Am.  Jour.  Phartu. ) 
December,  1902.  j 
Pharmaceutical  Meeting. 
611 
In  reply  to  a  question  as  to  the  advisability  of  dispensing  the  soap 
preparation  containing  benzin,  Mr.  Wilbert  and  Mr.  Poley  both  said 
that  it  was  customary  to  use  a  special  caution  label  in  such  cases. 
Mr.  Poley  also  said  that  the  city  authorities  are  taking  steps  in 
regard  to  the  storing  of  benzin  in  drug  stores.  Dr.  Lowe  said  that 
the  insurance  companies  limit  the  amount  to  five  gallons,  and  Mr. 
Kebler  said  that  they  would  not  even  permit  a  large  firm  to  keep  a 
plumber's  lamp  containing  benzin.  In  regard  to  the  shades  of  soap> 
Mr.  Kebler  said  that  these  depended  upon  the  kind  of  vessel  in 
which  the  soap  was  made — that  made  in  a  copper  vessel  being  com- 
paratively dark,  and  that  made  in  an  iron  kettle  still  darker.  He 
said  that  the  light  product  was  looked  upon  as  impure,  while  in 
reality  it  is  the  purest,  it  being  made  in  a  porcelain  vessel.  Mr. 
Kebler  also  remarked  that  he  had  found  phenolphtalein  unsatisfac- 
tory for  determining  the  alkalinity  of  soap. 
Mr.  William  B.  Marshall  read  an  interesting  paper  entitled  "  Tea : 
Its  History  and  Commerce,"  and  exhibited  a  number  of  photo- 
graphs, samples,  etc.,  in  connection  therewith. 
In  reply  to  a  question  by  E.  M.  Boring  in  regard  to  tea-growing 
in  the  United  States,  Mr.  Marshall  said  that  it  had  been  very  suc- 
cessful  in  South  Carolina,  and  further  said  that  it  has  been  found 
that  a  number  of  plants  and  some  animals  do  better  in  other  coun- 
tries than  in  their  native  countries,  and  he  hoped  that  since  the 
Agricultural  Department  had  taken  up  the  subject,  tea  would  become 
an  article  of  agriculture  here.  Dr.  Henry  Leffmann  referred  to  a 
recent  article  in  the  New  York  Medical  Record,  in  which  the  writer 
recommended  the  use  of  tea  as  a  remedy  for  cholera  in  the  Philip- 
pine Islands,  owing  to  the  bad  quality  of  the  water  there.  He 
claimed  that  the  Chinese  are  comparatively  free  from  cholera,  and 
attributed  this  to  their  custom  of  tea-drinking,  the  otherwise  bad 
water  being  boiled  and  thus  disinfected.  In  response  to  a  question 
by  Mrs.  Julia  Davis  Chandler,  Mr.  Marshall  said  that  in  some  parts 
of  Japan  the  flowers  of  certain  plants,  as  of  camelia  and  olive,  are 
used  for  perfuming  teas. 
Mr.  Harry  Matusow  spoke  of  the  method  used  by  the  Russians 
in  making  the  infusion  of  tea.  A  verv  strong  infusion  is  first  made 
and  then  a  small  quantity  of  this  is  diluted  with  hot  water. 
Mr.  Marshall  further  remarked  that  the  price  paid  for  tea  in  this 
country  is  not  regulated  by  the  price  in  foreign  countries,  but  that 
