Am  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
Jan.,  1878.  J 
Editorial, 
43 
mum  doses,  in  granules.  The  intent  and  purpose  of  the  paper  is  summarized  in  the 
following  concluding  paragraph : 
To  illustrate :  say  we  have  granules  of  a  quarter  of  a  grain  of  hyoscyamus,  an 
eighth  of  a  grain  of  mix  vomica,  half  a  grain  of  quinia,  and  half  a  grain  of  iron. 
If  we  wished  to  put  up  the  following  prescription — 
B     Quiniae  sulph.,  ....    grs.  ii 
Ferri  citrat.,  .  .  .  gr.  i 
Ext.  hyoscyami,  .  .  .  .    gr.  ss 
Ext.  nucis  void.,    ....  gr.  7} 
we  would  use  four  granules  of  the  first,  two  of  the  second,  two  of  the  third  and 
two  of  the  fourth,  put  them  in  a  powder  paper,  and  the  dose  would  be  ready  for 
administration.  The  number  of  granules  in  a  dose  would  make  no  difference,  and 
the  combination  would  be  entirely  in  our  own  hands,  and  could  not  be  repeated 
without  our  knowledge  and  consent.  The  objection  to  this  might  be  the  cost  to 
the  physician.  True,  he  would  lose  on  the  first  prescription  5  instead  of  making  a 
dollar,  he  would  clear  only  seventy-five  cents  5  but  then  we  should  remember  that 
for  every  time  it  is  repeated  he  would  get  the  money,  and  not  the  druggist ;  that  the 
paper  could  not  be  loaned  to  all  the  neighbors ;  that  you  are  not  telling  everybody 
the  secrets  of  your  business  as  you  now  do ;  and  that  the  satisfaction  to  the  com- 
munity would  be  greater,  as  the  medicine  would  be  at  hand,  and  no  drug  bills. 
Regarding  the  charges  preferred  against  apothecaries,  they  must  be  looked  upon  as 
chronic  complaints  on  the  part  of  certain  individuals,  who  delight  in  speaking  in 
general  terms  of  the  usurpation  and  the  unscrupulousness  of  the  former,  and  fail  to 
see  that  the  shortcomings  of  one  or  a  few  are  not  chargeable  to  the  many.  That 
some  physicians  are  guilty  of  unscrupulous  and  dishonest  practices  and  of  unprofes- 
sional conduct  is  no  secret  j  yet  who  would  accuse  the  whole  profession  of  the 
offences  and  crimes  of  the  minority  ? 
Regarding  the  proposed  remedy,  if  carried  out,  it  would  doubtless  be  hailed  with 
the  utmost  satisfaction  by  the  manufacturers  of  medicinal  specialties,  the  number  of 
which  would  still  more  rapidly  increase  than  they  have  done  in  the  past  under  the 
fostering  care  of  physicians,  who  are  following  the  plan  now  proposed  to  be  univer- 
sally extended.  As  to  the  final  result  we  have  no  fear,  and  are  convinced  that  the 
intelligent  public  would  prefer  the  "  drug  bills  "  to  the  "  dispensations  of  physi- 
cians." In  our  opinion,  the  surest  way  to  secure  reform  is  to  encourage  professional 
integrity. 
Chloriastos  is  the  name  proposed  by  a  correspondent  of  the  "  Dublin  Medical 
Press  and  Circular,"  Oct.  17,  for  a  saturated  solution  of  chloride  of  lead,  recom- 
mended by  Dr.  Goolden  as  a  disinfectant.  And  the  reason  for  thus  baptizing  the 
solution  ?    Merely  to  secure  its  use  ! 
Pharmaceutical  Meetings. — Many  local  pharmaceutical  societies  in  this  and 
other  countries  hold  meetings  at  regular,  usually  monthly,  intervals,  at  which  scien- 
tific and  practical  observations  connected  with  pharmacy  are  discussed.  Such  dis- 
cussions are  often  of  considerable  merit  and  importance,  and  a  resume  thereof,  in 
many  cases  deserves  to  become  more  widely  known.  Colleges  of  pharmacy,  at 
which  such  meetings  are  held,  are  invited  to  send  accounts  thereof  to  the  editor,  for 
publication  in  the  "  Journal." 
