Minutes  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting.  601 
MINUTES  OF  THE  PHARMACEUTICAL  MEETING. 
Philadelphia,  October  21,  1884. 
The  first  of  the  series  of  Pharmaceutical  meetings  of  this  season  was  held 
this  day. 
Mr.  Alonzo  Bobbins  was  called  to  preside. 
Dr.  A.  W.  Miller  presented  to  the  College,  on  behalf  of  Mr.  Alfred  Speer, 
specimens  of  American  wines  made  at  Passaic  Falls,  N.  J.,  by  the  donor, 
who  claims  absolute  purity  for  them;  also  specimens  of  Dundas  Dick  & 
Co.'s  Menthol  cones. 
Professor  Maisch  presented  Vol.  V  of  the  Index  Catalogue  of  the  Library 
of  the  Surgeon  General's  Office;  also  from  Prof.  Herrera  a  copy  of  Nueva 
Farmacopea  Mexicana  de  la  Sociedad  Farmaceutica  de  Mexico,  segunda 
edicion  ;  also  on  behalf  of  Dr.  F.  L.  Slocum,  a  copy  of  Dr.  D.  Gorter's  work 
on  Materies  Medicse,  published  in  1740  ;  a  copy  of  the  Code  pharmaceutique, 
al'usage  des  hospices  civils,  etc.,  par  A.  A.  Parmentier,  published  in  1803, 
and  one  of  the  Pharmacopcea  Pauperum  in  usum  instituti  clinici  Hamburg. 
ensis,  published  in  1804 ;  also  a  copy  of  Bloxam's  Chemistry,  one  of  Wurtz's 
Elements  of  Chemistry,  and  one  of  Lloyd's  Chemistry  of  Medicines,  and  a 
reprint  of  the  first  Pharmacopoeia  published  in  the  United  States,  the  latter 
from  the  publishing  committee ;  also  Proceedings  of  the  American  Pharma- 
ceutical Association,  1883.  Four  volumes  of  the  Patent  Office  Reports  and 
a  copy  of  the  Report  of  Herndon  and  Gibbon's  Exploration  of  the  Valley  of 
the  Amazon,  made  by  order  of  Congress  in  the  years  1852-'53,  were  received 
from  the  Actuary,  and  the  thanks  of  the  meeting  were  returned  to  the 
various  donors. 
A  specimen  of  Virgin  Scammony  was  received  from  Mr.  Henry  N.  Rit- 
tenhouse,  by  whom  it  had  been  imported. 
Mr.  C.  Fred  Zeller,  the  Curator  of  the  Cabinet,  presented  a  specimen  of 
the  flowers  from  which  Dalmatian  insect  powder  is  obtained ;  this  specimen 
of  Pyrethrum  cinerariaafolium  was  grown  in  California. 
Dr.  L.  Wolff  read  a  paper  upon  the  propriety  of  the  apothecary  preparing 
his  own  fluid  and  solid  extracts  and  showed  two  forms  of  apparatus  for  the 
recovery  of  the  alcohol  or  other  volatile  liquids  which  might  be  used  in 
such  preparations ;  the  paper  was  referred  to  the  Publication  Committee. 
Professor  Maisch  expressed  the  opinion  that  papers  of  this  kind  were  very 
important,  and  should  induce  the  apothecaries  to  prepare  their  own  phar- 
maceuticals and  very  many  of  their  chemicals,  as  they  were  educating 
themselves  and  their  apprentices  as  well  as  offering  medicinal  agents  the 
qualities  of  which  they  were  sure  were  of  the  proper  standard. 
Dr.  Wolff  inquired  if  any  of  the  members  present  had  any  experience 
with  the  alkaloid  obtained  from  Ery throxylon  Coca,  which  has  been  recom- 
mended lately  as  an  anaesthetic  in  ophthalmic  practice.  Professor  Maisch 
stated  that  he  had  experimented  somewhat  with  Coca  in  1861,  isolated  the 
cocaine  and  determined  the  existence  of  a  second  alkaloid  which  bad  since 
