39°  Pharmacists  and  Pharmacopoeia.       {^u^st  SSrm* 
The  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  may  be  considered  as 
the  formative  period  of  pharmacy  on  this  continent,  and  in  1821  the 
Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy  was  instituted  as  the  first  school 
established  for  the  education  of  apothecaries  in  America.  One  of 
the  very  first  acts  of  this  college  was  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mittee on  the  Pharmacopoeia,  thus  evidencing  the  early  and  active 
interest  of  its  members  in  having  correct  formulas  and  national 
standards  for  drugs  and  medicines.  This  committee  reported  in 
June,  1 82 1,  when  the  first  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia  was  scarcely  six 
months  old,  and  recommended  a  continuance  of  the  committee  to 
institute  a  further  examination  of  the  book  with  a  view  of  correcting 
the  errors  it  contained. 
The  first  revision  of  the  Pharmacopoeia,  following  the  convention 
of  1830,  was  published  in  1831,  and  was  edited  by  Dr.  George  B. 
Wood,  then  a  professor  in  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy, 
and  Dr.  Franklin  Bache,  who  in  the  same  year  became  its  professor 
of  chemistry.  Is  it  not  fair  to  assume  that  the  editors  incorporated 
the  views  and  suggestions  for  improvements  arising  from  its 
members?  It  will  be  thus  seen  that  from  the  very  commencement 
of  pharmaceutic  activity  and  organization  in  America,  pharmacists 
have  exerted  a  marked  influence  on  the  revisions  of  the  Pharma- 
copoeia. While  it  is  true  that  the  Pharmacopceial  convention  of 
1850  was  the  first  to  which  incorporated  colleges  of  pharmacy  were 
invited  to  send  delegates,  the  action  of  the  preceding  convention 
was,  however,  quite  significant  of  the  inevitable  trend  of  progress. 
The  convention  of  1840  authorized  the  Committee  on  Revision  to 
request  the  co-operation  of  colleges  of  pharmacy.  In  response  to 
that  request  a  committee  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy 
prepared  a  report.  Preceding  the  receipt  of  this  report  the  Com- 
mittee on  Revision  had  prepared  its  review  and  was  ready  to  pro- 
ceed to  publication.  However,  when  the  report  of  this  college  was 
received  in  1841  they  rewrote  their  book  and  in  the  preface  to  that 
revision  occurs  the  following  reference :  "  This  contribution  from 
the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy  consisted  of  a  revised  copy 
of  the  Pharmacopoeia,  elaborated  with  ability  and  great  industry 
and  presenting,  along  with  numerous  individual  additions  and  alter- 
ations, some  new  features  in  the  general  plan.  It,  therefore,  re- 
quired close  attention  and  deliberate  examination  on  the  part  of 
the  committee  who  found  themselves  under  the  necessity  of  going 
over  the  whole  ground  which  they  had  recently  traversed." 
