682 
PHARMACEUTICAL MEETING. 
•which Mr. Ince had been rather hard, had done much service in the exami¬ 
nations, and perhaps there was not a more keen examiner than Mr. Ince, who 
had taken so deep an interest in this subject. He should be very happy to 
assist him to the best of his ability in forming the library of prescriptions 
which was considered so desirable. 
Mr. Martin dale thought that Mr. luce’s paper was interesting from an 
historical point of view, as the prescriptions would show the light of ancient 
pharmacy. There were other prescriptions of the present day which exhi¬ 
bited a peculiar handwriting,—that of Hr. Williams, for instance, being very 
peculiar and characteristic. He thought the old way of putting so many dif¬ 
ferent articles into one formula had seen its clay; in modern prescriptions 
there were much fewer ingredients than formerly. The practice of examin¬ 
ing in prescriptions of fifty or a hundred years old was scarcely admissible 
in the present day, and he strongly advised examining in those of more 
modern times, which were in every-day use. 
Dr. Atteield mentioned that a short time ago, when he wanted to illus¬ 
trate the subject of metric weights and measures, he wrote to a few pharma¬ 
ceutists, asking them to get him some French prescriptions, and he obtained 
a score with great ease. 
The Chairman hoped a complete and representative collection of prescrip¬ 
tions might be obtained for that Society, but whether for the use of students 
solely or for the use of examiners solely was quite another matter. That 
there should be a representative prescription library for reference under cer¬ 
tain circumstances was manifest, and he hoped the hint thrown out by Mr. 
Ince would be responded to by all who had the opportunity of contributing 
to the collection which it was desirable to form. If no other gentleman had 
any observation to make upon this subject he would call upon Dr. Redwood, 
who had something to communicate upon the syrup of hemidesmus. 
Dr. Redwood said he had no remarks of his own to make beyond simply 
explaining the fact that this subject was alluded to at the last meeting by 
Mr. Porter, who particularly mentioned that he thought an improvement 
might be made in the process of the Pharmacopoeia for making this syrup 
by applying less heat than was there indicated. Mr. Gale had brought two 
samples of the syrup made by different methods, one being made exactly 
according to the Pharmacopoeia, and the other by a different process, and 
probably Mr. Gale would be kind enough to explain the exact circumstances 
under which these two syrups had been prepared, and then perhaps Mr. 
Porter would be prepared to offer some remarks with reference to the sub¬ 
ject; but first it would be as well that they should clearly understand what 
the two samples before them were. 
Mr. Gale said that, after the reference made last month to the syrup of 
hemidesmus, Dr. Redwood asked him if he would send him samples of syrup 
made by the two processes, he had therefore prepared one exactly in accord¬ 
ance with the British Pharmacopoeia, and one according to the form intro¬ 
duced in the ‘Pharmaceutical Journal’ some years ago by Mr. Jacob Bell, 
but this form was six times the strength of that given in the British Pharma¬ 
copoeia, and therefore they could not compare them without diluting the 
latter. 
Mr. Porter thought, if it were deemed advisable to have this preparation 
retained in the next Pharmacopoeia, the better way of making it would be 
that given by Mr. Bell in one of the early volumes of the ‘ Pharmaceutical 
Journal.’ As thus made, it was six times the strength of that of the British 
Pharmacopoeia, but, of course, it could be reduced to the latter strength if 
thought desirable. In Mr. Bell’s process the hemidesmus was exhausted by 
percolation with cold water, instead of being infused with boiling water. 
