84  Minutes  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting,  {^3?;$%"*' 
the  same,  and  the  percentage  noted  on  the  cylinder  may  afterwards  be  read  off  with- 
out further  trouble.  The  standard  fluid  is  always  prepared  with  the  spirit  of  the 
same  strength  and  compared  with  the  same  strip  of  blue  glass.  The  nitrate  of  co- 
balt is  the  salt  found  most  convenient  for  this  purpose.  Colored  brandy  may  be 
tested  directly  ;  in  this  case  the  tint  is  not  blue,  however,  but  green.  Two  cylinders* 
are  therefore  necessary,  one  for  the  test  and  one  to  give  the  desiied  tint  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  blue  glass.  The  cobalt  solution  may  be  either  neutral  or  slightly  acid,, 
but  should  contain  as  little  water  as  possible. — Chemist  and  Druggist  [Lond.],  Dec* 
15,  1876,  from  Amer.  Chemist. 
MINUTES  OF  THE  PHARMACEUTICAL  MEETING. 
January  16th,  1877. 
The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  the  President,  Dillwyn  Parrish.  In  the 
absence  of  the  Registrar,  A.  W.  Miller  was  appointed  to  act  in  his  place. 
Prof.  Maisch  presented  the  24th  annual  volume  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Ameri- 
can Pharmaceutical  Association,  which  was  accepted  with  the  thanks  of  the  Collegc. 
Prof.  Remington  presented  on  behalf  of  Jos.  J.  Brown,  now  in  California,  some 
very  handsome  specimens  of  Eucalyptus  globulus,  having  fruits  and  flowers  attached 
to  them. 
A.  W.  Miller  read  a  paper  on  adulterations  (see  page  57),  giving  the  method 
by  which  the  so-called  Oregon  balsam  of  fir  had  been  manufactured,  a  specimen  of 
which  was  presented.  Prof.  Maisch  expressed  satisfaction  in  having  the  source  of 
this  article  cleared  up.  He  stated  that  his  previous  experiments  had  convinced  him 
that  it  was  a  fictitious  combination  of  rosin  and  turpentine,  but  that  he  had  not 
been  able  to  recognize  the  flavoring  ingredient.  Prof.  Maisch  remarked  that  years 
ago  itinerant  venders  had  sold  either  pure  salicin  or  mixture  of  salicin  and  quinia 
in  proportions  adjusted  to  the  price  realized,  in  various  sections  of  the  United  States, 
under  the  garb  of  pure  sulphate  of  quinia.  He  also  spoke  of  the  occasional  adultera- 
tion of  balsam  of  copaiba  with  castor  oil,  which  is  not  very  readily  recognized,  both 
being  soluble  in  alcohol.  Prof.  Wayne  had  suggested  the  use  of  petroleum  benzin, 
as  this  dissolves  copaiba  quite  readily,  but  castor  oil  very  sparingly.  This  test  is, 
however,  fallacious,  as  mixtures  of  equal  parts  of  castor  oil  and  copaiba  dissolve 
freely  in  benzin.  A  more  reliable  method  is  to  distil  off  the  essential  oil,  and  then 
to  examine  the  residue.  Pure  copaiba  makes  a  transparent  mixture  with  aqua 
ammonia?,  while  castor  oil  will  be  indicated  by  a  soapy  appearance.  The  paper 
was  then  referred  to  the  editor. 
Prof.  Maisch  read  a  lengthy  paper  on  the  use  of  the  metrical  system  in  prescrip- 
tions (see  page  49).  He  exhibited  copies  of  the  Greek  and  Mexican  pharmaco- 
poeias ;  of  the  new  appendix  to  the  "Swiss  Pharmacopoeia of  "Dorvault's 
TOfficine"  and  of  the  Pharmaceutical  journals  "  Revista  Pharmacia"  and  "La. 
Emulation,"  in  all  of  which  weights  are  employed,  as  indicated  in  the  paper. 
