7i8 
Oil  of  Cade 
(cAm.  Jour,  Pharm. 
t       Oct.,  1921. 
"In  the  drug  business  there  is  opportunity  for  development  in 
all  three  of  these  lines.  First,  in  the  discovery  of  new  medicinal 
plants;  second,  in  their  cultivation  for  the  increase  of  the  active 
principle;  and  third,  for  the  invention  of  synthetic  remedies.  A 
pharmaceutical  survey  should  be  made  of  the  tropical  territory  under 
the  control  of  the  United  States  and  whenever  any  plant  is  found 
which  may  reasonably  be  suspected  of  concealing  anything  of  value 
about  its  person  it  should  be  taken  into  custody  and  placed  in  a  re- 
formatory where  its  principle  might  be  strengthened. 
"The  misnamed  vitamines  are  now  being  separated  and  concen- 
trated and  may  eventually  be  produced  as  pure  chemical  compounds 
which  may  be  administered  in  a  pill  to  correct  a  deficiency  of  diet. 
Possibly  they  may  be  made  synthetically  and  even  now  vitamines  are 
invented  that  will  stimulate  the  growth  of  a  particular  organ  or 
regulate  some  specific  bodily  process.  But  we  shall  not  have  to 
resort  to  vitamine  pills  if  we  plan  our  diet  properly. 
"Here  is  the  borderland  where  foods  and  drugs  come  together, 
and  I  venture  to  predict  that  the  distinction  between  them  will 
ultimately  be  wiped  out.  I  believe  that  the  doctors  will  become 
dietitians  arid  drug-manufacturers  will  devote  themselves  largely  to 
the  preparation  of  regulated  foods.  Bran  biscuits  may  well  serve 
as  substitutes  for  Epsom  salts  and  air-dried  spinach  for  iron  citrate. 
In  other  words,  I  look  for  the  merging  of  medicine  into  hygiene. 
There  will  be  less  need  for  remedies  when  more  attention  is  paid 
to  preventives." 
,OIL  OF  CADE  * 
By  C.  T.  Bennett,  B.  Sc.,  F.  I.  C,  F.  C.  S. 
Pharmaceutical  Chemist. 
"Huile  de  Cade"  has  always  been  somewhat  variable  in  char- 
acter, particularly  as  regards  specific  gravity.  According  to  the 
British  Pharmacopoeia,  the  specific  gravity  is  "about  0.990,"  but  dur- 
ing the  last  few  years  there  has  been  some  difficulty  in  obtaining 
a'n  oil  with  a  specific  gravity  over  0.975.  A  good  deal  of  this  oil 
is  now  distilled  in  Spain,  from  which  country  some  50  tons  are  ex- 
ported annually.  According  to  Menasche  (Perf.  and  Ess.  Oil 
*  Record,  192 1,  p.  149),  the  specific  gravity  of  the  genuine  Spanish 
*From  the  Pharm.  Journ.  and  Pharm.,  August,  1921. 
