AM;iehRi  Pi872M '}    Minutes  of  Pharmaceutical  Meetings,  133 
of  that  syrup,  and  in  doing  so  those  who  made  it  must  take  care  that  they  were 
not  imposed  upon  with  exhausted  balsam. 
Mr.  Mackay  said  that  he  would  refer  to  the  analogy  which  Prof.  Redwood 
had  stated  existed  between  tincture  of  cinnamon,  when  kept  for  a  considerable 
time,  and  the  remarkable  change  which  took  place  in  the  oil  of  bitter  almonds 
when  freed  from  prussic  acid  and  diluted  with  spirit.  Some  years  ago  a  quan- 
tity of,  essential  oil  of  bitter  almonds  was  accidentally  sent  out  in  small  bottles 
by  a  celebrated  house  in  England  and  distributed  throughout  the  length  and  : 
breadth  of  the  country  under  the  name  of  *'  essence  of  bitter  almonds,"  and  a 
portion  of  the  oil  so  labelled  came  into  his- neighborhood  and  fell  into  the  hands 
of-  an  inquisitive  servant  girl,  who  swallowed  fully  a  teaspoonful,  the  result 
being,  he  need  scarcely  add,  fatal.  The  public  mind  then  became  very  much 
alarmed  about  the  use  of  the  essence  Of  bitter  almonds  in  any  shape,  and  the 
consequence  was  that  a  great  many  persons  who  had  been  engaged  previously 
in  the  manufacture  of  essence  of  bitter  almonds,  determined  to  make  their 
preparation  free  from  prussic  acid.  He  was  amongst  the  number  who  deter- 
mined to  do  so,  and  distilled  very  large  quantities  of  the  oil  in  the  usual  way 
over  potash  and  lime,  in  which  process,  as  a  matter  of  course,  he  was  successful 
in  removing  the  prussic  acid  ;  but  the  effect  when  this  oil  was  diluted  with  spirit 
was  very  much  what  Prof.  Redwood  had  described  :  there  was  a  considerable 
quantity  of  benzoic  acid  formed,  more  especially  if  the  bottle  happened  to  be 
exposed  to  the  sunlight.  But  then  came  the  peculiarity  which  he  wished  to 
notice,  namely,  that  though  there  was  a  deposition  sufficiently  great  to  line  the 
interior  of  the  bottle  with  benzoic  acid,  there  was  not  an  absence  of  flavor. 
There  was  so  much  of  the  peculiar  flavor  of  bitter  almonds  left  that  the  com- 
pound was  used  freely  for  domestic  purposes,  and  in  the  only  cases  in  which 
parties  refused  to  use  it.  the  refusal  was  due  more  to  the  unsightly  appearance 
of  the  liquid  than  to  the  positive  absence  of  flavor. 
After  some  further  remarks  upon  the  preservative  influence  of  alcohol  upon 
organic  matters,  the  following  papers  were  read  and  discussed:  ''The  Mada- 
gascar Cartlamom  or  Longouze,"  by  Mr.  Daniel  H  anbury;  The  Separation  and 
Quantitative  Determination  of  the  Different  Cinchona  Alkaloids "  and  "  Si- 
madera  Indica,"  by  Dr.  J.  E.  De  Vrij.  The  bark  of  this  tree,  and  particularly 
the  kernel  of  the  fruit,  contain  a  crystallizable  bitter  principle,  samaderin,  dig;,' 
covered  in  1857  by  Van  Tonningen,  which  gives,  with  concentrated  sulphuric 
acid,  a  beautiful  red  viojet  color. 
Pinuta  of  tljc  fljaraacctttitai  gleCings. 
A  pharmaceutical  meeting  was  held  on  the  afternoon  of  February  20th,  187*2, 
Dr.  Pile  prerided  and  William  Mclntyre,  in  the  absence  of  the  Registrar,  was 
appointed  Registrar  pro  tern.  The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  were  read  and 
approved.  . 
Professor  Rogers,  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  at  Philadelphia,  was 
introduced  to  the  meeting. 
A  copy  of  the  latest  edition  of  the  Danish  Pharmacopoeia;  published  in  1869, 
in  the  .Latin  language,,  was  presented  from  Mr.  H.  M.  Wilder. 
Professor  Parrish  exhibited  annatto  seed  from  Para,  which  are  said  to  be  ; 
used  for  obtaining  a  finer  tint  of  color  than  that  which  is  produced  by  annatto.: 
Professor  Maisch  exhibited  specimens  of  syrup  of  senega  and  syrup  of: 
ipecac,  prepared  by  Mr.  J.  B.  Moore  from  his  formulas  (published  in  "American 
