Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
February,  1915.  J 
Book  -Reviews. 
87 
ature  relating  to  Pharmacopoeial  subjects  published  during  the 
calendar  year  ending  December  31,  1913.  The  bulletin  includes  a 
total  of  518  pages,  125  of  which  are  devoted  to  general  comments  on 
the  nature  and  present  status  of  the  Pharmacopoeia,  and  365  to 
comments  on  official  articles.  The  preface  states  that  the  references 
to  the  more  important  articles  and  monographs  are  restricted  to  a 
brief  statement  of  the  title  or  content  of  the  contributions  referred 
to,  and  a  consistent  effort  has  been  made  to  avoid  even-  word  or 
phrase  not  essential  to  a  bare  suggestion  of  the  intent  of  the  reporter 
or  contributor  quoted. 
This  restriction  is  probably  imposed  because  of  the  compre- 
hensiveness of  the  material  to  be  presented,  but  it  would  appear 
that  in  connection  with  quotations  from  less  accessible  foreign 
journals,  at  least,  additional  space  might  be  devoted  to  the  subject 
matter,  so  as  to  make  the  references  something  more  than  a  bare 
index.  Even  as  an  index,  however,  these  bulletins  are  of  value  to 
the  laboratory  worker  in  pharmacy,  and  will  tend  to  prevent  un- 
necessary duplication  of  work  and  the  accompanying  waste  of  time. 
From  a  practical  point  of  view  the  material  included  in  this  series 
of  "  Digests  "  is  of  value  in  a  variety  of  ways  other  than  its  direct 
value  as  an  aid  in  revising  our  official  standards.  One  of  these  many 
uses  is  suggested  by  the  following  paragraph  from  the  Preface : 
"  In  this,  as  in  previous  bulletins,  an  effort  has  been  made  to  in- 
corporate the  results  of  analyses  included  in  the  published  reports 
of  State  food  and  drug  commissioners,  or  officials  entrusted  with  the 
enforcement  of  State  food  and  drug  laws,  so  as  to  show  the  activities 
existing  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  as  well  as  the  general  con- 
ditions in  the  drug  trade  and  the  nature  of  the  products  used  in  the 
treatment  of  disease  as  dispensed  to  the  consumer.'' 
The  Pharmacopoeia  is  primarily  intended  to  secure  for  the  con- 
sumer pure  and  unadulterated  drugs,  and  this  reflection  of  adultera- 
tions or  contaminations  undoubtedly  constitutes  an  important  feature 
of  the  present  series  of  the  Digest  of  Comments,  and  is  one  of  which 
the  pharmacists  of  the  country  should  be  particularly  appreciative. 
Another  feature  of  more  than  passing  interest  is  embodied  in 
the  quotations  relating  to  the  development  of  international  uni- 
formity in  the  nature  and  strength  of  widely-used  and  potent  medica- 
ments. This  subject  was  liberally  discussed  at  the  Eleventh  Inter- 
national Congress  of  Pharmacy,  held  at  The  Hague,  September 
17-21,  191 3,  and  many  of  the  papers  presented  at  that  time  are  re- 
