1064 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[Jane 29, 1872. 
Carmpttete. 
* * 
* 
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. 
Tnjs Pharmacy Act and tiie Sale 
Homoeopathic Medicines. 
of 
Sir,—Permit me to avail myself of your columns to inquire 
of those of my brethren skilful in interpreting the Pharmacy 
Act “ whether homoeopathic chemists may legally keep open 
shop for the dispensing of physicians’ prescriptions and the 
sale of poisons without being on the register of the Pharma¬ 
ceutical Society ? ” and, if not, why have they been treated 
with such considerate tenderness by the officials of the 
Society ? 
I am myself under the impression that the Act applies to 
homoeopathic quite as fully as to allopathic chemists; indeed, 
if such be not the case, any person desirous of entering the 
sacred precincts of pharmacy without passing through the 
legitimate but tedious path of the examinations, may easily 
do so, and entirely evade the Act by placing the adjective 
* homoeopathic ’ before his assumed title of chemist, and exlii 
biting in his shop some pilules, globules, a few bottles of arnica 
strong solution of camphor, etc. But having reported to the 
Society, a considerable time ago, what appeared to me to be 
a most flagrant case without their taking any decisive action 
therein, I presume the possibility of my opinion being erro 
neous, and think it desirable to bring the subject before the 
notice of the trade, as it undoubtedly affects all pharmacists 
in no small degree, and should, I think, be no longer over 
looked by the Society’s executive. 
The popular notion of the trade of a homoeopathic chemist 
is that it is confined to supplying drugs (poisonous or other 
wise) in doses so infinitesimal as to possess no more thera 
peutic activity than Sac. Lactis or Sp. Vini Rect. That this 
is an erroneous notion, fifteen years’ experience of homoeo¬ 
pathy enables me to prove. In the first place, it is by no 
means an uncommon occurrence to retail the mother tinctures 
of aconite, belladonna, nux vomica, etc., prepared in the 
proportions of 1 to 10 , as directed by the British Homoeo¬ 
pathic Pharmacopoeia, or the first or second decimal of ar- 
senicum, morphia, antim. tart, and other potent medicines; 
and, secondly, it is a portion of almost every day’s work to 
dispense prescriptions for liniments or applications contain¬ 
ing chloroform, aconite, and belladonna liniments, or tinct. 
opium, etc., in sufficient quantity to poison very many 
people. 
The following are copies of prescriptions written by a 
homoeopathic physician in large practice, and who invariably 
directs his patients to have their medicine prepared by a cer¬ 
tain homoeopathic chemist, who has passed no examination, 
is not on the register, and who, therefore, in vending poisons 
and preparing prescriptions, is surely violating the very letter 
of the Pharmacy Act; yet it is against such an offender that 
the Society declines to take proceedings. 
R. Trit. Podolph. Resin 1 * gr. xij. 
Divide in pulv. vj cujus j bis inhebdomada sum. 
Liq. Arsenic. Fowler. 5 ij. 
Aq. Dest. ad 5 iv. 
Misc. Cap. 5 j ter die. 
Divide Trit. Morph. Hydroch. 2 x gr. 100 in pulv. asq. x. 
Cap. j ex aqua coch. amp. omni nocte et repet. post horas 
quatucr si opus sit. 
R. 
R. 
R. 
Lin. Beliadon. P. B., 3 iij. 
Chloroform, 5 j. \ 
M. ft. lin. more diet, utend. 
Eali. Brorn. gr. 80. 
Aq. Dest. ad 5 iv. 
M. Cap. 5 ss. ex aqua bis die. 
Is it not decidedly unfair that those of us who have given 
both time and money to procure the requisite qualifications 
for business, should find ourselves opposed by persons pos¬ 
sessing no legal title whatever, whilst a great and wealthy 
Society, supposed to keep a sharp eye on such offenders, 
stands coldly aloof and declines to protect the interest of its 
members ? 
A Chemist. 
Position of Widows under Clause 16 of the 
Pharmacy Act. 
