of dung. This manure is generally preferred | practical facts perfectly accord with the as recently brought from the sea, before a theoretical data given in our general concommencement of disaggregation causes it siderations. to lose a portion of its qualities; all these (To be continued.) III. PHARMACY, MATERIA MEDICA, THERAPEUTICS, SECOND ADDRESS TO THE PHARMACEUTICAL CHEMISTS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. It would appear almost preposterous to believe that any man in his sound senses could possibly be imposed on by the Pharmaceutical Charter: still, we fear that many have by its means been induced to join this Society, from a dread that this ROYAL CHARTER Confers on that body the power of suspending from their practice such contumacious druggists as may dare to assert their disregard of it and its laws, and to persist in withholding from them the two guineas per annum for which they are so indecorously eager. This charter, after all, endows the Society with not an atom of power; it merely confirms its rules; it gives it authority to regulate the admission of members; that it had before; but it has no power to compel chemists to belong to it; no, this will for ever be withheld. We knew that this charter would be as inefficient as the Society itself, or we would most unhesitatingly have lodged a caveat, and would have carried on to the utmost our opposition; but we were too thoroughly convinced that the charter would give this illmanaged body no power over the trade. The whole effect of the charter may be given in a few words :-It enables the Society to sue and be sued, to purchase property, &c.; in fact, it contains the usual provisions to govern itself; to teach and examine candidates, and to grant its diploma to those who pass that examination. Now, an act of parliament, for which they did not dare to apply, would have been quite &c. a different thing: this, indeed, would have endowed them with the same authority as that possessed by the Apothecaries' Company. This charter was granted on the 18th of February, 1843, but no exposition of its provisions was given in the March No. of the Society's Journal; a brief announcement on the cover was all the notice taken of it: it required some time and consideration before it was laid before the world; consequently, Mr. Bell deferred his explanation of it until the April No. He knew full well that the members would be grievously disappointed in this charter; therefore, he took time to consider how he might make the best of a very bad job. At last, however, the denouement takes place, and Mr. Bell writes an article extolling the wonderful Royal Grant, and endeavoring to impress the members with an extravagant idea of its value. It is our purpose on the present occasion to consider the effusion of Mr. Bell. Passing over some extracts from the charter, selected on account of their being entombed in the obscurity of technical phraseology and legal verbosity, as being most eminently calculated to throw dust in the eyes of the contributors to the Society's Exchequer, we come to Mr. B.'s most sapient observations. "By the provisions of our charter, our members are all recognised as chemists and druggists, and admission can, in future, only be granted to such as possess the proper qualification." So, the QUEEN has actually had the extreme sagacity to recognise them as chemists and druggists. We are glad to hear that "in future" no unqualified persons will be admitted; but the words "in future" would lead to the inference that hitherto they have not been so particular. Mr. Bell goes on to boast of the extraordinarily high position enjoyed by corporate bodies, and exults in the glorious fact of the Pharmaceutical Society being possessed of a charter. "We began," says he," by laying down a few general principles for our guidance, and organising ourselves into a private association for the purpose of testing their value." If Mr. Bell has discovered any value in them, we wish he would render it more evident to us, as we have not been so successful. But; "these principles have been confirmed by experience and sanctioned by HER MAJESTY, and we are therefore justified in assuming that they are approved by the Government; but we are still on the threshold of reformation, and it remains for us to apply our principles to practice in all their details." Confirmed by experience! why seven-eighths of the trade in this country have shown their disapprobation by not becoming members. HER MAJESTY'S sanction is a very doubtful affair, for we fear that she scarcely knows of the existence of such a Society; and even if HER MAJESTY had paid the most profound attention to the granting of this charter, we presume, with the utmost humility and deference, to doubt whether much importance may be attached to her opinion, especially when placed in opposition to that of seven-eighths of those most interested in the matter, and who are highly capable of judging of their own interest, and in contravention of the judgment pronounced on this Society by, without a single exception, the whole medical press of the country. As regards the approval of the Government, we cannot see that Mr. Bell has any right to assume this: the charter was applied