Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Jan.,  1886. 
Pharmaceutical  Study. 
47 
some  way  by  lines.  These  graphic  representations  are  often  complex,  and  may 
sometimes  appear  as  fantastic,  although  certainly  not  so  beautiful  as  the  visible 
arrangement  of  parts  in  a  flower  or  plant.  But  the  visible  arrangement  of  parts 
in  the  one  case  and  the  graphic  representation  in  the  other,  have  quite  differeu4 
meanings.  Graphic  representation  in  chemistry  is  a  result  of  comparative!; 
modern  science  culture.  It  fulfils  some  useful  objects,  but  to  the  imperfectly 
instructed  student  it  is  liable  to  induce  erroneous  conceptions,  which  have  to  be 
carefully  guarded  against. 
It  is  one  of  the  objects  of  modern  chemistry  to  study  the  possible  aggrega- 
tions of  atoms  in  chemical  compounds,  and  the  changes  to  which  these  may  be 
subject,  such  study  being  conducted  not  merely  on  the.  basis  of  our  concrete 
knowledge,  but  in  accordance  with  certain  abstract  principles  and  conceptions. 
For  many  years  past  chemistry  has  been  gradually  becoming  more  of  an  abstract, 
if  not  less  of  a  concrete  science.  Twenty  years  ago  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie,  Pro- 
fessor of  Chemistry  in  the  University  of  Oxford,  proposed  a  special  application 
of  the  science  of  algebra  for  expressing  by  means  of  symbols,  and  without  refer- 
ence to  any  hypothesis  as  to  the  nature  of  the  material  world,  all  the  facts  of 
chemical  changes.  This  method  he  called  "  the  calculus  of  chemical  operations." 
The  proposal  then  received  but  slight  enco  uragement,  arising,  perhaps,  partly  from 
the  circumstance  that  the  abstract  principles  of  chemical  science  had,  as  indeed 
they  still  have,  not  been  sufficiently  developed  and  established  to  justify  the 
application  of  such  a  method  of  treating  chemical  data.  Obviously,  however, 
there  ,  is  a  tendency  in  that  direction,  and  it  is  useless  for  those  who  wish  to 
pursue  the  study  of  chemistry  with  the  view  of  keeping  pace  with  modern  ad- 
vancement in  the  science  to  shut  their  eyes  to  the  present  requirements  and 
tendency  of  the  study. 
Chemistry  and  botany  are  two  fundamental  subjects,  a  more  or  less  advanced 
knowledge  of  which  is  necessarily  comprised  in  the  education  and  qualification 
of  pharmaceutical  chemists,  and  it  is  an  important  question  for  the  student  to 
consider  how  much  of  his  time  should  be  devoted  to  the  systematic  study  of 
these  departments  of  science,  and  what  portion  to  other  branches  of  technical 
knowledge  ? 
Pharmaceutical  students,  from  necessity  often,  and  more  frequently  from 
necessity  than  choice,  have  to  limit  the  time  they  can  devote  to  systematic 
scientific  studies.  This  was  more  especially  apparent  at  and  soon  after  the  time 
at  which  examinations  were  rendered  compulsory.  The  pressure  brought  to 
bear  upon  our  students  and  schools  from  that  cause  led  to  the  adoption  of  short 
courses  of  instruction  in  this  and  other  schools.  Previously,  also,  from  other 
causes,  courses  which  had  been  separate  became  united,  and  the  time  given  to 
each  subject  was  thus  considerably  curtailed.  Thus  chemistry  and  pharmacy, 
which  were  formerly  separate  courses,  2 were  united,  as  also  were  botany  and 
materia  medica.  I  look  upon  this  as  a  result  which  has  been  justified  only  jy 
necessity,  and  for  which  we  may  hope  to  find  a  remedy  in  the  future.  My  ex- 
perience is  to  the  effect  that  since  the  first  great  influx  of  students,  which  took 
place  after  the  passing  of  the  Pharmacy  Act  of  1868,  and  especially  during 
recent  years,  there  has  been  an  increased  proportion  of  students  who  have  been 
willing  and  anxious  to  extend  their  scientific  studies.  There  is  ample  scope, 
and,  in  my  opinion,  urgent  requirement  for  such  extension.    Let  it  not  be  sup- 
i  In  tne  American  Colleges  of  Pharmacy,  these  two  branches  form  separate  courses.—  Editor. 
