ASvSe?S'}  Meetings  at  the  College.       (  515 
the  gum  chicle  was  boiled  for  30  minutes  under  a  reflux  condenser, 
with  20  c.c.  of  N/i  alcoholic  KOH,  then  cooled  and  excess  of 
KOH  titrated  with  N  /  1  H2S04.  The  saponification  value  found 
was  52,  expressed  as  the  Koettstorfer  value  for  fats;  that  is,  milli- 
grams of  KOH  to  saponify  10  gram  of  material.  This,  it  will  be 
observed,  is  the  same  as  the  acid  value  found,  showing  that  all  the 
saponifiable  matter  present  is  in  the  form  of  free  acids.  Gum 
chicle,  therefore,  does  not  contain  any  ethers  or  esters,  and  but  a 
small  quantity  of  free  acids. 
In  synopsis  the  following  facts  are  presented  : 
Per  cent. 
Ash  •  .  .  .   .     0  2 
Moisture   2*2 
Soluble  in  chloroform  82  7 
Soluble  in  benzol  847 
Acid  value  ..52- 
Saponification  value    .  52" 
Ethers  or  esters  present  None 
SCIENTIFIC  MEETINGS  AT  THE  PHILADELPHIA 
COLLEGE  OF  PHARMACY. 
By  M.  I.  Wiijbkrt, 
Apothecary  at  the  German  Hospital,  Philadelphia. 
The  scientific  meetings  that  have  been  held  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy,  must-be  considered  among 
the  most  valuable  of  the  contributions  that  this  institution  has 
made  for  the  advancement  of  pharmacy  along  professional  lines. 
That  an  opportunity  such  as  has  been,  and  is,  afforded  by  these 
meetings,  for  an  interchange  of  opinions  and  ideas  and  for  the  dis- 
semination of  a  knowledge  of  newly  discovered  facts  or  theories  is 
absolutely  essential  for  progress  in  any  line  of  professional  work  or 
investigation,  will  readily  be  admitted. 
As  an  illustration  of  the  advantage  of  publicity  and  concerted 
efforts,  it  will  suffice  to  call  attention  to  the  progress  that  has  been 
made  in  the  science  of  chemistry  since  the  underlying  principles  of 
that  science  have  been  liberated  from  the  secrecy  and  mysticism 
with  which  they  were  surrounded  by  the  alchemists  of  the  Middle 
Ages. 
That  the  founders  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy  appre- 
ciated the  value  of  systematic  investigations  of,  and  the  liberal 
