306  Gleanings  from  the  Medical  Journals.  {AmjJu0nUei;-if9h8arm* 
tially  sodium  diacid  phosphate — just  as  occurs,  probably,  in  follow- 
ing Wescott's  formula — while  the  larger  proportion  remains  the 
official  sodium  acid  phosphate,  but  with  the  difference  that  no 
sodium  nitrate  or  citrate  is  present,  or  is  formed. 
Clinical  results  have  shown  that  no  difference  in  effectiveness 
results  from  the  presence  of  the  diacid  salt  with  acid  salt.  If  any 
objection  existed  to  this,  it  could  be  readily  met  by  the  addition  of 
sodium  bicarbonate  to  each  dose — as  suggested  above — whereby 
the  diacid  salt  is  alkalinized  to  the  official  acid  salt. 
The  official  sodium  phosphate  in  solution,  while  chemically  an 
acid  salt — in  that  its  molecule  contains  replaceable  basylous  hydro- 
gen atoms — is  physically  alkaline  in  re-action.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  diacid  sodium  phosphate  is  acid  both  chemically  and  physically, 
while  the  remaining  salt  of  the  group  of  orthophosphates — the  nor- 
mal sodium  phosphate — is  alkaline  in  re-action,  and  its  solution, 
exposed  to  air,  absorbs  carbon  dioxide  to  yield  sodium  carbonate 
and  the  acid  phosphate. — Philadelphia  Polyclinic. 
GLEANINGS  FROM  THE  MEDICAL  JOURNALS. 
By  Clement  B.  Lowe,  M.D. 
SECRET  REMEDIES. 
The  Berlin  correspondent  of  the  Medical  News  writes  :  "  It  is 
forbidden  to  sell  secret  remedies  in  Germany,  and  the  Ministry  of 
Commerce  and  Industry  has  just  announced  for  the  guidance  of  the 
courts  what  is  meant  by  a  secret  remedy.  This  will  remove  the  1  ist 
loophole  of  the  patent- medicine  people,  for,  taking  advantage  of  dis- 
cordant legal  decisions,  they  have  been  able  to  keep  certain  prepa- 
rations on  the  market.  All  remedies  not  sold  under  a  prescription 
from  a  doctor  must  have  the  formula  of  its  contents  printed  on  the 
label.  This  formula  (and  here  is  where  the  new  instructions  define 
the  law)  must  be  written,  not  in  Latin,  but,  when  possible,  in  the 
vernacular.  It  must  be  intelligible,  not  only  for  a  doctor  or  phar- 
macist, but  for  any  one  who  wishes  to  buy,  and  it  must  be  sufficient 
to  enable  a  buyer  to  decide  whether  the  ingredients  contained 
therein  are  such  as  may  be  reasonably  expected  to  give  relief,  and 
whether  he  is  paying  a  not  unreasonable  price  for  the  amount  of 
the  different  drugs  which  are  being  bought.     As  the  merit  of  the 
