AVcn,'iP874RM-}        Pharmaceutical  Colleges,  etc.  485 
progress  in  the  industry.  The  plant  exhales  no  perfume,  but  the 
bruised  leaf  or  bark  has  a  powerful  odor  of  the  spice.  By  means  of 
careful  pruning,  the  plant  can  be  made  to  grow  the  twigs  or  their 
branches  free  from  knots,  which  yield  what  is  called  the  pipe  cinnamon, 
possessing  a  higher  marketable  value  than  sheet  bark,  which  is  peeled 
from  the  stem.  The  exportation  of  plumbago  from  Ceylon  has  also 
much  increased  during  the  past  few  years,  and  this  is  owing  to  the 
extensive  European  demand  for  crucibles.  Crucibles  made  of  plum- 
bago, are  said  to  have  much  greater  power  of  resisting  the  high  tem- 
perature employed  in  smelting  than  any  other  yet  constructed.  The 
raw  material  is  found  principally  in  underlying  quartz  in  the  south 
and  southwest  of  Ceylon,  and  is  worked  by  the  natives  under  licenses 
from  the  Government.  It  is  largely  used  in  the  preparation  of  what 
is  called  black-lead  for  polishing  purposes  ;  while  a  more  recent 
application  of  it,  and  probably  the  most  useful,  is  as  a  lubricant. — 
Pharm.  Journ.  and  Trans.,  July  18,  1874. 
The  British  Pharmaceutical  Conference  met,  at  its  eleventh  annual  meet- 
ing, for  the  first  time  in  London,  convening  at  the  Hall  of  the  Pharmaceutical 
Society  of  Great  Britain,  17  Bloomsbury  Square  on  Wednesday,  August  5,  and 
terminating  on  Saturday,  August  8,  with  an  excursion  down  the  valley  of  the 
Thames  by  train,  and  pleasure  barges  to  Maidenhead.  The  result  of  this 
meeting  is  briefly  stated  in  an  editorial  published  in  the  Pharmaceutical  Jour- 
nal of  August  8th,  and  from  which  we  take  the  following  synopsis  : 
"  Whether  for  the  number  and  quality  of  the  papers,  or  the  interesting  dis- 
cussions that  have  followed  the  reading  of  them,  the  meeting  of  1874  has  been 
a  success,  the  only  drawback  having  been  that  the  number  of  members  attending 
it  have  hardly  equalled  the  hospitable  hopes  of  the  Local  Committee.  The 
interest  with  which  the  proceedings  of  the  Conference  are  watched  by  phar- 
macists outside  Great  Britain  was  demonstrated  by  the  presence  of  Dr.  de 
Yrij,  from  the  Hague,  Colonel  Forney  and  Mr.  Dobbins  from  the  United 
States,  M.  Adrian  and  M.  Gallois  from  Paris,  and  Dr.  Frazer  and  Professor 
Tichborne  from  Dublin. 
"  The  Conversazione  was  attended  by  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  gentle- 
men, who  found  ample  occupation  in  examining  the  chemical,  pharmaceutical, 
microscopical,  botanical,  and  other  articles  in  the  exhibition,  or  in  witnessing 
the  demonstration  by  Mr.  Davies  of  Mr.  Crooke's  experiments  to  show  the 
attractive  and  repellant  properties  of  light  and  radiant  heat. 
"  On  Thursday  the  General  Meeting  of  the  Conference  auspiciously  commenced 
by  the  announcement  that  five  hundred  members  had  been  elected  by  the 
Executive  Committee  the  previous  day.  The  President's  address  was  confiued 
to  topics  of  a  political  nature,  and  will  doubtless  obtain  the  careful  consider- 
ation of  all  pharmacists,  as  containing  the  opinions  of  so  experienced  a  leader 
of  tbeir  body. 
<4  The  first  paper  was  read  by  Dr.  de  Yrij,  and  described  a  new  method  of 
estimating  the  pharmaceutic  value  of  cinchona  barks,  by  which  not  only  the 
