REPORT  ON  THE  BRITISH    PHARMACOPOEIA.  481 
11  Report  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  Committee,  June  \§th,  1850. 
"  The  Committee  appointed  by  the  General  Council  of  Medical  Educa- 
tion and  Registration  beg  to  submit  to  the  Council  the  following  Report 
of  the  progress  made  towards  the  completion  of  the  '  British  Pharmacopoeia/ 
«« The  British  Pharmacopoeia  consists  of  two  parts,  and  an  Appendix. 
In  the  first  is  contained  a  list  of  all  substances  employed  in  the  treatment 
of  disease.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  complete  list  of  the  materia  medica.  Each 
substance  is  introduced,  with  its  Latin  or  scientific  name,  the  English  trans- 
lation of  the  same,  its  definition,  and  its  source.  These  constitute  the 
really  officinal  portion  of  the  first  part.  It  is,  however,  proposed  to  append 
to  each  article  some  of  the  more  important  characters  by  which  it  may  be 
recognized,  and  the  tests  by  which  its  purity  may  be  ascertained  ;  and, 
lastly,  the  names  of  the  different  officinal  preparations,  into  which  it  enters 
as  an  important  ingredient,  will  be  enumerated.  This  part  of  the  Pharm- 
acopoeia has  been  completed,  as  far  as  the  number  of  substances  to  be  in- 
troduced is  concerned  ;  and  has  been  divided  into  three  portions,  which 
have  been  allotted  to  the  different  Sub-Committees. 
"  The  Dublin  Committee  have  made  considerable  progress  in  their  third 
part,  and  also  completed  some  of  the  more  important  processes  for  the 
metallic  preparations. 
"  The  Edinburgh  Committee  have  devoted  considerable  attention  to  their 
part  of  the  work,  and  could  finish  it  in  a  short  period  of  time. 
"The  London  Committee  have  completed  about  half  their  share,  and  the 
remainder  is  in  a  forward  state.  Specimen  pages,  illustrating  the  mode 
in  which  this  portion  of  the  work  is  proposed  to  be  framed,  have  been 
prepared  for  submission  to  the  Committee. 
"  The  list  of  the  materia  medica,  or  first  part  of  the  Pharmacopoeia,  is 
necessarily,  for  various  reasons,  in  a  less  advanced  state  than  the  second 
half;  but  it  is,  at  the  same  time  the  portion  which  may  be  speedily  finished, 
when  the  various  groups  of  officinal  preparations  are  framed.  Its  completion 
requires  little  or  no  experimental  inquiry,  but  necessarily  demands  that 
the  Galenical  preparations  should  have  been  definitely  determined  upon. 
"  The  second  part  of  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  consists  of  different 
groups  of  the  preparations  of  substances  contained  in  the  first,  together 
with  the  processes  for  preparing  the  metallic  or  other  chemical  drugs. 
The  proposed  groups,  often  named  Galenical,  are  the  following ; — The  acids, 
confections,  cataplasms,  decoctions,  enemata,  extracts,  honey,  &c,  infu- 
sions, liniments,  lozenges,  mixtures  and  mucilages,  ointments,  plasters, 
pills,  spirits,  syrups,  tinctures,  vinegars,  waters,  and  wines. 
"  To  the  Edinburgh  Committee  have  been  allotted  the  cataplasms,  decoc- 
tions, honeys,  lozenges,  plasters,  syrups,  and  waters. 
lt  To  the  Dublin  Committee,  enemata,  infusions,  mixtures  and  mucilages, 
pills,  tinctures,  wines,  and  ointments. 
"  To  the  London  Committee,  the  acids,  confections,  extracts,  liniments, 
powders,  spirits,  and  vinegars. 
