^'"or^s^sr'"  }       British  Pharmaceutical  Conference.  537 
that  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  of  Great  Britain  or  the  British  Pharma- 
ceutical Conference  ought  to  be  rejDresented  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  Commit- 
tee in  virtue  of  legal  enactment. 
"A  note  on  the  action  of  Glycerin  upon  some  Salts  of  Iron,"  by  Mr.  G.  F. 
Schacht,  described  the  results  of  some  experiments  arising  out  of  an  altera- 
tion observed  in  a  mixture  made  from  the  following  prescription  :  "  Tinct. 
ferri  perchloridi,  5iss  ;  glycerini,  3:vi ;  aquse,  ad  ^vi."  The  mixture,  when 
first  prepared,  was  of  a  pale  sherry  color  and  possessed  an  astringent  metal- 
lic taste  ;  but  the  color  afterwards  nearly  disappeared  and  the  taste  became 
sweet  and  metallic,  but  not  astringent.  The  change  was  due  to  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  iron  from  the  ferric  to  the  ferrous  condition,  and  experiments 
showed  that  this  reduction  takes  place  in  the  presence  of  ethyl  alcohol, 
glycerin,  and  probably  some  other  alcohols.  Conversely,  glycerin  appears 
to  retard  though  not  absolutely  to  prevent  the  oxidation  of  the  proto-salts. 
The  President  said  that  this  action  of  alcohol  upon  a  per-salt  of  iron  had 
been  long  known,  an  ethereal  spirit  of  chloride  of  iron  prepared  in  this  way 
having  been  formerly  otiicial  in  a  continental  Pharmacopoeia. 
In  a  "  Note  on  a  Reaction  of  Glycerin  and  Polyhydric  Alcohols  "  Mr.  W. 
E.  Dunstan  recorded  the  observation  that  the  acid  solution  obtained  by  the 
addition  of  gl^'cerin  to  an  aqueous  solution  of  sodium  biborate  becomes 
alkaline  when  lieated.  -  The  reaction  is  also  given  by  many  other  polyhy- 
dric alcohols  and  by  certain  sugars. 
The  interest  excited  by  the  introduction  of  Professor  Barff's  "  Boro-glyce- 
ride  "  has  induced  Mr.  D.  Hooj^er  to  make  some  experiments  upon  the 
"  Solubility  of  Boric  Acid  in  Glycerin."  He  finds  that  at  zero  100  parts  of 
glycerin  dissolve  20 parts  of  boric  acid,  that  at  100°C.  the  quantity  dissolved 
is  increased  to  72  parts,  and  that  between  these  two  temperatures  the  solu- 
bility is  represented  by  an  almos-t  straight  line. 
Mr.  B.  S.  Proctor  having  been  somewhat  skeptical  as  to  the  cause  of  the 
non-appearance  of  the  results  of  oxidation  in  a  commercial  sample  of  liquor 
of  iodide  of  iron,  was  induced  to  examine  it,  and  the  results  furnished  the 
subject  of  the  next  paper  read.  He  proved  the  presence  of  phosphoric  acid 
by  its  separation  as  ferric  phosphate  and  that  of  oxalic  acid  by  its  separa- 
tion as  ferrous  oxalate.  The  liquor  also  did  not  contain  the  quantity  of 
iodide  of  iron  required  to  make  a  syrup  of  full  strength,  when  used  accord- 
ing to  the  directions  accompanying  it.  At  the  conclusion  of  his  paper  Mr. 
Proctor  somewhat  cynically  suggested  that  if  any  pharmacist  feels  impelled 
to  any  other  expedient  than  that  of  keeping  his  solution  in  contact  with 
an  iron  wire  he  had  better  at  least  know  what  he  is  doing,  and  add  the 
adulterations  himself  rather  than  buy  the  liquor  ready  adulterated,  not 
knowing  what  it  contains.  Mr.  Fletcher  expressed  a  doubt  whether  any 
manufacturer  who  had  a  reputation  to  lose  would  add  such  a  substance  as 
oxalic  acid,  and,  referring  to  the  acidity  of  the  liquor  which  had  been 
mentioned  by  Mr.  Proctor,  said  that  it  might  be  due  to  free  hydriodic  acid 
which  is  always  formed.  The  usual  pro  and  con.  statements  with  respect 
to  the  permanence  of  syrup  of  iodide  of  iron  and  the  effect  produced  by 
iron  wire  or  light  were  made  by  difTerent  speakers,  and  Professor  Ticliborne 
expressed  an  opinion  that  a  frequent  cause  of  failure  was  that  the  heat  was 
