AmMa°rciMS!" m'}      Bacterial  Poisoning  by  Medicines.  1 1 7 
germs  have  once  begun  to  grow,  it  acts  feebly  both  in  checking 
their  growth  and  causing  their  death.  Thus  if  the  bottle  had  con- 
tained some  colonies  before  the  medicine  was  put  in  they  might 
have  increased  until  finally  overcome  by  the  alcohol. 
If  this  was  the  way  the  trouble  originated,  it  furnishes  a  good 
example  of  probably  the  most  prolific  source  of  infection  that  drug- 
gists have  to  deal  with,  viz  :  dirty  bottles.  When  a  prescription 
has  been  partly  used  by  the  patient,  the  sides  of  the  bottle  usually 
present  the  very  conditions  under  which  bacteria  thrive  best.  The 
glass  is  covered  with  a  layer  of  damp  organic  matter,  and  if  placed 
on  the  mantel,  which  seems  to  be  the  most  convenient  place  for 
many  people,  is  kept  warm  by  the  heat  of  the  stove,  thus  adding 
the  only  thing  needed  to  make  it  a  veritable  paradise  for.  these 
organisms.  Thus  tenanted,  the  bottle  is  returned  to  have  the  pre- 
scription renewed,  supplying  them  with  fresh  food  for  their  growth. 
Some  stores  have  already  adopted  a  custom  which  disposes  of  this 
danger,  and  is  worthy  of  more  general  adoption,  that  of  giving  a 
new  bottle  every  time  the  prescription  is  renewed.  While  causing 
some  extra  work,  it  is  certainly  preferable  to  simply  rinsing  the 
bottle  out,  as  enough  spores  are  nearly  always  left  to  seed  a  new 
crop.  The  same  is  true  of  attempting  to  remedy  stock  solutions 
that  have  become  infected,  by  simply  filtering  and  washing  out  the 
bottles.  The  ordinary  filter  is  absolutely  useless,  as  the  spores  or 
seeds  are  so  minute  that  they  will  pass  through  the  interstices,  and 
start  a  new  growth  in  the  solution.  The  primary  fault  in  making 
these  solutions  is  that  the  water  used  contains  a  few  germs  to  start 
with,  and  if  the  substance  dissolved  is  not  antagonistic  to  their  life 
they  very  rapidly  increase.  This  is  likewise  true  of  distilled  water 
as  ordinarily  collected,  and  it  has  been  suggested  that  a  better 
method  would  be  to  boil  the  water  for  half  an  hour  and  then  keep 
it  protected  from  the  air.  This  appears  at  once  the  simplest  and 
yet  the  most  effectual  method  of  getting  rid  of  these  growths. 
Few  bacteria  are  now  known  capable  of  living  under  such  treatment, 
and  the  water,  if  immediately  placed  in  full  bottles,  keeps  very  well. 
Water  thus  prepared  is  especially  useful  for  hypodermic  solutions. 
It  is  well  known  that  the  inflammation  so  frequently  set  up  in  this 
form  of  medication  is  due  to  the  bacteria  introduced  at  the  same  time. 
This  is  usually  counteracted  by  adding  some  antiseptic  to  the  solu- 
tion, but  the  wisdom  of  this  is  questionable,  to  say  the  least.  Most 
