THOUGHTS  ON  "MANUFACTURING  PHARMACY."  515 
of  conscientiousness  as  regards  the  efficiency  of  preparations ;  and 
with  varying  knowledge  and  skill  to  effect  the  manipulations  re- 
quired, as  must  be  expected  ;  yet  it  is  as  rivals  for  a  market,  and 
in  the  competition  which  follows,  that  the  most  serious  evils  arise  or 
may  be  anticipated.  These  gentlemen,  like  other  manufacturers, 
take  all  the  means  considered  usual  or  honorable  by  business  men 
in  creating  a  market.  They  do  not  wait  until  the  slow  and  deli- 
berate footsteps  of  the  therapeutist,  and  his  apothecary,  have  deve- 
loped the  value  of  remedies,  and  created  a  demand  for  them  ;  but 
instantly  on  their  announcement  in  the  Journals,  and  often  before 
their  permanence  is  demonstrated,  quantities  of  preparations  are 
disseminated  over  the  country  and  vended  by  parties  unacquainted 
with  their  merits,  or  kept  in  store  by  druggists  as  agents  until  the 
process  of  deterioration  renders  them  more  or  less  worthless.  There 
are  many  preparations  which  may  be  advantageously  made  on  a 
large  scale,  or  which  owing  to  the  nature  of  the  material  or  appa- 
ratus used  may  be  better  made  in  one  locality  than  another;  but 
such  are  the  exception,  not  the  rule.  It  certainly  should  be  the 
pride,  as  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Pharmaceutist,  to  make  for  himself  all 
those  important,  thoughfcoften  not  permanent,  preparations  which  are 
termed  galenical,  as  well  as  many  chemical  substances  ;  yet  there 
is  less  necessity  for  his  preparation  of  the  latter,  because  they  are 
generally  so  uniform  in  composition,  and  are  so  easily  tested,  that 
he  has  the  power  of  protecting  himself  from  imposition.  Not  so 
with  the  former.  How  easily  may  a  worthless  extract  be  palmed 
off  on  the  apothecary,  and  how  utterly  impossible,  from  known  data, 
often  is  it,  for  a  tincture  or  fluid  extract  to  be  detected  when  of 
deficient  strength,  or  when  prepared  from  drugs  of  inferior  quality. 
Again,  the  influence  of  competition  on  quality  may  be  illustrated 
by  the  two  extracts  Krameria  and  Compound  Colocynth.  Apply 
to  almost  any  druggist  for  the  officinal  Extract  of  Krameria  and  you 
will  be  disappointed.  Why?  "  Because, "  you  are  told,  "the  root 
yields  so  little  extract  to  cold  water  that  it  won't  pay  to  make  it  by 
the  Pharmacopoeia!"  Go  into  the  market,  and  you  will  find  com- 
pound extract  of  colocynth  varying  from  75  cents  to  $1.50  a 
pound,  when  the  scammony  in  a  pound  of  the  extract  costs  nearly 
$2.50  if  of  the  best  quality.  Now  how  can  a  conscientious  apothe- 
cary dispense  a  prescription  with  such  materials  ?  and  yet  it  is  often 
