CARBONATE  AND  OXIDE  OF  SILVER. 
349 
it  is  combined,— -a  sum  which  is  easily  calculated  if  we  consider 
how  much  the  equivalent  weight  of  the  carbonate  of  silver,  which 
is  138,  exceeds  that  of  the  oxide,  which  is  116. 
The  manufacturer  who  disposes  of  this  at  the  price  of  the  pure 
oxide,  is  thus  enabled  to  realize,  besides  the  legitimate  profit  due 
to  him  as  maker  of  the  article,  an  additional  profit  of  a  sum  equal 
to  the  commercial  value  of  about  ozs.  of  oxide  of  silver  on  every 
16  ozs.  that  he  sells. 
This  pecuniary  view  of  the  subject  should,  however,  be  only  of 
very  secondary  importance  to  the  dispensing  Chemist,  whose  duty 
it  is  not  to  pry  into  the  profits  of  the  manufacturer,  but  above  all 
to  endeavor  to  serve  his  customers  with  a  genuine  article,  and 
faithfully  to  carry  out  the  intentions  and  wishes  of  the  physician 
who  may  prescribe  for  them.  Neither  of  these  objects  are  effected 
by  the  dispensing  of  this  or  any  other  adulterated  medicine. 
In  illustration  of  the  difference  between  the  two  substances,  1 
shall  suppose  that  a  patient  receives  from  his  physician  a  prescrip- 
tion for  one  dozen  of  pills,  each  of  which  is  to  contain  one  grain 
of  oxide  of  silver.  The  prescription  is  with  all  confidence  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  Chemist,  to  be  carefully  and  properly  made  up, 
and  the  Chemist,  either  through  the  cupidity  and  dishonesty  of 
himself  or  the  manufacturer,  or  it  may  be  through  his  own  igno- 
rance of,  and  inattention  to  the  quality  of  the  article  supplied  to 
him,  in  this  case,  by  using  the  carbonate,  makes  up  the  pills  with 
only  ten  grains  of  oxide  of  silver  in  place  of  twelve  grains. 
This  difference,  it  may  be  said,  is  not  great,  but  whether  it  be 
trifling  and  insignificant  or  not,  it  is  no  extenuation  or  palliation 
of  the  culpability  attending  the  substitution  of  one  medicine  for 
another. 
The  Chemist  who  is  coolly  indifferent  as  to  whether  or  not  he 
sells  a  genuine  or  an  adulterated  article,  will,  with  equal  levity 
of  feeling,  be  careless  whether  the  impure  medicine  be  one  that 
is  potent  in  its  effects,  or  one  that  is  capable  of  producing  little 
or  no  appreciable  influence  on  the  living  organism. 
The  process  of  qualitative  analysis  which  I  pursued  for  de- 
tecting the  presence  of  the  oxides  of  copper,  lead,  and  iron,  has 
nothing  of  novelty  in  it,  and  therefore  need  not  be  described.  I 
may,  however,  remark  that  from  several  experiments  which  I 
made,  I  have  reason  to  think  that  the  carbonate  of  silver  contains 
