^'"'(i7'^i882'™'}       British  Pharmaceutical  Conference.  535 
rard.  The  process  consists  in  macerating  10  parts  of  crushed  ergot  for  8 
or  10  hours,  with  frequent  stirring,  in  50  parts  of  cold  water  containing  ^ 
per  cent,  of  strong  solution  of  ammonia,  straining  through  flannel,  wash- 
ing the  ergot  from  time  to  time  with  more  ammoniacal  water  till 
exhausted,  evaporating  the  strained  liquor  to  five  parts  (any  scum  or  fat 
arising  to  the  surface  being  removed),  treating  the  cooled  extract  with  an 
equal  volume  of  aromatic  spirit  of  ammonia,  decanting  the  clear  portion 
after  subsidence,  Altering  the  remainder  through  felt  or  flannel  and  wash- 
ing the  residue  with  sufficient  spirit  to  bring  the  volume  of  the  extract  to 
10  parts.  One  part  of  the  extract,  which  thus  prepared  is  darker  in  color 
than  the  ordinary  form,  contains  the  soluble  matter  of  one  part  of  solid 
ergot ;  the  average  specific  gravity  is  1,000,  and  the  dose  is  the  same  as  that 
of  the  ordinary  liquid  extract.  The  advantages  claimed  for  the  preparation 
are  that  the  ammonia  not  only  by  its  solvent  power  insures  a  complete 
exhaustion  of  the  active  principles  of  the  drug,  but  by  its  presence  in  the 
medicine  induces  a  rapid  action  by  acting  as  a  nervous  stimulant.  In  the 
discussion  which  followed  it  was  suggested  that  the  ammonia  by  forming 
a  soap  took  up  a  portion  of  the  oil  present  in  ergot,  and  thus  facilitated  the 
permeation  and  consequent  exhaustion  of  the  drug.  The  official  formula 
found  several  defenders,  Mr.  Greenish  being  of  opinion  that  water  extracts 
all  the  active  principle  from  ergot  if  the  oil  be  previously  removed.  On 
the  other  hand.  Dr.  Quinlan  said  that  in  practice  he  had  found  ammonia 
in  a  preparation  of  ergot  to  be  useful  as  a  corrective. 
Mr.  Symons  then  read  a  paper  on  "  Tumefaction  as  an  Aid  to  the  Iden- 
tification of  the  Varieties  of  Maranta  Starch."  It  contained  the  results  of 
experiments  made  by  treating  different  starches  with  solutions  varying 
from  0*5  to  1*5  per  cent,  of  caustic  soda  and  also  by  submitting  them  to 
various  degrees  of  heat  until  tumefaction  took  jDlace.  He  found  that  when 
potato,  oat,  Natal,  tous-les-mois,  wheat,  Bermuda,  sago,  maize,  cassava,  St. 
Vincent  and  rice  starches  were  treated  with  caustic  soda  for  ten  minutes, 
they  required  for  their  complele  tumefaction  solutions  increasing  in 
strength  in  the  order  mentioned,  from  potato  with  a  0*8  sohition  to  rice 
which  required  a  1"3  solution.  When  tumefied  by  heat  and  arranged 
according  to  the  degree  of  temperature  required,  the  order  of  the  starches 
was  nearly  the  same,  with  the  exception  of  oat  and  cassava.  It  is  worthy 
of  remark  that  when  using  the  alkaline  method  of  tumefaction  the  order 
of  the  starches  bears  out  a  conjecture  recently  i^ut  forward  by  the  author, 
that  the  higher  the  temperature  at  which  a  starch  grows  the  higher  is  its 
point  of  tumefaction. 
The  next  paper  read  was  on  "  The  Purity  of  Commercial  Salts  of  Gold," 
by  Mr.  F.  W.  Branson.  It  gave  the  result  of  the  examination  of  some 
fifteen-grain  tubes  of  commercial  salt  of  gold,  eight  of  which  were  found 
to  be  correct  within  reasonable  limits,  whilst  four  showed  a  deficiency  of 
8  per  cent,  in  weight  or  5  per  cent,  in  metal.  The  latter,  althougli  obtained 
from  a  reputable  house,  bore  neither  trade  mark,  seller's  name  nor  guar- 
antee label. 
In  the  paper  next  read,  on  "  The  Iodides  of  Bismuth,"  by  Messrs.  F.  W. 
Fletcher  and  H.  P.  Cooper,  the  authors  described  a  new  compound  of  bis- 
