224  Notes  and  News.— Obituary .  {^l^L'Jm^' 
feet  a  capacity  of  3,000  cubic  feet.  A  photograph  of  a  battery  of  twelve 
generators  was  also  exhibited.  The  generators  are  all  connected  with  one 
large  reservoir  for  containing  the  alcohol,  and  this  form  of  the  apparatus  may 
be  used  for  the  disinfection  of  large  spaces. 
An  expression  of  thanks  was  voted  Messrs.  Bli  Lilly  &  Co.  for  their  present, 
and  those  who  furnished  papers. 
On  motion,  the  meeting  adjourned. 
Thos.  S.  Wikgand, 
Registrar. 
NOTES  AND  NEWS. 
Wild  Garlic. — Allium  vineale  is  the  most  injurious  weed  at  the  present  time 
in  the  Middle  Atlantic  States.  From  Pennsylvania  to  South  Carolina  and 
Tennessee,  it  is  known  to  townspeople  as  disfiguring  lawns  ;  to  farmers  and 
millers  as  a  pest  in  wheat,  and  to  dairymen  and  their  customers  as  ruining 
dairy  products  when  eaten  by  cows  in  the  pastures.  It  is  not  native  in  this 
country,  but  was  introduced  at  an  early  date  from  the  Old  World.  One  of  the 
earliest  authentic  records  of  its  presence  in  America  is  contained  in  Pursh's 
American  Flora,  published  in  1814,  in  which  it  is  said  to  be  "in  old  fields; 
common." — Circular  No.  9,  United  Stales  Department  of  Agriculture,  Division 
of  Botany. 
Sandalwood  oil  should  not  have  a  specific  gravity  less  than  0*975  at  15°,  and 
it  should  dissolve  in  5  parts  of  alcohol  of  70  per  cent,  by  volume.  The  follow- 
ing process  for  its  examination  has  been  devised  by  A.  J.  Hendrix  {four,  de 
Pharm.  et  de  Chim.  [6]  4,  499)  :  Weigh  into  a  flask  of  10  c.c.  capacity  2 
grammes  of  a  solution  of  3  parts  crystallized  phenol  in  1  part  of  alcohol,  add 
o*5  gramme  of  the  oil  and  mix  perfectly.  Add  0*5  gramme  concentrated 
hydrochloric  acid  without  shaking.  At  the  intersection  of  the  liquids  there  is 
formed  in  pure  sandalwood  oil  a  yellow  coloration,  changing  to  a  bright  red  in 
a  few  minutes.  With  oil  of  copaiba  the  upper  quickly  becomes  mauve-colored. 
,  With  oil  of  cedar  the  upper  liquid  becomes  cloudy,  and  a  brownish  color  is 
developed  at  the  intersection. 
OBITUARY. 
William  Kline  Mattern,  M.D.,  Ph.G.,  died  suddenly  April  16,  1896,  at  the 
Coroner's  private  office,  No.  632  Chestnut  Street,  this  city.  Death  was  caused 
by  rupture  of  the  pulmonary  artery  as  a  result  of  blood-poisoning. 
Dr.  Mattern  was  in  the  forty-ninth  year  of  his  age,  having  been  born  at  Here- 
ford, Lehigh  County,  Pa.,  August  5,  1847. 
He  came  to  this  city  in  1870,  and  graduated  from  the  Philadelphia  College  of 
Pharmacy  in  1874.  Since  1886  he  had  been  engaged  in  the  retail  drug  business 
at  2602  Germantown  Avenue. 
After  having  taken  a  course  at  Jefferson  Medical  College,  he  received  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  in  1882.  Dr.  Mattern  was  officially  connected 
with  the  Twenty-eighth  Sectional  School  Board  for  several  years,  and,  in  1895, 
was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education. 
In  1892  he  received  the  appointment  of  Coroner's  Physician,  which  position 
he  had  held  since  that  time. 
