188 
BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE. 
or has obtained the associateship of the Eoyal School of Mines or the Bo\ al 
College of Science, Ireland. Oar associations therefore would only have to 
find such an individual, and induce him to procure the recognition of the 
Department, to at once enable themselves to arrange for moderate fees from 
their pupils, and thus indirectly to appropriate a Government grant. 
From these considerations, therefore, 1 earnestly recommend all pharma¬ 
ceutical associations to direct their special attention to the Science and Art 
Department of the Committee of Council on Education. 
The question has been elsewhere raised, whether local Pharmaceutical 
Associations which have organized an efficient and bond fide system ot scien¬ 
tific instruction, are not entitled to pecuniary help from the Pharmaceutical 
Society of Great Britain ? 
This appears to me to be a question which it is perfectly competent tor any 
member of that Society to raise and discuss among his fellow-members, but 
not to be quite legitimate here. The Pharmaceutical Society occupies the 
somewhat anomalous position of a private society intrusted with certain 
public duties. The way in which those public duties are performed is open 
to the criticism of the whole world, but the distribution of its funds must be 
left to the decision of its members only. I allude to the topic, therefore, 
merely for the sake of explaining why I do not enlarge upon it.. 
But even if provincial Pharmaceutical Associations and science classes 
existed in every town that contained a dozen pharmacists, there would still 
be many a student far from such wholesome influences. In such cases I sug¬ 
gest the trial of an experiment similar to one I shall now describe. 
h On the first Tuesday of last October I commenced a series of “ Headings 
in Chemistry,” and invited the attendance of the Assistants and Apprentices 
of my neighbourhood. Ten individuals, with more or less regularity, responded 
to my invitation. The book selected was JVIr. Hoscoe s Eiementary 
Chemistry,’ and the plan adopted was the following A portion, usually one 
of Mr. Eoscoe’s own chapters or lessons, was read by myself; the author’s 
questions at the end of the book were then looked over, and each student 
was invited to prepare the answers in writing and bring them to the next 
reading. Our first business, then, at each meeting was to go over these an¬ 
swers.'’ I made that the opportunity to introduce any explanations of my 
own, unless especially questioned during the reading. By this method every 
point of importance was gone over three times, first, at the ongiual reading, 
then at home in writing out the answer, and again at the next reading when 
the answer was reported. This was continued for the first three months 
twice a week, and subsequently once a week, until the 1st of June, and. so in 
eight months from the date of commencing we completed our book, with the 
following satisfactory result. An examination was held under the usual 
conditions. The candidates were ignorant of the questions intended to be 
proposed, and they answered them in writing without any reference to book,, 
note, or individual. And these are the questions : 
1st. Explain the chemical difference between an element, a compound, and 
a ^nfl^Enumerate the fundamental laws of chemical combination, and ex¬ 
plain briefly Dalton’s Atomic Theory. 
3rd. Explain the word “ atomicity ” as applied to elements and to radicals, 
and give one example of a monad element and monad radical, one of a diad 
element and radical, and one of a triad element and radical. _ _ 
4th. What are the types upon which chemists arrange the majority of 
chemical compounds ? Give the type and one example of each type side by 
M< 5th. State the laws that regulate the expansion and contraction of gases 
