Am'octuy'if87arm*}     British  Pharmaceutical  Conference. 
525 
1.  ^Referring  to  the  unsuitability  of  nitrous  acid  for  medicinal  use  on  account 
of  its  instability  in  contact  with  water,  the  author  stated  that  he  has  found 
experimentally  that  watery  solution  of  nitrous  acid  of  the  strength  of  one 
in  one  thousand,  kept  in  a  stoppered  bottle  half  filled,  is  reduced  in  strength 
in  a  few  hours  to  one  in  three  thousand,  the  decomposition  being  into  nitric 
acid,  nitric,  oxide  and  water.  A  preparation  sold  as  "  acidum  nitrosum," 
and  sometimes  used  in  medicine,  was  pronounced  to  be  merely  a  solution 
of  a  variable  proportion  of  nitrous  acid  in  nitric  acid.  The  only  possible 
form  in  which,  in  the  author's  opinion,  moderately  pure  nitrous  acid  can  be 
conveniently  exhibited  as  a  medicine  is  as  an  aqueous  solution  not  stronger 
than  one  in  three  thousand,  with  a  little  glycerin  added  to  retard  decompo- 
sition. But  the  free  acid  presents  no  advantages  over  nitrite  salts,  which 
are  readily  decomposed  by  the  acid  of  the  gastric  juice,  whilst  the  nitrites 
of  sodium  and  potassium  are  readily  soluble  in  water  and  the  solutions  are 
perfectly  stable  if  kept  free  from  fungoid  growth  ;  the  sodium  salt  is,  how- 
ever, considered  the  more  suitable  for  therapeutic  use.  Nitrite  of  ethyl,  in- 
cidentally stated  to  be  the  earliest  known  nitrite,  was  next  considered,  es- 
pecially in  reference  to  the  questicn  whether  nitric  acid  free  or  combined, 
occurs  in  it.  This  was  answered  in  the  affirmative,  all  the  specimens  exam- 
ined having  contained  it,  as  well  as  old  samples  of  spirit  of  nitrous  ether 
from  which  all  nitrite  had  disappeared.  Nitrite  of  amyl,  when  recently 
prepared,  has  been  found  by  the  author  to  contain  usually  from  seventy-five 
to  eighty  per  cent,  of  the  actual  nitrite;  all  the  samples  examined  con- 
tained at  least  traces  of  nitrate,  and  some  old  ones  contained  considerable 
quantities.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  paper  some  points  in  connection  with 
nitroglycerin  were  discussed,  especially  its  qualitative  and  quantitative 
analysis.   This  concluded  the  business  of  the  third  sitting. 
Morphine  derivatives. — The  fourth  and  last  sitting  was  commenced  with  the 
reading  of  a  paper  on  the  Chemistry  and  Pharmacology  of  some  of  the 
Morphine  Derivatives,  by  Messrs.  Dott  and  Stockman,  which,  although  con- 
taining a  record  of  much  valuable  and  interesting  work,  hardly  lends  itself 
to  intelligible  condensation.  The  first  compound  dealt  with  was  methyl- 
morphine,  or  codeine,  and  it  was  stated  that  the  alkaloid  artificially  pre- 
pared from  morphine,  and  which  has  been  already  shown  to  correspond 
with  codeine  from  opium  in  chemical  and  physical  properties,  agrees  with 
it  also  in  physiological  action.  In  dimethylmorphine  the  chemical  change 
is  attended  by  a  complete  modification  of  the  symptoms  characteristic  of 
the  morphine  group.  Ethylmorphine  does  not  differ  essentially  in  physio- 
logical action  from  the  corresponding  methyl  base,  codeine;  but  the  intro- 
duction of  the  acetyl  group  slightly  increases  the  narcotic  and  tetanizing 
action. 
Pharmacy  of  logwood,  by  Mr.  Louis  Siebold.  The  object  of  this  note  was  to 
deal  with  the  questions:  What  is  the  best  logwood  for  use  in  pharmacy  ? 
What  is  the  nature  and  condition  in  which  this  wood  is  intended  by  the 
authors  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  to  be  employed?  Are  these  intentions  ful- 
filled in  practice  ?  In  reference  to  the  first  question  the  author  thought  that 
Campeachy  or  Honduras  was  much  more  suitable  for  use  than  the  inferior 
