Am.  jour.  Pharm.  |     Higher  Education  in  Pharmacy.  2^ 
January,   191 7.    )  J  J 
The  medical  use  of  strophanthus  is  such  that  this  nauseating 
tendency  of  the  preparation  should  be  eliminated.  The  formula  of 
the  U.  S.  P.  IX  is  a  decided  improvement  over  that  of  the  previous 
edition  in  that  the  drug  is  first  de-fatted  by  preliminary  treatment 
with  purified  petroleum  benzin.  The  use  of  alcohol  95  per  cent,  as 
the  menstruum  is  likewise  to  be  commended  as  more  nearly  ex- 
tracting the  drug  and  yielding  a  more  definite  preparation. 
THE  SUCCESS  OR  FAILURE  OF  HIGHER  EDUCATION  IN 
PHARMACY. 
By  C.  Ferdixaxd  Xelson,  Ph.D., 
ASSOCIATE    PROFESSOR    OF    PHYSIOLOGICAL    CHEMISTRY.    UNIVERSITY    OF  KANSAS 
SCHOOL  OF  PHARMACY,  LAWRENCE. 
There  exists  at  present  very  little,  if  any,  difference  of  opinion 
on  the  question  of  the  desirability  and  absolute  necessity  of  thorough 
general  and  scientific  training  as  a  preparation  for  those  who  expect 
to  enter  the  practice  of  pharmacy.  Higher  education  is  steadily 
gaining  ground  and  making  its  new  converts  daily.  Indeed,  very 
often  the  men  who  have  themselves  never  enjoyed  the  opportunities 
of  adequate  training  are  the  very  ones  who  insist  most  strongly 
that  the  young  men  and  women  entering  this  field  should  do  so  only 
after  they  have  received  a  thorough  preparation.  Our  state  boards 
have  almost  without  exception  recognized  the  value  of  preliminary 
as  well  as  properly  organized  technical  education,  and  in  their  rulings 
have  constantly  sought  to  raise  educational  requirements.  Our  col- 
leges of  pharmacy  are  increasing  their  entrance  requirements  year 
by  year  and  making  their  courses  more  thorough  and  comprehensive. 
Many  of  our  schools  have  today  requirements  for  entrance  as  high 
as  some  of  the  medical  colleges  of  the  country,  and  courses  which 
require  three  or  four  full  academic  years  for  completion.  The  net 
result  of  this  must  be  that  we  will  have  a  much  larger  number  of 
thoroughly  equipped  men  in  the  future  than  Ave  have  had  in  the  past. 
We  may  indeed  congratulate  ourselves  that  our  calling  is  moving 
onward  in  this  splendid  way. 
Let  us  now  stop  to  ask  ourselves  seriously  how  long  we  may  hope 
for  the  important  advances  we  have  mentioned  to  continue.  What 
