118 
NORWICH. 
a disposition among general practitioners to abstain from dispensing. The 
two principal difficulties to be overcome, in order to accomplish the desired 
object, appear to be, first, that medical men should do as they do abroad, 
adapt their practice and their fees to the means of their patients ; and, se¬ 
condly, that those engaged in the practice of pharmacy, with a mere pharma¬ 
ceutical qualification, should wholly abstain from undertaking the treatment 
of diseases. 
NORWICH. 
Thanks, well merited and sincere, to the gentlemen of Norwich for their 
cordial reception and hospitality, brought the proceedings of the fifth session 
of the British Pharmaceutical Conference to a close. 
The value of these annual gatherings, which now form a recognized por¬ 
tion of the pharmaceutist’s holiday, can only be duly estimated by those who- 
have shared personally in their enjoyment. 
Men of kindred spirit meet together, eager to advance the science and the 
trade interest of their calling, as well as to cultivate that spirit of kindliness 
and mutual forbearance which has contributed so large a share in effecting 
that perfect union which we now possess. 
This year the Conference had the joy of knowing that the Society which 
it to some extent represented, and of which it was the itinerant development, 
had ceased to be an amateur though excellent organization, was at peace 
within itself, and rested under the protecting shadow of legislation. The 
members were not slow to acknowledge their obligation to those who with 
equal skill and patience had laboured successfully to accomplish so happy a 
result. 
To the mere visitor the sight of an ancient city, rich in historical associa¬ 
tions, crowded with noble specimens of the architecture of the past, and not 
unknown as one of the chosen seats of learning, would more than compensate 
for that small subscription which some have quietly forgotten. 
To the student and the Pharmaceutist another attraction was presented— 
all felt as they listened to the lucid exposition of modern discovery which the 
address contained, that they had shown great discretion in the selection of 
their chief. 
We may congratulate the President that while not ignoring that branch of 
Science with which his name is usually connected, he was content to wander 
into other paths, and give his audience a summary of recent investigations. 
It would be invidious and foreign to our task to criticize the various papers 
which were read during two successive clays, part of which will be found printed 
in another portion of this JournaL Still we shall not be charged with indis¬ 
cretion in making an exception in favour of Mr. Stoddart’s communication 
on “ Lemon Juice and its Decompositions.” To say that it was specially in 
keeping with the design of the Association, that it bore evidence of research 
directly practical and scientific, is to confirm the universal opinion of the 
hearers. 
Next year it is in contemplation to enroll a few American and Continental 
friends ; but while the Conference thus seeks to extend its operations, let us 
not forget the present good—such an institution is an unmixed benefit to the 
visitors and the visited. To both alike it proves a welcome and much needed 
stimulus ; both largely extend their social circle, and gain an insight into 
modes of working other, often better, than their own ; both lose unconsciously 
the rough angles which disfigure them, learn to respect each other, and exer¬ 
cise the charity of thought and act. 
