4 
PHARMACEUTICAL  NOTES  OF  TRAVEL. 
dissolved  in  muriatic  acid,  treated  with  animal  charcoal,  filtered, 
evaporated  and  crystallized. 
After  adverting  to  urea  and  its  sources,  Prof.  R.  spoke  of  the 
excrement  of  the  boa  .constrictor,  and  other  great  snakes  at  the 
Zoological  gardens,  being  nearly  pure  urate  of  ammonia,  and 
as  furnishing  ample  supplies  of  uric  acid  for  laboratory  pur- 
poses. Guano  was  also  spoken  of  as  an  important  source  of  this, 
in  view  of  the  use  now  made  of  Murexide  as  a  pigment  in  the 
arts.  At  Manchester,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  visiting  the  ex- 
tensive chemical  works  of  Roberts,  Dale  &  Co.,  and  saw  this 
new  and  beautiful  chemical  product,  which  in  its  various  com- 
binations is  capable  of  furnishing  a  variety  of  shades  of  color 
not  so  readily  obtainable  with  any  other  chemical  agent. 
Prof.  Redwood  is  an  agreeable,  though  not  particularly  fluent 
lecturer,  his  style  is  quiet,  almost  conversational,  and  although 
entering  into  details  which  appeared  very  complex,  he  main- 
tained an  assured  manner,  which  showed  a  perfect  familiarity 
with  his  subject.  To  those  who  feel  curious  about  the  personal 
characteristics  of  this  veteran  in  pharmaceutical  instruction,  I 
would  be  glad  to  give  a  portraiture  which  should  be  satisfactory; 
but  having  no  talent  for  that  kind  of  description,  can  only  say, 
that  he  is  a  tall,  well  developed  figure,  stooping  somewhat,  with 
a  grave,  though  agreeable  countenance,  and  a  manner  which,  to 
the  stranger  who  thus  ventures  to  speak  of  him,  will  long  be 
remembered  as  both  dignified  and  cordial. 
The  lecture  hour  at  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  is  8,  or  8j 
o'clock,  A.  M.,  a  time  found  very  convenient  in  London,  where 
business  scarcely  begins  till  after  9  o'clock,  and  especially  fa- 
vorable, as  I  have  found  by  some  years  of  observation,  to  a 
wakeful  and  appreciative  condition  of  mind  in  both  teacher  and 
learner. 
Prof.  Bentley  is  the  lecturer  at  this  institution,  on  Botany 
and  Materia  Medica.  The  summer  months  are  devoted  to  Bo- 
tany, and  I  rose  early  one  morning  to  attend  his  lecture  at  the 
Botanical  Garden,  Regent's  Park,  a  delightful  morning  resort 
for  the  sedentary  student,  independent  of  the  information  de- 
rived upon  a  branch  of  science  so  necessary  to  a  full  appreciation 
of  Materia  Medica. 
Each  plant,  as  it  came  into  view  in  the  course  of  the  Lecture, 
