December 16,1871.] THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
49 ^ 
fcmptaa. 
*** No notice can be taken of anonymous communica¬ 
tions. Whatever is intended for insertion must be authenti¬ 
cated by the name and address of the writer ; not necessarily 
for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. 
Shall the Pharmaceutical Society cease to be an 
Educating Body? 
Sir,—In response to the editorial invitation that those who 
hold decided views on this question would communicate 
them, I make bold to offer a few remarks, though fully sen¬ 
sible of their imperfections. Before so doing, however, I 
would observe that an important subject as this is deserves 
the fullest consideration, and it is very desirable that it be 
freely discussed in all its bearings and positions. 
When authorities such as Mr. Mackay and Mr. Schacht 
speak so plainly and with such confidence, it is time we 
looked the contingency fairly in the face, and henceforth 
determine to set our house in order, so that when the time 
comes' we may be prepared to acquiesce in whatever change 
is deemed most desirable. Thoughtful practical men, men 
who have the interest of the Society at heart,—and I rejoice to 
say such are by means few,—must, I think, sooner or later 
adopt the view expressed by Mr. Schacht, that the duties of 
teacher and examiner ought not to coexist in the same body. 
It is a recognized fact that an examination by a Board en¬ 
tirely separate from the teaching faculty is productive of 
results more valuable and reliable as a test of merit than 
where the two offices are combined. This principle is ac¬ 
cepted by different educational bodies, national and private. 
In these days the schoolmaster who is wishful to have a 
thoroughly practical and unbiassed examination for his 
pupils arranges with such a body as the College of Precep¬ 
tors, or examiners appointed by one of the universities, to 
undertake that duty. Governmental, diocesan and some 
denominational schools—in fact, the majority of educa¬ 
tional . bodies—are periodically examined by their different 
inspectors. The Pharmaceutical Society is an exception to 
this rule. With the one hand it educates, with the other 
examines those it has educated. However, since 1868, its 
position and duties are clearly defined. Before that date it 
was a voluntary body, doing a voluntary w'ork; now it has 
compulsory powers, and is bound to execute certain duties in 
return for its privileges, the head and front of these duties 
being examination, but by no means education. Personally, 
as an old student of the Society, 1 shall be sorry to see it 
deprived of those educational powers it has used through 
good and evil report for so many years with such undeniable 
success; but if the majority decide that the separation of 
functions is beneficial, individual feeling will give way. 
Supposing it to be generally admitted that the severance 
is needed, where are we to look to for the educational part 
to be carried out ? I answer, turn over the pages of the 
Pharmaceutical Journal, —say during the latter part of 
the decade of 1850,—and note the scanty number of pro¬ 
vincial chemists’ associations, whose titles and doings there 
appear. Afterwards turn to the Journal of the present time, 
and contrast the large number of associations that are now 
in healthy, vigorous existence, and already providing a use¬ 
ful technical education. In my opinion, it is to these 
associations that we must ultimately look for the supply of 
trained pharmacists; and it seems to me that they will even¬ 
tually occupy the same position in regard to pharmacy that 
the different medical schools do to that profession. Suppose 
we take it for granted that the local schools fulfil the duty 
of preparing students for examination, it should then be 
arranged that these schools be the only recognized source of 
pharmaceutical education after a regular apprenticeship, and 
that without certificates of attendance on a certain number of 
classes and lectures at one of them, no student should be 
eligible for examination,—a similar proceeding to that 
adopted by most of the medical examining bodies of the pre¬ 
sent day. The fees received would, I have little doubt, in a 
short time be sufficient to defray all expenses, and until then 
the parent Society might reasonably be asked to assist by 
grants of money and material; or it might adopt the capi¬ 
tation system, and pay over to the school whence the suc¬ 
cessful candidate proceeded a certain sum of money, accord¬ 
ing to the excellence of the examination passed. 
Already in some of our larger towns do these associations 
exist, only wanting time and circumstances to develope them 
into centres of high-class pharmaceutical education. 
