286  Progress  in  Pharmacy.  {Amjime,ri905.arm' 
to  1803  he  served  as  apprentice  in  the  Adler  Apotheke  at  Pader- 
born,  then  owned  by  F.  A.  Cramer.  Sertiirner  remained  here  until 
the  spring  of  1806,  when  he  entered  as  an  assistant  in  the  Rats- 
apotheke  at  Einbeck.  In  the  fall  of  1 809  he  opened  a  second  apotheke 
at  Einbeck  and  it  was  here  that  he  completed  his  study  of  morphine, 
in  181 5-1 6.  On  the  death  of  the  proprietor  of  the  Ratsapotheke  in 
Hameln,  in  December,  1 8 19,  Sertiirner  became  his  successor  and 
remained  until  his  death,  February  23,  1841. 
A  Canadian  Compendium  of  Medicines. — A  small  pamphlet,  con- 
taining formulas  for  preparations  that  are  more  or  less  extensively 
used  by  Canadian  physicians,  has  been  published  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Ontario  College  of  Pharmacy. 
The  object  of  publishing  this  compendium  is  highly  commend, 
able — the  authorization  and  establishment  of  uniform  and  authori- 
tative standards  for  medicinal  articles  required  by  both  professions. 
The  use  of  alternative  formulas,  British  Imperial  and  Metric  weights 
and  measures,  is  to  be  deplored,  as  it  detracts  materially  from  con- 
ciseness and  is  likely  to  lead  to  misunderstandings  and  mistakes. 
Administration  of  Antidiphtheritic  Serum  by  Mouth. — A.  M.  Pilcher, 
while  preparing  to  inject  a  patient  with  antidiphtheritic  serum,  broke 
his  syringe  and  was  in  desperation  induced  to  administer  the  intended 
dose  by  mouth.  The  prompt  reaction  that  was  obtained  in  this  par- 
ticular case  induced  him  to  repeat  the  experiment  with  like  results. 
Pilcher  thinks  that  the  reaction  is  quite  as  prompt  as  by  injection 
and  much  less  objectionable.  {Apothek.  Zeitg.,  1905,  page  156,  from 
Brit.  Med.  Jour) 
The  Sterilization  of  Water  by  Means  of  Nitro  muriatic  Acid — A. 
K.  Federoff  has  duplicated  the  experiments  that  have  been  made 
by  other  investigators  and  finds  that  0-o6  per  cent,  of  nitro-muriatic 
acid  reduces  the  number  of  micro-organisms  in  well-water  from 
3,957  to  277  colonies  in  twenty  minutes.  In  another  experiment 
they  were  reduced  from  1,734  to  70  in  thirty  minutes  and  from 
1,590  to  40  in  forty-five  minutes. 
The  action  on  typhoid  bacilli  was  determined  by  inoculating  water 
with  bouillon  cultures  of  typhoid  bacilli.  Federoff  finds  that,  from 
the  point  of  view  of  the  bacteriologist,  nitro-muriatic  acid  is  a  useful 
and  efficient  means  for  sterilizing  water ;  whether  or  not  it  is  objec- 
tionable from  a  hygienic  point  of  view  is  to  be  determined.  {Chem. 
Zeitg.  Kept.,  1905,  page  108.) 
