Tebruary lo, 1872.] THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
617 
e |)jranMtMtoI $rantal. 
•-♦-- 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1S72. 
Communications for this Journal, and boohs 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- 
51IDGE, Secretary, 17, Bloomsbury Square , W.C. 
Advertisements to Messrs. Churchill, New Burlington 
Street, London, JF. Envelopes indorsed u Bharm. Journ .” 
PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION. 
Much attention lias been lately directed to tliis 
Examination, and, if we may judge by the discussion 
which has taken place, a great deal of misapprehen¬ 
sion exists in the minds of many with regard to the 
number of candidates permanently excluded at this 
stage from the ranks of British pharmacy, through 
being incapable or unwilling to pass. If we take 
the year 1870, the last year for which we can get 
•complete returns, we find that 741 candidates pre¬ 
sented themselves to the London Board of Ex¬ 
aminers, and that out of this number 041 eventually 
passed, making the failures rather less than 134 per 
cent., a result which will, we believe, bear favour¬ 
able comparison with any other examination of a 
•similar description. 
The following tabulated statement for the year 
will, perhaps, interest some of our readers :— 
February 21st, 1870. 
Candidates 193. 
Passed first day of Presentation . 
. 103 
July, 1870 . 
19 
October, 1870 . 
. 18 
January, 1871. 
9 
April, 1871. 
3 
July, 1871. 
6 
October, 1871. 
1 
.Disappeared. 
. 34 
193 
April 25th, 1870. 
Candidates 147. 
Passed first day of Presentation . 
. 109 
October, 1870 . 
8 
January, 1871. 
9 
April, i871. 
4 
•July, 1871. 
1 
Disappeared. 
147 
June 20th, 1870. 
Candidates 177. 
Passed first day of Presentation . 
. 145 
October, 1870 . 
January, 1871. 
5 
4 
Disappeared. 
. 23 
177 
October 3rd, 1870. 
Candidates 224. 
Fassed first day of Presentation . . 164 
January, 1871. 14 
April, 1871.10 
July, 1871. 6 
October, 1871. 3 
Disappeared.27 
224 
A NEW BOARD OF EXAMINERS IN IRELAND. 
The subject of a Pharmacy Bill for Ireland, which 
last year was discussed with some interest," does not 
yet appear to have been publicly broached during 
the present Parliamentary Session. Should the 
public spirit of the Poor Law Guardians of London¬ 
derry, however, find many imitators among similar 
bodies, an application to the Legislature might be 
rendered unnecessary. We are informed by the 
Lancet that it having been proposed to the above 
Board to promote one of the female nurses to the 
office of apothecary, she was examined by a guardian 
as to her skill hi pharmacy:— 
“ ‘Would you object,’ quoth the guardian, ‘ to another 
nurse assisting you in compounding drugs?’ ‘Well/ 
was the answer, ‘ she might look on ; but I could not let 
her do it.’ Guardian: ‘ Could not Dr. White do it ?’ 
Nurse : ‘ No ; Dr. White would not waste his time doing 
it.’ Guardian: ‘ Can you read the doctor’s prescrip¬ 
tions ?’ Nurse : ‘ Yes; I can read the Latin as well as 
the English.’ Guardian: ‘ Are you a Latin scholar ?’ 
Nurse : ‘No : but I can read the prescriptions.’ Guar¬ 
dian : ‘ Did you do the compounding ever since you 
came here?’ Nurse: ‘Yes.’ Guardian: ‘Would you 
be willing to show another woman how to do it ?’ 
Nurse: ‘ I would do what I could.’ With this Miss 
Shannon was appointed with an increase of salary, to com¬ 
bine the duties of instructor and compounder. She has 
already, it seems, though ignorant of Latin, been en¬ 
trusted with the compounding of drugs .for the work- 
house, and is now in a position not only to continue the 
duty in the Fever Hospital, but to instruct another 
‘ lady-doctor ’ to fill her vacated post.” 
We question whether a more “ economical ” or¬ 
ganization of educational and examining machinery 
will be readily met with than this novel develop¬ 
ment of “ home rule.” 
DUST. 
The propensity which matter has for getting into a 
wrong place and thus, according to the definition of 
a late statesman, becoming dirt, is manifest in a 
peculiarly troublesome manner to all shopkeepers; 
and at times when the existence of dry roads and 
boisterous winds is coincident, few suffer more in¬ 
convenience from this cause than pharmacists in 
towns. Many of our readers will, therefore, be glad 
to hear that a sensible mitigation of this nuisance 
may be effected by the adoption of a system of road 
watering, in which a solution of deliquescent salts 
is substituted for ordinary water. This system lias 
already been practised successfully in some parts of 
