510 
PHARMACEUTICAL MEETING. 
gether right; blit still he thought that at a time when one edition of the Phar¬ 
macopoeia was changed for another, it was the best method of guarding against 
mistakes. He was speaking to pharmaceutists who knew that medical men 
sometimes committed unintentional mistakes, or mistakes that occurred from a 
■want of acquaintance with the changes of the different formulae; and it behoved 
them in their position to look after these things, and endeavour to keep the 
medical men right. Speaking as one of the committee who met in Edinburgh, 
occasionally, for considering various matters, he could say there was no de¬ 
parture there, on any occasion, from the present Pharmacopoeia in any pre¬ 
scription, unless that departure was indicated by certain letters with which all 
pharmaceutists were acquainted. 
Mr. Carteighe said he should not have risen to offer any remarks upon the 
subject introduced by Mr. Wood had not the discussion taken a different turn. 
The Chairman had alluded to the notice of the Medical Council admonishing 
chemists to take care what they were about in the matter of prescriptions. He 
(Mr. C.) must confess that the sight of that notice caused him considerable 
pain ; and he was sure he need not allude to the efforts of this Society in general, 
or of the individual members composing it, to comply with the instructions of 
the Pharmacopoeia. He did not think a notice of that kind was necessary to 
induce loyalty to the law as regarded the dispensing of medicines; but they 
were placed in a very peculiar position. They were told to dispense certain 
things; and if the prescriptions were always correct, they would have no difficulty 
in following their instructions. The pharmaceutist had frequent occasions for 
the exercise of discretion where much judgment and practical knowledge wero 
required. For instance, it had been stated that evening that the so-called green 
iodide of mercury had been described, certainly in one edition of the Pharma¬ 
copoeia, from the account given in books, and not from actual practical experi¬ 
ments. They might go further, and probably find a certain number of prepa¬ 
rations that could not be very readily produced according to the processes as 
described. The Pharmaceutical Journal was sometimes happy in getting them 
out of any difficulties they might encounter; and in the number w'hich had 
just appeared they were assisted with some hints respecting a certain liniment 
which was composed of iodide of potassium and soap. He did not know whether 
any present had attempted to prepare that liniment according to the instructions 
of the pharmacopoeia, but if they had, he hoped they had succeeded better than 
he had done. It seemed to him quite clear that the authors of the Pharma¬ 
copoeia could not have made that preparation according to the instruction 
therein conveyed, otherwise they would have altered them materially. It was 
such difficulties as these that made them hesitate to adopt any definite rule. 
He submitted that they must trust a great deal to the intelligence of the dis¬ 
pensers. It was not a question of this Pharmacopoeia or that, but it was really 
a question of the intelligence and the educational acquirements of the dispenser. 
They were more sinned against than sinning in reference to the Pharmacopoeia ; 
and he thought the law should apply quite as much to those who prescribed 
medicines as it did to chemists. If they turned to prescriptions, what did they 
find ? With the exception of the prescriptions of a distinguished member of 
the Pharmacopoeia Committee, he had not seen one single prescription that had 
been prescribed in a proper form according to the British Pharmacopoeia. 
When he said in proper form, he meant that the weights should be represented 
as the Pharmacopoeia directed. The old signs for the drachm, scruple, etc., had 
been abolished, and certain values altered, yet these prescribed changes were 
not generally observed. It was such things as these that perplexed dispensers. 
But he thought that everybody who had any interest in the Society, and every 
one connected with the dispensing of medicines, would do all he could to for¬ 
ward the desires of the British Medical Council; but he was satisfied that a 
good deal of the difficulty was occasioned by prescribers. 
