EDITORIAL. 
89 
glance  over  your  laboratory  note  books,  and  see  if  there  are  no  suggestions 
t^at  will  interest  your  brethren  without  injuring  your  business,  no  matter 
how  meagre  or  unscientific  they  may  appear.  Further,  if  you  know  of  any 
officinal  formula  that  is  defective,  send  a  note  of  your  view  of  the  de- 
ficiency and  in  what  respect  you  think  it  can  be  improved,  and,  if  possible, 
how.  Others,  seeing  this,  will  be  stimulated  to  give  their  experience,  and 
thus  the  truth  will  be  advocated,  and  good  seed  sown.  There  must  be 
some  to  work  for  the  general  good  in  every  cause.  Let  us  join  hands, 
then,  in  contributing  more  practical  articles  to  our  Journal,  at  the  same 
time  that  it  retains  its  standing  as  a  record  of  pharmaceutical  science. 
Let  us  reach  down  to  the  aid  of  those  who  can  only  appreciate  pharmaceutical 
literature  in  the  shape  of  money-saving  formulas  and  processes,  and  give 
them  a  sustaining  draught, — mayhap,  in  time,  they  may  gain  strength  and 
interest  enough  to  digest  articles  of  a  higher  grade,  become  pharmaceutists 
in  reality,  as  well  as  in  name,  and  return  the  gift  with  interest  in  the  form 
of  papers  to  this  or  some  other  Journal. 
Percentages  on  Prescriptions. — It  has  long  been  the  received  im- 
pression that  pharmacy,  though  a  derivative  or  off  shoot  from  medicine,  is 
now  an  independent  profession,  business  or  calling  ;  that  when  the  phar- 
maceutist carefully  and  correctly  composes  and  dispenses  the  physician's 
prescription  he  has  done  his  whole  duty  to  the  physician  and  his  patient, 
and  in  return  receives  from  the  latter  the  regular  and  proper  price  for  the 
medicine,  which  should  fully  compensate  him  for  the  cost  of  the  drugs  and 
the  investment  of  time  and  skill  employed  in  their  preparation  and  dis- 
pensing. In  the  matter  of  patronage,  the  pharmaceutist  is  its  recipient 
sometimes  from  the  physician,  sometimes  from  the  patient,  frequently  from 
both.  The  writer  of  a  prescription  is  clearly  entitled  to  the  assurance  that 
it  will  be  correctly  dispensed,  as  it  is  the  best  means  that  he  can  devise  to 
cure  the  disease.  The  patient  also  has  a  direct  interest  in  the  character 
of  the  dispenser  who  serves  him,  and  where  a  preference  exists  a  reasonable 
physician  will  not  object,  unless  he  has  had  occasion  to  doubt  the  ability 
or  integrity  of  the  dispenser,  or  unless,  for  legitimate  special  reasons,  a 
particular  apothecary  can  serve  him  best.  We  have  known  physicians  to 
refuse  to  attend  a  case  unless  the  prescription  was  sent  to  a  specially 
named  dispenser.  We  have  also  known  the  heads  of  families  who  would 
not  employ  a  physician  who  refused  to  have  his  prescriptions  dispensed 
by  the  family  apothecary.  In  point  of  fact,  however,  the  physician  gener- 
ally controls  the  case,  and  it  is  of  the  utmost  consequence  to  his  reputation, 
therefore,  that  his  motives  should  be  beyond  reproach. 
These  reflections  have  been  suggested  by  the  following  printed  circular, 
which  was  received  by  a  physician  : 
"Confidential. 
"  Dr.  .    Bear  Sir : — Having  recently  located  myself  at  
