236  Editorial— Reviews,  etc.  {^"a&x^""' 
"At  this  very  moment,  in  summing  up,  and  without  any  references,  I  can  call  to 
•mind  as  many  as  twenty  physicians  who  are  in  the  habit  of  writing  cipher  prescrip- 
tions, several  of  whom  are  classed  among  the  leading  physicians  of  the  city,  and  who 
write  by  far  the  largest  number  of  prescriptions  of  any  practising  here.  If  we  may 
judge  from  such  prescriptions  as  fall  into  the  hands  of  druggists  who  are  not  in  col- 
lusion with  such  physicians,  at  least  90  per  cent,  of  them  are  written  in  that  unpro- 
fessional manner.  Some  of  these  doctors,  occupying  public  positions  of  honor  and 
trust,  some  occupying  professorships  in  our  medical  schools — especially  in  the  med- 
ical department  of  the  University  of  California — are,  I  am  grieved  to  say,  included 
in  that  category,  and  their  influence  is  felt  to  such  an  extent  that  not  a  few  of  the 
young  graduates  seem  to  think  that  being  paid  a  percentage  on  their  prescriptions  is 
.a  legitimate  business  transaction.  .  .  .  .  . 
*'  And  some  professors,  too,  are  in  the  habit  of  not  only  writing  in  cipher, 
but  also  of  giving  the  prescription  to  the  patient  in  a  sealed  envelope,  with 
the  printed  address  of  a  certain  druggist  upon  it.  It  would  appear  that  moral 
suasion  is  not  sufficient  in  the  other  five  cases  out  of  the  ten.  Perhaps  the 
fears  that  the  patient  might  discover  the  important  fact  that  he  could  get  the 
same  medicine  at  any  other  store  for  one-third  of  the  price,  impels  these  vampires  to 
adopt  this  sealed  envelope  and  the  secret  cipher  plan." 
The  resolutions  approving  of  the  bill  have  been  signed  by  94  out  of  the  98  apoth- 
ecaries of  San  Francisco,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  medical 
profession  will  likewise  favor  a  measure  for  the  suppression  of  the  dishonorable  col 
lusion,  having  for  its  purpose  the  fleecing  of  the  sick. 
REVIEWS  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES. 
Lehrbuch  der  Pharmaceutischen  Chemie.  Von  Dr.  Hus^o  Schwanert,  ordentl.  Pro- 
fessor der  Chemiean  der  Universitat  zu  Greifswald.  In  drei  Banden.  ErsterBand. 
Mit  146  Holzschnitt-Illustrationen  undeiner  Spectraltafel.  Braunschweig:  C.  A. 
Schwetschke  und  Sohn.     1880.  Svo,  pp.  756. 
Pharmaceutical  Chemistry,  in  three  volumes.  Vol.  I,  with  146  wood-cuts  and  a 
spectral  chart. 
A  work  on  chemistry,  intended  for  the  special  use  of  pharmAcists,  may  be  written 
from  diff'erent  stand-points  and  with  different  objects  in  view.  Aside  from  such, 
which  merely  aim  at  teaching  the  most  approved  methods  of  manufacturing  the 
various  definite  compounds  employed  in  medicine,  it  may  assume  a  certain  knowl- 
edge of  physical  and  chemical  laws,  and  thus  adapt  itself  to  the  wants  of  the  more 
advanced  student  j  or,  it  may  endeavor  at  teaching  chemistry  to  the  novice  who  has 
yet  to  master  those  lawb  upon  a  knowledge  of  which  tlie  correct  understanding  ot 
processes  and  reactions  depends,  A  full  and  accurate  knowledge  of  the^pharm- 
aceutical  chemicals  can  doubtless  be  obtained  only  through  an  insight  into  the  more 
important  physical  laws  and  into  the  importance  of  physical  and  chemical  properties, 
and  through  a  familiarity  with  the  fundamental  chemical  laws,  and  with  the  pro- 
duction, constitution  and  behavior  of  elements  and  compounds,  including  such, 
which  though  not  medicinally  employed,  are  of  importance  on  account  of  analogy, 
or  because  of  being  utilized  in  the  preparation  of  medicinal  chemicals.  It'is  obvi- 
ous, therefore,  that  among  the  material  of  a  work  on  pharmaceutical ^^^chemistry 
many  bodies  may  be  omitted  which  for  the  theoretical  chemist  are  of  importance, 
