38 
Minutes  of  the  College. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Jan.,  1877. 
tive  manner,  it  being  a  matter  of  astonishment  to  find  a  specific  gravity  instrument 
in  any  place.  The  author  is  of  opinion  that  with  a  more  rational  method  of  work- 
ing, a  whiter  and  finer  quality  sugar  could  be  ^voductd.4-Pharm.  Journ.  and  Trans., 
Nov.  nth,  1876. 
Ipecacuanha  and  Vanilla  Cultivation  in  India  The  following  notes  on  the 
cultivation  of  vanilla  and  ipecacuanha  in  India  we  gather  from  Dr.  King's  recently 
received  report  on  the  Calcutta  Botanic  Gardens.  With  reference  to  the  former, 
Dr.  King  says  :  "  Some  very  sanguine  forecasts  having  been  made  of  the  future  of 
vanilla  cultivation  in  Bengal,  a  number  of  plants  were,  two  years  ago,  put  out  in  the 
Calcutta  Garden  under  sheds  similar  to  those  in  which  the  pepper  vine  is  grown. 
The  growth  of  these  plants  has  not  been  satisfactory,  probably  from  over-shading  5 
many  have,  therefore,  been  recently  put  under  the  shade  of  mango-trees.  The  finest 
old  vanilla  plants  in  the  Garden  grow  against  a  north  wall.  One  of  these  was  this 
year  laden  with  pods,  but  an  unusually  high  temperature  for  a  day  or  two  caused 
them  to  drop  prematurely.  Recent,  as  well  as  former  experience,  leads  me  to 
think  that  vanilla  will  never  become  a  staple  product  in  Bengal. "  With  regard  to 
ipecacuanha,  quantities  of  plants,  it  seems,  "  have  been  sent  to  Ceylon,  to  the  Neil- 
gherries  (for  trial  at  Barliar,  a  garden  in  a  hot,  low  valley  below  Coonoor)  and  to 
Burmah.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  a  locality  may  soon  be  found  where  this  invaluable 
specific,  for  one  of  the  worst  of  tropical  diseases,  can  be  profitably  grown  as  a  crop. 
I  fear  it  cannot  be  thus  grown  so  far  north  as  Bengal.  The  secret  of  successful 
propagation  being  now  perfectly  understood,  any  number  of  plants  can  be  sent  out. 
During  the  year  I  supplied  a  quantity  of  the  drug  itself  (the  dried  root)  to  the 
Surgeon-General  for  trial  in  hospital  practice.  This  was  carefully  administered  in 
cases  of  dysentery  by  Dr.  Crombie,  late  officiating  physician  to  the  Medical  College 
Hospital,  and  was  pronounced  by  him  to  be  quite  as  efficient  as  the  best  South 
American  drug. — Pharm.  Journ.  and  Trans. ,  Nov.  25th,  1876. 
Almen's  Test  for  Blood — T.  Schiellerup  (Copenhagen)  calls  attention  to  the 
so-called  Almen's  test,  and  warns  against  its  use  as  being  too  delicate — one 
twenty-thousandth  part  of  a  milligram  of  iron  (as  chloride)  being  sufficient  to  pro- 
duce the  reaction.  The  test  is  as  follows:  A  few  cubic  centimetres  of  tincture  of 
guaiacum  and  an  equal  quantity  of  oil  of  turpentine  are  put  into  a  test-tube  and  a 
little  of  the  suspected  liquid  (urine,  etc.)  added,  when,  in  the  presence  of  blood,  an 
intense  blue  color  is  immediately  produced  ;  dried  stains  are  extracted  with  diluted 
acetic  acid  (Proceedings  Amer.  Phar.  Asso.,  1875,  P-  4^5)  If  one  considers  that 
iron  is  almost  universally  found,  and  that  the  reaction,  as  before  mentioned,  is  so 
extremely  delicate,  it  becomes  evident  that  this  test  is  a  dangerous  one  in  legal  cases. 
Mr.  S.  remarks  incidentally  that  this  test  •originated  some  fifteen  years  ago  with 
Prof.  Van  Deen,  Holland. — H.  M.  W.  from  Ny  Pharm.  Tidskrift,  1876,  p.  353. 
MINUTES  OF  THE  COLLEGE. 
Philadelphia,  Twelfth  mo.  25th,  1876. 
Pursuant  to  the  usual  notice,  the  following  members  of  the  Philadelphia  College 
of  Pharmacy  assembled  at  the  College  hall,  No.  145  N.  Tenth  street,  viz.  : 
Dillwyn  Parrish,  President,-  William  C.  Bakes  and  William  J.  Jenks. 
There  being  no  quorum  in  attendance,  it  was  agreed  to  adjourn  to  meet  to  mor- 
row, the  26th  inst.,  at  3.30  P.M. 
William  J.  Jenks,  Secretary. 
