400 
LEEDS chemists’ ASSOCIATION. 
only spirit of nitre, mindererus spirit, water, and so much opium or henbane as maybe 
thought requisite to allay the unnatural excitement of fever. Will the nitre be methy¬ 
lated, and partaking more of the nature of an emetic than the cooling diaphoretic it 
should be ? And the opium, will it be Turkey or Egyptian ? or half-strength or methy¬ 
lated too ? Do you think it matters which ? You know very well that some think one 
is as good as the other, and cheaper too,—to them the strongest argument of all; but 
only consider how much it may matter to that saddened household, whether that little 
spark of life shall brighten and live or go out for ever. That draught on the frail frame 
of a child may possibly decide the question. Every dose has, we presume, been so cal¬ 
culated by the physician, that either more or less will not be carrying out his views; 
and surely, if the heavy responsibility of prescribing be his, the accurate fulfilment of 
his directions is of the utmost importance and interest too. And supposing all goes well, 
and the little patient recovers, it is something to have contributed to that happy result. 
Probably no meed of gratitude will be awarded to the careful dispenser, but surely he 
has his reward; he was an agent, however humble his position, and the satisfaction 
which honest work will ever give is of itself recompense enough. 
“Let us now look into our imaginary prescription and see if its ingredients have any 
special interest for us. It is certainly simple, and yet an entire knowledge of its con¬ 
stituents will demand a considerable amount of chemical knowledge; in fact, it is marvel¬ 
lous how much is involved in the manufacture of the simplest chemical. Even liq. am. 
acetatis is not made by rule of thumb. You cannot say certainly that so much car¬ 
bonate of ammonia and acetic acid will produce the neutral compound we require, and 
even when most carefully made there is a tendency to change and become alkaline. 
Consider, too, how much there is to interest us in the component parts of our prepara¬ 
tion—acetic acid and ammonia. How strange that carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen 
should be so combined as to form this same acid liquid, and, stranger still, that the 
laboratory where these elements were first brought together was the forest tree, and the 
distiller’s art was all that was required to render it available for our use. And ammonium 
too, what is it? metal or gas? or what? One of nitrogen, four of hydrogen, we are 
told,—extremely volatile, yet comporting itself frequently as a metallic base. Think how 
universal it is,—the product of animal decomposition and death, yet the food of vegetable 
life and the stimulant of our own, present everywhere, forcing itself on your notice, 
whether you will attend to it or not. These are common things, the outskirts of that 
■world of wonders which chemistry has for its diligent explorer. This calling of ours, 
call it what you will, has a wealth of interest no other has; and if you will only follow 
its leadings, you may find paths of beauty and subjects for thought that the careless and 
superficial never dream of. The question is, not shall the chemist be a scientific student, 
but where shall he stop ? How' can he give the requisite attention to the host of things 
demanding it ? He must not trespass on the province of the medical man, nor will he 
■w'ish, if he rightly considers his position ; yet he must be well acquainted with the effects 
and doses of the medicines he supplies, in order to protect himself, the patient, and the 
prescriber from error. I do not think I am saying too much when I assert that even 
that part of a medical man’s education w'hich treats of disease, must, to some extent, be 
the druggist's also, for circumstances may and do arise when something must be done, 
no medical man is near, and the friendly druggist’s aid is required, and doubtless with 
good effect in the majority of instances. I have often thought what a sanitary agent, 
so to speak, an intelligent chemist might be whose lot is cast in low localities; w^hat 
W'holesome advice he might give as to the treatment of the sick, the nUrsing of children, 
without im'ading the territory the surgeon claims as his own. Surely a strong protest 
against the messes poor people and poor people’s children take, such as Godfrey’s Cordial, 
Irish slate, and the like, would, from a man with any character, have some weight, and 
be much to the benefit of many wdio err from ignorance, and who would be glad to be 
put right. Again, the calling of a druggist is one requiring so much personal attention 
that there is a danger of its cramping the energies of the mind unless the scientific 
element is largely introduced. Other trades either take a man out more, or bring him 
more in contact with his fellow's. The druggist’s life is ahvays more or less an exclusive 
one. He does not often figure as a town councillor, for instance. The exacting public 
requires so much personal attendance that the affairs of the State must be left to others, 
probably not more competent but more at liberty than he. He, forsooth, must mind his 
shop, and, if he does not mind, he will become shoppy too; and I think there is nothing 
