PHARMACEUTICAL ETHICS. 
539 
the detection of accident or crime, it is not easy to see wliat security it will 
give. The sale of poisons is now expressly legalized, and the conditions are 
so explicitly laid down, and moreover are so easily complied with, that any real 
obstacle to the purchase of poison ceases, if our vigilance is limited to a literal 
observance of the law ; for, singularly enough, there is no provision against the 
sale of poisons for purposes which we may deem improper or know to be un¬ 
safe. Thus, we certainly may sell an ounce of prussic acid to any mauvais sujet 
who professes his intention to poison a cat, but in the presence of statutory 
prescription of the conditions under which poisons may be sold, it seems doubt¬ 
ful whether (if those conditions are complied with) we may withhold it without 
becoming liable for consequential damages. This question is so purely legal, 
that it would be satisfactory to have it ascertained upon competent authority 
for our guidance. 
Those provisions of the Act which affect our qualification and privileges are, 
however, by far the most interesting to us, and it is not too much to say that 
they mark the most important epoch that pharmacy ever has or ever will know. 
At such an era it is important that we should shape our new course in the right 
direction; and it is to be hoped that some of our most experienced and influen¬ 
tial members will help the truly 'practical discussion of pharmaceutical ethics by 
giving the right impulse, at an opportune season, in reference to many points 
which need to be more satisfactorily organized before pharmacy can assume its 
rightful position. I venture to suggest two. 
The first is the admixture of miscellaneous trade with pharmacy proper It 
must be within the observation of all that miscellaneous trade occupies a much 
more prominent position in our shops than it formerly did. Subjected as we 
have been to unrestricted competition, and under the influence of the modern 
system of prescribing which has seriously diminished the profits of dispensing, 
this was perhaps inevitable. At any rate, it has obtained almost universally. 
How is it to be dealt with? Is it expedient, in the pursuit of a regenerated 
pharmacy, that the miscellaneous trade should be discountenanced? I cannot 
think that any rule can be laid down upon this point, but that it must be deter¬ 
mined by the good sense and good feeling of the individual pharmaceutist with 
reference to the specialities of his case. We may, however, expect that the 
post of honour shall be conceded to pharmacy, and that under all circumstances, 
variable as they may be, the supremacy of pharmacy shall be upheld, and that 
nothing shall be allowed to interfere with the provision of every needful accom¬ 
modation for the efficient discharge of the responsible duties of dispensing. 
There can be no doubt that a complete isolation from the disturbance and dis¬ 
traction of retail business is one of the necessities of dispensing, yet how rarely 
is this provided! I only know one case in which the arrangements in this 
respect are completely satisfactory; and let me add, for the honour of old insti¬ 
tutions, that this is one of the “ historic” London houses. 
While the encroachment of miscellaneous trade upon pharmacy has been 
going on, as above described, other changes have taken place which aggravate 
the danger of the intermixture. Our Materia Medica has not only been greatly 
extended, but it comprehends an entirely different class of remedies to those 
formerly in use; remedies of greater potency, and requiring exceptional care in 
their manipulation. Dispensing has, in consequence become a much more cri¬ 
tical duty than it was in the good old days, when alkaloids were unknown, and 
when oldfashioned chemists knew no better than to make infusions by pouring 
boiliug water upon the several ingredients, in the manner which, by the bye, 
is still preserved in our Pharmacopoeias.* Such operations as those of modern 
* It may not be amiss to remark that the use of concentrated infusions is obviously an in¬ 
fringement of Clause 15, and subjects the offender to a penalty of £5. 
