-Amj{°nue%877arm'}  Proposed  Changes  in  the  Pharmacopeia.  293 
medical  standard,  with  a  view  to  offering  solid  projects  of  improvement, 
will  very  speedily  dissipate  the  last  traces  of  any  such  sentiment. 
III.  The  method  of  publication  is  a  subject  upon  which  there  has 
existed  considerable  difference  of  opinion.  Heretofore  the  Pharma- 
copoeia has  been  "published"  by  a  well-known  and  responsible 
publishing  firm  in  the  city  where  the  committee  has  held  its  sessions, 
and  where  the  work  of  revision  has  been  done.  This  publishing  house 
has  not,  however,  at  any  time  owned  the  "  copyright  ;"  this  having 
been  held  by  the  Committee  of  Revision  and  Publication,  in  trust, 
through  its  chairman.  Dr.  Squibb  in  his  earlier  reflections  on  the 
subject  expressed  the  opinion,  that  "  in  order  to  cheapen  the  book  as 
far  as  possible  to  the  medical  and  pharmaceutical  public,  the  copyright 
should  be  placed  at  a  price  that  would  just  meet  all  reasonable 
expenses."  (p.  9.)  Practically,  this  is  precisely  what  has  always  been 
done,  excepting  that  the  copyright  was  never  actually  sold.  The  only 
pecuniary  income  from  the  publication  ever  received  by  the  owners  of 
the  copyright,  has  been  the  pittance  of  some  two  hundred  dollars  or 
thereabouts,  required  by  the  committee  for  actual  outlays.  Beyond 
these  slight  necessary  expenses,  the  committee  has  permitted  no 
remunerations  ;  but  has  studiously  labored  to  so  limit  the  profits  of  the 
work,  that  it  should  be  furnished  to  the  public  at  the  lowest  remuner- 
ative price. 
It  is  complained,  however,  that  "  what  the  copyright  has  yielded 
hitherto,  or  what  it  was  worth,  could  never  be  known,  because  it  was 
always  given  arbitrarily  to  one  publishing  house,  which  house  declined 
to  give  any  information  upon  this  point."  (p.  9.)  At  the  time  referred 
to  in  this  complaint  Dr.  Squibb  was  himself  a  member  of  the  revising 
committee,  a  majority  of  which  (contrary  to  his  wishes),  instead  of 
inviting  bids  from  New  York  and  Boston,  or  permitting  a  competitive 
scramble  for  the  work,  as  a  valuable  prize,  decided  (wisely,  as  we 
believe)  on  having  the  printing  done  under  its  immediate  supervision, 
with  the  constant  opportunities  of  very  frequent  revises  of  the  "  proofs." 
And  it  was  also  insisted  on  that  a  careful  estimate  should  be  made  for 
minute  criticism,  whereby  the  book  should  be  put  upon  the  market  at 
the  cost  of  production.  The  result  was  that  the  revision  of  i860, 
published  in  1863,  when  gold  was  rising  to  its  highest  tide,  and  prices 
were  correspondingly  inflated,  was,  by  this  "  arbitrary  "  conduct  of  the 
committee,  retailed  at  the  price  of  one  dollar  in  currency  ! 
