Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Sept.  1919. 
Pharmacy  as  a  Hobby. 
599 
timeters  (%  inch)  in  diameter,  and  drop  into  the  center  of  it  a  por- 
tion of  the  alkaloid  about  the  size  of  a  grain  of  wheat.  With  caf- 
feine the  most  of  it  goes  into  solution  promptly,  for  a  moment  or 
two  a  dark-colored  zone  surrounds  the  mass  of  alkaloid,  but  in 
about  five  seconds  this  changes  to  a  bright  bluish-green,  spreading 
quite  rapidly  until  the  greater  part  of  the  yellow  color  of  the  reagent 
is  changed  to  green.  With  theobromine  solution  takes  place  much 
more  slowly,  a  dark-colored  zone  forms  almost  immediately,  gradu- 
ally widening  until  the  most  of  the  yellow  color  of  the  reagent  is 
changed  to  a  purplish-green,  then  to  an  olive-green  and  finally  to 
bright  green. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  in  both  ways  of  applying  the  test  the  time 
required  for  the  production  of  the  light  green  color  is  very  much 
less  with  caffeine  than  with  theobromine.  This  is  probably  due  in 
large  measure  to  the  more  ready  solubility  of  the  first-named  alka- 
loid in  the  acid  of  the  reagent. 
When  used  in  conjunction  with  the  physical  tests  for  these  two 
substances,  given  in  the  dispensatories  and  other  literature,  this 
chemical  test  should  make  the  differentiation  between  them  a  simple 
and  certain  matter. 
PHARMACY  AS  A  HOBBY  AS  WELL  AS  AN  INTEREST.1 
By  Charles  H.  La  Wall,  Ph.M., 
PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 
When  Bryant  said  "  To  him  who  in  the  love  of  nature  holds 
communion  with  her  visible  forms  she  speaks  a  various  language," 
he  uttered  a  truth  which  has  many  applications ;  not  the  least  of 
which  is  pharmacy. 
Substituting  the  word  pharmacy  for  the  word  nature  in  the  fore- 
going quotation,  gives  a  clue  to  the  real  reason  why  pharmacy  holds 
its  own  in  spite  of  commercialism  and  other  handicaps. 
There  are  various  motives  which  impel  a  man  to  choose  a  pro- 
fession. One,  and  probably  the  strongest  one,  is  self-interest.  This 
frequently  changes  in  later  life  to  a  realization  of  opportunity  for 
service  and  a  desire  to  be  helpful  to  one's  fellow-man ;  motives, 
which,  as  a  rule,  have  no  place  in  the  make-up  of  a  young  man. 
1  Presented  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Pennsylvania  Pharmaceutical 
Association,  Buena  Vista,  Pa.,  June,  1919. 
