614 
Minutes. 
(  Am.  Jonr.  Pharm. 
\  November,  1897. 
eminently  practical  and  useful  kind.  The  chairman  spoke  in  complimentary- 
terms  of  the  paper,  and  said  that  suggestions  whereby  rapid  methods  could  be 
adopted  were  of  great  value  to  the  pharmacist. 
Prof.  Remington  said  that  detailed  methods,  such  as  Mr.  Haussmann  described, 
were  very  valuable  to  the  Committee  on  Revision  of  the  Pharmacopoeia,  and 
that  he  had  done  pharmac)7  a  distinct  service  by  this  work. 
"International  Congresses"  was  the  subject  of  a  paper  by  Prof.  J.  P.  Reming- 
ton. The  author  took  a  comprehensive  view  of  the  question  of  international 
gatherings,  and  while  he  portrayed  the  ideal  congress,  he  did  not  lose  sight  of 
the  real  difficulties  which  attend  all  such  undertakings.  He  believed  in  con- 
sidering conditions  as  they  actually  exist,  and  that  by  so  doing,  many  of  the 
hindrances  which  retard  the  successful  issue  of  international  scientific  gather- 
ings could  be  eliminated. 
A  paper  entitled  "  Balsam  Copaiba,  Oil  of  Copaiba,  Mass  Copaiba,  Resin 
Copaiba  and  Gurjun  Balsam  "  was  presented  by  Lyman  F.  Kebler. 
This  paper  embodied  the  results  of  an  examination  of  a  number  of  samples 
of  the  above  substances.  The  author  said  that  on  account  of  the  number  of 
varieties  of  copaiba  and  the  unknown  composition  of  them,  their  qualitative 
aualysis  was  atteuded  with  difficulty.  The  data  presented  by  him  was  there- 
fore intended  to  supply  this  deficiency. 
In  discussing  the  active  constituents  of  copaiba,  Dr.  Lowe  said  that  there 
seemed  to  be  same  misapprehension  among  physicians  as  to  the  particular 
effect  of  each  of  these.  He  said  that  the  volatile  oil  has  a  stimulating  action, 
while  the  acid  resin  is  a  diuretic. 
The  last  paper  on  the  programme  was  presented  by  the  chairman,  J.  \V. 
England,  and  was  on  the  question,  "  Shall  Distilled  and  Fermented  Liquors  be 
Dismissed  from  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia?" 
Notwithstanding  the  interpretation  placed  by  many  upon  the  attitude  of  the 
Government  on  the  subject  of  alcoholic  liquids,  the  author  believed  that  the 
above  question  had  no  bearing  upon  the  saloon  question.  He  looked  upon 
these  liquids  as  drugs,  and  urged  retaining  them  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  and 
demanding  them  of  a  certain  quality. 
His  remarks  occasioned  considerable  applause,  and  the  subject  was  freely 
discussed  by  the  members  present. 
Wm.  B.  Thompson  was  in  favor  of  dismissing  whiskey  from  the  Pharmaco- 
poeia since  it  entered  into  no  official  preparation.  He  furthermore  believed 
that  the  official  wines  would  serve  their  purpose  as  well  if  made  with  alcohol 
of  the  required  strength. 
Dr.  Lowe  was  of  the  opinion  that  alcohol  was  the  only  therapeutic  constitu- 
ent of  these  liquids,  but  that  the  bouquet  made  them  more  palatable,  which  was 
an  argument  for  retaining  them. 
C.  Carroll  Meyer,  referring  to  the  sale  of  liquor  in  stores,  believed  that  drug- 
gists were  honorable  in  this  respect,  and  that  very  few  of  them  sold  it,  except 
in  Prohibition  States,  without  the  physician's  order. 
Mr.  Kebler  took  the  negative  side  of  this  question,  and  said  that  he  had 
examined  samples  of  wine  and  found  many  which  were  adulterated  and  others 
which  were  artificial  products  colored  with  aniline  dyes.  He  believed  that 
many  victims  of  the  alcohol  habit  were  attracted  by  the  so-called  bouquet  who 
might  not  otherwise  have  persisted  in  the  habit. 
