Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
February,  1919-  -* 
Editorial. 
65 
professional  workers,  there  are  certain  lines  of  common  interest 
because  of  the  multiplex  articles  that  the  pharmacist  is  compelled 
to  handle  and  the  various  duties  that  he  performs.  Necessarily 
their  studies  of  certain  of  the  sciences  is  a  common  ground  for 
cooperation  and  the  coordinating  of  their  efforts  in  behalf  of 
scientific  progress. 
Modern  differentiation  and  classification  of  the  branches  of 
medicine,  however,  assigns  to  pharmacy  a  distinct  field  of  work, 
which  while  coordinating  with  medical  practice  and  the  work  of  the 
chemist  in  other  fields,  leaves  to  him  the  investigation  of  the  col- 
lecting drugs,  their  study,  preparation  of  medicines  and  modes  of 
administration.  The  physician  must  know  the  actions  of  drugs  in 
order  to  apply  them  intelligently  in  his  practice,  but  to  the  pharma- 
cist belongs  the  intimate  knowledge  of  the  drugs  and  the  standard- 
ization and  preparation  of  the  medicines  that  will  permit  of  their 
successful  use  by  the  physician.  Each  in  his  sphere  performs  im- 
portant and  necessary  service  to  mankind  and  the  professions  that 
they  represent  are  justified  in  seeking  material  aid  in  the  efforts 
to  perfect  their  knowledge  and  service  to  their  fellow  man. 
The  field  of  investigation  and  research  open  to  pharmacists  in  the 
study  of  the  numerous  substances  used  for  medication  and  the 
processes  for  the  preparation  of  medicines  and  their  exhibition  is 
unlimited.  Despite  all  of  the  accumulated  information,  many  of 
our  drugs,  even  some  of  those  most  extensively  used,  are  as  yet 
but  imperfectly  studied.  Pharmacognosy,  chemistry,  testing., 
standardization,  purification,  manipulation,  dispensing  are  some  of 
the  avenues  opening  up  an  inexhaustible  field  for  research.  The 
source  of  many  of  the  commercial  varieties  of  drugs  is  still  unknown 
and  the  chemistry  of  some  of  the  most  important  is  still  very 
largely  an  undisclosed  secret  of  nature.  Many  of  the  statements, 
even  those  in  our  pharmacopoeias  and  accepted  text-book  authorities 
are  badly  in  i:eed  of  investigation  and  verification.  The  problems 
awaiting  systematic,  scientific  investigation,  that  can  very  properly 
be  considered  as  exclusively  within  the  province  of  pharmacy,  are 
numberless. 
It  is  encouraging  to  note  that  at  least  certain  phases  of  pharma- 
ceutical research  have  appealed  to  the  large  chemical  interests.  It 
has  been  proposed  that  there  should  be  created  through  the  efforts 
of  the  American  Chemical  Society  a  research  institute  with  an 
endowment  of  several  millions  of  dollars  for  the  purpose  of  "  co- 
