558  Pharmaceutical  Meeting.  {A5ve£S 
upon  the  first  speaker  announced  on  the  program,  Mr.  Mahlon 
N.  Kline,  who  then  read  a  paper  on  "  The  Origin  and  History  of  the 
National  Wholesale  Druggists'  Association."  This  was  not  only 
an  interesting  communication  of  itself,  but  is  valuable  as  forming 
one  of  a  series  of  papers  having  to  do  with  the  history  and  develop, 
ment  of  various  pharmaceutical  organizations,  as  well  as'the  different 
departments  of  pharmacy.  This  paper  appears  in  this  number  of 
the  Journal. 
The  second  paper  was  entitled  "  Ointments,  with  a  Formulary  of 
the  Ointments  in  Use  at  the  German  Hospital  in  Philadelphia,"  and 
was  presented  by  Mr.  M.  I.  Wilbert,  apothecary  of  that  institution. 
The  paper,  which  appears  in  another  part  of  this  Journal,  gave  rise 
to  a  most  interesting  discussion.  Mr.  Frederick  T.  Gordon  said 
that,  wherever  a  drug  employed  in  an  ointment  was  to  be  absorbed, 
an  addition  of  water  favored  the  action,  and  that  the  rapidity  of 
absorption  seemed  to  increase  in  proportion  to  the  increase  in  incor- 
poration of  water.  He  said  that  cold  cream  was  an  ideal  ointment 
in  this  respect. 
Professor  Remington  stated  that  the  subject  of  ointments  when 
approached  from  a  pharmaceutical  point  of  -view  was  very  different 
from  that  of  the  dermatologist.  The  apothecary  is  apt  to  consider 
pharmaceutical  advantages,  as  appearance,  stability,  etc.,  and  that 
in  accomplishing  these  he  often  loses  sight  of  the  object  that  the 
physician  has  in  view.  He  cited  an  instance  where  a  child  suffer- 
ing from  wet  eczema  was  treated  with  a  glycerinated  zinc  ointment 
where  the  customary  ointment  was  intended,  and  suffered  greatly 
thereby.  He  thought  that  the  number  of  official  ointments  might 
be  reduced,  and  that  the  selection  of  base  should  be  left  to  the 
physician.  Mr.  Joseph  W.  England  thought  that  petrolatum  was 
an  efficient  base  in  an  ointment  when  its  action  was  upon  the  epi- 
dermis, but  that  when  systemic  effects  were  to  be  had  an 
addition  of  water  to  the  ointment  greatly  facilitated  its  absorption 
and  increased  the  action  of  the  medicament.  He  referred  to  a 
series  of  experiments  in  which  it  was  shown  that  salicylic  acid  in 
an  ointment  was  much  more  effective  when  cerate  or  lanolin  were 
employed  as  the  base. 
Mr.  F.  W.  E.  Stedem  said  that  there  was  no  trouble  in  securing 
good  lard  for  pharmaceutical  uses.  He  exhibited  a  specimen  which 
he  had  been  using  for  some  years,  and  which  he  said  could  be 
