MINUTES  OF  THE  COLLEGE. 
281 
The  vapors  of  the  boiling  constituents  do  not  pass  over  alone,  but  also 
*  the  vapors  of  the  less  volatile  substances  are  carried  over  with  them. 
Instead  of  heating  the  mixture  to  the  boiling  point,  it  is  more  advantageous 
to  heat  it  near  to  the  boiling  point.  A  slow  evaporation  then  takes  place, 
which  proceeds,  indeed,  rather  slowly,  but  by  adopting  suitable  precau- 
tions, the  lighter  volatile  constituents  of  a  mixture  are  to  be  obtained 
approximately  pure,  if  not  absolutely  free  from  all  admixture  of  the  other 
bodies.  To  guard  against  the  oxidation  of  substances  which  so  long  ex- 
posed to  the  air  at  elevated  temperatures,  have  opportunities  enough  to 
combine  with  the  oxygen,  the  distillatory  apparatus  as  well  as  the  receiver 
should  be  filled  with  carbonic  acid  gas  during  the  evaporation. 
A  special  meeting  of  the  College  was  held  on  the  5th  of  3d  month,  1861. 
Present  20  members.    The  President  in  the  Chair. 
In  explanation  of  the  object  of  the  meeting  an  extract  from  the  minutes 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees  was  read,  showing  that  in  view  of  the  recent 
chsftige  in  the  administration  of  the  Government  at  Washington,  the  Board 
have  prepared  a  memorial  to  be  addressed  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Trea- 
sury in  relation  to  the  appointment  of  Special  Examiner  of  Drugs  at  this 
port,  and  had  called  this  meeting  of  the  College  with  a  view  to  its  adop- 
tion. 
A  communication  was  also  read  covering  the  memorial  on  the  same 
subject,  addressed  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  by  the  several 
medical  and  pharmaceutical  organizations  of  New  York.  On  motion  the 
memorial  prepared  by  our  Board  of  Trustees  was  then  twice  read  and 
unanimously  adopted  as  follows  : 
To  the  Hon.  Salmon  P.  Chase,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  U.  S. 
The  memorial  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy,  an  institu- 
tion chartered  in  1822  by  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  for  promoting  a 
knowledge  of  the  science  and  art  of  Pharmacy,  and  for  directing  atten- 
tion to  the  quality  of  articles  brought  into  the  drug  market,  respectfully 
represents,  that  owing  to  the  ruinous  effect  upon  the  public  health  of  the 
importation  of  spurious,  adulterated  and  deteriorated  drugs  and  medicines, 
a  law  was  passed  by  Congress,  approved  on  the  26th  of  June,  1848,  pro- 
viding for  the  examination  of  all  articles  imported  for  use  in  medicine, 
during  their  transit  through  the  various  custom  houses,  with  a  view  to 
ascertain  their  purity  and  genuineness,  and  directing  that  when  unfit  for 
use  such  goods  should  be  destroyed  or  reshipped. 
This  law  has  had  a  salutary  effect  upon  the  quality  of  imported  drugs 
and  medicines,  notwithstanding  the  obvious  difiiculties  in  the  way  of  its 
proper  and  efficient  execution.  The  professional  requirements  of  the  office 
of  Special  Examiner  under  this  law  are  peculiar,  and  can  only  be  deter- 
mined upon  by  those  who  are  themselves  familiar  with  the  difficulties 
and  complexities  of  the  subject,  and  we  would  respectfully  urge,  that 
