524  American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  {A&&Sm*£**m' 
is  as  well  off  without  a  law  as  with  one,  unless  the  Board  is  supported  by  a  live 
State  Pharmaceutical  Association.  He  also  gave  the  number  of  graduates  dur- 
ing the  past  year.  He  thought  all  licentiates  should  first  be  registered  as 
assistants.  The  reports  of  the  Committees  on  Scholarship  and  on  Registration 
of  Poisons  followed.  The  nomination  of  officers  for  the  following  year  was  then 
taken  up.  Profs.  Beal  and  Hallberg  were  named  for  Chairman,  and  the  same 
gentlemen  in  reversed  order  were  mentioned  for  the  Secretaryship.  The  first 
paper  read  was 
CONCERNING  THE  CHARACTER  OF  STATE  BOARD  OF  PHARMACY 
EXAMINATIONS. 
By  Harry  B.  Mason. 
The  author  stated  that  it  was  his  purpose  to  declare,  first,  that  nearly  all  of 
the  examinations  held  by  State  Boards  of  Pharmacy  are  of  such  character  that 
the  "  quiz-compend  "  student  is  the  one  most  successful  in  passing  them  ;  sec- 
ond, that  the  "  quiz-compend  "  student  is  not  the  competent  pharmacist ;  and 
third,  that,  therefore,  to  perform  the  high  duty  expected  of  them,  the  exami- 
nations must  be  changed  in  character,  until  only  the  competent  pharmacist  will 
be  successful.  Concerning  this  necessary  change  in  character,  he  offered  some 
suggestions  to  obviate  these  objections :  ask,  first,  the  use  of  knowledge  and  of 
faculty,  which  does  determine  fitness  ;  and  second,  instead  of  asking  single  facts, 
duplicate  the  exigencies  of  practice  themselves  (using,  if  you  will,  only  those 
more  ideal),  for  then  only  such  knowledge  will  be  required  as  is  necessary  to 
competent  service.  To  this  end,  bring  into  prominence  problems  in  percentage 
composition,  in  specific  gravity,  in  alligation.  Ask  speculative  questions  of 
importance,  as  to  what  course  would  be  followed  in  a  given  case.  Duplicate 
ideal  prescription-desk  necessities.  Ask  few  isolated  facts,  but  demand  their 
combination  and  use,  as  is  necessary  in  practice,  of  which  the  Board  should  be 
representative. 
To  do  this,  only  those  questions  should  be  asked  which  demand,  not  the  use 
of  an  unaided  memory,  but  of  reasoning,  creation  and  judgment,  and  the  pos- 
session and  use  of  assimilated  knowledge. 
But  though  the  applicant  successfully  acquit  himself  along  these  lines,  he 
has  not  yet  proved  his  real  competency.  He  may  lack  sufficient  shop  experi- 
ence. Shop  experience  gives  the  student  the  true  perspective  of  the  field  of 
knowledge.  Surround  him,  therefore,  with  the|necessary  appurtenances  of  his 
art,  and  then  subject  him  to  the  same  demands  that  are  made  of  him  in  the 
prosecution  of  his  regular  duties. 
If  an  applicant  is  to  be  examined  with  intent  to  discover  his  real  efficiency, 
neither  of  these  divisions  of  this  scheme  of  examination  can  be  sacrificed. 
A  COMPARATIVE  EXHIBIT  OF  PHARMACY  BOARD  EXAMINATIONS. 
By  C.  S.  Hallberg. 
By  communication,  he  had  received  nineteen  replies  from  as  many  State 
Boards  ;  they  sent  him  one  or  more  sets  of  their  questions.  He,  with  the  offi- 
cers of  the  Section,  collated  these  into  a  tabular  statement.  The  questions 
were  divided  into  sections,  as  chemistry,  pharmacy,  etc.,  and  then  subdivided, 
so  that  a  comparison  could  be  made.  While  he  favored  oral  examinations,  the 
author  believed  they  should  only  supplement  the  written  ones. 