for, and the application, not being opposed, was acceded to. Besides, the Government has exhibited such a total disregard of medical affairs, and has so long neglected to make any settlement of the present disturbed state of the profession, that it is not impossible nor even improbable that the charter was granted without proper consideration. The opinion of HER MAJESTY is entitled to our respect, from HER MAJESTY's station; but that of seven-eighths of the druggists, and of the entire medical press of Great Britain, is much more likely to be based on correct data. Besides, if we may judge by the misrepresentations contained in the article under consideration, it is by no means improbable that HER MAJESTY and her Government may have been deluded by garbled statements. We accuse no one of wilful deception. In our first address, we stated that it is the intention of the Government, in the forthcoming Medical Bill, to confer on the College of Physicians, and not on the Pharmaceutical Society, the power of examining and licensing chemists; and since that statement was made, we have had still stronger reasons for believing that such is the determination of the Legislature. We perceive, moreover, that Mr. Bell is far from confident that the power will be vested in the Society. Mark the rather hopeless tone of the following passage :— *" and it is no less certain, that unless we persevere until we have accomplished what we have undertaken, we may still be placed under the jurisdiction of others." Yes, it will come to this: great court influence will obtain for the College of Physicians that power which the Pharmaceutical Society in vain will sigh for; and if the council of the latter body should endea vor to enforce its claims, the reply will be: "Why, more than seven-eighths of your brethren are against you; the medical press has made weighty complaints against you; and we cannot confide in men who have abused the confidence reposed in them, and must decline giving you the opportunity of doing further mischief." Mr. Bell says, that the proceedings of the Society "are narrowly watched by influential members of the profession, who will immediately interfere, if any evidence of inefficiency or lukewarmness, on our part, should be observed. It should, therefore, be our policy, not only to secure what we have already achieved, but also to obtain from the Legislature such powers and pri vileges as could not be conferred by charter." Yes, indeed, a watchful guardianship is being kept up, and we are among the most vigilant. If they expected to obtain greater powers and privileges, why did they go to the expense of that which will be superseded? Because they knew full well that it was all they could ever get. He next notices a proposition "lately" made by the country members to reduce the amount of subscription, and says, that they "have not considered the matter in all its bearings, and overlook the circumstances under which the institution originated;" | but he declines recapitulating "these circumstances," under the very stale pretext of their having been "so fully detailed" on former occasions. He adds in a note, that, "at the time that the druggists were associated for the purpose of opposing the objectionable clauses in the Act of 1815, no School of Pharmacy, Journal, or Benevolent Fund, were contemplated, yet the sum of two guineas was fixed upon as the amount of subscription." Surely this answer cannot satisfy those to whom it is addressed. Certainly, in 1815, it was resolved no subscription of less than two guineas should be received; but this subscription was not annual, a circumstance which it would have been more candid in Mr. Bell to have acknowledged. But candor must not be hoped for from that quarter. With regard to the School of Pharmacy, the Society has no right to teach those whom it will afterwards have to examine; and at any rate, it should be made to pay its own expenses: students are charged for the lectures; this, therefore, must be deducted from the answer given to the country subscribers, who, moreover, are too far off to participate in the advantages it affords. The Journal should not be thrust upon every member, whether he desires it or otherwise; it ought to be optional with every one whether he purchases it or not. We suggest that, in future, it be left to each member to take it or not. This, however, would not suit Mr. Bell; he knows that in such a case, he would find the Journal a very unprofitable speculation. But, as it would be an act of wisdom and justice, we dare not expect so much of the Society. We cannot see why men should be compelled to buy trash against their will. If the Society abandon the project of a School of Pharmacy, and leave it optional with members to take in their Journal, they can well afford to reduce the subscription to one guinea; or the metropolitan members might pay £1 108., and the provincial ones 158. per annum. No disadvantages could attend such an alteration. The School of Pharmacy is not necessary, as the future druggist could be educated at other schools, and go to the Society for examination and a diploma. As for the Journal, that would stand on its own merits, and a necessity on the part of the person conducting it for