470  American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  {A^ciober,Pi9oa7!m' 
of  the  British  Pharmaceutical  Conference  at  the  late  annual  meeting 
in  Manchester,  in  which  he  said  a  tribute  was  paid  to  American 
pharmacy  and  the  pharmacopceial  plan  approved. 
The  main  part  of  the  report  was  devoted  to  a  consideration  of 
the  conditions  and  changes  brought  about  by  the  passage  of  the  Pure 
Food  and  Drugs  Act,  and  the  adoption  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  as  a 
legal  standard. 
In  discussing  future  methods  of  revision,  the  speaker  said  that 
"  the  present  method  of  revision  by  correspondence  is  cumbrous, 
and  some  better  means  of  communication  between  the  members 
must  be  devised."  The  advantages  of  the  present  plan  were  out- 
lined as  follows : 
(i)  The  committee  is  representative  of  various  sections  of -the  country.  (2) 
There  has  not  been  the  slightest  intimation  from  any  quarter  that  the  com- 
mittee were  influenced  either  directly  or  indirectly  by  pecuniary  reward.  .  .  . 
{3)  A  committee  of  revision  constituted  like  the  present  one  is  much  nearer 
and  closer  to  sources  of  information,  and  the  education,  training  and  life-work 
of  such  a  committee  fit  them  especially  for  the  work.  If  the  present  committee 
had  been  able  to  procure  in  1902  and  1903  the  information  that  was  freely  ten- 
dered by  manufacturers  and  others  in  1906,  not  only  would  there  have  been 
much  time  saved,  but  there  would  have  been  no  necessity  for  sending  out 
"  Additions  and  Corrections."  (4)  It  is  significant  that  while  some  European 
nations  are  advocating  a  more  popular  and  democratic  method  of  revising  their 
pharmacopoeias,  there  is  some  talk  in  this  country  of  changing  the  present 
method  and  placing  the  whole  work  in  the  hands  of  the  Government. 
In  concluding  his  remarks  on  this  subject,  Professor  Remington 
spoke  as  follows : 
The  manufacturers  and  pharmacists  as  a  rule  are  satisfied  with  the  latest 
issue  of  the  Pharmacopoeia.  They  have  incurred  great  expense  to  comply  with 
its  standard,  and  rapid  and  continuous  changes  in  the  standards  are  ill-advised 
and  have  a  tendency  to  disturb  values  and  cause  great  losses.  That  the  Phar- 
macopoeia should  be  revised  oftener  than  every  ten  years  must  be  apparent  to 
all,  and  this  subject  must  claim  the  serious  attention  of  the  next  Pharmaco- 
pceial Convention  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  a  constant  tinkering  with  the 
standards  should  be  avoided.  That  the  medical  profession  will  take  vastly 
more  interest  in  the  revision  of  the  next  Pharmacopoeia  can  be  safely  pre- 
dicted ;  that  it  will  be  necessary  to  both  medicine  and  pharmacy  to  work  har- 
moniously together  is  also  a  necessity,  and  that  any  defects  in  the  present  plan 
of  revision  can  and  will  be  remedied  in  the  future,  is  the  sincere  belief  of  the 
chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Revision. 
Among  the  other  reports  presented  were  the  following  :  Report  ot 
the  Committee  on  National  Formulary,  C.  Lewis  Diehl,  chairman, 
