AmAp?"'i9ooarm'}     Recent  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.  177 
tent  of  45  per  cent,  of  the  mixture.  Thus  the  mixture  not  only 
gave  a  more  copious  effervescence  when  dissolved  than  any  other 
salt,  but  the  finished  solution  also  contained  a  larger  proportion  of 
active  ingredient  than  any  other  examined. 
The  object  of  including  magnesium  citrate  seemed  to  be,  as 
with  some  others  examined,  to  insure  a  qualitative  test  for  magne- 
sium, if  such  should  be  tried. 
Whatever  may  be  said  as  to  the  virtues  of  magnesium  citrate,  the 
public  has  in  effect  declared  its  satisfaction  with  the  substitutes  and 
its  unwillingness  to  pay  the  added  cost  in  order  to  get  the  true  prepa- 
ration ;  and  the  medical  profession  seem  to  have  acquiesced  in  this 
decision. 
The  British  Pharmacopoeia  has  recognized  the  futility  of  advo- 
cating an  unvalued  ideal,  and  has  given  an  effervescing  sulphate 
of  magnesium  its  official  recognition. 
If  the  forthcoming  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia  will  sanction  an  effer- 
vescing Epsom,  or  Rochelle  or  Glauber's  salt,  it  will  promote  uni- 
formity in  these  preparations,  but  to  continue  the  present  obso- 
lete preparation  is  but  to  encourage  variability  and  substitution. 
Even  the  official  solution  of  magnesium  citrate  is  frequently 
found  to  consist  mostly  of  sulphate,  and  it  is  probable  that  a 
large  proportion  of  the  bottles  sold  contain  sulphate  in  place  of 
citrate.  The  arguments  in  favor  of  recognizing  this  are  similar 
to  those  which  apply  to  the  granular  salt,  but  are  not  as  strong. 
In  my  opinion,  however,  the  effervescing  sulphate  solution  is  quite 
as  acceptable  to  patients  and  physicians,  and  it  would  be  the  part 
of  wisdom  for  our  Pharmacopoeia  to  sanction  it.  The  physician 
or  patient  cares  naught  whether  a  preparation  is  recognized  by 
the  Pharmacopoeia  so  long  as  it  is  satisfactory  to  himself. 
RECENT  LITERATURE  RELATING  TO  PHARMACY. 
SANTONIN  ASSAY. 
An  elaborate  critique  of  the  several  suggested  methods  of  assay 
of  santonin  by  J.  Katz  {Arch,  der  Phar.,  1899,  245)  indicates  that 
none  are  sufficiently  trustworthy ;  hence  the  writer  has  devised  a 
process  which  he  claims  is  reliable  within  1  per  cent.  In  his  pro- 
cess, 10  grammes  santonica  is  extracted  with  ether,  in  a  Soxhlet 
apparatus,  for  two  hours  and  the  solvent  distilled  off.    The  residue 
