Am.  Jour.  Pharra. \ 
September,  1908.  ) 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
445 
A  supplement,  now  in  press,  is  designed  to  supply  present 
owners  of  the  Codex  with  the  more  important  additions  and  altera- 
tions that  have  been  proposed  since  the  work  was  published.  The 
price  for  the  supplement  from  the  publishers  is  is.  net. 
Laboratory  investigation  of  preparations  of  a  proprietary  nature 
is  being  actively  fostered  both  in  this  country  as  well  as  abroad.  A 
number  of  interesting  reports  have  been  published,  particularly  in 
Germany,  where  work  of  this  kind  has  met  with  considerable  sup- 
port from  pharmaceutical  societies  and  kindred  associatipns. 
An  extensive  investigation  recently  reported  by  the  Council  on 
Pharmacy  and  Chemistry  of  the  American  Medical  Association 
relates  to  : 
Diastase  Ferments,  and  includes  a  comprehensive,  comparative 
study  of  a  number  of  the  proprietary  diastase  ferments  now  on  the 
market.  In  this  report  the  subcommittee  making  it  points  out  that 
practically  all  manufacturers  have  been  making  rather  misleading 
claims  for  their  own  particular  products,  and  that  while  some  of  the 
articles  comply  fairly  well  with  the  direct  claims  that  are  made  for 
them,  others  fall  far  short  of  what  might  be  expected  of  them,  while 
some  are  practically  inert.  The  report  should  be  read  and  pondered 
over  by  every  pharmacist  who  is  interested  in  the  work  now  being 
done  by  the  Council  on  Pharmacy  and  Chemistry.  It  is  published  on 
page  140  of  the  Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Association  (June 
11,  1908). 
Arhovin  Capsules  were  examined  by  G.  Frerichs  {Apothek.  Zeii 'g, 
1908,  page  538),  who  found  them  to  vary  from  54/4  to  103*6  per 
cent,  of  the  content  claimed  for  them  by  the  manufacturer.  Two 
boxes  of  fifteen  capsules  each  were  found  to  have  an  average  con- 
tent of  78*4  and  8i'2  per  cent,  of  the  amount  claimed  for  them. 
Pyrenol  tablets  were  also  examined  by  G.  Frerichs  [Apothek.  Zeifg, 
1908,  page  521),  and  the  results  as  published  indicate  that  these  tab- 
lets, as  marketed  by  the  manufacturer,  vary  considerably  in  the  con- 
tent of  soluble  ingredients.  A  careful  examination  of  a  number  of 
specimens  showed  them  to  vary  from  44.6  to  77  per  cent,  of  the 
amount  claimed  for  them,  thus  indicating  that  the  methods  of  manu- 
facture must  be  either  crude  or  careless. 
Hydropyrin,  which  is  claimed  to  be  sodium  acetylsalicylate,  was 
examined  by  F.  Zernik,  who  found  it  to  contain  a  mixture  of  acetic 
and  salicylic  acids  in  addition  to  the  acetylsalicylate.     The  variable 
