Am  Jour.  ri.arni.j  Pkarmaceutical  Colleges  and  Associations.  315 
June,  18Si.      J  ^ 
dissipated.  The  wool  was  washed,  heated  gently  with  a  10  per  cent,  solu- 
tion of  potassa,  the  solution  cooled  and  diluted  witli  half  its  volume  of 
alcohol.  This  mixture  was  well  shaken  with  half  its  volume  of  ether;  the 
ethereal  solution,  after  separation  and  on  the  addition  of  acetic  acid,  pro- 
duced at  once  the  pink  color  of  acetate  of  rosanilin,  which  was  instantly 
discharged  by  nascent  hydrogen.  In  the  discussion  following  it  was  stated 
that  these  petals  appeared  to  be  those  of  Rosa  centifolia,  not  previously 
exhausted,  but  probably  discolored  ;  they  were  of  German  origin,  shipped 
from  Hamburg  to  many  wholesale  druggists  in  London.  Mr.  Child  liad 
examined  anotlier  sample  of  dyed  rose  leaves,  and  found  the  color  to  differ 
from  rosanilin  and  to  resemble  colein  ;  the  ethereal  tincture  was  of  a  slight 
pink,  the  alcoholic  tincture  of  a  much  deeper  color ;  with  sulphuric  acid 
these  solutions  were  scarcely  heightened  in  color,  but  on  neutralizing  with 
potassa  they  became  distinctly  yellow,  and  on  again  adding  sulphuric  acid 
a  color  resembling  that  of  potassium  bichromate  was  produced.  The  tinc- 
ture of  true  rose  leaves  has  the  color  materially  develoj^ed  on  the  addition 
of  sulphuric  acid,  changed  to  greenish-yellow  by  jDotassa,  and  the  jjink 
color  restored  by  sulphuric  acid.  Ether  had  no  action  on  the  rose  leaves 
in  Mr.  Greenish's  possession,  and  caustic  alkali,  instead  of  producing  the 
usual  green  color,  produced  a  deep  brown  and  afterwards  decolorized. 
A  sample  of  oil  of  aloes^  prepared  by  Messrs.  T.  &  H.  Smith,  of  Edin- 
burgh, was  shown  ;  500  pounds  of  aloes  yielded  only  2  drachms  of  the  oiL 
At  the  meeting  held  April  6th  Mr.  A.  W.  Gerrard  read  a  paper  on 
wanika,  a  netv  African  arroiv  poison  (see  al)stract  on  page  304).  Professor 
Bentley  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  there  was  very  little  information 
as  to  the  plant  from  w  hich  it  had  been  derived  ;  also,  that  there  was  no 
very  close  alliance  between  Strophanthus  and  8trychnos,  although  they 
belonged  to  neighboring  orders,  both  of  which  contained  many  poisonous 
plants.  Mr.  Holmes,  however,  held  that  the  Loganiacese  and  Apocynacese 
were  not  very  widely  separated  in  properties  ;  he  showed  the  ordeal  poison 
of  Madagascar  obtained  from  Tanghinia  venenifera  and  alluded  to  the 
powerful  poison  obtained  in  Jamaica  from  Urechites  suberecta.,  also  an 
apocynaceous  plant,  which  he  believed  had  a  similar  paralyzing  effect. 
The  South  American  species  of  Strychnos  and  Gelseniium  sempervirens 
both  appeared  to  possess  a  somewhat  similar  action  to  the  Strophanthus. 
Professor  Redwood  exhibited  a  pharmaceutical  balance^  which  as  then 
adjusted  was  sensible  to  the  j-Jq  grain,  but  by  a  simple  arrangement  the 
centre  of  gravity  could  be  altered  so  as  to  make  it  sensible  to  the  grain^ 
and  l')y  an  alteration  of  the  bearings  to  the  2V  gi'ain.  A  discussion  was  had 
on  the  necessity  of  having  reliable  disiDensing  balances,  of  a  moderate  price 
and  accurate  weight. 
Mr.  Holmes  called  attention  to  a  number  of  specimens  received  for  the 
museum,  among  which  was  a  species  of  mint  resembling  Mentha  sylvestris, 
which  is  cultivated  at  Bombay  for  yielding  oil  of  peppermint;  the  oil  of 
Nardostachys  Jatamansi  which  has  an  odor  somewhat  resembling  vale- 
rian and  tea  combined  ;  Naregamia  alata,  a  drug  used  by  the  Portuguese 
at  Goa,  in  doses  of  12  to  20  grains,  as  an  emetic,  and  not  possessing  the  jjro- 
perty  of  producing  tiglitness  of  breath  and  other  disagreeable  symptoms 
