280 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. [September 30,1871. 
within inverted commas. I am made both to assert and to 
controvert a position illustrated by 1 and 1 making 3. Your 
readers will please extend the area embraced by the quotation 
marks in line 18 of my letter so that they shall not only in¬ 
clude the annexed sentence “ A nomenclature is only a sys¬ 
tem for the conveyance of facts” but also the two sentences 
which follow. John Atteield. 
Sir,—When Professor Attfield gave me his list of proposed 
nomenclature, I instantly, and without a moment’s reflexion, 
read off the column he suggested in correct contracted latiu. 
By “correct” I mean such latin as would be accepted by the 
Medical Profession in their prescriptions. I therefore, in 
common with, many others, thought the advocated nomen¬ 
clature good, and likely to be useful. Whether it be an ex¬ 
position of the latest chemical theories, or is common sense 
adapted to chemical facts, are points over which the Professor 
may make himself happy. The autumn work of a journalist 
is heavy, and I have no time between now and November to 
fight over shadows. Joseph Ince. 
The Council op the North British Branch op the 
Pharmaceutical Society. 
Sir,—Mr. Baildon, in to-day’s Journal, points out what 
appears to him to be a discrepancy in one of Mr. Pairlie’s 
letters, but to my mind he has only shown his want of com¬ 
prehension of the point at issue. As I understand the letter 
referred to, Mr. Fairlio implied that while in matters social 
good feelings had been shown and reciprocated externally— 
possibly having in his mind’s eye the late reception of the 
Pharmaceutical Conference, and other meetings of a social 
nature, at which members.of the trade belonging to the two 
cities met together—in matters pharmaceutical the Edin¬ 
burgh brethren had shown an amount of injustice, or at 
least want of consideration towards other chemists through¬ 
out Scotland. My own experience, gathered from observa¬ 
tion in both cities, corroborates this; and what I believe Mr. 
Fairlie wishes is that these external exhibitions of good will 
should take root in the pharmaceutical world, as well as in 
the social, in order that some lasting benefit might accrue 
both to the Society and the trade at large. 
I think Mr. Mackay is at fault in accepting Mr. Fairlie’s 
attack on the Council as a slur upon himself or his actions; 
and as for the supposed implication that the Council have 
benefited by the grants received from the parent society, it 
is entirely a gratuitous supposition. 
It is well known here that the Committee of the Glasgow 
Association have refrained from asking a grant of money to 
help on their education schemes, because, as has been fre¬ 
quently reiterated by the members of the “ Council of the 
North British Branch” in Glasgow, “That it was no use, 
Edinburgh gets so much money from London that the 
Council there would not listen to them.” The result is, that 
Glasgow has been forced, to a certain extent, to be pharma¬ 
ceutically asleep, while Edinburgh is receiving encourage¬ 
ment to prosper with their pharmaceutical education. 
I hope that the present discussion will make matters take 
a turn for the better to all parties, particularly that Scotland 
may have her due from the London Council, as a distinct 
and separate body from the English pharmacists, and that 
Scottish chemists may have something to look to when they 
become members of the Pharmaceutical Society. 
Glasgow, Sept. 23rd, 1871. Ph. C. 
Sir,—I can fully sympathize with Mr. Fairlie in the posi¬ 
tion he has found himself in this question, and admire the 
spirit with which he has struck at the root of the matter 
against such influence as it is known the members of this 
Council can command. The several gentlemen who have 
replied to him have taken a delight in parading before the 
readers of the Journal the fact that he has only recently be¬ 
come a member of the Pharmaceutical Society, but this, in 
my opinion, says the more for his fortitude; and I hope he 
will return the taunt in the manner the great Pitt did when 
taunted by Walpole on account of his youth, showing that 
though he has the misfortune to be a young member of the 
Society he has not the greater misfortune of having some 
crotchety and old-fashioned notions in his head which nothing 
evidently will eradicate. 
