METRICAL WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 
673 
students should have a theoretical knowledge of it was a necessity. He had 
not much to say about that, because the Board of Examiners were sufficiently 
alive to the merits of this system, and to the necessity, since its introduction 
into the British Pharmacopoeia, of insisting, not only upon a theoretical, but 
also a practical acquaintance with it. The Board had had the power, under 
their rules, for a considerable time, of examining in this subject; but they had 
not hitherto exercised it. Under the new state of things it was very incumbent 
upon the Board to see that every candidate knew the principles of the metrical 
system, and had some practical knowledge of it. There was one point which 
students ought to remember, especially those who came up for the Major. In 
the part of the Pharmacopoeia which related to the subject of volumetrical 
analysis, provision was made for conducting the processes either according 
to the English or the French decimal system ; and the Examiners would be 
better satisfied with a candidate skilled in volumetrical analysis, if he performed 
that analysis by means of the new system than if lie performed it by means of 
the old. The next point was how to acquaint a large number of pharmacists 
w r ho had not had an opportunity of seeing these weights and measures with the 
actual volumes, so as to know what a gram meant,—to be able to identify in 
one’s mind what was a gram, a centimeter, or a liter, just as they knew what 
a grain was of almost anything they dispensed. No better plan had suggested 
itself to his mind than that this Society should, where necessary, assist provin¬ 
cial societies in procuring complete sets of these French measures, so that they 
might have them in their museums or in some places easy of access, that any 
one in an idle half-hour might go in and make himself practically acquainted 
with them. He would provide a number of sets of these measures, and put 
them in such places in country or town that every one could become practically 
acquainted with their relative values. The real, practical part of the matter 
they had still to consider, and there they met wdth considerable difficulty. 
That, however, must be grappled with fairly and honestly. They must be pre¬ 
pared to incur greater responsibility in prescribing and dispensing, because 
really that was what it came to. He knew that many pharmacists objected very 
much to this system in the abstract, because it would increase their responsibili¬ 
ties ; but he thought that, as Dr. Redwood had pointed out, they had no alter¬ 
native ; and although he, for one, hoped the system might be speedily introduced, 
still he was aware that there were many practical difficulties in the way. He 
was quite unable to suggest any process of bending, or any compromise between 
the two systems which would suit alike prescribe!’ and dispenser, chiefly upon 
the ground first mentioned—that the decimal system being one of ten, and theirs 
one of eight, they might do what they would but they would not find any nice 
relation ; and he suspected Prof. Redwood found out the best relation in his 
search after the tetram. It had been suggested by Prof. Attfield, and by others, 
that it would be a good plan to publish the Pharmacopoeia with both systems. 
That would be a practical introduction of the system. Now, Prof. Redwood 
objected to that, and he (Mr. Carteighe) confessed there was one very strong 
reason against it, and that was that all pharmacists would necessarily have a 
mixed system. In the case of weights and measures the responsibility would lie in 
this way, that, supposing any mishap to occur, or any preparation not to be made 
correctly, there would be a disposition to censure the compilers of the Pharma¬ 
copoeia for what, after all, might be the stupidity of individuals. They could 
not, as a rule, get public bodies of men to take upon themselves such a respon¬ 
sibility ; and therefore he was inclined to think that that alone would be suffi¬ 
cient reason why the two systems should not be introduced, at all events side 
by side, in the Pharmacopoeia. But it had occurred to him whether they could 
not have something of the same kind in a different way. For instance, there 
was such a thing as having a supplement or a companion to the Pharmacopoeia. 
