:May 3, 1873.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
873 
that they had before them that night. After alluding to 
the great advantages for study now provided by that 
and similar associations, he promised all the support he 
could render, both in person and purse, and concluded by 
inviting both the successful and unsuccessful candidates 
to sup with him on Tuesday, the 29th inst. 
The meeting closed with a cordial vote of thanks to the 
examiners, and to Mr. Thompson for his able conduct in 
the chair. There was but a limited attendance. 
HALIFAX CHEMISTS AND DRUGGISTS’ 
ASSOCIATION. 
The last meeting of the season was held on Thursday 
April 24, 1873; Mr. Jessop, President, in the chair 
After the minutes of the last meeting had been passed 
•and a holiday on Whit Tuesday decided upon, Mr. B. 
Shaw moved the following motion, viz. :—“That it is desir¬ 
able to form a Library of Medical and Dispensing Works 
suitable for reference out of the surplus funds of the As¬ 
sociation.” He stated that he happened to be in the 
•same predicament as the Chancellor of the Exchequer was, 
with a surplus and the problem how best to dispose of it. 
The motion he proposed, he thought would be one good 
method of meeting the difficulty. He did not know the 
‘.experience of others in the trade, but he himself found 
• obscure points arose in dispensing which required clearing 
up. He had been occasionally applied to in difficulties of 
■this kind, and while he was at all times willing to render 
any assistance in his power, as no doubt others in the 
trade were, he thought it would be more reliable to have 
a selection of works bearing upon dispensing to refer to. 
It need not be large by way of commencement, some one 
or two dozen volumes, and he would suggest the following 
half dozen as suitable, viz. ‘Selecta e Prescriptis,’ Beas¬ 
ley’s ‘Formulary of Medicines,’ Squire’s ‘Companion to 
the British Pharmacopoeia,’ Attfield’s ‘Chemistry,’ Squire’s 
‘ Hospital Pharmacopoeias,’ and the ‘ Throat Hospital 
Pharmacopoeia.’ The following more comprehensive works 
might afterwards be added, viz. Gray’s ‘ Supplement,’ 
Parrish’s ‘ Pharmacy,’ Hoblyn’s ‘ Dictionary of Medical 
Terms,’ Bentley and Redwood’s ‘Abridgment of Pereira’s 
Materia Medica,’ and Taylor’s ‘Jurisprudence.’ He sug¬ 
gested also a printed “ Chart of Antidotes to Poisons” for 
the use of the members, to be suspended in a conspicuous 
place in the shop for easy reference. 
Mr. Hebden seconded the motion, which was carried 
unanimously. 
Mr. J. B. Brierley moved that the following be ap¬ 
pointed a sub-committee to select the books, appoint a 
librarian, draw up rules for the town and country members, 
and report to the next meeting, viz.—Messrs. Jessop, 
Brook, Hebden, Dyer, and Shaw. 
This w r as seconded by Mr. Blade and carried. 
The President then drew the attention of the meeting 
to the great advance made by the railway companies on 
the carriage of drugs, etc., and suggested a sub-committee 
be appointed to take such steps as may be deemed advisable 
to lay before the directors their strong objections to the 
high rates now charged. He had been informed on good 
authority, that if they took the subject up firmly they 
might probably get a reduction of half the recent advance. 
Mr. Hebden moved, and Mr. Brierley seconded that Messrs. 
Jessop, Dyer, and Farr be appointed to undertake the 
duty. 
MANCHESTER CHEMISTS AND DRUGGISTS’ 
ASSOCIATION AND SCHOOL OF PHARMACY. 
A meeting of the Council of this Association was held in 
the rooms, 37, Blackfriars Street, on Tuesday evening, 
April 22nd, for the purpose of presenting the prizes in 
the various classes, The President, Mr, W. S. Brown, 
occupied the chair, and there was a good attendance of 
students. 
The Chairman in opening the proceedings called on Mr. 
Siebold to read his report. 
Manchester School of Pharmacy Report for the 
Session 1872—1873. 
To the President and Council of the Manchester 
Chemists and Druggists’ Association. 
Gentlemen,—The first session of the Manchester School 
of Pharmacy commenced on October 8th, 1872, and ter¬ 
minated on April 16th, 1873. Three courses of lectures 
were delivered, viz., 25 lectures on Pharmaceutical Che¬ 
mistry, on Tuesdays from 8 to 9 p.m. ; 25 lectures on 
Materia Medica and Practical Pharmacy, on Fridays 
from 8 to 9 p.m.; and 15 lectures on Botany, on Fridays 
from 9 to 10 p.m. The number of students were 36 for 
the chemistry course, 31 for Materia Medica, and 29 for 
Botany, amounting to a total of 96 entries. Of the 44 
students who availed themselves of the instruction pro¬ 
vided, 23 attended all the three courses, 6 attended two, 
and 15 one course only. The attendance was very good 
and regular, the average number of absentees not exceed¬ 
ing four of whom two were prevented by uncontrollable 
circumstances from attending during the greater part of 
the session. The chemical lectures were illustrated by 
experiments as far as the present limited accommodation 
permitted, and it appears to me highly desirable that the 
necessary provision should be made for more extensive 
experimental teaching in future. 
Questions and problems were regularly given to be 
worked out at home, and the answers supplied enable me 
to state that about 50 per cent, of the students have 
derived a real and lasting benefit from the lectures, whilst 
the remainder have failed to do so, partially owing to their 
own indifference and carelessness, and partially on account 
of their great want of rudimentary education. Of about 
one-third of all the students, I can fairly say, that they 
have given me the very greatest satisfaction. Most of our 
students never attended a course of scientific instruction 
before, and but few of them can boast of a sufficient 
amount of thoroughly sound school-training, which is so 
very important in the study of science. Taking these 
circumstances into consideration we may look upon the 
first session of our young school of pharmacy as a gratify¬ 
ing and encouraging success. In point of numbers our 
success has been very great indeed, and has proved that 
in a large provincial town like Manchester, a school of 
pharmacy can exist and flourish without any extraneous 
support whatever. When you did me the honour of 
appointing me as lecturer on Chemistry, Materia Medica, 
and Botany, and of thus placing into my hands the entire 
management of this school, I entered upon my duties with 
a sense of great responsibility, yet very cheerfully, and 
with a full anticipation of success. I had not forgotten 
the failure that attended our previous efforts to found a 
school of pharmacy in connection with Owens College ; 
but teachers as a rule overrate the preliminary knowledge 
of our assistants, and their lectures are consequently not 
properly understood and appreciated. Being strangers to 
pharmacy, their teaching does not prove of sufficient practical 
value and applicability to the young pharmacist, or to the 
student preparing for the Major or Minor examination. So 
far Chemistry has generally been taught to pharmaceutical 
students in the provinces by scientific chemists possessing 
little or no knowledge of pharmacy, whilst the teaching of 
Materia Medica has generally been entrusted to medical 
men who have lectured on Pharmacology rather than on 
Pharmacognostics, just as if their pupils were students of 
medicine instead of students of pharmacy. Can it be a 
matter of surprise then that even in the largest provincial 
towns the efforts to establish schools of pharmacy have 
ended in failure. I do not hesitate to assert that the 
success of our newly-established school in Manchester is 
mainly, if not entirely, due to the fact that a practical 
