to make these observations at the present time, in reference to a case of poisoning reported in another part of this number (page 199). If the Chemist in this case had not possessed the requisite knowledge of toxicology and the doses of medicines, he would have furnished without hesitation the unsafe dose of Dover's powder ordered by the patient, who, in all probability, would have taken the whole of it. The prescription for the injection having been written by a medical man, who had given verbal instructions to the patient respecting the use of it, the Chemist was not responsible; but if the patient had been prescribing the injection for himself, Mr. Savory would have used the same precautions which he did in regard to the powder. Thirty grains of Dover's powder would not, under ordinary circumstances, be a poisonous dose for an adult, and two drachms of Battley's liquor opii. might be administered as an injection without a fatal result; yet either of these doses might be attended with serious consequences, of which a Chemist would not be justified in allowing a patient to run the risk, unless under medical advice. The effect of both together would decidedly be sufficient to endanger life in a patient of ordinary constitution. It is the duty of the medical practitioner to ascertain the limits of a safe dose of a medicine. This having been settled, it is necessary that the Chemist should know it. The comparative effects of medicines when swallowed and when administered in the form of injection, is a medical question. The dose of tincture of opium is stated in the Pharmacopoeia to be from fifteen to thirty minims,—when used as an injection thirty minims. In the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia the quantity stated for an injection is from half a drachm to a drachm. Assuming that Battley's liquor opii. is about the same strength as laudanum, or rather stronger, the injection prescribed for Major Forester contained quantity equivalent to not less than six grains of opium. It appears that rather less than half the injection was used, and about 8 grains of Dover's powder having been taken, the total quantity of opium administered may be estimated at between three and four grains. Dr. Taylor states, "As a suppository five grains are sometimes prescribed; but I have known this quantity to produce alarming symptoms in a healthy adult." Two drachms of tincture of opium when swallowed have been known to cause death. Four grains of crude opium have also proved fatal. But there is probably no medicine the effects of which vary so much from idiosyncrasy, or the habits of the patient. Dr. Christison mentions the case of a person who at one time took nine ounces of tincture of opium daily. Opium is also cumulative in its effects. A person unaccustomed to this medicine, after having taken several moderate doses at regular intervals, may be suddenly attacked with the symptoms which would have been produced by one large dose. Under these circumstances it is often very difficult to arrive at clear and satisfactory conclusions in cases of death supposed to result from opium. Sufficient, however, is known to induce the Pharmaceutical Chemist to use every precaution in regard to this drug. THE OPERATION OF THE SALE OF ARSENIC ACT. THERE are two modes in which this Act is intended to protect the public against fatal results from the improper use of arsenic; first, by affording the means of tracing arsenic to or from the possessor when sold; and, secondly, by prohibiting the sale of arsenic in small quantities for domestic purposes. The first object is to be attained by the registration of every sale of arsenic, the second by the provision that all arsenic sold by retail shall be mixed with soot or indigo. It is now clearly understood that when a person applies at a shop for a small quantity of arsenic for poisoning rats, the name, address, and occupation of the purchaser, the date, with other particulars, must be registered in the arsenic book, and the arsenic must be disguised (black or blue) as the Act directs. If the Act had done no more than this it might have been easily evaded. Preparations of arsenic equally deleterious and dangerous might have been sold instead of the white arsenic in substance. But the Act declares that the term arsenic shall be construed to include arsenious acid and the arsenites, arsenic acid and the arseniates, and all other colourless poisonous preparations of arsenic. The only exemptions in the Act relate to the sale of arsenic when compounded by the orders of medical practitioners, and the sale of arsenic by wholesale to retail dealers upon orders in writing in the ordinary course of wholesale dealing. In cases where arsenic mixed as the Act directs would be unfit for the purpose required, it may be sold unmixed in a quantity of not less than ten pounds at any one time. In all cases, however, excepting when it forms an ingredient in a medical prescription, the sale must be registered as evidence of the destination of the arsenic and the purpose for which it is required. The Act is, therefore, perfectly clear and intelligible with regard to the undisguised sale of arsenic or its preparations; but doubts have arisen respecting certain proprietary compounds sold for poisoning rats, flies, and other vermin, and containing arsenic as one of the ingredients. A case of poisoning occurred in July last from the incautious exposure of a poisonous mixture of this kind. The following is the report of the inquest, from the Daily News of July 29th: "Yesterday Mr. William Baker, deputy coroner (for Middlesex), held an inquest at the Amhurst Arms, Kingsland, on the body of Stephen A. Curtis, two years old, the son of a city merchant, who has a country residence at Kingsland. On Monday morning the child, while the servant's back was turned, tasted a quantity of a poisonous mixture intended to kill cockroaches, from the effects of which he died in a few hours. Verdict, accidental death." We are informed that death ensued about four hours after the poison was taken, and, on examination, both the contents of the bottle and the matter vomited were found to contain arsenic. The compound is sold under the name of "cooling physic," with the following label : tetet vetetetet ESTABLISHED 1820. tetetettetek KILLING NO MURDER! BAKER'S COOLING PHYSIC, FOR DISTROYING WITHOUT TROUBLE BUGS, FLIES, BLACK BEETLES, WASPS, DIRECTIONS.