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THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[May 13,1871.. 
ciple of division of labour would meet the requirements of 
long hours of business (where such are necessary), and the 
demands of assistants for short hours of work. 
May 8th, 1871. _____ Justus. 
Examinations. 
Sir,—Where the shoe pinches it is only reasonable to ex¬ 
pect the sufferer to cry out, and, if possible, remove the cause 
of the evil. 
My opinion is that the Modified ought to test the practical 
capabilities of the candidate, and if (after passing the Modi¬ 
fied) a man is not competent to pass the Minor, then I say 
the Modified Examination is a sham—a mere “ delusion and 
snare.” 
If the Modified examination is not a guarantee of compe¬ 
tence, why have that examination at all ? I cannot see why 
men who have only passed the Modified should not be compe¬ 
tent to enter for the Minor A They enjoy the same privileges as 
regards the dispensing and compounding of medicines as Phar¬ 
maceutical Chemists, and yet they are not considered compe¬ 
tent to enter even for the Minor. Now, Sir, is not this ab¬ 
surd ? Surely, if a man acquits himself to the satisfaction 
of the Examiners in the Modified, he need not be compelled 
to undergo a second ordeal by a Preliminary ? If so, I repeat, 
the Modified examination is a mere farce, and no dependence 
can be placed on it. 
Cannot this subject be brought before the Council or the 
Annual Meeting to be dealt with on its own merits ? 
There are always certain people in every community who 
carp at any little privileges they imagine their neighbour 
enjoys. But take the calm and unprejudiced opinion of our 
Council, and, I think, I may venture to predict that our 
request will be granted. By the tone of your article a 
fortnight ago, I think that you are not altogether against 
our proposals; and I am sure if you use your influence 
in our favour, it will go a long way towards furthering our 
object. We all know the readiness with which the Phar¬ 
maceutical Journal takes up arms in any good cause, 
and I trust we may in this instance reap the benefit of your 
co-operation. B. S. 
Sir,—I think the reply you make to “ Sympathetic ” exactly 
meets the case. 
If a young man cannot, or will not, qualify himself for the 
duties devolving upon him in the sphere of life he has chosen, 
he had better take to another calling where the standard of 
qualification is lower. 
Not one word will I say against a youth having a good 
amount of education to begin with; and I do not think that 
any should enter the drug trade without being pretty well up 
in Latin, Arithmetic, etc. But with regard to those whose 
education has been neglected, let me say, only “put your 
shoulder to the wheel,”—adopt for your guidance the motto 
(affixed to a trade-mark which I frequently see) “ Ora et 
labora,” and you need fear nothing. 
The writer of this letter entered the drug trade before even 
the foundation of the Pharmaceutical Society, and therefore 
no necessity to prepare for meeting an examination existed. He 
left school at the early age of fourteen to go apprentice, and 
certainly was not a prodigy in educational acquirements ; nor 
was his career commenced under the most favourable circum¬ 
stances—apprenticed in a county town, engaged from six in 
the morning until ten at night, employed two-thirds of the 
time in powdering, grinding paint, putting up casks of oil, 
stacking bath-bricks and other abnormal operations of a 
similar character ,—“ the pursuit of pharmaceutical knowledge 
under difficulties ” was certainly a marked characteristic of 
his early experience. 
Books on chemistry, pharmacy, etc. were scarce, dear and 
of very different style to the excellent manuals now so nu¬ 
merous. We had no journals, no schools of pharmacy (even 
in our largest cities), in fact no help of any sort. At all 
events I speak of things as I found them. 
It is not pleasant to speak of one’s own performances, but 
as the writer’s name will not appear to this article, it can 
serve no purpose of vanity, if he had any. I may, therefore, 
say that although I have had a hand in teaching many, I 
have, so far as my own education is concerned, had no help 
except “self-help.” 
And yet in the few leisure hours I could steal from a very 
active life, I managed to acquire a pretty good knowledge of 
botany, materia medica and elementary chemistry, including 
-qualitative analysis. As for my Latin, although hundreds of 
prescriptions passed through my hands, I do not remember 
ever meeting with one I could not translate. 
