Am.  Jour .  Pharm.  \ 
Aug..  1888.  / 
Editorial. 
429 
Sulphate  of  Quinine  was  made  free  in  1879,  but  to  illustrate  fully  the 
effects  of  this  legislative  action  upon  this  article,  it  is  necessary  to  go  back 
a  few  years  beyond  1879,  and  compare  the  importations  under  a  20-per-cent 
ad  valorem  duty,  with  the  importations  which  immediately  followed  the 
placing  of  Quinine  upon  the  free  list. 
The  importations  for  the  past  fourteen  fiscal  years,  ending  with  the  30th 
of  June  in  each  year,  have  been  as  follows  : 
Ounces, 
  408,851 
  794,495 
Years. 
Ounces. 
Years. 
1874.  . 
68,097 
1881.  .Free 
1875.  . 
<(  •( 
12,279 
1882  .  .  " 
1876.  . 
22,746 
1883.  .  " 
1877.  . 
75,804 
1884.  .  " 
1878.  . 
.  .  17,549 
1885.  .  " 
1879.  . 
228,348 
1886.  .  " 
1880.  . 
1887.  .  " 
1,055,764 
1,263,732 
1,390,126 
1,251,556 
2,180,157 
Not  a  single  ounce  of  American  Sulphate  of  Quinine  was  exported  during 
this  period.  What  other  result  could  have  been  anticipated  than  the  large 
importations  presented  above  ?  *  *  *  *  Under  moderate  protection 
(and  the  duty  of  20  per  cent,  ad  valorem  was  a  very  moderate  one)  the 
2,180,157  ounces  of  Sulphate  of  Quinine  made  in  England,  France,  Ger- 
many and  Italy,  and  sent  to  this  country  for  coiisumption  during  the  fiscal 
year  ending  June  30,  1887,  would  have  been  manufactured  here. 
The  prices  in  Europe  before  and  after  the  removal  of  the  duty  in  the 
United  States : 
AVERAGE  PRICES  IN  THE  LONDON  MARKET. 
English,  in  1-ounce  vials,      13s.  2d.  per  ounce  =  $3  16-| 
French,        "  "  12s.  3d.       "  =  2  94  V  in  1877. 
Italian  and  German,  in  tins,  lis.  8d.       "  =  2  80 ) 
English,  in  1-ounce  vials,       .12s.  4d.  per;  ounce  ==  $2  96-^ 
French,       "  "  12s.  4d.       "  =  2  96  1  in  1879. 
Italian  and  German,  in  tins,  lis.  2d.       "  =2  esJ 
MAXIMUM  PRICES  IN  THE  LONDON  MARKET,  1877. 
English  in  one-ounce  vials,  16s.  6d  per  ounce  =  |3.96. 
French  "   15s.  9d       "         =  $3.78. 
Italian  and  German  in  tins,  15s.  "        =  $3.60. 
MINIMUM  PRICES  IN  THE  LONDON  MARKET,  1887. 
Now  we  submit  the  following  as  quotations  named  in  the  London  market 
for  Sulphate  of  Quinine,  November,  1887  : 
English  in  one-ounce  vials,  2s.  Id  =  50  cents  in  London. 
French        "  "  2s.      =48      "  " 
German  and  Italian  in  tins,  Is.  3d  ==30      "  " 
Here  we  have  London  prices  for  foreign  makes  of  Quinine  : 
50  cents  in  1887,  against  $3.96  for  English,  in  vials,  in  1877. 
48       "  "        3.78  for  French,  " 
30       "       "       "        3.60  for  German  and  Italian  in  tins,  1877. 
As  Quinine  dropped,  in  price,  throughout  the  world  (from  80  to  90  per 
cent,  between  the  years  1877  and  1887),  and  as  English,  French ,  German, 
Italian,  and  all  manufacturers,  irrespective  of  locality,  lowered  their  figures, 
it  follows  logically  that  the  controlling  influence  must  have  been  one  and 
