PHARMACEUTICAL  NOTES  OF  TRAVEL. 
213 
direction  of  the  eminent  Soubeiran,  Professor  of  pharmacy  and 
organic  chemistry  in  the  Ecole  de  Medicine,  whose  painful  mal- 
ady had  at  the  time  of  my  visit  progressed  to  near  its  fatal  ter- 
mination, recently  announced.  This  institution,  like  so  many 
of  the  modern  embellishments  of  Paris,  is  erected  on  the  ruins 
of  an  ancient  convent ;  situated  on  one  of  the  broad  quays  ex- 
tending along  the  south  side  of  the  Seine,  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  the  Cathedral  of  Notre  Dame,  and  of  the  far 
famed  Jardin  des  Plantes)  it  presents  an  exterior  appearance 
quite  unlike  a  drug  store  or  manufactory.  The  residence  of  the 
Superintendent  occupying  part  of  the  front,  aids  in  giving  a 
character  of  unusual  neatness  and  elegance  to  the  building. 
Here,  as  elsewhere,  I  received  those  polite  attentions  for 
which  the  French  are  so  celebrated,  and  as  I  was  conducted 
through  every  part  of  the  establishment,  might  have  recorded 
many  details  of  French  Pharmacy  which  would  have  added  to 
the  practical  value  of  this  essay ;  but  on  examining  my  notes, 
now  after  the  interval  of  six  months,  I  regret  to  find  that  many 
of  the  most  important  facts,  by  being  intrusted  to  memory  alone, 
have  been  rendered  too  vague  and  inaccurate  for  use. 
A  beautiful  steam  engine  and  boiler  are  among  the  most  con- 
spicuous  objects  on  entering  the  manufacturing  department ; 
these  are  used  both  for  the  application  of  heat  and  for  power, 
for  the  former,  steam  jackets  surround  the  copper  pans,  diges- 
ters, syrup  kettles,  stills,  &c;  for  the  latter,  a  shaft  communi- 
cates with  a  variety  of  apparatus  for  comminution,  stirring,  &c. 
The  mills  seem  adapted  to  the  preparation  of  only  a  limited 
number  of  products  used  extensively  in  Hospital  practice,  and 
not  so  perfectly  prepared  elsewhere.  For  dividing  certain  herbs 
and  roots  for  infusion,  a  pair  of  cylinders  rotating  in  the  same 
direction,  serve  to  pass  the  drug  in  thin  layers  on  to  a  horizon- 
tal surface  against  which  a  sharp  knife  edge  impinges  so  as  to 
cut  them  with  a  clean  smooth  edge. 
Another  form  of  mill  designed  for  crushing  drugs  consists  of 
four  horizontal  iron  cylinders,  set  in  a  frame,  with  a  slide  for 
regulating  their  distances  apart;  one  pair  of  these  is  rough  and 
the  other  smooth ;  the  drug,  which  must  not  be  too  coarse,  is 
passed  in  through  a  hopper.  This  apparatus,  with  a  sifting 
machine  and  appropriate  seives,  serves  to  prepare  flaxseed  for 
