A jaiSa£yfi906m  }      Inorganic  Chemicals  of  the  U.S. P.  13 
lion  of  Ferric  Chloride  from  13  per  cent,  iron  to  10  per  cent,  iron; 
while  Syrup  of  Ferrous  Iodide  has  been  reduced  from  10  per  cent, 
ferrous  iodide  to  5  per  cent,  ferrous  iodide — this  conforms  with  the 
recently  adopted  international  standard.  On  the  other  hand,  a  few 
preparations  have  been  increased  in  strength,  notably,  Solution  of  Iron 
and  Ammonium  Acetate,  which  contains  about  twice  as  much  iron  as 
before,  and  Solution  of  Ferric  Sulphate,  which  has  been  raised  from 
28  7  per  cent,  ferric  sulphate  to  36  per  cent,  ferric  sulphate. 
CHANGES  IN  MANUFACTURE. 
The  omission  of  a  recipe  for  the  manufacture  of  Solution  of  Hydro- 
gen Dioxide  was  a  wise  step,  since  it  is  scarcely  sensible  for  the 
retailer  to  manufacture  this  and  other  chemicals,  which  can  be  pro- 
duced so  much  more  satisfactorily  by  the  large  manufacturer. 
Not  so,  however,  with  the  omission  of  the  process  of  making  the 
scale  salts  of  iron.  If  the  manufacture  of  ferric  citrate  was  deemed 
too  intricate  for  the  retailer,  the  committee  on  revision  could  have 
at  least  retained  the  recipes  for  those  scale  salts  made  from  the 
citrate  and  especially  those  containing  alkaloids ;  it  being  well 
known  that  much  of  these  found  in  commerce  is  deficient  in  strength. 
And  far  simpler  is  it  for  the  retailer  to  make  these  than  to  assay 
those  that  he  buys. 
The  change  in  making  Lead  Plaster,  from  heating  olive  oil,  lith- 
arge and  water,  to  precipitation  of  sodium  oleate  with  lead  acetate, 
will  bring  forth  a  sigh  of  regret  from  those  in  charge  of  pharma- 
ceutical laboratories  and  wont  to  choose  the  making  of  lead  plaster 
as  the  particular  test  of  the  pharmaceutical  ability  of  the  students. 
The  committee  on  revision  has  fortunately  preserved  to  the  teacher 
the  other  bug-bear — Ointment  of  Mercuric  Nitrate — but  even  this 
has  been  made  a  bit  simpler  by  substituting  lard  for  lard  oil. 
The  substitution  of  Monohydrated  Sodium  Carbonate  for  the  for- 
merly official  efflorescent  sodium  carbonate  containing  ten  molecules 
of  water  of  crystallization  in  all  preparations  where  sodium  carbonate 
is  required,  is  a  step  toward  accuracy,  provided  the  new  official  is  as 
stable  as  we  are  told  it  is.  There  have  been  several  statements  in 
the  press  that  the  monohydrated  salt  is  unobtainable,  but  this  criti- 
cism is  not  just,  since  the  product  is  now  listed  by  several  chemical 
manufacturers  and  that  at  a  reasonable  figure. 
With  the  substitution  of  a  pure,  artificial  Pucipitated  Manganese 
