1892. ] NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 107 
March 14th, 1892. 
STATED MEETING. 
In the absence of officers, PRor. REES was chosen to preside. 
Thirty-five persons present. 
The minutes of February 29th were read and approved. 
Pror. Henry F. Osporn read an illustrated paper on— 
The Evolution of the Horse. 
Meeting adjourned. 
March 21st, 1892. . 
STATED MEETING. 
The President, Dr. HupsBarp, in the chair. Thirty-five persons 
present. 
The minutes of March 14th were read and approved. 
The sixth lecture of the Public Course was delivered by Pror. 
A. H. Exxiort, of the College of Pharmacy, on— 
The Contributions of Organic Chemistry to Modern Medicine. 
( Abstract. ) 
Of early observations in organic chemistry we know very little 
that is of special value to-day. A few observations are recorded by 
Pliny, such as the use of gallic acid for the detection of iron in ver- 
digris. We also know that the Greeks understood the process of 
vinegar-making. 
But one of the evorite operations of the early workers was the 
process of distillation in a variety of forms. They had an idea that 
this was the way to get the essence or soul out of everything in 
nature. The process was applied to a multitude gf substances, 
solids and liquids. The products of these distillations were called 
spirits. Brandy was distilled from wine and called spirit of wine 
or aqua vite; ammonia was distilled from the shavings of stag’s 
horns, and thus got its common name of spirits of hartshorn. 
Common salt distilled with oil of vitriol gave spirits of salt or what 
we call hydrochloric aeid. 
