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EDITORIAL. 
of  bottled  beverages  to  purchase  them.  M.  Martin  asks  if  there 
be  not  ground  for  alarm  lest  some  of  these  corks  may  have  been 
formerly  used  to  stop  bottles  containing  poisonous  substances ; 
for  although  a  good  cork  is  not  permeable,  a  bad  one,  full  of 
holes,  may  readily  become  the  receptacle  of  particles  of  verdi- 
gris, carbonate  of  lead,  arsenic,  or  an  infinity  of  other  poison- 
ous substances,  which  may  be  more  or  less  soluble  in  water, 
wine,  beer,  cider,  vinegar,  milk,  or  oil.  The  Medical  Times  ex- 
pressess  a  hope  that  these  revived  corks  may  never  give  rise  to 
juridical  errors,  causing  the  innocent  to  be  declared  guilty — 
Uhem.  News,  Nov.  26,  1864. 
<SMtorial  Department. 
Pharmacy  in  the  Army. — Our  readers  will  find  three  articles  relating 
to  this  subject  in  this  number.  Notwithstanding  some  repetition  we  have 
preferred  to  publish  both  of  those  in  reference  to  medical  store  keepers. 
The  paper  from  Memphis  had  appended  to  it  a  valuable  report  on  the  ac- 
tual amounts  of  medical  stores  distributed  to  the  army  of  the  south  west- 
ern States  from  the  Memphis  depot,  but  its  publication  has  been  deferred 
for  the  present.  We  are  in  anticipation  of  some  reports  from  Hospital 
Stewards,  relative  to  field  service,  and  invite  our  friends  in  that  service  to 
communicate  any  facts  of  special  interest.  The  well  written  article  by 
Dr.  Fell,  in  this  number,  gives  an  insight  into  the  Pharmacy  of  a  large 
Army  Hospital,  creditable  to  the  executive  management  of  the  Medical 
Bureau.  The  most  interesting  part  of  this  subject  has  reference  to  the 
purveying  departments  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  including  the  sta- 
tistics of  the  laboratories  at  Astoria  and  Philadelphia.  The  former  has  re- 
cently been  destroyed  by  fire,  and  we  do  not  know  whether  it  will  be  re- 
built or  not.  At  a  proper  time  we  hope  to  be  able  to  publish  reports  on 
these,  when  we  can  do  it  with  the  approval  of  the  Bureau  at  Washington. 
Hospital  Stewards.  The  Caduceus  for  Feb.  1st.  A  copy  of  this  sheet, 
which  is  "  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  Hospital  Stewards"  of  the  United 
States  Army,  and  published  twice  monthly  at  Washington,  has  been  sent  to 
us,  containing  an  appeal  to  the  Senators  and  Members  of  Congress  in  rela- 
tion to  the  status  of  Hospital  Stewards  in  the  Army  ;  and  asking  for  the 
"  increase  of  rank  and  pay  of  this  class  of  Government  employees  to  that 
of  Brevet  Second  Lieutenants,  to  take  rank  after  the  graduates  of  West 
Point  Military  Academy."  The  reasons  offered  for  asking  this  boon  are 
the  following : 
