AmjJa°nuyiS8arm'}    Minutes  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting.  49 
MINUTES  OF  THE  PHAKMACEUTICAL  MEETING. 
Philadelphia,  December  18, 1888. 
The  meeting  was  called  to  order  and  Mr.  Wm.  Mclntyre  was  asked  to 
preside.    The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  were  read  and  approved. 
Professor  Trimble  stated  that  at  the  last  meeting  of  the  College  Committee 
upon  revision  of  the  pharmacopoeia  the  question  of  the  strength  of  bleaching 
powder  was  discussed,  and  it  was  thought  by  some  that  the  statement  of  our 
standard  was  much  lower  than  the  character  of  the  chlorinated  lime  of  com- 
merce warranted.  Mr.  H.  J.  M.  Schroeter,  a  post  graduate  of  our  School,  at 
Professor  Trimble's  suggestion,  made  a  number  of  determinations  of  the 
amount  of  chlorine  in  various  lots  he  had  obtained  from  various  stores,  and 
found  an  average  would  be  rather  over  twenty-nine  per  cent ;  he  read  a 
paper  giving  the  results  of  his  assays. 
Professor  Maisch  stated  that  while  this  subject  was  under  consideration  in 
the  Eevisional  Committee  it  was  well  known  that  much  stronger  chlorin- 
ated lime  could  be  obtained  in  large  quantities  ;  but  it  was  thought  best  to 
adopt  a  minimum  percentage  of  25  because  the  substance  was  quite  liable 
to  lose  chlorine  and  such  a  grade  could  be  readily  secured  by  the  pharma- 
cist. Prof.  Maisch  inquired  if  that  contained  in  small  packages  was  uni- 
form in  strength  and  as  strong  as  that  taken  from  the  large  casks  ;  the  arti- 
cle imported  in  the  casks  was  very  well  preserved. 
Mr.  Meyer  asked  if  the  sales  of  chloride  of  lime  were  not  less  than  form- 
erly. He  was  of  the  opinion  that  it  was ;  but  several  thought  that  the  sales 
were  more  frequent.  It  was  stated  that  all  chorinated  lime  consumed  here 
was  of  foreign  manufacture  as  the  black  oxide  of  manganese  of  American 
origin  is  inferior  to  that  which  is  imported.  A  query  was  put  whether  the 
manganese  ores  were  contaminated  with  cobalt ;  to  this  answer  was  made 
that  they  were  rarely  found  together. 
Mr.  England  read  a  paper  upon  a  permanent  syrup  of  hydriodic  acid. 
Professor  Maisch  asked  Mr.  England  if  he  had  tested  the  pharmacopoeial 
syrup  for  glucose;  he  said  that  he  had  not  done  so.  Mr.  Beringer  said  he 
had  made  syrup  of  hydriodic  acid  by  the  double  decomposition  of  potassium 
iodide  and  crystallized  tartaric  acid,  but  that  he  had  added  some  sugar  to 
the  solution  of  potassium  iodide  to  prevent  change,  and  he  found  the  syrup 
had  kept  well  since  August,  1887. 
Professor  Trimble  reminded  the  meeting  that  last  month  he  read  a  paper 
upon  a  berry  used  as  food.  At  this  meeting  he  would  call  attention 
to  a  root,  which  was  largely  used  for  nutrient  purposes,  obtained  from 
Lewisia  rediviva.  It  was  generally  stripped  of  its  bark  and  contained 
a  large  amount  of  mucilage. 
Mr.  Mclntyre  remarked  that  as  some  of  the  members  were  going  to  cross 
the  Kocky  mountains  for  the  next  meeting  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical 
Association,  they  should  bear  this  root  in  mind;  if  they  should  run  short  of 
provisions  and  had  to  forage  it  would  be  a  novel  experience. 
Mr.  England  inquired  about  the  loco-weed  of  the  Western  States ;  some 
parties  had  stated  that  it  was  particularly  poisonous  to  cattle,  while  others 
