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THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[January 28, 1871 
THE CHEMISTS’ BALL. 
On Wednesday evening- this social gathering, which 
now seems firmly established as an annual one, was held 
in Willis’s Rooms, St. James’s. The Ball was a com¬ 
plete success. There were upwards of four hundred 
persons present, and on no former occasion has the as¬ 
sembly been graced by the presence of so many ladies. 
Amongst the many guests there were the Lord Mayor 
and Miss Dakin; the Pharmaceutical Society was re¬ 
presented by the President and Vice-President; the 
Auditors of the Society by Mr. Barron; the Council by 
Mr. T. B. Groves and Mr. Bourdas; the Examiners by 
Mr. Allchin and Mr. M. Carteighe; the Educational De¬ 
partment by Professor Attfield and Mr. W. A. Tilden; 
and the other officials by the Secretary, Mr. R. Brem- 
ridge and Mr. Flux. The Supper, which was an ele¬ 
gant one, was served in three rooms, and the Committee 
must have been much gratified with the extremely plea¬ 
sant manner in which everything connected with the 
Ball passed off'. 
In proposing the toast of the evening, the Lord Mayor 
said he was much gratified in having been asked to pre¬ 
side on this occasion, which he believed to be the fifth of 
the kind, and which was such an evident success. As 
the enjoyment of privileges always entailed duties, so 
the position which he then held involved the duty of 
observing the usual rule of this gathering, and pro¬ 
posing the one toast which was customary, viz. “ Success 
to the Chemists’ Ball.” In doing so, he felt how much 
satisfaction was to be realized in the performance of duties, 
and he desired to take the opportunity of expressing his 
approval of such a gathering ; for independent of the plea¬ 
sure it afforded to all who took part in it, it was calculated 
to be eminently useful when regarded as an annual rally- 
ing-point of the members of our most important profes¬ 
sion. He was glad also to learn that yet another object 
was served, and that the surplus proceeds of the Ball flowed 
“heaven-directed” to the poor. Though he was pre¬ 
cluded by usage from adding to the one toast he now pro¬ 
posed, he could not, while surrounded by so much youth 
and beauty, abstain from making some reference to 
the presence of those without whom we should not be 
able to enjoy the pleasures of the evening, any more 
than we could dispense with their good offices in other 
matters. For this reason he would ask them to add 
three cheers to the toast of “ Success to the Chemists’ 
Ball.” 
After the cheering had subsided, Mr. Watson rose, 
and in a few words proposed that they should still 
further depart from the usual custom and show the 
appreciation of their presence there that evening by 
drinking to the health of the Lord Mayor and Miss 
Dakin. 
After the toast had been honoured and the cheers 
giyen, the dancing was resumed and kept up with great 
spirit until a very late hour. 
How to Fasten Rubber to Wood and Metal.— 
As rubber plates and rings are now-a-days almost ex¬ 
clusively used for making connections between steam 
and other pipes and apparatus, much annoyance is often 
experienced by the impossibility or imperfectness of an 
air-tight connection. This is obviated entirely by em¬ 
ploying a cement which fastens alike well to the rubber 
and to the metal or wood. Such cement is prepared by 
a solution of shellac in ammonia. This is best made by 
soaking pulverized gum shellac in ten times its weight 
of strong ammonia, when a slimy mass is obtained, 
which, in three to four weeks, will become liquid with¬ 
out the use of hot water. This softens the rubber, and 
becomes, after volatilization of ammonia, hard and im¬ 
permeable to gases and fluids.— Druggists' Circular and 
Chemical Gazette . 
ANNUAL DINNER OF THE SHEFFIELD PHARMA¬ 
CEUTICAL AND CHEMICAL ASSOCIATION. 
The Annual Dinner, in connection with the above 
Association, was held at Mr. Armfield’s, Adelphi Hotel, 
on Thursday evening, the company numbering between 
forty and fifty. The chair was occupied by the Presi¬ 
dent, Mr. J. T. Dorr, and the vice-chair by the Ex- 
President, Mr. Wilson. 
The usual loyal and patriotic toasts having been pro¬ 
posed and honoured, Dr. Hall gave the toast of the 
evening, “Success to the Sheffield Pharmaceutical and 
Chemical Association,” and, in the course of his remarks, 
congratulated the Association upon its prosperous con¬ 
dition. He alluded in graceful terms to the relationship 
which existed between the medical and pharmaceutical 
professions, how dependent one was upon the other, and 
at some length reviewed the sections of tho Annual 
Report, which had been distributed that evening. 
Several other toasts were proposed and duly honoiu-cd, 
after which the Chairman, in proposing the “ Continued 
Success of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain,” 
said, What is the sphere of labour of our Sheffield Phar¬ 
maceutical and Chemical Association in its connection 
with the parent Society F To my mind the efforts of 
your Association should be devoted to extending and 
establishing the Library and Museum, to maintain and 
uphold, as far as our funds permit, our Latin, botanical 
and chemical classes, with the regular course of lectures.. 
In the future looms a laboratory for practical chemistry,, 
with an established teacher. With the support and ap¬ 
proval of the Pharmaceutical Society these forces might 
be so utilized and brought to bear upon the education 
of those in this neighbourhood who are studying for 
the profession, as to be a great advantage to them. 
Sheffield is in the midst of a large and populous district,, 
and could be made tho centre of a district. The exa¬ 
miners of our Local Association might give certificates 
of competency in the examinations, and thus save the 
expense and time occupied in journeys to London for 
such a purpose. I do hope the day is not far distant 
when these desires will be realized, and that the Phar¬ 
maceutical Society will give us all the moral and mate¬ 
rial support in their power. 
Veratrum Viride an Antidote to Opium.- —E. H. 
Sholl, M.D., of Alabama, communicates to the Phila¬ 
delphia Medical and Surgical Reporter a case of poisoning 
by morphia, which was cured by veratrum. The patient, 
a negro boy, aged fifteen years, had typhoid fever, and 
took an overdose of morphia, which had been prescribed 
for hiccup. It was followed by stertorous breathing,, 
contracted pupils, and so forth. His mouth was prized 
open, and gtt. xviij Norwood’s tincture poured in, “ with 
two ounces of brandy.” In one hour every symptom of 
poisoning had vanished. 
Quinquina Chocolate. —Dr. Houze, in Les Mondcs of 
June last, says, he has succeeded in preparing an extract 
of Peruvian bark, so as to possess no unpleasant bitter 
taste, and this is mixed with pure chocolate paste, so as 
to form readily-portable, and, at the same time, an 
agreeable, dietetic medicine. This preparation is (thus 
it was stated at a meeting of the Central Imperial So¬ 
ciety' of Agriculture) considered superior to the sulphate 
of quinine. 
Chloride of Zinc in Rods. —Dr. Kobner, of Breslau, 
describes ( Berlin . Klin. Wochenschr ., no. 47, 1870) a 
method of making solid rods of chloride of zinc. Two 
parts of the chloride are fused with one part of nitrate of 
potash and formed into rods, which are kept in tinfoil in 
a well-stoppered bottle. They will last for a week. 
The combination forms, say r s Dr. Kobner, an excellent 
caustic, holding a place midway between nitrate of silver 
and caustic potash.— British Medical Journal . 
