*  MJa°yUMP87.fM-}        Pharmaceutical  Colleges,  etc.  237 
The  new  officers  being  duly  installed,  a  motion  prevailed  to  adjourn,  to  meet 
in  the  City  of  Columbus  on  the  second  Wednesday  in  April,  1874. 
Jno.  T.  Buck,  Secretary. 
Pharmaceutical  Society  of  Great  Britain. — At  the  pharmaceutical  meet- 
ing held  April  2d,  Mr.  A.  F.  Haselden  presiding,  Mr.  Martindale  read  a  paper 
on  a  "  New  Basis  for  Suppositories  and  Pessaries,"  and  exhibited  specimens 
made  with  the  proposed  base,  which  consists  of  equal  parts  by  weight  of  oleic 
-and  stearic  acids.  The  author  considers  such  a  mixture  very  superior  to  those 
in  general  use.  for  the  following  reasons  :  1.  It  has  a  very  low  fusing  point,  and 
readily  melts  at  the  temperature  of  the  body.  2.  The  suppositories  leave  the 
mould  without  difficulty,  owing  to  the  considerable  expansion  when  heated,  and 
the  consequent  contraction  on  solidifying,  estimated  by  the  author  at  more  than 
il  per  cent.  3.  The  basis  is  a  solvent  of  alkaloids  (morphia,  atropia,  &c.j,  and 
is  readily  absorbed  by  the  epidermis  and  mucous  membrane,  at  least  so  far  as 
the  oleic  acid  is  concerned.  4.  On  account  of  the  partial  crystallization  of 
some  of  the  stearic  acid,  the  suppositories  are  firm,  and  can  be  placed  in  their 
position  without  difficulty,  not  being  elastic,  brittle  or  yielding  in  any  way.  5. 
The  proportions  of  stearic  and  oleic  acids  can  be  varied  to  suit  the  tempera- 
ture of  Summer  or  Winter  and  also  the  other  ingredients  prescribed  with  them. 
A  lengthy  and  very  interesting  discussion  then  took  place  on  the  proposed 
appendix  to  the  British  Pharmacopoeia,  after  which  Mr.  Thomas  Greenish  read 
a  paper  on  the  "Mustard  of  the  Pharmacopoeia,"  reviewing  the  officinal  for- 
mulas, since  1788,  for  Cataplasma  sinapis,  and  suggesting  an  alteration  in  the 
fnanipulation  directed  in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia,  so  as  to  avoid  the  coagu- 
lation of  the  myrosin,  and  consequently  develop  the  full  virtues  of  the  mustard 
cataplasm.  Mustard  flour  is  made  in  England  by  crushing  black  and  white 
mustard  seeds  separately,  and  then  mixing  them  in  definite  proportions. 
Professor  Bentley  paid  that  all  the  mustard  he  had  examined  contained  a 
notable  quantity  of  black  mustard  seed.  White  mustard  seed  alone  would  not 
■at  all  meet  the  desire  of  those  who  use  mustard.  Black  mustard  is  too  power- 
ful, too  pungent;  but,  if  mixed  with  white  mustard,  an  agreeable  flavor  is  ob- 
tained. 
Mr.  Bland  believed  that  exaggerated  notions  prevailed  with  regard  to  the 
adulteration  of  mustard,  and  that  the  principal  obstacle  in  the  way  of  getting 
the  genuine  article  had  been  the  unwillingness  to  pay  a  decent  price  for  it. 
With  regard  to  the  fixed  oil  that  had  been  recommended  as  a  remedy  for  rheu- 
matism, he  was  not  inclined  to  attribute  to  it  any  great  value. 
Pharmaceutical  Society  of  Paris. — Mr.  Bussy  presided  at  the  meeting  of 
March  5th.  Mr.  Mehu  claimed  for  Professor  G.  Dragendorff,  of  Dorpat,  and 
his  co-laborers,  Bluhm  and  B.  Masing,  the  discovery  of  the  alkaline  canthari- 
dates,  their  preparation,  analysis,  &c.  As  early  as  1866,  and  again  in  1869, 
these  chemists  have  described  the  application  of  alcohol  in  preparing  cantha- 
ridate  of  potassium,  but  considered  the  use  of  water  as  far  preferable. 
A  complaint  was  made  that  at  Caen  the  brothers  and  sisters  of  a  deceased 
pharmacist  carried  on  the  business  with  the  aid  of  an  examined  assistance  ;  it 
was  stated  that  in  the  neighborhood  of  Paris  it  is  customary  to  accord  to  all 
heirs,  children  brothers  and  sisters,  as  well  as  to  widows,  the  same  delay  under 
