512  British  Pharmaceutical  Conference.  {Am>Smls^larm- 
the  dried  seed.  This  is  rather  less  than  the  quantity  of  alkaloid  obtained  by 
Mr.  Gerrard  from  biennial  leaves,  as  reported  by  him  to  the  Conference  last 
year,  and  fails  to  sustain  current  impressions  as  to  the  relative  richness  of  the 
seeds  in  alkaloid.  For  this  reason,  and  on  account  of  the  large  quantity  of  the 
fixed  oil  the  seeds  contain  (i8*8  per  cent.),  Mr.  Ransom  does  not  think  they 
can  be  advantageously  used  for  galenical  preparations. 
At  the  conclusion  of  this  sitting  most  of  the  members  and  a  good  number  of 
ladies  made  their  way  to  the  Pier  Head,  where  they  embarked  for  a  channel 
trip  past  Penarth  Head  to  Barry  Island.  The  weather  was  not  propitious,  rain 
falling  heavily  during  the  entire  passage,  but  it  cleared  up  on  landing,  and 
after  a  somewhat  long  and  unpleasant  walk,  made  longer  than  it  need  have 
been  by  some  uncertainty  as  to  the  right  destination,  the  company  arrived  at 
the  Barry  Dock  Hotel,  where  tea  had  been  provided.  By  the  time  this  had 
been  disposed  of  the  boat  had  been  brought  into  the  dock,  closer  to  the  hotel, 
and  the  company  having  again  embarked,  the  return  passage  was  made  to 
Cardiff,  which  was  reached  about  nine  o'clock. 
On  Wednesday  morning  the  Conference  reassembled  soon  after  ten  o'clock. 
In  the  first  paper  read,  on  Glacial  Phosphoric  Acid,  Mr.  John  Hodgkin 
recorded  the  results  of  the  analysis  of  a  series  of  English  and  foreign  samples, 
which  he  was  induced  to  undertake  by  the  discovery  that  a  sample  of  glacial 
phosphoric  acid,  represented  as  being  of  the  quality  usually  imported  into  the 
American  market,  contained  a  large  proportion  of  sodium.  A  sample  prepared 
especially  from  syrupy  phosphoric  acid  and  ammonia,  which  was  obtained  in 
bright  colorless  lumps,  deliquescent  to  a  certain  extent,  showed  upon  anatysis 
that  it  is  impossible  to  drive  off  all  the  ammonia  by  heat,  the  amount  left  being 
equal  to  8*05  per  cent,  of  ammonium  ;  it  also  contained  a  little  silica.  The 
total  acid,  taken  as  HP03,  amounted  to  91*52  per  cent.,  of  which  48  per  cent, 
was  free.  A  sample  of  English  make,  in  bright,  colorless,  somewhat  deliques- 
cent lumps,  contained  both  ammonia  and  soda,  as  well  as  arsenic,  the  total 
acid  as  HP03  amounting  to  92*8  per  cent.,  of  which  52 "8  was  free.  Four  other 
samples,  one  in  sticks,  contained  diminishing  amounts  of  free  acid,  showing 
respectively  85*44  per  cent,  of  HPOg,  with  46*08  free  ;  84*48  per  cent.,  with 
31*68  per  cent,  free  ;  83 '84  per  cent.,  with  36*48  free,  and  8o*io  per  cent.,  with 
42*21  per  cent,  free,  the  base  in  each  case  being  practically  sodium.  A  sample 
made  by  adding  sodium  phosphate  to  ammonium  phosphate  liquor  and  calcin- 
ing retained  nearly  5  per  cent,  of  ammonium,  whilst  one  made  by  calcining 
microcosmic  salt  proved  to  be  pure  sodium  metaphosphate.  Speaking  of  the 
four  samples  referred  to  above  together,  Mr.  Hodgkin  expressed  the  opinion 
that  there  is  absolutely  no  reason  for  such  large  additions  of  sodium  phosphate, 
except  that  it  enables  the  manufacturer,  in  the  absence  of  any  official  standard 
of  purity,  to  undersell  the  honestly  made  article. 
Mr.  M.  Conroy  then  read  a  note  on  a  Proposed  Method  of  Standardizing 
the  Extracts  of  Nux  Vomica  and  Opium,  in  which  he  attempted  to  deal  with 
the  inconveniences  resulting  from  the  consistence  of  these  extracts  when 
standardized  according  to  the  official  formulae.  The  modification  proposed  is 
to  exhaust  the  drug  as  at  present,  then  to  evaporate  to  a  pilular  consistence, 
test  the  alkaloidal  strength  and  make  up  to  the  correct  standard  by  the  addi- 
tion of  glucose.  It  was  also  pointed  out  that  genuine  Asia  Minor  opium,  dried 
and  powdered  as  directed,  yields  13  to  15  per  cent,  of  morphine  by  the  official 
