484  American  Pharmaceutical  Association.     { AlocSer,%!m' 
Chemical  Examination  of  Cascara  Sagrada.  ^ 
By  H.  A.  D.  Jowett,  London. 
This  valuable  and  exhaustive  paper  was  presented,  in  abstract, 
by  the  Secretary,  E.  H.  Gane.  It  consists  of  a  review  and  criticism 
of  the  work  oi  previous  investigators,  and  also  embodies  an  account 
of  numerous  experiments  that  were  made  to  determine,  if  possible, 
the  active  constituents  of  the  bark. 
Notes  on  the  Pharmacology  of  Cascara  Sagrada  and  Bitterless 
Preparations  of  Cascara. 
By  Burt  E.  Nelson. 
This  paper,  also  read  by  Mr.  Gane,  contains  an  account  of  some 
observations  made  with  fractions  of  extracted  cascara  bark. 
Balsam  Copaiba. 
By  A.  R.  L.  Dohme. 
The  author  gave  an  abstract  of  a  paper  embodying  a  review  of  a 
systematic  examination  of  a  number  of  samples  of  balsam  copaiba. 
Several  of  these  samples  were  found  to  be  adulterated  with  ordi- 
nary rosin  (colophony) ;  one  sample  labeled  para  balsam  was  grossly 
adulterated. 
Aloes  and  Aloins. 
By  A.  R.  L.  Dohme. 
The  author  severely  criticises  a  paper  recently  read  before  the 
New  Jersey  State  Pharmaceutical  Association  that  ostensibly  em- 
bodied a  ready  method  for  preparing  aloin. 
The  author  also  recounts  a  number  of  experiments  that  were 
made  to  determine  the  practicability  of  using  Tschirsch's  method 
of  separating  and  purifying  aloin. 
Acetic  Acid  Fluid  Extracts. 
By  A.  R.  L.  Dohme. 
The  author  believes  that  alcohol  is,  in  the  majority  of  conditions, 
a  most  important  and  desirable  addition  to  medicinal  fluid  extracts. 
The  author  also  reports  on  a  number  of  disadvantages  that  have 
developed  to  the  systematic  use  of  acetic  acid  in  the  making  of  fluid 
extracts ;  among  others  he  cites  the  destruction  of  several  of  the 
active  principles  of  crude  drugs. 
