EDITORIAL. 
373 
presenting  the  state  of  the  atmosphere  at  a  given  hour  over  the  entire  ex- 
tent of  our  country. 
The  five  volumes  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Institution  are  already  a  noble 
monument  to  the  memory  of  Smithson,  as  imperishable  as  the  existing 
civilization,  and  long  may  they  continue  to  emanate  on  the  mission  of  dif- 
fusing knowledge  to  mankind. 
Tully's  Materia  Medica. — The  fifth  number.  March,  1853,  of  this  work 
is  acknowledged.  It  contains  a  continuation  of  the  "Means  of  ascertain- 
ing the  powers  of  new  and  previously  unknown  articles," — Experiments 
on  the  diseased  human  subject,— experiments  on  the  healthy  human  sub- 
ject,— careful  observation  of  the  effects  of  articles  taken  by  mistake, — of 
what  Materia  Medica  should  consist, — what  the  nomenclature  should  be. 
We  hope  the  patronage  of  the  book  will  induce  Dr.  Tully  to  continue 
its  publication,  as,  from  his  long  experience  as  an  observer,  his  pages  will 
doubtless  be  filled  with  numerous  researches  as  interesting  as  original. 
Announcement  and  Catalogue  of  Edward  Parrish's  School  of  Practical 
Pharmacy  for  Medical  Students,  S.  W.  corner  of  8th  and  Arch  sts.  Phila- 
delphia, 1853. 
Apothecaries  frequently  have  cause  to  complain  of  the  construction  of 
physicians'  prescriptions  as  regards  the  association  of  incompatibles,  and  in 
giving  directions  incapable  of  being  followed.  It  may  safely  be  asserted 
that  the  authors  of  such  have  not  had  an  opportunity  of  practising  Pharmacy. 
The  School  of  Practical  Pharmacy  of  Mr.  Parrish  is  intended  to  meet  this 
want  as  regards  the  future,  by  affording  to  medical  students,  during  the 
pursuit  of  their  other  studies,  opportunities  for  learning  the  manipulations 
of  the  apothecary's  shop.  "  The  art  of  prescribing  medicines,  especially 
with  reference  to  combining  them  extemporaneously,  claims  a  large  share 
of  attention,  and  brings  prominently  into  view  pharmaceutical  nomencla- 
ture and  abbreviation,  the  grammatical  construction  of  prescriptions,  the 
calculation  and  apportionment  of  doses,  the  judicious  use  ofexcipients  and 
adjuvants,  and  the  avoidance  of  incompatibles."  The  tuition  is  by  lectures 
and  by  practising  classes  of  four  students  each^  one  of  whom  acts  as  recorder 
and  keeps  regular  minutes  of  the  operations  of  his  class.  In  a  word,  we 
can  cheerfully  recommend  this  useful  private  institution  to  the  attention  of 
medical  students  as  the  source  of  knowledge  rarely  to  be  obtained  without  ser- 
vice in  the  shop.  The  fee  for  the  course  of  three  months,  which  includes  the 
lectures  and  practice,  is  ten  dollars. 
The  Virginia  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal.     Edited  by  George  A.  Otis, 
M.  D.,  and  Howell  L.  Thomas,  M.  D.,  Richmond,  Virginia. 
This  new  monthly  of  84  pages,  dates  its  origin  in  April,  1853^  and  in 
neatness  of  execution,  variety  of  matter,  and  Editorial  spirit,  ranks  with  the 
best  periodical  literature  of  the  medical  press. 
