AlAuX,i?wfm'}    National  Formulary  as  a  Legal  Standard.  361 
would  be  more  correctly  stated  :  "  From  the  bark  of  the  root  of 
dogwood,  Cornus  florida  Linne."  On  page  143,  we  are  informed 
in  a  note  that  "  Mullein  flowers  are  obtained  from  Verbascum  Thap. 
sus,  Meyer."  The  German  Pharmacopoeia,  from  which  the  formula 
is  taken,  states  that  mullein  flowers  are  obtained  from  two  distinct 
species,  Verbascum  phlomoides  and  Verbascum  thapsiforme,  but 
does  not  give  as  a  source  the  common  Mullein,  Verbascum  Thapsus, 
Linne. 
The  title  "  Fluidextractum  Convallariae  "  should  have  florum 
added  to  distinguish  this  from  the  pharmacopceial  "  Fluidextractum 
Convallariae  "  made  from  the  rhizome  and  roots. 
The  introductory  notes  to  the  section  on  pills  contain  several 
items  of  interest  to  the  manufacturers  whose  products  must  comply 
with  these  legal  standards  or  else  be  deemed  as  adulterated  or  mis- 
branded,  and  likewise  to  the  retailer  who  sells  the  manufacturer's 
products  or  who  proposes  to  prepare  small  quantities  of  pills 
extemporaneously.  A  "pill"  must  "weigh  not  less  than  006 
gramme  or  I  grain,"  so  that  we  must  cease  labeling  the  most  active 
forms  of  such  medication  pills  if  under  that  weight.  The  directions 
for  "  sugar-coating  "  may  answer  for  the  pharmacist  who  is  com- 
pelled to  extemporize  a  method  for  coating  a  few  pills  for  a  pre- 
scription. The  product  of  the  "  official  "  directions  would  be  mis- 
branded  if  labeled  "  sugar-coated  "  as  the  coating  is  acacia  and  sugar 
of  .  milk.  It  is  safe  to  venture  the  assertion  that  no  manufacturer 
uses  this  method  for  sugar-coating  on  a  commercial  scale.  Yet 
this  is  the  only  legal  standard  for  sugar-coated  pills.  For  silver- 
coating  a  one-pound  ointment  jar  is  directed  irrespective  of  the 
quantity.  Surely  such  directions  should  be  omitted  from  this  book 
and  relegated  to  the  various  unofficial  works  on  practical  pharmacy, 
where  errors  cannot  become  a  source  of  annoyance  and  danger  to 
honest  dispensers. 
We  regret  to  note  in  this  edition  the  introduction  of  a  new 
"  hobby,"  namely,  the  use  of  saccharin  in  certain  formulas.  Syrup 
of  quinidine  contains  32  ex.  of  solution  of  saccharin  and  about 
900  c.c.  of  syrup  of  orange  flowers  in  each  1000  c.c.  ;  glycerinated 
elixir  of  gentian  contains  30  c.c.  of  solution  of  saccharin,  400  c.c. 
of  glycerin  and  200  grammes  of  sugar  in  icoo  c.c;  elixir  terpin 
hydrate  contains  1  c.c.  solution  saccharin,  400  c.c.  glycerin  and  nearly 
200  c.c.  syrup  in  1000  c.c,  and  the  compound  cathartic  elixir  con- 
tains 4-5  grammes  of  saccharin  in  addition  to  nearly  700  c.c  aromatic 
