10 
Preliminai^y  Examination. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\      Jan.,  1885. 
The  principal  advantages  of  this  method  over  the  ordinary  prelimin- 
ary examinations  lie  in  the  fact  that  the  College  is  furnished  with 
better  students,  and  the  student  is  more  justly  treated,  he  is  not  given 
an  examination  on  subjects  which  have  no  connection  whatever  with 
the  particular  branch  of  science  that  he  has  elected  to  study ;  hut  his 
fitness  to  study  Pharmacy  is  pi^oved  by  an  actual  practical  trial  of  his 
ability  to  master  the  elementary  portions  of  the  pharmaceutical  subjects 
that  are  taught  in  the  College.  If  his  ability  is  proven  and  he  passes 
the  examination  successfully,  his  labor  does  not  go  for  naught,  but  the 
record  that  he  makes  has  a  bearing  in  determining  his  fitness  to  enter 
the  advanced  or  senior  class.  In  this  way  the  advantages  of  the  pro- 
gressive system  of  teaching  Pharmacy  are  realized,  and  the  student 
has  the  opportunity  of  ascertaining,  in  the  outset  of  his  career,  whether 
his  chances  of  becoming  a  good  Pharmacist  are  cheering  enough  to 
warrant  the  further  expenditure  of  time,  labor  and  money  or  not.  An 
examination  in  the  ordinary  English  branches  of  education  alone  can 
never  give  him  this  knowledge,  for  he  might  pass  an  examination  in 
these  perfectly,  and  yet  fail  absolutely  in  a  pharmaceutical  examination. 
PRELIMINARY  EXAMINATION. 
By  Andrew  Blair. 
This  subject  has  been  receiving  much  attention  of  late,  and  is  one 
that  deserves  more  than  has  been  given  to  it.  The  popular  demand 
of  the  day  is  "  Elevate  the  Standard  of  Education,'^  especially  in  the 
various  branches  of  science.  This  certainly  is  very  proper,  and  in  fact, 
necessary  in  such  an  age  of  progress  as  Ave  are  now  enjoying.  The 
methods  employed  to  reach  the  attainment  of  this  may,  in  some  cases, 
be  the  most  suitable  and  efficient,  while  in  others  more  or  less  defec- 
tive. These  remarks  will  oifer  a  few  hints  that  may  or  may  not  be 
an  improvement  on  present  usages,  in  either  case  to  provoke  some 
discussion  on  the  subject  which  shall  result  in  a  genuine  and  substan- 
tial elevation  of  the  standard  of  education  of  the  Pharmacist. 
What  should  a  Pharmacist  be?  While  it  is  proper  and  essential  to 
prosperity  and  substantial  success  that  a  man  in  any  and  every  calling 
should  be  honest,  industrious,  possessed  of  good  morals,  faithful  and 
true  in  his  representations  and  practice,  it  is  eminently  so  with  the 
Pharmacist,  and  he  should  be  a  man  intelligent  and  qualified  in  the 
details  of  his  calling,  not  necessarily  reaching  deep  down  into  the  long 
