May 4,1872.] THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
895 
of pharmacists to laboratories. He much regretted it, 
and hoped that more would he established. He had 
himself conducted one for many years, and he intended 
to bring the subject forward in the Journal, and endeavour 
to show how one might be carried on at very small 
•expense, and with very great profit. 
The President said he should like to ask Mr. Greenish 
what time the apprentices commenced work, and at what 
time they ceased their ordinary labours; and what was 
the time of the day they got for study ; and how many 
hours they were allowed for meals F for he thought that 
when they had been informed on these matters, probably 
young men present would be better satisfied with their 
position than they were now. 
Mr. Greenish said the assistants went to business 
very early indeed, usually about six o’clock, and the 
shops were kept open to a late hour. But the appren¬ 
tices had generally two hours every evening for study, 
•and the assistants two half-days every week for recrea¬ 
tion. The apprentices and assistants were a greater 
number of hours in business than in this country. A 
pharmacist mentioned to him that though the appren¬ 
tices had two hours given them every evening, there was 
the greatest difficulty in keeping them at study, for 
they would go to the cafes. 
Mr. Williams said he could not say anything about 
the practice of pharmacy in Vienna, but he had seen 
something of it in the more country parts—in the Tyrol. 
His impression was that the pharmacists were in any¬ 
thing but an enviable position, especially compared 
with us here, and no one would wish to change 
places; and that was amply proved by the scale of 
charges allowed for a prescription. It could not be a 
very remunerative business, even where money goes a 
: great way. As far as he could judge, they seemed to be 
in a very unsatisfactory position indeed. There appeared 
to be two classes of society, and only two—the nobility 
and gentry and the peasantry, and no intermediate class; 
and the chemists were really drawn from the lower class, 
and they were allowed to get a miserable living, and 
that was all. He might be wrong, for he could gather 
but little information except by what he saw, but such 
was his impression, and he thought their position was 
not at all of an enviable character. 
Mr. Hills said he could endorse what Mr. Williams 
had said, that English pharmacists are in an enviable 
position compared with pharmacists in other parts of the 
world. He would not deny that the hours were very 
long, but they had been much longer. In his time they 
had been very much curtailed, and they were still being 
curtailed, and it was to his younger friends that they all 
looked to uphold pharmacy in England. They must re¬ 
member this: in pharmacy the position a man occupied 
"would depend very much upon himself, whether he was 
an apprentice behind the counter or a shopman; a 
man could take almost any position he liked if he 
displayed intelligence and courtesy and gentlemanly 
conduct. It must not be forgotten that lately two 
or three of their body had received the honour of 
knighthood; but he would not be satisfied with that, 
for he hoped to see some of them baronets, and 
perhaps rise even higher still. It was to the students 
of the present day that he looked to place pharmacy 
in the position it ought to be. He thought he might 
Re permitted to say that he believed he was the first 
^associate of this Society, and when he first com¬ 
menced, students had nothing like the privileges they 
have now. When he came to Oxford Street they 
•only had one or two books, such as Thomson’s ‘ Dis¬ 
pensatory,’ Turner’s ‘Chemistry,’ Hooper’s‘Dictionary,’ 
.and Thomas’s ‘ Practice of Physic.’ At that time, with 
the help of Mr. Mackay, of Edinburgh, they formed a 
class among themselves, and they used to get what in¬ 
formation they could during their meals and after nine 
or ten o’clock, after which time their class was held. If 
They had gone through all that, and yet pharmacy 
had attained its high position, he would tell his young 
friends present what they expected of them. Having- 
gone so far themselves, now they expected a great deal 
more from those who were coming on the stage. Of 
course, in thus assisting in the progress of pharmacy 
in England, they had benefited themselves. It was for 
the present students to persevere, to work hard; and 
in working hard, they might depend upon it, success 
would crown their efforts, and they would find it to be 
the happiest time in their lives. When they were at 
work, let them work with all their might, 
Mr. Greenish said he endorsed Mr. Williams’s remarks 
as regards pharmacy in the Tyrol, but he thought they 
would not apply to Austria generally. There the phar¬ 
macists were well off. The limitation of pharmacies on 
the Continent is such that a business becomes valuable ; 
much more is paid for it because of this Government 
concession. There can be no opposition. A pharmacy 
returning a thousand a year would fetch several thousands 
of pounds there. There is a society now established 
in Berlin trying very hard to get freedom of trade. 
As regards social position, the pharmacist is a gentle¬ 
man and can mix in any society. 
Mr. Williams suggested that he had a private in¬ 
come as well. 
Mr. Greenish said he was not sure of that. But he 
must have been able to put his hand upon a good sum of 
money in order to have bought the pharmacy. 
Mr. Betty asked if any reasons could be given for the 
Government limiting the number of apothecaries’ shops ? 
Mr. Greenish replied that the great reason why the 
limitation was not done away with was because it was a 
Government concession; and if it were abolished and there 
were freedom of trade they would have to make com¬ 
pensation, which would involve the payment of an 
enormous sum of money. He also said that it was the 
feeling of a large number of people, many of whom, 
however, were out of business, that this over-legislation 
was very injurious to the interests of pharmacy generally, 
and he believed it was himself. 
The President said he could well understand the 
comfortable position of phaimacists in Austria, from 
the fact of the number being so limited. He had no 
doubt if half the pharmacists in this country would 
emigrate or go to another world it would be a capital 
thing for those left behind. But when he looked at 
the scale of charges there for what wo called skilled 
labour, he felt sure that our assistants would be greatly 
dissatisfied with that proportion of pay. One sentence in 
the paper he could not help smiling at, and that was that 
the master had to see that the intended apprentice wrote 
fluently and plainly. This was particularly necessary 
to prevent the patient being mislead. He remembered 
on the last occasion it was said that very often the 
medicine was given to the person who came for it 
wrapped up carelessly and not sealed, so that frequently, 
if it happened to be a wet day, by the time the mes¬ 
senger reached home it was impossible to tell what 
was written upon the label. 
Mr. Groves said that these men enjoyed tolerable 
incomes, notwithstanding the lowness of price; and he 
thought their position after all was to be envied. 
Mr. Hills said he could not agree with Mr. Groves 
that the pharmacists did not take a position in this 
country. He believed it was entirely their own fault 
if they did not. He did not care whether a man was in 
the shop or where he might be, if he conducted himself 
properly and straightforwardly, and showed intelligence 
and a love of his profession, he always took a position. 
It was true he might not get into the House of Lords; 
but, as his friend near him suggested, he could go into 
the House of Commons. He thought it was altogether 
a mistake to decry the position of pharmacy. 
Mr. Groves said that living in the country as he did 
he found that, with a certain class of people, it was cus¬ 
tomary to look down on phai macists, though he admitted 
