AmjinUe?i9oofrm'}    American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  299 
action  but  are  different  in  quantitative  effect.  Some  of  the  general  rules  to  be 
observed  in  this  method  of  assay  were  given,  and  the  observation  made  that 
antitoxins  may  likewise  be  assayed  in  this  manner. 
PHYSIOLOGICAL  vs.  CHEMICAL,  AND  MICROSCOPICAL 
EXAMINATION  OF  DRUGS. 
BY  I/5TMAN  F.  Kebler. 
The  writer  reported  the  results  of  two  examinations,  which  appear  to  show 
conclusively  that  the  physiological  indications  ought  to  be  considered  in  the 
standardization  of  drugs. 
The  first  was  a  fluid  extract  of  castor-oil  leaves,  which  exhibited  symptoms 
of  belladonna  poisoning  when  administered  internally. 
On  examining  the  fluid  extract  chemically  it  was  also  found  that  an  alka- 
loid was  present.  This  alkaloid  when  removed  and  administered  in  the  usual 
way  produced  dilation  of  the  pupil. 
The  leaves  were  next  examined  physiologically,  chemically  and  microscopi- 
cally, with  the  result  that  chemically  it  was  impossible  to  identify  the  alka- 
loid ;  the  microscope  failed  to  reveal  the  presence  of  a  mydriatic  plant,  but 
physiologically  the  presence  of  a  solanaceous  plant  was  clearly  established. 
A  fluid  extract  of  castor-oil  leaves  was  then  purchased  in  the  open  market, 
and  it  was  found  that  it  neither  gave  a  reaction  for^lkaloids  nor  produced  dila- 
tion of  the  pupil. 
A  castor-oil  leaf  grown  by  the  author,  when  submitted  to  the  same  examina- 
tions, proved  conclusively  that  there  was  no  indication  of  a  mydriatic  effect. 
THE  ASSAY  OF  DRUGS  BY  THE  USE  OF  LIVING  PLANTS. 
By  Henry  Kraemer. 
An  abstract  of  this  paper  was  read  in  the  absence  of  the  author  by  Edward 
Kremers,  who  also  explained  the  theory  of  ionization  and  the  effect  of  the 
liberated  ions  upon  living  tissues.    The  paper  will  be  published  in  a  later  issue 
of  this  Journal. 
A  second  session  of  the  Section  was  held  Tuesday  evening.  The  first  order 
of  business  was  the  election  of  officers  for  the  ensuing  year.  The  result  was  as 
follows  :  Chairman,  Oscar  Oldberg,  Chicago  ;  Secretary,  Lyman  F.  Kebler, 
Philadelphia  ;  W.  A.  Puckner,  Chicago,  being  subsequently  chosen  as  associate 
member. 
The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Research  was  presented  by  the  Chairman, 
A.  B.  Lyons,  of  Detroit.  Standardization  was  considered  to  be  the  most  import- 
ant work  of  the  committee,  and  in  order  to  give  the  committee  the  standing 
that  it  ought  to  have  and  to  enable  it  to  carry ,on  detailed  investigations,  the  sug- 
gestion that  it  should  have  a  laboratory  of  its  own,  under  the  direction  of  a 
competent  man  able  to  devote  all  his  time  to  the  work,  was  again  stated. 
Meanwhile,  the  committee  desires  to  be  understood  as  utilizing  the  laboratory 
facilities  of  the  various  colleges  of  pharmacy,  and  to  formulate  a  plan  whereby 
it  may  co-operate  with  a  committee  of  the  American  Medical  Association  or 
the  recently  organized  Therapeutical  Society  for  the  more  thorough  investi- 
gation of  the  various  drugs  and  medicines — that  is  to  say,  for  their  chemical 
and  physiological  assay,  the  work  of  one  committee  thus  supplementing  that 
of  the  other. 
The  reading  of  papers  was  resumed  as  follows  : 
