12 
THE CHEMIST AND DRUGGIST. 
June, 1882. 
PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND. 
The second annual meeting of this society was held this 
year in Christchurch, at Coker’s Hotel, on the 11th and 12th 
May. Present — Messrs. C. D. Barraud and Allan (Wellington). 
T. M. Wilkinson (Dunedin), Graves Aickin (Auckland), and 
Messrs. J. V. Ross, Bonnington, Irving, Douglass, and Parsons 
(Canterbury). 
The president (Mr. C. D. Barraud) gave an interesting 
address containing a retrospect of the society’s work, and 
indicating a line of policy for the future calculated to increase 
the interest taken in the society’s proceedings and promote 
the welfare of pharmacy in this colony. As the constitution 
of the society provides that the annual meetings shall be held 
alternately at Christchurch, Auckland, Dunedin, and Welling- 
ton, he thought it only right that he should resign his position, 
and that a Christchurch president be elected, with the head 
office also in that city. 
On the motion of Mr. Aickin, Mr. J. Y. Ross was unani- 
mously elected president for the year. The newly elected 
president then proposed, in the most cordial terms a flattering 
vote of thanks to Mr. C. D. Barraud (the retiring president), 
for his unremitting labours at Wellington in promoting the new 
Pharmacy Act. Carried unanimously. The secretary, Mr. 
J. A. Allan, of Wellington, also tendered his resignation, which 
was reluctantly accepted. 
A high tribute of commendation, accompanying a vote of 
called on to afford some help ; and it ought to be an object of 
every pharmacist, to form a complete collection of the plants 
indigenous in his district , as a step towards the medicinal 
test of any roots, bark, foliage, flowers or seeds, obtainable 
from the surrounding native vegetation. The systematic 
acquaintance with the names of all the plants indigenous 
anywhere will lead to some rational comparisons with allied 
plants of other countries, where the therapeutic value of 
kindred sorts has become established. But in methodic pro- 
ceedings of this kind also the general knowledge of the flora 
of the country would be advanced, the regional distribution 
of known species would be further traced, and with due 
acknowledgment of the source of information be placed on 
record. In newer countries for settlement, such botanic 
inquiries would have for a series of years yet the additional 
charm of bringing many absolutely new plants under notice, 
while the characteristics of others from augmented material, to 
which every pharmaceutic gentleman might contribute easily 
enough, would be better understood for future editions of our 
flora. As an instance in this respect, a few notes on such 
conspicuous plants as the leguminosas are now offered, show- 
ing that even among the stately plants still new forms might 
be gathered, not merely in distant and unsettled localities, 
but even near our towns and harbours. Thus the environs of 
Cooktown furnish as new a highly ornamental Labichea, of 
which the description is subjoined. 
thanksf was paid to Mr. Allan by the members present for the most <? xce en , t for babies !” Oh ! I presume it is what you 
efficient energy devoted to the interests of pharmacy and use >. then - <*° ady retorted and left the chemist 
pharmaceutical education. staring after her with astonishment and vexation. “ Confound 
Mr. 0. M. Brooke was elected secretary, and Mr. M. M her . impudence, he muttered, as he turned and found the 
Irving treasurer assistants almost exploding m their efforts to control their 
It was resolved that the annual subscription be reduced tc ^ au gkter. — 
one guinea, and to assistants half-a-guinea. ^ ^ r ^ 
The offer of Mr. J. O. Morgan, the proprietor of the Englisl Mr * G - P eid > for “? r ly of Castlemame has passed his 
Chemist and Druggist, to supply copies of that publication tc second medlcal examination at the Edinburgh University, 
registered members, through the society, at reduced rates, anc In another column Mr. J. Holdswortb, of Sandhurst, 
afford space in its columns for New Zealand correspondence advertises a number of patent and proprietary medicines for 
was accepted, and Mr. Aickin, of Auckland, was appointed t< sale or exchange. 
