EDITORIAL. 
371 
Statistical  Circulars. — The  Committee  appointed  by  the  Board  o. 
Trustees  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy,  at  the  request  of  the 
National  Pharmaceutical  Association,  to  collect  statistical  information,  has 
issued  the  following  circular  to  druggists  throughout  the  Middle,  Southern, 
and  "Western  States,  (generally  one  to  each  principal  city  and  town,)  query- 
ing :  "1st.  How  many  persons  in  prepare  and  sell  standard  medicines 
as  their  principal  business,  and  how  many  connect  the  sale  of  medicines 
with  general  merchandizing?  2d.  To  what  extent  do  your  druggists  and 
apothecaries  employ  the  United  States  Pharmacopoeia  as  their  standard 
authority,  and  use  the  officinal  weights  and  measures  ?  3d.  Do  Physicians 
generally  send  their  prescriptions  to  the  apothecaries  and  druggists  of  the 
district  named,  or  do  they  furnish  medicines  themselves?  4th.  Have  the 
apothecaries  and  druggists  formed  any  association  for  mutual  advantage, 
or  for  educational  purposes?  5th.  "What  information  have  you  in  relation 
to  the  prevalence  of  quackery,  its  increase  or  diminution  ;  the  sale  of  poisons, 
or  on  other  subjects  relating  to  our  business,  likely  to  be  interesting?"  The 
Committee  have  thus  far  received  answers  from  the1  following  persons  and 
places,  viz  : — J.  M.  Allen,  Chester,  Del.  Co.,  Pa. ;  Dr.  George  Martin, 
Concordville,  Pa.;  Wm,  G.  Baker,  Lancaster  City,  Pa.:  Wm.  Heyser, 
Chambersberg,  Pa.  ;  Dr.  J.  M.  Confer,  Fosteria,  Blair  Co.  Pa. ;  Peter  V. 
Coppuck,  Mount  Holly,  N.  J.  ;  R.  S.  Patterson,  Washington,  D.  C.  ;  Dr. 
James  Cooke,  Fredericksburg,  Va.  ;  Charles  A.  Santos,  Norfolk,  Ya. ;  Dr. 
R.  H.  Stabler,  Alexandria,  Ya. ;  Robert  Battey,  Rome,  Floyd  Co.,  Georgia ; 
Dr.  Maxwell,  Pensacola,  Florida ;  E.  Bernard,  Jr.,  Tallahassee,  Florida ; 
P.  Caverly  Boyer  and  John  H.  Tilghman,  New  Orleans,  La. ;  P.  II.  McGraw, 
Natchez,  Miss.;  Dr.  Kemp  Alston,  Jackson,  Miss. ;  Dr.  R.  0.  Currey,  Nash- 
ville, Tenn. ;  G.  T.  Chamberlain,  St.  Louis,  Mo. ;  and  Wm.  A.  Graham, 
Zanesville,  Ohio.  The  Committee  tender  their  thanks  through  this  medium 
for  the  attention  bestowed.  They  also  hope  that  any  druggist,  apothecary 
or  physician  who,  seeing  the  above  list  of  questions,  feels  disposed  to  com- 
municate information,  will  do  so  by  addressing  the  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee, Edward  Parrish,  Philadelphia,  any  time  before  the  1st  of  August. 
We  have  received  a  copy  of  a  Circular  of  similar  import  issued  by  the 
the  Massachusetts  College  of  Pharmacy  extensively  through  that  section  of 
country.  We  trust  our  brethren  of  the  New  York,  Baltimore,  Richmond 
and  Cincinnati  Colleges  will  claim  a  share  in  the  work. 
The  Smithsonian  Institution. — During  a  recent  visit  to  Washington  we 
were  much  gratified  by  calling  on  Professor  Henry,  Secretary  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  who  politely  explained  to  us  some  of  the  more  prominent 
operations  going  on  under  its  auspices.  The  object  of  its  founder,  Mr. 
Smithson,  was  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  amongst  men,  and  whilst  stating 
this,  he  refrained  from  pointing  out  the  way  it  should  be  effected.  There 
exists  a  difference  of  opinion  regarding  the  manner  of  executing  the  trust, 
one  portion  of  the  Regents  being  in  favor  of  making  it  directly  cumulative 
