578 
EDITORIAL. 
chemist.  4.  It  is  possible  to  attain  considerable  skill  (in  the  ordinary  course 
of  business)  in  analyzing  many  mineral  substances,  especially  when 
pursued  with  interest.  We  advise  Laeno  to  get  Morfit  and  Fresenius,  ex- 
amine them  carefully,  and  then  if  he  determines  to  study  analysis,  begin  with 
the  simplest  operations  and  apparatus,  and  follow  and  apply  them  with  an 
unfailing  supply  of  steady  perseverance. 
"  M.  i>."  Kensington,  is  advised  to  provide  himself  with  a  suitable  blank 
book,  in  which  he  should  record,  1st,  Technical  words  not  understood,  in  the 
course  of  reading  j  2d,  ideas  or  processes  which  he  finds  reference  to  in  read- 
ing and  desires  to  acquaint  himself  with;  and  3d,  Phenomena  or  curious  re- 
sults presented  in  the  course  of  business  that  his  present  knowledge  does  not 
enable  him  to  fully  explain. 
The  ninth  edition  of  the  United  States  Dispensatory,  Fownes'  Chemistry, 
and  Mohr  and  Redwood's  Pharmacy,  embrace  ample  materials  for  his  pur- 
poses. The  Dispensatory,  as  the  expounder  of  the  Pharmacopoeia,  is  the  be- 
ginner's Koran  :  but  it  should  be  studied  with  a  view  to  his  present  wants. 
In  the  Materia  Medica  much  that  is  purely  botanical  and  medical  may  be 
glanced  over  slightly  in  his  preliminary  study,  while  the  sensible  and 
chemical  properties  and  commercial  history  of  drugs  should  be  carefully 
read.  Having  thus  acquainted  himself  with  the  characters  of  a  drug,  he 
should  study  the  preparations  into  which  it  enters,  at  the  end  of  the  book,  so 
as  to  get  a  clear  idea  of  the  drug  and  its  preparations  as  a  distinct  subject. 
By  persevering  in  this  course,  noting  down  difficult  and  obscure  points,  he 
will  when  ready  for  the  lectures  have  a  solid  mass  of  knowledge  upon  which 
to  base  his  collegiate  instruction.  Fownes'  works  will  assist  him  in  the 
chemical  articles  where  he  needs  purely  chemical  explanations,  and  the 
practical  details  and  illustrations  of  Mohr  and  Redwood  will  add  interest  to 
his  more  practical  duties. 
"  E.  II.  P."  encloses  to  us  a  letter  from  an  old  and  respecfable  physician 
of  Howard  county,  Maryland,  in  reference  to  Spigelia.  Dr.  J.  Waters  says, 
u  I  should  like  to  have  some  genuine  pink  root,  which  I  apprehend  is  not  to 
be  had  ;  the  article  as  we  now  get  it  is  the  root  only,  and  is  not  better  than 
chinquepin  burr  broth:  as  we  used  to  get  it  forty  years  ago  it  was  a  power- 
fully efRcaceous  vermifuge,  highly  useful  in  all  diseases  of  children  compli- 
cated with  worms  ;  but  now  as  we  get  the  root  only  it  appears  to  be  perfectly 
inert."  Dr.  Waters  thinks  the  plant  should  be  gathered  when  the  flower 
commences  to  fade  and  the  top  and  root  used  together;  he  desires  to  call  at- 
tention to  the  subject. 
We  have  not  met  with  the  difficulty  indicated,  where  the  root  is  in  good 
condition,  nor  has  E.  H.  P.  The  tops  were  formerly  gathered  with  the  root, 
but  the  practice  has  been  discontinued,  from  the  general  belief  in  the  superior 
efficacy  of  the  root. 
Death  of  Gmelin. — Science  has  suffered  a  great  loss  by  the  death  of  the 
distinguished  chemist,  Dr.  Leopold  Gmelin,  the  discoverer  of  the  red  prussiate 
of  potash,  &c,  and  the  author  of  a  valuable  and  extensive  Hand-book  of 
Chemistry,  a  translation  of  which  is  now  in  the  course  of  publication  by  the 
Cavendish  Society.  He  died  at  Heidelberg  on  the  1 3th  of  April  of  this  year, 
where  he  had  been  for  many  years  Professor  of  Chemistry. — Annals  of 
Pharmacy. 
Death  of  M.  Arago. — This  illustrious  savant  died  at  Paris  on  the  first 
of  October,  aged  67  years.  His  life  has  been  devoted  to  the  sciences,  of 
which  he  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  cultivators  of  the  present  century. 
