616  Minutes  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting.  {^^^T" 
exclusively  fine  tin  for  covering  copper  vessels  which  are  intended  for  cookery.  It 
has  been  proved,  by  recent  analyses  made  at  the  instance  of  the  Council  of  Hygiene 
of  the  Seine,  that  this  order  is  systematically  disregarded.  It  has  been  found  that 
specimens  of  the  metal  employed  in  tinning  such  vessels  contained  relatively  large 
quantities  of  lead,  which  is  liable  to  be  dissolved,  and  thus  exercise  poisonous  effects. 
The  police  have  been  ordered  to  make  inspections  of  the  tin  factories  in  future,  in 
order  to  check  this  practice. — Ibid. 
MINUTES  OF  THE  PHARMACEUTICAL  MEETING, 
Philadelphia,  Nov.  19,  1877. 
The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  Vice  President  Chas.  Bullock ;  the  minutes  of 
the  last  meeting  were  read  and  approved. 
Prof.  Maisch  presented  an  engraved  likeness  of  Dr.  Hermann  Hager,  on  behalf  of 
Dr.  Fred.  Hoffmann,  of  New  York,  who  had  on  a  previous  occasion  presented  to 
our  college  quite  a  number  of  other  pictures  of  the  distinguished  chemists  and 
scientists  of  Europe.  On  motion  of  Mr.  Shinn,  the  Registrar  was  directed  to  return 
the  thanks  of  the  meeting  for  the  same. 
Mr.  Mattison  called  attention  to  some  specimens  of  malt  extract,  showing  the 
effects  produced  by  long  continued  heat  with  atmospheric  contact,  in  contrast  with 
those  obtained  by  evaporation  by  means  of  a  vacuum  pan.  In  the  former  case  the 
heat  attained  was  about  220  to  225°F.,  and  the  extract  was  of  a  dark-brown  color, 
transparent,  very  sweet,  and  evidently  contained  much  sugar  3  in  the  other  case, 
the  temperature  never  rose  above  i3o°F.,  and  the  extract  obtained  was  light-brown, 
somewhat  opalescent,  less  sweet,  and  contained  nearly  all  the  dextrin  unaltered. 
Prof.  Maisch  said  that  dextrin  was  easily  altered  by  heat,  which  accounted  for  the 
different  appearance  of  the  two  extracts  3  but  from  this  it  did  not  follow  that  the 
officinal  extracts,  made  by  the  pharmacist  by  the  aid  of  judiciously  applied  heat, 
must  necessarily  be  impaired  by  this  treatment  and  inferior  to  those  made  in  vacuo  5 
while  the  color  did  change  from  the  alteration  of  the  extractive,  the  virtues  of  the 
extracts  were  still  retained. 
Mr.  Shinn  stated  that  with  proper  and  efficient  refrigeration  the  evaporation  of 
tinctures  in  the  pharmaceutic  still,  introduced  to  the  notice  of  pharmacists  some  25 
years  since,  proceeded  much  faster  than  in  the  open  air  with  constant  stirring  of  the 
liquid. 
Prof.  Maisch  presented  specimen  of  the  Anacahuite  wood  obtained  from  Cordia 
Boissieri,  and  recommended  in  i860  as  a  remedy  for  consumption  ;  numerous  trials 
made  with  it  about  that  time  in  the  hospitals  of  several  European  cities  proved  it  to 
be  of  no  remedial  value ;  chemical  investigation,  likewise,  yielded  nothing  of  impor- 
tance. 
Prof.  Maisch  showed  the  white  incrustation  of  the  branches  of  a  shrub  sent  by 
Mr.  Wm.  B.  Addington  from  Hot  Springs,  Arkansas}  the  incrustation  obtained  by 
immersion  in  the  spring  waters  consisted  principally  of  carbonate  of  calcium,  with 
