A m'  Oct u i884harm' }        American  Pharmacev  tica  I  Associa tio n.  541 
a  combination  with  it  of  alkali,  obtained  from  the  glass,  or  of  ammonia, 
generated  by  or  contained  in  the  plant,  but  that  the  phosphoric  acid  could 
not  disappear.  Mr.  Ebert  had  noticed  a  similar  growth  in  a  solution  of 
citrate  of  iron  and  quinine,  which  produced  griping  and  diarrhoea,  while  a 
similar  solution  prepared  directly  from  the  salt  was  free  from  this  objec_ 
tion.  Mr.  R.  J.  Brown  stated  that  also  solutions  of  citric  acid  and  of 
strychnine  were  liable  to  produce  the  same  growth,  and  suggested  that  all 
such  solutions  kept  on  hand  be  frequently  examined ;  and  Prof.  Oldberg 
suggested  that  solutions  found  in  such  conditions  are  unfit  for  use. 
An  adjournment  was  then  had  until  4  o'clock  p.m. 
Fourth  Session,  Thursday  Afternoon,  August  28. 
The  first  business  done  at  this  session  was  the  reading  of  the  report  of  the 
Committee  on  the  President's  address ;  the  propositions  involving  certain 
changes  of  the  by-laws,  the  consideration  of  the  report  was  laid  over  until 
the  fifth  session.  A  report  was  also  read  on  the  proposition  to  abolish  the 
tax  on  alcohol ;  the  Committee  favor  the  abrogation  of  the  tax  upon  such 
spirits  only  which  are  used  for  medicinal  or  mechanical  purposes.  This 
view  was  also  adopted  by  the  meeting,  and  the  subject  was  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Legislation. 
A  Set  of  Standard  Dimensions  for  Simple  Percolators  was  the  title  of  a 
paper  read  by  Professor  Oldberg.  Starting  with  pointing  out  the  objection- 
able features  of  the  ready  made  percolators  at  present  obtainable,  the  con- 
clusions arrived  at  by  the  prominent  investigators  of  percolation  are  next 
summarized  and  may  be  briefly  stated  as  follows  : 
1.  Simple  percolation  is  best  suited  for  the  pharmacist  operating  on  a 
small  or  moderate  scale,  while  repercolation  can  be  profitably  carried  only 
on  a  comparatively  large  manufacturing  scale. 
2.  Properly  constructed  simple  percolators  are  preferable  in  point  of 
economy  and  efficiency  to  the  various  patented  contrivances. 
3.  Tall  and  narrow  percolators  best  insure  the  proper  exhaustion  of  the 
powder  by  means  of  simple  percolation. 
4.  Percolators  should  be  packed  nearly  full,  and,  therefore, 
5.  The  quantity  of  the  drug  should  be  made  to  suit  the  percolator. 
This  necessitates  a  sufficient  variety  of  sizes  of  percolators,  to  be  adapted 
for  the  quantities  of  tinctures,  fluid  extracts,  etc.,  usually  prepared  by  the 
pharmacist. 
On  these  principles  the  author  has  constructed  a  set  of  percolators,  the 
dimensions  of  which  have  been  adopted  by  the  Chicago  College  of  Phar- 
macy, and  which  will  be  made  of  glass,  by  Messrs.  Whitall,  Tat^um  &  Co. 
of  Philadelphia.    The  dimensions  are  : 
