''^^'ocr'issr""'}        British  Pharmaceutical  Conference.  531 
Attfield  called  attention  to  the  necessity  of  having  some  guarantee  as  to  the 
genuineness  of  materials  oj^erated  upon,  and  this  apj^eared  to  be  indicated 
in  the  j^resent  case  by  the  different  results  obtained.  In  answer  to  a 
remark  by  Mr.  Proctor  to  the  effect  that  he  had  sometimes  noticed. an  odor 
suggestive  of  lemons  in  preparing  oil  of  ginger,  Mr.  Thresli  said  that  was 
probably  attributable  to  the  cymene  present  in  the  oil.  He  had  tried  vari- 
ous proposed  modifications  of  his  formula  for  soluble  essence  of  ginger, 
but  had  not  hitherto  been  able  to  improve  it.  The  use  of  dilute  spirit  was 
recommended  by  Mr.  Groves,  to  obtain  a  preparation  sufficiently  clear  for 
practical  use  in  flavoring  aerated  water. 
The  next  paper  was  by  Mr.  Groves,  on  Ghjceloeum,  a  j^reparation  pro- 
posed by  him  as  a  basis  for  ointments,  at  the  Dundee  meeting  of  the  Con- 
ference ("Amer.  Journ.  Pliarm,,"  1803,  p.  56).  Since  that  time  he  has 
found  that  the  meal  of  the  bitter  almond  answers  nearly  as  well  as  that  of 
the  sweet  almond,  and  he  has  also  altered  his  formula  Vjy  the  substitution 
of  diluted  glycerin  for  the  concentrated,  which,  from  its  aptness  to  absorb 
moisture  from  the  surface  to  which  it  is  applied,  might  cause  irritation. 
Most  oils  can  be  made  to  combine  with  half  their  volume  of  tlie  emulsive  by 
merely  stirring  in  a  mortar,  and  a  much  larger  proportion  of  oil  can  be 
combined  by  using  a  flexible  spatula.  Castor  oil,  however,  refuses  to  com- 
bine. Mr.  Groves  pointed  out  an  error  in  his  former  j^aper,  where  he 
assumed  that  glycelseum  might  be  stiffened  by  the  addition  of  chemically 
inert  powders.  He  has  since  found  that  the  addition  of  such  powders, 
when  sufficient  to  affect  the  consistency  of  the  emulsion,  separates  the  con- 
stituents in  a  liquid  form.  Mr.  Groves  expressed  his  regret  that  so  little 
attention  had  been  paid  to  this  matter.  Possibly  owing  to  the  absence  of 
any  "man  of  emulsions,"  this  paper  did  not  excite  much  discussion. 
Another  paper  by  Mr.  Groves,  on  Poppy  Heads^  was  prefaced  by  a  com- 
plaint that  in  the  Conference  paper  containing  subjects  for  papers  it  is 
stated  that  nothing  definite  appears  to  be  known  as  to  the  occurrence  in 
poppy  capsules  of  other  principles  besides  mor^^hia,  narcotin  and  meconic 
acid,  although  in  1854  he  had  announced  the  finding  of  codeia  and  narceia 
in  them.  His  chief  object  in  rejieating  his  experiments  was  to  ascertain 
whether  codeia  could  be  profitably  extracted  from  the  unrij^e  poppy  capsule. 
The  result  was  unfavorable  by  reason  of  the  small  total  amount  present,  and 
the  considerable  loss  in  extraction  and  purification. 
In  the  papers  by  Messrs.  Naylor  and  Hooper  a  modification  of  Per- 
sonne's  method  of  Determining  Iodide  of  Potassium  ("  Pharm.  Journ."  [3], 
vol.  V,  p.  606)  was  proposed  as  a  substitute  for  the  method  hitherto  in  use 
for  the  determination  of  ferrous  iodide.  The  authors  found  by  experiment 
that  the  metliod  is  applicable  for  this  jDurpose  by  using  a  semi-decinormal 
test  solution  of  mercuric  chloride,  100  cc.  containing  1*355  of  that  salt  and 
being  equivalent  to  2*5  grams  of  iodide.  The  end  of  the  reaction  is  indi- 
cated by  the  appearance  of  a  slight  permanent  precipitate,  giving  a  scarlet 
color  to  the  liquid.  According  to  comparative  results  obtained  in  a  num- 
ber of  determinations  by  this  method  and  the  gravimetric  method,  it 
appears  to  admit  of  considerable  accuracy.  The  presence  of  sugar  does 
not  appear  to  present  any  obstacle  to  the  accurate  determination  of  iodide 
