186 
EDITORIAL. 
drachm  and  a  half;  distilled  water,  six  drachms;  white  wine  (of  Lunch, j 
fifteen  drachms ;  white  sugar  one  ounce ;  spirit  of  wine  (33°)  three 
drachms.  Mix  until  the  sugar  is  quite  dissolved,  and  filter.  One  table- 
spoonful  of  this  wine  contains  about  fifteen  grains  of  pepsin,  and  may  be 
given  after  every  meal. — Atlanta  Med.  and  Surg.  Journ. 
€5iiorial  ^Department. 
Dr.  Edward  R.  Squibb. — More  than  a  year  since  we  took  occasion  to 
remark  that  our  friend  Dr.  Squibb  of  the  U.  S.  Naval  Laboratory,  had,  in 
connection  with  two  other  gentlemen,  commenced  the  Louisville  Chemical 
works.  Having  disconnected  himself  with  that  establishment  at  the  end 
of  the  year,  in  accordance  with  a  reserved  right,  Dr.  Squibb  made  arrange- 
ments for  opening  a  Laboratory  for  the  supply  of  pure  pharmaceutical 
chemicals,  at  149  Furman  St.,  Brooklyn,  (New  York,)  and  in  advance  had 
received  the  patronage  of  the  medical  department  of  the  U.  S.  Army,  for  the 
supply  of  chemicals,  etc.,  of  a  quality  equal  to  those  prepared  at  the  Naval 
Laboratory.  This  establishment  was  just  getting  under  way  when  a 
slight  accident,  big  with  disaster,  swept  it  from  existence,  and  prostrated 
its  proprietor,  a  sufferer.  Knowing  the  strong  personal  interest  that  is  felt 
for  Dr.  Squibb  by  his  numerous  friends,  in  and  out  of  the  Association,  we 
feel  justified  in  quoting  a  few  lines  from  a  letter  just  received  from  him, 
which  will  explain  better  than  our  own  words  the  nature  of  the  occurrence. 
Brooklyn,  Feb.  15th,  1859. 
My  dear  Sir, — By  the  help  of  an  amanuensis  I  am  able  to  acknowledge  your 
kind  favor  of  yesterday,  and  can  proceed  to  give  you  some  detail  of  the  disaster 
that  has  occurred  to  me.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  29th  of  December,  a  new  boy, 
whom  I  was  teaching  to  put  up  preparations,  accidentally  broke  a  small  bottle 
of  ether.  He  was  using  a  light  to  wax  the  stoppers,  and  had  been  so  emphati- 
cally cautioned  of  the  danger  of  a  light  near  ether,  that  when  the  bottle  broke 
he  was  so  frightened  that,  as  he  says,  "  he  lost  his  head  and  forgot  to  blow  out 
the  light."  Soon,  of  course,  the  vapor  caught  fire,  and  as  the  ether  had  run 
among  the  other  bottles  they  broke  and  added  their  contents  to  the  burning 
fluid.  As  soon  as  it  caught  fire,  he  cried  lustily  to  an  upper  story  for  me ; — on 
arriving  I  found  the  whole  table  and  a  portion  of  the  floor  in  a  voluminous  light 
blaze,  and,  passing  behind,  commenced  to  draw  water  from  a  faucet  and  throw 
it  upon  the  flame.  At  one  time  I  had  nearly  succeeded  in  extinguishing  it,  but 
unluckily  a  few  larger  bottles  of  ether,  put  up  for  hospital  use,  standing  near, 
were  broken  and  enflamed.  Had  my  panic  stricken  people  given  me  but  a  little 
assistance,  instead  of  deserting  the  building,  I  should,  even  then,  have  succeed- 
ed in  saving  the  property.  As  it  was,  however,  the  flame  rapidly  gained  on  me, 
and  it  was  only  when  I  saw  the  hopelessness  of  my  efforts  that  it  occurred  to 
me  that  I  was  behind  the  fire  (now  extended  across  the  building)  without  any 
