Am  Jour.  Pharm. 
Nov.,  1877. 
Editorial. 
573 
After  the  adjournment  of  the  Association,  most  of  the  visitors  left  Toronto  on 
Friday  afternoon  for  the  St.  Lawrence  River  and  Montreal,  but  a  goodly  number 
availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity  afforded  them  by  their  Canadian  brethren  to 
visit  one  of  the  most  picturesque  sections  of  their  country,  the  primaeval  beauty  of 
which  has  scarcely  been  interfered  with  by  the  axe  of  the  settler.  Traveling  by  rail 
along  Lake  Simcoe  and  several  smaller  lakes,  the  party  left  the  cars  at  Gravenhurst 
and  embarked  on  a  steamer  which  carried  them  over  Lakes  Muskoka  and  Rosseau, 
at  the  northern  end  of  which  they  obtained  very  fair  accommodations  at  the  Rosseau 
House.  Both  lakes,  but  more  particularly  the  former,  are  bestudded  with  hundreds 
of  rocky  and  densely  wooded  islands,  nearly  all  of  which  are  uninhabited  j  it  occurs 
rarely  that  the  smoke  from  a  chimney  or  a  camp-fire  is  observed,  or  that  the  stillness 
is  broken  by  busy  scenes  on  the  shore.  But  the  view  changes  continually,  and  the 
dark-colored  but  transparent  waters  reflect  like  perfect  mirrors  all  surrounding 
objects  and  at  night  the  stars,  which  glisten  and  twinkle  with  great  beauty  through 
the  clear  atmosphere.  Muskoka  and  Shadow  rivers  were  particularly  admired  for 
the  perfect  reflection  of  the  multitudinous  forms  and  colors  of  the  shrubs  and  trees, 
which,  decked  with  their  autumnal  foliage,  lined  the  shores. 
After  some  days  of  rest  in  this  highland  and  lake  region,  the  party  returned  to 
Toronto  and  followed  those  who  had  preceded  them,  by  steamer  down  Lake  Ontario 
and  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  past  the  Thousand  Islands,  and  through  the  several 
rapids  to  Montreal,  and  some  further  on  to  Quebec.  Leaving  Montreal,  Lakes 
Champlain  and  George,  with  their  elegant  surroundings,  were  reached.  Saratoga 
and^Albany  were  visited,  and  on  the  trip  down  the  Hudson  and  past  the  Catskill 
Mountains  the  romantic  scenery  of  the  highlands  was  admired,  and  the  excursionists 
returned  to  their  homes,  hoping  for  a  similar  reunion  on  the  occasion  of  the  next 
annual  meeting. 
During  the  entire  trip  nothing  had  occured  to  mar  the  pleasure,  except  the  serious 
illness  of  Dr.  W.  H.  Pile,  which  kept  him  confined  to  his  bed  at  the  Rossin  House, 
Toronto,  until  two  weeks  ago  he  had  so  far  recovered  from  an  attack  of  paralysis,  as 
to  be  able  to  bear  the  fatigue  of  the  journey  to  his  home  in  Philadelphia,  where  we 
are  pleased  to  state  he  is  gradually  improving.  Another  member,  who  with  his 
family  heartily  enjoyed  the  excursion,  Ashel  Boyden,  of  Boston,  we  are  sorry  to 
learn,  has  unexpectedly  departed  this  life. 
The  Preliminary  Revision  of  the  United  States  Pharmaopceia. — As  the  period 
is  drawing  near  when  the  decennial  convention,  for  the  revision  of  the  pharma- 
copoeia, is  to  meet,  the  various  societies  who  are  interested  in  that  work  are  making 
preparations  for  collecting  suggestions  of  improvement.  Heretofore  there  has  been 
little  uniformity  in  preparing  these  suggestions  for  the  proper  use  of  the  Committee 
of  Revision  ;  not  unfrequently,  they  were  very  fragmentary  and  sometimes  con- 
sisted merely  of  references  to  articles  published  in  various  journals.  To  be  really 
useful  for  the  purpose  for  which  they  are  intended,  they  should  be  presented  in  a 
form  designed  for  transfering  them  to  the  pages  of  the  pharmacopoeia,  which  would 
very  materially  facilitate  their  comparison  with  others  of  a  similar  nature,  particu- 
