286  Proposed  Changes  in  the  Pharmacopoeia.  ^;^m~ 
on  the  assumption  that  "  the  Pharmacopoeia  [as  a  work  upon  the  material 
rnedica]  is  the  source  of,  or  gives  origin  to  pharmacy.  There  could 
be  no  pharmacy  without  a  pharmacopoeia,  no  more  than  there  could  be 
a  practice  of  jaw  without  statutes  or  enactments  ....  Phar- 
macy presupposes  a  Pharmacopoeia,  but  it  does  not  make  it."  (p.  28.) 
This  is  evidently  erroneous.  No  nation  or  people  ever  yet  had  a 
"  statute  "  without  having  had  a  large  body  of  antecedent  custom  and 
unwritten  law  long  established.  And  a  Pharmacopoeia  is  no  more 
possible  without  a  large  amount  of  pre-existing  well-established  phar- 
macy than  is  a  Lexicon,  without  a  long  pre-existing  spoken  and  written 
language.  UA  Pharmacopoeia  presupposes  a  Pharmacy,"  and  is  entirely 
moulded  by  it. 
The  only  remaining  recommendation  of  practical  importance  in  the 
pamphlet  under  review,  is  that  "  the  secondary  list  should  be  aban- 
doned, and  the  separation  into  materia  medica  and  preparations  should 
give  way  to  a  single  alphabetical  order  embracing  the  whole  contents." 
(p.  57.)  This  technical  modification  of  the  existing  plan  has  been 
repeatedly  urged  by  various  writers.  It  is  one  which  we  believe  com- 
mends itself  to  a  large  majority  of  either  profession.  Certainly  either 
a  Pharmacopoeia  or  a  Dispensatory  would  be  much  more  convenient 
for  reference  were  it  comprised  within  the  alphabet  of  a  single  dictionary. 
The  arrangement  of  all  the  substances  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  in  a  single 
or  continuous  alphabetical  order  is  also  recommended  by  the  committee 
on  this  subject  appointed  by  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association. 
The  distinctions  which  have  so  long  maintained  a  separation  between 
the  "Materia  Medica"  proper  and  its  "  Preparations  "  are  fluctuating 
and  unimportant.  To  one  who  had  not  given  special  attention  to  the 
refined  reasonings  of  the  Revisers,  it  might  appear  very  arbitrary  to 
class  benzoic,  gallic,  or  tannic  acid  under  the  one  head,  and  citric, 
oxalic,  or  tartaric  acid  under  the  other;  and  he  might  wonder  why 
bromide  of  potassium,  iodide  of  ammonium,  oxide  of  zinc,  phosphate 
of  sodium,  sulphate  of  quinia,  strychnia  and  veratria  were  accounted 
merely  pharmaceutical  preparations,  while  acetate  of  lead,  carbonate  of 
ammonium,  hypophosphite  of  calcium,  nitrate  of  sodium,  sulphate  of 
copper  and  valerianate  of  zinc  were  consigned  to  the  materia  of  the 
manufacturing  chemist.  Certainly  no  adequate  advantage  appears  for 
requiring  in  a  large  number  of  cases  a  double  search  from  one  who 
desires  to  consult  the  Pharmacopoeia. 
