442  American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  {An^gusMXm* 
heat  only,  as  to  render  it  porous,  to  do  away  with  the  quality  of  stickiness, 
which  is  said  by  some  authors  to  be  produced  by  an  easily  decomposed 
caoutchouc  like  substance,  and  to  allow  the  aqueous  extractive  matter  to  ooze 
out  of  the  material  without  stirring. 
Notwithstanding  the  constant  repetition  of  cautions  in  all  the  text-books, 
dispensatories  and  other  pharmaceutical  literature  respecting  the  care  to  be 
observed  about  subjecting  opium  to  heat,  I  do  not  find  that  there  is  any  appre- 
ciable difference  in  the  yield  of  morphia  when  opium  has  gone  through  this 
barbarous  process.  Whatever  changes  may  take  place  among  the  other  proxi- 
mate constituents  is  not  known,  but  I  am  quite  satisfied  as  to  the  fact  that  the 
natural  morphia  salts,  protected  by  extractive,  are  not  decomposed,  or  only  to 
a  very  small  extent,  by  such  a  heat  as  is  necessary  for  the  desired  alteration  of 
the  valueless  or  inert  matters  contained  in  Opium. 
The  discussion  brought  out  the  facts  that  some  of  the  extracts  used  by  the 
Chinese  for  smoking  contain  little  or  no  morphine,  and  that  the  effects  are 
probably  not  mainly  due  to  the  amount  of  morphine  present. 
How  to  Conduct  a  Quiz  Class  is  the  title  of  a  paper  read  by  Prof.  Whelpley, 
which  is  not  adapted  for  being  abstracted. 
Maize  Oil. — Two  papers  were  presented  by  G.  W.  Kennedy  and  by  C  A. 
Heinitsh.  Attention  having  been  directed  to  this  oil  by  Mr.  Lloyd  (Amer, 
Jour.  Phae.,  1888,  p.  825),  the  two  essays  furnish  further  evidence  regarding 
the  applicability  of  maize  oil  to  pharmaceutic  uses  in  the  preparation  of  lini- 
ments, ointments  and  plasters.  It  was  stated  that  at  present  much  of  this  oil 
was  sold  as  a  substitute  for  olive  oil,  taking  the  place  of  cotton  seed  oil. 
Morrhuol. — By  digesting  cod  liver  oil  with  alcohol,  S.  A.  McDonnell  obtained, 
on  evaporation,  3*5  per  cent,  of  extract';  no  information  could  be  given  as  to  its 
therapeutic  value. 
Oleate  of  Morphine,  10  per  cent,  strength,  may  be  extemporaneously  prepared 
according  to  S.  A.  McDonnell,  by  heating  on  a  water  bath  450  gr.  oleic  acid  with 
53  gr.  morphine  sulphate  and  adding  gradually  25  minims  of  concentrated 
ammonia  water,  stirring  constantly  until  a  perfect  solution  takes  place. 
Reaction  of  Some  New  Remedies  —  S.  A.  McDonnell  applied  the  concentrated 
acids  of  the  shops  and  tincture  of  ferric  chloride  to  sulphonal.  salol  and 
acetanilid  which  produced  no  change.  Phenacetin  was  colored  yellow  by  nitric 
acid;  the  acid  is  added  to  the  aqueous  solution  and  the  mixture  heated  to  boil- 
ing.   Antipyrine  is  colored  blood  red  by  tincture  of  ferric  chloride. 
A  Pointer  in  Dispensing. — S.  F.  Hughes,  receiving  a  prescription  for  ung.  hy- 
drarg.  §i  to  be  divided  into  twenty  papers,  dispensed  it  by  rolling  out  the 
ointment  like  a  pill  mass,  using  lycopodium  on  the  pill. 
Oil  in  ground  Flaxseed. — Seven  samples  of  flaxseed  meal  obtained  in  the 
Chicago  market  when  exhausted  with  carbon  bisulphide,  were  found  by  W.  A. 
Pnckner  to  yield  from  36*12  to  37*98  per  cent,  of  fixed  oil. .  (See  also  Amer. 
Jour.  Pharm.,  1887,  p.  286  and  601.) 
Division  of  Powders. — The  paper  presented  by  Prof.  E.  P>.  Stuart  and  E.  B. 
Tainter  of  Chicago,  gives  the  results  of  experiments  made  by  37  dispensers  with 
three  prescriptions  and  shows  the  variations  in  the  total  weight  and  in  the 
weights  of  the  powders  dispensed  in  the  ordinary  way. 
Fabiana  imbricata. — M.  Rockwell  examined  the  drug  microscopically,  furnish- 
ing a  drawing  of  the  transverse  section,  and  chemically,  the  constituents  found 
