296 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[October 8, 1870. 
A great majority expressed their acquiescence to this 
plan, hut a few had not as yet given a decided reply ; it 
would he for the meeting to consider what course would 
he best to pursue. 
Mr. Jessop considered the plan far too moderate, and 
would propose that the shutters should he put up at 7 
o clock, and finally close at 8.30. He considered that 
this would he a mild hut eventually effectual protest to 
the public against late shopping, and it would enable 
them to set their young men at liberty much earlier to 
pursue their studies. 
Mr. Pollard and Mr. Brookes spoke in support of 
this plan. 
The Secretary begged of Mr. Jessop not to press this 
proposition. At the present meeting it would no doubt 
be carried by a majority, but its only result would be to 
embarrass the Committee. Moderate as was their own 
plan, it was still a matter of doubt as to its success. It 
would be, therefore, impolitic to attempt anything more 
difficult. Whatever engagement the members entered 
into, would depend in a great measure for its fulfilment 
on the confidence they had in each other, and it would 
risk the very foundation of the Association if it risked 
the breaking of that confidence. 
Mr. Shaw would support the plan of the Committee, 
although he sympathized with the more advanced pro¬ 
position. 
Mr. Brierley said success, however small, must first 
be attained, and the next step would be all the more easily 
gained, whereas if too much was attempted, the project 
would fall to the ground. The small change advocated 
by the Committee would introduce the thin end of the 
wedge. 
Several of the members supporting this, Mr. Jessop 
withdrew his proposition. 
The plan of the Committee being thus agreed to, a 
deputation was appointed to wait upon those who had 
not yet stated their intentions. 
The Chairman then drew the attention of the mem¬ 
bers to the time, which was too far advanced to introduce 
further subjects for consideration, especially so as the 
next subject was a most intricate and difficult question, 
V1Z - Uniform Retail Prices.” It was absolutely neces- 
sai y that the most complete and clear understanding 
should be established, and that the question should be 
discussed in all its details; he should therefore adjourn 
the subject till their next monthly meeting. 
read by Mr. Laird at the Norwich Conference, but he 
only gave a few examples, and the scope of the paper 
was confined to the specific gravities of tinctures. 
It was my intention to have added another column 
giving the percentage amount of extractive contained in 
the tinctures, which would have greatly increased the 
usefulness of the table, forming a standard of quality to 
which reference could be made, but pressure of other 
engagements compelled me to relinquish the task before 
it was completed. 
A Table showing the Specific Gravities and Weights of 
certain Volume-Measures of various Tharmaceutical 
Liquids. 
Name of Liquid. 
iEther. B.P. 
-ZEther. purus, B.P. 
Sp. aether, sulph. .. 
„ chloroform. 
„ aether, nitros... 
„ ammon.co.jB.P. 
» _ >> P.L. 
„ vini rect. 
,, tenuior . 
Chloroformum .... 
Tinct. aconiti, B.P. 
>> ,, P.L. 
„ cantharid. .. 
„ cardam. co... 
„ cinchon. flav. 
„ cinchonae co. 
„ camphor, co. 
„ digitalis .... 
„ ferriperchlor. 
,, hyoscyami .. 
„ loheliao aeth. 
o °pii. 
„ rhoei . 
Vin. ipecacuan. 
Dec. sarsae co. cone. 
Syr. simplex ...... 
1 
Specific 
Gravity. 
Weight of 
! 16 fi. oz. 
Weight of 
20 fl. oz. 
1 
Weight of 1 
gallon = 10. 
0-735 
oz. grs. 
oz. grs. 
14 56 
lbs. oz. 
grs. 
Ilf 10 
7 5f 
0-720 
14 14 
14 29 
6 I4f 
31 
0-809 
12J 94 
7 15 
66 
0-871 
13f 87 
17f 90 
8 Ilf 
105 
0-845 
13J 15 
16f 81 
8 7f 
41 
0-870 
13f 80 
17f 80 
8 Ilf 
34 
0-918 
14J 87 
17! 63 
8 12 
67 
0-838 
13f 70 
16f 38 
8 6 
44 
0-920 
14| 3 
18 12 
9 1 
30 
1-497 
•855 
23f 89 
13! 70 
29f 77 
17 52 
14 5! 
16 
0-859 
13! 90 
17 84 
8 12 
0-924 
14f 13 
18! 3 
9 4 
60 
0.954 
15f .. 
19 60 
9 13! 
0-937 
15 20 
18f .. 
9 6f 
•939 
15 18 
18f 20 
9 6f 
9 3 
0-923 
14! 95 
18f 90 
76 
0-938 
15 .. 
18f 24 
9 6f 
1-0064 
16 44 
20 56 
10 1 
0-937 
15 20 
18f 40 
9 6 
0-810 
13f 90 
16 99 
7 15! 
0-940 
15 17 
18f 54 
9 6f 
0-942 
15 39 
18 38 
9 6f 
60 
0-993 
15f 74 
19f 73 
9 15 
84 
1-055 
16f 65 
21f 44 10 9 
1-336 
21f 57 
26f 30|13 5f 
iramMitp trf Srititlifft SwMits. 
BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE 
Meeting at Liverpool. 
Tuesday , September 13th. 
The Specific Gravity and the Actual Weight c 
certain “ Volume-Measures ” of Various Liquii 
and Preparations. 
BY F. M. RIMMINGTON. 
Our system of weights and measures, as well as ou 
p armaceutical practice of using weights and volume 
f or 71 flui(is so irregular and unsystc 
matic, that all engaged m pharmacy cannot but hav 
experienced the inconvenience of having constantly t 
^J R ert rf™ mt .° "’eights and weights into mea 
sures. The frequent experience of this want myseb 
suggested to me, some time ago, the desirableness of 
table of the principal liquids in use in pharmacy accu 
rately ascertained from authentic samples, in order tha 
exact computation may be made by its data. The utilit- 
of such a table is confined to such liquids as profess, o' 
are intended to be, of Pharmacopoeial strength. 
borne attempts of a similar kind have been made ii 
some of the foreign Pharmacopoeias, and a paper wa 
fihe President said that the contents per ounce were* 
conciclent with the specific gravity; for instance, lemon 
juice, having a sp. gr. 1040, would contain 40 grains of 
citric acid per ounce, and so on, except in such cases as 
a urn and sulphate of soda, where there is much water of 
crystallization. In those cases it would be half, or 20 
grains per ounce. 
?;‘T N0LDS (1 jGC( 1s) referred to the rule laid down 
b\ Dr. Roberts, of Manchester, in regard to urine. This 
was that, roughly speaking, the units and tens of the 
specific gravity, when compared with one thousand parts 
of v ater, represented the grains of sugar in an ounce of 
diabetic urine. 
~^ r - Watts (London) referred to recent and other re¬ 
searches on the supposed porous condition of liquids, and 
the extent to which anhydrous salts, which dissolved in 
liquids without increasing the bulk of those liquids, were 
considered to occupy an interstitial position in regard to 
the particles of which the liquids were composed. 
Concentrated Compound Decoction of Sarsaparilla. 
BY MR. F. M. RIMMINGTON. 
The preparation of sarsaparilla so long known in the 
trade as concentrated decoction of sarsaparilla has re¬ 
ceived less attention, perhaps, than any other galenical 
preparation at the hands of scientific pharmacists. No 
criteria have, to my knowledge, been given of w’hat it 
