188 
EDITORIAL. 
not  label  the  vial,  knowing  it  to  be  a  deleterious  preparation,  and  one  that 
should  never  be  sold  without  the  assurance  of  correctness,  unless  ordered 
by  prescription.  The  most  charitable  view  is,  that  the  messenger  was 
understood  to  say  "  Black  Drop,"  and  that  the  label,  by  a  hasty  glance,  was 
read  ''Black  Drop,"  (when  it  was  "Black  Draught,")  and  was  so  dispensed. 
If  this  view  is  abandoned,  and  the  occurrence  attributed  to  ignorance  in 
identifying  the  shop  bottle,  why  was  the  high  price  of  black  drop  charged 
for  the  preparation  of  senna  intended  ?  Such  errors  are  liable  to  occur  in 
any  store  where  a  part  of  the  duties  are  executed  by  beginners,  unless 
the  all-important  maxims  for  regulating  extemporaneous  pharmacy  are 
early  and  constantly  instilled  into  the  apprentice  during  his  novitiate,  until 
they  become  by  habit  a  second  nature.  Until  this  period  arrives,  the  quali- 
fied assistant  or  proprietor  cannot  be  too  constantly  watchful  over  the  trans- 
actions of  the  junior.     Some  of  these  maxims  are  the  following: 
1st.  Never  permit  any  medicine  to  leave  the  shop  without  an  appropriate 
label.  (Had  the  vial  been  sent  properly  labelled  with  the  direction  for  use 
that  always  accompanies  it,  there  are  nine  chances  to  one  that  its  nature 
would  have  been  detected  in  time  to  have  prevented  the  catastrophe.) 
2d.  Cultivate  a  habit  of  close  attention  when  receiving  a  message;  and 
understand  it  clearly,  before  giving  ear  to  a  second  applicant. 
3d.  Never  dispense  any  active  or  poisonous  medicine,  whether  by 
prescription  or  otherwise,  without  recurring  mentally  to  the  question,  "  Is 
it  right?" 
4th.  When  a  written  order  is  not  presented,  it  should  be  a  uniform 
custom  to  get  the  demand  repeated  by  putting  a  question,  thus  :  "  Did  you 
say  an  ounce  of  Black  Drop  V1  or,  "  Laudanum  did  you  say  ?"  or,  "  What 
did  you  ask  for  ?"  In  this  way,  by  giving  very  little  trouble  to  the  customer, 
the  apothecary  may  have  a  check  on  error  which  will  rarely  fail,  and  which 
by  long  practice,  we  can  recommend  as  a  simple  and  safe  expedient.  There 
are  names  which,  though  spelled  differently,  have  ananalogy  in  sound,  and 
the  case  in  question  is  an  instance  of  this,  where  the  "  a"  in  the  last  word 
is  accented  as  the  "a"  in  41  awful"  or  "haul."  We  have  repeatedly 
noticed  instances  of  this  kind. 
5th.  There  is  another  precaution  which  may  be  adopted  in  every  store 
with  advantage ;  it  is  the  German  custom  of  putting  the  sign  f,  under  or 
above  the  label  of  every  poisonous  substance  ;  a  black  cross  for  mineral 
poisons,  and  a  red  one  for  vegetable  or  organic  poisons.  This  sign  has  the 
force  of  a  suggestive  check  to  the  apothecary  himself,  whilst  the  customer 
has  no  such  impression  created  as  would  be  caused  by  the  word  "  Poison" 
on  a  bottle  out  of  which  his  medicine  was  being  taken.  Besides,  if  the 
beginner  is  at  once  told  the  meaning  of  the  sign,  it  will  be  a  caution  he 
can  understand  without  further  teaching,  that  will  lead  him  to  be  careful 
whenever  he  handles  bottles  so  marked. 
Lastly.  We  may  appropriately  here  repeat  the  often  reiterated  suggestion 
that  in  dispensing  medicines  from  shop  bottles,  the  apothecary  should 
