September 7, 1872.] THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
199 
Cflrospntaw. 
*** Ko notice can be taken of anonymous communica¬ 
tions. Whatever is intended for insertion must be authenti¬ 
cated by the name and address of the writer ; not necessarily 
or publication , but as a guarantee of good faith. 
Pharmaceutical Education. 
Sir,—May I, as a member of the rising generation of phar¬ 
macists, venture to give brief expression to some of my 
opinions and experiences anent the question of the hour. 
In the first place, sir, experience has taught me that nine 
months of steady, systematic work in a small country village, 
where no help but self-help is obtainable, will enable one, with 
ease, to pass the “ Minor ” in honours; and out of my expe¬ 
rience there has grown up an opinion that the cry for help 
which comes up with so doleful an intonation from our young 
men is not deserving of the tender consideration it receives. 
Ever since examination became compulsory they have been 
making this plea of inadequate educational appliances an ex¬ 
cuse for lazy inaction, and if they are so deficient of brain and 
so wanting in energy as to be unable to obtain the legal 
qualification of a chemist and druggist without special orga¬ 
nizations and pecuniary aid, I cannot but think that it will 
be for their own comfort and our credit if they decide to 
retire to the nearest eligible crossing, in which case they will 
probably ask a grant tor besoms. Now it is doubtless true 
that under Mr. Schacht’s scheme very many of these gentle¬ 
men might be dragged through the Minor wicket-gate, and 
left to swell the number of the rather motley company already 
to.be found within the fences which the Act of 1868 has 
raised, but I think it behoves us to ask whether their pre¬ 
sence. is likely to “ advance the interests of the sciences of 
chemistry and pharmacy;” and whether men of good educa¬ 
tion and active brain are likely to be attracted to our ranks 
when we beat up for recruits in the back lanes and casual 
wards. I once lived in a town where there existed a small 
but very efficient and admirably disciplined volunteer corps, 
which numbered among its members the best men of the 
neighbourhood. But some enthusiastic gentlemen, whose 
generosity exceeded their judgment, subscribed amongst 
themselves a fund sufficient to establish in the corps a very 
liberal system of “ payment by results.” In a very short 
time the discipline and efficiency had wofully decreased, and 
the uniform was so disgraced that no gentleman would wear 
it. 
I am only “ a young man from the country,” and ought 
not, perhaps, to speak so strongly, but I cannot help feeling 
that we are in present danger of inaugurating a most suici¬ 
dal policy. Does it not seem absurd that we should allow our 
subscriptions to be used in furtherance of a scheme which 
will glut the labour market and tend to multiply the number 
of small druggists, cloudy in their notions of pharmaceutical 
■ethics, and untrustworthy in the matter of prices ? If our 
status is to be raised, it must be done by the increase among 
us of men to whom the “grand old name of gentleman” is 
not a “mere attraction,” and who will not be likely to treat 
the Queen s English with that careless freedom in which the 
authors of some of our trade circulars seem to glory. We are 
assured, however, that the country members of the trade are 
now thoroughly roused. I rejoice to hear it, and would 
humbly suggest that, as soon as they have had time to recover 
from the novelty and suddenness of the great change which has 
come upon them, they shall, as you, sir, have said, “come 
forward and zealously co-operate with the Society in the en¬ 
deavour to make the necessity of education more generally 
appreciated.” Such a pharmaceutical revival is our great 
want, and would prove of far greater value than any attempt 
to multiply the number of small associations, deficient, as I 
believe they must be, in spirit, system and teaching power. 
Bet the 1 harmaceutical Society organize branches in one or 
two of our great trading centres, and maintain the highest 
standard of efficiency in all its departments; and let all our 
masters, assistants and apprentices once become fully alive to 
the absolute necessity of education and the possibility of 
■eflort, and then, sir, I venture to think that pharmacy, as a 
science and as a profession, will be in a more hopeful condi¬ 
tion . than it can be under any system of eleemosynary 
nursing. 
Tooting, S.W., August 13t7i, 1872. 
Newton Chifney. 
