August 26,1871.] 
1G9 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
■i* 
SATURDAY, AUGUST 26, 1871. 
Communications for this Journal, and books 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, W.C. 
Advertisements to Messrs. Churchill, New Burlington 
Street, London, W. Envelopes indorsed “ Pharm. Journ.” 
THE PHARMACOPOEIA COMMITTEE. 
In the columns of a recent impression we reported 
the Proceedings of the Genial Medical Council, 
with reference to its Pharmacopoeia Committee. 
After the publication of the British Pharmacopoeia 
of 1867, this committee was appointed to watch over 
The progress of pharmacy, and make such additions 
and corrections as would further facilitate hereafter 
the preparation of the next edition of the British 
Pharmacopoeia. The sum of <£50 annually was 
■placed at its disposal by the Council. The general 
satisfaction given by the present edition induced the 
•committee to retain Dr. Redwood's services, for the 
purpose of reporting to it all matters relevant to the 
subject, which might come under his notice. The 
work done by this committee does not appear to 
have given satisfaction to the Irish members of the 
Council,—there having been only one meeting of it 
during the last two years. Dr. Aquilla Smith 
seemed to feel ashamed of his position as one of its 
members; Dr. Apjohn objected to the committee 
being re-appointed, and proposed that the task of 
collecting information for the new edition be entirely 
‘entrusted to Dr. Redwood, but his motion did not 
find a seconder. We are glad that such was the 
case, and, although the motion implied such con¬ 
fidence in Dr. Redwood, and thus conferred an 
honour' on English pharmacy, still there is a neutral 
ground on which the medical practitioner and phar¬ 
macist must meet in compiling a Pharmacopoeia. 
Take, for example, remedies for external use,—a 
knowledge of therapeutics is required to adjust the 
strength of these and many other preparations. 
Dr. Redwood, we have no doubt, will do his best 
with the “villainous saltpetre,” and “parmaceti,” 
but we object to the Pharmacopoeia committee 
shirking the responsibility which they, on their ap¬ 
pointment, incurred. Their duties, as yet, have 
been light, because the Pharmacopoeia, up to the 
date of its publication, was as perfect as such a work 
could be, but as time rolls on, pharmacy—a prac¬ 
tical art—cannot remain quiescent. Improvements 
in manufacture, and new medicines must be noted. 
On the Continent, the compilation of a universal 
Pharmacopoeia has been broached more by the 
pharmacists than the medical practitioners. Tliis 
for central Europe is a great desideratum; and so 
far as the German empire is concerned, uniformity 
will there be shortly attained by a German Pharma¬ 
copoeia. We in our insular position may not feel 
the need of this uniformity so much as some of the 
minor German States, yet when reference to phar¬ 
maceutical preparations is made in foreign medical 
literature, the English reader is painfully embar¬ 
rassed in trying to comprehend what is meant. In 
translations of such works published by the Caven¬ 
dish Society, for example, the translators, to make 
the subject intelligible, have great difficulty in ex¬ 
plaining by notes the composition of the pharma¬ 
ceutical preparations mentioned in the text of the 
work. Pharmacists, both at home and abroad, have 
also a much greater difficulty in dispensing accu¬ 
rately foreign prescriptions, as these often bear no 
trace of the country in which they were written, or 
the Pharmacopoeia to winch they refer. Would not 
the Pharmacopoeia Committee be fulfilling its func¬ 
tions by making overtures to the authorities of Con¬ 
tinental nations to try to bring about such a unifor¬ 
mity as would be beneficial to all? 
DR. GREENKOW’S REPORT ON THE EXAMINA¬ 
TIONS OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY 
CONDUCTED IN LONDON. 
The Thirteenth Report of the Medical Officer of 
the Privy Council has just been issued. It con¬ 
tains, in the Appendix, Dr. Greenhow’s Report on 
the Examination of the Pharmaceutical Society 
conducted in London. This Report is of consider¬ 
able interest, as in it Dr. Greenhow describes the 
methods adopted in the various examinations, and 
gives the opinion which he, as the medical officer 
attending on behalf of the Privy Council, has 
formed, respecting the standard adopted in each ex¬ 
amination, and the maimer in which the examiners 
perform their duties. We, therefore, print it en¬ 
tire :— 
“ During the year 1870 the Board of Examiners of the 
Pharmaceutical Society held 26 meetings: four for the 
Preliminary Examination in Latin, English, and arith¬ 
metic, and 22 for the technical examinations. 
“ At the Preliminary Examinations 742’candidates pre¬ 
sented themselves, of whom 521 passed, and became 
thereby qualified to present themselves for the Minor 
Examination, whilst the remaining 221 were rejected. 
I have carefully read the papers set for these examina¬ 
tions, and also many of the answers written both by 
successful and unsuccessful candidates, and am of opinion 
that the examination is not too severe nor the mode of 
conducting it too rigid, and that the value of the written 
answers has been estimated with accuracy and impar¬ 
tiality. In these circumstances, the rejection of so large 
a proportion of the candidates, on the score of dpfectu e 
attainments hi the main subjects of middle-class instruc¬ 
tion, indicates the low standard of general education 
prevalent among those classes of society from which the 
candidates are chiefly derived; and renders it obvious 
that, until some improvement takes place in this respect, 
the standard of preliminary examination by the Pharma- 
