8  Retail  Pharmacist  and  Pure  Drugs.    {AjaUJu°aurry  iSf™" 
ground  of  their  being  rriisbranded  or  adulterated  or  both,  I  have 
no  doubt  that  the  large  drug-dealers  have  brought  sufficient  pres- 
sure to  bear  on  the  collectors  of  crude  drugs  that  we  may  feel  that 
the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  subject  of  the  collection  of  medi- 
cal plants,  at  least  in  the  United  States,  will  be  under  the  control 
of  properly  licensed  persons.  The  collectors  of  medicinal  plants 
should  have  just  as  much  information,  and  if  anything  greater  spe- 
cialized information,  concerning  crude  drugs  than  is  expected  of 
the  dealer  in  crude  drugs  or  retail  pharmacists.  Why  shall  the 
question  of  the  quality  of  drugs  be  put  to  the  retail  pharmacist  as 
a  conundrum  fbr  his  solution  when  the  collector  has  the  key  to  the 
problem?  In  practical  metallurgy  who  would  think  of  extracting 
thousands  of  tons  of  ore  from  a  mine,  roasting  and  refining  it  and 
ascertaining  only  in  the  matte  or  pure  metal  that  the  ore  to  begin 
with  was  of  low  grade?  That  this  has  been  a  common  experience 
with  regard  to  drugs  is  shown  by  the  numerous  analyses  which  have 
been  published,  but  this  condition  has  been  greatly  improved  as 
shown  by  the  fact  that  during  the  past  year  drugs  of  a  higher  grade 
and  greater  uniformity  are  to  be  found  on  the  market. 
I  might  add  at  this  time  that  there  are  other  encouraging  signs 
which  show  us  that  not  only  is  the  whole  commerce  of  drugs  being 
brought  under  the  surveillance  of  trained  and  scientific  men  in  phar- 
macy and  those  who  appreciate  their;  responsibilities  in  this  work, 
but  also  even  the  growing  plants  yielding  our  drugs  are  being 
brought  more  and  more  under  scientific  observation  and  control. 
The  intelligent  harvester  collecting  fresh  drugs  at  the  proper  season 
may  not  only  collect  drugs  that  are  pure  and  unadulterated,  but 
also  collect  those  that  contain  the  maximum  quantity  of  active 
constituents.  This  interest  in  the  growing  of  medicinal  plants  will 
be  found  an  important  factor  in  improving  the  quality  of  vegetable 
drugs.  While  the  chemical  manufacturer,  by  improved  laboratory 
methods,  can  furnish  us  with  pure  chemicals  it  is  only  by  the  proper 
study  of  medicinal  plants  in  the  fields  that  we  shall  ultimately  se- 
cure the  highest  possible  improvement  in  the  quality  of  vegetable 
drugs.  What  has  been  done  with  plants  yielding  cinchona,  coca, 
opium,  zingiber,  Tinnevelly  senna,  caryophyllus,  and  to  some  ex- 
tent with  the  plants  yielding  digitalis,  belladonna,  and  hyoscyamus 
is  likely  to  be  followed  with  a  large  number  of  other  valuable  drugs 
in  the  near  future. 
Interest  in  Pharmaceutic  Research. — 'Another  factor  which  is 
