STATE  OF  PHARMACY  IN  GERMANY  AND  PRUSSIA. 
331 
The  board  at  Berlin  examines  candidates  from  all  parts  of  the 
kingdom  ;  besides  it,  there  are  similar  boards  in  the  chief  towns 
of  each  province,  taken  from  the  medical  colleges,  who  likewise 
admit  pharmaceutical  candidates  by  examination,  although  only 
those  of  the  second  class,  whose  privileges  are  very  limited. 
The  examination  by  these  deputy  boards  is  nominally  the  same 
as  that  at  Berlin,  but  is  really  much  less  severe.  The  manipula- 
tions are  conducted  in  the  shop  of  one  of  the  examiners,  and  never 
present  the  difficulties  and  importance  of  those  required  by  the  board 
at  Berlin.  The  entire  examination  does  not  occupy  more  than  three 
sittings. 
The  admission  of  pharmaceutists  in  Prussia,  as  may  be  inferred 
from  the  above,  is  an  extremely  serious  transaction.  The  written 
treatise,  wrhich  is  not  required  in  any  of  the  examinations  in 
France,  is  a  very  requisite  and  trustworthy  test  ;  the  most  timid 
candidate,  however  little  used  to  speaking  in  public,  may,  by  this 
means,  furnish  a  certain  indication  of  the  extent  of  his  knowledge, 
without  his  attention  being  distracted  by  any  external  circum- 
stances, and  leaves  the  examiner  perfectly  at  liberty  to  be  strict 
without  fearing  to  be  unjust,  by  attributing  to  deficient  knowledge 
any  hesitation  or  error  which  may  be  solely  owing  to  momentary 
confusion  or  nervousness.  The  chemical  and  toxicological  analyses 
are  likewise  tests  whose  introduction  into  the  examination  is 
indispensably  necessary.  The  candidate  may  indeed  have  given 
very  satisfactory  answers  on  chemistry,  but  his  theoretical  know7- 
ledge  will  remain  useless  in  the  exrcise  of  his  profession — it  will 
be  of  no  service  either  to  himself  or  to  the  public,  unless  based 
upon  a  sound  practical  experience.  It  is  necessary  not  only  that 
he  should  know  processes,  but  likewise  that  he  should  know  how 
to  conduct  them  practically. 
Under  the  pressure  of  this  necessity  of  undergoing  a  practical 
examination,  a  great  number  of  the  pharmaceutists  of  Germany 
have,  by  their  studies  in  the  laboratories  of  Giessen,  Berlin,  and 
Weisbaden,  become  very  dexterous  manipulators,  who  may  safely 
be  consulted  by  the  judicial  authorities  in  any  cases  of  medical 
jurisprudence,  and  to  whom  manufacturers  and  agriculturists  are  in 
the  constant  habit  of  referring  for  scientific  assistance. 
THE  TWO  CLASSES  OF  PHARMACEUTISTS  IN  PRUSSIA. 
In  most  of  the  German  states  there  is  only  one  class  of  phar- 
