GLEANINGS  FROM  AMERICAN  JOURNALS. 
127 
prizes  are  offered,  $15,  $10  and  $5  each  to  be  accompanied  by  a 
botanical  work  and  a  certificate.  The  competition  is  limited  to 
members  of  the  society  previous  to  1869  who  have  been  but  three 
years  in  the  drug  trade.  The  substances,  viz  :  roots,  barks, 
seeds,  fruits,  plants,  etc.,  to  be  each  wrapped  in  paper  after 
careful  preparation  for  sale,  and  be  marked  with  the  common  and 
scientific  names,  the  date  and  locality  of  collection,  and  a  private 
mark,  which  shall  also  be  on  the  outside  of  the  letter  sent  with 
the  specimens,  containing  the  address  of  competitor  and  his  em- 
ployer's certificate,  and  sent  to  the  Secretary  at  Toronto  prior 
to  Sept.  1st,  1869.  Three  judges  shall  determine  the  relative 
merit  of  the  competitors  and  award  the  prizes  if  they  receive 
such  award. 
This  method  of  competition  is  calculated  to  be  of  great  benefit 
to  the  students,  as  in  order  to  name  their  specimens  they  must 
learn  the  plants  yielding  them,  and  by  connecting  the  two  in 
the  mind  they  become  more  thoroughly  acquainted  with  their 
history  and  character.  This  method  is  well  worthy  of  adoption  by 
all  our  colleges  of  pharmacy. 
Sulphate  of  Atropia  in  Toothache. — Dr.  Samuel  R.  Percy, 
of  New  York,  (see  New  York  Med.  Journal)  has  employed 
atropia  in  the  case  of  a  young  woman  suffering  from  toothache, 
by  putting  about  4^Qth  of  a  grain  on  a  slightly  moistened  pellet  of 
cotton  and  passing  it  into  the  cavity.  It  always  gave  instant  re- 
lief. He  applied  it  many  times  before  she  could  be  persuaded  to 
go  to  the  dentist.    It  did  not  cause  dilatation  of  the  pupil. 
Dr.  Percy  very  properly  cautions  against  the  use  of  this 
remedy  oftener  than  once  in  24  hours,  and  he  might  very 
properly  have  added  that  it  should  be  applied  only  by  the 
physician  or  dentist.  He  considers  atrOpia  cumulative  in  its 
action,  and  hence  the  impropriety  of  its  repeated  application  in 
a  quantity  capable  of  injuriously  affecting  the  patient  if  it  enter 
the  circulation. 
Liability  of  Druggists. — The  Medical  and  Surgical  Reporter 
states  that  an  action  was  recently  brought  against  Robert 
Kennedy,  an  apothecary  of  Brooklyn,  New  York,  by  Thomas 
Webster,  adm'r  of  Matilda  Webster,  dec'd,  for  damages  resulting 
