234  President's  Address.  {Am'Ma0y,ri9Pi4arm' 
students  are  doing  special  work  in  the  Microscopical  Laboratory,  in 
connection  with  their  theses. 
The  work  in  the  Department  of  Pharmacy  for  the  course  of 
1914-1915  is  being  successfully  carried  on. 
The  recording  of  the  attendance,  as  now  required  by  the  State 
Pharmaceutical  Board,  has  been  of  considerable  value,  and  resulted 
in  a  higher -grade  of  scholarship  being  attained  by  the  classes. 
The  extra  lectures  on  pharmaceutical  subjects  given  during 
the  college  courses  have  been  of  material  value  and  more  largely 
attended. 
The  course  in  Commercial  Training,  under  the  control  of  the 
Department  of  Pharmacy,  and  for  which  the  students  are  not 
charged,  has  been  greatly  increased;  the  number  of  hours  devoted 
to  this  branch  has  been  doubled  since  last  year.  Illustrative 
material  is  fully  shown,  bookkeeping  methods  are  compulsory,  and 
students  are  now  required  to  keep  an  individual  set  of  books  and 
submit  them  for  examination. 
The  Department  of  Botany  and  Pharmacognosy  has  given  evi- 
dence of  considerable  advancement  during  the  past  year.  A  special- 
ized course  in  Microscopy  has  been  developed,  giving  the  special 
chemistry  students  enlarged  opportunities  for  increasing  their  effi- 
ciency and  broadening  their  powers  as  analysts.  The  course  com- 
prises a  series  of  laboratory  periods  on  Saturday  mornings  and 
includes  a  wide  range  of  topics,  namely,  the  study  of  drugs,  foods, 
and  technical  products  with  their  deterioration  and  adulteration. 
The  large  number  of  specimens  bearing  upon  this  work,  which  your 
Professor  of  Botany  and  Pharmacognosy  and  his  assistants  have 
been  diligently  collecting  for  a  number  of  years,  is  now  being 
brought  into  practical  use,  and  is  proving  of  great  advantage. 
It  is  of  interest  to  note  the  increasing  demand  among  agricultural 
experiment  stations  and  the  government  laboratories  for  pharma- 
cognocists  or  thoroughly  trained  analysts ;  and  as  microscopical 
courses  are  not,  as  a  rule,  included  with  chemical  courses  given  in 
this  country,  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy,  in  the  establish- 
ment of  such  a  course,  will  undoubtedly  be  enabled  to  prepare 
students  of  chemistry  for  a  broader  knowledge  and  a  deeper  under- 
standing of  the  intricacies  of  the  work  they  have  elected,  thus 
extending  the  educational  prestige  of  the  College. 
The  greenhouse  and  roof  garden  continue  to  furnish  the  students 
in  Botany  and  Pharmacognosy  facilities  for  growing  plants  and  con- 
ducting special  investigations. 
