373 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[November 9, 187". 
treatment of chemical science as a whole, he is not so 
successful. The desire to place everything in a posi¬ 
tive manner before the student, renders him too dog¬ 
matic in those subjects w r hich have to do with thought 
rather than observation. Thus the line of demarca¬ 
tion between a law which embodies the generalization 
of facts, and the theory which rationally explains the 
law, is not sufficiently marked. 
It occurs to us that in teaching such a subject as 
Chemical Philosophy, the truest conception of its pre¬ 
sent condition is conveyed in tracing the gradual deve¬ 
lopments which our views have undergone through the 
results of successive discoveries. Is not the doctrine of 
quantivalence better understood when it is preceded by 
a knowledge of the leading facts of substitution ? The 
researches of Dumas, Laurent and Hofmann, were most 
instrumental in leading us to the idea of exchangeability, 
and, judiciously described, would be of material assistance 
in conveying to the student a right comprehension of 
modern chemical theory. In the present work the stu¬ 
dent is taught that atoms have an exchangeable value 
comparable to coins; though what has brought us to 
that view, or the evidence upon which it rests, is not 
touched upon. 
Whether or not the almost unreserved use of the 
atomic hypothesis is the wisest course to pursue, it is 
evident that the author has adopted it with due delibera¬ 
tion, for he tells us in his preface that he believes, in the 
present state of knowledge and education, philosophical 
conceptions regarding chemistry can only be taught to 
medical, pharmaceutical, and the great majority of general 
students in some such objective manner. No doubt it is 
simpler to teach by the aid of the imagination, but is it so 
beneficial to the reasoning powers ? It is easier to en¬ 
grave an image on the mind than to erase it after¬ 
wards. 
In the definition of terms, the author is generally pre¬ 
cise, but on page 49 we find the following:— 
“ The term salt includes any definite solid chemical 
substance, but more especially those which assume a 
crystalline form.” 
Now sugar, morphia, and sulphuric anhydride are defi¬ 
nite crystalline chemical substances, but they scarcely 
come within the commonly accepted notion of salts. 
But such oversights are so few as to be microscopical 
blemishes in a work of real merit—one creditable alike 
to the author and to the school over which he presides. 
Notice has been received of the following deaths :— 
On the 25th of October, Mr. E. Bayley, Pharmaceu¬ 
tical Chemist, of the Walworth Road, London. Mr. 
Bayley had been a member of the Pharmaceutical Society 
from its commencement. 
On the loth of October, Mr. John Smith, of Lydney, 
Gloucestershire. 
The following journals have been received :—The ‘ British 
Medical Journal,’ November2; the ‘Medical Times and 
Gazette,’ November 2; the ‘Lancet,’ November 2; the 
‘ Medical Press and Circular,’ November 2; ‘Nature,’ No¬ 
vember 2; the ‘Chemical News,’ November 2; ‘English 
Mechanic,’ November 2; ‘Gardeners’ Chronicle,’ November 
2 ; the ‘ Grocer,’ November 2; the ‘Journal of the Society of 
Arts,’ November2; ‘Grocery News,’ November 2; ‘Reper¬ 
toire de Pharmacie’ for October; ‘L’Union Pharmaceu- 
tique’for October; ‘ Moniteur Scientifique-Quesneville’ for 
November; ‘ Journal de Pharmacie et de Chimie ’ for Novem¬ 
ber ; the ‘ Scientific American ’; ‘ American Journal of Phar¬ 
macy ’ for October; ‘Pharmacist’ for October; ‘Druggists’ 
Circular’ for October; ‘New York Medical Journal’ for 
October ; ‘ American Chemist ’ for October; ‘ Michigan 
University Journal’ for October; ‘ Neues Repertorium ffi’- 
Pharmacie’ for October; the ‘British Journal of Dnt.il 
Surgery ’ for November. 
CijmsptiiMe. 