Sir, I have read Professor Attfield’s paper with groat in¬ 
terest, and cordially agree with many parts of it, but one 
suggestion I must confess staggers me, viz. “ that every can¬ 
didate for the Minor should produce a certificate of having- 
attended a course of instruction at some recognized school of 
pharmacy.” This would suit a select few no doubt, but how 
many men from remote country places would be able to com¬ 
ply with this regulation ? Living miles from any of the 
great centres of pharmaceutical instruction, they must en¬ 
deavour by their own exertions to pass the ordeal. Now the 
expense or a three months’ course of training at Bloomsburv 
Square,_or elsewhere, might represent £50 or £60 ; an outlay 
which many young men can ill afford; and what is the busi¬ 
ness after all ? Does it pay even now for the trouble and ex¬ 
pense ? Let us, therefore, maintain a bold front, and resent 
any further encroachment upon our liberty. I have been 
myself a student at Bloomsbury Square, and am able to speak 
in the highest terms of Professor Attfield’s system of teach- 
ing, and the kindliness and patience invariably manifested to 
the most backward as well as the more advanced students, so 
it is evident I am no advocate for cramming or I should have 
gone to the nearest establishment and been coached for the 
occasion. 
An Ex-Student at Bloomsbury Square. 
August 21st, 1872. 
Another Side to the Educational Question. 
Sir,—For a long time the educational question seems to 
have been an all-absorbing one to those whom we are accus¬ 
tomed to look up to as leaders in the ranks of pharmacy. It 
is no doubt one of vast importance, and in its proper solution 
must lie the grand secret of future prosperity and success. 
At present, so many new plans and individual schemes are 
ventilated week after week through the medium of the 
Pharmaceutical Journal, that he must indeed be a far¬ 
sighted individual who could give a satisfactory answer to 
the question—how will it end ? One thing seems certain, 
and it is, that all are agreed on the point of a “higher 
standard,” the cry has gone forth “Upward! onward” ex¬ 
celsior !” and therefore the question at issue is, « How is this 
to. be done ? It is not my aim for a single moment to grapple 
with it,, for I am merely one of those who are looking on, 
and waiting with curious interest the result of this most im¬ 
portant discussion. I am a student, and, as it is for our 
especial welfare that so much concern is manifested, I feel 
that it will not be out of place to pen a few thoughts from a 
student’s point of view, and as I am certain that in doing so 
I shall be only writing those of hundreds of my fellow-students, 
there can be no need of apology. 
With men of such high intellectual capacity and pro¬ 
fessional standing as we have at our head, there ought not per¬ 
haps to be the shadow of a doubt but that all will be ultimately 
settled for the best. We are proud to have such men to 
emulate, but we also know that their position in life is gained, 
and our only fear is that, for this reason, they will treat as a 
secondary consideration what after all is to us the primary, 
viz., pecuniary affairs. However high it may be then- inten¬ 
tion.to raise us as body by a raised system of education, there 
is still a question which must inevitably occur, Will it pay to 
do so ? Yes; we must come to the sober reality; we have 
chosen pharmacy as the means by which we may be enabled 
to gain a livelihood, and to do so honestly and creditably 
must be our chief concern. Even now the outlay neces- 
sary to bring up a youth as a chemist is something con¬ 
siderable, and methinks it is for this reason that apprentices 
are already being regarded as a scarce commodity. I take 
it that.to a large majority the question of increased outlay 
is a serious one, to some, I fear, a complete barrier ; and, in 
the event of an alteration, some allowance ought certainly 
to be made to those who have already embraced the study 
of pharmacy as existing under the present regulations. 
A higher system of education means increased outlay ; for 
increased outlay we must demand increased remuneration; 
for higher mental power, less of physical must be expected. 
Will employers be willing to meet these demands? Will 
the public be willing to pay for them ? if so, then I, in com¬ 
mon with very many more, will be only too glad to do my 
utmost, in order to attain to that standard which will enable 
me to reap these benefits; but if not, the advanced educa¬ 
tional scheme must be treated as a house with no foundation 
—it must surely fall to the ground. 
Penzance, September 2nd, 1872. C. B. A. 
