378        Pennsylvania  Pharmaceutical  Association.    { XmAiSuli^m.m' 
the  ingredients  together,  and  making  the  granular  effervescent  salts 
whereby  a  great  deal  of  the  material  is  lost  by  becoming  so  finely 
powdered  as  to  be  of  no  commercial  value.  He  suggests  the  use  of 
a  device  which  he  exhibited  which  consisted  of  a  sieve  of  Number 
6  meshed  galvanized  wire,  mounted  on  a  frame  in  such  a  way  as  to 
permit  a  solid  bottom  to  be  inserted.  An  ordinary  pie  crust  roller 
completes  the  apparatus  which  is  to  be  used  as  follows  :  After  pre- 
paring the  mixture,  it  is  spread  uniformly  on  the  sieve  while  the 
bottom  is  in  place,  and  the  apparatus  is  then  placed  in  a  hot  closet 
or  oven  at  the  proper  temperature.  When  the  mass  has  begun  to 
soften  and  has  become  thoroughly  moistened,  the  apparatus  is 
removed  from  the  oven,  the  solid  bottom  is  withdrawn,  and  the  sieve 
frame  is  placed  over  a  receiving  box.  The  roller  is  then  passed 
over  the  soft  mass,  which  is  thus  forced  through  the  sieve  in  such  a 
way  as  to  cut  it  into  uniform  particles  with  absolutely  no  waste  in 
the  shape  of  fine  dust. 
The  Physician  and  the  Pharmacopoeia. 
By  B.  E.  Pritchard. 
In  introducing  the  subject  the  author  states  that  when  we  speak 
of  the  pharmacopoeia  in  conversation  with  a  physician,  we  talk  in 
what  to  him  is  an  unknown  tongue,  and  he  gives  a  number  of 
instances  in  support  of  his  contention  that  the  real  difficulty  lies  in 
the  fact  that  physicians,  as  a  rule,  know  little  and  care  less  about  the 
pharmacopoeia,  a  condition  which  is  due  to  the  lack  of  reference  to 
it  with  sufficient  emphasis  in  the  Medical  College  courses.  He  calls 
attention  to  a  resolution  which  was  offered  last  year  at  the 
N.A.R.D.  to  put  a  corps  of  competent  detail  men  in  the  field,  to 
exploit  to  the  physicians  the  U.S. P.  and  N.F.  formulas,  and  he 
states  that  until  that  association  is  financially  able  to  do  this  work, 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  individual  druggist  to  acquamt  the  physicians 
in  his  own  neighborhood  with  these  important  subjects. 
The  Preparation  of  Thymol  Iodide. 
By  Frederick  E.  Niece. 
The  author  suggests  the  following  formula  as  having  given  very 
satisfactory  results  in  his  hands  for  the  preparation  of  the  foregoing 
compound  :  Thymol,  I  ounce;  potassium  hydroxide,  I  ounce;  potas- 
sium iodide,  I  ounce  ;  iodine,  y2  ounce.    Dissolve  the  potassium 
