THE CHEMIST AND DRUGGIST. 
May, 1880. 
8 
framers desired it to be, it was, I believe, by them accepted on 
the law of expediency, as being as near perfection as at that 
time it could be made. The supererogatory work and heavy 
machinery to which I have alluded should be, if possible, 
avoided. I would, therefore, most strongly advise that the 
new Act for New Zealand should more closely follow the 
English than the Victorian in its constitution, for there the 
council have the power and undertake the triplicate duties of 
legislative, educational, and commercial ; here, the board directs 
the two former, and the council the latter ; so that if the 
Pharmacy Board, in the course of their duties, are desirous of 
initiating anything commercially to the advantage of the 
trade, it has to be relegated to the council, and the same see- 
saw work has to be done by it to the board in like circum- 
stances ; and as both have the one and self-same object in view, 
such a fault should, if possible, be remedied. Again, in order 
to make the Act a benefit and success to the public as well as 
to pharmacists, its governing body must be provided with the 
necessary sinews of war. Now, the Victorian Act has made 
provision only for the board’s receipt of registration and 
examination fees, and any penalties obtained from the infringe- 
ment of the Act. Clearly, therefore, as soon as the registration 
fees, which are its real and only positive income, become 
expended, so soon must the Board, without an appeal be made 
for a grant of money from the Government, be eleemosynary 
on the proverbially poor druggist, or cease to be effective. The 
English Act, being made a self-supporting one, should, there- 
fore, in this direction, I think, be most decidedly followed. I 
cannot see any hardship in compelling pharmacists to sub- 
scribe, say, nearly fivepence (!!!) per week towards the 
expenses incurred in self-protection, seeing that, in addition 
to it, a journal worth the annual guinea subscribed can be 
obtained by them ; though I very much regret that there are 
still in Victoria registered pharmacists who think differently, 
and hold aloof from the Pharmaceutical Society altogether. 
I think our register shows there are over six hundred registered 
pharmacists, and not half of this number are members of the 
Pharmaceutical Society. “ ’Tis true, ’tis pity,” &c. But it only 
shows the usual reticence of druggists in all matters which 
may — nay, does — vitally affect their individual and collective 
interests. If the New Zealand pharmacists get their Act passed, 
I have no doubt, sir, but that arrangements could be made 
with our society for the transmission of the journal to their 
members as to ours, reserving a certain number of folios for 
their exclusive use, which could also be done for the New 
South Welshmen, South Australians, Queenslanders, &c. Our 
Supplement would then be highly interesting — a fair reflex of 
pharmacy south of the line — and well repay pharmacists for 
their modicum of financial assistance in advancing trade and 
intellectual interests for the present and future generations. — 
I am, &c., Henricus. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
“ Inquirer.” — Bauncheit’s oil is composed of croton oil and 
olive oil. 
PRUSSIAN BLUE PHOTOGRAPHS. 
Mr. C. L. Lochman, of Bethlehem, Pa., describes in the 
Druggists' Circular the following simple process for obtaining 
beautiful photographic impressions in Prussian blue 
Dissolve 210 grains of double citrate of iron and ammonia 
in 3 fluid ounces of pure water, and add 10 grains of citric acid 
to the solution ; then, separately, dissolve 180 grains of ferri- 
cyanide of potassium (red prussiate of potash) in 3 fluid 
ounces of water ; mix the solutions, and filter through paper. 
Float a good quality of unruled white ledger paper on this 
liquid for three or four minutes, or wash one side of it with 
the liquid by means of a pellet of cotton, and hang it up 
to dry in a dark place. This liquid or the paper can be 
kept in a good condition for a considerable time in a dark 
place. The paper is exposed under a negative or other 
media to sunlight, until the parts which are to receive the 
darkest impression have assumed a bronze-like appearance 
and the lighter parts a pale blue colour. The print is then 
developed to a brilliant blue, simply by washing it in water, 
until the water runs off clear. If the exposure is merely 
carried so far as to produce a blue impression, and the darker 
parts are not bronzed, it leaves the print too pale after washing. 
