210  Notes  on  the  New  Pharmacopoeia.      { AmMiy?i£karin* 
made  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  in  cases  where  pharmacists  have  sold 
drugs  and  chemicals  for  other  than  medicinal  purposes,  the  follow- 
ing paragraph  has  been  inserted  in  the  preface  : — 
"  Inasmuch  as  there  has  existed  in  the  past  on  the  part  of  the 
public  a  misconception  of  the  purposes  of  a  pharmacopoeia,  and 
penalties  have  been  imposed  upon  those  who  have  sold  substances 
bearing  pharmacopceial  names  which  were  to  be  used  in  the  arts,  for 
manufacturing,  and  other  purposes,  and  not  as  medicines,  it  has 
become  necessary  to  make  the  following  declaration  : — 
The  standards  of  purity  and  strength  prescribed  in  the  text  of 
this  Pharmacopoeia  are  intended  to  apply  to  substances  which  are 
used  solely  for  medicinal  purposes  and  zvhen  professedly  bought,  sold, 
or  dispensed  as  such." 
One  of  the  most  important  features  of  the  new  Pharmacopoeia  is 
the  insertion  of  assay  processes  for  a  number  of  drugs  and  their  prep- 
arations in  addition  to  those  which  were  in  the  old  Pharmacopoeia. 
The  instructions  from  the  Pharmacopceial  Convention  were  "  to 
append  assay  processes  to  as  many  of  the  potent  drugs  and  prepa- 
rations made  therefrom  as  may  be  found  possible,  provided  that  the 
processes  of  assay  are  reasonably  simple,  both  as  to  methods  and 
apparatus  required,  and  lead  to  fairly  uniform  results  in  different 
hands." 
The  processes  given,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  examine  them, 
are  as  simple  as  they  could  be  to  secure  the  results  desired.  Yet  I 
doubt  not,  many  persons  will  question  whether  they  are  "  reason, 
ably  simple."  It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  assay  work 
requires  some  skill  and  care,  and  only  persons  reasonably  skilled 
will  be  able  to  make  reliable  assays  by  any  processes  that  may  be 
given  them.  Processes  have  been  introduced  for  the  assay  of  the 
following  drugs  and  their  preparations  : — 
Aconite,  belladonna  leaves,  belladonna  root,  cinchona,  red  cin- 
chona, coca,  colchicum  corm,  colchicum  seed,  conium,  guarana, 
hydrastis,  hyoscyamus,  ipecac,  jalap,  nux  vomica,  opium,  physos- 
tigma,  pilocarpus,  scopola,  and  stramonium.  Some  will  think  that 
the  list  should  have  been  more  lengthy,  but  it  is  a  great  gain  to  have 
even  these. 
Still  another  new  feature  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  is  the  introduction 
of  diphtheria  antitoxin,  which  is  now  official  under  the  name  of 
serum  anti-diphthericum ;  also  of  dried  thyroid  glands,  and  supra- 
renal capsules. 
