526  The  Netherlands  Pharmacopoeia.       { ToVfXeYPi9io^ 
substances,  and  they  are  required  to  be  protected  from  light,  and  in 
view  of  their  containing  soluble  constituents,  to  be  kept  in  glass- 
stoppered  bottles. 
It  is  rather  surprising  that  in  view  of  the  increasing  use  of 
so-called  animal  drugs  in  this  country,  as  antitoxins,  etc.,  none  of 
these  articles  are  official  in  the  Netherlands  Pharmacopoeia.  This 
is  probably  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  one  of  the  principles  of 
revision  is  not  to  include  any  substance,  no  matter  how  widely  used 
it  may  be,  which  the  pharmacist  does  not  prepare  or  has  no  adequate 
means  of  testing.  Neither  are  patented  or  trade-marked  prepara- 
tions official,  the  entire  responsibility  for  their  quality  resting  with 
the  manufacturer.  On  the  other  hand,  formulae  are  given  for  the 
preparation  of  teas  (species)  ;  artificial  aperient  salts,  as  Carlsbad 
salts ;  medicated  cottons  and  gauzes ;  granules,  and  so  on.  Indeed 
there  are  methods  for  every  class  of  pharmaceutical  preparations 
from  aquae  to  vinse,  and  with  standards  or  tests  for  every  substance 
and  preparation  used. 
Everything  that  science  or  experience  can  offer  is  at  the  disposal 
of  the  physician,  and  the  pharmacist  cannot  misunderstand  the 
specifications  of  the  physician  or  fail  to  supply  uniform  and  efficient 
preparations. 
I  may  in  conclusion  say  that  the  Netherlands  Pharmacopoeia  is 
not  only  a  very  valuable  practical  guide  for  the  retail  pharmacist, 
but  that  it  furnishes  high  standards  for  the  official  drugs,  the  revisers 
having  availed  themselves  of  the  scientific  progress  touching  their 
work  and  having  also  manifested  a  broadly  democratic  spirit.  We 
have  also  in  the  Netherlands  Pharmacopoeia  a  standard,  which  while 
revised  by  authority  of  the  Government,  yet  strictly  speaking  none 
of  the  members  of  the  commission  are  Government  officials.  The 
commission  is  a  small  one,  and  the  members  are  directly  responsible 
for  the  work. 
The  Japanese  have  used  it  as  a  model  since  1880,  and  it  would 
be  well  if  an  English  translation  were  available  for  consultation  and 
study  in  this  country. 
Finally,  I  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  Mr.  Peter  Amsterdam 
for  assistance  in  translating  and  critically  examining  certain  por- 
tions of  the  Latin  edition.  I  have  also  had  access  to  two  excellent 
reviews  of  this  work,  one  by  Schoepp  in  the  Apotheker  Zeitung  for 
1906  and  1907,  and  another  by  Weigel  in  the  Pharmaceutische  Zen- 
tralhalle  for  1906. 
