208 
THE AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACY. 
from the cedars of Lebanon, Norway pine, Canada fir, together with myrrh, 
camphor, guaiac. These, by our process, are made exactly like fresh gums exuding 
from the trees. The fragrance of Blank’s Buncombe Plasters destroys the germs of 
infectious disorders. Disease floating on the air will not affect the wearer of Blank’s 
Buncombe Plasters. He is surrounded by an aroma of health, and his system 
saturated with the essence of healthful forest gums. His veins are full of the tonic 
of the woods.” Now we know that all we have to do to become disease proof is just 
to put one of these plasters on our back and laugh at the doctor. 
A Yictim of Quackery. — The British and Colonial Druggist tells the 
following sad tale, which, it is to be feared, is only one of many such cases: — 
“An inquest was held recently at St. Giles’s Coroner’s Court touching the death 
of William M‘Gowan, 33, who had been found dead at his lodgings. The evidence 
showed that the deceased was engaged to be married, and as the day approached he 
became nervous. He consulted Dr. Carrington relative to his health, and was 
informed that the ideas he was entertaining were delusions, but he persisted in them. 
On the 8th inst. he went to Mr. Fitzgerald’s, in Little Earl-street, and bought three- 
penny worth of carbolic acid. That evening he was found lying dead across his bed. 
A police constable was called in, and he took charge of a mineral water bottle con- 
taining carbolic acid, also a wine glass. Dr. Carrington stated the cause of death 
was carbolic acid poisoning ; and the shopman said that about one and a half ounce 
had been taken from the quantity he had supplied the deceased. The coroner said 
no doubt the deceased had been reading some of the trashy advertisements and books 
issued by quacks. This unsettled his mind, and he fell a victim to false ideas. A 
verdict of suicide, while labouring under derangement of mind, was returned.” 
The Pleasures of Chemistry. — This is what one of our transatlantic contempor- 
aries says about it: — “ One of the most attractive sciences, and one with which we 
have necessarily much in common, is chemistry. We know of nothing more 
refreshing after a hard day’s work than to relax the mind with a dreamy reflection 
upon, say, the derivatives of Metanitrobenzenylamidoxine and Mentanitrobenzyl- 
azoximebenzenyl, or the properties of Phenoxydiphenylmethylphosphonium iodide 
PMe Ph 2 I. OPh ; the OPh being kept prominently in view. Truly we have much to 
be thankful for.” But why didn’t they manage the formula a little better over 
there? We always thought, until now, that formulae were Cousin Jonathans 
strong points. Why, even our Paracelsus could do better than that ; but here is a 
little one from the last edition of Naguet. 
Co 
H 8 v 
( 
(0 H), 
0 
C 4 
H 2 
Osiv 
j (0 
\ 0 
H ) 9 
C 4 
h. 2 
O-iiv 
[ (0 
l o 
H ) 9 
C* 
h 9 
0'2iv 
( (0 
l 0 
H ) 2 
C 4 
h 2 
0-2iv 
5 (0 
X 0 
H). a 
C 4 
h 3 
0'2iv 
f (0 
l 0 
H ). 3 
C 4 
h 2 
0 - 2 iv 
\ (0 
0 
H ) 3 
It is very simple. Mr. Berthelot discovered it, called it Mannitartaric acid, drew 
its formula, as above, and he isn’t dead yet even. — Brit . and Col. Drug. 
M. Pasteur on Dog-Bites and Wolf-Bites. — M. Pasteur read a paper 
recently at the Academy of Sciences before a large and attentive audience. The 
famous savant said he had treated 726 persons of all European nationalities, and 
