rational medicine, but all knowledge of the physical laws of the universe, and so the dogma continued to gain ground not only with the ignorant, but also with many educated people, who proved not less credulous, nor able to avail themselves of education. But byand-by came the spectroscope, and its revelations are no less fatal to this proposition than was the discovery of the itch insect to the first proposition, for it has shown conclusively that all matter is very universally disseminated in infinitesimal quantities. This means that all living beings are taking homœopathic doses of immense power of everything, every moment of their lives without the symptoms detailed in the volumes of provings. No attempt has ever been made by any homeopathic writer to meet the spectroscope on this impregnable ground, and probably no attempt ever will be made, and yet the dogma stands as an integral part of homœopathy. It is true that many who call themselves homœopathists have rejected both the first and the third of these propositions, and adhere only to the second, but such are not true homœopathists, and are unworthy of the name, though the adherence to one of three irrational dogmas, which constituted a so-called system, after it has been disproved with the others, does not give them any better claim to recognition on the part of any rational system of medicine.

If an honest believer in only the second proposition of homeopathy uses opium to relieve pain, or chloral to procure sleep, or quinia to arrest fever, and all in large effective doses, he must do so upon a line of reasoning with himself that is not homoeopathic but is the reverse of it. If he does not so use them and many other similar agents, he must deliberately deny to his patients the advantages which a medical profession has to offer to suffering humanity; and then, whether he does or does not so use them, his name as a homœopathist becomes a mere trade-mark and advertisement by which he makes a living through some unknown means,-occult and secret because not in accordance with natural laws nor explainable through their operation.

It will, therefore, be seen that homeopathy as a system of medicine has, at this time, no more standing as a rational or successful system of procedure than has clairvoyance, eclecticism, hydropathy, and all that genus. Legal recognition gives none of them a rational standing, because in conferring it the legislators do not enter into the question of their soundness nor of their rationality, but only upon the question of their popularity, or the proportion of the lay

public which supports them, or demands them. If this popularity be, as it is, the basis of legal recognition, then all the trade-mark patent medicines which are advertised into popularity and flood the country are better entitled to legal recognition, because they are more popular, for, whilst there are perhaps not more than 25,000 men and women who practice medicine on all the exclusive and irrational dogmas together, and whilst their patients are confined, perhaps, to 4,000,000 or 5,000,000 of the population of the country, quack medicines in one form or other are said to reach the sick or ailing portion of over 30,000,000 of the population.

This enormous proportion of the population seem to choose their physicians very much as they choose their quack nostrums, namely, upon that most dangerous form of ignorance, a self-assumed knowledge of themselves and their disorders; and this liberty of choice can be in no way abridged so long as it is supported by the newspapers in such articles as that above quoted from the "Post," instead of being corrected. The masses of the population read little else than the newspapers and the one thing upon which all newspapers are in accord is in the publication of the advertisements of quack nostrums and of editorial articles, whose tone, temper and teachings are fairly represented in the above-quoted article which, though not so intended, really supports this freedom of choice from the pernicious nostrums of its own columns, and which makes this country, through pure mercantile enterprise for getting money without earning it, the most medicine ridden, or rather nostrum ridden country on the face of the earth.

While such failure to recognize any fundamental principles in the art of rational medicine, and of teaching the public so, must needs be accorded to the newspapers, because it cannot be prevented, such teaching need not be accepted by the profession of rational medicine when the newspapers attempt to reason it into heterogeneous consultations on the doctrine of there being no fundamental principle of action anywhere, or at least no more in one sect than in another, when such sects are in direct opposition.

It would appear by the following extract from the "Proceedings of Congress" on the 14th of July, that the newspaper discussion of the new code of ethics is already producing its legitimate effects upon the politicians.

In the Senate:

Mr. Cameron (Rep., Pa.) introduced a joint resolution making it

a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of $500 and dismissal from office, for any officer of the United States Government, civil, military, or naval, to make any discrimination in favor of or against any school of medical practice, or its legal diplomas, or its duly graduated members, in the examination and appointment of candidates for medical service in any department of the Government. Referred.