*No notice can be taken of anonymous communica¬ 
tions. JPTiatever is intended for insertion must be authenti¬ 
cated by the name and address of the writer ; not necessarily/ 
for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith. 
Sunday Closing. 
Sir,—My friend Mr. Slugg wishes to know what is meant 
by “ Sunday closing.” I hardly supposed that a man of his 
intelligence and practical common sense would have required' 
any enlightenment on a such a question, or that one who 
knows what is right as well as any man, would attempt to 
make the subject appear ridiculous. As far as the chemists 
“ in the neighbourhood of Broughton and Cheetham Hill ” 
are concerned, it certainly does not mean “ that not even, 
medicine is to be supplied on Sunday,” nor “that a patient 
should wait until Monday,” nor anything so absurd; but. 
Mr. Slugg cannot have lived 40 years (more or less) in Man¬ 
chester without knowing perfectly well that there are drug 
shops to be found in it with the door open all, or nearly all, 
the Sunday through, where anything and everything from a 
ha’porth of hair-oil to a gallon of tar may be bought as 
readily as on any other day in the week, and that others who 
are not open the rest of the day, do so in the evening. I 
think he will agree with his “ friends ” that this is a totally 
different affair from the dispensing of prescriptions or the 
supply of medicine, and that it was a very suitable subject 
for discussion by a few chemists meeting in a friendly way 
for the discussion of pharmaceutical matters relating to their 
own locality. No attempt was made to dictate either to any 
one present at the meeting or to those outside, but the opinion 
of most of those persons was strongly against the practice, 
and the course suggested was that the shop-door should not 
be kept open, nor any shutters taken down, nor any other 
means adopted to attract customers, and that medicine only 
should be supplied on Sunday. 
This, I am happy to inform Mr. Slugg, is the meaning of 
“ Sunday closing,” as understood by his “ friends ” in this, 
neighbourhood, and I trust he will agree with them that it 
is by no means impracticable. 
W. Wilkinson. 
Cheetham Hill, November 2nd, 1872. 
Sir,—It is pretty evident from the letter of Mr. T. Slugg, 
of Manchester, which appears in this week’s Journal, that he- 
is not much in favour of this movement. 
Perhaps if he had enjoyed twenty years’ Sunday liberty, 
after teffiy ears’ Sunday slavery, as I have, he would look- 
more hopefully on any efforts which have a tendency to miti¬ 
gate this (to a large extent) unnecessary evil.’ 
Mr. Slugg is of course the best judge of how he is to manago- 
his own business, and any interference between him and his 
friends at Cheetham Hill and Broughton would be quite out of 
place, but the trade generally having been addressed through 
you, I feel at liberty to reply to his remarks. 
Well, then, as to the meaning of Sunday Closing. It means 
(as most seem to understand) the keeping up your shutters on 
that day in a similar manner to your neighbour the green¬ 
grocer or the shoemaker. But when that is done, one is 
certainly at liberty to make any arrangements which the de¬ 
mands of our own individual business may specially require. 
Mr. Slugg knows all this as well as any of U3 ; and the sub¬ 
ject is one of too much importance to be properly treated in 
the style of banter he adopts. 
As this letter is written with the desire of being useful, and’ 
not of indulging in argument, perhaps it will be as well to 
give my own experience as an answer to “ What is to be 
done ? ” 
So far back as the year 1846, being fully satisfied that the 
Sunday trading as then carried on was both unjust to the 
employed and unnecessary as regarded the public, I com¬ 
menced a steady and successful opposition against it, and 
from that date to the present year have had ample opportu¬ 
nities of proving the practicability of materially diminis hin g 
Sunday duties, even in some of the largest dispensing esta¬ 
blishments, metropolitan and provincial, whilst in ordinary 
establishments it may be rendered almost nil. 
Eighteen years back, on taking the management of a dis¬ 
pensing department at the West-End of London, the Sunday 
arrangements were for two of us to be on duty great part of 
