A^aJuaryfih897.m*}  Second  Pan-American  Medical  Congress.  15 
the  labor  of  peeling  and  careful  drying  ;  but  if  so  much  esteemed 
when  peeled,  why  is  it  not  just  as  much  esteemed  unpeeled  as  Span- 
ish or  any  other  variety  unpeeled  ?  Besides  being  much  cheaper 
and  richer  in  glycyrrhizin  and  extractive,  for  all  practical  purposes  it 
is  the  best.  Interest  always  attaches  to  a  knowledge  of  the  true 
sources  and  varieties  of  drugs,  and  is  frequently  a  source  of  profit  as 
well  to  the  pharmacist. 
Batoum  is  the  principal  port  of  export  for  the  Russian  root,  which 
is  gathered  along  the  Trans-Caucasian  Railroad,  running  from  Ba- 
toum on  the  Black  Sea  to  Baku  on  the  Caspian  Sea.  The  port  of  ex- 
port for  Anatolia  is  Smyrna,  while  the  Spanish  root  finds  its  way 
into  commerce  through  the  principal  seaports  of  Spain. 
SECOND  PAN-AMERICAN  MEDICAL  CONGRESS. 
By  Joskph  P.  Remington. 
The  second  Pan-American  Medical  Congress  met  in  the  city  of 
Mexico  during  the  week  beginning  November  16,  1896.  The  first 
Congress  assembled  in  the  city  of  Washington,  in  1893.  The  pur- 
pose of  these  triennial  gatherings  is  mainly  to  foster  the  advance- 
ment of  medical  and  pharmaceutical  science,  and  to  establish  closer 
relations  between  members  of  the  medical  profession  and  correlative 
branches.  The  large  number  of  delegates  in  attendance  upon  the 
first  Congress  surprised  the  friends  of  the  movement,  and,  although 
the  number  in  attendance  upon  the  second  Congress  was  not  as 
large,  it  must  be  gratifying  to  the  International  Executive  Com- 
mittee to  know  that  over  five  hundred  members  testified  to  their 
interest  by  their  presence,  many  of  them  contributing  papers  upon 
some  subject  connected  with  the  work  of  the  Congress.  As  is  cus- 
tomary in  such  bodies,  the  detailed  work  was  referred  to  sections  or 
commissions,  the  latter  having  been  organized  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  on  continuously  important  work  and  reporting  at  the  trien- 
nial meetings  of  the  Congress.  Two  commissions  have  been  organ- 
ized, which  are  of  special  interest  to  pharmacists,  the  Commission  on 
Pan-American  Pharmacopoeia  and  the  Commission  on  South  Ameri- 
can Flora.1 
1  The  Commission  on  Pan-American  Pharmacopoeia  is  organized,  with  Prof. 
Jos.  P.  Remington  as  Chairman  ;  that  on  South  American  Flora,  Prof.  H.  H. 
Rusby,  Chairman. 
