Asii..Tonr.^Pharni.|    International  Pharmaceutical  Congress.  515 
2.  That  for  elaborating  the  scheme  of  an  International  Pharmacopoeia  a 
commission  of  at  most  nine  prominent  practical  2:)harniacists  should  be 
appointed. 
3.  The  principles  laid  down  by  the  St.  Petersburg  Congress  (1874)  should 
'be  acted  upon  as  far  as  possible.  Further,  the  work  should  be  limited  to 
the  most  important  potent  crude  drugs,  and  to  those  powerful  compounded 
preparations  which  are  in  universal  use  and  must  be  kept.  In  regard  to 
the  latter  smaller  doses  should  be  recommended,  and  the  average  strength 
should  be  in  accord  with  the  pharmacopoeias  of  the  larger  States.  For 
galenical  preparations  an  exactly  uniform  method  of  prei)aration  might  be 
observed. 
4.  This  scheme  should  be  printed  and  further  carried  out  according  to 
the  resolutions  of  the  St.  Petersburg  Congress  concerning  Question  IV. 
It  is  self-evident  that  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  of  Great  Britain  should 
occupy  henceforth  the  place  of  the  Pliarnmceutical  Society  of  St.  Peters- 
burg. 
Mr.  Martenson,  of  St.  Petersburg,  referred  to  the  diffculties  heretofore 
encountered,  and  to  the  absence  from  the  Fourth  International  Pharma- 
ceutical Congress  of  representatives  of  countries  so  important  as  Germany 
and  America,  and  submitted  the  following  propositions  : 
1.  To  lay  before  the  governments  of  the  several  States  concerned  the 
necessity  for  an  International  Pharmacopoeia. 
2.  To  submit  to  them  a  request  to  send  at  least  one  representative  to  a 
tcommission  at  their  expense. 
3.  To  appoint  a  "  Conniiission  for  the  drawing  up  of  an  International 
Pharmacopoeia,"  consisting  of  representatives  of  pharmaceutical  societies 
in  the  several  countries.  In  that  commission  the  smaller  States  should  be 
allowed  to  be  represented  by  foreign  commissioners.  The  xionclusions  of 
the  commission  to  be  binding  upon  the  several  countries. 
4.  Members  and  jDresidents  of  this  commission  could  suitably  be  selected 
at  once  by  the  Congress  as  well  as  tlie  j)Iace  of  meeting,  which  should  be 
as  central  as  possible. 
5.  The  commission  to  have  power  to  obtain  further  assistance  in  the 
work. 
6.  A  plan  for  the  construction  of  the  International  Pharmacopoeia  must 
first  be  drawn  up  and  communicated  to  the  pharmaceutical  societies  of  the 
several  countries  for  their  approbation. 
7.  Tbat  after  the  final  construction  of  the  Piiarmacopoeia  the  commission 
should  cause  the  issue  of  a  sufiicientnumber  of  co2:)ies,  possibly  in  the  Latin 
language,  to  be  sent  to  the  several  governments,  after  which  each  country 
can  have  jninted  as  many  impressions  as  it  may  require. 
It  might  be,  indeed,  quite  unimportant  whether  the  formula  for  a  cerate 
in  a  nothern  country  differed  from  that  of  a  southern  country,  or  whether 
the  characters  of  sugar,  collodion,  etc.,  were  somewhat  different.  But  it 
w^ould  be  advantageous  if  certain  i3otent  tinctures,  solutions,  acids,  etc., 
were  made  of  equal  strength  and  uniform  quality  in  all  countries,  and  if 
they  bore  the  same  designations.  If  a  pharmacopoeia  of  this  kind,  how- 
ever modest  in  its  character  at  first,  should  actually  become  internationally 
naturalized,  it  would  not  want  either  for  friends  or  for  future  development 
on  a  broader  basis. 
The  equalization  of  the  strength  of  potent  drugs  having  been  thus  intro- 
duced, the  subject  was  further  discussed  in  a  paper  by  Mr.  Squire  (see 
page  499)  and  in  several  communications. 
Prof.  E.  Schaer,  of  Zurich,  pointed  out  the  importance  of  such  a  mea_ 
sure  for  those  traveling  in  foreign  countries,  and  contiimed : 
