436 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
/  Am.  Jour.  Ptaarm. 
I  September.  1905. 
cation  has  appeared  in  this  Journal  (A.  J.  P.,  1905,  page  351),  and 
corresponding  reviews  have  been,  or  are  being,  published  in  other 
pharmaceutical  journals.  It  is  gratifying  indeed  to  note  the  general 
appreciation  of  the  book,  as  voiced  in  the  different  reviews,  and  the 
spirit  of  unanimity  with  which  the  work  of  the  Committee  on  Re- 
vision is  being  commended. 
The  general  appearance  of  the  book  itself,  the  paper,  printing, 
and  the  typographical  arrangement  of  the  text,  have  all  been  highly 
commended,  and  in  this  respect  alone  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the 
United  States  Pharmacopceial  Convention  have  amply  demonstrated 
a  reason  for  their  existence.  The  only  possible  fault  that  might 
rightfully  be  found  with  the  eighth  decennial  revision  of  the  U.S.P., 
as  a  book,  is  to  be  noted  in  connection  with  the  volumes  that  have 
been  bound  in  sheep.  The  shortcomings  of  this  particular  type  of 
binding  have  evidently  been  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  as  they  are  referred  to  at  some  length 
in  a  circular  letter  recently  sent  out.  In  this  same  letter,  Dr.  Motter 
calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  volumes  bound  in  full  flexible  leather 
are  much  more  satisfactory  and  much  more  durable  than  any  other 
form  of  binding  and  that  they  will,  in  addition,  lay  perfectly  flat  and 
"  stay  put "  at  any  portion  of  the  book  at  which  it  may  be  opened. 
At  the  prescription  counter,  or  in  the  laboratory,  this  is  a  most  im- 
portant feature,  and  prospective  purchasers  of  the  Pharmacopoeia 
will,  therefore,  do  well  to  remember  that  the  binding  in  full  flexible 
leather  is  the  most  durable  as  well  as  the  most  satisfactory  in  other 
respects,  and  that  the  sheep-bound  book,  although  intermediate  in 
price,  is  not  satisfactory  for  every-day  use. 
Among  the  numerous  pamphlets  that  have  been  published  descrip- 
tive of,  or  commenting  on,  the  Pharmacopoeia,  at  least  two  deserve 
more  than  passing  notice.  The  first  of  these  to  reach  us  is  of 
English  origin :  A  Synopsis  of  the  Principal  Changes  in  the  United 
States  Pharmacopceia  effected  by  the  Eighth  Decennial  Revision, 
1900,  official  from  September  1,  1905,  compared  with  that  of  1890 
and  the  British  Pharmacopoeia,  1898.  By  W.  Harrison  Martindale, 
Ph.D.  Price,  2s. ;  post  free,  2s.  id.  London,  Eng.:  H.  K.  Lewis, 
136  Gower  Street,  W.  C. 
In  this  very  interesting  little  pamphlet  of  36  pages  Dr.  Martin- 
dale  has  attempted  to  indicate  briefly  the  most  important  changes 
that  have  been  carried  out  in  the  eighth  decennial  revision  of  the 
