Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
December,  1909.  J 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
587 
reprinted  from  the  British  Medical  Journal,  giving  the  cost  and 
composition  of  many  of  the  more  widely  used  proprietary  remedies. 
A  rather  interesting  complication  is  the  fact  that  a  number  of  British 
daily  and  weekly  journals  have  refused  to  recognize  the  book  in  any 
way,  and  have  even  declined  advertisements  of  the  book. 
Revealed  Secrets. — Under  this  heading  an  editorial  in  the  Phar- 
maceutical Journal  (Aug.  21,  1909)  discusses  the  compilation  of 
analyses  of  nostrums  that  have  been  referred  to  above,  as  reprinted 
from  the  British  Medical  Journal,  and  points  out  that  the  book  can 
be  obtained  from  the  office  of  the  British  Medical  /Association, 
Strand,  London,  price  is. 
Secret  Remedies. — In  Great  Britain  the  Home  Secretary  an- 
nounced in  the  House  of  Commons  that  a  select  committee  would  be 
appointed  to  inquire  into  the  composition  of  secret  remedies  and 
the  claims  made  for  them  by  advertisements. — Pharm.  J.,  Lond., 
1909,  v.  29,  p.  388. 
The  Valuation  of  Galenical  Preparations. — Dieterich  and  Mix 
present  a  compilation  of  the  tests  presented  by  the  German  Pharma- 
copoeia for  the  several  galenical  preparations  included  in  its  pages. 
They  also  suggest  additional  tests  that  should  be  included  so  as 
to  facilitate  the  valuation  of  preparations  and  the  detection  of 
adulteration  or  sophistication. — Pharm.  Zentralh.,  1909,  v.  50,  pp. 
726-734. 
Aconite  Assay. — Frank  O.  Taylor,  in  a  comprehensive  mono- 
graph, discusses  the  quantitative  valuation  of  aconite  and  points  out 
that  chemical  valuation  is  of  doubtful  utility  and  at  best  uncertain, 
and  that  the  Squibb  test  is  more  rapid,  reliable,  and  accurate  than 
any  other  method  so  far  proposed  for  the  standardization  of  the 
root  and  its  preparations. — Jour.  Ind.  and  Eng.  Chem.,  1909,  v.  1, 
PP-  549~567- 
Assay  of  Opium. — -C.  E.  Carlson  discusses  the  assay  of  opium  for 
morphine,  and  points  out  the  desirability  of  developing  an  assay 
method  that  would  be  universally  acceptable.  For  such  a  general 
method  he  recommends  a  modification  of  Dieterich's  method  as  used 
in  the  Ph.  Svec.  VIII. — Pharm.  Zentralh.,  1^09,  v.  50,  pp.  721-725. 
Assay  of  Drugs.-— An  interesting  possibility  in  the  assay  of 
drugs  is  outlined  by  Elias  Elvove,  in  Bulletin  No.  54,  of  the  Hy- 
gienic Laboratory,  which  records  the  fixing  power  of  alkaloids  in 
volatile  acids  and  its  application  to  the  estimation  of  alkaloids 
with  the. aid  of  phenolphthalein  or  by  the  Volhard  method. 
