A  m.  Jour  Pliarm.  i 
December,  18y9.  } 
Obituary. 
605 
a  few  are  known  to  contaminate  drinking  water,  giving  rise  to  certain  aromatic 
odors  resembling  fish  or  geraniums.  Among  the  Syngeneticese,  Uroglena  may 
be  said  to  cause  more  trouble  in  water  supplies  than  any  other  organism — either 
plant  or  animal.  Synura  is  responsible  for  the  "ripe  cucumber  "  odor  which 
was  formerly  thought  to  be  caused  by  fresh-water  sponges. 
In  some  remarks  on  the  paper,  Dr.  Mattison  said  that  he  would  have  been 
glad  if  the  author  had  given  or  suggested  methods  whereby  the  troubles  caused 
by  the  presence  of  algae  in  drinking  water  could  be  eliminated.  He  said  he 
supposed  that  it  was  generally  known  that  while  algae  give  off  oxygen, 
they  also  take  up  oxygen  from  the  water,  and  this  latter  action,  when  in 
excess  of  the  former,  may  render  it  flat  to  the  taste.  In  addition,  some  of  them 
give  rise  to  other  products,  as  mentioned  by  Dr.  Moore,  which  have  a  deleteri- 
ous effect  upon  it.  He  also  spoke  of  a  statement  contained  in  the  paper  in 
regard  to  the  condition  of  water  in  spring  and  fall,  when  it  is  said  to  turn  over, 
owing  to  the  different  degrees  in  density  caused  by  the  changing  conditions  of 
temperature.  He  referred  to  the  trouble  in  the  Boston  water  supply  some 
years  ago,  which  caused  intense  excitement  among  scientists  and  people  gener- 
ally throughout  this  country.  The  fact  that  the  malarial  organism  is  trans- 
mitted through  water  is  now  generally  admitted. 
At  the  close  of  the  discussion  Dr.  C.  B.  Lowe  called  attention  to  a  copy  of  a 
work  on  "  Cowpox, "  by  Edward  Jenner,  the  discoverer  of  vaccination,  which 
was  published  in  London  in  1798.  The  publisher  was  Sampson  Low,  whom 
the  speaker  said  was  probably  an  ancestor  of  his.  Jenner  seems  to  have  had 
an  idea  of  aseptic  vaccine,  for  he  spoke  of  the  deleterious  effects  produced 
by  vaccine  which  a  physician  had  carried  around  in  his  pocket.  A  feature  of 
the  book  was  the  beautiful  colored  plates. 
Among  the  specimens  exhibited  was  one  of  Aralia  Californica,  presented  by 
Josiah  C.  Peacock,  and  specimens  of  vegetable  drugs,  by  C.  H.  La  Wall.  A 
specimen  of  Italian  fig  was  also  exhibited  by  Mr.  Ross. 
On  motion,  the  meeting  adjourned. 
Florence  Yapee, 
Secretary  pro  tern. 
OBITUARY. 
Thomas  Greenish.—  On  September  28th,  Mr.  Thomas  Greenish,  F.C.S., 
F.R.M.S.,  one  of  the  most  highly  esteemed  of  English  pharmacists,  died  in 
London,  in  his  82d  year.  He  was  born  in  Pembrokeshire,  and  his  early  educa- 
tion was  obtained  in  a  school  of  the  neighborhood.  Later  he  was  apprenticed 
to  a  chemist  and  druggist  at  Brecon,  where  he  remained  for  five  years.  After 
his  apprenticeship  he  went  to  London  as  an  assistant,  first  with  Messrs.  Dal- 
mahoy,  of  Ludgate  Hill,  but  was  soon  transferred  to  Messrs.  Godfrey  & 
Cook,  of  Conduit  Street,  where  he  remained  about  seven  years.  In  looking 
over  Mr.  Greenish's  career  in  after  years,  it  cannot  but  be  regarded  that  this 
was  a  very  important  period  of  his  life,  for  the  course  adopted  by  him  at  this 
time  was  pursued  during  the  remainder  of  his  life  with  much  regularity.  He 
was  fortunate  in  becoming  acquainted  with  the  late  William  Ince  soon  after 
his  arrival  in  London,  and  through  the  latter's  influence  became  associated 
in  the  work  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  from  its  origin,  it  having  been 
