516  International  Fharmaceuticc.l  Congress.    { ^"^'ocr^issr"'' 
"  It  seems  very  desirable— and  worthy  of  tliorougli  discussion — that  air 
international  legal  eodex  concerning  heroic  medicines  should  contain  not 
only  the  galenic  preparations  (as  extracts,  tinctures,  sokitions,  etc.),  but 
also  those  chemical  preparations  which,  not  being  absolutely  pure  and  dis- 
tinct chemical  substances,  must  be  declared  a  mixture  of  substances  and 
vary  as  much  in  composition  as  in  medico-dynamic  effect,  according  to 
their  mode  of  preparation.  From  this  point  of  view,  the  said  interna- 
tional codex  ought  to  include  the  exact  description  of  the  characters  of 
several  highly  poisonous  alkaloids,  like  aconitina,  digitalin,  veratrina  and 
a  few  others  whose  chemistry,  as  yet,  cannot  be  judged  as  entirely  settled 
nnd  which,  besides,  occur  in  commerce,  not  as  pure  chemicals,  but  as  more 
or  less  impure  substances. 
"The  question  of  the  international  uniform  strength  of  a  certain  class  of 
chemico-pharmaceutical  substances  suggests  the  idea  of  publishing  at  the 
same  time  an  international  table  {invei<ted  'with  legal  authority)  of  a  certain,' 
convenient  number  of  "doses  maxima?"  of  heroic  substances,  such  as 
those  in  constant  use  in  many  States  of  the  Continent.  The  legal  use  of 
these  tables,  stating  the  maximum  doses  "pro  die,"  and  also  the  "  doses 
simplices  maximte,"  whicli  the  pharmacist  is  bound  not  to  transgress 
without  certain  legal  formalities,  has  been  shown  in  many  countries  to 
give  a  direct  control  over  medical  prescriptions  to  the  pharmaceutical 
chemist,  so  that  it  would  well  deserve  mature  examination  and,  in  the  case 
of  approval  by  a  majority  of  States,  might  be  introduced  in  the  interna- 
tional codex  for  heroic  preparations. 
"  In  case  of  the  suggestion  meeting  with  general  aj^proval,  this  list  of 
maxiujum  doses  would  also  represent  the  offlcial  list  of  compounds  and 
chemicals  to  be  included  iii  the  said  codex." 
The  paper  further  suggested,  after  the  adoption  of  these  measures,  an 
international  conference  of  official  representatives  appointed  by  the  vari- 
ous governments,  for  publishing  the  international  codex. 
A  communication  by  Prof.  Maisch,  of  Philadelphia,  referred  to  this  sub- 
ject as  follows : 
"  If  the  Congress  could  have  met  a  year  or  two  ago  and  could  have 
agreed  upon  a  plan  for  the  equalization  of  the  strength  of  potent  prepara- 
tionx,  I  think  that  the  United  States  would  have  gladly  responded  to  the 
agreement  by  adopting  it.  With  the  considerable  difference  in  the 
strength  as  authorized  by  the  British,  French  and  German  Pharmaco- 
poeias, I  fear  that  we  shall  have  here  modifications  from  our  old  standards 
— l)erhaps  unimportant  ones— whicli  will  not  bring  us  into  nearer  harmony 
with  Great  Britain  than  heretofore,  nor  with  any  one  of  the  conflicting 
authorities  of  the  European  Continent;  and  it  will  probably  not  be  before 
1890  that  the  equalization  i^roposed  can  be  practically  carried  out  here. 
"But — and  that  seems  to  me  the  most  imi)ortant  step  in  the  proper 
direction — the  idea  of  a  universal  pharmacopoeia,  as  heretofore  suggested, 
assumes  the — in  my  opinion — only  feasible  plan  of  equalization  of  strength 
of  drugs  and  preparations  which  are  likely  to  be  especially  hurtful ;  and 
if  the  Congress  can  with  unanimity  agree  upon  these  points,  I  think  the 
result  will  be  as  salutary  as  that  of  the  convention  of  the  Scandinavian 
countries." 
Mr.  Chr.  Brunnengraber,  of  Rostock,  made  the  following  statement: 
"  From  an  international  point  of  view,  the  trade  in  medicine  is  becom- 
ing more  and  more  important  by  reason  of  the  steadily  increasing  spread 
and  multiplication  of  means  of  communication,  and  it  therefore  requires 
the  working  out  of  formulae  for  those  i)harmaceutical  preparations  which 
contain  powerful  agents,  as  well  as  an  effort  to  obtain  the  admission  of 
these  formula?  into  all  pharmacopoeias,  so  that  uniformity  in  the  composi- 
tion of  these  preparations  may  be  attained.  The  preparations  in  question 
should  be  arranged  in  alphabetical  order.  The  several  constituents 
should  not  be  specified  by  weight,  but  only  in  parts.    The  characters  of 