I undertook the management of the laboratory in a large 
provincial business, where I was able to prepare the various 
chemicals and pharmaceutical preparations in a most satis¬ 
factory manner, and afterwards became senior dispenser and 
manager of the laboratory at one of the principal London 
hospitals. 
Now, after saying all this, let me enter my sincere protest 
against the abominable system of late hours, so justly com¬ 
plained of by your various correspondents; it is as iniquitous 
as it is unnecessary. It is quite time this state of things 
was altered; the members of the trade have the remedy en¬ 
tirely in their own hands, and if a feeling of fraternity, in¬ 
stead of a spirit of jealousy, did but animate us, there would 
be no difficulty about the matter. 
Wherever classes can be formed and pharmaceutical schools 
established, by all means let it be done,—let our young 
men have all the facilities for acquiring knowledge we can 
place in their way. But whether classes or no classes, with 
schools or without them, let our would-be students learn this- 
one great truth, that Providence helps those who help them¬ 
selves. 
If the apprentices (in the neglected town) mentioned by 
“ Justice” in your last impression, who have repeatedly failed, 
in passing the Preliminary Examination, did but bear this in 
mind, they might avoid the risk of failure. 
The fact is (I am speaking from every-day experience), 
the majority of our apprentices and assistants seem to desire 
to imbibe knowledge in the same way they take their meat 
and drink, by having it poured down their throat. There are 
a few noble exceptions, and these are workers, not com- 
plainers. 
Let the most be made of the system of late hours, which 
so extensively and almost universally prevails; still, it is a 
great disgrace to young men who have served an apprentice¬ 
ship of four or five years in a chemist’s shop, to know so little 
of their business as is the case with far too many of them. 
The following may, perhaps, be useful to “ Sympathetic ” 
and others. One of the cleverest young men it has been my 
lot to have in my employ, came to me as an improver at the 
age of nineteen; and he surprised me "wonderfully by stating 
that he had scarcely ever been to school in his life, having 
been employed in field labour. At fourteen he went as 
errand-boy to a chemist; with part of his wages he bought a 
Latin and English Grammar, and paid a schoolmaster a trifle 
for giving him occasional lessons in Latin. He was with me 
two years, at the end of which time I obtained him a situation 
in a very first-class house, where, at the age of twenty- three, 
he became resident manager. Since then he has given up the 
drug trade and is now at college, where he last year obtained 
the highest number of marks for Greek and Latin, and above 
the average for Hebrew. 
His brother (also an errand boy) followed in his footsteps 
and succeeded him as manager, where he now remains. 
One who has known the Drug Trade 
MORE THAN THIRTY YEARS. 
Evening Dress .—We have received several letters on this 
subject, in which our correspondents express their opinion, 
that it is a duty to the Society, as well as to the fairer element 
of the Conversazione, that visitors should appear in “ evening 
dress; ” and they suggest that any one who may be in doubt 
as to what that should be had better refer to his tailor. 
“ Spes .”—The Board of Examiners occasionally decide that 
a candidate may present himself for re-examination in some 
special subject or subjects in which he has previously failed, 
but this is a matter quite at their discretion. 
“ Chemicus .”—In the present state of the law, it is not 
illegal to carry on a business in the manner indicated by you. 
READING-CASES. — Ashworth’s Patent “Looped 
Binder” Folios, made to hold six, thirteen, or twenty-six 
numbers of the Pharmaceutical Journal, are now ready, 
and may be had of Messrs. Taylor and Co., Printers, 10, Little 
Queen Street, London,W.C., pricels. 6d. Binders, 6d. per gross. 
Communications, Letters, etc., have been received from 
Mr. T. S. Pellors, Mr. P. Howman, Mr. J. R. Jackson, 
C. H. H., F. C. S., T. S. M., J. T. C., J. S. B., M. P. S., T. B., 
A. Z., H. W. H., “ Alpha.” « A Country Chemist,” “ Can- 
tharides ” and “ Botanist ” have not complied with the rule 
as to anonymous correspondence. 
