July 8, 1S71 -3 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
P.9 
[271.]—DISPENSING.— A. B. C. asks how he can 
prepare from the annexed prescription a perfectly white 
creamy liniment which will not separate ? 
R. Acid. Acet. fort. 5 SS 
Vitell. Ovi j 
01. Terebinth., 
Aquae, ana ^iij. 
M. ft. linim. 
[272.]—SUPPOSITORIES.—Will one of the readers 
of the Pharmaceutical Journal oblige me with the best 
formula for a basis for belladonna, opium and camphor 
suppositories ?—C. 
[273.]—PODOPHYLLUM PILLS.—Will any cor¬ 
respondent oblige me with a formula for podophyllum 
pills ?—A. P. S. 
BOOKS RECEIVED. 
Travels of a Pioneer of Commerce in Pigtail and 
Petticoats : or an Overland Journey from China towards 
India. By T. T. Cooper. London: Murray. 1871. 
The Half-Yearly Abstract of the Medical Sciences, 
being a Digest of British and Continental Medicine and of 
the Progress of the Collateral Sciences. Edited by Wil¬ 
liam Domett Stone, M.D., F.R.C.S. Yol. liii. London: 
J. and A. Churchill. 
Resources of the Southern Pields and Forests, 
Medical, Economical and Agricultural ; being also 
a Medical Botany of the Southern States ; with Practical 
Information on the Useful Properties of the Trees, Plants 
and Shrubs. By Francis Peyre Porcher, M.D. New 
Edition. Revised and largely augmented. Charlestown : 
Walker, Evans and Co. London: Triibner and Co., 60 
Paternoster Row. 1869. 
Discourses on Practical Physic. By Benjamin W’ 
Richardson, M.A., M.D., F.R.S. London: J. and A* 
Churchill. 1871. 
MEDIZINISCnE JAHRBUECnER HERAUSGEGEBEN VON DER 
K. K. Gesellschaft der Aerzte, redigirt von S. 
Stricter. Parts 1 and 2. Vienna: Braunmiiller. 1871. 
Die Pflanzenstoffe in chemischer, physiologischer, 
PHARMAKOLOGISCHER UND TOXIKOLOGISCHER HlN- 
sicnT. Fiir Aerzte, Apotheker, Chemiker, und Pharma- 
kologen bearbeitet von Dr. Aug. Husemann und Dr. 
Theod. Husemann. Part IV., completing the work. 
Berlin. 1871. 
BeMERKUNGEN UEBER DIE nEUTIGEN LEBENSVERnAELT- 
nisse der Pharmacie. By Dr. P. Phoebus. Vienna. 
1871. From the Author. 
The following journals have been received:—The ‘British 
Medical Journal,’ July 1; the ‘Medical Times and Gazette,’ 
July 1 ; the ‘Lancet,’ July 1 ; the ‘Medical Press and Cir¬ 
cular,’ July 6; ‘Nature,’ June 29; the ‘Chemical News,’ 
July 1; ‘Gardeners’ Chronicle,’ July 1; the ‘Journal of 
the Society of Arts,’ July 1; the ‘Grocer,’ July 1; ‘Pro¬ 
duce Markets Review,’ July 1; the ‘English Mechanic,’ 
June 30; ‘Bulletin de la Societe Botanique de France,’ 
vol. xviii. part 3; ‘Proceedings of the Royal Institution’; the 
‘Pharmacist’ for June; the ‘British Journal of Dental Sur¬ 
gery’ for July; the ‘ Food Journal’ for July; the * Milk Jour- 
nal’ for July; the ‘ Florist and Pomologist’ for July; Evans, 
Lcscher and Evans’ ‘ Price Current’ for J uly; ‘ Revista de Phar¬ 
macia e Sciencias Accessorias do Porto ’ for June; ‘ Zeitschrift 
dcs allgemeinen osterreichischen Apotheker-Vereines’ for 
Cffmsgimitntt. 
*** No notice can be taken 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 . 
Poison Bottles. 
Sir,—Much has been said and written at various times in 
favour of our poisons being safe if kept in bottles of peculiar 
colours. Some gentlemen have also recommended a piece of 
sandpaper being placed on the back of the bottle, and others 
have strongly advised the use of fluted, spiked and angular 
bottles. Now, these may all be useful, but I do not consider 
any of them complete, because the sense of sight and touch 
would soon be familiar with them. When a man is dis¬ 
tressed by too much, or, what is worse, by too little business, 
by long and anxious hours, by domestic and many other 
afflictions, he requires something more than either of the 
above bottles to arrest his attention should he unhappily be¬ 
come so distracted as to place his hand on the wrong one. 
He must have a physical difficulty in his way to arouse him 
to the fact that he is about committing a mistake, which may 
prove fatal to the person to whom the medicine is to be admi¬ 
nistered, as well as ruinous to himself. And this may be done 
by means of a very simple and inexpensive contrivance, and 
one which will create scarcely any delay in dispensing poi¬ 
sons. It is simply bands of india-rubber, arranged like the 
wire of a sodawater-bottle,—a collar embracing the neck of 
the bottle,—and attached to this a cross-band passing over 
the stopper, so that the stopper cannot be removed without 
pushing the cross-band off. And this arrangement would 
answer equally well for extracts, pots and jars; and if the 
cross-band had a loop at each extremity a suitable string 
might be substituted for the india-rubber collar, thus saving 
expense. 
I should have suggested to the Society the above plan 
some time since, but something of the kind having been 
mentioned in the Journal, I thought it might be generally 
noticed and adopted. 
Curtain Road, E.C., J. R. Summers. 
June 28 th, 1871. 
N.B.—The india-rubber bands might, of course, be applied 
to any of the new poison bottles. 
[*** We believe that Messrs. Maw, Son and Thompson 
are at present engaged in bringing out a fastening for poison 
bottles very similar, so far as we can judge, to the arrange¬ 
ment described above.—E d. Pharm. Jourx.] 
Poison Safety. 
Sir,—So much having been written of late respecting the 
storage, etc. of poisons, one feels somewhat reluctant in throw¬ 
ing out any further suggestion; still, as something will ere 
long be thrust upon us in reference to the keeping, as well as 
the dispensing and selling of poisons, whether we, as chemists, 
like it or no,—I have been induced to suggest what appears 
to me a very simple, and at the same time a very efficient 
poison safety, viz. that over the cork or stopper, and also to 
slip over the neck of every bottle, etc., containing any of the 
poisons enumerated in schedule A, part 1, of Pharmacy Act, 
1868, be placed a red india-rubber capsule, with rim 
at bottom, similar to Maw’s india-rubber teats, used for 
feeding-bottles. And that over the stoppers, etc., of bottles 
containing poisons described in schedule A, part 2, be placed 
a black india-rubber capsule, thus distinguishing at a glance 
schedule A, part 1 from part 2. These capsules would bo 
manufactured at a cheap rate, last a considerable time, be 
easily placed upon, or removed from, the bottles, etc., and 
obviate the necessity of untying and re-tying every bottle 
required for use, and I believe might admit of universal 
adoption. 
East Southsea, 22 nd June, 1871. F. W. Wheeler. 
[* tt * The capsules proposed by our correspondent would 
seem to be essentially the same as those introduced by Mr. 
Baildon, of Edinburgh. They were exhibited by him at the 
Liverpool meeting of the Conference. See Yol. I. 3rd ser. 
p. 120.—Ed. Pharm. Journ.] 
