TRANSACTIONS

OF

THE PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY.

Mr. REDWOOD being unable, in consequence of a severe cold and loss of voice, to deliver the lecture which had been announced for the 28th of September, and which was intended as an Introductory Address to the Students, preparatory to the Winter Courses of Lectures, the VICE-PRESIDENT on that occasion delivered the following

ADDRESS.

Ir must, I think, be clear to every reflecting mind, that the business of a Chemist and Druggist is one which demands the whole energies of the mind as well as the body, and that to fulfil its duties with advantage to society, the intellect must be cultivated by education and application, not only from the very first introduction to its pursuit, but at every subsequent stage through life; more especially in these days, when every thinking man, be his occupation what it may, must feel how difficult it is, even with a considerable share of attention, to keep pace with the rapid progress of improvement in every department both of art and science.

It is greatly to be regretted, that so many circumstances have combined to keep the great majority of Chemists and Druggists, in past times, to that continuous and unwearied application to the mere mechanical part of their business, which commercial habits induce; so that we have constantly had occasion to deplore the lack of information in the principles of our art, which has been betrayed by many who have been brought up to it. Without entering into the various causes of this deficiency, the most striking has certainly been the want of a defined and regular system of education amongst the Chemists and Druggists as a body, and the absence of some compulsion to avail themselves of it.

Chemistry and Pharmacy, Materia Medica and Botany, are among the subjects taught in our public schools of medicine; and to these the Chemist and Druggist may, if he please, resort: but it is not only optional for them so to do, but it is no disrespect to the able men who teach in those schools, nor any disparagement to the instruction therein conveyed, to say, that it is more adapted, generally speaking, to the pursuits of those who are hereafter to become scientific or medical men, than for those whose lives must necessarily be spent in the humbler, but not less honourable and useful engagements of practical detail.

Many of us, it is true, both in town and country, have availed

ourselves of the opportunities to which I allude, and conscious of the value of such information as is thus to be obtained, and the necessity of acquiring it, in order to the satisfactory and successful fulfilment of our duties, have offered these advantages to the pupils committed to our trust; and I need only advert to the aspect and general state of the Druggists' shops in later times, in contrast with what they once were, even in the recollection of many now living, or for a moment glance at the attainments of many among our own body, to show that we have not altogether neglected those qualifications which, it may fairly be presumed, have obtained for us the confidence which we now enjoy.

The time, however, has arrived when neither the profession nor the public will suffer the systematic education and proper qualification of the Chemist and Druggist to be a matter of voluntary or enterprising choice. Some general test of competency will be insisted on from those who have become such large sharers in the preservation of the public health; and it is, therefore, with a view to the preparation for this important era in our history, and to the most certain accomplishment of this essential point, that one grand object of our Society is the establishment of a "School of Pharmacy," as a means for introducing a regular system of instruction, and wherein shall be taught, in the most appropriate manner, the several branches of knowledge, by which every future Chemist and Druggist may obtain those qualifications, which shall fully entitle him to the confidence now so generally reposed in him.

In furtherance of this paramount object, we have laid down in our Constitution the nature of the education which we consider the Chemist and Druggist should pass through.

We conceive that no youth should be allowed to enter upon the study or practice of Pharmacy, who has not received such a scholastic education as shall have brought his mind into habits, which will prepare him for a pursuit in which the intellect must be brought into exercise continually; and though, in the first instance, we have only insisted on a knowledge of the Latin tongue, we are quite sensible of the advantages to be derived from an acquaintance with Greek and French, and the elements of mathematics, and we hope the day is not so very far distant, when an examination in these will be required.

We then consider that a young man's professional knowledge should embrace a competent acquaintance with Chemistry, Materia Medica, Botany, and Pharmacy, upon each of which subjects I would now offer a few very plain and practical, though very superficial remarks, remembering how admirably they have been brought before us in the several Introductory Lectures, which have already been delivered previous to the opening of the

School, and the perusal of which I earnestly recommend to those who had not the privilege of hearing them.

Chemistry, as immediately connected with our occupation, is that science which acquaints us with the elementary constitution of the substances used in medicine, and the nature of the combinations which they undergo for that purpose. It is manifest therefore, that a knowledge of its principles lies at the very foundation of a Pharmaceutical education; it may indeed appear unnecessary to insist on so self-evident a truth, but many of us must acknowledge that we have neglected to profit by it as we ought, and have often had reason to regret our deficiency in this branch of science. Many too there are, even at this period, who are not sufficiently impressed with the necessity of cultivating an acquaintance with Chemistry. Were not this the case, we should not so frequently have to deplore the lamentable ignorance of many young men who come to London for employment, and who scarcely seem to have considered the business in which they are engaged, as anything more than a mere mechanical or at most a commercial art. Such indeed it must continue to be in the hands of those, who are too idle or inconsiderate to make use of their minds; but in these days when men of industry and application are continually making improvements in Pharmaceutical operations, and extending Chemical discoveries, such ignorance will not only subject the individual who is guilty of it to well-merited disgrace, but public opinion will no longer tolerate its continuance.

