50  Minutes  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting.  { Am  jT^,^arm' 
seem  to  have  fallen  over  the  topmost  edge,  and  found  a  lodging  on  the  first 
place  they  fell,  whence  by  repeated  falls  from  unseen  causes  they  continued  to 
spread  themselves  till  the  ground  floor  was  reached.  In  the  early  part  of  July 
of  this  year  it  was  our  good  fortune  to  be  at  this  place,  and  they  were  just  in 
their  prime  of  bloom.  The  plants  and  flowers  were  both  larger  than  any  we 
had  ever  seen  in  sandy  soil. 
Standing  at  the  base  of  the  cliff  and  slowly  raising  the  eyes  to  the  top,  the 
numerous  borders  of  sulphur  yellow  flowers  on  the  edges  of  those  deep  red 
rocks  that  stood  out  at  every  few  yards,  until  the}'  reached  the  summit,  made 
a  magnificent  picture  by  nature  that  man  could  not  imitate  without  marring  its 
best  features. 
The  carrot  family  is  represented  by  Daucus  Carota,  which  is  too  abundant 
for  any  possible  good.  Angelica  alropurpurea  has  had  its  place  in  materia 
medica,  but  is  now  in  disuse,  and  still  able  to  retain  its  rank  growth  among  its 
own  moist  wayside  friends,  just  the  same.  Sweet  Cicely,  Osmorrhiza  longi- 
stylis,  we  must  not  forget,  cannot  in  fact,  as  every  country  boy  will  call  our 
attention  to  it  on  account  of  the  sweet  feasts  on  its  pleasant-tasted  roots.  They 
are  very  anisate,  and  quite  stomachic  and  carminative.  Eryngium  yuccce- 
folium  of  Michaux  is  commonly  called  button  snake  root,  rattlesnake  master, 
eryrgo  and  corn  snake  root.  While  it  is  carminative,  some  authorities  place  it 
as  an  equal  to  senega.    We  await  further  testimony. 
Under  the  order  Araliacese  we  have  every  native  species  of  aralia  repre- 
sented in  Eastern  Pennsylvania.  Beginning  with  the  smallest,  Aralia  trifolia, 
or  dwarf  ginseng,  we  have  also  A.  quinquefolia  or  true  ginseng,  A.  nudicaulis 
or  wild  sarsaparilla,  A.  hispida  or  bristly  sarsaparilla,  A.  racemosa  or  spike- 
nard, and  last  and  largest,  A.  spinosa  or  Hercules'  club.  The  dwarf  ginseng, 
wild  sarsaparilla  and  spikenard  are  widely  distributed  ;  the  ginseng  is  found 
only  in  remote  places,  and  the  bristly  sarsaparilla  to  our  knowledge  only  in  the 
Blue  Mountains,  near  Hamburg.  A.  spinosa  grows  only  in  Fairmount  Park, 
inBartram's  Garden  and  near  Gray's  Ferry. 
With  the  order  Cornaceae  we  have  reached  the  dogwoods.  Cornus  Jtorida, 
C.  circinnata  and  C.  sericea  are  abundant  in  this  State,  the  first-named  forming 
one  of  our  finest  flowering  small  trees  in  spring.  The  others  are  more  shrubby 
in  manner  of  growth,  and  have  not  the  large  colored  bracts  that  render  the 
former  conspicuous  in  bloom. 
We  have  with  these  completed  a  larger  scope  of  botanical  territory  than  we 
thought  possible,  and  we  extend  our  thanks  for  your  attention. 
MINUTES  OF  THE  PHARMACEUTICAL  MEETING. 
Philadelphia,  December  20,  1892. 
On  motion,  Dr.  A.  W.  Miller  was  called  to  the  chair. 
The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  were  read,  and,  there  being  no  corrections 
required,  the}-  were  ordered  to  stand  approved. 
Prof.  Trimble  presented  a  volume  to  the  library. 
A  paper,  on  various  indigenous  plants  of  medical  interest,  was  read  by  Joseph 
Crawford,  Ph.G.,  accompanied  by  a  large  number  of  very  carefully  prepared 
specimens.  On  motion,  a  vote  of  thanks  was  presented  to  the  author,  with  a 
request  that  he  continue  the  subject  at  some  future  meeting.    The  variation 
