332 
STATE  OF  PHARMACY  IN  GERMANY  AND  PRUSSIA. 
raaceutists,  but  in  Prussia  there  are  two ;  those  who  are  admitted 
by  the  examiners  at  Berlin,  and  those  who  are  admitted  by  the 
provincial  examiners.  The  latter  correspond,  with  regard  to  their 
modes  of  admission,  to  the  pharmaceutists  admitted  in  France  by 
the  "  jurys  medicaux,"  but  in  Prussia  they  possess  but  very  limited 
privileges ;  they  are  fewTer  in  number,  are  not  held  in  any  estima- 
tion in  a  professional  point  of  view,  they  cannot  be  consulted  by 
the  judicial  authorities  in  cases  of  chemical  or  toxicological  juris- 
prudence, and  they  are  only  permitted  to  establish  themselves  in 
neighborhoods  where  the  population  is  very  small ;  they  are,  in 
fact,  altogether  in  a  position  of  marked  inferiority  to  the  other  class 
of  pharmaceutists,  who  are  at  liberty  to  establish  themselves  any- 
where. The  law  does  not  strictly  determine  the  amount  of  popu- 
lation of  the  towns  in  which  pharmaceutists  of  the  second  class 
may  establish  themselves,  but  in  practice  this  circumstance  is  not 
found  to  involve  any  difficulty,  for  the  Government  always  gives 
the  preference  to  pharmaceutists  of  the  first  class.  Consequently, 
whenever  there  is  a  competition  for  the  esablishment  of  a  Pharmacy, 
or  for  the  management  of  one  already  existing,  permission  is  not 
granted  to  a  pharmaceutist  of  the  second  class,  if  it  is  at  the  same 
time  applied  for  by  one  of  the  first  class.  By  this  means  there  is 
never  any  want  of  qualified  pharmaceutists  suitable  to  the  require- 
ment of  the  population  of  a  locality,  and  when  it  is  necessary  to 
make  a  choice  among  competitors  the  permission  is  always  granted 
to  the  most  worthy. 
This  system  is  by  far  more  rational  than  that  which  prevails  in 
France,  where  the  pharmaceutists  admitted  by  the  jurys  are  at 
liberty  to  commence  business  in  any  town  they  please,  with  the 
exception  of  Paris,  Montpellier,  and  Strasburg.  The  consequence 
is,  they  establish  themselves  in  the  large  towns,  together  with  phar- 
maceutists of  the  first  class,  while  in  the  smaller  places  there  are 
none  at  all.  It  would  certainly  be  very  desirable  if  there  wTere  in 
France,  as  in  all  other  countries,  but  one  class  of  pharmaceutists, 
so  that  the  poor,  as  well  as  the  more  wealthy  population,  the  in- 
habitants of  the  country  places,  as  well  as  those  of  towns,  might 
have  their  wants  supplied  by  men  of  equally  good  education.  But 
if,  on  the  other  hand,  the  inferior  order  of  pharmaceutists  are 
tolerated,  upon  the  ground  that  such  a  course  is  to  the  interest  of 
those  inhabiting  small  towns  or  villages,  and  alone  secures  to  them 
