May 6, 1871.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
8S9 
C[)t |)j);inn;ttaifit;i( Jottrmtl. 
SATURDAY, MAY 6, 1S71. 
Communications for this Journal, and boohs for review,etc., 
should be addressed to the Editor, 17, Bloomsbury Square. 
Instructions from Members and Associates respecting the 
transmission of the Journal should be sent to Elias Brem- 
ridge, Secretary, 17, Bloomsbury Square, IF. C. 
Advertisements to Messrs. Churchill, New Burlington 
Street, London, IF. Envelopes indorsed “ Pharm. Journ.” 
CHEMICAL NOMENCLATURE IN PHARMACY. 
Having but recently urged on our readers tlie ne¬ 
cessity of improving the character of the monthly 
Evening Meetings of the Society, it was with great 
pleasure we witnessed Professor Attfield’s en¬ 
deavour to give practical effect to our suggestions, 
and we therefore desire to express our thanks to him 
for having so promptly taken the matter in hand, as 
well as our hearty congratulations on the very suc¬ 
cessful issue of his exertions. We doubt not that 
all members of the Society, and especially all atten¬ 
dants at the Evening Meetings, will participate with 
us in these feelings, while hoping that in the ensuing 
season there may be a succession of papers brought 
forward as interesting and useful as that to which 
we refer. 
It is satisfactory to find that Professor Attfield’s 
suggestions for the revision of the chemical nomen¬ 
clature of our Pharmacopoeia do not involve any 
violent changes, but that, while seeking to attain 
uniformity consistent with chemical science, those 
.■suggestions are conservative in their tendency, and 
influenced by the sound principle that for medical 
and pharmaceutical purposes it is more important 
that names should denote things rather than our 
ideas as to the nature or constitution of those things. 
Moreover, the simplicity of the plan by which uni¬ 
formity is to be attained in the designation of che¬ 
micals in pharmacy is so great as to constitute a 
•strong argument in favour of Professor Attfield’s 
proposals being generally adopted, and on this ground 
alone we are not surprised to find they have met 
with general approval both by the medical men and 
•chemists who took part in the discussion and by the 
medical press. The few points in regard to which 
there were differences of opinion were only of minor 
importance, and would probably be settled without 
difficulty by having regard to the essential requi¬ 
sites of a name for medical and pharmaceutic pur¬ 
poses, and by making the possession of chemical pro¬ 
priety subordinate to them. 
We should be glad to see the main features of 
Professor Attfield’s plan adopted, not only in the 
British Pharmacopoeia, but also in that of the United 
States, as 'well as the Pharmacopoeias of Europe, so 
as to secure the very great advantage of a permanent 
and uniform nomenclature. 
PHARMACY IN AMERICA. 
The School of Pharmacy in connection with the 
College of Pharmacy at Chicago, which was re¬ 
organized last October, has had a prosperous session 
under the new faculty, Professors Blaney, Bartlett 
and Hambrigiit. The class numbered thirty, of 
whom one was a lady. 
The Annual Meeting of the College was held oil 
the 15tli March. Mr. E. H. Sargent, in an address 
delivered upon vacating the presidential chair, urged 
upon the members the advisability of co-operating 
with the officers in obtaining employment for students 
coming from a distance, and also of enabling the 
“ clerks ” in their employ to attend the lectures. 
In reference to the system of instruction, he sug¬ 
gested that in future years it would be advisable to 
give a course of lectures to the junior class separate 
from the senior. Such a system, he thought, would 
possess greater thoroughness, and the subjects would 
be presented in better order. It seemed to him plain 
that if the lectures were adapted to the senior class 
they could not be suited to the junior, and if suitable 
to the junior class they were unfit for the senior. 
This plan would be attended with more labour and 
demand a greater sacrifice of time by the teachers, 
but the advantage to the taught would, in his 
opinion, be sufficient to warrant both. The pub¬ 
lication of the Pharmacist had been continued, and 
it had proved a valuable auxiliary to the College. 
Its success, both in a scientific and pecuniary view, 
has been very encouraging. The growing import¬ 
ance of the varied interests of the College are such 
as necessitate the provision of a permanent home 
for the institution, and a committee has been ap¬ 
pointed for the purpose of considering and reporting 
upon the subject. The following are the names of 
the officers for the ensuing year :—President, E. H. 
Sargent ; Vice-Presidents, John W. Ehrman and E. 
T. Schloetzer ; Treasurer, A. C. Vandenburgfi ; Se¬ 
cretaries, G. M. Hambright and Albert E. Ebert. 
Mr. Joseph Inge and Mr. C. It. C. Tichborne have 
been elected honorary members of this College. 
The Philadelphia College of Pharmacy commenced 
its fiftieth session on March 15, when the degree of 
“graduate in pharmacy” was conferred upon sixty- 
nine persons who had passed their examination. 
The Board of Examiners reported that they have 
found it advisable to change the examination for the 
diploma from a verbal to a written one. The entire 
number of candidates are accommodated in two 
rooms at separate desks, so as not to communicate 
with each other; a professor attending in each room 
to reply to proper queries. One branch is considered 
each day, and as soon as a student announces that 
he has completed his task, he is shown ten specimens 
relating to the particular branch under considera¬ 
tion, the names of which he has, according to his 
judgment, to write down, so that the answers of each 
student to all queries and specimens are recorded. 
