384  Obituary.  {*x^vgSfu 
furnishes  another  illustration  of  the  manner  in  which  this  arrangement  is  car- 
ried out. 
Two  prescriptions  were  received  by  a  friend  of  ours,  as  follows: 
R.    Mc  F  904  giv.    Sig.    Use  as  directed. 
R.    McF  pulv.  (C)  No.  xv.    Sig.    One  every  three  hours. 
To  a  note  dispatched  to  the  prescribing  physician,  asking  for  the  formulas, 
the  following  answer  was  received  : 
Dear  Sir, — The  prescription  904  404  is  private.    You  can  get  it  at  W  's 
drug  store.  Yours,  &c,  J.  McF. 
Further  comment  is  unnecessary. 
Adulterations  by  "Neutral  Oil." — The  following  circular,  received  by  us, 
exhibits  a  surpiising  degree  of  barefacedness  and  of  confidence  into  the  dis- 
honesty of  the  wholesale  drug  trade.  We  have  no  means  of  ascertaining  to 
what  extent  the  circular  has  been  distributed  or  was  responded  to  ;  but  we 
would  advise  all  interested  to  be  on  the  look-out  for  adulterations  by  "neutral 
oil."  What  kind  of  an  oil  this  latter  article  is  we  are  unable  to  say,  but  should 
be  glad  to  receive  a  sample  for  experimental  purposes.  Leaving  out  the  names* 
«fcc,  the  circular  reads  as  follows  : 
Western  Oil  Company,  Manufacturers  of  Animal  and  Vegetable  Oils, 
Oar  and  Axle  Grease. 
Special  Circular  to  Wholesale  Druggists. 
Gentlemen, — We  call  your  attention  to  our  "Neutral  Oil,"  made  expressly 
to  manipulate  lard  oil,  raw  and  boiled  linseed,  refined  cotton-seed  oil,  and  cas- 
tor oils  ;  also  used  extensively  for  wetting  down  ivool.  It  does  not  stain.  One 
trial  will  convince  you  it  will  enable  you,  to  make  large  profits  on  articles  that 
heretofore  hardly  paid  to  handle.  No  orders  rilled  less  than  a  barrel.  Prices 
as  follows:  One  barrel,  48  cents  per  gallon,  &c.  Our  prices  are  firm  at  above 
quotations.    Trusting  to  receive  a  sample  order,  we  &c. 
OBITUARY. 
Gustav  Rose,  the  celebrated  mineralogist  and  chemist,  died  July  21,  having 
passed  his  75th  year  in  March  last.  His  father  and  grandfather,  both  named 
Valentine,  kept  an  apothecary  store  in  Berlin,  Germany,  and  became  noted 
for  their  researches  in  chemistry;  his  brother,  who  had  been  raised  a  pharma- 
cist, was  the  celebrated  analytical  chemist,  Henry  Rose,  who  died  in  1864. 
Gustavus  Rose  studied  mineralogy  and  chemistry  in  Berlin  and  Stockholm; 
in  1821,  at  the  age  of  23  years,  he  became  Custodian  of  the  Mineralogical 
Cabinet  of  the  Berlin  University,  in  1826  Professor  Extraordinary,  and  in 
1839  Ordinary  Professor  of  Mineralogy.  In  1829  he  and  Ehrenberg  accom- 
panied Alexander  Von  Humboldt  upon  a  scientific  journey  to  the  Ural  Moun- 
tains and  the  Caspian  Sea,  which  he  described  in  a  work  of  two  volumes  ;  his 
other  important  publications  were  all  devoted  to  mineralogy  and  crystallo- 
graphy. 
