AmMirch,f906.rm'}  Progress  in  Pharmacy.  135 
solutions  and  it  is  expected  that,  in  future,  all  solutions  that  are 
intended  for  intravenous  or  for  hypodermic  injections  are  to  be  dis- 
pensed in  a  sterile  form  only.  Another  innovation  is  to  be  found 
in  the  fact  that  distilled  water  only  is  recognized  as  being  fit  for  use 
in  making  galenical  preparations  and  all  of  the  official  formulae 
specify  that  form  of  water. 
The  provisions  of  the  International  Congress  for  the  unification 
of  the  formulae  for  potent  medicaments  are  generally  closely  adhered 
to  and  the  revision  committee  has  also  adopted  the  proposed  inter- 
national standard  dropper. 
Narcotic  extracts  and  tinctures  are  to  be  assayed  and  a  specified 
alkaloid  content  is  provided  for.  Other  tinctures  and  fluid  extracts 
are  expected  to  conform  to  certain  requirements  or  standards  for 
specific  gravity  and  extractive. 
The  Austrian  Pharmacopoeia,  in  keeping  with  other  recently 
issued  European  pharmacopoeias,  has  recognized  the  necessity  for 
describing  powdered  drugs,  but  is  probably  the  first  to  add  require- 
ments for  content  of  extractive  and  a  limit  for  residual  ash  in  addi- 
tion to  the  generally  described  microscopic  structure. 
As  was  to  have  been  expected,  the  chemistry  of  the  Austrian 
Pharmacopoeia  is  quite  modern.  The  composition  of  the  various 
substances  and  all  of  the  tests  are  based  on  atomic  weights  of  the 
elements  corresponding  to  0=  16,  in  place  of  o  —  1 5  96,  as  formerly 
official  in  this  and  other  pharmacopoeias.  (Phar.  Post,  Jan.,  1906, 
page  530 
The  New  French  Codex. — M.  Bourquelot,  the  head  pharmacist  of 
the  Laennec  Hospital,  Paris,  and  the  secretary  of  the  Codex  Revision 
Committee,  in  an  interview  recently  accorded  to  a  correspondent  of 
the  Chemist  and  Druggist  (Jan.  27,  1906,  page  133),  gave  publicity 
to  a  number  of  interesting  facts  regarding  the  new  Codex  which  is 
now  in  press. 
The  cumbersome  arrangement  of  former  editions  will  be  dispensed 
with  and  a  strictly  alphabetic  arrangement  is  to  be  adopted  in  its 
stead.  The  now  official  articles  that  have  been  dismissed  are 
numerous,  upwards  of  900.  The  new  additions  will  number  in  the 
neighborhood  of  1 50  and  will  include  many  of  the  newer  remedies, 
serums,  and  also  at  least  several  fluid  extracts. 
The  international  formulae  have  been  adopted  in  their  entirety 
and  with  the  exception  of  three,  or  at  most  four,  formulae  will  be 
