Am^usrt,i907rm'}    National  Formulary  as  a  Legal  Standard.  363 
advises:  "  On  mixing  1  volume  with  11  volumes  of  syrup  (U.  S.  P.), 
the  product  will  be  practically  identical  with  syrup  ferrous  iodide 
vU.  S.  P."  To  make  this  statement  correct,  the  diluted  hypophos- 
phorous  acid  directed  in  the  formula  would  have  to  be  increased 
from  25  c.c.  to  285-7  c.c.  These  notes,  used  so  freely  throughout  the 
work,  contain  numerous  errors  and  should  be  critically  examined 
and  in  many  cases  eliminated. 
In  my  judgment  the  most  serious  defect  in  the  National  Formu- 
lary is  the  uncalled-for  liberties  taken  with  the  formulas  of  the 
French  Codex  and  the  British  and  German  Pharmacopoeias,  and  the 
misstatements  regarding  these  pharmacopoeias  introduced  in  the 
notes.  It  must  be  admitted  that  the  introduction  or  use  of  these 
foreign  pharmacopoeial  formulas  in  this  country  came  from  abroad, 
either  from  prescriptions  obtained  abroad  or  from  physicians  edu- 
cated abroad,  or  copied  from  foreign  literature,  and  that  in  all  such 
cases  the  preparations  of  the  foreign  pharmacopoeias  are  intended, 
and  the  intent  should  be  invariably  complied  with  by  the  pharma- 
cist. 
In  some  localities  the  demand  for  a  number  of  these  foreign 
preparations  has  become  quite  extensive,  and  it  has  always  been  the 
practice  for  pharmacists  having  such  demand  to  keep  on  hand 
the  specified  preparations  made  in  accordance  with  the  foreign 
authorities. 
The  desire  to  establish  international  standards  for  medicines  is 
certainly  a  laudable  one,  and  it  cannot  be  considered  as  wise  or  as 
encouraging  to  such  a  purpose  to  unnecessarily  modify  or  alter 
satisfactory  formulas  of  any  such  authority.  Yet,  in  this  work,  this 
appears  to  be  quite  as  frequently  the  rule  as  the  exception.  We 
will  consider  a  few  of  the  formulas  that  illustrate  this  defect. 
In  the  note  added  to  Linimentum  Saponato-Camphoratum  we  are 
told  that  "  Solid  opodeldoc  is  directed  ,  by  the  G.  P.  to  be  prepared 
with  soap  made  from  animal  fats ;  but  pure  white  castile  soap  may 
be  used,  provided  it  has  been  previously  deprived  of  water."  Yet 
the  formula  directs  "  white  castile  soap  "  and  not  previously  de- 
prived of  water.  The  German  Pharmacopoeia  directs  "  medicinal 
soap,"  official  in  that  pharmacopoeia  under  the  title  "  Sapo  Medi- 
catus,"  and  directed  to  be  made  from  equal  parts  of  "  lard  "  and 
"  olive  oil  "  saponified  with  sodium  hydroxide.  The  proportion  of 
the  constituents  in  the  German  formula  for  opodeldoc  is  not  the 
same  as  given  in  the  Formulary. 
