6oo  Revision  of  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia.  {Ami°eZS^Tm' 
to  our  present  idea  of  a  spirit,  that  it  should  be  omitted  as  an  offi- 
cial synonym. 
Effervescent  Lithium  Citrate  should  have  been  directed  to  be 
granulated.  Using  the  salt  and  not  the  lithium  carbonate  and  citric 
acid,  to  prepare  same  when  dissolved,  tartaric  acid  could  have  been 
substituted  for  the  citric  acid  to  produce  effervescence. 
While  native  Manganese  Dioxide,  containing  66  per  cent,  of  the 
dioxide,  is  pure  enough  for  preparing  chlorine  water  it  is  not  sufficiently 
pure  for  internal  administration.  Manganese  dioxide  is  now  largely 
administered  as  an  emmenagogue  and  alterative  and  a  pure  oxide 
should  have  been  introduced  for  this  purpose  and  a  note  of  caution 
under  the  present  official  oxide,  explaining  that  it  was  not  intended 
for  internal  use. 
Very  little  of  the  natural  copaiba  will  yield  Mass  of  Copaiba  by 
the  official  process  until  a  portion  of  the  essential  oil  is  distilled  off. 
The  addition  of  one  per  cent,  sodic  hydrate  dissolved  in  a  little 
water  improves  the  solidification  of  the  mass. 
The  introduction  of  Methyl  Salicylate  into  the  Pharmacopoeia 
is  unwarranted  by  either  use  or  character  of  the  product.  Its 
principal  use  has  been  as  an  adulterant  of  the  natural  oil  of  winter- 
green  and  a  test  that  would  readily  detect  its  presence  in  this  oil  has 
been  a  desideratum.  As  a  product,  it  is  itself  liable  to  contamina- 
tion with  other  synthetic  products  from  impurities  present  in  the 
salicylic  acid  used  in  its  manufacture,  and  it  is,  in  addition,  notoriously 
adulterated. 
Its  introduction  into  the  Pharmacopoeia,  is  accompanied  with  tests 
for  the  detection  of  some  of  these  adulterants.  The  official  tests  for 
methyl  benzoate  would  fail  to  detect  the  presence  of  a  small  amount 
of  that  product.  It  laysclairnto  no  superiority  and  possesses  no 
advantages  over  the  natural  oil  of  wintergreen.  The  latter  is  exten- 
sively used  both  internally  and  externally,  and  I  have  yet  to  see  or 
hear  of  the  physician  who  knowingly  ordered  or  accepted  the 
synthetic  oil.  On  the  other  hand,  the  statement  is  made  by  some 
that  the  salicylic  acid  made  from  the  natural  oil  of  wintergreen  has 
a  better  remedial  effect  than  that  made  synthetically.  The  only 
claim  that  methyl  salicylate  appears  to  advance  is  that  it  is  a  cheap 
substitute.  While  this  might  appeal  to  the  soap  manufacturer  it  is 
beneath  the  self-respect  of  the  honest  pharmacist  and  the  dignity  of 
the  Pharmacopoeia  to  recognize  such  reason.    This  introduction  of 
