48  Pharmaceutical  Meeting.  {A  januarrf&rm' 
the  various  methods  which  have  been  suggested  to  preserve  this 
syrup,  and  said  that  so  far  as  he  had  been  able  to  ascertain,  Prof.  J. 
F.  Judge,  Cincinnati,  was  the  first  one  to  suggest  the  use  of  hypophos- 
phorous  acid  in  the  preparation  of  syrup  of  ferrous  iodide,  and  that 
it  seemed  to  be  the  only  substance  to  hold  undisputed  ground  as  an 
effective  preservative  of  this  syrup. 
Professor  Remington  said  that  he  did  not  agree  with  Mr.  Matusow 
in  his  statement  that  the  discoloration  of  the  syrup  is  not  due  to  cara- 
melization  of  the  sugar ;  he  said  that  this  does  not  always  take  place 
at  once,  and  that  in  nearly  all  syrups  that  contain  acid,  caramelization 
is  likely  to  take  place.  Mr.  Wilbert  said  that  it  was  better  to  make 
up  smaller  quantities  of  preparations  of  this  kind  and  to  make  them 
oftener  rather  than  use  preservatives,  however  harmless  they  might 
seem.  Mr.  Mclntyre  accorded  with  this  view,  and  said  that  per- 
sonally he  had  a  feeling  against  using  preservatives  either  for  foods 
or  medicine,  and  that  he  made  his  syrups  with  rock-candy.  Mr. 
Cliffe  also  advocated  the  use  of  rock-candy  for  the  preparation  of 
medicinal  syrup.  Professor  Remington  stated  that  the  syrup  of 
iodide  of  iron  would  keep  better  if  the  amount  of  sugar  were 
increased  about  10  per  cent.  He  also  alluded  to  the  late  Dr.  Charles 
Rice's  method  for  keeping  large  quantities  of  the  syrup,  and  said 
that  he  employed  a  ten-gallon  jug  with  a  stop-cock  near  the  bottom 
for  drawing  off  the  syrup,  and  that  it  was  preserved  from  the  air  by 
the  addition  of  4  or  5  ounces  of  olive  oil,  which  formed  a  layer 
over  the  top. 
Professor  Kraemer  spoke  of  the  influence  of  micro-organisms  in 
changing  carbohydrates,  and  said  that  in  certain  instances  which  he 
had  observed,  soluble  starch  had  been  changed  to  the  various 
dextrins  and  finally  glucose  in  the  course  of  a  year  through  the 
action  of  certain  fungi,  and  that  in  a  number  of  medicinal  syrups 
that  had  spoiled,  the  same  organisms  seemed  to  be  the  cause  of  the 
spoliation.  On  the  other  hand,  syrups  as  well  as  a  large  number  of 
other  products,  including  hopped  and  unhopped  wort,  which  had 
been  properly  sterilized  and  stoppered  with  absorbent  cotton,  had 
been  kept  for  several  years. 
Mr.  Boring  stated  that  he  had  had  some  trouble  in  making  a  clear 
preparation  of  tincture  of  nux  vomica,  and  that  he  had  found  the 
use  of  a  small  quantity  of  hydrochloric  acid  to  give  a  clear  tincture. 
Mr.  Cliffe  said  that  this  might  indicate  that  the  trouble  was  due  to 
