o36 
Bi'itish  Fharinaceuiical  Conjerencc. 
Am.  Jonr.  Pharm. 
Oct.,  1882. 
mutb,  a  very  basic  yellow  iodide,  represented  by  tbe  formula  BiLj.^Bi.^O., 
or  3BiOI.4Bi203,  met  witli  whilst  testing  metallic  bismuth  for  lead 
The  last  paper  read  before  the  adjournment  for  luncheon  was  a  note  on 
"  Microscopic  Organisms  in  certain  Inorganic  Solutions,"  and  contained 
the  details  of  some  experiments  made  as  to  the  formation  of  a  green  vege- 
table growth  in  bottles  containing  solutions  of  sodium  phosphate,  magne- 
sium phosphate  and  calciuin  sulphate,  kept  in  the  laboratory  of  the  York- 
shire College  of  Science. 
The  Conference  reassembled  at  2-30  P.M.,  when  a  paper  by  Mr.  D.  B. 
Dott  on  "  The  Solubility  of  Morpliia  Salts"  was  read.  It  consisted  prin- 
cipally of  an  adverse  criticism  of  two  papers  on  a  similar  subject  hy  Prof. 
Power  and  Mr.  J.  U.  Lloyd,  and  incidentally  the  author  mentioned  that 
he  is  engaged  upon  the  compilation  of  a  table  of  the  solubility  of  morphia 
salts,  the  determinations  being  made  at  60°F.  In  discussing  this  paper 
Mr.  R.  H.  Parker  suggested  that  it  would  be  advantageous  to  establish 
standard  conditions  under  which  solubilities  should  be  taken,  since  the 
solubility  of  many  substances  is  much  atfected  by  varying  circumstances. 
Mr.  J.  Williams  said  that  he  looked  upon  solubility  as  being  closely  asso- 
ciated with  the  power  of  crystallization,  illustrating  his  remark  by  a  refer- 
ence to  the  compounds  of  caffeine  recently  described  by  M.  Tanret,  which 
he  does  not  consider  to  be  definite  chemical  compounds,  but  mixtures. 
Mr.  P.  W.  Squire  also  pointed  to  the  necessity  of  distinguishing  between 
the  point  of  solubility  and  the  crystallizing  jwint. 
In  some  "Notes  on  the  Pharmacy  of  Cinchona"  Mr.  R.  W.  Giles  called 
attention  to  the  unsatisfactory  results  that  have  followed  the  "fearful  deterio- 
ration of  Calisaya  l)ark,"  both  pharmacy  and  medical  practice  having  been 
prejudiced  through  the  consequent  substitution  of  quinine  for  pharmaceu- 
tical preimrations  of  the  bark.  He  recommends  that  all  pharmacists  should 
keep  in  stock  Indian  or  other  non-official  bark  of  sufficient  alkaloidal  value 
and  that  when  opportunity  offers  they  should  educate  the  medical  profes- 
sion to  the  use  of  it.  He  considers  that  the  standard  adopted  for  the 
cinchona  of  pharmacy  should  be  an  alkaloidal  and  not  a  quinine  standard, 
that  it  should  be  a  mean  and  not  an  extreme  one,  and  that  it  should  admit 
barks  from  all  sources.  Further,  he  described  a  process  for  the  determina- 
tion of  the  alkaloidal  value  of  cinchona  bark  which,  he  said,  though  simple 
and  easy  of  manipulation,  gives  results  near  enough  for  2:>harmaceutical 
purposes.  He  expressed  a  preference  for  a  fluid  extract  as  a  pharmaceu- 
tical preparation,  but  said  that  a  fluid  extract  of  cinchona  worthy  of  its 
name  was  still  a  desideratum.  In  tlie  discussion  of  tbis  i^aper,  Mr.  W elcome 
recommended  that  the  standard  of  a  j^harmaceutical  bark  should  be  fixed 
at  2  per  cent,  of  quinine  with  a  proper  proportion  of  the  other  cinchona 
alkaloids.  Mr.  Southall  spoke  favorably  of  the  decoction,  which  he  said 
was  largely  used  in  the  Birmingham  district,  and  Dr.  Symes  said  it  was 
also  a  favorite  jDreparation  in  Liverpool.  On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Ekin 
reminded  the  Conference  that  he  had  found  the  decoction  to  be  the  prepara- 
tion weakest  in  alkaloid.  The  discussion  afforded  Mr.  Hampson  the 
opportunity  of  saying  that  changes  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  would  be  best 
effected,  when  necessary,  under  the  advice  of  practical  pharmacists,  and 
