48 
Phai 'maceutical  St udy. 
Am.  Jour.  Ptaarm. 
Jan.,  1886. 
posed  that  the  usual  association  of  botany  with  materia  medica,  and  of  chem- 
istry with  pharmacy,  is  a  valid  excuse  for  limiting  the  study  of  either  of  those 
sciences  to  what  is  required  in  the  practice  of  pharmacy.  Such  a  limitation 
would  indicate  a  very  low  estimate  of  the  value  of  scientific  studies  as  means 
for  advancing  mental  culture  and  qualifying  a  man  to  occupy  a  worthy  position 
in  the  ranks  of  professional  pharmacists.  Practically,  such  a  limitation  cannot 
be  carried  out  with  any  good  effect,  The  knowledge  so  limited  is  imperfect ; 
it  is  soon  lost,  and  it  thus  fails  to  impart  a  permanent  character  upon  those  who 
have  acquired  it. 
The  botanist,  if  he  be  such,  will  seek  acquaintance,  by  recognition  or  investi- 
gation, with  every  flow,er  or  plant  that  comes  under  his  observation,  and  finds 
in  this  a  constant  source  of  pleasure,  and  the  only  means  of  keeping  up  his 
botanical  knowedge. 
The  chemist,  also,  will  desire  to  follow  the  progress  of  discoveries  in  his  de- 
partment of  science,  and  in  doing  so  will  find  new  investigations  and  specula- 
tions, new  facts  and  theories,  ever  crowding  upon  his  attention,  and  claiming  a 
record  in  his  memory.  If,  having  commenced  the  study  of  chemistry  for  a 
special  purpose,  he  rests  satisfied  with  the  modicum  of  knowledge  he  has  ac- 
quired in  his  pupilage,  or  that  which  he  requires  in  his  daily  occupation,  he  will 
soon  cease  to  be  otherwise  a  chemist  than  possibly  in  his  own  imagination  or  by 
the  appellation  he  has  adopted.  Should  he  hope  to  keep  pace  with  the  pro- 
gress of  chemical  science,  he  must  lay  a  broad  and  solid  foundation  for  it,  must 
acquire  a  love  of  scientific  study  and  research,  and,  holding  his  theoretical  views 
somewhat  loosely,  be  prepared  to  relinquish  doctrines  long  cherished  as  land- 
marks, when  new  facts,  proved  to  be  s'ich,  are  found  to  militate  against  them. 
One  of  the  objects  I  have  had  in  view  in  this  address  has  been  to  advocate  an 
extension  of  the  study  of  chemistry  and  botany  by  pharmaceutical  students, 
and  to  show  that  all  improvements  in  pharmacy  as  a  professional  art  have 
sprung  in  the  past,  and  can  only  be  looked  for  in  the  future  from  that  source. 
The  School  of  Pharmacy  Students'  Association  seems  to  me  to  be  a  fitting- 
arena  for  the  discussion  of  topics  such  as  I  have  touched  upon,  and  especially 
for  the  consideration  of  the  feasibility  and  desirability,  in  regard  to  lecture 
arrangements,  of  seeking  a  divorce  of  the  alliances  between  chemistry  and 
pharmacy,  botany  and  materia  medic  > ,  as  well  as  an  extension  of  the  time 
allotted  to  the  subjects  of  chemistry  and  botany. 
It  may  be  a  question  how  far,  or  whether,  an  extension  of  the  application  of 
botanical  knowledge  in  the  study  of  materia  medica  would  be  capable  of  re- 
placing other  parts  of  the  study  of  th.it  subject  as  hitherto  pursued,  but  with 
reference  to  the  application  of  chemical  knowledge  to  the  art  of  pharmacy, 
there  can,  I  think,  be  no  doubt  that  it  is  destined  to  replace  much  of  what  has 
hitherto  constituted  the  chief  art  involved  in  the  production  of  galenical  prepa- 
rations. Such  preparations  must  sooner  or  later  assume  more  of  a  definite 
chemical  character,  and  ultimately  be  classed  among  chemical  products. 
I  am  not  prepared  to  advocate  the  relinquishment  of  class  instruction  in 
purely  pharmaceutical  operations,  although  I  think  the  proper  places  for  the 
acquirement  of  such  knowledge  are  the  pharmaceutical  establishments  in  which 
they  are  practically  conducted. 
To  the  extent  to  which  there  is  a  demand  for  such  instruction,  it  should  be 
provi  led  in  our  smools,  together  with  instruction  in  dispensing,  but  it  is  to  be 
