EDITORIAL. 
283 
extent the practice of medicine and pharmacy are united in the same in- 
dividual, in places having more than two thousand inhabitants. 
5th, Other committees of qualified individuals, might be entrusted with 
more special subjects for investigation, as, for instance, 1st, what are the 
causes which occasion the decomposition of syrups, and what means can 
be suggested to increase their permanence? 2d, What form of evaporating 
apparatus, adapted to the limited demand of the apothecary, is best calcu- 
lated by its simplicity of construction, cheapness and durability, to meet 
his wants ? 3d, Whether is it better, in making hydro-alcoholic extracts, to 
employ alcohol and water consecutively, or mixed in the form of diluted 
alcohol, deciding the question by the activity of the resulting product, as 
ascertained by chemical analysis, if the active constituent is well defined, 
or by therapeutic trials if it is not ? 4, In the process of displacement or 
percolation as applied to the extraction of drugs, what is the degree of 
exhaustion which should determine the conclusion of the process, (when 
the quantity of product is not necessarily pre-determined, as in tinctures, 
wines, etc.,) in view of the effects or expense of evaporation? 5, What is 
the best arrangement for filtering fixed oils, combining simplicity of construc- 
tion with effectiveness of action ? 6th, What is the degree or amount of 
the deteriorating action of light on the fixed and volatile oils, tinctures and 
wines, when kept properly closed, and whether it would not be better to pro- 
tect these substances, or some of them, from the influence of light in 
our shops ? 
Chemistry, of all the sciences, is that most closely connected with phar- 
macy, and most worthy of the attention of its practitioners. The many able 
individuals that now grace our profession should bring some of the fruits of 
their chemical observations, irrespective of their application to pharmacy, 
that a taste for this noble pursuit may be encouraged. 
Such a course would, in a few years, render the meetings of the American 
Association of Pharmaceutists seasons of rich intellectual enjoyment to 
those who participated, and greatly advantageous to those at home, from the 
many useful and interesting memoirs that would scarcely fail to emanate 
from a body so organized. 
The prospective adoption of a code of ethics should be considered, and the 
preliminary steps taken to digest and mature it. Any action of the Con- 
vention in this direction cannot be too cautiously and carefully taken, in view 
of the crippled condition of druggists and pharmaceutists as a body, in 
reference to quackery, directly or abettingly ; as well as to the great want 
of uniformity that exists in shop practice. The association should aim at 
reformation in these respects, and especially by a thorough and faithful 
adoption of our National Pharmacopoeia as the rule of practice. Deep 
rooted evils in a profession can rarely be removed by sweeping legislation, 
unless the measures are enforced by despotic power. Let the well disposed 
among us, therefore, show practically the working of a higher standard, 
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