September 30, 1871.] THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
279 
CfimsptbMe. 
*** iVo notice can be taken of anonymous communica¬ 
tions. IVTiatever is intended for insertion must be authenti¬ 
cated by the name and address of the writer ; not necessarily 
for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith . 
Our Evening Meetings. 
Sir,—The opening of a new Session brings before us 
the return of the monthly evening meetings, together with 
their ups and downs, success and failure, animation and dul- 
ness. 
These meetings have always seemed to he the weak point 
in the annual resume presented to us by our worthy Pre¬ 
sidents at the close of each official year. From the time of 
Jacob Bell to the present day, lamentation has followed 
lamentation, expressed or implied, with unwavering regu¬ 
larity, until the incubus appears to be regarded as an evil to 
be endured, rather than a difficulty to be overcome. 
With the hope of eliciting expressions and practical sug¬ 
gestions from other friends, which may possibly lead to some 
decided improvement, I venture to bring before your readers 
opinions which I have long entertained upon the subject. 
Two fundamental objections to the present mode of arrang¬ 
ing these meetings present themselves to my mind, viz. the 
time at which they are held, and the subjects chosen for the 
evening’s engagement; vital points, striking at the very root 
of their existence, and yet I humbly submit radically wrong. 
The time at which they are held .—Upon this point I speak 
as one living beyond the shadow of 17, Bloomsbury Square, 
but yet not beyond a reasonable walking or riding dis¬ 
tance, as inclination may prompt; also old-fashioned enough 
to consider midnight strolls home undesirable. At present 
the orthodox time of commencing these meetings is half¬ 
past eight, but at the risk of being considered deeply heretical 
in my views, I venture seriously to question the policy of 
this established rule. 
The argument used in support of the above time is, that 
an earlier hour would prevent many assistants attending 
who now avail themselves of the privilege. I must con¬ 
fess I do not precisely understand the ground upon which 
this theory rests. It certainly cannot be that early closing 
is so generally adopted in our business that our assistants are, 
as a rule, at liberty at that hour,—would that it were so,— 
but unless some such ground exists, I see no reason whatever 
for the argument. Either those who at present attend, do 
so in consequence of having that particular evening allotted 
them in the usual course of holidays, and which they choose 
thus profitably to occupy; or otherwise their masters allow 
them the privilege of attending independently of any such ho¬ 
liday. In the former case the evening is the assistant’s own, 
and the difference of an hour would be of little consequence 
if he really appreciated the meeting; in the latter, I cannot 
but think that a master who would generously allow his 
assistant to leave home at half-past seven or eight (I am 
speaking of those residing at some distance), would as willingly 
do so at half-past six or seven, if necessary. 
But further, we must bear in mind there is the return 
journey to be accomplished, which again occupies time. Can 
we expect these young men to be so wrapped up in the 
delights of pharmacy that no friendly greeting or quiet 
chat, or perchance some choice specimens, illustrative of the 
subject discoursed upon, will be allowed to detain them at 
the conclusion of the meeting? But should they succumb 
to any such temptation, by what hour may they be expected 
to arrive at Clapham, Brixton, Holloway or elsewhere? 
Omnibuses travel but slowly, cabs cost money. 
Before leaving this part of my subject, I would add a 
word on behalf of the masters. Speaking from experience, 
and I doubt exceedingly whether I am alone therein, the 
present hour entirely precludes my attending these meetings, 
much as I sometimes desire to do so, for the simple reason 
that domestic arrangements would be upset in consequence 
of the absence of the head of the household. The hour of 
departure is of no importance, the hour of return is just the 
reverse. 
On these grounds, bearing in mind the utter failure of past 
years, I would venture to suggest that at least a year’s trial 
should be given to the following alteration. “ That the chair 
be taken at half-past seven and vacated at nine.” 
