Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  1886. 
Bismuth  Citrate. 
237 
BISMUTH  CITEATE. 
By  E.  Rother. 
The  profession  of  pharmacy  doubtless  accept  it  as  a  fundamental 
fact  of  their  vocation  that  pharmacy  is  not  chemistry,  although  practi- 
cal chemistry  may  be  the  root  of  it.  Now  even  the  scientific  part  of 
pharmacy  is  utterly  concrete.  But  chemistry  itself  is  only  an  abstract- 
concrete  science,  and,  therefore,  essentially  distinct  from  mathematics 
which  is  an  abstract  science  par  excellence.  An  abstract  science  pure 
and  simple  deals  only  with  space  and  time  relations,  whereas  concrete 
science  treats  of  the  relations  among  things.  In  abstract  science 
theory  and  fact  are  identical.  But  in  concrete  science  both  theory  and 
fact  are  only  approximate.  It  therefore  seems  like  a  slight  compre- 
hension of  the  meanings  of  words  to  affirm  in  all  seriousness  that 
pharmacy  should  be  as  exact  a  science  as  mathematics.  When  bal- 
ances and  manipulative  skill  can  readily  apportion  not  merely  up  to 
the  molecule,  but  to  the  restless  atom,  will  be  the  proper  time  to  look 
into  the  mathematical  accuracy  of  pharmacy. 
It  is  now  also  believed  that  there  is  a  more  prevalent  activity  in 
operative  pharmacy  than  heretofore,  and  that  the  manifestation  of 
such  spirit  is  due  to  better  chemical  knowledge  among  the  craft.  There 
will  always  be  some  whose  mental  trend  diverts  their  activities  into* 
peculiar  channels,  and  as  the  whole  aggregate  augments,  their  numbers 
will  also  correspondingly  increase.  It  can,  however,  be  shown 
from  a  priori  grounds  that  although  the  actual  number  may  be 
greater  their  totality  will  be  comparatively  smaller.  It  is,  however,, 
questionable  whether  there  is  such  a  leaning  towards  the  presumed 
accuracy.  If,  as  is  also  thought,  universal  distress,  or  rather  growing 
avarice,  is  the  incentive  to  productive  energy,  it  only  shows  that  the  rec- 
tifying factor  is  merely  of  secondary  import.  The  aim  appears  to  be  not 
so  much  towards  an  ideal  purity  as  the  ready  acquisition  of  the  greatest 
amount  of  available  product,  that  is  real  substance.  General  experi- 
ence, however,  goes  to  show  that  there  is  ultimately  no  gain  in  this 
particular  field  of  operative  pharmacy,  and  that  its  scope  is  incredibly 
restricted.  In  this  connection  the  British  apothecaries  are  at  present 
considerably  exercised  over  the  shortcomings  of  their  new  Pharmaco- 
poeia, and  incidentally  the  writer  has  been  adversely  criticized  on  his 
process  for  preparing  bismuth  citrate.  At  the  very  outset  the  writer 
had  observed  in  connection  with  this  process  that  a  considerable 
opacity  resulted  when  the  bismuth  citrate  thus  prepared  is  treated  with. 
