$o6         Pharmaceutical  Colleges  and  Associations.  { Am0Jc°tu,ri8P^rm' 
■cussion  that  followed  Professor  Attfield  stated  that  he  had  always  understood  that 
no  such  indication  was  intended  by  the  compilers  of  the  Pharmacopoeia. 
Nitrite  of  Amyl  was  the  subject  of  the  next  paper,  sent  by  Mr.  Dott,  which  is 
printed  on  page  499. 
Some  Fragmentary  Notes  on  Opium,  by  Mr.  B.  S  Proctor,  followed,  in  which  were 
discussed  the  variations  in  morphia  strength  of  opium  and  some  of  its  preparations, 
and  the  importance  of  using  in  pharmacy  an  opium  of  standard  strength. 
In  calling  attention  to  a  Soluble  Essence  of  Ginger,  Mr.  J.  C.  Thresh  touched  upon 
a  theme  of  considerable  interest  to  the  audience.  This  and  Mr.  Proctor's  paper  on 
the  same  subject,  together  with  the  discussion,  is  published  on  page  494,  etc. 
In  a  second  paper,  Mr.  D.  B.  Dott  announced  that  he  had  succeeded  in  preparing 
a  crystalline  Hydrochlorate  of  Beberia,  from  the  examination  of  which  he  hopes  to 
be  able  to  clear  up  the  doubt  existing  as  to  the  composition  of  the  base. 
The  Tritration  of  Hydrocyanic  Acid  and  Cyanides  and  its  relation  to  alkalimentry, 
was  the  title  of  the  next  paper  read,  which  was  by  Mr.  L.  Siebold.  The  author 
points  out  that  in  using  Liebig's  process  for  determining  the  strength  of  hydrocyanic 
acid  it  is  better  to  use  an  excess  of  alkali  than  a  deficiency,  but  that  if  exact  results  are 
desired  they  may  be  attained  by  using  an  excess  and  adding  standard  normal  sul- 
phuric or  hydrochloric  acid  to  the  mixture  at  the  close  of  the  titration,  until  the 
flight  opalescence  produced  by  the  silver  nitrate  begins  to  increase,  which  will  not 
occur  until  the  excess  of  alkali  has  been  neutralized.  For  every  cubic  centimeter  of 
-sulphuric  acid  required,  o'oi  cc.  must  be  deducted  from  the  volume  of  the  silver 
solution  used,  and  the  rest  calculated  as  hydrocyanic  acid.  A  modification  of  the 
process  was  also  described  for  analyzing  mixtures  of  potassium  or  sodium  cyanide 
and  free  hydrocyanic  acid,  as  well  as  its  applicability  to  alkalimetric  operations. 
In  the  discussion  that  followed  the  reading  of  this  paper,  Mr.  Williams  made  an 
interesting  addendum  to  his  paper,  read  at  a  former  meeting  of  the  Conference,  on 
the  power  of  glycerin  to  prevent  the  diffusion  of  hydrocyanic  acid.  He  stated  that 
a  solution,  made  three  years  ago,  containing  37^  per  cent,  of  hydrocyanic  acid,  37! 
per  cent,  of  glycerin  and  25  per  cent,  of  water,  had  been  found,  on  testing  it  a  week 
a^o,  still  to  contain  about  37  per  cent,  of  the  acid. 
The  importance  of  the  pharmacist  acquiring  a  Knowledge  of  Vegetable  Histology 
was  then  advocated  by  Mr.  T.  Greenish,  and  its  value  was  demonstrated  by  refer- 
ence to  enlarged  drawings  of  sections  of  a  sample  supplied  as  senega  root,  which, 
irom  its  general  appearance  and  the  inferior  decoction  it  yielded,  was  suspected  not 
to  be  genuine.  A  histological  examination,  however,  proved  it  to  be  a  true  root  of 
Polygala  Senega,  although  immature,  and  that  its  inferior  pungency  was  coincident 
with  a  deficiency  in  the  cortical  layer  which  Schneider  has  shown  to  be  the  seat  of 
the  active  principle. 
Mr.  T.  B.  Groves  then  described  a  Miscible  Copaiba  that  he  had  obtained  by 
treating  Maranham  balsam  with  a  saturated  solution  of  potassium  carbonate.  It 
resembled  ordinary  copaiba  in  appearance  and  consistence,  but  was  alkaline,  and 
when  shaken  with  water,  instead  of  floating  on  the  surface  it  readily  formed  a  white 
emulsion,  more  or  less  stable  according  to  the  degree  of  dilution. 
Baycuru,  the  title  of  a  paper  by  Dr.  Symes,  is  the  name  of  a  Brazilian  drug,  yielded 
by  the  Statice  Brasiliensis,  which  the  author  thinks  is  worthy  of  trial  in  this  country. 
