Am,  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
Jan.,  1875.  j 
Revision  of  Pharmacopeia. 
21 
by  the  representatives  of  the  various  medical  and  pharmaceutical  bodies 
at  the  last  revision,  as  shown  by  the  Committee's  own  statements, 
should  prove  a  salutary  warning  to  those  bodies  in  the  future  to  be 
more  careful  and  discriminating  in  the  selection  of  their  delegates. 
They  should  choose  only  such  as  will  pledge  themselves  to  perform 
their  duties  faithfully  and  to  the  best  of  their  abilities,  and  not  to  select 
those  who  simply  accept  the  position  for  the  honor  derived  from  it.  In 
such  a  position  we  want  working,  live,  energetic  and  industrious  men. 
There  is  no  position  in  which  a  drone  could  be  so  much  out  of  place 
as  in  the  Committee  of  Revision  of  our  national  Pharmacopoeia.  I 
know  that  in  almost  all  committees  the  great  bulk  of  the  work  devolves 
upon  a  few  of  the  members,  the  majority  being  mere  ornaments,  and  I 
do  not  suppose  that  the  committee  in  question  differs  much  in  this  re- 
spect from  all  other  committees. 
Now,  to  counteract  this,  why  could  not  the  labor  be  proportionally 
divided  among  the  members?  The  Pharmacopceia  should  be  sectioned 
off",  giving  to  each  member  or  group  of  members  in  the  different  local- 
ities, as  far  as  practicable,  that  portion  of  the  work  for  which  their  edu- 
cation, taste  and  qualifications  best  fit  them,  giving  to  the  medical  mem- 
bers that  part  involving  most  knowledge  of  medicine  ;  while  to  the 
pharmaceutical  members  should  be  assigned  that  portion  involving  a 
knowledge  of  chemistry  and  practical  pharmacy.  This  would  prompt 
each  member  to  a  more  faithful  performance  of  his  share  of  the  work 
of  revision,  and  would  tend  in  a  measure  to  prevent  the  embarrassment 
and  confusion  that  might  otherwise  occur  when  the  labor  is  done  by 
the  whole  Committee  in  common,  and  the  reports  of  these  sub-com- 
mittees could  be  discussed  and  examined  by  the  whole  Committee  at 
its  regular  sittings. 
In  view  of  the  difficulty  heretofore  experienced  in  securing  full  and 
satisfactory  reports  from  the  delegates  who  represent  the  various  med- 
ical colleges,  colleges  of  pharmacy,  &c.,  in  the  National  Convention, 
who  are  appointed  to  prepare  reports  on  the  revision  of  the  Pharmaco- 
poeia, in  aid  of  the  Committee  of  Revision,  would  it  not  be  well  to 
try  the  virtue  of  the  plan  of  offering  suitable  prizes  for  the  best  reports 
on  the  different  sections  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  ? 
One,  for  instance,  for  the  best  report  or  essay  on  fluid  extracts  and 
on  percolation,  as  applied  to  their  manufacture  ;  and  another  on  the 
solid  extracts  ;  another  on  tinctures,  and  so  on  through  the  whole  work. 
The  Pharmacopoeia  may  thus  be  sectioned  off  according  to  its  regu- 
