Am.  Jour.  Pharm.") 
November,  1897.  J 
Minutes, 
613 
Report  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital 
to  the  Contributors.    Philadelphia,  1897. 
The  report  of  a  charity  which  has  existed  and  flourished  for  a  century  and  a 
half  is  a  matter  that  should  attract  attention,  and  a  careful  perusal  of  it  will 
convince  one  that  this  time-honored  institution  is  one  to  be  proud  of.  The 
volume  is  elaborately  illustrated  with  interior  and  exterior  views  of  the 
buildings. 
Early  American  Chemical  Societies.  By  H.  Carringtou  Bolton,  Ph.D. 
Reprint  from  the  Journal  of  the  American  Chemical  Society \  August,  1897. 
The  author  makes  out  a  very  interesting  historical  account  of  the  early  efforts 
of  chemists  to  associate  for  mutual  benefit.  The  Chemical  Society  of  London, 
the  oldest  in  Europe,  was  founded  in  1841,  forty-nine  years  after  the  first  Amer- 
ican society.    The  early  American  societies  are  summarized  as  follows  : 
I.  The  Chemical  Society  of  Philadelphia,  founded  in  1792. 
II.  The  Columbian  Chemical  Society  of  Philadelphia,  founded  in  181 1. 
ILL  The  Delaware  Chemical  and  Geological  Society,  founded  in  182 1. 
The  account  of  the  active  workers  in  these  societies  constitutes  the  main 
body  of  the  paper. 
Ueber  Flechtenstoffe,  von  O.  Hesse.  Reprint  from  Berichte  der 
Deutschen  Chemischen  Gesellschaft,  30,  1893. 
MINUTES  OF  THE  PHARMACEUTICAL  MEETING. 
Philadelphia,  October  19,  1897. 
The  first  of  the  series  of  pharmaceutical  meetings  for  1897-98  was  held  in  the 
College  Museum,  with  J.  W.  England  in  the  chair.  The  reading  of  the  minutes 
of  the  last  regular  meeting  was  omitted  and  they  were  allowed  to  stand  as 
published. 
The  chairman  then  called  for  the  presentation  of  specimens.  Dr.  C.  B.  Lowe 
showed  some  extraordinarily  fine  samples  of  asafetida  which  he  had  procured 
from  the  Smith,  Kline  &  French  Company,  of  this  city,  they  having  received  it 
in  original  packages  from  Bombay,  through  London.  He  also  showed  some 
samples  of  Japanese  persimmons  from  Florida,  where  they  are  grown  to  a  con- 
siderable extent  by  grafting  the  wild  variety.  Prof.  Trimble  presented,  on 
behalf  of  Mr.  Charles  Bullock,  quite  a  collection  of  minerals  and  ores  for  the 
cabinet  of  the  College.  The  chairman  showed  a  colchicum  plant  which  had 
been  placed  in  alcohol  while  in  bloom  and  which  also  was  intended  for  the 
cabinet.  Prof.  Trimble  moved  that  a  vote  of  thanks  be  extended  Mr.  Bullock 
for  his  valuable  donation,  and  it  was  so  ordered. 
The  reading  and  discussion  of  papers  next  occupied  the  attention  of  the 
meeting,  and  the  first  one  presented  was  on  "  An  Examination  of  Some  Official 
Lead  Preparations,"  by  F.  W.  Haussmaun. 
This  paper  gave  evidence  of  much  careful  and  thoughtful  work  on  the  part  of 
the  author,  and  the  criticisms  and  suggestions  contained  therein  were  of  an 
