DOS 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[June 10,1871. 
"Wycombe . Furmston, Samuel C. 
Yarmouth, Great-. Owles, James Jolm. 
York .. Davison, Ralph. 
BRISTOL PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION. 
The Monthly General Meeting was held on Friday, 
May 12th ; Mr. Townsend in the chair. 
The Hon. Sec. reported the receipt from Joseph Ince, 
Esq., of two additional batches of prescriptions collected 
And forwarded by him for the purpose of rendering more 
■complete the 1 Book of Prescriptions ’ already presented 
to the Association. 
The following letter was then read from the President, 
Mr. Stoddart :— 
“ Dear Mr. Schacht,—I 'am sorry to say that I am 
prevented joining you this evening. I have sent a spe¬ 
cimen of that curious substance metachloral, which has 
been mentioned by Dr. Richardson as a new hypnotic. 
Although isomeric with soluble chloral, it is perfectly 
insoluble in ether, water’ and alcohol. Like common 
chloral, it [is convertible into trichloracetic acid; and 
when treated with an alkali is also converted into chlo¬ 
roform and an alkaline formeate. It, however, differs 
by not being altered by hydrochloric acid and chlorate 
of potash. 
“When common chloral is kept for some time, it 
changes spontaneously into the insoluble metachloral. 
It is mere easily prepared by adding sulphuric acid to 
chloral hydrate, when, after standing for seven or eight 
hours, the metachloral separates, and may be washed 
with water and alcohol. r Ihe chloral becomes converted 
into metachloral and chloralide :— 
3 C 2 II Cl 3 0 = C-IL Cl 6 0 3 + CII Cl 3 . 
Chloral. Chloralide. Chloroform. 
the remaining chloral becoming metachloral, but un¬ 
changed as to its chemical composition. 
u I have sent the specimen in water, to show its com¬ 
plete insolubility. On drying it and heating it to 180° C., 
it immediately becomes ordinary soluble chloral. 
“ Yours very truly, 
“ W. Walter Stoddart.” 
Mi. Schacht then introduced the subject of the Liquor 
Eerri Perchloridi Fortior and the Tincture of the British 
1 harmacopoeia. He detailed a series of experiments, 
made with a view to explain the cause of the occasional 
change which occurs in the latter, and showed it was 
due to a want of sufficient chlorine in the mixture. He 
explained the liability to this deficiency by pointing out 
that the quantity of nitric acid ordered in the Pharma¬ 
copoeia preparation was more than sufficient for the con- 
vcision of the iron into the condition of perchloride, and 
that exactly to that extent was the liability of failure, 
inasmuch as all excess of nitric acid went to the produc¬ 
tion of aqua regia with the free hydrochloric acid in the 
preparation, and thus necessarily the chlorine was lost 
during the subsequent evaporation. Herecommended that 
the nitric acid be added gradually to the hot acid solu¬ 
tion ol the ferrous chloride, and only in sufficient quan¬ 
tity to bring, about its conversion into ^chloride, a 
chang-e that is very distinctly indicated by the sudden 
evolution of red fumes. He believed that, attention 
berng paid to this point m the manufacture of the liquor 
the Iinctura Ferri Perchloridi of the B. P. was a better 
preparation than the old Tr. Ferri Sesquichlor., inasmuch 
as pure iron wire was more easily procured than pure 
peroxide of iron. This opinion was founded upon the 
■examination of samples of the two preparations made 
both by himself and by other pharmacists. 
IJmci&mgs nf Smntifa Batitlm. 
PHILADELPHIA COLLEGE OF PHARMACY. 
A Meeting of this Society was held on Tuesday, April 
18 ; Professor Procter presided. 
Professor Parrish read a paper on Beef Extracts in 
Combination,* and exhibited specimens of several fluid 
preparations made with and without treatment for tho 
separation of gelatine, all containing glycerine as an 
antiseptic ingredient. He also showed some bottles of 
Fleisch Extract Syrup, imported several years ago from 
Frankfort-on-the-Main, the contents of which had be¬ 
come completely solidified. 
In view of the suggestion to precipitate the gelatine 
by means of tannin from the beef extracts of commerce, 
Professor Procter queried whether the animal alkaloids 
might not also be precipitated by tannin. 
Professor Maisch said that the Liebig Company’s Ex¬ 
tract of Meat, and some other kinds made by Liebig’s 
formula, were free from gelatine, and would furnish fluid 
extracts without the necessity of resorting to the process 
of clarifying. 
Professor Parrish remarked that he had intended to 
prepare some of a similar preparation from Liebig’s Ex¬ 
tract, and would do so, and embody the result in his 
paper. On motion, the paper was referred for publication. 
Professor Parrish exhibited specimens of several fari¬ 
naceous materials prepared by the Nutrio Manufacturing 
Company for domestic use and for infants’ food. These 
were all made from wheat which had been heated to 
nearly 300° F., by which it loses from 10 to nearly 20 
per cent, of moisture, and the starch is partially con¬ 
verted into dextrine and sugar. The Company is work¬ 
ing under patents which apply in part to the apparatus 
for the application and regulation of the temperature. 
One of the chief advantages to be obtained by the exten¬ 
sion of. this branch of manufacture will be the cheapen- 
iug of infants’ food, now so extensively imported. 
A general discussion followed on the process for making 
Ferrated Elixir of Bark, and the practicability of sepa¬ 
rating the tannin by hydrated peroxide of iron, the ex¬ 
perience of members differing in regard to this. 
Mr. MTntyre stated that if Calisaya bark is treated 
with a very dilute alcoholic menstruum, and the tincture 
then mixed with the hydrated oxide, it would cease to 
blacken with soluble salts of iron. He stated that he 
used pyrophosphate of iron as the principal salt in the 
elixir, and overcame the green tint by a small addition 
of solution of citrate of iron. He had also diluted the 
officinal fluid extract of cinchona with good success, 
instead of starting with the bark itself. He had found 
the solution of chloride of iron convenient for precipi¬ 
tating the hydrated oxide with ammonia, on account of 
the great facility of washing out the very soluble muriate 
of ammonia from the magma. 
Professor Maisch expressed his preference for the 
Cinchona alkaloids in making this elixir, and stated his 
conviction that few, if any, of the principal manufacturers 
used the bark itself, or even the alkaloids, in sufficient 
proportion to impart much of the tonic property of Cin¬ 
chona. He stated the proportion of his elixir as follows, 
using a chinoidin, which contains much quinia and qui- 
nidia, 90 grains to Oviiiss, 9^ grains of pyrophosphate 
are contained in each fluid ounce. 
A general discussion followed as to the propriety of 
preparing elixirs to meet the popular demand, or to fill 
the prescriptions of physicians. Professor Maisch’s cus¬ 
tom is to make all such as are required in the course of 
his business, and to decline prescriptions which call for 
special proprietary preparations. Professor Procter pre¬ 
fers sending to the physician for the formula in all cases 
in which there is uncertainty as to the composition de¬ 
signed, and dispensing such as are well known. Pro¬ 
fessor Parrish’s practice is to originate a formula in any 
* See p. 985. 
