AVfi,Sfm'}^«^  °f  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting.  i  53 
The  fruit  and  leaves  of  Arctostapliylos  Uva  nrsi  do  not  contain  ben- 
zoic acid.  The  arbutin  which  is  present  has  no  preservative  action. 
Cranberry  leaves  contain  no  benzoic  acid. 
MINUTES  OF  THE  PHARMACEUTICAL  MEETING. 
February  17,  1891. 
On  motion  of  Mr.  Mclntyre,  Mr.  W.  B.  Thompson  was  called  to  preside. 
The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  were  read,  and  no  corrections  having  been 
asked  for,  they  were  approved. 
The  Proceedings  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association,  whose  last 
meeting  was  held  at  Old  Point  Comfort,  Va.,  were  presented  to  the  college 
library  by  Prof.  Maisch,  the  permanent  Secretary.  For  this  volume  the 
college  returned  its  thanks. 
A  paper  upon  the  Assay  of  Opium,  by  Mr.  W.  T.  Hankey,  of  the  present 
senior  class  of  our  college,  was  read  ;  its  reading  elicited  remarks  from  different 
persons.  Prof.  Trimble  said  that  the  Pharmacopoeia  process  does  not  exhaust 
the  opium,  that  the  process  of  Dr.  Squibb  does,  but  that  the  yield  is  always  in 
excess,  and  it  has  been  shown  that  this  is  due  to  the  meconate  of  calcium, 
which  contaminates  the  morphine  ;  this,  when  treated  as  recommended  by 
Mr.  Hankey,  gives  a  result  that  is  satisfactory. 
Mr.  England  read  some  pharmaceutical  notes.  Prof.  Maisch  asked  why 
Mr.  England  preferred  to  make  the  spirit  of  peppermint  in  the  way  indi- 
cated, since  filtering  after  maceration  with  the  coarsely  powdered  leaves,  as 
directed  by  the  Pharmacopoeia,  obviated  the  difficulty  arising  from  a  waxy 
matter  which  renders  the  freshly-made  spirit  cloudy  and  will  not  filter  out 
through  paper  alone.  Crude  pure  oil,  quite  recently  distilled,  will  dissolve 
clear  in  from  1  to  3  parts  of  alcohol  of  "835,  but  an  addition  of  more  alcohol 
will  usually  cause  a  cloudiness  ;  after  careful  rectification,  oil  of  peppermint 
will  yield  clear  solutions  with  alcohol  in  all  proportions. 
Mr.  Beringer  read  a  paper  upon  Bimuriate  of  Quinine,  and  in  answer  to 
an  inquiry  as  to  the  strongest  solution  that  could  be  made,  replied  that  the  best 
solution  was  one  of  50  per  cent,  and  useful  for  hypodermic  use. 
Mr.  Mclntyre,  to  whom  had  been  referred  the  query  relating  to  WhitworW s 
liniment,  gave  the  following  from  Dick's  Encyclopaedia  : 
Be. 
Oil  of  thyme,  4  drachms. 
Tincture  of  myrrh,  2  ounces. 
Tincture  of  camphor,  2  drachms. 
Compound  spirit  of  lavender,  2  ounces. 
Alcohol,  8  ounces. 
(All  fluid  measure.) 
Mix.— 25  drops,  2,  3  or  4  times  a  day. 
Red  Bottle,  Whit-worth' 's  (from  an  old  recipe  book.) 
Opium  in  powder,  1 20  grs. 
White  castile  soap,  60  grs. 
Camphor,   1  tr.  oz. 
