294 
Varieties. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\    June  1,  1874. 
of  two  large  gardens  in  the  rue  de  I'Arbalete.  In  1629  it  also  built  there  a 
large  house,  which  now  forms  the  principal  portion  of  the  building  of  the  School 
of  Pharmacy. 
This  establishment  at  first  went  by  the  name  of  the  "  Jardiu  des  Apothi- 
caires."  This,  by  order  of  the  King  in  1777,  was  changed  to  "  College  de 
Pharmacie,"  and  to  "Ecole  Gratuite  de  Pharmacie,"  by  a  decree  of  the  Exe- 
cutive Directory,  dated  3  floreal  an  iv  (22d  April,  1797).  Finally  the  law  of 
the  21  germinal  an  xi  (10th  April,  1804),  having  established  in  France  three 
schools,  that  of  Paris,  which  was  only  a  continuation  of  the  previous  school, 
entered  into  possession  of  the  ground  and  buildings  situated  in  the  rue  de 
i'Arbalete.  This  possession  was  confirmed  by  a  decree  of  the  Government  a 
few  months  later. 
At  that  time  the  School  of  Pharmacy  managed  its  own  affairs,  under  the 
authority  of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior.  This  arrangement  was  continued 
until  September,  1841,  when,  by  a  royal  ordonnance,  the  schools  of  pharmacy 
were  placed  under  the  same  regime  as  the  universities.  In  its  earlier  days  the 
real  estate  of  the  school  remained  the  same  as  when  it  was  received  from  the 
apothecaries.  It  received  its  first  augmentation  in  1821  by  the  acquisition,  for 
the  sum  of  9000  francs,  of  an  enclosed  garden.  In  1844,  a  neighboring  house, 
of  which,  however,  possession  was  not  obtained  until  1853,  was  purchased  for 
20,000  francs.  In  1857,  part  of  the  original  land,  abutting  upon  the  rue  de 
Lourcine,  was  exchanged  for  some  laud  situated  in  the  rue  de  I'Arbalete  more 
convenient  to  the  school.  Such  are  some  of  the  principal  events  in  the  history 
of  the  Ecole  Superieure  de  Pharmacie,  from  its  foundation  in  1578  until  the 
present  time. 
The  buildings  of  the  School  of  Pharmacy  are  now  unfortunately  falling  into 
ruins,  and  it  has  become  necessary  to  shore  them  up  on  all  sides.  They  have, 
moreover,  become  insufficient,  and  it  is  under  consideration  to  transfer  the 
school  to  new  premises,  which  might  be  built  upon  ground  situated  between 
the  Observatory  and  the  Luxembourg.  An  iron  gate,  opening  upon  the  rue 
de  I'Arbalete,  gives  access  to  a  rather  small  court-yard,  where  may  be  seen, 
on  each  side  of  the  steps  facing  the  entry,  the  statues  in  bronze  of  Vauquelin 
and  Parmentier.  The  school  contains  two  amphitheatres,  of  which  the  larger 
would  not  seat  more  than  280.  But  there  are  500  students.  The  same  insuf- 
ficiency occurs  in  the  laboratories,  which  are  six  in  number.  Of  these,  one  will 
accommodate  50  students;  the  other  five,  more  recently  constructed,  would 
not  accommodate  more  than  20  each.  So  that  only  150  students  can  be 
employed  at  the  same  time  in  manipulation,  and  this  occasions  a  great  loss  of 
time. 
The  "  salle  des  actes,"  where  the  examinations  are  passed,  is  well  arranged' 
and  contains  a  collection  of  portraits  of  all  the  professors  who  have  successively 
taught  in  the  school.    Some  of  these  portraits  are  remarkable  works  of  art. 
The  chemical,  physical,  zoological,  and  natural  history  collections,  as  well 
as  the  library,  are  complete  in  relation  to  the  teaching  imparted  in  the  school. 
Beyond  this,  they  contain  nothing  particularly  remarkable.  They  are  open 
every  day  from  11  A.M.  until  4  P.M. 
The  botanic  garden  also  requires  some  augmentation.  It  is  intended  shortly 
to  establish,  upon  government  land  close  by,  two  temporary  laboratories,  built 
of  wood,  of  which  one  is  to  be  devoted  specially  to  botany. 
There  are  nine  "  chairs  p  connected  with  the  school :  (1)  botany,  (2)  organic 
chemistry,  (3)  inorganic  chemistry,  (4)  materia  medica,  (5)  pharmaceutica 
