AmMa?yi§o.arm'}   Pharmacopoeia  I  Revision  and  Assays.  219 
tions,  but  it  has  often  been  claimed  with  much  force,  that  now  pro- 
cesses of  assay  should  be  directed  for  all  the  important  crude  drugs, 
even  including  those  which  have  no  definite,  separable,  active 
principles.  This  claim  seems  to  be.  an  outgrowth  of  experience 
obtained  by  the  leading  step  taken  in  regard  to  Cinchona  and 
Opium,  but  this  is  certainly  not  the  case,  for  no  one  who  has  had 
much  experience  with  Cinchona  and  Opium  assays  can  have  escaped 
the  difficulties  and  uncertainties  of  these.  The  assaying  of  crude 
drugs  for  their  active  principles  seems  an  easy  matter  to  those  who 
only  read  and  write  upon  the  subject.  But  those  who  attempt  to 
practise  the  processes  soon  get  a  very  different  impression,  for  there 
is  really  nothing  more  precarious  and  uncertain  than  these  assays  in 
general  hands  with  but  a  small  experience  in  such  work.  Assay 
processes  might  perhaps  be  wisely  directed  for  a  few  additional 
drugs  such  as  Aconite,  Belladonna,  Conium,  Hyoscyamus,  Ipeca- 
cuanha, Jalap,  Nux  Vomica,  Scammony  and  Veratrum  Viride. 
Pharmacopceial  processes  of  assay  will  be  successful  or  unsuccess- 
ful in  proportion  to  their  character.  If  they  aim  at  a  high  degree  of 
accuracy  and  precision  they  must,  necessarily,  be  elaborate  and  com- 
plex to  a  degree  that  places  them  beyond  the  reach  of  general 
pharmaceutical  ability.  But  if  they  aim  at  only  the  very  moderate 
degree  of  accuracy,  such  as  satisfies  the  careful  manufacturer  in  the 
selection  of  materials,  rough  processes  of  approximate  assay  may  be 
found  that  are  sufficiently  easy  of  application  to  be  successfully 
applied  to  pharmaceutical  ability  and  usage  through  the  authority 
of  the  Pharmacopoeia.  While  most  of  these  rough  and  ready  pro- 
cesses are  secreted  in  the  hands  of  manufacturers,  yet  enough  of 
them  are  published  to  give  the  Pharmacopoeia  opportunities  of 
selection  in  these,  and  in  the  trials  of  selection  similar  processes  for 
all  would  be  naturally  reached.  Including  Cinchona  and  Opium 
eleven  drugs  have  been  named  which  might  have  processes  of  assay 
given  in  the  Pharmacopoeia,  and  if  high  degrees  of  accuracy  be  not 
aimed  at,  a  moderate  amount  of  work  in  the  selection  of  proper 
menstrua  would  enable  the  Pharmacopoeia  to  apply  the  shaking 
out  process  to  all  these  articles  with  results  sufficiently  close  for  the 
present  scope  of  the  Pharmacopoeia,  and  sufficient  to  prevent  the 
Pharmacopoeia  from  depending  upon  either  experts,  manufacturers, 
or  commentaries.  For  example,  a  simple  and  easy  process  for 
Opium  assay,  which  in  hands  of  ordinarily  educated  pharmaceutical 
