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THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[April 12, 1873. 
formerly discussed in the pages of the Journal, the che¬ 
mists and druggists (of Ireland) claimed a right to a modi¬ 
fied examination, upon what grounds I cannot conceive. It 
would be a great misfortune to allow any class of men to 
become pharmacists who have never received the necessary 
training which would enable them to discharge such re¬ 
sponsible duties, without then- first giving ample proof of 
their abilities. 
The apothecaries seem quite' alive to the necessity for 
some change; and in place of crying out about vested in¬ 
terests, as they might have done, will evidently give their 
support to any good measure; but those who know the 
chemists and druggists of Ireland could never advocate 
their being admitted, as a body, to the privilege of dis¬ 
pensing. 
The influence of the Pharmaceutical Society might be 
exerted in procuring a mutual recognition of examinations; 
our Major being held equal to the examination proposed in 
the draft bill for pharmacists commencing business, and 
our Minor equal to the proposed examination for assistants. 
The Modified examination we could scarcely expect to be 
recognized. 
Alex. Anderson. 
277, Oxford Street, W., March 31st, 1873. 
Subjects for Examination. 
Sir,—Among the many proposals regarding the examina¬ 
tions which have appeared in the Journal lately, there have 
been, as far as I have seen, none urging the advisability of 
including a knowledge of pharmaceutic jurisprudence in 
the list of subjects required for the Major or Minor. 
Nevertheless it is, in my humble opinion, a subject which 
yields in importance to scarcely any. And if the Council 
were to require a knowledge of the Arsenic Act, the Phar¬ 
macy Act, etc., we should not hear of so many unfortunate 
pharmacists being censured for contravening any of the 
legal enactments concerning the business as we do at 
present. A knowledge of medical jurisprudence is required 
from candidates for a medical degree, and if a knowledge 
of pharmaceutic jurisprudence were insisted on for the 
Major or Minor, it would, I think, do something towards 
raising the business towards that professional status which 
many seem to desire. 
I hope that this may induce those who are more fully 
qualified to discuss this subject than I am, to enter the 
lists. Jurisprudents. 
Edinburgh, March 29th, 1873. 
Cheap Dispensing. 
Sir,—The subject of cheap dispensing has. been the 
burthen of so many letters in the Journal, that its readers 
may be excused if they consider the subject rather thread¬ 
bare. However, sometimes a specimen crops up, so 
glaringly inconsistent, that it seems best, when found, to 
make a note of it. The following prescription was handed 
me for dispensing, and two shillings charged as being a fair 
remuneration:— 
R Acid. Nit. Mur. Dil.3ij 
Tinct. Scillse.,fss 
Syrupi.fj 
Ext. Cinchon. Liq. Flavse . . 3iij 
Aquse ad.f vj 
^ss ter in die ex aqua. M. ft. mist. 
Judge of my surprise when the customer informed me that 
it had been made up for sixteenpence at a first-class esta¬ 
blishment in a neighbouring fashionable resort, and that at 
Bristol tenpence was considered an honest price ; while, to 
crown all, the medical man who wrote the prescription, gave 
advice and medicine for a shilling. Now, Sir, I have not 
the slightest reason for doubting the statement, but how is 
it done ? I take it that the prime cost of ingredients and 
bottle, etc., would be hard upon fourteenpence (and say 
nothing about time), so that even at sixteenpence, with 
bottle brought, what a pitiful profit it would leave the man 
who has spent months in studying to qualify. 
Of course, if legitimately dispensed, there could not be a 
profit either at tenpence or a shilling, and they cannot live 
upon the loss; so the only conclusion one can arrive at is 
that the ext. cinchon. liq. must be very much below the 
B. P. standard. Mr. Gerrard last week clearly showed 
how utterly dishonest such a system of dispensing is, and 
a glance at the figures representing his analysis of various 
samples of citrate of iron and quinine will perhaps reveal 
the real secret of cheap physic. 
W. George Bladon. 
Malvern Wells, April 1st, 1873. 
Methylated Spirit and the Adulteration Act. 
Sir,—I have, like many others, been accustomed to 
keep two kinds of soap—liniment and spirit of camphor, 
made from methylated spirit—where a poor class of cus¬ 
tomers require such for outivard application. Now, as one 
likes to know and do what is legal, can you inform me whe¬ 
ther, under the new Adulterated Drug Act, such can be sold 
over the counter ; and if so, will one be compelled to print 
methylated soap liniment and methylated spirit of cam¬ 
phor ? Of course the pure I always use in prescriptions. 
W. Dale. 
Queen Street, Portsea, April 2nd, 1873. 
Pharmacy in Queensland. 
Sir,—Will you kindly give insertion to this letter, as it 
may induce enterprising young men to go out to a colony 
that is fast rising in importance. 
Several of our correspondents in Queensland have com¬ 
plained of the great want of Chemists’ Assistants in that 
colony, and we know of one instance in which a good branch 
establishment had to be closed simply from the want of a 
competent assistant to carry it on. 
We would beg to suggest this colony as an admirable 
field of labour for young men who have passed their 
examinations, and have not secured an engagement in this 
country. 
Burgoyne, Burbidges, and Co. 
16, Coleman Street, London, E.C., 
April Ath, 1873. 
“Lux.” —You would probably obtain an explanation of 
the words in question at the office from whence the adver¬ 
tisement issued. Our correspondent writes that a dispen¬ 
sary appointment, for which it was specified that a legal 
qualification should be possessed by the candidates, w r as 
given to a person who had passed what is known as the 
“Assistants’ Examination” of the Apothecaries’ Company. 
Our correspondent further states that the fee for the above 
examination is two guineas, and he is of opinion, “ seeing 
that a person passing so cheap and easy an examination can 
compete with those who go through the expensive ordeal of 
the Pharmaceutical Society and obtain one of the best paid 
situations that now offer,” there exists a strong argument 
in favour of lowering the examination fees. As the law at 
present stands, no legal qualification at all is necessary for 
holding a dispensary appointment, such as that mentioned 
by our correspondent, any more than legal qualification is 
necessary for a dispensing chemist’s assistant. This, no 
doubt, is a gra7e deficiency, but we are unable to perceive 
that it affords any argument in favour of lowering the exa¬ 
mination fees of the Pharmaceutical Society. 
W. A. C. —Several recipes for the removal of dandriff 
have appeared in the present series of the Journal. See 
Yol. I., p. 557; Yol. II., pp. 637, 878. 
J. W. —The medal you refer to is a thing not at all coun¬ 
tenanced by the Pharmaceutical Society, and we should 
expect those making use of the fact of possessing it would 
be classed among quacks and other exhibitors of spurious 
credentials. 
W. K. H. —It is not necessary to rub the subnitrate down 
in a mortar before mixing it with any considerable bulk of 
an aqueous vehicle. The carbonate, on account of its some¬ 
what granular condition, should first be triturated with a 
little of the vehicle. 
Communications, Letters, etc., have been received from 
Mr. W. Brierly, Mr. Delves, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Clowes, Mr. 
Hanbury, Mr. Butler, X. Y. Z. 
