Young remarked that all future committees would do well to take the Manchester one as their example. Mr. F. B. Benger, in the course of his reply, said he regretted that in one particular the Committee had failed-they had not succeeded in squaring the Iclerk of the weather.

The concluding toast, proposed by Mr. G. F. Schacht, was "The Health of the Chairman," which was received with great enthusiasm.

The members then took their seats in carriages for a drive, which occupied fully two hours: the pleasure was considerably marred by a heavy rain-shower, which began to fall at 2.30, and continued until the party returned. In the course of the drive the party passed Lea Hurst, the Derbyshire home of Miss Florence Nightingale, and the ruins of Wingfield Manor. This is believed to have been built by Ralph, Lord Cromwell, in the time of Henry VI., and during the Civil Wars was a place of great importance. Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned in the manor. Amongst the other notable buildings pointed out was Stancliff Hall, the residence of Sir Joseph Whitworth. Arrived at the hotel, a veritable "tea-fight" was the first part of the proceedings. The party returned to Manchester by train at six o'clock.

THE CONVERSAZIONE AND RECEPTION.

The Conversazione and Reception by the President and Officers of the Conference was held in a suite of apartments at the Grand Hotel. Between two and three hundred members and friends were present, and a very enjoyable evening was spent. A selection of music was played by a string quartette band, and a number of glees, choruses, etc., sung by an excellent glee party. A collection of interesting microscopic objects had been got together by Mr. Hart and Dr. Thresh, and were exhibited on tables in one of the rooms. This pleasant reunion greatly facilitated the transaction of the business of the Conference on the following days, old acquaintances were renewed, and the foundations of new friendships were laid. The utility of such a gathering was so manifest that it will, doubtless, now be considered. a permanent institution.

UNOFFICIAL FORMULARY.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

The British Pharmaceutical Conference, at its Annual Meeting held at Birmingham, in August, 1886, appointed a Committee of ten of its Members to prepare a Formulary of Unofficial Remedies.

The proposal that this step should be taken was received by the Members present with such cordial approval that there could be no doubt that it expressed the feeling of a general want. The revision of the British Pharmacopoeia has been undertaken at periods so long apart that the remedies introduced as new preparations in the latest edition have usually enjoyed extensive use during many years before their official recognition. Such a period of probation appears fitting, rather than the introduction to the medical world of new and untried remedies in the pages of the national Pharmacopoeia. If this position be accepted, it rests either with individuals or with associations to advise as to the best formulæ for the administration of such remedies. This may involve considerations as to the material to be employed, its preliminary preparation, the most suitable solvent and process, the best proportions, and finally what adjuvants are most appropriate.

More than ten years since, the Société de Pharmacie of Paris, moved by identical considerations, appointed a Committee to prepare such a formulary, and the result was a valuable contribution to pharmacy.* The American Pharmaceutical Association has also issued a comprehensive provisional formulary.

The Committee of the British Pharmaceutical Conference cannot feel surprise if circumstances appear to have placed upon the body which they represent the responsibility of undertaking a like duty for Great Britain.

They have only to look back for the past fifty years to find that English pharmacists have supplied and continue to supply to medicine and pharmacy the most valuable of the published compilations of unofficial formulæ, a condition similar to that long found in France and in the United States.

It is self-evident that when new remedies are first introduced, the conditions of their fair trial demand that the preparations employed should be made Secundum artem. It is also an important consideration, in the interest of the patient, that qualities Vide Pharmaceutical Journal, Series 3, vol. vii. p. 1,039 et seq.