598  Progress  in  Pharmacy.  {Ara 
December,  1902. 
While  the  recommendations  finally  acted  on  by  the  conference 
are  necessarily  conservative,  they  are  advances  in  the  right  direc- 
tion. A  general  acceptation  of  these  recommendations  by  the 
different  Pharmacopceial  Revision  Committees  would  be  a  deserving 
tribute  to  the  work  done  by  the  conference,  and  also  contribute 
materially  to  do  away  with  many  unnecessary  and,  at  the  present 
time,  dangerous  differences  in  the  strength  of  galenical  preparations. 
That  these  recommendations  will  receive  due  consideration,  espe- 
cially on  the  continent  of  Europe,  is  evident  from  the  tone  of  editorial 
comments  in  the  medical  and  pharmaceutical  journals. 
In  the  protocol,  as  adopted  and  signed  by  all  the  delegates  pres- 
ent, the  following  general  principles  are  included  : 
A  normal  drop  measure  should  be  adopted,  of  which  the  exterior 
diameter  of  the  dropping  tube  should  be  exactly  3  mm.  or  one  that 
(at  a  temperature  of  15 0  C.  and  with  distilled  water)  will  give  20 
drops  to  1  gramme. 
Potent  medicaments  should  not  be  prepared  in  the  form  of  wines. 
Tinctures  of  potent  drugs  should  be  prepared  at  10  per  cent,  and  by 
percolation. 
Fluid  extracts  should  be  prepared  at  100  per  cent. 
The  recommendation  regarding  tinctures  of  potent  drugs  contains 
a  graceful  tribute  to  the  progressiveness  of  American  pharmacy, 
percolation  having  been  used  for  many  years  in  the  preparation  of 
all  available  preparations. 
The  recommended  strength  of  these  potent  tinctures  is  a  subject 
well  worthy  the  careful  consideration  of  the  present  Pharmacopoeial 
Revision  Committee.  It  would  not  be  in  keeping  with  our  general 
reputation  for  progressiveness  if  the  United  States  Pharmacopceia 
should  be  the  last,  instead  of  the  possible  first,  of  the  official  stand- 
ards to  comply  with  the  recommendations  of  this  conference  for 
unifying  the  strength  of  these  potent  preparations. 
This  particular  question  appears  of  still  greater  importance  when 
we  consider  the  probably  very  active  part  that  this  country  will 
take  in  the  development  of  the  world's  resources  during  the  next 
decade. 
Among  the  drugs  that  were  discussed  and  acted  on,  the  commis- 
sion recognized  the  acceptable  botanical  source,  and  Latin  titles  of 
the  following  crude  drugs :  Aconite,  Colchicum,  Digitalis,  Ergot, 
Hyoscyamus,  Ipecac  and  Nux  Vomica.    Opium  was  adopted  as  the 
