526 
EDINBURGH MEETING. 
probation and esteem of their employers, and the confidence of the medical profession 
and the public, without which neither master nor servant need ever hope to gain or hold 
any position of importance. I never like to hear young men speak disparagingly of 
their masters, for like the old saying about the bad workman and his tools, a bad as¬ 
sistant seldom meets with a good master, and is very unlikely to make a good master 
himself. 
Let them at same time use their best efforts to ameliorate the condition of those 
under them as apprentices, by directing and helping them in their studies, and explain¬ 
ing the nature and value of their duties and position. I am sorry to say there is greatly 
too little of that done amongst us, and apprentices are left a good deal to their own re¬ 
sources in the acquirement of a knowledge of their profession. Of course a clever youth 
well grounded in general education will soon pick up a superficial knowledge, but that 
is to be guarded against, and by a little help now and again, the deeper mysteries are 
equally easy to surmount. At same time are laid the foundation of intimate friendships 
which may and ought to last for life. These are not small matters, and the assistant 
who conducts himself in all the respects I have enumerated cannot fail to rise in his 
self-esteem, and become a useful and respected member of society, and when his time 
comes will make a good master and merit success in life. Further, let both assistants 
and apprentices embrace every available opportunity of acquiring knowledge, profes¬ 
sional, scientific, and general; for I can safely aver, from my own rather varied experi¬ 
ence, that the older we get we find the more to learn, the greater need of learning, and 
the less time to learn in. 
There are three special studies in which as a body we ought to excel; the first of 
these is Botany, in which I have no doubt the Examiners will bear me out in saying we 
are all very deficient; the second is Chemistry, which does receive a considerable amount 
of attention, but in which there is I believe more room for improvement than in any of 
the others; a recent writer (in, I believe, the ‘ Lancet,’ a journal which has for long 
been devoted to sneering and cynical criticisms on our profession) remarks that chemists 
and druggists, so-called, know nothing of chemistry. Well, I think we do know a little 
about it, but in a scientific view we are undoubtedly deficient, and ought to strive to 
remove the reproach; the third study is one which we have no excuse for not being 
proficient in, viz. Materia Medica ; there is a small but very select collection in the next 
room, and after what our friend Professor Archer has said to-night regarding the mu¬ 
seum, which is attaining such eminence under his able supervision, it is needless for me 
to say that we in Edinburgh are highly favoured in that respect. These three studies 
are absolutely imperative on all who desire to obtain any eminence. 
I should also like to urge the advisability of, and the good results likely to accrue 
from, the more frequent meeting together of all, old and young, connected with the 
profession for mutual improvement or amusement, and the interchange of ideas and dis¬ 
coveries. 
I know there is and always has been in this city a want of combination and una¬ 
nimity, especially amongst the younger members. I have myself been connected with 
several societies which were all allowed to degenerate and lapse for the want of a few 
willing and earnest helpers, from no want of talent, but, I am almost ashamed to say, 
indolence. I hope, however, now that the position of the chemist and druggist has ob¬ 
tained a legal footing, some of our friends in authority will take the lead in establishing 
a local society, such as are already in existence in other towns far behind us in facilities 
or numbers. Let it be a club-room, or news-room, or what you will, where every eve¬ 
ning there may be a comfortable fire, an open library, and a table spread with a feast of 
literary magazines on trade and general subjects ; in fact, put within the reach of all, a 
ready means of improvement. I may here remark, that in the programme of exami¬ 
nation, Bentley’s ‘Manual’ is taken as the standard, a volume which T and oth-rs in 
vain endeavoured to obtain, and which we find is out of print. Of course much the same 
information might be obtained from other sources, but it was difficult to find out the 
exact subjects treated of in the compass of a given number of pages of that book. 
After all parliamentary expenses have been provided for, I dare say there will still be 
a balance in favour of Scotland in the Society’s strong-box, so that the requisite amount 
would not be missed, and this I think would be a worthy object on which to expend it; 
at same time, those who have paid their fees would recognize the desire of the parent 
Society to give them some equivalent for the outlay. I recommend the matter to the 
