146 
Minnesota  Pharmaceutical  Association. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
March,  19 17 
treatment  and  the  objects  to  be  attained  in  the  respective  sciences. 
Emphasis  was  laid  upon  the  fact  that  pharmacognosy  is  an  active 
discipline  and  is  concerned  with  the  solution  of  every-day  problems 
and  the  producing  of  tangible  results.  In  the  subsequent  illustrated 
lecture  many  opportunities  were  indicated  to  show  how  the  retail 
pharmacist  could  apply  his  professional  knowledge  and  thereby 
make  himself  more  valuable  to  the  public  and  to  himself.  Professor 
Kraemer  said :  With  Josh  Billings  we  say,  "  It  is  better  to  know  a 
few  things  right  than  many  things  that  are  not  so."  In  the  teach- 
ing of  pharmacognosy  he  said :  "  I  continually  say  to  my  classes 
that  they  only  know  what  they  can  do.  As  a  student,  you  may  state 
a  fact,  but  it  is  yours  only  when  you  can  demonstrate  it."  The 
essential  practicability  of  the  science  of  pharmacognosy  was  em- 
phasized, and  in  that  connection  it  was  pointed  out  how  essential 
the  science  is  to  the  pharmacist,  because  he  deals  with  so  many 
crude  drugs  and  other  raw  materials,  and  hence  is  vitally  concerned 
with  their  identity  and  quality.  Professor  Kraemer's  wonderful 
collection  of  slides  was  divided  into  two  classes :  ( i )  Those  dealing 
with  the  identification  and  determination  of  the  quality  of  commer- 
cial drugs  and  allied  products;  (2)  those  dealing  with  the  determi- 
nation of  the  composition  of  complex  commercial  products.  In  con- 
nection with  the  latter, -many  valuable  suggestions  were  given  as  to 
the  opportunity  of  the  pharmacist  in  the  manufacturing  line.  The 
lecturer  showed  a  series  of  about  150  magnificent  lantern  slides, 
many  of  them  having  been  colored  by  Professor  Kraemer  himself. 
OBITUARY. 
William  C.  Alpers,  dean  and  professor  of  pharmacy  at  the 
School  of  Pharmacy  of  Western  Reserve  University,  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  died  on  February  22,  1917.  Professor  Alpers  was  born  at 
Hanover,  Germany,  July  7th,  185 1.  After  the  close  of  the  Franco- 
German  war,  in  which  he  took  part,  he  came  to  America.  Later 
he  attended  the  New  York  College  of  Pharmacy  and  the  University 
of  New  York,  receiving  the  degree  of  doctor  of  science  in  chemistry 
from  the  latter  institution.  Dr.  Alpers  was  always  prominent  in 
organized  pharmacy,  being  at  one  time  the  president  of  both  the 
New  Jersey  and  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Associations.  Dr. 
Alpers's  funeral  took  place  in  New  York  and  was  largely  attended. 