Sir,—Without wishing to make special reference to the 
particular case to which Mr. Smith alludes, may I ask you to 
give information to prevent the repetition of so sad a calamity 
If a chemist makes his will and leaves his wife executrix,, 
jointly with a (male) friend, can he (if not a chemist) carry 
on the business, with a qualified assistant for her benefit and 
that of her family ? 
As I, with many others, have been toiling on for many 
years, I should deeply regret if, through any act of inadver¬ 
tence on our part, our wives or children were deprived of the' 
fruits of our industry and application. 
Joseph Barker. 
Kingston-on-Thames, June 15th, 1872. 
Chemical and Pharmaceutical Curiosities of a 
Medical Practitioner. 
Sir,—Would you kindly give the following a place in. 
your Journal, for the amusement of all interested. Some 
time ago the following prescription was brought to me to- 
make up- 
R. Co'. 2 . . . 3 ij- 
01. Olive . . $ ij. M. 
Sig. Use as directed.—Gr. G. 
Not knowing any chemical compound under such a symbol,. 
I at once communicated with the writer, but got no answer; 
during the forenoon of the following day, the following was- 
brought in its stead by the same customer:—■ 
R. Acid Carbol. . . 5 ij* 
01. Olive . . ^ij* M. 
Sig. Use as directed.—G. G. 
The other day I again received the following rather obscure 
prescription:— 
R. Saponis cum pici. 
Sig. For external use.—G. G. 
There being no official preparation of this kind in the P.B. 
or any other Pharmacopoeia that I knew, I at once wrote to- 
him for information about it, but whether he is ashamed of 
his ignorance, or what, I know not, but he has not yet re¬ 
plied, and the prescription remains with mo undispensed. 
G. H. 
June T&th, 1872. 
oU- 
IF. Dixon. —We will endeavour to obtain the information 
asked for by you. 
G. Broom. —A communication that we have received 
through the publishers bearing the above signature, appears 
to be a resume of what has recently appeared in the medical 
papers on the subject. The subject, however, is too purely a 
medical one, to be suited for our columns. 
“ A Registered Student of the Society .”—Your question 
shall be answered next week. 
G. C. Cottrill. —We beg to acknowledge your communi¬ 
cation, and think your resolution a very wise one. 
“ Pharmacien,” “ An Apprentice of the Pharmaceutical 
Society,” and E. IF. B., are all referred to the rule as to 
anonymous communications. 
“Nemo.” —(1 and 2.) Yes. (3.) We think such sales in 
wholesale quantities, and under the regulations prescribed 
by clause 17 of the Pharmacy Act and the Arsenic Act, 
would not be construed as being an infringement of the Acfc_ 
“ One tvho has known the Drug more than Thirty Nears.” 
—Thanks for your cutting. It does not look heaithy, and we 
regret to see it. 
The following journals have been received:—The ‘ British 
Medical Journal,’ June 22; the ‘ Medical Times and Gazette, 
June 22 ; the ‘Lancet,’ June 22 ; the ‘Medical Press and. 
Circular, June 22 ; ‘ Nature,’ June 22 ; the ‘ Chemical News,’ 
June 22; ‘English Mechanic,’ June 22; ‘Gardeners’ 
Chronicle,’ June 22 ; the ‘ Grocer,’ June 22; the ‘Journal of 
the Society of Arts,’ June 22; ‘Grocery News,’ June 22; 
American Chemist ’ for May ; ‘ Practitioner ’ for June; the- 
Madras Monthly Journal of Medical Science’ for May; 
New York Druggists’ Circular’ for June; ‘American Jour¬ 
nal of Pharmacy ’ for June; the ‘Western Lancet’ for 
April; the ‘ Pharmacist’ for May; the ‘ Devonport Indepen¬ 
dent,’ J une 22. 
Communications, Letters, etc., have been received from 
Mr. J. Paget, Messrs. Thorne Bros., Mr. Nuthall, A. P. S_ 
Mel.’ 
