Am'octir'i884arm'}        British  Pharmaceutical  Conference.  547 
The  prevention  of  brittleness  in  plasters  was  discussed  by  Mr.  H.  W.  C. 
Martin,  who  sought  to  imitate  the  softening  action  of  glycerin  by  the  use 
of  castor  oil.  A  plaster  made  of  castor  oil  1  part,  olive  oil  8  parts,  oleic  acid 
2  parts  and  litharge  6  parts  was  hardly  up  to  the  requirements  of  the  Phar- 
macopoeia in  regard  to  its  solubility  in  oil  of  turpentine,  but  with  the  ther- 
mometer ranging  between  summer  heat  and  below  zero  it  remained  firm, 
yet  pliable,  without  being  brittle  or  excessively  sticky. 
The  reading  of  the  papers  came  to  a  close  with  Cleanliness  in  Pharmacy, 
which  was  discussed  by  Mr.  G.  G.  C.  Sinims. 
A  number  of  resolutions  of  thanks  were  passed ;  Mr.  George  A.  Kelly 
was  elected  Local  Secretary ;  a  resolution  was  passed  that  in  the  Proceed- 
ings the  discussions  on  pharmaceutical  subjects  alone  should  be  published, 
and  the  Association  finally  adjourned  to  meet  again  in  Pittsburgh  on  the 
second  Tuesday  of  September,  1885. 
We  cannot  make  room  for  a  detailed  statement  of  the  attentions  paid  to 
the  visitors  by  the  local  pharmacists.  There  was  no  banquet,  but  every- 
body was  pleased  with  the  cuisine  of  the  Plankinton  ;  nor  was  there  a 
grand  concert  or  ball,  but  the  lovers  of  good  music  had  occasion  to  enjoy  a 
rare  treat  from  amateurs,  and  those  fond  of  terpsichorean  amusement  were 
likewise  gratified  in  the  arcades  of  the  Plankinton.  A  drive  through  dif- 
ferent parts  of  Milwaukee,  visits  to  various  industrial  establishments,  pro- 
minent among  which  were  the  breweries  for  which  the  Cream  Citj  is  famous, 
attendance  at  a  comic  opera  in  Schlitz's  Park  and  a  steamboat  excursion 
on  Lake  Michigan  entertained  the  visitors.  That  the  inner  man  was  not 
neglected  and  that  many  visitors  were  gratified  by  the  hospitality  extended 
by  families,  need  merely  be  mentioned.  After  the  adjournment  numerous 
parties  extended  their  trips  to  different  lakes,  to  Waukesha,  Tonyawathee 
on  Lake  Monona  near  Madison,  where  the  capitol  and  University  of  Wis- 
consin are  located,  to  the  dells  of  Wisconsin,  to  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  and 
other  places  of  interest. 
THE  BRITISH  PHARMACEUTICAL  CONFERENCE. 
In  August  of  the  present  year  the  British  Pharmaceutical  Conference  has 
attained  its  majority,  but  it  can  hardly  be  said  that  the  gathering  at  Hast- 
ings, under  the  presidency  of  Mr.  John  Williams,  with  which  it  completed 
its  twenty-first  year,  was  suggestive  of  an  excess  of  virility.  It  is  true  that, 
as  remarked  by  the  President,  the  meeting  took  place  under  exceptional 
circumstances.  For  the  second  time  in  the  history  of  the  Conference  it  had 
decided  not  to  follow  the  lead  of  the  British  Association  in  respect  to  the 
locality  it  would  visit,  and  the  occasion  was  also  marked  by  the  initiation 
of  an  experiment  in  the  shape  of  a  "self-denying  ordinance."  How  far 
either  or  both  of  these  conditions  affected  the  result,  we  are  not  prepared  to 
say  ;  we  merely  chronicle  the  fact  that  notwithstanding  the  attractions  of 
Hastings,  and  its  easy  accessibility  to  the  metropolis,  the  attendance  of 
members  was  unusually  small.  We  are  afraid,  therefore,  that  if,  as  indi- 
cated in  the  Annual  Report,  the  Executive  Committee  is  disposed  to  regard 
the  present  meeting  as  a  test  of  what  would  take  place  were  the  Conference 
