452 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS, 
[December 7, 187?. 
The President said he did not suppose any such 
thing- was intended, hut it only meant that the candidate 
should possess a knowledge of how certain articles, such 
as quinine or bicarbonate of soda, were produced. 
Mr. Shaw said he only wanted it made clear, so that 
there might be no mistake about it. With regard to the 
objections which had been made, he thought the change 
would improve the status of the profession, and induce 
young men to come into it, knowing that they would 
occupy a higher position than they had hitherto done. 
In that way he hoped they might in time arrive at a 
greater unanimity in charges for the greater benefit of 
the whole trade. If, on the contrary, they enabled 
young men to come in on very easy terms, they would 
only be perpetuating the evils which had been in ex¬ 
istence for the last thirty years. lie should therefore 
vote for the adoption of the new scheme, especially con¬ 
sidering that the Board of Examiners so strongly recom¬ 
mended it. 
Mr.. Sandeord said a great deal had been said about 
its being proposed to change the examination at the 
present time, but in October, 1873, when the new 
regulations would come into force, the Pharmacy 
Act of 1868 would have been in operation five 
years, and therefore they could scarcely expect any 
young man who was apprenticed at that time would be 
injured by them, and any who had entered the trade 
since had come in knowing that such examinations must 
be passed. Still, he should have no objection to the 
date being altered to 1874, if it -were desired, which 
would give them six years. Ho should advocate the 
adoption of the resolution, especially considering that 
Ur. Greenhow, the Government visitor, had expressed 
himself in these terms in his Report: “ In my first re¬ 
port on the Examinations of the Pharmaceutical Society 
I stated that the Minor examination was in my opinion 
as stringent as could with fairness and practical advan¬ 
tage be enforced at that time. Three years have, how¬ 
ever, now elapsed since the provisions of the Pharmacy 
Act came into operation, and there could be no hard¬ 
ship provided due notice were given beforehand, if at 
the. end of another year candidates for the Minor ex¬ 
amination were to be examined practically as to their 
ability to determine by means of the proper tests, the 
presence of the acid and base in solutions of one or 
more of the salts commonly used in medicine, or to 
ascertain the purity and strength of some of those officinal 
articles most likely to be impure or to vary in strength. 
This addition to the present subjects of examination seems 
the more desirable when it is considered that candi¬ 
dates who have passed the Minor examination and been 
registered as chemists and druggists, are thereby quali¬ 
fied to. keep shops for the retailing and dispensing 
of medicines.” Now that was a very important point. 
The position was altered altogether. A young man was 
now sent out into the world as a safe dispenser to be 
trusted by the public, and that altered the question very 
much. It had been proposed that the age should be 
twenty, but their solicitor informed them that it was 
really a question whether a man before the age of 
twenty-one had any right to be examined at all. Until 
that age. he was only an infant, and was not entitled to 
the privileges of a “person” as mentioned in the Act. 
He believed twenty-one would be a very good age, 
because it would almost ensure a certain period of prac¬ 
tice in dispensing. It had occurred to him as a desirable 
regulation, that three years, or four, might be required 
between the passing of the Preliminary examination 
and the passing of the Minor, which would also have 
the effect of ensuring only properly educated youths 
coming into the business. 
Mr. Sutton asked if that would be legal. 
Mr. Sandeord said he did not know of any illegality 
in it. They already provided that a man could not 
come up for the Major until three months after passing 
the Minor, and it would be just as legal to say three 
years as three months. He merely threw out what 
seemed to him a good way of securing the Preliminary 
examination being passed at the commencement of the 
apprenticeship. With regard to the alterations them¬ 
selves, he could not see very much difference between 
them and the regulations in the Calendar which he held 
in his hand, and he agreed with what had been said, that 
the examiners might have made the examinations jus; 
as stringent under the old as they could under the im* 
proved regulations. They had transposed a certain 
part of the old rule headed “Practical Dispensing’ 1 
to “ Reading Prescriptions,” and had added ‘ to detec: 
errors, discover unusual doses, and have a general 
knowledge of posology ; also to render in good Latin pre¬ 
scriptions written in English.” In the old form it was to 
translate prescriptions, and detect unusual doses, and to 
render literal as well as appropriate translations of the 
directions for use. Now here they had to render in good 
Latin prescriptions written in English. All that was 
perfectly necessary, for it was -well known that errors 
did occasionally occur in prescriptions, and the detecting 
unusual doses was the same thing as detecting errors. 
That, therefore, was very little more than there was be¬ 
fore. Then in the pharmacy clause, they had added and 
to give “the best excipients and methods of manipula¬ 
tion for forming emulsions, pills, etc.,” and also “togive 
the proportions of the active ingredients, and possess a 
practical knowledge of the processes” for making certain 
preparations. Formerly they were asked to give all 
the ingredients in certain preparations, but it was of 
much more importance that the student should know 
as w r ell as the principal ingredient in what way the 
preparation is made. For instance, to take confection of 
senna it was more important that the young man should 
know how to make it than that he should know the exact 
weight of figs to be used. The materia medica clause 
stood as before. In the botany clause Mr. Stoddart took 
exception to the -words “ domestic economy,” and he 
believed any little matters like that the examiners -would 
only be too glad to alter if necessary. The clause re¬ 
lating to chemistry did seemstiffer than many would like ; 
it stood “to determine practically, by means of tests, 
the presence in solution of the chemicals in common use, 
and explain the reactions which occur in each case. To 
possess a general knowledge of the laws of chemical 
philosophy” (which seemed a rather wide expression), 
“and a practical knowledge of the means of determining- 
specific gravities, densities and temperature, and of the 
instruments appertaining thereto, and the physical and 
chemical constitution of the atmosphere.” He did not 
know how that could be modified in any way, it was at 
any rate not more than a man ought to know. He 
had certainly met with such lamentable errors in the 
examiners’ room as perfectly startled him. He had heard 
from the President the other day that in a prescription 
put before the young men who came to be examined, 
the word incipiens occurred, and coming under one of the 
examiners there was only one man who translated it cor¬ 
rectly. 
The President : And that prescription has been 
before the candidates for the last ten years. 
Mr. Sandeord said in his own experience ho had met 
with the most gross errors in translating directions for 
use, which showed very clearly that they wanted better 
educated youths in the first place, and that after a certain 
time they should pass a good examination before they 
were entrusted to dispense medicines for the public. 
Sir. Williams said that at a late meeting of the 
Board of Examiners he understood one of the questions 
put was this, something was to be evaporated in a 
water bath, and the question being asked what was the 
temperature of the water, the young man said he did 
not know, he did not expect that question. 
Mr. Betty said he -was sorry the regulations had 
not been taken clause by clause, so that what¬ 
ever was open to objection might be pointed out and * 
