498  American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  {A^cJtober,Pi9olm' 
is  concerned  in  describing  oils,  even  though  a  wider  range  would 
seem  to  open  wide  the  doors  for  adulterations.  These  will  have  to 
be  guarded  against  in  other  ways. 
Oil  of  Wintergreen  and  Its  Adulterants. 
By  Edward  Kremers. 
The  author  does  not  pretend  to  present  anything  new  on  this  sub- 
ject, but  has  collected  the  available  material  in  connection  with  his 
work  on  the  revision  of  the  pharmacopceial  text  of  the  volatile  oils. 
In  addition  to  the  gross  adulterants,  such  as  turpentine  oils,  etc.,  the 
question  of  adulteration  of  true  oil  of  wintergreen  from  Gaultheria 
procu?nbens  with  so-called  oil  of  wintergreen  from  Betula  lenta  (sweet 
birch  oil)  and  with  synthetic  methyl  salicylate  is  discussed.  The 
discussion  of  these  substitutes  and  their  possible  detection  naturally 
suggests  the  question  of  the  therapeutic  and  ethical  justification  of 
the  substitution  of  sweet  birch  oil  and  synthetic  methyl  salicylate 
for  true  oil  of  wintergreen. 
Glycerophosphoric  Acid  and  Glycerophosphates. 
By  Edward  Kremers. 
On  account  of  the  unsatisfactory  character  of  the  pharmaceutical 
literature  concerning  glycerophosphates,  which  have  acquired  some 
prominence  as  therapeutic  agents  in  recent  years,  the  compilation  of 
a  monograph  was  undertaken  by  E.  Kremers  and  T.  G.  Windes. 
In  order  to  make  such  a  monograph  more  satisfactory,  experimental 
as  well  as  literary  investigations  became  necessary.  Whereas  the 
latter  have  been  practically  concluded,  the  former  have  been 
restricted  almost  entirely  to  the  rate  of  esterification  of  glycerin 
and  orthophosphoric  acid  under  certain  sets  of  conditions.  In  a 
general  way  the  results  show  that  the  percentage  of  esterification 
increases  with  temperature  and  time,  but  that  there  are  constant 
irregularities  which  manifest  themselves  very  strikingly  by  plotting 
the  results  as  curves.  Some  of  the  series  of  esterification  experi- 
ments are  to  be  repeated  under  greatly  reduced  pressure.  The 
structure  of  the  acid  and  the  physical  and  chemical  properties  of 
the  salts  are  also  to  be  studied  further.  A  complete  report  is  to  be 
made  at  the  next  annual  meeting  if  possible. 
