432 
Teaching  of  Pharmacognosy. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
(  September.  1911. 
fingers'  ends.  There  are  some  things  taught  which  make  for  the 
culture  of  the  pharmacist  and  happy  is  the  student  who  can  sit 
under  a  professor  that  is  learned  and  well  balanced.  There  is 
something  deeper  and  more  important  to  the  pharmacist  than  this 
general  knowledge  of  drugs  and  that  is  a  knowledge  of  the  char- 
acters of  the  drugs  which  he  handles  in  his  practice.  The  history 
of  each  drug  is  exceedingly  interesting,  but  this  does  not  become 
a  real  part  of  a  pharmacist's  knowledge,  save  after  many  years 
of  experience  and  reading,  which  he  can  do  without  the  aid  of  a 
teacher,  and  when  his  horizon  has  been  broadened.  In  one  sense 
the  same  may  be  said  of  descriptions  of  plants  yielding  drugs.  As 
in  the  learning  of  a  foreign  language  ^ye  lay  the  foundation  by  first 
taking  up  the  grammar  of  the  subject  and  later  taking  up  as  much 
reading  and  study  of  its  literature  as  time  and  inclination  permit, 
so  in  the  study  of  Pharmacognosy  we  first  take  up  the  specific  char- 
acters and  properties  of  a  drug  and  then  follow  this  by  as  much 
reading  and  study  of  a  general  character  as  we  are  able  to  do.  There 
is,  however,  nothing  stimulating  and  so  far  as  I  can  see  it,  nothing 
useful  in  asking  a  question  like  the  following:  "  Nux  Vomica:  (a) 
give  habitat;  (b)  origin;  (c)  part  used  in  medicine;  (d)  active 
principles;  (e)  official  requirement."  Ever  since  the  days  when  I 
was  a  quizz  master  my  conviction  has  been  growing  that  questions 
of  this  type,  which  are  asked  on  every  hand,  do  more  harm  to  the 
cause  of  teaching  in  pharmacy  and  to  the  development  of  pro- 
fessional pharmacy  than  is  generally  realized.  Every  man's  knowl- 
edge must  fit  in  this  groove.  There  is  no  individuality  to  be 
developed,  no  increase  in  knowledge  expected  and  no  vitalizing 
influence  in  either  the  subject  as  taught  or  the  examination  which 
follows. 
The  following  is  another  type  of  question  that  is  asked  in  cer- 
tain States  by  the  Boards  of  Pharmacy  and  illustrates  very  forcibly 
the  type  of  questions  that  should  not  be  asked.  The  questions  for 
the  most  part  being  confined  to  unimportant  drugs  and  specifying 
the  reading  of  certain  books  makes  it  obligatory  upon  the  candidate 
to  determine  before  taking  the  examination  the  books  on  which  the 
examination  is  based.  The  following  is  a  typical  example :  "  What 
dose  is  given  in  Remington's  Pharmacy,  fifth  edition,  of  the  follow- 
ing: Rhus  Glabra,  is  it  considered  a  poison?  (b)  What  is  a 
minimum  dose  of  Quercus,  Rubus,  Geranium?  What  is  the  com- 
mon name  of  Convallaria?    Name  22  incompatibles  with  mercuric 
