September 21,1872.] THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
227 
C’jje Ipjrarmacttttol |o«rnd. 
■-♦-- 
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 , 1872 . 
Communications for this Journal, and boohs for review, etc., 
should be addressed to the Editor, 17, Bloomsbury Square. 
Instructions from Members and Associates respecting the 
transmission of the Journal should be sent to Elias Brem- 
judge, Secretary, 17, Bloomsbury Square. IV. C. 
Advertisements to Messrs. Churchill, New Burlington 
Street , London , TV. Envelopes indorsed ll Fharm. Journ 
PHYSIC AFLOAT. 
"We took occasion at tlie commencement of tlie 
current [year, to comment upon ships’ medicine 
chests, and the reputed quality of the drugs con¬ 
tained therein. There is, however, another aspect 
of the question, interesting alike to the doctor who 
is to prescribe, and to the druggist who has to furnish 
the physic required for the voyage. We will state a 
case, example being better than precept. A drug¬ 
gist, say at Shields, Sunderland or Newcastle, receives 
an order from a shipowner to furnish a medicine 
chest for a complement (including passengers and 
crew) of 500 persons. He may or may not be an 
adept at nautical work, but we may safely say 
with no slight to our readers, that not one man in 
fifty would be able to commence work with a clear 
^perception of what was required. He may or may 
not be informed as to the destination of the vessel, 
and the probable duration of the passage. He will 
have, in all probability, no opportunity whatever of 
consulting the ship’s doctor, inasmuch as that func¬ 
tionary, with a perverse but ever-recurring constancy, 
.seldom turns up before the ship is just on the eve of 
getting under weigh. And so the druggist is cast 
adrift on his own resources. The ‘ Medical Guide * and 
** Scale of medicines ’ authorized by the Board of 
Trade, give little or no assistance, as they apply 
only to sliips’ crews. We believe that a list 
■of medicines and medical stores required in such 
a case may, after some official correspondence, be 
obtained from the Emigration Office, and the person 
concerned can of course, if he chooses, obtain and 
consult such of the Army regulations as relate to this 
subject in connection with the transport of troops 
to foreign stations. But all these means of gaining 
information are roundabout, incomplete and emi¬ 
nently unsatisfactory. Transport by water is now 
practised so often on a large scale, whether under 
the auspices of the Emigration Commissioners, or as a 
matter of private enterprise, that some sort of official 
list of medicines and medical stores ought to be 
issued and sanctioned for the information of druggists 
who are called upon to furnish medicine chests. A 
very eligible opportunity now occurs for the adoption 
of such a plan, as the Board of Trade have, by an Act 
that has just become law, taken over all the duties 
j that formerly appertained to the Commissioners of 
Emigration, and so have, or should have, the 
materials for the compilation of these lists close 
{ at hand. They should, of course, be as simple as 
possible, and if distinct indications were given as 
to the proportion of drugs, etc., required in ac- 
1 cordance with the duration of the voyage and the 
: number of persons carried, the information would 
prove a most invaluable boon to many of our readers 
who now perforce flounder about, and have to glean 
the requisite knowledge in a “scrappy,” and, there¬ 
fore, incomplete manner. 
The report of Mr. Howard on the Jamaica-grown 
cinchona barks, which we published in a recent num¬ 
ber, is so very satisfactory that it cannot fail to in¬ 
spire the colonists with renewed energy in the cul¬ 
tivation of those species which appear to be the most 
productive of quinine. From St. Helena we have 
1 hitherto had good accounts as to the suitability of 
the climate and the prosperity of the plants under 
cultivation ; but a recent number of the ‘ St. Helena 
Guardian ’ now before us contains grave charges of 
: the neglect of these valuable plants for the growth 
of common vegetables. It is proved beyond doubt 
that cinchonas are easily cultivated in St. Helena, 
for we are told in the same paper that the plants 
already established “ are in perfect good health, 
showing the most vigorous growth. Some are 8 feet 
G inches in height, and from 8 to 9 inches in circum¬ 
ference ; about GOO vary from 5 to G feet, showing 
a most rapid growth.” The question then is very 
reasonably asked why, when there is plenty of room 
for some thousand more plants at Diana’s Peak, the 
cultivation is not proceded with ? 
We read in a report from the British Consul at 
Aleppo that “ a profitable trade” might be carried on 
in Storax from Mount Amanus, where the Styrax 
officinale grows abundantly, but none of this rare 
and precious gum is gathered. It is well known 
that the Styrax officinale, L., is the source of the 
original Storax of the ancients, and it has always 
been more or less scarce and valuable, and in recent 
times has quite disappeared from commerce. The 
question may well be asked, why is this, if the plant 
grows so abundantly that the Consul, who ought to 
know the capabilities of the country, sees the means 
from whence might spring “ a profitable trade?” 
The practice of early closing appears to be steadily 
extending, and a recent instance of its adoption is 
reported by Mr. Eve, in the case of the Hampstead 
pharmacists, who have issued a circular requesting 
! the co-operation of the public. 
