January 20, 1872.] 1HE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
591 
incompetent persons. By a singular and most unac¬ 
countable oversight on the part of those who framed the 
Act, this second object was frustrated, since the ex¬ 
aminations, and consequently the education, made w'ere 
compulsory for those only who want to carry on business 
on their own account, and not for the assistants, by whom 
at least nine out of every ten prescriptions are dispensed. 
There is not a single clause which protects the public by 
excluding unqualified men from the practice of dispens¬ 
ing so long as they choose to remain assistants; and the 
friends of the Pharmacy Act, who are loth to consider 
it as a complete failure, must cling to the first-named 
object with the hope of seeing it accomplished. To raise 
by means of scientific education the social position of 
men whose vocation is not inferior and not less respon¬ 
sible than that of medical practitioners, is a worthy and 
noble object, in the furtherance of which both interest 
and duty should alike prompt us all to aid. 
Our esteemed Secretary, Mr. Benger, in his able paper 
on the education of pharmacists, has shown the necessity 
of a sound school-training on the part of young men who 
enter our profession as apprentices. A youth who on 
leaving school, say at the age of 15, does not possess the 
necessary knowledge of arithmetic, English and Latin, 
must be regarded as unfit for the duties of a chemist and 
druggist; for it would be almost fatal to his success in 
the career he had chosen if a portion of the valuable 
time of his apprenticeship were to be spent in picking 
up those rudiments of education, which he ought pre¬ 
viously to have acquired at school. The introduction of 
a preliminary examination was therefore, a wise and 
judicious step, and the experience of many of us points 
to the necessity of refusing in future to receive a youth 
as an apprentice before he has passed that examination. 
This being done, however, the youth will then be in a 
position to devote his entire attention and time to ac¬ 
quiring the practical and scientific requirements of his 
new calling. His daily occupation behind the counter 
will gradually make him acquainted with the English 
and Latin names, and the general nature of the nume¬ 
rous articles we have to deal with, with the manner in 
which they are served out to customers, with the different 
manipulations constituting the art of dispensing and the 
manufacture of the compound preparations of the Phar¬ 
macopoeia. These subjects form the practical part of his 
study, and proficiency can only be attained by long-con¬ 
tinued practice. Many chemists think—erroneously, I 
believe—that apprentices ought not to be allowed to take 
part in the dispensing of prescriptions on account of the 
grave responsibility connected with that duty. Their 
pupils therefore complete their term without having- 
gained any experience in that branch, which is at once 
the most important and most legitimate part of our bu¬ 
siness, and consequently, instead of becoming useful 
assistants at once, they are compelled to take situations 
as so-called improvers, receiving no salary, in order to 
make up for their deficiency in this respect. The ap- 
• prentice, I think, is entitled to be taught dispensing 
during his apprenticeship; and as dispensing cannot be 
learned by seeing it done by others, he must himself bo 
engaged in its operations, which, of course, must be con¬ 
ducted under the supervision and control of his master 
or of a competent assistant. 
With daily practice he will soon gain experience and 
confidence, and, at the expiration of his time, he w r ill be 
a competent and trustworthy dispenser. Some will argue 
that watching a pupil whilst he is dispensing medicines 
is almost as troublesome as doing the work themselves, 
and this is undeniably true; but it is equally certain 
that we entirely fail in our duty towards our appren¬ 
tices if we object to the trouble of instructing them. 
There can be no teaching without work or trouble, and 
whoever does not want to teach ought not to take an 
apprentice. The skill and knowledge acquired by a 
young man during his apprenticeship can, of course, 
he greatly augmented during his years of assistant- 
ship, and for that reason ho will act judiciously by serv¬ 
ing in several establishments and in different parts 
of the country, however much a long stay in one place- 
speaks in his favour. An assistant who remains for four 
or five years in one situation may please his employer 
very much by so doing ; but, as a matter of course,* ho 
cannot have the same chance of extending his experi¬ 
ence as another who, within the same period, sees the 
business routine of four different establishments, each, no 
doubt, having its own peculiarities. 
I have so far only alluded to the practical side of 
pharmaceutical education; and, though its importance is 
such that it alone might form the subject of a lecture, 
it is my intention on this occasion to dwell chiefly on 
the other side of the question, viz. the theoretical and 
scientific part; that branch of a young pharmacist’s 
study which imparts life and intelligence to his prac¬ 
tical acquisitions. A knowledge of chemistry and ma¬ 
teria medica is indispensable if we wish to have a clear 
conception of the work we are daily performing, to say 
nothing of its being necessary for passing the examina¬ 
tions. Here, again, I maintain that the period of ap¬ 
prenticeship is the proper time for collecting the re¬ 
quired information; as its very name suggests, it is es¬ 
sentially the time for learning-; and those who dony 
their apprentices the time and opportunity for study 
incur a grave responsibility indeed. In large towns, 
where suitable lectures are provided for the purpose of 
facilitating the young man’s exertions, he ought to be 
not only allowed but encouraged to avail himself of such 
means, unless his employer is in a position to instruct 
him efficiently. In country places, however, where such 
opportunities do not exist, the youth is chiefly dependent 
on books ; but even this method of study should answer 
the purpose, provided the books be well selected and the 
help and advice of the employer not withheld. About six: 
hours per week set apart for study and spent diligently 
will, as a rule, suffice for the student; not indeed to be¬ 
come a scientific man par excellence , for such is not ex¬ 
pected or needed, even of the chemist and druggist of the 
future,—but to attain that amount of scientific know¬ 
ledge which is required for the efficient discharge of his. 
duties, and which will eventually ensure him an honour¬ 
able place among his professional brethren. Great mis¬ 
takes are made in the selection of books. Beginners- 
should avoid large books, whose contents it would take 
them years to master ; and they should remember that 
it is much better to know the rudiments of a science 
thoroughly and soundly than to have a superficial notion 
of most of its details. Short elementary books seem to 
me by far the most preferable for beginners, whilst 
the study of larger volumes may be highly recom¬ 
mended to more advanced students, say to assistants- 
who have passed their examinations, and who aspire 
to distinguish themselves in one science or another. 
In studying chemistry the beginner cannot be too- 
strongly recommended to pay careful attention to the in¬ 
troductory topics of that science, of which I may name 
the following :—Definition and object of chemical science, 
definition of elementary substances and chemical com¬ 
pounds, the laws of chemical combination, specific gravity 
and its determination, and the molecular and atomic 
theoiy. These subjects form the very foundation of the 
chemical edifice, and unless they are thoroughly mastered 
by the student his knowledge of chemistry must, of ne¬ 
cessity, be always cloudy and unsound. The sources, 
mode of preparation and main properties of the ele¬ 
mentary substances and their compounds should then, 
be gone through, and the use of modern symbolic expres¬ 
sions for their compositions and decompositions should, 
be well understood and appropriated. The chemical 
compounds, both organic and inorganic, being exceed¬ 
ingly numerous, the pharmaceutical student should de¬ 
vote his attention chiefly, though not exclusively, to- 
those used in pharmacy, and he must learn how to re¬ 
cognize those by tests, and how to detect impurities in 
