554 
Pharmaceutical  Meeting. 
(Am.  Jour.  Pharnr 
X  Xoveniber,  1899. 
the  products  resulting  therefrom,  has  written  this  work,  giving  experiments  and 
directions  for  carrying  on  work  in  physiological  chemistry.  The  following  sub- 
jects are  treated  :  carbohydrates,  fats,  proteins,  fermentation,  saliva,  gastric 
juice,  pancreatic  juice,  blood,  bile,  bone,  muscular  tissue,  milk,  urine,  urinary 
sediments,  systematic  testing  of  urine,  urinary  calculi,  the  metric  system,  and 
composition  of  reagents. 
The  work  has  been  arranged  for  a  course  of  one  year  in  a  medical  school, 
but  a  careful  perusal  of  the  work  indicates  that  there  is  much  information 
here  for  pharmacists.  Many  of  the  experiments — in  fact,  all  of  them — if 
properly  carried  out,  would  enable  the  pharmacist  to  carry  on  much  of  the 
work  that  he  has  to  do  for  the  physician  more  intelligently  and  profitably.  The 
parts  of  the  book  treating  of  urine,  urinary  sediments,  systematic  testing  of 
the  urine,  blood  and  ferments  will  be  found  particularly  valuable  to  pharma- 
cists who  are  alive  to  the  professional  possibilities  and  opportunities  of  their 
calling. 
Annual  Report  on  the  Year  1898.  Darmstadt:  E.  Merck.  Published 
in  March,  1899. 
In  addition  to  the  report  on  the  subjects  in  medical  chemistry,  microscopical 
technique  and  the  nutrition  of  patients,  which  have  gained  importance  during 
the  year  1898,  this  little  work  contains  a  valuable  original  communication  upon 
the  "Physiological  and  Therapeutical  Investigations  on  the  Action  of  Some 
Morphia  Derivatives,"  by  J.  v.  Mening. 
By  way  of  comparison  with  respect  to  their  solubility  in  water  at  the  ordi- 
nary temperature,  the  commoner  salts  of  morphia  and  its  derivatives  are 
classified  as  follows  :  (r)  Codeinae  phosphas,  1  : 4,  acid  reaction,  hence  painful 
when  injected  ;  (2)  Dioniu,  1:7;  (3)  Codeinae  hydrochloras,  1  :  20 ;  (4)  Mor- 
phiae  hydrochloras,  1  :  24 ;  (5)  Codeine  alkaloid,  1  : 78  ;  '(6)  Peronin,  1  :  133  ; 
(7)  Ethyl-morphia,  1  :  286  ;  (8)  Morphia  and  (9)  Heroin,  nearly  insoluble.  Dio- 
nin  possesses,  accordingly,  the  greatest  solubility  among  the  bodies  forming 
the  subject  of  this  article. 
MINUTES  OF  THE  PHARMACEUTICAL  MEETING. 
The  first  of  the  series  of  Pharmaceutical  Meetings  for  1899-1900  was  held 
Tuesday,  October  17th,  in  the  museum  of  the  College,  with  Prof.  Joseph  P. 
Remington  as  chairman.  The  meeting  was  well  attended,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  a  like  interest  will  be  manifested  in  each  of  the  subsequent  meetings  of  the 
series.  The  occasion  furnished  a  special  opportunity  for  Philadelphia  pharma- 
cists in  that  two  of  the  speakers  were  from  a  distance. 
Dr.  Clemens  Kleber,  chemist  for  the  firm  of  Fritzsche  Brothers,  of  New  York, 
was  first  introduced,  and  read  a  valuable  and  interesting  paper  on  "The 
Analysis  of  Essential  Oils,"  which  will  be  published  in  full  in  a  later  issue  of 
this  Journal. 
The  author  called  attention  to  the  fact  that,  notwithstanding  the  numerous 
contributions  of  many  of  the  most  eminent  chemists,  the  chemistry  of  the  es- 
sential oils  is  still  far  from  being  concluded,  and  in  this  connection  he  enum- 
erated some  of  the  problems  arising  at  the  present  time.  Details  of  methods  of 
analysis,  together  with  descriptions  of  devices  which  the  author  had  found 
