Am.  Jeur.  Pharm. ) 
Aug.,  1877.  J 
Editorial. 
427 
it  is  just  in  such  trivial  cases,  like  toothache,  slight  cough  and  the  like,  that  patients 
will  use  domestic  remedies  before  they  apply  to  the  dentist  or  the  physician.  Such 
counter  prescribing  it  has  been  found  impossible  to  suppress,  even  in  those  Euro- 
pean countries  where  the  whole  power  of  the  State  could  be  brought  to  crush  an 
evil,  if  evil  it  be  5  and  it  is  our  firm  opinion  that  resolutions  or  threats,  from  what- 
ever source  they  may  emanate,  will  fare  no  better.  Let  the  legitimate  wants  of  the 
public  be  studied  and  recognized,  and  let  both  professions  act  harmoniously  together, 
and  the  removal  of  a  great  amount  of  complaint  will  be  the  result. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  injudicious  quarrelling  is  preferred,  the  effect  upon  the 
public  will  be  different  from  that  expected  by  either  party.  A  case  in  point  is  the 
controversy  alluded  to  above,  which  is  ridiculed  by  the  "  Baltimore  Gazette "  of 
July  10th  in  an  article  headed  "  Pill  and  Liberty,"  and  which  closes  as  follows : 
"Meantime,  it  is  fearful  to  consider  the  condition  of  the  lungs,  intestines,  kidneys,  diaphragms,  livers, 
colons  and  knee-pans  of  the  good  people  of  Cumberland.  Any  disease,  'grave  or  trivial,'  must  be  borne 
patiently  until  the  fight  is  over.  It  is  possible  that  some  compromise  might  be  made,  for  many  things 
which  were  once  nostrums  are  now  the  property  of  the  medical  profession — Hoffmann's  anodyne,  Dover's 
powders,  and  a  hundred  similar  things.  This  might  furnish  the  basis  of  negotiations,  but  until  the  battle 
is  ended  colics  and  catarrhs  must  be  endured.  There  is  no  doubt  that  a  learned  prescription  in  the  Latin 
of  the  period  does  powerfully  influence  the  bucolic  mind.  A  doctor  once  gave  a  nurse  a  very  learned 
description  of  the  malady  of  the  patient,  who  received  it  deeply  impressed,  and  confided  to  her  friends 
that  the  patient  must  die,  because  the  doctor  said  'he  had  lost  all  the  Latin  part  of  his  bowels.'  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  prescription  :  ^  Tinct.  camph.  comp.  ex.  hydropipy,  3  oz.,  must  exert  an 
effect  beyond  a  simple  'blood  purifier,'  although  possibly  composed  of  the  same  ingredients.  The  drug- 
gists, however,  have  the  side  of  free  pills  and  liberty.  Should  the  doctors  subdue  them  they  may  advance 
next  upon  the  venders  of  stimuli,  and  no  man  would  be  able  to  assuage  the  pangs  of  thirst  unless  he  were 
armed  with  a  legitimate  prescription :  Folise  menthae,  sacch.  aib.,  1  oz. ;  spiriti  vini  otardi,  3  oz. ; 
glacis  pulv.,  quant,  suf.,  et  shakete  violenter  et  suckite  dulciter  cum  strawum.  Shall  this  be?  Never! 
The  druggists  have  in  their  keeping  the  cause  of  liberty.    The  eyes  of  all  Europe  are  upon  them." 
Dr.  Heinrich  Robert  Gceppert  will  celebrate  the  fiftieth  anniversary  as  academi- 
cal teacher  on  September  27  next.  At  the  date  mentioned  in  the  year  1827,  he 
habilitated  as  private  lecturer  (Privat-Docent)  at  the  University  of  Breslau,  where 
he  has  successfully  labored  ever  since.  His  former  pupils  intend,  as  a  mark 
of  veneration,  to  present  him  with  an  album  containing  their  photographs.  He  is 
still  actively  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  his  favorite  science,  botany. 
Achlys  triphylla,  D.  C — A  short  time  ago  a  correspondent  sent  us  some  speci- 
mens of  a  plant  growing  in  Washington  Territory.  Having  mislaid  the  letter  we 
are  unable  to  communicate  directly  with  him,  and  therefore  state  in  this  place  that 
the  above  is  the  botanical  name  of  the  plant.  Should  the  plant  be  employed  medi" 
cinally  or  otherwise,  we  would  thank  our  correspondent  for  further  information. 
The  Sale  of  Benzin  and  Naphtha — We  give  room  to  the  following  communi- 
cation advocating  a  very  plain  precautionary  measure  when  selling  very  inflammable 
liquids.  The  general  adoption  of  such  a  measure  by  druggists  and  apothecaries 
would  seem  not  to  be  very  difficult ;  but  what  precautions  may  be  expected  from 
grocers  and  other  dealers  who  never  label  any  article  sold  by  them,  yet  dispose  of 
much  larger  quantities  of  benzin  than  is  done  by  the  drug  trade  ? 
