November 4,1371.] THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
3G5 
to tlie university, when their whole time is devoted 
to study and practical work. There seemed to he no 
society in any part of North Germany in furtherance 
of the objects of pharmacy to which assistants had 
free access. 
The hours of business are very long. Assistants 
are required, in summer, to be in the shop at half¬ 
past six, and in winter at seven, and to continue there 
until ten at night, with very little relief on Sundays ; 
but they are allowed, usually, two afternoons a week 
' for recreation. I noticed that, as a rule, the as¬ 
sistants were older than those in England. In many 
instances they had passed their final examination, 
and were fully qualified, but wanted an opening. 
A pharmacy in Germany realizes, on sale, a very 
large sum, more than the returns would warrant, or 
than it would be worth without the Government 
concession. It becomes a valuable property, less 
liable to depreciation than a similar establishment 
in England, and when there is one in the market, 
it is the subject of a very sharp competition. 
The working details of the business of pharmacy 
under different conditions to those which obtain in 
tliis country, must always possess a certain amount 
of interest, and may generally be studied with ad¬ 
vantage, but there are other and closely-allied sub¬ 
jects of more importance which demand our notice 
also; I allude to those laws by which the practice of 
pharmacy is regulated, and also to the education of 
the pharmacist. There are points here to which I 
invite your special attention. In North Germany 
every candidate for apprenticeship, before he is ac¬ 
cepted by the pharmacist, must produce his certificate 
to show that he has been one year in the second class 
of the Gymnasium, and that he possesses those edu¬ 
cational qualifications which entitle him to the privi¬ 
lege of having to serve for one year only in the army 
instead of for three years. The Gymnasium is the 
classical school of Germany,—it has six classes, the 
second being the highest but one. This qualifica¬ 
tion would comprise a knowledge of grammar and 
composition, Latin, French, history, the simple rules 
of arithmetic, vulgar and decimal fractions, the ele¬ 
ments of physics and chemistry and some botany. 
It would be about equivalent to the Oxford and 
Cambridge Middle Class Examinations and those of 
the College of Preceptors, and until an education 
equal to this be insisted on by those who in this 
country take apprentices, it will be idle to talk of 
raising pharmacy in Great Britain to what should be 
its true position in public confidence and professional 
estimation. “A chain is only as strong as its weakest 
link,” and this is the weak link in our educational 
arrangements. The Preliminary Examinations re¬ 
veal a lamentable amount of deficient education, and 
result in much unhappiness and disappointment. 
No amount of after cramming can compensate for 
the absence of that mental discipline which is the 
result of careful early education. This is a subject 
for the consideration of individual members, and the 
duties of the schoolmaster should not be thrown on 
the Pharmaceutical Society. 
If pharmacy is to be elevated, our youth must 
have acquired at school such an education as will 
leave the entire term of their apprenticeship perfectly 
free for the acquisition of scientific knowledge and 
the technical details of the business, instead of 
wasting a large portion of it in acquiring the very 
rudiments of the Latin language, which properly be¬ 
longs to the duties and obligations of school, and 
then to fail in the simplest English composition. This, 
or such as this, is required to place us in scientific 
attainments abreast of our bretliren on the Conti¬ 
nent, and the pharmacist who, before apprenticeship, 
insists on the youth possessing such an education as 
is implied here, will have done a splendid service to 
pharmacy, and liaA r e earned for himself the lasting 
gratitude of his brethren. We must ever remember 
that it is in the education of our youth that the safety 
of the public lies. 
In Germany the apprentice is allowed his evenings 
for study, and his employer is bound to provide him 
with suitable books and to superintend his studies ; 
he is also allowed time to attend lectures, if in a 
town where lectures are delivered, and for the first 
two years or thereabouts he is confined to the dis¬ 
pensing of external medicines. At the termination 
of his three years’ apprenticeship, he has to pass an 
examination something equivalent to our. Minor, 
before a board composed of the Government medical 
officer, a chemist and a pharmacist; if he fails, he is 
sent back for six months; if he succeeds, he com¬ 
mences his term of three years as an assistant; this 
also is compulsory, and, at its expiration, he goes to 
the university, usually Leipzig or Berlin, for three 
semesters , or sessions, equal to about one year and a 
half, where his work is practical and theoretical; 
after this, he has to undergo his final examination, 
which is equivalent to our Major. I have calculated 
the cost of these three semesters at the university 
for a German student, and think that with economy 
it may be done, including board and lodging, and 
the fees, for £80 English money. If successful, he 
is then qualified to conduct a pharmacy when he can 
get one, but must wait until a vacancy occurs. 
How often is it remarked, and with truth, by busi¬ 
ness men, that assistants who present themselves 
with the most satisfactory testimonials and the 
highest scientific attainments — attainments which 
reflect the greatest credit on this school—are utterly 
wanting in the practical experience necessary for 
the details of business! So long as pharmacy is 
like Jacob’s ladder, one end on earth although the 
other may be very high up, so long will the vulgar 
details of existence imperatively claim our attention. 
This state of things is provided against in Germany 
by the three years’ practical work as an assistant, 
before the university duties are commenced and the 
Major examination can be passed. 
There is yet another subject on which there has been 
some difference of opinion, viz. the age at which a 
young man should present himself for his Major 
examination. There is no stated age in Germany, 
but the curriculum of study provides for it. The 
student must before apprenticeship have acquired 
the necessary classical, mathematical, historical 
and scientific knowledge; and it is scarcely possible 
that he can have acquired it before the age of fifteen, 
it is usually sixteen, to which add three years’ ap¬ 
prenticeship, and also three years as an assistant; 
and, this with one and a half at the university, will 
make him about twenty-two years of age before he 
can offer himself for the final examination* I think 
* It is expected that some important modifications will 
soon be introduced into the system of pharmaceutical educa¬ 
tion in Germany, and we purpose next week giving some de¬ 
tails of the contemplated changes, which have been commui- 
cated by Dr. Sehacht, of Berlin, who is a member of the 
Commission that has to deal with pharmaceutical allaiis in 
Prussia.—E d. Pharm. Journo 
