Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
March,  1895.  J 
Editorial — Reviews. 
179 
EDITORIAL. 
THE  SUPPRESSION  OF  THE  NOSTRUM  TRAFFIC. 
The  editor  of  the  Medical  News  (February  9,  1895)  comments  as  follows  : 
In  contrast  with  the  efforts  on  the  part  of  some  members  of  the  American  Medical 
Association,  as  representative  of  the  medical  profession,  to  exorcise  certain  salutary-  restric- 
tions from  the  code  of  ethics,  are  the  numerous  indications  of  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  the 
dental  profession  to  elevate  its  standard  both  ethically  and  educationally.  While  certain  men 
in  the  medical  profession  look  upon  nostrums  with  indifference,  if  not  with  encouragement, 
the  dentists  are  discussing  measures  for  the  suppression  of  unethical  practices  of  all  kinds. 
The  foregoing  remarks  refer  to  the  indiscriminate  use  of  various  cocaine 
preparations  for  the  relief  of  diseases  of  the  teeth  and  gums,  the  manufacturers 
claiming  in  most  cases  that  the  preparations  are  harmless. 
It  is  suggested  that  dentists  and  physicians  might  well  join  hands  in  an 
effort  to  enact  and  enforce  salutary  legislation. 
As  pharmacists,  let  us  ask  ourselves  how  we  stand  in  this  matter.  Are  we 
endeavoring  to  get  out  of  this  slough,  or  are  we  to  remain  the  tool  of  the  nos- 
trum manufacturer  ? 
SERUM  THERAPY. 
This  is  a  subject  which,  sooner  or  later,  is  bound  to  effect  every  pharmacist, 
but  whether  it  will  interest  him  pecuniarily  or  not  cannot  at  present  be  deter- 
mined. He  must  either  furnish  the  various  substances  used  in  this  form  of 
medication,  or  lose  his  prestige  as  a  purveyor  of  remedies.  The  present  indi- 
cations are  that  the  various  serums  will  be  sold  in  original  packages,  in  which 
case  probably  no  skill  will  be  required  to  dispense  them,  and  we  may  see  them 
offered  for  sale,  very  much  as  patent  medicines  are  now,  by  any  one  who 
chooses  to  sell  them  ;  or,  as  is  usually  the  case  with  vaccine  virus,  the  physi- 
cian may  prefer  to  supply  himself  directly  from  the  manufacturer,  in  which 
event  it  may  be  safely  predicted  that  the  latter  will  offer  every  inducement. 
That  pharmacist  who  has  a  knowledge  of  bacteriology  will  be  in  abetter  posi- 
tion to  intelligently  judge  such  serums  as  may  be  required  of  him,  than  his 
less  fortunate  brother  who  has  no  knowledge  of  the  use  or  value  of  his 
remedies. 
REVIEWS  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES. 
BuEEETiN  Voe.  II,  No.  2.  College  of  Agriculture,  Imperial  University  of 
Japan. 
No.  1  of  this  bulletin  was  noticed  in  this  Journae  (1S94,  p.  412),  and  the 
leading  article  in  this  number  is  the  continuation  of  the  subject,  "  The  Energy 
of  Living  Protoplasm,"  by  Dr.  Oscar  Loew.  The  author  presents  some  inter- 
esting theories  concerning  the  formation  of  proteids  in  plant  cells,  he  adds 
many  facts  in  support  of  his  theory  of  active  albumen,  and  thinks  this  theory 
has  reached  the  stage  when  men  say  there  may  be  something  in  it. 
The  other  papers  in  this  number  are:  "On  the  Vegetable  Cheese,  Natto," 
and  "  On  the  Poisonous  Action  of  the  Hydroxy  1-derivations  of  Benzol  upon 
Yeast  and  Bacteria,"  by  K.  Yabe  ;  "On  the  Quantity  of  Wood-gum  {xylari) 
Contained  in  Different  Kinds  of  Wood,"  by  J.  Okumura;  "On  the  Reserve 
Protein  in  Plants,"  by  G.    Daikuhara;  "On  the  Occurrence  of  Mucin  in 
