436 
PHARMACY  IN  GERMANY  AND  PRUSSIA. 
The  visits  of  inspection  are  made  in  the  presence  of  the  «  kreis 
physicus,"  by  one  or  more  pharmaceutists  generally  selected  for 
the  office  from  some  other  neighborhood. 
The  pharmaceutist  whose  shop  is  inspected  is  bound  to  submit 
to  the  inspectors  his  concession,  his  diploma,  the  legal  pharma- 
copoeia, the  tariff  of  medicines,  the  regulations  referring  to  the 
exercise  of  the  business,  together  with  the  most  recent  altera- 
tions which  have  been  made,  further  the  journal  of  the  labora- 
tory work,  an  account  of  poisons  sold,  an  herbarium  of  indigenous 
officinal  plants,  and  a  packet  of  prescriptions  with  the  prices  of 
the  medicines  affixed.  The  assistants  are  required  to  produce 
their  certificates  of  apprenticeship,  to  answer  questions  relating 
to  pharmacy  or  chemistry,  and  to  explain  a  passage  in  the  Phar- 
macopoeia. The  apprentices  are  also  examined,  with  a  view  to 
ascertain  their  capacity  and  acquirements,  due  allowance  being 
made  for  the  length  of  time  they  have  been  receiving  instruction. 
These  visits  or  inspections  generally  occupy  several  days,  and 
it  will  readily  be  understood  that  they  require  some  time.  In 
addition  to  the  above-mentioned  particulars,  the  whole  of  the 
medicines  included  in  the  tariff  are  submitted  to  chemical  exa- 
mination by  the  inspectors,  who  carry  with  them  the  requisite 
chemical  re-agents.  The  pharmaceutist  has  to  pay  about  six 
shillings  for  the  cost  of  re-agents,  and  has,  moreover,  to  bear 
the  expense  of  the  extraordinary  visits  which  the  inspectors  may 
think  fit  to  make.  Minutes  of  the  inspection  are  taken  and 
transmitted  to  the  "medicinal  rath,"  whose  duty  it  is  to  insti- 
tute proceedings  against  such  pharmaceutists  as  may  be  found  to 
have  infringed  the  law — a  circumstance,  however,  which  very 
rarely  occurs.  In  any  case  the  «  medicinal  rath"  addresses  to 
the  pharmaceutist  who  has  been  visited  an  official  letter,  contain- 
ing a  resume  of  the  report  made  to  him,  adding  at  the  same 
time  any  remarks  of  compliment,  advice  or  reprimand,  which  he 
.may  consider  necessary, 
i  The  reports  made  by  the  inspectors  are  sometimes  very  minute, 
and  show  how  far  the  examination  has  extended,  and  the  degree 
of  care  with  which  it  has  been  executed.  The  following  is  an 
extract  from  the  official  letter,  addressed  by  the  "  medicinal 
rath  "  to  a  pharmaceutist  on  the  occasion  of  an  inspection  of 
his  shop : 
