634 
Pharmaceutical  Meeting. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
X   November,  1896. 
for  determining  the  percentage  of  antimony  were  employed  in  each  case.  Of 
four  samples  obtained  in  the  market,  one  was  found  to  be  stibic  acid,  another 
was  inferior  in  appearance,  but  answered  the  other  requirements  fairly  well, 
and  two  were  U.S. P.  in  every  respect. 
Mr.  J.  W.  England  stated  that  the  antimonial  compounds  were  not  used 
nearly  so  much  as  formerly,  and  that  tartar  emetic  was  chiefly  employed  in 
making  wine  of  antimony.  He  attributed  their  decline  in  the  favor  of 
physicians  to  their  variability  in  composition,  and  said  that  the  antimonous 
oxide,  which  most  frequently  enters  into  the  composition  of  the  other  prepa- 
rations, was  often  contaminated  with  antimonic  oxide,  and  was  consequently 
of  a  dangerous  character. 
Dr.  C.  B.  I^owe  thought  that  another  reason  for  their  disuse  was  the  fact  that 
formerly  they  were  used  in  surgical  practice  to  produce  nausea  and  relaxation 
prior  to  operations,  and  this  method  having  been  superseded  by  the  use  of 
anaesthetics,  their  employment  has  diminished. 
A  paper  by  Mr.  England  was  announced  on  the  programme,  but  he  reported 
that  his  results,  which  were  not  yet  ready,  would  be  given  at  a  future  meeting. 
A  highly  interesting  and  instructive  paper,  entitled  "A  Botanical  Excursion 
to  Mexico,"  was  presented  by  John  W.  Harshberger,  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania (see  page  588). 
Dr.  Harshberger  found  the  plateau  upon  which  the  city  of  Mexico  is  located 
a  rich  and  unique  field  for  the  study  of  botany.  He  said  that  the  plants  in  this 
region  might  be  grouped  into  a  number  of  communities,  and  that  within  a 
radius  of  a  few  miles,  owing  to  certain  physical  and  meteorological  conditions, 
were  found  representatives  of  the  aquatic,  alpine,  desert  and  tropical  floras 
and  that  thus  was  afforded  an  excellent  opportunity  for  the  study  of  plants 
with  reference  to  environment.  Accompanying  this  paper  were  a  collection  of 
herbarium  specimens,  including  the  flowers  of  several  species  of  native 
dahlias,  and  also  growing  specimens  of  two  species  of  the  century  plant,  Agave 
megalacantha  and  Agave  Americana. 
A  contribution  on  "The  Tannin  of  Some  Acorns  "  was  read  by  Prof.  Henry 
Trimble  (see  page  601). 
It  was  found  that  the  testa  or  thin  membrane  surrounding  the  cotyledons 
was  the  part  of  the  acorn  containing  the  highest  percentage  of  tannin,  that  of 
Quercus  Prinus  yielding  from  42*10  to  48*09  per  cent.  The  cupule  (which  is 
the  most  easily  utilized  for  the  production  of  tannin)  of  this  species  contained 
from  13*37  to  18*20  per  cent.  The  cupules  of  several  other  species  were  also 
examined,  and  the  percentages  were  found  to  range  from  4*55  to  5*27  in 
Quercus  rubra  to  12*66  in  Quercus  coccinea.  A  photograph  of  a  fruiting  branch 
of  Quercus  alba  was  shown. 
An  exhibition  of  quite  a  number  of  specimens  added  considerably  to  the 
interest  of  the  meeting.  Among  them  were  kinos  from  four  species  of  Eucal- 
yptus and  an  exudation  from  Xanthorrhoea  Preissii,  which  were  sent  by  Baron 
Ferd.  von  Mueller,  of  Melbourne,  Australia. 
The  barks  of  four  species  of  Castanopsis  and  of  two  species  of  Quercus,  sent 
by  Mr.  H.  N.  Ridley,  of  the  Botanic  Gardens  of  Singapore,  India.  Prof.  Trim- 
ble said,  in  describing  these  specimens,  that,  botanically,  Castanopsis  is  inter- 
mediate in  character  between  the  chestnut  and  oak,  and  that  it  has  only  one 
representative  in  this  country.    A  fine  section  of  Pareira  brava  and  a  specimen 
