192 
EDITORIAL. 
the  attention  of  several  chemists,  and  among  others  Prof.  Gibbs,  who  in 
1852  discovered  a  new  class  of  these  salts.  As  some  of  the  discoveries  of 
Dr.  Genth  have  been  described  by  Fremy  as  his  own,  two  years  after  their 
announcement,  it  is  presumable  that  this  valuable  monograph  will  place 
Dr.  Genth's  claims  in  the  right  light.  We  observe  that  the  crystalo-metric 
determinations  are  by  Prof.  Dana  of  Yale  College. 
Nouveau  Procede  de  Dosage  de  VAcide  Carbonique  dans  les  eaux  Minerahs 
suive  de  Considerations  sur  la  Constitution  des  eaux  de  Vichy.  Par  M. 
Henri  Buignet.    Paris,  185G.    Pp.  14.    (From  the  author.) 
This  process  of  M.  Buignet,  late  Secretary  to  the  Society  of  Pharmacy, 
was  read  to  the  Academie  Imperiale  de  Medicine,  Sept.  9th,  1856,  and  is 
based  on  the  fact  that  gaseous  mineral  water  placed  in  a  barometric  vac- 
cuum  gives  out  its  gaseous  contents,  the  amount  of  which  is  ascertained 
by  the  depression  of  the  mercury,  corrected  for  pressure,  temperature,  etc. 
The  utility  of  Colleges  of  Pharmacy  :  An  Introductory  Lecture.  By  Dr.  Lewis 
H.  Steiner,  Prof,  of  Chemistry  in  the  Maryland  College  of  Pharmacy. 
We  have  been  gratified  by  the  perusal  of  Dr.  Steiner's  lecture,  as  pub- 
lished in  the  American  Medical  Monthly  for  February.  Space  will  not 
admit,  or  we  could  present  our  readers  with  some  of  the  arguments  brought 
forward  to  prove  how  Colleges  of  Pharmacy  "  can  be  useful  and  protective 
to  the  apothecary,  the  medical  profession,  and  the  community  at  large," 
but  we  cannot  withhold  the  following  paragraph  addressed  to  the  student 
himself : 
"  We  can  thus  sum  up  the  utility  of  the  college  as  consisting  in  the  presentation 
of  the  surest  and  swiftest  method  of  gaining  a  knowledge  of  Pharmacy,  in  cloth- 
ing this  knowledge  in  an  attractive  form, — bringing  out  the  most  important  points 
for  the  student's  notice, — and  in  giving  him  a  connected  view  of  the  relations  of 
the  whole  subject,  which  require  his  attention,  If  the  instructors  in  such  an  in- 
stitution are  enthusiastic  in  their  vocation,  honest  and  true  to  their  duties,  ail 
these  ends  will  be  obtained.  But  besides  these,  who  does  not  know  the  value  of 
system  in  study,  and  of  the  assignment  of  a  certain  hour  to  certain  duties  ;  and 
Still  more  the  importance  of  bringing  those  together  who  are  prosecuting  similar 
investigations,  and  causing  mind  to  brighten  by  collision  with  fellow  mind  ? 
This  itself  is  of  no  small  benefit.  The  youth  feels  the  stimulus  of  laudable  am- 
bition, and  enters  with  a  generous  and  honorable  rivalry  into  the  field  with  his 
brethren.  He  lags  not  by  the  wayside,  for  he  does  not  want  to  be  recognized  as 
inferior  in  abilities  and  diligence  to  his  companions.  Thus  mutual  emulation  acts 
as  the  spur  to  the  indolent,  and  a  noble  impulse  to  the  industrious.  If  engaged 
in  private  study  in  the  shop,  he  may  easily  be  persuaded  to  relinquish  his  task 
for  some  other  attraction,  and  no  one  will  readily  detect  his  negligence  ;  but  if 
this  is  done  here,  the  contrast  is  seen  at  once  and  odium  rests  upon  him  for 
it. — not  only  for  the  present  but  odium  of  that  character  which  requires  years 
utterly  to  eradicate." 
The  publication  of  this  lecture  in  a  Medical  Journal  where  it  will  meet 
the  eyes  of  physicians  will  add  much  to  its  usefulness. 
