502 
Equalization  of  Strength  of 
j  Ain..T(Hir  Pharm  . 
j_       Oct.,  1881. 
Tlie  United  States  National  Convention  of  1870  directed  the  com- 
mittee entrusted  with  tlie  revision  of  the  PJiarmacopoeia  that  measures 
of  ca]:>acity  sliould  be  abandoned  in  the  Pharmacopoeia,  and  that  in  all 
formula)  quantities  should  be  expressed  both  in  weights  and  parts  by 
weight.  But  the  committee  was  unanimous  in  the  opinion  that  the 
execution  of  those  directions  would  entail  the  use  of  a  metrical  system 
not  employed  in  the  IJnited  States  or  in  Great  Britain,  and  that  while 
such  a  system  Avould  have  to  be  constructed  for  the  purpose,  the 
change  would  involve  alteration  in  the  proportions  of  almost  every 
formula,  and  would  produce  a  corresponding  disturbance  in  many  of 
the  doses.  The  Revision  Committee,  appointed  in  1879  by  the  Amer- 
ican Pharmaceutical  Association,  took  the  same  view  as  the  ISTational 
Convention  did  in  1870,  and  recommended  that  all  measures  of  capa- 
city should  be  abandoned,  and  that  quantities  should  be  expressed 
only  in  parts  by  Aveight ;  also  that  in  reconstructing  the  formulae  of 
officinal  ]^re])arations  the  following  points  were  to  be  kept  in  view  : 
(a).  All  tinctures,  wines,  etc.,  of  which  a  slight  variation  of  dose 
would  be  of  no  importance,  were  to  be  made  as  nearly  as  possible 
of  uniform  percentage  strength — 1  part  of  the  drug  to  5  or  10  parts 
of  the  tincture. 
(h).  In  the  case  of  highly  active  preparations,  such  as  tinct.  aconiti 
radicis,  tinct.  nucis  vomicae,  tinct.  opii  and  tinct.  veratri  viridis^  the 
strength  then  in  use  was  to  be  maintained  as  nearly  as  possible. 
But  supposing  the  Pharuiacopoeia  authorities  of  the  United  States 
decided  to  weigh  all  liquids,  we  should  not  have  advanced  much 
nearer  toward  international  uniformity  if  they  resolved  not  to  alter 
their  strong  tinctures,  and,  as  shown  in  the  tables,  those  are  precisely 
the  preparations  which  present  so  much  variation  in  the  different 
Pharmacopoeias.  However,  in  regard  to  such  preparations  the  advan- 
tages of  international  uniformity  are  obvious,  and  it  is  the  business  of 
pharmacists  to  consider  Avhat  is  the  best  niethod  of  secluding  the  equa- 
lization of  the  strength  of  official  preparations  containing  potent  drugs 
and  common  to  the  Pharmacopoeias  of  all  nations.  Free  discussion  of 
the  subject  at  intervals,  and  esj^ecially  at  meetings  such  as  the  present^^ 
must  have  an  effect  in  promoting  the  attainment  of  the  object.  But 
unless  some  standard  for  each  preparation  can  be  agreed  upon,  the 
Pharmacopoeia  committees  of  different  countries,  when  considering  the 
issue  of  new  editions,  will  be  quite  as  likely  to  divide  into  two  great 
classes  as  to  coalesce  into  one.  Thus,  for  example,  the  Pharmacopoeia 
formuke  for  tincture  of  nux  vomica  practically  order  either  1  part  in. 
10  or  1  part  in  5. 
Is  it  not  advisable  that  in  each  country,  when  altering  the  strength- 
of  a  preparation  wliich  is  not  altogether  referable  to  one  of  two  great 
classes,  one  strength,  agreed  upon  internationally,  should  be  adopted^ 
so  that  eventually  we  might  have  that  preparation  of  one  uniform 
strength  ?    Is  it  too  much  to  hope  that  the  committees  having  the 
