A^£usrt;Fi905mi'}  Eighth  Decennial  Revision  of  Pharmacopoeia.  353 
vations  and  experiences  for  the  purpose  of  making  the  succeeding 
revision  more  perfect  and  more  acceptable  than  the  present. 
It  is  with  this  same  purpose  in  mind  that  the  present  review  of 
the  general  principles  involved  in  this,  the  eighth,  revision  is  pre- 
sented, as  a  forerunner  of  other  more  detailed  criticisms  of  the  same 
book.  For  more  than  two  decades  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United 
States  of  America  has  admittedly  been  ranked  among  the  most 
satisfactory,  the  most  practical,  and  the  most  scholarly  of  the  various 
pharmacopoeias  of  the  world.  Of  neither  the  revision  of  1880  nor 
of  1890  could  it  be  said  that  the  committee  having  the  revision  in 
charge,  attempted,  in  any  way,  to  ignore  the  plain  instructions  that 
were  given  them  by  the  respective  National  Conventions,  and  while 
it  has  been  asserted  that  the  resulting  Pharmacopoeias  were  too 
highly  scientific  in  character  it  must  be  admitted  by  all  who  have  the 
interests  of  American  pharmacy  at  heart,  that  it  was  directly  due  to 
this  highly  scientific  character  of  our  national  standard  that  Ameri- 
can pharmacy  has  made  the  progress  that  it  has  in  the  last  fifteen 
or  twenty  years.  That  the  present,  eighth,  decennial  revision  should 
represent  a  distinct  step  in  advance,  even  on  the  admittedly  admira- 
ble Pharmacopoeia  of  1890,  was  to  have  been  expected,  particularly 
in  view  of  the  advances  that  have  been  made  in  all  branches  relating 
to  the  science  of  Pharmacology.  In  many  respects  this  expectation, 
justified  as  it  was,  is  fully  met,  if  not  exceeded,  by  the  committee  on 
revision,  who,  particularly  in  connection  with  the  chemistry  of  the 
book,  present  us  with  a  very  large  number  of  tests  and  descriptions 
that  should  do  much  to  place  this  revision  at  the  head  of  all  similar 
works  of  reference.  For  the  painstaking  work  that  they  have  done 
in  connection  with  the  book  the  members  of  the  committee  amply 
deserve  and  should  duly  receive  the  unreserved  and  hearty  thanks 
of  the  physicians  and  pharmacists  of  the  country. 
That  the  same  book,  despite  the  five  years  of  painstaking  woric 
that  has  been  expended  on  it,  would  not,  and  practically  could  not, 
meet  with  universal  approbation  was  also  to  be  expected,  and  the 
present  revision  committee  will  undoubtedly  welcome  any  and  all 
criticisms  and  suggestions  that  are  made  for  the  purpose  of  improv- 
ing on  the  scientific  character,  general  usefulness  and  adaptability  of 
the  Pharmacopoeia,  as  a  guide  and  reference  in  future  decades. 
The  whole  book,  as  published,  comprises  a  total  of  more  than  760 
large  8vo  pages,  well  printed  on  an  excellent  quality  of  paper. 
