THE AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACY. 
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cutler and scissors-maker, 1309 ; musician and music-master, 1314 ; hairdresser, 
1327 ; cab and omnibus service, 1482 ; chimney-sweep, 1519 ; innkeeper and 
publican, and wine and spirit dealer, 1521 ; messenger, porter, and watchman, 
1565 ; file-maker, 1667 ; earthenware manufacturer, 1742 ; Cornish miners, 1839 ; 
costermonger, hawker, and street-seller, 1879 ; general labourer in London, 2020 ; 
and inn and hotel servants, 2205. Says the lancet : — Compared with the 
clerical, the legal and medical professions appear in a far less favourable light ; 
the mortality figures for barristers and solicitors is 842, and for physicians, 
surgeons, and general practitioners so high as 1122 against 556 only in the 
clerical profession. This high rate of mortality in the medical profession is a 
subject calling for our fuller consideration and investigation, and we are glad to 
hear that there is a prospect of Dr. Ogle’s reading a paper thereon before the 
Medical and Chirurgical Society during the current session. 
M. Pasteur has consented to treat gratuitously any French soldiers who 
may be bitten by mad dogs, and the Minister of War has ordered a suite of 
rooms in the Yal de Grace Military Hospital to be specially fitted up for his 
anti-rabid treatment. 
Hydronaphthol. — The claim of possessing antiseptic properties ten or fifteen 
times greater than those of carbolic acid, and of being second in this respect 
only io corrosive sublimate, whilst at the same time non -poisonous, non-irritant, 
and non-corrosive, is put forward by Dr. G. H. Fowler, of New York, on behalf 
of “ hydronaphthol,” a compound described as belonging to the aromatic series, 
and bearing the same relation to the hypothetical radical naphthyl as carbolic 
acid does to phenyl (Pharm. Record , 1st Dec., p. 401). Although it is claimed 
to be so powerful an antiseptic, it is admitted that it is ineffective as a germicide 
and disinfectant, and that therefore it cannot be relied on for the destruction of 
already existing germs. On the other hand, a saturated aqueous solution, which 
would contain only one part of hydronaphthol in one thousand, is alleged to be 
perfect in its inhibitory action, and to preserve animal tissues and liquids 
perfectly for an indefinite time, although producing no other perceptible effect 
upon living tissue than coating it with a slight film. Hydronaphthol is described 
as having a slight aromatic taste and odour, and crystallising in “ scale-like 
clinorhomboid laminse of a silvery white or greyish hue;” as sparingly soluble in 
water, but dissolving freely in alcohol, ether, chloroform, glycerine, benzol, and 
the fixed oils ; and as not volatile at ordinary temperatures, though subliming at 
about 90° C. Triturated with fifty times its weight of carbonate of magnesia or 
a silicious earth, it forms a powder which is said to present advantages over 
iodoform for use in surgical operations. Absorbent gauze and similar dressings 
of hydronaphthol may be prepared by immersing the materials in an alcoholic or 
benzol solution. Further, it is claimed that hydronaphthol is not decomposed or 
rendered inert by contact with organic matter or the products of putrefaction. — 
Ph arvnaceutical J ournal. 
The Metric System from ah American Point of View.— Prof. Oscar 
Oldberg, in the Druggist's Circular and Chemical Gazette (New York), recants his 
previous advocacy of the metric system on the ground that, “ being a decimal 
system, its units are divisible by two into the next lower units only once 
without striking fractions.” “ Our American apothecaries’ weights and measures,” 
he writes, “are in this respect preferable to the metric system, and if so 
modified as to render the several units (already parallel) commensurable, our 
ounces, drachms, and grains, and fluid ounces, fluid drachms, and minims would 
give us a very satisfactory system. This might be done by making our troy 
ounce exactly equal to the weight of one fluid ounce of water at the most 
common room temperature — that temperature at which we ordinarily do our 
