Am.  Jour.  Pharrn.  \ 
December,  1897.  j 
Minutes. 
65i 
oil,  from  Satureja  hortensis,  L. ;  mountain  savory  oil,  fromSatureja  montana, 
Iy.;  balsam  tansy  oil,  from  Tanacetum  balsamita,  L.;  and  Xanthorrhoea  gum 
oil,  from  Xanthorrhoea  hastilis,  R.  B.;  and  some  other  species.  There  is  also 
much  other  information  of  value  in  the  88  pages  that  make  up  the  pamphlet. 
Index-Catalogue  of  the  Library  of  the  Surgeon-General's  Office, 
U.  S.  Army.  Second  Series.  Vol.  II.  B  to  By  water.  Government  Printing- 
office.    Washington.  1897. 
MINUTES  OF  THE  PHARMACEUTICAL  MEETING. 
Phii.adei.phia,  November  16,  1897. 
The  regular  Pharmaceutical  Meeting  was  held  at  3  p.m.,  with  J.  W.  England 
in  the  chair. 
The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  were  allowed  to  stand  as  published. 
Dr.  John  W.  Harshberger,  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  favored  the 
audience  with  an  address  on  the  "Vegetation  of  the  Yellowstone  Hot  Springs," 
which  was  not  only  highly  scientific,  but  at  the  same  time  replete  with  vivid 
descriptions  of  the  numerous  phenomena  which  delight  the  naturalist  in  our 
National  Park  in  Wyoming. 
In  closing,  the  speaker  fittingly  indulged  in  speculation  concerning  the  origin 
of  life  on  the  earth,  and  asked  the  question  whether  the  facts  he  had  presented 
did  not  point  to  hot  springs  as  the  origin  of  primeval  organisms. 
In  replying  to  a  query  as  to  the  medicinal  virtues  of  the  water  of  the  hot 
springs,  Dr.  Harshberger  said  that  he  believed  they  were  attributed  to  the  inor- 
ganic constituents. 
The  chairman  remarked  that  he  had  been  of  the  opinion  for  some  time  that 
the  efficacy  of  many  of  the  so-called  medicinal  waters  depends  more  upon  their 
purity  than  upon  the  amount  of  mineral  salts,  inasmuch  as  these  are  present  in 
very  small  proportion. 
Dr.  C.  B.  Lowe  coincided  with  this  view  and  attributed  their  usefulness  to  a 
mechanical  action  rather  than  to  any  intrinsic  qualities. 
Charles  H.  LaWall  communicated  some  analytical  data  which  he  had 
obtained  during  the  year,  in  a  paper  entitled  M  Laboratory  Notes." 
Replying  to  a  question  concerning  the  use  of  Japan  wax,  Mr.  La  Wall  said 
that  it  is  used  in  the  laundry  business  and  also  for  making  pomades. 
Prof.  Henry  Trimble  presented  a  paper  on  "  Pomegranate  Rind."  In  com- 
menting upon  the  quantity  of  tannin  present  in  this  substance,  he  said  that  40 
per  cent,  had  been  reported  in  the  wild  variety.  A  number  of  the  Spanish 
fruits  were  exhibited,  and  those  who  had  never  eaten  of  them  were  given  an 
opportunity  of  testing  the  merits  thereof. 
Dr.  Harshberger  remarked  that  in  Mexico  the  pulp  of  this  fruit  is  used  for 
giving  a  red  color  to  different  kinds  of  drinks. 
Having  recently  been  engaged  in  an  examination  of  willow  oak  (Quercus 
Phellos),  Prof.  Trimble  called  attention  to  the  leaves  and  acorns  of  this  plant, 
and  also  to  the  leaves  of  Quercus  imbricaria,  to  show  the  difference  in  appear- 
ance of  these  two  species.  In  the  course  of  his  remarks,  he  alluded  to  the  in- 
terest which  Prof.  Procter  had  taken  in  Quercus  heterophylla,  Bartram's  oak, 
some  thirty-odd  years  ago. 
