Editorial — Obituary. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\        July,  1877. 
imum  doses  of  poisonous  preparations,  and  we  well  remember  his  astonishment 
when  another  pharmacist  corroborated  our  statement,  that  the  majority  of  prescrip- 
tions written  were  without  any  indication  as  to  the  use  of  the  medicine  or  the  age 
or  sex  of  the  patient.  "  But  then  the  prescription  is  not  complete,"  he  remarked, 
and  we  fully  agree  with  the  venerable  gentleman.  To  err  is  human,  and  physicians 
are  not  exempt  from  this  rule  ;  prescriptions  should  be  written  so  that  the  dispenser 
cannot  doubt  the  intention  of  the  prescriber,  and  that  no  necessity  may  exist  for 
questioning  the  messenger.  The  latter  course  is  frequently  of  no  avail,  since  serv- 
ants or  children  are  rarely  able  to  state  how  or  in  what  dose  the  medicine  is  to  be 
used  ;  and,  in  our  opinion,  pharmacists  should  abstain  from  asking  questions  con- 
cerning the  progress  of  the  disease  or  the  use  of  the  medicine,  except  in  so  far  as 
their  friendly  relations  to  the  customer  may  warrant,  or  an  incidental  omission  of 
the  prescriber  may  necessitate.  The  latter  case  will  rarely  arise  if  the  physician 
completes  his  prescription,  by  stating  the  dose  and  its  frequency,  and  mentioning, 
approximately,  the  age  of  the  patient,  for  which  purpose  names  are  not  necessary; 
the  object  will  be  attained  by  marking  the  prescription  "  for  the  baby,"  "  for  the 
child,"  "for  Mr.  N's  daughter,"  for  Master  N.,"  etc. 
OBITUARY. 
Joseph  Bienaime  Caventou,  honorary  Professor  in  the  Paris  School  of  Pharmacy, 
died  at  Paris  in  May  last,  at  the  ripe  age  of  82  years.  He  was  born  in  1795,  and 
while  an  interne  at  the  Pitie  attracted  attention  in  181 6  by  a  note  upon  the  properties 
of  different  species  of  Narcissus,  and  subsequently  made  many  of  his  investigations 
together  with  Pelletier.  The  discovery  of  a  number  of  the  most  important  alkaloids 
is  a  result  of  their  joint  labors,  namely:  strychnia  in  1818,  brucia  in  181 9,  and 
about  the  same  time,  cotemporaneously  with  Meissner,  veratriaj  in  1820  quinia  and 
cinchonia;  in  1821,  cotemporaneously  with  Robiquet  and  Runge,  caffeina,  which 
had  been  previously  known  only  in  an  impure  condition.  About  the  same  time 
Caventou  investigated  the  physiological  functions  of  the  chlorophyll  contained  in 
the  green  parts  of  plants.  He  was  admitted  to  the  Academy  of  Medicine  at  its 
foundation  in  1823,  and  served  as  its  dean  at  the  time  of  his  death.  In  1826  he 
was  selected  for  the  chair  of  toxicology  in  the  School  of  Pharmacy  and  resigned  in 
1857,  notwithstanding  the  representations  of  his  colleagues  and  pupils.  For  nearly 
twenty  years  he  lived  in  modest  retirement,  and  though,  in  accordance  with  his  last 
wishes,  no  military  honors  were  rendered  to  him  and  no  discourse  was  pronounced 
over  his  tomb,  his  obsequies  on  May  7  were  attended  by  all  the  members  of  the 
Academy  of  Medicine  and  of  the  School  of  Pharmacy.  He  was,  indeed,  one  of 
the  most  worthy  representatives  of  French  science. 
Edward  McInall,  Sr.,  a  prominent  apothecary  of  Wilmington,  Del.,  died  there 
May  12,  of  congestion  of  the  brain,  in  the  fifty-first  year  of  his  age.  He  learned 
the  business  with  Mr.  Edw.  Bringhurst,  and  remained  with  him  until  he  commenced 
business  on  his  own  account,  in  1846. 
