84 
that the production of such preparations means throwing a larger 
share of the manufacture of galenicals into the hands of the whole- 
sale druggists. ... It should not be possible for a tincture made 
from inferior opium, or a liquid extract made from cinchona sweep- 
ings, to be passed off as a pharmacopceial preparation, because its 
alkaloidal strength has been adjusted so that the tincture or extract 
complies with the requirements of the official assay process. — Pharm. 
J., Lonch, 1906, v. 23, p. 238. 
Commenting on a discussion of standardized preparations, he says 
the obvious moral is that suggested modifications of existing proc- 
esses and proposed new formulas should be made the subject of ex- 
perimental work at a much earlier period than has been customary 
when the pharmacopoeia is undergoing revision. — Ibid., v. 23, p. 698. 
Rupp, E., points out that in view of the steady decrease of prepa- 
rations made in the laboratory of the apothecary it becomes necessary 
to develop simple methods for the determination of the composition 
and purity of the preparations purchased from the manufacturer. 
He outlines methods for determining the composition of the several 
preparations of mercury, particularly the several ointments. — Arch, 
d. Pharm., Berk, 1906, v. 244, pp. 536-539. 
An editorial points out that it is still undoubtedly true that as 
therapeutical effect is the sole reason of being for drugs and galen- 
icals, the progress of pharmaceutical standardization must be strictly 
regulated by the progress of the science of pharmacology. There is 
little need to insist upon this. It is clear that to “ standardize ” a 
galenical on the basis of some ingredient of which the therapeutic 
effect is not understood is mere waste of time and effort. — Pharm. J., 
Bond., 1906, v. 22, pp. 190-191. 
An editorial questions whether the scientific preparation of drugs 
used in daily practice has kept pace with researches upon their ac- 
tions; whether the estimation of morphine in opium gives the best 
possible measure of the power of the drug, etc. A plea is made for 
the physiologic standardization of those drugs in which the chemical 
standardization is neither possible nor practicable. — Brit. Med. J., 
Bond., 1906, v. 2, p. 583. 
4. REQUIREMENTS. 
Eschbaum, Friedrich, asserts that the pharmacist should carefully 
test the liquid preparations, such as tinctures and fluid extracts, that 
he purchases and suggests a possibility of developing a satisfactory 
indication of the amount of alcohol and the percentage of extractive 
present by determining the specific gravity and the weight of the 
drops of anv given preparation. — Ber. d. pharm. Gesellsch., Berk, 
1906, v. 16, p. 355. 
