526 
Editorial. 
<  Am.  Jour.  Phabm . 
\     Nov.  1,  1872. 
A  report  was  made  on  the  prize-essays  of  assistants  and  of  apprentices,  and 
resolutions  were  adopted  in  relation  to  the  position  of  pharmacists  when  at- 
tending at  a  university,  and  to  the  rank  of  military  pharmacists.  The  directory 
was  empowered  to  confer  with  the  Chancellor  of  the  German  Empire  in  regard 
to  the  projected  liberation  of  the  practice  of  pharmacy,  and  to  intercede  for 
the  interests  of  pharmacy  and  the  pharmacists  in  the  press  and  with  the  mem- 
bers of  Parliament. 
The  subjects  of  ozone  water,  narcotic  extracts,  reduced  iron  and  bismuth 
were  discussed,  and  resolutions  of  thanks  were  passed  to  the  retiring  directors 
and  to  the  local  committee. 
The  next  meeting  will  take  place  in  Cologne,  in  1873. 
<£Mtorial  Department. 
Protection  against  Poisoning. — In  our  last  issue  will  be  found  the  action 
•of  two  pharmaceutical  bodies  on  the  resolutions*  which,  originating  with  the 
College  of  Physicians  of  Philadelphia,  have  since  been  passed  by  several  other 
medical  societies,  local  and  State  as  well  as  the  National  Association,  while  we 
have  not  heard  of  any  pharmaceutical  society  by  which  the  resolutions  were 
approved,  although  several  have  given  their  careful  consideration  to  this  im- 
portant subject.  The  arguments  against  the  practicability  of  the  proposed  plan 
are  well  put  forth  in  the  report  of  a  special  Committee  to  the  Philadelphia  Col- 
lege of  Pharmacy  (see  page  467  of  last  number),  and  others  might  be  added 
thereto.  To  our  mind,  the  plan,  if  it  was  carried  out  by  the  united  efforts  of 
every  pharmacist  and  physician  in  the  country,  might  be  fraught  with  more 
dangerous  consequences  than  anticipated,  inasmuch  as  it  would  have  a  tendency 
to  educate  people  into  the  erroneous  notions  that  every  medicine  contained  in 
a  rough-cornered  triangular  based  bottle  is  poisonous,  and  that  no  medicine 
*n  an  ordinary  vial  is  dangerous — notions,  both  of  which,  according  to  the  letter 
of  the  original  resolution,  are  wrong  and  might  be  the  cause  of  serious  conse- 
quences. It  seems  to  us  to  be  far  better  and  far  more  productive  of  good,  if 
habits  of  carefulness  were  practised  in  the  prescribing  and  dispensing  of  poi- 
sons ;  in  this  respect  there  is  undoubtedly  room  for  improvement  by  many  mem- 
bers of  both  professions. 
It  is  a  pleasure  to  look  at  the  prescription  of  the  careful  physician  when  or- 
dering poisonous  drugs  or  preparations  ;  then  every  word  is  legibly  written,  the 
quantities  are  plainly  indicated,  the  directions  for  use  are  not  omitted,  and 
either  the  patient's  full  name  is  given  or  age  and  sex  are  indicated  in  some  way, 
to  give  the  pharmacist  some  data  from  which  to  judge  that  an  overdose  has  not 
been  inadvertently  ordered,  or  the  wrong  article  directed. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  careful  pharmacist  will  surround  the  dispensing  of 
potent  medicines  with  effective  precautions  ;  he  will  keep  them  in  a  separate 
place  upon  his  shelves,  or  in  a  closet  under  lock  and  key  ;  the  shape  or  size  of 
the  bottles  in  which  they  are  kept  is  different  from  the  ordinary  shop  furniture, 
*  See  page  284  of  the  June,  and  pages  441  and  467  of  the  October,  number  of  this  volume. 
