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become necessary to revise and correct the pharmacopoeia at more frequent in- 
tervals than heretofore : Be it 
Resolved by the National Wholesale Druggists' Association , in annual con- 
vention assembled, That the committee on revision of the United States Phar- 
macopoeia shall issue annually a supplement thereto, in which changes in stand- 
ards and tests shall be published, so that the pharmacopoeia may at all times 
be abreast of the latest scientific requirements. 
Resolved, That this matter be referred to a special committee of five, with 
Thomas F. Main, of New York, as chairman, for consideration and with power 
to act for this association, the chairman to have authority to select his associ- 
ates on the committee. — Drug. Circ. & Chem. Gaz., N. Y., 1906, v. 50, p. 422. 
Manufacturing pharmacists and chemists, in a brief filed with the 
Commission on Rules and Regulations, say : 
In applying the standards of the Pharmacopoeia and National Formulary, it 
is a matter of the utmost importance that the limitations and perhaps the lack 
of accuracy of some official assay methods be recognized, and also of the cor- 
rectness of specifications as to tests for purity and strength, as indicated by 
solubility, melting point, percentage of ash, etc. The assay processes and tests 
of the United States Pharmacopoeia, eighth revision, because of their inherent 
limitations, because of the special skill and experience required by the analyst 
for their proper application, and because of their lack of accuracy in some in- 
stances, are liable to cause the commission to arrive at false conclusions. It 
will be found in some instances that the standards set by the pharmacopoeia 
are irrational and wholly impracticable. Already in one or two instances it 
has been found necessary to make changes in the specifications, and many 
others will develop as we gain more experience. — Meyer Bros., Drug., St. Louis, 
1906, v. 27, p. 257. 
Schieffelin, William Jay, urges that the commission intrusted with 
the enforcement of the food and drugs law request the Committee on 
Revision of the Pharmacopoeia of the United States to correct any 
processes which may appear faulty and to bring the processes of assay 
into accord with the most modern practices and use. — Pharm. Era, 
N. Y., 1906, v. 36, p. 29 4. 
An editorial comment on pure food and drugs law regulations 
points out that owing to the fact that the new national law recognizes 
the U. S. P. as the standard it is important that every U. S. P. test 
should be absolutely 7 accurate. It may seem strange to question the 
accuracy of any test prescribed in the U. S. P., but as a matter of 
fact in at least one instance a certain test has been found inaccurate. 
There is a feeling in certain quarters that some provision should be 
made whereby such inaccuracies can be corrected at once, or, say, at 
least every year, instead of waiting until the next revision of the 
U. S. P. — Am. Druggist, N. Y., 1906, v. 49, pp. 109-110. 
An editorial comments on the more or less complaint heard re- 
garding the unnecessarily rigid, and sometimes unattainable, require- 
ments of the pharmacopoeia. The chairman of the U. S. P. subcom- 
mittee on alkaloidal assays, however, has recently insisted in print 
