands.  They  changed  their  methods  and  increased  their  pro- 
duction without  a  question  as  to  the  ultimate  outcome.  »« 
When  the  history  of  this  war  is  finally  written  it  will  be  found 
that  the  manufacturers  of  pharmaceutical  products  and  allied  lines 
are  entitled  to  great  credit  for  their  loyalty,  their  quick  and  ready 
response,  and  for  their  efficiency  in  supplying  the  government  re- 
quirements. 
As  a  sort  of  return  Congress  has  imposed  upon  the  manufacturers 
a  heavy  and  endless  system  of  taxation — taxes  upon  their  com- 
