^pdmSef.wS1'}    American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  519 
solubility  in  different  solvents,  by  its  behavior  when  heated  to  determine  its 
melting-point,  by  sublimation,  etc. — to  my  disappointment  this  crystalline  sub- 
stance was  thus  identified  as  oxalic  acid,  the  oxidation  product  of  so  many 
organic  compounds."  A  complete  bibliography  of  taraxacum  accompanied  the 
paper. 
After  the  reading  of  this  paper  the  session  took  a  recess  until  Saturday  morn- 
ing, when,  at  9.35  o'clock,  Professor  Sadtler  again  called  for  order.  The  first 
par>er  read  was  on 
POISONOUS  HONEY. 
By  Lyman  F.  Kebler. 
Poisonous  honey  has  been  known  since  the  time  of  Cyrus,  500  B.C.,  as 
chronicled  by  Xenophon,  and  has  been  frequently  reported  since.  The  imme- 
diate reason  for  the  present  communication  was  a  case  of  poisoning,  near 
Princeton,  N.  J.  The  author  had  the  opportunity  of  examining  some  of  the 
honey,  and  separated  a  poison  from  it,  as  demonstrated  on  two  cats.  He  was 
inclined  to  ascribe  the  poisonous  property  of  this  sample  to  andromedotoxin. 
It  has  been  claimed  by  some  writers  that  it  is  impossible  to  distinguish  the 
poisonous  article,  although  the  early  travellers  in  North  America  usually 
avoided  that  which  had  a  dark  color.  A  lengthy  and  valuable  bibliography 
accompanied  the  paper.  In  the  discussion  that  followed,  Prof.  Rusby  said  he 
thought  it  quite  impossible  that  such  poisons  should  find  their  way  to  the  nec- 
taries of  the  flowers  and  then  to  the  honey.  Mr.  Alpers  inquired  what  effect 
these  poisons  would  have  on  the  bees.  Prof.  Rusby  replied  none,  as  the  ner- 
vous organization  of  the  bee  is  such  as  to  be  unaffected  by  these  substances. 
The  second  session  of  the  Scientific  Section  was  then  adjourned.  Immedi- 
ately after  this  adjournment,  President  Good  called  a  short  general  session  to 
listen  to  the  minutes  of  Council.  Edward  Shumpik,  of  Minneapolis,  Minn., 
was  selected  by  Council  to  serve  as  Local  Secretary  at  the  next  meeting,  which 
is  to  be  held  in  1897  at  Lake  Minnetonka.  There  being  no  further  business, 
this  session  adjourned. 
The  third  and  last  session  of  the  Scientific  Section  was  then  begun,  with  Prof. 
Sadtler  as  presiding  officer.    The  reading  of  the  minutes  of  the  second  session 
was  dispensed  with,  upon  motion.    A  paper  was  then  read  on 
CANADIAN  POTASHES, 
By  T.  B.  Reed, 
in  which,  in  addition  to  other  valuable  information,  he  stated  that  the  output  in 
1895  amounted  to  1,500,000  pounds. 
GELATIN  CAPSULES, 
By  W.  C.  Alpers, 
was  the  subject  of  the  next  paper  ;  this  paper  is  printed  in  full  in  this  number. 
The  author  showed  a  model  of  his  device,  and  practically  illustrated  its  work- 
ing.   A  paper  was  then  read  on 
SOME  RESULTS  OBTAINED  IN  THE  DESTRUCTIVE  DISTILLATION 
OF  LINSEED  OIL,  WITH  REMARKS  ON  ITS  BEARING  ON  ENG- 
LER'S  THEORY  OF  THE  ORIGIN  OF  PETROLEUM. 
By  Samuel  P.  Sadtler. 
This  paper  is  also  published  in  the  present  issue.    He  exhibited  a  sample  of 
the  original  oil  and  samples  of  the  fractions  obtained  during  the  distillation. 