-For Flies or Wasps. Pour a little into Oyster Shells or For Bugs.-Do not take the Bedstead down, but wash the joints, by intro- Each ounce of this COOLING PHYSIC contains about fifteen grains of arsenic held in solution by an alkali in a mixture of treacle and water! A drachm would be sufficient to poison an adult, it is attractive to children, and especially adapted for family poisoning. A "family bottle" would be sufficient for a great many families. If the coroner, at the inquest above reported, had known the facts of the case, and understood the operation of the Arsenic Act, he would have instructed the jury that the vendor of the cooling physic was liable to a penalty under the Act. In our opinion, there were grounds to justify a verdict of Manslaughter. That no doubt may exist on the subject, we quote the third clause of the Act: "3. No person shall sell any arsenic unless the same be before the sale thereof mixed with soot or indigo in the proportion of one ounce of soot or half an ounce of indigo, at the least, to one pound of the arsenic, and so in proportion for any greater or less quantity: provided always, that where such arsenic is stated by the purchaser to be required, not for use in agriculture, but for some other purpose for which such admixture would, according to the representation of the purchaser, render it unfit, such arsenic may be sold without such admixture, in a quantity not less than ten pounds at any one time." If the sale of such compounds were to be tolerated, the Arsenic Act would be a dead letter. The cooling physic contains an ARSENITE, it is not coloured with soot or indigo, it is not prescribed by a medical practitioner, it is sold in a quantity less than ten pounds, the sale is not registered in the arsenic book as the Act directs. Consequently, every person selling a bottle of this cooling physic, or any other compound of a similar nature, is liable to a penalty of £20. We did not receive the particulars of this case until last month, and had not previously ascertained the composition of the cooling physic, otherwise we should not have allowed so much time to elapse without giving publicity to this reprehensible mode of retailing arsenic to the public. PROVINCIAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY. EDINBURGH. THE Board of Examiners for Scotland will hold their next meeting on Wednesday, 6th October, at eleven o'clock forenoon, in the Society's Rooms, 72, Princes Street, Edinburgh. Parties desirous of availing themselves of the above opportunity are requested to communicate with the Secretary, 121, George Street, Edinburgh, a few days previous to the day of meeting, and to transmit such testimonials or certificates as they may wish the Board to inspect. JOHN MACKAY, Secretary. Edinburgh, 20th September, 1852. BIRMINGHAM. A MEETING of the Chemists and Druggists of Birmingham is announced to be held on Tuesday, October 12th, at 11 A.M., to consider the Pharmacy Act, and the best means of promoting Pharmaceutical education. LIVERPOOL CHEMISTS' ASSOCIATION. THE first meeting of this Association for the current session took place on Friday evening, at the Royal Institution, Colquitt Street, on which occasion a very interesting lecture on Pharmacology, or Materia Medica, was delivered to the members by Dr. Dickinson. Mr. Mercer, a Member of the Council, in the absence of the President, took the chair. Mr. JOHN ABRAHAM, the honorary secretary, announced that at a recent meeting of the Council Mr. Sumner was elected President of the Association; Mr. Edward Evans, Treasurer; himself (Mr. Abraham), Secretary; and Dr. Edwards, teacher of Practical Pharmacy. The CHAIRMAN then said that the subject of the Lecture that evening was one which had not yet been brought before the Society. They had been very late in taking up Materia Medica, but he hoped that if they once began they would follow it up continuously, so that they might have lectures on different subjects in Materia Medica through the session. For instance, one might take the acids, another the alkalies, another the purgatives, another the gums, and so on. He remembered reading a report of the Birmingham Pharmaceutical Society, in which it was stated that the Druggists there had each taken a part, and he was sure that great advantage would be derived if the same practice were adopted by the Members of the Liverpool Association. Dr. DICKINSON commenced his lecture by observing, that when the worthy Secretary of the Association asked him, about a week or ten days ago, to give a lecture upon Materia Medica, he was very reluctant to do so, in the first place, because he had very little that was novel to offer; and 2ndly, because his time, at present, was very much occupied. However, unwilling that the Society should be at a loss for a lecturer to come before it on such a subject, he ventured to lay before them the following remarks. The editor of one of the leading medical periodicals thus wrote: "We ask the question-Is there in the Pharmaceutical press any wholesome restriction whatever as to the scope of study proper for the Chemist? Are not therapeutics constantly mixed up with Materia Medica, though for the comprehension of them the study of Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathology is essentially requisite, and without which a smattering of therapeutic information must be extremely dangerous if exercised upon the sick? Is not Toxicology openly grafted on the Pharmaceutical courses of Chemistry, Botany, and Materia Medica? What does it mean? Is the Chemist to be taught the antidotes to poison, and not permitted to use his partial knowledge? Or if the Chemist is to use his toxicological knowledge, it is tantamount to saying he is an actual Medical Practitioner, fitted to act in the gravest emergencies that can occur. Again, if the Chemist and Druggist is to use his imperfect knowledge of Toxicology, what must become of medical jurisprudence? Who is to supply the evidence for the defence of the innocent and the punishment of the guilty? Are we to depend for these things upon the Toxicological Druggists ? On every side, in pursuing this subject, considerations of the gravest character arise before the reflective mind,-considerations as important to the Chemist as to the Medical Practitioners. And who are the parties who