1000 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[June 14, 1873'. 
CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 
Thursday, 5th June, 1873 ; Dr. Odling, E.R.S., Pre¬ 
sident, in the chair. 
After the customary business was completed, six com¬ 
munications were read before the Society, the first being 
“ On the Dioxides of Calcium and Strontium,” by Sir 
John Conroy, Bart., M.A., in which the author gave the 
method of preparation and properties of these substances. 
Mr. T. Wells then described a new form of ozone genera¬ 
tor, which gives abundance of ozone, and has the advan¬ 
tage of being easily constructed and not liable to be 
broken. The other papers, which contained but little of 
general interest, were entitled “ On the Behaviour of 
Acetamide with Sodium Alcohol,” by W. N. Hartley, “ On 
Iodine Monochloride,” by J. B. Hannay, “ On Triferrous 
Phosphide,” by Dr. R. Schenk, and “ On Sulphur Bro¬ 
mide,” by J. B. Hannay. 
The meeting finally adjourned until Thursday, the 19th 
June, for which the following memoirs are announced :— 
I. “On the Influence of Pressure upon Fermentation, 
Part II.,” by Horace Brown. 2. “Researches on the 
Action of the Copper-Zinc Couple on Organic Bodies, 
Part III,” and “On Normal and Iso-Propyl Iodides,” by 
Dr. J. H. Gladstone and A. Tribe. 3. “ On Cymenes 
from different Sources, optically considered,” by Dr. J. H. 
Gladstone. 4. “ On,the Action of Bromine on Alizarine,” 
by W. H. Perkin. 5. “ On some Decompositions and 
Oxidation Products of Morphine and Codeine Derivatives,” 
by E. L. Mayer and Dr. C. B. A. Wright. 6. “ On the 
Decomposition of Tricalcic Phosphate by Water,” by R. 
Warington. 7. “On a New Tellurium Mineral, with 
Notes on a Systematic Mineralogical Nomenclature,” by 
J. B. Hannay. 8. “ Communications from the Laboratory 
of the London Institution, No. XII., on New Derivatives 
of Cresol,” by Dr. H. E. Armstrong and C. L. Field. 
BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE. 
Meeting of Executive Committee 
At 17, Bloomsbury Square, London, on Wednesday, 
May 21st, 1873. 
Present—Messrs. Schacht (in the chair), Carteighe, 
Clayton, Greenish, Rimmington, Savage, Attfield, and 
Moss. 
The minutes of the previous meeting were read and 
confirmed. 
Bell and Hills Fund .—Professor Attfield reported that, 
in accordance with a resolution passed at the last meeting 
of Committee, he had caused to be printed a circular 
setting forth the origin of the Fund, the action taken at 
the last annual meeting respecting Mr. Hills’s gift of £200 
for the encouragement of pharmaceutical research, and 
the proposal of the Committee to appropriate this sum 
by a method similar to that adopted under like circum¬ 
stances by the British Association, including a set of rules 
for guidance in making grants. A copy of the circular 
had been sent to the respective editors of the Pharma¬ 
ceutical Journal and the Chemist and Druggist, who 
had kindly given considerable prominence to the matter. 
A copy, together with a private letter on the subject, had 
also been sent to each member of the Executive Com¬ 
mittee and to every member who had contributed an 
original paper to the Conference. In all, about seventy 
copies had been distributed. In answer, no actual appli¬ 
cations for grants had been made, but several suggestions 
of subjects for investigation had been offered. Mr. Mar- 
tindale suggested a thorough investigation of the plasters 
of the Pharmacopoeia. Dr. Wright suggested that sums 
might be offered to members who would aid in clearing 
up questions about doubtful alkaloids. Mr. A. H. Allen 
would give a grant to any member who would further 
work at methods for detecting adulterations or admixtures 
of fixed oils ; and there were the suggestions by Mr. 
Tichborne respecting researches having for their object 
the improvement of many of the official formulae and the 
exclusion of others, contributions to the natural history of 
drugs, modes of economizing alcohol in making spirituous 
preparations, investigations on disinfectants, and papers 
on the application of physical instruments in pharmacy. 
Mr. Savage would encourage gentlemen having mecha¬ 
nical skill to produce an improved pill-machine for dis¬ 
pensing purposes, and machines for rapidly and perfectly 
commingling ingredients for large and small pill-masses. 
Mr. Greenish would urge the production of a model com¬ 
pact pharmaceutical laboratory. Professor Attfield said 
lie had also received letters respecting the circular from 
Messrs. Proctor, Rogerson, Keyworth, D. B. Sharpe, 
Braithwaite, R. H. Davies, S. R. Atkins, and E. C. C. 
Stanford, and reminded members that some two hundred 
subjects for research were given in the “blue ” list, a copy 
of which had recently been sent to every member of the 
Conference. If the cost of working out any of these sub¬ 
jects deterred members from accepting them, such mem¬ 
bers should at once apply to the Committee for grants. 
The Chairman said the issue of the Bell and Hills Fund 
circular had produced some valuable suggestions, which 
would probably be further entertained by members when 
the minutes of the Committee came to be published. 
Increase in the Annual Subscription to the Conference .— 
Professor Attfield said that when the Conference was 
established the founders did not entertain any idea of 
publishing that large, handsome, and important volume, 
the ‘Year-Book of Pharmacy.’ Indeed, when such an 
enterprise was mooted, it was accompanied by a proposal 
to charge members cost price for the work ; but finding 
that their small annual subscription left them year after 
year with an increased balance in hand, a decision was 
arrived at to use up the accumulated funds before making 
any charge whatever for the book. These funds had now 
been exhausted, and indeed the Conference was slightly 
in debt; the cost of printing and binding the ‘ Year- 
Book ’ had moreover recently increased, in consequence of 
the advanced price of materials and labour. In short, the 
expenditure of the Conference now exceeded its income, 
and any increase in the numbers of members beyond the 
present roll of 2000 would not only add to the labours of 
the already overworked secretarial staff, but also actually 
tend to increase instead of diminish debt. Under these 
circumstances it became necessary for the Committee to 
devise and recommend a scheme which would again place 
the Conference on a sound financial basis. 
Mr. Clayton said the ‘ Year-Book’ was a volume for 
which a publisher would charge 12s. 6c7. or 15s. Indeed 
with regard to its money value he had heard only one 
opinion—that the book was worth far more than the 
annual subscription and postage (5s. 6d.). Probably not 
five per cent, of the members would object to pay more 
for the book than the present subscription to the Con¬ 
ference. 
Mr. Hanbury, Mr. Brady, and Mr. Reynolds had written 
letters to the Secretary supporting a proposition to raise 
the annual subscription to 7s. 6d., and in return for this 
sum to present every member of the Conference with the 
‘Year-Book,’ post-free. 
Mr. Rimmington and Mr. Greenish supported the adop¬ 
tion of this course, and Professor Attfield said it would 
remove all financial difficulties, probably without alienat¬ 
ing any important number of their supporters. 
Mr. Carteighe proposed, and Mr. Savage seconded the 
following resolution :—“ That the annual subscription to 
the Conference be in future 7s. 6d. per annum.” Carried 
unanimously. 
Place of Meeting for 1874.—Professor Attfield said that 
on the 7th of December last he had ventured to ask two 
prominent members of the Conference resident in Ireland 
for some general information respecting pharmacy in Ire- 
