AmAJS  f^m-}New  System  of  Weights  and  Measures.  187 
gum.  Barbary  brown  and  Amrad  give  only  a  jelly  with  borax. 
Australian  gum  has  no  reaction  with  ferric  chloride  and  potassic 
silicate ;  Brazilian  gum  has  no  reaction  with  potassic  silicate,  but 
gelatinizes  with  borax  and  ferric  chloride,  and  slightly  with  basic 
lead.  Ghatti  gum  gelatinizes  with  all  four,  but  only  slightly  with 
potassic  silicate.  Oomra  gum  reacts  similarly  to  acacia,  except  that 
it  is  entirely  unaffected  by  basic  lead,  and  forms  a  softer  jelly  with 
ferric  chloride. 
A  NEW  SYSTEM  OF  OLD  WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES. 
By  Joseph  W.  England,  Ph.G. 
The  Revision  Committee  of  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia,  soon  to 
convene,  will  probably  have  no  more  important  problem  before  it, 
for  consideration,  than  the  subject  of  weights  and  measures. 
Whether  to  adhere  to  the  present  plan  of  "  parts  by  weight," 
which  has  been  so  unfavorably  received,  or,  to  return  to  the  cum- 
brous system  of  troy  weights  and  measures  of  the  older  Pharma- 
copoeias, or,  to  adopt  an  avoirdupois  method,  or,  to  use  a  new  sys- 
tem entirely,  will  be  the  question  for  decision. 
The  Pharmacopoeia  has  been  framed  with  the  intention  of  serv- 
ing two  purposes,  the  first,  the  recognition  of  remedies  required  by 
the  physician  ;  the  second,  the  recognition  of  methods  in  pharmaceu- 
tical work  required  by  the  pharmacist. 
Apart  from  the  very  important  question  of  what  remedies  to 
admit  and  what  to  reject,  physicians  have  little  practical  interest  in 
the  Pharmacopoeia,  and  they  have  rightly  come  to  regard  it  as 
almost  wholly  a  daily  work-book  for  the  practice  of  pharmacy. 
In  confirmation  of  this  view,  the  following  abstract  from  an  editorial 
on  "  The  Pharmacopoeia  of  1 890,"  in  the  University  Medical  Magazine 
(March,  1890,  p.  328),  is  of  interest  : 
"  As  we  understand  the  functions  of  the  Pharmacopcria,  its  duty 
is  simply  to  decide  what  drugs  shall  be  kept  most  commonly  upon 
the  shelves  of  the  druggist,  and  for  the  purpose  of  directing  him  in 
the  manufacture  of  certain  articles.  So  far  as  its  relation  to  the 
medical  profession  is  concerned,  it  is  to  be  regarded  simply  and 
solely  as  a  list  which  in  no  way  affords  practical  advice  unless  the 
physician  is  so  placed  as  to  be  forced  to  manufacture  his  own 
medicines,  a  duty  seldom  performed  at  this  time  by  any  one,  owing 
