382  Pharmaceutical  Colleges  and  Associations.  |  ^"ji^y^'iS'a'^ 
der ;  or,  preferably,  they  .should  be  i^elatin  coated.    For  this  i)urpose  R. 
Diiuock's  mixture  ("Am.  Jour.  Phar.,"  1879,  p.  435),  somewhat  modified, 
maybe  used:  Coxe's  gelatin  5  i,  acetic  acid  f^xx,  spirit  of  nitrous  ether 
f^xii,  and  oil  of  gaultheria  i^x.    A  mixture  which  dries  more  rapidly,  and 
is  to  be  used  while  hot,  is  made  of  gelatin  ^i,  sugar  ^ss,  and  water  f^ii. 
A  paper  by  G.  W,  Kennedy  gave  the  results  of  the  analysis  of  ten  sam- 
ples of  cream  of  tartar  as  sold  by  grocers.  Only  one  sample  was  found  ta 
be  unadulterated,  but  it  contained  about  14  per  cent,  of  calcium  tartrate. 
The  remaining  samples  contained  from  24  to  90  pev  cent,  of  adulterations, 
consisting  of  starch,  chalk,  gypsum,  alum  and  terra  alba,  the  latter  being 
present  in  one  sample  to  the  extent  of  GO^per  cent. 
Dr.  L.  Wolff  read  a  lydiier  on  pumpkin  seed.  He  found  the  oil  of  the 
seed,  extracted  by  petroleum  benzin,  to  be  destitute  of  tsenifuge  proiDerties, 
to  have  a  neutral  reaction,  to  be  insoluble  in  alcohol,  and  to  consist  of  gly- 
cerides  of  oleic,  palmitic  and  myristic  acids  ;  but  the  oil  extracted  by  ether 
or  chloroform  acted  as  a  tienifuge.  The  active  principle  is  a  resin,  as  has 
been  i)reviously  i)oiiited  out  by  Haeckel,  and  may  be  obtained  by  exhaust- 
ing the  seeds,  previously  deprived  of  oil  by  petroleum  benzin,  with  alcohol, 
etlier  or  chloroform ;  it  is  greenish-brown,  soft,  has  an  acrid  and  bitter 
taste,  and  may  be  given  as  a  t^enifuge  in  doses  of  15  grains  in  pill  form.  One 
or  two  fluidounces  of  the  alcoholic  fluid  extract,  given  in  the  morning  in 
broken  doses  and  largely  diluted,  proved  likewise  efficient.  The  medicine 
should  be  followed  in  a  few  hours  by  a  dose  of  castor  oil,  or  by  an  emulsion 
prepared  from  one  ounce  of  the  seed.  The  electuary  made  by  beating  the 
decorticated  seed  into  a  pulp  with  sugar  was  found  to  be  unreliable. 
Resin  of  podophyllmn  was  the  subject  of  a  paper  by  C.  C.  Klump,  who 
found  the  resin  prepared  by  the  process  of  the  pharmacopoeia  to  be  soluble 
in  ether  (specific  gravity  not  given),  with  the  exception  of  less  than  one 
per  cent.,  which  was  partly  soluble  in  alcohol.  If  prepared  with  the  aid  of 
alum,  ether  left  an  insoluble  residue  of  over  20  per  cent.,  and  a  nearly  like 
amount  was  left  by  another  sample;  the  insoluble  portion  did  not  act  as 
a  purgative  in  doses  of  two  grains.  The  pharmacopoeia  process  isl'egarded 
to  be  unexceptional)le. 
The  valuable  papers  on  Pharmaceutical  education^  by  W.  B.  Thompson, 
and  on  Beaurne's  hydrometer^  by  Gust.  Pile,  explaining  the  manner  of 
constructing  the  instrument  and  the  relation  of  the  degrees  to  specific 
gravity,  are  not  adapted  for  epitomizing. 
A  paper  by  Professor  Maisch,  on  The  useful  American  myrtles^  is  pub- 
lished on  page  845. 
A  paper  on  Percolation,  by  W.  M.  Thomson,  described  the  apparatus  and 
process  noticed  by  R.  F.  Fairthorne,  on  page  286  of  our  May  number. 
The  fourth  session,  held  on  Wednesday  morning,  was  mainly  devoted  to» 
the  consideration  of  the  pharmacy  bill,  which  was  amended  and  referred 
back  to  the  committee,  with  the  instruction  to  endeavor  to  secure  its  pass- 
age at  the  next  session  of  the  legislature,  and  with  power  to  further  amend 
it  if  deemed  necessary. 
At  the  fifth  session,  held  Wednesday  evening,  several  of  the  above  papers 
were  read,  and  various  amendments  to  the  by-laws  adopted.  The  salaries 
of  the  secretary  and  treasurer  were  increased  to  $100.    The  Executive  Com- 
