^"^•jJou^ifg^g^^™-}        Elixirs  in  the  Pharmacopceia.  283 
SHOULD  FORMULAE  FOR  THE  POPULAR  ELIXIRS  BE 
INCORPORATED  IN  THE  PHARMACOPCEIA? 
By  Geo.  M.  Beringer,  Ph.G. 
Read  at  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting,  May  15. 
As  the  time  for  the  next  decennial  revision  of  the  national  standard 
approaches,  it  becomes  of  material  importance  that  pharmacists 
throughout  the  country  should  take  note  of  those  preparations,  the  use 
of  which  is  increasing,  and  of  those,  the  use  of  which  is  declining  or 
which  are  not  used  at  all.  It  is  intended  that  the  Pharmacopoeia 
should  be  the  authority  for  all  medical  preparations  of  frequent  use 
and  comparatively  few  of  the  officinal  preparations"  are  more  fre- 
quently prescribed  than  some  of  the  elixirs.  In  a  decade^  there  occur 
so  many  changes  in  medicinal  usage  that  it  becomes  necessary  to  omit 
some  of  the  officinal  preparations  and  others  must  be  added.  It  is 
not  only  a  subject  of  interest,  but  probably  a  duty,  that  desirable 
changes  should  be  discussed  by  pharmaceutical  bodies.  This  is  my 
only  excuse  for  introducing  the  subject  here.  It  is  the  hope  of  the 
writer  that  the  next  revision  will  result  in  a  practical  work  which  will 
be  not  only  the  official  standard,  but  will  be  universally  adopted  by 
the  pharmacists  of  America. 
In  the  last  revision  the  committee  took  a  step  in  the  right  direction 
in  adopting  a  formula  for  elixir  aurantii  or  simple  elixir,  and  also  in 
making  vinum  ferri  amarum  officinal.  The  elixirs,  as  a  class,  were 
looked  upon  as  semi-proprietary  preparations,  introduced  by  manufac- 
turers to  meet  the  popular  demand  for  elegant  preparations,  the  popu- 
larizing of  which  it  was  not  thought  desirable  to  promote.  Elegant 
pharmacy  and  elegant  preparations  should  not  be  confined  to  the  lab- 
oratory of  the  manufacturer ;  but  in  the  store,  behind  the  prescription 
counter,  in  the  work  of  each  individual  pharmacist,  should  we  see  it 
illustrated. 
But  one  small  concession  was  made,  namely,  the  introduction  of  a 
simple  elixir  which  might  be  used  as  a  base  for  the  various  prepara- 
tions. "While  I  do  not  care  here  to  criticize  that  formula  I  can  safely 
say  that  no  manufacturer  or  pharmacist  would  expect  to  successfully 
use  the  same  liquid  to  disguise  alike  saline,  bitter  and  astringent  sub- 
stances. Again,  in  the  preparation  of  the  popular  elixir  of  iron,  qui- 
nine and  strychnia,  and  similar  preparations,  the  flavoring  ingredients 
have  to  be  added  in  the  course  of  the  manipulation. 
Since  this  revision,  the  use  of  elixirs  has  steadily  continued,  sub- 
