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THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[February 22, lS73. 
the Government will make no alteration without ample 
notice of its intention being given to those concerned. 
Presuming that this will he the final decision, w r e venture 
to make one suggestion for increasing the usefulness of 
the two herbaria. It is the custom with all the leading 
continental herbaria for the curators to permit the loan 
of all the specimens representing a certain group to any 
botanist engaged in monographing that group, in return 
for the specimens being w'orked-up and named by him. 
Any English botanist, therefore, has access, practically, 
not only to the herbaria at Kew and the British Mu¬ 
seum, but to those also at Paris, Brussels, Vienna, 
Berlin, Munich, and other continental towns, while con¬ 
tinental botanists have not the same access to our col 
lections without coming over to this country. Would 
it not be possible for one or the other of these two 
herbaria to permit its specimens to be made use of in 
the same manner with suitable restrictions F 
The enormous value to science of the maintenance of 
national herbaria will have been sufficiently indicated by 
the above remarks. A few particulars may be given 
with regard to the two w'hich we possess. The old 
palace at Kew combines under its roof the richest bo¬ 
tanical library and the richest collection of dried plants in 
the world. The latter is computed to include from 105,000 
to 110,000 species, arranged in 450 cabinets averag¬ 
ing 16 shelves each. The nucleus of this magnificent 
collection was the private herbaria of the late Sir Wrn. 
Hooker and of Mr. Bentham, President of the Linnean 
Society, the latter alone numbering between 60,000 and 
70,000 species, to which have been made additions from 
Government expeditions and private explorers from all 
parts of the world. A very extensive system of ex¬ 
change is also carried on with continental herbaria, 
series of authentic “ type ” specimens being constantly 
sent out from Kew in return for similar series from 
those continental collections with which we are in 
correspondence. The herbarium at the British Mu¬ 
seum is estimated to possess 77,400 species of flowering 
plants, arranged in 306 cabinets of 8 shelves each. The 
number of duplicates is much larger in the Kew herba¬ 
rium than in that of the British Museum, but the latter 
is peculiarly rich in the products of certain districts of 
the globe and in fossil botany. In both establishments, 
the energies of the limited staff are severely taxed in 
adding and incorporating the additions which are con¬ 
stantly coming in, and in preparing the parcels of 
exchanges to which we have alluded; and both are 
scientific collections of which the country may well be 
proud. 
THE SALE OF VERMIN KILLERS. 
Meeting oe Chemists and Druggists at White¬ 
haven. 
A meeting of the chemists and druggists of White¬ 
haven, called by Mr. A. Kitchin (local 'secretary to the 
Pharmaceutical Society), was held on the 15th of Fe¬ 
bruary in the Whitehaven Scientific Association’s Room, 
Queen Street, kindly lent for the occasion. The object 
of the meeting w; s to^ consider the conditions under 
which vermin killers are to be sold with a view of en¬ 
tering into an arrangement as to the scale of charges for 
and registration of such articles. Most of the chemists 
and druggists in the town were present. Mr. W. 
Kitchin was elected to take the chair. 
In opening the proceedings the Chairman said that he 
was not well acquain’ e I with the matter to be brought be¬ 
fore the meeting, but no doubt the local secretary was pre¬ 
pared, and he should therefore, call upon him. He would 
only remark before he sat down,that at one time they used 
to mix together one ounce each of brown sugar, arsenic, 
and Spanish brown, which was put up in quarter-ounce 
packets, and sold to poison flies. Thousands of these. 
packets were sold, and yet nobody was ever poisoned by 
them. 
Mr. A. Kitchin (local secretary of the Pharmaceutical 
Society) said the meeting had been called to take into 
consideration the sale of vermin killers. Most vermin 
killers contained either strychnine or arsenic, and came 
under the regulations laid down for the sale of poisons 
included in Schedule A of the amended Pharmacy Act of 
1868. The law was very clear upon this point, although, 
not generally understood. In the Pharmacy Act, 1868, 
csrtain poisons, specified in part 1 of the Schedule, 
had to be registered; while in the additions to the Sche¬ 
dule sanctioned by the Privy Council in 1869, the pre¬ 
parations of these poisons are required to be re¬ 
gistered also. Now vermin killers being mostly pre¬ 
parations of strychnine or arsenic came under, and are 
included in part 1 of the amended Schedule. It appeared 
that certain chemists and druggists have been proceeded 
against and convicted for selling vermin killers without 
registering them. One or two chemists having spoken 
to him about the matter, he thought it best to call a 
meeting, where opinions might be freely expressed, and 
some arrangement arrived at with respect to the quantity 
to be sold and the charge to be made for the additional 
trouble of registration. It was an unpleasant thing for 
a chemist to be hauled up before a magistrate, even were 
he not convicted and fined. 
Mr. Goss said that in Lancashire chemists and drug¬ 
gists had been registering the sale of vermin killers for 
some time. He had been informed that the least quantity 
they sold was threepenny worth. He himself had (been 
registering the sale of vermin killers for the last fortnight 
or three weeks, and made his lowest charge threepence. 
Mr. Hartness said he had been registering vermin 
killers for some time, and the lowest charge he made 
was fourpence. People grumbled a little sometimes at 
the price, but when told that chemists were compelled 
by Act of Parliament to register, they purchase without 
further comment. He did not remember ever having 
lost a customer on that account. 
Mr. Grayson asked what Mr. Hartness vrould do if he 
had a stock of threepenny vermin killers. 
Mr. Hartness said it was the threepenny packet he 
generally charged fourpence for. 
Mr. A. Kitchin remarked that two threepenny packets 
might be put together and sold for sixpence to those who 
wanted a larger quantity. 
Mr. Hunter asked whether it would not be better to 
charge a registration fee of, say, twopence, and make 
the lowest quantity to be sold two pennyworth, w'hich 
would be twopence for the poison, and twopence for re¬ 
gistration F The lowest quantity registered would then 
be fourpence; and in that way a sixpenny packet would 
be sold for eightpence, a shilling packet for fourteen 
pence, and so on. 
The Chairman thought there was something tangible 
in Mr. Hunter’s suggestion. 
Mr. W. H. Kitchin was of opinion that they w r ould 
often have some old farmer finding fault and grumbling 
at being charged twopence registration fee for a twopenny 
packet of vermin killer when he could buy a sixpenny 
or shilling packet for the same. 
Mr. Grayson and Mr. Goss also objected to this plan. 
Mr. Hartness said that seeing Mr. Hunter’s suggestion 
of a registration fee did not meet with much favour, he 
would propose that a charge of fourpence be made for 
any vermin killer requiring registration, and that this 
be the lowest charge. 
Mr. Hunter seconded Mr. Hartness’s proposition. 
The chairman having put this proposition to the 
meeting, it was carried unanimously. 
A vote of thanks having been proposed to Mr. W. 
Kitchin for presiding, the meeting, which was marked 
throughout with harmony and cordiality, was brought 
to a close. 