The examinations then would take place at Bloomsbury 
Square as usual; in fact, the present arrangements for the 
conduct of that duty would amply suffice. I think that by a 
plan .something after this fashion we should not find the 
transition either violent or objectionable, especially as many 
students are examined at present who have not prepared 
themselves at head-quarters. Then we should have the local 
associations doing their own work of educating, and the 
Pharmaceutical Society its own work of examining and re¬ 
warding. 
With regard to the plan advocated by Mr. Schacht, I 
think the great objection to its adoption would be the single 
yearly examination. Considerably more than the one oppor¬ 
tunity is required. It might frequently happen that a young 
man would lose a favourable opening for commencing busi¬ 
ness simply because he had not got his diploma, and might 
have to wait the greater part of a year before he could ob¬ 
tain it; whereas under the present system he need not wait 
for more than a few weeks, presuming him to be ready in 
every other respect. Again, I can imagine that an examina¬ 
tion by written papers alone is not so satisfactory to the 
examiners as that in which the viva voce takes the leading 
part. Papers are very well as far as they go, but they can¬ 
not convey to the mind of the examiner the same impressions 
as to the capabilities of the pupil that personal intercourse 
does. These reasons incline me to think that a yearly exami¬ 
nation would not meet the necessities of the situation. 
The plan thus imperfectly sketched out I am sanguine 
enough to think will bring about the same results, but in a 
rather different way, as that suggested by Mr. Schacht. I 
now leave the matter to the consideration of the readers of 
this Journal, and hope it may meet with that attention so 
vital a question demands. 
Liverpool, Dec. 6th, 1871. T. H. Hustwicu. 
Dispensing Dieficulties. 
Sir,—When my unfortunate paper was written I had not 
the least expectation of seeing it in print, and quite as little 
that it would have called forth such a display of virtuous in¬ 
dignation, or I should perhaps not have expressed my ideas 
in quite such plain terms. I do not, however, yet see that 
the part so much objected to deserves all the hard words that 
have been said about it, or that its “ whole tendency” is to 
“ lead apprentices or assistants to think they are doing but 
right if they go a little further, and omit or substitute by 
others the ingredients of any prescription entrusted to them.” 
I cannot accept T. B.’s dictum ‘‘that if the extracts are 
evaporated until of suitable consistence for forming pills,” 
there would be no difficulty; for we could scarcely name 
a single extract which if made the proper consistence for pills 
would keep in that condition for any length of time; most of 
them either speedily dry up and become too hard, or attract 
moisture and become too soft; and in this fact lies the whole 
difficulty. I dare almost go so far as to ask T. B. if he ever 
saw any (workable) extract he could form into pills that 
would keep their shape, or that would not go soft without the 
addition of something to prevent it ? and really, the differ¬ 
ence m strength between pulv. hyos. and ext. hyos. is so 
slight as to be hardly worth naming, and I suggested its use 
in order that as little alteration as possible might be made in. 
the strength of the medicine; moreover, it is a question 
whether more injury may not be done to the extract in dry¬ 
ing it on a slab over the gas as F. W. S. suggests, than would 
compensate for the difference. 
With regard to essential oils, everybody knows that if we 
put more than a certain proportion into a pid-mass it works 
out in the manipulation unless some “ dodge ” is practised, 
and I cannot perceive that it makes very much difference 
(except as a salve for the conscience) whether the excess is 
worked out on the fingers and pill-machine, or left out in the 
first instance, whilst the latter method certainly makes the 
most satisfactory pill; and with respect to the iron and gen¬ 
tian pills, I would say that I have tried p. ferri sulph., and 
do not like it, whilst by using a little p. gentian instead of 
extract, I am able to get in a larger quantity of the oil of 
cinnamon than I otherwise could do. 
I do not know what my critics may think allowable in their 
own practice, but it does seem to me that the addition ot 2\ 
gr. rnagn. calc, to 2 oz. pills, though they be “ of convenient 
size, well made and of good consistence,” is hardly consistent 
