534  British  Pharmaceutical  Covference.  {^'^'oS]'']mi!'"'' 
been  considered  the  case,  the  quantity  of  gas  retained  by  the  aromatic 
water  is  not  greater  tlian  wlien  distilled  water  is  used.  Mr.  Siebold  said 
he  was  surprised  at  these  results,  which  were  opposed  to  the  generally 
received  opinion,  and  he  suggested  that  they  might  be  due  to  the  use  of 
water  prepared  by  agitation  instead  of  being  distilled ;  Mr.  Abraham  also- 
suggested  that  the  difference  might  have  been  due  to  the  presence  of  air 
dissolved  in  the  water.  In  reply,  Mr.  Botliamley  said  that  any  dissolved 
air  would  have  been  driven  out  of  the  water,  as  the  gas  had  been  passed 
through  for  seven  hours.  The  president,  in  thanking  Mr.  Bothamley  for 
his  paper,  which  he  said  had  now  furnished  a  final  solution  of  the  ques- 
tion, remarked  that  the  work  had  been  done  at  the  Yorkshire  College,  and 
in  his  opinion  schools  ought  to  contribute  papers  of  this  kind  to  the  Con- 
ference ;  and,  although  in  this  case  Mr.  Siebold's  illusion  had  been  dis- 
pelled, he  would  be  glad  to  see  the  j^ractice  more  general. 
The  Note  on  Oxide  of  Zinc,  by  Mr.  R.  F.  Reynolds,  described  the  results 
of  analyses  made  in  the  laboratory  of  the  Yorkshire  College  to  ascertain 
the  amount  of  sulphuric  acid  in  samples  of  oxide  of  zinc  used  in  pharmacy, 
Hubbuck's  oxide  gave  no  trace  of  sulphuric  acid.  Another  sample,  said 
to  be  prepared  by  combustion  of  the  metal,  contaiued  sulphuric  acid  equiv- 
alent to  2'455  per  cent,  of  anhydrous  zinc  sulphate.  Oxide  of  zinc  prepared 
by  precipitation  with  a  large  excess  of  sodium  carbonate,  and  subsequent 
calcination  gave  distinct  evidence  of  the  presence  of  sulphuric  acid. 
Another  sample  \\'as  prepared  by  iDrecijoitation  with  a  large  excess  of 
sodium  carbouate,  and  found  to  contain  very  much  less  sulphuric  acid  than 
the  former,  sliowing  that  by  using  a  large  excess  of  the  alkali,  and 
thoroughly  washing  with  a  filter-press,  a  practically  pure  product  can  be 
obtained.  How^ever,  the  great  purity  of  Hubbuck's  oxide  is  a  strong 
recommendation  of  the  process  of  combustion,  and,  in  any  case,  if  the  oxide 
is  prepared  by  other  means  it  should  not  be  less  pure  than  Hubbuck's. 
Mr.  Bothamley  suggested  that  if  a  gas  furnace  had  been  used  in  the  cal- 
cination the  sulphuric  acid  might  have  been  derived  from  that  source  by 
absorption. 
The  first  day's  proceedings  were  concluded  by  the  reading  of  a  Note  on 
Sulphate  of  Beberia,  by  Mr.  D.  B.  Dott.  It  gave  a  general  description  of 
the  Pharmacopoeia  preparation  as  containing  about  15  per  cent,  of  water 
lost  at  110°C.,  and  7*8  per  cent,  of  SO;.,  which  was  equivalent  to  63"8  per 
cent,  of  beberia  hydrate.  The  percentage  of  beberia  is,  however,  much 
less,  a  large  proportion  of  the  suli)huric  acid  being  combined  with  other 
alkaloids.  The  determination  of  the  beberin  is  very  difficult,  owing  to  the 
imposssibility  of  getting  the  hydrochloride  to  crystallize  in  the  presence  of 
the  amorphous  alkaloids.  The  author  thinks  there  is  good  reason  to 
believe  that  the  amount  of  beberia  in  the  "sulphate "  is  greater  than  Prof. 
Fluckiger  indicates  ("Pharm.  Journ."  vol.  xi,  p.  193),  and  he  doubts 
whether,  with  our  present  knowledge,  a  better  preparation  of  the  bark 
could  be  obtained  than  the  beberia  "  suli^hate." 
The  proceedings  of  the  second  day  commenced  with  the  reading  of 
note  by  Mr.  T.  Greenish  on  Some  Samples  of  Jamaica-grown  Jalap^  sent 
to  the  Curator  of  the  Museum  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  by  Mr.  D. 
