s 
Am  Jour.  Pharm. 
Oct.,  1884. 
}       British  Pharmaceutical  Conference.  551 
brucine  and  strychnine,  based  upon  the  different  solubility  of  their  ferro- 
eyanides ;  the  examination  as  to  alkaloiclal  strength  of  giilenical  prepara- 
tions of  mix  vomica,  leading  to  suggestions  for  the  standardizing  of  the 
tincture  and  extract  which  no  doubt  were  the  provoking  cause  for  two  other 
papers  read  at  the  Conference  ;  the  discovery  of  a  new  glucoside,  which  has 
been  named  " loganin,"  in  the  pulp  of  the  fruit  and  the  seeds  ;  and  the  ex- 
amination of  some  mix  vomica  seeds  from  Ceylon  that  proved  to  be  unsu- 
ally  rich  in  alkaloid. 
In  some  "Notes  on  the  Estimation  of  Hydrocyanic  Acid  and  Cyanides," 
Mr.  L.  Siebold  reverted  to  the  subject  of  a  communication  read  by  him  last 
year, — the  error  to  which  Liebig's  process  for  the  volumetric  estimation  of 
hydrocyanic  acid  is  liable  if  the  titration  be  effected  in  presence  of  a 
deficiency  of  alkali  and  the  failure  of  litmus  to  indicate  the  point  of  neu- 
tralization. After  alluding  to  weak  points  in  several  suggestions  that  have 
been  made  for  overcoming  this  defect,  he  recommended  the  use  of  a  standard 
solution  of  soda  and  the  performance  of  a  preliminary  titration.  He  also 
mentioned  that  in  working  upon  the  United  States  official  process,  in  which 
an  excess  of  calcined  magnesia  is  used  instead  of  soda,  he  had  found  that 
with  certain  precautions  the  carbonates  of  the  alkaline  earths  might  be 
used,  and  that,  in  the  presence  and  by  the  interventions  of  silver  nitrate, 
hydrocyanic  acid  is  capable  of  decomposing  such  minerals  as  chalk,  calc 
spar  and  magnesite. 
The  next  paper,  "  Further  Notes  on  the  Pharmacy  of  Linseed,"  by  Mr. 
T  Greenish,  gave  rise  to  the  most  animated  discussion  of  the  day.  Mr. 
Greenish  is  of  opinion  that  serious  objections  apply  to  the  use  of  linseed 
cake  as  a  source  of  the  official  farina  lini,  one  of  them  being  that  it  is  a  bye- 
product  and  not  specially  made  for  the  purpose.  He  would  prefer,  in  its 
place,  linseed  rich  in  farina  and  as  free  as  possible  from  weed  seed,  crushed 
lightly  between  iron  rollers  without  expressing  any  oil,  and  with  about  20 
per  cent,  of  the  husk  removed  to  make  it  appioximate  more  closely  to  a  meal. 
Mr.  Greenish  stated  that  when  the  seed  is  thus  crushed  lightly,  the  oil  is 
hardly  disturbed  in  its  natural  cells  and  does  not  become  diffused  throughout 
the  meal  so  as  to  be  exposed  over  a  large  surface  to  atmospheric  influences. 
He  also  explained  the  part  played  by  the  husk  in  yielding  in  contact  with 
water  a  supply  of  vegetable  mucilage,  and  said  that  though  the  retention  of 
80  per  cent,  was  equal  to  the  necessities  of  forming  a  good  plastic  poultice, 
the  removal  of  too  large  a  quantity  would  leave  the  farina  incapable  of 
doing  so.  Professor  Redwood,  whilst  admitting  the  value  of  the  paper, 
said  that  when,  years  ago,  crushed  linseed  came  into  use  it  did  not  answer 
expectations  and  was  found  to  turn  mouldy  when  kept  in  closed  vessels. 
Moreover,  he  was  disposed  to  believe  that  under  the  present  system  of  ex- 
amination of  linseed  by  the  Linseed  Association,  it  must  necessarily  be  very 
pure  and  free  from  admixture  of  foreign  seeds.  There  seemed  to  be  diversity 
of  opinion  as  to  the  explanation  of  the  existing  preference  for  crushed  lin- 
seed, some  speakers  attributing  it  to  an  actual  superiority,  and  others  think- 
ing that  it  is  due  to  some  medical  practitioners  specially  instructing  their 
patients  to  use  it. 
The  first  day's  proceedings  were  brought  to  a  close  by  the  reading  of  two 
