The  Ideal  Preceptor. 
\\\\.  Jour.  Pharrm 
Nov.,  1x91. 
business  appear  to  be  entirely  ignorant  of  even  the  Pharmacopoeia.  Our  official 
guide  being  to  thern  a  sealed  book. 
Our  colleges  would  be  rendering  a  great  service  which  would  redound  to  their 
credit  a  hundred-fold,  if  such  a  course  were  mapped  out  and  published  in  their 
announcements.  That  such  information  is  needed  is  proven  by  the  frequent 
inquiry  from  intended  students,  "  What  course  of  reading  would  you  recom- 
mend before  attending  lectures  ?"  I  know  that  the  various  announcements  all 
contain  a  list  of  advised  textbooks,  but  to  the  majority  of  students,  at  first  they 
are  just  one  limb  too  high.  Give  them  the  elementary  foundation  first  to  build 
on,  and  the  superstructure  will  be  sound. 
I  am  firmly  convinced  that  Lowell's  words  apply  with  equal  force  to  others 
as  to  poets. 
Jes'  so  with  poets,  wut  thej''ve  airly  read 
Gits  kind  o'  worked  into  their  heart  an'  head. 
There  are  a  number  of  short  cuts  to  pharmaceutical  knowledge  published 
under  the  title  of  quiz  compends,  etc.  Their  principal  claim  to  popularity  is 
that  they  aid  the  student  in  passing  examinations.  They  are  certainly  not 
educators — not  more  so  than  a  parrot  is  a  teacher  of  a  child.  Their  influence  is 
harmful  as  they  serve  only  to  fix  a  few  points  in  the  mind,  with  much  that  is 
essential  to  proper  education  wanting.  A  veritable  porous  plaster  education 
characterized  by  the  size  of  the  pores.  The  true  student  desires  something 
more  than  just  sufficient  knowledge  to  pass  an  examination,  and  this  is  the 
class  to  be  encouraged  by  both  preceptor  and  teachers. 
That  this  guidance  in  studies  and  formation  of  habits  is  necessary,  to  a 
certain  degree,  all  through  the  course  of  apprenticeship  is  apparent.  The 
theory  of  pharmacy  may  be  taught  by  lectures,  but  the  practical  knowledge 
can  only  be  obtained  in  the  store.  The  teachings  of  one  must  supplement  the 
other.  One  practical  application  in  the  store  of  the  use  of  the  metrical  system 
of  weights  and  measures  is  worth  more  to  the  student  than  hours  of  talk  on 
the  same.  The  opportunities  for  instruction  occur  daily,  nay  hourly.  An 
unusual  prescription  is  received  necessitating  some  peculiar  manipulation  or 
perhaps  an  incompatibility  in  the  same.  A  minute  spent  in  explanation  fixes 
it  permanently  in  the  student's  mind.  Some  preparation  is  wanted.  Don't 
send  and  buy  or  prepare  it  from  a  purchased  fluid  extract,  but  have  it  prepared, 
the  first  time,  if  possible,  under  your  supervision.  Call  attention  to  the  pecu- 
liarities, the  various  steps  in  the  process,  as,  for  instance,  the  character  of  pow- 
der, the  amount  of  packing  required,  the  menstruum  necessary,  the  valuable 
constituents  of  the  drug  which  it  is  desired  to  extract  and  maintain,  its  phar- 
macognosy and  pharmacology.  But  a  moment  or  two  is  required  in  imparting 
a  most  valuable  lesson.  But  few  of  our  pharmacists  attempt  to-day  to  prepare 
their  remedies  from  the  crude  drugs,  and  so  our  students  become  deficient  in 
their  knowledge  of  materia  medica.  Surely  he  who  teaches  his  clerks  those 
slip-shod  methods  of  making  tinctures,  syrups,  infusions,  etc.,  from  fluid 
extracts  is  not  a  true  preceptor.  His  teachings  tend  to  the  downfall  of  phar- 
macy instead  of  its  elevation.  See  that  your  clerks  become  at  least  familiar 
with  such  officinal  crude  drugs  as  enter  in  the  preparations  in  your  store,  and 
those  who  are  fortunate  enough  not  to  be  in  large  cities  can  frequently  impress 
this  lesson  by  pointing  out  indigenous  medicinal  plants.  Attention  should  be 
called  to  the  new  medical  agents,  rare  chemicals,  etc.,  their  actions,  doses  and 
