A"anu°S  wi™"}    Retail  Pharmacist  and  Pure  Drugs.  3 
Haswell  acknowledged  the  justice  of  the  rebuke  and  said  that 
never  before  had  he  been  properly  impressed  with  the  responsibility 
attached  to  the  wholesale  drug  business. 
INCREASE   IN   THE  NUMBER  OF  DRUGS. 
Until  about  twenty-five  years  ago  the  list  of  drugs  in  the 
Pharmacopoeia  represented  those  which  were  chiefly  employed  by 
the  physician.  At  that  time  it  was  possible  for  the  pharmacist  to 
have  a  good  oversight  of  the  drugs  and  preparations  which  were 
employed.  I  can  even  recall  when  the  Shakers  sold  directly  to  in- 
dividual pharmacists  many  of  the  indigenous  drugs  that  were 
used.  While  the  means  for  the  identification  of  drugs  and  chemi- 
cals were  meager  as  given  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  at  that  time,  yet 
the  professional  pharmacist  by  his  experience  and  training  was 
enabled  to  judge  quite  well  regarding  the  quality  of  drugs,  his 
judgment  depending  much  on  their  appearance,  odor  and  taste. 
At  that  time  many  pharamacists  handled  the  crude  drugs  de- 
scribed in  the  Pharmacopoeia,  and  after  grinding  them  themselves 
made  nearly  all  of  the  pharmacopoeial  preparations,  as  these  were 
all  used  in  sufficient  quantity  to  make  it  worth  while. 
Since  that  time  drug-stores  have  been  multiplied,  pharmaceutic 
manufacturing  houses  have  been  established  in  great  numbers,  large 
chemical  houses  have  been  developed  and  the  number  of  remedial 
agents  has  increased  until  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  articles  in  the 
Pharmacopoeia  represent  but  a  small  part  of  the  substances  actually 
used  by  the  medical  profession.  While  these  changes  have  gone 
on  in  pharmacy  we  must  recognize  that  they  have  reflected  at  the 
same  time  the  changes  in  the  practice  of  medicine.  Such  pressure 
has  been  brought  to  bear  on  physicians  by  the  interests  directly 
concerned  that  instead  of  their  using  pharmacopoeial  drugs  and 
preparations  we  find  them  prescribing  extensively  the  newer  syn- 
thetics, the  active  principles  and  special  preparations  of  manufac- 
turers. The  result  of  all  this  has  been  to  add  to  the  shelves  of  the 
pharmacist  a  host  of  remedies  which  are  likely  to  be  required  at 
any  time. 
Beginning  with  the  use  of  the  standard  fluidextract  of  ergot 
manufactured  by  Dr.  Squibb,  which  was  extensively  designated 
in  the  prescriptions  of  physicians,  we  have  seen  this  specialization 
developed  and  extended  until  to-day  the  pharmacist  is  compelled 
