194 
Pharmaceutical  Meeting. 
Am.  Jour.  Phariru 
April,  1900. 
macy  and  therapeutics.  The  disposition  of  the  publishers  to  con- 
sider that  pharmacy  is  developing  into  an  independent  science  is 
well  borne  out  by  the  facts  presented.  The  work  will  be  distributed 
free  of  charge  to  those  who  desire  it. 
MINUTES  OF  THE  PHARMACEUTICAL  MEETING. 
The  stated  pharmaceutical  meeting  was  held  Tuesday,  March  20th,  with 
James  T.  Shinn  in  the  chair. 
The  minutes  of  the  preceding  meeting  were  allowed  to  stand  as  published. 
Considering  the  variety  and  importance  of  the  subjects  presented,  as  well  as 
attendance,  the  meeting  was  one  of  the  most  successful  of  the  present  series. 
Mr.  F.  B.  Kilmer,  of  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  was  the  first  speaker,  and  made 
a  most  interesting  address  on  the  subject  "  In  Lands  where  Drugs  Grow,"  which 
was  illustrated  with  lantern  views  (see  page  155). 
Those  taking  part  in  the  discussion  of  the  address  were  the  Chairman,  Prof. 
C.  B.  Lowe  and  Messrs.  J.  W.  England  and  E.  M.  Boring.  Replying  to  a 
question  by  Mr.  England  in  regard  to  the  cultivation  of  medicinal  plants  in 
the  United  States,  Mr.  Kilmer  said  that  at  the  present  time  it  could  not  be 
looked  upon  as  a  success,  that  is,  from  the  point  of  view  of  an  American.  But, 
looked  at  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  English  or  Germans,  the  question  is 
somewhat  different,  for  with  them  $5,000  is  almost  equivalent  to  $25,000  with 
us.  He  pointed  out  that  much  of  the  labor  which  is  done  abroad  in  the  culti- 
vation of  drugs  by  hand  could  probably  be  done  here  with  machinery.  He 
said  that  many  of  the  drugs  growing  in  Europe  can  be  cultivated  here,  and 
remarked,  in  this  connection,  that  the  question  is  one  which  colleges  of  phar- 
macy and  agricultural  experiment  stations  should  take  up.  As  to  the  relative 
therapeutic  value  of  the  green  and  dried  drugs,  Mr.  Kilmer  said  that  this  was 
a  question  which  had  not  been  sufficiently  investigated  to  enable  him  to  answer 
it,  although  he  believed  there  was  a  marked  difference. 
In  regard  to  the  effects  of  the  plants  on  the  drug  gatherers,  Mr.  Kilmer  said 
that  the  subject  was  rather  a  curious  one  ;  either  those  who  handle  the  drugs 
become  immune  in  a  way,  or  else  the  active  principles  require  some  time  to 
develop. 
A  paper  by  Prof.  Wilbur  L.  Scoville,  of  the  Massachusetts  College  of  Phar- 
macy, on  "Effervescing  Citrate  of  Magnesium,"  was  read  in  behalf  of  the  author 
by  Prof.  F.  G.  Ryan  (see  page  175).  In  commenting  on  the  subject  of  the  paper, 
Professor  Ryan  said  that  no  manufacturer  would  attempt  to  use  the  official 
process  on  account  of  its  expensiveness  and  tediousness.  He  said  that  the 
process  now  used  by  manufacturers  is  to  heat  the  component  materials  in  a 
jacketed  kettle  until  soft  and  then  to  use  a  paddle  for  granulating  the  mass. 
A  paper  containing  much  useful  information,  and  having  the  title  "Micro- 
scopic Study  of  Urine,  Sputum  and  Blood  by  Pharmacists,"  was  read  by  Dr. 
L,.  Napoleon  Boston  (see  page  170). 
Professor  Kraemer  remarked  that  there  are  very  few  stains  available  which 
yielded  uniform  results  in  the  hands  of  a  large  number  of  different  investiga- 
tors.   As  the  result  of  a  discussion  among  several  plant  cytologists  recently. 
