286 
U.S. P.  National  Convention. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm 
June,  1900. 
8.  SUPPLEMENT. 
It  is  recommended  that  the  Committee  on  Revision  of  the  United  States 
Pharmacopoeia  be  directed  to  issue  a  supplement  to  the  Pharmacopoeia,  if  they 
deem  such  action  desirable. 
9.  PRECEDENTS. 
In  all  matters  not  specially  provided  for  in  these  "  General  Principles"  the 
rules  established  for  previous  revision,  if  there  are  any,  should  be  followed. 
In  the  course  of  the  discussion  in  adopting  the  general  principles  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  the  new  Committee  of  Revision  of  the  U.S. P.,  a  number  of  things 
were  favorably  considered  by  the  Committee,  whilst  others  were  objected  to. 
Among  the  former,  which  are  not  already  included  in  the  foregoing  draft  of 
general  principles,  was  a  motion  by  H.  H.  Rusby  to  incorporate  among  the 
vegetable  drugs  such  descriptions  of  the  powders  as  in  these  cases  may  be  con- 
sidered desirable  by  the  Committee  on  Revision.  Some  of  the  things  voted 
down  by  the  Convention  were  :  (1)  The  introduction  of  serums  into  the  U.S. P.  ; 
(2)  The  substitution  of  English  words  wherever  possible  for  foreign  botanical 
terms.  The  American  Chemical  Society  sent  a  communication  requesting  the 
co-operation  of  the  Convention  in  the  efforts  of  the  various  scientific  bodies  to 
secure  the  establishment  of  a  National  Standardizing  Bureau.  This  was 
referred  to  a  committee,  and  S.  P.  Sadtler  reported  at  the  last  meeting  that 
Congress  had  acted  favorably  upon  the  measure  since  the  appointment  of  the 
committee,  and  moved  that  resolutions  commending  the  action  of  Congress  be 
passed,  which  was  done.  The  recommendation  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the 
State  of  New  York  that  a  Bureau  of  Materia  Medica  be  instituted,  in  order  to 
carry  on  disinterested  investigation  into  the  character  and  value  of  new  drugs, 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  of  Revision. 
STATEMENT  OF  REVISION  COMMITTEE. 
Owing  to  the  absence  of  Charles  Rice,  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
Revision  of  the  U.S.  P.,  Joseph  P.  Remington  asked  that  the  committee  of  1890 
be  permitted  to  continue  its  existence  as  long  as  necessary  to  bring  its  work 
into  final  shape,  and  presented  the  following  statement : 
"  Gentlemen  :— It  becomes  my  duty,  as  Vice-Chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
Revision,  in  the  absence  of  the  chairman,  in  accordance  with  a  resolution  passed 
by  the  Committee  of  Revision,  to  make  to  the  Convention  a  statement  which 
will  convey  information  which  may  be  valuable  in  the  absence  of  the  report  of 
the  Chairman,  Charles  Rice,  Ph.D.,  who  is  most  unfortunately  prevented  from 
attending  this  meeting  on  account  of  serious  illness.  This  statement  must  not 
be  regarded  as  in  any  way  a  substitute  for  the  chairman's  general  report ;  for 
the  committee  sincerely  trusts  that  this  will  be  compiled  and  go  on  the  records 
when  he  shall  have  sufficiently  recovered  his  health  to  perform  this  duty. 
"  It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  Convention  of  1890  authority  was  given 
the  Committee  of  Revision  to  publish  the  work  at  its  own  expense,  making 
contracts  for  printing,  binding  and  publishing  and  transacting  all  of  the  busi- 
ness connected  with  the  publishing  of  the  work.  That  this  was  a  wise  proceed- 
ing on  the  part  of  the  Convention  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  the  book 
has  received  general  commendation  from  all  sources  ;  that  a  larger  number 
have  been  sold  than  of  any  previous  revision  ;  that  a  somewhat  larger  work 
