208 
On  the  Training  of  Apprentices. 
{Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May  1, 1873. 
I  should  advocate  the  teaching  of  the  Latin  language  in  our  high 
schools,  as  it  would  not  only  be  beneficial  for  youths  entering  our  pro- 
fession, but  for  all,  in  any  kind  of  business,  as  Latin  phrases  are  fre- 
quently used  even  in  our  daily  papers.  As  to  the  plan  of  teaching 
apprentices,  there  is  a  very  large  space  left  vacant  for  improvement. 
Having  at  this  very  time  a  new  apprentice,  and  considering  the 
question  now  pending,  I  would  here  briefly  state  my  plan,  and  if  any 
of  the  profession  sees  room  for  improvement,  it  will  be  for  the  benefit 
of  the  profession  at  large  to  publish  it. 
I  have,  so  far,  instructed  two.  When  the  youth  enters  his  appren- 
ticeship, I  hand  him  a  list  of  the  names  of  all  the  drugs  and  prepa- 
rations in  the  shop,  written  on  cap  paper  in  the  Latin,  English  and 
German  languages,  and  let  him  commence  with  the  names  of  those  in 
materia  medica,  not  in  rotation  of  the  Pharmacopoeia,  but  in  rotation 
•of  drawers  and  bottles  as  they  are  on  the  shelves.  For  instance, 
thus : 
Cetraria,  Iceland  Moss,  Islaendisches  Moss. 
Cera  alba,  White  Wax,  Weisses  Wachs. 
Cera  flava,  &c,     Yellow  Wax,  &c.       Gelbes  Wachs,  &c. 
This  plan  may  appear  one-sided  to  some,  but  it  is  just  this  in  which 
I  have  had  occasion  to  see  how  little  the  labor  of  Wood  and  Bache  is 
appreciated  when  they  give  us  not  only  the  English  names  besides  the 
Latin,  but  also  the  German,  French,  and  in  many  instances  those  of 
different  other  languages.  Considering  that  there  are  quite  a  number 
of  Germans  in  this  city  (St.  Louis,  Mo.),  I  let  my  apprentices  study 
the  three  above  mentioned.  s  I  have  been  on  visits  to  some  of  my 
friends,  also  apothecaries,  and  was  informed  that  some  German  party 
would  come  in  and  ask  for  Flaxsaamen  Thee,  and  such  like  articles, 
and,  not  knowing  what  the  party  meant,  the  sale  had  been  lost. 
Certainly  it  is  a  little  trouble  to  write  say  600  or  700  names  in 
three  languages,  but  the  reward  will  be  ample.  Five  or  six  sheets  of 
foolscap  paper  and  a  couple  of  days'  leisure  hours  will  do  it. 
I  let  the  apprentice  learn  during  the  leisure  hours  in  the  day-time, 
and  hear  his  lesson,  say,  for  instance,  100  names,  in  the  evening; 
and  when  he  is  cleaning  the  shelves  and  bottles,  Saturdays,  I  tell  him 
to  take  a  look  at  the  ingredients,  and  thereby  let  his  work,  be  it  as  it 
is,  a  dusty  job,  be  an  instruction  to  him. 
After  he  has  learned  the  names  I  let  him  peruse  the  U.  S.  Dispen- 
satory, and  a  small  treatise  on  chemistry,  and  another  on  botany. 
