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J. H. DUTTON, 1, WINE OFFICE COURT, FLEET STREET, E.C.;
AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.

MDCCCLXIII.

LONDON:

BENJAMIN PARDON, PRINTER,

PATERNOSTER ROW.

THE CHEMICAL NEWS.

VOL. VII. No. 161.-January 3, 1863.

THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND
PHARMACY.

AFTER a long slumber, the London College of Physicians, a few years ago, awoke to a sense of its position, its opportunities, and, possibly, its responsibilities. Recognised, legally and socially, as the head of the medical profession in England, it had slept on its dignity, while other and younger corporations had made rapid advances over the ground it should have occupied. Aroused at last, however, by the Medical Act of 1858, it has since made vigorous, and so far successful, efforts to recover some of the ground lost by its former apathy or pride. The College has recently begun to license a new order of general practitioners, and, to render the qualification complete, now Examiners in Surgery.

But to what end, some of our readers may ask, who have seen that we have hitherto kept clear of the thorny ground of medical politics, do we call attention to these facts? It is to recommend the College of Physicians to go one step further. At the present time it includes within its pale all branches of the medical art but onepharmacy. At the present time, however, and under its present charter, the College can exercise considerable authority over pharmaceutists and druggists--at all events, in the precinct of London. The Censors of the College have the power to visit the shops, to inspect the stock, to examine the druggist as to the composition of the medicines, and even, it would scem, to summon druggists before them, and inflict a fine for the sale of "corrupt" medicines, or for compounding medicines "not agreeable to the prescript or direction given." It would be but a slight modification of this authority if the College were now to exercise a more general and direct control over pharmaceutists. The power we have just mentioned has been allowed to fall into abeyance, and, besides, is hardly in keeping with the spirit of these times. But a far better guarantee for the purity of medicines, and the intelligence of pharmaceutists, might be obtained, if the College were to institute a new order of "Licentiates in Pharmacy," and so include within its authority all degrees of the medical profession. The natural alliance of the physician with the pharmaceutist is very close, but we have no doubt that there are physicians who will stand aghast at our proposal. We shall not stop now to characterise the sentiment which inspires such, nor answer some objections which might be fairly raised. We shall only remark, that pharmacy was a respectable art when surgery was in the hands of barbers and old women, and when physicians, except in so far as they were pharmaceutists as well, were held but of small account. In modern times, too, improve ments in pharmacy have quite kept pace with improvements in the practice of medicine. We hope, then, that no false pride will prevent the College of Physicians from carrying out the proposal we submit. To be a "Licentiate in Pharmacy of the College of Physicians"

would be an honour which young pharmaceutists would be proud to possess, and for which they would earnestly work. The public, too, would recognise and have confidence in such a diploma; and, lasily, medical men themselves would have a double security that the Licentiate in Pharmacy would not stray from the legitimate province of his business, and occupy the place of the prescriber.

TECHNICAL CHEMISTRY.

On the Manufacture of Alcohol from Coal-gas,
by M. MALLET.

THENARD said, in his "Treatise on Chemistry," in 1827 -"It is certain that the greater portion of vegetable substances are composed only of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen; but, nevertheless, we cannot form any of those substances from these elements. This powerlessness of chemistry has often rendered results doubtful in the eyes of persons unacquainted with science, although really profound thinkers. J. J. Rousseau, when following the course of chemistry with Rouelle, said that he would only believe in the analysis of flour when he saw chemists able to reproduce it. The great writer would, doubtless, in the present day, use different language." These reflections of Thénard's are very judicious. Rousseau would certainly have had his conviction disturbed if he had witnessed the beautiful experiments of Lavoisier and of Meunier in 1783 and 1785, as well as the more recent ones of Lefevre-Gineau, Foucroy, Vauquelin, and Seguin, on the synthesis of water. The philosopher of Geneva would, most probably, have believed in chemical analysis after seeing 500 grammes of water produced by means of oxygen and hydrogen, in the proportions indicated by the analysis.

But what would Rousseau, and even Thénard, have said, if they had been fortunate enough to see alcohol manufactured from these elements? This production is one of the wonders of the chemistry of the present day, which is not yet at the end of its marvellous developments. The attention of chemists and manufacturers has, therefore, been awakened during the last two months, because it is now proposed to transplant this industry from the loboratory into the manufactory.

Since the question of the artificial manufacture of alcohol has seriously occupied attention, it has been discovered that, as early as 1854, M. Castex, of Puteaux, took out a patent for a means of obtaining alcohol from the smoke of oil, fat, and of all other organic matter. The following is an extract from the patent given in the Cosmos :-"In burning these organic matters, the smoke which is liberated may be absorbed by concentrated sulphuric acid. This sulphuric acid, mixed with water and distilled, produces alcohol. To facilitate the absorption of the smoke, it is caused to pass through a body impregnated with sulphuric acid, or through coke

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