Without some knowledge of Chemistry a man is working in the dark, he can know nothing correctly of the results of, or the reasons for the operations he constantly performs he can never properly judge of the accuracy and quality of his preparations, he can neither detect any error that may occur nor rectify any untoward circumstance that may arise he has no established data to reason upon-no fixed principles to guide him; but is, like a mariner without a compass, exposed to endless confusion and mishap. When we consider the vast additions made to the Materia Medica, and the improvements that have arisen in Pharmacy from chemical research, especially in the more recent operations of organic analysis-when we look at the aspect of modern Pharmacopoeias (the last, for instance, published by the London College, and its authorized Translation, with Mr. Phillips' notes), and the introduction of chemical nomenclature, founded on the atomic theory, it is evident, that no man can enter into business as a Chemist and Druggist with the least credit to himself, or with a reasonable prospect of success, unless he is in some degree acquainted with Chemistry. He will find himself at a loss every step he takes, and not only will he be brought oftentimes into a humiliating position in his intercourse with medical men, but he

will be exposed to the charge of ignorance and incompetency in his dealings with the public; for such is the fashion of cultivating an acquaintance with Chemistry as well as other branches of philosophy, that it forms a part of juvenile amusement and instruction, and is a source of entertainment and improvement in our Scientific and Polytechnic Institutions.

If the agriculturist and manufacturer have brought chemical knowledge to bear upon their respective engagements with such wonderful success, so that it has become almost essential for them to pay attention to its principles, is it too much to insist, that those who are in the daily habit of handling materials which involve the health and lives of the community, should make themselves acquainted with a science which explains the constitution and combinations of the remedies employed?

With reference, moreover, to the important subjects of Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology, it seems sufficient merely to advert to them, to suggest immediately to the mind the most cogent reasons for cultivating to some extent a science, without which we must be incompetent to afford assistance in cases of emergency, or to detect accident or crime where the life of a fellow-creature has been sacrificed, or is at stake.

Our second branch of education is Materia Medica: a subject upon which it appears almost superfluous to say much in the way of recommendation, so completely is it identified with our daily occupation; but, even here, it is to be feared, that many of us. have been content with a very superficial knowledge of the materials employed in medicine. Some of us indeed have been favoured with opportunities of becoming acquainted with the sensible properties of drugs, having seen the state in which they originally come into the market, as well as the condition in which they are usually sold; but the facility of procuring most articles in a state fit for use, has tended to deprive many of similar advantages. It will be our aim to rectify this as far as practicable, and to afford to all our pupils the opportunity of seeing the productions of different climates, in their original state, and the alterations they undergo in their collection and appearance in the market, as well as those preparations in the Materia Medica which are manufactured on the large scale. The Museum, which we are now forming, will, we have no doubt, fully enable us to do this already it gives promise of presenting a collection, where the student may examine specimens of drugs and chemicals of every kind and quality, some of them very curious and rare, some of them in the state in which they ought ordinarily to be found in the shops, and some of such a deteriorated character, as by contrast with the good, may guide the judgment in distinguishing what ought to be selected and what rejected and destroyed.

The study of Materia Medica received in the more immediate and circumscribed acceptation of the term, acquaints us with the history, physical properties, composition, and use of the various articles employed in medicine the different classifications into which they have been divided by different writers, according to their qualities and effects, and the doses in which they are administered. It enables us to judge of the value and quality of articles in their original state, as Chemistry more particularly does, in their prepared or artificial state; it qualifies us to detect adulteration and imposition, and, in short, is so palpably essential, that no man can be considered a properly educated Chemist and Druggist, who is not sufficiently versed in it to be able to give a satisfactory account of the articles in which he deals.

Nearly allied to Materia Medica, or rather included in it, is the science of Botany. In the earlier periods of medical history the study of Botany must have formed a most important feature in medical education, when remedies for disease were so abundantly supplied from the vegetable kingdom; but the introduction of the more active remedies brought into use from the mineral kingdom by Chemistry, tended to allow the study of Botany to fall into desuetude. For some time past, however, attention has again been directed to vegetable preparations, and especially by their analysis into proximate and ultimate principles; and it has, therefore, become essential that the Chemist and Druggist should pay attention to medical botany.

In treating thus cursorily on our educational plan, I wish to point out chiefly that which is of practical utility to the Chemist and Druggist, and as I have purposely abstained from going into those collateral subjects, which really belong to the Materia Medica, so in speaking of Botany, as well as Chemistry, while I would throw no obstacle in the way of the highest attainments in all these sciences, but rather encourage our young men to aspire to them, I am only desirous of insisting upon such a measure of information in them, as is requisite for the safe and efficient performance of their duties. With respect to Botany, it is undoubtedly desirable that we should understand the structure, growth, and functions, and also the sexual and natural classifications of plants, both of home and foreign productions, but it is in the use of indigenous vegetables that a knowledge of Botany becomes essential. The Chemist and Druggist ought to know well the external character of the roots, foliage, flowers, fruits, and seeds of the various plants employed in medicine, both in their recent and dried state, so as readily to distinguish them; the proper season for using them in the one, and the best mode of preserving them in the other condition; also the effect of cultivation, soil, and season upon them-points upon which so much depends the efficacy of