534  British  Pharmaceutical  Conference,       { ^'"ocT'^iss?'^'"' 
suggest  that  this  field  of  investigation  will  prove  not  only  interesting  but 
important  to  the  physiologist,  though  evidently  the  value  of  such  ex^^eri- 
ments  will  be  increased  in  proportion  as  the  conditions  under  which  they 
are  performed  resemble  those  which  occur  in  the  human  economy.  It  was- 
pointed  out  in  the  discussion  which  followed  that  those  conditions  are 
very  difficult  to  imitate,  especially  such  of  them  as  obtain  in  cases  of  dis- 
ease, and  it  was  objected  by  Mr.  Plowman  that  the  temperature  at  which 
the  experiments  were  conducted  (50°C.)  exceeded  that  of  the  human  body. 
Some  little  amusement  was  caused  by  the  prohibition  by  the  President  of 
any  reference  to  such  a  subject  as  "  vital  force  "  and  by  the  difficulty  some- 
of  the  speakers  experienced  in  their  attempts  to  avoid  the  veto. 
Mr.  E.  M.  Holmes  commenced  his  "  Remarks  on  the  Root  of  Aconitum 
Na2oellus  and  Allied  Species  "  by  pointing  out  that  although  aconite  has 
long  been  in  use  in  medicine,  and  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  power- 
ful of  medicinal  agents,  its  internal  administration  in  this  country  is  not  so 
great  as  might  have  been  exj^ected.  This  he  considers  to  be  possibly  due 
to  variation  in  the  strength  of  official  preparations,  and  without  attribut- 
ing this  variability  altogether  to  the  non-recognition  in  the  Pharmacopoeia 
of  well-known  facts  he  says  that  it  appears  certain  that  the  requirements 
of  the  Pharmacopoeia  might  be  complied  with  and  yet  prejoarations  of  very 
variable  strength  be  the  result.  He  points  out  that  the  figure  of  the  root 
referred  to  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  is  totally  inadequate  to  distinguish  the 
root  of  Aconitum  Napellus  from  that  of  other  less  poisonous  species,  and 
that  the  roots  imported  from  Germany  are  collected  by  peasants  not  pos- 
sessed of  any  botanical  knowledge  and  sold  without  any  guarantee  as  to 
the  time  of  their  collection.  The  difficulty  is  increased  by  the  fact  that  the 
numerous  aconites  are  closely  allied,  the  varieties  running  one  into  another, 
whilst  a  complete  series  of  the  members  of  the  genus  is  hardly  to  be  found 
for  reference  in  any  botanical  garden  or  museum.  He,  therefore,  consid- 
ered it  worthy  of  inquiry  v/hether  the  aconites  available  for  pharmaceuti- 
cal preparations  might  not  be  characterized  for  practical  purposes  by  the 
efTects  produced  by  them  when  chewed.  He  found  that  the  roots  of  sev- 
eral species  did  not  cause  a  tingling  sensation  upon  the  tongue,  including 
some  plants  which  presented  the  specific  cliaracters  oi  Aconitum  Napellus^ 
though  easily  distinguishable  from  it  by  habit.  But  all  the  aconites  in 
which  this  variation  occurred  were  observed  to  flower  later  than  the  typi- 
cal Aconitum  Napellus.  He  expresses  the  opinion,  therefore,  that  the  only 
way  to  secure  aconite  of  good  and  uniform  quality  is  to  limit  the  official 
drug  to  home-grown  aconite,  flowering  in  May  and  June  and  gathered 
while  the  plant  is  in  flower.  He  remarks,  in  conclusion,  that  aconite  is 
very  easy  to  cultivate  and  that,  considering  the  small  quantity  used,  there 
is  no  reason  why  any  chemist  who  has  a  small  piece  of  garden  should  not 
grow  his  own  aconite  root.  Contrary  to  what  might  have  been  expected 
after  the  reading  of  so  practical  a  paper,  no  discussion  followed,  and  it  may 
be  remarked  that  the  comments  made  uj)on  the  papers  read  at  this  meet- 
ing, as  a  whole,  were  far  fewer  than  in  previous  years. 
"  Amnioniated  Extract  of  Ergot  and  a  Process  for  its  Preparation  "  was 
the  title  of  the  next  paper  read,  which  was  contributed  by  Mr.  A.  W.  Ger- 
