Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
July,  1908. 
Pharmaceii  tic  a  I  M  eeting. 
353 
He  said  that  this  is  a  subject  to  which  the  pharmacists  of  this  coun- 
try must  give  more  attention  in  the  future,  it  having  been  hereto- 
fore almost  totally  neglected. 
The  distinction  between  the  terms  u  dispensing "  and  "  com- 
pounding "  in  a  legal  sense  having  been  announced  for  discussion, 
Mr.  Wilbert  said  that  while  he  was  not  familiar  with  the  State  law 
on  this  point,  the  rule  seemed  to  be  that  wholesalers  are  allowed, 
without  license,  to  compound  or  mix  medicines  so  long  as  they  do 
not  dispense  them,  and  thus  it  frequently  happens  that  ignorant  and 
uneducated  assistants  are  employed  in  handling  medicines.  He 
said  that  Governor  Pennypacker  held  that  a  wholesaler  should  not 
be  allowed  to  compound  medicines  unless  he  had  a  pharmacist's 
license. 
Prof.  E.  Fullerton  Cook  again  called  attention  to  the  series  of 
National  Formulary  fluidextracts  and  elixirs  which  were  made  under 
his  direction  by  students  during  the  College  term,  and  said  that  he  had 
received  letters  from  manufacturers  protesting  against  the  adverse 
criticisms  made  on  fluidextracts  at  the  March  Pharmaceutical  meet- 
ing (see  April  number  of  this  Journal,  p.  196),  the  claim  being  made 
that  the  use  of  fluidextracts  is  increasing.  Professor  Cook  said 
that  the  increase  in  the  use  of  fluidextracts  is  no  doubt  due  to 
their  use  in  other  preparations,  as  tinctures,  elixirs,  wines,  etc.,  and 
he  pointed  out  the  desirability  of  taking  up  and  discussing  the  sub- 
ject as  to  whether  their  use  in  this  way  is  permissible. 
Mr.  Wilbert  claimed  that  the  method  of  dilution  as  recommended 
by  some  manufacturers  on  their  fluidextract  labels  is  not  official, 
and  should  not  be  practiced.  He  wholly  condemned  the  practice 
of  making  infusions  from  fluidextracts,  and  also  said  that  tinctures 
should  not  be  made  by  dilution  of  fluidextracts,  because  of  the  loss 
of  active  constituents  through  precipitation. 
Dr.  Clayton  M.  Thrush  referred  to  a  statement  made  by  Dr. 
Janeway,  of  New  York,  that  he  found  it  very  difficult  to  obtain  the 
official  tincture  of  digitalis.  He  said  that  he  called  the  dilution 
method  the  "  lazy  method,"  and  expressed  the  hope  that  it  would 
soon  cease  to  exist. 
In  reply  to  a  question  by  Mr.  C.  P.  Gabell  as  to  whether,  in  the 
case  of  alkaloidal  or  standardized  preparations,  it  would  be  better  to 
make  them  by  dilution  of  fluidextracts  than  from  drugs  of  variable 
quality,  Mr.  Wilbert  said  that  this  subject  had  been  discussed  for 
