286  Abstracts  from  the  French  Journals.  {^°'jine!i^^''"' 
ing  strengths  the  physician  must  obtain  results  deprived  of  certainty 
and  uniformity  is  evident.  The  writer  has  not  unfrequently  heard  it 
said  by  a  customer  for  whom  a  prescription  containing  some  elixir  had 
been  compounded,  this  medicine  tastes  different  from  what  Mr.  Jones, 
or  Mr.  Smith  compounded  for  the  same.^' 
That  the  necessity  of  adopting  uniform  formulae  is  becoming  appre- 
ciated is  evident  from  the  fact  that  a  committee  has  been  appointed  to 
prepare  a  national  unofficinal  formulary,  and  have  now  nearly  com- 
pleted their  labors.  I  do  not  wish  to  detract  one  iota  from  the  value 
of  their  work,  but  I  submit  it  as  an  open  question,  Is  it  desirable  to 
have  a  middle  party,  or  go-between,  in  ^^reparations  w^hich  rank  in 
frequency  of  use  and  importance  with  fluid-extracts,  tinctures  and 
syrups?  There  should  be  but  one  authority,  and  that  authority  should 
be  the  national  standard. 
That  the  Pharmacopoeia  should  permit  uncertainty  to  longer  exist, 
in  preparations  contained  in  from  5  to  10  per  cent,  of  the  prescrip- 
tions compounded,  seems  hardly  possible.  It  would  indicate  that  the 
committee  on  revision  were  attempting  to  blindfold  themselves  to  the 
onward  march  of  pharmacy. 
The  elixirs,  as  a  class,  have  come  to  stay,  and  the  time  is  ripe  for 
the  next  Pharmacopoeia  to  stamp  its  insignia  of  authority  upon  those 
preparations  which  are  daily  prescribed. 
ABSTRACTS  FROM  THE  FRENCH  JOURNALS. 
Translated  for  The  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy. 
Incompatibility  of  Chloral  and  Cyanide  of  Potassium.  A 
pharmacian  while  preparing  an  ointment  of  chloral  and  potassium 
cyanide  aa  10  gm.  and  lard  30  gm.,  found  on  mixing  the  first  two 
substances,  a  reaction  which  sent  them  flying  from  the  mortar.  Blarez 
and  Deniges  in  investigating  the  cause  did  not  meet  with  so  violent  a 
reaction,  but  found  changes  which  led  them  to  the  following  conclu- 
sions :  In  preparing  solutions  of  chloral  and  cyanide,  the  substances 
should  be  dissolved  separately.  This  method  adds  also  to  the 
stability  of  the  preparation,  especially  if  the  quantity  of  liquid 
used  be  large  enough  to  lessen  the  chances  of  decomposition. 
But  the  authors  think  that  physicians  should  abstain  from  associating 
chloral  with  potassium  cyanide,  the  mixtures  being  really  incompatible. 
As  to  the  ointments,  immediate  reaction  may  be  prevented  by  triturat- 
