362     Eighth  Decennial  Revision  of  Pharmacopceia.  {A^i0nSt.T£s*m* 
cessions,  but  there  is  no  reason  why  the  United  States  of  America, 
as  the  leading  nation  of  the  civilized  world,  should  re  use  to  fully 
accept  provisions  that  are  so  evidently  in  harmony  with  progress 
and  science  as  are  those  adopted  by  the  International  Conference 
for  the  unification  of  the  formulas  of  potent  medicaments. 
Changes  in  Strength.— -The  comparative  table  showing  the  strength 
of  the  more  important  pharmacopoeial  substances  and  preparations 
in  the  preceding  and  in  the  present  Pharmacopceia  includes  a  total 
of  106  titles.  While  it  is  true  that  many  of  the  changes  that  have 
been  made  are  unimportant,  and  while  practically  all  of  them  are  in 
the  direction  of  greater  uniformity,  and  therefore  to  be  commended, 
there  are  several  for  which  the  necessity  of  the  change  is  not  ap- 
parent. Why  should  the  strength  of  chrysarobin  ointment  be 
changed  from  5  to  6  per  cent.,  or  why  should  the  ointment  of  phenol 
be  changed  from  5  to  3  per  cent.  ? 
On  the  other  hand,  some  of  the  changes  that  have  been  made  are 
not  quite  radical  enough.  Why,  for  instance,  if  any  change  was 
thought  necessary  in  the  morphine  content  of  opium  and  its  prepa- 
rations, did  the  committee  not  see  its  way  clear  to  adopt  the  pro- 
posed International  Standard  for  powdered  opium,  10  per  cent ,  in 
place  of  reducing  the  maximum  content  to  12-5  per  cent,  from  15 
per  cent.,  the  maximum  of  the  Pharmacopceia  for  1890? 
The  changes  that  have  been  made  in  the  strength  of  a  number  of 
frequently  used,  and,  therefore,  comparatively  important,  galenical 
preparations  are  of  such  a  nature  that  they  should  have  been  given 
wide  publicity  before  the  book  was  published,  particularly  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  so  short  a  period  was  to  intervene  between  the  date 
of  publication  and  the  date  when  the  book  was  to  become  the  ac- 
cepted official  standard.  In  view  of  the  importance  of  these  changes 
it  may  be  well  to  call  special  attention  to  a  number  of  them  and 
they  have,  for  this  purpose,  been  incorporated  in  the  appended  table: 
TABLE  NO.  2. — SHOWING  SOME  OF  THE  MORE  IMPORTANT  CHANGES  IN  THE 
STRENGTH  OF  GALENICAL  PREPARATIONS. 
English  Title.  Pharm.  1890, 
Per  Cent. 
Solution  of  Ferric  Chloride   37*8 
"       "      "      Sulphate  .28-7 
"       "  Iron  and  Ammonium  Acetate,  2' 
Opium,  granulated  i3-*5 
"      powdered  13-15 
Pharm.  1900. 
Per  Cent. 
4: 
I2-I2-5 
I2-I2-5 
29 
36 