This extension of the idea of civil and religious liberty to the poor and down-trodden irregulars of all "schools" is certainly going farther than the framers of the new code intended; but it is really only what might have been expected as an outcome of their liberality and tolerance of error, for if there be no principle at stake but only mere intolerance of school, then there should be no discrimination permitted. Free trade and unrestricted liberty means just that, whether it be in matter of life and death, in morals or in trade. Mr. Cameron might with equal wisdom and justice to the true interests involved have abolished the Medical Departments of the Army and Navy and substituted for them five patent medicines whose joint advertisements should cover all the possible diseases, because this is really the most popular "school" of all. Suppose Mr. Cameron's resolution sends on board a national vessel a medical man of the "school" of homeopathy for example, to practice his "school" among officers trained at Annapolis in accordance with established physical laws. They would not want to trust their lives to the practice of an irrational "school." Then what becomes of their civil liberties? They must simply submit and be doctored by joint resolution of Congress, or leave the government service to such as are not troubled by any principles, and who might in common with a considerable portion of the unthinking community prefer to be doctored by that "school" whose medicines were pleasantest to the taste or most easily taken. But in the Army and Navy unless there be an assortment of "schools supplied to each camp or ship some people will run the risk of not having their choice of "schools," and of not being able to turn from one school to another. That "school" which owes so much of its popularity and success to the very superficial and irrational claim that it gives no nauseous medicines, might not satisfy soldiers and sailors as well as it does some of the more imaginative people in civil life, and then the soldiers and sailors would be down-trodden and abridged of their liberties.

In the Senate of the United States there can certainly be no danger that Mr. Cameron's chaotic resolution will ever be seriously considered, but that it was offered at all shows that even in some high places there is nothing like principle or law recognized as underlying or supporting the medical profession which should keep it from affiliation and admixture with mercantile empiricism.

ASSAYS OF CINCHONA.

Since the process at page 76 was published, it has been found that some of the quantities and many of the details were adjusted to barks which were rather exceptionally soft and spongy, and therefore easy to exhaust, and the very next bark tried after the process was published happened to be hard and compact, and therefore so difficult to exhaust as to require somewhat more menstruum and longer digestions. It is therefore thought better to publish a corrected process, with the improvements which have been suggested by a few months' further experience with a greater variety of barks. In these assays it must never be forgotten that the point of greatest importance as well as of greatest difficulty is the complete exhaustion of the bark, and knowing when the exhaustion is complete. Next, it must be always borne in mind that different samples of bark differ very much indeed in structure and therefore, in accessibility to the exhausting menstruum. Some are soft and spongy and easily exhausted with a small quantity of liquid in a short time. Others, which do not sensibly differ in appearance of either the bark or its powder, are hard and compact, requiring more liquid and longer digestions. Hence, while the process given at page 76 is very nicely applicable to some barks, and is entirely sufficient for those upon which its details were adjusted, it does not do equally well for other barks, but may be so modified as to apply equally well to all. This great difference in the facility with which different cinchona barks are exhausted has been too much overlooked, and it may be the principal cause of the disagreement between Drs. Biel and De Vrij, who, working by the same process, find a different length of time necessary for the digestion, the former advising a digestion of four hours, while the latter finds one hour sufficient.

The principles upon which the process at page 76 is based are all confirmed by further experience. These are that amylic alcohol freely dissolves all the alkaloids of cinchona barks, but does not dissolve the salts of those alkaloids, and that it dissolves much less of the coloring matter than other solvents; and the outline of the method is to break up the natural salts of the alkaloids in the bark, and fix the coloring matters by lime in excess. Then to extract the free alkaloids with amylic alcohol, ether being added to facilitate the percolation and filtration. Then to convert the alkaloids into salts, and thus get them out of the amylic alcohol into a watery solution. Then to precipitate them from the watery solution in the presence of chloroform, which dissolves them freely, and finally to evaporate off the chloroform and weigh the residue as anhydrous alkaloids.

Take of the powdered Cinchona 5 grammes=77.16 grains.

or, double all the quantities throughout, as well as size of vessels, etc., if the barks be poor, or if it be desired to divide the errors of manipulation.

Add to the lime contained in a 10 c.m.=4 inch capsule, 30 c.c.= 1 fluidounce of hot water, and when the lime is slaked, stir the mixture, add the powdered cinchona, stir very thoroughly and digest in a warm place for a few hours, or over night. Then dry the mixture at a low temperature on a water bath, rub it to powder in the capsule and transfer it to a flask of 100 c.c.=3,3 fluidounces capacity, and add to it 25 c.c. fluidounce of amylic alcohol. Cork the flask and digest in a water bath at a boiling temperature and with frequent vigorous shaking for four hours. Then cool and add 60 c.c. 2 fluid ounces of stronger ether, s. g. 0.728, and again shake vigorously and frequently during an hour or more. Filter off the liquid through a double filter of 10 c.m.4 inches diameter into a flask of 150 c.c. 5 fluidounces capacity, and transfer the residue to the filter. Rinse out the flask onto the filter with a mixture of 10 volumes of amylic alcohol and 40 of stronger ether, and then percolate the residue on the filter with 15 c.c.-half a fluidounce of the