supply this kind of partial information, this little knowledge,' which, in medicine, so pre-eminently is but ‘a dangerous thing?' They are Physicians, public lecturers, who are teaching the same things at the same times to Medical Students. The matter will not bear the test of common honesty, that they should teach to extra-professional persons that knowledge for which Students pay them, and upon which Students depend in the future practice of their profession. (As well might they invite Druggists at once to attend their professional courses on Toxicology, Materia Medica, and Therapeutics.) We are the more struck with these things, because of seeing recently the prospectus of a flaunting and tawdry periodical,* addressed to the rising thirty thousand Druggists' and Chemists' Assistants, in which medical men, lecturers, and hospital physicians were paraded by the dozen as contributors in embryo. We confess we have looked in vain for any repudiation of such a scandal from the parties thus implicated. They are accused of pofessional suicide, and they sit silent under the accusation." To this accusation he (Dr. Dickinson), as one of the accused, replied,—We have no fear that either the interests of our profession as a class, or those of the great *The Pharmaceutical Times. body of society, which is of infinitely more importance than those of any class, will or can suffer by the more complete training and development of the minds of the rising generation of Chemists, or by a more extensive and profound acquaintance with the principles and details of the various branches of their art and science. On the contrary, we are profoundly impressed with the conviction that the highest and best interests of the practical physician are most intimately connected with the progressive, and, we hope, rapid advance of Pharmaceutical education, in which, besides Botany, Chemistry, practical Pharmacy, and Materia Medica, we would most especially include (as is done in France and Germany) Toxicology. Is the surgical instrument-maker less likely to improve the manufacture of proper instruments by being made acquainted with the structure and nature of the objects for which these instruments are formed, and will he be tempted, on account of this information, to step out of his own sphere and usurp the province of the operating surgeon? But it was worse than useless (the lecturer observed, in continuation) to occupy their time further on this subject, for even the most common mechanic felt, in the present day, that he ought to be acquainted, more or less, with the scientific principles of his art; and it seemed monstrous to forbid to intelligent men, called upon to practise the most delicate chemical processes, and to prepare and conduct the sale of medicines, many of which were of a most poisonous nature-it was monstrous to deny to such men the most ample means for acquiring a perfect knowledge of the nature and scientific uses of the articles in which they dealt, or to confine their intelligence to the mechanical routine of the shop without the elevating and expanding influences of the study and the lecture-room. It had been justly remarked that when the mind of a Chemist is properly stored with this valuable knowledge, when he feels conscious that his character and position in society are dependent on his qualification for his own scientific occupation, what inducement can he feel to transgress the boundary of his proper functions? There was in his own department ample scope for the exercise of his abilities, for the pursuit of fame, for the acquirement of subsistence. The most eminent men of the medical profession, both in this country and on the continent, agreed in the desirableness, if not the absolute necessity, of committing the sale and preparation of medicines to the Chemist, and of restricting the Medical Practitioner to his proper vocation, the practice of medicine and surgery, at least in large towns; and in some countries on the continent this separation of Pharmacy from medical practice was strictly enforced. Medical men were prohibited under a penalty from selling medicines, and Pharmaciens from practising as medical men. There were, of course, some exceptional cases; for example, in villages where the division of labour could not be carried out, medical men might sell medicines on obtaining a licence from the government authorities; and in cases of emergency, or the necessities of the poor, Pharmaciens occasionally administered medicines according to their judgment. But this was done to so limited an extent that it did not amount to an abuse, and did not appear to occasion jealousy in the medical profession. Now, what was compulsory by law in France ought to be compulsory from moral principle in this country. The British legislature had now recognised a class of persons as the representatives of Pharmacy in this country with a distinctive title, and prohibited the unauthorised assumption of that title under a penalty. The Pharmaceutical Society was the depository of the powers conferred by the Act, the Members were the parties recognised, and the fraudulent assumption or exhibition of a sign denoting membership was punishable as a misdemeanour. It had, however, been justly remarked that the value of the distinction conferred upon the Members would depend entirely upon the Pharmaceutical Chemists themselves. It would be a fatal mistake to suppose that, because an Act of Parliament had been carried, nothing remained to be done. The Act might encourage and stimulate; it might promote the advance of the art and science of Pharmacy, and raise the character of those who came within its influence; it pointed out the road to distinction, but it left the direction of it entirely in the hands of the Chemist himself; it provided the locomotive engine, but those who desired to have the advantage must put on the steam. Education was an individual work; "and respecting the educational functions of the Pharmaceutical Society the Pharmacy Act leaves the question where it was.' could not forbear here alluding to a very able "Report, addressed to the Minister of Public Instruction, on the Organisation of the Schools of Pharmacy in France." In this valuable document it was stated that “the right to prepare and sell medicines is regulated by law," and is entrusted to three classes of persons :-1. Herborist s He |