460  British  Pharmaceutical  Conference.  {^epfeTb'erS™' 
formulae  introduced  to  them  by  the  agents  of  advertising  manufacturers,  each 
received  a  share  of  attention  from  the  speaker,  and  in  concluding  his  remarks 
on  this  subject  he  said  :  "Meanwhile,  it  is  not  the  duty  of  the  pharmacist  to 
stand  still  and  wait,  not  to  devote  his  energy  and  ability  to  pharmaceutical 
quackery,  but  by  integrity,  legitimate  enterprise  and  earnest  scientific  work  to 
raise  the  standard  of  his  calling  and  thus  facilitate  the  acceptance  by  the  medi- 
cal profession  of  a  state  of  things  in  which  he  will  reap  the  reward  of  his  labors, 
and  both  professions  will  be  accorded  an  enhanced  amount  of  confidence  and 
respect  by  the  public." 
The  presidential  address  occupied  just  one  hour  in  its  delivery,  after  which 
was  the  reception  of  delegates,  the  reports  of  the  Executive  Committee  and 
Treasurer,  and  Unofficial  Formulary  Committee. 
The  preliminary  exercises  having  been  concluded,  the  reading  and  discussion 
of  papers  next  occupied  the  attention  of  the  Conference. 
The  first  paper  presented  was  a 
NOTE  ON  THE  WORD  "ASAFETIDA." 
By  John  Attkield. 
Having  been  called  upon  to  give  an  authoritative  opinion  as  to  the  correct 
spelling  of  this  word,  the  author  consulted  eminent  philologists  with  the  result 
that  both  the  Latin  and  English  spelling  of  the  word  should  be  "  asafetida." 
FURTHER  NOTE  ON  THE  PHARMACY  OF  CONIUM  MACULATUM 
By  E.  H.  Farr  and  R.  Wright. 
The  question  which  the  authors  undertook  to  solve  was  whether  the  action  of 
a  standard  solution  of  conine  or  of  the  mixed  alkaloids  of  conium  was  similar 
to  that  of  a  standardized  galenical  preparation  of  the  same  alkaloidal  value.. 
The  following  were  prepared  for  making  physiological  tests  :  (i)  a  fluid 
extract  of  dried,  unripe  fruits,  standardized  to  contain  2*5  per  cent,  of  total 
alkaloidal  hydrochlorides  ;  (2)  a  corresponding  solution  of  the  mixed  alkaloids 
of  the  same  fruits  of  the  same  strength  ;  (3)  succus  fruct.  conii  assaying  07 
per  cent,  total  alkaloidal  hydrochlorides  ;  (4)  a  solution  of  pure  conine 
hydrochloride;  (5)  solution  of  conhydrine  hydrochloride;  (6)  solution  of 
pseudo-conhydrine  hydrochloride. 
These  were  reported  on  in  the  following  paper  : 
PRELIMINARY  NOTE  ON  THE  ACTION"  OF  CERTAIN  PREPARATIONS 
AND  ACTIVE  PRINCIPLES  OF  CONIUM  MACULATUM. 
By  Wm.  Findlay. 
The  author  found  that  conine  and  the  mixed  alkaloids  were  the  most  toxic, 
the  lethal  dose  being,  for  conine,  37  milligrammes  per  kilo  body-weight ;  for  the 
mixed  alkaloids,  39  milligrammes  ;  for  conhydrine,  not  less  than  257  milli- 
grammes, and  pseudo-conhydrine  above  that  quantity.  The  results  obtained 
with  the  fluid  extract  were  not  sufficiently  exact  for  tabulation,  although  it  was 
as  active  on  frogs  as  conine.  The  succus  could  not  be  compared  with  the 
other  preparations  owing  to  its  low  percentage  of  alkaloids. 
SOME  OBSERVATIONS  ON  ORGANOTHERAPY. 
By  J.  C.  McWalterI 
The  writer  referred  to  the.  serious  symptoms  which  sometimes  follow  the 
administration  of  the  tablets  prepared  from  various  animal  glands,  and  which, 
