Am'Mayr,'Sarm*} Pharmacopceial  Assays  of  Drugs  and  Galenicals.  22$ 
fill  for  all  those  drugs  which  can  be  readily  identified  by  their 
physical  characters,  and  which  have  not  been  subjected  to  fraudu- 
lent manipulations.  The  three  species  of  Cinchona  formerly  recog- 
nized by  most  pharmacopoeias,  viz  :  C.  Calisaya,  C.  succirubra  and 
C.  officinalis,  furnish  unobjectionable  bark  for  pharmaceutical  pur- 
poses, and  no  assay — indispensable  though  it  may  be  to  the  manu- 
facturer of  quinine — would  be  necessary  for  the  uses  of  the  physi- 
cian or  pharmacist ;  the  introduction  of  barks,  many  of  them  of 
very  poor  quality,  obtained  from  botanically  allied  trees,  and  pos- 
sessing similar  macroscopic  characters,  rendered  the  identification 
of  the  former  doubtful,  and  chemistry  was  called  upon  to  supply 
the  needful  means  for  determining  the  main  constituents  without 
regard  to  origin. 
Why  the  quality  of  commercial  jalap  has  deteriorated,  is  not 
known  ;  possibly  Prof.  Fliickiger's  suggestion  (see  March  number, 
p.  142)  may  be  correct,  and  since  the  fraudulent  manipulation  (if  the 
drug  has  been  subjected  to  such)  has  been  skilfully  concealed,  the 
necessity  exists  for  the  estimation  of  the  remaining  resin. 
The  milk  juice  of  scammony  root  became  adulterated  in  former 
years  through  the  cupidity  of  the  importer  limiting  the  purchasing 
price  to  a  figure  below  the  cost  of  production,  no  less  than  through 
the  cupidity  of  the  producer. 
Even  at  the  present  time  we  have  no  definite  knowledge  of  the 
extent  to  which  the  composition  of  the  pure  milk  juice  of  the  poppy 
varies  in  the  different  districts  of  Asia  Minor;  but  it  is  known  that 
the  opium  from  various  localities  may  vary  in  morphine  strength  to 
the  extent  of  several  hundred  per  cent.  Moreover,  its  original 
characters  as  an  exudation  are  entirely  obliterated  by  the  manipula- 
tions it  is  subjected  to  before  it  enters  the'  market;  its  physical 
characters  approach  those  of  the  extracts,  the  external  appearance 
of  which  is  indicative  of  their  remedial  qualities  only  to  a  limited 
degree. 
Now  let  us  briefly  consider  one  of  the  most  powerful  drugs  of 
the  Pharmacopoeia,  nux  vomica.  This  seed  is  easily  recognized,  and 
its  freedom  from  admixtures  may  be  established  without  difficulty.  It 
has  been  frequently  the  subject  of  chemical  examination,  and  two  of 
its  powerful  alkaloids,  strychnine  and  brucine,  are  well  known  and  are 
met  with  in  commerce  ;  yet  the  residuary  products  left  in  the  manu- 
facture of  these  commercial  alkaloids,  have  never  been  satisfactorily 
