874 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[May 3,1873, 
pharmacist has filled the post of lecturer, and that this 
conviction is shared by the students whom I have had 
the pleasure of instructing. I will now resume my report, 
from which I deviated in favour of a subject which I 
believe merits serious consideration and a full discussion. 
On Wednesday, March 19th, and on the following 
Wednesday, competitive examinations were held in 
chemistry, materia medica, and botany. The questions 
submitted are annexed to this report. Fourteen candi¬ 
dates competed for the chemistry prizes, fifteen for the 
materia medica, and twelve for the botany prizes. The 
awards were as follows :— 
Chemistry. 
1st prize to Mr. Arthur Joseph Pidd. 
i / 2nd „ to Mr. Frank Hudson, 
qua . ^ 2nd „ to Mr. Blacklock. 
Materia Medica. 
1st prize to Mr. John Blacklock. 
2nd „ to Mr. Edward Gardner. 
Botany. 
1st prize to Mr. J. J. Macauley. 
2nd „ to Mr. S. Challiner. 
The answers supplied by nearly all the competitors 
were highly creditable, and bear testimony to the zeal 
and industry of their authors. 
I trust that our future educational efforts will be 
crowned with ever-increasing success, and that our young 
school will ere long grow into an important and permanent 
centre of pharmaceutical education. 
Chemistry Questions. 
1. What is the difference between sulphates, sulphites, 
and sulphides ? 
2. If a mixture of six volumes of oxygen and four 
volumes of hydrogen be ignited by an electric spark, 
what will be the composition of the resulting gas ? 
3. How is acidum sulphuricum tested for impurities ? 
4. Write the notation for phosphate of sodium and pyro¬ 
phosphate of sodium, and state how they can be dis¬ 
tinguished by testing. 
5. How much sulphate of magnesium, MgS0 4 7IL0, 
will be required to make sixteen ounces of magnesias 
carbonas, B.P. (MgC0 3 ) 3 Mg0, 5H 2 0. Mg = 24; 
S • 32; 0 — 12. 
6. Give a full explanation of the process for making 
iodide of potassium, and state how it may be tested 
for impurities and adulterations. 
7. How can potassse citras be distinguished from potassae 
tartras? 
8. The specific gravity of acidum hydrochloricum, B.P., 
is IT6. How much water will be required to reduce 
an acid of 1T9 sp. gr. to the Pharmacopoeia strength ? 
9. Explain by an equation the mode of making ammoniae 
carbonas. 
Materia Medica. 
1. How is scammony tested for impurities and adultera¬ 
tions ? 
2. State how the presence of opium may be recognized in 
a mixture ? 
3. How can true Vera Cruz jalap be distinguished from 
Tampico jalap ? 
4. How are the leaves of Cynanchum argel distinguished 
from senna ? 
5. How would you test powdered rhubarb for turmeric ? 
6. Name the plants from which the following drugs are 
obtained, and also their natural orders and habitats : 
—Althaeae Radix, Hemidesmi Radix, Digitalis Folia, 
Uvse Ursi Folia, Guaiacum. 
7. Essential oils are often adulterated with spirits of 
wine ; how would you detect that adulteration ? 
Botany. 
1. Name and define the different kinds of underground 
stems. 
2. State all the distinguishing features of exogenous and 
endogenous plants. 
3. What is a perianth ? 
4. Give definitions of the terms raceme, corymb, and 
umbel. 
5. What are hypogynous, tetradynamous, and monadel- 
phous stamens ? 
6. Give a brief description of the leaves of Atropa bella- 
donna. 
The President then presented the prizes (consisting of 
standard works on chemistry, materia medica, and botany) 
to the successful competitors. He said it was highly gra¬ 
tifying to the Manchester Chemists and Druggists’ Asso¬ 
ciation to receive such a Report from Mr. Siebold. He 
need not say the establishment of these courses of lectures 
had received the most anxious deliberation of the Council. 
A previous attempt had ended in failure, mainly, he be¬ 
lieved, for the reasons stated by Mr. Siebold, that the 
lectures given were not adapted to the requirements of 
the classes. The Association had been singularly fortu¬ 
nate in securing the services of a gentleman so able and 
at the same time so willing to undertake the duties of 
lecturer. Mr. Siebold had made a very great sacrifice of 
time, and, he believed, also a pecuniary sacrifice, as in all 
probability the private teaching of pharmaceutical stu¬ 
dents might have been more remunerative to him than 
his present office. He, the Chairman, believed that to 
Mr. Siebold was due the fact that the Manchester School 
of Pharmacy occupied a position this session unsurpassed 
throughout the provinces. The success of the classes was 
a subject of which the Association may be proud. He 
hoped that at no distant day they might be in a posi¬ 
tion to provide a complete course of laboratory instruc¬ 
tion. This depended entirely on the more general co¬ 
operation of the chemists of the district. If the funds 
were provided, members might rely on their being spent 
in the promotion of that which he was not ashamed now 
to speak of as The Manchester School of Pharmacy. 
Mr. J. T. Slugg said he would congratulate the losers 
as well as the winners of the prizes. The knowledge which 
all had an opportunity of gaining, and which, as Mr. Sie¬ 
bold had said, so many of the students before him had 
gained, was itself a prize. He would also congratulate 
Mr. Siebold on having so entirely gained the respect and 
confidence of his class ; with these he was in a position to 
secure the progress of his pupils. He contrasted the 'ad¬ 
vantages now offered to pharmaceutical students with 
those available when he was an apprentice forty years 
ago, and urged young men to seize these opportunities. 
He believed it was Lord Brougham who said, if he were 
only a shoeblack he would try and be the best shoeblack 
in the parish. Let every one feel that though he be only 
a druggist, he will try and be the best druggist in the 
country. 
Mr. Siebold then briefly thanked the speakers for their 
kind and complimentary remarks, and the meeting ter¬ 
minated. 
HULL CHEMISTS’ ASSOCIATION. 
At the last meeting of this Association, held at the 
Cross Keys Hotel, the President, Mr. Anthony Smith, 
in the chair, the question of the botanical class for the 
ensuing session was considered, and it was arranged that 
the President, Vice-President, and Secretary wait upon 
Mr. Niven, the curator of the Botanic Gardens, and make 
the necessary arrangements. The decision arrived at by 
the committee and Mr. Niven was that the class should 
commence on Wednesday, May 7th, at 7 A.M., and con¬ 
tinue weekly for twenty weeks, the fee for which will be 
10s. 6d. The annual examinations in connection with the 
chemistry and materia medica classes have been conducted 
