ANo'vemSrPi9io1' }       The  Netherlands  Pharmacopoeia.  519 
descriptions  are  frequently  as  complete  as  those  for  the  alkaloids  and 
other  chemical  substances,  and  in  some  instances  much  longer. 
The  titles  for  articles-  and  the  nomenclature  are  similar  to  those 
in  the  Third  Edition.  The  main  titles  of  the  articles  correspond  in 
general  to  those  customarily  used  in  European  pharmacopoeias, 
with  the  exception  of  the  chemical  salts,  where  the  acid  radical  pre- 
cedes the  name  of  the  base,  as  iodetum  kalicum  for  potassium  iodide, 
and  benzoas  natricus  for  sodium  benzoate.  While  this  is  contrary 
to  general  custom,  it  may  have  some  advantages,  as  the  physician 
will  find  the  iodides,  benzoates,  and  so  on,  grouped  together  in  their 
respective  classes.  The  titles  of  vegetable  drugs  for  the  most  part 
include  a  prefix,  which  indicates  the  part  of  the  plant  used,  as  cortex 
granati,  which  title  corresponds  to  the  granatum  of  the  U.  S.  Phar- 
macopoeia. Under  the  principal  title  a  synonym  is  frequently  given, 
as,  for  example,  aqua  calcis,  the  synonym  for  solutio  hydratis  calcici. 
Common-name  synonyms  as  we  know  them  in  this  country  are  not 
given,  except  in  the  case  of  the  East  Indian  drugs,  already  men- 
tioned. This  also  would  seem  to  have  an  advantage  in  that  greater 
uniformity  in  prescription  writing  would  obtain. 
Vegetable  Drugs. — In  the  definitions  of  vegetable  drugs  it  is 
noticeable  that  the  names  of  families  to  which  the  plants  belong  are 
replaced  by  a  citation  of  the  literature  giving  the  original  descrip- 
tion of  the  plant,  as  under  radix  ipecacuanhas,  where  we  read, 
"  Radices  adventiciae  tumefactse  quas  prsebet  Psychotria  Ipecacuanha, 
Stokes,"  Bot.  Mat.  Med.,  I,  365  (Uragoga  Ipecacuanha,  Baill.  Hist., 
PI.  VII,  281). 
The  macroscopic  descriptions  are  complete,  and  written  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  indicate  that  it  is  expected  that  dried  drugs,  such  as 
leaves,  will  be  softened  before  examination,  and  frequently  the 
characters  described  are  those  requiring  the  use  of  a  hand  lens 
magnifying  five  diameters.  The  histological  characters  are  also 
carefully  described,  including  descriptions  of  both  longitudinal  and 
transverse  sections  of  a  number  of  drugs. 
The  powdered  drugs  are  fully  described,  frequently  at  consid- 
erable length,  beginning  with  the  more  important  and  prominent 
characters  and  extending  to  the  less  characteristic  features.  The 
descriptions  are  based  on  examinations  made  with  the  following 
reagents  :  water,  chloral  hydrate  solution,  and  chloral-iodine  solu- 
tion, and  in  special  cases  other  reagents  may  be  employed.    It  is 
