Am.  .Tour.  Pharm.  ) 
October,  1908.  j 
National  Formulary. 
467 
recommend  that  the  members  of  this  Conference  Committee,  to  be 
appointed  by  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association,  be  selected 
from  the  membership  of  the  Committee  on  National  Formulary. 
ERRATA  VS.  CRITICISMS. 
The  action  of  the  Chairman  in  pointing  out  to  certain  Govern- 
ment officials  that  errors  in  the  National  Formulary  should  not  be 
confounded  with  criticisms  of  formulas  or  titles,  was  indorsed  by 
the  Committee. 
•  ANALYSIS   OF  CRITICISMS. 
An  analysis  of  criticisms  made  on  the  present  Formulary  by  the 
Chairman  is  submitted  in    connection  with  this  report. 
SCOPE  AND  PURPOSE  OF  THE  FORMULARY. 
The  scope  and  purpose  of  the  Formulary  is  well  presented  in  the 
preface  to  the  first  three  editions ;  and  we  recommend  that  the 
Association  continue  this  as  its  attitude  in  regard  to  the  Formulary. 
SHORTCOMINGS  OF  THE  FORMULARY. 
Touching  the  shortcomings,  we  recommend  that  conservative 
action  is  necessary  in  connection  with  the  introduction  of  changes 
that  the  needs  of  all  classes  of  pharmacists  may  be  met,  and  that 
the  question  of  what  is  or  may  be  a  medicinal  preparation,  or  what 
may  be  obsolete  or  poly-pharmacal  calls  for  liberal  interpretation 
for  the  purposes  of  the  Formulary. 
ALTERNATIVE  WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES. 
As  was  pointed  out  that  owing  to  changes  in  policies  on  the  sub- 
jects of  weights  and  measures  in  successive  editions  of  the  National 
Formulary,  much  confusion  in  weights  and  measures  occurred,  and 
consequently  a  number  of  errors  appear  in  this  regard,  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  apothecaries  quantities  were  changed  into  metrical 
and  then  subsequently  reconverted  into  their  original  equivalents, 
a  double  liability  of  error  being  thus  introduced. 
After  very  careful  consideration,  the  Committee  recommends  that 
the  Metric  system  only  of  weights  and  measures  be  used  in  the 
National  Formulary. 
PERCENTAGES. 
Owing  to  ambiguities  in  some  statements  of  percentages  in  the 
National  Formulary,  we  recommend  that  whenever  it  is  desirable 