maintaining its sale, would compel him to devote such care to its management as would, doubtless, tend to its improvement; whereas, now, while every member must have it, be it good, bad or indifferent, he may reasonably be supposed to relapse into carelessness as to the character of its contents. This reduction of the subscription would, we feel assured, with proper management, end in the realisation of all the hopes of the Society; additional members would flock in, and there would be but few druggists who would not join it. So numerous would they become, that the Legislature might then, perhaps, be induced to vest in them the power of examining and licensing. But we speak to the deaf. Our suggestions are thrown away. We do not expect that the questions contained in our last Address will be replied to; but if they be not, our readers will perceive that the Society cannot defend itself, and that our questions are unanswerable. If they be answered, we must request chemists to read our reply before they form any conclusion. If Mr. Bell replies to our questions, we shall rejoin in our next Number. Until then, therefore, we postpone the further consideration of this important subject. THE PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY | THE PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY. To the Editors of The Chemist. GENTLEMEN,— Your analysis of the Pharmaceutical Society and able exposé of its workings, in the last No. of THE CHEMIST, have been read with great satisfaction by those to whom it is more especially addressed, and also with considerable interest by the nonmedical part of the community: your concluding remarks are therefore looked forward to with a corresponding degree of anxiety. The pretensions of this Society are certainly very great; but as regards its practical utility, what has it effected for its supporters? literally nothing; it is therefore not at all astonishing that some of the members should be dissatisfied, and others altogether withdraw; the only matter of surprise is, that, composed of such elements of discord, it should have existed so long as it has. Had the Society been founded on a broad and liberal basis, without any sinister motives in its composition, it would have realised the expectations formed with regard to it; but, perhaps, emblematic, and phoenix like, another and a better Society may spring up on the ashes of its dissolution; such must naturally be the common fate of all institutions and governments in which the machinery works for the benefit of the few instead of the many. It were a fallacious hope to expect your interrogatories to be answered satisfactorily, if at all, by the Society; some of them are of so biting and caustic a nature, as to make them wince again, independent of their being so pertinent and necessary; but we shall see when they issue their next "valuable" Journal of Transactions, what progress they have made towards answering the questions put by THE CHEMIST; in the mean time, it is the duty of every one connected with the Trade to disabuse the public mind, and satisfy themselves that the assumption of the Pharmaceutical Society as the representative of the great body of Chemists and Druggists is absurd and preposterous, as it does not embrace one eighth part of them. I am, Gentlemen, April 20th, 1843. PATRIOTICUS. To the Editors of The Chemist. GENTLEMEN, On reading your Address to the Pharmaceutical Chemists of the United Kingdom, I feel impelled to offer my thanks for the information you have there afforded; at the same time, I have myself from the commencement viewed the whole proceedings of the Council with considerable suspicion, and had it not been a matter of principle with me to contribute my mite towards the necessary expenses incurred in fighting the battle against our opponents, I do not think, under its existing laws, I should have joined the Society; in addition to this, however, I was confidently assured that some measures framed or approved of by the Council were very shortly to be brought before Parliament, to protect the Chemists and Druggists, as well as the public, against unqualified persons entering upon a business of such great responsibility. It seems, after all, that the mountain apparently pregnant with so great things has hardly yet brought forth a mouse. Yes, the mouse (the Charter) is born. Will it long survive the labor? Having paid two years' subscription, I consider myself now free from any imputation as to illiberality as regards past expenses. Of course, I shall wait until the next subscriptions become due with my eyes open, and your help; and then, unless something more decided is accomplished, and the country members more equitably dealt with, I shall certainly withdraw any further support. It is now very plain that the unhandsome treatment you met with from the leaders of the Pharmaceutical Society has got them into a scrape, which they will find requires more tact and ability to escape from than they ever anticipated. Wishing you all success in your undertaking, Believe me to remain, April 14th, 1843. G. M. H. [We select this and the preceding letter from among a vast number which we have received, and all of which thank us for our Address to the Pharmaceutical Chemists of the United Kingdom. It gives us great pleasure to be able to inform our readers that chemists are now beginning to open their eyes. We shall most willingly and gladly receive any communications relative to the Pharmaceutical Society.] TREATMENT OF GOUT WITH CAR- | sition from the patient, attested by respect BONIC ACID GAS.