Am.  Jour.  Pharm.l 
March,  1910.  j 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
small  8vo  volumes  of  84  and  207  pages  respectively  that  contain 
much  useful  and  interesting  information  relating  to  the  composition 
of  medicinal  substances  and  the  method  of  exploiting  them.  The 
information  contained  in  these  books  should  be  of  value  to  the  phar- 
macist and  the  pharmaceutical  chemist,  and  the  two  volumes  might 
very  properly  find  a  place  on  the  reference  book-shelf  of  every 
pharmacy. 
Among  government  publications  that  contain  information  of 
more  than  usual  interest  to  the  pharmacist  are  Bulletin  No.  61  of 
the  Hygienic  Laboratory  and  Bulletin  No.  126  of  the  Bureau  of 
Chemistry.  The  former  of  these  bulletins  records  quantitative 
pharmacological  studies  on  the  relative  physiological  activity  of 
commercial  solutions  of  epinephrine,  by  W.  H.  Schultz,  and  the 
latter  (see  A.  J.  P.,  81,  p.  420)  contains  a  compilation  of  data  on 
the  "  Harmful  Effects  of  Acetanilid,  Antipyrin,  and  Phenacetin," 
by  L.  F.  Kebler,  F.  P.  Morgan,  and  Philip  Rupp.  The  latter  bulle- 
tin has  served  to  arouse  renewed  interest  in  the  harmfulness  of 
so-called  "  patent  "  medicines  generally,  and  with  other  happenings 
of  more  recent  date  has  served  to  call  renewed  attention  to  the 
responsibilities  of  the  pharmacist  in  connection  with  the  exploitation 
and  sale  of  nostrums. 
Up  until  quite  recently  it  was  generally  supposed  that  retail  drug- 
gists as  a  class  recognized  the  mischief  that  could  be  and  was  being 
done  by  nostrums  generally  and  that  the  continued  sale  of  these 
articles  in  drug  stores  was  at  least  largely  due  to  the  fact  that 
patrons  had  become  accustomed  to  purchase  them,  in  connection 
with  postage  stamps  and  soda  water,  in  the  modern  combination 
emporium  known  as  a  drug  store.  The  development  of  a  number 
of  co-operative  patent  medicine  manufacturing  concerns  has  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  medical  men  and  the  Journal  of  the  Ameri- 
can Medical  Association  has  but  recently  (January  8  and  22,  19 10) 
called  attention  to  the  methods  of  one  of  the  larger  of  these  con- 
cerns. The  several  editorials  have  attracted  considerable  attention, 
and  in  pharmaceutical  circles  have  tended  to  show  the  existence 
of  differences  of  opinion  even  among  men  of  whom  it  might  have 
been  expected  that  they  would  be  well  informed  in  regard  to  the 
limitations  of  ready-to-take  medicines. 
That  there  are  still  many  retail  druggists  in  this  country  who 
are  not  willing  to  sacrifice  honor  for  profit  is  evidenced  by  the  open 
letter  from  Mr.  Henry  C.  Blair,  published  in  the  Pharmaceutical 
