Aj;nu0a"y,i9ia3rm'}    Retail  Pharmacist  and  Pure  Drugs.  9 
affecting  the  quality  of  commercial  drugs  is  the  fact  that  they  are 
being  studied  more  intelligently  than  heretofore.  Until  recently, 
with  few  exceptions,  the  scientific  study  of  drugs  has  been  more 
or  less  superficial.  At  the  present  time  greater  efforts  are  being 
put  forth  in  the  study  of  the  active  principles.  These  studies  are 
furthermore  being  supplemented  by  the  investigations  of  trained 
pharmacologists.  The  result  of  these  investigations  must  influence 
not  only  the  practice  of  pharmacy,  but  also  the  practice  of  medicine. 
The  empiricism  of  the  past  is  being  replaced  with  the  truth  of 
science.  The  researches  of  Power  and  Salway 6  (for  instance) 
in  failing  to  find  any  constituents  in  the  seeds  of  the  pumpkin  that 
possess  tenifugal  properties,  must  influence  not  only  the  use  of 
this  substance  by  physicians,  but  the  retention  of  this  article  by 
the  Pharmacopoeia.  The  numerous  studies  on  the  biochemical  assay 
of  digitalis  and  its  preparations  which  have  been  published 
during  the  past  few  years  and  the  many  investigations  which 
are  still  going  on  will  shortly  enable  the  pharmacists  to  sup- 
ply quite  uniform  preparations  of  this  important  drug.  Many 
illustrations  could  be  given  to  show  that  our  knowledge  of  the  con- 
stituents of  drugs  is  becoming  more  and  more  exact,  and  with  this 
extension  of  knowledge  of  the  active  constituents  we  are  more  and 
more  enabled  to  prepare  galenicals  which  shall  represent  the  true 
properties  of  the  drug.  Furthermore,  this  knowledge  is  enabling  us 
to  differentiate  more  clearly  those  drugs  possessing  positive  me- 
dicinal action  from  those  which  are  slightly  efficient  or  altogether 
worthless,  and  by  elimination  of  the  latter  to  reduce  the  number 
of  drugs.  The  sooner  we  can  cast  all  positively  useless  drugs  into 
the  realm  of  the  obsolete  the  better  it  will  be  for  all  concerned, 
except,  of  course,  those  who  are  desirous  of  adding  to  the  number 
of  salable  commodities.  These  investigations,  regarding  the  physi- 
cal and  chemical  nature  of  drugs,  form  the  basis  of  Pharmacopoeia 
revision,  and  as  the  United  States  Pharmacopoeia  is  the  legal  stand- 
ard, it  is  at  once  apparent  how  these  two  factors,  legislation  and 
pharmaceutic  research,  are  contributing  most  effectively  to  an  im- 
provement and  greater  uniformity  in  the  quality  of  drugs  of  the 
Pharmacopoeia. 
Higher  Standards  of  Education. — A  third  factor"  making  for 
6  Power,  F.  B.  and  Salway,  A.  H. :  Jour.  Am.  Chem.  Soc,  1910,  xxxii, 
346. 
