334 
Editorial. 
j  Am.  Jour.  Phann. 
t      June,  1882. 
the  nail,  but  breaks  with  a  resinous  fracture,  and  has  probably  the  compo- 
sition C43H5^<Oh.  The  straw-colored  oil,  havinj^:  a  slightly  aromatic  odor 
and  a  bitter,  somewhat  pungent  taste,  is  probably  a  hydrocarbon  polyme- 
ric with  terpene.  Tlie  active  principle  gingerol  is  so  susceptible  of  change^ 
by  action  of  heat  and  the  various  substances  employed  in  isolating  it,  that 
it  is  almost  impossible  as  yet  to  feel  assured  of  its  purity. 
A  note  on  extract  of  aconite  and  on  the  alkaloid  of  Aconitum  panicula- 
tu7n,  by  E.  L.  Cleaver  and  M.  W.  Williams,  corroborated  the  fact,  previ- 
ously stated  by  Mr.  Holmes,  that  the  plant  mentioned  is  to  a  certain 
extent  used  for  the  preparation  of  extract.  This  extract  is  dark  green, 
firm,  of  a  slightly  bitter  taste,  and  without  the  peculiar  aftertaste  produced 
by  Aconitum  Napellus.  The  extract  of  the  latter  was  dark  brown,  much 
more  hygroscopic,  and,  when  a  small  quantity  was  taken,  produced  the 
characteristic  tingling,  etc.  The  flowers  of  ^.  paniculatum  yielded  "9  per 
cent.,  the  leaves  1  per  cent,  and  the  extract  '3  per  cent,  of  a  non-crystal- 
line alkaloid  having  a  very  bitter  taste,  free  from  tingling,  and  which  may 
probably  be  identical  with  picraconitine. 
In  the  discussion  upon  this  paper  it  was  stated  that  from  1836  to  1851  the 
last-named  plant  was  recognized  by  the  London  and  Dublin  Pharmaco- 
poeias, having  been  adopted  in  the  belief  that  it  was  the  plant  employed 
by  Stoerck  in  1764.  It  was  als  stated  that  Aconitum  ferox^  formerly 
exported  from  Hindostan,  had  not  been  sent  to  the  London  market  for 
about  fifteen  years,  that  German  aconite  root  was  probably  not  solely 
derived  from  A.  Na2:)ellus,  and  that  the  market  was  at  times  glutted  with 
Japanese  aconite  root  from  A.  Fischeri.  While  it  would  be  very  desirable 
to  standardize  such  important  drugs,  the  difficulty  in  the  way  is  the 
impossibility  as  yet  of  assaying  for  aconitine,  and  not  for  total  alkaloids,, 
including  possibly  quite  inactive  alkaloids. 
EDITORIAL  DEPARTMENT. 
Reports  on  the  Progress  of  Pharmacy.— With  the  increase  of  sci- 
entific investigations  since  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  and  more 
particularly  during  the  past  thirty  or  forty  years,  the  publications  in  all 
departments  of  science  have  increased  to  such  an  extent  that  it  is  very  dif- 
ficult to  remain  conversant  with  all  the  facts  which  have  been  elucidated 
in  any  one  branch  of  theoretical  or  applied  science.  The  field  for  inves- 
tigation is  practically  unlimited,  and  the  investigators  being  continually 
on  the  increase,  it  is  obvious  that  the  difficulty  referred  to  must  become 
greater  instead  of  decreasing.  This  fact  is  so  well  known  and  so  thoroughly 
recognized,  that  at  the  present  time,  reports  are  being  published,  at  stated 
intervals,  giving  a  synopsis  of  the  various  publications,  covering  a  certain 
field,  which  have  been  published  during  such  a  period.  Some  of  the  most 
valuable  of  such  reports  even  find  it  impossible  to  give  abstracts,  but  have 
to  confine  themselves  to  classifying  the  literature  and  merely  indexing  it^ 
so  as  to  facilitate  the  researches  on  any  special  subject.    Of  the  lattter 
