540 
PHARMACEUTICAL ETHICS. 
dispensing cannot safely be mixed up with a bustling miscellaneous trade ; it is 
impossible to expect accuracy from a dispenser subject to interruptions from 
customers passing in and out, and liable to be called off at a critical moment to 
exhibit smelling-bottles, or to vend sponges. Each department should be ab¬ 
solutely distinct, carried on by a distinct staff, and in portions of the premises 
distinctly set apart. 
It may be objected, that such arrangements are only possible in large esta¬ 
blishments, and to an extent this may be true. To whatever extent it is true, 
it is an argument in favour of large establishments ; and I sincerely wish that 
the larger establishments would set the good example so generally that we, 
smaller fry, might be compelled to follow. It is natural that improvement 
should begin with the leaders, and be followed by the rank and tile ; and it may 
be expected that the operation of the Pharmacy Act would assist such a move¬ 
ment by increasing the importance, while it restricts the number of pharmacies. 
The second point to which I would call attention is the unsatisfactory 
position of “apprenticeship.” 
It is well known that there is the greatest difficulty in placing apprentices in 
eligible houses of business where they will have a really good opportunity of 
acquiring a practical knowledge of the several branches of their business. 
There is an especial objection (for obvious reasons) on the part of firms whose 
dispensing practice is considerable ; that is to say, of firms with whom appren¬ 
tices could learn that which it is most essential they should be taught. This 
difficulty is not only coincident with, but is partly the consequence of the ad¬ 
vances which pharmacy and pharmaceutical education have made in recent 
years. But such an effect from such a cause is an anomaly. 
It is simply impossible that progress and improvement should be necessarily 
antagonistic to one of its own elements ; and the training of an apprentice is a 
most important element in the advancement of pharmacy. 
Where, then, is the discord ? I think in this—that we have not remodelled 
the institution of apprenticeship in accord with the changes which have taken 
place around it. We persevere in the folly of trying to insert an old patch in 
a new garment, and affect surprise because they do not harmonize. The truth 
is that the institution of apprenticeship requires complete revision. The circum¬ 
stances of to* day are totally different from those of old, but the theory of ap¬ 
prenticeship has undergone no corresponding change. In the old days there 
was little knowledge demanded but practical skill, and exercise in practical 
duties was the only instruction given or expected. In this way the master 
initiated his apprentice into the art and mystery of pharmacy, but that is not 
sufficient now, and the relations of master and apprentice must be based upon 
a different understanding. 
The apprenticeship of a pharmaceutist must, in fact, be assimilated to that of 
a surgeon or solicitor; it must be regarded as a period of study in which the 
pupil will be trained in the exercise of his calling under the direction of his 
master, but will learn the theory and science upon which it is based from other 
sources. To suppose that a master is under obligation to give his apprentice 
the scientific instruction now required, is to suppose that he will sacrifice his 
own duties for an inadequate motive and au insignificant remuneration, and is, 
of course, sheer nonsense. It is obviously his duty to afford the oppor¬ 
tunity for obtaining this instruction, and the hours of attendance in business 
should be regulated so as to allow ample leisure for that purpose. One great 
difficulty in the way of receiving apprentices will be obviated by making ap¬ 
prenticeship an outdoor arrangement. Changes in the habits of people render 
the responsibility of an apprentice’s domestic life irksome to a principal, and 
there is no reason why the practice should be perpetuated while the new cir¬ 
cumstances are more conveniently met by the other alternative. It is assumed 
