The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1899-11-16
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lssssieai test
you've heard the theatrical exprcs
sion trying IL on the dog" said rep
resensa,lvc Of great manufacturing
drug house We'll. In our line OF
business we frequently Try IL on
dog also ON frog. RAT. a rooster. a
guinea pig and other animals too mum
erous TO mention Our trials are 1T
erai, not figurative. We make them TO
ascertain the strength OF certain drugs
which for some reason or other Gety
chemical analysis. In such cases we
resort 10 what Is called d physiological
test Suppose. for instance. we want
TO find out the strength of a sample OF
digitaiis. which. II in good condition.
has q stimulating effect on the heart
The experts on the star Of the labora.
tory at our works force drop OF the
stuff into the stomach OF small frog,
which is then placed in a delicate ma
chine called a kymograph that records
its heart beats on strip OF paper. The
dlgitalis may be perfectly dead and In
ert, and it may he strong and active
no chemist could tell the difference
but the kymograph gets at the truth
with infallible certainty and the sam
pie is graded accordingly. Tie frogs
used are little fellows not over two
inches long. and they are rather hard
to get. Some time ago we sent the
house a consignment from New Or
leans but they proved to he too large.
Why do we use such small ones! Be
cause it takes less of the drug to M
feet them. It's merely a matter OF
economy.
"Some of the other tests are still
more curious" continued the drug
man, land none queerer than that or
ergot. To ascertain its active proper
ties small quantity is injected into
full-grown rooster If the drug is up
to standard strength the comb OF the
fowl soon begins to turn blue anu
eventually becomes almost black. The
power Of the particular sample on trial
is indicated by the deepness OF the dis
colOration. This test is the only relia-
BILE one known and is exceedingly valu-
able, because ergOt has strange trick
properties without showing the slight
est change in general appearance. Has
heesh, which has figured so extensively
in romances Of the Orient, Is known
scientifically as CannabiS 1ndica. 1t
is tested on dogs. When the drug rs
all right the dog soon begins to get
dopy, staggers in it's walk and eyentu-
m
The necessity Of testing hasheesh
grows out Of very singular fact. AS
| most people know, 1t Is made from the
blossom of Indian hemp, but it Is only
| the unfercilized female flower that has
any narcotic properties. The male
flowers and the seed-bearing female
| flowers are absolutely valueless, but
all three look alike TO the naked eye.
| So does the tincture prepared from
| them, and, like, the other drugs men
toned, it doesn't yield to analysis.
These tests will give Fair idea of the
modern method Of getting at facts
! about medicines. They are only few
| out Of many. Altogether, l suppose
that upward of q dozen different AMI
mails are used, each selected because OF
! it's sensitiveness to some special pre-
paration. Occasionally the sentimen
talsts raise vail over the poor
guinea pigs and white rats and the in
nocent frogs that are sacrificed to sci
ence, but if it wasn't for the help OF
these creatures we would have to fall
back on the old-fashioned method al
distinguishing toadstools from mush
rooms. Cook them and eat them, was
the formula, and if they don't kill yor
they are mushrooms."--New Orleans
TimeS-DemOcrat.