98 
On  Practical  Pharmacy. 
<  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
t  March  1,  J871. 
impressing  his  ideas  by  such  illustrations  as  will  best  convey  his  mean- 
ing to  the  thirsty  young  minds  who  come  as  to  a  fountain  of  knowl- 
edge to  fill  their  vessels  for  future  use.  The  depth  of  the  impressions 
made  on  the  minds  of  a  score  of  students  by  the  vocal  announcement 
that  steam  is  a  carrier  of  heat,  based  on  the  property  possessed  by 
water  of  rendering  a  large  quantity  of  caloric  latent  in  the  act  of 
assuming  the  elastic  state,  which  it  relinquishes  again  on  condensa- 
tion as  sensible  heat,  will  vary  with  their  natural  capacity  and  pre- 
vious training ;  but  if  the  lecturer  at  the  same  time  exhibits  a  flask 
of  water  in  active  ebullition,  over  a  lamp,  connected  by  an  elastic  tube 
with  a  flask  of  alcohol  on  the  other  side  of  the  room,  so  as  to  impinge 
on  its  exterior  surface  below  and  set  it  to  boiling,  he  gives  ocular  de- 
monstration of  what  he  has  said.  In  this  way  all  the  senses  recog- 
nizing size,  form,  color,  odor,  and  even  touch,  may  be  called  in  to  aid 
the  voice  in  teaching. 
It  is  essential  that  the  preliminary  lectures  on  manipulation  should 
be  thoroughly  demonstrative  and  well  furnished  with  apparatus,  dia- 
grams, models  and  every  instrument  pertaining  to  the  shop  and  labo- 
ratory. The  next  best  thing  to  doing  it  himself  is  for  the  student  to 
see  the  professor  perform  an  operation,  and  when  important  opera- 
tions can  be  performed  before  the  class  without  too  serious  an  expen- 
diture of  time,  they  should  be  done.  But  when  it  is  not  possible^ 
then  much  may  be  gained  by  showing  the  manner  of  using  the  appa- 
ratus, pointing  out  any  difficulties  that  are  apt  to  arise  and  how  they 
may  be  avoided. 
Some  have  questioned  the  propriety  of  giving  preliminary  lectures 
on  manipulation,  believing  that  apparatus  and  manipulation  should  be 
explained  pari  passu  with  the  preparations  requiring  them  ;  but  this  is 
certainly  a  mistake  as  regards  the  leading  elementary  processes,  such 
as  comminution,  filtration,  the  generation  and  applications  of  heat, 
the  modes  of  solution,  evaporation,  distillation  and  sublimation,  etc. 
If  the  teacher  has  been  fortunate  in  conveying  his  meaning,  these 
preliminary  lectures  will  have  laid  the  groundwork  for  his  subsequent 
teaching,  so  that  he  can  use  the  verbs  percolate,  digest,  distil,  filter, 
sublime,  neutralize,  fuse,  etc.,  without  fear  of  being  misunderstood. 
Teachers  diff*er  in  their  views  of  classification  and  arrangement  in 
Pharmacy,  as  well  as  in  regard  to  its  importance.  Some  prefer  the 
artificial  grouping  in  classes  of  similar  preparations,  as  extracts,  tinc- 
tures, pills,  distilled  waters,  etc.,  while  others  prefer  a  systematic 
