Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  1893. 
Editorial. 
203 
cone  and  thus  keeps,  what  otherwise  would  be  the  hottest  point,  cool ;  the 
material  to  be  distilled  is  fed  by  a  tube  from  a  container  supported  above  it, 
and  another  tube  permits  air  to  rise  from  the  still  head  to  the  container  until 
the  lower  surface  of  the  tube  is  covered.  It  was  asked  if  such  a  still  was  suit- 
able for  ethereal  distillations  as  what  is  termed  a  water  joint  is  not  generally- 
tight  enough  for  such  purpose  ;  it  was  explained  that  in  future  a  pair  of  flanges 
and  gum  washers  clamped  together  would  be  used. 
A  spatula  of  steel,  covered  with  hard  rubber,  was  exhibited.  A  doubt  was 
expressed  as  to  whether  the  expansion  of  the  two  substances  was  not  so 
different  as  to  cause  the  rubber  to  break  away  from  the  steel.  It  was  stated 
that  great  care  should  be  taken  for  fear  of  such  a  flaw  occurring  and  thus  intro- 
ducing a  poisonous  substance  into  some  other  mixture  intended  for  quite  a 
different  purpose,  as  happened  recently  when  veratrine,  which  was  retained  by 
a  crevice  in  a  mortar,  was  introduced  into  a  mixture,  although  the  mortar  had 
been  carefully  washed  with  alcohol,  and  afterwards  with  a  cloth  and  hot  water  ; 
the  proper  method  is  never  to  use  a  mortar  for  such  articles,  and  for  remedies 
intended  for  internal  use.  The  discussion  brought  out  the  better  method  of 
preparing  veratrine  ointment  by  mixing  the  alkaloid  with  either  a  small  quan- 
tity of  oil  or  glycerin. 
Professor  Trimble  read  a  paper,  prepared  jointly  by  him  and  Mr.  J.  C. 
Peacock,  upon  Canaigre  tannin — a  product  from  Rumex  hymenosepalus.  In 
reply  to  various  questions,  Prof.  Trimble  said  that  Prof.  C.  B.  Collingwood, 
of  Arizona,  has  written  somewhat  about  canaigre,  and  stated  the  yield  in  poor 
soil  to  be  as  much. as  seven  tons  to  the  acre,  and  when  properly  cultivated, 
twenty  tons  ;  a  sandy  soil  seems  to  be  best  adapted  to  its  growth.  The  tannin 
is  precipitated  by  neutral  salt ;  but  this  process  is  wasteful,  as  the  tannin  seems 
to  be  largely  decomposed.  It  is  intended  to  be  used  for  dyeing  purposes  and 
not  as  a  remedial  agent.  The  crude  drug  has  been  used  in  the  chipped  state  ; 
it  is  peculiar  in  that  the  roots  contain  18  to  20  per  cent,  of  starch,  and  is, 
therefore,  much  more  difficult  to  work  with,  but  this  has  been  overcome  in 
some  way  by  the  manufacturers  of  the  extract,  which  they  keep  to  themselves. 
Mr.  England  asked  for  the  formula  for  Pravaz' s  hemostatic  Solution  of  Iron. 
Prof.  Maisch  said  that  the  strength  of  this  solution  was  given  in  Dorvault's 
L'1  Officine ;  it  consists  of  26  per  cent,  of  anhydrous  ferric  chloride  and  74  per 
cent,  of  water,  and  has  a  density  of  300  Beaume. 
Mr.  England  exhibited  a  mass  of  hair  taken  from  the  stomach  of  a  cow. 
Butchers  state  that  such  things  are  quite  often  found,  sometimes  also  asso- 
ciated with  particles  of  gravel. 
On  motion,  adjourned.  T.  S.  Wiegand,  Registrar. 
EDITORIAL. 
Amendment  to  the  Pennsylvania  Pharmacy  Law. — In  our  two  preceding 
issues,  we  have  kept  our  readers  advised  of  the  progress  made  in  the  State 
Legislature,  with  the  bill  repealing  Section  11  of  the  Pharmacy  Law  of  1887. 
We  are  pleased  to  state  that  the  bill  passed  the  Senate  finally,  March  9,  by  a 
vote  of  35  and  no  negative  votes,  and  that  it  became  a  law  March  14,  when 
