3o 
Pharwacopoeial  Nomenclature, 
A.m.  Jour.  Pharm.. 
Jan.,  1894. 
their  older  colleagues,  where  they  come  in  contact  only  with  the 
older,  fluent,  and  appropriate  name. 
As  regards  the  groups  Aqua,  Liquores,  Spiritus,  Tinctures,  all 
attempts  to  characterize  them  sharply  and  distinctly  have  been  in 
vain. 
If  aqucs  were  to  be  defined  as  indifferent  waters,  then  aqua 
ammonics,  calcis,  chlori  would  have  to  be  excluded  therefrom. 
Should  the  term  liquores  be  explained  as  salt  solutions,  then  the 
gas  solutions,  Liq.  ammon.  caust.  and  chlori  could  not  retain  their 
places  in  this  group ;  chlorine  water  and  water  of  ammonia  would 
then  belong  neither  to  aqucs  nor  to  liquores. 
The  mineral  waters  would  have  to  be  designated  as  liquores,  as 
the  bitter  waters,  for  instance,  are  salt  solutions,  and  certainly  not 
indifferent  waters. 
Spiritus  would  properly  be  designated  by  alcoholic  fluids  and 
tinctures  by  alcoholic  plant  extractions ;  but  how  about  Tinctura 
iodif  In  short,  it  will  easily  be  seen  that  in  every  such  attempt  a 
number  of  exceptions  will  at  once  present  themselves. 
For  these  reasons  I  would  prefer  strictly  to  follow  the  custom,, 
which,  in  such  cases  as  Tinctura  iodi,  seems  almost  peremptory. 
Of  course,  it  is  evident  that  this  is  no  tincture  from  a  phar- 
maceutical point  of  view,  although  it  is  a  tincture  according  to 
the  accepted  meaning  of  the  word,  being  a  colored  liquid.  One 
way  of  expressing  what  is  meant  would  be  -  Solutio  iodi;  but 
then  Solutiones  would  have  to  be  introduced.  It  could,  in  prefer- 
ence, be  called  Spiritus  iodi,  in  conformity  with  Spiritus  cam- 
phorae,  which  is  also  only  a  simple  solution. 
In  want  of  a  more  acceptable  characterization,  therefore,  it  would, 
with  these  groups,  be  best  to  adhere  to  the  time-honored,  best 
known  names. 
Philology. — In  looking  over  the  report  of  the  revision  of  the  U. 
S.  Pharmacopoeia  published  in  1880,  I  noticed  that  in  indicating  the 
acid  character  of  salts — for  instance,  Sulfas,  Phosphas,  Nitras,  etc. 
— the  feminine  was  used,  and,  although  this  was  afterwards  changed 
to  the  masculine  in  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia,  the  Pharmacopoeia 
Britannica  has  retained  the  feminine  gender. 
It  might  be  well  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  Latin  the  sub- 
