Amkl°rch ,^9i9m"  }  Advances  in  Pharmacy. 
ployed  as  a  catalyzer,  the  acid  being  one  of  the  prime  needs  in  the 
making  of  munitions,  and  in  the  fixing  of  nitrogen  from  the  air, 
which  in  turn  is  used  for  manufacture  of  explosives.  Before  the 
war  90  per  cent,  of  the  world's  output  of  this  mental  was  produced 
from  Russia.  The  Russian  and  the  newer  and  less  developed  field 
in  Colombia,  South  America,  comprise  the  world's  two  important 
sources  of  the  valuable  metal.  In  spite  of  the  great  demand  for  this 
metal  in  carrying  out  important  manufactures  engendered  by  the 
war,  the  production  in  Russia  fell  from  300,000  ounces  in  191 1,  to 
about  78,000  ounces  in  1916.  However,  to  sort  of  counteract  this 
decrease  in  production  from  this  source,  production  in  the  Choco 
district  of  Columbia  increased  from  12,000  ounces  in  191 1  to  nearly 
50,000  troy  ounces  in  191 7,  which  is  an  increase  of  300  per  cent 
in  this  practically  new  field.  It  undoubtedly  will  be  a  source  of 
satisfaction  to  American  manufacturers  who  need  this  metal  to 
know  that  they  'have  easy  access  to  this  promising  field  instead  of 
depending  on  far-ofT  chaotic  Russia. — Jour.  Amer.  Med.  Assoc., 
vol.,  72,  1919,  411. 
Narcotic  Drug  Control. — The  new  law  dealing  with  this  im- 
portant matter  in  the  state  of  New  York  became  effective  on  Feb- 
ruary 1.  Plans  for  its  enforcement  have  been  formulated  which 
authorize  representatives  to  visit  all  persons  or  institutions  having 
authority  to  possess,  dispense  or  prescribe  habit-forming  drugs  to 
ascertain  if  their  records  comply  with  the  law,  and  in  case  of  viola- 
tion to  bring  the  offender  to  account.  In  a  communication  to  the 
New  York  County  Medical  Society  the  commission  having  charge 
of  the  enforcement  of  the  law  make  clear  that  it  realizes  that  many 
of  the  problems  are  administrative,  educational  and  medical  rather 
than  legislative,  as  was  shown  by  the  testimony  brought  out  at  the 
hearings  of  the  legislative  investigating  committee.  Therefore  the 
commission  desired  to  so  administer  the  law  as  to  hamper  the  honest 
physician  as  little  as  possible.  It  was  also  announced  that  it  would 
be  the  commission's  purpose  to  so  administer  the  law  that  those 
unfortunates,  the  drug  addicts,  will  be  cared  for  and  safeguarded 
against  the  growing  evil.  This  commission  evidences  a  desire  for 
the  cooperation  and  assistance  of  all  the  medical  organizations  of 
the  state  in  controling  and  eventually  eradicating  this  pernicious 
evil  and  doing  away  with  abuses  practised  by  some  of  those  legally 
entitled  to  possess  and  dispense  drugs  of  this  kind. — Jour.  A.  M.  A., 
vol.  72,  1919,  431. 
