* 
EDITORIAL.  75 
the  army,  and  have  taken  some  steps  towards  its  accomplishment.  In 
view  of  this  we  should  be  glad  to  receive  any  information  bearing  upon 
the  subject  in  their  department  from  the  numerous  graduates  of  Pharma- 
cy, who  now  occupy  positions  as  hospital  stewards,  medical  storekeepers, 
or  any  others,  where  opportunity  is  afforded  to  acquire  correct  infor- 
mation. The  idea  is,  to  learn  the  general  plan  of  conducting  the  field  and 
hospital  service,  the  amount  of  accuracy  in  the  measurement  of  medicines 
observed  in  practice  in  the  two  branches  of  the  service,  and  any  legitimate 
information  in  reference  to  the  general  duties  of  pharmaceutists  in  the 
army.  Also,  information  in  regard  to  the  amount  of  supplies  actually  con- 
sumed, compared  with  the  amount  issued  from  the  public  stores  and  la- 
boratories, and  the  several  amounts  of  production  in  these.  It  is  alto- 
gether certain,  that  no  such  gigantic  military  pharmaceutical  operations 
have  ever  been  carried  on  in  Europe,  as  the  past  three  years  have  witnessed 
in  the  supply  of  the  armies  of  the  United  States,  and  we  deem  it  desirable 
to  obtain  and  preserve  a  record  of  the  facts  as  it  is  proper  and  right  to 
publish  them. 
Poisoning  by  Belladonna  Berries. — In  a  communication  received  from 
Henry  F.  Geyer,  of  Mechanicsburg,  Pa.,  dated  Dec.  11th,  1863,  (and  which 
was  accidentally  mislaid,)  he  sends  the  following  slip  from  the  Cumberland 
Valley  Journal  of  the  3d  of  December,  1863,  viz.  : 
"Sad  Occurrence. — On  Sunday  night  last,  Alfred  Cookman,  an  interest- 
ing little  son  of  Mr.  Benjamin  Haverstick,  of  this  place,  aged  about  eight 
years,  died  under  the  following  melancholy  circumstances  :  On  Friday 
afternoon,  while  playing  in  the  vicinity  of  Mr.  Troutwine's  garden,  in  Lo- 
cust street,  he  came  to  a  stalk  of  Nightshade,  and,  not  knowing  what  it 
was,  ate  some  of  the  berries.  On  the  following  morning  he  complained  of 
feeling  unwell.  Some  time  after,  a  physician  was  summoned,  but  when  he 
arrived,  it  was  too  late  to  counteract  the  effects  of  the  deadly  poison,  and 
the  little  sufferer  died  in  great  pain." 
A  Comprehensive  Medical  Dictionary  :  Containing  the  Pronunciation, 
Etymology  and  Signification  of  the  terms  made  use  of  in  Medicine  and 
the  Kindred  Sciences,  with  an  Appendix,  comprising  a  list  of  all  the 
more  important  articles  of  the  Materia  Medica  arranged  according  to 
their  medicinal  properties.  Also,  an  explanation  of  the  Latin  terms 
and  phrases  occurring  in  Anatomy,  Pharmacy,  &c. ;  together  with  the 
necessary  directions  for  Writing  Latin  Prescriptions,  &c.  &c.  By  J. 
Thomas,  M.D.,&c.    Philadelphia.  J.  B.  Lippincott  &  Co.  1864.  pp.704. 
In  glancing  over  the  title  page  of  Dr.  Thomas'  Dictionary,  one  is  struck 
with  the  extent  of  its  grasp,  and  the  valuable  aid  it  promises  to  the  student 
who  may  habitually  consult  its  pages.  Perhaps  in  no  country  will  so  great 
a  diversity  in  the  pronunciation  of  scientific  terms  be  observed  as  in  our 
own,  where  self-education  is  more  common  than  in  most  others,  and 
