Am'juiyr,'f887arm  }      Pharmaceutical  Colleges  and  Associations.  375 
two  layers;  the  addition  of  a  little  alcohol  will  materially  lessen,  but.  not 
entirely  prevent  the  separation.  Commercial  olive  oil  which  was  formerly 
directed,  consists  now  mainly  of  cottonseed  oil  mixed  with  some  olive  oil, 
and,  therefore,  cannot  be  recommended  for  this  preparation.  A  creamy 
white  homogeneous  liniment,  which  does  not  change  in  several  weeks,  is 
obtained  by  using  ammonia  water,  30  parts,  and  lard  oil,  70  parts. 
Medicated  plasters  with  rubber,  by  Dr.  J.  J.  Edmondson. — The  addition  of 
solutions  of  caoutchouc  to  plaster  masses  does  not  improve  their  adhesive 
qualities.  A  good  stock  plaster  suitable  for  most  purposes  is  obtained  from 
Burgundy  pitch  and  olibanum,  of  each  1  part,  and  prepared  caoutchouc  2  parts. 
For  obtaining  the  latter  the  crude  rubber  of  the  market  is  steeped  in  hot 
water,  crushed  between  corrugated  rollers,  washed  with  water,  dried  and 
softened  by  pressing  it  between  smooth  rollers,  when  the  other  ingredients 
mentioned  may  be  incorporated  with  it,  which  operation  likewise-  requires 
the  use  of  heavy  machinery.  This  rubber  stock  is  regarded  as  superior  to 
lead  plaster  as  a  base,  and  may  be  mechanically  mixed,  by  means  of  iron 
rollers,  with  resins,  extracts,  etc.  The  spreading  of  these  plasters  is  likewise 
best  done  with  the  aid  of  rollers. 
Commercial  castile  soap,  by  Prof.  Remington. — Four  brands  of  white  and 
one  of  mottled  castile  soap  were  examined ;  no  insoluble  substances  worth 
noting  were  found,  the  latter  variety,  however,  containing  the*  largest  per- 
centage. The  moisture  varied  between  15*6  and  22"9  per  cent.,  the  average 
being  18'01  per  cent. 
Commercial  lupulin,  by  John  H.  Hahn. — The  amount  of  ash  found  in  eight 
samples  was  5*0,  6-0,  1412,  16-24,  19*34,  2217,  23*40  and  25*33  per  cent.  Two 
samples  only  come  within  the  pharmacopoeial  requirement  of  yielding  not 
over  8  per  cent,  of  ash,  the  impurity  in  the  other  samples  being  sand. 
Conium fruit  in  Italian  anise,  by  C.  L.  Lochman. — During  the  past  eight 
years  Italian  anise  was  repeatedly  sowed,  and  invariably  yielded,  in  part,  a 
crop  of  Conium  maculatum,  apparently  equivalent  to  between  two  and  five 
per  cent,  of  the  commercial  article. 
The  author  had  sent  some  of  the  conium  plants  thus  obtained,  which 
were  in  bloom,  with  the  fruit  partly  developed.  German  anise  had  never 
yielded  conium  plants  when  planted  by  the  author,  who  naturally  con- 
cluded that  all  Italian  anise  is  more  or  less  contaminated  with  conium 
fruit.  To  test  this  conclusion  Dr.  C.  B.  Lowe  procured  from  two  wholesale 
houses  samples  of  Italian  anise  in  stock,  and  from  both  small  quantities  of 
conium  could  be  picked  out  on  careful  examination. 
Peppermint  industry,  by  Dr.  W.  M.  Weills. — The  paper  gives  an  account 
of  the  cultivation  of  the  peppermint  plant  in  the  United  States  and  the  pro- 
duction of  the  volatile  oil  and  of  menthol. 
The  ladies  and  many  of  the  visiting  members  made  excursions  up  the 
Schuylkill  and  to  Fairmount  Park,  and  visited  the  Zoological  Garden,  Gi- 
rard  College,  the  German  Hospital,  and  other  public  institutions  and  build- 
ings. On  Wednesday  evening,  June  15,  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Phar- 
macy tendered  a  reception  to  the  visitors,  the  entire  building  being  opened 
for  their  inspection  ;  in  one  of  the  rooms  a  microscopic  exhibition  had  been 
