Ara-FebU!'i?94arU1' }  Minutes  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting.  109 
MINUTES  OF  THE  PHARMACEUTICAL  MEETING, 
Philadelphia,  January  16,  1894. 
On  motion  of  Professor  Trimble,  Dr.  C.  B.  Lowe  was  called  to  the  chair. 
There  were  no  donations  to  the  library  ;  a  number  of  samples  of  sugar  of  milk, 
from  the  American  Lactose  Company,  whose  works  are  situated  at  Plainfield, 
N.  J.,  were  shown.  The  samples  are  numbered  from  one  to  eight,  evidently 
being  the  whey  in  different  stages  of  preparation  :  the  first  concentrations,  the 
first  purification  and  decolorization  ;  crystallization  to  the  finest  crystals  and 
powder.  Two  samples  of  trade  packages  in  tin  cans  were  also  among  the  exhibit. 
A  paper  upon  the  manufacture  by  Mr.  W.  B.  Thompson  appears  on  page  78,  of 
this  number. 
Dr.  H.  M.  Alexander,  of  Marietta,  Pa.,  read  a  most  instructive  and  interesting 
paper  upon  Vaccine  Virus,  and  the  methods  of  obtaining  it  from  the  animal  as 
now  practised  in  the  best  regulated  establishments  devoted  to  that  industry. 
It  is  too  late  to  discuss  the  question  of  the  propriety  of  vaccination  ;  that 
safeguard  has  become  too  well-established  and  acknowleged  among  educated 
professionals  and  laymen  to  admit  of  a  doubt.  The  objections  to  humanized 
virus  and  that  from  filthy  or  diseased  cattle  are  recognized  and  avoided  by  the 
precautions  adopted  by  the  systematic  and  carefully  arranged  vaccine  establish- 
ments. 
The  source  of  true  cow-pox  has  been  definitely  traced  to  Beaugency,  in 
France,  and  it  was  from  this  the  late  Dr.  Henry  A.  Martin  obtained  the  virus 
which  was  propagated  from  heifer  to  heifer  in  this  country  in  1870. 
At  first  a  great  deal  of  virus  was  obtained  from  cattle  utterly  unfit  for  such 
uses,  and  kept  in  stables  reeking  with  filth  ;  it  is  to  avoid  such  sources  of 
infection  proper  virus  farms  were  arranged,  and  every  caution  that  care  and 
good  judgment  could  suggest  have  been  taken  to  obtain  reliable  material  for 
vaccination. 
The  location  of  a  vaccine  farm  is  of  the  first  importance  as,  without  the 
advantages  of  fresh  air  and  perfect  cleanliness  this  can  hardly  be  hoped  for,  and 
then  only  in  open  country  where  every  sanitary  condition  is  easily  maintained. 
The  buildings  should  be  built  especially  for  the  purpose  and  light  and  ventila- 
tion must  be  carefully  attended  to,  and  an  abundance  of  pure  filtered  water 
must  be  had  at  all  times. 
The  selection  of  animals  is  of  great  importance,  young  heifers  between  one 
and  two  years  old  are  preferable,  and  rented  from  farmers  who  have  raised 
them  for  dairy  purposes  ;  this  enables  the  proprietor  of  a  vaccine  farm  to  trace 
the  strain  of  the  stock  and  learn  of  any^  defects  that  might  exist  in  the  animals. 
When  the  animals  are  found  to  be  suitable  subjects  they  are  stabled,  groomed 
carefully,  and  fed  on  bran  mashes,  until  fit  for  operating.  The  animals  are  then 
fastened  to  a  cushioned  table  and  turned  over  easily  in  a  position  in  which  they 
rest  comfortably,  and  the  inner  portion  of  the  flanks  back  and  above  the  udder 
are  shaven  and  then  innoculated  with  virus  taken  from  a  former  case.  After 
they  have  been  treated  they  are  kept  in  stalls  specially  arranged,  and  watched 
for  seven  days  and  nights.  When  the  operation  has  proven  successful  the 
crusts  are  removed  with  the  handle  of  a  scalpel,,  the  vesicles  cleansed  by 
sponging  and  all  impurities  removed. 
When  the  lymph  is  exuding,  the  points,  previously  sterilized,  are  secured  in 
