9 02 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS; 
[May 25, 1872. 
CarmptbM*. 
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. 
The “Profession of Pharmacy.” 
Sir,—I am glad to find Mr. Ellwood raises tlic question as 
to the correctness of the term “profession ” as applied to 
pharmacy ; and although it is one of no great importance, 
yet one often has one’s sense of propriety violently offended 
by hearing some would-be professional using the term to his 
own magnification, while at the same time he has the least 
possible claim to it; but where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to 
be wise. 
Pharmacy is a quasi science, and the practice of pharmacy, 
or the calling of a pharmacist, is like Mahomet’s coffin, it is 
neither in earth nor heaven, but between both. 
The term “ profession ” may be defined as the practice of 
any special knowledge for the good of the public, for a fee 
or honorarium, as distinguished from buying and selling, or 
payment by wage or salary; and honour is the corner stone 
of all honourable professions. 
I do not deny that all pharmacists are entitled to use the 
term as applied to themselves, because there are many in our 
ranks who stand prominently to the front, and add to the 
practice of pharmacy other sciences, which they practise in 
every way as a “profession.” But it is contemptible to hear 
the term abused in the way it often is, and applied to people 
whose culture is of the mildest type; and I echo Mr. Ellwood’s 
concluding prayer, and join in his hope, that the day will 
soon dawn when pharmacy will be raised to its proper status 
and dignity. 
E, M. Pimmington. 
Bradford, May 11 th, 1872. 
Sir,—Pharmacy is at last assuming its proper rank as a 
branch of the medical profession. While it was open to all 
comers, a living out of pharmacy proper was impossible, 
consequently pharmacists became tradesmen. It is now so 
protected that it may gradually take its natural position, as 
in France and Germany. To promote the recovery of its 
true status, pharmacists should aim at a few special things: 
to encourage the discontinuance of dispensing by medical 
men, to relinquish prescribing, and to get rid, bit by bit, of 
that traffic in things not medicinal, which is the sole reason 
of its professional character being questioned. There is a 
course between presumption and depreciation, which the most 
modest pharmacists may now observe. They are members of 
a profession, and also tradesmen. They should claim the 
one appellation, and not disdain the other; but they should 
at the same time do all in their power to elevate the im¬ 
portant calling to which they have devoted themselves, so 
that the next generation may net be critical when they hear 
it referred to in common parlance as “ the Profession of 
Pharmacy.” 
Avalon. 
The Social Status of Pharmacists. 
Sir>—I have read with much pleasure Mr. Greenish’s paper 
on “Pharmacy in Austria,” and the discussion at the phar¬ 
maceutical meeting of the 1st instant, to which it gave rise. 
The issue of the latter seemed finally to limit itself to the 
question of the social condition of the trade in this country. 
In a letter you did me the honour of publishing in 
November, 1869, I took occasion to observe, that, in my 
opinion, English pharmacists would take rank only in pro¬ 
portion as they eliminated from their wares such as form no 
part or parcel of their legitimate business, and I venture to 
regard the matter in the same light now as then. 
Over-crowded, however, as the trade is at the present time, 
the prospect of attaining to especial distinction from among 
our fellow-shopkeepers by a commerce in things purely phar¬ 
maceutical, appears to me as remote as ever, since the adoption 
of the measure would involve on the part of the majority of 
our brethren neither more or less than pecuniary annihilation. 
In Austria, Germany, and the States of northern Europe, 
I am aware that the apothecaries make a low estimate of the 
money value of materia medica, and of the skilled service 
required in their preparation, but the number of pharmacies- 
being limited by law, the matter is counterbalanced by the 
fact that their practices are very considerable, and the amount 
of business transacted unusually large; 
In Italy and France, where, to the best of my knowledge 
no restriction of the kind is in force beyond the provision! 
that a man may not conduct two separate establishments (a 
provision easily evaded by working the second in another 
name), far higher remuneration is exacted. 
The profession of pharmacy in these countries, however, in 
spite of the prevalence of good prices, and the social advan¬ 
tages enjoyed by those engaged in it, is not, broadly con¬ 
sidered, in a prosperous condition. 
The cause may be briefly referred to the fact that the 
Pbarmacien or Farmacista holds it a duty to confine his- 
pursuits to the immediate object of his calling, an exclusive 
principle undoubtedly prejudicial to his worldly interests in 
the face of so much competition. 
With reference to ourselves, I quite agree with Mr. Groves 
—and the feeling he remarks may, I think, be traced from 
the time of Shakspeare to our own—that “ it is customar}' 
to look down on pharmacists ” who, although generally 
admitted to be an intelligent body of tradesmen, are some¬ 
what contemptibly considered as a class whose “good” is 
borne on the “ ill-winds ” that scourge society at large, yet 
withal a struggling and impecunious section of humanity. 
To the ordinary English mind, this last failing is, I fear, an 
all-sufficient reason for their being held in low esteem. 
While gratefully acknowledging the many important 
benefits already conferred on the trade by the protective 
influences of the Pharmaceutical Society, I would fain indulge 
in the hope of seeing still brighter days dawn on our efforts, 
to emancipate ourselves from the old social ban. 
Walter A. Powell. 
Castle Street, Stvansea, 
May 1 1th, 1872. 
Emulsions. 
Sir,—Mr. Pother, in his very practical Paper on the above, 
reprinted in your Journal of May 11th, has made known a 
perfect method of preparing an emulsion of turpentine with 
mucilage, hitherto, at the best, but an unsatisfactory perform¬ 
ance ; there is however, one point essential to ensure complete 
success, which has apparently escaped his attention, and that is- 
the use of fresh mucilage. Following his directions, 2 drams of 
mucilage speedily emulsified l^oz. turpentine, this with^ oz. 
of water produced a mixture containing two-thirds of its bulk 
turpentine; four days afterwards it still remains as perfect an 
emulsion as when freshly prepared, and promises to remain 
so. As a further test of its permanency, 1 dram of the mix¬ 
ture was diluted with 7 drams of water; after standing a few 
hours a “cream” only was thrown up, which may be perfectly 
reincorporated by shaking. I repeated the experiment, sub¬ 
stituting sour mucilage for fresh, and found the trituration 
has to be continued for a much longer time; the emulsion is 
not so white, and though no actual separation of turpentine 
takes place on standing, still it is not near so homogeneous as 
when the fresh mucilage is used. What is rather surprising- 
in this method is the remarkable property possessed by the 
mucilage of “ killing” almost an unlimited quantity of tur¬ 
pentine. To ensure a permanent emulsion, a good deal of 
time and persevering trituration are necessary, combined 
with judicious additions of ingredients; and this is just one 
of those cases where a careful and discriminating operator 
will succeed, and the careless one make only a mess. This 
plan I find gives a result much superior to that detailed in 
the Journal of March 16th, by shaking powdered gum with, 
turpentine, then adding the water, as this very soon sepa¬ 
rates into distinct layers of turpentine and water, and presents 
altogether an unsatisfactory appearance. 
T. H. Hustwick. 
Liverpool, May 18 th, 1872. 
Pharmaceutical Education in the Provinces. 
Sir,—In your Journal of April 27th, I find a letter signed 
“ A Country Major Associate,” in reply to which I should like 
to say a word or two. 
I quite agree with him that in provincial associations a 
very great difficulty is to find teachers, but that is no reason 
why they should not receive pecuniary aid from the parent 
