Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  I 
Sept.,  1878.  J 
Editorial. 
461 
Pittsburg  College  of  Pharmacy.— We  learn  that  the  pharmacists  and  druggists 
of  Pittsburg  are  considering  the  advisability  of  forming  an  association,  with  the 
view  of  establishing  a  course  of  lectures  for  the  education  of  young  pharmacists. 
A  preliminary  organization  of  the  society  has  already  been  effected. 
Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy.— The  London  "  Pharmaceutical  Journal  " 
of  August  10th,  in  an  article  on  the  Paris  Exhibition,  says:  "  By  far  the  finest 
collection  of  crude  drugs  in  this  department  is  that  exhibited  by  the  Philadelphia 
College  of  Pharmacy,  which  appears  to  include  all  the  crude  drugs  used  in  the 
States,  either  by  allopaths,  homoeopaths  or  eclectics,  and  is  perhaps  the  most  perfect 
of  its  kind  in  the  exhibition." 
Large  and  very  valuable  collections  of  foreign  drugs  for  the  museum  of  the 
college,  have  either  arrived  or  are  on  the  way  to  this  country. 
EDITORIAL  DEPARTMENT. 
Sapo  Viridis. — Mr.  H.  Betz  informs  us  that  in  the  paper  on  green  soap,  pub- 
lished on  page  66  of  the  February  number,  he  omitted  to  state  that  the  solution  of 
potassa  used  by  him  contained  10  per  cent,  of  the  alkali;  and  that  he  considers 
such  a  solution  strong  enough  to  effect,  with  an  equal  measure  of  linseed  oil, 
perfect  saponification,  the  product  being  uniform  and  transparent. 
Improved  Education  of  Pharmacists. — The  "  Medical  and  Surgical  Reporter  " 
of  July  6th  contains  an  editorial  under  the  above  caption,  which  we  produce  below 
without  comments,  since  all  the  shortcomings  of  pharmacists  mentioned  have  been 
repeatedly  discussed  in  this  journal.  There  are,  however,  several  "vexed  subjects  " 
upon  which  the  editorial  article  does  not  touch,  and  which,  in  our  opinion,  are 
quite  as  important,  if  not  more  so,  than  the  sale,  by  pharmacists,  of  so-called  patent 
medicines,  or  of  cathartic  pills,  oil  of  cloves,  cold  cream,  and  numerous  other  reme- 
dies well  known  to  the  public.  While  we  frankly  acknowledge  that  there  is  much 
room  for  improvement  in  the  practice  of  pharmacy,  we  believe  that  the  same  is  true 
also  in  the  practice  of  medicine,  since  physicians  often  advocate  the  use  of  semi- 
proprietary  and  copyrighted  medicines,  of  the  composition  of  which  they  know 
no  more  than  the  manufacturer  chooses  to  tell  them. 
"  The  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  College  of  Pharmacy,  of  Philadelphia,  have 
•decided  upon  a  junior  and  senior  course  of  study.  The  junior  students  will  have 
to  pass  an  examination  in  all  the  branches  before  they  can  enter  the  senior  class, 
and  the  instruction  given  to  the  senior  class  will  include  a  wider  range  of  scientific 
subjects  than  it  has  been  possible  to  give  heretofore.  This  system  will  go  into  effect 
in  October.  This  is  as  it  should  be,  and  we  have  no  doubt  will  prove  a  successful 
move. 
