900 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[May 10, 1872. 
*** No notice can be taTcen of anonymous communica¬ 
tions. Whatever is intended for insertion must be authenti¬ 
cated by the name and address of the writer; not necessarily 
for 'publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. 
The Benevolent Fund. 
Sir,—A letter in to-day’s Journal seems to warrant me 
in again troubling you. Although, not gifted with the 
power of writing in the sensational style of a “ Subscriber 
to the Benevolent Fund,” I will endeavour to bo as concise 
as possible in my reply. 
Since nfy explanation of my two trifling donations does 
not seem to have been credited, I will state more plainly 
the fact, that up to the time of sending my last five shillings, 
I was ignorant of the amount that was taken yearly from 
subscriptions and donations and added to the already large 
fund. My knowledge increasing, my sympathy with the 
appropriation of donations was not great. I have already 
stated that the words “long since,” in my letter of March 
29th, were used to denote that my opinions had not been 
formed by the writings recently found in the Journal. 
I fancy “Subscriber” is a little hasty in calling my 
scheme a pet one, for if he will again trouble himself to 
refer to p. 800 of the Journal, he will find that I have 
another which I advocate, viz., the present system, minus 
any further accumulation of subscriptions ; which improve¬ 
ment is already being, to some extent, adopted. If only 
carried out to the full, I am pleased to confess that, in my 
opinion, there would not be many wishing for the novel 
one. 
But just a word in defence of the pet scheme. Can 
Subscriber ” not see that if Leicester has received more 
than she has subscribed under the present system, other 
towns must have received less, and therefore that it is 
manifestly unfair to judge of the pet scheme as a whole, 
by a case which is balanced by the surplus which would be 
in hand in other districts ? 
“Subscriber’s” energy in defence of the Fund has led 
him into error, for he charges me with having railed against 
annuities. If your readers will kindly peruse my two for¬ 
mer notes, I think they will agree with me that I only 
contended for the immediate distribution of subscriptions, 
caring little what form it took, being equally pleased in 
seeing either temporary relief granted, or regular annuities 
conferred. 
In regard to Mr. K., should the Council still see fit to 
grant him £35 per year until elected an annuitant, my case 
in regard to him will fall to the ground. I fail to find, 
though, that they took the same course in regard to Messrs. 
Wilson and Watkins until elected. 
Finally, I am sorry that my convictions in regard to the 
best use of benevolent subscriptions do not allow me to 
agree with the gentleman I have alluded to. 
Walter B. Clark. 
Leicester, May 3rd, 1873. 
A Trade Grievance. 
Sir ,—Apropos with Mr. Barron’s letter in last Saturday’s 
Journal, I, in common with other chemists, have this 
morning received an elaborate counter-bill from a well- 
known firm, with an intimation that a supply would be 
forwarded on receipt of address. Imagining, in my inno¬ 
cence, that the increase of wholesale price of this film’s 
goods was to be followed by a corresponding advance in 
their retail prices, which they desired thus to advertise 
through their agents, I at once cast my eye towards that 
part of the bill, when, to my surprise, I found no such ad¬ 
vance hinted at. 
The conclusion to which I at once came was that the 
advance had been made, not on account of increase of 
value of ingredients, but in order to cover the expense of 
their advertising goods, to the serious detriment of the 
retailer ; and that the wiser plan for us to adopt, in self- 
defence, will be, instead of clamouring for a supply of 
pretty pictures, to prepare and recommend our own toilet 
requisites to the total exclusion of others. That such must 
be the effect of the present rage for advancing the whole¬ 
sale prices of various proprietary articles, while the retail 
are advertised as before, is self-evident, unless we are pre¬ 
pared to sacrifice a considerable portion of our returns to 
the exclusive benefit of the makers. 
Query.—Why cannot we agree to act on the same prin¬ 
ciple as the wholesale dealers, and refuse to sell proprietary 
articles except at advanced prices in the same ratio ? 
May 6th, 1873. Equity. 
In reference to Mr. Barron’s letter on this subject, the 
representative of Mr. Henry Bond writes to say that he 
has not advanced the price of his marking ink. 
Pharmaceutical Curiosities. 
Sir,—If the subject js of any interest, allow me to add 
one or two of my experiences on the above subject. I have 
a sort of album of the original orders, and transcribe a few. 
Amongst the oils I find, in addition to those mentioned by 
Mr. Williams, oils of fhagone, St. John, beaver, and 
peacock, all of which are synonyms of ol. viride. I have 
also oils of Nero, hay, oakem, and Agmai, and by a note 
I see ol. amygd. dulc. is (or was) the article sold for each. 
“Purple plum spirit” {i.e., archill) is another oddity I 
fancy, and the following are (to put it mildly) eccentric as 
to orthography. For instance,— 
“ Se. lot. za Juice.” 
“ Turnasais” (Turner’s Cerate). 
“possits of past” [sic] (Phosphorus Paste). 
“ Qubruck Powder.” 
“ Arse and asnel sope.” 
“ Mulbry suryuph.” 
And finally,— 
“ Sa. la. monac.” 
I could give a long list of similar examples of “ free and 
independent” spelling, but doubt if the information is 
worth the space it will occupy. 
Tauro-gallus. 
J. J. Anderson .—Apply at the Boyal Veterinary College, 
Camden Town. 
W. C. J .—The dose is large, but not excessive, nor so 
large as to justify the supposition that there was a mistake. 
J. Dibbs .—The latest issue of the ‘Medical Directory’ is 
for 1873. It is published by Messrs. J. and A. Churchill, 
11, Burlington Street, from whom you could obtain further 
particulars. 
E. Ward. Jackson .—You are recommended to communi¬ 
cate the facts of your case to one of our medical contempo¬ 
raries. 
Mr. Baildon is thanked for his communication. 
“ Cinchona.” —(1) 1873. (2) Both the works mentioned 
are good ones, but we should give the preference to the 
illustrated edition of Bentbam. (3) The subject is not spe¬ 
cially mentioned in the synopsis of the examination, and it 
is probable that nothing would be required beyond what is 
implied in the identification of officinal plants, an intimate 
acquaintance with the functions and mode of arrangement 
of the different organs of plants, and a knowledge of the 
general principles of classification. 
“Arte et Lahore .”—A chemist and druggist, registered 
by virtue of his having been in business before the passing 
of the Pharmacy Act, 1868, may become, by election, a 
Member of the Pharmaceutical Society. For particulars 
apply to the Secretary, 17, Bloomsbury Square, W.C. 
“Inquirer .”—We should recommend you to address your 
inquiry to the authorities of the Inland Be venue Office, 
Somerset House. 
W. II. Burrell .—All advertisements should be forwarded 
to the publishers, Messrs. J. and A. Churchill, 11, New 
Burlington Street. 
Inquirer ( Chemicus ) is referred to the regulation respect¬ 
ing anonymous communications. 
Communications, Letters, etc., have been received from 
J. Dibbs, J. Abraham, P. Q., L., “ Catta-fiord,” “ Tauro- 
Gallus.” 
