Am'May?i9ooarm  United  States  Pharmacopoeia.  207 
make  the  benzoate  from ;  but  according  to  the  tests  for  this  com- 
pound the  presence  of  a  chloride  is  rigidly  excluded.  Some  one 
says,  and  rightly,  "  Such  a  small  amount  of  chloride  is  perfectly 
harmless/'  But  according  to  the  letter  of  the  text  it  is  not  U.S.P., 
and  a  hair-splitting  commission  might  make  it  unpleasant  for  some 
one. 
Then  again,  potassium  citrate  is  100  per  cent,  pure,  chlorides 
and  sulphates  being  rigidly  excluded;  yet  citric  acid  is  allowed  to 
have  a  limit  of  sulphuric  acid  and  metallic  impurities,  and  potassium 
carbonate  and  bicarbonate  are  both  allowed  to  contain  a  limit  of 
chloride. 
This  state  of  affairs  requires  circumspection  and  investigation,  in 
view  of  some  of  the  present  existing  State  laws,  which  designate 
the  Pharmacopoeia  as  standard  for  all  officinal  preparations. 
It  would  seem  eminently  desirable  to  adopt  the  Pharmacopoeia  as 
a  legal  standard  or  guide,  otherwise  there  would  probably  be  as 
many  standards  for  medicinal  remedies  and  commercial'  goods  as 
there  are  commissions.  The  limitations  ought  not,  however,  to  be 
so  exacting,  excepting  where  absolutely  fresh  material  is  necessary, 
as  to  be  applicable  to  a  preparation  only  once,  and  that  when 
freshly  prepared.  Impossibilities  should  not  be  requested.  The 
standard  ought  to  allow  a  reasonable  degree  of  variation  for  pro- 
ducts that  are  prone  to  change  under  the  most  favorable  environ- 
ments. To  bring  this  home  forcibly  it  is  only  necessary  to  men- 
tion such  preparations  as  spirit  of  ammonia,  bleaching  powder, 
tincture  of  iodine,  spirit  of  nitrous  ether,  etc.  Another  thing, 
however,  must  be  considered  in  this  connection,  and  that  is,  if  the 
Pharmacopoeia  is  adopted  as  a  legal  standard  for  various  articles, 
the  wilful  adulterator  will  carefully  study  this  standard  and  so 
adjust  his  adulterations  that  the  article  adulterated  will  comply 
with  the  legal  standard,  and  yet  be  adulterated. 
For  example,  wood  alcohol  (methyl  alcohol)  is  at  present  so 
highly  refined  that  it  can  readily  be  employed  as  an  adulterant  of 
grain  alcohol  (ethyl  alcohol)  without  much  liability  of  being 
detected  by  the  present  pharmacopceial  tests.  Some  of  the  essen- 
tial and  fixed  oils  can  readily  be  manipulated  and  yet  comply  with 
the  U.S.P.  standards.  Oil  of  copaiba  is  met  with  mixed  with  oil 
of  gurjun  balsam,  and  oil  of  peppermint  containing  25  per  cent,  of 
oil  of  turpentine  finds  its  way  into  the  channels  of  tiade;  but  the 
