A Respectable Occupation: - University of Hertfordshire Research ...

Other issues also influenced the debate. Since 1868 the use of sheep
dip and pesticides containing poisonous ingredients had become more
widespread, yet the Act restricted the sale of poisons to chemists‘ shops.
This, it was claimed, was inconvenient, particularly in rural areas where
chemists‘ shops were sparsely distributed. Mr Glyn-Jones, who was to
become the Pharmaceutical Society‘s Parliamentary Secretary in 1909,
responded to this by pointing out that there were 9000 chemists in Great
Britain, many of whom had branch shops. 143
Additionally, the Pharmaceutical Society stated that, ―No cultivated
part of the kingdom is any where near 50 miles from a registered man.‖ 144
Mr Winfrey was a pharmacist and the Member of Parliament for southwest
Norfolk. In an interview in March 1906, he said that farmers did not
suddenly make up their minds to treat their fruit trees or dip their sheep
and that being able to obtain agricultural chemicals within two days should
suffice. 145 This view was contradicted by Mr C.J. Gilbert of Messrs W.
Cooper and Nephew of Berkhamstead when he addressed a meeting of the
Chemical Section of the London Chamber of Commerce in April 1906. He
stated that, ―An outbreak of scab or maggot fly often necessitated prompt
attention, and if a farmer was not able to get the necessary remedies locally,
it would mean he would have to store them … the very thing which in the
public interest should be avoided.‖ 146
143
„The Law Relating to the Sale of Poisons‟, Pharmaceutical Journal, series 4, 69, 15, (30 Aug. 1902)
240.
144
„Inconvenience to Framers etc.‟, Pharmaceutical Journal, series 4, 71, 17, (1 Aug. 1903) 222.
145
„The Sale of Agricultural Poisons‟, Pharmaceutical Journal, series 4, 76, 22, (10 Mar. 1906) 292.
146
„London Chamber of Commerce‟, Pharmaceutical Journal, series 4, 76, 22, (28 Apr. 1906) 505.
258