jnMay?iSSarm'}     Standard  for  Flavoring  Extracts.  225 
GOLD  AND  SODIUM  CHLORIDE. 
Of  the  many  samples  of  gold  and  sodium  chloride  received  during 
the  last  months  we  found  none  which  assayed  the  required  30  per 
cent,  metallic  gold.  Most  of  the  samples  ran  between  28  and  28  8  per 
cent.,  one  sample  assayed  far  below  this,  namely,  24  6  per  cent,  metallic 
gold.  Many  samples  were  not  mixed  thoroughly,  others  had 
absorbed  some  moisture.  Some  samples  were  treated  both  by  the 
H202  method  (U.  S.  P.  8th  Rev.)  and  also  by  the  oxalic  acid  method 
(U.  S.  P.  1890).  Both  methods  gave  identical  results.  One  manu- 
facturer claimed  that  it  was  necessary,  in  making  a  correct  assay, 
to  replace  the  water  during  heating  and  precipitating  the  gold  solu- 
tion on  the  steam  bath.  As  could  be  expected  this  scheme  did  not 
work  and  we  were  unable  to  obtain  better  results  by  doing  so. 
Another  claim  made  was  that  in  the  U.  S.  P.  method  some  gold 
remains  unreduced  and  is  lost  in  the  filtrate.  This  is  hardly  pos- 
sible, since,  if  that  were  true,  the  filtrate  from  the  precipitated  gold 
would  betray  the  presence  of  the  metallic  salt  by  a  faint  yellow 
color.  This  test  is  very  delicate,  as  the  tinctorial  power  of  gold 
salts  is  very  high  and  scarcely  weighable  quantities  would  impart  a 
yellow  color  to  the  filtrate.  Now  the  manufacturer  has  either  to 
reduce  the  price  of  the  double  salt  in  proportion  to  metallic  gold 
found  (we  are  not  willing  to  pay  too  much  for  common  salt),  or  he 
has  to  add  a  little  more  gold  chloride  to  his  product  to  bring  it  up 
to  U.  S.  P.  standard — 30  per  cent. 
Analytical  Laborarory  of  the 
H.  K.  Mulford  Company. 
THE  UNITED  STATES  PHARMACOPOEIA  AS  A  STAND- 
ARD FOR  FLAVORING  EXTRACTS. 
By  I.  V.  S.  Stanislaus,  B.Sc,  Phar.D. 
In  taking  up  the  matter  of  this  paper,  the  justness  of  the  cause, 
and  the  position  the  Pharmacopoeia  should  occupy  as  a  standard  for 
Flavoring  Extracts  become  self-apparent  and  will  serve  as  an  ex- 
cuse for  this  paper.  For,  what  other  standard  could  be  selected 
but  the  Pharmacopoeia  for  preparations  of  drugs  ?  We  have  not 
one  other  official  standard  in  this  country.    The  Pharmacopoeia  is 
