204 
Editorial. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
t       April,  1878. 
be  possible  for  the  latter  to  stand  against  the  preparations  of  the  pure  alkaloids  as 
offered  in  the  market. 
Mr.  Wood  stated  that  the  process  of  mossing  had  failed  in  Bengal,  the  new  bark 
being  destroyed  by  ants  and  other  insects;  the  economy  of  the  process  should  like- 
wise be  taken  into  consideration.  The  bark  produced  at  Darjeeling  was  valuable 
and  very  cheap,  and,  from  the  observations  made,  it  could  be  claimed  that  in  a  little 
time  Bengal  would  be  able  to  produce  barks  equal  to  the  Cinch,  ptibescens. 
Paris  Pharmaceutical  Society. —  At  the  session,  held  January  9,  Mr.  Mehu  pre- 
siding, Messrs.  Schaeuffele,  Lefort,  Desnoix,  Marais,  Duquesnel  and  Petit  were 
appointed  a  permanent  committee,  for  the  purpose  of  examining  all  propositions 
concerning  new  medicaments  or  new  formulas,  and  reporting  the  results  to  the  Society. 
Mr.  Stan.  Martin  presented  a  specimen  of  Cremocarpus  setigerus  of  California. 
It  belongs  to  the  Euphorbiacea;,  resembles  a  croton,  and,  with  water,  yields  a  dis- 
tillate having  a  goat-like  odor  ;  sulphide  of  carbon  takes  up  a  brown  fat,  having  the 
same  odor,  and  alcohol  a  hygroscopic  extractive  of  an  acrid  and  very  irritating  taste. 
Mr.  Petit  presented  acid  bromhydrates  of  quinia  and  quinidia,  which  consist  of  4 
equiv.  of  water,  2  of  acid  and  one  of  base.  He  also  reported  on  commercial  neutral 
sulphate  of  quinidia,  of  which  he  had  examined  a  sample  from  London  and  one  from 
Val-de-Grace  ;  both  showed  the  same  rotatory  power,  and  lost  at  ioo°C.  not  over 
0-5  per  cent,  of  moisture  ;  the  salt  seems,  therefore,  not  to  contain  any  water  of 
crystallization. 
EDITORIAL  DEPARTMENT. 
Synonyms. — On  p.  143  of  our  last  number,  we  referred  to  a  "  curious  synonym 
for  quinia,"  In  a  communication  to  the  "  Medical  and  Surgical  Reporter,"  March 
16,  Dr.  I.  Gilbert  Young  quotes  our  editorial  remarks,  with  the  (undoubtedly 
accidental)  addition  of  the  word  <was  in  the  sentence  :  "  The  patient  (<was) 
imagined  to  be  unable,  etc.,"  thereby  changing  its  meaning.  But  what  we  partic- 
ularly desire  to  call  attention  to  are  the  following  remarks  in  Dr.  Young's 
communication  : 
From  my  earliest  professional  days,  however,  I  have  (as  doubtless  most  practitioners  likewise), 
encountered  a  deep,  constantly  met  with,  and  causeless  prejudice  to  the  use  of  the  preparation  of 
Peruvian  bark  in  question.  With  the  view,  then,  of  nullifying,  as  far  as  possible,  the  annoyance  resulting 
from  such  prejudice,  I  early  adopted,  as  a  synonym  for  quinia,  the  caption  of  this  article,  "Sulphas 
Americana  Australis,"  and  by  having  it  understood  by  the  druggists  of  my  neighborhood,  have  not  only 
succeeded  in  puzzling  such  of  my  patients  as  insist  on  reading  my  prescriptions,  but  have  also  secured  to 
them  the  beneficent  results  accruing  from  the  taking  of  this  most  valuable  ''South  American  Sulphate." 
Whether  the  general  adoption  of  some  such  synonym  is  expedient  or  necessary  at  present  is  respectfully 
submitted.    Of  one  fact,  however,  the  writer  is  certain  :  it  has  done  good  service  in  many  cases,  for  him. 
Most  pharmacists,  undoubtedly,  have  been  as  much  annoyed,  as  most  physicians 
have  been,  by  the  refusal  of  patients  to  have  prescriptions  put  up  on  finding  them 
to  contain  an  article  which,  for  some  reason  or  other,  they  were  reluctant  to  take. 
In  such  cases  well  recognized  synonyms  become  of  importance.    In  our  opinion  too 
