364     Eighth  Decennial  Revision  of  Pharmacopoeia.  { ^mAtiu^<M.m' 
elude  a  comparative  table  showing  the  number  of  admissions  and 
dismissals  enumerated  in  the  three  recent  editions  of  the  U.S. P. 
TABLE  NO.  3. — SHOWING  THE  NUMBER  OF  ADDITIONS  AND  DISMISSALS  IN  THE 
EDITIONS  OF  THE  U.S. P.   FOR  1880,  1890  AND  I90O. 
I8S0. 
1890. 
1900. 
 256 
88 
121 
92 
155 
 485 
180 
276 
That  the  members  of  the  revision  committees  for  1880  and  1890 
were  more  than  usually  careful  in  the  consideration  of  their  dismis- 
sals is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  the  present  list  of  additions  con- 
tains but  three  articles  that  were  dismissed  from  these  former 
editions.  Of  these  articles,  but  one,  extractum  malti,  dismissed 
from  the  Pharmacopoeia  for  1890,  may  properly  be  considered  a 
desirable  addition  to  the  official  materia  medica.  The  other  two, 
berberis  and  ceratum  resinae  compositum,  may  safely  be  classed  as 
being  of  doubtful  utility.  The  latter  particularly,  popularly  known 
as  Deshler's  Salve,  while  it  has  some  local  reputation  in  Philadelphia 
and  its  immediate  vicinity  as  a  household  remedy,  will  find  little  or 
no  use  in  the  everyday  practice  of  the  modern  surgeon. 
Even  a  cursory  review  of  the  lists  published  in  the  new  Pharma- 
copoeia will  suggest  to  the  ordinary  observer  that  the  present  Revision 
Committee  has  also  been  rather  more  careful  with  its  dismissals  than 
with  its  new  additions,  fully  30  per  cent,  of  the  latter  being  articles 
that  are  more  or  less  limited  in  their  uses.  As  an  illustration  of  the 
rather  liberal  policy  pursued  by  the  committee  it  will  suffice  to  call 
attention  to  the  list  of  fluid  extracts  that  are  newly  admitted ;  of  the 
thirteen  preparations  included  under  this  head  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
the  fluid  extract  of  cascara  sagrada  aromatic  is  practically  the  only 
one  for  which  there  was  any  real  need,  and  here  it  is  doubtful  indeed 
if  the  committee  has  selected  a  formula  that  will  give  uniformly  good 
results,  or  whether  the  preparations  made  according  to  this  formula 
will  be  at  all  comparable  to  similar  preparations  put  out  by  manu- 
facturing pharmacists.  Of  the  dismissals  probably  not  more  than 
three,  or  at  most  four,  will  be  seriously  missed.  Potassa  sulphurata 
might  have  been  retained  as  it  is  not  infrequently  prescribed  by 
dermatologists,  in  lotions,  and  being  a  substance  that  is  not  particu- 
