"fSKIw""'}    Minutes  of  Pharmaceutical  Meetings.  91 
dow;  while  those  on  the  three  upper  floors,  including  Mr.  Stearns,  who  was  on 
the  fourth,  and  a  number  of  girls  on  the  fifth  floor,  escaped  through  the  sky- 
light, which  was  in  the  centre  of  the  roof.  As  soon  as  this  was  opened  the 
flames  and  smoke  followed  instantly,  threatening  to  cut  off  the  last  retreat. 
However,  all  hands  reached  the  roof  in  safety,  and  then  the  task  commenced 
to  lower  them  down  upon  the  roofs  of  the  adjoining  buildings,  which  was 
finally  accomplished.  The  fire  made  headway  with  such  astonishing  rapidity, 
that  about  twenty  seconds  elapsed  from  the  time  the  bottle  was  broken  until 
refuge  had  to  be  sought  through  the  skylight-  In  the  cellar,  the  engineer  was 
badly  burned,  while  the  three  boys  escaped  scorching  and  reached  the  vault  in 
safety,  merely  to  be  suffocated  there. 
The  vapors  of  the  rhigolene  escaping  from  the  broken  bottle  was  probably 
ignited  by  the  gas  flame  ;  the  other  bottles  bursting,  the  escaping  liquid  at  once 
produced  such  an  immense  flame  that  the  fire  was  instantly  communicated  to 
ali  the  floors,  and  the  fine  building  was  reduced  to  ruins  in  less  than  four  hours. 
The  four  dead  bodies  were  then  recovered.  Those  of  the  three  boys  preserved 
for  a  week  an  almost  life-like  look,  but  all  efforts  of  restoring  life  proved  una- 
vailing.   The  engineer  had  been  in  the  employ  of  Mr.  Stearns  for  13  years. 
This  sad  accident  and  loss  of  life  should  be  a  warning  to  all  to  exercise  the 
utmost  care,  and  not  handle  this  extremely  volatile  liquid  in  proximity  to  any 
light  or  fire. 
Medical  Supplies  on  Railroads. — We  learn  from  the  Pharm.  Zeitung,  that 
the  trains  on  the  Altoona  and  Kiel  Railroad,  in  Northern  Germany,  carry  medi- 
cine chests  containing  remedies  suitable  for  use  in  cases  of  emergency,  as  sudden 
sickness  or  accidents,  until  the  aid  of  a  physician  can  be  secured.  The  line  in 
question  is  a  short  one  ;  but  the  arrangement  shows  a  commendable  forethought 
on  the  part  of  the  company,  and  a  care  for  the  possible  needs  of  the  passengers 
which  it  would  be  well  to  imitate  in  this  country,  where  railroad  lines  frequently 
extend  over  thousands  of  miles  ;  much  inconvenience,  delay  and  consequent  suf- 
fering might  thereby  be  obviated. 
Reliable  Advertisements. — One  of  our  coteraporaries,  a  medical  journal  in 
good  standing,  in  calling  attention  to  the  advertisements  as  containing  matters 
of  interest  and  importance  to  the  profession,  states :  "We  exclude  advertise- 
ments we  believe  to  be  unreliable."  Among  the  advertisements  we  notice,  be- 
sides a  number  of  specialities,  a  remedy  for  dysmenorrhcea,  which  is  stated  to 
be  "  a  more  important  addition  to  the  physician's  list  of  valuable  remedies  than 
the  hydrate  of  chloial  or  any  of  the  various  preparations  which  have  been  in- 
troduced to  the  profession  since  the  discovery  of  anaesthesia  ;"  also  two  "  hair 
renewers,"  which  have  been  shown  by  Prof.  Chandler  to  contain  lead. 
These  articles  are  probable  quite  as  reliable  as  the  Hamburg  tea  (senna  and 
manna,  advertised  in  Philadelphia  by  a  grocer  and  by  an  apothecary,  as  a 
blood  purifier  and  a protection  against  smallpox. 