Mr. Fairlie deserves the thanks of the “Outsiders” for 
having opened up a subject which may ere long, I hope, 
open up the doors of the Pharmaceutical Society to all desirous 
of entering it; so long as this self-elected Council is allowed 
to manage the affairs of the Society in Scotland as they 
choose, so long will the most active men, connected with the 
drug trade, remain passive on-lookers of what they can only 
term a “myth.” 
An On-looker. 
Edinburgh, September 25 tli, 1871. 
Action or Heat on Protoplasmic Lire. 
Sir,—Holidaying accounts for my not seeing your issue 
of 2nd inst. till to-dajq when the paper on “The Action of 
Heat on Protoplasmic Life” caught my earnest attention, 
because that was a subject of interesting discussion in my 
quarters here a few days ago, and in entire ignorance of the 
valuable experiments of Mr. Crace-Calvert. 
At said discussion I brought forward a fact which you 
may think worthy of notice, as when attention is directed to 
the particular case abundant and important corroboration, 
may be adduced. 
The case I adduced was, that during the late civil wars in 
the United States my sister had charge of, in Mississippi, an 
hospital for the sick and wounded, and that one of the most 
dreadful things she had to deal with was the destruction of 
the germs of vermin in the clothes of the soldiers brought, 
under her supervision and treatment. Ten hours’ consecutive 
boiling in water failed to destroy these germs. Incubation 
seemed only to have been quickened, for in the act of drying, 
or shortly thereafter, vermin swarmed from the hems of the 
boiled clothes, and nothing short of a scorching heat applied 
over the hems, by means of a smoothing iron, destroyed the 
vitality of the germs. 
Millport, Sept. 22nd, 1871. A. W. P. S. 
The Drug- Trade in Canada. 
Sir,—I shall feel obliged if any of your readers, either from 
residence in Canada or from knowledge of the country through 
other sources, can give me reliable information as to the state 
of the drug trade there. 
I wish to ascertain exactly what is the usual rate of remu¬ 
neration for assistants in drug stores or as dispensers to me¬ 
dical practitioners; whether or not the certificates of our 
Pharmaceutical Society are recognized; what success might 
reasonably bo expected by a gentleman going into business- 
on his own account; and also, whether or not the Canadian 
Pharmacopoeia differs much from our own ? 
The amor patrice is very strong in me ; but as I know by 
experience that the condition of chemists in England, in 
a small way of business, is very wretched, I am desirous of 
finding in another land an adequate return for outlay of 
capital and persevering industry. 
September 11 th, 1871. " Jateorrhiza. 
Schools of Pharmacy. —We have received a letter from 
Mr. Cooper, of York, suggesting that notices of the schools 
of pharmacy in the United Kingdom should be published in 
the Pharmaceutical J ournal in a way similar to that in 
which the medical papers publish notices of the medical 
schools. We shall be glad to carry out this suggestion if 
those connected with provincial schools will favour us with 
information respecting them. 
“ Truth.” —The character is “ Leaves alternate or opposite /*’ 
the latter vrord has been accidentally omitted. 
“ Ignis Fatuus.” —(1.) The fourth edition, published irt 
1851. (2.) No. (3.) The extracts may be taken from any 
part of the Gallic War. 
F. T. F. —The works mentioned may be obtained through 
any respectable bookseller. 
Lloyd Payner. —The publication of your letter would raise 
questions which we do not think it is the province of this 
Journal to discuss. The report of the proceedings at the 
polich court was taken, as stated, from the Daily News, and 
our remarks were based upon the statement made by your 
own solicitor. 
“ Chemicus.” —Your letters have been handed to the officers- 
of the Conference, from w'hom you will probably hear at the- 
termination of the vacation. A list of the works recom¬ 
mended by the Board of Examiners may be had by applying 
to the Secretary, 17, Bloomsbury Square. 
Communications, Letters, etc., have been received frona- 
Messrs. J. Edwards, J. Mackay, T. Cooper, S. W. R. Nevin, 
C. Umney, A. Shillcock, J. It. Summers, A. Field, W. H. 
Beaumont, J. B. B., E. H. S., “ Truth,” “A Minor Associate/ 
“ Scrutator,” “ East Wind,” “ Analno.” 
