Ain.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
June,  1899.  J 
United  States  Pharmacopoeia. 
295 
1897  the  manufacturers,  the  Badische  Anilin  and  Soda  Fabrik,had  been  awarded 
a  medal  offered  many  years  ago  by  the  Industrial  Society  of  Mulhouse,  Alsace, 
for  the  introduction  into  commerce  of  indigo  obtained  by  synthesis  at  a  price 
permitting  its  competition  in  all  the  applications,  with  indigo  made  from  plants. 
In  1896-97  the  export  of  natural  indigo  from  India  was  io,900,coa  pounds,  and 
in  the  year  1897-98,  following  the  introduction  of  the  artificial  product,  declined' 
to  7, 100,000  pounds.  An  important  difference  in  the  two  products  depends  upon! 
the  fact  that  the  natural  product  comes  into  commerce  in  the  form  of  lumps  or 
cakes,  which  require  to  be  powdered,  a  matter  attended  with  considerable 
expense,  while  the  artificial  product  comes  in  a  finely  divided  state,  usually  in 
paste  form,  ready  for  immediate  use. 
In  addition  to  his  remarks  on  indigo,  Dr.  Sadtler  called  attention  to  sam- 
ples of  electrolytic  sodium  and  sodium  peroxide  therefrom,  which  were  ex- 
hibited by  the  Rossler  &  Hasslacher  Chemical  Company.  He  said  that  elec- 
trolytic sodium  was  prepared  by  Sir  Humphrey  Davy  in  1S07,  but  that  its  pro- 
duction had  been  very  expensive  and  its  utilization  had  been  very  slight  until 
recent  years,  it  being  now  manufactured  on  a  large  scale.  It  is  chiefly  used  in 
the  amalgamation  process  for  extracting  gold  and  in  the  manufacture  of  sodium 
peroxide,  which  was  a  chemical  rarity  a  few  years  ago.  Sodium  peroxide  is  a 
powerful  bleaching  agent,  and  has  a  special  application  in  the  textile  industry 
for  bleaching  silk,  feathers,  etc. 
Dr.  G.  F.  Barker  gave  an  account  of  "Wireless  Telegraphy,"  using  appa- 
ratus for  demonstrating  its  feasibility,  which  was  furnished  by  W.  G.  Clarke. 
In  some  preliminary  statements  on  the  subject,  Dr.  Barker  made  the  remark 
that  we  had  always  had  wireless  telegraphy,  this  being  exemplified  by  the  eye 
and  its  reception  of  waves  of  light.  This  remark  was  based  on  the  hypothesis 
proposed  by  Dr.  Maxwell  in  1865,  and  confirmed  in  1888,  that  light  and  elec- 
tricity are  identical. 
A  collection  from  the  Philadelphia  Commercial  Museums  of  rare,  curious  and 
valuable  products,  representing  both  the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms,  was 
described  by  Dr.  William  P.  Wilson,  Director  of  the  Museums. 
Among  them  were  samples  of  artificial  silk,  which  Dr.  Wilson  said  is  manu- 
factured from  paper  waste  or  from  cellulose.  The  cellulose  is  dissolved  in 
nitric  or  sulphuric  acid,  and  then  the  mixture  is  treated  with  alcohol  or  ether, 
after  which  the  product  thus  obtained  is  transformed  by  mechanical  processes 
into  a  fibre  which  has  about  65  per  cent,  the  strength  of  silk. 
There  were  a  number  of  other  very  interesting  exhibits,  but  space  does  not 
permit  their  mention  here. 
F.  Y. 
CONVENTION  FOR  THE  REVISION  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES  PHARMACOPCEIA. 
To  All  Whom  it  may  Concern  : 
In  accordance  with  instructions  given  by  resolutions  passed  at  the  National 
Convention  for  Revision  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
held  in  Washington,  A.D.  1890,  I  herewith  give  notice  that  a  General  Conven- 
tion for  the  Revision  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States  of  America 
will  be  held  in  the  city  of  Washington,  D.  C,  beginning  on  the  first  Wednes- 
