Vl\nimber,hi903?'}    American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  433 
is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the  two  most  important  pharmacopoeias 
of  recent  issue,  the  British  of  1898  and  the  German  of  1900,  have 
not  made  any  attempt  in  that  direction. 
To  recognize  or  describe  medicated  plasters  such  as  belladonna 
and  opium  by  denning  the  alkaloidal  strength  without  reference  to 
the  particular  vehicle  employed  would  be  a  therapeutic  negation. 
Their  value  depends  not  alone  upon  the  amount  of  medicinally  ac- 
tive agents  they  represent,  but  upon  the  character  of  the  vehicle  and 
the  appropriateness  for  the  purpose  in  view." 
The  Benzin  of  the  Pharmacopoeia. 
By  E.  H.  Gane. 
The  author  presented  results  which  show  that  "  cracking  "  occurs 
with  the  lighter  petroleum  hydrocarbons  almost  as  readily  as  in  the 
case  of  the  heavier  American  oils,  and  said  that  this  explains  the 
difficulty  of  procuring  petroleum  ether  boiling  within  narrow  limits. 
Heavy  Oil  of  Wine. 
By  I.  W.  Brandel. 
The  author  obtained  18  per  cent,  of  heavy  oil  of  wine  from  one 
liter  of  alcohol  and  the  statement  was  made  that  the  composition  of 
the  heavy  oil  of  wine  has  not  been  fully  determined. 
The  Estimation  of  Sulphides. 
By  Rolland  H.  French. 
The  author  has  devised  a  method  for  estimating  the  amount  of 
calcium  monosulphide  in  sulphurated  lime,  based  on  the  test  of  the 
U.  S.  P. 
The  Chemical  Analysis  of  Methyl  and  Ethyl  Alcoholic 
Mixtures. 
By  L.  D.  Haigh.    Reported  by  A.  B.  Prescott. 
The  author  has  devised  the  following  test  for  detecting  methyl 
alcohol  in  ethyl  alcohol : 
After  oxidation  (by  the  use  of  red  hot  and  superficially  oxidized 
copper  coil)  of  the  10  c.c.  of  diluted  alcohol  the  filtered  liquid  is 
boiled  in  an  open  test  tube  until  its  volume  is  5  or  6  c.c.    The  tube  is 
