August 12, 1871.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
121 
THE PARIS SCHOOL OF PHARMACY. 
]!Y WALTER HILLS. 
Ill pursuing my short sketch of the School of 
Pharmacy in Paris I come now to the lectures, which 
are very numerous, and generally well attended. 
Although the admission is entirely free, as far as I 
was able to judge, very few besides the regular stu¬ 
dents in pharmacy availed themselves of this privi¬ 
lege, arising probably from the fact that the gene¬ 
rality of knowledge seekers prefer the lectures given 
at the “ Sorbonne,” or the “ College de France,” 
where the range of study is more extended. For 
example, I find at the latter institution the following 
list for one day :— 
Vendredi. 
9 heurcs. Langue ct littcrature franc; also du moyen 
ago. 
10 hcures. Philologie ct archoologie egypticnnc. 
10 heures. Mecanique celeste. 
10 li. I. Physique generate ct experimental©. 
11 hcures. Economic politique. 
Midi. Physique generale ct mathematique. 
Midi L Histoire de la medecine. 
Midi t. Langue et littcrature grecque. 
Midi i. Histoire des legislations comparees. 
1 heure. Chimie organique. 
1 heure. Medecine experimentalo. 
1 h. 5. Langue turquo. 
2 heurcs. Histoire naturelle des corps inorganiques. 
2 heures. Philosophic grecque et latino. 
But to return to the less extended pleasure- 
grounds of the School of Pharmacy, we find that 
there are two lecture theatres, a larger of a semi¬ 
circular shape, and seating perhaps 200 students, 
and a smaller, rectangular, capable of accommodat¬ 
ing 100 or 150. In the first semestre of the student’s 
year, the lectures are three per week of each of the 
following subjects:— 
Physics. M. Buignct. 
Inorganic Chemistry. M. Riche (agrege of M. Bussy, 
director of the school). 
Galenical Pharmacy. M. Chevallicr. 
Zoology. M. Milnc-Edwards. 
Materia Medico. M. Planchon. 
In the second semestre , there are every week three 
of the following:— 
Toxicology. M. Bonis. 
Botany. M. Ohatin. 
Organic Chemistry. M. Berthelofc. 
Pharmacy (chemical division). M. Lccanu. 
Dining the latter, which is the summer session, 
there are also herbori/ations about every other Sun¬ 
day, in which any one may join. The rendezvous 
for these is generally at one of the railway stations 
at 7 or 8 o’clock a.m., or even earlier, and the pro¬ 
fessor of botany then accompanies the party to a 
district which he knows to be at that season par¬ 
ticularly rich in plants of pharmaceutical interest. 
On some occasions this may be twenty or thirty 
miles out of Paris ; but the railway companies grant 
tickets at a greatly reduced charge, so that it is not 
so great an expense as would appear at first sight. 
It will be seen that the lectures are not deficient 
in number; and in quality, as far as I am able to 
form an opinion, they are excellent. I find that 
those on physics and botany extend over two ses- 
Third Series, No. 59. 
sions, and I must speak very highly of the former 4 
which are delivered so ably and fully by M. Bui- 
gnet, whose course on magnetism and acoustics I had 
the pleasure and privilege of attending. M. Chatin 
treats of structural and physiological botany in the 
first session, and of systematic botany (taking the 
whole of the Natural Orders) during the second. 
Before concluding, I would draw attention to the 
great importance attached by the French professors- 
of pharmacy to the subject of toxicology, to which, 
as may be seen, a whole course of some twenty-five- 
to thirty lectures is entirely devoted. I believe that 
in France the pharmacien is generally regarded as 
the man from whom scientific aid is to be sought in 
all cases of poisoning, adulterations of food, efc., 
from the fact that he combines with pharmacy the 
study of chemistry proper; and I hope that the 
time will come when in England pharmaceutists, as 
a body, will in this respect merit their still higher 
title of “ chemist,” and that each member of our 
profession will be looked upon in his own town or 
village as the best authority in cases requiring 
analytical research. I think that the medical man 
who now often comes in for this work would gladly 
relinquish that which must sometimes interfere with 
his professional duties, and the chemist, with his 
apparatus and reagents always ready, might make 
this branch of his business in some degree lucrative,, 
as well as a highly interesting study to himself and 
an advantage to his neighbours. 
ETHEREAL SOLUTION OF QUINIA, 
BY CHARLES RICE. 
An ethereal solution of quinia has for several 
years been quite frequently prescribed by prominent 
physicians in Philadelphia and elsewhere, and I have- 
been often requested, especially by physicians in the 
country, to furnish them a formula for its prepara¬ 
tion. Although the different steps of the preparation 
are simple enough, yet I have repeatedly been in¬ 
formed of failures in the hands of others. In order to 
furnish to those who are not practical pharmaceutists 
or chemists, and also to those who have met with ill 
success, a formula for its preparation, I shall give 
below the full detail, which will enable any one to 
prepare it for himself. 
The object of the solution is to administer the 
alkaloid subcutaneously, in which case a much 
smaller dose is required, and a more speedy action 
is obtained than when administered internally. The 
idea of the subcutaneous use of quinia naturally 
suggested itself to practitioners from the xirevious 
similar administration of other alkaloids, especially 
morphias sulphas ; but the neutral sulphate of quinia 
not being soluble to any useful extent in water, and 
the use of an acid solution being accompanied by 
pain and often severe inflammation, it was necessary 
to employ the pure alkaloid. Anti, of all the different 
solvents, ether seems to have found the most favour.^ 
By the way, I would remark that the practice of 
some apothecaries of using dilute sulphuric acid in 
their solution of morphiae sulphas is highly repre¬ 
hensible and denounced by physicians, on account 
of the pain and inflammation following its hypo¬ 
dermic use ; water being all that is necessary. 
Most authorities state that 1 part of^ quinia re¬ 
quires GO parts of ether for its solution. This state- 