* BY J. PARKIN, ESQ. In a letter to the Editor of The Lancet, Mr. P. says:" In a work that I recently published, with the express object of recommending a particular remedy for the cure of that painful and intractable malady, gout, it was stated that, so far as my own experience went, the remedy in question, carbonic acid gas, shortened the paroxysms, and lengthened the intervals of attack to a greater extent than any other with which I was acquainted; that attacks which before had lasted two or three months, were reduced in the end, and after the lapse of some years, to as many weeks or days; while the disease itself, instead of returning twice or three times every year, was only experienced every second, third, or fourth year. Two cases only were there given illustrative of the efficacy of the remedy; one showing the effect during a paroxysm, and the other its ultimate result. Although these cases were considered to be sufficient at the time for the object contemplated, I was in hopes that some of my professional brethren would, ere this, not only have given the remedy in question a fair and proper trial, but have also been induced to make the result of those trials public; for it was in this hope and expectation that I published the work in question. Being disappointed in this respect, however, and having received several private communications on the subject, I have selected the following case, thinking that the history of it would not be unacceptable to the readers of THE LANCET. "The writer is an English gentleman, resident in Barcelona, who, having experienced an attack of gout last Spring, wrote to me for directions respecting his own case, and, subsequently, to that, the history of which I am now about to relate. Although the same result has been obtained in both in stances, I have not deemed it necessary to give the particulars of the former, in consequence of the case being a mild and recent one. After speaking of the satisfactory state of his own health, the writer thus continues: You must know, then, that your remedy appears to have effected a radical cure in the patient who has been under my charge since last June. It is such a striking case of the success of your treatment, that it really deserves to be added to the work, and I regret very much that I am so little qualified to draw up a report for that object. I could, however, get something like a depo * From The Lancet, April 8, 1843. able witnesses, if such document could be of any service in making known the wonderful effect of carbonic acid gas. about forty years of age, and has suffered “The person in question (a Spaniard) is very severely for about fifteen years, with three or four attacks every year, of the most severe kind, the disease generally com mencing in the hands and feet, and extending itself to the elbows, knees, shoulders, &c., and on one occasion to the testes. He describes the agonies he used to suffer as so about him to put an end to his existence. great that he has frequently called on those His fingers are distorted and crooked; and, remark on such a serious subject, he went in short, although it may be an improper by the nick-name of commander of the gouty legion.' "The draughts (effervescing) were given to him, in the first instance, at the onset of an attack in the right hand, brought on, as he supposed, by a fit of passion the preceding day. The inflammation subsequently reached the elbow, but went no farther. time being even greater, if possible, than he He complained, however, of the pain this had suffered before; and being an ignorant man, had got it into his head that it was owing to the disease not being able to spread as usual, by which all its malignity was concentrated in one spot. I made him take the draughts every three hours, supplying out of my own stock of French soda, not trusting to the Spanish, which, you know, is inferior. In three days he came round, the violence of the pain and inflammation having subsided, after which he only all symptoms of the attack had disaptook the draughts three times a-day, until peared. the disease for three months, when symp"After this he continued quite free from toms of another attack were felt; but, full of belief in the efficacy of the remedy, he passed the first or better part of the night in taking a draught every two hours, or even more frequently, till at last sleep came over him, and when he awoke late in the morning every symptom had disappeared, and he found himself as if he had been From that dreaming and quite well. he has had no signs whatever of the distime to the present (now five months) temper.' the effervescing draughts, I advised the "It is right to state that, in addition to patient, as soon as the intensity of the at had partially disappeared, to take a few grains of blue pill every other night, and an electuary composed of sulphur and magne tack had subsided, and the inflammation |