158  Minutes  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting.  {AmMJa°i"h.^"m- 
the  Year  Book  of  Pharmacy  for  1886,  and  the  Calendar  of  the  Pharmaceutical 
Society  of  Great  Britain  for  1887.  This  last  work  contains  a  historic  sketch 
of  the  society,  its  charter,  the  pharmacy  act,  supplements  thereto,  by-laws, 
the  members  and  officers  of  the  council,  committees,  boards  of  examiners, 
lists  of  officers  from  its  formation,  professors  of  the  society,  list  of  mem- 
bers, associates,  registered  apprentices,  regulations  of  the  board  of  ex- 
aminers, the  privileges  of  the  society,  the  prizes,  scholarship,  lists  of  the 
prizemen  and  an  account  of  the  benevolent  fund. 
Mr.  C.  S.  Bondurant,  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  a  member  of  the  senior  class,  read 
a  paper  upon  Hydrangea  arborescens,  which  was  referred  to  the  committee 
of  publication.  Several  of  the  principles  obtained  in  the  investigation 
were  exhibited  and  a  test  illustration  was  made,  showing  the  peculiar  fiu- 
oresence  produced  by  an  alkali  (ammonia). 
Mr.  E.  S.  Beshore,  of  Pottstown,  Pa.,  also  a  member  of  the  senior  class, 
read  a  paper  upon  Chimaphila  umbellata.  This  also  was  referred  to  the  pub- 
lication committee.  The  results  of  the  reactions  described  in  this  paper 
were  exhibited  to  the  meeting. 
Mr.  F.  X.  Moerk  read  a  paper  upon  subiodide  of  bismuth,  in  which  he  de- 
tailed a  variety  of  processes  and  exhibited  the  results  of  them. 
Mr.  Rosengarten  stated  that  the  experiments  of  Mr.  Moerk  confirmed 
his  own  in  regard  to  the  impossibility  of  obtaining  the  pure  subiodide  by 
the  processes  recentty  published  ;  he-was  glad  to  have  had  the  opportunity 
of  hearing  the  paper.  The  paper  was  referred  to  the  committee  on  publi- 
cation. 
Prof.  Maisch  called  attention  to  the  kombe  poison,  from  Africa,  the  pro- 
duct of  a  species  of  Strophanthus,  noticed  in  American  Journal  of  Phar- 
macy, 1886,  p.  405,  and  exhibited  specimens  obtained  from  Messrs.  Bur- 
roughs, Wellcome  &  Co.,  of  London,  and  more  recently  from  Prof.  J.  U. 
Lloyd,  of  Cincinnati.  The  drug  consists  of  the  entire  fruit,  of  which  the 
pericarp  and  the  feathery  seedcrown  must  be  rejected  in  the  preparation 
of  the  tincture,  which  Prof.  Fraser  directs  to  be  prepared  from  the  seed, 
previously  deprived  of  the  fixed  oil.  The  active  principle  strophanthin  is 
found  chiefly  in  the  t-eeds,  and,  the  hairy  portion  contains  the  alkaloid  in- 
eine  which  has  an  entirely  different  physiological  action.  That  the  pods 
and  hairs  are  likewise  poisonous  has  been  shown  by  Mr.  Martindale,  in  a 
paper  recently  published  (See  Amer.  Jour.  Phar.,  1887,  p.  99). 
Prof.  Maisch  also  exhibited  a  specimen  of  asufetida  which  had  been  sent 
to  him  by  Messrs.  Roller  &  Shoemaker.  It  differs  in  appearance  from  the 
drug  as  usually  seen  in  our  market,  and  consists  almost  entirely  of  agglu- 
tinated tears,  the  fresh  fracture  being  milk-white,  but  the  entire  surface  of 
the  mass  becoming,  on  exposure,  of  a  bright  pink  color. 
The  actuary  exhibited  some  specimens  of  fruit  juices  sent  by  Messrs.  Hance 
Brother  &  White,  who  prepare  them  very  largely,  also  samples  of  the  syr- 
ups made  from  them;  they  were  of  their  usual  excellence.  The  exhibit 
caused  a  great  deal  of  interesting  conversation  about  the  methods  of  pre- 
paring and  preserving  such  juices.  It  was  stated  by  Prof.  Remington  that 
many  of  the  juices,  if  put  into  bottles  quite  hot  and  filled  to  the  cork,  then 
