^ovem^eV^giT' }  International  Pharmacopceial  Bureau.  497 
Pharmacopoeias  are  primarily  authoritative  books.  An  Inter- 
national Pharmacopoeia,  which  would  be  used  in  all  countries  and 
which  would  replace  National  Pharmacopoeias,  has  been  for  many 
years  one  of  the  grand  ideas  and  principal  objects  of  former  inter- 
national congresses.  So  many  difficulties  had  to  be  overcome,  how- 
ever, that  at  the  present  time  such  a  hope  is  not  likely  to  be  realized. 
The  idea  of  having  an  international  agreement  on  the  strength  and 
standards  of  potent  remedies  has  been  in  a  great  measure  fulfilled 
through  the  actions  of  the  Conference  Internationale  pour  l'Unifi- 
cation  de  la  Formule  des  Medicaments  Heroiques,  and  thus  the  great- 
est need  of  an  International  Pharmacopoeia  has  been  satisfied. 
If  an  International  Pharmacopceial  Bureau  is  established  with 
an  efficient  laboratory  attached,  there  should  go  with  it  a  department 
whose  object  would  be  the  detection  of  adulterations.  This  is  the 
prying  need  of  the  hour.  A  numerous  band  of  able  chemists  are 
intentionally  at  work  preparing  medicaments  which  are  deficient  in 
strength  and  activity.  One  of  the  prime  objects  of  these  men  is  to 
study  the  rubrics  and  standards  of  the  Pharmacopoeias  which  de- 
scribe tests  for  identity,  purity,  and  strength  with  a  view  of  circum- 
venting them.  Life  itself  is  a  struggle  between  the  powers  of  good 
and  evil.  Banks,  corporations,  business  houses,  and  firms  are  employ- 
ing the  highest  form  of  mechanical  labor  to  provide  burglar-proof 
safes  in  which  to  lock  up  valuables ;  the  powers  of  evil  are  likewise 
busy  and  with  greater  secrecy  and  quite  as  much  ability  are  rendering 
nugatory  the  efforts  of  honest  men.  No  sooner  is  an  invention 
adopted  to  provide  greater  security  from  theft,  than  hundreds  on  the 
other  side  are  scheming  to  outwit  them ;  this  affects  Pharmacopceial 
Revision  work.  The  Committees  must  search  current  literature 
throughout  the  world  and  institute  experiments  in  order  that  tests 
may  be  provided  which  will  detect  adulterations  and  distinguish  as 
readily  as  possible  the  differences  between  the  false  and  the  true. 
Adulteration,  sophistication,  and  falsification  have  existed  from  ear- 
liest antiquity.  To  sell  nothing  for  something  and  make  a  good  profit 
was  one  of  the  earliest  ideas  for  amassing  wealth.  Through  long 
training,  the  world  has  been  accustomed  to  regard  adulterations  with 
a  tolerance  which  is  surprising.  One  may  use  a  fabric  intended  to 
be  worn  as  a  part  of  one's  clothing  if  part  of  the  wool  or  silk  contains 
cotton  or  some  other  fibre  which  is  cheaper;  this  form  of  crime  is  not 
likely  to  cause  the  death  of  an  individual,  but  calcium  sulphate  crystal- 
lized from  a  suitable  solvent  in  feathery,  acicular  crystals  as  a  sub- 
