33^ 
Importation  of  Drugs. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
July,  1909. 
Mix  the  acids  with  the  glycerin  and  500  c.c.  of  water,  add  the 
pepsin,  pancreatin,  and  diastase,  and  macerate  with  occasional  agi- 
tation until  solution  is  effected.  Then  add  gradually  the  alcohol,  in 
which  the  oil  of  orange  has  been  dissolved,  agitating  after  each  addi- 
tion. Now  add  the  cudbear  and  sufficient  water  to  make  the  prepa- 
ration measure  1000  c.c.  Macerate  for  six  hours  with  occasional 
shaking  and  then  filter. 
SUPERVISING  THE  IMPORTATION  OF  DRUGS.*. 
By  Geo.  W.  Hoover. 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 
The  object  of  this  paper  is  to  convey  briefly  a  general  idea  of 
the  inspection  of  imported  drugs  under  the  Food  and  Drugs  Act. 
Endeavor  will  be  made  to  indicate  some  of  the  conditions  at  the 
outset  of  the  enforcement  of  the  law,  and  the  changes  and  tendencies 
of  conditions  up  to  the  present  time. 
It  is  deemed  advisable,  first,  to  give  some  idea  of  the  facilities 
for  drug  inspection  work  throughout  the  United  States.  There  are 
at  present  twenty-one  working  branches  of  the  Bureau  of  Chemistry 
distributed  throughout  the  United  States.  The  function  of  such 
laboratories  is  to  inspect  imported  and  domestic  food  and  drug 
products  and  do  such  work  along  the  lines  of  investigation  as  may 
assist  in  the  enforcement  of  the  Federal  Act.  Six  of  the  above 
laboratories  were  established  and  in  operation  at  the  time  the  law 
was  passed,  June  30,  1906.  These  laboratories  were  actively  engaged 
in  the  inspection  of  imported  food  products  under  the  appropriation 
act  for  the  fiscal  year  beginning  July  1,  1902,  but  drugs  did  not 
receive  any  consideration  until  the  summer  of  1907.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  the  changes  which  have  taken  place  both  as  to  quality  and 
labelling  of  various  products  which  are  imported  into  the  United 
States. 
Attention  is  now  called  to  some  of  the  crude  drugs.  As  the 
work  progressed,  improvements  were  noticeable,  and  many  of  the 
old  time  violations  no  longer  obtain.  For  example,  examinations 
showed  that  importations  of  belladonna  root  were  heavily  adul- 
*  Read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Philadelphia  Branch  of  the  American  Phar- 
maceutical Association,  April  6,  1909. 
