148 
Pharmaceutical  Meeting. 
/  Am.  Jour.  Phariru 
\     March,  1908. 
PHARMACEUTICAL  MEETINGS. 
JANUARY 
The  stated  Pharmaceutical  Meeting  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of 
Pharmacy  was  held  Tuesday,  January  21,  at  3  o'clock,  with  Warren 
H.  Poley,  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  in  the  chair.  A  num- 
ber of  practical  points  were  brought  out  in  the  discussion  of  the 
various  topics  on  the  programme  which  would  consume  too  much 
space  to  record,  but  which  emphasize  the  advisability  of  attendance 
by  those  who  desire  to  profit  from  the  discussions. 
Mr.  Joseph  W.  England  read  a  paper  on  the  "  Comparative  Com- 
position of  Milks,"  which  was  published  in  the  February  number 
of  this  Journal,  p.  55. 
Dr.  Horatio  C.  Wood,  Jr.  exhibited  a  modified  Soxhlet  apparatus 
(see  page  106). 
Dr.  W7ood  also  read  a  paper  having  the  title,  "  Does  Digitoxin 
Represent  the  Therapeutic  Virtues  of  Digitalis?"  (see  page  107). 
Mr.  England  said  that  he  had  reached  the  same  conclusion  as  Dr. 
Wood,  namely,  that  digitoxin  is  not  wholly  representative  of  digitalis, 
which  was  based  on  its  chemical  behavior.  He  referred  to  the  in- 
solubility of  digitoxin,  and  thought  that  in  view  of  this  property  it 
is  probably  not  present  in  the  infusion  of  digitalis. 
Dr.  C.  B.  Lowe  enumerated  the  more  important  constituents  of 
digitalis,  giving  their  solubilities  and  therapeutic  properties.  He  said 
that  the  infusion  of  the  drug  contains  certain  principles  which  render 
it  valuable  as  a  diuretic,  and  condemned  the  practice  of  preparing  the 
infusion  from  the  fluidextract. 
With  regard  to  the  solubility  of  digitoxin,  Mr.  Chas.  E.  Vander- 
kleed  stated  when  extracts  of  digitalis  are  made,  the  digitoxin  is 
extracted  along  with  other  constituents,  and  that  during  the  course 
of  assay,  according  to  the  Keller  method,  it  exists  in  solution,  being 
present  in  the  lead  subacetate  solution,  from  which,  however,  it 
separates  out  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  months,  and  will  not 
again  dissolve. 
Mr.  M.  I.  Wilbert  referred  to  German  digitalin,  which  is  a  mixture 
containing  some  digitoxin,  and  said  that  the  digitoxin  is  rendered 
soluble  by  the  other  substances  present,  and  expressed  the  opinion 
that  by  reason  of  the  presence  of  the  associated  principles  there  is 
probably  some  digitoxin  in  the  infusion  of  digitalis. 
