PHARMACEUTICAL MEETING. 
Wednesday , December 2nd , 18G8. 
MR. T. N. E. MORSON, IN THE CHAIR. 
The Minutes of the previous Meeting having been read, the following 
DONATIONS TO TIIE LIBRARY AND MUSEUM 
were announced, and the thanks of the Meeting given to the respective 
donors thereof:— 
Smithsonian Report for 1806, —Hildreth’s Results of Meteorological Observations; 
from the Smithsonian Institution,—Guy’s Hospital Reports for 1867 : from the Hos¬ 
pital,—Mcdico-Chirurgical Transactions, vol. li.: from the Medical and Chirurgical 
Society,—Proceedings of the British Pharmaceutical Conference: from the Conference,— 
Withering’s Arrangement of British Plants, 4 vols: from Mr. Deane,—Phillips’ Remarks 
on the London Pharmacopoeia,—Bate’s Dispensatory,—Quincy’s Dispensatory,—Phar¬ 
macopoeia Parisiensis,—Brande’s Experiments on the Angustura Bark,—Catalogus 
Rationalis Plantarum Medicinalium,—Annuaire Pharmaceutique, 1865, —Pharmaceu¬ 
tical Repertory, vol. i.,—British Annals of Medicine, vols. i. and ii.,—Catalogue of the 
Contributions from India to the London Exhibition of 1862, —Friderici Hoflinanni Ob- 
servationum Physico-Chymicarum Selectiorum Libri III.,—Hippocrates Chymicus and 
Clavis. By Otto Tachenius,—Beguinus’ Chymicall Essayes,—Abernethy’s Surgical Obser¬ 
vations on Local Diseases,—Cheselden’s Anatomy of the Human Body,—Cheyne’s Essay 
of Health and Long Life,—Moore’s Outline of the History of Pharmacy in Ireland,— 
Sundry Pamphlets by the Society of Apothecaries: from Mrs. Warington,—Specimens 
of New Calisaya Barks from Eastern Bolivia discovered by Sefior Pedro Rada: presented 
by Mr. Howard. 
The following papers were read :— 
CARBOLIC ACID PLASTER, 
BY WILLIAM MARTINDALE. 
Professor Lister, of the Glasgow Infirmary, having been led by the experi¬ 
ments of M. Pasteur, proving the germ theory of fermentation and putrefac¬ 
tion, and the action that carbolic acid has of destroying the vitality of these 
germs, has on these founded what is called “ the antiseptic system of treatment 
in surgery,” a series of papers on which he has published in the ‘ British Medi¬ 
cal Journal.’ The principle on which he proceeds is, that after the operation, 
air shall, as much as possible, be excluded from the wound, and that the dress¬ 
ings applied shall yield a constant supply of carbolic acid in the state of vapour, 
so that any “ germs of organisms ” which might obtain access to the part would 
become inert, tlieir vitality being destroyed. By this means no sloughing takes 
place, putrefaction is entirely arrested, and the formation of unhealthy pus, 
which in the ordinary treatment causes such a drain upon the patient, is avoided. 
It is, in fact, u healing by the first intent.” 
Among the dressings employed, one of the first he used was a carbolic acid 
putty, made by mixing boiled linseed oil and whiting, with the addition of one 
part of carbolic acid to four of the oil. But this he found a somewhat clumsy 
and inconvenient preparation. He next tried a carbolic acid plaster, made by 
mixing cniplastrum plunibi ■with one-fourth of beeswax to give it sufficient con¬ 
sistence, and carbolic acid in tlie proportion of one-tenth of the whole. This 
is spread on calico, in a layer of about one-twentieth of an inch. It is, how¬ 
ever, inconveniently soft, and cannot be kept spread in stock. He says, “ I 
have since found that by increasing the proportion of litharge, the lead-soap 
may be made to any degree of firmness that may be desired, provided that water 
