Am.  Juur.  Pharai. ) 
April,  1882.  j 
Editorial. 
207 
rarely  consult  the  physician.  It  is  possible  that  one  cause  of  this  non- 
action may  be  found  in  the  non-existence  of  local  pharmaceutical  societies, 
a  drawback  which  bids  fair  to  be  remedied  in  the  near  future ;  but  much 
good  might  have  been  accomplished  in  this  direction  by  the  numerous 
county  medical  societies,  if  they  had  agreed  upon  simple  remedies  for  ordi- 
nary complaints,  to  be  furnished  by  th-e  pharmacists  of  their  localities  in 
place  of  the  secret  medicines. 
Such,  or  similar  plans,  carried  out  in  a  liberal  spirit,  we  fe«l  convinced 
'''would  accomplish  more  towards  reducing  the  number  of  proprietary 
medicines  and  dangerous  compounds  indiscriminately  sold,  than  ever  so 
many  pamphlets  addressed  to  the  public,  or  resolutions  passed  by  medical 
or  pharmaceutical  societies"  ("Am.  Jour.  Pharm.,"  1874,  p.  542). 
We  do  not  believe  that  people  want  "put-up"  medicines;  those  living 
in  thinly  populated  districts  will  necessarily  want  to  keep  a  certain  quan- 
tity of  medicine  on  hand  for  such  ailments  as  their  experience  has  taught 
them,  are  likely  to  occur ;  this  want  should  be  supplied.  Where  drug 
stores  are  readily  accessible,  it  will  as  a  rule  be  preferred  to  purchase  only 
as  occasion  requires ;  that  want  should  also  be  supplied.  We  know  of  no 
better  way  to  accomplish  this  than  the  one  pointed  out  above  ;  but  we  can- 
not see  any  inconsistency  in  a  course  that  contemplates  at  the  same  time 
giving  informat?ion  to  the  public,  tending  to  impart  more  correct  views  on 
the  preservation  of  health  and  the  cure  of  disease,  than  can  be  obtained 
from  the  circulars  and  pamphlets  of  manufacturers  of  secret  medicines. 
CoRRASSA  Compound. — We  give  place  to  the  following  communication, 
which  gives  the  plain  facts  in  relation  to  this  largely  advertised  nostrum. 
None  of  our  readers  has  probably  been  "taken  in"  by  the  "generous" 
offer  of  the  advertiser,  and  it  is  needless  to  state  that  the  plants — or  are 
some  of  them  animals?— can  nowhere  be  had  in  the  wide,  wide  world, 
except  from  the  "  Rev."  proprietor  of  the  secret : 
Editor  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy  : 
Having  long:  seen  the  advertisement  of  "  Rev.  Jos.  T.  Inman,  Station  D, 
N.  Y.  City,"  offering,  gratis,  "a  recipe  for  the  speedy  cure  of  all  diseases 
brought  on  by  errors  of  youth,"  etc.,  and  believing  him  to  be  one  of  those 
who  prey  upon  this  unfortunate  class,  I  sent  for  the  "Recipe."  It  is  as 
follows  : 
Extract  of  corrassa  apimis,      .  .*  .     eight  drachms. 
Extract  of  selarmo  umbelifera,      .  .  four  drachms. 
Powdered  alkermes  latifolia,    .  .  .     three  drachms. 
Extract  of  oarsadoc  herbalis,  .  .  six  drachms. 
This  mysterious  formula  is  accompanied  by  minute  directions  and  a 
lengthy  and  pathetic  history  of  its  discovery  in  "  South  America." 
It  is  needless  to  add  that  the  "  Rev."  very  kindly  offers  to  send  a  pack- 
age on  receipt  of  $3.50 — "actual  cost." 
The  above  is  but  one  address  under  which  this  same  man  sails;  "  Geo. 
B.  Tuttle,  31  Maiden  Lane,  N.  Y.,"  will  bring  the  same  circular  and 
recipe— only  with  different  name. 
Believing  it  to  be  the  duty  of  all  honest  men  (pharmacists  especially,  as 
they  have  greater  opportunities  to  do  se)  to  expose  such  frauds  and  (luack 
nostrums  generally,  I  send  this  to  the  Journal.  A.  M.  Martin. 
Red  Oak,  loiva,  March  23,  1882. 
