Reviews  and  Bibliographical  Notices.  333 
number  of  apprentices,  the  uniformity  of  the  prices  of  medicines  throughout  the 
empire,  the  supervision  of  the  establishments  by  regular  and  thorough  inspec- 
tors, the  high  value  obtained  by  the  grants  or  concessions  in  the  absence  of 
all  competition,  the  encumbrances  resting  upon  many  establishments  in  conse- 
quence thereof,  are  a  few  of  these  side  issues  which  cannot  be  ignored  in  dis- 
posing of  the  former. 
The  author  calmly  reviews  all  the  arguments  which  in  Germany  have  been 
advanced  against  and  for  the  limitation  of  officines,  and  comes  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  should  not  be  annulled,  although  the  necessity  of  certain  reformatory 
measures  is  freely  conceded.  This  is  likewise  the  opinion  of  a  number  of  prom- 
inent men  in  Germany,  as  we  observe  from  the  contents  of  two  additional 
pamphleis  which  we  have  lately  received.  In  our  opinion  this  abrogation,  even 
in  Germany,  is  merely  a  question  of  time,  and  on  account  of  the  numerous  and 
wide  spread  interests  involved,  a  progressive  reform  is  required,  having  the 
ultimate  removal  of  the  restrictions  in  view,  while  their  sudden  overthrow  would 
doubtlessly  injuriously  affect  a  large  number  with  comparatively  little  benefit  to 
the  public. 
The  pharmaceutical  affairs  of  other  countries  have  been  often  cited  and  freely 
discussed  while  this  controversy  has  lasted;  and,  as  is  often  the  case,  the  par- 
ties have  noticed  mainly  what  could  be  used  as  arguments  in  favor  of  their 
special  views.  But  the  fact  has  been  almost  totally  ignored,  that,  as  far  as 
England  and  the  United  States  are  concerned,  pharmacy  is  in  a  transitory  con- 
dition, and  that  in  both  countries  the  pharmacists  have  been  and  still  are  the 
strongest  advocates  of  measures  calculated  to  protect  the  public  from  harm, 
but  do  not  raise  their  voice  in  favor  of  the  denial  of  a  right  which  is  granted  to 
every  other  citizen,  namely,  to  locate  his  business  wherever  he  sees  the  chances 
of  procuring  for  himself  and  family  an  honest  livelihood.  The  main  questions 
involved  in  the  agitation  in  pharmaceutical  affairs  in  Germany,  have  been  dis- 
cussed in  Paris  at  the  international  Pharmaceutical  Congress,  held  there  in 
1867.  The  vote  as  cast  by  the  representatives  of  the  United  States,*  we  be- 
lieve represents  the  views  of  the  large  body  of  pharmacists  in  this  country,  and 
we  opine,  if  Great  Britain  had  been  represerfted,  her  vote  would  have  been  like 
that  of  the  United  States. 
The  document  is  a  very  important  one  in  the  history  of  pharmacy,  and  as 
such  deserves  the  careful  perusal  of  all  intelligent  persons.  It  was,  with  all 
other  documents  bearing  on  the  same  question,  referred  to  the  Chancellory  of 
the  German  empire,  from  which  office  the  proposition  of  a  law  may  perhaps 
soon  be  expected,  aiming  to  solve  the  problem  with  justice  to  all  concerned. 
Pharmaceutical  Lexicon:  a  Dictionary  of  Pharmaceutical  Science.  Contain- 
ing a  concise  explanation  of  the  various  subjects  and  terms  of  pharmacy,  with 
appropriate  selections  from  the  collateral  sciences,  formulae  for  officinal,  em- 
pirical  and  dietetic  preparations  ;  selections  from  the  prescriptions  of  the 
most  eminent  physicians  of  Europe  and  America  ;  an  alphabetical  list  of 
diseases  and  their  definitions  ;  an  account  of  the  various  modes  in  use  for  the 
preservation  of  dead  bodies  ;  tables  of  signs  and  abbreviations,  weights  and 
measures,  doses,  antidotes  to  poisons,  etc.  etc.,  and,  as  an  item  of  curiosity,  a 
*  See  Proceeding*  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association,  1XG7,  p.  316. 