This method produces prints of a splendid blue, with fine half 
tones, from a negative. 
Impressions of ferns, leaves, small plants, tracings made in 
black on tracing paper or muslin can be readily copied with- 
out a camera. In these cases the ground, of course, will be 
blue, and the object or tracing light. A thin, flat piece of 
board of the requisite size is employed, a piece of cloth spread 
over it, and then the paper, with the sensitised side upwards, 
laid on the leaves or tracings, super-imposed and pressed in 
contact by covering it with a flat piece of glass, which is held 
in place by means of spring cloth clips. For negatives, a 
regular printing frame is better, or the board may be hinged 
in the middle, so that one half can be turned back for inspec- 
tion of the print. The leaves of plants should be pressed and 
dried, and fastened on the glass with mucilage. 
In printing from natural specimens the paper must be ex- 
posed to a strong sunlight until it has passed the bronzed 
stage and assumed a metallic gray colour in the body, in 
order to let the light penetrate sufficiently through the dark 
green leaves and show the veins. The process is exceedingly 
simple, and the results are beautiful. 
Detection of Ammonia in Water. — Ammonia is usually 
present in water as carbonate, but frequently in such small 
quantities that it cannot be detected by the ordinary tests. 
In such cases Hager ascertains its presence by mixing 2 to 3 
litres of the water with 20 drops hydrochloric acid, evaporat- 
ing to dryness, dissolving the residue in 10 or 15 cc. distilled 
water, filtering, and applying Bohlig’s test, which consists in 
adding, first, 5 drops of solution of corrosive sublimate (1 part 
in 30 parts of water), and then 5 drops of solution of potassium 
carbonate (1 part in 50 parts of water), when a cloudiness 
indicates the presence of ammonia. — Pharm. Centralb ., 25th 
December, 1879. 
To Pulverise Shellac. — Any one who has tried to pound 
up shellac in a mortar knows that the attempt is more favour- 
able to perspiration and profanity than to the pulverisation of 
the slippery stuff. A correspondent of the Druggists' Circular 
has devised the following method : — “ Enclose the shellac in a 
strong, closely woven piece of cloth, at first compressing the 
folds rather tightly, but gradually relaxing them. Then, after 
placing the bunch, which must be held in position with the 
hand, upon a solid block or smooth counter, the strokes of a 
heavy iron pestle are applied, gently at first, while the bunch 
is kept moving from side to side, so as to expose every part to 
the strokes of the pestle. After the large, sharp pieces are 
broken, the strokes are increased in velocity and power, with 
wonderful effect upon the resin, and but little injury to the 
cloth. In this way shellac may be reduced to a granular form 
sufficiently fine for pyrotechnic purposes at very short notice, 
and to an almost impalpable powder in a comparatively short 
space of time. To produce this result, however, it is neces- 
sary to wield the pestle forcibly, and then from time to time 
separate the finer particles from the coarser by sifting.” 
Pharmacy Board of Victoria Notices. 
T he tenth preliminary examination of 
Apprentices will be held at this office on THURS- 
DAY, the 2nd day of SEPTEMBER, 1880, at Eleven a.m. 
The attention of apprentices is directed to Clause 43 of the 
Regulations to the Act, which obliges indentures to be 
registered within twelve months of their being executed. 
Harry Shillinglaw, Secretary and Registrar. 
Office of the Pharmacy Board, Mutual Provident 
Buildings, Collins-street West, Melbourne. 
T he thirteenth modified examination 
of Candidates for Registration under the Pharmacy 
Act will be held at this office on MONDAY, the 6th 
SEPTEMBER, 1880, at Ten o’clock a.m. Candidates 
must give to the Secretary notice of their intention to 
present themselves for examination, together with their 
indentures of apprenticeship and the fee of three guineas, 
ten days prior to the day. 
Harry Shillinglaw, Secretary and Registrar. 
Office of the Pharmacy Board, Mutual Provident 
Buildings, Collins-street West, Melbourne. 
