January 21,1871.3 THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
583 
Here is the characteristic formula of Dr. Wil¬ 
liams, presented by Mr. Charles Savory :— 
Jb 01. Morrhuae pur. 3 viij. 
Sumat r coclil. min. (augend, ad amplum) bis die c. Mist. 
Scquentis cochl. amplo. 
14 Acid. Phosphor, dil. 5 ij 
Ferri Sulphatis 
Quina) Disulph. au gr. viij 
Sp. Myrist. 3 s s 
Syrup 3 ] 
Aqua) ad 5 viij. M 
II Morphiio Acet. gr. j 
Etheris Chlorici 3 ] 
Mist. Acacia) ^ij. M 
Sum r cochl. min. urgent, tusse. 
If. Aceti Cantharid. 3 ) 
Sp. Camphorse £ss. 
M. fiat Linimentum pectori applicand. 
Oct. 6, 1857. C. J. B. W. 
The second object contemplated is to show the 
practice of other countries, and in what different 
ways nations not our own exercise the healing art. 
For surely the aspiration of our students ranges 
higher than the passing an examination. Let it 
however, for the third time repeated, be clearly un¬ 
derstood that these sometimes strangely written, re¬ 
condite formulae are not meant to perplex the young 
pharmacist, nor do they, as far as his examination is 
concerned, in the least influence the chances of his 
success. 
Let me conclude by outlining an idea which 
one day may be realized. I propose the sub¬ 
sidiary direct teaching of practical pharmacy by 
means of autograph prescriptions precisely in the 
same manner as Oliver taught botany. His system 
is too well known to need description. He takes an 
actual flower, and from it and on it demonstrates its 
parts, indeed its whole ldstory—why can we not from 
actual pharmacy obtain the same result ? As far as 
my light goes, Oliver has revolutionized the study of 
botany; has made its commencement not a work of 
drudgery but pleasure, for in the case of many 
modern treatises the introductory chapters should be 
drafted into the Appendix. Pharmacy seems cap¬ 
able of being aided by the same sensible mode as by 
the one which Oliver, following the track of his pre¬ 
decessors adopted. Let a student take this charac¬ 
teristic formula of the late Dr. Bright. 
If. Liquor. Calcis lb. ss. 
.Sumat cochl. mag. ij, more exposito. 
lf> Bismuth! Trisnitrat. 9j 
Acidi Hydrocyan. (Scheele) «iviij. 
Soda) Sesquicarb. 9iiss 
Tinct. Card. Comp. 5 ij 
Mucilaginis ^ss 
Infus. Aurant. ad ^iv. M. 
Fiat Mist, cujus sumat partem quartam ter die. Appli- 
cetur Empl. Cantharidis scob. cord. 
R. B. 
Then let him set himself the following short ex¬ 
amination, giving his answers aloud for liis viva voce, 
or writing them in full. 
1. Write out Prescription in correct Latin, with 
full terminations—give the construction of its nouns, 
verbs and adjectives. 
2. What is liquor calcis—how made—what its 
use—wliat is its pharmaceutical history ? 
3. Bismutlii trisnitrat.—wliat is its chemical and 
pharmaceutical history ? Describe the metal. What 
is the moot point of contention respecting its prepa¬ 
ration as indicated in the British Pharmacopoeia and 
the formula adopted by private manufacturers ? 
4. Hydrocyanic acid—how made ? why called 
Sclieele’s ? Official strength and chemical history, 
therapeutical applications internal and external. 
So we might proceed, but space is valuable, and 
enough has been said already to mark out the idea. 
Any student who, in the quiet of his own room, 
can faithfully go through this ordeal will be effec¬ 
tually saved from the slightest anxiety with regard 
to one part of his examination. Fifty formulse, 
arranged by an intelligent tutor, with due regard to 
distinctive handwriting, working out in detail this 
rude sketch, would be an educational gain. Print, or 
still better, lithograph facsimile, would materially 
assist. 
Meanwhile, when there are so many candidates 
for our examinations, nearly three hundred having 
presented themselves the first week in January, let 
us on our side as a Societ}'- representing Pharmacy 
meet them honourably; let us not ask these young 
aspirants to make bricks without straw ; rather let us 
give them every facility for acquiring knowledge— 
and this, if help be not denied, will be the New 
Year’s gift of London to the Country. 
THE PRESENCE OE MANGANESE DT 
BEECH-NUTS. 
BY DR. J. E. DE VRIJ. 
In the introductory address of the chairman of the 
last Pharmaceutical Conference* at Liverpool, my 
attention was fixed by the following sentence:—“ By 
some authors it has been denied that plants absorb 
from the earth such metals as are not absolutely 
essential to their nutrition. Experiments, however, 
afford strong evidence to the contrary. Mr. R. Waring- 
ton (Journ. Chem. Soc. 1805) found in the ashes of 
the beech and birch 0T93 per cent, of manganese.” 
This quotation of Warington’s investigation in¬ 
duces me to mention the fact observed by myself 
more than twenty years ago. As at that time- 
the investigation of the ashes of plants occupied 
a great many chemists, I also analysed some ashes. 
Amongst them were the ashes of beech-nuts collected 
by me in the neighbourhood of Giessen, in Germany. 
As there exists a great quantity of manganese ore in 
that vicinity, the presence of a relatively large quantity 
of manganese in these ashes seemed to me quite 
natural. In 1847, being at the meeting of the Bri¬ 
tish Association at Oxford, I visited the beautiful 
park of Blenheim, and collected there on that occa¬ 
sion some unripe beecli-nuts. After returning home, 
I analysed their ashes and found also in these, al¬ 
though grown in a very different soil, the presence of 
a relatively large amount of manganese. A third ana¬ 
lysis of the ashes of beech-nuts, collected in the wood 
of the Hague, confirmed the same fact. As I was 
accustomed to use the ashes of beech-nuts in my 
lectures to demonstrate the reagents for manganese, 
tliis fact has been fixed in my memory. 
To Camphorate Blisters.—M. Deschamps d’Aval- 
Ion has suggested, when it is desirable to camphorate a 
blister, this may be readily accomplished by dropping on 
its surface a few drops of a saturated solution of camphor 
in chloroform, made by adding two parts of the latter to 
four of the former. —Journal de Pharmacie. 
* Piiarm. Journal, Sept. 17, 1870, p. 234. 
