40 
Book  Reviews. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\    January,  1914. 
two  revision  committees,  result  in  the  publication  of  a  Pharmaco- 
poeia and  National  Formulary  that  will  be  regarded  as  authoritative 
and  the  last  word  in  pharmaceutical  matters. 
References  to  the  great  mass  of  literature  consulted  is  com- 
plete in  every  respect  and  comments  relating  to  the  legal  status  and 
development  of  pure  food  and  drug  laws,  scope,  analytical  data, 
clinical  tests,  biologic  products  and  vegetable  drugs  are  abstracted 
with  the  main  points  of  the  papers  brought  out.  This  is  as  it  should 
be,  as  it  enables  a  worker  to  see  at  once  if  a  reference  is  worth  while 
consulting. 
It  is  particularly  gratifying  to  note  that  references  of  a  practical 
nature  in  regard  to  pharmaceutical  preparations  and  suggestions  as 
to  their  improvement,  both  as  to  formula  and  method  of  prepara- 
tion, are  much  in  evidence. 
The  "  digest  "  also  places  at  the  disposal  of  the  revision  com- 
mittees references  to  all  literature  pertaining  to  international 
standards.  Every  decade  brings  us  closer  to  a  realization  of  the 
fact  that  the  question  of  unification  of  pharmacopceial  preparations 
is  becoming  a  matter  of  supreme  importance.  Rapid  means  of  travel 
and  communication  are  largely  responsible  for  this. 
Foreign  Pharmacopoeias  always  bring  forth  considerable  comment 
and  criticism  from  workers  and  experts  from  various  parts  of  the 
globe  and  last  year  was  no  exception.  The  collaborators  of  the 
"  Digest  "  make  this  fact  plain  in  their  references  to  literature  that 
comments  on  the  German,  Russian,  Italian,  French,  Swedish,  Swiss, 
Austrian,  Japanese,  Dutch,  and  British  Pharmacopoeias  and  the 
British  Pharmaceutical  Codex. 
Part  III  of  this  Bulletin  is  devoted  to  a  most  comprehensive 
review  of  the  literature  relating  to>  comments  on  official  articles 
504  pages  being  required  to  show  what  has  been  said  and  done  in 
this  field  of  endeavor,  and  also  illustrating  what  a  tremendous 
amount  of  reading  the  preparation  of  this  valuable  government 
publication  required  for  its  completion. 
John  K.  Thum. 
The  Propaganda  for  Reform  in  Proprietary  Medicines. 
Reprinted  from  the  Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Association. 
Eighth  Edition,  1913. 
There  are  many  people  who  take  as  gospel  truth  anything  they 
see  in  print.    There  are  a  great  many  other  people  who,  while  they 
