^.Mnr}        Loss  of  Plants  in  Drying,  etc.  7 
repeatedly  agitated  during  intervals  of  a  few  hours,  and  the  head  was 
saturated  with  this  every  morning.  In  a  few  weeks  every  trace  of 
dandruff  had  disappeared,  the  hair  became  soft  and  glossy,  and  now, 
after  a  discontinuance  of  the  treatment  for  eighteen  months,  there  is 
no  indication  of  the  return  of  the  disease.  I  do  not  pretend  to  ex- 
plain the  modus  operandi  of  the  treatment,  for  it  is  well  known  that 
sublimed  sulphur  is  almost  or  wholly  insoluble,  and  the  liquid  used  was 
destitute  of  taste,  color  or  smell.  The  effect  speaks  for  itself.  Other 
persons  to  whom  it  has  been  recommended,  have  had  the  same  results, 
and  I  communicate  the  result  of  my  experiments  in  the  belief  that 
it  may  be  valuable  and  acceptable  to  many  who  have  suffered  in  the 
same  manner  as  myself. 
ON  THE  LOSS  OF  THE  HERBACEOUS  PARTS  OF  PLANTS  IN 
DRYING. 
By  John  M.  Maisch. 
Few  pharmacists  have  a  correct  idea  about  the  amount  of  moisture 
contained  in  the  drugs  which  they  are  daily  handling,  and  many 
would  smile  incredulously  if  informed  that  some  of  these  drugs,  which 
are  regarded  as  "dry,"  still  lose  from  one-seventh  to  one-sixth  of  their 
weight  if  dried  in  a  water  bath,  and  that  even  many  of  the  powders 
as  met  with  in  the  shops  contain  from  six  to  ten  per  cent,  and  some- 
times more  moisture.  Carefully  performed  experiments  with  a  large 
number  of  drugs  and  dry  preparations  are  very  much  needed  ;  for  it 
is  obvious  that  galenical  preparations,  and  particularly  tinctures, 
syrups,  fluid  extracts  and  the  like,  must  vary  in  strength  as  pre- 
pared from  anhydrous  or  merely  air-dry  material,  though  both  may 
be  of  equal  quality  when  anhydrous. 
The  loss  in  weight  of  living  plants  or  parts  of  plants,  when  brought 
to  an  air-dry  condition,  is  likewise  a  subject  about  which  little  is 
known,  since  pharmacists  usually  depend  on  wholesale  dealers  for 
their  supply  of  indigenous  drugs,  though  the  plants  may  grow  abun- 
dantly within  convenient  reach.  The  superior  quality,  however,  of 
drugs  collected  and  cured  by  the  pharmacist,  as  compared  with  their 
usual  condition  in  the  general  market,  is  often  so  striking,  that  few 
who  value  good  and  reliable  drugs,  would  be  willing  to  discontinue 
such  collection  and  curing,  after  they  have  once  commenced  it. 
In  collecting  the  annual  supply,  it  is  necessary  to  take  into  consid- 