The second point to which I desire to draw attention is,— 
The subjects chosen for the evening's engagement .—Upon 
this head I shall be very brief, leaving it to the superior judg¬ 
ment of those more experienced in catering for those supposed 
to possess some small amount of scientific knowledge; but I 
must confess a weakness for desiring to see a little extension 
of the circle of our lecturers, beyond the confines of the Phar¬ 
maceutical Calendar. In so saying, I would not for a moment 
be understood to speak disparagingly of those gentlemen who 
are so well known to us all, and who take so active and praise¬ 
worthy a part in endeavouring to put life into these meetings, 
but at the same time I should greatly like to see the announce¬ 
ment of lectures or course of lectures by some of the “ Stars 
of Science,” upon subjects of general interest to members, 
but yet somewhat above the preparation of a concentrated 
iron mixture or blue pill,—things good in their way, but not 
sufficiently attractive to induce men to leave their homes or 
take an hour’s walk to hear, when they will have the whole 
thing before them in the space of a few lines in the following 
week’s Journal. Dr. Carpenter’s lecture on “ The Micro¬ 
scope and its Revelations ” was a step in the right direction, 
and many, I venture to say, would gladly have availed them¬ 
selves of the opportunity of hearing them, had it not been for 
the inconvenience of the hour. 
But I must conclude, the importance of the subject being 
my excuse for having occupied so much of your space. Let 
the suggestions be at least considered; get out of the old 
time-worn groove; launch forth into fresh fields, and, I am 
bold to say, our evening meetings may yet be a success. 
Edwin B. Yizer. 
63, Lupus Street, Belgravia South, 
September 2 6th, 1871. 
Impurities in Chloral Hydrate. 
Sir,—In a discussion on chloral hydrate at the meeting of 
the Pharmaceutical Association at Edinburgh, attention was 
drawn to certain impurities, which greatly invalidate the 
application of the remedy, and hopes were expressed that the 
matter might be inquired into. I had lately occasion to 
inspect large quantities of such impure preparation, partly 
made by foreign manufacturers, but partly also by an English 
firm. The impurity is exactly the same in both cases,— 
most likely a result of the manufacturing process, and ought 
to be capable of being remedied. The impure hydrate gives 
off dense, strongly acid fumes as soon as the bottle is opened; 
these fumes affect the eyes and the skin most severely, to 
such extent, that on manipulating with about a cwt. the 
epidermis of the operator’s hands was completely destroyed. 
I purpose sending to the evening exhibition next week 
a sample of chloral hydrate in this state, and also another 
which I have succeeded in depriving of the objectionable cha¬ 
racter above mentioned. The question naturally arises, 
whether the formation of the foreign compound cannot be 
avoided. It is not hydrochloric acid, as has been suggested, 
but an organic chlorine compound (perhaps chlorpicrine) 
formed together with chloral, and not resulting from a decom¬ 
position of the latter. I first was under the impression the 
fumes were due to a small quantity of chloral, not hydrated, 
the strong penetrating smell of which is somewhat similar, 
but solution in water does not take away the strong smell. 
In a short time I hope to be able to state definitely the 
nature of this impurity. 
Fred. Versmann, Ph.D. 
150, Fenchurcli Street, F.C., Sept. 2 6th, 1871. 
Pharmaceutical Nomenclature. 
Sir,—The brother demon to the printer’s devil is his com¬ 
positor. The Times told us the other day that “ one of the 
most prominent members of the present Government was 
kicked out of the camp of advanced liberalism.” Imagine the 
wrath of liberals and the chuckle of illiberals all over the 
country on reading this statement, and the disgust of both 
sections on finding that their emotions had been excited 
through a wretched compositor using a k for a p ; the gentle¬ 
man had been picked out, not kicked—the compositor de¬ 
served the kicking. Then a poetic idea associated with “ full 
blown roses ” has been hopelessly destroyed by the words 
being printed “full blown noses.” But such mistakes (there 
are many on record) are tolerably obvious. Not so one which 
occurred in my letter on Pharmaceutical Nomenclature which 
appeared in your last Journal. I am there made to raise the 
bogey I endeavour to overthrow, by the compositor having 
put only the first of three consecutive and associated sentences 
