January 20,1872.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
585 
I 
actively engaged in the prosecution of their duties, and 
expect to publish the results of their labours next spring. 
Of course, in these decennial intervals, many now reme¬ 
dies and novel modes of preparation must suggest them¬ 
selves ; hut it is to he hoped that more than even the 
usual amount of skill and common sense may he called 
into requisition by these gentlemen, so that we may ho 
able to offer to the world at large a valuable contribution 
to literature. It is desirable that there should always be 
every practicable uniformity in the Pharmacopoeias of 
Great Britain and the United States; but each country 
seems to be jealous of the innovations of the other. I 
may not. he wholly correct in my assumptions, hut I am 
disposed to think that some of the framers of these official 
guides have a greater satisfaction in striking out into 
paths of originality than in blindly following the changes 
suggested by even the best informed pharmaceutists and 
chemists of other lands. One thing must be borne in 
mind, however, and that is the absolute necessity in 
a country like our own of adapting a Pharmacopoeia, 
within justifiable limits, to the habits, requirements, and 
local peculiarities of climate and population of those who 
are to use it. The great danger is that the Materia 
Medica list, which forms an important portion of it, may 
be expanded, rather than contracted, under the views en¬ 
tertained by the majority of those present at the Conven¬ 
tion. It seems unfortunate that such should be the case 
at a time when the medical profession is already suffering 
from an embarras cle richcsses , and would gladly part 
with several score of useless drugs which help to swell 
out the long list of remedies. If the Pharmacopoeia 
could once be reduced, however, within the limits de¬ 
sirable for mere practical routine purposes, it would con¬ 
stitute a volume mainly remarkable for its insignifi¬ 
cance : and it is therefore, perhaps, just as well that it 
should contain all the remedial agents which may at the 
present time or in the future be found convenient or 
useful for the practitioner. These remarks apply quite 
as forcibly to the Pharmacopoeias of other nations as to 
our own. May your own professional men, who speak 
one common language with those of this country, never 
be placed in the same straits as those of Switzerland, 
who, in addition to the erudite Latin, are obliged to issue 
their Pharmacopoeia in three other languages—French, 
German, and Italian—to adapt it to the understanding 
of the variety of nationalities represented within its 
borders.” 
MEDICINE AND PHAEMACY IN VALPAEAISO. 
A decree has been issued by the Intendant of Val¬ 
paraiso, regulating the practice of medicine and phar¬ 
macy in the department, which appears to have excited 
a considerable amount of consternation amongst those 
most concerned. It certainly does prescribe an amount 
of government “regulation ” that would, to say the least, 
prove inconvenient at times to the persons “regulated.” 
After premising that the approaching rise of the Con¬ 
gress would leave it no time to promulgate a law which 
shall define the extent of the “ obligations which the 
medical profession owes to the public,” the decree orders 
that all “physicians, surgeons, phlebotomists, chemists, 
druggists, and midwives” who desire to practise their 
profession in the department shall give notice of their 
intention in writing, producing their diplomas at the 
same time. Notice is to be given of an intention to 
suspend practice, or to be absent from the department. 
Twice a year all those engaged in practice [query, phy¬ 
sicians, surgeons, phlebotomists, chemists, druggists, and 
mid wives,] are to hold one or more meetings in which 
questions of public health are to be discussed, and in 
addition the medical men are to hold extraordinary meet¬ 
ings whenever so required by the authorities, in times of 
plague and epidemic, or other grave necessity. It is 
made compulsory for all doctors to submit to a weekly 
“turn,” when two are to hold themselves in readiness to 
serve the public from twelve at night till seven in the 
morning, and this without remuneration, in case of the 
applicants being unable personally to pay them. With 
only sixteen doctors the “turn” would occur once in 
every two months. They are also in turn to attend 
daily at the dispensaries, or other public places, pointed 
out by authority, in order to lend professional assistance 
to the poor, and give them the prescription they may 
require. With regard to apothecaries, Art. 10 says:— 
“ The doctors shall also be obliged, taking it by turns 
amongst them, to attend daily at the dispensaries, or 
other public places pointed out by the authority, in order 
to lend their professional services to the poor, and give 
them the prescriptions which their cases may require. 
“ Art. 11. Any apothecaries’ shops which shall be esta¬ 
blished in future, must be situated at least 300 metres 
distant from any other already established. The same 
rule applies to those already existing, in case of their re¬ 
moval. 
“Art. 12. There shall be apothecaries’ shops in ‘turn,’ 
to supply any medicines required by the sick during the 
night. These shops, their situation, and numbers shall 
be determined by the authority, as may best befit the 
public requirements. They shall keep their door open 
and have a light inside, and have a competent person to 
make up the recipes demanded. They shall also have 
bells in a convenient place at the entrance, in order to 
render it easier to call up the employes. 
“Art. 13. Each apothecary’s shop shall be kept by a 
qualified apothecary, and the same individual cannot 
preside over more than one, nor be absent from it with¬ 
out previously advising the authority, and nominating 
some competent person to take his place.” 
ANALYSES OF IODIDE OF POTASSIUM. 
The following results of a series of analyses of samples 
of iodide of potassium, obtained from various sources, is 
published in the Practitioner for January. All the 
samples contained traces only of chloride of sodium; 
two of them (IY and V) small traces of iodate, and one 
only (Y) a small amount of carbonate. No other impurity 
was found in any of the samples. This coincides with 
the report of a former examination of this drug, which 
we extracted from the British Medical Journal some 
months ago.* It is satisfactory to find that notwith¬ 
standing the enormous increase in its price, the samples 
analysed were of great purity :— /j 
No. I. White, very large opaque crystals, dry. 
No. II. White, large opaque crystals, slightly moist. 
No. III. White, large opaque crystals, slightly moist. 
No. IY. White, very large opaque crystals, dry. 
Contains a minute trace of iodate. 
No. Y. White, small opaque crystals, slightly moist. 
Contains 1*24 per cent, of carbonate of potassium. 
No. YI. White, large opaque crystals, dry. Contains 
traces of iodate. 
No. 
Moisture. 
Iodine. 
Chlorine. 
Iodate. 
I. 
1-16 
74 Jo 
0-40 
None 
II. 
1-69 
73-75 
0-35 
None 
III. 
1-90 
74-10 
0-25 
None • 
IY. 
0-66 
76-8S 
025 
Minute tri&e 
Y. 
2-20 
72*76 
0-12 
None 
YI. 
0'83 
74-15 
0-80 
Trace 
Pure dry potassium iodide contains 76-50 per cent, of 
iodine. 
* See Puxem. Jouux. 2nd Series, Yol. I. p. 89. 