edit and receive communications for transmission tkroughou The business for some yea rs carried on by Mr. J. Warring- 
* ton at Echuca has been sold to Dr. Grace, of West Mel- 
The president of the Victorian Pharmaceutical Society wa bourne 
elected an honorary member of the Pharmaceutical Society o ’ 
New Zealand. Mr. A. A. Rigney, who for a number of years acted as dis- 
It was proposed by Mr. Barraud, and carried unanimously P enser the Sale Hospital, has resigned his appointment and 
— “ That a cordial vote of thanks be recorded and forwardedP urc ^ ase( ^ the business of Mr. D. M. T. Lerew at Shepparton. 
to Messrs. C. R. Blackett, M.P., Joseph Bosisto, M.P., 
and Harry Shillinglaw, secretary Victorian Pharmacy^ 
Board, for their willing and generous assistance in promoting 
the working of the Pharmacy Act by valuable information 
freely supplied at all times.” 
The sum of £100 was voted for the purchase of books as the 
nucleus of a reference library, to be equally divided between 
the local centres of Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington, and 
Auckland. 
The introduction of medicinal plants for educational and 
industrial purposes was considered highly desirable, and the 
secretary requested to write to the several domain boards 
throughout the colony asking them to co-operate. 
After a vote of thanks to the president, the proceedings 
terminated . — New Zealand Times , 22nd May, 
NOTES ON SOME LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 
(By Baron Ferdinand von Mueller, K.C.M.G., M. Ph. D., 
F.R.S.) 
In striving through a long series of years to perfect a system 
of Australian plants, it was always cheering to the writer to 
contemplate, that in the course of time medicine and pharmacy 
could take advantage of these phytographic researches, when- 
ever occasion arose to test any particular plants in reference 
to its therapeutic value, or its physiological effect, or its 
chemical constituents. In giving solidity to any such experi- 
ments it is necessary, that the investigator should be able 
to trace with facility the vegetable material under his 
examination to the exact plant, which afforded the drug, in 
order that only the genuine species might be utilised else- 
where. Let it not be supposed, that comparatively few of the 
plants of Australia are possessing medicinal value — contrarily, 
it may be anticipated, that multitudinous kinds are destined, 
in a vegetation so rich as ours, to serve for the purposes of 
materia medica . To give a new impetus to original inquiries 
of this kind, the pharmaceutic profession is more particularly 
Another business has changed hands, Mr. Peddington, who 
xroars has been assistant with Mr. J. Walton, 
Podopetalum . ~ l 
UalyAv^^in If ? J ’Si/drt deltoid teeth of nearly equal length, 
the two upper approximated, all slightly overlapping in bud. 
Petals all free, the upper renate, bulching towards the middle, 
tapering into a stalklike base of moderate length ; the four 
other petals reaching somewhat beyond the upper one, 
spatular or orbicular, obovate, almost equilateral, attenuated 
into a long stalklike base. Stamens ten, free ; anthers, 
oblong, centrifixed. Disk adnate, reaching to half the height 
of the calyx-tube, ten-furrowed. Style filiform at first 
involute. Stigma very minute, terminal. Ovary long-stalked, 
narrow, without partitions inside. Ovules 6 to 7. Fruit 
unknown. Leaves pinnate ; leaflets large, lanceolar, the 
uppermost single. Stipules deciduous or obliterated ; 
stipelles none. Racemes paniculated; bracts minute, del- 
toid persistent ; bracteoles rudimentary ; petals pink. 
Podopetalum differs from the South American genus 
Bowdichia, to which it closely approximates, in less distinctly 
developed bracteoles, in not strictly valvular teeth of the 
calyces, and in not almost round authers. From Castano- 
spermum it is readily separated by the terminal position of the 
flower-bunches, by the not almost toothless calyces, and 
by the petals not being extremely short-stalked. From 
Sophora and Ormosia it differs already in the longer-stalked 
petals, none of which dimidiated or auriculated ; from 
Ormosia besides in no portion of the stigma being lateral or 
dentigerous. Moreover, from all these genera very pos- 
sibly it may recede widely in characteristics of pericarp and 
seeds. 
While it is thus shown, that yet entirely new forms of plants 
might be gathered in many parts of Australia, I should like 
to demonstrate also on this occasion, by some striking example, 
how much yet remains to be done to follow up the charac- 
teristics of even long-known plants in detail. Thus, already 
in 1837 the illustrious Bentham defined from Baron von 
