190  Current  Literature.  {AmApdir'i9i4arm" 
in  these  days  when  he  (the  pharmacist)  depends  to  such  a  large 
extent  upon  the  manufacturing  pharmacist  for  his  pills,  tablets,  solu- 
tions in  ampules,  tinctures,  and  extracts  both  solid  and  fluid,  and  other 
pharmaceuticals,  to  stand  as  a  bulwark  of  protection  between  the 
manufacturer  and  the  consumer.  In  other  words,  the  pharmacist 
is  responsible  for  the  purity  and  accuracy  of  dosage  of  all  medicines 
dispensed,  whether  made  by  himself  or  a  manufacturing  house. 
And  in  order  to  accept  and  shoulder  this  responsibility  he  must 
be  thoroughly  grounded  in  the  principles  of  the  allied  branches 
which  comprise  the  science  and  art  of  pharmacy.  He  must  be 
familiar  with  and  capable  of  using  modern  methods  and  apparatus 
for  the  investigation  of  chemicals  and  galenical  preparations ;  he 
must  be  able  to  make  analyses,  both  of  inorganic  and  organic  chem- 
icals; he  also  should  be  able  to  make  microscopical  examinations 
of  sections  of  vegetable  drugs  and  powdered  drugs;  in  short,  he 
should  be  a  pharmacognist ;  he  should  be  thoroughly  conversant 
with  the  underlying  principles  governing  bacteriology,  as  the  use  of 
sterile  solutions  and  preparations  by  physicians  is  becoming  more 
prevalent  every  day  and  it  is  logical  that  the  pharmacist  should  be 
looked  to  as  a  source  to  supply  this  demand. 
Thorns  makes  it  perfectly  clear.that  this  development  of  pharmacy 
along  lines  of  greater  scientific  efficiency  is  not  by  any  means  Uto- 
pian ;  that  there  is  great  need  of  better  efficiency  among  the  rank 
and  file  of  the  profession,  and  that  it  is  quite  possible  and  practicable 
for  the  student  of  today  to  receive  the  necessary  training  for  the 
realization  of  this  object.  If  pharmacy  is  to  continue  to  exist  on 
a  scientific  basis  its  proper  development  must  be  along  a  rigorous 
scientific  curriculum. — Arbeiten  aus  dem  Pharmaseutischen,  Institut 
der  Universitat,  Berlin,  vol.  x,  page  189,  191 2. 
John  K.  Thum. 
Radium  and  Radium  Salts.1 
Radium  is  a  bivalent  metallic  element  closely  related  to  barium. 
It  is  exceedingly  reactive,  making  it  difficult  to  isolate  in  its  metallic 
state  and  after  isolation  to  keep  in  a  pure  state,  as  it  reacts  with  air, 
forming  the  oxide,  nitrite  and  finally  the  carbonate.  On  account  of 
this  activity  it  is  only  produced  in  the  form  of  its  salts,  principally 
as  the  bromide,  chloride,  sulphate  and  carbonate. 
1  Jour.  Amer.  Med.  Assoc.,  January  3,  1914,  p.  41. 
