174  The  Evolution  of  Nostrum  Vending.  {^aSiJ™' 
To  what,  may  be  asked,  can  we  attribute  this  tendency  among 
physicians  to  depart  from  officially  recognized  preparations  and 
methods  of  prescribing  ?  Is  it  due  to  any  lack  of  proper  instruction 
in  the  medical  departments  of  the  universities  and  colleges  ?  It  is 
exceptional  indeed  to  find  among  practitioners  of  medicine  any  great 
percentage  who  are  proficient  in  chemistry,  and  to  a  still  larger  pro- 
portion, botany  is  a  sealed  book.  Under  these  conditions  was  not 
the  following  statement,  attributed  to  a  prominent  pharmaceutical 
manufacturer,  well  founded  ?  "  The  average  physician  of  to-day 
gleans  his  knowledge  of  Materia  Medica  from  the  patent  medicine 
man's  circular."  It  is  certain  that  this  lack  of  acquaintance  with 
Materia  Medica  is  appreciated  by  the  manufacturer  of  such  pro- 
prietaries, and  his  circulars  and  advertisings  are  framed  accordingly. 
Of  course,  some  of  the  remedies  introduced  as  proprietaries  have 
proved  to  be  useful,  and  the  success  of  such  has  always  had  an 
influence  on  the  practice  of  medicine  and  likewise  on  the  pharma- 
copoeias. The  present  United  States  Pharmacopoeia  contains  a 
number  of  such  preparations,  which  are  recognized  under  official 
titles  and  properly  used.  In  the  forthcoming  edition  of  the  Phar- 
macopoeia, probably  under  such  titles  as  Liquor  Sodii  Phosphatis, 
Liquor  Antisepticus  and  Cataplasma  Kaolini,  we  will  discern  some 
substitutes  for  well-known  proprietaries. 
It  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  practice  of  medicine  is  influ- 
enced to  a  considerable  extent  by  the  character  of  the  surrounding 
community.  The  practice  of  pharmacy  is  still  more  influenced  by 
the  environment,  and  also  by  the  medical  practice  of  the  neighbor- 
hood. 
There  was  no  marked  progress  in  pharmacy  until  the  advance 
was  inaugurated  by  medicine,  and  so  in  the  elimination  of  this  evil 
the  two  professions  must  work  together,  but  it  must  be  apparent 
that  physicians  must  cease  prescribing  proprietaries  before  the  phar- 
macist can  cease  dispensing  the  same. 
If  the  commercialism  that  has  marked  in  many  localities  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine  could  only  be  discontinued,  and  the  physicians  rise 
to  the  true  dignity  of  their  profession,  how  soon  would  the  pharma- 
cists seize  the  opportunity  of  elevating  their  calling  and  relegating 
this  abominable  nostrum  vending  to  ancient  history. 
There  is  a  great  responsibility  resting  on  pharmacy  which 
it  must  bear  independently  of  that  shared  by  medicine.    We  are 
