Am.  Jour.  Pnarni.  ) 
September,  1909.  j 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
421 
frequently  been  expressed  that  all  reports  should  be  published  for 
discussion  previous  to  the  issue  of  the  Pharmacopoeia,  as  the  more 
fully  they  are  criticized,  destructively  as  well  as  constructively,  the 
more  likely  is  the  next  edition  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  to  represent 
the  views  of  British  pharmacists  and  to  reflect  credit  on  those  who 
have  taken  part  in  the  work  of  revision." — Chem.  and  Drug.,  1909, 
v.  74,  p.  891. 
British  Pharmacopoeia  — At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Pharmaco- 
poeia Committee  of  the  General  Medical  Council  it  was  pointed  out 
that  valuable  reports,  containing  suggestions  for  the  better  adapta- 
tion of  the  Pharmacopoeia  to  local  requirements  in  distant  parts  of 
His  Majesty's  dominion,  continue  to  reach  the  committee  from 
government  authorities  outside  the  United  Kingdom.  The  com- 
mittee hope  to  hold  a  special  meeting  during  the  autumn  for  the 
purpose  of  coming  to  a  decision  on  certain  points  relating  to  the 
new  Pharmacopoeia  and  in  particular  on  the  question  of  omissions 
or  inclusion  of  the  several  articles  dealt  with  in  the  returns  supplied 
by  the  licensing  bodies  and  other  medical  authorities  at  home  and 
abroad. — Pharm.  J.  (London),  1909,  v.  28,  p.  770. 
French  Codex. — The  new  French  Codex  came  into  force  on  May 
15  of  this  year,  according  to  P.  Dorveaux  (Bull,  des  Sc.  Pharmacol., 
1909,  v.  16,  p.  323).  The  present  is  the  fifth  edition  of  this  work. 
The  first  edition  was  published  in  1818,  succeeding  to  the  "  Codex 
Medicamentarius  seu  Pharmacopcea  Parisiensis."  The  second  edi- 
tion was  published  in  1837,  tne  third  in  1866  and  the  fourth  in  1884, 
with  a  supplement  published  in  1895.  The  now  official  fifth  edition, 
published  in  1908,  has  the  same  title  as  the  fourth :  "  Codex  Medica- 
mentarius Gallicus,  Pharmacopee  francaise  redigee  par  ordre  du 
Gouvernment,  Paris."  The  book,  large  8vo,  contains  xxiv  +  999 
pages.  The  divisions  which  characterized  former  editions  have  dis- 
appeared and  the  contained  medicaments  and  formulas  are  now 
arranged  alphabetically. 
The  French  Codex  still  retains  an  unusual  number  of  poly- 
pharmacal  preparations.  Tinctura  vulneraria,  for  instance,  con- 
tains 19  ingredients,  electuarium  diascordium  (much  simplified) 
still  contains  16,  compound  wine  of  squill  12,  compound  oil  of  hyo- 
scyamus  11,  and  compound  syrup  of  rhubarb  10. 
H anbury  Medal. — The  adjudicators  of  the  Hanbury  medal  have 
awarded  the  medal  this  year  to  Prof.  W.  O.  A.  Tschirch,  of  Berne, 
Switzerland.    To  readers  who  have  gone  somewhat  deeply  into 
