652  Notes  and  News— Obituary,  {^dSS^xm/ 
Some  cabinet  specimens  were  presented  as  follows  : 
Samples  of  monobromated  camphor  and  salol  by  Mr.  LaWall,  and  a  handsome 
specimen  of  metallic  bismuth  by  Mr.  Harry  B.  French. 
On  motion,  the  meeting  adjourned. 
T.  S.  Wieganp, 
Registrar. 
NOTES  AND  NEWS. 
Formaldehyde  may,  in  the  near  future,  become  of  considerable  industrial 
value  in  addition  to  the  use  it  already  has  in  medicine.  Prof.  C.  S.  Dolley  has 
recently  secured  a  patent  for  its  use  in  the  manufacture  of  leather.  Hides  or 
skins,  prepared  in  the  usual  way  for  tanning,  are  subjected  to  the  action  of  for- 
maldehyde of  a  strength  gradually  increasing  from  3  to  10  per  cent.  About  one 
hour's  treatment  completes  the  process.  Or  the  hides  are  exposed  in  a  closed 
chamber  to  gaseous  formaldehyde,  either  by  itself  or  in  conjunction  with 
aqueous  or  alcoholic  vapors. 
The  Plant  World  is  a  new  monthly  journal  of  popular  botany.  The  first 
number  was  issued  October  1st,  and  contains  papers  on  "The  Sword  Moss,"  by 
Elizabeth  G.  Brittou  ;  "The  Families  of  Flowering  Plants,"  by  Charles 
Louis  Pollard;  "Sensitiveness  of  the  Sundew,"  by  F.  H.  Knowlton ; 
"  Ferns  of  the  Yosemite  and  the  Neighboring  Sierras,"  by  S.  H.  Burnham; 
"Some  Sand-Barren  Plants,"  by  Willard  N.  Clute  ;  Editorials,  Notes  and 
News.  F.  H.  Knowlton,  Ph.D.,  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  Washington, 
D.  C,  is  editor-in-chief,  assisted  by  six  associate  editors,  all  well-known  writers 
on  botanical  subjects.  Willard  N.  Clute  &  Co.,  Binghamton,  N.  Y.,  are  the 
publishers. 
OBITUARY. 
Prof.  Dr.  D.  A.  Buchuer,  who,  during  a  long  and  honorable  career,  was  identi- 
fied with  the  sciences  of  medicine  and  pharmacy,  died  at  Munich,  October  23d, 
in  the  eighty-fifth  year  of  his  age. 
He  was  the  son  of  Prof.  Johann  Andreas  Buchner,  the  founder  of  scientific 
pharmacy  in  Germany,  and  naturally  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  his  distin- 
guished father.  He  served  his  apprenticeship  in  Niirnberg,  after  which  he 
studied  in  Munich,  Paris  and  Giessen.  In  1839  he  received  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Philosophy,  and  in  1842  graduated  in  medicine.  Later  became  a  member 
of  the  Medical  Faculty  of  the  University  of  Munich,  and  in  1852  was  named 
Professor  of  Pharmacy  and  Conservator  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Institute.  In 
1871  Buchner  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Berlin  Commission  for  composing 
the  German  Pharmacopoeia,  on  which  he  wrote  a  very  complete  commentary. 
In  addition  to  much  other  literary  work  he  was,  after  his  father's  death,  editor 
of  the  Repertorium  ficr  Pharmacie  for  twenty-five  years. 
The  deceased  was  highly  esteemed  by  his  associates,  and  his  kindly  interest 
in  the  welfare  of  his  students  earned  for  him  the  title  of  "  Vater  Buchner. '» 
He  was  the  possessor  of  several  honorary  titles,  and  was  a  corresponding  mem- 
ber of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy. 
