.CORRESPONDENCE. 
663 
overnight, and sleep in London, or lose the advantage of the lectures; neither of which 
alternatives appear to me very desirable. And mine is not a solitary case; there are 
many students within a short distance of London who would gladly avail themselves of 
the lectures, if they were not precluded from doing so by the unseasonable hour at which 
they are delivered. So long as the Pharmaceutical Society was a voluntary association 
with a comparatively limited influence, this might have been of little consequence; but 
now, it has become such a powerful and important institution, affecting the interests of 
such a large number of men, it is a very serious matter. In October next, another ses¬ 
sion will commence, aud I venture to hope that before that time the Council will take 
into their serious consideration the desirability of having the lectures somewhat later, 
say nine o’clock or half-past nine. Believing that this suggestion will meet the approval 
of many, if not all, interested in the matter,—I am, Sir, your obedient servant, W. H. 
Harsant, Epsom. 
Proceedings of the Council .—To the Editors of the Pharmaceutical Journal.—Gentle¬ 
men,—Now that the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society has been endowed with quasi¬ 
parliamentary power, the suggestion contained in Mr. Reynolds’s letter in the last Journal, 
that the proceedings of the Council should be reported , is one of very great importance to 
the provincial members, the great body of whom are not disposed to submit to any more 
Legislative interference. There exists throughout the trade a considerable amount of 
dissatisfaction, and, whether well or ill founded, those who feel aggrieved have a right 
to be heard, and to know what may be in store for them in the future. This may pro¬ 
bably not be agreeable to some members of the Council, but such a consideration must 
not be allowed to overrule the more weighty consideration of the interests of the whole 
provincial trade. This subject, and the kindred one of representation, I trust will receive 
the earnest attention they merit. The importance of both will increase, the more they 
are examined. As elections for members of the Council are at present conducted I con¬ 
sider them a nullity. The same names are submitted year after year, and few people 
have taken any interest in them, and those who have taken the trouble to vote have 
generally done so with but slight acquaintance with the candidates. No candidate 
stands the slightest chance of election unless he has a reputation of some kind that 
renders his name familiar to the whole trade. This state of things ought no longer to 
continue ; there must be some organization, by which proper candidates may be selected, 
and their election ensured, so that provincial interests are fairly represented in the 
Council.—Yours respectfully, F. M. Rimmington, Bradford.—April 20 th, 1869. 
Ants .—To the Editors of the Pharmaceutical Journal.—Gentlemen,—One of your 
correspondents (Atherstone) in the Journal for this month inquires how ants that 
infest houses can be destroyed. This is a sanitary subject, not pharmaceutical. No 
doubt ants may become intolerable, especially where there are children, but we should 
not lose sight of their use in the economy of nature in the scavenger line. If it were 
possible for a colony of ants to thrive in certain parts of Loudon, I am sure they would 
help to destroy that disgusting insect the bug. Ants help to destroy house-flies, etc. 
When ants are so numerous as to become a nuisance, they can be destroyed by boiling 
water; but I see them at my door every summer, and the only interference they meet 
with is the broom or brush when the doorway is swept. I have lived in the tropics, 
and I know how to value the ant. 
“ For where the greater malady is fixed. 
The lesser is scarce felt.” 
_1 am, gentlemen, your obedient servant, Joseph Leat, Chilcompton, Bath.—April 
1 6th, 1869. 
“ A Constant Reader ” (Dudley).—Any elementary work on the subject would answer 
the purpose. 
A. P. (Longton).—Those only who are on the register as Pharmaceutical Chemists 
are exempt from service on juries. 
u An Anxious Examined Member ” (Liverpool).—(1.) In such a case it would be de¬ 
sirable to communicate with the physician. (2.) Yes; by the reducing action of the 
carbolic acid. 
